Every member of the Vault Hunter crew in Borderlands 4 offers something different to the table. There are plenty of playstyles to choose from, and while you'll still be doing a lot of looting and shooting regardless of who you pick, your choice of Vault Hunter will greatly affect the flavor of your experience.
If you're not quite sure who to use, this guide briefly touches upon each of the playable characters of Borderlands 4, including notes on how their main abilities work and how you can expect them to play.
Borderlands 4's Rafa Has to Break Generations of Vault Hunter Trauma
Rafa’s kit borrows from some of Borderlands’ weakest Vault Hunters, making his debut a test of whether his particular archetype curse can be broken.
Rafa, the Exo-Soldier
Blades, Bullets, and Overwhelming Firepower
It's best to think of Rafa as every Commando-style character from the previous games combined with Zane's frantic playstyle with the option to use Krieg's in-your-face melee shenanigans. He's got turrets, an expendable cannon, and Arc Knives that can slice and dice through pretty much everything in the game. There are some thematic similarities between Rafa and Harlowe, but gameplay-wise. They are very different.
Rafa's Action Skills and Playstyles
|
Skill |
Description and Playstyle |
|---|---|
|
Peacebreaker Cannons |
Rafa activates twin turrets mounted on his shoulders that automatically shoot at enemies. Peacebreaker Cannons can be a fire-and-forget type of skill that passively helps you deal damage, or they can be turned into specialized weapons meant for dealing with specific targets. |
|
APOPHIS Lance |
The APOPHIS Lance is an off-hand weapon that fires Shock projectiles by default. It can be augmented to fire different projectile types, including a short-ranged taser, a long-ranged laser, and exploding Corrosive globs. |
|
Arc Knives |
Whip out Rafa's arm blades and deal massive melee damage to enemies with every swing. Arc Knives can be augmented to deal Corrosive, Shock, or Incendiary damage, with the latter providing a high risk, high reward playstyle. |
Rafa's signature Trait is Overdrive, which gives him bonus stats whenever an Action Skill is active and for a short duration after they expire. It's a simple but effective skill, and he has plenty of passives that makes Overdrive even stronger.
Recommended Rafa Starter Build
We recommend using either APOPHIS Lance or Peacebreaker Cannons early on. Arc Knives can work, but they're hard to use without the right survivability skills and items, and hitting flying enemies with Arc Knives can be a bit of a pain. The latter two skills don't suffer from these drawbacks, and they are just as satisfying to use.
Amon, the Forgeknight
The Master of Elemental Weaponry
Unlike the typical meatheads from previous games, Amon is more eloquent and a lot more refined. He wields drones that transform into various elemental melee weapons, letting players stab, slash, and punch their way to victory. Amon makes for an excellent tank, but he can be a one-man army just like the other characters too.
Amon Action Skills and Playstyles
|
Skills |
Description and Playstyle |
|---|---|
|
Onslaughter |
Amon charges his Forgefist, giving him constant Shield regen, bonus Incendiary damage, and increased movement speed. While Onslaughter is active, Amon can perform Rocket Punches that launch him towards enemies, making him incredibly mobile. |
|
Scourge |
Amon summons a shield that absorbs all frontal damage until his Vengeance meter is filled. If he takes more damage at that point, he gains Damage Reduction instead. When Amon has Vengeance, he can use his Action Skill again to drain Vengeance and launch Ice Waves that freeze enemies. |
|
Crucible |
Amon creates Forgeaxes that he can throw at enemies. Those hit by these axes become Primed, making them explode when hit by a Forgeskill or when they die. |
Amon's unique Trait is called Forgeskill, which grants him an additional ability based on his equipped Action Skill. Hold the Action Skill button to cast the Forgeskill. Action Skill and Forgeskill cooldowns are independent of each other. Forgeskills include:
- Molten Slam (Onslaughter): Lift a great hammer and slam it onto the ground, dealing Incendiary damage over an area.
- Double-Edge (Crucible): Combine your Forgeaxes and throw them at enemies. It deals Cryo Damage when heading toward enemies, and Incendiary damage when flying back to Amon.
