Borderlands 4 Gameplay Breakdown – Meet the New Vault Hunters, Abilities & Big Changes
Image Credit: Gearbox / 2K Games
By Sticks | OnThaSticks.com
Release Date: September 12, 2025 • Read Time: 5–6 mins
🔥 TL;DR
- 4 new Vault Hunters: Vex, Rafa, Harlowe, Amon
- New planet: Kairos
- Movement: Glide, grapple, dash, double jump
- Loot upgrades: Licensed Parts + Ordnance gear slot
- Releases Sept 12, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC + Switch 2 (later)
📜 Table of Contents
- Meet the New Vault Hunters
- New Gameplay Systems
- The Story & Planet Kairos
- Multiplayer & Co-op Features
- Release Date & Platforms
- Final Thoughts
🧠 Meet the New Vault Hunters
These aren’t your average Borderlands builds. Gearbox is going big on backstories, power sets, and variety. Let’s meet the squad.
🔮 Vex – The Siren With Trouble
Vex uses spectral phase energy and commands a ghostly pet named Trouble. She’s agile, dangerous, and perfect for AoE and control builds.
- Incarnate: Transforms into a phase form to blast enemies and heal
- Phase Phamiliar: Summons Trouble to teleport, explode, and transform
“Vex’s minion Trouble looks like it’s about to become the Claptrap of chaos mages.”
🛠️ Rafa – The Exo-Arsenal Soldier
Rafa is built for flexibility — conjuring up digistructed weapons in mid-combat. He’s the swiss-army knife of Vault Hunters.
If you love playing reactive and adapting to every fight, Rafa’s your guy.
🧲 Harlowe – Gravity Genius
Former Maliwan scientist turned field gadgeteer. She uses gravity fields, high-tech traps, and clever builds to disrupt the fight.
“She’s brains meets brawls — and I’m betting her skill tree gets slept on at launch.”
⚔️ Amon – The Forgeknight
Raised by a Vault cult, Amon now hunts monsters instead of worshipping them. Think warrior-poet with a massive sword and bigger moral code.
He’s a tanky brawler with flavor — melee mains, he’s your future favorite.
📊 Quick Vault Hunter Comparison
| Vault Hunter | Playstyle | Power Type | Signature Trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vex | Siren, AoE Control | Phase Magic | Minion + self-heal |
| Rafa | Adaptive Arsenal | Digistruct Tech | Dynamic weapon conjuring |
| Harlowe | Tactical Disruption | Gravity Gadgets | Tech traps + midrange control |
| Amon | Melee Bruiser | Forged Weaponry | High damage, close-range pressure |
🎮 New Gameplay Systems
- Glide, Grapple, Dash, Double Jump: Huge verticality and mobility boosts
- Licensed Parts: Guns now mix-and-match parts from different brands
- Ordnance Slot: New cooldown gear that replaces artifacts (like rocket launchers, mine fields)
- Expanded Skill Trees: 3 action skills per Hunter + deeper builds
“You’re not just building a loadout. You’re engineering chaos.”
🌍 The Story – Welcome to Kairos
Kairos is the new planet — hidden until Lilith’s sacrifice revealed it. Now, it's under the grip of The Timekeeper, a power-hungry tyrant using mind-control tech called Bolts to manipulate the people.
Your job? Tear it all down, free the planet, and uncover what secrets Kairos is hiding inside its Vaults.
This one's leaning more serious, but the mayhem’s still intact.
🤝 Multiplayer, But Smarter
- Crossplay: Day-one support across all platforms
- Instanced Loot: No more drop stealing — everyone gets their own
- Level Scaling: Enemies adjust to your level, even in co-op
- Drop-in / Drop-out: Hop in with friends, no restart needed
Cleanest Borderlands co-op system yet — finally.
🗓️ Release Date & Platforms
- Release: September 12, 2025
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam + Epic), Switch 2 (later)
📣 Final Thoughts – Hype Level?
This isn’t a “safe sequel.” It’s Gearbox pulling levers they’ve never touched — more movement, more synergy, more depth.
Is it gonna hit the Borderlands 2 magic? Maybe. But it’s already aiming higher than BL3 ever did.
🗨️ Your Turn: Which Vault Hunter are you running with first?
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