[Build] Captain Cold - When Hell Freezes

[Glacier]

The first time, I heard about the playable classes in TPS, I knew, I wanted to play as Wilhelm. The abomination, that kicked the original 4 Vault hunters butt. Sadly, I realized pretty soon, that he is far from being the best character. Whereas the other classes gain extreme damage buffs, Wilhelm got some mediocre buffs in offensive and defensive capabilities.

I went along with other classes, until Claptastic Voyage was released. And there was a laser in it, that absolutely blew my mind and I thought to myself: “This gun has ‘Wilhelm’ printed on it.”

It is this cold hard baby

This thing has an insane amount of damage, also very high elemental damage and freeze chance, and a pretty good accuracy. The only downside to this weapon is the small magazine, which is kind of offset by Wilhelm’s reload and magazine buffs.

I proudly present to you

Level 50 build: http://thepresequel.com/Wilhelm/350511015005005131105104000000000
Level 60 build: http://thepresequel.com/Wilhelm/350511015005005131105105501201000
Level 70 build: http://thepresequel.com/Wilhelm/350511015115005131105155501401001

Hunter Killer Tree

Fire Support: Extra damage, yes please.
Afterburner: Minor increase in reload speed. You can max this out and put only 3 points into suppression if you want. I didn’t do it, because our reload speed is already high enough.
Suppression: Didn’t like it in the beginning, but after some testing, the higher fire rate really makes a difference, even on lasers. But feel free to invest only 3 points into this and 5 points into Afterburner.
Laser Guided: Extra damage on target, and the visible marking is surprisingly helpful, because cryo effects can block the sight pretty fast.
Rolling Thunder: Invested 1 point, because it gets +4 from the class mod. Nice damage buff, but not spectacular.
Scramble: 30% added time is really nice, but you don’t need to invest more points into this, because every additional point adds only 5%.
Cold War: No brainer on a Cryo-Wilhelm. Major Skill
Escalation: Gets +4 from the class mod, so why not? Also, when the enemy is frozen, critical hits do even more damage.
Omega Strike: This skill point doubles Wolf’s damage output. If you don’t use your drones that often, or don’t want to rely on Wolf, you can skip it. I personally like the additional fire power.

Cyber Commando

Laser Focus: We use a laser almost exclusively, so I don’t think, I need to explain this further. Major Skill
Targeting Scope: Great skill with lasers, not that great with others. But it helps to stay on target with the Absolute Zero. The added crit bonus is nice in boss fights too.
First to Fight: Got these 2 points left, nice damage boost, but nothing spectacular.
Power Fist: Thousand times yes, you can shatter even the biggest badasses with this fist if you’ve frozen them before.
Emergency Response: Buffs fire rate and reload speed, so sure, give it to me!
Shock Absorbers: This skill is not a must-have, but i recommend it, since it synergizes well with Absolute Zero.
Divert Power: Provides great support for staying alive, gets to 5/5 with the boost from the class mod.
Welcome to the Gun Show: TAKE IT! It boosts your overall performance dramatically! Major Skill
Vengeance Cannon: It acts as a second DPS source, greatly improving your overall DPS. Major Skill

Dreadnought

Auxiliary Tanks: Nice cooldown reduction, take it.
Fortify: Buffs health and damage, when Saint is active, so this is good enough.
Energize: 5/5 in this one and you cannot be killed, when Saint is active. Also keep in mind, that this skill is your best health regen source.
Termination Protocol: I like it, acts like “Light the fuse” from BL2. But feel free to put this point into another perk.
Rapid Reinforcement: Buffs Reload speed by 32% and also movement speed. Sure it’s a Kill skill, but you are killing things nonstop.
Hazmat Containment System: It gets a buff from our Class mod, so 1 point will generate 4 more…GIVE IT TO ME!
Overcharge: This skill regenrates all ammo, because nearly no weapon can chew through ammo faster than this one is regenerating it. Increases fire rate, reload speed and movement speed, so this is a no brainer. Probably the best capstone skill Wilhelm got. Major Skill

Weapons

Absolute Zero: This Laser is pure power. The small magazine is made up for by the different skill buffs in reload speed and magazine capacity. It is the highest DPS beam laser and the Damage is further increased by our class mod and our gear. Luckily for us, most of the parts are fixed, so if you find one, you will have a good one too!

Best parts:

• Maliwan Grip
• Maliwan Stock
• Maliwan Sight

Laser Disker: At first, this thing was disappointing to say the least, but after getting it suggested more than once, I did some DPS tests with this thing. Shoot once, throw it --> maximum damage to frozen targets. But watch your ammo count when using this.

Best Parts:

• Tediore Grip
• Tediore Sight
• Tediore Stock

2x T4s-R: They are a great addition for this build. I use them in fire and corrosive form with a double prefix. Perfect accuracy, high bullet speed and good damage. Good for taking out targets, that are completely immune to cryo damage.

