Borderlands Character Build Guide
----BORDERLANDS CHARACTER BUILD GUIDE V1.3.0----
by cheezm0nkey
REVISION NOTES:
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v1.3.0:
Overall, major changes to the guide, and it's probably over twice as long.
Several reader suggestions have been made, spurring me to the following
changes/additions to the guide:
--Added 4 more builds (1 each) and re-tooled existing ones
--Added a builds index in part iii.b.
--Added test summary section before each tested build, detailing specific
weapon types used during testing, as well as a general impression
--Added 'Build Intentions' section before each build to give a general summary
of its role and application
--Qualified whether each build is better solo or in a team
--Added skill effects summary under each skill, in addition to those at the end
of each build
--Added section devoted wholly to skills and split guide into two parts
--Some numbers were incorrect, as per the skill calc I found earlier. I've
revised these to reflect the actual numbers you will see in-game.
--Added Preferred Class Mods to each build.
v1.2.0:
--Rewrote most of the language of the guide to reflect more consistent syntax
and term use.
--Gave credit where credit is due in part iv.
--Retooled Lilith Combat Build.
V1.1.0:
--Added specifically calculated skill levels to reflect the max amount of skill
points available by level cap @ character level 50
--Added summary of skill effects at the end of each build
--Builds have been re-tooled to reflect availability of skill points
v1.0.1:
--Whoops! Corrected spelling in places.
v1.0.0:
--Original release.
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i. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions or comments after reading this guide, send an email to:
blbuildguide{delete this part it's for foiling spam}@gmail.com
yes, delete that whole mess between and including the { }
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ii. INTRODUCTION:
a. GUIDE BASICS
This guide is intented to be used in aiding the LEVELING UP process for your
character, in order to maximize their effectiveness as quickly as possible.
You may choose to deviate from a given build to suit your personal playstyle,
in which case use the remainder of your skill points at your discretion. In
general, it would be wise to first upgrade skills within the same tree listed
as preferred by whatever build you are using.
b. A NOTE ON ADDING SKILL POINTS
When following any of the builds in this guide, you may choose two options when
adding your skill points. Option 1: Max out each skill in the order it is
listed in within the guide. Option 2: Proceed down the skill tree as
quickly as you can, adding points into the highest-tier skill available until
reaching final tier, then returning to max lower level skills. Note that
Option 2 may not be possible or advisable for all builds listed within.
In general, trust your instincts when adding points.
c. GENERAL DISCLAIMER
Up to this point, I personally have NOT tried all builds within this guide.
Some have been tested, and show a testing summary before the build to reflect
this. Builds listed with a testing section and testing feedback have been tested
in both early levels and at level 50, to make sure the build is consistently
strong. Absence of a testing summary from any particular build means that it
has not been fully tested, and thus cannot be verified as the best build to
fulfill its intended role. Ultimately, I hope to have all builds tested, but
my time is not solely devoted to playing Borderlands, so I appreciate your
patience. If you have any specific input, see the above contact section.
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iii.a. THE SKILLS: @SKILLS
To quickly jump to a specific character, use 'find' and type:
Lilith: @LILSKIL
Roland: @ROLSKIL
Mordecai: @MORSKIL
Brick: @BRISKIL
*Quick note on skills: A couple of you asked for times when a specific skill
says that it lasts 'for a few seconds.' So far, I still haven't been able to
accurately measure these, but it seems that for the most part, 'for a few
seconds' means in the neighborhood of 5 seconds, with the notable exception
of Phoenix, which is definitely closer to 8-10. It's also a possibility that
some of these durations increase with your character's level, and to some
extent a few of them seem to but I have not thus far been able to confirm or
deny that theory.
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****To quickly jump past the skills section and onto the builds section, use
the find feature in your browser and type @BUILDS. To jump back here later,
type @SKILLS.
FULL SKILL LISTING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
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LILITH (SIREN) SKILLS @LILSKIL
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ACTIVE SKILL (MANDATORY):
--Phasewalk
Turns Lilith invisible and greatly increases movement speed. Entering or
leaving Phasewalk creates a Phase Blast that damages nearby enemies. Melee
attacking will cause Lilith to come out of Phasewalk. Cooldown: 36 seconds
[COMMENTS: Phasewalk is basically stealth, and like any game with the
standard 'Rogue' character type, you usually either love stealth and find it
very useful, or don't care much for it and never use it. Well, Phasewalk is
much the same way. If you invest points in the skills that buff Phasewalk,
you'll probably find a good bit of use from it. AoE characters are capable
of insane burst damage from Phasewalk. Otherwise, you'll mostly use it to
get out of sticky combat situations.]
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CONTROLLER TREE TIER 1:
--Diva Increases Shield Capacity. Begins at +5% capacity, Lv5: +25%.
[COMMENTS: Diva's a quintessential 'survivability' skill. It's much
recommended for most builds that will use weapon combat more than melee combat.
If you don't need Melee, striking won't help you, so not only will Diva help in
general, but it'll unlock later Controller Tree skills, many of which are useful
in weapon-based combat.]
--Striking Melee attacks gain a chance to Daze enemies, reducing their
movement speed and accuracy.
Begins at +20% Chance to Daze (vs. equal level enemy), Lv5: +100% Chance.
[COMMENTS: Striking is really only necessary for a melee build. Even then, it's
not nearly as effective at stunning things as Dramatic Entrance is in Tier 2 of
this same tree. The advantage to Striking is that you don't need to phasewalk
to daze enemies, but in general, it can be skipped.]
CONTROLLER TREE TIER 2:
--Dramatic Entrance Phase Blast can Daze enemies. Begins at +20% chance to Daze,
Lv5: +100%.
[COMMENTS: Dramatic Entrance is an absolute must for players who want to get the
full potential out of Phasewalk and Phaseblast. That said, it should not
necessarily be prioritized over other Phasewalk-enhancing skills, unless you're
trying to be a pure AoE (area of effect...somebody won't know this) character.]
--Inner Glow While Phasewalking, regenerate health. Begins at +1% HP/sec,
Lv5: +7% HP/sec.
[COMMENTS: Inner Glow is just another of those survival-type skills. For those
characters for whom Phasewalk is an afterthought and not a major combat skill,
Inner Glow is a good one to get if you're trying to progress down the Controller
Tree to unlock some of the later skills. Usually skippable otherwise.]
CONTROLLER TREE TIER 3:
--Hard To Get Decreases Phasewalk cooldown. Begins at -3 seconds cooldown time,
Lv5: -16 seconds cooldown.
[COMMENTS: For Phasewalk-first characters, this skill is an obvious choice. The
major problem with it, however, is the fact that you have to invest a lot of
points in a tree that, apart from Dramatic Entrance, offers very few lower-level
skills that enhance your Phasewalking ability. Pure AoE characters are going to
want to have this skill, though.]
--Girl Power Killing an enemy yields Shield regen for a few seconds. Begins
at +2% Shield regen per second, Lv5: +7% Shield regen.
[COMMENTS: If you're trying to make your character a tank-type and want to be
capable of soaking lots of damage, then this skill makes a great combo with
Diva from Tier 1. Otherwise, it's often a skippable skill or just one that
you'll put points into to get to Mind Games.]
CONTROLLER TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Mind Games Each bullet you fire has a chance to Daze enemies, reducing
their movement speed and accuracy.
Begins at +5% chance to Daze, Lv5: +25%.
[COMMENTS: All right, this skill really depends on your weapon choice. If
you use weapons with a high rate of fire, e.g. SMGs and repeater pistols,
even Combat Rifles, at max level of Mind Games you'll daze just about
every enemy you shoot, even if you end up killing them immediately after
they Daze. In general, you'll see much more use out of this skill in the
second playthrough, when some of the enemies are a bit tougher and more
damaging. It's a great skill to have, no doubt, if you find yourself
toward the end of this tree. Also, if you're headed for this, you really
don't need any other Dazing skills like Striking or Dramatic Entrance.]
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ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 1:
--Quicksilver Increases Fire Rate (all weapons), beginning at +5% Fire Rate,
Lv5: +25%.
[COMMENTS: Unless you're planning on using a bunch of big, hulking weapons
which benefit very little from a percentage-based rate of fire increase,
you're going to end up loving this skill. Unless you have a complete aversion
to gunplay or are trying to finesse your way through a Melee-only build, then
you can pretty safely invest in Quicksilver without having to worry about
whether or not you wasted those points.]
--Spark - Increases chance of causing Elemental Effects with Elemental Weapons.
Begins at +4% chance, Lv5: +20%.
[COMMENTS: Elemental weapons can really sway the tide of a battle when they
start hitting enemies with all of their ill effects. Spark is a great skill
to have by endgame. In early game when you have weapons with lower chance of
Elemental Effects or when you simply don't have an Elemental weapon up to par
with your non-Elemental ones, you can overlook this skill for the time being.]
ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 2:
--Resilience Increases resistance to Fire, Shock, Corrosive, and Explosive
Damage. Begins at +6% resistance, Lv5: 30% resistance.
[COMMENTS: This is another general survivability skill, but is arguably more
useful than most of Lilith's other ones, given that it grants you Elemental
resistance. The reason it's a little better for survivability is that it
tends to be Elemental effects that kill your character later on, rather than
non-Elemental attacks or gunfire. If you've invested lots of points in the
Controller tree to buff shields, however, you probably don't need this. If
you want to avoid taking the relatively long walk down the Controller Tree to
reach Girl Power, then Resilience is a good alternative.]
--Radiance Deal Shock Damage to nearby enemies while Phasewalking. Damage
is based on 1) character Level and 2) Skill Level.
Begins at +1 Shock Damage, Lv5: +5 Shock Damage.
[COMMENTS: This skill is pretty specialized, so it'll be useful for certain
situations and relatively wasted in others. If you're looking to maximize
Lilith's AoE potential and want to be able to take down hordes of weaker
enemies quickly, then Radiance is a great addition to your skill set. In
just about any other build, however, you're not going to see a whole lot of
utility unless you've been really buffing Phasewalk, in which case you're
most likely more of an AoE character anyway.]
ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 3:
--Venom Adds Corrosive Damage to Melee attacks. Melee attacks gain Corrosive
properties, causing additional damage over time (DOT).
Begins at +5% melee damage, Lv5: 25% dmg.
[COMMENTS: This skill is a pretty solid choice for anybody who's putting a lot
of points into melee skills anyway. However, it's also a great choice in
general, if you don't mind spending points in the lower Elemental Tree skills
to get here. Corrosive Melee attacks will prove pretty useful when you're
being charged by a mob with an armored carapace that is otherwise very
resistant to damage. Since most of the earlier Elemental skills are pretty
well-suited to just about any build, Venom is pretty good all-around.]
--Intuition - Killing an enemy increases movement speed and team experience
for a few seconds. Begins at +10% Movement speed, +4% Team Experience,
Lv5: +50% Movement speed, +20% Team EXP.
[COMMENTS: Outside of a co-op environment, this skill is basically a complete
waste of your time. Even if you're playing cooperatively, the movement speed
that you gain is considerably less useful than the effects that most of
Lilith's other skills impart. Overall, it's a personal choice, and while
leveling up faster may be a major plus, I think you would have to consider
the fact that you spent 5 levels investing in this skill.]
ELEMENTAL TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Phoenix Killing an enemy causes you to deal Fire Damage to nearby enemies
and gives each shot a chance to ignore ammo costs for a few seconds. Fire
Damage increases with character Level.
Begins at +5% chance to save ammo, +1 Fire Damage,
Lv5: +25% chance to save ammo, +5 Fire Damage.
[COMMENTS: It's hard to say that I don't particularly like a skill that is
supposed to be an 'ultimate' type, but honestly it's not at all worth it to
spend points in the Elemental Tree to get here if you weren't planning on
buffing those skills in the first place. Phoenix is a good skill, yes, and
it's pretty great for AoE, but it's not worth going out of your way for. If
you have alot of AoE-type skills or are going for an AoE build, get it,
absolutely. The chance to ignore ammo cost is practically useless unless
you're planning on whipping out a rocket launcher, but the Fire Damage to
surrounding enemies will be pretty helpful, though I would say this ONLY
applies to AoE characters.
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ASSASSIN TREE TIER 1:
--Slayer - Increases Critical Hit Damage. Begins at +5% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +25%.
[COMMENTS: Anybody who's skilled at fps games in general and is capable of
consistenly hitting enemies' weak spots should absolutely have Slayer in
their skill set. Since Borderlands doesn't employ the conventional RPG
system of weapons having a certain critical hit chance and it's all skill
based, any kind of percentage-wise increase in Critical Damage yields an
absolutely huge advantage. Unless you don't plan on shooting anything
ever, you'll want this skill.]
--Silent Resolve Increases damage resistance for a few seconds AFTER
Phasewalking. Begins at +56% resistance, Lv5: +70% resistance.
[COMMENTS: For Phasewalkers, Silent Resolve is a great choice. It's on
the first tier, so no worries about wasting points to get here, and
anybody who Phasewalks constantly knows that you'll be most vulnerable in
the few short instants right after coming out of it. Anybody who hasn't
pumped points into reducing Phasewalk cooldown should skip this, or use
Slayer to move down the Assassin Tree instead.]
ASSASSIN TREE TIER 2:
--Enforcer Killing an enemy increases Accuracy and Bullet Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +7% Accuracy, +2% Bullet Damage, Lv5: +35% Acc, +10% dmg.
[COMMENTS: This skill is another great one for those who plan to focus on
gunplay, especially those using SMGs/Shotguns/Machineguns which tend to
have sub-par accuracy compared to other weapon types. Being able to, upon
killing an enemy, place shot after shot on a weakspot with any weapon with
a high fire rate is a huge advantage in a combat situation. If you've
invested in Slayer already, chances are you'll find good use out of having
Enforcer as well. Melee and AoE types don't need it.]
--Hit & Run Increases Melee damage and Phasewalk duration. Begins at +7%
Melee damage, +0.8 seconds Phasewalk duration, LV5: +35% dmg, +4 duration.
