Indirect projectiles are the weapons you do not fire straight from the shoulder. They are the extra tools that hit targets without coming directly from your gun muzzle. In Borderlands 4 these include thrown guns, projectiles spawned by Action Skills, and special orbs and orbs made by gear effects. These attacks work off the main gun and they often behave differently in flight. They can bounce, seek targets, or explode on impact. They also help you farm Borderlands 4 Cash faster when you clear groups more safely and more quickly.
Rafa is the character most built around indirect projectiles, and his trees reward this playstyle in clear ways. His skills can boost the damage of indirect projectiles, add ricochet chance while moving, and even grant lifesteal to those hits. Players who focus on Rafa’s indirect-projectile nodes can convert thrown weapons and Action Skill shots into steady life and huge hit counts. That makes Rafa more than a toy; he becomes a full damage engine when you stack the right perks.
The tactical value of indirect projectiles comes from their range and their behavior. A thrown gun that bounces will hit multiple enemies from odd angles, and an Action Skill that spawns homing orbs can clear snipers without exposing you. You can use these attacks to control space, force enemies out of cover, and create combos with crowd-control effects. In practice, indirect projectiles let you shape fights from unusual positions and they often punish enemies who hide behind simple cover.
To make a build that uses indirect projectiles, focus on a few clear steps. First, pick gear and skills that tag those projectiles for damage multipliers or extra events. Second, increase ricochet chance or projectile count so each use produces many hits. Third, add lifesteal or sustain so you stay alive while you spam those effects. Many high-end Rafa builds stack multiple sources of ricochet and duration so the game creates exponential hit events that shred both mobs and bosses.
Borderlands 4 Cash buy still matters for these builds because you will buy and respec gear a lot while you test different thrown weapons and action skills. You should expect to spend Cash on new guns, transfer machines, and firmware that boost your indirect projectiles. If you want to try out setups quickly, use money to swap gear and refine the loadout until the combo clicks. Testing in practice runs or short farm loops helps you see which purchases give the best return on investment.
Start small and iterate: test one indirect effect at a time and see how many hits it creates, then tweak one skill or item and test again. Use a steady loop of farms or boss runs to measure how much extra damage ricochets and action skill weapons add to your clear time.