Borderlands 4 Character Builds Guide: What I Learned Playing Every Vault Hunter

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 11:21 am

I mean, I just picked up Borderlands 4 last week and got immediately oh-my-God. Four Vault Hunters, huge skill trees, augments galore that’s a hell of a lot if you’re new to the game. So I did the only reasonable thing: I tested all four characters to see which one, in fact, is good for newbs.

Spoiler? The Siren, Vex, was the band member with whom I hung out most. Here’s why, along with what I found out about the others.

Why the Borderlands 4 Character Builds Will Actually Matter

What I’m trying to say is, that as you level up your character in previous games (which has nothing to do with tinkering anything, I think?

Before we dive in, here’s something I wish I’d known on day one: the skill trees in BL4 are huge compared to prior games. For one, every Vault Hunter has three of these action skill trees that are each about as big as a proper entire skill tree from BL2 or BL3.

That’s all well and good, until you’re looking at 60+ skills trying to figure out how best to nuke your first five points elsewhere.

The good news? A “Invest Maximum Points” button was added to the game. Seriously. No! You can dump all your points into one tree, try it out, and then hit respec and try something totally different. No tedious point-by-point clicking. This was a quality of life feature that saved me hours of trying to play with this configuration and struggling till I end up wasting 24 hours again.

Meet the Four Vault Hunters (And Why I Couldn’t Stay With Three of Them)

Vex (The Siren): Crowd control, kill-skill chains, odd tanky when you go the right build. This became my main.

Rafa: Feels like a glass cannon with high damage. I did him second, and just died to more dumb shit than I can list here simply because I was being too aggressive.

Amon: Tech-focused, gadget-heavy. Cool idea, but it got too complicated for when I just wanted to shoot things and not micromanage turrets.

Harlowe: The tank. Enjoyable though, just didn’t feel my speed. If you enjoy getting up in the thick of things and absorbing punishment, this is where to start.

Not saying the other three are bad they aren’t. But what about someone who’s a noob and doesn’t want to start over once they realize they’ve picked wrong? Vex is your safest bet.

Why Vex Made the Cut for This Borderlands 4 Character Builds Guide

Here’s how it played out: I chose Vex first, Sirens have never done me wrong in Borderlands games. Phaselock in BL2; Phasewalk in BL1, you get the idea. But I didn’t think she’d be quite so beginner friendly in BL4.

Blood Letter Build (AKA the “I can’t die!” Setup)

The community builders at Mobalytics Just kept talking about a build called the “Blood Letter” build. It’s based heavily in bleed setup with a focus of staying alive while dealing continuous damage. Great for beginners who freak out when bosses show up (me, definitely me).

Here’s how it works:

Kill skills stack automatically. Killing or slaying any enemy buffs your damage and survivability for a few seconds. So you’re not just aiming, you’re essentially gaining momentum.

Defensive augments cover your mistakes. I picked augments that regened health on kill and provided damage resistance. I didn’t die instantly when I botched my positioning as I had with Rafa.

The capstone genuinely changes the way you play. When you played older Borderlands games, capstones meant only that you hit again but harder. In BL4, Vex has a capstone that completely changes the ability mechanics. I went from crowd control caster to heavy damage dealer just by the time I got to the bottom of one tree.

How I Built Her (without Overthinking It)

I’m not going to claim that I had some brilliant strategy. I literally followed this pattern:

• Invested early points in kill-skill synergies. Anything that was an “on kill” skill had precedence.
• Snapped defensive augs somewhere 10-15. Health regen, damage resistance—boring but essential.
• Level 20, shoved in the first capstone. Hit that “Invest Maximum Points” button and see my damage shoot up.

The Fextralife wiki includes full breakdowns if you want precise point allocations, but honestly! Just go down the kill skill tree early and you’ll be good.

Quick Takes on the Other Three

Rafa: High risk, high reward. If you’ve played Borderlands in the past and can predict enemy movement, he’s just a blast. For beginners? You’re going to die a lot as you learn. His builds also lean further into crit hits than Vex, so accuracy becomes even more important.

Amon: Tech enthusiast’s dream. Gadgets, turrets, elemental combos. Only thing is, you have to know the enemy weaknesses and when to use each tool. More thinking than I wanted for a first playthrough.

Harlowe: The tank I hesitated not for long enough before choosing. If you hate dying and don’t mind the slower combat, she’s fantastic! I just found myself getting bored during longer firefights because everything felt too secure.

The Respec System Changed Everything

Here is something I wasn’t prepared for – I have respecced Vex like eight times and it is free.

In earlier games, trying out builds was risky because you’d waste either currency or time. In BL4, respec button is on the skill tree menu. Click it, reset everything and try a totally different playstyle in 10 seconds.

This is huge for beginners. You’re not committed to bad decisions. I completely switched gears from a defensive Blood Letter setup to an elemental offensive build just to see the results. Didn’t like it? Switched back in 30 seconds.

What About Challenges and Rewards?

So you’ve got this whole challenge thing in BL4 that I pretty much skipped the first few hours. Big mistake.

Challenges are things like “kill 200 enemies with super guns” and “beat this boss without dying.” Finishing them earns you experience, money, skins and Eridium (the premium currency). The trick? Don’t bother grinding out challenges individually just use gear that’ll complete active challenges as you play naturally.

I began using elemental pistols because I had a live challenge for this. Accidentally got bonus rewards. That’s the kind of efficiency that keeps you leveling fast and doesn’t burn you out.

My Honest Recommendation for Newbies

Start with Vex. Build into kill skills early. I’d not worry too much about getting your points perfect as you can respec at any time. And please hit that “Invest Maximum Points” button when you are eager to see whether the whole tree has come out in green.

The other Vault Hunters are fun, but they have a much higher skill cap to be piloted effectively around the game. Vex is lenient, challenging and it teaches you how BL4’s new mechanics work without punishing you for trying them out.

Plus, if you get bored later? The respec system allows you to do a total 180 with your playstyle within seconds. I have already made vax into three different builds and I’ve only leveled to 25.

That’s the best part about this Borderlands 4 character builds guide method – you’re not limited to a single choice. Try things, break them, rebuild them.” The game actively invites you to try things out now.

Here’s where each character shines:

1. Best Builds for Vex the Siren (Borderlands 4)
2. Best Builds for Rafa the Exo-Soldier (Borderlands 4)