TheBorderlandsseries is known for its fast, fun, and frantic gameplay, and it seems as thoughBorderlands 4will be pushing all of this further than ever before. With new movement options, varied Vault Hunter abilities, and a vast array of loot, players have plenty of options to express their individual playstyle inBorderlands 4.
The game’s new Vault Hunters seem like a departure from the archetypes found in pastBorderlandsgames, exploring new class concepts to give players a varied experience.Rafa, however, combines character abilities from the previous three gamesto create a completely unique play experience. For the most part, Rafa takes the best elements of the Soldier, Assassin, and Operative classes of the past, resulting in a character that can get in close with melee, or sit back as his turrets do the work. Looking closely at his skills, however, Rafa seems like he could be the perfect choice for Moze mains.
Moze’s Grenade Builds Were Very Powerful
Moze was labeled as the Gunner class ofBorderlands 3, but for many players, guns were optional during their playthrough. Some of Moze’s strongest abilities are centered around grenades, leading to some veryoverpoweredBorderlands 3builds. Her Demolition Woman skill tree is especially useful for an explosive build, with skills like Means of Destruction keeping the player from worrying about running out of grenades, and To the Last keeping them in the fight. Paired with grenade mods such as Hex or Storm Front, players can cause endless havoc with Moze inBorderlands 3with an almost limitless amount of grenades.
Players can have a lot of fun customizing their Moze build, as she has so much potential. Whether they want to run a build that gives near-unlimited ammo or one that keeps them in the Iron Bear mech for as long as possible,Borderlands 3’s Moze has plenty of skillsto make this a reality. However, being able to throw grenades into any arena and consider the consequences later makes for a very fun playstyle, and it seems likeBorderlands 4players could be in for a similar treat with Rafa.
Some of Rafa’s Skill Trees in BL4 Follow Moze’s Lead
Players who enjoyed the grenade-heavy builds for Moze have a lot to look forward to with Rafa’s skill trees. As is to be expected, each tree has skills correlating with the specific Action Skill choices. However, they all also contain skills that buffOrdnances,Borderlands 4’s new weapon slot that handles grenades and heavy weapons.
This Year’s Gimmick Skill Tree
Rafa’s green skill tree – This Year’s Gimmick – is full of skills that are reminiscent of Moze. His El Corazon skill has a lot in common with Moze’s Bloodletter Class Mod, converting some of Rafa’s health into max shield. There is also the To the Last skill, which shares its name with an important Moze skill for grenade builds, but unfortunately, the skill is completely different inBorderlands 4, increasing skill damageand gun damage instead.
This tree features a lot of important skills for players looking to go down the grenade and heavy weapons route. Artilleria is a must, increasing the cooldown rate of Ordnances significantly as players invest more points into this skill. There’s also Booming Business, which means a free grenade has the chance to spawn when the player lands a critical hit. This skill does have its own cooldown, but by exploring one of thealternate branches added toBorderlands 4’s skill trees, players can find the El Paraguas skill. Though this skill doesn’t affect Booming Business’ cooldown rate, it does increase the chance for critical hits from splash damage, meaning players looking to spam grenades could be rewarded with free grenades as soon as possible.
Borderlands 4’s Vault Huntershave unique traits, and Rafa’s is called Overdrive. He enters this state as the player activates an Action Skill, and gives them increased movement speed and damage. However, some of the character’s skills give players additional benefits when in Overdrive, some of which relate to Ordnances. During this state, Collaborate Ignition can grant players bonus elemental damage to grenades and heavy weapons, but the most important skill is Hemolitions, which allows players to keep using grenades even when on cooldown at the cost of their health. This skill only costs one Skill Point, and combined with lifesteal and health regeneration skills like Saldar and Sustainable Energy, players can throw an unlimited onslaught of grenades at enemies and bosses when in Overdrive.
Remote Agent Skill Tree
Players wanting to make the most ofBorderlands 4’s Ordnanceswill get a lot out of Remote Agent. Like Rafa’s red skill tree, it contains many different skills that are perfect for explosive mayhem and destruction. To start, this tree’s Action Skill is called Peacebreaker Cannons, an aimbot turret mounted to Rafa that fires at enemies in the player’s sights. Initially, this deals kinetic gun damage, but if players spec far enough into this tree, the weapons can instead deal Ordnance damage with the Insta-Fort Battle System augment. If this isn’t enough explosive power for Moze mains, the Volatile Hollowpoints capstone replaces the cannon’s weapons with rockets, and homing rockets can be fired with the Unmissable Missiles augment.
