Favorite Vault Hunters (Borderlands)

[Netrigan]

There's been a bit of discussion for The Pre-Sequel, but as it's largely a case of Second Verse, Same As The First, no one seems terribly interested in discussing it.

So Vault Hunters. Discuss however you see fit.

My favorite by game:

Borderlands 1
Lilith was my first playthrough and I was thankfully for the ability to just run past enemies as the game progressed. Always found the first game a bit of a slog. My current playthrough is with a maxed out Mordecai, as I like the ability to just eliminate enemies without having to think about it... but B1 isn't terribly interesting to god-mode through.

Borderlands 2
First playthrough was Maya, whose phase-lock made so much of the difficulty trivial. Gaige is my go-to character on-line.

Borderlands: TPS
Clap-Trap was my first playthrough, because he just had to be... but the lag-time in activating his ability and the randomness of said ability make him an irritating choice in a pitched battle. Haven't quite made up my mind who I want to make my on-line character. Wilheim plays to my fire-and-forget tendency, but some really cool powers on the other two characters.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Borderlands 1 Lilith was basically broken in how ungodly powerful she is. If you get the right guns to drop *cough* Double Anarchy *cough cough* you can get her to do more damage than anything in the game, and that includes bosses.

Borderlands 2 I favored Salvador. He isn't very good in the beginning of the game but he shines in true and ultimate vaulter hunter mode. If you build him correctly you never stop gunzerking because you can build up another gunzerk while you're still in the middle of one, and being able to gunzerk when you're down makes you virtually unkillable (except for those times when the game only lets you be in "down but not out" for a fraction of a second before it kills you).

Pre-sequel I'm going with Nisha. I've played a little of every character but haven't gotten one to max level yet so I can't really make a determination, but so far Nisha seems to have the best combination of fun and usefulness. Her skill really favors the new movement mechanics and lets you easily kill enemies even while you're jetpacking around in the air and jumping around on jump pads. Athena seems fun as well but her shield skill just isn't as useful considering how easy it is for enemies to get behind you in low gravity.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Brick. I like a tanky class and simply enjoyed punching my way through problems. Tell me you wouldn't run if you saw a seven-foot side of beef with bolts on his knuckles cackling maniacally and heading your way.

Axton. Had the most fun respecing. Turret spec is really solid until enemies outlevel it. After that I tried a "killing spree" build with all the kill skills. Just put the first enemy down and you become a rocket-powered chainsaw of doom. After that I had a "death's door" build with all the stuff that works on low health or downed. You will spend half your time in fight for your life but as long as there's something to shoot you will NEVER die. Honorable mention to Salvador for four words: dual wielded rocket launchers. He can kill bosses before their opening dialog is over.

Started Athena but the shield seems @*$(ing useless. Blocks only from the front in a game where you're ALWAYS flanked, and the damage is pathetic. It's like Mordecai's bird with a longer delay. Not sure how this is considered a viable action skill, maybe it matures really well at high level? Anyway, switched to Nisha and am having much more fun.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Started Athena but the shield seems @*$(ing useless. Blocks only from the front in a game where you're ALWAYS flanked, and the damage is pathetic. It's like Mordecai's bird with a longer delay. Not sure how this is considered a viable action skill, maybe it matures really well at high level? Anyway, switched to Nisha and am having much more fun.

From what I gathered from my short playtime with Athena the shield isn't really your primary way of dealing damage when using the skill. The shield blocks you from being attacked from the front and you can level your character to do more damage with your gun while the shield is up, so basically for a few moments you're invulnerable from the front and do a ton of damage. This is useful in choke points and against bosses.

Like you pointed out though (and which I said in my post as well) the problem with the shield is that it only protects from the front and it's easier than ever for enemies to get behind you in the pre-sequel considering the low gravity. Maybe you're just supposed to pull it out, draw aggro, and then spend all your time backpedaling? Personally I did find it as useful class because I always play with a friend and when we were fighting bosses I would draw aggro and put my shield up and then I would lay into the boss with my extra damage and he would lay into the boss without having to worry about any kind of reprisal. Still, like I said before, I think Nisha is a more fun class to play.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

In Borderlands 1 it would have to be Lilith. She was so damn OP in that game it was ridiculous, but she was still pretty fun. Her character in general is awesome, and I wish they fleshed her out more before BL2.

In Borderlands 2 it's Maya. She was also pretty fun and I wasn't sure if I was gonna like her character build. I grew to like her and her siren ability. I remember playing with someone else that had a medic siren build and my siren was a cataclysm build and it was bananas. I think we almost broke the game with how OP we both were and every mission was kind of a joke. Still was a blast though. At some point I'm gonna have to play it again and play as Gaige. From what I hear she's an interesting character based on her skill tree.

For Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel I'd have to go with Athena. I just started today and so far she's fun. I really haven't scratched the surface with her skill tree yet, but from what I can see it will be interesting. Later I will want to try Nisha. Could be fun playing as a psychopath.

 

[Rayce Archer]

1: Brick, because you can permazerk with very little effort- of all the Borderlands 1 characters he feels most different from the others, especially at that point.

2: Maya, because you can just wreck everything. Even if you don't get all the kills, you'll be a game-changer for your party. And she had the best DLC heads.

TPS: Nisha, because FILL YOUR HAND, ASSHOLE! BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM DING

 

[Spanglish Guy]

In Borderlands 1 I only had one character that I played as (or rather one proper playthrough) and that was Brick. He isn't particularly interesting or anything but I just found the ability to punch things in the face to be pretty funny.

Borderlands 2, I almost always play as Gaige. I really enjoy her Deathtrap ability since it's pretty useful in most fights. Also, I think she is a fun character, plus she has a mechanical arm and I know I always like to play as people with mechanical pieces attached to them.

 

[Barbas]

In Borderlands 1 it would have to be Lilith. She was so damn OP in that game it was ridiculous, but she was still pretty fun. Her character in general is awesome, and I wish they fleshed her out more before BL2.

In Borderlands 2 it's Maya. She was also pretty fun and I wasn't sure if I was gonna like her character build. I grew to like her and her siren ability. I remember playing with someone else that had a medic siren build and my siren was a cataclysm build and it was bananas. I think we almost broke the game with how OP we both were and every mission was kind of a joke. Still was a blast though. At some point I'm gonna have to play it again and play as Gaige. From what I hear she's an interesting character based on her skill tree.

For Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel I'd have to go with Athena. I just started today and so far she's fun. I really haven't scratched the surface with her skill tree yet, but from what I can see it will be interesting. Later I will want to try Nisha. Could be fun playing as a psychopath.

I agree with BL1, but only because the difficulty I had with Roland annoyed me into choosing Lilith because she was the easiest to play as. They didn't seem very fleshed out then, personality-wise, but she was all right. Gaige is great in BL2, though. ANARCHY FOREVER! GUNS OF THE REVOLUTION! >

Athena's a close second for me in BL:TPS...I didn't see the vault hunters in such a favourable light when I was done. Pandora's a pretty psychopathic, self-interested place, but at least Athena's code of morals is...well, she has one. Claptrap, though...he was fun in BL1 and he was prevalent in BL2 to the point of being obnoxious. In BL:TPS, though, he basically has no choice other than to do what he's ordered to. The poor little guy's all alone by the end, the last of his product line. I can't help but feel sorry for him. He was built faulty and just wants to make himself helpful, but he's partially stunted from the outset with a chipper outlook that is completely at odds with the cold world in which he trundles along.

Also, Athena's hairstyle is absolutely amazing. I don't know why I keep staring at it, but I do and whenever I do, I think "Wow, that looks really cool".

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

In Borderlands 1 it would have to be Lilith. She was so damn OP in that game it was ridiculous, but she was still pretty fun. Her character in general is awesome, and I wish they fleshed her out more before BL2.

In Borderlands 2 it's Maya. She was also pretty fun and I wasn't sure if I was gonna like her character build. I grew to like her and her siren ability. I remember playing with someone else that had a medic siren build and my siren was a cataclysm build and it was bananas. I think we almost broke the game with how OP we both were and every mission was kind of a joke. Still was a blast though. At some point I'm gonna have to play it again and play as Gaige. From what I hear she's an interesting character based on her skill tree.

For Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel I'd have to go with Athena. I just started today and so far she's fun. I really haven't scratched the surface with her skill tree yet, but from what I can see it will be interesting. Later I will want to try Nisha. Could be fun playing as a psychopath.

I agree with BL1, but only because the difficulty I had with Roland annoyed me into choosing Lilith because she was the easiest to play as. They didn't seem very fleshed out then, personality-wise, but she was all right. Gaige is great in BL2, though. ANARCHY FOREVER! GUNS OF THE REVOLUTION! >

Athena's a close second for me in BL:TPS...I didn't see the vault hunters in such a favourable light when I was done. Pandora's a pretty psychopathic, self-interested place, but at least Athena's code of morals is...well, she has one. Claptrap, though...he was fun in BL1 and he was prevalent in BL2 to the point of being obnoxious. In BL:TPS, though, he basically has no choice other than to do what he's ordered to. The poor little guy's all alone by the end, the last of his product line. I can't help but feel sorry for him. He was built faulty and just wants to make himself helpful, but he's partially stunted from the outset with a chipper outlook that is completely at odds with the cold world in which he trundles along.

Also, Athena's hairstyle is absolutely amazing. I don't know why I keep staring at it, but I do and whenever I do, I think "Wow, that looks really cool".

For fear of being spoiled, I didn't read anything past Claptrap's role in BL: TPS, I'm not far into the game.

