Does Borderlands 4 have melee weapons?

If you've played Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, you might wonder if Borderlands 4 will feature melee weapons. Arguably, the ability to use melee weapons (not referring to a melee attack) was one of the best features in the last major spin-off entry of the Borderlands franchise.

Once you've given the community something they love, backtracking is not going to be easy, and by the looks of things, the developers aren't going to. We can see numerous instances of melee weapons being showcased and used in the latest trailer. As such, we can confidently say that Borderlands 4 will feature melee weapons.

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Which Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4 will have access to melee weapons?

Nothing beats a peaceful walk on the streets of Kairos (Image via 2K)

This is a bit tricky to answer at present, since we've only been shown four Vault Hunters (with more on the way after the game launches). However, we can firmly state that Rafa: The Exo-Soldier and Amon: The Forgeknight will have access to melee weapons.

We know this due to the deep dive video that was released on May 1, 2025. In it, we can see Rafa: The Exo-Soldier, using his ability to digistruct weapons, namely Arc Knives, which he uses to slay Order footsoldiers (Timekeeper's army) at point-blank range.

As for Amon: The Forgeknight, we can see him dual-wielding battle axes in the trailer; one with a freeze effect, and the other with fire. Quite the combination. We can also see him with just one battle axe (image at the end of the article), which is different from the ones he uses in combination in the trailer (refer to the cover image).

Shockingly magnificent (Image via 2K)

This is undisputed proof that melee weapons will be part of the game. However, we do not know if these melee weapons are bound to abilities or can be used normally, like in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. We'll have to wait for more information to surface to clear these doubts, but melee weapons will be part of the loadout nonetheless.

Lastly, it will be interesting to see just how powerful they'll be in combat. Considering that certain melee weapons were overpowered to an extent in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, the same could follow suit here. If at all, we do get melee weapons that can be swapped out, they just might be made by different weapon manufacturers.

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In conclusion

No one's going to trouble Trouble on Kairos (Image via 2K)

That's about everything we know about melee weapons in Borderlands 4. When the skill-trees for Rafa: The Exo-Soldier and Amon: The Forgeknight are revealed, we could get a better idea of what to expect. If nothing else, perhaps we'll be able to change the status effect of their in-built melee weapons (if it's an ability).

This system has already been confirmed for Vex: The Siren. In the deep dive video, we can see her Trait: Phase Covenant, which allows her to be attuned to the Elemental type of her current gun. This also affects the damage type/output of her Phase Phamiliar, Trouble.

Nothing like a bunch of Vault Hunters starting an intergalactic coup (Image via 2K)

This can also be seen for Rafa: The Exo-Soldier. In the image above, his Arc Knives are green (Corrosive) instead of the usual blue (Shock). I could be wrong, and this could be due to lighting, but at face value, it seems Vex isn't the only one who's going to be able to change status effects. Hopefully, we get more insights into the possibilities soon.

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Read more Borderlands 4 articles here:

• All returning characters confirmed in Borderlands 4 so far
• Does Borderlands 4 take place after Borderlands 3?
• Does Borderlands 4 have co-op and crossplay?