One of the defining traits of the Borderlands franchise are the different classes that players can pick before starting out on their adventure. Each one has a unique look and skills that players can continue to upgrade as they level up. Borderlands 3 is set to introduce all new classes for players to pick from except for one.
The one constant through both the first and second Borderlands game is that each one featured a class known as the Siren. Borderlands 3 continues this trend with Amara, the latest Siren who has her own special phase abilities just like Lilith and Maya before her. Unlike her contemporaries, Amara has three action skills to pick from including Phasegrasp, Phasecast, and Phaseslam. How she got these abilities is hopefully something the game reveals once it launches in September.
While to many fans, the Siren is just a particular class to use in the game, they’re actually a very important and powerful group within the franchise’s lore and story. So here are five interesting, lesser known, and sometimes weird facts about Lilith, Maya, Amara, and the rest of the Sirens.
5 What’s In a Name?
The original inspiration for Sirens came from the creatures of Greek mythology. These female creatures could change their face and were extremely dangerous to sailors as their beautiful singing could seduce sailors, lure them in, and then drown them beneath the waves.
It’s unclear if the Borderlands versions of Sirens all have to be female, though each one players have come across have been so far. This fact does line up with the ones from Greek mythology, so it’s generally assumed that there are no male versions. Interestingly enough, Tyreen’s brother Troy does appear to have red markings on his body in Borderlands 3, though its unclear if those are just normal tattoos or if there’s a story reason for him having Siren looking tattoos. It is confirmed that Lilith has her powers taken away at some point, so perhaps the two could be linked.
4 The Rule of Six
To counteract how powerful Sirens are, only six can exist at one time in the Borderlands universe. This original tidbit was revealed by Handsome Jack during the events of Borderlands 2, though ironically enough, only three Sirens had been confirmed by that point. Lilith, Maya, and Jack’s daughter Angel. The remaining three would later be confirmed, two for Borderlands 3, and then another familiar face that many players overlooked. More on that below.
3 Phase Abilities
Part of being a Siren means having access to a very powerful and unique skill. The side-effect of these powers is having tattoos on one side of their body, channeling their energy through them. While each of the six Sirens has their own abilities, each one has similar characteristics through phasing.
Arguably the most well known of the Sirens, Lilith has the Phasewalk ability, essentially letting her disappear and travel through another dimension until she appears back in her own world. As players have seen, Lilith has been able to amplify her powers to teleport other people and cities.
In Borderlands 2, Maya had the Phaselock ability, letting her trap enemies in a bubble using mystical energy.
As mentioned above, Amara has three phasing skills available to her through the use of mystical sets of arms. Phasegrasp locks or instantly damage enemies, Phasecast shoots a projection of herself at enemies, and Phaseslam has Amara jumping into the air and crashing to the ground in a destructive strike.
Finally, Angel’s special ability was what she called Phaseshift. It’s a special hacking ability that allows her to take over nearly any interface in a network that she’s connected to.
At this time, Tyreen Calypso’s Siren ability isn’t known, but players should expect to see it plenty once they square off with the female twin.
2 The Power of Eridium
One way to increase the effectiveness of Siren abilities is through the use of the alien substance called Eridium. This substance was released throughout Pandora following the events of the first game when the Destroyer vault was opened for the first time. The Eridian aliens were the ones responsible for originally creating the vaults, even leaving behind powerful weapons players could find in the first Borderlands.
There’s some sort of connection between Sirens and Eridians, which is why they are able to absorb Eridium to enhance their abilities further. There’s plenty of examples of this behavior from Lilith using Eridium to Phasewalk and heal herself or Handsome Jack using it on his daughter to increase her power inside of the Core Control. Oddly enough, it is confirmed in an ECHO recording that Maya has no connection to Eridium and therefore can’t be enhanced by it.
However, there is a price for this increased power. Continued usage results in addiction to the substance which can lead to a day to day dependence on it and eventually death if the constant supply is cut off. Towards the end of Borderlands 2, the players work to cut off the Eridium Injectors attached to Angel’s core, which eventually killed her due to her body’s need for Eridium just to maintain day to day function.
1 The Lesser Known Siren
Since the reveal of Borderlands 3, fans have finally learned the identity of all of the Sirens as Amara and Tyreen Calypso joined the group. Five of the six have seen a good portion of the spotlight over the years, though may longtime fans may not remember the sixth Siren as Commandant Steele of the Crimson Lance faction.
Sporting the original Lilith design when the game was first announced and before the many changed it underwent, Steele was largely the primary antagonist of the first Borderlands. While the game never specifically referred to her as a Siren, she had all of the telltale signs. Her appearance had the trademark blue symbol tattoos that ran down her left side and she was the one to hold the Vault Key, even going as far as ability to piecing the fragments together. Unfortunately, the boss fight that many expected to have with her was cut short as she was impaled and devoured by the Destroyer once the first vault was opened.
So why wasn’t more made of this? It’s certainly up for debate but the belief is that the game’s lore wasn’t as fleshed out as it eventually became over time. Considering the long and sometimes tough development cycle that the first Borderlands game experiences, it’s entirely possible that gearbox may not have known how the game would do once it launched. With how successful the franchise has become, the studio was free to start really digging into the lore, characters, and everything in between.
Borderlands 3 launches September 13, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Borderlands Wiki
