FYI this is a thread in progress as sadly I have less time then I used too. It has taken me a week just to get the bones posted, but this is necessary in order to preserve the build! Any questions or issues feel free to let me know
The Thievius Raccoonus: A finalzed OP8 Build
This is my finalized Cunning/B0re Zer0 build for Op8. I have done a huge amount of testing on raids, mobbing, DPS, weapon selection, and skill synergy to see exactly how far I could take the C/B Zer0 build. The outcome is a build with enough sheer force to slice through OP8 utilizing the best that BL2 has to offer.
The Skill Tree: http://bl2skills.com/assassin.html#505451005150455105015050410000
The specifics: This build takes some of the strongest weapons and combines them with as much synergy amongst Zer0�s Cunning/B0re skills as I could find to maximize sustained DPS. You will need to be aware of the synergy between certain skills in order to maintain your DPS, but once you get it down all that you will leave behind on Pandora will be trails of bandit meat behind you. This build focuses on adding as many damage buffs to your weapons while applying as many debuffs to enemies as possible all in an effort to maximize DPS, but also focuses on maximizing evasiveness/damage mitigation in order to really give the feel of “The Thievius Raccoonus”. That feel is something I have found only in my build thus far.
Certain weapon loadouts will differentiate based on what the build is fighting against as the Antagonist shield + Quasar grenade mod will be used against mobs and the Bee + Magic missile will be used against Sub-bosses/Raid Bosses(Barring Hyperius). The option in using a Topneaa or Badaboom in weapon slot 4 is up to player discretion based on the gear they have. All weapons listed additionally are weapons that I find to suit the build well, but that I do not normally equip. Due to this their may not be a set weapon loadout for them, but they can be equipped with any other listed gear that makes you comfortable.
SNIPING
Headsh0t 5/5: The critical damage bonuses start here as 10/5 grants you a 40% crit bonus along with the additional Critical damage bonus from the Legendary Hunter COM which is a great start. When you combine both the 40% from Killer and the % on your Legendary Hunter COM, then headshot really seems to be giving more than an adequate amount of damage for the investment.
Precision 4/5: Since I am a heavy Pimpernel/Twister user I find that Precision actually has use in this build. The increase in accuracy allows me to consistently ensure a steady shot on enemies �Sweet Spots� while using thePimpernel along with tightening the spread of my Twister. This perk while normally very subpar seems to have fantastic synergy with the Pimpernel and Twister, but is left at 4/5 due to the want for CA.
Killer 5/5: At 5/5 this skill gives you a 50% crit bonus and 75% reload speed bonus, so while mobbing this build will feed off of Killer chains which will span from the strength of your opening shot. Killer enhances a “Sweet Spot” while also aiding my DPS with a massive reload speed bonus. Killer synergizes incredibly well with the Legendary Hunter COM’s bonus to reload speed.
0ne Sh0t 0ne Kill 5/5: OSOK powers up the first shot of the magazine by 60%, has great synergy with Rising Shot, and will be a major factor in the Pimpernel achieving sustained DPS. The OSOK bonus will also be applied to the opening shot while 5 stacks of Rising shot are basically guaranteed thanks to the 5 child bomblets of the Pimpernel. All of Zer0’s reload skills(Killer, Fast Hands, At One with the gun, and the Legendary Hunter COM) will aid in maintaining the 5 stacks of RS while taking advantage of the OSOK bonus. The bonus that OSOK grants also sets up a KB opportunity most of the time which means less ammo consumption along with more time to reload, thus allowing me to proc OSOK again.
B0re 1/1: The end all be all of BL2 as B0re has managed to make sub bosses such as Bnk-3R and raid bosses such as Hyperius fear a death from a single shot. The damage increases an additional 100% for every time a bullet travels through an enemy and that 100% increase in damage will be very real the first time you achieve a single shot kill on an enemy such as Hyperius. Note that the Pimpernel is the strongest in the hands of a C/B Zer0 due to the fact that being spec’d into B0re will cause a succesful Pimpernel “Sweet Spot” to proc B0re. That single B0re proc will cause a massive jump in damage usually resulting in an enemy dying from a single shot. The Twister will consistently B0re targets as the projectiles continue their cyclone-like pattern which will yet again result in massive damage/a single shot kill.
At 0ne with the Gun 5/5: AOWTG is an absolute necesity to the build because the massive bonus to SR hip fire accuracy(105%) allows me to hit “Sweet Spots” with the Pimpernel consistently from the hip even at large distances. The additional SR reload speed bonus(50%) specifically helps counter-act the 4.2 reload speed on the Jakobs grip of the Pimpernel. Finallly it increases mag size of all SRs meaning you can fire more reload less(More DPS).
