Which characters would you say are top tier?

Borderlands 2 BL2 General Discussion
#1

I’m thinking of doing a top tier playthrough in all 3 Borderlands. (UVHM/OP8/UVHM) I think Borderlands and Pre-Sequel only go to UVHM, if I’m wrong then forgive me. (I know Borderlands mode isn’t called UVHM, I just call it that to make it easier. It’s pretty much UVHM.)

So, which of the Characters from each game are the top tier classes? I know each class can finish each mode if given the time, but some have it easier than others.

#2

From BL1, all four (but Lilith is probably most OP)
From BL2, all six (but Maya, Sal and Krieg probably edge out the others)
From TPS, all six (but Athena and Jack/Timothy have an edge)

Honestly, they’re all good characters; a lot really depends on what kind of play style you prefer.

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#3

There is no ‘best’ character. They each have different strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t decide who to play, either ask for input here or maybe just generate a random integer and go with which character you associated to that number.

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#4

I know. I’m just looking for the one class that just seems to have no trouble in whatever situation the story throws at them. Sure, they may have some flaws, but that easily gets out numbered by the massive amounts of pros they have that it doesn’t matter.

Like, Lilith for example. I can believe shes “tier 1” out of the four, mainly due to her useful skill. (Phase) This easily becomes the better skill out of the four due to it’s useful nature. (It damages, heals and gets you out of trouble) While someone like Bricks, although useful. It doesn’t do well in higher difficulty and becomes mainly a HP recovery tool, other then a damaging one.

Tier 1, in a sense is just overall usefulness that made things easy for them. I’m not looking for the “best” I’m looking for characters that are given an easier run through higher difficulties due to their skills.

So please, if your not going to add anything besides saying “Theres no “best” character in the game, just play what you like” then don’t say anything at all. I know theres no best character.

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#5

From first hand experience I can tell you that against 95%+ of the enemies in the game that is 100% false, with a proper melee Brick build (Berserker or Skirmisher com, heavy left and center tree investment for skills) he can demolish most enemies with fisticuffs alone. That said, going Blaster Brick=you can destroy everything and be very durable doing it (though you do run out of a shields and health eventually under continuous punishment, but then, getting a 2nd wind is usually super easy between the damage output and Die Hard extending FFYL time significantly). Btw, the competitive underdome tournaments showed Brick>others for getting most kills with deaths counting as -10 kills in there (Lilith was a pretty close 2nd).

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#6

BL1 - Lilith
BL2 -
TPS - Nisha

For BL2 I’d need to know the amount of farming you’d do, and if you’re killing raids. Because unlike the other 2, BL2 is less cut 'n dry. As Krieg is the best… until you include the OP levels. If you’re farming a bit, then you can just deal with Sal’s early game, so you can just coast from Harold to Harold in UVHM/the OP levels. Similarly, Sal’s bad early game is worth it for his ease in raiding.

But if it’s just “get to OP8 asap”, then I’d recommend staying away from Krieg, Zero, and Gaige. Maya would be my pick since she isn’t reliant on gear most of the time, with second place going to Sal since he’s easy mode once you get to level ~47.

If you want to include glitches as well, then the list changes.

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#7

In the interest of attempting to give you a meaningful answer for your purposes, let me answer your question with a few of my own. I can only speak with authority to BL1, as that is the only BL game I have extensive experience with…read: ~2500hrs played (BL2 is a WIP in that regard and I will get started with TPS at some point…).
So the questions are:
1: What exactly are you intending to do in the game (eg: fresh start, or running the game through in PT2.5? Running with top gear or self-found? etc.)
2: What would you consider your strengths as a player of BL1 to be? (For example, in BL2, which I am still learning, I would say that mechanical skill, aim in particular, is my biggest strength, followed by having good instincts for movement through a battlefield from lots of FPS playing experience.)
3: Related to 2, what is your preferred playstyle? (ex: For me, in BL games, I tend to prefer gun-focused gameplay with a strong combination of damage output and durability, I use cover with high accuracy weapons, but will charge into battle with lower accuracy weapons. I value flexibility in terms of what gear I can run with a given build, particular for weapon selection.)

