Best Starting Class & Solo Class (Vex vs. Rafa vs. Amon vs. Harlowe) [Tier List]

Start strong, die less—our early‑game, solo‑friendly ranking of Borderlands 4’s four Vault Hunters, with plug‑and‑play skill paths that keep you alive.

Borderlands 4 drops you into Kairos with four brand‑new Vault Hunters—Vex (Siren), Rafa (Exo‑Soldier), Amon (Forgeknight), and Harlowe (Gravitar)—each built around a distinct combat identity. If you’re playing solo or just want the easiest path through the opening hours, not all classes are created equal. This guide ranks the best starting and solo classes, then gives you practical, early‑level skill picks that boost survivability, damage uptime, and ammo economy—the three pillars of painless leveling.

TL;DR Tier List (Solo & Early‑Game)

• S‑Tier: Rafa – The most “pick‑up‑and‑go” starter; constant speed/damage and forgiving sustain built into his Overdrive kit.
• S‑Tier: Vex – A solo powerhouse with taunting minions, passive healing, and flexible elemental attunements; slightly more setup than Rafa but incredibly safe.
• A‑Tier: Harlowe – Elite crowd control and shields on tap; great safety once Entanglement chains are rolling, but requires you to play the field.
• A‑Tier: Amon – A tanky brawler who thrives up close; durable from minute one, but positioning and melee commitment raise the skill floor.

How we graded

We focused on levels 1–20 priorities that matter in solo:

1. Survivability you can feel: passive regen, overshields, life‑steal, and ways to avoid chip damage.
2. Damage uptime: things that smooth weapon handling, cooldowns, ammo, and kill‑skill chains.
3. Ease of use with random loot: strong without needing a perfect gun drop.
4. Boss friendliness early: burst on demand and threat control.

S‑Tier #1 (Best Overall Starter): Rafa – The Exo‑Soldier

Why Rafa first? Every time Rafa fires up an action skill, he enters Overdrive, a class trait that juiced my survivability checklist in one go: more movement speed and more damage from all sources while Overdrive lasts. You keep Overdrive rolling by using action skills smartly, so Rafa’s kit naturally teaches you a safer tempo—move faster, kill faster, spend less time exposed.

What Rafa is good at early

• Simple sustain & speed: Overdrive bakes in combat mobility and damage, and several early skills add health regen or shield quality-of-life.
• Flexible action skills:
  • Apophis Lance (arm cannon) for instant ranged punch and early bosses.
  • Peacebreaker Cannons (deployable turrets) for safe, steady pressure.
  • Arc‑Knives for melee‑centric moments.

Early‑game skill path (levels 2–15)

Focus People Person first for buttery gunplay and survivability; it’s all gas, no fuss:

1. Rinse (5/5) – Reload speed = damage uptime.
2. The Thrill (5/5) – Big fire‑rate bump, even bigger during Overdrive.
3. Las Jaras (2–5/5 as points allow) – Ammo regen while Overdrive is up = no awkward dry spells.
4. Pa’ Dentro (1–3/5) – Free health regen on action skill activation.
5. Preparado (1–3/5) – Reloads feed your cooldown; ties the loop together.

Optional dip (Remote Agent):

• Sitiar (gun damage) and Deft Hands (fire rate) keep it simple;
• Shield Barriest adds shield recharge while Overdrive is active—tasty for solo sustain.

Survivability tips

• Devil‑May‑Care (Remote Agent) later gives move speed + health regen while Overdrive is active; just don’t idle with Overdrive down.
• CYA restores shields on kill, and Resiliencia adds damage reduction during Overdrive—both are low‑friction safety nets as you scale into tougher arenas.

Play pattern

Pop an action skill → you’re in Overdrive → sprint, slide, and snap‑aim. With Las Jaras your mag feels bottomless; with Rinse and The Thrill, guns hum. If a fight drags or a boss leans on you, fire Apophis Lance for instant authority, then reload to accelerate your next cooldown via Preparado. It’s elegant, and it works on any random blue you pick up.

