Borderlands 3 has been quite successful since launch in September 2019, and its impact can be measured by it selling over five million copies within five days. Of course, Borderlands 3 came with plenty of improvements both in terms of gameplay and narrative, and it also has the merit of being the first game of the franchise to have a very serious approach to how it handles the lore and worldbuilding aspects of the saga. While Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel did this as well, Borderlands 3 is full of new things to discover about the characters and universe they live in, with story arcs like that of the Seer recalling the Watcher's prophecy of an imminent war.

However, there is one more feature that may have gone unnoticed in Borderlands 3 because there's a lot to do in the game, and its chaotic encounters demand the players' attention. Gearbox's Borderlands 3 goes out of its way to be the most inclusive and LGBTQ-friendly installment in the looter-shooter franchise, and that's not easily achievable because of how many references there were in all the games before it. Borderlands 3 does a great job at handling diversity, and it shows just how important the whole thing is to Gearbox, which managed to pull off compelling characters that can also be an inspiration or good representation for many players.

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FL4K

Borderlands 3 Deathbot Prime Fl4k Build

FL4K is Borderlands 3 players' beloved Beastmaster, sporting a great arsenal of skills to tackle all sorts of content solo or with the help of a few cute, lethally armed friends. FL4K is a murdering machine with great tracking capabilities, and they identify as non-binary - but that's not all. FL4K also identifies as omnisexual and omniflirtatious, even though they only know that sex exists and people seem to enjoy it; FL4K themselves did not try it, nor did they fully understand what it entails.

This character was created based on the idea from a Gearbox game developer identifying as non-binary themselves. Their relationship with their beasts (and little robot friend) is very wholesome, and it contrasts FL4K's obsession and reverence for Death, whom they refer to as a woman.

Zane

Seein Double Zane Build Uses the Clone very effectively to kill bosses easily

Zane is an Irishman with a funny sense of humor who doesn't know what life would be like without violence. Zane is an amazingly skilled fighter who combines his technological wonders on the battlefield to mercilessly take out anyone, and then still finds the time to insult them in Irish slang. Zane identifies as male and pansexual, and according to a few lore entries found in Borderlands 3 he is married to multiple individuals and creatures across several star systems

Lorelei

borderlands 3 voice actors

Lorelei is arguably the NPC in Borderlands 3 who was loved most by fans, and that's not just because of her fiery passion for coffee even when the world around her is reduced to rubble and piles of bodies. According to lore entries in the game, Lorelei has been seriously considering transitioning to male, but had to put the thought on the back-burner because of the war. This is even more wholesome when considering that the character was voiced by transgender voice actor Ciaran Strange, making Lorelei's journey even more believable.

Honorable Mentions

Other characters to be featured in the long list of LGBTQ-friendly representation in Borderlands 3 include Sir Hammerlock and Wainwright Jakobs. The couple get married in the Guns, Love, and Tentacles DLC, and their relationship is shown throughout the base game as well. Then, it should be noted that Moxxi is bisexual, and so is the returning Borderlands 2 Vault Hunter Axton. Lastly, the late Siren Maya is asexual. All these characters combined make for a vast spectrum of LGBTQ representation, and that's something Gearbox clearly poured a lot of love into.

Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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