Critical Ascension 1/1: Adds a utility to the build that is just icing on the cake. While I have the ability to now pre-stack CA to handle raid bosses and mobs I can also use CA as a reward to well placed Pimpernel shots. Thanks to B0re and Pimpernel “Sweet spots” you can achieve multiple stacks of CA per projectile. This multiplies the amount of CA stacks you get from landing one “Sweet spot” and begins to increase the build’s DPS quickly. Being rewarded for successfully hitting a Pimpernel “Sweet spot” with multiple stacks of CA quickly equates out to larger damage outputs thanks to the 6% critical damage and 5% gun damage gained from each stack.
Cunning
Fast Hands 5/5: Grants massive bonus�s to reload and weapon swap speed which in turn minimizes the DPS lost when you swap/reload. The Legendary Hunter COM boosts this to 10/5 (50% reload speed & 75% weapon swap speed) and adds additional reload speed on top of. The bonus from fast hands when combined with the bonus from AOWTG will cause the 4.2 reload speed on a Jakobs grip of the Pimpernel to drop down to about 2.0s
Ambush 5/5: The bonus damage granted by Ambush makes getting that opening kill to trigger Killer that much easier and the damage bonus that Ambush grants also applies as you exit deception upping the deception damage bonus. I would also like to note that Ambush has consistently been seen as a key skill for Zer0 due to it being calculated towards the end of the damage equation.
Fearless 4/5: Fearless is a great skill for support when you’re shield goes down as it increases fire rate and gives additional gun damage buffs. Fearless being active in FFYL is what really earned this skill it’s spot in this build since increased DPS in FFYL sounds like a good way to get back up. Fearless also pairs with the Bee shield very well because as you wait on that long recharge delay your fire rate & gun damage are increased throughout the time you are without your amp damage. The investment at 4/5 is capped there due to spec’ing into Death Mark and Death Blossom.
Rising Sh0t 5/5: This skill will play the largest role into how to achieve sustained DPS with the Pimpernel. Rising Shot when combined with OSOK allows you to maintain steady damage bonuses from the beginning to end of your clip. When you use a weapon with a special effect such as the Pimpernel a perfect shot will result in 5 stacks of Rising Shot. Those 5 stacks will last longer due to the 1.3 fire rate of the Pimpernel and RS stacks lifespan being longer if a weapon’s fire rate is lower. That means that your initial shot gets +60% damage from OSOK, then every shot after that gets +50% from RS. If you have killer proc�d along with the 5 stacks of RS AND YOU RELOAD you gain +110% gun damage/+50% critical damage/+75% reload speed(which makes the reload to regain that 110% gun damage bonus even faster). Since the RS stacks degrade at a much slower rate due to a 1.3 FR of the Pimpernel, you can maintain all 5 stacks of RS with more ease because of the bonuses to reload speed from Fast Hands, Killer, At One With The Gun, and the Legendary Hunter COM.
Death Mark 1/1: A staple skill in the Cunning/B0re build which is also a requirement for the a Cunning/B0re build in my mind. Meleeing an enemy will apply a 20% debuff and in the case of Kunai allows you debuff an enemy up to 4 times(An 80% debuff). The added chance to slag from Death Blossom and Death Mark are the 2 MAJOR debuffs applied by this build.
Innervate 5/5: The health regeneration restores roughly 30-35% of your total health with Zer0 which when combined with the instant 10% health from Legendary Hunter COM grants 40-45% of your total health per deception. The movement speed bonus of 35% from Innervate is only 5% short of what Followthrough applies, but when you combine the two you gain a 75% movement speed bonus which is the heart of this build’s evasion. Finally the additional 10% gun damage is a nice added bonus as it gets added into the deception bonus for a slightly bigger damage bonus as you break deception.
Death Bl0ss0m 1/1: Death Blossom is the final staple in the C/B build as it allows you to debuff an enemy up to +80% damage from a single handful of Kunai being able to stack 4 Death Marks on a target. Add in a high chance of slagging from each handful of Kunai and you have the builds source of both major debuffs. Death Blossom is a staple in a Cunning B0re build and has been for some time now due to it’s potential to apply both the slag and Death Mark debuff.
BloodShed
Killing Blow 5/5: Killing Blow became is massively more appealing when compared to Iron hand as the Legendary Hunter COM buffs it to 10/5(A 1000% melee damage bonus against an enemy with less than 33% health!). When faced with a slagged, Death marked enemy that only has a sliver of health then Killing Blow is a saving grace. The massive 1000% melee damage buff the Legendary Hunter COM provides at 10/5 grants me the ability to cut the enemy down once they are weakened.
