Better shock pistol? (lvl 47)

Borderlands 2 Salvador the Gunzerker
#1

Alright I’m on my first playthrough, currently a lvl 47 Gunzerker, I know I shouldn’t be worried about specific guns at this level because I haven’t even reached the good guns yet, but I have this OCD about needing 1 pistol of each element for different uses and I’m stuck on figuring out which shock pistol is better at the moment.

I just got Miss Moxxi’s Rubi (Lvl 42) (Maliwan)
Dmg: 2829
Acc: 93.9
Fire Rate: 2.5
Reload: 2.1
Mag: 8
Shock Dmg /sec: 1627.7
Electrocute Chance: 15.6%

and I’ve been using the Homering Dart (Lvl 44) (Bandit)
Dmg: 5452
Acc: 88.1
Fire Rate: 2.4
Reload: 3.5
Mag: 94
Shock Dmg /sec: 1732
Electrocute Chance: 14.4%

At a first glance it’s clear that The Homering Dart has almost double the damage, larger mag size, and a bit higher Shock Dmg /sec, but what puzzles me is the Rubi has "high elemental effect chance, and also deals bonus elemental damage. I was curious which one was actually better to run dual wielding with my slag pistol?
Like I said I like to keep one of each type and having 2 here is throwing me off a bit I just want a little insight on which is more beneficial. Thanks tons!

#2

Between the 2, the Rubi is a thousand times better for many reasons. A good understanding of this game is needed to know why, but for now you can take my word that the Rubi is much better. And you can preform your own field test to see which one preforms better to get a true sense for yourself, and start getting immersed in the infinite knowledge that makes up BL2 if you think you’d be into that kind of thing.

There are better guns, but the Rubi is the best out of the two.

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#3

Thanks for the quick response man! How do I get immersed in the infinite knowledge, any important links to read up on? I’d like to say I’m trying my best to understand what’s best. I am highly addicted I’d say, 150 hours since I purchased on the 27th last month, I have a lvl 29 Assassin and 20 Mech, though Zerk is my favorite. Anyway I just ran across this in the Lost Chamber room from the pirate DLC, Rubi still better?

Also read that I’m only able to loot the chamber once per game mode, but that was my second time looting on the same character on TVHM, is it a bug or can I farm the treasure room?

EDIT: I just tried to get the quest for a third time but it isn’t appearing on the quest board, so I guess that answers my question :sob:

SECOND EDIT: I’ve been dual wielding the Captains pistols because they have really high damage and fire rates, is this recommended for where I’m at or should I be using a slag as secondary? And should I be focusing on getting double Vladof pistols for the ridiculous fire rates?

#4

You can start with places like these.

http://oldforums.gearboxsoftware.com/oldforums/20150313033100/http://oldforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=365105

This info will hit you like many many brick walls, and it will more than likely take you months to understand it all and memorize most of it. So take you’re time, experiment, and don’t get overwhelmed.

It’s up to you. The Rubi has a lot of hidden bonuses like splash damage, bonus multiplicative critical damage, life steal, better synergy with some of Sal’s skills, ect…

You’re a little bit too new for the type of advice I’m used to giving, I call @VaultHunter101 since this seems to be more his forte. And @Chuck80 since he’s the master Sal.

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#5

Very much appreciated, thanks for taking the time out to help me man :slight_smile:

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#6

You should always have a slag gun in hand. At the difficulty you are at right now, slag doubles your damage, so it is the equivalent of having your main hand gun twice… But, that is only assuming you apply slag, it does not include the damage your slag gun deals. And it also doesn’t include the fact that some of your bonuses from gear and skills only apply to one of your hand, which is detrimental to your damage output.

You should think of your off hand gun as utility: it should slag, heal (like the Rubi), give you crit bonus, etc… anything to help you outside of Just dealing damage… Bonus points if it does all of them (like for example, the Rubi or the grog nozzle)

So right off the bat, having a slag gun is always better… And once you get to UVHM, slag triples damage, so it gets even better.

As for your weapons right now, the Rubi is a thousand times better indeed.

I suggest that instead of looking for the best gun you can possibly have right now, you try everything you find for at least 10 minutes. That way, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what works, what doesn’t and why.

If you don’t have a slag Rubi or anything similar, I suggest you off-hand a fast weapon with high elemental chances, Like an SMG. And you should main hand the biggest, meanest, most powerful automatic gun (So no Jakobs) you can find (which usually means shotguns, but there are exceptions)

Good luck! :slight_smile:

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#7

This can’t be said often enough! It’s basically the key to unlock all the secrets in the Borderlands.

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#8

Thanks for sharing! I’m currently at a state where I’ve capped at lvl 50 in Arid Nexus, and I’m about to turn in the Lady FIst quest, my dilemma here is that my only slag weapon is https://gyazo.com/f0eb85da782e9c497a7cec25d8687686
and everything else at my disposal
https://gyazo.com/6d75aab2db1f4802792e0e20b68ef929
https://gyazo.com/4c40ace720fc2d3983b3ae113a392acc
https://gyazo.com/86eefd8fc70303f19d122ed0262f92b7
https://gyazo.com/516f43ec9318de3745046d7574997698

So I have 2 shock weapons (Rubi and Bitch)
and 0 “serious” slag weapons. Do I farm this quest for a slag Lady Fist?
What are my go to on/off hand for what I have at my disposal to finsh TVHM?

