Borderlands 2

[ScrambledBrains]

Well, yesterday evening I finally tried out the kunai.

My mind has been blown. it's almost like easy mode. bosses/ kunai to the face, wait few secs, shoot, run away until skill up again.

Mobs? make a line in the ground where they stand and shotgun.

(even on TVHM - 1st run)

apparently the Sniper tree doesn't add as much damage as I'd like (though that may be remedied later when better weapons become available)


right now going Kunai with bloodshed tree for a bit more survivability.

I also rushed through the normal mode and ony last night I discovered the assassinate the assassins quest. wow, it's exactly straight up Zer0's alley.

I told ya the Kunai rocked.

[nihil8r]

50 siren on steam looking for friends for raid bosses, challenges, and high-fiving claptrap. also can level up new characters. please no hackers! send pm.

[Sith_Happens]

Just got the kunai. Lots of fun, but I wish they had a bit more oomph visually.

[Socratov]

WOOOHOOOO! Found the legendary Hunter Zer0 classmod (orange), while playing Zer0, at the correct level at the time! (including a couple of pink guns), as well got the firehawk shield (also orange).

Miss the hp regen though, but then again, I'll have to be more conscious of my hp and decieve more...

also, dat nova 8F

ION. Got the DLC, but need an internet connection to activate them so I can play them offline (or are they online only?)

[Razgriez]

So I've just gotten into the game, and playing as Zer0. Seems like Kunai is the popular ability if I'm reading correctly. A question I have though, does the bottom of the Bloodshed skill tree worthwhile at all? It seems like I'm beginning to reach the point in the game where some of the more durable basic mobs are able to at least take a hit from a Decepti0n Melee strike, so if I can't reliably one shot foes with melee, or even semi-damaged foes, then well, investing in "Many Must Fall" will be pointless

Also, opinions on my build so far, and where to go from here anyone?:

Current level/Skill tree: LV 19 Assassin (Class Mod: Lethal Ninja- +25% Melee damage and Killing Bl0w +2)

Spoiler

Show

Skill tree (Bloodshed focused currently)

Decepti0n: 1/1

Tier1:
Killing Bl0w 1/5 (+2 Class mod): +100% (+300%) Melee Damage vs. Foes with Low HP
Ir0n Hand 5/5: 15% bonus to Melee Damage and Max HP

Tier 2:
Grim 3/5: Kill skill: +2.1% Shield Regen, +4.5% Decepti0n Cool down rate
Be Like Water 1/5: After successful Melee strike: +4% Gun damage. After successful shot: +6% Melee
*Note: My current play and gear, makes use primarily of a Sniper Rifle and Pistol armed with melee blades

Tier 3:
Execute 1/1: Melee attacks during Decepti0n perform a Dash attack, Increased Melee Damage, and Knockback versus some foes who survive.
F0ll0w Thr0ugh 3/5: Killskill: +18% Gun damage, +24% Movement speed and Melee Damage

[mangosta71]

You really need Law (+100% melee damage pistol) to make the Bloodshed tree shine. Fortunately it's a quest reward, so you don't have to keep farming for it. It also helps to have a class mod with +melee damage. I've hit for over 42k while stealthed - with MMF and Execute I just streak around oneshotting most trash. And even while not stealthed, if you have Order (which is another quest reward) with Law, all melee damage you do heals you, so you become extremely durable.

I've heard tell of weapons with bigger melee bonuses in the pirate DLC, but since Rift released an expansion a couple weeks ago I haven't had time to play BL2, and so my Zer0 is still just level 32 and hasn't completed the story.

However, until you get MMF (at level 31 at the earliest unless you're hacking), Cunning is unquestionably a stronger solo tree. Resurgence is a beautiful thing - if you can find a Bloodied Survivor (+Resurgence and hp regen) class mod, I'd swap it in immediately. I'm not overly impressed with the Killing Bl0w skill - by the time a mob's hp is low enough for it to apply, your next blow will probably kill it anyway.

[DiscipleofBob]

However, until you get MMF (at level 31 at the earliest unless you're hacking), Cunning is unquestionably a stronger solo tree. Resurgence is a beautiful thing - if you can find a Bloodied Survivor (+Resurgence and hp regen) class mod, I'd swap it in immediately. I'm not overly impressed with the Killing Bl0w skill - by the time a mob's hp is low enough for it to apply, your next blow will probably kill it anyway.