Grim 5/5: Grim is an outstanding skill especially when combined with the Bee shield as the additional shield recharge means you can shake off mild residual damage while still maintaining your amp damage thanks to the Bee being at full cap . The added cooldown bonus synergizes with the Legendary Hunter COM’s high cooldown bonus which in turn allows more access to deception which is key to healing, applying debuffs, and repositioning your shot.
FollowThrough 4/5: This is the skill that I have envied the most when I saw Aether_Seraph’s “The Dangerous Method” build. A 40% bonus to movement speed that couples with the 35% bonus from innvervate gives me so much more utility while in deception. Truly I was majorly interested in the movement speed as it would pair so well with the innverate bonus that I found the +30% gun damage and +40% melee damage as an added bonus. A 30% gun damage bonus and 40% melee damage are rather impressive numbers that most definitely give off more effect than I give them credit for.
Execute 1/1: As noted by Dotanuki in an earlier thread Execute has managed to make it’s way into C/B builds due to the utility it offers the user in 3 ways.
-
Execute grants a massive mobility bonus while in deception through allowing the user to close the gap without breaking deception, but when you also factor in the additional movement speed bonuses( 35% from Innervate & 32% from FollowThrough) it grants Zer0 an impressive overall bonus.
-
Execute allows the user to gain an additional option when using Deception to reposition and gain enough health to get allow them to survive another health gate. When execute connects with an enemy and does not kill them it will cause them to go into a stagger animation. This stagger animation not only stops the enemy from ducking, dodging, or rolling(which are massive causes of lost damage in OP levels), but also grants you the ability to follow up with a free shot from your Twister or Pimpernel. This in turn can lead to activating Grim which will help immensely when deception was initially entered to regain health & reposition because Grim being active means your bee shield is up sooner along with you being able to mitigate DoT damage on your shield.
-
Execute is the final piece in the small melee puzzle my C/B build has taken on. Execute will grant an additional 2x melee damage multipler that finally can grant this build with the ability to take down enemies with near full health in one shot. Utilizing max deception bonus, kunai, slag, ambush, KB, FT, Execute, and the bladed Badaboom I have finally managed to gather enough melee bonuses to make melee viable in this build.
Class Mods
Legendary Hunter COM: Grants bonus cooldown rate on Deception along with bonus that is granted by Grim proc’ing from a kill(7.5%). It adds bonus Critical hit damage to the 40% bonus you get from 10/5 Headshot. The bonus reload speed from the Legendary Hunter COM is backed by the additional reload speed bonuses of 10/5 Fast Hands(50%), 5/5 Killer(75%), and 5/5 AOWTG(50%). The immediate 10% health restoration from the COM and the roughly 30-35% health regen in deception from 5/5 innervate is my OP8 trade off to using Moxxi weapons.
Shields
The Inflammable Bee: Grants massive damage bonuses to the unlisted pellets, splash damage, and critical hit damage of the Pimpernel making hitting a sweetspot insta-kill anything. The Bee will enhance the Pimpernel to the point of being the #1 damage source in the game thanks to all of those bonuses, so while it can be considered a crutch…in this case it is the exact opposite. It is the only tool that makes the Pimpernel as strong as it possibly can be damage wise barring CA stacking.
The Transformer: A niche shield when it comes to this build as it is specifically for dealing with Surveyors, UBA Surveyors, Skeleton mages, and any bandit with a shock Maliwan weapon. The absorb chance is not half bad and the shield totes decent stats barring RD, so I find the transformer to offer a decent shield with an incredible red text effect even if it is situational. The transformer was added due to how devastating I found shock damage against Zer0. I know normally fire is the big complaint, but those shock DoTs managing to deal more damage than Grim can buff also left me incredibly squishy due to how fast my shield fell. The transformer became a bread and butter shield in certain portions of the peak, so try and grab one for those overwhelming moments.
Antagonist: Offers the most added effects of any shield in the game along with an great Capacity, Recharge Rate, and Delay. Built in slagging is a great utility that Zer0 lacks, but can back up with a Slag Pimpernel. The bullet deflection can really aid Zer0 in getting up close and personal with enemies as deflected bullets will knock shields off/kill enemies if the bullet connects for a critical hit all while reducing damage absorbed. The Antagonist really seems to have the stats to break away from the “Glass Cannon” style Zer0 while offering much more bulkiness & utility to increase DPS(Enemies hitting themselves with deflected bullets increases your DPS and the built in slag enhances your DPS as the slagging occurs while you are still firing your weapon). I have personally found better results in the Antagonist then the Blockade.
