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Vex’s Trouble build pairs her weapon-linked elemental damage with Trouble’s attacks, distraction, and support. Trouble is an active companion summoned through Phase Phamiliar—not merely a passive damage bonus. Because balance updates have changed his durability and availability, treat older point-by-point builds as templates and check your current game’s skill descriptions before committing.
What Trouble does in a Vex build
Vex is the Siren, and Trouble is the companion associated with her Here Comes Trouble tree. Epic’s Borderlands 4 class guide describes Phase Phamiliar as the way Vex summons him. Trouble can attack enemies in melee and at range, draw their attention, teleport, grow into a larger form, and heal. That gives him two practical jobs: adding pressure while Vex fights, and diverting some enemy attention away from her.
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Those tools make Trouble’s time in the fight and ability to withstand attacks useful build considerations. They do not, by themselves, establish how much damage he currently deals compared with other Vex setups.
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Use Phase Covenant to align elements
Epic says Vex’s Phase Covenant converts her skill and melee damage to the element of her currently equipped gun. That gives weapon choice a role beyond firearm damage: changing guns can also change the element applied to those Vex attacks. Choose an element with the enemies and encounter in mind, rather than assuming one element is universally best.
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Prioritize the companion role you want
Here Comes Trouble is described as emphasizing elemental damage and survivability. A Trouble-centered approach therefore makes sense for players who want a companion contributing attacks and drawing pressure, alongside Vex’s own elemental damage. Read the skill descriptions in your current version and decide whether to favor Trouble’s staying power, his attacks, or Vex’s supporting damage. The available sources do not establish a best current point allocation, weapon, class mod, or element, so there is no evidence-based exact skill-point recipe to present as definitive.
Treat older allocations as templates
PC Gamer’s Vex builds guide, last updated September 30, 2025, includes a Here Comes Trouble approach. Use it as a dated editorial template, not as a live skill planner: game balance has changed since then, and the guide’s recommendations may not match current skill values. Confirm each skill’s effect and scaling in your game before copying an allocation.
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What the balance updates changed
Patch notes describe historical changes, not a current damage ranking or a promise that a build performs a particular way. The distinction matters because Trouble received adjustments after launch.
| Date and source | Published change | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| October 2, 2025 — Borderlands Support update notes | Trouble’s health increased by 10% and his damage by 21.9%. Trouble Bubble damage increased by 33%. The same update also raised Violent Outburst damage by 12.5%, Vorpal Fang damage by 34%, and Blood is Magic to 8% Action Skill damage per point from 7%. | These are percentage changes published for that historical update, not verified live values for October 2026. |
| March 26, 2026 — Borderlands Support major update notes | The maximum character level rose to 60. Notes also addressed Vex skill behavior, including Haruspex and Pincushion scaling with melee; they do not report a Trouble-specific balance adjustment. | Relevant progression and Vex-skill context, but not evidence of a Trouble buff in this update. |
| April 30, 2026 — Borderlands Support, Version 1.6 | Trouble’s health and melee attack damage increased, his teleport cooldown was reduced, and Blood is Magic’s Action Skill damage scaling based on Vex’s health increased. | The notes establish the direction of these changes, but do not give a current performance ranking for Trouble builds. |
Version 1.6 also said further balance work was planned, including an update slated for May 28, 2026. The sources cited here do not establish whether that later update shipped or what it changed for Trouble. For a build meant to reflect the current October 2026 game, check the latest official patch notes and the skill values shown in-game before treating any allocation or historical percentage as current.
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- LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS: Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
How Trouble compares with Vex’s other directions
PC Gamer’s September 30, 2025 assessment characterized Here Comes Trouble as a more laid-back companion approach focused on elements and survivability, and judged it weaker than Vex’s other two directions at that time. That is a dated editorial comparison, not a current measured ranking. The available sources provide no controlled comparison, damage-per-second figure, or boss clear time.
| Vex approach | Focus described in the available sources | What the comparison can establish |
|---|---|---|
| Here Comes Trouble | Trouble as a familiar, with attacks, distraction, teleporting, and healing; an elemental and survivability-oriented direction. | Its documented companion utility and dated 2025 editorial assessment; not its present-day numerical rank. |
| Vexcalation | Vex’s self-focused Incarnate setup, as contrasted by PC Gamer. | A distinct direction to compare by playstyle; no current numeric comparison is established. |
| The Fourth Seal | A Reaper/Specter minion approach, as contrasted by PC Gamer. | A broader minion-focused direction; no current numeric comparison is established. |
When this build is a good fit
- You want a companion who actively attacks and can pull enemy attention, rather than a setup centered only on Vex’s direct output.
- You like adjusting Vex’s skill and melee element through the gun she has equipped.
- You are willing to revisit your allocation when patches change skill values or companion behavior.
If your main goal is choosing the strongest Vex build, the dated PC Gamer ranking is not enough to settle that question for the current patch. Choose Trouble for the companion-led playstyle if it appeals to you, then judge its performance in your own encounters rather than relying on an unsupported universal ranking.
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- FIGHT SOLO OR CO-OP: Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends in 2-player splitscreen or up to 4-player online co-op.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up; whether you're hunting for loot, tackling missions, or wandering freely, level scaling and individual difficulty keeps the party together and having fun.
- LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS: Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
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