Summary

  • Borderlands features fascinating characters with depth, humor, and unique stories that players can connect with across the series.
  • Female characters like Moze, Janey Springs, and Athena bring complexity, strength, and diverse backgrounds to the franchise.
  • From battle-hardened gunners to powerful assassins, Borderlands offers a range of dynamic and compelling female characters for players to engage with.

Borderlands is an action-adventure looter shooter that takes part in an interesting sci-fi world that is home to the main setting of Pandora. It has been known for its great humor as well as its fascinating and in-depth characters that players have gotten to bond with across a variety of titles from the original Borderlands franchise to Tales From The Borderlands.

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Every Borderlands Game, Ranked

The Borderlands franchise has tons of incredible games for players to explore, but some entries are more entertaining than others.

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This first-person shooter doesn't just give attention to the male characters of the franchise, as many of the women players have been able to play as or meet are just as intriguing. When it comes to those who have been frequent additions to the series especially, it would be awful to not discuss them further in a ranking of who the best female characters are in Borderlands.

Updated April 25, 2024, by Mara Cowley: Borderlands has no shortage of varied characters, from stoic and stalwart to zany and spontaneous, with plenty of female characters both fitting into the categories and standing out due to uniqueness. These strong, interesting, and individualistic women have become favorites for many, resulting in welcome surprises for when many return to reprise the role in a later game. Prior to this article's update, many excellent female characters from the Borderlands series were already featured, but there are plenty more that also deserve to be recognized. As such, this article has been updated to include more of the best female Borderlands characters that have become beloved parts of the franchise.

13 Moze

The Battle-Hardened Gunner Who Hides A Tragic History

Borderlands 3, Moze and Iron Bear
Borderlands 3
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First-Person Shooter
Action
RPG
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Released
September 13, 2019
Developer(s)
Gearbox Software
Genre(s)
First-Person Shooter, Action, RPG

Borderlands 3 brought back previously playable characters in NPC roles with a brand-new squad of playable characters introduced, one of them being Moze. Moze is the gunner in this game, coming equipped with a penchant for filling enemies with lead and having a mech called Iron Bear that she can summon as part of her kit, with most of her abilities revolving around it.

The mech means a lot to Moze, as it was an instrumental part of her past when she was part of the army. Moze may seem like a no-nonsense grizzled veteran, but this is just a way of her coping with the guilt, manipulation, and loss she suffered when working for the army and her subsequent departure from the corp. All of her squad perished when Moze walked, saddling her with an enormous amount of guilt. No one could blame her for putting up those walls.

12 Janey Springs

A Heart Of Pure Gold

Intro screen for Janey Srpings from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
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Developer(s)
Gearbox Software
Platform(s)
PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, PC
Genre(s)
FPS

Introduced first in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, this bright and cheerful moon walker with an Australian accent helps the player get on their low-gravity feet for the first time when they finally land on the moon called Elpis.

As her introduction screen suggests, Janey has a heart of gold, which is the reason she decides to help the player in the first place, as well as write her own children's books, though she does need the aid of the player to help her get back her key to unlock the Moon Zoomy stations.

11 Athena

A Powerful Assassin With A Sad Origin

intro screen for Athena in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Borderlands
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Action RPG
FPS
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Discover the co-op shooter-looter that started it all, crammed with content and enhancements! Equip bazillions of guns as one of four trigger-happy mercenaries, each with unique RPG skills. Take on the lawless desolate planet Pandora in pursuit of powerful alien technology: The Vault. With new weapons, visual upgrades, all 4 add-on packs and more, enjoy the highly acclaimed FPS/RPG solo or in 4-player split screen co-op!

Bazillions of Guns: Rocket-launching shotguns, enemy-torching revolvers, SMGs that fire lightning rounds, and tons more.

Radical Art Style: Traditional rendering techniques combined with hand-drawn textures give Borderlands its iconic style.

Intense Vehicular Combat: Behind the wheel, engage in frenetic vehicle-to-vehicle combat.

Co-op Frenzy: Whether online or together on the couch, tear through the opposition as a crew of up to 4.

VISUALLY STUNNING: With improved character models, environments, weapons, and textures, Borderlands paired with a 4K display never looked so good.

NEW WEAPONS: There are already too many to count so we added more.

NEW CHARACTER HEADS: Be as beautiful as mom says you are.

NEW GOLD CHESTS AND KEYS: More loot!

Released
October 20, 2009
Developer(s)
Gearbox Software
Genre(s)
Action RPG, FPS

Fans of the franchise will remember Athena from as far back as the first Borderlands title, in which she debuted as part of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. She later became a playable character in the Pre-Sequel and makes an appearance in Tales From The Borderlands, too.

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Assassin's Creed: Most Iconic Female Characters

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Raised to be an assassin, Athena is very powerful, though she does have a tragic backstory. In the midst of looking for her sister, she was ordered to gun down a town that turned out to have her sister in it. Since then, she vowed to get vengeance and ran to become a Vault Hunter.

