Borderlands 4 is adding Loveless the Hacker on September 10th, and Gearbox says its newest Vault Hunter was deliberately built to fill a gap that has existed since Zer0.
2K and Gearbox have properly pulled back the curtain on Loveless, the new playable Vault Hunter joining Borderlands 4 as paid DLC next week.
Loveless is an ex-Anshin hacker turned assassin whose consciousness is shared with Wyrm, a digital virus of her own creation capable of taking physical form. The result is a character built around hacking, stealth, precision and some seriously aggressive close range options.
But for Gearbox, Loveless also represents the return of a character archetype players haven’t properly had for some time.
Speaking with us, Player Character Design Director Nick Thurston and Game Designer Ryan Bailey explained that the team specifically looked at what was missing from the existing Vault Hunter roster.
‘Every time we build a new Vault Hunter, we ask what we haven’t done yet and what fans might be missing. For Loveless, that meant finally building out the assassin archetype, someone going in and out of the shadows, using sniper rifles and melee attacks, a fantasy that had been missing since Zer0. We also hadn’t built a true hacker character before, so we leaned into that archetype. This allows all kinds of Sniper and damage over time builds that we think players will really enjoy!’
Borderlands 4 – Official Character Short – Loveless (Uncontainable)
Meet Loveless
That philosophy runs straight through Loveless’ three Action Skills.
Plague Star lets players launch a shuriken through groups of enemies while spreading Contagion. Visual Paradox Nexus, brilliantly shortened to VPN, cloaks Loveless while creating a decoy to screw with enemies.
Malignant Construct takes another route entirely, unleashing Wyrm as a physical creature capable of tearing into targets with tail attacks and toxic breath.
Loveless specialises in Critical Hits, Status Effects, Corrosive damage and Radiation damage, while her RAM Trait charges through successful crits and inflicted Status Effects.
Fill the RAM bar and her next melee attack receives boosted damage through her Techno-Kagi Claws, while the amount of accumulated RAM also increases gun damage.
It’s a toolkit that sounds considerably more calculated than simply walking into a room and unloading everything you’ve got. Loveless looks built for players who want to disappear, reposition and then make something regret turning its back.
Borderlands 4 – Official Gameplay Overview – Loveless
Loveless Arrives September 10th
Loveless launches on September 10th alongside Borderlands 4 Version 1.10, Story Pack 2: FL4K and the Last Resort and Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows.
The update will also increase the maximum level cap by 10 levels and introduce balance changes across various Vault Hunters.
Loveless is included through the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Pack and Super Deluxe Edition, and will also be available separately.
More can be found here.
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