Borderlands 4 Update Notes (September 2025) – Patch Changes, Fixes & Balance Updates

Every Vault Hunter in Borderlands 4 has received a wave of targeted fixes and balancing improvements. These updates are not full reworks but rather precision adjustments meant to make each skill tree function as described, remove unintended bugs, and smooth out edge cases that caused inconsistency in combat. The overall result is a more predictable and reliable combat experience — your skills now perform exactly how the tooltips say they should.

Harlowe the Gravitar

Harlowe’s gravity-based toolkit was always about battlefield control and sustain. However, several of her core passives were underperforming or behaving incorrectly.

• Ground State Capstone now scales properly with enemy health and armor. Previously, its damage curve fell off dramatically against tougher foes, which made the final tier feel weak in end-game play. Now it grows proportionally with enemy defenses, keeping it viable throughout Mayhem-level content.
• Flux Generator, once bugged to occasionally heal enemies during AoE exchanges, now functions correctly. Its shield regeneration only benefits Harlowe and her allies, restoring its intended value as a mid-fight sustain tool.
• Accretion, her key lifesteal passive, has been re-coded for consistency. Before this patch, it sometimes failed to trigger on elemental damage or DoT (damage-over-time) ticks; now it activates from all valid damage types, making hybrid builds — especially shock and radiation — far more reliable.

These changes collectively strengthen Harlowe’s identity as a “gravitic vamp,” a front-line controller who thrives in prolonged fights rather than burst windows. Players running hybrid defensive builds will feel her healing flow much more smoothly now.

Amon the Forgeknight

Amon’s heavy-armor, tech-warrior playstyle has seen important mechanical fixes that improve both solo and co-op reliability.

• Primal Surge — Amon’s key sustain ability — now restores both shields and ammo at consistent rates. It no longer fails to trigger when using elemental launchers or multi-barrel weapons.
• Firewall, which provides protective layering during intense firefights, was previously stacking its bonuses multiple times if triggered in rapid succession. That bug is gone, bringing the skill in line with its description.
• Rocket Punch and Forgeaxe, his melee-powered abilities, now respect proper animation timing and damage scaling. Hit registration has been tightened, meaning the attacks connect more reliably against moving targets and large bosses.

Additionally, Amon’s passive damage reduction scaling has been tuned slightly, improving survivability in group play without turning him into an unkillable tank. For players using “Burning Core” or “Overheat Engine” loadouts, these changes mean smoother cooldown cycles and fewer broken interactions.

Vex the Siren

Vex continues the long Borderlands tradition of mystical Sirens — but she was plagued by inconsistency across her augments. The September update makes her far more predictable and deadly in practiced hands.

• Grave Harvest Augment now only activates while Incarnate is active. This prevents the augment from triggering outside its intended duration, balancing her burst windows and aligning them with cooldown expectations.
• Blight Attunement, a crucial passive that amplifies elemental damage, has been fixed to apply its bonuses consistently across all elements. Players who rely on mixed builds — for example, combining corrosive and cryo — will now see proper stacking and scaling.
• Spirit Bomb, one of her most explosive abilities, now deals damage precisely when the projectile detonates. Before, some hits landed too early or too late, causing missed DPS or wasted skill uses. The new timing is exact, improving rhythm and combo potential.

In addition, Gearbox has improved visual and sound cues for several Siren skills, making it easier to track when Incarnate begins or ends — something many players requested for months. Overall, Vex now feels sharper, faster, and more balanced in both solo and team play.

Rafa the Exo-Soldier

Rafa’s update focuses on consistency and combo flow. He’s the most mechanical of the Vault Hunters, relying on cooldown synergy and explosive chaining.

• His Blowout passive now stacks properly between multiple Action Skill uses. Before, only the first activation in a sequence would register the stacking buff, limiting high-tempo playstyles. After the fix, each skill use contributes to the overall combo count, enabling smoother burst rotations.
• Energy Overload and EMP Cascade, while not listed directly in the notes, received backend timing adjustments that make ability chaining more forgiving. This makes Rafa’s fast-paced playstyle more enjoyable without breaking balance.
• Developers also re-tuned the Exo-Suit’s overheat mechanic, ensuring that its cooldown reduction functions even when interrupted mid-animation.

These fixes make Rafa a powerhouse for players who enjoy aggressive builds with rapid skill cycling and explosive synergy. His gameplay now rewards precision timing, allowing experienced players to push higher difficulty content efficiently.