S‑Tier #2 (Safest Soloer): Vex – The Siren

Why Vex is a solo dream: Vex’s Phase Covenant trait changes all action‑skill + melee damage to match your current gun’s element. Even better, Dead Ringer lets you spawn a Reaper that taunts (soaks aggro) or a Specter that provides safe ranged damage—minions that literally buy you breathing room. That’s priceless in solo.

What Vex is good at early

• Reliable off‑tanking: Spawn a Reaper first in new areas; it taunts and keeps trash mobs off you while you reposition.
• Built‑in healing: Sanguine Fiends (kill‑skill heals for you and minions) and Coven (regen after minion spawns) handle chip damage so you don’t burn repkits.
• Flexible elements, low drama: You can start Attuned to Kinetic for lifesteal later, but early on just match your best gun/element and let Phase Covenant carry.

Early‑game skill path (levels 2–15)

Open in The Fourth Seal (the minion tree) to turn every corridor into a 2‑on‑1:

1. Sanguine Fiends (5/5) – Kill‑skill heals you and your minions; solo gold.
2. Cold Iron (5/5) – Flat gun damage for you and your minions.
3. Fell Inscriptions (3–5/5) – Extra max health + melee power.
4. Coven (augment) – Spawn buffs: regen on Reaper, crit chance on Specter.
5. Grave Quickening (when available) – Faster action‑skill cooldown; more minions, more safety.

Attunement choices for safety:

• Leeching Attunement (Kinetic) – Lifesteal + reload speed; extremely forgiving in boss rooms.
• Shocking Attunement (Shock) – Mobility & gun damage while moving; kite forever.
  (Attunement options are part of Vex’s kit; pick what supports your best drop.)

Survivability tips

• Keep a Reaper out for taunts; resummon to refresh Coven’s regen window.
• Use Idle Hands early for reload speed tied to your health fullness—pairs nicely with Sanguine Fiends’ drip‑heal.
• Hungry for more safety later? Branch into Here Comes Trouble for Overshield/ordnance synergy and Overheal (health regen while you have Overshield).

Play pattern

Spawn a Reaper → strafe while it soaks → delete priority targets with your best elemental match. Your healing and aggro control are passive; you can focus on positioning, swapping to whatever gun the loot gods handed you, and pushing objectives without panic.

A‑Tier #3: Harlowe – The Gravitar (Control‑First, Very Safe)

Why Harlowe climbs in solo: Entanglement is her trait—enemies you tag with an action skill become linked and share a portion of gun and skill damage. That’s sneaky survivability: you end fights faster by damaging groups together, and you can play the edge of the battlefield while packs melt. Her flagship CHROMA Accelerator shoots a Cryo‑heavy energy pocket you can pop for a big Radiation blast, giving you instant CC plus AoE.

What Harlowe is good at early

• CC that keeps you safe: Cryo slows and freezes; Entanglement spreads pain so you don’t overextend.
• Shields on demand: PPE (shield cap + recharge), Elephant’s Foot (one‑point safety valve that detonates Radiation on shield break and grants Overshield), and later Distribution Function/ Highly Efficient for shield restore make your bar feel “sticky.”

Early‑game skill path (levels 2–15)

Anchor in Creative Bursts first; it front‑loads safety and utility:

1. PPE (5/5) – Big shield + faster recharge.
2. Cyclotron (3–5/5) – Fire rate for smoother gunplay.
3. Elementary (3–5/5) – Elemental damage & DoT scaling.
4. Get Up and Go (3–5/5) – Movement speed on (re)trigger—great for kiting.
5. Elephant’s Foot (1/1) – Radiation pop + Overshield when your shield breaks; this one point saves runs.

When you reach branches/other trees:

• Core Sample (lifesteal vs. frozen) is a terrific sustain button once accessible.
• Highly Efficient (shield restore on skill kills) and Distribution Function (restore shield to you/allies on action‑skill damage) make you feel invincible in mobbing content.

Survivability tips

Fire CHROMA across chokepoints, detonate when it brushes a pack, and re‑tag any survivors to keep Entanglement spreading. You are safest when enemies are frozen and linked—lean into that rhythm.

