Gearbox has "too many Vault Hunter buffs" planned for Borderlands 4, creative director says, so a separate update is "targeting" next week

Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters posing
(Image credit: Gearbox)

On the heels of today's big Borderlands 4 patch, which brought a console FOV slider and myriad performance fixes, creative director Graeme Timmins teased an upcoming patch filled with buffs.

"As a note, we had too many Vault Hunter buffs to safely fit into today's big update," Timmins said on Twitter. "Instead, we broke [them up] into their own balance update that we're targeting to release early next week instead."

Assuming the timing holds, "early next week" would put this patch around September 28 - October 1 or so.

It's exciting to hear that "too many" buffs to safely be contained in one patch are on the way, as I know fans of all four Vault Hunters are hoping to see several skill tree branches and play styles brought closer to the level of the dominant meta builds. There will always be a best option, but a tighter range means more options that feel powerful.

That being said, while Timmins also previously committed to preserving the fun of ridiculous builds on the grounds that "looters are made to be broken," we can't necessarily rule out some nerfs coming in this patch as well. It sounds like it's buff-first, if nothing else, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few standout skills or synergies are toned down to compensate for this apparent truckload of buffs.

Borderlands 4 Siren Vex, for instance, was dubbed "the strongest Vault Hunter in the entire series" by some as a result of a strange bleed damage interaction. I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of thing is reined in a bit. (And as a Vex main, as long as bleed stays relevant, I wouldn't complain.) But hey, maybe it is just a shot of buffs and nothing else.

Speaking of which: Borderlands 4 player accidentally finds busted Torgue gun that obliterates enemy health bars so fast it triggers "total existence failure" – "Every instance of damage goes up to 300,000."

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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