Best Parts:

• Hyperion Grip
• Dahl Sight
• Hyperion Barrel
• "Double" Prefix

Remaining Gear

Chronicler of Elpis: At first, I didn’t like it. But I soon started to like it when I saw the potential with the Absolute Zero. Increase Cryo proc chance and damage, as well as giving points to really good survival perks.

Longbow Quasar: My absolute favourite grenade. Thanks to our perk “Cold War”, this grenade mostly does Cryo AND shock damage, it’s an all-around great grenade.

Best Parts:

• 0.0 Fuse Time

Prismatic Bullwark: It protects us from enemy lasers AND boosts our own laser damage. I think, this is the best one for this build. If you are a perfectionist, try to get a Maliwan Body and Battery, as well as a Hyperion Capacitor. This will give you the best Bullwark possible.

Best Parts:

• Maliwan Body
• Maliwan Battery
• Hyperion Capacitor

3DD1.E: No brainer, it’s the best Oz-Kit for a Laser-Wilhelm. Boosts Laser damage, random instant heal, nothing bad about it.

The Backup Plan

Badaboom: Your FFYL weapon, use this when things need to die RIGHT NOW. This weapon really serves no other purpose.

Best Parts:

• Scav Barrel
• Torgue Grip
• Torgue Exhaust
• Heap’d Prefix

Thunderfire: This thing is not nearly as good as the other lasers mentioned in the build, but it’s gimmick is nice and with a little bit of luck, you can get up to 3 DoT’s on your opponent (Cryo from Cold War, Fire and Shock from it’s effect). Use this only against very annoying targets (e.g. Shock Invincible Sentinel).

Best Parts:

• Maliwan Grip
• Maliwan Stock
• Maliwan Sight

Ionizing Dichotomized Splitter: A Maliwan Splitter with Shock element. Great for reducing shields to ashes, synergizes extremely well with Overcharge. Use this only for Shields, as the damage against flesh enemies is mediocre at best.

Best Parts:

• Maliwan Manufacturer
• Maliwan Sight
• Hyperion Stock
• Tediore Barrel
• element
• Error Code: 4400

Coruscating Dichotomized Splitter: The same from above, only with the fire element. If you don’t like the T4s.R’s, then pick this one instead.

Best Parts:

• Maliwan Manufacturer
• Maliwan Sight
• Hyperion Stock
• Tediore Barrel
• element
• Error Code: 4400

Oxidizing Dichotomized Splitter: Same as the two above, but in corrosive version. Replaces T4s.R if you want.

Best Parts:

• Maliwan Manufacturer
• Maliwan Sight
• Hyperion Stock
• Tediore Barrel
• element
• Error Code: 4400

Alternating Phaser Railgun: A Tediore Railgun, mostly there for the reload mechanic. Combining a near full magazine chuck with the shock element and you can down Invincible Sentinels shields with 3 critical chucks. But remember: You throw away all your remaining ammo, so use this mechanic sparingly. For this one, a 4004 code is a must, the O4 effect devastates opponents beyond their shields.

Best Parts:

• Tediore Manufacturer
• Hyperion Barrel
• Tediore Grip
• element
• Error Code: 4004

Miss Moxxis Vibra-Pulse: Nice backup weapon, especially if your action skill is running out in the midst of a heated battle. Use this only, if you are on the verge of death.

Tediore Inflammable Instant: Good replacement for your shield. As the recharge rate surpasses the capacity, 1 second is enough to bring your shields back up to full capacity. Why is that so good? Because if your shield is fully recharged you can activate your Vengeance cannon again. But remember, that your laser is losing a good chunk of his damage.

Best Parts:

• Tediore Battery
• Dahl Body
• Maliwan Capacitor with Resistence

Arctic Strafing Run: The OZ-Kit for world record runners. It decreases your survivability and to gain the full benefits of this one, your aim should really be top notch. If you can manage to make every shot of your Absolute Zero count while airborn and maintain your health, pick this one. The damage buffs from this one surpass the 3DDI.E’s Laser damage buff and the added Cryo damage helps with kicking ass even more.

Longbow Storm Front: Great alternative to the Quasar, although the Quasar is more reliable in what these grenades are there for: stripping shields. The Quasar has a higher damage radius and thus can reduce shields from more enemies. But feel free to use a Storm Front, it does actually more damage to big enemies like Felicity Rampant or Eclipse.

Best Parts:

• 0.0 Fuse Time

This build’s purpose is to maximize WIlhelm’s damage output. And you should play like it like that. Drop Wolf/Saint and sprint into the biggest enemy first. You will get a massive fire rate increase from Overcharge, as well as your Vengeance cannon. By the time you reach the biggest mob boss, your shields were already depleted once.
After killing the biggest guy, you can hunt the little ones. Cryo element might be weak against shields, but this build raises the Absolute Zero’s damage to obscene levels, so it will break through every shield. Even the biggest badasses will fall within one magazine, if you manage to score some crits.

