Claptrap may have been an odd choice for a Vault Hunter in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, but his design could be a good inspiration for a future character. While Claptrap's abilities was definitely far from the norm for Borderlands, and attached to a character that fans had learned not to take seriously, it was definitely memorable. After all, one of the points of having different playable characters in each Borderlands game is to give all of them a distinct playstyle. For better or worse, playing as Claptrap was a vastly different experience than any other Vault Hunter in the series.
Although he may not get much respect, Claptrap's role in Borderlands' ongoing story is one of the most enduring of any character. Introduced early in the first game, he has been a regular quest-giver and ally ever since. However, it's rare to see a nice word said about him in the games. Most of the cast sees him as annoying, and that sentiment is voiced a fair amount of times. This is backed up by him being the biggest victim of violent slapstick in the series, adding to his unfortunate status. Yet despite how bad things often are for Claptrap, he keeps coming back, and so too should his type of Vault Hunter gameplay.
A Bizarre Power Like Claptrap's Would be Good to See Again in Borderlands
It was likely a surprise to many when it was revealed that Claptrap was playable in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. His ability, VaultHunter.EXE, would sometimes give the player a useful ability for the situation, but would often just grant them a random effect. While many are useful, there are a few with significant drawbacks. For instance, One Shot Wonder causes him to fire his entire magazine at once, and Torgue Fiesta spewed grenades that could hurt allies as well as enemies. The most dangerous may have been Clap-In-The-Box, a powerful bomb that not only hurt allies, but would put Claptrap in Fight For Your Life if it didn't hit anything.
VaultHunter.EXE is obviously a joke ability that coincides with Claptrap's laughable reputation. When it comes to beating bosses in Borderlands, it's not something that one would want in most situations over the more reliable abilities that other Vault Hunters provide. Despite that, VaultHunter.EXE isn't completely without merit. At the very least, it will always refill Claptrap's health, letting it be an emergency heal if nothing else. It helps that many of his abilities can be strong, just not as powerful as other characters' more specialized skills, making his power roulette a fun - albeit unreliable - gimmick to toy around with.
The idea of a character with silly, random abilities is worthy of revisiting. Even though such a character may not be a strong Vault Hunter in Borderlands 4, a lot of mileage could come from the ability. Perhaps it could be similar to VaultHunter.EXE, or have its own sort of strange quirk. Maybe it could change the properties of their equipped weapon with each ability use, or inflict random status conditions. Perhaps the ability could even create random effects in the world itself. For the best results, the ability and the character associated would be best taking a comedic approach, much like Claptrap's general presentation in the series.
Claptrap's VaultHunter.EXE was inefficient, unreliable, and potentially hazardous. At the same time, its chaotic nature made it a perfect fit for the exciting gunplay of the Borderlands games. Granted, if another Vault Hunter gets a similar ability in the future, they may have to be another silly character in order to fit with the wacky nature of such an effect. Thankfully, since Borderlands is naturally bizarre, that wouldn't clash much with the rest of the world. Claptrap was an unlikely Vault Hunter, and he could be an unlikely inspiration for another in the next Borderlands.