Tales from the Borderlands featured several memorable characters, though only a few have made their way to the main games. Ex-Hyperion employees Rhys and Vaughn have shown up, with the former becoming the CEO of Atlas and the latter leaning fully into his bandit lifestyle. However, other great characters like Gortys, Loader Bot, and Sasha have yet to make a comeback.
While the refreshingly cheerful Gortys absolutely deserves to come back as an NPC, a Tales from the Borderlands character that has even more potential is Fiona. This is because Fiona could easily become a playable Vault Hunter in the next main Borderlands game, making use of all the setup from the con artist’s storyline. With a re-appearance also able to properly explain Tales from the Borderlands’ cliffhanger ending, Fiona should make her return in Borderlands 4.
How Fiona Could Play In Borderlands 4
A large chunk of Fiona’s arc in Tales from the Borderlands sees her being mentored by Athena, the shield-wielding Vault Hunter from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Athena teaches Fiona to fend for herself, upgrading the elemental pistol that was given to her by her father figure and mentor Felix. Fiona also has a knack for Vault Hunting, and players can set her on the path to continue doing it during her final conversation with Rhys. With a signature weapon and the ability to visualize how scenarios will play out, Gearbox has all the tools it needs to capitalize on this setup and give Fiona a moveset that is fun to use.
While there are plenty of options for playable Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4, Fiona’s hidden pistol ensures that she has a ton of potential. The weapon cycles between corrosive, shock, and incendiary rounds in the Telltale game, allowing players to choose the damage type it dishes out. This could be great for certain builds, and the shots could make enemies weak to whatever elemental type they were hit with - making Fiona even more useful when working with other players. Different elements could be added to the pistol, with alternate firing modes added that let players use multiple elements at once.
While Fiona’s pistol is a place to start, another action skill could see her slowing down time to plan out attacks. Time could briefly slow whenever she is about to be hit, too, giving her time to adjust. This would be a good way to capture her “visual thinker” abilities from Tales from the Borderlands. A third action skill could make a joke out of the dialogue choices from Telltale games, letting Fiona players choose dialogue options to convince enemies to switch sides, kill themselves, or run away. This could be entertaining outside of combat, too, with Fiona getting a few dialogue options in main and side quests. A nice touch could see certain dialogue choices leading to better loot and more money upon mission completion.
Finally Providing Answers For Tales from the Borderlands’ Cliffhanger
The other upside to Fiona becoming a playable Vault Hunter whenever Borderlands 4 releases is that players can finally get some answers about where her and Rhys went after opening the Vault of the Traveler. It seems like Rhys was fine, as he went right back to his original plan of operating Atlas. Fiona, on the other hand, was not mentioned once in Borderlands 3. While an audio log can be found that sees Rhys asking Zer0 to find someone, this could be Sasha, as other dialogue makes it seem like the pair split up. He keeps her picture on his desk, indicating that he still cares deeply for Fiona’s sister.
Regardless of whether Zer0 was hunting for Sasha or Fiona, fans want to know what was in the chest that Rhys and Fiona opened at the end of Tales. While it is clear that they teleported, fans do not know where they went or what they found. With Rhys not mentioning what happened, and Fiona nowhere to be seen, Borderlands 4 should give players some long awaited answers. If Fiona became playable, her various bits of dialogue could explain where the Vault took her and what she has been up to in the time since Tales from the Borderlands. With so much story and gameplay potential, Fiona is a character that should not be left behind.
Tales from the Borderlands is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
