With Borderlands 4 officially slated for release on September 12, 2025, excitement is building around the newest additions to the Vault Hunter lineup. Unlike previous installments, Borderlands 4 introduces four completely original characters with never-before-seen abilities and skill mechanics. Set on the mysterious world of Kairos, these Vault Hunters bring fresh gameplay perspectives that mix kinetic chaos, tech-heavy warfare, and elemental devastation.

As Gearbox continues to evolve the series’ RPG-shooter mechanics, players can look forward to a more dynamic experience that includes movement options like grappling, double-jumps, gliding, and even underwater traversal. But what truly makes Borderlands 4 shine are the Vault Hunters themselves. Let’s dive into everything we know so far about each character, their combat focus, and their distinct personalities.

Part 1: Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters Characters List

Part 2: How to Elevate Your Gaming Experience in Borderlands 4?

Part 3: Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters FAQs

Part 1: Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters Characters List

Amon: The Forgeknight

Amon carries the mantle of a warrior-poet and is the last survivor of a cult that once revered Vault monsters. Now, he seeks their destruction, wielding a potent mix of melee brutality and elemental power. His visual design, towering, armored, and wielding twin axes or a massive hammer, immediately sets him apart as Borderlands 4’s melee juggernaut.

Combat Style:

Amon is built for frontline chaos. With the ability to block incoming damage using a shield and unleash devastating elemental strikes, he seems ideal for players who want to charge into battle. His kit is expected to scale well with melee buffs, close-range weapons, and health regeneration gear.

Movement & Utility:

Given Borderlands 4’s emphasis on expanded mobility, double jumps, dashes, grapples. It’s likely Amon's builds will focus on closing distance fast and staying in the thick of it.

Skill Trees & Augments:

While Gearbox hasn’t fully revealed Amon’s skill trees, we do know each Vault Hunter has three unique trees. Each tree contains its own Action Skill, multiple augments, and capstones. Amon’s toolkit probably revolves around weapon enhancements, damage resistance, and crowd control.

Harlowe: The Gravitar

Harlowe steps into the fight with scientific precision and a mastery over gravitational anomalies. A former Maliwan combat scientist, she mixes battlefield control with a touch of unpredictability. She’s seen wielding gadgets that create bubble traps, immobilizing foes in midair.

Combat Style:

Harlowe leans toward a control/support role. Her gravitational bubbles seem similar to Maya’s Phaselock, but there are clear differences, perhaps longer duration or broader area denial. Her gadget-based kit may allow her to place traps, suppress enemies, or disrupt entire zones of the battlefield.

Elemental Affinity:

Coming from Maliwan, Harlowe likely taps into elemental damage, probably across multiple elements, and amplifies it with smart traps or delayed detonations.

Potential Builds:

Expect skill trees that enable gravity manipulation, crowd control enhancements, and elemental chain reactions. She may not deal the most raw damage, but her tactical strength could shape fights around terrain and enemy positioning.

Rafa: The Exo-Soldier

Rafa introduces tech-powered carnage through his Deadframe exo-suit, a body augmentation born from necessity. Having grown up in microgravity, Rafa underwent surgery to interface directly with Tediore’s experimental combat suit, exchanging his freedom for mobility and firepower.

Combat Style:

He’s the "soldier class" of Borderlands 4, but modernized. Rafa channels raw power through digitized weapons, Arc Knives, and powerful energy pistols. His gameplay is fast-paced and tech-heavy, favoring constant weapon switching and mid-range engagements.

Vault Hunter Trait - Overdrive:

Whenever Rafa activates an Action Skill, he enters Overdrive, enhancing both movement speed and overall damage. This mechanic encourages aggressive rotations between skills and weapons, rewarding momentum and action economy.

Skill Trees:

Expect options to specialize in high mobility, burst DPS, or sustained AoE output. Rafa’s trees likely include summons (digi-structed guns), melee-focused powers (like Arc Knives), and damage-enhancing passives. Given the increased depth of BL4 skill trees, build diversity is expected to be significant.

Vex: The Siren

The Siren tradition continues with Vex, who blends elemental mayhem with mystical might. She represents a darker turn for Sirens, cynical, gritty, and willing to bend the rules of reality to help the oppressed. With a distinct connection to phase energy and a giant spectral feline companion, she brings mysticism and raw power into battle.

