Borderlands Class Guide for Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Nov 7, 2009 Bradley Kairis

information on the classes in Borderlands? This strategy guide features brief descriptions and summaries of action skills, skill trees, and preferred weapons.

Borderlands is a unique First Person Shooter that blends Role Playing Game elements with intense action. It features online cooperative multiplayer for up to 4 players just like Halo 3. But, instead of featuring an epic campaign like most FPS games, Borderlands features a mission-based, action RPG with experience points, 4 different character classes, leveling up, skill points distributed across three branches, and loads of loot.

The following strategy guide offers information on each of the four classes in Borderlands: The Berserker, The Hunter, The Siren, and The Soldier, with descriptions of the action skills, skill trees, preferred weapons and general strategies.

Brick as Himself (The Berserker)This class focuses on melee strikes and explosives, the perfect class for gutsy players who prefer direct confrontation and don't mind playing a game of high risk, high reward.

Action Skill Berserk (cooldown 60 seconds): With Berserk Brick throws down all weapons and cackles like a maniac while dealing huge damage with wild haymakers and quick jabs, and receiving health regeneration to make him tough to take down.

The Berserker's three skill trees are Brawler, Tank, and Blaster. Brawler focuses on Brick's Action Skill, dealing greater damage with his fists and reducing the cooldown timer. The Tank skill tree makes Brick a difficult target to kill, giving him damage resistances, health and shield bonuses, and stunning enemies with melee strikes. The Blaster skill tree, then, focuses on explosives, particularly Rocket Launchers, dealing more damage, reloading quicker, and even regenerating ammunition.

Brick is the obvious choice for players who like to be the center of attention. Whether through Berserk and melee strikes or through big explosives, Brick deals big damage and stirs up the hornet's nest, allowing other players in co-op play to take advantage of the chaos. When playing single-player, Brick should focus on the Tank skill tree to make him more difficult to take down.


Mordecai as The HunterMordecai The Hunter, the quintessential sniper of the team, offers excellent long-range attack options with the Sniper Rifle and deals massive damage with critical hits (usually headshots), but is threatened when enemies get close.

Action Skill Bloodwing (cooldown 28 seconds): The Hunter sends off a trained Bloodwing to attack enemies. At first, the Bloodwing can only attack one enemy, but this can be upgraded with the Bird of Prey ability.

The Hunter's skill trees are Sniper, Rogue, and Gunslinger. Sniper obviously focuses on Sniper rifles, offering The Hunter incredible damage potential with the longest range possible. Rogue focuses on the Bloodwing, allowing for massive damage upgrades and other perks, such as extra loot drops. And Gunslinger increases pistol and magnum effectiveness.

Players who love sniping will love The Hunter, but only players who can make the most of critical hits by precisely aiming at an enemy's weak point will get the most out of this class.

Lilith as The SirenBasically the "rogue" of the team, The Siren uses hit-and-run tactics to catch enemies off guard, preferring the SMG for quick damage and reload times, and weakening enemies with disabling attacks and finally finishing them off with powerful, elemental-charged moves.

Action Skill Phasewalk (cooldown 36 seconds): Lilith turns invisible and gains increased movement speed for a short duration, along with creating a phase blast to damage nearby enemies both entering and existing the Phasewalk.

The Siren's skill trees are Controller, Elemental, and Assassin. Controller focuses on increasing the Phasewalk ability and disabling foes with stun-based attacks. Elemental adds or enhances various elemental properties for a more damage-oriented build, while Assassin offers the most rogue-like set of abilities with hugely powerful one-hit melee strikes and greater accuracy with guns.

The Siren makes for an excellent choice for strategic players who prefer to jump in and out of battle, positioning themselves wherever the situation calls for.

Roland as The SoldierThe Soldier offers well-rounded weapon proficiencies, along with numerous bonuses to aid a team, making him an excellent choice for players who love co-op games.

Action Skill Scorpio Turret (cooldown 100 seconds): Roland's special ability deploys a turret which provides shield cover and automatically targets and shoots nearby enemies for a brief period.

The Solider has three skill branches: Infantry, Support, and Medic. Infantry creates a well-rounded gunner and focuses the Scorpio turret on dealing greater damage. Support makes Roland a tougher opponent with Shield bonuses and more frequent Scorpio turret drops, while Medic offers the most team-friendly support with various health regeneration skills.

Roland makes for the best co-op play class, especially when focused on the Medic skill branch, but he also works as a reliable single-player class, as the Scorpio turret can be a reliable, though temporary, partner in firefights.


Borderlands Class Guide Conclusion
Borderlands offers a class for every kind of player, hopefully this guide has helped players decide which is the best class for them. The Berserker offers the most direct fighter, The Hunter offers long-range attacks with high damage, The Siren uses clever hit-and-run tactics, and The Soldier combines well-rounded combat skills with beneficial co-op support skills.