Borderlands 3 classes list, best class builds and how to respec classes explained
How to get the most out of Amara, Fl4k, Moze and Zane in Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3 classes brings four new Vault Hunters to the crazy world of Pandora, each with their own playstyles.
After you've chosen the best class for you, it's time to get the most of them with the best class builds to aim towards.
And, while there are no wrong choices ultimately, but if you do regret placing points into the wrong skill, then learning how to respec in Borderlands 3 will become useful.
On this page:
- Borderlands 3 classes explained, and what is the best class choice for you?
- Borderlands 3 best Amara build recommendations
- Borderlands 3 best Fl4k build recommendations
- Borderlands 3 best Moze build recommendations
- Borderlands 3 best Zane build recommendations
- How do Action Skills work and how do you respec in Borderlands 3?
- How to respec your Skill Points in Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 classes explained, and what is the best class choice for you?
In Borderlands 3, each Vault Hunter - or class - has their own playstyle, which is made up of their three Skill Trees and various Action Skills. It's worth exploring what each Vault Hunter has to offer, before you start playing Borderlands 3 to ensure your making the decision that's right for you.
Here is each Borderlands 3 class and their Skill Tree in detail:
There is no such thing as the best class - it all depends on your playstyle and experience. We go into more detail in their respective best build sections, but we'd recommend:
- For beginners, we'd suggest Moze and Zane. Both have Skill Trees that are dedicated to boosting their Shields, bringing that added protection you need in the toughest of battles.
- For returning players, we'd recommend Amara and Fl4k. Amara is focused around dealing large amount of damage by skilfully using both her melee attacks and her variety of Action Skills; since Borderlands is a very Gun Damage focused series, you need to have a good understanding of the game mechanics to properly utilise these abilities. Fl4k, meanwhile, brings a whole new playstyle to the Borderlands series with their pets, and to be a successful Fl4k player, you need to be able to balance both Fl4k themselves and your chosen pet.
- For solo players, we believe that Moze is the best character for solo playing, thanks to her mixture of offensive and defensive Passive Abilities, it's very easy to build up a strong character build.
Still undecided, or made a decision and want to know more about the best builds for a particular character? Read the following sections for some specific build recommendations...
Borderlands 3 best Amara build recommendations
What do you need to know about Amara?
Amara's Skill Trees revolve around different supernatural Siren, powers. Each one will allow you to attack your enemies in a variety of different ways.
Amara is focused around dealing large amount of damage by skilfully using both her melee attacks and her variety of Action Skills; since Borderlands is a very Gun Damage focused series, you need to have a good understanding of the game mechanics to properly utilise these abilities.
Amara can also only equip one Action Skill, Action Skill Effect and Action Skill Element. While this may seem like a lot, in reality it will force you to be far more selective with your choices as you navigate her Skill Tree.
To truly take advantage of Amara's abilities, you need to not only have a good understanding of the Borderlands combat system, but, possibly, a detailed knowledge of Borderlands 3 itself.
Best Amara builds
First, we'd recommend reading about Amara's Skill Trees to get familiar with their many abilities and powers.
If you want to prioritise melee, then Arekkz's shock brawler build allows you to dish out a lot of up-close-and-personal damage. This focuses on the Brawl Tree, and has you max out the likes of Personal Space, Root To Rise, In Harm's Way, Find Your Centre and Mindfulness to ensure a balance of survivability and blunt damage output:
Similarly, our own video team recommends a Rush build that uses more of the Mystical Assault and Fist of the Elements Skill Trees to prioritise on Rush stacks.
Borderlands 3 best Fl4k build recommendations
What do you need to know about Fl4k?
Fl4k the Beastmaster is a wandering robot accompanied by their collection of monstrous pets. It's these pets that make Fl4k stand out from the rest of the Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3, as you can have one accompanying you at all times.
Each pet will attack your foes in a different way and provide a variety of different bonuses to help Fl4k in battle. The Jabber can shoot enemies with its pistol, while the Spiderant can charge at large groups of enemies to cause damage. Finally, there is the Skag that will vomit acid on your enemies.
To be a successful Fl4k player, you need to be able to balance both Fl4k themselves and your chosen pet. This means you need to remember to invest Skill Points equally into Passive Abilities that benefit Fl4k and their pet.
Favouring one over the other will prevent Fl4k from reaching their full potential and could leave you in a nasty situation if a battle turns sour.
Fl4k's pet can also help you create whole new strategies for tackling fights, because you have to take into account both their attacks and health. You wouldn't want your pet to die, would you?
Best Fl4k builds
First, we'd recommend reading all of Fl4k skill trees to get familiar with their many abilities and powers.
Arekkz has a high damage Stalker build that focuses more on Fl4k's damage output than that of his pets, and uses - as you may have guessed - the Stalker tree, focusing on maxing out the likes of Fade Away, Furious Attack, Overclocked and Eager to Impress, with some attention paid to Interplanetary Stalker, Ambush Handler and more which provides some stacking bonuses:
Don't fancy that? Our own video team recommends a pet-heavy build which focuses mostly on the Stalker and Master Skill Trees to priortise the health, damage and strength of your pets.