Vault Hunter Trait — Phase Covenant:

Vex’s Phase Covenant ties her Action Skill and melee damage to the element of her equipped weapon. This not only creates consistent elemental synergy but offers immense flexibility for min-maxers seeking optimized builds.

Action Skills: 

• Incarnate: Triggers a phase explosion that heals Vex and lets her use Eldritch Blast, a powerful projectile attack. Bonus: gunfire reduces the Eldritch cooldown during Incarnate, encouraging hybrid play.
• Phase Phamiliar: Summons her companion “Trouble,” a giant cat-like entity. Trouble can tank, deal AoE damage, and transform into a "Badass" version mid-combat.
• Spectral Scythe (Unnamed): Summons a phase ghost clone wielding a scythe, slicing through enemies. This adds a summoner element to her Siren identity.

Build Potential:

Vex offers the most versatility. Whether you want a pet-based build, a caster-style spell-slinger, or a gun-synergy setup, she delivers. Her skill trees are likely to be favorites among solo players and theorycrafters alike.

Related Article: Is Borderlands 4 on Game Pass?

Part 2: How to Elevate Your Gaming Experience in Borderlands 4?

While Borderlands 4 offers deep character customization and skill expression, maximizing your experience requires more than just raw talent. Lag, high ping, and stuttering frame rates can all break immersion in a fast-paced looter-shooter. That’s where LagoFast comes in.

LagoFast is a specialized game booster and ping reducer designed specifically for online multiplayer titles like Borderlands 4. Whether you're raiding a Vault with friends or grinding for loot solo, LagoFast ensures smooth, lag-free sessions.

Key LagoFast Features:

• Real-time Ping Optimization: Automatically routes your connection through the fastest path
• FPS Boosting: Clears background processes and prioritizes system resources for gaming
• Server Selection Tool: Lets you manually pick the lowest-latency server
• Easy UI: One-click acceleration and no complex setup
• Cross-region Play Support: Helps maintain stable performance even on foreign servers

By integrating LagoFast into your play sessions, you eliminate tech bottlenecks and ensure your Vault Hunter operates at peak performance.

Tutorial to use LagoFast to Elevate Your Gaming Experience in Borderlands 4 on PC:

Step 1: Click the Free Trial button to download and install LagoFast. 

Free Trial

Step 2: Open LagoFast, then click the PC button on the left and search Borderlands 4 in the search bar, and click it after it appears.

Step 3: Click on “Server” to change to a better server that ensures the best gaming experience and fixes lag, then click on “Smart Boost”.

Step 4: Check the specific game ping, packet loss, and multiple path connections on the right side. Finally, click the “Start Game” to play the game.

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Part 3: Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters FAQs

Who Are the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters?

The playable Vault Hunters at launch are:

• Amon (Forgeknight)
• Harlowe (Gravitar)
• Rafa (Exo-Soldier)
• Vex (Siren)

Each brings distinct abilities, lore, and combat strategies to the battlefield.

How Many Vault Hunters Are in Borderlands 4?

There are four at launch, with two more teased as post-release DLC characters.

Can You Change Vault Hunters Mid-Game?

As with previous titles, once you choose a Vault Hunter at the beginning, you stick with them. However, you can create multiple characters to experience each one’s full skill tree.

What’s New in the Skill Trees?

Gearbox confirmed that Borderlands 4 will feature the largest and most versatile skill trees in the series. Each character gets three trees with 5 augment slots and 3 capstone abilities per tree. That’s 387 skill points total, the deepest RPG customization yet.

Can I Respec My Vault Hunter?

Yes, full skill tree respecs can be done at designated HUBs on Kairos. You can also swap out Action Skills and Augments freely.

Related Article: Borderlands 4 Stuck on Loading Screen Fix 

Conclusion

Borderlands 4 introduces a bold new chapter with four original Vault Hunters, Amon, Harlowe, Rafa, and Vex, each offering unique abilities, deep skill trees, and dynamic playstyles that elevate the looter-shooter formula. With expanded movement mechanics, customizable builds, and post-launch character DLCs on the horizon, the game promises unmatched variety and replayability. Whether you're drawn to brute force, crowd control, high-tech combat, or elemental chaos, there’s a Vault Hunter for every type of player. And to truly maximize your experience, tools like LagoFast ensure smoother gameplay by reducing lag and boosting performance, giving you the edge needed to conquer Kairos and beyond.