Killing Bl0w really shines when you're fighting things like Badass Psychos and bosses where they really do take that long to kill and even after getting them to low health it's no longer a guarantee.

Playing with the skill tree, it seems like my end build will be 16 in Cunning, 16 in Bloodshed, and then it's a choice between B0re, Kunai, and Many Must Fall. Thankfully respeccing isn't too much of a pain so if I know I'm going into an area where sniping is preferred, I can switch to B0re instead.

EDIT: Also, how do people feel about the Love Thumper shield on a melee character? Is the lack of Shield worth the melee boost?

[mangosta71]

Killing Bl0w really shines when you're fighting things like Badass Psychos and bosses where they really do take that long to kill and even after getting them to low health it's no longer a guarantee.

I don't run into such enemies often enough to justify investing in Killing Bl0w when I could put those skill points into something that benefits me all the time. Especially since I carry the biggest, baddest shotgun I've found for just such occasions (I two-shot Wilhelm). YMMV, though.

EDIT: Also, how do people feel about the Love Thumper shield on a melee character? Is the lack of Shield worth the melee boost?

Only worth it if you have some way to regain a lot of health in a hurry (such as heavy investment in Resurgence), because you'll need that if you're running around with no shield for literally minutes at a time.

[Socratov]

I think nova or spikes work better in that case. I cant wait for the weekend to start on gaige. Somehow I think that investing in her ability to make missing bullets hit will make her a prime candidate for shotguns and SMG's

(cause, you know, apparently you need an internet connection to play DLC, downloading is not enough...)

Oh, and swift law works like a charm on those chrystal dudes. 4k a hit, but critting on the legs, so (with various boosts) 9~10 k a hit. 1 mag per leg and dead

[mangosta71]

I guess you could kill chrysalisks that way... Before I learned that one or two good melee swings will take their legs off, I was sprinting up to point-blank and popping a single shotgun blast into each leg. One mag would be more than enough to kill the thing completely. But I can get away with living dangerously/recklessly because I don't play in a group, so I'm only killing myself if something is too dangerous/reckless.

[DiscipleofBob]

Oh man, I can't wait to get my Zer0 through the Captain Scarlett DLC.

Captain Blade's Rapier: +200% melee damage.

And there's a Shield which adds explosive damage to all melee attacks (not automatically replacing Order and other melee shields, but still good.)

Heck, most of these Captain Blade's gear are spectacular for melee builds.

[Anteros]

Killing Bl0w really shines when you're fighting things like Badass Psychos and bosses where they really do take that long to kill and even after getting them to low health it's no longer a guarantee.

Playing with the skill tree, it seems like my end build will be 16 in Cunning, 16 in Bloodshed, and then it's a choice between B0re, Kunai, and Many Must Fall. Thankfully respeccing isn't too much of a pain so if I know I'm going into an area where sniping is preferred, I can switch to B0re instead.

EDIT: Also, how do people feel about the Love Thumper shield on a melee character? Is the lack of Shield worth the melee boost?

It's worth it for bloodshed zero because you're invisible a lot of the time anyway.

[Krade]

I should point out that while Captain Blades stuff does have some really good bonuses, every one also applies a weakness to you. Whether that's worth it to you or not, though, is a decision you'll have to make for yourself.

[Socratov]

it jsut occurred to me that Gaige's pet robot was exactly what bloodwing needed to be in part one. exactly. However, anyone any idea on what tree to spec? I mean I kind of have a problem seeing what actually works or not... It seems to me that the low level talents are more useful then the high level talents...

[factotum]

You can respec at any time anyway, so just play around with what works for you! The top-end skills in each tree often require you to specialise in order to make best use of them, though; for instance, the Mechromancer skill that grants a copy of your skill to Deathtrap is largely useless if you aren't concentrating on using him.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

I think the top tier in the anarchy tree is kinda weak. I'm trying to spec to have massively damaging Hyperion guns, but a melee skill that doesn't do that great damage seems really weak.

[Grue Bait]

it jsut occurred to me that Gaige's pet robot was exactly what bloodwing needed to be in part one. exactly. However, anyone any idea on what tree to spec? I mean I kind of have a problem seeing what actually works or not... It seems to me that the low level talents are more useful then the high level talents...

I'm having a lot of fun with the Little Big Trouble tree and a good shock sniper. It seems to work well with Deathtrap tanking while you hold back. I'm only level 29, so I haven't made Deathtrap sparkle, but Interspersed Outburst is pretty sweet.