Grenades
Longbow Quasar: The Quasar grenade mod has the largest singularity radius in the game and has the ability to strip shields with ease, so the longbow variant is preferred as it allows for the best grouping of enemies at a distance. The Quasar is easily the most pivotal piece of gear in the C/B build as it is the main setup for overlapping enemy hitboxes to maximize a projectiles potential to B0re through enemies. Overall the Quasar is the bread and butter of Cunning/B0re build that just cannot be replaced.
Bouncing Bonnie(Slag): This is a bit of a niche grenade that’s mainly used for Raid bosses in order to maintain slag as it’s AoE & slag chance maximize your chance of slagging an enemy and keep them slagged. A level 50 variant is usually preferred as it ensures not to kill enemies unexpectedly.
Magic Missile: Slags everything in my sight and regenerates grenade ammo over time which are two attributes to a grenade that are ideal in OP8. The homing delivery allows me to toss the Magic Missile in the mix from a solid distance away so I can slag enemies as I snipe especially Raid bosses.
Longbow Transfusion: A grenade mod that has been in every C/B and Sniper Zer0’s backpack since level 50. This offers an incredible way to slag enemies/increase your DPS, while still healing. There are times where popping deception for innervate + the Legendary Hunter COM’s bonus 10% healing won’t get you above life gate, so here is a solid way to fix it. Healing + slag = a staple grenade for Zer0
Relics
Bone of Ancients(+Elemental Damage/+Cooldown Rate): This Relic is utilized because of where the elemental damage bonus is placed in the damage equation(Clearly towards the end of the equation). It will also grant bonus cool down reduction which combines great with Grim & the Legendary Hunter COM to allow for a shorter period in between deceptions. More access to deception means less worry about healing, repositioning, and debuff application.
Stockpile Relic(+Sniper Rifle Ammo cap/+Launcher Ammo cap/+4 grenades): This relic allows the build to maintain ammo throughout mobbing, CA stacking, and Raid/Sub bosses. I find myself using this relic more than I ever use the Bone of the Ancients due to fact that I never have to worry about ammo which can be a pain in BL2 at times or ammo light zones.
Guns:
Slot 1: Pimpernel (Shock/Fire/Corrosive)
Grip: Jakobs- The damage buff vs. reload speed, Damage wins. Higher damage = Bigger Critical hits which is why I prefer Jakobs to Maliwan gripwise.
Stock: Dahl- The added stability is necessary when aiming for sweet spots
Sight: Maliwan- The 0.7 zoom is preferable for those slight aim adjustments to ensure hitting a "Sweet spot"
Prefix: Gentleman�s pre-fix when using the Bee due to higher Critical damage.
Barking pre-fix with the Antagonist due to higher damage without the Bee.
Breakdown:The Pimpernel has the highest single shot damage in the game for a sniper due to the red text �Sink me�. The 5 child bomblets all deal the damage listed on the gun card, meaning that if any pellet hits an enemy it will deal full damage. When you add in the Bee each bomblet receives the full amp damge to each unlisted pellet, a huge boost to splash damage, and a massive increase to critical hit damage. The Pimpernel is the only gun in this build that can achieve 5/5 rising shot OFF OF YOUR FIRST SHOT due each one of the 5 bomblets proc’ing a stack of RS. This means that you open with bonuses from Headshot, OSOK, and The Bee. If you kill an enemy on that opening shot you will now have bonuses from Headshot(40%), Killer(50% critical damage), 5 stacks of RS (+50% gun damage), and the Bee, but WAIT IT GETS BETTER. On top of that due to all the bonuses granted to reload speed (Fast hands, Killer, Legendary Hunter COM, and At One with the Gun) and the low FR of 1.3(meaning stacks decay at a slower rate) you can manage to reload/fire again for a massive 110% gun damage bonus from just OSOK + 5 stacks of RS. Add in CA rewarding you with multiple stacks from a “Sweet spot” and you just have icing on the cake. The Pimpernel�s damage capabilities are insane especially with B0re as you are able to proc B0re single targets which will result in one shotting Raid bosses/Sub bosses.
Slot 2: Pimpernel (Slag)
Grip: Jakobs- The damage buff vs. reload speed, Damage wins. Higher damage = Bigger Critical hits which is why I prefer Jakobs to Maliwan gripwise. Stock: Dahl- The added stability is necessary when aiming for sweet spots
Sight: Maliwan- The 0.7 zoom is preferable for those slight aim adjustments to ensure hitting a "Sweet spot"
Prefix: Gentleman�s pre-fix when using the Bee due to higher Critical damage.
