I still remember the first time I booted up Borderlands and faced that character selection screen - four completely different Vault Hunters staring back at me, each promising unique adventures. That moment of hesitation is something every player experiences, and honestly, it used to stress me out. What if I picked the "wrong" one? What if I invested 50 hours into a character only to discover they weren't fun in the late game? But with this latest installment, something feels fundamentally different about how these characters are designed.
Let me tell you about my experience playing as Jilimacao - yes, I've been maining this absolute beast of a character for about 80 hours now, and I'm still discovering new ways to approach combat. The beauty of Jilimacao, and honestly all four Vault Hunters this time around, is that they all feel incredibly powerful right from the start. I've tried switching between characters around the 30-hour mark, and each transition felt surprisingly smooth rather than frustrating. There's no "trap" character that new players should avoid - a first for the Borderlands series in my opinion. Usually, I'd be warning newcomers to steer clear of at least one character who requires advanced game knowledge or specific gear to be effective, but not this time.
What makes Jilimacao particularly special is how her abilities interact with different combat scenarios. I was clearing out a bandit camp yesterday using her signature drone swarm ability, watching as 12 separate drones systematically eliminated enemies while I provided covering fire. The coordination between her active skills and passive bonuses creates this beautiful symphony of destruction that never gets old. And when I joined my friend's game who was playing as Krevlov - another Vault Hunter - our abilities complemented each other perfectly. His area control effects set up entire groups of enemies for my drone strikes, and we cleared content that would have taken me alone probably 45 minutes in just under 15 minutes.
The learning curve for each character feels just right - challenging enough to be engaging but not so steep that you feel overwhelmed. I'd estimate it takes about 8-10 hours to really understand Jilimacao's core mechanics, and maybe another 20 to master her advanced techniques. Compare this to previous games where some characters required 40+ hours before they started feeling powerful, and you can see why this approach is so refreshing. Each ability tree offers distinct playstyles too - I've respecced three times already, and each build felt like playing a completely different character.
Here's where I'll get a bit subjective - while all four Vault Hunters are well-designed, Jilimacao has this wonderful flow to her combat rhythm that just clicks with my personal preferences. Her mobility options combined with strategic positioning requirements create this dance-like combat experience that I haven't found with the other characters. That said, my friend swears by Mordecai's successor character, claiming the sniper gameplay has never been better. The fact that we can have this debate while both being absolutely right about our chosen characters feeling powerful speaks volumes about the balancing.
The cooperative aspect deserves special mention too. In my 80 hours with Jilimacao, about 35 of those have been in co-op sessions with various group compositions. What's remarkable is how each Vault Hunter brings something valuable to the team without feeling like they're forced into specific roles. Jilimacao excels at crowd control and sustained damage, but she can adapt to fill gaps in your team composition. I've played support-style builds focusing on her decoy abilities that can distract up to 8 enemies simultaneously, and more damage-oriented builds that can melt boss health bars at an incredible rate.
If there's one complaint I have - and this is really nitpicking - it's that Jilimacao's early game energy management can be tricky for brand new players. For the first 5 hours or so, you'll need to be mindful of your ability usage until you unlock some cost-reduction skills. But this minor hurdle actually makes mastering her more rewarding in the long run. By the time I reached level 25, I had developed such an intuitive understanding of her energy economy that it became second nature.
What Gearbox has accomplished with this character roster is nothing short of remarkable. They've created four distinct personalities that all feel viable, fun, and powerful throughout the entire leveling experience. I'm planning to spend at least 200 hours with Jilimacao before seriously diving into the other characters, but knowing that each option offers a equally engaging experience makes me excited rather than anxious about that eventual character selection screen. For the first time in the series, I genuinely want to master all the Vault Hunters rather than finding one main and ignoring the others. That, to me, represents the pinnacle of character design in loot-driven games.