After revealing gameplay for the first three of Borderlands 3’s Vault Hunters and providing opportunities to preview them with hands-on gameplay, 2K has now officially showcased what the fourth and final character can do. FL4K the Beastmaster is a robot who has several pets that accompany them and is able to control these three companions and direct their movements against enemies. Combine those with their Action Skills and you’ve got potential for some powerful combos. Some of these combos can be seen in the video above that features over 35 minutes of gameplay from our own hands-on experience with FL4K.
When playing as the Vault Hunter, you’re able to choose between three different pets and three different Action Skills. One of each resides in FL4K’s three skill trees, but you’re not restricted to the accompanying pet or Action Skill if you choose one of them in a tree. You can mix and match to have Rakks flying through the air while you control a Jabber or send your Spiderant through a portal that enhances its powers.
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Both the Spiderant and the Skag stood out as some of FL4K’s best options when playing as the Vault Hunter since they get right into the fray of the fight and can draw enemies’ attention away from FL4K. By using the Gamma Burst Action Skill which creates a rift and teleports a pet, you can move them closer to or farther from you quickly with this skill doubling as a revive to pull them out of bad situations.
The Jabber Sidekick in the Stalker tree is powerful as well, though its effects aren’t quite as noticeable as the other two pets. The bonus movement speed provided by the companion can be helpful and it draws attention itself, but since it has a gun and tends to fight at a range, it can sometimes feel like it’s not doing as much as the other two pets.
Each of FL4K’s skill trees looked rewarding in the few hours spent with him, but the Master tree stood out as one that’ll best make the most of FL4K’s Beastmaster persona. It’s all about buffing your pets to make them stronger in battle so that you can stay near and fight alongside them. The invisibility skill from Stalker called Fade Away and the Rakk Attack! skill from the Hunter tree were useful, but the pet-teleporting Gamma Burst rivaled Fade Away in terms of versatility and outmatched Rakk Attack! in terms of effect.
Borderlands 3 releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via the Epic Games Store on September 13th.
