What is the best class to pick in Borderlands 4 for you?

Picking your class in Borderlands 4 is the most important choice you'll make in the game.

Each playable character, known as Vault Hunters, fills a different role — the tank, the stealthy one, and so on — and while you're probably fine picking whoever you like the most for a multiplayer session, it's worth giving more thought to your character if you're playing solo. Once you start a campaign, you can't switch your character. Choosing a class, then, effectively defines your playthrough from the jump.

Below, we'll explain how to choose the best class in Borderlands 4 for you, including details of all four playable Vault Hunters and the skills that define their playstyles.

Borderlands 4 playable characters

Vex preparing to use Eldritch Blast in Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 stars four playable Vault Hunters at launch. Classes are tied to characters, so if you want to be a Siren, for example, you have to play Vex, and if you think Exo-Soldier looks nifty, Rafa is the only way to play it. Each character class has a passive trait that influences all their other skills in some way. Vex's damage always matches the element of her gun, for instance, while Amon gets an extra skill on top of his standard action skills.

Action skills are the core of your class build. Each character can pick from three action skills, and all three have skill trees exclusive to that action. These skill trees include passive bonuses, such as buffs to elemental damage, and augments, major passives that change how the primary action skill works.

They also push you toward specialization. Take Rafa's shoulder-mounted turrets, for example. He can use one augment that shortens their duration, but makes them deal critical hits and spread fire damage in a broad area. Passives that buff incendiary damage and critical hits are ideal for that build. Another augment that turns them into a support gadget that refills the party's ammunition, so focusing on shortening cooldown timers and adding non-damage buffs is more important.

You can change action skills at any point outside of combat, but skill points used to unlock new passives and augments for that action skill are only refunded when you respec in Borderlands 4.

How to pick the best class for you in Borderlands 4

All of Borderlands 4's characters have their strengths and weaknesses, so there's no objectively best class that everyone should pick.

However, their distinct playstyles make a big difference depending on what kind of combat you prefer. For example, Amon can do a bit of everything, but that means he doesn't excel at any particular role. Harlowe is excellent at dealing with the many (many) mobs you'll face across Kairos, but her class trait and stasis skills are often less useful when dealing with single, tough enemies. Rafa's high damage comes at the cost of longer or more frequent cooldowns (or sometimes his HP), and while Vex's minions and clones draw enemy fire, she's missing skills that deal the kind of explosive damage you get from Amon or Rafa.

With all that in mind, at a glance, here's what class you should pick in Borderlands 4 based on various playstyles.

Pick Rafa if you like...

Doing a lot of damage in bursts
Riskier combat strategies that require careful health and cooldown management
Cyber ninjas

Pick Harlowe if you prefer...

Characters with crowd control and AoE abilities
A mix of support and offensive skills
Cool nerds

Vex is your go-to if you enjoy...

Self-healing abilities
A bit of help on the battlefield when you're playing solo
Purple

And then there's Amon, for those who...

Want to lean into fire and ice elemental damage
Prefer not being boxed into a specific playstyle
Like big, slightly dumb men with axes

Having said all that, Vex is definitely a strong choice for new players and those who likely won't play in groups with other people. Her skills create distractions or let her recover HP, so while you'll be relying on good weapon choice and aim to deal heavy damage, you can, at least, have a chance of not dying quite as often.

Below, see more details about each Vault Hunter and how their respective class plays in Borderlands 4.

Amon the Forgeknight

Amon is one of Borderlands 4's most versatile characters, with class actions that completely change his playstyle and present you with several ways to specialize. He can be a defender — good for multiplayer play — with a sturdy shield that reduces incoming damage or adopt a berserker style with a flame-infused fist attack that regenerates shields and lets him move more quickly. There's also a third, middle-of-the-road approach that lets you use both elements and eventually summon a sentient axe to act as a combat companion.

All of Amon's abilities involve cryo and incendiary damage, with passives that buff both and grant him conditional elemental bonuses depending on which skill he's using. While you can certainly get by just fine with weapons that have no elemental alignment, Amon's fire-and-ice passives mean he gets the most benefit from using incendiary and cryo weapons.

