If there's one thing the Borderlands franchise is known for, aside from its groundbreaking cel-shaded art style and its seamless four-player co-op, it's the series' large cast of zany, larger-than-life characters. Over the last 14 years, the Borderlands franchise has continued to put some of the most colorful, memorable characters on players' screens, and though every fan is sure to have their favorite, a good few will stick in the mind long after putting the controller down.
Some of the most iconic Borderlands characters are, naturally, those that are fully playable. The original Borderlands saw players choose from a cast of four characters, and though none of those really leaned in too heavily to the series' more eccentric tone, they've all gone down as some of the franchise's most beloved characters, all cropping up again in future sequels, spinoffs, and DLCs. But while some of Borderlands' classic characters have had another chance in the spotlight, there are a few who haven't made their triumphant return just yet.
Classic Borderlands Characters That Still Don't Have a DLC
When it comes to defining "classic" Borderlands characters, it really covers any hugely memorable character from the first game in the series. And with Borderlands 2's Handsome Jack and other characters now being 11 years old, that cast is in the running as well. It also seems fair to say that the most iconic characters in the first two Borderlands games are their main playable cast, and only a handful of them have their own dedicated DLC.
Lilith, the original Borderlands' Siren class character, got her own dedicated DLC in Borderlands 2. Titled Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary, this is the fifth DLC campaign for Borderlands 2, and it dropped seven years after the game originally released, and as such is only available for the next-generation ports of the game. This DLC sees players team up with Lilith and the rest of the Crimson Raiders to protect their home base of Sanctuary from an ex-Dahl military leader named Colonel Hector. Borderlands 2's DLC character Krieg is another of the lucky few to get his own dedicated DLC. Titled Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, this Borderlands 3 DLC sees players enter the twisted mind of the titular Psycho.
Aside from playable characters, plenty of other classic Borderlands characters have returned in their own DLCs across the years as well. Mad Moxxi is the most prolific of the lot, appearing in a total of three DLCs over the last 14 years, the first of which was the original Borderlands' Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot. Tiny Tina, of course, got her own DLC with Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, a short campaign that would go on to inspire the creation of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. And even Claptrap has gotten a few DLCs over the years.
But there are a good few classic Borderlands characters that haven't received their own DLC yet, some of which haven't even been seen since their first appearance. While Borderlands' Mordecai, Roland, and Brick all show up in subsequent Borderlands sequels and spinoffs, none have received their own DLC campaigns. Similarly, Borderlands 2's Zer0 and Maya showed up in Borderlands 3, but they also didn't get a chance to shine in their own DLC.
But much worse than that are Salvador and Axton, two classic Borderlands 2 characters that not only haven't got their own DLC, but haven't been seen at all since their first appearance outside of the radio comments in the Arms Race missions. Though it might be tricky to bring back some of these characters due to the way their story was left off, the Borderlands franchise is likely far from over, and there are still plenty of opportunities for these classic characters to get another chance in the spotlight.