Roland

Roland is Borderlands's "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.

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
 * "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!"

Killing enemies
 * 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
 * "Mess with the bull and you get the horns!"
 * "I'm issuing you a challenge...chump."
 * "You think you got what it takes?!"

Getting Crippled
 * Argh..that hurt like a bitch!

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

Trivia

 * A Warren Zevon song, "Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner", could also be the inspiration for the "machine gun" character of Borderlands.Kid_Roland.jpg
 * Roland was the name of one of Charlemagne's legendary paladins and many literary works pay homage to this historical figure. It is possible that this Roland is similarly linked indirectly to him.
 * Roland is an infantryman, but his Scorpio Turret and pieces of Crimson Lance armour offer indications that he might have once been a Lance Engineer.
 * 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 Marcus Kincaid, meaning that it is possible that these early designs were recycled and used for him.
 * 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.
 * His quote, "Another one bites the dust," may be a reference to the Queen song, "Another One Bites The Dust", especially given lyrics from the song like "machine guns ready to go" and "out of the doorway the bullets rip."
 * Roland is the name of the Gunslinger in Stephen King's The Dark Tower.
 * His quote, "Oh, that's just a flesh wound!" is possibly a reference to the scene featuring the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * His quote "You mess with the bull, you get the horns." may be a reference to the Breakfast Club. Said by principal Richard Vernon: Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.
 * 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.

Roland