#9


That is my only “high elemental chance” besides my Shock Rubi, but I’m guessing the Fire Rate makes it worthless for where I’m supposed to be?

#10

If I were to farm for a slag Lady Fist, what would be my secondary, and what hand would each be in?

#11

But if you wanna skip the learning part, you can always check out @Chuck80’s Deputy Sal build. It’s a beast! It’s also one of the best builds I’ve seen here.

The Lady Fist has an 800 % crit bonus that will also affect your offhand weapon. If you decide to go in that direction, you can pretty much use any gun, as long as you score crits. If you go for another pistol, you’ll also chew through your ammo quickly.

#12

If you’ve not done so now might be the time to hit the loot train, aka Marcus Saves Mercenary Day (its official title I believe). At level 50 all loot on the loot train will be on level and offers a variety of gear- class coms, shields, relics, the occasional head or eridium stack and of course, weapons of all types. Just be careful not to gain too many levels in TVHM- enemies in UVHM scale to your level or slightly higher and level 50 weapons will only last so long… As for the Rubi, it’s used more for healing than for doing damage so regardless of element (slag being preferred of course), it should be used as the off hand weapon for most Sal builds…

#13

I think some explanation about weapon types here is worth it in order to offer an adequate choice. A Rubi and a Dart are such fundamentally different weapons it’s not really possible to make a comparison about which is better (though if forced to sell one I too would ultimately keep the Rubi).

So, Darts are grouped with Spikers (not spiders, go away autocorrect) in being e-tech pistols, which behave differently to all other pistols. Darts have a low fire rate and like other e-tech weapons they don’t give critical hits (but can have greater base damage).

Crucially, they fire projectiles which home in on any enemy in your crosshairs and explode on impact. If there’s no enemy around the bullet moves in a straight line and then ricochets off surfaces. Spikers projectiles don’t home in, but instead stick to surfaces before exploding. They also have a higher fire rate.

I like both these kinds for slag, especially Spikers, especially with not-Salvador, because the delay between impact and detonation means you get the full slag duration after you’ve switched weapons (or got some Deception time as Zer0). But the homing capability of Darts can be seriously neat when tackling airborne foes like surveyors.

Long story short, Darts aren’t to everyone’s taste, but they have their uses (I’ll tag @Adabiviak here as he opened my eyes to them) and are really worth understanding mechanically.

As for the Rubi, it’s a great gun, and Maliwan in general are the manufacturer to go for when it comes to elements (plus there’s the healing).

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#14

The bandit pistol seems like a nice pick for now, you can farm the lady fist for a slag one if you want, but I wouldn’t spend an hour on it. That Harold is seriously underleveled, you should have sold it a long time ago.

The rest of your guns are underleveled too. A level 50 white gun would be better than a level 42 legendary. Don’t get too attached. As soon as you find something decent of a higher level, don’t hesitate to switch.

I would keep the bandit slag pistol and the rubi for now as they have benefits out of their level. And I would sell the rest. Just visit vending machines until you find a nice torgue or Hyperion shotgun in green or above, and go with that.

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#15

I’ll definitely have to get the DLC, I only have the Pirate one atm. Thanks!

#16

I was able to solo Warrior with Rubi’s and Ricochet Fibber, I went and grabbed a slag Lady after I finished.
I’m guessing now I can get rid of the other slag pistol and just run Lady/Rubi for now?
What should I keep an eye out for starting UVHM?
Hornet/Thunderball Fists worth farming?

And which shield is better for where I’m at? Liar’s Shelf UHVM


Thanks!

#17

Please tell me this is worth keeping, I always get hot and bothered running into a powerful Vladof for some reason.

#18

@hattieinduni makes a good point about the pistols, and you may still be at a level where the splash-only damage of the E-Tech pistols isn’t overly diminished. Salvador’s real tanking ability is generally due to nursing off a Moxxi weapon, and I think the Rubi is second only to the near-invincibility of the Grog Nozzle, so if you had to pick between the two, I’d use the Rubi.

You need to get your hands on the target dummy and do some live fire tests. That gun seems fine to me, but I’d have to see it in action and in the context of your other weapons. Really, if that gun is as fun to use as you describe and it kills things, what else do you need? Even if it’s weaker than another weapon, if you like using it and it works, don’t let us talk you out of it.

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#19

Go with the adaptive shield for now- in UVHM even a baby bullymong would laugh at the damage from a level 34 FotF while killing you. Put it in your bank to save fro a new character or use it to farm nova shield challenges in normal…

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#20

Yes

NOTHING is worth farming before end-level :stuck_out_tongue:

That FotF is WAAAAYYYY underleveled

And as a general rule, Adaptive shields are the best pick for Sal :slight_smile:

Good Torgue and Hyperion shotguns, good Vladof and Torgue pistols, New adaptive shields, Renegade, War Dog, Hoarder and Berserker COMs. Vladofand Torgue ARs, Vladof e-tech rocket launchers. Bandit and Tediore shotguns are also ok.

Yeah, that’s pretty good :slight_smile:

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