While the endless pursuit of loot is the reward, the heart and soul of any Borderlands game is its chaotic, satisfyingly explosive combat. For years, the series has refined its signature brand of run-and-gun mayhem, but with Borderlands 4, Gearbox hasn’t just polished the formula—it has fundamentally overhauled it.
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After more than 150 hours of gameplay, it’s clear that the combat in this new installment is a significant leap forward. With new movement systems that inject a blistering pace into every encounter, vastly expanded skill trees that allow for unprecedented build diversity, and more engaging boss fights, Borderlands 4 delivers the most fluid and dynamic combat experience in the franchise’s history. It feels faster, smarter, and more engaging, taking cues from modern shooters while remaining unmistakably, chaotically Borderlands.
The New Pace of Battle: Movement is Everything
The most immediate and impactful change to the moment-to-moment gameplay in Borderlands 4 is the completely revamped movement system. The days of simply running and jumping are over; players now have access to a suite of new traversal tools that fundamentally change how you approach and navigate a firefight. The new mechanics include grappling, dashing, sliding, and hovering, each adding a new layer of verticality, speed, and tactical depth. The result is a combat loop that feels more akin to modern fast-paced shooters like Destiny, but this newfound fluidity feels perfectly at home in the vibrant, over-the-top world of Borderlands.
The grapple is more than just a tool for getting around the huge, seamless new world. In combat, it’s a vital repositioning tool, allowing you to instantly pull yourself out of danger or zip to a high-ground advantage to rain fire on unsuspecting enemies. Boss fights, in particular, now incorporate the grapple as a core mechanic, requiring you to latch onto objects and environmental weak points to trigger vulnerability phases.
The dash and slide add a crucial defensive layer, making you a much harder target to hit as you weave through enemy fire, close the distance on a shielded target, or quickly dive for cover. Finally, the ability to hover in mid-air opens up a world of new offensive angles, allowing you to bombard enemies from above or get a clear shot on a boss’s well-guarded critical spot. Together, these systems create a playground of movement, transforming every battle into a high-speed dance of death and destruction.
The Vault Hunters: Deeper and More Diverse Than Ever
The foundation of any great Borderlands experience is its cast of playable Vault Hunters, and the four new characters in Borderlands 4 are some of the most versatile and well-designed in the series. This is largely thanks to the vastly expanded skill trees, which have nearly tripled in size compared to previous entries. Each of the three trees per character is loaded with unique capstones and game-changing augments that allow for a staggering level of build diversity. Experimenting with different builds is more rewarding than ever, as each path offers a genuinely different way to play.
The new classes feel both fresh and powerful. Vex, the Siren, introduces a brand-new take on the classic archetype, leaning heavily into summoning trees that are surprisingly strong and well-balanced. Whether you’re commanding an army of spectral clones with her “Dead Ringer” build or fighting alongside her permanent familiar, Trouble, Vex brings a new layer of strategic, pet-based combat to the series. She is described as a blast to play throughout the story and an absolute powerhouse in the endgame. Meanwhile, Amon, the Forgeknight, starts as a seemingly standard brawler but quickly evolves into an unstoppable force once his augments kick in, allowing him to rocket-punch through entire squads of enemies with fiery explosions.
This depth truly shines in co-op, where class synergies can turn the tide of any battle. For example, a tank-focused Amon build can charge headfirst into the fray, drawing aggro and soaking up damage. This creates the perfect opening for a Vex player using her Dead Ringer clones to deploy a firing squad of phantoms, unleashing massive burst damage and controlling the crowd while the enemy is distracted. The way these new roles can work together makes co-op encounters feel more tactical and rewarding than ever before.
Boss Fights Evolved: More Than Just Bullet Sponges
Boss encounters in Borderlands 4 have received a significant and welcome upgrade. While past titles often relied on bosses that were little more than giant bullet sponges with massive health bars, the major boss fights in this installment are far more mechanically involved. The new movement system is a key part of this evolution; you’ll be using your grapple to pull down platforms and expose weak points, and your air dodge to evade massive, telegraphed AOE attacks that fill the arena. These fights feel less like a simple DPS check and more like a true test of your awareness and mastery of your character’s abilities.
However, in true Borderlands fashion, Gearbox has preserved the ultimate power fantasy. For players who dedicate themselves to the endgame grind and create an “absolutely cracked” build, these new mechanics become entirely optional. If you are strong enough, you can still melt a boss in seconds, skipping every phase and mechanic. This design strikes a perfect balance: it provides engaging, structured fights for the average player while still rewarding the dedicated grinders with that classic, god-tier feeling of overwhelming power.
The Tools of Destruction: Revamped Gear and Abilities
The loot itself has a more direct and interesting impact on the combat loop thanks to a few key system changes. The most significant of these is the introduction of the Ordinance Slot. This new gear slot completely replaces your traditional grenade mod. Now, both grenades and heavy weapons are tied to a cooldown rather than an ammo count. This is a game-changer. It encourages you to use these powerful abilities far more frequently, integrating them into your core combat rotation as dependable, reusable skills rather than precious resources you save for emergencies.
Furthermore, Rep Kits are no longer just simple healing items. In Borderlands 4, they have evolved into vital pieces of build-crafting gear. Alongside healing, you can now find Rep Kits that grant powerful temporary buffs like overshields, lifesteal, or massive increases to your damage and fire rate. A well-chosen Rep Kit can be the cornerstone of a late-game build, providing the crucial buff you need to survive a tough fight or maximize your damage output. This change encourages players to think about their survivability and utility in a much more active and engaging way.
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- Borderlands 4’s New World and Map
