Rough Rider builds

Borderlands 2 Salvador the Gunzerker
#1

please post any good gunzerker builds for the rough rider.

#2

http://bl2skills.com/patch/gunzerker.html#505050501005305510015155000055000
This build is more for boss killers than anything else along with unkempt harold and grog and you’re good to go on any boss

#3

For fear of being obtuse, the Rough Rider is as synonamous with Sal as it is with Krieg. Most raiding is done with it for its effect on Bubblegum and Inconceivable. It’s used with Brawn builds for its added healing and damage reduction. I actually can’t remember the last time I used a shield other than the Rough Rider.

My question to the Sal players would be : are there builds with which the Rough Rider would be a bad choice?

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Edit : since there was a request to post, this is my Jakobs-only build ( no Moxxi , grenades for slag ) :

http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#154000501000545010415054105104051

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#4

no not really because there are no skills that need full shields or anything so really there aren’t any bad builds for rough rider unless you don’t use bubblegum and inconceivable or something like that, but even then they arent bad builds

#5

One thing to consider with the RR on Sal is something that Chuck80 mentions in Derch’s Sal skill/gear guide vid (@2:13:46, couldn’t get the correct timestamp)…when mobbing, if you go into FFYL and get back up, you’re below health-gate and you have no shield. Getting my Sal stuck in a few FFYL loops made me switch to a Neo for mobbing.

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#6

Not that I know of.

But it’s not always the best either.

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#7

The Deputy build comes to mind, as since it’s “bursty” in nature, the lack of sustained life steal makes it a bad choice. And like I quoted, it doesn’t use Inconceivable or AOoB.

My Topneaa Hoarder also doesn’t like the RR.

If you use a Moxxi weapon during FFYL, it fixes that problem.

To the OP, this is my Sal build if I’m using automatic weapons that aren’t Hyperion.

http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#505050511515055010515105500100000

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#8

I disagree - my own build is strictly Jakobs, so no Moxxi for healing. Healing is simply through GZ, various Brawn skills and to a large extent, the Rough Rider with its massive health boost.

The number of invidual health points that are regen’d are greater if you have higher max health.

I tried using a Neo but it just didn’t have the same effect. I also know @Kurtdawg13 had the same experience when doing his OP8 Deputy run with level 72 gear : Rough Rider or bust.

This of course requires investment into Brawn that some might balk at.

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#9

Yeah, I refuse to play Sal without NKLO. And I’d say try the Sham, you might be pleasantly surprised… on a non-allegiance Sal.

And again, this is just me min/maxing here, but I’d still say it’s a poor choice normally for that build. You can make almost anything work if you want it to.

Which OP?

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#10

OP4 - it can work at OP8 but it’s a bit of a drag. I stopped that particular character at OP4 because unlocking OP5 involves the turret round - and that with Jakobs and no slag gun? No thanks.

( actually I posted the build in my first post - works with Leg Berserker or a purple Monk COM ).

And yes I have a Sham for my other OP8 Sal - and a Neo - but the RR just appeals to me more.

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#11

Don’t forget that part of the reason the RR is good in that context is that it offers a fixed damage reduction with remains 100% relevant at OP8 even of your shield is OP0, while other shields will feel like OP0 shields because of their lowered capacity.

With 2 OP8 shields, the results will be more comparable.

That also depends on intent and context… and what is meant by “poor choice”

If you’re trying to min-max, or you’re trying to have the best option available, then yes, it is a rather poor choice IMO, because the Neo is just as easy to get and will be better in many situations.

But in the grand scheme of things, it is still a better choice than 95% of the shields out there for that setup. It still gives you extra health to accommodate your burst-healing and 20% damage reduction is not useless.

So, is it a poor choice ?
That depends on how you define a “poor choice” :slight_smile:

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#12

By poor choice I mean it doesn’t play to the build’s strengths. It’s still good, but I wouldn’t recommend it the same way I wouldn’t recommend something like an Anarchist on AA Jack. As it’s still a good gun that has it’s flaws fixed by the build, but it’s no Development.

Plus there are very few shields used in the end game anyway, and I know he has no shield skills, but what’s your opinion on the Blockade? It has ~32% DR instead of 20%, and you can get the delay below 1.8 seconds I think.

And not that I think it’d be good just sitting here having never tried it, but it’s a MS build with good crit. So would an Antagonist with bullet DR and enemys MSing themselves, thus helping to kill them and healing you with the Grog, does that sound like a better shield on a NKLO build?

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#13

I can’t speak from my own experience, but using Kurt’s run as an example he had better success with the OP0 Rough Rider than the OP0 Blockade. I basically equated that to the fact that his Blockade spent so much time down, it was essentially a Rough Rider with higher DR and no health buff.

In that case ( which I realize in no way reflects on-level gear ), the RR’s effect on health regen was more effective than added DR.
The Blockade otherwise did well.

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#14

I was talking about non-Brawn builds. I’d expect the RR to do better with Brawn builds. Parts and playstyle also play a factor for the Blockade. Do you mind posting Kurt’s runs?

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#15
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#16

Doesn’t have the extra health like the RR or Adaptive, so I think it’s strictly inferior for the same reasons you gave above.

It’s still a great shield, but like you said, it doesn’t play to the build’s strengths either

Does money shot apply to reflected bullets ? :stuck_out_tongue:
In a bullets heavy zone, it would work fine :slight_smile:

Yeah, Kurt’s run require a different kind of thinking in general :slight_smile:

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#17
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