[COMMENTS: Hit & Run is a pretty solid choice for anybody who's found
their way into Assassin Tree Tier 2 and has also considerably buffed
Phasewalk or plans to use Melee often. Weapon combat-based builds won't
need to have this skill, but any Phasewalker will enjoy the increase
to its duration, and a 35% boost in Melee is great, especially if you're
headed towards Phase Strike at the end of this tree.]
ASSASSIN TREE TIER 3:
--High Velocity Increases Bullet Damage and Velocity. Begins at +20% Bullet
Velocity, +4% Bullet Damage, Lv5: +100% Velocity, +20% dmg.
[COMMENTS: To be honest, I didn't really notice whether or not the extra
Velocity makes a huge difference, but for any character using primarily
guns and not so much Phasewalk or Melee, this is a pretty solid choice.
Seeing as it's not hard to get here without wasting points, I wouldn't say
that being on Tier 3 is necessarily a problem for this skill. You'll thank
yourself for investing in the extra 20% Bullet damage. Not a skill,
however, for AoE characters or constant Phasewalkers.]
--Blackout Killing an enemy reduces Phasewalk cooldown. Begins at -1.2
seconds to cooldown, Lv5: -6 seconds to cooldown.
[COMMENTS: This skill can turn any AoE-based Phasewalk build into a
constantly Phasewalking monster. Your enemies will start to go down in
quick sucession if you're using an AoE build, which means that this skill
will suddenly start kicking in all over the place, and Phasewalk will be
recharged in no time at all. For non-Phasewalkers, it's really not worth
spending the points on, even though Phasewalk is a decent skill without
being buffed by a character's skill setup.]
ASSASSIN TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Phase Strike Using a melee attack while Phasewalking deals additional
damage. Begins at +160% Melee Damage, Lv5: +800% Melee Damage.
[COMMENTS: Anybody who's run a skill calc online will probably get to this
skill and think, 'oh man, I gotta have that 800% damage increase!' Two
major things to keep in mind. One: Yeah, it's useful to be able to do huge
burst damage right out of Phasewalk, but you can only do it to ONE enemy
before you have to wait for Phasewalk to recharge again. Two: Once you get
this skill, it will almost assuredly dictate the way in which you approach
fights, which means that you may get caught up in the pure insane damage
you'll be dealing and won't notice if combat is actually going worse or
going slower. That said, it's undeniably a great skill for killing
'badass' enemies and bosses, I personally just think that outside of a
pure melee build, it's pretty one-dimensional and not worth the skill
points.]
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ROLAND (SOLDIER) SKILLS: @ROLSKIL
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ACTIVE SKILL (MANDATORY):
--Scorpio Turret
Deploys a Scorpio Turret that automatically fires at enemies. Turret has a
shield that may provide cover. Turret despawns after a few seconds.
Cooldown: 100 seconds.
[COMMENTS: The Scorpio Turret is a pretty handy thing to be able to
deploy, not only does it do pretty good damage to enemies, it comes
complete with a shield wall that provides decent cover for even 4 players.
Without having some of the buffs that make the turret more deadly or
better at supporting allies, you probably won't even think to use it in
most combat situations, especially since it has a painfully long cooldown.
If you're going to play a supporting role, it'll be much more valuable to
you than if you'd rather focus on Roland's raw combat prowess.]
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INFANTRY TREE TIER 1:
--Impact Increases Bullet Damage (all weapons). Begins at +3% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +15% Bullet Damage.
[COMMENTS: Impact is really a good skill to have whether you're playing a
support role or a combat role. Obviously, in a combat role, a raw 15%
Damage increase is a major plus, especially being on the first Tier so you
don't have to waste points getting here. Even as a support character, you'll
find that dealing 15% extra damage will greatly enhance your capacity to heal
teammates using Cauterize.]
--Sentry - Increases Scorpio Turret damage.
Begins at +7% Scorpio Turret damage, Lv5: +35% Turret damage.
[COMMENTS: Due to the fact that the Scorpio Turret has an absurdly long
cooldown time compared to the other classes' active skills, you won't want
to spend points on Sentry unless you're specifically planning on buffing
your turret as much as humanly possible. If you're going with a pure Turret
based Damage build, you'll want to pick this skill up, otherwise, skip it.]
INFANTRY TREE TIER 2:
--Scattershot Increases shotgun damage and spread. S
Begins at +3% Shotgun Damage, +5% spread, Lv5: +15% Damage, +25% spread.
[COMMENTS: Well, it's a no-brainer if you plan to be a close-combat shotgun
wielding offensive character. Shotguns having already one of the highest
damage ratings in the game, that 15% damage increase will help alot, and
the increase to the spread is only insult to injury. If you're not planning
on prioritizing Shotguns above other weapon types, however, you can skip
this skill.]
--Metal Storm Killing an enemy increases weapon's Fire Rate and reduces
Recoil for a few seconds. Begins at +6% Fire Rate, +15% Recoil Reduction,
Lv5: +30% Fire Rate, +75% Recoil Reduction.
[COMMENTS: Metal Storm is like the 'if you don't want to use Shotguns, get
this' skill. It's great for SMGs, Combat Rifles, and Machineguns, even for
Repeater Pistols. If you're a combat class that will be mainly using
something other than Shotguns, Metal Storm is a solid addition to your
skill setup.]
INFANTRY TREE TIER 3:
--Refire - Shooting an enemy reduces Scorpio Turret cooldown. This effect
occurs repetetively on a two-second delay (two second interval after first
hit). Begins at -1 second cooldown time per hit, LV5: -5 seconds per hit.
[COMMENTS: If you can spend the points to get here without feeling like
you've wasted them, this skill is an ideal for support types or for those
who are attempting to turn their Scorpio Turret into a war machine. You
don't even have to be effective, just take pot shots at enemies and your
cooldown will decrease pretty quickly. For a combat type, it's still a
pretty good choice due to the fact that it enables you to find cover
behind your turret more often and in more situations. I would not,
however, recommend wasting lots of points just to get to this skill, as
it's not really worth that.]
--Assault - Increases Magazine size and reduces Recoil with Combat Rifles.
Begins at +9% Magazine size and Recoil reduction,
Lv5: +45% Magazine size and Recoil reduction.
[COMMENTS: If you're using almost exclusively Combat Rifles, especially
the Machinegun-type ones, then you're going to want to have this skill.
If you're really just dead-set on getting Guided Missile, however, I
would strongly recommend searching elsewhere in the lower tiers of this
tree to see if there's perhaps a better place to spend your points.]
INFANTRY TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Guided Missile Scorpio Turret launches guided missiles in addition to using
its regular gun. Begins at 1 missile per 8 seconds, Lv5: 1 missile per 4 sec.
[COMMENTS: Okay, so the missiles that this thing launches can be pretty
destructive, but there are two major problems with it. One: it tends to want
to launch missiles at enemies that you or your teammates have already weakened,
which basically wastes the missile. Two: Once every 4 seconds is still not
that often for a skill that doesn't last extremely long and has a huge
cooldown time. If you find yourself at the end of this tree and are at a loss
for where to spend your points, or if you're simply trying to turn that
Scorpio Turret into a deathmachine, then you can pick this up, but I certainly
would not recommend centering a build around this skill.]
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SUPPORT TREE TIER 1:
--Defense Increases shield recharge rate. Begins at +4% Shield Recharge speed,
Lv5: +20% Recharge speed.
[COMMENTS: This skill is pretty good from a survivability standpoint. It's
definitely more pure-combat oriented, but a medic can get good use out of it
if you find yourself in the crossfire alot when you're supporting your
teammates. Long story short, if you'd like to last a little longer in the
middle of heated combat, Defense is a pretty solid choice.]
--Stockpile Players near the Scorpio Turret regenerate ammo for currently
held weapon. Begins at +1 Ammo Regeneration rate, Lv5: +5 ammo regen rate.
[COMMENTS: Stockpile is really not necessary at all, unless you want to be
able to fulfill a general supporting role and restock players who use,
for instance, Rocket Launchers all the time. From a pure support standpoint,
it's good to have, and it is in the first Tier, but it's by no means a must
when allocating your skill points. Combat builds will skip it.]
SUPPORT TREE TIER 2:
--Quick Charge Killing an enemy causes your shields to quickly regenerate for
a few seconds. Begins at +2% Shields per second, Lv5: +7% Shields/second.
[COMMENTS: This is pretty sweet for a combat build, especially coupled with
Tier 1's Defense skill. You'll find yourself wading through enemy fire like
it's no big deal, as long as you can keep up a streak of kills. Medics and
support builds CAN make use of this skill, but in general characters of a
supporting type don't want to find themselves in the middle of the action.]
--Barrage Increases number of shots Scorpio Turret fires in each burst.
Begins at +1 Shot(s) fired per burst, Lv5: +5 Shots/burst.
[COMMENTS: Well, it's great for those who are set on trying to maximize all-
around damage, or otherwise those who are turning their Scorpio into a
superweapon. Being on Tier 2 means that it still has good utility even for
pure combat builds, because 5 extra shots per burst is nothing to sneeze at
in terms of damage potential. Overall, a decent one if you're trying to
progress down the tree, but if you're a combat-centered build, you'd probably
rather have Quick Charge.]
SUPPORT TREE TIER 3:
--Grenadier Killing an enemy increases grenade damage and causes you to
regenerate grenades for a few seconds. Begins at +2 Grenades per minute, +3%
Grenade Damage, LV5: +8 Grenades/minute, +15% damage.
[COMMENTS: If you're of the combat-minded type who finds themselves chucking
grenades every which way in a combat situation, this is absolutely a skill
to have in your build. No matter what grenade mod you're using, you'll get
a major boost from having this skill around if you tend to run down your
grenades in most firefights. Medics/Support classes won't need this skill,
and if you don't use grenades very often, don't touch it.]
--Deploy - Reduces Scorpio Turret cooldown. Begins at -20% cooldown time,
Lv5: -100% cooldown time.
[COMMENTS: Finally! A major reduction to how long you have to wait before
you can throw that turret back onto the field. A must for support types who
base their supporting abilities off of the Scorpio's skills, and also for
those who are turning their turret into a killer. Even combat types can get
decent use out of being able to throw the Scorpio down more often, but in
general, it's not worth it for combat-based characters to spend enough
skills to get here, or to max it out if you do reach Tier 3.]
SUPPORT TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Supply Drop The Turret periodically fires out supply pickups to resupply
players. Begins at 1 drop per 7 seconds, Lv5: 1 drop per 3 seconds.
[COMMENTS: Meh. Yeah, the supply drops can be pretty useful sometimes, but
without ALL of the skills that buff your Scorpio and reduce its cooldown,
you won't be happy having spent points on this skill. In my opinion, it's
far too simplistic to justify being at the very bottom of a skill tree.
Most players will pass on this one.
-----------------------------------------
MEDIC TREE TIER 1:
--Fitness Increases Maximum HP. Begins at +5% Max HP, LV5: +25% HP.
[COMMENTS: It's a general survivability skill, so it's a decent choice for
just about any build, especially if you're trying to reach something on
the upper Tiers of the Medic Tree and don't feel like you need or would
benefit from having Aid Station. In general, anything that buffs health
should come after skills that buff shields, however, so look to other areas
first if you're simply trying to improve survivability.]
--Aid Station Allies near Scorpio turret regenerate health.
Begins at +1% HP regen per second, Lv5: +5% HP regen/sec.
[COMMENTS: This skill is great for support builds, if the combat gets too
dangerous, you can throw down your Scorpio Turret and have your teammates
congregate around its shield, while at the same time being revitalized.
Anybody making a turret-based medic or support character will want to have
this in their skill tree moreso than Fitness. Combat builds will see some
benefit from having Aid Station, but it's rather unnecessary and for a
pure combat-type, Fitness should definitely come first.]
MEDIC TREE TIER 2:
--Overload Increases magazine capacity (all weapons). Begins at +12% Magazine
Capacity, LV5: +60% capacity.
[COMMENTS: This skill can turn any machinegun-wielding combat build into a
walking bullet sprinkler. It's pretty handy for burst-fire type Combat Rifles
as well, because the main problem with those is the constant reloading. If
you're a combat build trying to reach later Tier skills, Grit, for instance,
then Overload is one of the better choices that is more suited to a pure
combat role. In general, medics and support characters won't want this skill.]
--Cauterize Shooting team members heals them (includes grenades and rockets).
Begins at +6% damage converted to HP, Lv5: +30% damage converted.
[COMMENTS: This is the ultimate skill for support medics who pride themselves
on keeping teammates alive. It makes it insanely easy to quickly heal another
player who may be in trouble, and it basically costs you nothing, short of
the ammo you'll spend on shooting your buddy. Of course, it's absolutely
unnecessary and completely wasteful to have on a solo combat build.]
MEDIC TREE TIER 3:
--Revive Scorpio Turret has a chance to instantly revive nearby crippled
allies when deployed. Begins at +14% Revival Chance, LV5: +70% chance.
[COMMENTS: This skill may seem like a must-have for support builds, but it is
really more of a personal preference issue. More than likely, it won't help
as much as you'd hoped, because it's hard to tell your teammates to avoid
getting incapacitated except when Scorpio Turret is ready to cast. That
said, however, if you get into a really nasty situation and it DOES kick into
action, you'll be very glad you had the skill. Basically, it's up to you if
you think you want it or not. Combat and solo builds, obviously, have
absolutely no use for this skill.]
--Grit - Increases Bullet Damage resistance.
Begin at +3% Bullet resistance, Lv5: +15% Bullet resistance.
[COMMENTS: The major downside of Grit is that it's mainly a combat-centered
skill, and occurs on the third Tier of a completely support-minded tree.
If you find yourself there somehow, it's a good skill to pick up for a pure
combat build, but it's probably not worth specifically aiming for unless
you're trying to craft a pure tank character. Medics can actually benefit
from having it, if you find yourself getting eaten alive while supporting
your team all the time.]
MEDIC TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Stat- Killing an enemy increases HP regeneration for you and nearby allies
for a few seconds. Begins at +1% HP regen per second, Lv5: +5% HP/sec.
