Summary
Borderlandswas like theDiabloof shooters, giving players access to four Vault Hunters, each with their own distinct personalities and play styles. This rollout would continue with each new game, including spinoffs, which made sense given that thegames supported four-player co-op.
The only game to upset this balance greatly wasBorderlands 2, which added more characters with DLC. That game aside, co-op will return inBorderlands 4along with four new Vault Hunters. It has been six years since the last mainline game, asBorderlands 3launched in 2019. So, what can fans expect out of these four new Vault Hunters? All of this news comes out of the recentPAX PanelandState of Play, which will be based on developer input and footage.
6Vex
The Dark Siren
EveryBorderlandsgame has a Sirenin it, and Vex is the stand-in forBorderlands 4,and she was the main draw of the State of Play. She’s a new type called a Dark Siren who can use Phase energy to create things out of thin air, and she’s the youngest member of the team who has just developed her powers. In the footage shown so far, she can be seen with Phase-based wings, a tiger-like creature named Trouble, and reaper-like ghouls who hang around her.
These are part of three distinct skill trees for Vex revolving around things called Action Skills. All Vault Hunters now get a thing called Vault Hunter Traits, too, and no matter what Action Skill players have equipped, that Vault Hunter Trait will remain active. Vex’s will attune her Action Skills to the element of her gun, so if she is using an ice-based weapon, Trouble will attack with a frigid fury.
5Rafa
The Exo-Soldier
Rafa is the other character who is highlighted a bit more in the State of Play as the co-op partner. Rafa is an ex-soldier for theTediore gun companywho left with their specially designed exo-suit made just for him. Rafa grew up in microgravity, leaving his body beaten down, but this exo-suit makes sure his bones don’t explode into dust.
It’s a somewhat common archetype for a game character to have someone rely on a suit or piece of machinery to keep themselves alive, like Dingo fromZone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. The exo-suit gives Rafa the ability to create weapons, and the big focus of the footage shown so far has revealed his Ark Knives, which are twin blades that protrude out of his body. When players activate this Action Skill, the perspective will switch to the third-person perspective, which isn’t a first for the series but is still cool.
4Harlowe
The Gravitar
Harlowe is the otherfemale Vault Hunterof the group, and she used to work for Maliwan as a scientist. She took what she learned from the company and decided to focus on building gadgets that could help her control gravity. She can grab enemies and bring them toward the ground, creating massive craters in the process.
Beyond the familiar Maliwan gun company, Harlowe has ties to a character fromBorderlands 3. She is part of the Traunt family, and players faced General Traunt as a boss inBorderlands 3. How this will play into the narrative of Borderlands 4 is anyone’s guess, but it might be safe to say Harlowe doesn’t want to have anything to do with her family anymore.
3Amon
Forge Knight
Amon is the final Vault Hunter, and he has a big, beefy body to bring enemies to his knees. He also has one of the most tragic backstories in the game, as he belonged toa cult religionthat worshipped creatures from the Vaults. This led to his entire family and tribe getting murdered, so Amon swore vengeance on these beasts and decided to take them all down instead.
No longer caring for his body, Amon is infusing it with technology to make him stronger and faster, with a vast array of weapons at his disposal. He can conjure weapons from his body like two giant axes to cut enemies in two. It’s not all about offense, though, as Amon can be seen activating a big shield too.
2Their Tools
Every Vault Hunter Is Prepared
All of the Vault Hunters have special traits that make them unique, which is the goal for creating new dynamic classes in an RPG. However, there are a number of tools, gadgets, and abilities that these Vault Hunters can use collectively. For example, they will be accompanied by a little robot named Echo-4, who can create waypoints to show players where to go, conveniently similar to the navigation system inDead Space.
Each character can glide, dash, double jump, and climb while exploring or in combat. They can conjure a machine called a Digirunner to transport them around, which looks a bit like aGhost from theHaloseries. They can equip four weapons at once to switch on the fly, but they also get a fifth weapon that runs on a cooldown instead of ammo, called an Ordnance. Ordnances can range from grenades to rocket launchers, which is a big change-up for the series.
1The Mission
Find Lilith
These four Vault Hunters all want to find Vaults to enrich their lives with treasure and lots of guns. There is an overarching narrative for them all, too, because they get roped into the Crimson Resistance. They are trying to help theCrimson Raiders locate Lilith, who has gone missing after the end ofBorderlands 3.
Zane, Amara, and Mad Moxxi have all been shown in footage so far as part of this group looking for Lilith. There’s also The Order, a faction that belongs to the planet of Kairos and obeys the planet’s ruler, The Timekeeper. How these plots all intertwine has yet to be revealed.
