Pandora is a dump. Honestly, back in 2009, when Gearbox Software first dropped us into the dusty, skag-infested wasteland of Arid Badlands, we didn't really know what a "looter shooter" was supposed to be. We just knew there was a bus, a weird robot, and four choices that felt surprisingly heavy. These Borderlands 1 playable characters weren't just avatars; they were the foundation for an entire genre's DNA.
They weren't "classes" in the traditional World of Warcraft sense, yet they forced you into specific roles that changed how you saw every chest and every boss. Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick. It sounds like a weird indie band line-up. But if you picked the wrong one for your playstyle, the first few hours against Nine-Toes were going to be a miserable slog.
People often forget how bare-bones the original game felt compared to the neon-soaked chaos of later entries. There was no sliding. No ground slams. You just had your gun, your shield, and one singular action skill that usually took way too long to cool down.
The Soldier: Why Everyone Ended Up Playing Roland Anyway
Roland is the "safe" pick. He’s the guy you choose when you don't want to think too hard about mechanics and just want to shoot things until they stop moving. As a former Crimson Lance soldier, his whole vibe is efficiency. His action skill, the Scorpio Turret, is basically a fifth player that doesn't steal your loot.
It’s funny because, in the early game, the turret feels kinda weak. It pops up, shoots a few rounds, and then gets destroyed by a psycho with a cleaver. But once you start digging into the Infantry and Support skill trees? That’s when Roland becomes a god. If you’ve ever played co-op, you know the feeling of desperately huddling behind Roland’s turret shield while the "Supply" skill regenerates your ammo. It turned the game into a tactical shooter for thirty seconds at a time.
He’s the only character that really makes the combat feel like a team effort. Without him, a four-player session often devolves into four people running in opposite directions. Roland keeps the group tethered. Plus, his "Stat" skill increases magazine size for basically everything. In a game about finding the biggest gun, having more bullets in the mag is a mathematical win you can't ignore.
The Ammo Regen Myth
A lot of people think Roland is just the "healer." That’s a mistake. While he has the Cauterized skill—which, hilariously, lets you heal teammates by shooting them in the face—his real power is logistical. He’s the only way to avoid the constant, soul-crushing "Out of Ammo" click during long boss fights like the Rakk Hive.
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Lilith and the "Broken" Siren Meta
If Roland is the backbone, Lilith is the glitch in the matrix. She is arguably the most powerful of the Borderlands 1 playable characters by a significant margin.
Phasewalk. That's the whole tweet.
With the right build, Lilith can become virtually invisible and invincible whenever things get too spicy. You press the button, you vanish into a purple haze, move at 200% speed, and then explode back into reality with a shockwave that melts shields. It’s a get-out-of-jail-free card that also happens to be a nuclear bomb.
But here’s what most people get wrong about Lilith: she isn't just about the Phasewalk. She is the elemental queen. If you aren't using a Maliwan SMG with her "Spark" and "Phoenix" skills, you're playing her at 10% capacity. Phoenix is particularly ridiculous—it gives you a chance to not consume ammo and literally lights you on fire, dealing constant damage to anyone standing near you.
It’s chaotic. It’s loud. It makes the screen a mess of orange and green numbers.
The downside? Lilith is a glass cannon. If your Phasewalk is on cooldown and you get caught in the open by a Badass Bruiser, you are going down. She requires a rhythmic playstyle. In, out, burn, hide. Repeat until the loot drops.
Mordecai: The Hunter Who Broke the Economy
Mordecai is for the people who want to play a different game entirely. While everyone else is worrying about fire rates and shield capacities, Mordecai is looking for that one-shot kill. He’s the sniper, the loner, and the guy who brought a bird to a gunfight.
Bloodwing is a polarizing mechanic. Some players love the "fire and forget" nature of the bird, while others find the AI a bit wonky. But when you spec into the "Bird of Prey" skill, Bloodwing can strike up to six targets before returning. It’s basically a heat-seeking missile that heals you on the way back.
Sniper vs. Revolver
Most players stick to snipers with Mordecai because, well, he’s a "Hunter." However, the secret sauce is the "Pistol" skill tree. A Mordecai with a high-end Masher (a revolver that shoots like a shotgun) and the "Gun Slinger" skill is the highest DPS build in the entire game. You can fan the hammer faster than most SMGs can fire.
He also has the "Trespasser" skill. This is a game-changer. It allows your bullets to completely ignore enemy shields. Imagine fighting the final boss and just... shooting through its protection. It feels like cheating. Honestly, it kind of is.
