Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop App

Borderlands 4 Build

Vex Cryo Ordnance Phamiliar - Full Levelling Guide

Vex

Phase Phamiliar

Leveling

Creator

By imortilize

Updated on Sep 18, 2025

Sep 18, 2025

Build Overview

This Vex Levelling Guide focuses on playing into the Phase Phamiliar Companion Skill and using the Cryo element to Chill/Freeze enemies.

This build is a Combo Tree Build using the Red Tree and Blue Tree to maximise the Cryo Damage and Ordanance Damage of Vex and our Phase Phamiliar.

It takes a mixed balance between Offence and Defence so it shouldn't feel too Glass Cannon to Level Up on, making your Phase Phamiliar become an Area of Effect damage Tank whilst you focus on gunning down your enemies.

Because we play into the Cryo element so heavily, it makes sense for us to also play into the Cryo Status Effect Damage which allows us to deal Damage Over Time using the Cryo element. There is is likely to be supporting weapons and equipment that play to this advantage along the way.

-----

NOTE: This build is still a work in progress. If you have any questions about the build, feel free to jump in my Discord and ask me questions directly.

-----

Check out my other Vex Phamiliar levelling builds for different playstyles:

-----

Check out my Vex Phamiliar endgame builds for post campaign setups:

Ultimate Vex Phamiliar Guide

-----

I'l be live streaming most evenings (GMT) so this is a good time to come ask me questions directly!

Strengths And Weaknesses

High Mobility
Great Elemental Damage
Excellent Status Effect Damage
High Survivability
Explosives Heaven
Amazing AoE Damage

Action Skill Sustain
Potentially Less DPS Than Other Variants

Build Variants

Level 1 - 16

Level 17 - 31

Level 32 - 50

Requirements

No Requirements!
Have fun!

Overview

This variant focuses on the Initial Levelling Stage of the build adding in the following Perks via the Skill Tree:

Vex Only:

Gun Damage

Phase Phamiliar Only:

Increased Action Skill Duration
Increased Maximum Health
Minion Damage
Blink Strike

Vex And Phase Phamiliar:

Movement Speed
Damage Reduction

Skill Tree

Level 1 - 16

Level 17 - 31

Level 32 - 50

Points Spent 0 / 49

LMB Allocate

RMB Unallocate

2/5

3/3

2/5

5/5

The skills assigned above are intended to be Progressive through the Campaign and Levelling Stages of the game. This is likely to change when swapping to an Endgame Setup which will be linked here once they are ready for use after Release.

Note: This is a work in progress and will be actively updated on release.

Skill Order

Starter

Phase Phamiliar (Red Tree)
+3 Hasty Fiends (Red Tree)
+2 Grave Sustenance (Red Tree)

First Command Skill

Blink Strike (Red Tree)

Build Basic Defence

+2 Overprotective (Red Tree)

Command Skill Utlity

+3 Grave Command (Red Tree)

Boost Gun Damage

+5 Yowl and Bay (Red Tree)

Skill Info

The premise of this build is to play heavily into Ordance Damage and Minion Damage whilst using Overshield as your defensive mechanic.

It's important to note that the first thing recommended to take is Hasty Fiends because Movement Speed tends to be a Premium in most games like this and this is an easy way to gain 15% Movement Speed straight away, along with Damage Reduction. This should make you fairly Tanky early on.

This is backed up by the Utility Skills Grave Sustenance and Grave Command which assist ourPhase Phamiliar Action Skill and Blink Strike Command Skill so that we can use them more often.

Blink Strike is taken for doing Big Damage to Larger Targets when they are Under 50% Health and should be usable regularly due to Grave Command.

Defensively we take Overprotective to grant both Vex and Phase Phamiliar Overshield on Killing An Enemy, something we'l be doing a lot of in this game!

Finally we start working towards the higher tier Red Tree Skill Nodes and takes Yowl and Bay. Even though if doesn't provide the Gun Damage all the time, it will boost our Phase Phamiliar Health dramatically and allows us to work towards Icy Attunement quicker.

Weapon Info

This build will require a Cryo Weapon later on to as we take Icy Attunement but for this part of the game Any weapon you find will work just fine so this should make the starting stages a little more kind on the RNG.

Until I can play the game this is the best I can provide but once the game launches I shall update this ASAP afterwards.

Gameplay

Level 1 - 16

Level 17 - 31

Level 32 - 50

It's so early that we don't have access to many of our Skills and you'l come across the Weapons you find in your Playthrough. The following is the rough build rotation: