Let’s be real. Pandora was a total dump back in 2009. Before the flashy UI of the sequels and the trillion-gun marketing campaigns, we just had a bus, a robot with an annoying voice, and four weirdos looking for a payday. Those Borderlands 1 vault hunters basically built the looter-shooter genre from scratch. If you go back and play the Enhanced Edition today, it’s actually shocking how much Gearbox got right on the first try, even if the characters didn't talk much back then.
They weren't "heroes." Not really.
Lilith, Mordecai, Brick, and Roland were just mercenaries. They were looking for the Vault, a mythical cache of alien tech that everyone thought was a fairy tale. What’s wild is how these four archetypes—Siren, Hunter, Berserker, and Soldier—became the blueprint for every character class we’ve seen in the decade since. You can see pieces of Roland in every "turret guy" and echoes of Lilith in every "space magic" build.
The Siren Nobody Saw Coming
Lilith is arguably the most important character in the entire franchise history. In the original game, she was the "Siren" class, and honestly? She was broken. Her Phasewalk ability let her turn invisible, move at lightning speed, and regenerate health all at once. It was a literal "get out of jail free" card. You’d get surrounded by Psychos, pop your action skill, and just... leave.
Most people don't remember that Sirens were supposed to be incredibly rare. Only six can exist in the universe at one time. Playing Lilith wasn't just about the power trip; it was about the elemental damage. If you found a "Hellfire" SMG, the game was basically over. You could melt anything.
The lore surrounding Lilith has shifted a lot. In the first game, she’s just there for the loot. By the time Borderlands 2 and 3 rolled around, she became the "Firehawk" and eventually the leader of the Crimson Raiders. But that raw, unrefined version of her in the original game? That was where the obsession with elemental builds started. Fire, Shock, Corrosive—she handled it all better than anyone else.
Why Roland Was More Than a Turret
Roland is the "Soldier." On paper, he sounds boring. He’s the guy who throws down a Scorpio Turret and hides behind a shield. But if you were playing four-player co-op back in the day, the Roland player was the backbone of the entire operation.
His skill tree was less about "look at my cool powers" and more about "I’m going to make sure nobody dies." He could spec into skills that allowed his turret to heal teammates or replenish their ammo just by standing near it. It was a support role in a game that didn't really tell you it had roles.
- He provided the only reliable ammo regeneration in the early game.
- His "Stat" skill made him incredibly tanky after a kill.
- He could turn any shotgun into a sniper rifle with the right proficiencies.
It’s interesting to look back at how Roland's personality was almost non-existent in the first game. He was just a guy who liked guns. Gearbox eventually turned him into the "straight man" of the group, the serious leader who had to deal with the insanity of Handsome Jack. But in the original Borderlands 1 vault hunters lineup, he was just the guy you wanted on your team when the Rakk Hive showed up.
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Mordecai and the Bloodwing Meta
If you liked clicking heads, you played Mordecai. He was the "Hunter," the glass cannon of the group. He had the lowest health but the highest burst damage potential. And he had Bloodwing.
Bloodwing was a beast. Literally. You’d send that bird out, and it would fly around the battlefield, striking multiple enemies and dropping health or money. If you went down the "Sniper" tree, you could ignore enemy shields entirely. Imagine fighting a boss with a massive energy shield and just... shooting right through it. Mordecai didn't care about your defenses.
The funny thing about Mordecai is that he was actually better with revolvers than snipers. The "Gunslinger" tree turned him into a close-range monster. With a Masher (a revolver that shot like a shotgun), Mordecai could out-DPS almost anyone in the game. It was a weird quirk of the original game's balance.
The Unmatched Chaos of Brick
Then there’s Brick. He’s the Berserker. His action skill? He puts his guns away and punches things. It’s glorious.
Brick represented the more "arcadey" side of the original game. While the other three were worried about cover and tactics, Brick was screaming and running headfirst into a group of Badass Mutants. His "Berserk" mode gave him massive damage resistance and health regen.
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- He excelled with explosive weapons.
- His "Blast Master" class mod is still legendary among fans.
- He could move faster than a Runner vehicle if you timed his kills right.
What really makes Brick stand out is how he subverted the "tank" trope. Usually, the big guy is slow and boring. Brick was fast. He was loud. He was the embodiment of the game's "87 bazillion guns" philosophy, even though his best weapon was his own two hands.
The Weapon Proficiency System We Miss
One thing that the original Borderlands 1 vault hunters had to deal with—that modern players don't—was the Weapon Proficiency system.
The more you used a specific type of gun, the better you got with it. If you used shotguns for twenty hours, your reload speed and damage with shotguns would skyrocket. This created a much deeper bond between the player and their gear. You didn't just find a better gun; you earned the right to be deadly with it.
It was a grind, sure. But it meant that a level 50 Lilith who specialized in SMGs felt completely different from a level 50 Lilith who used Snipers. Modern Borderlands games replaced this with Badass Rank or Guardian Rank, which are account-wide bonuses. It’s more convenient, but it lost that "RPG" feel of the original.
What Everyone Gets Wrong About the First Game
A lot of people think the first game is "empty" or "unfinished" compared to the sequels. That’s a mistake. The original game had an atmosphere that the sequels lost. It was lonely. It felt like a Spaghetti Western in space.
The Vault Hunters weren't celebrities yet. They were just four people on a bus. There was a sense of mystery about the Eridians and the Vault that has been somewhat diluted by the later games' focus on constant jokes and "saving the universe" stakes. In the original, you were just trying to survive the night.
Actionable Steps for Returning Players
If you're looking to jump back into the original game or try it for the first time, don't play it like Borderlands 3. It’s a different beast.
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Pick Lilith for a solo run. She is the most self-sufficient character. Between Phasewalk and her elemental buffs, you can handle any situation without needing a teammate to revive you.
Watch your weapon levels. Don't just look at the damage numbers. Check the "Level Requirement." A level 15 gun will almost always outperform a level 5 gun, even if the lower-level gun is a "Legendary." The scaling in the first game is steep.
Ignore the "white" rarity loot early on. Unlike later games where common guns can be okay, the original game's loot pool is heavily weighted. Look for "Green" or "Blue" rarity as soon as possible. And if you see a "Pestilent Defiler" revolver, pick it up. It’s arguably the best gun in the game for dealing with armored enemies (Crimson Lance).
Farm the Gift Shop. If you have the DLC (specifically Claptrap's New Robot Revolution), the ending gives you access to a room full of chests that reset. It is the single best way to gear up for the endgame "Pearlescent" hunt.
Don't ignore the side quests. In Borderlands 1, the main story missions will often jump in difficulty by 3-4 levels. If you don't do the side content, you will hit a wall where enemies are "Skull" ranked and you can't touch them.
The original four vault hunters are the reason this series exists. They weren't perfect, and their skill trees were a bit messy, but they had a charm that defines the franchise even today. Whether you're punching skags as Brick or sniping from the shadows as Mordecai, the core loop of "kill, loot, repeat" started right here on the dusty plains of the Arid Badlands. Check your shields, grab your favorite revolver, and get back out there. Pandora isn't going to loot itself.