The Borderlands series has always prided itself on player expression, giving players plenty of routes to take when it comes to personalizing their style. While guns have always played a big role in making that happen, players have also been able to change their character's skin and head for most of the series — since Borderlands 2, to be precise. Over time, that system has become increasingly complex, with Borderlands 4 offering the most depth by allowing players to change the head, body, and style of their Vault Hunters. While many of these customization options can be earned by completing in-game missions and challenges, Borderlands' SHiFT system also plays a role in it, letting players unlock new looks for their Vault Hunters by simply entering SHiFT codes instead.
Since the launch of Borderlands 4, players have already been granted unique skins for the game's Vault Hunters by way of free SHiFT codes that unlock them. As the Borderlands 4 player base completes community challenges, Gearbox unveils a SHiFT code that unlocks a new skin for the playable character the challenge was associated with. At this point, Vex, Amon, and Rafa have all received new skins via SHiFT codes, each of which are based on the character shorts released ahead of the game's launch. While free skins are great, though, they have proven to play things way too safe by offering only minimal cosmetic changes. However, with Harlowe's SHiFT skin yet to be released, there's still a chance for Borderlands 4 to offer something truly unique.
Borderlands 4's SHiFT Skins Have Played Things Too Safe
When Rafa's SHiFT skin was released — inspired by his YOLT character short — it didn't come with too much friction attached, as Borderlands 4 already lets players choose whether their Rafa wears his mask. However, when Amon's Cult Classic skin arrived not long after that, a trend started to appear. In this case, while Amon players did receive a style for the Vault Hunter's body based on his own character short, his head remained untouched, leaving his unique hairstyle from the short out of the picture. Then came along Vex's Mass Market Appeal outfit, inspired by her "Purple Friday" character short, but it wasn't the outfit from the video at all and instead turned out to be nothing more than another color scheme.
- Rafa "Savings Savior" SHiFT Code: TZXT3-XJXCB-CXBJW-BTTJT-9SK6B
- Amon "Cult Classic" SHiFT Code: JZ6BJ-SBR5J-WF3BK-BT3BB-TX9HB
- Vex "Mass Market Appeal" SHiFT Code: BZ6JJ-CB6CT-WXJJW-3TT3B-56FZ5
So, although Rafa's unique SHiFT skin flew under the radar a bit, Amon and Vex haven't been so lucky. Rather than actually receiving their full look from the shorts, they have only been blessed with the colors they were wearing. It would have been nice, though, for each character's SHiFT skin to include a new head, body, and style for players to use instead of merely a style.
Harlowe's Unrevealed SHiFT Skin Could Fix the Problem
With Harlowe being the only Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter left to receive her own unique SHiFT skin, there's a chance for Gearbox to change the narrative. While her appearance in her character short would justify only a style being added, her SHiFT skin could still go above and beyond by leaning into her Traunt lineage. A proper Traunt-inspired design — complete with floating armor shards, a glowing halo, and kinetic energy effects — would instantly set her apart from the rest of the roster. Unfortunately, given Borderlands 4's current SHiFT trends, it seems more likely it'll just be another style.
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
