Why Borderlands Mobile's Assassin Vault Hunter is Basically "Zer0 at Home"

Zer0 is easily one of the most popular Borderlands characters in the franchise, and that's saying something given how beloved so many Vault Hunters are. His popularity in Borderlands 2 saw his story continue in Borderlands 3, his appearance in the Tales games, and his likeness/presence replicated in the Borderlands Mobile limited-time test.

As it turns out, Borderlands Mobile is a real game that was shadowdropped with a few caveats. It's simply a test to be removed later this month, but it seems to be acing the test with the way fans have reacted positively to most components. It's clearly not done, however, and it seems Borderlands Mobile may not even be the official name. There are four Vault Hunters currently slated for the game, but only one—the Summoner—has seen any action. That doesn't mean fans can see what they bring to the table, however, and the Assassin Vault Hunter brings "Zer0 at Home" energy to the table.

Zer0 vs. The New Borderlands Mobile Assassin

First, the visual similarities between the Assassin and Zer0 (whose class name is Assassin) are striking. Zer0 rocks a muted steel/black color scheme with only a few stronger colors to make them stand out. There's the red of his mask and the blue of his sword. Meanwhile, Borderlands Mobile's Assassin features that same steel aesthetic but complements it a bit more with the same blue as Zer0's sword. Genuinely, Borderlands Mobile could say this was a new version of Zer0, and it would make perfect sense. As of this writing, that doesn't seem to be the case, however.

On top of that, the action skills for Borderlands Mobile's Assassin and Borderlands 2's Assassin (that's Zer0) are very similar. Zer0's Decepti0n class ability let him cloak, shoot out a clone for aggro, and sneak up for massive damage. While that could be with Borderlands 2's guns, the biggest bonus went to melee damage (up to +650%). BLM's Assassin, meanwhile, uses the Slice and Dice action skill to annihilate enemies in melee with automatic dashing and enhanced dodging. They're different, sure, but on two sides of the same coin kind of way: one is stealth assassination, one is continuous assassination.

Of course, an "Assassin" or stealth-oriented Vault Hunter is pretty much in every game. It was Mordecai in the original Borderlands, with Zane's Operative class being very similar to an Assassin in Borderlands 3, and Borderlands 4's Rafa is a bit of an Assassin/Soldier crossover. They may all come from similar class design trees, but it's also clear that BLM's Assassin is closest to Borderlands 2's Zer0 than others in the franchise. Ultimately, that feels like a deliberate, modern reinterpretation of Zer0 and is the reason for the "Zer0 at H0me" vibe.

Taken as a whole, the similarities between the Borderlands Mobile Assassin (who hopefully gets a name with the full release) and Zer0 suggest a clear design lineage rather than accidental overlap. Every Borderlands game has evolved the concept, and while the Assassin hits a little too close to Zer0 right now, it's entirely possible that both the design and ability change in time. Unless they are more closely related to Zer0 than we could know for now. Perhaps this new Assassin is a mentee to Zer0, similar to how Ava was a Siren apprentice to Maya. Fans will just have to wait and see, as chances are this Mobile Assassin will have little to no bearing on the franchise, but it arguably would be a lot cooler if it did—if there were a reason it was so similar to Zer0.