Facebook
Reddit
Email
Follow this detailed guide to explore Rafa’s full skill tree in Borderlands 4, including Action Skills, Passives, Augments, and Capstones.
Rafa is one of the four Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4 and can be an ideal choice for many players. He excels in dealing high damage, especially through his melee-focused Action Skill, making him a lethal force on the battlefield. In addition to that, his Overdrive Passive Trait further boosts his damage potential, mobility, and survivability during intense combat.
Additionally, you will require a proper knowledge and understanding of the Tree to create an optimized build. Here is an article that contains everything you need to know about Rafa’s Skill Tree in the game.
Also Read: Borderlands 4: PC Optimization Guide: Best Settings for Optimal Performance
- Rafa Skill Tree Guide in Borderlands 4
- All Passives, Augments, and Capstones on Rafa Skill Tree in Borderlands 4
- All Passive Skills in Peacebreaker Cannons
- All Augments in Peacebreaker Cannons
- All Capstones Perks in Peacemaker Cannons
- All Passive Skills in Arc Knives
- All Augments in Arc Knives
- All Capstones Perks in Arc Knives
- All Passive Skills in APOPHIS Lance
- All Augments in APOPHIS Lance
- All Capstones Perks in APOPHIS Lance
- Key Skill Nodes That Define Rafa’s Playstyle
Rafa Skill Tree Guide in Borderlands 4
Although there are three action skills available for Rafa, you can equip only one. The skills are:
- Peacebreaker Cannons
- Arc-Knives
- APOPHIS Lance
Below are further details on them.
Also Read: Borderlands 4: How To Find Maurice’s Black Market
Peacebreaker Cannons
Peacebreaker Cannons is Rafa’s first Action skill, allowing her to automatically fire at enemies in her crosshairs, dealing Kinetic Gun Damage. If the targeted enemy is eliminated, the cannons will automatically acquire a new target, or you can manually press M3 to retarget.
You can also hold F to end the skill early, which refunds a portion of the remaining Action Skill duration back into the cooldown.
- Turret Damage: 2
- Duration: 18 seconds
- Cooldown: 32 seconds
Arc-Knives
As the name suggests, Rafa puts down his guns and equips his Arc-Knives in the Arc-Knives Action Skill. Additionally, these blades deal Melee Damage and Mark Enemies whenever they damage them. That way, they can take increased damage for every Mark on them.
To use Rafa’s Arc-Knives skill in Borderlands 4, press M1 to perform standard melee attacks with the Arc-Knives. Pressing M2 makes Rafa dash forward and deliver a Shock-infused melee attack. Finally, you press F to unleash Blade Fury, which will deal Shock Damage to all marked enemies and end the skill immediately.
- Duration: 32 seconds
- Cooldown: 48 seconds
- Max Marks: 4 per enemy
- Mark Bonus: +6% Damage per Mark
- Melee Attack Damage: 28
- Blade Fury Damage: 55
Also Read: Borderlands 4: How To Get and Use Golden Key
APOPHIS Lance
Equip Rafa’s APOPHIS Lance, an offhand Arm Cannon that decreases Rafa’s Gun Handling, but allows him to fire Piercing Shock Ordnance Blasts. Any unused Charges when APOPHIS Lance ends are converted into Action Skill Cooldown.
Press M2 to fire a Piercing Shock Ordnance Blast at enemies and consume a Charge, or hold H2 to charge Rafa’s APOPHIS Lance for increased Damage, Projectile Size, and Projectile Speed – at the cost of more Charges.
- Duration: 24 seconds
- Cooldown: 20 seconds
- Charges: 3
- Piercing Shock Ordnance Blast Damage: 959
Also Read: Borderlands 4: Which Vault Hunter Should You Pick
All Passives, Augments, and Capstones on Rafa Skill Tree in Borderlands 4
In addition to their skills, each Vault Hunter in Borderlands 4 has a unique Passive Trait. Rafa’s trait is called Overdrive, which activates whenever he uses an Action Skill. While Overdrive is active, Rafa gains increased movement speed and deals bonus damage from all sources. Additionally, the Overdrive duration does not decrease during the active stage.
