Battleborn gets its first post-launch hero later this month

Gearbox will roll out a handful of new playable characters for its MOBA / PvE hybrid Battleborn over the coming months. The first is Alani – a member of the Eldrid faction (y'know, the faction that counts mushroom-headed healer Miko among its ranks). According to the write-up, she "was raised as a healer, but forced to be a warrior", suggesting her strengths will be spread across those two playstyles.

"As a warrior from a planet with vast seas, Alani’s attacks and abilities revolve around her power to control water to dish out pain, or heal her fellow Battleborn," the announcement reads.

Season Pass holders will gain access to Alani on May 24, while everyone else will gain access the following week on May 31. You'll need the right amount of in-game currency to unlock her, though Season Pass holders will gain a Hero Key to achieve that instantly (although they can choose to unlock another character instead). Once the hero unlocked using that key is maxed out, the Hero Key will be redeemable with another character.

In other Battleborn news, Gearbox is hosting a Double XP event this weekend, taking in both Command and Character rank experience. It kicks off May 20 at 8am (PDT) and finishes May 25 at 8am (PDT).

Battleborn released earlier this month to mixed reviews, but our Jem Alexander quite liked it. "[It's] classic Gearbox shooting with an experimental MOBA twist," she wrote in her review, "but it’s no Borderlands."

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.