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Borderlands 4
This Year's Gimmick Skill Tree Guide
☆ How Rush Saved Mercenary Day (Bounty Pack 1)
★ 12 active SHiFT Codes as of December 4, 2025
☆ Black Market Location
★ Elemental Weakness Chart
☆ Legendary Weapons
★ Builds: Vex | Amon | Rafa | Harlowe
This Year's Gimmick is one of Rafa's skill trees that revolves around his Arc-Knives in Borderlands 4. See a list of all This Year's Gimmick skills, as well as the playstyle of this skill tree.
List of Contents
List of This Year's Gimmick Skills
| Skills by Type | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capstones | Passives | Augments |
This Year's Gimmick Capstones
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
 Huracan Especial
(Branch 1) |
Activating Blade Fury causes Rafa to spin his blades, creating a Singularity that draws in all Marked enemies and other nearby enemies while dealing continuous Shock Damage. Whenever this attack kills an enemy, Overdrive grants increased Action Skill Cooldown Rate. |
 Inferno Protocol
(Branch 2) |
While Arc-Knives are active, Rafa's Exo-Suit stores all Damage Dealt to him. The Exo-Suit then heats up and constantly deals a small amount of Incendiary Damage to him. Additionally, Rafa's Melee Attacks deal Bonus Incendiary Damage. A portion of all Damage Dealt to Rafa is also dealt to enemies he has Marked. Using Blade Fury causes Rafa to consume all Stored Damage, and deals Bonus Incendiary Damage based on Stored Damage. A portion of all Damage dealt this way is returned to Rafa as Health. |
 Galvanic Panic
(Branch 3) |
Whenever Rafa performs a Melee Attack while Arc-Knives are active, fire an Acid STRM Glider at an enemy in his view. Acid STRM Gliders deal Corrosive Splash Damage based on the number of total Marked enemies. Additionally, killing an enemy while Arc-Knives are active restores Action Skill Duration. Activating Blade Fury causes Rafa to fire a volley of Acid STRM Gliders in front of him and end Arc-Knives. |
This Year's Gimmick Passives
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
 Dial In
|
Whenever Rafa damages an enemy with a Melee Attack, his Melee Attacks gain Critical Hit Chance. This chance stacks, and all Stacks are removed whenever Rafa Critically Hits an enemy. |
 Diamond Hands
|
Dealing Melee Damage grants Rafa a Stack of Diamond Hands. Gain increased Gun Damage for every Stack of Diamond Hands. Once Rafa deals Gun Damage, Stacks begin to decay quickly until they run out. |
 El Corazon
|
A portion of Rafa's Maximum Health Capacity is converted into Maximum Shield Capacity. |
 Expedite
|
Overdrive Skill. Overdrive grants Rafa increased Movement Speed. |
 Handshake Deal
|
Rafa gains increased Gun Damage and Melee Damage |
 Hard Sell
|
Whenever Rafa's Shields break, he instantly gains a portion of his Shield Maximum Capacity as Overshield. This Skill cannot be used again until Rafa next activates his Action Skill. |
 In the Zone
|
Kill Skill. Killing an enemy freezes Overdrive's Duration. |
 Midnight Oil
|
Rafa's Action Skills deal Bonus Corrosive Damage. The longer the Skill has been active, the greater the Bonus Damage. |
 Saldar
|
Rafa's Melee Critical Hits gain Lifesteal. |
 To the Last
|
Rafa gains increased Gun Damage and Skill Damage. The lower his Health, the greater the bonuses. |
 Blowout
(Branch 1) |
Whenever Rafa applies a Mark or Critically Hits an enemy with his Action Skill, they explode in Corrosive Lobbed Projectiles. The longer Rafa's Action Skill has been active, the more Corrosive Projectiles are spawned. |
 El Paraguas
(Branch 1) |
Rafa gains increased Splash Damage and Critical Hit Chance. |
 Liquidation
(Branch 1) |
Marked enemies killed by Rafa leave behind a Corrosive Hazard. |
 Protecto-Pulse
(Branch 1) |
Pressing ability while Arc-Knives are active or Rafa retriggers his Action Skill drains a portion of Rafa's Shields, and deals that much Shock Damage to nearby enemies. |
 Shock Market
(Branch 1) |
Whenever Rafa deals Splash Damage, deal Bonus Shock Damage based on the Damage Dealt. |
 Artilleria
(Branch 2) |
Rafa gains increased Ordnance Cooldown Rate. |
 Booming Business
(Branch 2) |
Whenever Rafa Critically Hits an enemy, he gains a chance to spawn a Free Grenade. If Rafa has a Grenade equipped, spawn a Grenade based on that. |
 Collaborative Ignition
(Branch 2) |
Overdrive Skill. Rafa deals Bonus Damage with Skills and Ordnances in the Element of his current Gun while Overdrive is active. |
 El Diablito
(Branch 2) |
A portion of all Incendiary Damage Rafa deals also deals Bonus Incendiary Ordnance Damage. |
 Hemolitions
(Branch 2) |
Overdrive Skill. While Overdrive is active, Rafa may use Grenades during Ordnance Cooldown at the cost of Health. Every time a Grenade is used this way, it costs more Health until Rafa's Grenade fully cools down. |
 Sinergia
(Branch 2) |
Whenever Rafa deals Ordnance Damage, he also deals increased Gun Damage and Melee Damage. This effect can stack. |
 Cruel Accrual
(Branch 3) |
Rafa gains increased Skill Damage with all Skills. The longer his Action Skill has been active, the greater the bonus. This effect can stack. |
 El Borracho
(Branch 3) |
Rafa deals increased Corrosive Damage while his Action Skill is active. The longer it has been active, the greater the bonus. This effect can stack. |
 Empuje
(Branch 3) |
Rafa gains increased Action Skill Duration. |
 Motivar
(Branch 3) |
Pressing Action Skill during Arc-Knives grants increased Overdrive Duration. This bonus is reset whenever Rafa activates an Action Skill. |
 Sustainable Energy
(Branch 3) |
Overdrive Skill. Rafa gains Health Regeneration based on how much Overdrive time is remaining. |
This Year's Gimmick Augments
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
 Altered Cabron
|
Whenever Rafa kills an enemy while Arc-Knives are active, restore a portion of his Health. Whenever Rafa gains Health, deal Bonus Corrosive Damage with all attacks, and gain increased Movement Speed. This effect can stack. |
 Dead Man Walking
|
Arc-Knives do not end when their Duration runs out. Instead they only end if Rafa enters Fight For Your Life or activates Blade Fury. While Arc-Knives' duration is depleted, Rafa loses Health instead. Whenever Rafa damages an enemy, he gains Overshield. |
 Thundercutter
(Branch 1) |
Attacks made with Arc-Knives deal Shock Melee Splash Damage. Rafa gains increased Splash Damage. |
 Parting Gift
(Branch 2) |
Whenever Rafa activates his Dash Attack, he leaves behind a Grenade. If he has a Grenade equipped, use that Grenade instead. Enemies damaged by these Grenades become Marked. Whenever Rafa applies a Mark to an enemy, apply an additional Mark. |
 Acid Drop
(Branch 3) |
Arc-Knives' Dash Attack is replaced by Caustic Leap. Pressing Action Skill causes Rafa to leap forward and create a Caustic Hazard wherever he lands. Whenever a Mark is removed from an enemy, it explodes into a Corrosive Nova. |
This Year's Gimmick Action Skill and Playstyle
Arc-Knives
Rafa equips his Arc-Knives, enabling powerful melee attacks, increased mobility, and a Blade Fury finisher.
Gain Powerful Melee Attacks and Mobility
This skill tree is recommended for players who want an alternate, flashy melee form that can zip across the field and quickly dispatch enemies.
Borderlands 4 Related Guides
All Skills by Tree
| Vex | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Fourth Seal | Vexcalation | Here Comes Trouble |
| Amon | ||
| Calamity | Vengeance | Cybernetics |
| Rafa | ||
| People Person | Remote Agent | This Year's Gimmick |
| Harlowe | ||
| Creative Bursts | Seize the Day | Cosmic Brilliance |
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This Year's Gimmick Skill Tree Guide
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