There's no penalty for specializing in a specific element. You can freeze even most cryo-aligned enemies with Amon's skills and most ice weapons, for example. However, it's a good idea to keep at least one weapon on hand that doesn't deal cryo or incendiary damage, since both elements struggle to take down enemy shields effectively.

Amon class trait: Forgeskill

Amon gains Forgeskill, depending on his equipped action skill. Forgeskills can be activated by pressing and holding an action skill.

Molten Slam (Onslaughter action skill equipped): Press and hold action skill to slam a molten Forgehammer into the ground, dealing incendiary melee damage to enemies in a large area.
Firewall (Scourge action skill equipped): Press and hold action skill to deploy a firewall that absorbs enemy projectiles, and grants friendly projectiles that pass through it increased damage and projectile speed. Absorbed damage is converted into Vengeance if Scourge is active. Enemies near firewall take incendiary status effect damage over time.
Double-Edge (Crucible action skill equipped): Press and hold action skill to throw a twinned Forgeaxe, dealing cryo melee damage to enemies it passes through and returning to Amon, dealing incendiary melee damage on the way back.

Amon using his Onslaughter skill in Borderlands 4

Amon action skills

Onslaughter: Amon overloads his Forgefist, gaining constant shield regeneration, bonus incendiary damage with Guns, and increased movement speed. Press action skill or melee to rocket punch, dashing to target enemy, dealing Incendiary melee attack damage in a short-ranged cone, and causing stagger. Bosses cannot be staggered, and Badasses have a chance to be staggered
Crucible: Charge Skill (3). Amon readies Forgeaxes that can be thrown and picked up off the ground to refund cooldown. Can throw a Flame Axe, dealing incendiary melee damage, or a Frost Axe, dealing cryo melee damage. Enemies damaged by Forgeaxes are primed for a duration, and will detonate when they die or are damaged by a Forgeskill dealing damage to nearby enemies.
Scourge: Amon equips a Forgeshield that absorbs all frontal damage as Vengeance. Whenever the Vengeance meter is filled, Forgeshield provides damage reduction instead. Vengeance drains rapidly if it has not been gained recently. Press action skill to launch a Forgewave, dealing cryo ordnance damage to enemies it passes through, consuming Vengeance to increase damage dealt.

Vex the Siren

Vex excels at piling on elemental damage, keeping herself healthy, and catching the enemy's attention. Her class trait lets her match the element of whatever weapon she's using at the time. That makes it easy to stack damage-over-time effects or spread them across multiple enemies without having to think about ammo management, useful for clearing large mobs of enemies and maintaining damage on sturdier bosses as well.

Vex is a strong choice for solo play regardless of which action skill you use. One summons up to three phantom clones that taunt and attack enemies, while another brings Vex's siren familiar to the field and even turns them into a Badass-class under the right circumstances. Both actions make it easier for Vex to slip through crowds of enemies or distract turrets and take them out unnoticed, but if you prefer being the center of attention in combat, her other action skill provides a healing effect and damages enemies in a broad area.

Vex class trait: Phase Covenant

Vex is attuned to the elemental type of her current gun, converting all action skill and melee damage into that type.

Vex action skills

Dead Ringer: Charge Skill (3). Spawn a Phase Clone Minion, choosing Specter or Reaper. Phase Clones lose an ever-increasing amount of health per second, and their damage type matches Vex's current attunement when spawned. Can spawn a Reaper that taunts enemies and deals melee attack damage, or a Specter that deals gun damage and cannot move.
Incarnate: Vex creates a Phase Explosion, dealing damage to nearby enemies and fully restoring her health. While active, Vex can use Eldritch Blast and gains increased movement speed. Eldritch Blast is an offhand attack that deals damage to nearby enemies on impact. Dealing Gun Damage reduces Eldritch Blast's cooldown. You can end Incarnate early, partially refunding cooldown.
Phase Familiar: Vex is joined by her minion, Trouble. When killed, Trouble will respawn after a cooldown. Press this Action Skill to teleport Trouble, dealing damage in an area. Trouble then transforms into a Badass, fully restoring health and gaining increased damage for a duration. Activating Phase Phamiliar will respawn Trouble if he's currently dead.