A‑Tier #4: Amon – The Forgeknight (The Juggernaut)

Why Amon lands A‑Tier: Amon’s kit is an action‑skill brawler dream. His trait, Forgeskill, gives him a secondary action based on the primary skill you’ve slotted—e.g., Molten Slam with Onslaughter (fiery slam), Firewall with Scourge (projectile‑eating barrier), or Double‑Edge with Crucible (twin forgeaxes). Early on, Onslaughter is the friendliest: constant shield regen, bonus incendiary gun damage, and a rocket‑punch dash that staggers regular mobs. You feel tanky immediately.

What Amon is good at early

• Face‑tank fundamentals: Heavy Plate (more max shield & overshield), The Best Defense (overshield on melee), and Impetus (kill‑skill shield regen + move speed) put meat on your bar.
• “Oh no” button: Pyroclast can fully restore health & shields and surrounds you with a damaging storm when you activate Onslaughter—an early panic switch that often flips fights.

Early‑game skill path (levels 2–15)

Go Calamity to lean into the bruiser fantasy right away:

1. What Burns Within (5/5) – Incendiary damage scaling is your bread‑and‑butter.
2. Discombobulate (3–5/5) – Melee crit chance; your dash follows up hard.
3. Heavy Plate (3–5/5) – Bigger shields & overshield cap = time to react.
4. Impetus (3/3) – Kill‑skill speed & shield regen; chain packs safely.
5. The Best Defense (5/5 as you reach it) – Overshield on melee; synergizes with the dash.
6. Pyroclast (augment) – Full restore + DoT aura on activation.

Branch picks when you can:

• Into the Fray (more damage & reduction up close) doubles down on the brawler plan.
• Bloodlust (lifesteal on shield break/activation) gives sticky sustain in longer fights.

Survivability tips

Treat your dash like a gap‑closer and a reset: punch in, unload, then back out while shields climb. If ranged mobs bully you, consider Scourge + Firewall for a fight or two to blunt their pressure, then swap back to Onslaughter once you stabilize.

Which class should you start with?

• Want the easiest time from level 1? → Start Rafa. His Overdrive loop grants speed, damage, and incredibly practical early perks (reload, ammo regen, shield sustain). You’ll feel powerful even with mediocre guns.
• Prefer the safest solo vibe? → Start Vex. A taunting Reaper minion and Sanguine Fiends healing make story missions brain‑relaxing, and Attunements let you lean into whatever drops.
• Love battlefield control and shields? → Harlowe. Entanglement + Cryo/Rad tools chew through mobs while PPE/Elephant’s Foot keep you upright.
• Want to brawl and feel unbreakable? → Amon. Onslaughter with early shield talents gives serious durability; learn spacing and you’re a train.

Early boss tips by class

• Rafa: Apophis Lance chunks boss health and cleans up adds to feed Overdrive. Reload after bursts to accelerate cooldown (Preparado). Keep Devil‑May‑Care active for regen; if you dip, deploy Peacebreaker Cannons for safe damage while kiting.
• Vex: Open with a Reaper to taunt; swap to Specter on stationary bosses for free crits and Ghast Blaster AoE. If you’re struggling to heal through chip damage, switch to Leeching Attunement (Kinetic).
• Harlowe: Thread CHROMA through the boss + adds; detonate to spike Radiation and refresh your pace with Get Up and Go. Core Sample lifesteal (once you unlock it) makes frozen targets pay for standing near you.
• Amon: Onslaughter dash into close range to proc The Best Defense overshields, then hit Pyroclast if the room gets busy. If the boss spams projectiles, Scourge + Firewall is a pocket counter.

Final verdict

• S‑Tier (Best Starter): Rafa. The cleanest early feedback loop and the fewest bad matchups.
• S‑Tier (Best Safety): Vex. Minions and healing let you survive mistakes and bad gear.
• A‑Tier: Harlowe. Amazing control plus shield economy; rewards smart positioning.
• A‑Tier: Amon. Durable and satisfying; demands that you manage distance and commits to melee at the right times.

No matter where you begin, all four Vault Hunters blossom into monsters later. This list is strictly about how fast you get comfortable, how rarely you get downed, and which skills smooth that first dozen levels.