#8

I’m not against farming, if I must I will do it. Hell I’ll be doing that in the other Borderland games as well.

Also, interesting. I never thought of Nisha as a tier 1 character. I’ve only seen my friend play her, but I didn’t think much of it. I suppose her kit does just focus on her self. The auto aim ability would certainly help with that.

#9

She is good at everything and is in the 90th percentile or higher in everything she does.

  • No one mobs better or faster than her.
  • No one is less reliant on specific guns than her.
  • No one kills raid bosses as easy as her.
  • She basically kills raids as fast as the top tier in perfect scenarios. And without perfect gear, she easily matches and surpasses them.
  • Once you get all 30 stacks of “Order”, with smart play, you’re basically unkillable between that and how fast you kill enemies.
#10

For borderlands 2 I’d have to go with Maya.

She has useful skills right from the get go , and in my opinion has the best balance of damage/healing/mob management.

She’s completely free of any gear dependency , and with fleet and a rough rider you can blaze through pandora like Billy Whizz!

Maya’s always my go-to when I need to farm or level another toon up.

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#11

From the information I’m getting from here and other sources, it seems like shes the top tier. Every so often I do get the Salvador choice, but even though I haven’t done a playthrough as him. Even I know he’s very gear dependent.

#12

Pffffft!

I’m the worst Salvador player in the world.
I don’t know what it is with me but I just cant get to grips with the gunzerking.

I guess I’m just a one gun guy :slight_smile:

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#13

I’ve only finished BL1 with Lilith (no Pt. 2) and only have a 5th level Mordecai. In BL:TPS I only have a Claptrap at 10th level. As far as BL2 though I’ve got all 6 VH’s to OP8 (and if you’re planning on playing at OP8) then for the general game and most dlc I’d say Maya, if raid bosses are your thing Sal might be the better option. A Trickster build Maya or a Deputy Sal build Salvador could most likely take you as far as you’d want to go…

#14

The problem with Sal is that he’s a monster while gunzerking once you’ve unlocked the right skills because of the way weapon effects transfer from the off to main hand. So, basically, most people who play him exclusively are relying on the pimpahab or grogharold combos and a game glitch.

There’s the deputy sal build which is much more challenging to use, and a few others. But without the broken gear combos and when he’s not gunzerking, he’s more vulnerable. In other words, the way most people play him he’s a one-trick pony; some of us find that a bit boring.

Maya is probably my favourite because I like the elemental skills, and she’s quite flexible in play style (you can build her out at level 72 in such a way that you can use different class mods without respeccing and easily switch between solo and co-op or mobbing and raiding)

On TPS, Nisha wouldn’t be my first choice, although I’ve only played her to level 50. The issue there is that while she can do pretty much everything, she can also be a glass cannon if you screw up. In that sense, she’s like Zer0 (or possibly Mordecai?) Flip side is that her action skill can easily become “activate and forget” (Sal territory).

#15

Here’s how I would rank each game, based solely on the ease of going from level 1 to that game’s max level:

BL1: Lilith, Roland (Support Gunner COM!), Brick, Mordecai
BL2: Maya, Axton, Sal, Gaige, Krieg (only because I don’t find he climbs the Peak as well as others do), Zer0
TPS: Jack, Athena, Nisha, Wilhelm, Claptrap, Aurelia

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#16

Who’s top tier kinda changes depending on what you are up to. If you just want to clear the story modes then I’d say Maya takes the cake in BL2. Cloudkill is an early pick and melts everything and whatever you decide to build for after that is just going to make you stronger (I’d go for converge next).

TPS I only know Aurelia really well, but I’d say Timothy and Nisha are up there from the get go.

BL1 I’d imagine Lilith and pistol Mordecai are up there but I’ve not played that game that much on anyone but Mordecai and with him it’s always been snipers for me.