Borderlands 4's Exo-Soldier class Rafa is likely to be a big favorite among players.
Rafa is a wise-cracking soldier with an exo-suit that he uses to destroy enemies on Kairos, and he's a lot of fun to use across a variety of builds and skills. I gravitated to this particular build, though, and I think it's one of the better ones I've used so far.
The build I have a ton of fun with for Rafa is centered around the Peacebreaker Cannons. This shoulder-equipped guns trigger and enter him into Overdrive, which gives him a buff to damage and movement speed.
Borderlands 4 Rafa skills and build
The Peacebreaker Cannons have auto-aim capability and will fire on any enemy within the middle reticle on-screen when you trigger it. Using this and some other unique skills, with this build, Rafa can extend the duration of his action skill to keep the damage flowing.
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Action Skill: Peacebreaker Cannons
- Equip Rafa's Peacebreaker Cannons, which automatically fire at enemies in Rafa's crosshairs, dealing kinetic gun damage. If that enemy dies, the Peacebreaker Cannons find a new target.
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Augment: Instinto
- Rafa's Peacebreaker Cannons gain increase Critical Hit Chance. Pressing [Action Skill button] while Peacebreaker Cannons are active causes them to double their Critical hit Chance to gain increased Critical Hit Damage, while also causing his Action Skill Duration to drain faster.
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Capstone: Double-Ought Autoshot
- Rafa's Peacebreaker Cannons are replaced with shotguns that have increased damage and have increased pellet count.
Top Skill Tree
| Skill | Description | Skill Points |
|---|---|---|
| Deft Hands | Rafa and his Peacebreaker Cannons gain increased fire rate. | 5 |
| Shield Barriest | Rafa gains increased Shield Recharge Rate and improved Shield Regen Delay while Overdrive is active. | 5 |
| Juerga | Whenever Rafa critically hits an enemy, Action Skill Duration is restored. | 5 |
| Field Repairs | Whenever Rafa activates an Action Skill, he restores a portion of his maximum shield capacity. If his shields are already full, he gains overshield based on his maximum shield capacity instead. | 3 |
| Resilienca | Rafa gains increased damage reduction while Overdrive is active. | 5 |
| Maestro | Rafa gains increased skill damage. | 3 |
| Venganza | Whenever Rafa's shields break after being fully recharged, spawn a free grenade. If he has a grenade equipped, use that grenade instead. | 1 |
Left Skill Tree
| Skill | Description | Skill Points |
|---|---|---|
| Asymmetric Warfare | Indirect projectiles gain increased damage. Indirect projectiles include all action skill weapons, thrown guns, and projectiles not fired from your gun. | 5 |
| Errant Spark | All indirect projectiles deal bonus incendiary damage. If the indirect projectile already deals incendiary damage, double the bonus damage. | 5 |
| Hostile Acquisition | Rafa's indirect projectiles gain lifesteal. | 5 |
| Proprietary Incendiary | Press (melee) to lob a STRM Glider at an enemy. Once it reaches its targets, it explodes and deals incendiary damage in an area based on the amount of ammo in Rafa's gun when he threw it. | 1 |
| Lateral Plinking | Rafa's indirect projectiles gain a chance to ricochet. | 1 |
Right Skill Tree
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Everdrive (5)
- Overdrive gains increased duration.
The key nodes for this build are the Instinto augment (Rafa's Peacebreaker Cannons gain increase Critical Hit Chance) and the Juerga skill ("Whenever Rafa critically hits an enemy, Action Skill Duration is restored").
These abilities work in concert to keep critical hits coming for big damage and in turn extend the duration of the action skill, so you are constantly dealing damage to enemies, whether it be bosses or adds. Shield Barriest, CYA, and Resilienca all combine to offer self-healing and damage reduction to help keep yourself safe while running and gunning.
In the left skill tree, Rafa's Peacebreaker Cannons and grenades gain lifesteal, incendiary fire damage, and increased chance to ricochet to nearby enemies, furthering his damage-dealing capabilities in both solo or co-op play.
Jakobs weapons work best in this build considering that critical hits ricochet to nearby enemies, so chaining critical hits with both the weapons and the action skill creates for massive damage.
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The post The best Rafa build in Borderlands 4 appeared first on Destructoid.
