Hi there, i’m a relative newcomer to this forums, here to present to you a personal favourite build of mine ever since the Unofficial Community Patch 3.0 came up. Huge thanks to @shadowevil1996 and everyone else who worked on making the patch a reality.
So, this build is a Shock/DoT focused mobbing mayhem focused on the LBT tree, with slight nods to DeathTrap
It is a complete monster at mobbing, capable of taking down even loaders with ease. However, do take note, this build suffers against enemies who resist DoTs, such as elemental mobs, constructors and certain bosses.
Here’s a pic of the build, with a link to the build calculator in case the picture doesn’t render properly.
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#500140150541550005150521410150100000
#Skill Description
Close Enough [5/5] - This skill is very important for every Gaige build, helping you hit enemies without having to be too accurate. Even though this build doesn’t rely on Anarchy, it still benefits a lot from having this skill.
Buck Up [1/1] - This ability wasn’t the greatest, but with the UCP changes, it becomes pretty decent.
- UCP gave this skill a 15% increase in shield capacity in addition to it’s previous effect. This shield capacity increase is important because the shields we are using don’t have the best capacity.
The Better Half [4/5] - Filler points. This skill does help a little with pumping out bullets, but only when the magazine is at half or less, and most of our guns don’t have a big capacity.
Upshot Robot [1/1] - Nods to our bestie DeathTrap.
Unstoppable Force [1/1] - Blood Soaked Shields does somewhat negate half of this ability, but it does still help with tanking. Plus, the movement speed is always handy.
Made of Sterner Stuff [5/5] - Some tankiness for our lovely Gaige and DeathTrap.
- UCP quadrupled the damage reduction and doubled DeathTrap’s melee damage, which is nice.
20% Cooler [4/5] - DeathTrap is bae. We love DeathTrap and want him up as often as possible.
Sharing is Caring [1/1] - DeathTrap likes shields too.
- UCP added 25% shield capacity/recharge rate to the capstone, which is great.
More Pep [5/5] - Since we’re running a DoT build, we need all the elemental effect chance we can get.
- UCP also doubled the chance of this skill, so… great skill.
Myelin [5/5] - With the gear we’re running, there’s a good chance you deal Shock damage to yourself. This skill, along with Made of Sterner Stuff helps deal with the damage. The shield capacity you get is nice too.
Electrical Burn [5/5] - This skill is what makes Shock/DoT Gaige so damn good. Shocking people inflicts Burn too?! YES PLEASE!
- The amount of Burn Damage is based on the Electrocute damage dealt, this is important. I’ll explain later.
Shock and “AAAGGGHHH!” [1/1] - More Shock sources, what’s not to like?
- UCP added 25% reload speed to this skill, double the fun!
Evil Enchantress [5/5] - Apart from the obvious boost to our DoTs, Elemental Effect damage increases synergises extremely well with Electrical Burn.
- Any Electrocute damage we inflict is boosted up, which increases the amount of Burn damage. This Burn damage is again boosted by Elemental Effect damage increases, effectively doubling the effectiveness of such boosts.
Wires Don’t Talk [5/5] - More Shock damage is great. If only the percentage was a bit higher tho, 15% is a tad low for a 5 point investment.
- GUESS WHAT? YEP, UCP UPPED THE PERCENTAGE! 3% per point to 5% per point, not a big increase, but it’s a neutral damage, so any increase is fantastic.
Interspersed Outburst [2/5] - Now the points to this skill is not necessary in the slightest, with your weapons you have more than enough slag choices. I put my extra 2 points into this simply because the Legendary Catalyst Class Mod boosted this skill, so i thought, “why not?”
- Alternatives to this skill is to put the points in the Game Changers - Explosive Clap, The Stare or One Two Boom
or
Maxing out The Better Half and/or 20% Cooler
Make it Sparkle [1/1] - With this skill, DeathTrap does get the potential to deal quite a bit of damage. However, more often than not DeathTrap is going to be in slag form, which isn’t optimal. But hey, at least he can slag for us.
- UCP added 30% Elemental Effect chance and damage, which is the main reason we’re getting this.
Smaller Light Faster [4/4] - Reload speed is handy, especially with synergy with Shock and “AAAGGGHHH!” if anything else.
Anarchy [1/1] - Filler point. Anarchy is uneeded in our build, but we need to put a point to advance in this tree. That being said, Anarchy is our crutch against the DoT resistant enemies, so i don’t feel it’s a waste at all.
Robot Rampage [1/1] - One of the best DeathTrap skills, since we have points in this tree, no point not getting this. It’s a great point investment.
Blood Soaked Shields [5/5] - This is the reason we are putting points in the Ordered Chaos tree. This is where a lot of our survivability comes from, and has great synergy with shields that requires being up.
Discord [1/1] - Since we already put so many points in the Ordered Chaos tree, might as well spare a point for this ability.
#Gear
#Weapons
###Slagga
The best slagging tool in existence for gaige. This is the number one reason we take Close Enough over the alternative. Just shoot at the floor of the general direction of enemies and everything will be slagged.
Best Parts - Maliwan or Bandit Grip, Hyperion stock, Bulets Go Fasterifed prefix.