[COMMENTS: If you're a medic or a general support character, chances are
you've invested plenty enough points into the Medic Tree to unlock this
particular 'uber' skill. At which point, grab it right up as fast as you
can. Borderlands is a game in which everybody will pretty much have a hand
in combat, even if you're strictly a support build. So adding the potential
to gain team HP regen for yourself and nearby players will really help, and
if you have Aid Station, you can fully heal your team from practically nil
health if you kill an enemy while your Scorpio is deployed. Overall, it's a
great skill for anybody supporting a team, but a waste of points for a pure
combat build.]
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
MORDECAI (HUNTER) SKILLS: @MORSKIL
-----------------------------------------
ACTIVE SKILL (MANDATORY):
--Bloodwing
Summons a pet Bloodwing to attack an enemy and then return, like an organic
boomerang. Cooldown 28 seconds.
[COMMENTS: Bloodwing is an absolutely spammable skill, although
sniper-specific builds who focus on long range combat will see less use
out of it than intermediate- to close-range builds. With such a short
cooldown already, adding skills later on that decrease its cooldown can
make the Bloodwing a constant threat within any battle situation. The one
drawback is that it's not very discriminating in terms of who it attacks,
and it's a quick 'out there and back' type cast, so it doesn't have any
lasting benefits like the other classes' active skills do. Mordecai has
more than a handful of skills that make the Bloodwing more useful in one
way or another, and the bottom line is that pretty much no matter what
kind of build you use, it's a decently useful skill, even if its
damage output is pretty disappointing without the right skills.]
-----------------------------------------
SNIPER TREE TIER 1:
--Focus - Increases accuracy (all weapons), decreases Sniper Rifle sway.
Begins at +5% Accuracy, Sniper Rifle sway -10%, Lv5: +25% Accuracy,
Sniper Rifle sway -50%.
[COMMENTS: If you're sniping, you're going to want this skill for sure.
Although there is minimal sniper rifle sway to begin with in this game,
you'll find the decrease useful when sniping several enemies in quick
succession, and the accuracy increase to all weapons is a general help
across the board. In fact, even non-sniper builds can get good use out of
Focus, simply because of the accuracy buff.]
--Caliber - Increases Sniper Rifle damage. Begins at +4% Sniper Rifle damage,
Lv5: +20% Damage.
[COMMENTS: Well, if you're using a sniper build, you'll have this one for
sure, if you're using a build that focuses more on the Bloodwing's combat
abilities or more on pistol wielding, you probably won't bother with this
one. If you're trying for a balanced hybrid build, though, it can still be a
pretty good choice, as it will make your sniping more effective.]
SNIPER TREE TIER 2:
--Smirk - All players on your team (including you) gain additional EXP when
you kill an enemy with a Critical Hit.
Begins at +3% Experience bonus, Lv5: +15% EXP bonus.
[COMMENTS: Well, this one is another of those that begs the question, 'do I
really want to waste 5 levels on a skill that will make me level up a little
bit faster?' My personal answer is no. With the level cap set at 50, you're
effectively wasting 10% of your whole process getting to +15% EXP bonus.
Not to mention the fact that you ONLY get extra EXP for whatever enemy you
just killed, and you have to have killed them with a critical (which means
you can't crit them and then let the element finish them off, or crit them
and wind up having another teammate finish them off). It really doesn't
take exceedingly long to hit the level cap. EXP boosting skills, in my
opinion, are only ever important in grind-core MMOs, and you won't find
much benefit from having one in something like Borderlands.]
--Killer Killing an enemy increases Damage and Reload speed (all guns) for
a few seconds. Begins at +8 Damage, +6% Reload speed,
Lv5: +40 Damage, +30% Reload speed.
[COMMENTS: All right, this is actually a good skill for all build types,
not just for snipers. Note that the damage increase is a NUMBER, not a %.
Which means that you'll actually see more benefit from this skill using
smaller weapons, e.g. pistols and SMGs which will benefit from the high
reload speed and for which 40 extra damage makes more of a difference.
So in general, it's a pretty decent one to have, if you're making your way
further down the Sniper Tree anyway.]
SNIPER TREE TIER 3:
--Loaded Increases Magazine Capacity with Sniper Rifles.
Begins at +14% Magazine Capacity, Lv5: +70% capacity.
[COMMENTS: This is most helpful for sniping in the early levels of the
game, and is likely a skill that you'll end up getting rid of in later
levels. Being a Sniper Rifles only skill, obviously only specific sniper
builds will need or want to have it. Early on, most of your most powerful
rifles will hold 3 shots, which is simply an undesirably small magazine.
So it's handy to have around, but only until you start finding the good
rifles later in the game.]
--Carrion Call Shooting an enemy with a Sniper Rifle reduces the
cooldown of Bloodwing.
Begins at -0.8 seconds per hit, Lv5: -4 seconds cooldown per hit.
[COMMENTS: I'm a little torn on this skill. In my comments on the actual
Bloodwing skill, you'll recall I said that snipers will get less benefit
from Bloodwing, due to the fact that from such ranges, it simply can't
find a target. At the same time, hit a few enemies and it's fully
recharged. Being able to cast anything that quickly is pretty nice, so
overall I'd say this one has to be a personal call.]
SNIPER TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Trespass Your bullets have a chance to ignore Shields (all weapons),
increases Bullet Damage (all weapons).
Begins at +20% chance to penetrate shields, +1% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +100% chance to penetrate, +5% Bullet Damage.
[COMMENTS: This skill is absolutely ultimate for snipers, because the
main thing that's going to annoy you while sniping is shields. When
you just pierce everybody's shields, however, most humanoid enemies
become a complete joke, and for a lot of enemies you will cut the
amount of shots per kill in half. This skill is also amazingly good
for builds that use other weapons, if you feel ambitious enough to
spend 15 points elsewhere in the Sniper Tree. Basically, if you find
yourself with access to this skill, snatch it right up. You can't go
wrong with Trespass.]
-----------------------------------------
ROGUE TREE TIER 1:
--Swift Strike Increases Bloodwing Damage and Movement Speed.
Begins at +20% Bloodwing Damage, +8% Bloodwing Speed, Lv5: +100% dmg, +40% spd.
[COMMENTS: This skill is in a great place, being on the first tier of a tree.
Just about any build can benefit from having this around, as it will make the
highly spammable Bloodwing much more effective. Obviously, builds focusing on
pure Bloodwing combat ability will want to have it.]
--Swipe Bloodwing causes enemies to drop additional money, ammo, and healing
items when it attacks. Begins at +1 items dropped, Lv5: +5 items.
[COMMENTS: I'm a little bit of the same mind about this skill as I am in
regard to EXP boosting skills, in that usually I would advise something that
increases your character's combat potential instead. The main reason that I'm
not particularly fond of this skill is that it's only money, ammo, and HP
items. I've never been at a lack of money, ammo is usually not a problem, and
having ONE enemy every 30 seconds or so drop an extra healing item just does
not seem to matter in the long run. Unless you're headed all the way down
to Bird of Prey at the end of this tree to maximize your bloodwing, Swipe
really isn't that important to any build.]
ROGUE TREE TIER 2:
--Fast Hands Increases Reload speed (all weapons). Begins at +8% increase in
Reload speed, LV5: +40% Reload speed.
[COMMENTS: Well, reload speed is pretty helpful all around, no matter what
weapon you're using. Especially if you use weapons with small magazines or if
you're using SMGs/Repeater Pistols which tend to deplete themselves quickly,
this is a decent skill to have, but it's not worth going far out of your way
for. In other words, don't waste 10 levels getting here and maxing this,
unless you were planning on it anyway.]
--Out For Blood When your Bloodwing strikes an enemy, you gain HP based on
the amount of damage done. Begins at +7% Bloodwing vampirism, Lv5: +35%.
[COMMENTS: This is definitely a survivability skill, but hopefully if you're
a long range sniping build playing on a team you won't need the HP regen.
Close combat builds, e.g. pistol builds as well as Bloodwing-focused builds
will probably enjoy benefits from having this skill, but it's really a
question of whether you'd rather have the regen or the reload speed if
you're just trying to move further down this tree. I will say that coupled
with Bird of Prey at the end of the Rogue Tree, this skill can turn you into
a combat juggernaut.]
ROGUE TREE TIER 3:
--Aerial Impact Bloodwing attacks can Daze enemies, reducing movement speed
and accuracy. Begins at 20% chance to Daze, Lv5: 100% chance.
[COMMENTS: This skill is only really necessary for Bloodwing purist builds,
but chances are you haven't reached the far end of this tree unless that's
what you're aiming for. The Daze can be helpful, but you won't see alot of
benefit until you have Bird of Prey, and even then, there's no guarantee that
any of the Bloodwing's targets will be the big enemy that you wanted to
daze. However, it's more useful in the long run than most other skills in
this tree up to this point, so you may end up using this skill to unlock the
final one.]
--Ransack Killing an enemy increases the amount of loot you get from other
enemies killed for a few seconds.
Begins at +20% chance for additional items, Lv5: +100% chance.
[COMMENTS: Again, I don't like loot-enhancing skills, because they're not
going to get you any better items that they wouldn't have (as far as I
know, at least--from my experience, enemies only drop items that they're
holding, and if they're holding something rare, it's practically a 100%
drop chance anyway). And as I said earlier in the description of Swipe, a
small amount of extra money/ammo/HP has never been something that I thought
I needed to have. Personal preference aside, this skill is much, much more
repeatable than Swipe. If you kill several enemies in succession, you'll be
drowning in loot in no time. So if you want that loot, look no further than
this skill, it's just my personal philosophy that combat ability comes 1st.]
ROGUE TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Bird of Prey Increases the number of targets Bloodwing can attack before
returning. Begins at 2 targets, Lv5: 6 targets.
[COMMENTS: Obviously, nobody is going out of their way enough to get to
this particular skill unless they're trying to maximize the potential of the
Bloodwing. For builds focused entirely on the Bloodwing, this is it. This
is the quintessential skill to have. It will make all that buffing of the
Bloodwing finally worth it, as it becomes a tool for creating a swath of
destruction, rather than just tapping one enemy and turning back. You just
can't go wrong with this skill if you want your Bloodwing to see more
combat. Anything besides a Bloodwing-focused build, however, will simply
waste time and effort getting to the end of this tree, with relatively
little reward compared to what their character could have been capable of.]
-----------------------------------------
GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 1:
--Deadly - Increases Critical Hit damage. Begins at +6% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +30% Crit dmg.
[COMMENTS: A no-brainer, for just about any combat based build. 30% extra
Crit damage is absolutely a must, unless you never, ever hit enemies in
their weak spot, in which case, how you ever expect to make it past level
20, I'm not sure. Just about any weapon type will benefit from this skill,
especially Sniper Rifles or weapons with high rates of fire like SMGs and
Repeater Pistols.]
--Gun Crazy When using Pistols (both repeater pistols and revolvers), you
have a chance to fire 2 shots with each trigger pull instead of 1.
Begins at +8% chance to fire 2 shots, Lv5: +40% chance to fire 2 shots.
[COMMENTS: If you're a pistol-focused build, you NEED this skill, it's
absolutely essential. Think of it as a 40% chance for your firing rate
with pistols to double. In my opinion, the weapons that get the most
benefit from this skill are Revolver type, since being able to double up
with a Revolver has absolutely huge damage potential. Other builds, even
sniper builds, can make use of this skill if you think you'll be using
pistols alot.]
GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 2:
--Lethal Strike Increases melee damage. Also, Melee attacks gain a 35%
chance to be a Lethal Strike and deal extremely high damage.
Begins at +10% Melee dmg, Lethal Strikes deal +100% damage,
Lv5: +50% Melee dmg, Lethal Strikes deal +500% damage.
[COMMENTS: This skill can be great, but it's also very underused. It
provides the most benefit to pistol-based builds, because for one there
are a lot of bladed pistols, and also, you'll be in melee range much
more often than a sniper will. I've left this one out of the pistol
build listed in this guide for one main reason, and that is that I've
realized a lot of people do not seem to have the melee instinct. I
can't count the number of players I've played online with who seem to
have no idea that Melee even exists. If you don't use Melee alot, don't
try to change your playstyle to accomodate this skill, and pick up
something that will make you better at gunslinging. If you find yourself
Meleeing to finish off enemies often, then this skill is great.]
--Riotous Remedy Killing an enemy gives you chaotic health regeneration
for a few seconds. Begins at UP TO 3% Max HP regen over 7 seconds,
Lv5: UP TO 15% Max HP over 7 seconds.
[COMMENTS: I hate, hate, HATE random numbers, because they hate me. All
in all, however, this skill can be really helpful because that's quite
a lot of HP regen considering that all you have to do to get it is to
kill somebody. It could be a great skill to add to your skill set,
especially for those of you who will be finessing your way through the
game with pistols only. There are just those few times when you really,
really need the full 15% and just get shafted by the fact that you
regenerate a random amount of health.]
GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 3:
--Hair Trigger Increases Fire Rate and Magazine Size with pistols.
Begins at +4% Fire Rate,+6% Magazine size,
Lv5: +20% Fire Rate, +30% Magazine size.
[COMMENTS: Hah! If you use pistols at ALL, this skill is a great choice.
This skill takes pistols, especially machine pistol-type repeaters, to a
whole new level. Any build out there has the potential to benefit from
this skill, if you can make it into Tier 3 without wasting points. A pure
pistol build pretty much needs to have this skill, because it will make
you much more destructive up close in those gunslinging situations.]
--Predator Decreases the Bloodwing cooldown.
Begins at -3 seconds cooldown duration, Lv5: -15 seconds cooldown duration.
[COMMENTS: Okay, once you get this skill maxed out, Bloodwing just turns
into a complete spam of a skill. Those trying to buff their Bloodwings
should absolutely have this if they can find any way to reach it. Its
main problem is that it's on Tier 3, which makes it pretty hard to get
for any build that's not focusing on the Gunslinger Tree. For pistol
characters, actually, you may not think of it, but it's a great skill to
have simply because since you're in close range all the time, pretty
much doubling the frequency of your Bloodwing cast can be a big help in
thinning out crowds of enemies. Only go out of your way for this if
you're SURE you can make it, and if you'll get use out of the other
two skills you've invested in on this tree.]
