Thoughts/critique on my planned build for Level 72 Gaige

Borderlands 2 Gaige the Mechromancer
#1

Looking for any thoughts, advice, critiques, and/or snide remarks on my planned build for Gaige.

http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550000100000140055140551412150151050

FWIW, I have a Legendary Catalyst waiting for her in the stash.

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#2

Not bad- looks a lot like my no capstone build for my latest Gaige Queen Scream (who made it to OP8 after many, many attempts :smile:). I listed all the builds for my latest crew of VH in the ā€˜What is your favorite buildā€™ thread- you can check it out if you want to make comparisonsā€¦

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#3

Solid, but I would ditch Robot Rampage in favor of the Stare to give DT range ability. It helps, whereas sometimes the rampage just gets in the way.

Close Enough, in my book, negates the need for the Nth Degree so I would put those 5 points in Catalyst somewhere to boost even more elemental damage if DT is going to be less a priority since his best skill is passing on DOT effects with Make It Sparkle.

This isnā€™t my normal Gaige Build, as I love to use Sharing is Caring and giving DT a Spike shield and something like the Black Hole, Love Thumper, or WTF (particularly if I am running the UCP where self damage is off). This is how I would shift things on a Catalyst focused build that seems to be Spray & Pray focused with DOTs and mayhem being where the focus is.http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550050100000550105151551415000151000

I know the animation is slow for 123 Boom, but with one point to spare and Make It Sparkle already the sole capstone, having me aiming at DT already, makes sense to add that since with Anarchy accuracy is going to be garbage anyway. :wink:

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#4

Someone else uses The Stare?!

It does work, but at level 72 and up, The Stare is mostly good for finishing off weakened/slagged/de-shielded, unarmored enemies (though it cannot miss, which is nice), but if you want Deathtrap to actually engage a healthy mob with a shot at killing it, Robot Rampage does the trick (plus each swipe gets Make It Sparkle).

Conveniently, these are only one point each; take it out of Electrical Burn - two to three points (especially with a L. Catalyst COM to bring it back up) is enough to light an enemy up pretty reliably. The DoT canā€™t stack (like only one DoT from EB can be active at a time), so huge odds just reset the one DoT timer repeatedly.

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#5

I find I/O is sufficient with one point to be boosted to 6/5 by the L Cata. 10/5 doesnā€™t really gain you a lot as youā€™ll get that maximum stack infrequently.

I love Nth Degree but itā€™s hard to judge how much DPS it adds. Still, I always take it.

Iā€™ve never seen the value in Cooking Up Trouble. Seems a waste of 5 points. I just use a Hail and the odd bit of Discord.

Iā€™d definitely advise something in Fancy Math and/or Unstoppable Force.

Have you tried Buck Up? I find it handy.

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#6

Thanks for the pointers everyone.

Regarding The Stare, I donā€™t like giving DT extra attack options aside from Robot Rampage. I could very well be imagining it, but I feel as though DT glitches more often when I give him more options.

The points in Cooking Up Trouble was supposed to be in Fancy Math - Iā€™ve taken the liking to Hail and Iā€™ve found it works more than well enough for healing.

Very good point on I/O. I forgot the stack is time based.

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#7

Oh man, if IO doesnā€™t proc with a full stack, it feels like a waste. I always max it.

Yeah, I almost always let it stack all the way up.

Itā€™s either this or Close Enough to get that tree started, and when Iā€™m not built around Anarchy, Cooking Up Trouble is a great alternative. My backup FFYL weapon doubles as my CuT filler too. My Maliwan Mechromancer has quite a few Moxxi weapons to choose from, But my Bandit Mechromancer leans on CuT often (to save Discord/Anarchy stacks for emergencies).

I canā€™t bring myself to use that skillā€¦ itā€™s like a FFYL buff except youā€™re not actually down yet.

I didnā€™t think anyone else used this. With this, Unstoppable Force, and Blood Soaked Shields, spike shields are nigh invincible.

What are you seeing? Other than Deathtrap focusing Buck Up on an enemy on occasion (rarely in my experience), they seem to work as advertised.

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#8

Iā€™m not sure why itā€™s maligned. Potentially bad for co-op but otherwise I think itā€™s great - or at least good enough to warranty a point.

Fair enough. I prefer UF anyhow.

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#9

Why the stare & not RR:

Minimal options means DT does said option more often true. Totally agree, hence either or, and me not normally using 123 Boom.

But more specifically (insert Simon Miller slapping himself video) Hereā€™s Why:

Rakk
Surveyors
Buzzards
Adult Varkids
Mounted Turrets

Many a time, unbeknownst to me I hear that lazer cue up and something dies that was out of my visual range, or I pop out of FFYL when there isnā€™t an enemy around (especially during poorly executed Warrior fights) cause DT nailed a Rakk.

Itā€™s not a primary offensive option, just a convenient tool on the utility belt.