Against frost resistent enemies, take out your Maliwan Splitter, it has a decent fire rate and very good damage, so it should take care of those enemies. The yellow glitch adds massive fire rate and the green one gives you about 6-8 shoots per trigger. Cryo resistent enemies are very uncommon in TPS. If everything goes wrong, take out your Tediore Railgun and chuck it at your opponent. The red glitch destroys opponents. If he is already frozen, chuck a Laser Disker on him, as it does even more damage than the Tediore Railgun.

Against bosses, always start with an Overcharge-Splitter combo. Nearly every boss’s shield falls to this beast and the rest is ice…

Credits to Ha_Na for the excellent videos!

Please bear with me, this is my first post on this site in general and also english is not my native language.

HELP AND FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED!

-Glacier

[boombumr (Here comes the BOOOOM)]

I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone did this. Great build!

Although, if I may make one suggestion, you should try to use more lasers. The laser disker will synergize especially well with your build. There’s also the thunderfire, gliched splitters, railguns, and blasters. Overcharge will take care of any potential damage issues, and the glitch effects are tranferred to the vengeance cannon. You may get more bang for your buck with these as opposed to the tasers.

[Glacier]

I’m still testing all other Lasers, i will update this build with alternate weapons.

I found the Laser disker pretty underwhelming to be honest, this thing lacks precision! BUt yes, the Thunderfire is pretty neat though.
I have to admit, that i don’t like to abuse the yellow cannon bug, because i think it gets patched, and i dont want to change my build simply because i abused it. But yeah, it sure packs a punch^^

I picked the tasers, because i can use 2 kinds of ammo. in prolonged fights i want a good amount of backup ammo for my main weapon, so i use the tasers for not using to much laser ammo. But i will check the damage outputs of all weapons^^

[boombumr (Here comes the BOOOOM)]

Its not gonna get ptched. The vengeance cannon is considered a gun in the game code, so anything that affects guns, whether it be skills, bar, etc…, will effect it too. That includes the glitch effects.

Also, I understand the ammo diversity option. In that case, a bullpup never fails. (Just personal preference. I can’t stand the taser on Wilhelm).

[Glacier]

Mh. I never considered shotguns, don’t know why. Yeah, bullpup or a company should do the trick.

Why don’t you like tasers on him?^^

[boombumr (Here comes the BOOOOM)]

The first character I used tasers on was claptrap. Fuzzy logic+Load n splode+coincidental combustion+drop the hammer= awesomeness that Wilhelm can’t touch.

[Glacier]

You cannot touch the awesomeness of claptrap in general. He is a god (according to himself).

[crank_dat]

Laser disker was underwhelming to me too, until I started 1shot>chucking it on frozen targets. Try it against an IVF and you’ll see it comes out on top of the previously definitive tediore legendary by a factor of at least 1.5x damage. Especially with laser focus (and gunshow)

matching tediore grip, and practicing the arc should help too

[leww]

where do i get the absolute zero?

[Glacier]

Don’t know, i got my one from the final boss. But i heard the Badass glitches also drop this, cannot confirm it though.

[leww]

Thanks,

a hunting we will go…

[Glacier]

Edit: Backup weapons added, minor adjustments in the Perk selection. Working on Backup Gear (Oz-Kit etc.), soon to be added.

[kenet_550111]

I would suggest take 10 points out of man and machine, fortify and heatsink and put them in first to fight and targeting scoped (that is why your old Wilhelm is low on dps), you can do without overcharge.
More health and shield in Utvhm don’t make alot of difference.
More point in suppression and some in venom bolts (great in Clappy dlc).
Now Wilhelm can kick ass without his pets. Why let wolf has the fun when you can do it yourself better. Saint is fine Nurse (emergency only) when he is in heated battle.

[BookEmDano]

Just wanted to point out that Strafing Run boosts your fire rate and reload speed while airborne not the Ack Ack.

[Glacier]

@kenet_550111 nice idea, i will try it
@BookEmDano no, the ack ack lets you build up stacks, that buff reload speed AND fire Rate while you shoot in the air

[Glacier]

Edit: Some bigger changes to level 70 build, level 50/60 follow soon.
Edit 2: Monthar’s suggestion kicks in, added

[Monthar]

I’d drop Afterburner and max Suppression to really kick up both yours and Wolf’s DPSs.

[umihotaru]

You’ve misinterpreted the Ack Ack, it buffs your fire rate and reload speed when shooting something that’s airborn, like flying enemies or leaping Psychos, not when you are jumping. It’s an easy mistake to make though.

[Glacier]

God damnit i’ll edit it

[Glacier]

Edit: Recommended builds for Level 50/60 revised.