Anyways, Lilith is hands down my favorite vault hunter with Maya being a close second. I think the siren class is just fun to play with in general. Gaige does look like fun and so does Nisha. Nisha sounds so bat-shit crazy from what I've read on her that she might be fun to play as for funsies. As for Gaige, her tree is interesting, and complex.

I do like Athena's character style in general. It looks like they made her not as skinny as her character model the General Knoxx DLC. But I guess all that walking around and killing all the things can bulk one up.

 

[Michael Tabbut]

For BL1, Lilith, easy to use and broken as fuck.
For BL2, Gaige, her Deathtrap ability is amazing and can be a godsend when your nearing the precipice of death in a tough battle, also her dialogue is amazing.
I'm gonna wait for christmas to get The Pre-Sequel so I can't say anything on that one.

 

[SSJBlastoise]

I didn't really try out different characters in BL1 mainly because Mordecai was the perfect character for me. I love playing as a sniper/assassin so how could I resist.

I tried out most characters in 2 but Zer0 was my favourite for the same reasons as above.

So far I've only played CL4P-TP and I've mostly enjoyed him. The only issue I have is when his action skill picks funzerker because you use so much ammo and the only way to control this is keep changing your weapons. I absolutely love it when it picks Torgue fiesta and pirate ship skills, especially when it's against a boss so it just destroys them quickly.

 

[EHKOS]

I used Roland for BL1 but out of those four, I like Mordecai the best. Based on appearance and personality. Metal Storm was awesome and with a Vladof I could really clean up.

In BL2 I played as Salvador, but none of them really appealed to me combat wise. Zero was cool looking though. But Lilith is my choice, because very rarely, if ever, have I been attracted to a video game character.

Nisha looks pretty cool and I would totally use her if I had the game, but I don't, and I would buy FC4 first. But I can't because my truck needs work because it's as old as I am so my FC4 fund just disappeared.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I played Mordecai and Lillith in BL1, but stuck with Lil because she's so badass, not just damage wise but for my playstyle.

In BL2 I started with Zero but quickly switched over to Gaige because Gaige. is. awesome. Anarcy = winning. Only thing I didn't like about Gaige was that since she wasn't an original character, there wasn't much personalization when it came to the game dialogue. I would have loved to see a reaction from Tiny Tina to Gaige, they seem like they'd get along very well... Hell I'd just pay for an hour of back and forth dialogue between those two.

 

[Ikasury]

Wilhelm is by far my fav right now... yes, i love you Lilith and Maya for crazy siren powers of doom and fire... but he has ROBOT-PUNCH!! and a shoulder-mounted Vengeance (Read: Predator) CANNON!! XD don't care about Fragtrap's insanity, Nisha's god-modeing, or Athena's nuclear shield... ROBOT-PUNCH!! + PRED-'VENGEANCE' SHOULDER CANNON!! 8D

plus 'fucks given: none' should be a plaque hanging around his neck XD the only sane man is apparently obsessed with turning himself into doom-bot... it is now my head-canon Wilhelm is Gaige's dad or crazy uncle or something... cause she was boss too with similar crazy...

oh... yea, and wolf and saint too... cuz, ya know... 'drones' blowin' shit up~

ROBOT-PUNCH!!! XD

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I didn't really try out different characters in BL1 mainly because Mordecai was the perfect character for me. I love playing as a sniper/assassin so how could I resist.

I tried out most characters in 2 but Zer0 was my favourite for the same reasons as above.

So far I've only played CL4P-TP and I've mostly enjoyed him. The only issue I have is when his action skill picks funzerker because you use so much ammo and the only way to control this is keep changing your weapons. I absolutely love it when it picks Torgue fiesta and pirate ship skills, especially when it's against a boss so it just destroys them quickly.

Actually if you don't want to waste ammo when "funzerking" all you have to do is sprint because characters can't shoot while sprinting (with the exception of Wilhelm).

 

[SSJBlastoise]

Actually if you don't want to waste ammo when "funzerking" all you have to do is sprint because characters can't shoot while sprinting (with the exception of Wilhelm).

Thanks for the heads up, feel kind of stupid not thinking about that lol.

It can be useful against bosses which is good, especially if you have the skill that increases fire rate after reloading it can deal ridiculous damage though it also uses sooo much ammo lol.

 

[Paragon Fury]

BL1: Lilith all the way. I played everyone, but Lilith was just so absolutely fun and ridiculous.

BL2: Since I play by myself, Axton was my best option. Axton is still a ton of fun, but I wish I could get more out of Maya without needing other players around.

 

[Fijiman]

Mordecai was my favorite in Borderlands 1 with Roland as a close second. Axton is my favorite for Borderlands 2, though to be fair I didn't have too much time to play the other characters for long before Pre-sequal came out. And I can't say much for Pre-sequal as I've only played as Claptrap so far.