Meet the Badass Vault Hunters of Borderlands 4: Your Guide to the Galaxy’s Wildest Crew

Get ready to dive into the chaotic, loot-filled universe of Borderlands 4, where the Vault Hunters are the heart and soul of the action!
Set to blast onto PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S on September 12, 2025, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 3, 2025, this looter-shooter extravaganza introduces four brand-new playable Vault Hunters, each with their own unique flair, skills and penchant for causing mayhem on the new planet of Kairos.

If you’re itching to know who’s leading the charge against the tyrannical Timekeeper, buckle up, this guide will break down the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters with all the wit and chaos you’d expect from the franchise. Let’s meet the crew that’s ready to shoot, loot and maybe accidentally blow themselves up!

Why Vault Hunters Are the Beating Heart of Borderlands 4

Before we jump into the character breakdowns, let’s talk about why Vault Hunters are the MVPs of the Borderlands series.
These badass mercenaries are the playable protagonists, each wielding unique abilities, snarky personalities, and enough firepower to make a small planet cry.
In Borderlands 4, Gearbox Software has crafted four fresh faces to explore Kairos, a planet teeming with warring factions, deadly fauna and a cybernetic dictator named the Timekeeper.
With billions of guns, new movement mechanics like gliding and grappling and the most advanced skill tree system yet, these Vault Hunters are built to wreak havoc in style.
So, who are they? Let’s dive into the chaos!

1. Vex the Siren: The Elemental Queen with a Ghostly Sidekick

First up is Vex, the Siren who’s basically the lovechild of a cosmic witch and a cat lady with a penchant for explosions.
Vex channels supernatural Phase Energy to summon ghostly minions, like her spectral feline familiar, Trouble, who’s ready to claw the face off any enemy dumb enough to get close.
Her passive ability, Phase Covenant, ties her Action Skill and melee damage to the elemental type of her equipped weapon, think fire, shock or cryo chaos that switches on the fly.
Want to burn, freeze, or electrocute your foes? Vex has you covered.

• Key Abilities:
  • Incarnate: Triggers a Phase Explosion, restores health, and lets Vex fire Eldritch Blasts for extra damage.
  • Phase Phamiliar: Summons Trouble to maul enemies, with augments like Blink Strike for critical hits or Violent Outburst for explosive minion mayhem.
  • Skill Trees: Focus on movement speed, damage reduction and elemental auras for maximum carnage.

Vex’s minion Trouble is like that one cat who knocks your loot off the table just because it can. “Oh, you wanted that Legendary gun? Yoink!”
Vex is perfect for players who want to feel like a magical badass while their pet does half the work.

2. Rafa the Exo-Soldier: The Runaway With a High-Tech Arsenal

Next, we’ve got Rafa, the Exo-Soldier who’s basically a walking Tediore commercial gone rogue.
Born in a microgravity environment, Rafa’s skeleton can’t handle normal gravity, so he rocks an experimental exo-suit that lets him explore the galaxy and dodge Tediore’s hit squad hunting him down.
His kit screams versatility, with auto-turrets and Arc Knives that slice through enemies like a hot knife through butter.
Think of Rafa as the guy who shows up to a gunfight with a Swiss Army knife that’s also a rocket launcher.

• Key Abilities:
  • Arc Knives: A devastating melee attack powered by his exo-suit, perfect for close-quarters chaos.
  • Auto-turrets and digistructed weapons make him a one-man army.
  • Skill Trees: Likely emphasize balanced playstyles, with three branching paths for customizable builds.

Rafa’s exo-suit is so over-the-top, it’s like he’s cosplaying as a sci-fi action figure who forgot he’s still on the run from his old bosses.
“Sorry, Tediore, I borrowed your suit, permanently!”
Rafa’s your pick if you love Soldier style classes with a side of high-tech swagger and you’ve rocked his spiritual predecessors Roland and Axton .

3. Amon the Forgeknight: The Vault Monster Slayer with a Grudge

Amon the Forgeknight is the guy you call when you need to punch a Vault Monster in the face… hard.
Born into a cult that worshipped a Vault Monster (bad career choice), Amon survived its betrayal and now dedicates his life to smashing anything with too many tentacles.
Wielding massive melee weapons like axes, Amon’s all about getting up close and personal, sprinting through the battlefield to deliver bone-crunching blows.
His kit is built for players who think “tanking” means “punch everything until it stops moving.”

