So, I’ve been getting back into The Pre Sequel against lately. And my lowest level character is Aurelia. I’ve been going down her The Huntress tree, and I have my eye on I Never Miss. And I figured it would be a good idea to get a Vladof sniper rifle at a very low level to help build stacks when I get to higher difficulties. I also figured Cryo element would be the best choice, since it would potentially freeze the target I was building stacks on. Is this actually a good idea? Or should I just rely on her action skill to freeze things and just use a non elemental Vladof sniper?
Her damage output is so high I would worry about pre stacking it
It may be the case that when I get her fully leveled up, I’ll find I won’t need to pre stack for most fights. But there will still be boss fights. And there will still be that slow grind to get her up from level 50 to 70 in UVHM. So I still want the option to build stacks on the fly, even if it ends up collecting dust in the back pack.
So, is it worth it to hold out at the Grinder until it spits out one with Cryo, or should I just accept the next NE one I get?
I would treat INM like Money is Power, it’s a nice bonus when you have it, but you shouldn’t rely on it for your damage. TPS in particular makes sniping bit difficult with scavs that jump like skags in heat and barrel roll like ninjas, so hitting unfrozen enemies can be really difficult. Missing happens a lot, whether you intend it to or not.
And honestly, that kind of damage isn’t necessary for any fight in TPS. It makes Eclipse/EOS a bit easier, it doesn’t help on Sentinel’s 1st stage, senti’s 2nd stage is a cakewalk with or without INM, and any other boss dies fast either way.
If you do want to prestack though, just go to the test dummy with any vladof sniper and you’ll be good to go. Look for the stability prefix and high fire rate for the fastest stacking times.
EDIT: Preferably, go with non-elemental, shock, or cryo. Any of those 3 will serve you well. Avoid fire if you’re specced into Avalanche.
All right, I just got a level 4 NE Bolshy Longnail out of the Grinder. Combined 2 level 6 Flakkers I got on my first 2 play throughs and have passed down through each of my characters, and Aurelia’s starting sniper rifle to make it. It should barely damage anything she’s fighting now, let alone anything in TVHM or UVHM. And if I end up never needing it, well, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Thanks for the advice.
As a point of reference, I’ve got my Aurelia to level 48 (so far) without ever pre-stacking anything. Pretty much any blue or higher rarity sniper will do you (I got a nice purple one when I started her which was totally awesome!) @boombumr is spot-on with the elemental suggestions. For other situations, she has class mods that boost various damage types; I’ve found the shotgun one is highly effective when paired with a Jakob’s or Hyperion shottie. She can be a bit brittle, but transfusion grenades combined with her skill tree should get you through the boss fights solo in NVHM and TVHM. (Obviously, I can’t tell you anything about UVHM yet!)