Brick: Being the Berserker in a Gun Game
Then there’s Brick. Brick is a giant man who wants to punch things. In a game titled "Borderlands," which is famous for having "gazillions of guns," Brick’s primary ability is to put his guns away and use his fists.
It’s a bold design choice.
Playing Brick is an exercise in controlled aggression. His action skill, Berserk, puts the game into a first-person brawler mode where you gain massive damage resistance and health regeneration. The screen turns red, your pulse beats in your ears, and you just mash the triggers.
- The Blast Master: Despite the punching, Brick’s hidden talent is explosives. He gets massive bonuses to rocket launchers and grenades.
- The Tank: He has the highest natural health pool. If you want to stand in the middle of a bandit camp and laugh while they shoot you, Brick is your guy.
- The Speed: A weird quirk of Brick’s "Sting like a Bee" skill allows him to lunge massive distances. You become a homing missile of meat.
Brick is often ranked as the "worst" character for solo play against certain bosses (trying to punch a flying Destroyer is... an experience), but he is the most fun for pure visceral feedback. There is something deeply satisfying about punching a midget so hard he flies across the map.
Choosing Your Vault Hunter: The Harsh Truths
Selecting from the Borderlands 1 playable characters usually comes down to how much you trust your own aim.
If your aim is shaky, go with Roland or Brick. The turret and the fists don't require surgical precision. If you fancy yourself a pro-gamer who lives for headshots, Mordecai is the only choice. If you want to feel like a literal god who ignores the rules of physics, pick Lilith.
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The game doesn't tell you that the skill trees are somewhat lopsided. For instance, Roland’s medic skills are almost useless if you’re playing solo. Brick’s explosive skills are amazing, but rocket launcher ammo is expensive and rare in the early game. These are the nuances that only reveal themselves after you’ve dumped twenty hours into a save file.
Weapon Proficiencies Matter
Unlike later games, Borderlands 1 has a "Weapon Proficiency" system. The more you use a certain type of gun, the better you get with it. This means that even though any character can use any gun, you are heavily incentivized to specialize.
- Roland: Combat Rifles and Shotguns.
- Lilith: SMGs and Elemental weapons.
- Mordecai: Snipers and Pistols.
- Brick: Rocket Launchers and... fists.
If you start switching weapon types mid-game, you’ll find your damage falling behind the curve. It’s a restrictive system that Gearbox eventually ditched, but it adds a layer of "commitment" to your character build that the sequels lack.
The Legacy of the Original Four
Why do we still care about these four? Because they weren't just archetypes; they became the NPCs that drove the narrative for the next decade. When you see Roland in Borderlands 2, he isn't just a quest giver—he's your Roland. You remember the time you used his turret to survive the Underdome.
The simplicity of the Borderlands 1 playable characters is their strength. Modern RPGs often overwhelm you with fifty different sub-stats and complex crafting loops. Here, it’s straightforward. You pick a guy (or a siren), you find a gun that shoots fire, and you see how long you can survive.
The game is clunky by today's standards. The FOV is tight, the menus are a bit of a disaster, and the ending is famously anti-climactic. But the core loop—the relationship between your character's unique skill and the loot you find—is perfect. It’s why people are still playing the "Game of the Year" enhanced editions on modern consoles.
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Practical Tips for New Players in 2026
If you are jumping back in for a nostalgia trip or playing for the first time, keep these three things in mind. First, don't ignore the side quests. In Borderlands 1, being even two levels under a boss makes the fight nearly impossible due to the way damage scaling works. Second, keep an eye out for "Double" or "Anarchy" prefixes on SMGs; they are the most powerful weapons in the game, regardless of your class. Third, remember that shields with "Quick Health Regeneration" are more valuable than shields with high capacity.
The journey from Firestone to the Vault is long and filled with annoying claptraps, but it's a rite of passage. Whether you’re sniping with Mordecai or phase-blasting with Lilith, these characters are the reason the franchise exists. They aren't just icons; they are the gold standard for how to make a class-based shooter feel personal.
Next Steps for Your Playthrough:
Check the level requirements of your current active quests. If you are more than one level below the recommendation, head to the nearest bounty board and clear out the minor tasks in the Arid Hills or Rust Commons. Focus your skill points into a single tree until you reach the "Capstone" ability at the bottom; spreading points across all three trees too early will leave you underpowered for the mid-game spike. Finally, always carry at least one weapon of each elemental type—Shock for shields, Corrosive for armor (Crimson Lance), and Fire for flesh—to ensure you're never stuck chipping away at a boss's health bar.