Roland

Roland is Borderlands' "Soldier" class. He is a former soldier of the Crimson Lance, the highly trained private military of The Atlas Corporation. He is proficient with all weapons, although he prefers Shotguns and Combat Rifles. Roland can deploy a Scorpio Turret that can be upgraded throughout the game.

Gameplay
Some of Roland's abilities are meant to supplement and support the party, while some boost his offensive capabilities. His Infantry skill tree can boost his weapon damage, while his Medic skill tree will increase health regeneration, and Support will increase shield regeneration and regenerate ammunition for the party. Some of these benefits are only active when Roland's Scorpio Turret is deployed. He is by far the best support class because his turret can be upgraded to heal and regenerate ammunition for him and his allies. He is the only character that cannot boost his melee in some way, but his upgrades for the Scorpio Turret are more spread out among his skill trees, making it potentially more useful in more situations than the other character's action skills (except Lilith, whose skills are spread out about the same amount). Roland is the only playable character who does not have an action skill to daze enemies and has the only action skill capable of being taken out by weapons fire aside from character death.

Action Skill
Roland's Action Skill is a sentry gun called the Scorpio Turret; a turret that shoots enemies and also provides a shield for cover. Roland's turret will be affected in one of three ways depending on which skill tree the player decides to fully upgrade. The turret lasts 20 seconds. The Scorpio Turret is a very versatile ability, when used correctly it can fill a wide range of situations, such as being used to cover the player's side to keep from being flanked, or temporarily holding off enemies while the player retreats. The Scorpio Turret is also the longest skill to cool down, mainly due to its devastating capabilities.


 * Investments in the Infantry branch of the skill tree can increase the Scorpio Turret's damage, reduce its cooldown time and even allow it to shoot guided missiles.
 * Investments in the Support branch of the skill tree can reduce the Scorpio Turret's cooldown, increase its burst fire count and allow it to eject resupply packs to replenish the ammunition and grenade stocks of all team members.
 * Investments in the Medic branch of the skill tree can add team regeneration or revive effects to the turret.

Skill Tree Calculator
Check out the skill calculator at borderlandsthegame.com. Note - this tool is no longer supported by gearbox and will only calculate to level 61.

Borderlands 2
Following the Vault Hunters' defeat of General Knoxx, the Atlas Corporation abandoned all remaining Crimson Lance soldiers on Pandora. Roland used this opportunity to rally the Lancemen against Hyperion, pledging to give them a cause their previous employer could not promise them, forming the Crimson Raiders, along with Mordecai, Brick, and his then-girlfriend Lilith.

The Raiders were originally stationed in New Haven, but was discovered when Shep Sanders disclosed its location to Hyperion. Overrun by the company, and with Lilith believed dead by Hyperion, the Raiders relocated to Sanctuary. Roland then ended his relationship with Lilith to focus on defending the town, while she drew the bandits' attention away.

Before meeting with the new Vault Hunters, Roland was captured by the Bloodshots, a bandit group who attempted to claim the bounty on his head. With the assistance of Lilith, the Vault Hunters rescue him from Hyperion. He then resumes his post as the leader of the Raiders and assigns story quests to the Vault Hunters.

During the Crimson Raider/Slab joint strike on Control Core Angel, he assists the Vault Hunters in retrieving the Vault Key. In the core of the facility, he lowers the shields guarding Angel's Eridium injectors, while the Vault Hunters destroy them. Against Roland and Angel's insistence, Lilith appears as well. When Angel dies, Roland goes to retrieve the Vault Key, but is shot dead by Handsome Jack. After Jack is defeated Roland is buried with the original vault hunters tearfully mourning him.

Quotes
Entering a game
 * "NOW we can get things started!"
 * "Your chances of winning just got better"

Opening a Chest
 * "Always nice to get resupplied."
 * "Always room for more loot."
 * "Armaments here."
 * "Alright! We got guns over here."
 * "Can never have enough stuff!"
 * "This will help."
 * "Sweet! Wasn't expectin' that."
 * "It's like Christmas!"

Idle
 * "Time is bullets."
 * "Wastin' daylight, foo."
 * "Burnin' daylight."

Leveling up
 * "Bigger and badder!"
 * "Rankin' up!"
 * "Getting better all the time!"

Scoring a Critical Hit
 * "Critical, bitch!"
 * "Critical, biatch!"
 * "Aww, you know that hurt!"
 * "Ow! That hurt!"
 * "Haha, bullseye!"
 * "Haha, nailed it!
 * "Critical hit!"
 * "Target hit!"

Killing a Badass or Boss enemy
 * "Elite, my ass!"
 * "Another one bites the dust."
 * "Oh yeah, that was all me."
 * "Another notch on my weapon!"
 * "Uppin' the kill count!"
 * "Are we keeping score here?"

Killing an enemy with the Scorpio Turret Killing enemies
 * "I love this damn thing!"
 * "It's like having another soldier on the field!"
 * "Spray 'em and stay 'em!"
 * "Efficient, and effective!"
 * "Haha, that's another one!"
 * "Mowin 'em down, haha!"
 * Owned!
 * "Haha! Bullseye!!!"


 * "Nailed it!!!"

Depleting your ammo
 * "Ammo count black."
 * "I'm outta mags."
 * "I'm out!"
 * "Out of bullets."
 * "Need to reload."
 * "Need ammo."

Spawning a Catch-A-Ride vehicle
 * "I'll TC the vehicle"
 * "I got the ride."
 * "Mounting up."

Request to swap (Gunner/Driver) seats in a vehicle
 * "Swap with me!"
 * "Trade ya!"
 * "Thats enough outta you!"

Issuing a duel challenge Getting Crippled
 * "Mess with the bull and you get the horns!"
 * "I'm issuing you a challenge...chump."
 * "You think you got what it takes?!"
 * Argh..that hurt like a bitch!

Reviving
 * "On your feet, soldier!"
 * "Oh, that's just a flesh wound!"
 * "Just walk it off."

Trivia

 * Early concept art of Roland depicted him as a caucasian male with dark and graying hair. Though his design has since been changed, these early concepts show a very strong resemblance to Dr. Zed- meaning that it is possible that these early designs were recycled and used for the doctor.
 * In his quote, "I'll TC the vehicle", TC likely stands for "Tactically Commandeer" the vehicle. In the U.S. Army, TC is an abbreviation for "Tactical Commander". However, the TC of an U.S. Army vehicle is actually the Officer/NCO in the passenger seat.


 * Roland is the name of the Gunslinger in Stephen King's The Dark Tower.


 * In the opening where the Vault hunters are seen as children, Roland's attire is a simpler version of his Crimson Lance armor he wears as an adult. His pauldron is a trash can lid, his grenadier cap is replaced with a Boonie hat, he wears the same scarf, and his greave is fashioned out of what appears to be a piece of sheet metal.
 * It is stated in Roland's profile that he dislikes publicity, ironically despite this he appears to be okay with having his picture on dozens of recruitment posters across Sanctuary.
 * Roland appears to be the leader of the original Vault Hunters as they take orders from him after rejoining the Crimson Raiders without protest.
 * This is also suggested by one of his class mods in Borderlands being the Leader

Roland