Borderlands 4 Character Tier List

Borderlands 4 is here with four playable characters, each called a Vault Hunter. They all have three unique special abilities and skill paths, offering different ways to play. While each Vault Hunter is powerful and enjoyable, we’ve created a tier list to rank them and determine who’s the strongest in Borderlands 4. You’ll find a ranking of each Vault Hunter’s skill trees below, as well as an overall tier list showing how each character performs. See where your favorite ranks and find out our reasoning!

Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Skill Trees Tier List

We ranked each Vault Hunter’s skill trees based on how well they perform in the late game and if they’re a good use of your time and resources. We tested them for how easily they survive, how effective they are against bosses, and how much damage they deal to regular enemies to find the strongest options. Read on to see why we ranked them the way we did!

S Tier Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Skill Trees

Rafa Peacebreaker Cannons (Red Tree)

Peacebreaker Cannons Build

Rafa’s unique abilities let him equip Peacebreaker Cannons – powerful shoulder-mounted weapons that boost his damage output. These cannons are incredibly effective, and with some upgrades, players can potentially defeat enemies and bosses without even firing their primary weapons. With the right setup, the Peacebreaker Cannons can deal massive damage, never run out of power, and quickly eliminate both single targets and large groups of enemies just by activating them.

Vex Incarnate (Green Tree)

Incarnate Build

Vex Incarnate, a skill from the green Vexcalation tree, is incredibly strong. While the Phase Explosion damage might seem weak at first glance, and it requires getting close to enemies, its true power lies in how its skill points interact with the Bloodletter skill. This build relies heavily on applying Bleed, maximizing Lifesteal, and dealing Kinetic Damage, allowing Vex to quickly defeat single targets. Very few Vault Hunters can take down bosses as effectively as a well-built Incarnate Vex, making it a worthwhile investment.

Harlowe CHROMA Accelerator (Red Tree)

CHROMA Accelerator Build

Harlowe’s CHROMA Accelerator is a powerful ability unlocked through her Creative Burst skill tree, and it’s a must-have for any player. It’s incredibly effective, simple to use, recharges quickly, and can defeat bosses with relatively little effort. The CHROMA Accelerator launches an Unstable Energy Pocket that travels through enemies, dealing damage and then exploding with Radiation Damage. Investing further in this skill tree boosts overall damage and fire rate. While it doesn’t significantly improve survivability, Harlowe will eliminate threats so quickly that staying alive isn’t much of a concern.

Vex Dead Ringer (Blue Tree)

Dead Ringer (Reaper) Build

Vex’s Dead Ringer skill tree, unlocked with The Fourth Seal, lets her create an army of disposable clones. She can summon Reapers for close-combat damage, or Specters that focus on gun damage. By combining these, Vex overwhelms enemies with a flurry of attacks. While these clones are fragile, they pack a punch, draw enemy fire away from Vex, and open up diverse playstyles. Combining this skill tree with Vex’s Incarnate tree creates powerful builds where she can defeat enemies with waves of minions even before using her own weapons.

A Tier Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Skill Trees

Harlowe Flux Generator (Green Tree)

Harlowe’s Flux Generator, found within her green skill tree, can become a very strong ability with enough investment. It allows her to throw an Energy Field that both damages and protects – it deals Cryo damage, immobilizes enemies, and provides a protective shield. Players who focus on upgrading Flux Generator can create a powerful build for clearing out groups of enemies, especially when combined with her Group Study Capstone, which boosts her reload speed, fire rate, and gun damage. This Capstone can be used repeatedly to keep her performing at her best. While powerful, maximizing Flux Generator does require significant effort and investment to build up high stacks.

