Borderlands 4has a trailer now, and there’s much to unpack in it. The trailer shows new locations, characters, and an all-out war against a potentially new threat. But to me, the most exciting reveal from the trailer is the design of the four brand-new Vault Hunters, including the newest Siren.
In theBorderlandsuniverse, there can only be six or seven Sirens alive at any given time (depending on who you ask).EachSiren has a specific abilitythat gets passed downto someone else when that siren dies. Six Sirens means six special powers; we know five of them, possibly six if we consider the comics. Knowing this, I think I know the power of the upcomingBorderlands 4Siren.
I have tried to keep this article as spoiler-free as possible, but beware of minor spoilers ahead forBorderlands 1andBorderlands 3.
The New Borderlands 4 Siren Can’t Have Any Of These Powers
Some Are Still In Use And Others Have Already Been Done As Playable Characters
Let me get something out of the way before I go any further: The newBorderlands 4character shown in the trailerisnot explicitly said to be a Siren, nor are her powers shown in the trailer. In fact, we get a preview of the abilities of every other Vault Hunter except for the Siren. It’s possible that the character possesses the telltale tattoos of a Siren for a different reason and that they’ll turn out to be something completely new.
Everything We Know About Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4’s new trailer sheds light on some interesting story details, and fans are excited to know about everything when it releases in 2025.
However, for the purpose of this article,I’ll be calling the tattooed Siren “BL4Siren” and referring to them by “she/her"since Sirens are almost exclusively female (except Troy Calypso, but he was a special case). I will also be going off the assumption that either Troy was the rumored seventh Siren or that he wasn’t, but that the seventh Siren’s powers are too terrible for a regular Vault Hunter to possess. With all that out of the way, let’s take a look at what powers theBL4Siren almost definitely will not have.
The first power we know for suretheBorderlands 4Siren won’t have is Phaselock. Not only was this power already used by a Vault Hunter in the past, but we also know exactly who has it right now: At the moment, this ability is possessed by Ava, who got it handed down to her by Maya. Even if we didn’t know that Ava has Phaselock, I think it’s safe to assume thatBorderlands 4wouldn’t want to reuse special abilities for playable characters.
By that same logic,we can also eliminate Phaseshiftsince it’s currently possessed by the “Sirentist” Particia Tannis andPhasetrance, which is the power of Amara, the playable Siren fromBorderlands 3. Since both are alive and well, their abilities cannot be passed down to anyone else.Lilith’s ability to Phasewalk can also be ruled out as the next Siren’s power. Even though Lilith’s whereabouts or condition is uncertain after the ending ofBorderlands 3, the franchise would not reuse a Siren’s power, especially not the power of the originalSiren from the firstBorderlandsgame.
Possible Powers For The Borderlands 4 Siren
There Are Several Unknown Abilities She Can Possess
Now that we know what the next Vault Hunter’s powers arenotlikely to be, we can start looking at what they could be. But after ruling out four of the six potential playable Siren powers, what’s left? There are quite a few unknowns about Sirens in theBorderlandsfranchise. Although we only know of five powers,there are a few Sirens from the past whose abilities were never revealed.
I’m Worried That Borderlands 4 Will Repeat A Huge DLC Mistake
I’m really hoping that the inevitable Borderlands 4 DLC won’t look anything like the lackluster downloadable content from Tiny Tina’s Wonderland.
For instance,Commandant Steele, leader of the Atlas CorporationandBorderlands 1baddie, is believed to be a Siren. Although she doesn’t use any powers in the game, Steele displays the telltale markings of a Siren and is able to assemble the key to open the Vault, a skill that only Sirens possess. There are also a fewancient Sirens who players hear about (and sometimes from) throughout the games but never get to meet.The Siren Dido, for instance, is known to have been the Queen of Athenas and lover of Typhon DeLeon, but her powers were never revealed.
Finally, there’s one more Siren whose ability we do know, though not by name.Asha is a Siren who only shows up in theBorderlandscomicsand has the power to control animals. While I think this power would be incredible to play, sadly, the comics aren’t canon, and it’s quite likely that they will never make it to the actual games.
Why I Think The Borderlands 4 Siren Will Have The Phaseleech Ability
It Makes The Most Sense, And It Would Be Fun
TheBorderlands 4Siren may exhibit one of the unknown powers that has only been alluded to so far in the games or comics. But I think there’s a far more likely possibility:I think theBorderlands 4Siren will have the Phaseleech ability received from theBorderlands 3antagonists.
At the end ofBorderlands 3, the Calypso twins are defeated, so their power needs to go somewhere. I think itmakes the most sense for the game to introduce a Siren with the twins' Phaseleech ability, which would allow her to steal life energy from enemies to give to herself or someone else (maybe as a support/healer), take on the characteristics of an enemy, or charge up absorbed life energy to use in various attacks and skills.
A Siren with Phaseleech that (presumably) isn’tdrunk by power and greedwould be anincredibly fun character to wield.I’ve used a Siren in everyBorderlandsgame except the third (Zane was just too charming and snarky to pass up), and I will probably play one again in the next title, regardless of the ability that Gearbox ends up giving her. But after playing throughBL3, I would be especially excited ifBorderlands 4does what I think it will and gives fans a Siren with the power of the previous game’s antagonist.
