A double XP event and the first of five free characters coming to Battleborn will be out in the next few weeks, Gearbox announced today.

Alani is an Eldrid "warrior-monk healer" that will be out for all players on May 31 at 9 AM PDT. If you've purchased the Digital Deluxe edition of the game or the season pass, however, she'll be playable beginning on May 24 at 9 AM PDT. Those who participated in the PS4 version of the open beta will also get her on May 24.

"A member of the Eldrid faction who was raised as a healer, but forced to be a warrior, Alani is all that remains of her order after Rendain's Jennerit Imperium stole the oceans from her world," Gearbox's description reads. "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."

Unlike other characters, Alani will come with an in-game cost: You'll have to spend 47,500 credits to unlock her. Alternatively, Gearbox is introducing something called hero keys that can be used. When each new character is released, Digital Deluxe/season pass players will get a key that unlocks any character in the game, including the new one.

If you choose to use a key on one of the existing characters, thereby bypassing whatever requirements you'd otherwise have to meet, you'll be able to earn that key back later by meeting the usual unlock requirements.

Anyone who played the PS4 open beta will receive a hero key in addition to early access to Alani, as well as the first story operation DLC pack when that's released. If you played the PS4 beta and purchased the Digital Deluxe edition or season pass, you'll receive an extra hero key.

Gearbox teases that this is the first of "many free updates" it has planned. There are four more free characters on the way in addition to paid DLC packs consisting of story missions, skins, and taunts. Silhouettes for the other characters can be seen alongside Alani in the image above.

Finally, being a game in the mid-2010s, Battleborn will soon offer the requisite double XP event. From May 20 at 8 AM until May 25 at 8 AM, you'll earn double Command Rank and Character Rank experience in story missions and competitive multiplayer matches on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.