GUNSLINGER TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Relentless Killing an enemy increases Weapon Fire Rate, gives every bullet
fired a 25% chance to be a Killer Shot and deal additional damage. This effect
lasts a few seconds. Begins at +8% Fire Rate, +20% Killer Shot damage,
Lv5: +40% Fire Rate, +100% Killer Shot dmg.
[COMMENTS: Pistol builds will destroy things with this skill. A 25% chance
to cause extra damage may seem paltry, but with Reapeater Pistols, the Killer
Shot effect will kick in very often. Oh yeah, and it gives you a 40% Fire
Rate increase. If you're a pistol slinger and you don't have this skill, then
either you're on your way here or you are a total nutcase. Even other builds
can benefit from this, and you could make a monster sniper if you can reach
this skill without sacrificing too many Sniper-centered ones. Don't go far,
far out of your way to get this one, however. No skill is worth too much
sidetracking.]
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
BRICK (BERSERKER) SKILLS: @BRISKIL
-----------------------------------------
ACTIVE SKILL (MANDATORY):
--Berserk
Gain the ability to go Berserk. While Berserk, Brick is able to madly throw
punches. Also, gain HP regen and Damage Resistance while Berserk.
Cooldown 60 seconds.
[COMMENTS: All right, here's the thing with Berserk. On the upside, it
turns you into a complete monster with Melee attacks, and you gain damage
resistance and HP regen to boot. The main problem is that it's actually
pretty hard to aim while you're in Berserk mode. It's easy to get confused
altogether or simply to lose track of how the battle's developing while
you melee the faces off of a few guys. This creates problems when you
come out of Berserk and lose that damage resistance and HP regen, since
you'll lose your shields every time you go berserk on enemies close range.
It's a great skill overall, no doubt, but it takes a little bit of time
to get used to.]
-----------------------------------------
BRAWLER TREE TIER 1:
--Iron Fist Increases Melee Damage. Begins at +6% Melee Damage, Lv5: +30%.
[COMMENTS: This is an obvious choice for those who are going to be pure
Berserkers, but it can even benefit you in normal combat (you don't have to
be Berserk to get that 30% increase!) In general, it's pretty well
recommended for those who use Melee alot and engage in plenty of close
quarters combat.]
--Endless Rage Increases Berserk duration. Begins at +10% Berserk Duration,
Lv5: +50% Duration.
[COMMENTS: If you plan to use Berserk at ALL, you'll probably want to have
Endless Rage. Increasing the duration of Berserk just means that you'll
spend much more time in crazy mode, which is a good thing, right? Unless you
find that you just don't like Berserk, or barely ever use it, pretty much
any Brick build will benefit from Endless Rage.]
BRAWLER TREE TIER 2:
--Heavy Handed Killing an enemy greatly increases Melee Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +12% Melee Damage, Lv5: +60% dmg.
[COMMENTS: For those Berserkers out there, this is an obvious choice. If
you're spending alot of time in Berserk, there is no reason not to increase
your Melee damage upon killing an enemy. This can be pretty handy for other
builds as well, if you find yourself using Melee attacks within combat
situations pretty often.]
--Sting like a Bee Punching while Berserk causes you to dash forward and slug
your enemies. Begins at +4 feet dash distance, LV5: +20 feet dash distance.
[COMMENTS: As if Brick wasn't hard to control in the first place, this skill
really puts a weird twist on Berserk. I personally, however, like it quite a
bit because it makes it much easier to close the distance on enemies in order
to rip them a new one while you're in Berserk mode. That can be very important
in maximizing the amount of damage you're able to do before Berserk ends. Try
it out first, and if you find yourself confused or disoriented, you can
re-spec your character.]
BRAWLER TREE TIER 3:
--Prize Fighter While Berserk is active, your Melee attacks have a chance to
spawn cash prizes. Begins at 6% chance, Lv5: 30% chance.
[COMMENTS: Same as EXP-boosting or loot-boosting skills, for me at least. I
just don't see money ever being a problem, if you pick up drops, you won't
have a problem with running out of money, even if you're constantly buying
newer weapons and things at the shops. My Siren must have spent over 600k in
the shops on her first playthrough, and I was never required to go out of my
way to make some extra cash. So honestly, I don't see cash spawns being that
important to have available to you. Use your points to make your character
better, not richer.]
--Short Fuse - Decreases Berserk cooldown.
Begins at -6 second cooldown duration, Lv5: -30 second cooldown duration.
[COMMENTS: This is positively THE skill for players who are focusing their
builds around Berserk. Especially coupled with Enless Rage, you'll really
be able to do some major damage in combat. Literally cutting your cooldown
in half, you absolutely won't regret having Short Fuse if you tend to use
Berserk alot. For non-Berserk centered builds, it's really a personal call
whether or not you want to spend enough time within the Brawler tree to get
to this skill.]
BRAWLER TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Blood Sport - Killing an enemy while Berserk regenerates some of your HP.
Begins at 2% Max HP regenerated, Lv5: 10% Max HP regenerated.
[COMMENTS: Honestly, this skill isn't as good as it sounds. The problem
with it is that you don't often get hurt very much when you're Berserked.
Not to mention the fact that you already have health regen just as a
basic attribute of the Berserk skill. If you're a pure Berserker, though,
you'll want it because for those few times you do find yourself low on
HP within a Berserk setting, namely later in the game, this skill will
be a good one to have. If you're not going with a build that emphasizes
Berserk's potential, then you absolutely don't need to waste your time
and points to get to this skill.]
TANK TREE TIER 1:
--Hardened Increases your Maximum HP. Begins at +12% Max HP,
Lv5: +60% Max HP.
[COMMENTS: An obvious choice for survivability. Pure tank characters
will certainly want to have this skill, and actually, for Berserkers
who've made it all the way to Blood Sport, the combination of that
skill with Hardened makes for an absolutely unstoppable force of pain
while you're Berserk. Overall, it's a solid choice for most Brick
builds if you're trying to last longer in combat.]]
--Safeguard Increases Shield strength. Begins at +8% Shield strength,
Lv5: +40% Shield strength.
[COMMENTS: This skill is pretty good to have around as well, but in
most cases, Hardened will actually provide more useful to you, because
Brick tends to be a close- or mid-range combat character, meaning it's
pretty likely you'll spend the majority of time in combat with your
shields depleted. Of course, this skill can stave off when that
actually happens, but in general it's more recommended for builds that
will be engaging in firefights, not so much for Melee Berserkers. A
pure tank build will probably want this one as well.]
TANK TREE TIER 2:
--Bash Melee attacks gain a chance to Daze enemies. Begins at +10% chance to
Daze, Lv5: +50% chance.
[COMMENTS: It's pretty good for a Melee-centered build, but the downside is
that it's only a 50% chance, meaning that if you ARE a melee build, most
likely if you don't daze an enemy on the first hit but do on the second, it
won't matter because said enemy is already dead. It can be helpful for
fighting larger enemies and bosses, though. Don't touch it if you don't
Melee a lot.]
--Juggernaut Killing an enemy yields Damage resistance for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage resistance, Lv5: +50% Damage resistance.
[COMMENTS: A great, great skill for both Melee builds and tank builds.
This can be a great way, actually, to solve the problem of damage
vulnerability coming out of Berserk, just kill an enemy and you're
golden for about 5 seconds. Pretty much any Brick build will make good
use of this skill.]
TANK TREE TIER 3:
--Pay Back After your shields become depleted, you gain a Damage bonus for 10
seconds. Begins at +8% Damage bonus, Lv5: +40% Damage bonus.
[COMMENTS: This is pretty nice, even for a non-tank build. As a matter of
fact, Melee builds can make good use of this skill, since by the time you're
within Melee range, you're almost always out of shields too. Overall, it's a
great skill to have, if you feel that you can make use of enough of the skills
within the Tank Tree to make it here. The only problem is that once you have
this skill, it's easy to get sucked into letting enemies deplete your shields,
which can end up being a problem.]
--Diehard Increases the amount of health you regain when you are revived
(including Second Wind). Also decreases how fast you die when you are Crippled.
Begins at +30% Revived HP bonus, +20% time to be Revived,
Lv5: +150% Revived HP bonus, +100% time to be Revived.
[COMMENTS: This skill's pretty nice to have if you play with a group mostly.
Solo, honestly I wouldn't recommend it, but in cooperative play, your team
will thank you for not having to immediately rush across the battlefield to
try to ress you. Really, this skill gives your team the ability to take
their time if you go down, and in addition it greatly increases your chances
of being able to get a Second Wind since you have that much more time to kill
somebody. Honestly, though, while it may be a plus overall, I tend to skip
this skill simply because the only thing dying costs is a little bit of money,
and as long as you're selling loot all the time, money is never a problem.]
TANK TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Unbreakable When your shield is depleted, you gain 5 seconds of powerful
shield regeneration.
Begins at +3% Shield regen per second, Lv5: +15% Shield regen per second.
[COMMENTS: This skill can be a real gamebreaker. Especially depending on the
strength of the shield you're equipped with, Unbreakable can make you
seriously hard to kill, bonus if it's coupled with Brick's other general
survivability (e.g. damage resistance) skills. Once you get this skill,
you'll want to grab the highest capacity shield you can find to take full
advantage of that percentage-based recovery. Unbreakable has the potential
to make most of the game laughable on your first playthrough, and it will
more than likely save your butt several times during any subsequent
playthroughs.]
-----------------------------------------
BLASTER TREE TIER 1:
--Endowed Increases Explosive Damage. Begins at +3% Explosive Damage,
Lv5: +15% dmg.
[COMMENTS: Well, this is an obvious choice if you intend to be a rocket
launcher-toting death machine. Even if you don't want to center your
whole build on rockets, this skill will make it easier to pick up a
Launcher as an alternate weapon to be used on big mobs, or whatever
else you plan on doing with it. Being on the first tier, it's a pretty
safe bet if you think you'll use rocket launchers at all.]
--Rapid Reload Increases Reload speed, reduces Recoil (all weapons).
Begins at +4% Reload speed, +6% Recoil reduction,
Lv5: +20% Reload spd, +30% Recoil reduction.
[COMMENTS: Rapid Reload is just in general a good skill to have, unless
you're seriously trying to do pure melee. Since it applies to all weapons,
it's a pretty safe bet that you'll see some sort of use out of it, and it's
especially helpful if you use machineguns/SMGs or otherwise any other kind
of high repeating, large magazine weapons. And the reload speed helps with
the more cumbersome weapons the most, e.g. launchers and shotguns. If you
plan on shooting things at all with your Brick build, Rapid Reload is a
good, non-wasteful skill to have.]
BLASTER TREE TIER 2:
--Revenge- Killing an enemy increases Damage (all weapons) for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage, Lv5: +50% Damage.
[COMMENTS: I'm not too sure why this skill is called Revenge, to be honest,
but it's pretty sweet nonetheless. And again, if you want to maximize the
efficiency of that percentage-based Damage increase, you'll want to go with
weapon type with the highest raw damage, which means Rocket Launchers (and
yeah, probably snipers too, if you just happen to use one for some reason).
For all those Rocket fanatics out there, this is another must-have skill,
but even for more generalized builds, it's a good thing to have, if it
doesn't pull you too far away from your skill concentration.]
--Wide Load Increases size of Rocket Launcher magazine.
Begins at +1 Rocket Launcher Magazine Size, Lv5: +5 Magazine size.
[COMMENTS: This one's another pretty obvious choice if you're aiming for a
Rocket Launcher centered build. And it's equally obvious that you don't
need it if you don't think you'll use Launchers that often. That +5
magazine size is incredible for Rocket Launchers, especially the
excessively devastating multi-Launchers. It'll also cut your total time
spent on reloading in half, or may reduce it even more, which will greatly
enhance your efficiency at killing stuff with your trusty Rocket Launcher.
It's one of those skills that you know from level 1 whether or not you
are going to have it.]
BLASTER TREE TIER 3:
--Liquidate Dealing Explosive Damage to an enemy reduces the Berserk's
cooldown. Begins at -1 second per hit, Lv5: -5 seconds per hit.
[COMMENTS: This skill CAN be good to have, but in my opinion, it can also
be a bit of a waste. It's true that Berserk is a pretty great skill, even
without adding any skills to enhance it, but on the other hand, it can be
hard to be great with both Rocket Launchers and Berserk. Chances are, if
you're this far into the Blaster Tree, you're doing something with Rocket
Launchers. Now, it's certainly possible to do a hybrid Berserk/Launcher
build, and if that's your intention, then this skill is a great choice.
But otherwise, consider whether or not you'll make the most out of
having this skill before you spend points on it.]
--Cast Iron Increases Explosive Damage Resistance.
Begins at +8% Explosive Damage Resistance, Lv5: +40% Explosive resistance.
[COMMENTS: Cast Iron is pretty nice, in that you don't really have to
worry as much about grenades, explosive barrels, or the rare enemy with a
Rocket Launcher. The problem is that all three of those things are pretty
easy to avoid getting hit by, so by and large having explosive resistance
is not going to be extremely beneficial to you. If you find yourself
dead often as a result of not realizing the location of explosive barrels
(which can be easier than it sounds), then you might want to consider
getting Cast Iron if you've reached this Tier and don't see anywhere
else better to spend points. In general, it's a matter of personal
discretion, and I would bet that most people will skip this skill.]
BLASTER TREE FINAL SKILL:
--Master Blaster - Killing an enemy increases Fire Rate (all weapons), adds
rocket regeneration for a few seconds.
Begins at +12% to Fire Rate, +2 Rockets regenerated per minute,
Lv5: +60% Fire Rate, +10 Rockets/minute.