###Slow Hand / Grog Nozzle
You are almost impossible to kill with a DoT build and moxxi weapons at op8, since the damage you deal is so much more than the health you have. Practically the only way you die is if you kill yourself.
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The Slow Hand with the practicable prefix is a much better weapon for slagging, making it so that you don’t have to swap weapons at all if using grenades.
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The Grog Nozzle has a better swap speed, and a much higher heal percentage, making it better for quick “heal and swap” shenanigans. The Grog also has a very low reload speed, and together with it’s heal, makes it the perfect weapon for Shock and “AAAGGGHHH!”
Best Parts:
Slow Hand - Hyperion grip, Hyperion stock, Practicable prefix.
Grog Nozzle - Maliwan Grip, Binary prefix.
###Storm / Chulainn / Volcano / Hellfire / Infection
These are all Maliwan weapons with high DoT damage and chance, nothing much else to say in that regard.
Something interesting to take note of, is that splash damage counts as a separate source of damage from the bullet, meaning that most Maliwan shots have two chances to inflict elemental effects.
- The Storm’s special orbs each have a chance to shock, making this one of, if not the best, weapon to inflict Electrocution.
- The Chulainn only has 1 chance to inflict Electrocution per shot, because it shoots slag bullets with a shock splash. However, the chance to shock is considerably higher, and there’s also the slag function built into this gun, making it so you don’t have to swap gear or use grenades to slag.
- The Infection with a binary prefix, shoots out 2 bullets, which both have their individual splash damage, making it so that every time you shoot, there’s 4 chances of applying Corrosion.
Best Parts:
Storm - Maliwan grip, Dahl stock, Banbury prefix.
Chulainn - Maliwan grip, Hyperion stock
Volcano - Maliwan grip, Dahl stock, Banbury prefix.
Hellfire - Maliwan gip, Hyperion stock, Impetious prefix.
Infection - Maliwan grip, Double prefix.
###Twister
This is our backup weapon for enemies who resist DoTs. One of the best weapons in the game, and just so happens to be perfect for Shock Gaige, AND works great with Anarchy too, what a stroke of luck.
Best Parts - Jakobs grip, Hyperion Stock, Rustler’s prefix
##Honorable Mentions
###Slow Hand
Why is the Slow Hand mentioned twice, and even put on the you ask? Well the first time was to showcase the slagging ability of this weapon, which is top tier. This time, we are showcasing the extremely high chance of inflicting other Elemental Effects. With the Practicable prefix, this gun shoots out 3 pellets with 100% splash only damage, and thus has 3 chances to inflict elemental effects. The huge splash AoE, coupled with the extremely high chance to inflict elemental effects, makes it so that every time you shoot, you are almost guaranteed to inflict an elemental effect.
So why is this gun in the honorable section then? Well the downside of this gun is that the elemental effect damage is not very high. That doesn’t matter for slagging, since you either slag enemies or don’t, but for dealing DoT damage, there are better guns. What you can do with the Slow Hand, is you take a Shock Variant, and pair it up with The Transformer shield do deal damage and heal your shield at the same time.
###Commerce
This is a gem from the community patch. Like the Maliwan guns, it has a high shock DoT and chance. Unlike the Maliwan guns, this weapon doesn’t have splash, but in exchange has a pretty high chance to inflict Electrocution (more than double of the Hellfire). The damage and shock chance are both slightly higher than the chulainn, but keep in mind the chulainn also slags for you.
Best Parts - Maliwan grip, Hyperion stock, Corporate prefix.
#Classmod
###Legendary Catalyst
Everything about this Class Mod is amazing for a DoT Gaige build, from the stats to the boosted skills. Interspersed Outburst is the only skill that feels a little out of place, and even that skill helps to slag for us, allowing us to not have to rely on swapping weapons or using slag grenades all the time.
#Grenades
###Chain Lightning
This is my personal favourite. This grenade mod sports the highest amount of Electrocution per second, by almost double of the next highest afaik. You don’t need to aim, it auto-looks for enemies, and it even regenerates ammo! What’s not to like?
###Storm Front / Fire Bee / Pandemic
The best grenade mods in the game for spreading out DoTs to big, slow enemies. Fire and Corrosive variants are for Shock-resistant enemies and element matching for maximum damage against big bosses.
###Slag Crossfire / Magic Missile
Some Slag choices if you decide to primarily use guns to deal damage, so you can reliably slag enemies having to swap around.
#Shields
- It is important to have a grounded prefix if you are primarily using Chain Lightning, or weapons that can damage you, like the Thunderball Fists or a Shock Slow Hand.
- If you plan on using Shock and “AAAGGGHHH”! or Weapons, then you want a Pangolin Capacitor where it’s possible, to take full advantage of Blood Soaked Shields
###Grounded Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Boy am i glad this shield exists. With the buffs from UCP, it actually becomes a good shield. This is a Legendary Booster shield that, instead of dropping normal boosters, drop an IED booster that spawns 3 volleys of shock grenades. It provides a ton of aggro relief by knocking back enemies, and also deals quite a bit of shock damage with it’s explosions. This is my personal favourite shield for mobbing.
