Borderlands 4: Best Vex Builds (Level 1–50, Gear, Bleed & Clone Setups)

Vex is one of the most flexible Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4. She starts as a safe minion summoner, evolves into a shield and lifesteal powerhouse, and finishes as an endgame bleed monster. This guide covers her full progression from level 1–50, with optimized skill point allocation, best weapons, shields, class mods, and specializations for every stage of the game.

1. Why Choose Vex?

Vex

Vex is a Siren Vault Hunter who scales with Phase Clones, elemental attunement, and on-kill crit/gun damage stacking. She levels fast with Dead Ringer clone play, ramps mid-game with shield + lifesteal synergies, and closes strong with bleed and Incarnate loops for boss melts.

2. Core Mechanics – Phase Covenant, Spectres, Kill Skills, & Bleed

Vex’s Phase Covenant means your action skill and melee inherit the element of your current gun, so swapping weapons can instantly shift your clones’ output and your own skill damage to match enemy weaknesses. Her early power comes from Dead Ringer (Spectre clones) that benefit from your gun damage, fire rate, and crit passives, letting you play aggressively while they beam targets.

Vex snowballs fights through kill skills like stacked gun damage and crit damage, increasing both her DPS and the clones’ output. In late game, you add bleed using a Throwing Knife (Penetrator augment) to guarantee crits on the DoT, enabling powerful stacking and boss deletes when paired with Vex’s bleed tools.

3. Early Game Vex Build (Levels 1–20) – Dead Ringer Spectres

This setup is the fastest and least gear-dependent start. You’ll stack gun damage, crit, and fire rate while your Spectres clean rooms. Use elemental weapons (especially Maliwan) and early underbarrel options for burst.

3.1 Skill Point Order (1–20)

1. 5/5 Cold Iron (Dead Ringer tree) – boosts your Gun Damage and Minion damage; unlock an augment. Then equip the Coven augment for up to +10% Crit Chance per Spectre (max three).
2. 5/5 Grave Sights (Incarnate tree) – early Crit Damage kill skill to pair with Coven.
3. 5/5 Grave Assault (Dead Ringer) – Fire Rate for you and Spectres.
4. 1/1 Blood Sacrifice → 2/5 Grave Fiends → 2/5 Grave Quickening (Dead Ringer) – activate kill skills when minions die; ramp damage stacks; add cooldown on kills.

3.2 Best Early Weapons & Ordnance

• Maliwan element swap guns for quick attunement changes and status uptime; look for Vial Launcher alt-fire (+30% enemy damage taken).
• Vladof ARs with Extra Barrel for higher fire rate and alt-fire burst; Throwing Knife with Damage Amp Payload for +15% damage taken on marked targets.

3.3 Early Shields, Rep Kits, & Play

• Any reliable shield while leveling; prioritize comfort while you unlock lifesteal lines later.
• Rep Kits with Accelerator (Action Skill CDR), Amp, or sustain help keep clones up and speed boss kills.

3.4 Early Rotation (Rooms & Elites)

1. Place Spectres with good line of sight (high ground when possible).
2. Open with Throwing Knives (for kill skills), then swap to the right element to match targets.
3. Maintain kill-skill stacks (Crit/Gun/Fire Rate) and reposition clones as waves shift.

4. Mid-Game Vex Build (Levels 20–35) – Teen Witch + Sparky Shield Loop

At this stage, you can pivot into a potent shield+lifesteal amp loop using a Shielded Teen Witch mod with an Amped Sparky Shield. Hitting enemies amps your shots while lifesteal instantly refills shields, sustaining +100% gun damage shots and chaining lightning arcs for AoE. Farm the Teen Witch in Carcadia (Radix vault) and the Sparky from Shadowpelt.

4.1 Skill Point Order (20–35)

Essence Leech

1. Continue Grave Assault for fire rate uptime on you and clones.
2. Take Essence Leech for lifesteal.
3. Add Conjunction (gun damage while shields are full) to synergize with the amp loop.
4. Take sustain lines (e.g., lifesteal) to stabilize the loop.

4.2 Mid-Game Gear Targets

• Shielded Teen Witch (Class Mod) – converts lifesteal → shields/overshields. Farm at Radix in Carcadia.
• Amped Sparky Shield – seek the “Short Circuit” behavior and the best Amp roll; farm Shadowpelt (Encore boss callout).

4.3 Best Specializations (25–35)

• Survivor – Best Defense: up to +30% damage.
• Brute – Riddle You This, Sharpshooter – In the Zone, Runner – Bullet Train for fire-rate/crit/mobility damage stacking.

4.4 Mid-Game Rotation

1. Maintain close-range hits to keep amp active and shields full via lifesteal.
2. Chain lightning arcs by staying near clustered enemies for passive AoE.
3. Refresh kill skills with clone deaths or add kills to keep stacks capped.

5. Endgame Vex Build (Levels 35–50) – Bleed & Incarnate Power

Once you enter late game, you can combine high-stack gun damage passives with bleed and Incarnate uptime for boss deletes. Use Throwing Knife (Penetrator) to force bleed crit chains, while still leveraging Spectres for wave clear or swapping to Incarnate sustain setups.

