Borderlands 4’s Rafa, the Exo Soldier, might look like a walking tank with his cannons and blades, but he’s only as strong as the build you put together.
With four Vault Hunters to pick from, each with a different fighting style, Rafa’s kit is all about heavy ordnance and shock damage. Whether you prefer charged blasts, auto-turrets, or dashing melee combos, Rafa has a build that can fit your playstyle.
So, if you’ve tested Amon, Vex, or Harlowe and settled on this powerhouse in an exosuit, you’re in the right place. Here’s the best build for Rafa in Borderlands 4.
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Gearbox
Best Rafa build
The best build for Rafa focuses on Peacebreaker Cannons for survivability and damage, while mixing in Overdrive for extra DPS and shield sustain. His other playstyles, the Lance and Arc Knives, are excellent alternatives, but the cannon build offers the strongest foundation for new players.
- Best skills: Bullet Buddy Deluxe, Instincto, Unmissable Missiles, Shielded Systems, Overclocked Reload, Grenadier Sync, Thundercutter
- Best Action Skill for solo: Peacebreaker Cannons
- Best Action Skill for co-op: Arc Knives
- Capstone: Beam Team or Hurricane of Special depending on build
- Weapon type: High fire-rate elemental guns to pair with shield regen and Overdrive bonuses
Best skills to choose
Solo
Action Skill: Peacebreaker Cannons
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Peacebreaker Cannons deploy Rafa’s shoulder-mounted turrets, auto-firing kinetic gun damage at enemies ahead. With augments like Bullet Buddy Deluxe for ammo regen and bonus fire damage, and Instincto for crit bursts, this becomes Rafa’s most reliable all-round solo setup.
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To find the skill you want, type it into the filter under skill to uncover whether it’s a good one to invest in and how many points you should put into it.
Gearbox
Ammo regen during cannons, bonus fire damage scaling with mag size
Activate cannons for crit chance, re-activate for double crit and hit damage
Re-activate to fire a homing rocket volley
Increased shield recharge rate while Overdrive is active
Kills restore a portion of your shield
Bonus gun damage while shields are up, doubled at full shield
One cannon becomes shock beam, the other corrosive beam, bonus status effect damage
Co-op
Action Skill: Arc Knives
Arc Knives turn Rafa into a melee bruiser with dashes, shock combos, and mark mechanics. In groups, this makes Rafa the perfect frontline disruptor, marking targets for allies and detonating them for AoE bursts.
To find the skill you want, type it into the filter under skill to uncover whether it’s a good one to invest in and how many points you should put into it.
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Arc Knives deal shock splash damage and increased blast damage
Activate cannons for crit chance, re-activate for double crit and hit damage
Re-activate to fire a homing rocket volley
Increased shield recharge rate while Overdrive is active
Kills restore a portion of your shield
Bonus gun damage while shields are up, doubled at full shield
One cannon becomes shock beam, the other corrosive beam, bonus status effect damage
Gearbox
Best Capstone
Rafa has several strong Capstone options:
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- Beam Team is the best for Peacebreaker builds, turning your cannons into elemental beams with status synergies.
- Hurricane of Special makes Arc Knives devastating in groups, pulling enemies into shock singularities.
- Inferno Protocol offers a high-risk, high-reward fire reflection setup that heals you as you unleash damage.
Weapon type
Rafa works best with fast-firing elemental weapons that keep up his DPS while his Action Skills cycle. SMGs and ARs are ideal, as they synergize with his shield sustain passives.
Avoid slow, single-shot rifles when using cannons. You’ll want consistent uptime and ammo feeding. For Arc Knife builds, melee-enhancing gear and shock/corrosive combos work best.
How to play Rafa
Rafa is built for aggression, so you should play him accordingly.
- In solo play, Peacebreaker Cannons give you survivability through shield regen and ammo sustain, letting you handle both mobs and bosses. Use Beam Team to apply status effects for extra damage.
- In co-op, Arc Knives shine by letting you dive in, mark enemies, and detonate them for huge team burst damage. With Hurricane of Special, you control entire groups while allies clean up.
- The Lance remains Rafa’s precision option, which is great for sniping elites or piercing mini-bosses, especially with Engorged Ball or Project Gorgon for AoE.
So, that’s all you need to know about how to build the perfect Vex in Borderlands 4. While exploring Kairos, be sure to check out how to bag some free rewards through Twitch Drops, or all Borderlands games in order.
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