Borderlands 3 best Moze build recommendations
What do you need to know about Moze?
Moze the Gunner is a former Vladof soldier and is accompanied by her tank, Iron Bear.
Moze's Skill Trees have two main goals - customising Iron Bear with a variety of weapons and helping Moze cause as much pain as possible.
Iron Bear can have two different weapons equipped at a time, which means that Moze have two different Action Skills equipped.
Moze is also a good choice if you want to experiment with the new Action Skill system in Borderlands 3. Since you can equip two Action Skills, Moze offers you the opportunity to experiment with a variety of different Action Skills, until you find your perfect combination.
Not only that, but the Iron Bear is a fantastic way to fight in both easy and difficult battles. All the different weapons are very effective against your enemies and there is also a selection of Passive Abilities that upgrade Iron Bear as well.
Finally, it's worth noting for series fans that Moze seems to have been partly inspired by Gaige from the Mechromancer DLC for Borderlands 2, who was a great choice for solo players thanks to her Action Skill Deathtrap.
Best Moze builds
First, we'd recommend reading Moze skill tree to get familiar with their many abilities and powers.
One we'd really recommend is Arekkz's splash damage build described as "absolutely insane" and "broken in a good way", which combines high damage output with a healthy amount of survivability so you can keep fighting pretty much no matter what comes you way. It focuses mostly on the Demolition Woman tree and Moze herself rather than her tank:
Meanwhile, our own video team recommends a Tediore Moze build which takes advantage of the Matched Set skill among other skills for a huge amount of fire damage output.
Borderlands 3 best Zane build recommendations
What do you need to know about Zane?
Zane the Operative is a self-retired corporate hitman, who has a variety of gadgets to help him get the job done.
You can have two of Zane's Action Skills equipped at a time, with two Action Skill Augments for each one. This makes Zane, out of all the new Vault Hunters, is the most customizable.
Zane, especially, is great for defence focused players as his Skill Tree, Under Cover, allows him to use the Action Skill Barrier, which, as the name suggests, allows you to create a protective barrier between you and your foes.
Best Zane builds
First, we'd recommend reading Zane's skill trees to get familiar with their many abilities and powers.
Just because Zane might have some defensive focused abilities doesn't mean he's not useful in offence. Arekkz's high damage Zane build which balances survivability, damage output, mobility and grenade spamming from both you and your drone.
Similarly, our own video team recommends a 'get off my lawn' build, a very Doubled Agent heavy build that priorises your clone and barrier skills, as well as a focus on freezing enemies to give you some breathing room.
How do Action Skills work in Borderlands 3?
Each Vault Hunter has three different Skill Trees for you to choose from. These Skill Trees focus on different aspects of your chosen Vault Hunter; one Skill Tree may focus on Elemental Damage, while another enhances your character's defences.
When you pick a Skill Tree, you'll receive your first Action Skill. This a unique move that will help you control the battlefield and destroy your enemies. It does, however, have a Cooldown Timer, so you can't over use it.
Investing Skill Points in your chosen Skill Tree will allow you to unlock a variety of new Abilities. These include:
- Action Skill - in Borderlands 3 you can unlock additional Action Skills from the various Skill Trees
- Action Skill Augment - these will provide new features to your chosen Action Skill, such as different forms of Elemental Damage
- Action Skill Element - unique to Amara the Siren, these change the Elemental Damage her Action Skill cause
- Action Skill Effect - Amara the Siren's version of Action Skill Augments
- Kill Skill - bonuses that only activate once you've killed an enemy
- Passive Abilities - bonuses and abilities you receive while fighting that don't have any requirements
You receive Skill Points from completing the story line Missions and Side Missions you find throughout the galaxy.
Each Vault Hunter can equip a different number of Action Skills and Action Skill Augments. This gives you a lot of opportunities to customise your Vault Hunter and experiment with your playstyle.
Borderlands 3 has arrived! Check out our skill tree guides for Amara, Fl4k, Moze and Zane.
If you're looking for more challenges to complete, check out our guides on the Dead Claptraps, Broadcast Towers, Eridian Writing,Hijack Targets, Legendary Hunts and Typhon Logs and Typhon Dead Drops. If you want some easy rewards, consult our Borderlands 3 Shift Codes and VIP Codes page. When you've finished Borderlands 3, visit our guides on Guardian Rank and Rewards, Mayhem Mode and True Vault Hunter mode to learn more about what you unlock in the post-game.
How to respec your Skill Points in Borderlands 3
Like previous Borderlands games, you can respec your Skill Points and Skill Trees by visiting a Quick Change Station.
Once you're at the nearest Quick Change, you'll easily find the option to respec at the bottom of the Station menu.
The respec cost in Borderlands 3 depends on your level and the amount of Skill Point you've used. When we were Level 14, for example, our Respec cost was $664.
You can find Quick Change Stations all over the Borderlands universe, but the easiest Station to reach is on Sanctuary. It's only a couple of steps away from the Fast Travel point.