The Peacebreaker Cannons could make defeatingBorderlands 4’s toughest bosseseffortless with some of Remote Agent’s skills. One of the earliest skills in the tree is Juerga, which restores a percentage of the player’s Action Skill duration when the player lands a critical hit, assuming the skill is not on cooldown. The player could also invest in skills such as Devil-May-Care to increase the cooldown rate of their Action Skill at the expense of their health when not in Overdrive, or Inspirado to improve Action Skill cooldown rate and duration rate as long as players inflict Status Effects on enemies.
Many fan-favoriteweapon manufacturers are returning inBorderlands 4, and one of these is Tediore. Fittingly, as a former member of the Tediore military force and user of the company’s Deadframe exo-suit, some of Rafa’s skills could work synergistically with the manufacturer’s weapons. As ofBorderlands 3, Tediore guns can be thrown on reload before they explode, dealing grenade damage. Some of Rafa’s skills on the Remote Agent skill tree reward the player when they deal damage from Indirect Projectiles. The Asymetric Warfare skill confirms that Indirect Projectiles include thrown weapons and projectiles not fired from the player’s gun, meaning that grenades and reloaded Tediore weapons are likely to affect these skills.
Rafa’s People Person Skill Tree Shouldn’t Be Overlooked
Fans ofMoze’s skills fromBorderlands 3will get a lot out of the destruction offered by the red and green skill trees, but the blue People Person skill tree also includes a lot of options for players wanting to maximize damage from their Ordnances. Arriba is a skill that these players won’t want to miss; for a 12-second duration, players can increase their ordnance cooldown rate whenever they kill an enemy, meaning they can return to exploding enemies sooner. There is also Abajo, a passive skill that increases Action Skill cooldown rate whenever the player throws a grenade.
Like the red skill tree, People Person could also have an impact on how players useBorderlandsTediore weapons, albeit in a different way. One of the first skills players can grab from this tree is Rinse, which increases reload speed. In previousBorderlandstitles, this made throwing Tediore guns faster, resulting in many more explosions. As for a later skill, The Right Tools increases overall Ordnance damage after reloading a gun. This is a great skill for any grenade build, but could also be perfect for Tediore weapons, as they typically deal grenade damage when reloaded.
The center branch of thisBorderlands 4skill tree could be ideal for players to follow if they are looking for more grenade-based skills. Drone Defense spawns STRM Gliders each time the player activates an Ordnance. These can reduce the damage taken by the player, and at a certain threshold, they explode with corrosive splash damage. This can be taken further with Drone Assault, which sends and explodes a STRM Glider each time the player activates an Action Skill.
As an alternative but equally explosive option, this branch also includes the Debtonation skill, which places detonators on each enemy damaged by an Action Skill. LikeAmara’s melee override fromBorderlands 3, this overrides the base function of the Ordnance, but offers something just as destructive in return. Players who enjoy throwing grenades may want to avoid this skill, but players who only care about mayhem can get a lot out of this skill, especially if they can increase their Action Skill uptime.
For many players,Borderlands 3’s Moze was the best character for causing carnage. Her skills essentially gave players the chance to unleash an infinite number of grenades at any enemy they come across, and Rafa’s many Ordnance skills seem to be offering these players a similar explosive experience. Of course, there are many ways tobuildBorderlands’ characters, allowing players to freely express their playstyle in a multitude of ways. However, for Moze mains wanting to bring one of her best builds toBorderlands 4, Rafa gives them plenty of options to do so. These skills are subject to change when the game officially releases, but for now, the concept of a Moze-inspired Rafa build is very interesting.
WHERE TO PLAY
Borderlands 4 brings intense action, badass Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons to an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant.Crash into Kairos as one of four new Vault Hunters seeking wealth and glory. Wield powerful Action Skills, customize your build with deep skill trees, and dominate enemies with dynamic movement abilities.Break free from the oppressive Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. Now a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing mayhem across the planet.Ignite a resistance and blast your way through mechanical monstrosities, bloodthirsty bandits, and vicious beasts. Amass an arsenal of death-dealing firepower to wreak havoc as you tear your way across Kairos.Fight solo or in co-op with up to three other players in this immense sci-fi adventure, packed with free-form combat and exploration, pulse-pounding boss fights, infinitely varied loot drops, and an eclectic cast of unforgettable characters new and old.
