Bouncing Bullet Barrage [Build Guide] (lv. 50 -- OP6)

Borderlands 2 Gaige the Mechromancer
#1

Hello and welcome!

  • Do you like running into mobs of enemies with your guns ablazing?

  • Does causing general chaos on the battlefield make you giggle?

  • Does an endless storm of bullets bouncing EVERYWHERE, killing EVERYTHING, and demolishing EVERYONE sound like fun?

If you answered YES to the above questions, then this might just be the build for you!

  • The weapons and skills in this build come together and turn Gaige into chaotic storm of bullets that can just annihilate enemies. This build is not reliant on using Death Trap, but instead focuses on hard hitting DPS. There are specific pieces of gear required for this build, but more on that later. First, I’ll explain the playstyle I use to help give you a better picture of what to expect…

PLAYSTYLE

  • Basically, you’re making yourself a human bouncing betty. You see an enemy, you open fire and don’t stop until they’re all dead. It’s for playing from mid-range mostly, but as you increase your Anarchy stacks you can hammer enemies in closer quarters. Longer range requires a more careful approach, but thankfully the fixed firing pattern of your main weapon makes adjusting a little easier. Otherwise you’re never stationary; always strafing, hopping around, and shooting from every angle you can. Thanks to a couple of skills, cover hardly poses a problem as you can bounce your bullets EVERYWHERE. Main elemental focus is, of course, shock but corrosive is also going to play a role here. Non-elemental and explosive are gonna be your backups.

#SKILLS
Now lets have a look at the skill trees and what points we’re going to be using.

Here is what it is going to look like:
—> [THE BUILD]
(http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#553002000500550003040500414050051050)

###BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

  • Close Enough [5/5] - Although this skill gives our bullets some damage reduction; the ricochet effect is what counts. This skill helps you to hit enemies behind cover and around corners. It also helps compensate for your loss of accuracy due to Anarchy.
  • Cooking Up Trouble [5/5] - Thanks to our primary weapons, this skill is ALWAYS active. This skill has kept me from hitting FFYL several times thanks to constant regeneration.
  • *Fancy Mathmatics [3/5] - For those rare moments you need to seek shelter, this helps get your shield back up and going faster while your health is regenerating.
  • Potent As A Pony [2/5] - The 2 points here, giving us 8% extra health, is strictly for Blood Soaked Shields. The 8% counterbalances the 5% that BSS takes.
  • Made of Sterner Stuff [5/5] - If the class mod didn’t boost this skill, I wouldn’t have spec’d into it. Normally at its max it only offers a meager 5%, but with the class mod it doubles to 10%. Paired with a Blockade shield, it offers good defense.

*[OPTIONAL]: I have experimented by swapping Fancy Mathmatics for Unstoppable Force, but with Blood Soaked Shields Unstoppable Force seems overshadowed. I have also gone 5/5, cutting out Potent As a Pony, in either Unstoppable Force or Fancy Mathmatics. The above setup is just what seemed most efficient and effective to me, but if you prefer the other skills then use them. They work just as well in this build.

###LITTLE BIG TROUBLE

  • More Pep [5/5] - Increases your chances of applying DoT to enemies who don’t go down easily. This also helps increase your chance of activating Electrical Burn for even more DoT.
  • Myelin [5/5] - More shield capacity is always good and the added resistance to shock damage helps keep your shield in tact.
  • Electrical Burn [3/5] - An added 12% chance to cause fire DoT on top of shock DoT? Yes please! We want to inflict as much damage as we can even if our shots are missing their mark.
  • Evil Enchantress [4/5] - More kills means more power. More power means more kills. This helps ensure we’re maxing out every kind of damage we can inflict.
  • Wires Don’t Talk [5/5] - Our staple skill for making shock our most potent element. (Boosting a 15% increase to a 30% increase thanks to the COM)

###ORDERED CHAOS

  • Smaller, Lighter, Faster [4/4] - This is maxed simply because we have to in order to get further down the tree. And it’s also why we can only use a specific class mod.
  • Anarchy [1/1] - Staple skill in boosting our damage. The accuracy loss isn’t much of bother thanks to the fixed firing pattern of our weapon and a few other skills.
  • *Preshrunk Cyberpunk [4/5] - I find that a max amount of 350 stacks deals more than enough damage and the accuracy loss is still somewhat manageable.
  • Blood Soaked Shields [5/5] - Our main shield skill to keep our defenses up while engaged in this chaotic style of play. The health sacrifice is easily overlooked thanks to PAaP and Cooking Up Trouble.
  • Typecast Iconoclast [5/5] - Speeds up our ability to build up stacks. This is a must have since we have a perpetually full magazine clip and kills are our only source for stacks.
  • Rational Anarchist [1/1] - Again, a leg up in gaining stacks. Why settle for one when you can start with twenty-five? It’s a no-brainer.
  • The Nth Degree [5/5] - Adds to the bouncing bullet theme we have going. Every 5th one ricochets towards another enemy. That’s a chance to get two-for-one kills.

