So, my views on how to use Gaige have been rekindled upon playing the game again, and that link above is my set-up. I’ve been reading about how “not using the Anarchy skill tree gimps her” and that the “BFF skill tree is useless” or “LBT isn’t worth putting points in because it doesn’t do as much damage as Anarchy can” and my argument against this is my set-up. I’ve played as Gaige for a while and I believe that all of her skill trees are perfect and that the way you use them should obviously revolve around your guns, shield, and class mod. The way I distributed my points was to be as well-rounded as possible, since from my experience, DT is a wonderful ally during Normal and TVHM. At UVHM, he tends to be less useful so I’ve buffed him up as a distraction to enemies while I heal or run. LBT is my personal favorite and I love that I can decimate enemies with 3 elements: Shock from my guns (Twister and Florentine) and various skills in the LBT tree. Fire from More Pep, Evil Enchantress and Electrical Burn. Slag from the Florentine and Interspersed Outburst. The Anarchy tree, I put the fewest points since all I want from it is a damage boost. Feel free to disagree.
The picture’s not showing up.
It should right now
Ok, first thing: Shock Storm, the Stare, and One Two Boom are terrible skills. Shock Storm and One Two Boom do next to no damage on UVHM. And there’s a bug with the Stare that makes it so DT can kill you. I would put those points elsewhere.
Next, If you have Make it Sparkle unlocked, get it. It basically doubles DT’s damage output.
Also, Wires Don’t Talk is the cornerstone of any shock build, and it’s multiplicative with Anarchy. Get it.
Besides that, it’s a solid build.
Have you ever considered getting Typecast Iconoclast? It makes getting Anarchy stacks easier.
He has minimal Anarchy, so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
What do you mean by that? (Typecast & Iconoclast) and to what ANCAero said, I do agree that One Two Boom is pretty useless, I could put that to use in the Anarchy tree, I find the Stare useful and thankfully have not ever had that bug affect me, I’ve found Make It Sparkle fairly useless, and thank you for the info on Wires Don’t Talk.
Typecast Iconoclast gives you a chance to gain an additional stack of Anarchy whenever you get one. It helps in building Anarchy faster. However, since you only have 150 stack maximum, you don’t need to worry about having it.
And as for Make it Sparkle, if you use matching element (aka, fire against flesh, corrosive against armor) then DT becomes a monster. But if you keep accidentally making him shock, then yeah, I guess it could be underwhelming.
Typeclast Iconoclast (weird name, I know) is a skill Gaige has: Tier 3 right hand side in her Ordered Chaos tree (the one represented by the targeting reticule surrounded by flames). This skill allows you to have a chance to gain 2 stacks of anarchy instead of one whenever you gain a stack of anarchy. It just makes building stacks easier, but if you only use Anarchy rarely often, then you don’t have to bother with it if you don’t want to.
As for Make It Sparkle, it is decent if you apply slag to Deathtrap, allowing him to slag opponents for you.
What they said. Also, if you want DT can be really strong outside of Raid bosses - where he only uses his lightning attack. The key to it is Sharing is Caring and Make it Sparkle. Put a good Roid Shield on him - Order, Punchee or the hard to find Hide of Terramorphous - and match his element properly. Also, If you dont want to invest in DoT you can spec out of Electrical Burn and Evil Encanthress to get Wires Dont Talk. As said, its multiplicative with Anarchy and can help your Twister and Florentine damage output.
And if you dont use a COM that boost IO, dont spec it at all. Its a skill that is wonderful at 10/5 and not so much below it.
If your focus is Gaige and raw shock damage, get a Necromancer COM with +5/6 in Wires Dont Talk. The Chaotic is a good version for you since you dont have The Better Half specced.
So how useless is Shock Storm in UVHM? I’m putting my points in and considering everything carefully, I never seem to have enough points for LBT.
It’s still great for stripping shields and is effective against just about everything, but I would still go with a powerful shock weapon like a Twister or the like.
Now it’s so hard to get what I want with my points: Anarchy will always use up 16 points while for the other trees, I need exactly 26 for each and I can only have 25 for one, 26 for the other. The extra skill point? Meant for Make It Sparkle.
I am going to test how durable DT is without a shield, while on fire.
He is terrible at surviving without one on UVHM.
You dont need Rational Anarchist to be honest, take this point to Make it Sparkle
Also, what gear do you use?
Guns: Florentine, Logan’s Gun, Norfleet, Twister.
Sham shield.
Legendary Mech class mod
Blood of the ancients relic (increases max health, pistol + rocket launcher ammo)
Shock Storm Front or Magic Missile.
bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550050131051510052020510415150121000
Here’s what I currently run, tree-distribution-wise it’s kinda like yours. If I didn’t have a legendary catalyst COM I’d put a point into Nth degree instead, it’s great for covering baddies in status effects. I’m partial to rational anarchist because it allows discord looping, but typecast iconoclast+anarchist mod can build decent stacks pretty quickly, so it’s up to you. I put a point into myelin because legendary anarchist boosts it.
You can also also get decent stuff out of the OC tree if you go full LBT+BFF, but that kind of buuld is mostly for deathtrap, not you
So yeah, Gaige is a headscratcher indeed. 10/5 IO, and WDT is pretty neat, but before this I only had 10 points in LBT tree, and I wrecked quite a lot of face.
Oh and get a black hole shield. It’s unbelievably awesome with her.
I will take that into consideration.
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#505000050000550005050500415050150051 Here’s my build, if you’re interested. With the Leg. Anarchist.
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#055000150451500054040551410150100000 And this is close to what my Leg. Catalyst build was.
I see. Logan’s Gun isnt good IMO, but it’s up to you decide your own loadout. Also, do you want Deathtrap to do damage or just run alog with you distracting bandits and stuff?
If you want you both to shine, I would use this: http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550050140051500052030551410150100000 as a base with a Legendary Catalyst COM. Use your Florentine to slag and get yourself the shock grenades from the Tiny Tina DLC. This way, you can let your DT blow stuff up with a Roid shield, or even the Flame of the Firehawk, while you cast spells and take the best of Evil Encanthress and Electrical Burn. Use the Twister when the baddie get close and see him melt before you! The secret to this work is kinda simple: slag and then use your spell grenades. There is a topic in the old forum called “Slag, Wind and Fire” if i remember correctly. It’s a good thing to you read and learn about how to make LBT and DoT work up to lv 72.
Also, if you want Deathtrap as a distraction, you can use this: http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550050140050050052030500413150101000 with the Necromancer COM - I suggest Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Good versions, with +6 in Wires Don’t Talk and +5 in Strenght of Five Gorillas. I raised the stack count in this to reach Rational Anarchist, but you could put the points in Typecast Iconoclast or even Annoyed Android. With this set up, use shock weapons with raw damage like the Twister and a Shock Pimpernel to get the most of Wires Dont Talk and Anarchy. Also, Magic Missile is a good slag tool in this set up.
Also, I left points in both builds so you can add your preferences. This is just a base, based on my opinion.
Hope it Helped!
I should mention that I used the the Leg. Catalyst and the shock tree in a relativity unconventional way. My shock damage came from tesla grenades, and my main weapon was an Orphan Maker. The fact that I had 10/5 in both More Pep and IO made it possible to main a Jakobs shotgun with minimal Anarchy. I don’t know anyone else who uses the shock tree to make non-shock weapons better. And why didn’t I use a Twister? Because it’s a pain to farm for and according to @0takuMetalhead it eats every frame he has when he fires it (we’re both PS3 users).