Best Parts - Pangolin Body, Pangolin Battery, Maliwan Shock-resist Capacitor.
###Grounded Hide of Terramorphous
Since we don’t mind what shield we are using too much, we can simply put on this fancy shield to buff up DeathTrap, and not have to worry about swapping it out all the time. Sure, this shield may not be the best for gaige, but it still works fine or general mobbing. The Nova helps you to heal up a ton if holding a grog in hand when your shields go down, preventing you from being downed easily, and the Spike is always good for melee enemies.
Best Parts - Maliwan Body, Maliwan Battery, Maliwan Shock-resist Capacitor.
###The Transformer
This shield recharges itself from shock damage, so throwing out Chain Lightning at your feet replenishes your shield, and hits enemies as well due to the grenade’s special effect.
- Important to note is that if the total amount of absorbed shock damage from a single source exceeds the total shield capacity the surplus damage will be subtracted from a character’s health, bypassing the shield completely. Basically, what this means is that there is a good chance for you to kill yourself with your own damage, so use at your own risk.
Best Parts - Pangolin Body, Pangolin Battery, Maliwan Shock-resist Capacitor.
###Grounded Black Hole
This is a pretty good shield on gaige, with it’s big AoE control staggering enemies when the nova activates, which, similar to the Grounded Hide of Terramorphous , prevents you from dying too quickly when holding a grog. Since we have Sharing is Caring, this shield effect also applies to DeathTrap, so when the nova activates, enemies fly towards him and allow for easy shots.
Best Parts - Pangolin Body, Pangolin Battery, Pangolin or Maliwan Shock-resist Capacitor.
###Grounded Turtle Shield
If you want a shield that sports high capacity to take full advantage of Blood Soaked Shields tanking power, this is your best bet. With all the Shield Capacity boosts we get from our tree, and the parts i listed, this shield has a solid 3.3mil capacity.
Best Parts - Pangolin Body, Pangolin Battery, Pangolin or Maliwan Shock-resist Capacitor.
###Blockade
This is probably the shield you want if not using gear that can shock yourself. The Blockade is one of, if not the best, general defensive shields in the game. Afaik, the parts on this shield doesn’t affect the damage reduction, allowing you to go all pangolin parts for the maximum capacity and let Blood Soaked Shields do the work for you.
Best Parts - Pangolin Body, Pangolin Battery, Pangolin Capacitor.
#Relics
###Bone of the Ancients
No surprises here, the bone has always been the best choice for damage relics, apart from allegiance relics boosting fire rate and reload speed and the such. Bonus to the Shock Variant, not only does it boost Shock damage, it also boosts Fire damage from Electrical Burn. The cooldown is also fantastic for having DeathTrap up as often as possible.
###Shadow of the Seraphs
For DoT builds which use guns, there is a single relic that rivals the Bone in pure dps. Shadow of the Seraphs gives you a chance of having an extra shot, whic fundamentally works the same way as Zero’s Tw0 Fang. with 2 shots in quick succession, you have double the chances of inflicting elemental effects, and thus the overall dps increases quite a lot.
###Lucrative Opportunity
To be honest, this build already deals a massive amount of damage, and can easily take down enemies without damage relics. The Lucrative Opportunity relic has been changed in the UCP to give movement speed instead of shop timer reset, and personally i like having this relic on to get around places quicker. This relic also makes it easier to outrun suicide bombers and let them blow themselves up without getting caught in the blast, and is overall a great relic in the UCP.
###Modded Gear
Now i know that many people will not like this, but there is a single mod i would like to showcase, which is what i use most of the time in this build. @Aaron0000’s Agility Relic mod, which replaces Tenacity relics with a relic that boosts movement speed and jump height. The idea is the same as the Lucrative Opportunity, you get around quicker and move faster, but with a slightly lower movement speed bonus and an added jump height effect. This mod is fantastic for manoeuvring around areas which previously weren’t very accessible. Plus, it helps people who aren’t great at grenade jumping, while at the same time allowing people who are good at the art to reach even further places.
#Playstyle
There are 3 main ways to play this build. Grenade, Weapon and Reload.
The Grenade playstyle is simple. you carry a Slagga and either the Slow Hand or Grog Nozzle, slag everything in your path, and throw some Chain Lightning grenades and boom, everything is dead. The Legendary AoE grenades are for bosses, and when you run low on grenade ammo, just open some crates and you should be okay. This build requires you to have a Grounded shield, otherwise you can, and will, kill yourself a lot.
Weapon playstyle is simple, you have your weapon in hand, and shoot away. Slag grenades are your helper if you don’t want to swap to slag all the time, and Interspersed Outburst is the most handy when using this playstyle.
The last playstyle is unique to Gaige. With Shock and “AAAGGGHHH”!, you run around, slag people and reload. The Grog Nozzle is probably the best weapon in slot for this, since it slags enemies well, has a low reload speed, AND heals you at the same time.
This is the end of my Shock/DoT Gaige build, hope you liked it 
Feel free to give any feedback, and/or mistakes you see in the guide. If you have any questions, ask away and i’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.
#Thanks for viewing!
). Great job and happy mobbing!