- Damage: +10%
- Move Speed: +25%
- Duration: 12 seconds
Each Action Skill also comes with its own set of Passive Skills and Augments that enhance and support its performance. On top of that, you can unlock Capstones to boost the skill’s effectiveness further.
All Passive Skills in Peacebreaker Cannons
| Tier & Unlock Requirement | Skill Name (Max Points) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Available from start) | Sitiar (5) | Increases Gun Damage by 5% per point. |
| Deft Hands (5) | Increases Fire Rate for Rafa and Peacebreaker Cannons by 4% per point. | |
| Shield Barriest (5) | While Overdrive is active, increases Shield Recharge Rate by 11% and reduces Shield Recharge Delay by 12%. | |
| Tier 2 (Invest 5 Points) | Juerga (5) | Critical hits restore 3% Action Skill Duration (4-second cooldown). |
| Field Repears (3) | Activating an Action Skill restores 15% of Max Shield or grants Overshield if shields are full. | |
| CYA (5) | Kill skill: Killing enemies restores Shields equal to 4% of Rafa’s Max Health. | |
| Tier 3 (Invest 10 Points) | Resiliencia (5) | Overdrive skill: Grants 8% Damage Reduction during Overdrive. |
| Maestro (3) | Increases Skill Damage by 9%. | |
| Venganza (1) | When Shields break after full recharge, spawns a free grenade. | |
| El Valiente (3) | Increases damage based on Shield level, up to +10%. | |
| Tier 4 Left (Invest 15 Points) | Asymmetric Warfare (5) | Increases Indirect Projectile Damage by 9%. |
| Tier 5 Left (Invest 5 Points) | Errant Spark (5) | Indirect Projectiles deal +8% Fire Damage, doubled if already Fire type. |
| Ardid (5) | Indirect Projectiles gain 10% Life Steal. | |
| Rolling Stone (5) | Shots have 7% chance to bounce while moving, doubled when sliding. | |
| Tier 6 Left (Invest 10 Points) | Proprietary Incendiary (1) | Melee override: Throw STRM Glider causing up to 138 fire splash damage (16s cooldown). |
| Lateral Pinking (1) | Indirect Projectiles gain 25% chance to ricochet. | |
| Tier 4 Middle (Invest 15 Points) | Confeti (5) | Ordnance deals +8% bonus elemental damage based on current weapon. |
| Vitriol (5) | First shot from full magazine deals +11% Corrosive Damage. | |
| Tier 5 Middle (Invest 5 Points) | Pain Reaction (5) | Shots ricochet off enemies with status effects (+3% chance per effect). |
| Lightning Rod (5) | While aiming, deal +2% Shock Damage; stacks +1% per crit (max 20). | |
| Tier 6 Middle (Invest 10 Points) | El Alacrán (1) | Peacebreaker Cannons increase status effect chance by 35% for 8 seconds. |
| Inspirado (3) | Status effects increase Action Skill duration (+2%) and cooldown rate (+3%) per stack (max 10). | |
| Tier 4 Right (Invest 15 Points) | Barrage (5) | Overdrive skill: +10% Splash Damage during Overdrive. |
| Everdrive (5) | Increases Overdrive duration by 11%. | |
| Tier 5 Right (Invest 5 Points) | Devil-May-Care (5) | Overdrive grants +7% movement speed and 0.5% health regen per second; outside Overdrive take +4% damage and +6% cooldown rate. |
| Temerario (5) | Overdrive grants +1% Gun Damage per second but reduces Weapon Handling by 1% per second. | |
| Tier 6 Right (Invest 10 Points) | Soltado (1) | Kill skill: Doubles all Overdrive bonuses for 8 seconds. |
Also Read: Borderlands 4: What Is Individual Scaling Difficulty
All Augments in Peacebreaker Cannons
