Borderlands has always excelled at tying its gun manufacturers’ eccentric identities into both the lore and gameplay, and through two new Vault Hunters, Borderlands 4 looks ready to push that envelope even further. One carries the burden of Tediore’s disposable firepower, while the other represents Maliwan’s obsession with elegant elemental control. Despite sharing origins rooted in corporate manipulation, their vastly different paths make Rafa and Harlowe two fascinating reflections of the series’ chaotic universe in Borderlands 4.
Both Rafa and Harlowe have skill trees in Borderlands 4 that enhance their chosen manufacturers’ combat philosophies, but their playstyles diverge dramatically. Rafa thrives on relentless aggression, chaining gunfire and explosives in reckless pursuit of damage. Harlowe, on the other hand, thrives on calculation and manipulation, creating order out of chaos through crowd control and elemental amplification.
Rafa: Borderlands 4’s Fugitive Tediore Exo-Soldier
Rafa’s backstory as a Tediore experiment and his class identity in Borderlands 4 are inseparable. Born in microgravity, his body was too fragile to function outside of it, leading him to undergo drastic augmentation in exchange for military service. When he realized Tediore saw him as a disposable asset, Rafa went rogue, determined to live freely before his new suit ultimately failed his body. This defiance echoes the spirit of Tediore’s design philosophy: short-lived, overwhelming firepower at any cost.
Rafa’s exo-suit empowered him, but also bound him to a corporation that saw soldiers as tools to be discarded, just like their own weaponry.
That same philosophy defines Rafa’s gameplay in Borderlands 4, as his Remote Agent tree turns him into a field commander with rockets and automated ordnance that keep fights going as if he were one of Tediore’s guns with legs in Borderlands 3. His People Person skill tree picks up the pace by rewarding quick reloads, crits, and chained Overdrive buffs that transform combat into a storm of nonstop explosions. Finally, his This Year’s Gimmick skill tree reflects his willingness to burn out fast, by combining melee and elemental procs with self-damaging risk vs. Reward passives that force players to stay on the offensive constantly.
Harlowe: Borderlands 4’s Elemental Maliwan Mastermind
Where Rafa’s background reflects a certain recklessness, Harlowe is defined by control. As a former Maliwan scientist and estranged member of Borderlands 3’s Traunt family, Harlowe embodies the corporation’s elemental background. Her intellect set her apart from the rest of her family, though, and now she’s repurposed the advanced technology she invented for Maliwan to hunt Vaults.
Instead of overwhelming opponents with sheer firepower, Harlowe’s skills in Borderlands 4 focus on manipulating enemies by linking them together, freezing them in place, or amplifying elemental damage around her. Her Creative Burst tree leverages her Unstable Energy Pocket Action Skill to chain Cryo and Radiation damage and cooldown reduction to keep her abilities constantly active. The Seize the Day tree makes her a crowd-control specialist, immobilizing and debuffing enemies snagged in Stasis. Finally, her Cosmic Brilliance allows her to control encounters with her Flux Generator, amplifying damage zones while providing regeneration or damage amplification for allies.
Where Rafa’s appeal lies in blitzing the battlefield with overwhelming force, Harlowe’s lies in carefully reshaping it to her advantage, making her a perfect embodiment of Maliwan’s sleek, high-tech aesthetics.
Borderlands 4's Corporate Philosophies in Combat
The contrasting identities of Borderlands 4's new Vault Hunters highlight just how inherently lore and gameplay are connected in the series. Tediore’s mass-produced, short-lived weapons manifest through Rafa’s reload speed, kill-chaining, and disposable firepower. He was used and discarded by the corporation, making him not unlike the guns of the very company he signed on to represent: disposable, yet devastating while they last.
Harlowe, meanwhile, channels Maliwan’s commitment to elemental supremacy. She isn’t focused on stopping power, at least on paper, but she amplifies status effects and controls battlefields with cold efficiency and a radioactive reach. Just as Rafa’s design is emblematic of Tediore, Harlowe, and Maliwan weapons alike, trade raw firepower for elemental efficiency.
Borderlands' Legacy of Unique and Contrasting Vault Hunters
Though more defined than ever in this new outing, Vault Hunter duality is not new to the franchise. Borderlands 2 paired Salvador’s guns-blazing recklessness with Maya’s elemental crowd control, and the Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3 followed suit, with Moze’s mechanized firepower contrasting with Amara’s elemental brawling. Rafa and Harlowe extend this lineage of Vault Hunters designed around starkly opposed philosophies.
By tying Vault Hunter design so tightly to corporate philosophy, Gearbox reinforces one of the series’ most unique strengths: blending worldbuilding and gameplay into a singular experience. As extensions of the brands that define the Borderlands universe, their presence ensures Borderlands 4 continues the series’ legacy of letting players choose between chaos and control. Both are equally viable and pull on similar narrative threads, yet each is no less thematically distinct.
The Future of Borderlands Vault Hunters’ Identity
If Rafa and Harlowe are any indication, Borderlands 4's DLC Vault Hunter roster could be aimed toward those who are narratively inseparable from the corporations shaping the game’s arsenal. While this design direction certainly works to deepen the franchise’s lore and gives players an immersive reason to align with specific play styles, it might strip the shine off of the existing characters' uniqueness. The desperation of Tediore’s design philosophy is made flesh and bone in Rafa, while in Harlowe, Maliwan’s sleek precision is elevated to its ultimate expression. Defining more characters in this way might detract from the value these two already bring to the table.
Ultimately, their corporate identity and gameplay duality represent more than just two new Vault Hunters. The characters represent the order and chaos (in equal parts) that define the Borderlands franchise. With Amon and Vex rounding out Borderlands 4's Vault Hunter roster as well, it seems that no matter the preferred approach, players should be well-equipped for the mayhem ahead.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