[COMMENTS: Well, once you're here, congratulations, you are now the only
class that can rival the Siren's rate of fire with any weapon. Granted,
you have to kill an enemy first, but that's usually not a big deal. And
the rocket regeneration is an added bonus if you're a Launcher build, it
just means that much less searching for rocket ammo in between firefights.
Of course, that 60% increase to your Fire Rate means you're that much
more likely to run through all your rocket ammo, but that's beside the
point. Overall, if you've managed to find your way to the end of this
tier, there's about no reason not to get this skill. It basically gives
you +60% dps (damage/second) after killing an enemy.]
-----------------------------------------
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ END SKILLS SECTION @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
iii.b. THE BUILDS: @BUILDS
------------------------------------------------------------------
BUILD INDEX -- USE CTRL+F (find) TO SEARCH FOR BUILDS ACCORDINGLY:
------------------------------------------------------------------
I. ALL LILITH BUILDS (search @LIL)
I.A. LILITH COMBAT BUILD (search @LILCB)
I.B. LILITH MELEE HIT-AND-RUN BUILD (search @LILHNR)
I.C. LILITH AOE (Area of Effect) BUILD (search @LILAOE)
II. ALL ROLAND BUILDS (search @ROL)
II.A. ROLAND GENERAL MEDIC BUILD (search @ROLGM)
II.B. ROLAND BRUTALITY BUILD (search @ROLBR)
II.C. ROLAND SHOTGUN MEDIC BUILD (search @ROLSM)
III. ALL MORDECAI BUILDS (search @MOR)
III.A. MORDECAI SNIPER BUILD (search @MORSN)
III.B. MORDECAI PISTOL FINESSE BUILD (search @MORPF)
III.C. MORDECAI BLOODTHIRSTY BUILD (search @MORBL)
IV. ALL BRICK BUILDS (search @BRI)
IV.A. BRICK MELEE BUILD (search @BRIME)
IV.B. BRICK ROCKET DAMAGE BUILD (search @BRIRD)
IV.C. BRICK TANK BUILD (search @BRITNK)
END INDEX
-----------------------------------------
@LIL
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ BEGIN LILITH BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I.A. LILITH (SIREN)--COMBAT BUILD @LILCB
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Burst-type Combat Rifle
--Secondary: Corrosive SMG
--Sidearm: Revolver
--Extra: Fire-Element SMG
--Class Mod: Mercenary
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
Overall, I enjoyed this build alot. It's very well versed in combat,
and it was pretty easy to fall into, in that it doesn't really have much of a
learning curve, unlike some of the other builds I've tested in Borderlands.
One thing I want to note first and foremost: This is obviously NOT a
Phasewalk-based build, as you can probably tell by the lack of skills that reduce
its cooldown. That said, I did not find Phasewalk important in combat, except a
couple times to get out of a bad situation. This build is extremely destructive
up-close with an SMG, as almost all SMGs offer a very high Fire Rate, which will
be enhanced through the build. I found that if I kept one Corrosive and one
Fire-Element SMG around, that I was pretty well suited to any situation of combat
with enemies who otherwise would not have been as susceptible to SMG fire.
Playing this build, I generally used the Combat Rifle at long range to
pick off enemies and pull aggro. Once the battle got up close and personal, the
SMG was more than capable of shredding most, if not all competition. The Revolver
was really more of an afterthought, but I found it helpful to have on a few
occasions in which I had not found a decent SMG in a while. A final note:
Daze honestly will not seem too useful if you max Mind Games while on your first
playthrough, but by the second playthrough, you'll be really glad you invested in
the chance to Daze with every shot.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build is designed for players who are efficient and skilled in a more
fast-paced, gunplay-centered combat setting. The Combat build does NOT take full
advantage of what is available to increase the effectiveness of Lilith's active
skill (Phasewalk), rather is designed to take advantage of as many passive skills
as possible to increase the character's utility with weapons. Those who are well
versed in shooters and want to try a more pure shooter approach may find this a
suitable fit for their playstyle.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
This particular build is one of the best solo builds listed in the current
version of this guide, if not THE best. It's designed more with 1-on-1 combat in
mind, meaning that you'll want to take down enemies systematically rather than all
at once. This being the case, it is not as well suited for a cooperative setting,
though arguably anything can be good co-op if you combine it with other builds to
fill the gaps in your own. Overall, however, I would say that this is definitely
a build centered on being able to hold your own alone.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Phasewalk
Turns Lilith invisible and greatly increases movement speed. Entering or
leaving Phasewalk creates a Phase Blast that damages nearby enemies. Melee
attacking will cause Lilith to come out of Phasewalk. Cooldown: 36 seconds
PREFERRED WEAPON: Shotgun Class/Combat Rifle Class/SMG Class
PREFERRED TREE: Controller Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Mercenary
TIER 1 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Diva Increases Shield Capacity. Begins at +5% capacity, Lv5: +25%.
TIER 2 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Inner Glow While Phasewalking, regenerate health. Begins at +1% HP/sec,
Lv5: +7% HP/sec.
TIER 3 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Girl Power Killing an enemy yields Shield regen for a few seconds. Begins
at +2% Shield regen per second, Lv5: +7% Shield regen.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Mind Games Each bullet you fire has a chance to Daze enemies, reducing
their movement speed and accuracy.
Begins at +5% chance to Daze, Lv5: +25%.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Quicksilver Increases Fire Rate (all weapons), beginning at +5% Fire Rate,
Lv5: +25%.
MAX (LV5):
--Spark - Increases chance of causing Elemental Effects with Elemental Weapons.
Begins at +4% chance, Lv5: +20%.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Slayer - Increases Critical Hit Damage. Begins at +5% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +25%.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Enforcer Killing an enemy increases Accuracy and Bullet Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +7% Accuracy, +2% Bullet Damage, Lv5: +35% Acc, +10% dmg.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--High Velocity Increases Bullet Damage and Velocity. Begins at +20% Bullet
Velocity, +4% Bullet Damage, Lv5: +100% Velocity, +20% dmg.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +25% Shield Capacity
-- +7% HP regen/sec while Phasewalking
-- Killing an enemy yields: +7% Shield regen per second,
+35% Accuracy,
+10% Bullet Damage
-- +25% chance for each bullet to Daze enemies
-- +25% Fire Rate (all weapons)
-- +20% Chance for Elemental Effecs
-- +25% Critical Hit Damage
-- +20% Bullet Damage
-- +100% Bullet Velocity
END LILITH COMBAT BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
I.B. LILITH (SIREN)--MELEE HIT-AND-RUN BUILD @LILHNR
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Bladed Revolver (almost solely for melee)
--Secondary: Corrosive SMG
--Tertiary: Corrosive Shotgun
--Extra: Fire-Element SMG
--Class Mod: Plaguebearer
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
Coupled with a Plaguebearer Class Mod like I used in this case,
this build absolutely decimates everything with corrosive damage. It
should be noted that for my particular case, I substituted 'Spark'
instead of 'Resilience,' to be able to more consistenly corrode my foes.
The choice between those two skills really depends on if you think you
need more combat ability or more survivability. As you can guess, the
instantaneous damage you can achieve with this build is absolutely
absurd. With a decent melee weapon, you can actually melee your way
through most hordes of lesser enemies, and it's only the big ones that
you'll have to engage in gun-based combat with. Obviously, meleeing
everything is going to get you hit a lot, but in general, you'll be able
to utilize your huge burst damage to get a second wind if you go down
(that's what quicksilver is for). I wanted to mention that it is also
quite possible to turn this into a constant Phasewalking build, i.e.
you'll be able to Phase again after killing just 2 enemies. Simply
take points out of the Elemental Tree and add them to 'Hard to Get.'
If you do this, I also recommend picking up 'Girl Power,' and possibly
'Diva,' because to be honest, the Elemental Tree is only needed to
get to Venom (which really helps for pure melee). Reordering your skills
in this way will turn you into more of an AoE type, but you'll still have
huge Melee burst damage.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
As it sounds, this build is designed to maximize Lilith's Melee
proficiency. It is NOT centered around survivability, rather the player
will use Phasewalk to quickly deal massive damage to an enemy, and then
exit combat using Phasewalk or otherwise by taking cover if they get
into a bad situation. This build is suited to players who may want to
take a more strategic approach to defeating enemies, rather than wiping
them out in the order that they appear. A good thing to note: if you plan
on trying to Melee from Phasewalk ONLY, you'll need to rework things to
get 'Hard to Get,' a skill that is, no pun intended, hard to get to without
compromising some of the other skills in this build. If you're trying for
it, drop or change some of the Elemental Tree skills. It is important to
note that as is, this is not a pure Phasewalk build, and keep in mind that
you'll be good with melee even outside of using Phasewalk.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
While certainly possible Solo, this build is really designed more
for a cooperative setting. Its combat abilities are very one-dimensional,
which is a downside when playing by yourself. Taken into consideration
within a team, however, this build can prove to be a crucial addition to a
cooperative effort. A well-balanced and communicative team has a capacity
to reap many benefits from having a Hit-and-Run Lilith around.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Phasewalk
Turns Lilith invisible and greatly increases movement speed. Entering or
leaving Phasewalk creates a Phase Blast that damages nearby enemies. Melee
attacking will cause Lilith to come out of Phasewalk. Cooldown: 36 seconds
PREFERRED WEAPON: Strongest Melee Attachment
PREFERRED TREE: None (Require Skills from all 3)
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Catalyst/Plaguebearer
[CONTROLLER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Striking Melee attacks gain a chance to Daze enemies, reducing their
movement speed and accuracy.
Begins at +20% Chance to Daze (vs. equal level enemy), Lv5: +100% Chance.
[CONTROLLER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (Lv5):
--Inner Glow While Phasewalking, regenerate health. Begins at +1% HP/sec,
Lv5: +7% HP/sec.
[NOTE: Honestly, you can go with either Inner Glow or Dramatic Entrance,
it depends on whether you mind redundant Dazing or not. For a more
survivable build that can't Daze as often go with Diva(1) and then with
Dramatic Entrance(2).]
[ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Quicksilver Increases Fire Rate (all weapons), beginning at +5% Fire Rate,
Lv5: +25%.
[ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Resilience Increases resistance to Fire, Shock, Corrosive, and Explosive
Damage. Begins at +6% resistance, Lv5: 30% resistance.
[ELEMENTAL TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Venom Adds Corrosive Damage to Melee attacks. Melee attacks gain Corrosive
properties, causing additional damage over time (DOT).
Begins at +5% melee damage, Lv5: 25% dmg.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Silent Resolve Increases damage resistance for a few seconds AFTER
Phasewalking. Begins at +56% resistance, Lv5: +70% resistance.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Hit & Run Increases Melee damage and Phasewalk duration. Begins at +7%
Melee damage, +0.8 seconds Phasewalk duration, LV5: +35% dmg, +4 duration.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Blackout Killing an enemy reduces Phasewalk cooldown. Begins at -1.2
seconds to cooldown, Lv5: -6 seconds to cooldown.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 4]:
MAX (LV5):
--Phase Strike Using a melee attack while Phasewalking deals additional
damage. Begins at +160% Melee Damage, Lv5: +800% Melee Damage.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +100% Chance to Daze with Melee
-- +25% Fire Rate (all weapons)
-- +30% Resistance to Fire, Shock, Corrosive, and Explosion Damage
-- Melee attacks Corrode
-- +60% Melee Damage
-- +4 seconds Phasewalk Duration
-- Killing an enemy reduces Phasewalk Cooldown by 6 seconds
-- Melee Attacks from Phasewalk cause +800% Damage
END LILITH MELEE HIT-AND-RUN BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
I.C. LILITH (SIREN)--AOE BUILD @LILAOE
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Fire-Element SMG
--Secondary: Burst-Type Combat Rifle, Elemented where possible
--Tertiary: Shotgun, best Elemental chance available (any Element)
--Extra: Corrosive SMG
--Class Mod: Firefly
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
This build is a hard one to do right, and where and when you
add skill points will really change how it turns out in the early
levels. I personally went straight down the Elemental Tree until I
reached Phoenix, which ended up being a pain until I actually had a
Firefly class mod and max level Phoenix. This is a build, though, that
is great once you've reached a high enough level that you've begun to
realize your skill potential. You will still have to be skilled at
weapon-based combat, especially early, until you can get to Blackout
to start cutting down on that cooldown. If you absolutely want to avoid
combat and be able to constantly Phase for almost-constant AoE, then
honestly, you'll have to end up dropping Phoenix to get 'Hard to Get'
in the Controller Tree. Phoenix helps this build's damage output, and I
personally like to use it, but it can certainly be argued that you will
achieve highest AoE potential by killing your cooldown to practically
nothing and utilizing your Phaseblast to deal the majority of the
damage. If you drop Phoenix, obviously use a Tempest mod rather than
a Firefly.
Overall, I enjoyed this one, and you really are a complete beast
with elements if you use this build, but just know that it takes some
patience and careful combat execution to do it right.
A note on weapons: those above are just my personal preference
in terms of a general weapon set for a close-combat character (which
you WILL be with this build). The Combat Rifle was my long-to-mid range
weapon, and all others were situational based on enemy type or enemy
Element. Use whatever weapons work best for you, but keep in mind that
you'll definitely want something that can put out alot of damage very
quickly at close range.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
Sometimes, the best way to attack a combat situation is just to
run in and try to take everything out at once, or as quickly as possible.
This build is based on that philosophy, and it should be noted that since
Lilith is one of the game's more fragile characters, you'll probably die
pretty often using this. HOWEVER, the build itself is focused on stacking
as many DOTs (damage over time) on enemies as possible, which means you
will also get a LOT of immediate or near-immediate Second Winds once you
go down in combat. It's a hard build to master overall, because it can
be pretty difficult to time Phaseblast just right.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
It's pretty hard to pick just one area for this build. Solo, it
can definitely hold its own against most mobs, although in general you
will have more trouble with bigger, tougher enemies. In a co-op type of
setting, this build can be great to add to a team, but at the same time,
the effect of your AOEs will diminish as more players join and the
enemies are scaled up. Despite the seemingly strong argument against
co-op, though, I think I have to say that overall, this build is actually
better in a team based environment. You may very well be the only one who
can easily DOT enemies with elemental effects, which can be astronomically
helpful to a team, and with others there to support you, your fragility
in close quarters won't be as much of an issue.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Phasewalk
Turns Lilith invisible and greatly increases movement speed. Entering or
leaving Phasewalk creates a Phase Blast that damages nearby enemies. Melee
attacking will cause Lilith to come out of Phasewalk. Cooldown: 36 seconds
PREFERRED WEAPON: Shotgun Class/SMG Class (with Element of choice)
PREFERRED TREE: Elemental Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Firefly/Tempest
TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Quicksilver Increases Fire Rate (all weapons), beginning at +5% Fire Rate,
Lv5: +25%.