*[OPTIONAL]: The minimum amount of points you want in Preshrunk Cyberpunk is two. So if you feel that four is too much, move the extra two elsewhere. I have chosen to forego using Discord as our weapons never need to be reloaded. Since we aren’t really using Death Trap, Annoyed Android and Robot Rampage aren’t super useful. Death From Above tends to stall out our ability to build up stacks. But these two points are required to reach The Nth Degree so they can’t be taken from the skill tree.

#GEAR & ITEMS

###Class Mod:
Let’s talk class mod now. The only one that allows us to pair our main weapon with all that the OC tree has to offer is the Necromancer COM with Neutral as one of its prefixes. The reason that the Neutral prefix is required is due to the skill Smaller, Lighter, Faster. The skill decreases magazine size on all weapons. And since our primary weapon only has a magazine size of 1, the skill makes it zero. But the Neutral prefix cancels out this effect, bringing our magazine’s size back to one.There are five options when it comes to the Neutral type; Chaotic, True, Evil, Lawful, and Good.
I chose the Chaotic Neutral because the Chaotic prefix gives us a fire rate bonus on top of the mandatory magazine size bonus. I chose it because this is a DPS oriented build and a high rate of fire is a key component. As far as rarity, I chose blue because of the skills boosted. I didn’t go with purple because the third skill boosted is not used in our build. (Strength of 5 Gorillas is the one not used; the other skills boosted are Wires Don’t Talk and Made of Sterner Stuff)

###Relic:
Since our weapon inventory consists of mostly one type, I went with The Sheriff’s Badge. It increases pistol damage, pistol fire rate, and FFYL time. The increases to our pistol stats is our main focus here because, again, this adds to our DPS which is the backbone here.

An alternative is an E-Tech relic that boosts either pistol damage or elemental damage. They’re perfectly usuable if you can’t get a Sheriff’s Badge, but I’ve gotten the best results with the badge. A relic that boosts resistance is a third option, but this is an offensive build so it doesn’t bring much to the table.

###Shield:
I’ve come up with some options in regards to what shield to use. The setup is really a two-stage type of thing; starting off with one shield equipped until a certain point, then switching to a second shield for the remainder of play. Since the bonus from Anarchy has a bit to take noticeable effect, we need something to fill the gap until it does. And yes, it’s the obvious choice.

  • The Bee shield. The added damage from this shield helps to pack a punch until Anarchy can take over. Our shield skills help to keep it up no problem. Once you reach about 100+ stacks you can then switch shields.

For the second stage I have a couple of options here that all work equally well.

  • The Antagonist. Good for added bullet reflection since we’re already bouncing bullets every which way. And it helps slag enemies, which is always a plus.

  • The Blockade. Your best bet for a strong defense without sacrificing anything in return. Paired with Made of Sterner Stuff it offers very good damage resistance for those moments you’re right in the center of all the action.

  • The Black Hole. This shield changes how things go on the battlefield a bit. With its singularity effect, it’ll pull the enemies around giving your barrage of bullets an extra angle to land a hit. (Since they’re flying all over the place) And the Nova will keep your close-range combatants at bay, especially since it’s shock element. (Yay damage boost to shock!)

###Grenade Mod:
I have two options here; one is strictly for slag use and the other is standard grenade use.

  • Magic Missile (x4). This wonderful slag inducing grenade mod flows along wonderfully with our Infinity theme due to its regenerating effect. It’s also super duper when it comes to slagging enemies since we didn’t spec into Interspersed Outburst.

  • Quasar. This has a couple good uses as a grenade and a shuffling tool. It’s powerful so as to help take down tough baddies and useful in dragging enemies out of hiding. I use the Longbow prefix because I like how the mechanic of that works. And remember, the lower the fuse time, the better.

#WEAPONS
Okay, here we are at what weapons to use for this build finally. All weapons will either be shock or corrosive element. Very few will be non-elemental. And if you’re wondering about the fire element, just remember we’re spec’d into Electrical Burn. So shock equals fire. After I list all the weapons I use in the build, I’ll list some variations of what I equip in the 4 slots.

  • Infinity Pistol. This particular weapon is the whole reason behind this build. The fixed firing pattern can sometimes be tricky, but not if combined with the skills Anarchy, Close Enough, and The Nth Degree. Once you’ve acquired enough stacks the firing pattern becomes wider and takes on an alternating effect. This means it’s still firing the Infinity symbol pattern, but now there’s two patterns that it uses back and forth. This makes shooting much more predictable, compensating for Anarchy’s loss to accuracy. I keep two different ones equipped in slots 1 & 2; one shock, one corrosive. I keep a Non-elemental one in my backpack (or sometimes in slot 3) for special cases (Crystal Skeletons, UBA Shock Skags, etc.) for when neither shock or corrosive can cut it. When farming for it, try for a Vengeful or DVA prefix. Also don’t forget that you need one with a shock element and one with a corrosive element.

  • Miss Moxxi’s Kitten. This assault rifle is quite the bullet spitter with a good healing bonus. Up close it can sometimes act as a shotgun, blasting enemies away with its wall of bullets. I use this one for healing more than any other Moxxi weapon. I also use it to help diversify my ammo usage since I hardly use any other assault rifles. I have one in every available element, but I mostly use the shock one to keep on theme with Gaige’s abilities. The prefix I use is either the Swift or Rabid prefix.

  • Conference Call. Its red flavor text says it all. This weapon is great for following along with our bouncing bullet theme. Plus it’s a lot of fun to watch bullets just ping around and massacre stuff. Again, I use either shock or corrosive for this one. As for the prefix, I have both Social and Practicable.

  • Unkempt Harold. This guy is mostly used for FFYL situations or when an enemy just won’t go down. I have two different versions; a Double Penetrating Unkempt Harold and an Explicit Unkempt Harold. I tend to use the Explicit one more because it consumes less ammo. But I will use the DPUH in those moments I just want pound something flat.

  • Norfleet. At this point, I don’t really use this anymore, but I keep it in my 4th weapon slot mostly due to habit. My main build uses it for FFYL, but this build hasn’t needed it too much yet. I’ve only needed it when I’ve tested this build in higher levels. (OP levels as far 5) So I’d say use this only if you’re in the high levels playing.

  • Lead Storm. This one was pretty fun to use in more open areas and on flying targets. I kept it non-elemental and it did just fine against pretty much everything. It’s also a good stand in for when your Infinity Pistol just isn’t seeming to cut it.

###Honorable Mentions:
These are a few weapons I’ve tried out a little, but just didn’t really like. I did get some fun results with them however; i just didn’t like them as much as the ones above.

  • Madhous
  • Stinger
  • Stalker (even though it fires slow projectiles, it’s fun to shoot it in closed off areas and watch them fill the room as they bounce)
  • Lascaux
  • Rubi (I just like the Kitten better)
  • Fibber (Good ricochet effect and does more damage than the Infinity, but the Infinity is why this whole build was made)
  • Avenger (Anarchy can mess with this one’s aim a good bit, but the ammo regen and the bouncing betty effects are a plus)
  • Slagga (Using Magic Missile x4 instead so it’s not really needed)
  • Shredifier
  • Butcher (Just like the Conference Call’s effect better)

###Weapon Slot Setups:
Here are a few examples of what four weapons I equip when using this build. A lot of times, I use one setup only, but I will change if the situation calls for it.

1.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Infinity Pistol (corrosive)
Swift Kitten (shock)
Norfleet

2.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Conference Call (Corrosive)
Swift Kitten (shock)
Unkempt Harold

3.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Lead Storm (NE)
Conference Call (shock)
Rabid Kitten (Corrosive)

4.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Infinity Pistol (corrosive)
Infinity Pistol (NE)
Unkempt Harold (or Norfleet here)

5.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Infinity Pistol (corrosive)
Infinity Pistol (NE)
Swift Kitten (shock)

6.
Infinity Pistol (shock)
Conference Call (corrosive)
Swift Kitten (shock)
Lead Storm (NE)

#ALTERNATIVE SKILL TREE

So, suppose you don’t use Magic Missile or Antagonist to do your slag work for you. Or suppose you don’t have a slag weapon you want to/like to use. Instead, you usually rely on Gaige’s skill Interspersed Outburst for your slagging. While this is totally possible to incoporate, it just won’t always be ready to use since we’ll almost constantly be shooting.

—> [Alternative Build]
(http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#553002000000550003040550414050051050)

As you can see we sacrificed Made of Sterner Stuff and put them into Interspersed Outburst. Since this skill has been removed from our spec, I would be more likely to equip a Blockade as my second stage shield since I’ve removed my extra damage reduction. That would help keep my defense at a better level than the others might. (Antagonist is close 2nd though)

#FINAL THOUGHTS
This build was created so I could just run around and shoot as much as I wanted without running out of ammo. And since Gaige is my favorite, I knew I wanted to combine her abilities with the Infinity Pistol for lower level play and farming. The rest of it just fell into place and blossomed into what it is now. The challenge of only using a certain COM for a specific gun while maintaining her other skills was fun to overcome. I’ve had very much fun with this build and I hope you all enjoy using it.

##Update Added!:
HERE

8 Likes
Mechromancer Master List: Build Collection
Playing 150-250 anarchy?
What did you do in BL2 during your most recent session?
Looking for advice
What did you do in your most recent session, PT2!
What did you do in your most recent session, PT2!
#2

I found this COM in the backpack of my recently resuscitated Gaige and couldn’t remember why I had it ; but had the presence of mind to not dump it along with the other crappy gear she had.

Farming time - no mercy for Mercy!

Editorial : for the noobs, is it maybe necessary to mention that Smaller, Lighter, Faster specifically makes the Infinity useless without the COM?

4 Likes
#3

Thanks. :grinning:

I thought I had that explanation in there, but I guess I overlooked it. Fixed it now though.

2 Likes
#4

I have the necromancer com on my level 72 Gaige (and most likely OP8 Gaige as well) and while new Gaige is mainly a LBT/OC user I might give this a try. As far as your presentation the dark blue and purple on black is a little difficult for my old eyes to read easily against the black background- a different color might work better. Good job though! :grinning:

2 Likes
#5

Which blues and which purples should be changed? I think I know which ones you’re talking about, but there’s more than one of each. Point them out, if you’d be so kind, and I’ll give them a fix.

EDIT: Also, my main build I use is LBT/OC focused too. The major differences in this one and my main one is Death Trap usage, a few gear choices, and, of course, the skill trees. Even then, they aren’t spec’d too differently, but you can feel the differences as you play. But that’s also because this one is a fun build whereas my main one is for serious play.

1 Like
#6

Off-hand I’d say they were the dark purple and violet (slag, slagging, magic missile, et. al.). I can read everything else just fine, but those two colors don’t really translate well on this dark background.

2 Likes
#7

Does this translate any better?

Maybe this?

Or how about this one?

If neither work, I’ll just remove the formatting to make it easier.
Its difficult for me to tell because I can see them all perfectly on my screen. The only one that isn’t easily read for me is the one use of a blue in the class mod section. (Coincidentally it’s the word blue as well)

1 Like
#8

Looks like a solid build to me.
Have you tried the Evie on this build yet, may not be the best pistol but its effects could come in handy maybe.

2 Likes
#9

Thanks for positive feedback! If you enjoy this build, you might find my main build entertaining as well. It’s similar, but it focuses more around using the Fibber.

I haven’t dabbled with the Evie yet. There are a ton of weapons I haven’t even got to test out–or use at all! And then on the flip side there are a handful of weapons that people love using, but I can’t stand them. It took me a good long while to even begin using shotguns at all. Snipers and I have a complicated relationship and assault rifles are a rare thing for me.

But I’ll have to check out the Evie. And any other suggestions you and others may have. The Honorable Mentions doesn’t list every weapon I tested, but it isn’t missing many either.

2 Likes
#10

I’m already happy to see the Lead Storm in your build. It has a steep learning curve due to its arc and sweetspot, but it is a very good AR once you understand it.

When talking about Gaige specifically, she can handle sniper rifles surprisingly well actually.

1 Like
#11

The Lead Storm was considerably easier to figure out than the Hail. I cannot stand that gun. We just don’t work well together.

As for snipers, I started playing this game using almost only snipers. Trouble was, I was using them in the way you would in war based fps games. Mainly due to BL2 being the first game I got after having ONLY Halo to play for years. I had to put it down because I was playing all wrong. Can’t remember when it all clicked or how it all clicked, but the difference is incredible. I was such an idiot. :laughing:

3 Likes
#12

The dark blue used in the ‘Grenade Mods’ and ‘Weapon Slots’ for example- hard for me to make out unless I have a direct light source nearby. As for me, being a military vet (and having never played a FPS before) I expected AR to act like real world AR- meaning you point at something and it dies if the bullet hits it. Arcing shots, bullet splitting- WTH? :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#13

Ah, you must mean the purple. I was confused for a split second. But I have since changed the color. And one of my previous posts has a few other options if the one I changed it to doesn’t work. It doesn’t help that the background I have to work with is gray, not black, so it makes it hard to know what’s visible and what’s not.

And you must love the Fibber then. :smile:

2 Likes
#14

not gonna lie just use a ricochet infinity. op as hell. 100% ricochet damage and 100% ricochet cgance. at 400 stacks with a shock one. look at the ceiling and shoot nonstop

1 Like
#15

Unfortunately, seeing as an Infinity Pistol doesn’t spawn with that prefix or ability, that’s out of the question. This build is made with legitimate in-game guns in mind. If we were building for a gun that DOES include the ricochet effect, we’d be looking more at a Fibber or a Jakobs gun with the ‘Trick Shot’ prefix. And that would require a whole different setup in the ways of skill trees–which I also happen to have a Build for.

Good notion though, if only there were such a gun.

1 Like
#16

###Build Update: New Variations

Hey guys, Ninja here with an update on this fabulous Build! Over the course of several weeks, I have inadvertently discovered a few new variations that offer slight changes in functionality. It’s nothing major, but the difference is noticeable somewhat.

I’m sure a few of you are wondering how I “inadvertently” discovered these changes. Well, sometimes the game will undo my skill points when joining someone else’s game. And I, being the lazy person I am, didn’t use this guide to easily reassign the points. I thought I had it memorized, but clearly I didn’t and that resulted in me specc’ing into the wrong setup about four different times. So, after that I decided I should probably keep a screen-cap on hand from now on.

Now then, this update will include a few new options that weren’t previously offered in the original build. I will post each one with a brief summary about the changes in each tree.

####Variation #1

—>[HERE]
(http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#551002110500450022040500413150051050)

  • Here in the Best Friends Forever tree we see our first couple of changes. We have taken two points from Fancy Mathematics and placed them in both Upshot Robot and Unstoppable Force. This is strictly for that small speed boost and extending Death Trap’s life when in use. It is also possible to take just one point just for Upshot Robot if you don’t want to spread the points out too much.

  • In Little Big Trouble we’ve borrowed one point from More Pep and one point from Electrical Burn and placed those in Strength of 5 Gorillas. This gives him a needed melee boost so as to justify our use of Upshot Robot. The loss isn’t noticeable much and doesn’t reduce damage since these skills affect chance.

  • The Ordered Chaos tree has only one change in points. Instead of having [4/5] in Preshrunk Cyberpunk we reduced it to [3/5] and placed that extra point into Robot Rampage to coincide with our Death Trap theme.

####Variation #2:

This variation will also see the use of other weapons in our inventory. Namely our SMG, shotgun, and Assault Rifle. (mine are as follows: Avenger, Conference Call, and Kitten) I have also begun toying with the use of a sniper once at max stacks and while using Discord. The sniper I’ve been using is the Lyuda.

—> [HERE]
(http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550022010500550002140500413050151050)

  • This time, in the Best Friends Forever tree we’ve swapped a few things around. First we’ve again invested a point into Unstoppable Force for the boost in movement speed since Blood Soaked Shields is our primary shield skill. Next, we’ve taken the two points from Fancy Mathematics and switched them over to The Better Half to give us a little boost to our DPS. This skill will come into play more with the use of our other weapons. occasionally it will proc when using the Infinity, but it’s rare and doesn’t last long.

  • In the Little Big Trouble tree we borrowed one point from Electrical Burn and placed it in Shock and AAAGGGGHHH! for the times we are reloading with our other weaponry. As always, remember to watch out for barrels and other explosives because this skill can trigger them and sometimes kill you.

  • For Ordered Chaos we only borrowed one point from Preshrunk Cyberpunk and invested into Discord to protect our stacks from accidental reloads. This is also for when you’ve found yourself at max stack count and need to intentionally lower them and/or emergency healing from the use of Blood Soaked Shields.

3 Likes