Facebook
Reddit
Email
Learn how to create a Rafa Arc-Knives build in Borderlands 4 with brutally effective synergies to cut through any difficulty mode.
Creating a build around Rafa’s Arc-Knives action skill offers an alternative playstyle for the Exo-Soldier. Once Arc-Knives is triggered, the camera shifts to a third-person mode, activating Overdrive to boost movement speed. This allows Rafa to dash between enemies and unleash devastating melee attacks. With the right synergy of skills from the This Year’s Gimmick (green) skill tree and the right gear.
Pros and Cons of Rafa Arc-Knives Build in Borderlands 4
Pros
- Incredibly high damage while Arc-Knives is active.
- Fast movement speed.
- Health recovery from dealing damage and kills.
- Tanking role in co-op.
Cons
- At a disadvantage against bosses who stay out of melee range.
Also Read: Borderlands 4: Rafa Peacebreaker Cannons Build Guide
Borderlands 4: Rafa Arc-Knives Build Skill Tree Setup: Passives, Augment, and Capstone
Passives
This Year’s Gimmick (Green) Skill Tree
- Midnight Oil: 5/5
- Dial In: 1/5
- Diamond Hands: 5/5
- Saldar: 4/5
Branch 2
- Artillería: 2/5
- Collaborative Ignition: 5/5
- Sinergia: 3/3
- El Diablito: 5/5
Branch 3
- Empuje: 5/5
Remote Agent (Red) Skill Tree
- Sitiar: 5/5
- Juerga: 5/5
- Resiliencia: 5/5
- Sinergia, El Diablito, and Collaborative Ignition pair perfectly with an Incendiary Weapon and the Inferno Protocol Capstone, amplifying melee, gun, and ordnance damage while Arc-Knives is active.
- When the action skill goes on cooldown, stacks of Diamond Hands accumulated during Arc-Knives increase gun damage, helping maintain strong DPS even during downtime.
- Resiliencia boosts Overdrive’s damage reduction, improving survivability when charging head-on into enemies.
Augment
- Altered Cabron: Killing an enemy while the action skill is active restores a portion of health. Restoring health deals bonus Corrosive Damage with all attacks, and increases movement speed. This effect can stack.
Capstone
- Inferno Protocol: Melee attacks deal bonus Incendiary Damage. When the action skill is active, the Exo-Suit stores all damage dealt to Rafa, which is unleashed with Blade Fury, healing Rafa for a portion of the damage dealt.
Best Weapon and Gear Loadout for Rafa Arc-Knives Build in Borderlands 4
Weapons
You can pick any weapons for the loadout as long as one of them has Incendiary Damage, which synergizes with El Diablito and Sinergia to deal increased Ordnance and Gun Damage.
Also Read: Borderlands 4: Best Early Game Weapons and Shields
Class Mod
- All-Out Buster
- 10% Melee Critical Hit Chance
- 30% Skill Damage
- +5 Per My Last
- +1 Awe
- +1 Conductivo
Try to find a Class Mod with the Per My Last skill and increased Melee or Skill Damage. Per My Last has a chance to deal double damage while attacking with an Action Skill, greatly increasing DPS while using Arc-Knives.
Ordnance
Equip a throwing knife with the Penetrator Augment. The Augment transforms all hits delivered to the target into critical hits for 5 seconds.
Firmware Gear Set
The following Firmware sets increase Melee Damage. Having at least two items of each set is ideal for the build.
- Reel Big Fist
- Action Fist
Repkit
- Mega Triple Bypass
- Heart Pump: Repkit has three charges and a 30% chance to recover a charge on use.
- Speed: Increases movement speed by 40% for 10 seconds.
Best Specialization Options for Rafa Arc-Knives Build in Borderlands 4
The Runner specialization and its sub-skills are well-suited to the Arc-Knives build. After obtaining them, you can also spec into Sharpshooter and Survivor.
- Runner
- Bear Arms
- Now With Caffeine
- I Am A Gun
- Daredevil
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:
