Ready to unleash the full potential of Rafa the Exo-Soldier? This mechanical marvel brings serious firepower to Borderlands 4 with his devastating Overdrive trait and three distinct action skills. Whether you're just starting your vault hunting journey or pushing through endgame content, mastering Rafa's unique playstyle will transform you into an unstoppable force. Let's break down everything you need to dominate from level 1 to 50 and beyond.
Understanding Rafa's Core Mechanics
Rafa stands out as the quintessential soldier class, designed around sustained damage output and tactical superiority. His Overdrive trait activates whenever you deploy an action skill, boosting both movement speed and damage for the duration. This creates a gameplay loop where staying aggressive keeps you powerful.
The Three Pillars of Power
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Peacebreaker Cannons require zero micromanagement - activate them and watch enemies melt while you maintain full weapon control.
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Early Game Progression (Levels 1-15)
Your first priority is establishing a solid foundation through Rafa's red skill tree. Start by maxing Sitiar immediately - this passive provides crucial gun damage that applies to both your weapons and action skills.
Essential Early Skills
At level 6, grab Instinto as your first augment for Peacebreaker Cannons. This augment dramatically increases critical hit damage, turning your floating artillery into precision instruments of destruction.
Next, choose between Deft Hands (reload speed and weapon handling) or Juerga (fire rate boost). Both enhance your combat effectiveness, so pick based on your preferred weapons:
- Deft Hands: Perfect for heavy weapons like shotguns and rocket launchers
- Juerga: Ideal for assault rifles and SMGs
important
Don't neglect the skill you didn't choose initially - you'll want both by level 11.
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Mid-Game Mastery (Levels 16-28)
This phase focuses on maximizing your indirect projectile damage. Asymmetric Warfare becomes your new best friend, providing substantial damage bonuses to action skills, thrown weapons, and any projectiles not fired directly from your gun.
The Indirect Damage Revolution
Invest heavily in Asymmetric Warfare (5 points) before moving to Ardid for 10% lifesteal on indirect projectiles. This combination transforms Rafa into a self-sustaining powerhouse who heals while dealing massive damage.
Errant Spark deserves 4-5 points for its fire damage bonus to indirect projectiles. The skill doubles its effectiveness when your projectiles already deal fire damage, creating incredible synergy opportunities.
Capstone Achievement
Level 28 unlocks Double-Ought Autoshot, the game-changing capstone that converts your Peacebreaker Cannons into devastating shotgun blasts. Each cannon fires multiple pellets with increased damage and ricochet potential.
Don't forget Lateral Plinking for enhanced ricochet chances - these bouncing projectiles can clear entire rooms when positioned correctly.
warning
Double-Ought Autoshot fundamentally changes your playstyle. Position yourself to maximize ricochet opportunities for exponential damage scaling.
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Advanced Optimization (Levels 29-50)
The final stretch focuses on Overdrive enhancement and sustained combat effectiveness. Shift attention to the right side of Rafa's red tree for maximum trait utilization.
Overdrive Mastery
Everdrive extends your Overdrive duration, keeping you in peak performance longer. Temerario trades weapon handling for raw gun damage - a worthwhile exchange when your cannons do most of the work.
Soltado represents the pinnacle of Rafa's power, doubling all Overdrive bonuses when you score kills. This skill transforms good players into legends during intense firefights.
Multi-Tree Synergy
Branch into Rafa's blue and green trees for additional bonuses:
- The Thrill (blue tree): Enhanced action skill performance
- Expedite (green tree): Improved movement and positioning
Optimal Gear Selection
Rafa thrives with specific weapon types and equipment pieces that amplify his strengths.
Weapon Recommendations
Jakobs shotguns synergize perfectly with ricochet mechanics, especially when equipped with Jakobs-licensed parts for additional bounce damage. Look for Spread Launcher or Beam Splitter alt-fires on Maliwan and Jakobs weapons.
Legendary Equipment
Pro Tip: Prioritize the Incendiary version of Firewerks for maximum synergy with your fire-based skills.
Combat Strategies & Positioning
Rafa's success depends on smart positioning and aggressive action skill usage. Deploy Peacebreaker Cannons at engagement start, then focus on weapon combat while your floating artillery provides constant pressure.
Advanced Techniques
Use ricochet mechanics to hit enemies behind cover. Position yourself where cannon shots can bounce off walls, floors, and ceilings to reach protected targets. Lateral Plinking makes this strategy incredibly effective against grouped enemies.
Maintain Overdrive uptime by chaining action skill deployments. As one set of cannons expires, immediately deploy the next to keep your damage and speed bonuses active.
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Endgame Transition
Upon reaching level 50, Rafa becomes ready for Ultimate Vault Hunter challenges. Your build foundation supports multiple endgame specializations:
- Pure Cannon Focus: Maximum indirect damage with ricochet mastery
- Hybrid Approach: Balanced weapon and action skill damage
- Support Build: Team-oriented buffs and crowd control
The beauty of Rafa's design lies in his adaptability - your leveling build naturally evolves into whatever endgame role your team needs.
Summary
Rafa the Exo-Soldier offers one of Borderlands 4's most straightforward yet rewarding progression paths. His Overdrive trait encourages aggressive play, while Peacebreaker Cannons provide consistent damage output regardless of weapon quality. Focus on indirect projectile bonuses, master ricochet mechanics, and maintain action skill uptime for maximum effectiveness. With proper skill allocation and gear selection, Rafa transforms from competent soldier into unstoppable war machine, ready to face any challenge the galaxy throws your way.
For more Borderlands 4, take a look at our Amon Guide.