5.1 Skill Point Progression to 50

1. At ~32: Invest 5/5 Grave Implements (Incarnate tree) for large gun damage stacks; pairs with Blood Sacrifice for on-death stacking.
2. At ~37: 3/3 Grave Power (raise max stacks for all kill skills), then 3/5 Sanguine Fiends (clone sustain), and 1/1 Diener for an extra Dead Ringer charge (helps repositioning uptime).
3. At ~44+: Max Grave Fiends (more multiplicative damage stacks). Add one-point Attunements such as Burning Attunement (crit damage) and Leeching Attunement (lifesteal/reload) to activate a 50% extra damage multiplier via Prismatic Weaponry; or invest in Target Prescience if you prefer.

5.2 Endgame Weapons & Slots

Whiskey Foxtrot Assault Rifle

• Throwing Knife (Penetrator augment) – guarantees bleed crit, enabling “infinite” stacking behavior; prioritize extra charges or lower cooldown.
• High-DPS primaries: fast AR/SMG for stacking (Whiskey Foxtrot Assault Rifle); Jakobs shotgun (Hot Slugger) for on-hit nukes and ricochets per sources; also consider Vladof alt-fires (Spread/Kinfe Launcher) for boss one-shots with Amp.
• Shields: flexible; fireworks-style clears are noted for mobbing. For sustain builds, continue mid-game amp loop options.
• Class Mods: look for mods that add points to core damage lines (e.g., Grave Implements, Grave Sights, Grave Quickening, or Bloodletter) for stronger bleed DPS while mobbing.
• Enhancements/Firmware: generic gun crit, reload, ricochet, or weapon-type bonuses are all effective; Dead Eye stacks are frequently favored.

5.3 Endgame Specializations

• Sharpshooter to push status/bleed chance and damage; Brute (Riddle You This) for gun damage; Daredevil – Now With Caffeine to reduce Action Skill CD via Rep Kit use and keep minions/forms up.

5.4 Endgame Rotations (Boss & Arena)

1. Apply Throwing Knife to the boss to force bleed crit chains.
2. Swap to your primary (shotgun/AR) and stack damage; if using Incarnate, time activations around Rep Kit windows to sustain uptime.
3. Keep Rep Kit cycling (Amp or CDR) to refresh forms/minions and maintain amp or kill-skill stacks.

6. Best Weapons & Gear for Vex (Across All Phases)

6.1 Guns

• Maliwan (element swap) for attunement control; Jakobs shotguns/pistols for ricochets and huge on-hit; Vladof AR/SMG with strong alt-fires (Spread/Knife Launcher, Shotgun underbarrel) for burst.

6.2 Ordnance

• Throwing Knife with Penetrator (bossing) or Damage Amp Payload (+15% enemy damage taken) for general play.

6.3 Shields

• Leveling: any comfortable capacity or utility shield. Mid/Endgame: Amped Sparky Shield (loop) or fireworks-style clear shields per preference.

6.4 Class Mods & Enhancements

• Seek rolls that add to Grave Implements/Grave Power/Grave Sights/Grave Quickening or Bloodletter for bleed.

7. Vex Leveling: Best XP Farming & Boss Farms

Stay at area level by doing Bounty Contracts, Side Quests, and cycling the Moxxi Encore machine when falling behind. Use boss farms to refresh gear.

• Splashzone – forgiving farm for strong shotguns and clear shields (great reset spot).
• Shadowpelt (Encore) – target Sparky Shield rolls for mid/endgame loop.
• Radix (Carcadia vault) – farm Shielded Teen Witch class mod.
• Complex Root-style elemental snipers from late-game bosses highlighted in clone builds (e.g., Tipping Point/Bunker routes).

8. Specializations – What to Take and Why

• Survivor – Best Defense: consistent + damage during the amp-shield loop.
• Brute – Riddle You This: reliable gun damage scaling for AR/SMG/shotgun spam.
• Sharpshooter paths used in bleed builds to amplify status/crit interactions.
• Daredevil – Now With Caffeine: Rep Kit usage slashes Action Skill cooldown, letting you keep Spectres or Incarnate running frequently.

9. How to Play Vex (Rotations & Micro-Tips)

Vex battling

9.1 Rooms & Drills

1. Spawn Spectres at elevation; avoid placing them in melee range.
2. Open with Throwing Knives to prime kill skills, then swap to the best element for the pack.
3. Keep amp loop active mid-game by staying accurate and in range; lifesteal should top shields between shots.

9.2 Bossing

1. Tag the boss with a Throwing Knife (Penetrator) to ensure bleed crit behavior.
2. Pair an Amp Rep Kit with a single-hit alt-fire (Spread/Knife Launcher) or a high-impact shotgun burst.
3. Refresh kill skills via clone turnover and maintain Incarnate or Rep Kit windows for sustained DPS.

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not swapping elements: use your attunement advantage; carry Fire/Shock/Corrosive.
• Skipping respecs: Vex’s best path changes per phase; don’t cling to early picks after 30+.
• Ignoring Rep Kits: Accelerator/Amp massively improves uptime and burst.

11. Level-By-Level Notes (Quick Reference)

• 1–7: Build into Cold Iron and equip Coven; start stacking Crit with Spectres.
• 8–12: Add Grave Sights and Grave Assault; clones scale off both.
• 13–20: Blood Sacrifice, Grave Fiends, Grave Quickening stabilize stacks and cooldowns.
• 32–50: Shift into Grave Implements, Grave Power, and 1-point Attunements to trigger Prismatic Weaponry.

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