Borderlands 4 Tips: 9 Ways To Master Gearbox’s Looter-Shooter

Borderlands 4 has landed, and with it comes a humorous new story, the same fun looter shooter gameplay we’ve been used to throughout the franchise, and a host of interesting characters. Alongside the familiarity though, there are some changes to the way you’ll want to approach the next title in the series so we’ve put together some helpful Borderlands 4 tips that you’ll want to keep in mind during your first hours in the game. If you’re a Borderlands veteran, some of these might seem obvious, but there’ll be some surprises you may not be expecting, too.

Elemental Affinities Are Important, Actually

There has always been some elemental damage, including affinities, in the Borderlands series. When selecting the Vault Hunter you want to play as at the start of the game, you’ll notice that they each have different elemental affinities. For those new to the series, you’ll want to select the Siren, Vex. She can affect all elements equally, whereas Harlowe, for example, will deal greater damage using Cryo or Radiation. You may not immediately notice the difference, but when facing bosses with particular weaknesses, a Vault Hunter with that elemental affinity may be the difference between a walk in the park and a horrible time. It’s not the end of the word if your Vault Hunter does struggle against a particular enemy, since weapons deal elemental damage too–so just grab a more suitable one to maximize your damage output.

Echo-4 Is Not Only Adorable, But Useful

If you find yourself lost hunting down a particularly well-concealed objective, call upon Echo. When summoned, Echo will come to your aid, lighting a path to the objective that you can follow. Echo-4’s helpful skill is called, imaginatively, Echo-location, and I’ve used it more times than I care to admit.

Repkits Are New, And I Love Them

The way you heal in Borderlands has changed. Enemies will still drop health packs as loot, but you can also use your Repkit. Indicated in the lower left corner, the Repkit has a cooldown but as long as it’s available, you can use it for an instant burst of health. They also drop as loot with varying bonuses, so you should consider their perks and disadvantages when choosing which one to use in your build.

Best Early Game Vex Skills

Admittedly, I’ve only been playing as Vex during Borderlands 4 so this won’t be applicable if you chose another Vault Hunter at the start, but I was struck by how overpowered the combination of two particular skills were in my first hour of playing. Combining Idle Hands, which grants increased reload speed of +12% when Vex is at full health, with Sanguine Fiends, which restores Vex’s health by 4% on kills, creates an overpowered loop. Kill enemies, restore health, increase reload speed to kill enemies faster. It’s a very satisfying combination that means I’ve spent almost no time downed as Vex.

It’s Free To Respec… At First

Having said that, remember that it doesn’t matter if you try a build and it doesn’t work out for you. It’s free to refund skill points or completely respec the first time you do it, and there are multiple different skill trees available. You can only pick from one at a time, but have fun experimenting or finding out what works well for your own playstyle.

The price of respeccing will increase as you play, seemingly scaling with your cash balance the way respawning does, but that should mean you can always afford it if you’re not quite happy with your build.

Loot Everything, But Be Careful

If you’ve so much as glanced at a Borderlands title in the past you’ll understand the need to open every single container with an alluring green glow on it to uncover more and more weapons, ammo, and other gear. Borderlands 4 developers clearly wanted to add more sadism into the game though, as this time around there are more hazards. That locked storage crate? It almost certainly has a Psycho inside. That enticing ammo box that just won’t open? It’ll explode and take you down if you force it open with a shot. The loot is still worth it, but watch your back.

Look Out For Respawn Points

It’s good to take a note of the last respawn point you passed by. If you’re heading into a potentially risky scenario but don’t recall seeing one recently, it might be worth scouting around nearby. Finding a respawn point close to boss fights is easy–they’re usually right outside the area–but there are plenty of other hazards that pose a risk, and the last thing you want is a Silksong-style marathon run back to your last location.

Make The Most Of Your New Moves

Borderlands 4 introduces double jumping, swimming, mantling, gliding, and grappling. It’s the most expansive movement toolkit in a Borderlands title yet. I spent a good five hours in the game before remembering that mantling exists, but the combination of the new movement abilities means traversal is faster, more efficient, and–most importantly–more satisfying than ever.

It Won’t Be Long Until You Get Your First Vehicle

Following a short introductory quest in the Fadefields area, you’ll unlock your Digirunner. There are a few of these available to collect and customize, but the earliest point you’ll get your hands on one is around 90 minutes in, if you’re not getting distracted by side quests like I did. The Digirunner can be summoned almost anywhere and makes short work of covering long distances across Kairos.