How To Play Rafa The Exo-Soldier In Borderlands 4

The key to Borderlands 4 is versatility, and Rafa surely has enough customization to tackle any challenge. This cybernetic warrior is one of the best Vault Hunters you can play as, and for good reason. We’ll break down what makes him so unique, the best ways to build him, and which playstyle works best for beginners and veterans alike.

There’s a lot to go over, but we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about the Exo-Soldier class in Borderlands 4 and how Rafa can easy tackle anything that has the misfortune of crossing his path on Kairos.

Exo-Soldier Class Overview

The Exo-Soldier class makes use of gunslinging techniques and speed for a fast and messy battle plan. Rafa is a one-man-army with any build, but the different skill trees available to him allow for further customization based on your playstyle.

Whether you like playing with others nicely or prefer to take on the world by yourself, Rafa’s got a build for that. Below is a breakdown of the best Exo-Soldier class builds, along with an explanation of what situations it’s best in. From Borderlands beginners to veterans, this is what you need to know:

Rafa Skill Trees

Best Campaign Build For Rafa

Leveling through the campaign will take some time, but Rafa’s red skill tree can make quick work of it. This build manages power and range in good measure, allowing you to wipe out enemies and maintain your health.

Rafa’s action skill with this build is the Peacebreaker Cannons, which are shoulder-mounted and fire automatically. Each shot deals Kinetic Gun Damage, knocking back enemies with powerful shots for a short time. It’s like having a friend along with you, but without any of the needless chatting.

Ending Peacebreaker Cannons early partially refunds the Action Skill Cooldown.

When building along the Remote Agent skill tree, focus on prioritizing Sitiar and Shield Barriest for the gun damage and shield regen buffs. The primary objective is to keep Overdrive mode active as long as possible, while also reducing the cooldown. Rafa goes into Overdrive when activating his action skill, as part of his Vault Hunter trait, which increases his movement speed.

Take the Bullet-Buddy Deluxe Augment for a boost in Incendiary Damage based on ammo, while allowing you to fire shots off without consuming ammo. Your Action Skill Duration will drain faster, but it’s worth it if you can keep restoring the duration with Juerga on critical hits.

The next Augment you get should be the Insta-Fort Battle System, which allows the Peacebreaker Cannons to deal Ordnance Damage and disconnect from Rafa as a turret. Similar to Vex the Siren and her companion, Trouble, you’ll get more bang for your buck (or in this case, skill points).

The Peacebreaker Cannon companion will copy Rafa’s grenades as well.

The capstone augment that helps Rafa the most is the Volatile Hollowpoints skill, which converts the Peacebreaker Cannons into Rockets. These Rockets deal splash damage to surrounding enemies, making them impeccable DPS cannons alongside Rafa.

If you’d prefer to take Double-Ought Autoshot for the Ricochet chance, you can! This also incentivizes critical hits, as they will always ricochet – and with your other skills, this will restore your Overdrive meter. For this reason, Rafa is best equipped with assault rifles to quickly fire off shots and maximize the damage done (and to maximize the chances of a spray of critical hits).

Key Skills

In addition to the powerful Augments and Capstone skills you learn in Rafa’s skill tree, there are numerous passives you’ll want to acquire for increased gun damage, shield regen, and unlimited ammo. Since Rafa relies strongly on his guns and fire power, it’s best to buff him as soon as possible. Here are the best skills to pick up for Rafa in this build:

Best Solo Build For Rafa.

Taking on Borderlands 4 alone without help is a challenge, but Rafa can do it with the right build – this build, specifically. Using the This Year’s Gimmick skill tree, Rafa can unleash the full potential of his Arc-Knives. As a melee-build for Rafa, it feels unconventional, but it’s worth the investment.

It plays off the rogue-like class elements of Rafa’s speed and precision, while sacrificing range. If you’re a fan of stealthy classes or assassins, then this build will bring you joy. When you reactivate the Action Skill, a Blade Flurry errupts for a final wave of damage before Rafa whips out the big guns again.

This build also works in multiplayer, but it’s important to be mindful of other Vault Hunter builds so you don’t get caught in the crossfire.

Your goal with this build is to maximize the damage Rafa’s Arc-Knives deal, while also extending the duration. Lifesteal is vital here, since Rafa will be in melee range for most battles, so you want to ensure he can survive and heal himself consistently.

