I know which Borderlands 4 vault hunter I'm picking thanks to this new gameplay

Borderlands 4 is set to burst onto the scene shortly, which means there's limited time to decide which character I'll be choosing to crash into Kairos with first. Thankfully, Gearbox is here to make my life easier by releasing gameplay deep dives on each of its playable characters - and the latest to get a full reveal is intriguingly agile vault hunter Rafa.

Even with a few bumps in the road, the Borderlands series still offers up some of best co-op games around. The characters, world, humor, build variety, and punchy FPS action all work well together more often than not - a trend I'm hoping Borderlands 4 continues. I've always been a sucker for a rogue build, and if the latest from the devs is anything to go by, out of all the Borderlands 4 characters, it looks like the former Tediore soldier in the experimental exo-suit may be the guy for me.

If Rafa dual-wielding Arc-Knives isn't enough to convince you, then his masterful command of combat at any distance definitely should. The latest Borderlands 4 gameplay deep dive showcases his range of weapons, from the aforementioned arc-knives for those who like to hack and slash at close range to the APOPHIS Lance, a full blown cannon that lets you turn enemies into a paste.

You can also charge up extra guns on each shoulder with the Peacebreaker Cannons, just to give your combat a little extra oomph. Alternatively, the Peacebreaker Cannons can be set up as a standing turret, if you decide you need an extra gun or three watching your back.

There is also an incentive to keep your action skills on cooldown with Rafa's always-on trait, Overdrive, as it buffs your move speed and damage whenever an action skill is active. I don't know about you, but a vault hunter that can do close combat as well as he can do ranged sounds like a winner.

As Gearbox writes on the game's Steam page, "Classes based around the 'elite soldier' archetype are a staple of Borderlands, acting as a great gateway for FPS players to acclimate to the unbridled mayhem of the series' frenetic combat." It adds, "Rafa the Exo-Soldier is here to continue the franchise lineage of the battle-ready combat veteran class."

With Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford revealing Borderlands 4 offers even more skills per character than Borderlands 2 and 3 combined, I can't wait for the seemingly endless buildcrafting possibilities.  This new prelaunch build planner is certainly going to make things a lot easier too.

Borderlands 4 launches on Friday, September 12. Here's a handy link to its Steam page.

While we wait for the next update, you can check out our work-in-progress Borderlands 4 legendary weapons list, or read all about the Borderlands 4 system requirements before you pick it up.

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