- Firewall (Scourge): Deploy a fire wall that blocks enemy projectiles while empowering friendly ones. Any damage it absorbs is turned into Vengeance.
Recommended Amon Starter Build
The Onslaughter tree is great if you want to play very aggressively, but if you want to take things slow, then the Scourge tree is the better option. The Crucible tree is decent early on, but it shines more later in the game once players get the right Class Mods and passive skills.
Vex, the Siren
Things Are About to Get Spooky
Unlike the previous Borderlands Sirens, Vex focuses on minions and self-empowerment. She can summon either clones of herself or a spectral tiger named Trouble, and if minions aren't quite your thing, Vex can use Incarnate to become a health tank that shoots spicy magic from her fingertips.
|
Skills |
Description and Playstyle |
|---|---|
|
Incarnate |
Vex transforms, dealing AoE damage, regaining health, and gaining the bonus movement speed and the ability to use Eldritch Blast. Dealing damage reduces the cooldown of Eldritch Blast, giving her a big DPS boost while Incarnate is active. |
|
Phase Phamiliar |
Trouble joins Vex as an ally on the field. Pressing the Action Skill button teleports Trouble to Vex's target while transforming them into a badass with increased health and damage. |
|
Dead Ringer |
Vex can summon either ranged Specter or melee Reaper clones of herself. Specters act like turrets, while Reapers chase enemies down. Clones lose an increasing percentage of health per second, and they deal damage based on Vex's attunement. |
Vex's unique trait is Phase Covenant, which converts the damage type of her Action Skill and melee attack to whatever element her gun is using.
Recommended Vex Starter Build
Either of Vex's minion builds are super strong during the campaign, and her Fourth Seal tree with the Reapers and Specters are especially powerful for crowd control. Vex's Incarnate skill isn't bad by any means, but players are likely to get more value out of her minion builds than this one early in the game.
Harlowe, the Gravitar
Low Gravity, Maximum Mayhem
Harlowe is the crowd-control specialist of the group, and she's all about suspending enemies and making things explode. Fans of Maya from Borderlands 2 will feel right at home when using Harlowe, but if you're looking for a character who can blow big groups of enemies up, she'll be more than enough to suit your needs.
|
Skills |
Description and Playstyles |
|---|---|
|
CHROMA Accelerator |
Harlowe fires a large projectile that deals Cryo damage to enemies it passes through. Triggering her Action Skill again while the projectile is mid-air causes it to explode, dealing heavy Radiation damage over a large area. The second half of this skill can cause chain reactions thanks to Radiation, making it excellent for fights with plenty of fodder. |
|
Flux Generator |
Throw an energy field that deals Cryo damage over time while Entangling enemies caught inside. Allies inside the field also gain Overshields. This ability is great for a support-focused playstyle, though it doesn't completely disregard Harlowe's penchant for AoE damage. |
|
Zero-Point |
Harlowe lifts enemies and places them in Stasis for a duration, rendering them harmless. Triggering the Action Skill again while enemies are suspended slams them down, causing a small explosion on their points of impact. |
Harlowe's unique trait is called Entanglement. Enemies hit with her Action Skills become Entangled. All Entangled enemies share a portion of Gun and Skill Damage taken by other Entangled enemies.
Recommended Harlowe Starter Build
Harlowe's CHROMA Accelerator skill is strong and satisfying to use. Just shoot it at a Badass or a clump of enemies, and watch the fireworks. Her other Action Skill trees are also quite good, but CHROMA Accelerator takes the cake for being the most fun, especially when you pair it with a Radiation-heavy build.
Which Vault Hunter Should You Pick?
It's best to pick whichever character appeals to you the most. Every one of the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters have specific fantasies, and players should pick whoever has the fantasy that they think is the coolest.
However, if you're new to the Borderlands series and you want to play as someone who is easy to use, then we recommend either Rafa or Vex. Both are much simpler to use than Amon and Harlowe, and they can become ludicrously powerful even with a basic build. They make the game enjoyable without making things complicated, and they're just as fun to use as the others too.
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - all platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 3, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