[Socratov]

Well, I'll be speccing heal in combination with the middle tree (or whatever my classmod boosts) since deathtrap is ridicilously strong. that said, I have a lot of fun with assaultrifles and smg's with her.

[JediSoth]

I've found great success with the BFF tree and once I could, dipping into Little Big Trouble (at 50 I'm all the way up to Interspersed Outburst, thought I didn't actually take it).

Between my crits & reloading and Deathtrap's kills, the screen is often filled with electrical storms. Torgue Shotguns are magical Cuisinarts of exploding death and the Dahl Blaster I got with a golden key kills the heck out of EVERYTHING very quickly. It's an e-tech shock weapon. With my spec, shock attacks have a chance to set things on fire, so there is much screaming (I smell...delicious!) . With that blaster, I almost don't NEED Deathtrap. I only pull him out now if there's a large group, or I need a distraction. Of course, I leveled to 50 in Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, so the rest of my TVHM is kind of locked in the mid-40s right now. I loot for cash since no drops come close to what I got in the DLC. I actually had trouble with the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve because I was having trouble MERELY maiming the 'bots, I was killing them so fast. Did you know, eventually the game takes pity on you and opens the door anyway? Mordecai even says "That's weird. Why are they opening? It must be a trap!" (I don't remember him saying that if you get the doors to open by maiming the robots.)

I also found a WICKED cool e-tech Vladof sniper that shoots linear bolts of lightning. It's like a laser machine gun. It's a little low for my level and eats ammo like candy, but it's so fun to shoot I'm going to hang on to it.

[Socratov]

well, got a lvl 45 Zer0 now and a lvl 19 mechromancer, having finished the quests from the campaign of carnage now going after booty at the oasis... (both with mechromancer, need to finish with Zero now and get to those nice things. i think Zero is ridicilously strong when it comes to duelling those stupids in the ranking).

also I hate the wildlife preserve as well because of those stupid invis beasts (an dI can see them in invis mode, but still)

[Sith_Happens]

also I hate the wildlife preserve as well because of those stupid invis beasts (an dI can see them in invis mode, but still)

The problem with stalkers isn't the "invisibility," it's that they jump around so dang much.

[Socratov]

The problem with stalkers isn't the "invisibility," it's that they jump around so dang much.

that too. almost feels ike you are managing a wheelbarrow of frogs...

It's like you have them in your sight and *jump* meanwhile you are cursing the person who eer thought of the nefarious and devilish creatures. Seriously the dev who thought of them needs to get whacked on the head...

[factotum]

The best way to deal with stalkers is lightning damage, and lots of it. Strip their shield away and they can't cloak anymore, which makes them easier to hit--albeit still not *easy*, thanks to the aforementioned jumping around all over the place!

[Sipex]

Correction. The best way to deal with stalkers (and badass rakks) is phase lock. I love that skill so much.

But yes, if that isn't an option, definitely electric damage.

edit: I've had a lot of success against groups of stalkers using singularity grenades which deal electric damage

[pffh]

I'm kinda looking forward to fighting stalkers with my Mechromancer since I'm going down the "aiming is for suckahs" route with her.

High anarchy, close enough and explosive shotguns with x15+ shots are the best things ever by the way. It's literally raining explosive death.

[Socratov]

I'm kinda looking forward to fighting stalkers with my Mechromancer since I'm going down the "aiming is for suckahs" route with her.

High anarchy, close enough and explosive shotguns with x15+ shots are the best things ever by the way. It's literally raining explosive death.

you won't be quick enough. I'll tell you...

[ObadiahtheSlim]

When I did the animal sanctuary chapter with 4x sirens, it was very easy. 4x Phaselocks makes the beasties die very quickly.

[mangosta71]

Execute makes the world go round. With Many Must Fall on top of that, the little bastards can't jump fast enough to stop me from clearing the whole pack on a single Decepti0n.

[DiscipleofBob]

Sometime I want to play a game with 4 Mechromancers and just watch four Deathtraps take out everything.

Or a game with 4 Commandos, especially if they all have Gemini so we have 8 shielded turrets on the field at once to provide our own cover.

[pffh]

Or a game with 4 Commandos, especially if they all have Gemini so we have 8 shielded turrets on the field at once to provide our own cover.

I've been in a game like that. 8 shielded turrets with the extra rockets are a glorious thing to behold.