Not sure if I’ll get a response at this point, but it’s worth a try. I recently got the urge to play again, so I re-downloaded the game. Unfortunately, I’m running into a bit of an issue with Athena: I have no idea what to do with her. I was originally going to try a Melee build, but some research made it clear that Athena can’t go full facetank melee like Zer0, and if I’m shooting at all, I’ll forget to melee, so that’s out. This leaves a Phalanx/Ceraunic Storm build, but even that can go so many ways. I’ve looked at a few of the builds here, but nothing has really caught my interest. The build im currently looking at is this:
As far as weapons, I’ve defaulted to SMGs in every game in this series, and TPS hasn’t been any different. I’ve been liking the Hyperion SMGs for accuracy under sustained fire, especially given that Athena can’t ADS while her shield is up. A Hyperion Laser with the Dahl barrel could probably fill the same role, but I haven’t seen one yet, and I’m not sure how one would compare to an equivalent SMG. I also don’t really click with Shotguns, and I never Slam.
Under normal circumstances, if I didn’t know what to do with a character, I’d just leave them be. However, I really like Athena as a character, and the game seems to make the most sense with her as the Vault Hunter, so I really want to have a good endgame build for her. I’m just completely lost on how to build her.
Her hybrid playstyle is really good and is the easiest playstyle to level up with IMO. So if you don’t like it that’s fine, but if you can get used to meleeing each enemy before you shoot, I think that would be your best option. Especially since you don’t like Shotguns.
And on Shotguns, Athena absolutely loves them. Probably more than any character in TPS. This mainly stems from how Maelstrom works, and how no other weapon class really even tries to compete.
Weapons - I’d also recommend a Torrent or Meat Grinder in fire and/or shock. Both are easy farms and some of the best SMGs Athena has access to. And any Fridgia to freeze UBAs, even a level 15 Tediore grip one is fine.
Shield - The best capacity Turtle shield you can find. The rest of the stats don’t matter because you’ll be using Conduit to keep it charged.
COM - The Femme Fatale com I put in the build link. Or maybe ever a Celestial Gladiator, but personally I don’t like it.
Grenade - The best tesla grenade you find. This is a must and will vastly improve your Maelstrom stacking, Conduit proccing, and general lethality. But a good delivery system and a good rarity will beat out damage any day on Athena, as you want the grenade for utility purposes. So a level 50 Longbow/0.0 fuse/purple tesla will beat a level 59 Homing/2.1 fuse/blue tesla.
Oz Kit - For leveling, nothing really beats a Bomber Oz kit on her for the free grenades while airborne. Just jump and throw, and I already told you why grenades are good. If you need the comfort zone the 3DD1.E gives you, then go ahead, but I’d recommend against it.
General tips
Make really good use of ‘Storm Weaving’. It is the core of every gun based Athena and should be up 97% of the time in combat. There’s really no way around it.
Don’t be afraid to throw your shield early. The 5 Zeus’ Rage storms it creates on the enemies it just stunned will easily give you 200-350 Maelstrom stacks.
Don’t over think Conduit. Your grenades, Smite, and Zeus’ Rage will take care of it during general mobbing, along with whatever shock DoTs your guns create during normal usage.
Hope it helps. And if you change your mind about the hybrid platstyle or shotguns let me know.
Athena definitely can go full face tank. Her shield makes even more possible. She also has good health regen if you have a couple enemies bleeding and have the skill that gives you health when they are bleeding. Plus her other regen skill. She can be a good tank character. I actually played that way with her for awhile, its fun
I suppose I should mention: I don’t have an issue with Shotguns specifically. The reason they don’t really click with me is because you generally have to get close to use them effectively, and I’m a mid-range player. It’s the same in every game I play.
Also, I’m not limiting myself to SMGs. It’s just that no other weapon types have really caught my interest. I’m certainly willing to give other weapon types a try, but so far, SMGs have done everything I need, so I’d need a little direction on what would be worth picking up instead.
Well first I’ll start off with, Athena’s class name is ‘The Gladiator’. Which are typically well know for their close quarters fighting style, and probably plays into why she likes shotguns so much. Next CS Athena’s favorite mobbing weapon is a Practicable Hyperion Thinking shotgun, which has a respectable 76.5 max accuracy, which is effective at close to mid range.
But these tend to be hard to find while leveling, making the hybrid playstyle more favorable as it has a more varied weapon pool it likes.
She also clicks with a few other weapons, especially lasers, and you can find the entire community made list here.
Here’s some example footage of the ranges an Athena with a Thinking is comfortable at.
I ended up using a purple Rainbow Hologram classmod with +5 Overload +4Superconductor and +4 Flash Freeze from the Holodome. It also boosts Electrocute Damage, Incendiary Damage, and Slam Damage.
Weapons I use.
Hellfire, Shock and Cryo Glitched Practicable Thinking, Shock Badabook.
Other Gear I use.
Black Hole shield, Stormfront grenade, and the Oxidizer Oz kit.
So, I’ve been working on my Nisha, since I want at least 1 max level character, and she was both the closest and the easiest. However, I’ve still been considering what to do with Athena, as that’s my next project. A couple of thoughts have occurred to me, and I’d like some input.
Cannoness. I know I said I don’t like Shotguns, but I also wasn’t big on Tediore before I started a Tediore Commando, so I’m tempted to run a Cannoness just to force myself to get used to them. I have checked out the Deputy Athena thread, and while I’m not big on the gear used in the OP, I do like the gear in the video in the last post. However, while the build looks solid, I can’t help but wonder how it performs against EOS and RK5. Both bosses are out of range of both Blood Rush and the Flakker, so I don’t know how the build would deal with them. Just use the Flayer and hope?
Femme Fatale. I know and like SMGs, so this would let me stick with what I know. However, the only build on here that uses it is a mobbing build, and has to switch gear for bosses. I generally prefer to not switch gear at all, but I’m worried that the Femme Fatale is really only good for mobbing. Would it be possible to make a build using a Femme Fatale COM that can do both, or is the COM not that good for bosses?
It’s interesting how you’re using slightly different gears, especially that shock HSG and Rainbow Hologram COM.
I’m just wondering, if you’re using HSG as one of your two main weapons, wouldn’t you want to especially boost Unrelenting? After all, the HSGs’ true strength lies in its synergy with the insane fire rate given by Unrelenting, and not to mention, they raise and drop painfully slowly without it
Also, I didn’t update the original build (I really should), but try out the Asteroid Belt shield and Quasar. It’s hella fun and actually works really, really well with this build.
It’s nice to see you still sticking with Hellfire + Oxidizer. It’s a seriously underrated beauty of a combo!