| Tier | Augment Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Instinto | Peacebreaker Cannons gain +25% Critical Hit Chance. Pressing F while active doubles Crit Chance and adds +15% Crit Damage for 8 seconds, but drains Action Skill Duration faster. Kill Skill: Kills restore 10% Duration, and further increase drain rate by 3%. |
| Bullet-Buddy Deluxe | While active, Rafa and allies regenerate 5% Ammo. Cannons deal up to +20 Bonus Fire Damage based on gun fullness. When magazine is full, turrets shoot Exploding Bullets (Explosion Damage: 18). Lasts 8 seconds. | |
| Tier 4 | Hell in a Shell | Pressing F fires two Large Firebombs (Damage: 148) in a wide area. Each kill reduces this Skill’s cooldown by 5 seconds (Base Cooldown: 50 seconds). |
| Insta-Fort Battle System | Cannons deal +10% Ordnance Damage. Pressing F detaches them into a Turret Companion that fires at enemies and occasionally throws Grenades. Copies Rafa’s equipped grenade if available. Press F again to return. | |
| Unmissable Missiles | Pressing F launches 6 Homing Rockets (Damage: 22 each) at visible enemies. Each rocket costs 5% of Max Action Skill Duration. |
All Capstones Perks in Peacemaker Cannons
| Tier & Position | Skill Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 6 Left | Double-Ought Autoshot | Rafa’s Peacebreaker Cannons’ weapons are replaced with shotguns that deal increased Damage and have increased Pellet Count. Additionally, Rafa’s Turrets gain a chance to Ricochet off of targets. Ricochets deal reduced Damage, and Critical Hits always Ricochet. (Damage: 3, Pellets: 6, Ricochet Chance: 10%, Ricochet Damage: 50% of Damage Dealt) |
| Tier 6 Middle | Beam Team | Rafa’s Peacebreaker Cannons’ weapons are replaced with a Shock Beam and a Corrosive Beam. Each beam automatically locks onto enemies in your view, and may lock onto different enemies. Whenever Rafa applies a Status Effect, gain increased Action Skill Damage. (Beam Damage: 7, Action Skill Damage: 20%) |
| Tier 6 Right | Volatile Hollowpoints | Rafa’s Peacebreaker Cannons’ weapons are replaced with Rockets that deal Splash Damage. (Rocket Damage: 33) |
All Passive Skills in Arc Knives
| Tier | Skill Name | Description / Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Start) | Handshake Deal (5) | Rafa gains increased Gun Damage (+3%) and Melee Damage (+7%). |
| Midnight Oil (5) | Rafa’s Action Skill deals Bonus Corrosive Damage. Bonus Damage increases by +2% per second the Skill is active. | |
| Expedite (5) | Overdrive Skill. Overdrive grants Rafa increased Movement Speed (+5%). | |
| Tier 2 (5 pts) | Dial In (5) | Melee attacks grant stacking Critical Hit Chance (+3% per stack). Stacks reset on a Critical Hit. |
| El Corazón (5) | Converts 10% of Max Health to Max Shield Capacity (+12% Max Shields). | |
| Diamond Hands (5) | Melee damage grants stacks that increase Gun Damage (+2% per stack, max 100). Stacks decay after firing gun shots. | |
| Tier 3 (10 pts) | Saldar (5) | Melee Critical Hits grant Lifesteal (+5%). Requires 1 point in Dial In. |
| In the Zone (3) | Killing an enemy freezes Overdrive Duration (+2 seconds). | |
| To the Last (5) | Gun and Skill Damage increase the lower Rafa’s health is (Up to +6% Gun Damage, +9% Skill Damage). Requires 1 point in El Corazón. | |
| Hard Sell (5) | When Shields break, gain Overshield equal to 9% of Max Shields until next Action Skill use. | |
| Tier 4 Left (15 pts) | Blowout (5) | Action Skill Crits or Marks cause enemies to explode in Corrosive Projectiles (Damage 9, max 6 projectiles). |
