Starting out as Krieg - Some pointers?

Borderlands 2 Krieg the Psycho
#1

So, after playing through the game first as Gaige, I decided to Krieg out.

So far, I really like him, but I have a few questions for people who main him.

-I’m going to be focusing on the Mania tree with Bloodlust as support. Is that good progression to do for just the Normal Mode?

-Should I expect to go into FFYL a lot until I start getting better skills?

-I currently have him using SMGs and shotguns. Is there an actual preferred weapon for him?

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#2

Don’t go into Bloodlust until later. Focus on the Mania tree and get Release the Beast as soon as possible.

If you know how to time Buzz Axe Rampage and can reliably get kills, you should be fine. I recommend getting Thrill of the Kill until you get Release the Beast to help with survivability. If you’re exclusively solo, get Fuel the Rampage so that you can Rampage as much as possible. However, dump both of these skills once you get Release the Beast.

Nope. No class mods boost specific guns for him. Salt the Wound increases shotgun damage, but you have to take health damage first. Bloody Revival boosts Assault Rifle damage, but only in FFYL. Use whatever you want.

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#3

Welcome to the awesome meat bicycle.

Bloodlust/Mania is amazing, especially later on when you have both Release the Beast and Bloodsplosion which turns Krieg into one of the best, if not the best character for mobbing. Bloodlust/Mania only really has survivability issues on bigger single targets (like raid bosses), but that’s nothing you need to worry about now…

That being said, Krieg can struggle in normal mode on a new playthrough a bit, because you’ll not have access to some of his better skills until TVHM / level 30ish pretty much and have nothing for support, so yes, expect to FFYL a bit more at the beginning.
Generally speaking I’d recommend putting one point in Blood Filled Guns at the beginning (to benefit from Bloodlust stacks which are obviously not popping without any point in the Bloodlust tree), and then get some survivability skills in Mania asap, most importantly 5/5 in Feed the Meat. Thrill of the Kill is worth putting a few point into on a fresh start and you might also give Fuel the Rampage and Light the Fuse a try, but as soon as you can get Release the Beast you can get rid of these altogether.

Shotguns works exceptionally well with him due to the great Salt the Would skill and him being a close quarters character. Also, in a good Bloodlust/Mania build explosive Torgue guns and all grenades are insanely strong.
His Hellborn tree on the other hand let’s you make great use of elemental weapons.

I’d spec a fresh Mania/Bloodlust build out like this pretty much:

level 11
level 19
level 30
level 31 (game changer, respec here)
level 41
level 52
level 57 (another capstone game changer, no need to respec though)

This is just my 2c though, feel free to play around with everything. The great thing about this game is that you can respec pretty much anytime.

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#4

Focus on 1) Weapons with splash damage; 2) Weapons with spread; or 3) Elemental weapons that combine one or both of these features (Explosive with Bloodlust, Incendiary/Shock/Corrosive with Hellborn).

If I had to pick one weapon that has the highest utility on Krieg it’s the Slagga.

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#5

Thanks for the help! Everyone here.

Really excited to continue on as Krieg, and this lays a good groundwork. Thanks, all!

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#6

If you’re with Mania early be warned that melee before being able to afford Release the Beast will be frustrating, you can expect a lot of action-skill activation and imediately going to ffyl.

#7

I actually started Krieg in Bloodlust just to be different from a friend who had started with Hellborn but enough about me- congrats on making a great character choice as you’re about to enter a world of awesome- and to be somewhat helpful: when I first started Krieg my main weapons were shotguns and SMG’s, explosive grenades and absorption shields (because anything with more than one barrel goes thru a lot of ammo). Law and Order was a good early combo, at least until you got the side quest for the Love Thumper, and a Heartbreaker will do wonders in Krieg’s hands- good luck and have fun!

#8

Yeah, I’ve had that happen a few times, where I use it then immediately go into FFYL, especially during Dam Fine Rescue.

#9

A good rule of thumb before RtB is to activate BXR whenever your shields go down or you’re going to be surrounded by trash mobs and know you’ll get quick kills. Once you get RtB, it’s a matter of timing your skill to when your health is at 33% or less: basically whenever the red exclamation point shows.

#10

I would rather recommend going bloodlust instead from start all the way to lvl30 whilst aiming for something like this and re-spec’ing back into Mania once you hit lvl31 and can afford Release the Beast. In my opinion the skill Blood-Trance is the best upgrade for your action-skill you can get prior to unlocking RtB, the combination of Blood-Trance, Fuel the Blood, Buzzaxe Bombardier and Bloodbath will make both gunplay and melee much easier early on.

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Which tree to go in first?
#11

This looks like a great way to spec pre lvl 31 too.

I personally found Light the Fuse always worth having in normal mode with 5/5 in Strip the Flesh though, especially when running solo you’ll get to use it a lot, and it’s saves you from a lot of frustration with enemies running away and hiding behind cover while you’re in FFYL.
Also, it’s a fun skill so worth using as long as it’s viable, because chances are you’ll not use it much end game and surely not on OP levels (its damage doesn’t scale there unfortunately).

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#12

I’d recommend Release the Beast, as if used correctly it can be one hell of a game-changer.
It’s the only way I managed to kill Pete, although that was in NVHM. Release the beast, cooldown reset, release the beast…

#13

RtB (Release the Beast) made TVHM so easy that I actually don’t remember ever feeling like I had entered UVHM yet. Not to mention that Blood Trance is still viable at that point.

As much as I love Bloodlust as a tree, it really is best when applied with Synergy. I wouldn’t suggest to enter it off the bat.

Going in to FFYL is nothing to worry about too much with Krieg (as we are often toeing the line between life and death) but it isn’t something that should be occurring back to back very often.

Would you mind showing us your build so far?

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#14

Currently, it’s merely this:

http://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#00000000000050505012000000000000000

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#15

http://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#00000000000050540012100000000000000
As I said I didn’t start with Mania when I first started playing Krieg- that being said IMO this might give you a bit more survivability, considering you get the fire rate bonus even in FFL (and thanks to Redeem The Soul, it’s increased by 50%).

#16

I’d go with this instead. 5/5 in Strip the Flesh really helps Light the Fuse. Couple that with Redeem the Soul, and you have extra time to make a kill while in FFYL. If you’re playing Krieg up close and personal, you don’t really need more than a point or two in Fuel the Rampage. And unless you have a roid shield or a good Flame of the Firehawk, I wouldn’t bother with Embrace the Pain because having your shield down for longer doesn’t really help much - it’ll be down as long as you’re taking fire and you want it to recharge after a fight to give you that much more protection when the next one starts.

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#17

Merely?

You may be new to Krieg, but you sure know how to pick an early build mate. You’re doing very well so far. Everybody and I mean EVERYBODY hits this hurdle with Krieg. We’re only flapping our gums cause of the amount of times we’ve messed up ourselves.

That being said; as @Carlton_Slayer and @Gulfwulf said. You may want to reinvest a bit in the bottom half of the tree. Redeem the soul will help you in a rather interesting way.

Consider this scenario;

During a BXR you’re downed. Light the Fuse is active but the farthest enemy is the most tactical to kill (i.e. a little person with a big gun) it’ll give you that 50% extra you need, at the expense of ONLY one point!

Torgue guns are plentiful, and work in so many situations, so also invest in Strip the Flesh. Fuell the Rampage is a good skill, don’t get me wrong, but it is always best to counter what you’ve been experiencing difficulty with. Play to your strength, minimize your weakness. If you’re going down often, toeing the line in an attempt to quickly get back to BxR may be a part of the issue.

What are your shields and guns?

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#18

If I had to do it again I’d follow this advice rather than go with Mania.

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#19

What? I’ve never screwed up. Nope, not once. Not me. Never. Hmm hmm hmm hmm. What were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Nope, never ever ever screwed up. :innocent:

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#20

For me personally, I found that it was easier respeccing out of Mania & into bloodlust in normal mode.

Just… Blood fueled guns, Blood Trance, Blood Overdrive, Buzz axe bombardier, Fuel the Blood, blood trance/boiling blood added alot more gun DPS, melee damage, survivability, & utility which I didn’t find in mania. (Before RtB)