This class mod is rather unique in that it is mostly about getting moar loot! This makes it a desirable choice when farming (particularly ‘combat’ farming, or in other words: killing enemies to get loot). It’s 1st and 5th line effects are also team effects, which makes this com especially handy for co-op combat farming.
Pros:
-Moar Lewts: 1st line effect, Swipe, and Ransack (and mat3 +2 FRI) are all about getting moar lewtz.
-I need a healing: Out for Blood (and mat 2 +12 Team Health Regen) will help keep you in fighting shape.
-Co-op friendly: Team buffs make this com very coop friendly (and everyone will like moar lewtz).
Cons:
-No DPS buffs, not even for Bloodwing.
-Despite 2 Bloodwing based skills, no buffs to his cooldown or Bird of Prey skill.
-The +2 FRI effect of mat3 version has little if any effect on the rarity of found loot.
The Build:
As the Scavenger com buffs skills in the Rogue tree, there are both Sniper focused and Pistol focused builds.
Sniper build:
http://talent.87bazillion.com/hunter.php?550555555555255010000
The why:
Sniper Tree: 30 points
-Focus: More accuracy? Yes please.
-Caliber: Sniper Rifle damage, 'nuff said.
-Killer: Just about the best damn tier 2 skill in the game, an obvious must.
-Loaded: More Sniper Rifle magazine capacity? Sure.
-Carrion Call: For more bird.
-Trespass: Why not make their shield practically useless?
Rogue Tree: 32 or 31 points
-Swift Strike: More Bloodwing damage, of course we want this.
-Swipe: Buffed by the com, drops lots of cash; ammo and insta-healths if you are running low on those resources too.
-Fast Hands: Faster reloads = more DPS.
-Out for Blood: Buffed by the com and can easily fully heal us. Might want to run less than 5 points in this as it can easily be overkill and use the extra points for more Lethal Strike.
-Aerial Impact: Daze is really useful against problem enemies, this is where Mordecai gets it from.
-Ransack (2/5) or (1/5): Since Ransack gains no benefit from more than 5 points total investment, we only need 2 or just 1 if the com has +4 in Ransack to get maximum benefit, rest of the points can go elsewhere. This is an on-kill skill that gives us an additional loot roll on slaying any enemy during its effect. This roll comes from it’s own pool and has a fairly good chance of being high quality (good parts). Many Mordecai players will use this skill while combat farming to dramatically improve the number of ‘finds’ they get.
-Bird of Prey: Since Bloodwing’s utility is being buffed by the com, and the effects are on a ‘per hit’ basis, Bird of Prey is a must have for this build. Moreover, it’s also by FAR the best skill available for buffing Bloodwing.
Gunslinger Tree: 6 or 7 points
-Deadly: More critical hit damage? Sure, why not?
-Lethal Strike (1/5) or (2/5): We have at least 1 point left, might as well have a chance for major melee damage for when enemies be all up in our grill. You may want to siphon some points from Out for Blood since it can easily overheal you to get more out of this skill.
Pistol build:
http://talent.87bazillion.com/hunter.php?500500055555255510555
Sniper Tree: 10 points
-Focus: More accuracy? Yes please.
-Killer: Just about the best damn tier 2 skill in the game, an obvious must.
Rogue Tree: 32 or 31 points
-Swift Strike: More Bloodwing damage, of course we want this.
-Swipe: Buffed by the com, drops lots of cash; ammo and insta-healths if you are running low on those resources too.
-Fast Hands: Faster reloads = more DPS.
-Out for Blood: Buffed by the com and can easily fully heal us. Might want to run less than 5 points in this as it can easily be overkill and use the extra points for more Lethal Strike.
-Aerial Impact: Daze is really useful against problem enemies, this is where Mordecai gets it from.
-Ransack (2/5) or (1/5): Since Ransack gains no benefit from more than 5 points total investment, we only need 2 or just 1 if the com has +4 in Ransack to get maximum benefit, rest of the points can go elsewhere. This is an on-kill skill that gives us an additional loot roll on slaying any enemy during its effect. This roll comes from it’s own pool and has a fairly good chance of being high quality (good parts). Many Mordecai players will use this skill while combat farming to dramatically improve the number of ‘finds’ they get.
-Bird of Prey: Since Bloodwing’s utility is being buffed by the com, and the effects are on a ‘per hit’ basis, Bird of Prey is a must have for this build. Moreover, it’s also by FAR the best skill available for buffing Bloodwing.
-Gunslinger Tree: 26 or 27 points
-Deadly: More critical hit damage? Sure, why not?
-Gun Crazy: Chance for double the number of projectiles with pistols and no downside? Sign me up!
-Lethal Strike (1/5) or (2/5): We have at least 1 point left, might as well have a chance for major melee damage for when enemies be all up in our grill. You may want to siphon some points from Out for Blood since it can easily overheal you to get more out of this skill.
-Predator: Shorter Bloodwing cooldown. More Bird!
-Hair Trigger: A little more Pistol DPS.
-Relentless: This skill is insane. On-kill fire rate buff, and 25% chance for your bullets to be Killer Shots that do increased damage (it’s multiplicative with your other damage buffs too which makes this effect really powerful).
Gear:
Guns:
Gun selection is pretty much up to user preference, with a strong preference for Snipers or Pistols depending on which version of the build you are running. Keep in mind that you will want to be securing kills in coop as much as you can to make maximum use of Ransack since it only applies to enemies you kill while it’s active (and in solo play you will want to make sure and chain your kills so that there is less than 7 seconds between them as much as you can to have the greatest number of Ransack rolls and hence chances for moar lewtz).
Shield:
Again user preference prevails, but with Out for Blood being com buffed, it might be wise to run a Muscleman shield to give more health capacity for Out for Blood to refill.
Grenade Mod:
Yet again, it’s really up to you what you want to run here.
Mat2 or Mat3?:
The mat2 version of the Scavenger com boasts +12 Team Health Regeneration (that is, 12 health per second), whereas the mat3 version provides +2 Team Find Rare Items. This latter effect (usually abbreviated FRI around here), has been highly scrutinized and has been shown to have little if any effect on loot drops. It seems that it may increase the drop rate of Eridian guns and there is some reason to think it may slightly boost the drop rate of Blue rarity gear (this is how analogous effect in BL2 works), however most of the useful endgame gear is Purple or above in rarity, hence FRI is nigh useless in endgame play. For this reason, I recommend the mat2 version when available, and it is probably preferable to have +4 in Ransack to give an extra skill point to put elsewhere, though +4 Out for Blood is also good if you don’t mind siphoning some points from this skill.
Gameplay tips and other information:
The main reason to run this com is for the increased loot drops, particularly through the +4 Team Scavenge Extra Items. It is advisable to hit any trash piles or skag piles you encounter (and especially it is worth going after those few skag/trash piles that regularly drop actual loot in addition to ammo and other such things). Beyond that, you will want to be sure and chain kills to take advantage of Ransack and spam Bloodwing for the healing through Out for Blood and damage he will deal.
Shout out to @NOLAftw for looking into the Unreal Editor for Borderlands for me to confirm that Ransack does not benefit from additional skill points beyond 5/5, thanks man!