| El Paraguas (5) | Increases Splash Damage (+7%) and Splash Damage Crit Chance (+3%). | |
| Tier 5 Left (5 pts) | Protecto-Pulse (5) | Pressing M2 during Arc-Knives drains up to 20% of Max Shields to deal Shock Damage to nearby enemies. |
| Shock Market (5) | Splash Damage deals additional Shock Damage (+10% of damage dealt). | |
| Tier 6 Left (10 pts) | Liquidation (1) | Marked enemies killed leave behind a Corrosive Hazard. |
| Tier 4 Middle (15 pts) | Artilleria (5) | Increases Ordnance Cooldown Rate (+11%). |
| Collaborate Ignition (5) | Overdrive Skill. Deals bonus Weapon Element damage with all Skills and Ordnance while Overdrive is active (+12%). | |
| Tier 5 Middle (5 pts) | Booming Business (5) | Critical Hits give a chance (50%) to spawn a Free Grenade (cooldown 12s). |
| Sinergia (3) | Ordnance Damage increases Gun (+2%) and Melee Damage (+4%) for 8 seconds (stacks). | |
| Tier 6 Middle (10 pts) | Hemolitions (1) | Overdrive Skill. Can use Grenades during cooldown at health cost (10% of current health, increases per use). |
| El Diablito (1) | Portion of Fire Damage also deals bonus Fire Ordnance Damage (+10%). | |
| Tier 4 Right (15 pts) | El Borracho (5) | Increased Corrosive Damage during Action Skill (+1% per second active). |
| Empuje (5) | Increases Action Skill Duration (+7%). | |
| Tier 5 Right (5 pts) | Sustainable Energy (5) | Overdrive Skill. Health Regen based on remaining Overdrive time (up to 0.8% max health per second). |
| Motivar (5) | Press M2 during Arc-Knives to increase Overdrive Duration (+5%, resets on Action Skill activation). | |
| Tier 6 Right (10 pts) | Cruel Accrual (5) | Skill Damage increases the longer Action Skill is active (+2% per second). |
All Augments in Arc Knives
| Tier | Augment Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Altered Cabrón | Killing an enemy while Arc-Knives is active restores a portion of Rafa’s Max Health. When Rafa gains Health, he deals Bonus Corrosive Damage and gains increased Movement Speed. This effect stacks. (Bonus Corrosive Damage: +15%, Move Speed: +10%, Duration: 16s, Health Restore: 30 per kill, Max Stacks: 25) |
| Tier 2 | Dead Man Walking | Arc-Knives doesn’t end when its duration expires, but only if Rafa activates Blade Fury or enters Fight For Your Life. While the skill is “over time,” Rafa loses Health gradually. Damaging enemies grants Overshield. |
| Tier 4 Left | Thundercutter | Arc-Knives attacks deal Shock Melee Splash Damage. Rafa also gains increased Splash Damage. (Splash Damage: +50%) |
| Tier 4 Middle | Parting Gift | When Rafa uses his Dash Attack, he drops a Grenade. If a Grenade is equipped, that one is used instead. Enemies hit are Marked, and Rafa applies an extra Mark each time. (Grenade Damage: 129) |
| Tier 4 Right | Acid Drop | Replaces Rafa’s Dash Attack with Caustic Leap. Rafa leaps forward, creating a Caustic Hazard where he lands. Removing a Mark from an enemy causes a Corrosive Nova explosion. (Leap Damage: 138, Nova Damage: 37) |
All Capstones Perks in Arc Knives
| Tier & Position | Skill Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 6 Left | Huracán Especial | Activating Blade Fury causes Rafa to spin his blades, creating a Singularity that pulls in all Marked and nearby enemies while dealing continuous Shock Damage. Killing an enemy with this attack grants increased Action Skill Cooldown Rate through Overdrive. (Damage: 111 per second) |
