Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Tier List - Best Vault Hunters for Leveling & Endgame

In Borderlands 4, a Vault Hunter is one of the playable character archetypes/classes. Read this Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter tier list, we break down the best Vault Hunters and skill trees for both leveling and endgame.

Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Tier List - Ranking Best Vault Hunters for Leveling & Endgame 

You play as a vault hunter: a heroic, combat-capable character who seeks alien Vaults and treasures, fights enemies, and uses powerful abilities. From Vex’s god-tier Bleed builds and Harlo’s nuclear burst setups, to Rafa’s ricochet explosions and Aman’s ordinance bombardment, we’ll rank every tree based on real in-game testing, synergy, and late-game scaling potential. Whether you’re planning your first campaign run or optimizing for Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, our BL4 Vault Hunters tier list will help you understand which characters and builds truly stand above the rest — and which ones still need a little love from Gearbox.

Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Mechanics

Vault Hunters in BL4 are more than skins/classes. They have several defining mechanics:

Action Skills

Each Vault Hunter gets three signature Action Skills. These are powerful special abilities (on cooldown) you can use in combat. Only one of the three can be active/equipped at a time. 

Skill Trees, Augments & Capstones

Each class has three branching skill trees (one per Action Skill), including passive abilities, “augments” that enhance Action Skills, and “capstones” (powerful ultimate/upgrades at the bottom of branches).  You’re free in how you develop your build, choosing among these trees to match your playstyle.

Traits

Vault Hunters also have a Trait which further shapes their playstyle. For example, Vex the Siren has a Trait that causes her Action Skills to attune to the elemental type of the weapon she currently has equipped. 

Endgame Mode (“Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode”)

After completing the campaign, players unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. In that mode, enemies scale to your level, spawn variety increases, and loot drop rates/quality improve.

Borderlands 4 Leveling Vault Hunter Tier List

S Tier

• Vex (Blue Tree — Specter Vex)

Extremely strong early and mid-game damage. Specters clear while moving between areas. Requires almost no gear. Falls off later, but early leveling is amazing.

• Harlo (Red Tree — Neutron Capture)

One of the strongest level 6 builds. Burst-damage powerhouse even with white weapons. Low cooldown = constant nukes once you get Demon Core. Minimal gear reliance, massive burst DPS.

A Tier

• Vex (Green Tree — Bleed Vex)

Gear reliant (needs strong Jakobs weapons). Early sustain through Bleed; strong single-target and boss killer. Slower start but excellent damage scaling mid-to-late leveling.

• Harlo (Green Tree — Nuclear Winter)

Weak early (before Level 15–16). Once you get Excited State + Nuclear Winter = infinite crits. Top-tier mid-late leveling, especially with Halo capstone.

B Tier

• Rafa (Blue Tree — Apous Lance)

Weak early, comes online at Tier 2 with gun crit bonuses. High versatility; works with any weapon type. Good sustain, strong after setup.

• Aman (Blue Tree — Ordinance/Primal Surge)

Great once Primal Surge or Endless Bombardment is unlocked. Strong mobbing and bossing potential. Needs a few key skills/gear to shine.

• Aman (Green Tree — Axes)

Strong early (shock bonuses + melee spam). Falls off hard later; mostly used as early-game transition tree.

C Tier

• Vex (Red Tree — Trouble)

Weak AI, inconsistent damage, low uptime. Constantly misses and chases enemies inefficiently.

• Rafa (Green Tree — Arc Knives)

Good early burst, but squishy. Melee scaling is weak; poor boss matchups.

• Harlo (Blue Tree — Zero Point)

Feels terrible early, weak vs. bosses. Better in mobbing with augments later, but overall clunky.

• Aman (Red Tree — Onslaught/Berserk)

Painful early levels until Berserk unlocks. Strong later, but rough start puts it low for leveling.

Borderlands 4 Endgame Vault Hunter Tier List 

S Tier 

• Vex (Green Tree — Incarnate / Bleed / Witchy Trigger Finger)

Insane endgame scaling: infinite stickies, infinite ammo, and constant kill-skill uptime.  

Best passive package in the game: +crit, +gun damage, +kinetic damage, scaling off health. Action skill (Incarnate) does low damage itself, but it enables top-tier synergy for gun and bleed builds. Practically mandatory in endgame Vex builds.

• Harlo (Red Tree — Neutron Capture / Half-Life)

Dominates single-target and DOT builds. Neutron Capture melts bosses; Half-Life enables 300k–400k+ DoT ticks. Red tree gives massive elemental scaling (radiation, cryo, etc.), and easy action-skill spam via Skeptic mod. Only minor weakness is survivability (fixable with Kill Spring).

• Harlo (Green Tree — Nuclear Winter / Halo / Excited State)

Best geared endgame setup once you have top rolls and Jakobs gear. Infinite ammo, infinite Halo uptime, fire-rate stacking, huge survivability. Works solo or hybrid with blue tree.

• Rafa (Red Tree — Peacebreaker / Ricochet / Splash)

Massive flexibility: ricochet gun builds, grenade spam, or AFK Peacebreaker turret play. 

175%+ splash bonus, huge gun damage, and the Saltado node doubles overdrive bonuses. Can literally AFK clear with Peacebreaker cannons. Only mild weakness is sustain.

A Tier 

• Vex (Blue Tree — Specter / Prismatic Ichor / Reaper)

Very solid and diverse: DOT builds, specter gun builds, or melee groundbreaker stacking.

Great versatility, strong passives, but not her top action skill.

• Rafa (Blue Tree — Apous Lance / Ranger Rafa)

Incredible passives: ammo regen, crit, fire rate, gun damage.

Apous Lance itself feels clunky, limiting mobility and DPS uptime. Performs better when using Peacebreaker or alternate gear (Ranger Rafa).

B Tier 

• Rafa (Green Tree — Arc Knives / Melee Hybrid)

High potential damage, even one-shotting bosses. But melee range and suicide enemies make it inconsistent and risky. Struggles with flying enemies and modifiers.

C Tier 

• Harlo (Blue Tree — Zero Point)

Passives are fine (crit, fire rate, entanglement transfer), but the action skill is “butt.”Needs full rework: low uptime, clunky augment design, poor crowd control. Feels like “almost good” but missing a second capstone.

• Vex (Red Tree — Trouble)

Weak scaling and shallow depth beyond Tier 1. Early nodes okay (kinetic damage, upkeep), but everything deeper feels underpowered. Action skill lacks punch.