Borderlands 4 is here, and we are more than excited to try the new characters. Who you pick first is a major choice because it defines your whole experience with the game.
Don’t worry, though—there’s no bad pick.
Every character has a fun personality, special powers, and can be set up for different ways to play.
If you like the strong and mysterious Sirens, who are a key part of the Borderlands world, then you’ll love the new character, Vex. She’s a real standout.
This guide will share everything about Vex: her backstory, what she does in the game, how her powers work, the best strategies for using her, and why she could be the best character to start with. Let’s get started –
The Voice Behind the Vault Hunter
Borderlands games are known for their fun characters and great lines. The new character, Vex, is no different.
She is voiced by Judy Alice Lee, a talented actress you might know from other games like Marvel Rivals, Hades 2, and Genshin Impact.
Her performance makes Vex feel real, bringing her jokes, sarcasm, and deeper feelings to life.
Vex’s Backstory
Vex had a tough life. She grew up rough and had to work hard just to get by, which made her a little cynical and sarcastic.
But deep down, she still cares about people and wants to help. Now, with new powers she doesn’t fully understand, she’s ready to fight back against those in charge and make a difference.
If you’re playing by yourself and want to feel like the main character of the story, Vex is a great choice. Sirens are always at the center of the biggest secrets and events, so her story has a lot of weight.
Vex’s Unique Gameplay – Adaptable to Everything
In Borderlands, enemies have weaknesses. Fire is good against flesh, electricity is good against shields, and acid is good against armor. Most characters are best with one or two of these types.
Vex is different. She is the most flexible character ever. Her special ability makes her powers automatically change to match whatever gun she is holding. Switch from a fire gun to an electric one, and her attacks become electric too.
This means Vex is always ready for any enemy. She can easily change to fit any situation, making her a powerful pick for any play style.
Vex’s Action Skills and Skill Trees
Vex has three main special powers to choose from. Each one changes how you play the game. You can summon helpers, power yourself up with dark energy, or call a panther to fight by your side.
1. Dead Ringer – The Minion Master
Action Skill
This skill lets you create helper clones. You can have up to three at a time. You can choose to make:
A Specter: A clone that stands still and shoots guns.
A Reaper: A clone that runs at enemies, hits them, and gets their attention.
This is a perfect style for playing alone. Your clones will take the hits for you, so you can shoot enemies from a safe spot.
Key Upgrades:
Gas Blaster: Your Specter clones can explode, damaging nearby enemies.
Coven: Summoning a Reaper heals you and your other clones. Summoning a Specter makes your critical hits more likely. These effects can stack.
Important Note: Your clones slowly lose health over time. Picking skills that heal them or make them last longer is very important.
The Three Upgrade Paths:
The Specter Path: This path makes your Specter clones much stronger. They can weaken enemies, making them take more damage. The best skill here lets your newest Specter clone temporarily use the exact same gun you are holding. This path is for doing massive damage to one big enemy.
The Reaper Path: This path focuses on your Reaper clones. They get powerful area attacks and can heal themselves. The top skill lets you summon one giant “super Reaper” that steals health from enemies and can create new Reapers when it gets kills. This path works well with fire damage.
The Minion Overdrive Path: This is a mix for everyone. It lets you spawn lots of clones and helps your whole team by giving them extra shields. The best skill here lets you use two upgrades at the same time and gives all your clones a big power boost. This path makes you and your team very hard to kill.
In short: Choose this if you like a smart, tactical style where you let your minions cause chaos while you control the battle from a distance
2. Incarnate – Unleash Your Inner Demon
Action Skill
Vex grows demonic wings for a short time. While active, you get a powerful energy blast attack that you can use after a short cooldown.
The more you shoot enemies with your guns, the faster this energy blast recharges. This rewards you for playing aggressively.
Key Upgrades:
Kinetic Attunement: Steal health and reload faster when using normal (non-elemental) guns.
Gist Wave: When you activate the skill, it fires a wave that makes enemies take more damage.
Energy Vampire: Damage over time effects give you an overshield. Killing enemies makes your damage-over-time effects stronger.
Bloodletter: Critical hits from your guns or skills make enemies bleed for extra damage over time.
The Three Upgrade Paths:
The Shield Path: This path makes you incredibly tough. Your attacks will restore your shields. The top skill makes your energy blasts leave damaging pools on the ground and seek out enemies in the air. This path focuses on making you strong and dealing radiation damage.
The Gun Damage Path: This path is all about shooting. Using your energy blast will completely refill your gun’s magazine and stack a damage bonus. The top skill gives your energy blast three charges and makes it ricochet between enemies. This path makes your guns and your powers work perfectly together.
The Life Steal Path: A high-risk, high-reward path. Killing enemies while the skill is active drops healing orbs. The top skill changes your energy blast: it uses your health instead of having a cooldown, but it becomes a powerful piercing wave that can also heal your friends. This path focuses on health and stealing life to stay in demon form longer
In short: Choose this if you want to become a powerful demon that charges into the fight. You can build it to be an unkillable tank, a gun-focused powerhouse, or a risky fighter who trades health for immense power.
3. Phase Familiar – Faithful Companion
Action Skill
Vex calls her magical panther, Trouble, to fight. Trouble will attack enemies on his own. You can also tell him to do special powerful attacks.
Pressing the skill button again makes Trouble go into a “super mode“: it heals him, makes him do tons of damage, and sends him on a short rampage.
Key Upgrades:
Violent Outburst: Trouble explodes, hurting all enemies around him.
Blink Strike: Trouble teleports to an enemy and lands a guaranteed critical hit, especially on weak foes.
The Three Upgrade Paths:
The Tank Path: This turns Trouble into your personal bodyguard. He can taunt enemies, forcing them to attack him instead of you. The top skill gives him a protective shield and makes him constantly damage enemies around him. This path is great for staying alive and controlling crowds, and works well with ice damage.
The Critical Hit Path: This path is for dealing massive damage. Trouble increases your chance to land critical hits. The top skill lets him create fake copies of himself when he attacks, and these copies get even stronger with critical hits. This path lets you use your special skill more often.
The Shock Damage Path: This path makes Trouble the main fighter. He can become temporarily immune to damage and gets stronger with every kill. The top skill makes his attacks mark enemies, so you do more gun damage to anything he hits. Killing marked enemies makes Trouble even stronger. This path focuses on shock damage and taking down single targets fast.
In short: Choose this if you want a powerful pet that fights on its own. It’s perfect if you like a “set it and forget it” style where your companion does a lot of the work while you support him.
Final Thoughts
If you want a character who is important to the story, incredibly flexible, and just plain fun to play, you should choose Vex. She has the personality, the power, and the potential to be your favorite Vault Hunter yet.
So when Borderlands 4 starts, don’t worry too much. But if you want the smartest and most adaptable choice, pick Vex.
