Borderlands 4 Characters

Gearbox Software confirmed that Borderlands 4 will contain 4 brand-new playable Vault Hunters.

Borderlands 4 Character Design Intent

Gearbox developers shared insights about the playable characters during the Gearbox Main Theater Show at Pax 2024. Their goal is to create 4 new playable heroes that offer new (gameplay) experiences. The example the Creative Director, Graeme Timmins, gave was that they might want to create another Soldier Class but instead of leveling up the class in a linear progression, like they did going from Rolands (BL1) to Axton (BL2), they want to add a new twist to that class like with Moze (BL3) as the turret first became a Giant Mech.

Borderlands 4 Creative Director, Graeme Timmins, also spoke about providing a variety of abilities within each playable class. He used Amara (BL3) as an example here as she has these “fire & forget” abilities but with the Designer’s Cut DLC they gave Amara a “management” ability. They want to do this with the Borderlands 4 characters as well, where you have these different types of skills that offer various experiences and play styles.

A First Look at the Borderlands 4 Classes

The Borderlands 4 reveal trailer at the Game Awards showcased all the playable Vault Hunters for the first time, however, their names and official character classes haven’t been revealed therefore the following categorization has been based on community perception.

The Assassin?

The first Vault Hunter on the left wears a mechanical exoskeleton. He is shown to wield two energy blades while performing a jumping spin attack. A holographic display is seen in front of his face during this move.

GBX experimented with a free-form combat system for Amara in BL3, allowing you to chain multiple melee/dash attacks together. Are they implementing this combo system in BL4?

Launch Date Trailer revealed: Dual Wielding 2 Weapons while looking through a holographic display.

The Siren

The second Vault Hunter from the left is a female Siren with purple tattoos. Initially, some fans speculated that this could be Ava based on some similarities in the face but Gearbox Software stated that this is not the case and we are looking at a brand new Vault Hunter.

Fans also speculated about this being Emily Swan, however, I’m not convinced. Another theory is that she has the ability to control animals, like the Siren from the Borderlands comics but Commendant Steel’s powers from Borderlands 1 and Tyreen’s PhaseLeech from Borderlands 3 have also been going around.

Launch Date Trailer revealed: Summoning a Siren Grim Reaper (PhaseReaper) and Throwing a Death Orbs (Dark Siren Glow VFX at the bottom of the screen suggests this is more than a Fire&Forget skill).

The Brute

The third Vault Hunter is a big guy with a mechanical arm. He looks to be a Berserker class and can be seen wielding a Fire and Cryo axe at the end of the trailer. Community speculation compares the axe throw with Krieg’s buzz axe rampage. The elemental axes are composed of multiple flying drones with elemental energy linking them together.

A mix between Brick (BL1) + Krieg (BL2) + Brr-Zerker (TTWL)

Launch Date Trailer revealed another Skill: Drones enable a Jet Trusted Dash Punch. Flaming VFX at the top and bottom of the screen suggests a lingering Enraged effect.

The mechanical arm can likely be augmented because during some shots in the trailer, the arm has these exhaust pipes, but in other shots, they are missing.

The (Maliwan) Mechanic?

The fourth Vault Hunter, seen all the way on the right of the image above, is only seen firing a rifle, therefore, it’s unknown what type of character class she will fill but she gives off a tinker vibe so fans expect her to have a lot of gadgets.

Fans noticed similarities between BL3 Concept Art and this BL4 character as there are resemblances to a Maliwan Heavy. Having a manufacturer-specific character isn’t new to the franchise.

Launch Date Trailer revealed: Charging a big cannon to fire a nuclear disco ball.

New Character Abilities

• Grappling: Characters can use an energy beam to lash on anchor points and reach new heights. Grapple jumps allow you to hang in the air a bit longer than a normal jump, and you can glide out or slide sideways.
• Bigger Skill Trees: Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters will have the biggest Skill Trees in the franchise to date.
• Digi-Struct Vehicles: You can summon a vehicle at almost any place in the world.
• Double Jump: Characters can now jump mid-air
• Dash: Characters can quickly dash in multiple directions
• Swimming: Characters can now go underwater.
  • Oxygen geyser spotted on Elpis. Will Oz Kits return and also function underwater?

Skill Trees

Borderlands 4 will feature the deepest and most diverse Vault Hunter skill trees of any Borderlands title yet, giving players an unprecedented level of expression through their builds. Paired with the most expansive loot chase yet, players will have all the tools they need to seek out and perfect the build that best matches their style.

Gearbox Software & 2K Games

The Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters will have broad skill trees that also work well while playing co-op because there will always be synergies between the characters no matter which Vault Hunters you pair up.

Vault Hunters appear to have multiple Action Skills again as in Borderlands 3. I have a feeling the abilities are more diverse. In previous Borderlands games, you had the Melee character but BL4 trailers show two characters with melee abilities but also with ranged action skills. Therefore, I think each character will have a Melee, Fire&Forget, and a Companion skill breaking the fixed archetype previous Vault Hunters held.

FAQ

Changelog