10 Ellie

An Independent And Confident Woman

The intro screen for Ellie in Borderlands 3
Borderlands 2
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Shooter
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Released
September 18, 2012
Developer(s)
Gearbox Software
Platform(s)
PC, PS4, PS3, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS Vita, Android, Switch
Genre(s)
Shooter

Although the daughter of Mad Moxxi, Ellie is a proud, independent woman in her own right whom the player first meets during Borderlands 2. Just like her brother Scooter, Ellie has a knack for all things mechanical and enjoys upgrading the vehicles the player relies on to get around Pandora.

Ellie is an idol for body positivity, as she is proud of her plus-size physique and even went as far as to escape her mother who insisted on her slimming down. She continues to provide side quests for the player in Borderlands 3 as well as taking over her brother's duty of Catch-A-Ride.

9 Sasha

A Light-Hearted And Positive Sister

Sasha in Tales from the Borderlands
Tales From The Borderlands
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Released
November 25, 2014
Developer(s)
Telltale Games
Platform(s)
PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, PC, macOS, iOS, Android
Genre(s)
Graphic Adventure

Telltale's foray into the Borderlands universe resulted in the excellent Tales from the Borderlands game, introducing players to characters Rhys, Fiona, and Sasha. Though Sasha is not one of the playable characters, she spends a lot of time with Rhys and Fiona, so players get to know her well, and most enjoy her character.

The-30-Best-Telltale-Games,-Ranked
The Best Telltale Games, Ranked

The best Telltale Games titles provide players with thought-provoking narratives and interactive excellence that few other developers can match.

Sasha is plenty capable of handling herself in a fight and maintains a cheery, laid-back approach to most things in life. She does engage in banter, which makes her likable and strengthens the chemistry between her and other characters, particularly with Rhys, with whom she displays a romantic interest.

8 Amara

Bold, Brash, And Heroic

Amara in Borderlands 3
  • First Appearance: Borderlands 3

Amara smashed her way into the series in Borderlands 3 as the playable Siren. Filling in shoes left by Lilith and Maya, she had her work cut out for her, but she quickly gained the hearts of fans before the game was even released. She was different from the past sirens, as her natural muscular build was incorporated heavily with her powers, which appealed to many fans looking for something new to go with the familiar.

But she is more than just her powers and strength. Amara is an interesting character with massive amounts of charisma and confidence. She can come off as somewhat arrogant, but it is part of her charm, and she has every right to be. She became a local hero at a very young age and is sure to cement her legacy with her hand (or rather hands) thanks to Borderlands 3.

7 Fiona

Fearless And Cunning

The Intro screen for Fiona in Tales From The Borderlands
  • First Appearance: Tales From The Borderlands

As one of the two protagonists in Tales From The Borderlands, Fiona is a highly skilled con artist whom players get to learn more about throughout the episodes of the title. Unlike other characters on the list, a lot of what Fiona becomes is determined by the player, but this doesn't spare them from a few of her common traits.

She's incredibly cunning as well as manipulative due to her adoptive father teaching her from a young age to steal from others. Apart from this, Fiona is also an incredibly fearless character with a witty and sarcastic tone that allows for some hilarious banter between herself and the other protagonist, Rhys.

6 Patricia Tannis

Mysterious And Intelligent, Tannis Hides Depth

The intro screen for Tannis in Borderlands 3
  • First Appearance: Borderlands

Tannis has been a crucial member of the Borderlands series for the three main games of the franchise. She is an incredibly intelligent character who has assisted many of the Vault Hunters' endeavors while having her own interests in the Eridian.

Like many scientist tropes, Tannis may appear a little unapproachable, and some of the things she says just don't make any sense, but that adds to her charm. Players were even happier to find out she was a Siren in Borderlands 3, which finally helped them put the pieces of her story together.

5 Angel

A Character Many Players Can Pity

The intro screen for Angel in Borderlands 2
  • First Appearance: Borderlands

Another Siren with a tragic story, Angel's discovery of her Siren powers at a young age tormented her for the majority of her life. Her own father, Handsome Jack, used her abilities to help him further Hyperion's interests as well as his attempt to take over the planet of Pandora from Atlas.

In Borderlands 2, Angel finally gets her redemption arc as she attempts to help the player stop Jack even though she has betrayed them twice in two different games. Angel was never a bad person; she was being used the entire time, which many players pity her for.

4 Tiny Tina

Humorous And Endearing

The intro screen for Tiny Tina in Borderlands 3
  • First Appearance: Borderlands 2

Meeting her for the first time at the age of thirteen during Borderlands 2, Tiny Tina may be one of the youngest characters in the franchise, but that doesn't stop her from being the greatest expert when it comes to explosives. She is crucial in helping explode the train that is carrying the Vault Key in this game.

Her story continues in Borderlands 3, where she can be seen all grown up. Some things never change, and Tiny Tina remains one of the funniest characters players will meet, maintaining her excitement for explosives, too.