| Tier 6 Middle | Inferno Protocol | While Arc-Knives are active, Rafa’s Exo-Suit stores all incoming damage, heating up and dealing Fire Damage to himself. His Melee Attacks deal Bonus Fire Damage, and a portion of damage taken is redirected to Marked enemies. Using Blade Fury consumes the stored damage, dealing Bonus Fire Damage and healing Rafa. (Health Drain: 8 per second, Bonus Fire Damage: Up to 150% of total Damage Taken, Marked Enemy Damage: 20% of Damage Taken) |
| Tier 6 Right | Galvanic Panic | Rafa fires an Acid STRM Glider at enemies when performing a Melee Attack while Arc-Knives are active. Glider damage scales with the number of Marked enemies. Killing enemies restores Action Skill Duration. Activating Blade Fury fires a volley of Acid STRM Gliders and ends the skill. (Acid STRM Glider Damage: 46, Bonus Damage: +8% per Marked enemy, Action Skill Duration Restore: +10% per enemy killed) |
Also Read: Borderlands 4: How To Claim Pre-Order Bonuses
All Passive Skills in APOPHIS Lance
| Tier & Unlock Requirement | Skill Name (Max Points) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Available from start) | Rinse (5) | Rafa gains increased Reload Speed (+4%). |
| Las Jaras (5) | Overdrive Skill. Rafa regenerates Ammo while Overdrive is active (+0.5%). | |
| The Thrill (5) | Overdrive Skill. Increased Fire Rate (+2%) and further +3% while Overdrive is active. | |
| Tier 2 (Invest 5 points) | Preparado (5) | Reloading increases Action Skill Cooldown Rate (+4% per stack, max 100 stacks, 8 sec duration). Requires 1 point in Rinse. |
| Pa’ Dentro (5) | Activating Action Skill grants Health Regeneration (+0.5% for 8 seconds). | |
| Arriba (5) | Kill Skill. Killing enemies boosts Ordnance Cooldown Rate (+9% for 12 seconds). | |
| Tier 3 (Invest 10 points) | First Impression (5) | First shot from a full magazine deals increased Gun Damage (+8%). |
| Al Centro (5) | Overdrive Skill. Weapon Handling increases over time (+1% per second). | |
| Metal Management (1) | Action Skill activation consumes no ammo for 2 seconds. | |
| Abajo (5) | Throwing Grenades boosts Action Skill Cooldown Rate (+7% for 12 seconds). Requires 1 point in Arriba. | |
| Tier 4 Left (Invest 15 points) | Brain Dump (5) | Overdrive Skill. Increased Critical Hit Chance with guns while Overdrive active (+5%). |
| Conductivo (5) | Increased Status Effect Chance (+2%) and Shock Damage (+4%). | |
| Tier 5 Left (Invest 5 points) | El Catrin (5) | After sliding, Action Skill deals Bonus Shock Damage (+6%) and increased Crit Damage (+8%) for 3 sec. |
| Tier 6 Left (Invest 10 points) | Awe (1) | Shocking enemies causes all shots on them to be Critical Hits for 2 seconds. |
| Fiesta (5) | Status Effects cause Action Skill duration and Apophis Lance Charges to not drain (+0.5 sec). | |
| Tier 4 Middle (Invest 15 points) | Drone Defense (5) | Activating Ordnance spawns STRM Gliders that absorb damage and explode (Health 20, Damage 37, max 3). |
| El Soldado (5) | Overdrive Skill. Increased Gun Damage (+6%), doubled while charging Apophis Lance. | |
| Tier 5 Middle (Invest 5 points) | The Right Tools (5) | Reloading increases Ordnance Damage (+12%, max 10 stacks, 6 sec duration). |
| Debtonation (5) | Action Skill damage applies Remote Detonators that increase damage and splash radius per Detonator. | |
| Tier 6 Middle (Invest 10 points) | Drone Assault (1) | Action Skill activation sends a STRM Glider to explode on enemies (needs 1 point in Drone Defense). |