MAX (LV5):
--Spark - Increases chance of causing Elemental Effects with Elemental Weapons.
Begins at +4% chance, Lv5: +20%.
TIER 2 PREFERRED:
MAX (Lv5):
--Radiance Deal Shock Damage to nearby enemies while Phasewalking. Damage
is based on 1) character Level and 2) Skill Level.
Begins at +1 Shock Damage, Lv5: +5 Shock Damage.
(Skip Tier 3)
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Phoenix Killing an enemy causes you to deal Fire Damage to nearby enemies
and gives each shot a chance to ignore ammo costs for a few seconds. Fire
Damage increases with character Level.
Begins at +5% chance to save ammo, +1 Fire Damage,
Lv5: +25% chance to save ammo, +5 Fire Damage.
[CONTROLLER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Diva Increases Shield Capacity. Begins at +5% capacity, Lv5: +25%.
[CONTROLLER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Dramatic Entrance Phase Blast can Daze enemies. Begins at +20% chance to Daze,
Lv5: +100%.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Silent Resolve Increases damage resistance for a few seconds AFTER
Phasewalking. Begins at +56% resistance, Lv5: +70% resistance.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Enforcer Killing an enemy increases Accuracy and Bullet Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +7% Accuracy, +2% Bullet Damage, Lv5: +35% Acc, +10% dmg.
[ASSASSIN TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Blackout Killing an enemy reduces Phasewalk cooldown. Begins at -1.2
seconds to cooldown, Lv5: -6 seconds to cooldown.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +25% Shield Capacity
-- +100% Chance to Daze with Phaseblast
-- +25% Fire Rate (all weapons)
-- +20% Elemental Effect chance
-- Killing an enemy yields: +25% chance to ignore ammo cost
+5 Fire Damage to nearby enemies
+35% Accuracy
+10% Bullet Damage
-6 seconds Phasewalk cooldown
-- +70% Damage Reduction after Phasewalking
END LILITH AOE BUILD
-----------------------------------------
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ END LILITH BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
-----------------------------------------
@ROL
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ BEGIN ROLAND BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
II.A. ROLAND (Soldier)--GENERAL MEDIC BUILD @ROLGM
**BUILD NOT YET TESTED: NO TESTING SUMMARY**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build, as it sounds, is centered around being a well-versed
support character. In general, your role will be keeping your teammates
healed, but the capacity is there for other supporting roles if need be.
That is not to say that it is completely devoid of combat ability, though.
A well-equipped character using this build would be able to support itself
in combat, and would be decently resilient on account of the many buffs and
beneficial effects provided by the skill choice. It's definitely a build
for more strategy-minded players, less so for the run-and-gun type.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
This build is an obvious choice in a co-op setting. Having someone
who can offer various kinds of support when needed can be extremely helpful
in heavy combat settings. A character using this build is capable of going
solo all the way to lv50, but it is not generally recommended, there are some
more combat-suited Soldier builds for those who will be lone wanderers.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Scorpio Turret
Deploys a Scorpio Turret that automatically fires at enemies. Turret has a
shield that may provide cover. Turret despawns after a few seconds.
Cooldown: 100 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Highest Damage per second (DPS) available
PREFERRED TREE: Medic Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Support Gunner/Leader
TIER 1 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Aid Station Allies near Scorpio turret regenerate health.
Begins at +1% HP regen per second, Lv5: +5% HP regen/sec.
TIER 2 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Cauterize Shooting team members heals them (includes grenades and rockets).
Begins at +6% damage converted to HP, Lv5: +30% damage converted.
TIER 3 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Revive Scorpio Turret has a chance to instantly revive nearby crippled
allies when deployed. Begins at +14% Revival Chance, LV5: +70% chance.
MAX (LV5):
--Grit - Increases your Bullet Damage resistance.
Begins at +3% Bullet resistance, Lv5: +15% Bullet resistance.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Stat- Killing an enemy increases HP regeneration for you and nearby allies
for a few seconds. Begins at +1% HP regen per second, Lv5: +5% HP/sec.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Stockpile Players near the Scorpio Turret regenerate ammo for currently
held weapon. Begins at +1 Ammo Regeneration rate, Lv5: +5 ammo regen rate.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Barrage Increases number of shots Scorpio Turret fires in each burst.
Begins at +1 Shot(s) fired per burst, Lv5: +5 Shots/burst.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Deploy - Reduces Scorpio Turret cooldown. Begins at -20% cooldown time,
Lv5: -100% cooldown time.
[INFANTRY TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Impact Increases Bullet Damage (all weapons). Begins at +3% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +15% Bullet Damage.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- Allies near Scorpio Turret regenerate 5% HP per second
-- Shooting Teammates heals for 30% of Weapon Damage
-- 70% chance for Scorpio Turret to revive crippled teammates
-- +15% Bullet Damage Resistance
-- Killing an enemy increases nearby friendly HP regeneration by 5% per second
-- Players near Scorpio Turret regenerate ammo at 5/second for equipped weapon
-- Scorpio Turret fires +5 shots per burst
-- 100% Reduction to Scorpio Turret Cooldown
-- Bullet damage +15% (all weapons)
END ROLAND GENERAL MEDIC BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
II.B. ROLAND (Soldier)--BRUTALITY BUILD @ROLBR
**BUILD NOT YET TESTED: NO TESTING SUMMARY**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build is based mainly off of Roland's proficiency at buffing
himself after killing an enemy. The concept is to creat a character who,
upon killing the first enemy in a group, is capable of going on an endless
buffed rampage until all enemies within the immediate area are eliminated.
Because of this, it is possible to use this build with almost any weapon,
although for some weapon choices it may be wise to substitute a few skills
here and there. This is a build for players who love fast-paced combat and
feel that they are capable of reacting quickly as the situation develops.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
As with any build based around one character's ability to quickly
take down groups of enemies, this build was designed mainly with solo play
in mind. However, Roland's Scorpio Turret makes this build very usable in
a cooperative setting as well. The Turret is practically a summoned bunker,
and almost any team will find benefit from being able to take cover behind
its shield wall in a combat environment. This build gives a team the ability
to take advantage of a near-continuous stream of covering fire, thus this is
one of the rare builds that honestly works about the same either way.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Scorpio Turret
Deploys a Scorpio Turret that automatically fires at enemies. Turret has a
shield that may provide cover. Turret despawns after a few seconds.
Cooldown: 100 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Combat Rifle Class (first)/Shotgun Class (second)
PREFERRED TREE: Infantry Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Heavy Gunner/Rifleman/Commando
TIER 1 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Impact Increases Bullet Damage (all weapons). Begins at +3% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +15% Bullet Damage.
TIER 2 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Metal Storm Killing an enemy increases weapon's Fire Rate and reduces
Recoil for a few seconds. Begins at +6% Fire Rate, +15% Recoil Reduction,
Lv5: +30% Fire Rate, +75% Recoil Reduction.
(may substitute 'Scattershot' instead for Shotgun characters)
TIER 3 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Refire - Shooting an enemy reduces Scorpio Turret cooldown. This effect
occurs repetetively on a two-second delay (two second interval after first
hit). Begins at -1 second cooldown time per hit, LV5: -5 seconds per hit.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Guided Missile Scorpio Turret launches guided missiles in addition to using
its regular gun. Begins at 1 missile per 8 seconds, Lv5: 1 missile per 4 sec.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[MEDIC TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Fitness Increases Maximum HP. Begins at +5% Max HP, LV5: +25% HP.
[MEDIC TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Overload Increases magazine capacity (all weapons). Begins at +12% Magazine
Capacity, LV5: +60% capacity.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Defense Increases shield recharge rate. Begins at +4% Shield Recharge speed,
Lv5: +20% Recharge speed.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Quick Charge Killing an enemy causes your shields to quickly regenerate for
a few seconds. Begins at +2% Shields per second, Lv5: +7% Shields/second.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Grenadier Killing an enemy increases grenade damage and causes you to
regenerate grenades for a few seconds. Begins at +2 Grenades per minute, +3%
Grenade Damage, LV5: +8 Grenades/minute, +15% damage.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +15% Bullet Damage (all weapons)
-- Killing an enemy yields: +30% Fire Rate,
-75% Recoil,
+7% Shield Regeneration,
+15% Grenade Damage,
+8/minute Grenade Regeneration
-- Shooting an enemy yields -5 second cooldown for Scorpio Turret,
recurring maximum every 2 seconds.
-- Scorpio Turret launches 1 missile every 4 seconds
-- +20% Shield Recharge Rate
-- +25% Maximum HP
-- +60% Magazine Capacity
END ROLAND BRUTALITY BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
II.C. ROLAND (Soldier)--SHOTGUN MEDIC BUILD @ROLSM
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Shotgun (no Element, high Rate of Fire)
--Secondary: Corrosive Shotgun
--Tertiary: Machinegun-type Combat Rifle
--Extra: Fire/Blast Shotgun
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
This build was pretty nice, from both a support standpoint as
well as from a combat standpoint. It helped so much to be able to turn
around and pump some rounds into my teammates if they were getting
hammered in battle, although it tended to be a problem if I got
incapacitated and they were expecting healing. I played this character
with an in-your-face Melee type Berserker, and I can say from experience
that the combo of this build with that one made for an unstoppable
juggernaut of a Brick, and Brick's so huge that often I was able to hide
behind him and draw less fire, while keeping him healed. Close range,
our team was unstoppable, although I have to say it left something to
be desired for longer range combat. If you want to make a Soldier, and
wish to be able to support your teammates when they need it, but also
want to be able to play by yourself about half the time, then this is
a good way to do it.
Combat went like this, as you can guess: Get as close to the
enemy as possible and blow their face off with whatever element they
were not (or with brute force, a few times during the game my best
Shotgun was a non-Elemental one). Co-op combat went like this: Get
as close to the enemy as possible and blow their face off, except
when somebody's injured, in which case get as close to your buddy as
possible and blow your buddy's face off. It's a pretty easy build to play
as, needless to say, although you'll want to run from cover to cover
when closing the distance so as not to get hurt too much before you can
inflict real damage.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build is another support build, but it's focused more around
pure healing, and less so around general support. It also has enhanced
combat abilities, compared to a build that only offers support. Obviously,
this build is not capable of offering as full a range of support as others
are, but nonetheless, it is a good one to have on a team, your teammates
just have to know what they can and can't expect from you. This is the
build to use for a front-lines healer. One thing to note is that this
build is definitely based on personal judgment, and depending on your
playstyle, your skill setup may start out the same but is likely to be
very different from anything I were to list here if you use this build.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
Any build with cauterize is a co-op build. You have absolutely
ZERO use for that skill in a single player game. However, this build is
more than capable of holding its own in combat, and thus it is easy to
re-tool into a Shotgun-based combat build if you know for sure you'll
only be playing single player. But yeah, definitely a team player here,
you won't want to solo without changing the skill setup here.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Scorpio Turret
Deploys a Scorpio Turret that automatically fires at enemies. Turret has a
shield that may provide cover. Turret despawns after a few seconds.
Cooldown: 100 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Shotgun
PREFERRED TREE: Medic Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Commando/Leader(this is STILL a support build)
TIER 1 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Fitness Increases Maximum HP. Begins at +5% Max HP, LV5: +25% HP.
TIER 2 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Cauterize Shooting team members heals them (includes grenades and rockets).
Begins at +6% damage converted to HP, Lv5: +30% damage converted.
TIER 3 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Grit - Increases your Bullet Damage resistance.
Begins at +3% Bullet resistance, Lv5: +15% Bullet resistance.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Stat- Killing an enemy increases HP regeneration for you and nearby allies
for a few seconds. Begins at +1% HP regen per second, Lv5: +5% HP/sec.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Defense Increases shield recharge rate. Begins at +4% Shield Recharge speed,
Lv5: +20% Recharge speed.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Barrage Increases number of shots Scorpio Turret fires in each burst.
Begins at +1 Shot(s) fired per burst, Lv5: +5 Shots/burst.
[SUPPORT TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Deploy - Reduces Scorpio Turret cooldown. Begins at -20% cooldown time,
Lv5: -100% cooldown time.
[INFANTRY TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Impact Increases Bullet Damage (all weapons). Begins at +3% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +15% Bullet Damage.
[INFANTRY TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Scattershot Increases shotgun damage and spread. S
Begins at +3% Shotgun Damage, +5% spread, Lv5: +15% Damage, +25% spread.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +15% Bullet Damage
-- +15% Shotgun Damage
-- +25% Shotgun Spread
-- +20% Shield recharge speed
-- Scorpio fires +5 shots per burst
-- -100% Scorpio cooldown time
-- Allies near Scorpio regenerate 5% HP/second
-- Shooting teammates heals for 30% Damage
-- +15% Bullet resistance
-- Killing an enemy yields +5% HP regen/second for you, and nearby allies
END ROLAND SHOTGUN MEDIC BUILD
-----------------------------------------
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ END ROLAND BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
-----------------------------------------
@MOR
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ BEGIN MORDECAI BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
III.A. MORDECAI (Hunter)--SNIPER BUILD @MORSN
**BUILD NOT YET TESTED: NO TESTING SUMMARY**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
It should be relatively obvious that this build is based around a
long-range combat setting. Players who consider themselves skilled snipers
in most shooters will find familiar territory, and those who are perhaps
more at the intermediate level will benefit from the quality of Mordecai's
sniping ability given the correct skill arrangement. With a good rifle, it
can be very easy to quickly thin enemy ranks before they even have a chance
to approach the player. This build is very much based on equipment moreso
than raw skill, however, which should be noted. Even an expert sniper will
not get far in Borderlands without finding a decent sniper rifle.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
While perfectly possible to solo with a sniper build, the benefits
of your skill setup will be more apparent in a team setting. Additionally,
less emphasis needs to be placed on survivability during boss fights or
when slugging it out with 'badass' mobs if you use this build within a
well-rounded team. Sniping skill becomes more important when attempting to
solo with this build. If you don't feel like you can consistently rattle
off headshot after headshot, then you may want to go with a more balanced
Mordecai build if you don't think you'll be playing mostly with a team.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Bloodwing
Summons a pet Bloodwing to attack an enemy and then return, like an organic
boomerang. Cooldown 28 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Sniper Rifle
PREFERRED TREE: Sniper Tree AND Gunslinger Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Sniper
[SNIPER TREE TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Focus - Increases accuracy (all weapons), decreases Sniper Rifle sway.
