[Guide] Class Mods for Salvador

Welcome to my guide to Salvador’s Class mods (or COMs for short)

This is meant both as a guide for new players to quickly sort through the various COMs the game may drop, and as a complement to Sljm’s Top gear for Salvador Thread. This is a port from the old forums; the original guide can still be found here.

A few links before we start:

In this guide, I will try to provide information on the different COMs in the game in a quick and concise manner. This is meant as an “at a glance” guide, and not a deep analysis (tough there is certainly place for that in the replies to this OP) so descriptions will be short and to the point.

A note on rarity: All COMs (except legendary ones) can spawn in the same rarity as other pieces of gear in the game: white, green, blue and purple. But unlike other pieces of gear, COMs are affected by rarity in the kind of bonus they can give.

  • White COMs only provide their variables bonus, with no skill boost
  • Green COMs will provide the same variable bonus as white COMS, and will boost one of the 3 skills listed in their entry, by a maximum of +5 (starting at level 50)
  • Blue COMs will have the usual bonus, and will boost 2 skills out of the 3 listed, one by +6 and the other by +5. Blue rarity COMs are the only way to get a skill boost of +6.
  • Purple COMs will also provide the basic COM bonus, and will boost all 3 skills listed, one by +5, the other 2 by +4 at maximum.

So while purple is evidently better than blue when it comes to guns, it is not so with COMs. I will list for each COM, whether Blue or purple is preferable.

COMs starting from Green rarity will spawn with a prefix. The prefix is in direct relation with the skill with the highest boost. I will list those as well. I will use this format:

Meaning that a Blue COM is preferable in this case, that the altered prefix is the best, and that Incite should be the second skill boosted.

I will use the same rating system I used in both of my previous guides:

  • Bad Unless you have literally NOTHING else to put on, feed this to the grinder
  • Average May be fine for leveling up, but once you reach max level, it’s time to find something else.
  • Good Those are great choices, they probably define a particular playstyle, or boost key skills. COMs with this rating are suitable for end game.
  • Outstanding COMs with this rating will probably have entire playstyles revolving around them. they are gamechangers.

Beast Average
+Max Health, +Reload Speed

Just Got Real (Savage)
Incite (Vengeful)
Sexual Tyrannosaurus (Altered)

Great COM early on. While on normal or TVHM, Brawn regen skills actually hold up, and this one helps a lot. In UVHM, not so much. Works wonders in a Deputy build however.
Ideal: Altered beast (+5 incite)
Great in: Deputy builds, Brawn-centric builds. Normal and TVHM


Berserker Outstanding
+Action Skill Cooldown Rate

Lay Waste (Unhinged)
Last Longer (Two Gun)
Yippee Ki Yay (Unstoppable)

Do you want to Gunzerk ALL the time ? This is the COM for you! (until you get the legendary Gunzerker)
Ideal: Two gun or Unstoppable Berserker under level 50. Then, Unhinged Berserker
great in: Everything, generalist COM.


Devastator Bad
+Team Magazine Size

Filled to the Brim (Hoarding)
Just Got Real (Savage)
Divergent Likeness (Pragmatic)

Not a whole lot to tell, mostly bad to average skills, and a mag size boost… you can do better.
Ideal: Pragmatic devastator (+5 Filled to the brim)
Great in: Multiplayer with people who need mag size boost. Tediore chuck builds.


Monk Outstanding
+Accuracy (Lawful)
+Fire Rate (Chaotic)
+Magazine Size (Neutral)

+Critical Hit Damage (Evil)
+Magazine Size (Neutral)
+Reload Speed (Good)

Money Shot
Asbestos
Sexual Tyrannosaurus

The Monk COM, like all DLC4 COMs, is a strange one. It will get 2 prefix, one from each set above. (if both get an instance of neutral, the prefix will be “true neutral”) The skills boosted have nothing to do with the prefix.
This one is great for 2 reasons: It boosts Money shot (one of Sal’s best skills), and the COM bonus themselves are great!
Here’s a link to a little guide] on finding the best Monk prefix for your build
Ideal: Chaotic Evil Monk (+6 to money shot, +5 to asbestos)
Great in: Deputy builds, Raiding builds that rely on money shot chains.


Hoarder Good
Team Bullet Regeneration

Lay Waste (Unhinged)
5 Shots or 6 (Lucky)
Filled to the Brim (Loaded)

pretty good COM, allows you to shoot nearly forever with blazing fire rates. Other players love Hoarder Sal for the ammo regen. At the root of most “hoarder builds” (ence the name) Overshadowed by it’s legendary version.
Ideal: Unhinged or Lucky Hoarder (+5 to the other skill)
great in: Hoarder-type builds (obviously) guns that use only one bullet per shot. At it’s best with guns with low ammo capacity.


Raider Good
+Assault Rifle Accuracy, -Shield Capacity

Money Shot (Auspicious)
Locked and Loaded (Cocky)
Incite (Vengeful)

Boosts money shot… it’s only redeeming quality. Would have been rated as outstanding if not for the existence of the Monk COM. Now it pales in comparison. Note that a level 50 Raider COM is a better choice than a max level one, since at 50, it will get the same skill bonus, but the shield penalty will be much smaller. (that is, unless you need assault rifle accuracy for some reason…)
Ideal: Auspicious Raider (+5 incite)
great in: Deputy builds and raiding builds that rely on money shot chains, if you don’t own DLC4 for a Monk.


Renegade Good
+Pistol Gun Damage, -Pistol Accuracy

I’m Your Huckleberry (Suave)
Incite (Vengeful)
All I Need is One (Cocky)

If you are playing with pistols, this is one of the best COMs available. Especially if you are using pistols with big magazines (as a money shot bonus becomes less and less interesting)
Ideal: Suave renegade (+5 incite)
Great in: Pistol builds, especially those using Vladof pistols


Tank Bad
+Shield Capacity, +Shield Recharge Rate

I’m the Juggernaut (Armored)
Hard to Kill (Hulking)
Asbestos (Resistance)

Just plain bad. the shield bonus is nearly useless, and most of the skills boosted are bad .
If you want to be tough, try a Beast or Titan COM instead.
Ideal: Hulking Tank (+5 Asbestos)
great in: the grinder


Titan Average
Health Regeneration, +Gun Damage, -Shield Capacity

Hard to Kill (Hulking)
Out of Bubblegum (Grand)
I’m the Juggernaut (Armored)

Another COM that boosts Brawn skills that don’t scale well. Just like the Beast COM, The Titan COM is great early on, but it gets less interesting as you reach UVHM. Still, this one has redeeming qualities: The Gun damage boost coupled with the bonus to Out of Bubblegum can make it decent…
Also the center of the Healthgate trick builds featuring OP turtle shields.
Ideal: grand Titan (+5 hard to kill)
great in: Healtgate builds, Brawn builds in pre-UVHM


War Dog Good
+Reload Speed, +Magazine Size

5 Shots or 6 (Lucky)
Out of Bubblegum (Determined)
Filled to the Brim (Hoarding)

Here is the biggest sleeper among Salvador COMs. almost no one mentions this one, and yet, it’s VERY good. It plays kind of halfway between a “Chaotic Neutral Good” Monk (not a real thing, but that explains it well) and a Hoarder COM. You don’t get Ammo regen or a boost to money shot, but you get everything else these COMs have to offer: Increased fire rate, 5 shots or 6, increased mag size and increased reload speed (All of which are factors to DPS). It’s only downside is that you have to put 15 points in Brawn to benefit from Out of Bubblegum.
Ideal: Lucky War Dog (+5 Out of Bubblegum )
great in: Hoarder-type builds, with guns that use only one bullet per shot. Rocket launcher builds. Very good generalist COM too.


Legendary Berserker Good
+Action Skill Cooldown Rate, +Fire Rate, +Melee Damage, Increases Movement Speed while Gunzerking

(all skill bonus are +5)
Locked and Loaded
Quick Draw
Filled to the Brim
Hard to Kill
Incite

May seem like the best thing since sliced bread at a glance, but most of the bonus are all over the place, and the skills boosted don’t tie-in to any particular playstyle. A good “generalist” COM. But it lacks the dedication to be a true performer.
Great in: Melee builds, unfocussed builds


Legendary Gunzerker Outstanding
+Action Skill Cooldown Rate

(all skill bonus are +5)
Lay Waste
All in the Reflexes
Last Longer
Yippee Ki Yay
Incite

The big cheese. Probably the best all-around COM for Salvador. If you don’t have a SPECIFIC build in mind that requires a COM, go for this one.
great in: Everything…really


Legendary Hoarder Outstanding
Team Bullet Regeneration

(all skill bonus are +5)
Locked and Loaded
Lay Waste
Filled to the Brim
5 Shots or 6
Incite

Exactly like a Hoarder or War Dog COM…only better
Great in: hoarder builds. Shines when used with low ammo-capacity guns (snipers and shotguns)


Legendary Titan Average
Health Regeneration, +Gun Damage, -Shield Capacity

(all skill bonus are +5)
Locked and Loaded
Hard to Kill
Asbestos
I’m the Juggernaut
Out of Bubblegum

This one suffers a bit from Brawn’s bad scaling. Of all the legendary COMS, this is the least interesting one. Not bad…but not good either.
Also the focal point of the Healthgate trick, just like it’s non-legendary counterpart.
Great in: Healtgate builds, Brawn builds.


