Ever wonder which of the fierce Borderlands 4 characters you’ll choose to kick off your adventure? With four incredibly diverse Vault Hunters available, it’s crucial to select the perfect Borderlands 4 class that aligns with your preferred abilities, powerful synergies, and unique combat style. Your journey through the Borderlands starts with this critical decision!
While Borderlands 4 shines as a cooperative experience, bringing friends together for explosive synergistic combos, it’s also perfectly enjoyable as a solo venture. Even without diving deep into specific codes for advanced builds, understanding each Vault Hunter’s unique offerings is key to finding the perfect match for your mission, whether you’re a lone wolf or part of a formidable team.
Meet the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters
- Vex
- Rafa
- Harlowe
- Amon
Vex – The Siren of Shadows
Vex steps onto the scene as Borderlands 4’s enigmatic Siren, embodying a fascinating blend of raw power and ethereal support. Unlike her predecessors, Amara’s brawling might or Maya’s restorative touch, Vex offers a unique “spooky” twist. She can supercharge her abilities and unleash devastating phaseblasts. Her signature move, however, lies in her ability to summon familiars like Trouble, a loyal saber-tooth tiger whose elemental attacks mirror Vex’s currently equipped weapon.
With ghostly Siren abilities, Vex can manifest vampire wings for enhanced mobility and conjure reapers and specters to aid her in battle. Her versatile kit allows for diverse playstyles, from buffing her summons to unleashing direct, potent attacks.
For players who prefer a less direct, more strategic approach, Vex excels. Her Dead Ringer and Phase Phamiliar action skills let her summon minions to distract and damage foes, leaving her free to unleash elemental chaos with her firearms. These action skills can be further customized with augments, granting direct control over your spectral allies or empowering them for greater support. Alternatively, if you favor a more hands-on combat style, her Incarnate action skill allows for a direct offensive without summoning.
Augments like Energy Vampire and Iron Maiden bolster her defenses by restoring shields, making her surprisingly durable. For those seeking pure offensive power, Geistwave, Witchy Trigger Finger, and Grave Harvest dramatically amp up her damage output. This comprehensive skillset makes Vex an ideal choice for newer players, as her summon abilities provide excellent aggro management and crowd control.
Rafa – The Agile Exo-Soldier
Rafa, a former Tediore soldier, commands an experimental exo-suit capable of conjuring an impressive arsenal on demand. We’ve witnessed him skillfully dual-wielding sleek knives, deploying powerful laser guns, and unleashing shoulder-mounted cannons. His advanced gear makes him a formidable force on the battlefield.
However, Rafa is not for the faint of heart. He’s a challenging character to master, with action skills such as Arc-Knives and Peacebreaker Cannons demanding precise timing and intricate execution to achieve maximum impact. Arc-Knife augments like Altered Cabron and Dead Man Walking reward aggressive play, requiring Rafa to chain kills to maintain their benefits and adapt quickly to combat situations. Similarly, Peacebreaker augments involve extensive micromanagement to fully leverage their intricate effects.
As an incredibly agile Vault Hunter, Rafa is the perfect choice for players who thrive on rogue or assassin-style gameplay. He offers a steep learning curve but promises an exceptionally rewarding experience for those who embrace the challenge and master his complex, high-impact skillset.
Harlowe – The Master of Gravity
Harlowe, a distinguished combat scientist from the notorious Traunt family, defies her lineage by embracing the life of a Vault Hunter. Armed with five impressive PhDs, she channels her extensive knowledge into crafting cutting-edge tech and gadgets for unparalleled battlefield manipulation. Despite her formidable scientific prowess, she possesses a remarkably sunny disposition.
Harlowe manipulates gravity itself, wielding it against her adversaries by imploding, exploding, and disorienting them with playful ease. Her abilities offer a thrilling experience for those who enjoy physics-defying combat.
As the undisputed crowd-control specialist, Harlowe can unleash immense elemental damage pockets or render enemies utterly helpless with action skills such as Zero-Point and Flux Generator. Zero-Point augments like Strange Attractor and Wildcast Destabilization allow her to strategically transfer damage from single targets to entire groups, while Flux Generator augments enable exciting experimentation with a variety of status effects.
Harlowe is an ideal choice for players who revel in skill experimentation and discovering powerful, synergistic combinations. Her prowess in dealing Area-of-Effect (AoE) damage is unmatched, with her Chroma Accelerator and Unstable Energy Pocket impacting multiple enemies simultaneously, making her a formidable force on the battlefield.
Amon – The Vengeful Forgeknight
Amon’s tragic past, marked by a Vault-monster cult that led to the demise of his loved ones, forged him into a relentless killing machine. Driven by a thirst for vengeance, he dedicates himself to tracking down and eradicating monsters across the Borderlands.
Equipped with advanced forge drones integrated into his spine and arms, Amon can instantly manifest a vast array of devastating weapons, including swords, axes, hammers, shields, spears, and whips, adapting to any combat scenario.
As the game’s premier tank, Amon is your go-to Vault Hunter if you seek to shield your teammates while simultaneously unleashing immense damage. His versatility is remarkable, allowing him to pivot between staunch defensive strategies with his Scourge action skill and aggressive offensive assaults with Onslaughter. Onslaughter itself offers a balanced mix, with augments like Pyroclast restoring health and shields, and Thermal Diffusion amplifying his Rocket Punch to new heights.
Within the Scourge skill tree, augments like Cryonic Thrum enable him to divert enemy aggro and provide crucial healing to allies, making him a true team protector. For players who prefer an offensive edge, augments like Eternal Winter and Stormlance enhance his damage capabilities. For raw, explosive power, Crucible is the path to choose; Endless War significantly boosts his gun damage, while Searing Cold imbues his frost and flame axes with additional potent properties.
Amon is perfectly suited for players who crave dynamic flexibility in their team roles. He masterfully transitions from an impenetrable guardian when battles intensify to a formidable DPS dealer ready to decimate even the toughest bosses.
Choosing Your Ultimate Borderlands 4 Class
After careful consideration, Vex emerges as the top Borderlands 4 class, owing to her exceptional versatility that caters equally well to both solo adventurers and coordinated teams. Her ability to adapt to various combat situations makes her an excellent choice for any player.
However, the beauty of Borderlands 4 lies in its diverse roster; there truly isn’t a wrong choice. If you’re drawn to lightning-fast agility and unparalleled movement, Rafa, despite being a bit squishier, offers an exhilarating experience. For those who love to tinker with innovative tech and deploy unique gadgets, Harlowe’s gravitational powers are incredibly satisfying. And if the thought of a “sci-fi Viking” — a massive, weapon-wielding powerhouse — appeals to you, Amon is ready to charge into battle. Ultimately, the best class is the one that best complements your personal playstyle.
Now that you’re fully up to speed on all the Borderlands 4 characters and their unique classes, you’re ready to make an informed decision and dive into the action! Have fun exploring the chaotic universe and discovering which Vault Hunter truly embodies your inner warrior.
(Additional contributions by George Yang.)