Amon Scourge (Blue Tree)

Scourge Build

As a big Amon fan, I’ve been experimenting with his builds, and the Vengeance skill tree is a blast once you get it going. It unlocks his Scourge ability, but honestly, it takes some serious endgame gear to really shine. While his Forgeshield is good for blocking attacks, and the Forgewave whip is… okay, the real power of this build is all about Cryo and Ordnance damage. If you invest in the right gear, you can crank up his Ordnance damage and freeze enemies solid, all while never running out of rockets! It basically turns Amon into a rocket-spamming machine that can melt bosses. It takes work, but trust me, it’s incredibly satisfying when it all comes together.

B Tier Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Skill Trees

Harlowe Zero-Point (Blue Tree)

Harlowe’s Zero-Point Action Skill, found in her blue skill tree, is enjoyable and works similarly to Maya’s Phaselock. It traps an enemy in a bubble that Harlowe can then slam down, causing explosive damage to nearby enemies. While it’s satisfying to toss enemies around, this skill is best used for quickly defeating weaker enemies. Stronger opponents like Badasses, Viles, and bosses can be damaged by the thrown bubbles, but can’t be trapped in them, making this skill tree less effective for taking down bosses compared to Harlowe’s other options.

Rafa Arc-Knives (Green Tree)

Arc-Knives Build

Rafa’s Arc-Knives are unlocked through his green skill tree, which is this year’s special feature, and they’re incredibly enjoyable to use. However, they aren’t his strongest ability. This skill tree emphasizes close-range attacks, and while you can build a powerful setup, the risky, up-close fighting style doesn’t offer enough protection or damage to make it worth the effort for just a few hits.

Amon Crucible (Green Tree)

Crucible Build

Amon’s Crucible set is unlocked through his green skill tree, focusing on Elemental Effects, Forgeaxes, and Forgedrones. It’s a bit more complicated than other builds because there are two main ways to approach it. You can invest in Forgedrones, creating a swarm of elemental axes that damage enemies, but they remain relatively weak even with skill point investment. The Crucible build truly shines when focused on add control, utilizing Status Effect Damage and Chance from gun damage and thrown axes, resulting in a solid build that requires some effort to get started.

C Tier Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Skill Trees

Amon Onslaughter (Red Tree)

Onslaughter Build

Amon’s red skill tree centers around close-range combat, but isn’t the most effective option. The Onslaughter skill provides constant shield regeneration, increased movement and fire damage, and a Rocket Punch ability. Unfortunately, the Rocket Punch isn’t very powerful and won’t help you quickly defeat bosses. This skill tree mainly improves your ability to survive in areas with many enemies, but it will likely make boss fights much longer compared to other character builds.

Vex Phase Phamiliar (Red Tree)

Phase Phamiliar Build

Vex’s ‘Here Comes Trouble’ skill path centers around her permanent minion, Trouble, a cat that fights alongside her. Trouble has reasonable health and deals good damage, and Vex’s abilities are designed to enhance its power. However, while the idea of having a pet companion is appealing, Trouble’s artificial intelligence can be unreliable and it’s often easily defeated by enemies. It’s difficult to make Vex exceptionally strong using this build, as there isn’t enough connection between Vex and Trouble to make them effective as a team, especially when compared to Vex’s other, more powerful skill options.

Rafa APOPHIS Lance (Blue Tree)

APOPHIS Lance Build

APOPHIS Lance enhances Rafa’s abilities through his ‘People Person’ skill tree. It gives him an Arm Cannon that fires a Piercing Blast dealing Shock damage. While players can use both the Arm Cannon and Rafa’s primary weapon simultaneously, the combination isn’t very effective. The Shock damage is weak, and the lack of accuracy improvements or speed boosts makes Rafa feel exposed – like he’s using a stun gun alongside a firearm. This leaves him vulnerable, as the Arm Cannon’s short range and lack of defensive benefits make it difficult to survive encounters.

Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Tier List

We’ve ranked each Vault Hunter’s Skill Trees to create a tier list, helping us determine which one is currently the most powerful. Although some Vault Hunters perform better statistically than others, they’re all enjoyable to play.

2025-09-22 01:39