Slayer of Terramorphous Average
+Burn Damage, +Burn Chance, +Max Health

(all skill bonus are +4)
Locked and Loaded
Quick Draw
Filled to the Brim
Hard to Kill
Incite

Burn damage is pointless, all skills boosted are 1st tier. A generalist COM, and not a terribly good one at that.
Great in: Builds that use the Flame of the Firehawk, generalist COM.

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Hi @DeputyChuck . Do you still consider the Legendary Gunzerker superior to the Legendary Berserker? Your Top Gear For Salvador guide still has them misnamed, and the skills listed in the paragraph don’t help us figure it out.

I’m not DeputyChuck, and neither do I play him on TV. However, the Legendary Berserker is correctly labelled in the OP and has exactly those skills boosted (just looked at my own to doble check!) I’d check the other COM (Leg. Gunzerker) but apparently I don’t actually have one. Looking at the top gear thread, the first recommendation is correct and the second one should read Legendary Berserker. Which is odd, but the epic rarity Unhinged Berserker is actually better than the Legendary Berserker.

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He’s saying in this post that the Gunzerker is superior, and in the Top Gear thread, the other way around.

Why do you think the purple Unhinged Berserker is superior? Due to the +6’s? What about the other boosts of the legendary version, and the +20 movement speed?

@VaultHunter101 what do you prefer from the 3? For a bit of a generalist build based on Chuck’s How To Salvador. I like the Tattler, the Kitten, Lyuda, HellFire/Good Touch; and the occasional Conference Call and Heartbraker, when I can handle the reverse recoil skill issue (Butcher I cannot, those 2 seem manageable somehow or maybe I just like them much :stuck_out_tongue: ). Am also testing out dual Slow Hand to see how much the skill issue messes those, and have the Hail and Lead Storm on my list too, though I understand that they don’t mix too well due to different landing ranges, so am not sure how to healthgate there.

One of them is three years old, the other is five years old. Unfortunately I can’t tell which one was edited most recently.

I think the one that drops from Tubbies post-level 61 (legendary Gunzerker) is the better all round choice because of the skill selection - it fits better with a number of standard Sal builds. The original base game one (the legendary Berserker) doesn’t quite hold up as well as a general COM, but you can get it as soon as COMs start dropping (if you’re lucky enough) so it’s a solid choice while levelling a character up. The epics with the +6 in just the right skill are always nice as a go-to.

The top gear thread I think he just accidentally has the same name in twice. As I said, I’m pretty sure the second choice one should be the legendary berserker.

If you’re already beyond level 61 and can get the tubbie drop, go for the Gunzerker. Otherwise, the Berserker is fine and probably easier to find. Personally I have a Legendary Hoarder on both my Sals, but they both stopped at level 72 a long time back and haven’t advanced since.

I like the Kitten generally, Lyuda is solid, Pimpernel rocks because of weird mechanism effects while Gunzerking - lots of solid choices there. Going to ping @Kurtdawg13 because I know he was rocking Sal pretty heavily at one point.

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I’m a deputy sal guy when playing Salvador. Lyuda is a solid choice, paired with a Ladyfist for the extra crit dmg. I’m not sure how much help I can be. I haven’t played in a while.

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One of the issues here is that the legendary Berserker is not a legendary version of a Berserker COM: they are named after the characters in BL1 (Brick was the Berserker)

The legendary Gunzerker is the Legendary equivalent of a Berserker COM, as confusing as that may sound.

Personally, I now prefer the Legendary Berserker as a generalist COM for its survivability aspect, but from a math standpoint, you can probably get better DPS with a Legendary Gunzerker COM (or as mentioned, an unhinged Berserker).

(Bear in mind I made this list years ago and I might make it very differently if I was to do it again today, I would probably rank the Leg. Berserker as Outstanding as well now) )

If you’re always going to have Moxxi guns on hand, you can go either way. Try both, see which one works better for your playstyle. There is no reason to go for an unhinged berserker if you have access to a Legendary Gunzerker.

I’ve played with lead storm and Kitten and you can make it work, but you need the right combination of prefixes that affect bullet speed so that they converge at a point (I don’t remember which for which gun, sorry)

Dual slow hand is great, but it has 2 issues: you can’t shoot anything that is right in your face without killing yourself, and you can’t see anything when you’re shooting both guns :stuck_out_tongue:

Of those guns you mentioned, the Pimp is undoubtedly the strongest… it’s not even close.

My favorites are the Lyuda and the Kitten, personally.

Thanks @VaultHunter101 and @Kurtdawg13 for chiming in (man, I haven’t checked in here in a long time :slight_smile: )

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Fixed now, thanks for catching that

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