Harlowe the Gravitar

Harlowe is the best choice for crowd control and packs a kit with multiple gadgets that spread elemental harm, stop enemies from moving, and increase how much damage affected foes take. One of the most important parts of her ability set is the Gravitar class trait, which lets Harlowe entangle enemies when she damages them using an action skill. Entangled enemies spread the damage received among other entangled foes, so you're whittling down an entire group by just aiming at one target.

Harlowe's action skills let you apply cryo and radiation damage in a wide area, and one of them even immobilizes enemies in stasis bubbles you can sling around and explode. Action skill augments include specializing in applying entanglement to more foes, dealing extra radiation damage, or managing cooldowns more efficiently and even reviving downed allies. Harlowe can do a little bit of everything — except defense. Harlowe's only methods of defending herself are capturing enemies in stasis or freezing them with cryo damage, so make sure to plan carefully before firing off your skills.

Harlowe class trait: Entanglement

Whenever Harlowe uses her action skill on enemies, those enemies become entangled. Entangled enemies share a portion of gun damage and skill damage with all other entangled enemies.

Harlowe using the Chroma Accelerator in Borderlands 4

Harlowe action skills

Chroma Accelerator: Fire an Unstable Energy Pocket from Harlowe's Chroma Accelerator. The pocket passes through enemies and deals cryo damage to all enemies it passes near. Pressing action skill causes the pocket to explode and deal heavy radiation damage in a large area.
Zero-Point: Press action skill to use Harlowe's Halo Accelerator to place an enemy in stasis for a duration. Enemies immune to stasis take damage instead. Pressing action skill again causes the enemy in stasis to be slammed into the ground in the direction Harlowe is facing and creates a small explosion. Retriggering stasis has a cooldown.
Flux Generator: Harlowe throws her Flux Generator in front of her, which projects an energy field, dealing cryo damage over time and entangling enemies. Allies inside the field gain overshield. Press action skill to pick up your Flux Generator and toss it again.

Rafa the Exo-Soldier

If you just want to deal a lot of damage, all the time, instead of tinkering with gadgets and fussing over cooldowns, the Rafa is the robo-soldier for you. He's essentially Borderlands 4's frontline DPS character, and all his action skills are designed to deal a lot of damage. Despite the singular focus, though, they lend themselves to distinct playstyles. One of them gives Rafa tiny turrets that fire independently of his primary weapon, while another swaps guns for huge, electrified blades that debuff enemies and make them take more damage.

Rafa's augments take things even further and let you opt for riskier and more specialized play. For the blade skill, you can ignore cooldown timers in favor of losing health and coat them with corrosive damage. Turrets can fire ricocheting projectiles or cut their active time in favor of dealing a barrage of critical hits. Rafa might be all about hitting hard, but Gearbox gives you a lot of ways to make it interesting.

Rafa class trait: Overdrive

Whenever Rafa activates an action skill, he enters overdrive, gains increased movement speed, and deals increased damage with all sources.. While an action skill is active, overdrive's duration does not decrease.

Rafa action skills

Apophis Lance: Equip Rafa's Apophis Lance, an offhand arm cannon that decreases Rafa's gun handling, but allows him to fire piercing shock ordnance nlasts. Any unused charges when Apophis Lance ends are converted into action skill cooldown. Press action skill to fire a piercing shock ordnance blast at enemies and consume a charge, or hold action skill to charge up the lance for increased damage, projectile size, and projectile speed at the cost of unused charges.
Peacebreaker Cannons: Rafa equips shoulder-mounted Peacebreaker Cannons, which fire at enemies in front of him for a duration, dealing kinetic gun damage. Rafa can end Peacebreaker Cannons early, partially refunding action skill cooldown.
Arc-Knives: Rafa puts down his guns and equips his Arc-Knives, blades that deal melee damage and mark enemies whenever they damage them, causing them to take increased damage for every mark on them. Rafa can perform melee attacks with the Arc-Knives; dash forward and perform a shock melee attack; and unleash Rafa's Blade Fury, which deals shock damage to all marked enemies, and ends the skill.