With the assistance of Converge and Ruin, Phaselock has the potential to group together a sizeable number of enemies in one area, while making them ripe for killing. If you aren’t using Sub - Sequence, a common practice is to kill those ripened enemies before finally dealing with the Phaselocked one. If you are using Sub - Sequence …
The Build
…then your build may be similar to this one. Maya is flexible in terms of what she can do with her skills, and consequently I cannot confidently state that this particular build is required to achieve its desired goals (though Sub - Sequence is obviously necessary). Feel free to place more or less points into Harmony or Cataclysm.
“Obligation” is the name I have chosen for this build. “Obligation” is the noun for the verb “obligate”. A synonym of “obligate” is “bind”; which of course is a reference to the Legendary Binder class mod. The idea is to dispatch of enemies strictly in groups, and to not use Phaselock at all in circumstances where this is not possible.
[size=16]Motion[/size]
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Ward [5/5]
Improvements to a shield’s capacity and its shield recharge delay help to maintain Maya’s defensive prowess while in combat, and can often mean the difference between staying alive and being downed. -
Suspension [10/5]
The longer Phaselock remains active, the more time Sub - Sequence has to do its thing. Of course, some enemies (such as Badasses) have a little more health than others, and Suspension is good for that also. -
Kinetic Reflection [1/5]
The one skill point here is for the skill’s activation. Bullets reflected by Kinetic Reflection activate Cloud Kill, which is actually pretty good now. You get 100% bullet deflection regardless of investment, which is nice. -
Converge [1/1]
This skill, together with Ruin and Chain Reaction, complement one another like tuna and ketchup. It’s the centerpiece for this and the majority of Maya builds. It’s not unlike a free Quasar grenade mod grenade! -
Inertia [5/5]
One of the two means by which Maya can increase her reload speed. It’s important because for some weapons it allows you to forgo using weapons whose brand is matched by its grip (such as the Pimpernel). The SRD - bypassing properties of the skill are also important, but not more so than the reload speed. -
Quicken [4/5]
Increased cooldown rate translates to less downtime for Phaselock. -
Sub - Sequence [5/5]
The star of the show. Ideally you want the enemies to be close together, giving the Phaselock less travel time between each activation. Additionally, the reason why you don’t want to use Sub - Sequence on just one enemy is because with this skill active, the Phaselock orb itself remains active until its time expires.
[size=16]Harmony[/size]
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Sweet Release [10/5]
Provides a ridiculous amount of healing in conjunction with Sub - Sequence, as each Phaselocked enemy will produce 10 Life Orbs. With that in mind, the healing being health - based doesn’t even really matter. -
Wreck [10/5]
My favourite skill for Maya. As its name suggests, it wrecks enemies. It’s best to use a weapon with a high fire rate for massive damage, such as a Vladof assault rifle, a Maliwan SMG or a Hyperion shotgun. -
Elated [5/5]
Evens out Maya’s healing capabilities with this build. As with Sweet Release, it activates for each Phaselocked enemy. This build is more DPS - oriented than a Legendary Siren / Nurse class mod build. Therefore, I don’t take my skill points any further down the Harmony tree, for Sustenance or Life Tap.
[size=16]Cataclysm[/size]
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Flicker [4/5]
As this build isn’t particularly focused on DoT, this skill doesn’t really advance the build in any particular way. However, given the structure of the tree and my personal choices, the 4 skill points are needed. -
Foresight [5/5]
Greater magazine sizes prolong the inevitable reload, which of course leaves you vulnerable. Thankfully this skill also improves your reload speed for when you do have to reload, albeit not by much with this build. -
Helios [10/5]
Maya players seem to be divided on whether this skill is any good. I find that pre - slagged enemies that are drawn in by Converge to the Phaselock orb can be killed by Helios, especially if they are ordinarily weak. I consider that to be worth the skill point investment. If the Phaselocked enemy is itself killed by Helios, that’s an even better outcome, because Sub - Sequence then has more time to carry out its functions. -
Chain Reaction [5/5]
I don’t think I need to explain the usefulness of this skill for this build, or any Maya build for that matter. -
Cloud Kill [1/1]
The world of difference a patch can make. This skill now represents free, proper corrosive damage. -
Reaper [10/5]
Now I won’t lie and say that the exact mechanics of this skill are within my intellectual grasp, but all I know is that when it’s combined with Wreck, a lot of dying happens quickly. That’s good enough for me. -
Ruin [1/1]
As stated previously, it has synergy with Converge and it spreads the proverbial sickness effectively.
My Endgame Setup
(ignore the Bee shield please, I plead the 5th)
Every type of enemy in Borderlands 2 should now be accounted for with this combination of weapons and gear. As such, I think I’ve done away with the need to load out (i.e. swapping out weapons / gear while mobbing).
Playstyle
While using this build, I only Phaselock in circumstances where it’ll enable me to dispatch of, minimum, 3 enemies. Otherwise, you look a significant portion of cooldown time because of how Sub - Sequence works. So the playstyle in essence is : group multiple enemies together, Phaselock one, and create your own carnage.
Proof of Build Viability
In this video, I briefly take the build through two portions of the Sawtooth Cauldron.