Borderlands 4 Basically Has Two Playable Sirens

Although the Vault Hunters available with each Borderlands game change, some staple features, class identities, and bits of gameplay loop stay in some shape or form, and Borderlands 4 is no exception. For example, there is usually a character that can be ascribed to the “soldier archetype,” which essentially is a character with a focus on guns and abilities that create more warfare options, like Roland’s Scorpio Turret, Axton’s Sabre Turret, or Moze’s Ironbear. While the series typically abides by these character design rules, it sometimes breaks them to create new, more interesting archetypes. In the case of Borderlands 4, one could argue that it basically has two playable Sirens.

The Siren is the one archetype that is in every game, with the glaring exception of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and it’s often central to the plot in some way. Borderlands‘ Lilith is a great example, as she is arguably the face of the series alongside the mascot Claptrap, and she was playable in BL1 and then remained a huge part of the story. Borderlands 4‘s Siren is Vex, and she has brand-new powers with a focus on summoning creatures to help her in battle. However, she is not the only playable Siren archetype, considering Harlowe’s abilities.

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Borderlands 4 Put One Controversy to Rest Just to Dive Headfirst into Another

Borderlands 4 barely had the time to nip a controversy in the bud before another came up, but they share the same roots.

Harlowe’s Action Skills in Borderlands 4 Make For an Honorary Siren

As per Game Informer’s exclusive coverage of Borderlands 4, the Action Skills of both Amon and Harlowe were revealed, and the latter seems more and more like a hybrid between Maya from BL2 and Amara from BL3 by the day. This is because Harlowe’s kit revolves around a mechanic called Entanglement, which makes all damage taken by an enemy be shared with all other enemies affected by Entanglement. This is essentially Amara’s Ties that Bind passive, and it combines with Harlowe’s Action Skills perfectly. Harlowe’s Action Skills are:

Zero Point: Lift enemies off the ground, with the ability to select one of two augments to modify how it works
Chroma Accelerator: Fire cannons that create an elemental singularity that Entangles all enemies caught within its blast
Flux Generator: Place a mine with a wide AoE radius on the ground, Entangling all enemies caught within its explosion

Thanks to Zero Point, Harlowe is similar to Maya’s Phaselock and Amara’s Phasegrasp, to the point that the ability may feel even more similar depending on the gear and skill trees available in the game. Yet, Harlowe is not a Siren, and instead, she is a former Maliwan scientist. Since she is also from Borderlands 3‘s Traunt family, there is a chance that she studied the powers of Sirens and tried to replicate them with science.

Zero Point can also be augmented with one of two options. The first allows Harlowe to slam an enemy back to the ground after lifting them, whereas the second makes the ability affect multiple targets. Both of these abilities make it even more akin to Maya’s skills in Borderlands 2 and Amara’s in Borderlands 3, meaning the overall gameplay could feel eerily similar.

This is especially true for those who played Amara builds in Borderlands 3, as Ties that Bind is very strong in the endgame, and it’s likely that Entanglement will have similar effects based on its description.

Why Borderlands 4 Players Should Keep an Eye on Harlowe

Though Borderlands 4‘s Harlowe is just a scientist, with her tag being “The Gravitar,” she can be considered an honorary Siren with the way her abilities are a mix between Maya’s and Amara’s. On top of that, she seems quite good with elements as well, which tracks due to her Maliwan background, and Amara was very much the “elemental Vault Hunter” of Borderlands 3. Borderlands 4 fans will have to wait a bit more to experience it, but all the Vault Hunters seem pretty interesting.