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#10

Before the Oct 2015 patch I think DT was notorious for using Buck Up on enemy shields- also, melee co-op players kind of found it annoyingā€¦ I may be mis-remembering things but I think DT can also use The Stare on stuck surveyors, which helped me clear Hyperion Slaughter w/o having to do a save & quit in the middle of the matchā€¦

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#11

Iā€™ve never seen him use The Stare against any of those (but he brings out his shock beam for them for sure). Have you seen him rock The Stare against them? Iā€™d particularly love it if he used it against Threshers, but they get the shock beam too.

#12

Yup, I donā€™t have capture tools, but yeah, the things I mention I do because DT specifically gave them the Scott Summers, Kalā€™el, Darkseid treatment. Shock beams animation is a totally different animal.

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#13

By the way, Made if Sterner Stuff has a hidden damage reduction vs fire. This from the wiki :

Even though this skill should only reduce damage by up to 11%, it has been found through testing that if you invest even one point, Burn damage from DoT effects are reduced by ~50%, with a ~4% reduction per point afterwards.

So while the skill is mostly useless on paper, one point is worth it. The BFF tree can be like so :

http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#500140140100000000000000000000000000

That leaves you 26 points for LBT and 25 for OC (the only change Iā€™d make is to go 3/5 in Preshrunk - nice to have the headroom for Discord - obviously the point would come from Typecast).

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#14

For me, DT often either stand around doing nothing or go off outside of current area/map/use ranged options to attack at things that are of no threat. With more options, it seems like this happens more often but again, could completely be confidence.

Didnā€™t know that about MoSS, and that still leaves enough points to get to Make It Sparkle and Nth Degree.

If only I could go play around with all this now - away on holidays so no BL2 for next few days.:slightly_frowning_face:

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#15

I always forget to say this:

Any build I post is without class mods in mind. I build for the buffs I want while playing sans opportunity to respect, but still likely to switch class mods. So these are the skills I want to have active at all times, boosted or not, though being boosted is a bonus.

The listed effects besides the skill boosts like Gun Damage, Elemental Effect, or Cooldown Rate are things I lean on when swapping mobs in situations, which is why most of my builds are combo likeā€¦
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#550055101501505105150050415100100000

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#16

Mind if I ask why Sharing is Caring when you donā€™t use any of her shield skills?

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#17

Yeah, thereā€™s a trick to managing this. First, if you have an enemy in your crosshairs when you activate him, he will go after that enemy first. You can use this when first engaging a mob to tactically deploy him, as in, point him in the direction of an enemy near the rear of the mob, so when he finishes, he has to go through the remainder of the mob to get back to you, increasing the odds of an encounter.

Second, if heā€™s floating toward you ignoring nearby enemies, move yourself to make him a robot shield. A few hits from enemies should wake him up.

Third (though I never do this), you can pre-pop barrels in the local area, as he will consider them an enemy if their DoT hits him for as long as the DoT lasts. Slag and Explosive? Ignore 'em. Corrosive, Fire, or Shock? They can grab his attention for several moments.

Fourth, him chasing random, distant enemies should be pretty rareā€¦ I think this happens when one falls through the map while Deathtrap is engaged, and heā€™ll just follow them all the way down (or like in the Fridge, you can actively be engaged with enemies on the other side of buildings where you canā€™t see them. In a pinch, if youā€™re on a map with vehicles, getting into and right back out of one will manually reset his timer.

Him having more options for combat should totally be a coincidence for this sort of thing - it just means that, for example, if he ever catches up to that falling bandit, heā€™ll use Explosive Clap instead of a claw attack (for example).

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#18

I just happened on this old post regarding Nth Degree if anyoneā€™s interested :

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#19

Mainly because my approach is using an offensive shield when mobbing, but doing my killing myself so Upshot the Robot keeps DT and whatever skills he benefits from active by virtue of my DPS rather than dedicating points to buffing shields.

He helps do damage & gets some kills, drawing aggro & functioning like the worldā€™s most advanced Homing Grenade/ Attack Dog/ Minion.

I know some people like to build to buff one particular skill set or exploitable attribute, but this is my potpouri approach where a good piece of gear holds its own. I like using tediore gear to keep me from reloading constantly, which is totally the opposite of how most use their guns, but when I play Sal, Gaige, or Athena & Nisha in TPS, the ability to go fully automatic and not stop my DPS to reload (allowing more time for Gunzerking, Showdown, or attacking while charging the Aespis) is how I enjoy playing those characters. Itā€™s low maintenance mobbing. And in a pinch I can bail myself out of FFYL with some chucking. And thatā€™s the only time I hit reload, unless I am using Discord to gain health. That saves me unmapping reload with Gaige, which is how I initially opted to play with her, back when I only played one character straight through to 72.

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#20

It occurs to me that if this skill was included in a COM that brought it up to a point where every shot was doubleddā€¦ :thinking: