Zer0 the Forgotten

Borderlands 2 Zer0 the Assassin
#1

Hi guys. A lot of you may have seen my Axton the Neglected post, well I have some news for you. Almost as forgotten as him is Zer0. My Zer0 has completed TVHM, and is level 50. I have been putting off starting UVHM purely because of how much of a nightmare the ending of TVHM was. I’ll post my build now, but be aware that I am going to respec to get Kunai, as I understand it’s more important in UVHM until i’m higher level.

Using a Legendary Hunter COM (level 43 so +4 to the skills), the build is:

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Please make Zer0 fun for me guys, I can feel the potential when I play, and i’ve seen all the amazing videos people put up of him making endgame stuff a laughing stock. I just really want to get him to 72 so I can start enjoying all that goodness!

Gear he has: Corrosive Evisceration Rubi, Law, Corrosive Barking Jericho, Fire Hyperion Plasma Caster, a standard blue adaptive shield (with the Love Thumper and Order shield in the backpack) and a cooldown relic. Everything is underleveled because I was meleeing with him, so I know I need to replace a lot of the actual guns (and not the melee guns).

#2

Zero is a lot of fun. I had the most satisfaction leveling him up solo, compared to other characters. Mostly due to how strict his gameplay is. He’s already OP8 now, and the DP runs were solo too.

Do you have the DLCs? Get a Rapier from Scarlett DLC. It’s not too far in the DLC. You can run it on lower modes too, as the 200% bonus is constant.

As you may already know, you need to get a melee shield after few levels (doesn’t have to be unique/legendary/seraph), combined with a regular low fuse tesla grenade, maybe around 4-5 levels if you can find something good. Get a comfortable farming spot or go fight Tinder Snowflake if you have the DLC.

As for the guns to fire in between Deception, just get whatever suits you, as long as they’re not underleveled. I still remember taking a Lascaux at Frostburn Canyon in every few levels, it’s amazing in close range.

Also yeah, definitely get Kunai first, and get a reliable slag gun since your Rubi is corrosive.

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#3

Yes I do, I have The Handsome Collection. I will go and grab a Rapier on another character’s TVHM (so it’s level 50). Is it worth farming the reward for a Slag version?

I do love the Lascaux, it’s helped me with every character I have at 72 since it’s so easy to replace every couple of levels. Also the Gwen’s Head!

I do have a Slag Rubi on my Axton that I could use I guess?

#4

Good then. It’s up to you to farm or not. Sometimes the slag helps but you won’t use the Rapier mainly for the slag.

Oh yeah, I remember that gun as good as I remember its spawn points. I don’t. lol

If it has a blade, then definitely use it. If not, just find a good slag gun. Use the Rubi mainly for healing. And you will want a bladed Grog for later levels, especially for the Peak, find some people to trade with if you don’t have one.

Forgot to add, the tesla grenade has to be either longbow or lobbed since both homing and rubberized don’t land on your feet. Lightning Bolt from TTAoDK also works, and might be easier to find. Chain Lightning is the best but leave it for the Peak since farming it is a pain. And for the magic grenades, I warn you of their shock damage over time. Probably why I didn’t use them when leveling since finding a Grounded melee shield is very hard.

#5

I could say spec to Kunai and get the feel of it first.

Do you want to melee? Altair has a nice guide about leveling a melee Zer0 from UVHM ownards.
Gunplay would problably be easier, thou.

#6

I have used Kunai before, albeit a long time ago. I’ll sort him out. Once I finish TVHM with Axton, i’ll switch over to Zer0 (after maybe using Maya to grab him a Rapier)

#7

Unless, you are using a Gun Zer0, grabbing MMF first is generally preferred for Melee Zer0. I think your current spec is pretty good. Use of a Leg Hunter is also pretty nice for the Cooldown Bonus and buff to Fast Hands. I recommend grabbing a Ninja Com (either +5 BS, +4RS, +4 KB OR +6 BS, +5RS/KB) as a complement as well.

As others have suggested, grab and Rapier from Pirate’s Booty. While you are doing the Pirate’s DLC also grab a Slag Pimpernel to serve as your slagging tool. You can also do the ‘Grendel’ sidequest to farm for a Blue Ninja Mod. Your Corrosive Rubi should serve you well enough for healing purposes (I used a fire one while levelling). Pre-OP levels Resurgence is also a pretty good form of health regen.

What you currently need is probably a strong weapon to perform as a second-wind tool. The fire Hyperion PC is okay but far from ideal. And don’t recommend the Jericho at all. You definitely need a weapon with high burst damage for this. In UVHM, I primarily used Rocket Launchers, Tediore PC (the reload), Hyperion Shotties or Harold for this purpose. The latter should be an easy enough farm.

Shieldwise, you are likely gonna have to strategize when to pick up your Order (preferably near the end of your playthrough). You probably want to save the Love Thumper for end game given that getting a Hide of Terra can be pretty difficult. The primary reason why Melee Zer0 is more difficult to level is because of his shield specificity. He basically only utilizes Roid Shields and you ideally want one with a decently long recharge delay for your MMF chains. When levelling my Melee Zer0, I primarily farmed the Snowman or did good ol’ vendor farming in Sanctuary(which was very boring but surprisingly effective). You probably need to change your Roid Shield every 2-3 levels. IIIRC the Thousand Cuts Mission (The Once and Future Slab) has a guaranteed Roid Shield as the quest reward.

Grenade wise, you want a longbow or lobbed tesla with a low fuse time (preferably 0.7 or below). The rarity is not important so long it has sufficient strength to break your Roid Shield. Take note that you need to constantly upgrade your Tesla throughout the playthrough as you get higher level Roid Shields as well.

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#8

Thank you for the in depth advice.

I assume that, because i’m using it primarily as a slagging tool, if I grab a level 50 one before going to UVHM will be fine?

The gear I have is just what i’ve picked up while playing, none of it is there because I think it’s good particularly. I have various Harolds on mules at various levels ranging from 50 up to OP8, so I can keep him stocked up on that. I could also farm Terra in TVHM as a different character so he starts out with a Hide, would you recommend that, or is it not worth the effort given it’ll useless after a few levels?

#9

The hide is so incredibly rare and definitely not worth it. If you want to start with a high quality roid then grab a Love Thumper. But the chances of a hide don’t justify farming it until you really need that damage kick. Focus on getting yourself the slag weapon.

Oh and Good Touch quickly became my go to gun while leveling.

#10

I’ve farmed this Rubi forever and finally get a bladed one but it’s Shock. Should I keep going for a slag one?

#11

If you get a slag pimp it is not required as you’ll slag with the pimp anyway.

#12

So i’m about ready to start, before I do, am I better off spec’d into MMF or Kunai? I know in 7 levels time or so I can have both but for now?

#13

Finally got one :slight_smile:

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#14

If you are going melee, MMF. Gunplay, Kunais.

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#15

Different people different opinion. You either take kunai or MMF. Personally, Kunai and play some guns in between. But if you want to go pure melee, go get MMF and have the better, harder challenge.

#16

I’m resurrecting this because I think it’s about time my Zer0 moved on from level 50! I’m in UVHM, just meeting Hammerlock. Build is below:

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Gear-wise, he has a slag Rubi, Twister, DPUH and a shock Dahl Flying Plasma Caster. Blue adaptive shield, Legendary Hunter COM (have no others at the moment but will be changing it as soon as I do), lobbed storm front and a generic resistance relic.

Firstly how does the build so far look for UVHM?

#17

Can i start by asking if you still plan on playing a melee Zero? as if yes i would definitely move the skill points from Sniping tree into Bloodshed tree as skills like Killing blow should be on any Zero, even sniper Zero, then taking Iron hand to get to Backstab, than Execute and Followthrough. Bore is a great skill but generally taken last when using up your last skill points for melee Zero.

#18

Actually i’ve had some trouble with melee zer0 in UVHM, I think i’m just not great at it. So I moved to a gun setup which uses Deception to get the Kunai on enemies and then use my shotgun to take them out, it seems slightly more reliable in UVHM for me.

#19

Ok, still grab Killing blow for finishing off enemies when you have points to spare. Melee Zero can be a tough nut to crack. Positional awareness is a key for him and practice, map and enemy memorisation from where the barrels are to the enemy you want to prioritize and so on. @bew_ is doing a gearless melee Zero playthrough at the moment and it’s a great example of patience and positional awareness, great for any class really, he also has a build [BUILD] Naked Ninja OP8 Melee with some great vids if you want to see melee Zero’s full potential, maybe for your future Zero? I’ve played a shotgun based Zero making use of the One shot One kill skill, and that Twister you got is great for Zero. Have you learned a bit more about Kunai?

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#20

I absolutely want to try melee Zer0 at maximum level, I just think the getting there is the part I want to just get through, if that makes sense. At least in my opinion he’s one of the harder ones to use while leveling, and has amazing potential once you get there.

I have used it before, remembered it being pretty amazing so decided it was borderline essential for UVHM. The ins and outs maybe not so much, i’m always happy to be educated :slight_smile:

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