For this reason, you’ll borrow a handful of skills from the Remote Agent skill tree, which will be listed in the key skills table further down. As for Augments, you’ll want to take Altered Cabron first, which restores a portion of Rafa’s health when he kills an enemy with his Arc-Knives. As an added bonus, bonus Corrosive Damage is added to all attacks (and stacks) when he gains health.

Rafa’s movement speed is also increased during this period.

The next Augment you can unlock should be Thundercutter, which causes Rafa’s Arc-Knives to deal Shock Melee Splash Damage while increasing the damage dealt by Splash Damage. Since you’ll mainly be in melee combat, this is a great addition to the build.

Finally, the ideal capstone for Rafa is the Galvanic Panic skill for this build. With this, an Acid Glider fires at an enemy in his view whenever he deals a melee attack with the Arc-Knives active. Damage scales with the number of marked enemies, and killing an enemy with the Arc-Knives active restores the duration of the Action Skill.

In addition, the Blade Fury finisher sets off a volley of Acid Gliders as well!

Key Skills

Every Vault Hunter build needs passive skills to support it, which is why the table below is filled with numerous options that support and enhance Rafa’s innate abilities. Check out the top picks for a solo build for the Exo-Soldier class:

Best Multiplayer Build For Rafa

If you’re exclusively matchmaking or going to play with a group of friends, it’s best to build Rafa around that. It may seem obvious, but the People Person skill tree is best for this kind of build. With this, Rafa’s Action Skill switches to the Apophis Lance – an offhand cannon that reduces Rafa’s gun handling prowess, but fires piercing blasts that deal Shock Ordnance Damage and explode.

This allows you to fully experience Rafa’s ranged skills, without the need to get up close if others, like Amon, are in your party. Enemies that get marked will take increased damage, scaling with every mark on them. In a team with Vex, she and her companion Trouble have good synergy with this ability.

Of course, you can make use of this on your own, but it’s worth noting.

The first Augment you want to grab is Sangre por Sangre, which increased the Action Skill Cooldown Rate whenever Rafa consumes an Apophis Lance charge. This ensures you can use the skill more often, which will help your allies in battle.

Second, you can look at Engorged Bore to increase the radius and speed of the Apophis projectiles. When you later select a capstone, this Augment increases the number of chains that Project: Gorgon can create, causing a massive (and explosive) reaction between enemies.

If you’d prefer to make use of each charge with the lance, then opt for Gibistruct Module instead.

Finally, when it comes to selecting a capstone skill, you want to take hold of is the Project: Gorgon skill. This takes the Apophis Lance and transforms it into a deadly laser that passes through enemies. The longer Rafa uses this laser, the more damage it does, eventually chaining enemies while consuming charges.

This deals Incendiary Damage, rather than Shock Damage, allowing for explosive collaborations between the elements. Keeping your distance from enemies while burning them to a crisp is a great way to tag-team enemies with others, working together to clear the area of bad guys in minutes.

Assault rifles are the best pick with this build, allowing you to spray enemies with bullets. The best brands to look for are Vladof and Daedalus, but any assault rifle is better than none.

This playstyle is best for those looking to supplement typical gameplay elements and gun fights with more ballistics and flair. In a team, you operate as a long-distance DPS to damage multiple enemies at once, allowing the rest of the party to carefully pick off the most dangerous foes on the field.

Key Skills

Dealing heavy damage to multiple enemies is a powerful tactic in a party of Vault Hunters, but none of it matters without the right skills to back it up. Thankfully, there are plenty of passive skills that can help make the most of Rafa’s loadout.

Below are the top picks for skills to take when building a multiplayer Rafa:

With Rafa, beginners should start by building the Remote Agent skill tree until they get a feel for gameplay. From there, depending on whether you’d rather go solo or join a group, you can expand into other builds. Rafa’s solo build is the intermediate option since it’s self-sufficient, dealing immense damage while also providing adequate healing in a pinch.

It also works well for the main campaign, though flying enemies will become a big problem later.

More technical and veteran players will enjoy the collaborative experience with the People Person skill tree, as it relies on synergy with other players and really flourishes when paired with Vex and Amon. For this reason, Rafa is on the same tier as Vex, just acting as the other side of the same coin.

No matter which build you select, keep your eye out for Legendary assault rifles and grenades that supplement your coverage. Rafa can cover a lot of ground on his own, but it means nothing without the right tools to keep him alive. Feel free to mix and match Ordnances based on personal preference to get the most out of the build or encounter, depending on what you’re up against.