• Key Abilities:
  • Close-quarters combat focus, with melee-heavy attacks that hit like a freight train.
  • Likely includes crowd-control or high-damage Action Skills (details still under wraps).
  • Skill Trees: Three paths for customizing his brawler playstyle.

Amon’s basically the guy who walks into a bar, orders a Vault Monster smoothie and then smashes the blender for fun.
If you’ve ever wanted to play as a Viking inspired berserker with a chip on his shoulder, Amon’s your dude.

4. Harlowe the Gravitar: The Brainy Badass with a Cryo Fetish

Last but not least, meet Harlowe the Gravitar, the scientist who ditched Maliwan’s corporate lab to become a battlefield genius.
Harlowe’s all about crowd control and area-of-effect destruction, using Cryo and Radiation damage to freeze and nuke her enemies.
Her Entanglement trait makes enemies share damage, turning groups of baddies into a domino effect of pain.
With abilities like trapping foes in zero-gravity bubbles or dropping a Flux Generator for ally buffs, Harlowe’s the ultimate support DPS hybrid.

• Key Abilities:
  • CHROMA Accelerator: Shoots an Unstable Energy Pocket for Cryo damage, detonating for Radiation explosions.
  • Zero-Point: Traps enemies in a Stasis bubble, turning them into easy targets or living bombs.
  • Flux Generator: Freezes enemies and buffs allies with Overshield in an Energy Field.
  • Skill Trees: Focus on Cryo/Radiation damage, shielding and crowd control.

Harlowe’s so smart, she probably invented a gun that shoots math at enemies.
“Solve for X? Nah, solve for EXPLOSIONS!”
If you love outsmarting foes with techy traps and icy chaos, Harlowe’s your gal.

Post-Launch Vault Hunters: More Chaos to Come

Gearbox isn’t stopping at four Vault Hunters. According to the post-launch roadmap, Borderlands 4 will introduce two additional Vault Hunters via DLC, included in the $130 Super Deluxe Edition or available separately.
These new characters will come with new stories, map regions and, of course, more loot.
Unlike Borderlands 3, which launched with all four Vault Hunters and no extra characters, Borderlands 4 is returning to the series’ tradition of paid DLC Vault Hunters.
So, save some cash for those future badasses, you know they’ll be worth it.

Why These Vault Hunters Are Perfect for Kairos

Set on the new planet of Kairos, where the Timekeeper rules with cybernetic Bolts and an army of synthetic soldiers, these Vault Hunters are built to spark a revolution.
Each brings a unique playstyle to tackle the planet’s dynamic biomes, world bosses, and new activities like hijacking Silos for the Crimson Resistance.
With enhanced movement (gliding, grappling, double-jumping), billions of guns from eight manufacturers (including newbies Order, Ripper, and Daedalus) and a reworked loot system that makes Legendary drops feel special again, these Vault Hunters are ready to make Kairos their playground.
Plus, with full crossplay, instanced loot and dynamic difficulty scaling, co-op has never been smoother.

Which Vault Hunter Will You Pick?

Whether you’re summoning ghostly cats with Vex, slicing through enemies with Rafa’s Arc Knives, smashing Vault Monsters with Amon, or freezing foes with Harlowe’s techy traps, Borderlands 4 offers a Vault Hunter for every playstyle.
Want to be a magical menace? Vex is your vibe.
Prefer a balanced brawler? Rafa’s got you.
Love melee mayhem? Amon’s your guy.
Crave crowd-control chaos? Harlowe’s the one.
With the game’s release just around the corner on September 12, 2025 (and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 3, 2025), now’s the time to start theorycrafting your build and planning your loot grind.

Pro Tip: Can’t decide? Play all four in co-op with your buddies, because nothing says “friendship” like 4 badasses beating up baddies.

Get Ready to Loot and Shoot

Borderlands 4’s Vault Hunters are a wild, diverse bunch, ready to take on Kairos with guns blazing and quips flying.
With their unique abilities, deep skill trees, and enough personality to fill a Vault, Vex, Rafa, Amon and Harlowe are set to make this the most ambitious Borderlands yet.
So, grab your Digirunner vehicle, summon your ECHO-4 robot buddy and prepare to wreak havoc against the Timekeeper.
Which Vault Hunter are you hyped to play as?
Drop your pick in the comments and let’s start a riot on Kairos together!

Stay tuned for more Borderlands 4 news and pre-order now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or PC to join the chaos on launch day (September 12, 2025), or on Nintendo Switch 2 for its October 3, 2025 release!

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Picture Souce: Bordelands 4