Barking pre-fix with the Antagonist due to higher damage without the Bee.
Slot 3: Twister(Shock)
Grip: Tediore- For the 4 mag size granting a constant OSOK bonus of 60%
Stock: Hyperion- For maximum stability
Sight: Hyperion- Preferred zoom level
Prefix: Rustler’s- Two extra pellets means more B0re which in turn will result in more damage then the damage prefix would produce.
Breakdown: The Twister is among the elite weapons that take B0re to another level. As the pellets begin to cyclone they can B0re multiple times allowing for massive damage. When you factor in the constant OSOK bonus due to the tediore grip and the fact that the Twister was buffed during the loot hunt event/is a Jakobs Quad you have a recipe for a power house. My build uses no points in Vel0city to ensure for maximum B0re potential while utilizing points in precision to keep a tighter grouping of the projectiles that will ensure the maximum amount of B0re proc’ing is occurring. The Shock element is a bonus as it hits for neutral damage on most enemies and bonus on stalkers!
Slot 4(Option 1): Topneaa(Shock/Fire/Corrosive/Slag)
Grip: Vladof - For max clip size to allow maximum "Free rockets"
Exhaust: Maliwan- For increased projectile speed(Topneea rockets are slow)
Sight: Maliwan- For increased projectile speed(Topneea rockets are slow)
Prefix: Rugged- For maximum damage from parts
OR
Patisans- For maximum rocket speed due to lack of Vel0city in build
Breakdown: The Topneaa has an outstanding fire rate while granting “free rockets” thanks to the “consumes reduced ammo” gimmick Vladof RLs offer. It has an AoE comparable to the Norfleet and can put a ton of rockets down field consistently while still managing to be ammo efficient. The Topneaa is easily the best non-unique E-Tech launcher and is tied with the Badaboom for best RL for C/B Zer0.
Slot 4(Option 2): Badaboom(Shock/Fire/Corrosive/Explosive)
Grip: Bandit - For max clip size and the added blade attachment(+50% melee damage) that can proc Killing blow.
Exhaust: Vladof- For increased Fire rate without sacrificing other weapon statistics.
Sight: Tediore- For increased reload speed as the Badaboom has long base reload speed.
Prefix: Big- For the added damage to maximize the damage gained.
Breakdown: The Badaboom comes with one of the largest Mag size’s of 9 when paired with a Bandit grip. It fire 6 rockets for the cost of one that gain a tighter grouping from precision and can proc Killing Blow thanks to the added blade(+50% melee damage)on the front. The Badaboom is one of the most damaging launchers in the game and this variant takes advantage of the most bonuses to make for the best C/B Zer0 RL tied with the Topneaa.
Additional Guns
In this section I am just going to list off some of the additional weaponry in my backpack that was good enough to be included in the build, but not good enough to included in the main load out. I will outline the strong points to these weapons which explains how they made the cut.
Bekah - One of the few non-elemental weapons to make it into this build and the ONLY AR to even be considered for this build. The bekah has a massive crit multiplier along with unlisted pellets which means B0re & the Bee will cause this gun to dish out insane DPS. The last note I would like to make about the Bekah is that after a certain distance the unlisted pellets materialize and sit in position before launching forward. At this time the hitboxes on the unlisted projectiles are active which means if those unlisted pellets materialize in an overlapping hitbox thanks to B0re, then they will continue to dish out absurd damage until they finally fire forward or the enemy dies. That is a key bit of info quite a few players have seemed to not realize about a C/B Zer0 & the Bekah.
Shoutouts to Abvex for getting me onto this weapon
Lyuda - The best SR for CA and overall an unbelievable SR for this build. You can build up CA incredibly quickly while also proc’ing B0re thanks to the unlisted projectiles. While I often find myself totting around a Lyuda it still leaves me when I need a better slagging tool or if I am running light on ammo. Great SR, but unfortunately a little to ammo consuming to make the main loadout.
Norfleet - Viewed by many as the best RL in the game and for good reason. The norfleet I find the best tool for getting out of FFYL, but overall can really ruin the game with this build. There is enough raw power in the rest of the gear that by the time you take out the norfleet it is not even necessary. Added due to how outstanding it is at getting a player out of FFYL, but didn’t make main loadout because it can take away from the feel of the build.
Blockhead - Can proc B0re in a very impressive manner and potentially multiple times in you have walls near the enemy as the projectiles richochet. Between 4/5 precision and the massive splash damage increase that the Bee offers this build can make outstanding use of the Blockhead. The Blockhead is used as the Twister’s fiery shotgun counter-part and with the Pimpernel already in the main loadout along with the Twister it was hard to justify the Blockhead.
