When it comes to Borderlands 3, it's no secret that Zane is quite likely the least powerful Vault Hunter in the game. While there are certainly some Zane builds that make him much more viable in the endgame, they pale in comparison to the absurdly powerful FL4k and Amara builds that players have cooked up. Even so, it seems many Borderlands 3 players have a soft spot for Zane, perhaps partly because he is the "underdog" character in the new group of Vault Hunters.
The Borderlands 3 subreddit has numerous memes that fans have made, both poking fun at Zane's lack of ability compared to fellow Vault Hunters, and praising him for his funny dialogue. It seems even Zane mains are aware that he just isn't nearly as powerful as the other Vault Hunters in the game, but they don't seem to fault him for it.
Now, it's possible that Zane will become a more viable option for the Borderlands 3 endgame at some point later on. Gearbox is likely to update the looter-shooter on a regular basis, and those updates are sure to include some balance changes.
In fact, in the midst of writing this, Zane actually received a buff in the latest Borderlands 3 hot fix. While the first major Borderlands 3 patch didn't provide any significant character balance changes, the new hot fix does attempt to make Zane a bit more powerful while also nerfing FL4K slightly. Amara also got a slight nerf in the new Borderlands 3 hot fix, which may also convince more fans of the game to play as Zane instead when they decide to run through with a new character.
Future updates could make even more character balance changes while Gearbox looks to find a sweet spot between making players feel powerful and making characters overpowered. In the meantime, future updates will also give Borderlands 3 players new missions to complete and areas to explore, with the first DLC coming in the form of the Halloween-themed Bloody Harvest event that's set to kick off in October.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.