Begins at +5% Accuracy, Sniper Rifle sway -10%, Lv5: +25% Accuracy,
Sniper Rifle sway -50%.
MAX (LV5):
--Caliber - Increases Sniper Rifle damage. Begins at +4% Sniper Rifle damage,
Lv5: +20% Damage.
[SNIPER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Killer Killing an enemy increases Damage and Reload speed (all guns) for
a few seconds. Begins at +8 Damage, +6% Reload speed,
Lv5: +40 Damage, +30% Reload speed.
[SNIPER TREE TIER 3]:
MAX(LV5):
--Loaded Increases Magazine Capacity with Sniper Rifles.
Begins at +14% Magazine Capacity, Lv5: +70% capacity.
(Loaded is really optional for this, if you skip it, add a skill of your
choosing based on how you're handling combat).
[SNIPER TREE TIER 4 (One Skill)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Trespass Your bullets have a chance to ignore Shields (all weapons),
increases Bullet Damage (all weapons).
Begins at +20% chance to penetrate shields, +1% Bullet Damage,
Lv5: +100% chance to penetrate, +5% Bullet Damage.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Deadly - Increases Critical Hit damage. Begins at +6% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +30% Crit dmg.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Riotous Remedy Killing an enemy gives you chaotic HP regeneration for a few
seconds. Begins at UP TO 3% Max HP regen over 7 seconds, Lv5: UP TO 15% regen.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Hair Trigger Increases Fire Rate and Magazine Size with pistols.
Begins at +4% Fire Rate,+6% Magazine size,
Lv5: +20% Fire Rate, +30% Magazine size.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 4 (One Skill)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Relentless Killing an enemy increases Weapon Fire Rate, gives every bullet
fired a 25% chance to be a Killer Shot and deal additional damage. This effect
lasts a few seconds. Begins at +8% Fire Rate, +20% Killer Shot damage,
Lv5: +40% Fire Rate, +100% Killer Shot dmg.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +25% Accuracy (all weapons)
-- -50% Sniper Rifle Sway
-- +20% Sniper Rifle Damage
-- Killing an Enemy yields: Damage +40,
Reload speed +30%,
UP TO +15% HP Regen for 7 seconds
+40% Fire Rate
+25% chance shots deal +100% damage
-- +70% Sniper Rifle Magazine Capacity
-- +30% Critical Hit Damage
-- +20% Pistol Fire Rate
-- +30% Pistol Magazine Size
-- +5% Bullet Damage
-- +100% Chance to penetrate enemy shields
END MORDECAI SNIPER BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
III.B. MORDECAI (Hunter)--PISTOL FINESSE BUILD @MORPF
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Machine pistol-type Repeater Pistol
--Secondary: Blast Revolver
--Tertiary: Corrosive Revolver
--Extra: Blast Sniper
--Class Mod: Gunslinger
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
Due to the general ease of sniping in Borderlands, this build is
still easy to snipe with, even with only the one skill buffing your
Sniper Rifle proficiency. The close range combat, however, is where it's
at. I personally chose to use the Bloodwing's vampirism ability instead
of 'Riotous Remedy,' but only because in most cases, I didn't feel like
I needed the extra healing and honestly because I enjoy seeing my
Bloodwing fly around and explode things. I say explode because I used
weapons with the Blast 'element' almost exclusively in this build. The
rate of fire that Mordecai can achieve with pistols is absolutely absurd,
and having weapons that have a chance to fire bullets that are effectively
explosive rounds (which is really all the Blast 'element' does) really
increases this build's damage output. Of course, with HP restoration
limited as it is if you follow this exact build, you're going to go down
alot, but in my experience, that was almost never a problem because
getting a second wind is insanely easy when you put a revolver like
'Madjack' in Mordecai's hands (That weapon, if you get a rare one as the
quest reward, is pretty much the end-all weapon for this build due to its
absurd rate of fire. The bullet pattern takes some getting used to,
though).
Anyway, overall it was fun, plus it's great to be able to shoot
up the Crimson Lance with pistols and laugh at the fact that they thought
all that ridiculous looking armor was going to help them. This is another
build that can be customized in various ways, and if you're trying to get
more survivability out of it, take a look at the 'Bloodthirsty' build,
immediately after this one. That build is essentially a rework of this.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
Most players look at Mordecai's skill tree and immediately put him
in the Sniper category, however he is also the most proficient with simple
sidearms. With this pistol-based build, the only weapon class you'll ever
need to use is pistols. This can be both good and bad, the good being the
fact that your weapon proficiencies will move much quicker, the bad being
that you may find yourself at a lack of ammo more often than characters
using 3-4 weapon types. Another important thing to note, however, is that
even later in the game, if you're well-equipped, you won't be pumping
many shots into enemies before they go down, despite the fact that you're
using a weapons class that is often shunned in favor of the outright huge
damage available in rockets and such. That is why this is a finesse-based
build--it's not based on finding the biggest gun or even the best equips,
rather it's centered on having the right skill setup and being quick on
your feet in a combat situation.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
This build is undeniably best in a solo setting. You can mow
straight through the main plot and be on your second playthrough in no
time, all without help. In a cooperative setting, depending of course on
what other character types you're playing with, oftentimes the scaling-up
of enemies will cause the effectiveness of your pistols to become less
apparent, and it's easy for combat to get chaotic if your team tends to be
the type to run around willy-nilly shooting everything in the feet with
the biggest rocket launcher they could find. So I would say in a team
that is composed and well-orchestrated, this build would be useful, but if
you play alot with random people online, you'll find yourself preferring
the solo aspects of Mordecai's pistol skill.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Bloodwing
Summons a pet Bloodwing to attack an enemy and then return, like an organic
boomerang. Cooldown 28 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Any Pistol Class with high Crit Damage and Fire Rate
PREFERRED TREE: Gunslinger Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Gunslinger
TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Deadly - Increases Critical Hit damage. Begins at +6% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +30% Crit dmg.
MAX (LV5):
--Gun Crazy When using Pistols (both repeater pistols and revolvers), you
have a chance to fire 2 shots with each trigger pull instead of 1.
Begins at +8% chance to fire 2 shots, Lv5: +40% chance to fire 2 shots.
(SKIP TIER 2)
TIER 3 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Hair Trigger Increases Fire Rate and Magazine Size with pistols.
Begins at +4% Fire Rate,+6% Magazine size,
Lv5: +20% Fire Rate, +30% Magazine size.
MAX (LV5):
--Predator Decreases the Bloodwing cooldown.
Begins at -3 seconds cooldown duration, Lv5: -15 seconds cooldown duration.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Relentless Killing an enemy increases Weapon Fire Rate, gives every bullet
fired a 25% chance to be a Killer Shot and deal additional damage. This effect
lasts a few seconds. Begins at +8% Fire Rate, +20% Killer Shot damage,
Lv5: +40% Fire Rate, +100% Killer Shot dmg.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[ROGUE TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Swift Strike Increases Bloodwing Damage and Movement Speed.
Begins at +20% Bloodwing Damage, +8% Bloodwing Speed.
[ROGUE TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Out For Blood When your Bloodwing strikes an enemy, you gain HP based on
the amount of damage done. Begins at +7% Bloodwing vampirism, Lv5: +35%.
[SNIPER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Focus - Increases accuracy (all weapons), decreases Sniper Rifle sway.
Begins at +5% Accuracy, Sniper Rifle sway -10%, Lv5: +25% Accuracy,
Sniper Rifle sway -50%.
[SNIPER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Killer Killing an enemy increases Damage and Reload speed (all weapons) for
a few seconds. Begins at +8 Damage, +6% Reload speed,
Lv5: +40 Damage, +30% Reload speed.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +30% Critcal Hit Damage
-- +40% Chance to fire 2 shots instead of 1 with Pistols
-- -15 seconds to Bloodwing Cooldown
-- +20% Pistol Fire Rate
-- +30% Pistol Magazine Size
-- Killing an enemy yields: +40% Fire Rate,
+40 Damage,
+30% Reload Speed,
+25% chance bullets deal +100% Damage
-- +100% Bloodwing Damage
-- +40% Bloodwing Movement Speed
-- +25% Accuracy (all weapons)
-- -50% Sniper Rifle Sway
-- +35% of Bloodwing Damage converted to your HP.
END MORDECAI PISTOL FINESSE BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
III.C. MORDECAI (Hunter)--BLOODTHIRSTY BUILD @MORBL
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Fire-Element Repeater Pistol
--Secondary: Blast Revolver
--Tertiary: Corrosive Revolver
--Extra: Highest power Sniper available
--Class Mod: Gunslinger
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
As I said earlier, if you read the test summary of the
preceding Pistol-based build, this build is really a re-tooling of
the last one, and in my opinion, is probably a bit better in general.
You won't do as much burst damage with pistols, your sniping ability
will suffer (a little), and you'll really miss out on having 'Killer'
if you go with this build. All of that said, you'll be recovering much
more HP, much faster, and your Bloodwing should make up for some of
the damage that you miss out on, and in addition, it will Daze enemies.
Between III.B. and this build, this one is more of a tactical build,
whereas the previous one focuses more on pure combat prowess. The
real selling point of this build, I think, is the fact that your
Bloodwing is able to Daze up to 6 enemies per cast. Daze effectively
incapacitates an enemy, because anything they do is slowed down an
insane amount, and they'll tend to just float there, barely shooting
and rarely hitting even when they do. That said, 90% of the time, you
will be impatiently waiting for Bloodwing to recharge, but thankfully,
it has a pretty short cooldown, and 'Predator' does help considerably.
My overall impression is that this is one of my favorite
hunter builds. I still used mostly a combat setup, and would be
interested in how a more tactical setup with a Rogue class mod would
work out, though I don't feel like playing through again to see how
that would develop differently (it's only a minor point, really).
On the subject of class mods, it should be noted that at level 50 I
dropped the Gunslinger in favor of that rare Scavenger to loot farm
for this and other characters, and honestly, the combat ability did
not take too much of a hit. So yeah, I have to say I enjoyed playing
through in this style.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build is based on two things, mainly: firstly, the damage
potential of your Bloodwing, and secondly, your ability to restore
HP to yourself at the expense of your enemies. You'll be using mostely
Pistol-type weapons at close range and spamming your Bloodwing at every
possible opportunity to cut a path through the enemy hordes. Multiple
options for HP regen means that if done right, you'll be very hard to
kill, and will continually be restoring yourself within combat. It's
definitely a skill-based build, but you will have to have a certain
degree of combat finesse to effectively use your pistols.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
This build is probably better in solo, but it works fine in
co-op as well. The big plus in a cooperative setting is that enemies will
be paying less attention to you, which means by and large you'll be able
to stay out of trouble a bit more, as well as being able to use your
Bloodwing more effectively and tactically. However, it's definitely a
better choice for solo play, pistols tend to lose their effectiveness
when enemies become scaled for multiplayer games, and your Bloodwing will
be less effective as well.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Bloodwing
Summons a pet Bloodwing to attack an enemy and then return, like an organic
boomerang. Cooldown 28 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Any Pistol Class
PREFERRED TREE: Rogue Tree/Gunslinger Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Rogue/Gunslinger
[ROGUE TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Swift Strike Increases Bloodwing Damage and Movement Speed.
Begins at +20% Bloodwing Damage, +8% Bloodwing Speed.
[ROGUE TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Out For Blood When your Bloodwing strikes an enemy, you gain HP based on
the amount of damage done. Begins at +7% Bloodwing vampirism, Lv5: +35%.
[ROGUE TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Aerial Impact Bloodwing attacks can Daze enemies, reducing movement speed
and accuracy. Begins at 20% chance to Daze, Lv5: 100% chance.
[ROGUE TREE TIER 4]:
MAX (LV5):
--Bird of Prey Increases the number of targets Bloodwing can attack before
returning. Begins at 2 targets, Lv5: 6 targets.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Deadly - Increases Critical Hit damage. Begins at +6% Critical Hit Damage,
Lv5: +30% Crit dmg.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Riotous Remedy Killing an enemy gives you chaotic HP regeneration for a few
seconds. Begins at UP TO 3% Max HP regen over 7 seconds, Lv5: UP TO 15% regen.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 3 (Require BOTH Skills)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Hair Trigger Increases Fire Rate and Magazine Size with pistols.
Begins at +4% Fire Rate,+6% Magazine size,
Lv5: +20% Fire Rate, +30% Magazine size.
MAX (LV5):
--Predator Decreases the Bloodwing cooldown.
Begins at -3 seconds cooldown duration, Lv5: -15 seconds cooldown duration.
[GUNSLINGER TREE TIER 4]:
MAX (LV5):
--Relentless Killing an enemy increases Weapon Fire Rate, gives every bullet
fired a 25% chance to be a Killer Shot and deal additional damage. This effect
lasts a few seconds. Begins at +8% Fire Rate, +20% Killer Shot damage,
Lv5: +40% Fire Rate, +100% Killer Shot dmg.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +100% Bloodwing Damage
-- +40% Bloodwing speed
-- +35% Bloodwing Damage converted to YOUR HP
-- +100% Chance for Bloodwing to Daze
-- Bloodwing attacks up to 6 targets
-- +30% Critical Hit Damage
-- Killing an enemy yields: +40% Fire Rate
+25% chance for each shot to deal +100% damage
Regenerate UP TO 15% Max HP over 7 seconds
-- Bloodwing cooldown reduced by 15 seconds
-- +20% Pistol Fire Rate
-- +30% Pistol magazine size
END MORDECAI BLOODTHIRSTY BUILD
-----------------------------------------
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ END MORDECAI BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
-----------------------------------------
@BRI
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ BEGIN BRICK BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IV.A. BRICK (Berserker)--MELEE BUILD @BRIME
**BUILD TESTED: TESTING SUMMARY**
1. WEAPON SETUP USED DURING TEST:
--Primary: Shotgun
--Secondary: Rocket Launcher (various elements)
--Sidearm: Blast/Corrosive Revolver
--Extra: Machinegun-type Combat Rifle
2. TEST IMPRESSIONS:
A friend of mine tested this build, and this is a rough summary of
what he's told me about his experience. I played with him during the test,
so I can say that this is a great build to have in a team effort.
Brick is an absolute monster when he goes Berserk, the only problem
is that sometimes you will lose track of which enemy is doing the most damage
to you and get yourself in trouble while attacking a group of lesser enemies.
Adding Melee damage is perhaps less important early on than finding shields
or adding skills that will improve your survivability, because when you're in
Melee range, you'll be eating alot of fire. The main issue seems to be coming
out of Berserk, when you lose your Damage Resistance. This is where a shotgun
helps out, or the Revolver for armored or especially tough enemies.
The Rocket Launcher was really more of a 'for the fun of it' weapon
choice, although it proved useful in thinning out hordes of enemies at times.
The Revolver served to provide high single-hit damage to targets with no
shields or shock resistance, or otherwise when it was simply more effective
than the Shotgun. The Machinegun turned out to be used very little, but at
times was useful for thinning large groups of smaller enemies or when other
weapons were low on ammo.
**END OF TESTING SUMMARY, ON TO BUILD**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
This build came about with the realization that Berserk is an
absolutely atrociously powerful skill. So it's been centered on Berserk,
however, it's also been tooled to provide improved survivability during the
critical period after Berserk ends in which Brick is most vulnerable. You
honestly won't even need a weapon for 90% of the game with this build, any
and all weapon combat that you engage yourself in will be just to stave off
death while you wait for your next Doom-style Melee brawl opportunity. If
you enjoy punching the mess out of things with wild abandon, then this is
pretty much the build for you.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
At first, I was prone to saying that this build is really most
suitable in a solo situation. However, after playing on a team with a
Berserker of a near-identical build, I would have to change that opinion
to the other side and say that this build is even better co-op. Nobody
will make the case that it's not possible to solo with this build, but if
you team up with your buddies and start running around treating enemies
like speedbags, then its destructive capabilities really come out to the
fore. I remember specifically a situation where my friend wailed away at
a boss while the remainder of my team sat back and picked off all the
low-level mobs running amok in the same area. Even with enemies scaled to
four-player co-op, a Melee Berserker can tear the face off just about any
enemy he so chooses, just watch your surroundings and know where to get
cover when Berserk ends.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Berserk
Gain the ability to go Berserk. While Berserk, Brick is able to madly throw
punches. Also, gain HP regen and Damage Resistance while Berserk.
Cooldown 60 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Player's choice, recommend close- to mid-range type
PREFERRED TREE: Brawler Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Berzerker
TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Iron Fist Increases Melee Damage. Begins at +6% Melee Damage, Lv5: +30%.
MAX (LV5):
--Endless Rage Increases Berserk duration. Begins at +10% Berserk Duration,
Lv5: +50% Duration.
TIER 2 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Heavy Handed Killing an enemy greatly increases Melee Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +12% Melee Damage, Lv5: +60% dmg.
MAX (LV5):
--Sting like a Bee Punching while Berserk causes you to dash forward and slug
your enemies. Begins at +4 feet dash distance, LV5: +20 feet dash distance.
TIER 3 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Short Fuse - Decreases Berserk cooldown.
Begins at -6 second cooldown duration, Lv5: -30 second cooldown duration.
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Blood Sport - Killing an enemy while Berserk regenerates some of your HP.
Begins at 2% Max HP regenerated, Lv5: 10% Max HP regenerated.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[TANK TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Hardened Increases your Maximum HP. Begins at +12% Max HP,
Lv5: +60% Max HP.
[TANK TREE TIER 2 (Require BOTH Skills)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Bash Melee attacks gain a chance to Daze enemies. Begins at +10% chance to
Daze, Lv5: +50% chance.
MAX (LV5):
--Juggernaut Killing an enemy yields Damage resistance for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage resistance, Lv5: +50% Damage resistance.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +30% Melee Damage
-- +50% Chance to Daze with Melee
-- +50% Berserk Duration
-- Punching while Berserk launches you forward +20 feet
-- Killing an enemy yields: +60% Melee Damage,
10% Maximum HP Regen (instant)
+50% Damage Resistance
-- -30 seconds to Berserk Cooldown
-- +60% Maximum HP
END BRICK MELEE BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
IV.B. BRICK (Berserker)--ROCKET DAMAGE BUILD @BRIRD
**BUILD NOT YET TESTED: NO TESTING SUMMARY**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
Rocket Launchers. If those two words are intoxicating to you,
then you can go ahead and start planning your skill tree. It's fitting
that the one character who looks hilarious holding a Rocket Launcher gets
the tree that makes them completely overkill. This is almost the reverse
from Brick's Melee build, as you will hardly ever use Berserk, and will
simply throw rockets around at everything. The main drawback is that it's
pretty easy to run out of rockets if you don't find ammo in the right
places, but when you do have a good stock of rocket ammo, this build just
plain rocks.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
Both. Another build that works equally well both ways. In a solo
setting, you'll be able to throw rockets around pretty much everywhere, as
you'll be the one getting all the ammo so it'll be a little harder to run
out. In a cooperative game, you'll often find yourself at a lack,
especially if you've got another player on your team with the Rocket
Launcher fever. However, if you mull through the skills, you'll see that
most of them apply to all weapons. Although Rocket Launchers are the most
efficient use of these skills due to the fact that they are percentage
based increases, you can use most other weapon types, especially Combat
Rifles and Machineguns, equally well. Which means that even in a co-op
game, even if you have another Rocket-spamming player who thinks they're
a mobile artillery on your team, you won't be at a loss if you grab
yourself just about any other weapon.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Berserk
Gain the ability to go Berserk. While Berserk, Brick is able to madly throw
punches. Also, gain HP regen and Damage Resistance while Berserk.
Cooldown 60 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Rocket Launcher Class
PREFERRED TREE: Blaster Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Blast Master
TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Endowed Increases Explosive Damage. Begins at +3% Explosive Damage,
Lv5: +15% dmg.
MAX (LV5):
--Rapid Reload Increases Reload speed, reduces Recoil (all weapons).
Begins at +4% Reload speed, +6% Recoil eeduction,
Lv5: +20% Reload spd, +30% Recoil reduction.
TIER 2 (Require BOTH Skills):
MAX (LV5):
--Wide Load Increases size of Rocket Launcher magazine.
Begins at +1 Rocket Launcher Magazine Size, Lv5: +5 Magazine size.
MAX (LV5):
--Revenge- Killing an enemy increases Damage (all weapons) for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage, Lv5: +50% Damage.
TIER 3 PREFERRED:
MAX (LV5):
--Cast Iron Increases Explosive Damage Resistance.
Begins at +8% Explosive Damage Resistance, Lv5: +40% Explosive resistance.
(This one's really optional, only if you think you need it. If you end up
skipping it, go with 'Liquidate' if you use Berserk alot, otherwise
probably with 'Unbreakable')
TIER 4 (One Skill):
MAX (LV5):
--Master Blaster - Killing an enemy increases Fire Rate (all weapons), adds
rocket regeneration for a few seconds.
Begins at +12% to Fire Rate, +2 Rockets regenerated per minute,
Lv5: +60% Fire Rate, +10 Rockets/minute.
***SKILLS FROM OTHER TREES:
[TANK TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Safeguard Increases Shield strength. Begins at +8% Shield strength,
Lv5: +40% Shield strength.
[TANK TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Juggernaut Killing an enemy yields Damage resistance for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage resistance, Lv5: +50% Damage resistance.
[TANK TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Pay Back After your shields become depleted, you gain a Damage bonus for 10
seconds. Begins at +8% Damage bonus, Lv5: +40% Damage bonus.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +15% Explosive Damage
-- +20% Reload Speed (all weapons)
-- -30% Recoil (all weapons)
-- Killing an enemy yields: +50% Damage (all weapons),
Fire Rate +60% (all weapons),
+10/minute Rocket Regeneration,
+50% Damage Resistance
-- +5 to Rocket Launcher Magazine Size
-- +40% Explosive Damage Resistance
-- +40% Shield Strength
-- Upon losing your shields: +40% Damage bonus for 10 seconds
END BRICK ROCKET DAMAGE BUILD
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
IV.C. BRICK (Berserker)--TANK BUILD @BRITNK
**BUILD NOT YET TESTED: NO TESTING SUMMARY**
{BUILD INTENTIONS:
Every now and then, a team just wants somebody who can stand in
the way of every bullet and take it like it's nothing. I say team because
this build is definitely designed with a team in mind, not to say you
can't play it solo, but more on that later. The Tank build basically just
turns you into a walking health bar, although you'll be able to take
advantage of Brick's inherent damage ability, especially his high melee
output with Berserk. It's like you're something out of Shadow of the
Colossus, only with no weak spots. So if you aspire to be able to trudge
onward through a hail of gunfire and not have to worry all that much
about your survival, then consider building your Brick like this. The
only problem with this build is the damage output, which you will have to
fix yourself with skill rather than brute force. This is the only Brick
build within this guide that may actually require you to try to score
criticals with weapons.
{SOLO OR CO-OP?:
Absolutely, both. As a matter of fact, Brick in general seems to
be a good character to play with in either setting. The Tank build will
be a great addition to any team; your teammates will appreciate being
able to sneak around in the background while you run in circles distracting
all the enemies. Solo, the strategy's a little different, you won't want to
go seeking trouble as much, but without enemy scaling like there is in a
co-op game, you'll be even more unstoppable.
-----------------------------------------
STARTING SKILL (Mandatory):
--Berserk
Gain the ability to go Berserk. While Berserk, Brick is able to madly throw
punches. Also, gain HP regen and Damage Resistance while Berserk.
Cooldown 60 seconds.
PREFERRED WEAPON: Shotgun Class and/or weapon with good Melee attachment
PREFERRED TREE: Tank Tree/Brawler Tree
PREFERRED CLASS MOD: Titan
[TANK TREE TIER 1 (Require BOTH Skills)]:
MAX (LV5):
--Hardened Increases your Maximum HP. Begins at +12% Max HP,
Lv5: +60% Max HP.
MAX (LV5):
--Safeguard Increases Shield strength. Begins at +8% Shield strength,
Lv5: +40% Shield strength.
[TANK TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Juggernaut Killing an enemy yields Damage resistance for a few seconds.
Begins at +10% Damage resistance, Lv5: +50% Damage resistance.
[TANK TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Pay Back After your shields become depleted, you gain a Damage bonus for 10
seconds. Begins at +8% Damage bonus, Lv5: +40% Damage bonus.
[TANK TREE TIER 4]:
MAX (LV5):
--Unbreakable When your shield is depleted, you gain 5 seconds of powerful
shield regeneration.
Begins at +3% Shield regen per second, Lv5: +15% Shield regen per second.
[BRAWLER TREE TIER 1]:
MAX (LV5):
--Endless Rage Increases Berserk duration. Begins at +10% Berserk Duration,
Lv5: +50% Duration.
[BRAWLER TREE TIER 2]:
MAX (LV5):
--Heavy Handed Killing an enemy greatly increases Melee Damage for a few
seconds. Begins at +12% Melee Damage, Lv5: +60% dmg.
[BRAWLER TREE TIER 3]:
MAX (LV5):
--Short Fuse - Decreases Berserk cooldown.
Begins at -6 second cooldown duration, Lv5: -30 second cooldown duration.
[BRAWLER TREE TIER 4]:
MAX (LV5):
--Blood Sport - Killing an enemy while Berserk regenerates some of your HP.
Begins at 2% Max HP regenerated, Lv5: 10% Max HP regenerated.
**BUILD EFFECTS SUMMARY (LEVEL 50)**
-- +60% Max HP
-- +40% Shield strength
-- Killing an enemy yields: +50% Damage resistance
+60% Melee Damage
10% of Max HP regenerated
-- Shields being depleted yields: +40% Damage bonus
+15% Shield regen per second/5 seconds
-- +50% Berserk duration
-- -30 seconds Berserk cooldown
END BRICK TANK BUILD
-----------------------------------------
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ END BRICK BUILDS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
[END BUILDS SECTION]
-----------------------------------------
iv. SPECIAL THANKS
a. Thanks to Vintoks for supplying a detailed description of each skill. Skill
descriptions have been edited slightly, but are basically copy-pasted from
Vintoks's posts at the following url:
http://borderlandsguide.com/forum/all-4-character-skill-trees-revealed
(Vintoks credits
http://gameaxis.com/across-the-border-borderlands-character-skill-tree-on-one-page/
for the original information, but Vintok provides a consolidated and more
legible skill description. If you're doing your own research, use the first
url listed above.)
b. If you want the most accurate calc for your skill tree, I found the following
site helpful:
http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/
**NOTE ON THIS SITE! The url as listed above is non-functional, you have to add in
the name of the character for whom you'd like to calc your skills,
e.g. visit http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/skilltree/lilith/
c. Thanks to anybody and everybody, retroactively and in the future, who has
contacted or will contact me in regard to any of the information within this guide.
________________________________[END OF GUIDE]_________________________________
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