| Tier 4 Right (Invest 15 points) | Jaque (5) | Skill damage grants Stacks that increase Overdrive bonuses (+1% per stack, max 20). |
| La Garza (5) | Overdrive Skill. Increased Weapon Handling (+12%) during Overdrive. | |
| Tier 5 Right (Invest 5 points) | Mate (5) | On Overdrive end, converts Jaque Stacks to cooldown rate bonuses (+3% per stack, max 20). Requires 1 point in Jaque. |
| Deadline (5) | Overdrive Skill. Increased Fire Rate (+3%) and Reload Speed (+5%) during Overdrive. | |
| Tier 6 Right (Invest 10 points) | Per My Last (5) | Chance to deal Action Skill damage again (+4% double damage chance). |
All Augments in APOPHIS Lance
| Tier & Position | Skill Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Sangre por Sangre | Gain increased Action Skill Cooldown Rate per Charge consumed (+25% per Charge, 8 sec duration). |
| Tier 2 | Battery Subscription Service | Gain an additional Charge. Consuming 4+ Charges grants increased Action Skill Potency (+100%, 36 sec duration). |
| Tier 4 Left | Ojo Rojo | Increased Critical Hit Chance (+40%). Damaging enemies with Apophis Lance further increases Crit Chance (+35%, 8 sec duration). |
| Tier 4 Middle | Gibistruct Module | Killing enemies with Apophis Lance spawns a free Grenade. Copies equipped Grenades if available. |
| Tier 4 Right | Engorged Bore | Increased Projectile Size (+25%), Speed (+50%), and Chains (+3). |
All Capstones Perks in APOPHIS Lance
| Tier & Position | Skill Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 6 Left | PROJECT: Raiju | APOPHIS Lance’s weapon is replaced with a close-range Shocking Taser Burst. Pressing and holding causes Rafa to deal Shock Damage in an area. The longer the attack is held, the more damage it deals. (Damage: 74 per second, Damage Scale: +50% per second) |
| Tier 6 Middle | PROJECT: Basilisk | APOPHIS Lance now fires a Corrosive Blob that creates a Corrosive Hazard and splits into smaller projectiles on detonation. The more Charges consumed, the more it splits. (Damage: 138) |
| Tier 6 Right | PROJECT: Gorgon | APOPHIS Lance’s weapon is replaced with an Incendiary Laser that pierces enemies. Holding M2 increases the Laser’s Damage and causes it to chain to more targets as it consumes Charges. (Damage: 111 per second) |
Also Read: Borderlands 4: Potential Fixes for Controller Not Working Error
Key Skill Nodes That Define Rafa’s Playstyle
According to Rafa’s playstyle, El Valiente is a key passive skill that you can use to increase the overall damage that he deals. You can use Tier 2 Instinto and Bullet-Buddy Deluxe augments to increase the damage of Rafa’s Peacebreaker Cannons, and they will also help to reload ammo faster.
Arc-Knives’ Tier 2 augment, Dead Man Walking, lets Rafa deal Melee attacks by allowing him to keep his blades active indefinitely. This works great with the Tier 6 Right skill Cruel Accrual, which increases the skill damage for all skills. Additionally, the Tier 6 Right capstone Galvanic Panic adds extra damage by firing Acid STRM Gliders at enemies.
In Rafa’s APOPHIS Lance skill tree, the Tier 4 passive Drone Defense helps protect him from enemy attacks by absorbing damage. Additionally, use Tier 4 augment Engorged Bore to increase the Projectile size and speed.
We provide the latest news and create guides for Borderlands 4. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles or catch us playing games on YouTube:
