[Guide] Top Gear for Wilhelm

Thanks To:
@Exotek for the banner.
@Ha_Na for helping me with testing and formatting.
@Charrisx for his amazing work in adding picture links for all of the TG
@Blutfatal for his efforts in maintaining the previous TG
@Sljm for his custom corrosive emoticon (And the original idea for Top Gears)

This is a list of the gear that we, as the community, feel is the best for Wilhelm in each category. This is a community guide, so if you don’t see something on here that you think should be, post your recommendation.

The structure of the guide will be as follows: 3 to 6 slots in each category for the Top Gear: the best bits of gear from that type in terms of synergy with Wilhelm’s skills and overall effectiveness. Each piece of gear will be accompanied by a short rundown on the weapon, ideal parts and how to get it. Everything is shown in relative order of preference: Weapon type, entries within each section, parts (if multiple are suggested), Elements, and Luneshine/Glitches (if any).

##Table of Contents

  1. Weapons
    1.1 Lasers
    1.2 Shotguns
    1.3 Sniper Rifles
    1.4 Pistols
    1.5 Submachine Guns
    1.6 Assault Rifles
    1.7 Rocket Launchers
  2. Items
    2.1 Grenade Mods
    2.2 Shields
    2.3 Class Mods
    2.4 Oz Kits
  3. Future Testing Candidates
  4. Additional Resources



#Lasers
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Absolute Zero

Legendary Cryo Beam Laser with a very high Elemental Effect Chance coupled with a 218% Continuous Damage Bonus coming off a base Damage that is almost double that of the Thorny Ol’ Rosie. Has a Magazine Size of only 12, but Laser Focus almost negates this downside completely. On top of that, the Recoil is much more manageable compared to any other Maliwan Beam Laser, making this a great choice for hip firing.

  • Elements: Only :snowflake:
  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Grip
    Dahl Stock
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from EOS in Deck 13.5
    Grinder/World Drop

Thorny Ol’ Rosie

Very high Continuous Damage Bonus. Even after the nerf, it’s still fairly good Laser, but suffers from insane Recoil and low base Damage. Investment in Targeting Scope and Welcome to the Gun Show help fight these weaknesses.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :fire: 
  • Best Parts: Fixed Parts
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “The Beginning of the End” in TVHM or UVHM

Laser Disker

Explosive Laser. It fires little disks that fly quickly and deal Explosive Damage. Flying targets take double Damage. More importantly, it is the only Laser to feature Explosive Tediore Reloads, and while the Magazine Size is fairly small, the base Damage is large enough to allow this gun to easily compete with the IVF for gun chucking, especially when coupled with the Mag Size increase from Laser Focus and Welcome to the Gun Show.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Tediore or Maliwan Grip
    Dahl or Hyperion Stock
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from 5H4D0W-TP in The Cortex
    Grinder/World Drop

Dichotomized Splitter

Maliwan Lasers that use the Tediore “splitter” barrel fire 3 projectiles and receive a 210% Continuous Damage Bonus for each shot. Deadly when coupled with Laser Focus and Targeting Scope.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :zap: :fire: 
  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Accelerated Blaster

Maliwan Lasers that use the Dahl “blaster” barrel are extremely accurate at medium to long ranges receive a Continuous Damage Bonus for each shot. Very Ammo efficient, especially when you consistently hit your target.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :zap: :fire: 
  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Mining Laser

Very high Damage, Critical Hit Damage, and Elemental Effect Chance. Fires three target-penetrating projectiles in a tight triangular pattern at the cost of 7 Ammo per shot. This synergizes well with Targeting Scope and Escalation. Also an amazing freeze tool when in Cryo.

  • Elements: :snowflake: :zap: :fire: 
  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Grip
    Hyperion Stock
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “Infinite Loop”, when turned in to DAN-TRP


#Shotguns
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Flayer

The Flayer is basically a better variant of the Coach Gun. The Coach Gun has access to Glitches, but the fact that this thing shoots two extra projectiles and has a larger Magazine Size of 9 allows it to outperform the Coach Gun on almost every occasion. Jakobs weaponry also has amazing synergy with Wilhelm’s kit, especially Targeting Scope, Escalation, and Rapid Reinforcement.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Doc’s (Critical) Prefix
    Hyperion Stock
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Badass Viruses
    Grinder/World Drop

Moonface

Projectiles fire in a smiley face pattern, with low velocity and a lazy sinusoidal trajectory. Pellets deal Non-Elemental Damage, with 50% Explosive Splash Damage on impact. Has great synergy with Targeting Scope and Afterburner, allowing it to be more effective at longer ranges.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
    Note: Pellets do both :no_entry_sign: and :boom: Damage
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Hyperion Stock
    Rustlers (Projectile Count) or Doc’s (Critical) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “Red, Then Dead”

Torguemada

Fires Explosive projectiles in a fixed triangular pattern that produce a number of small, delayed flak explosions on impact. 100% Splash Damage instead of the usual 85% for Torgue Shotguns. An extremely Ammo efficient Shotgun.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue Grip
    Hyperion Stock
    Casual (Projectile Count) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “Torgue-o! Torgue-o!”, when turned in to Mr. Torgue

Ravager

Torgue Shotguns with the Torgue barrel. While normally considered an Ammo inefficient boomstick that rarely lands all of its pellets on target, the Ravager highly benefits from skills like Afterburner and Targeting Scope, allowing it to be a very consistent Shotgun. The Ammo inefficiency issue is mostly a non-factor when considering Overcharge, the yellow Glitch effect, and freezing targets beforehand. Also features a bonus 85% Explosive Splash Damage on impact.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue Grip
    Hyperion Stock
    Impetuous (Reload Speed), Sinewy (General Boost), or Casual (Projectile Count) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Company Man

The Company Man, with its superior Fire Rate, Mag Size, and Reload Speed, has dethroned the Bullpup as the best vanilla DPS Shotgun. Like other Shotguns, it synergizes with Targeting Scope, Escalation and Afterburner.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:   :fire:   :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Hyperion or Jakobs Grip
    Torgue Stock
    Practicable (Projectile Count) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Tales from the Borderlands Season Pass

Thinking

A Hyperion Shotgun with a Hyperion barrel. While the base Damage and Pellet Count are very low, it boasts a high Fire Rate and low Ammo consumption in comparison to other Hyperion Shotguns, especially when affected by the yellow Glitch effect. It serves as an accurate and Ammo efficient choice for DPS.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:   :fire:   :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Hyperion Grip
    Torgue Stock
    Practicable (Projectile Count) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop


#Sniper Rifles
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Droog

Vladof Sniper Rifles using a Vladof barrel. High Fire Rate, and its Ammo inefficiency is somewhat mitigated by Overcharge and the yellow Glitch. Highest DPS Sniper for Wilhelm.

  • Elements: :snowflake: :zap:   :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Vladof or Jakobs Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Skorry (Fire Rate), Gromky (Damage), or Razrez (Critical) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Snider

Maliwan Sniper Rifles using a Maliwan or Dahl barrel, the former is preferred for its immensely higher Elemental Effect Chance and Damage. Also features a bonus 50% Elemental Splash Damage on impact.

  • Elements: :snowflake: :zap:   :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Barrel
    Maliwan Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Barking (Damage) or Gentleman’s (Critical) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O4L0M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Skullmasher

Fires a group of six Reduced-Damage pellets at the cost of one Ammo. Low Accuracy. Targeting Scope makes this thing extremely deadly.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Dahl or Hyperion Stock
    Skookum (Damage) or Tumtum (Critical) Prefix
    Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) or Punisher (Critical) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Nel in Regolith Range
    Grinder/World Drop

Muckamuck

Jakobs Sniper Rifles with a Jakobs barrel. The Damage potential with Glitch Effects is extremely high, especially with the red and yellow Glitches.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Dahl or Hyperion Stock
    Skookum (Damage) or Tumtum (Critical) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O4L4M4A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Omni-Cannon

Fires a Non-Elemental bullet that does 50% Explosive Splash Damage on impact. While it may not be the best Sniper Rifle in the conventional sense, it makes for a highly accurate hand cannon.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
    Note: Bullets do both :no_entry_sign: and :boom: Damage
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Hyperion or Dahl Stock
    Investment (Damage) or Enterprise (Critical) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from The Sponx in Subconscious
    Grinder/World Drop

Pitchfork

Fires 5 horizontal shots in a line, shaped in a “V” pattern. Consumes 2 Ammo per shot. This weapon performs amazingly against bosses, hitting several bullets on their generally larger Critical Hit Spots with each trigger pull.

  • Elements: :zap:   :snowflake:  :no_entry_sign: :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl Grip
    Pacifying (Damage) or Night (Critical) Prefix
    Dahl Stock
    Punisher (Critical) or Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

#Pistols
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Shooterang

An interesting Tediore Pistol, because the biggest upside to it isn’t its unique Reload. The Shooterang’s high base Damage works extremely well with Wilhelm’s mostly Fire Rate and Critical boosting skills, serving as an amazing vanilla DPS Pistol.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Tediore or Jakobs Grip
    Super (Damage) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Slapper

The Slapper is a Torgue Pistol that uses the Torgue barrel, giving it the highest possible Damage per Ammo spent for an automatic Pistol. While Wilhelm doesn’t have nearly as much Ammo issues as other characters, thanks to Overcharge, the Slapper’s high Damage synergizes with Afterburner and Willhelm’s other Fire Rate skills. Also features a bonus 100% Explosive Splash Damage on impact.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue Grip
    Hard (Damage) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4 or O0L4M4A0
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Anarchist

Vladof Pistols that use the Vladof barrel, making it one of the highest DPS Pistols, at the cost of extreme Ammo inefficiency. However, this downside can be mitigated by Overcharge.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Vladof or Jakobs Grip
    Vengeful (Fire Rate) or Dva (2x Projectiles) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4 or O0L0M4A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

T4s-R

Fires lasers. High Fire Rate and Accuracy. Highest Elemental Effect Chance among all Pistols.

  • Elements: :snowflake:  :zap:   :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue or Vladof Grip
    Win-Win (Damage) or Redundant (2x Projectiles) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Holodome (Guaranteed in Round 1)

Repeater

Dahl Pistols that use the Dahl barrel, allowing it to get an extra shot in its Burst. This gun was fairly average prior to the addition of Glitch Effects. When using a Glitched variant. this gun receives no Fire Rate penalty from the red Glitch while ADS, boosting its DPS immensely, especially with Targeting Scope. It should be noted that a Blowfly is generally a better choice than a Corrosive Repeater.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl, Vladof, or Jakobs Grip
    Neutralizing (Damage) or React (Fire Rate) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O4L0M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop


##SMGs
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Torrent

Increased Damage, Magazine Size, Fire Rate, and Burst Count. Extremely low Recoil when hip-fired. No Movement Speed penalty while aiming down the sights. Also has a VERY fast Fire Rate when using Burst Fire.

  • Elements: :snowflake:  :zap:   :no_entry_sign:  :fire: 
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Flying (Bullet Speed) or Stopping (Damage) Prefix
    Punisher (Critical) or Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Meg in Hyperion Hub of Heroism
    Grinder/World Drop

IVF

Upon Reloading, it is thrown like a typical Tediore weapon and explodes. The resulting explosion spawns two smaller guns that also explode. The smaller guns deal reduced Damage. The IVF works well on any character, even Wilhelm and his lack of kit synergy with most Tediore weapons.

  • Elements: :no_entry_sign: :snowflake: :zap::fire:
    Note: Reload will be :boom: if the gun is :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Scav or Tediore Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Refill (Reload Speed) or Hefty (Damage) Prefix
    Boominator (Grenade Damage) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Meat Grinder

Fires three bullets at the cost of 2 Ammo per shot. Normally, this gun has so many Accuracy and Recoil issues that it was basically unusable except for point blank combat. On Wilhelm, however, Targeting Scope and Welcome to the Gun Show make these weaknesses almost unnoticeable, extending the effective combat range. Additionally, Wilhelm’s various Fire Rate boosts from skills like Overcharge and Emergency Response turn this weapon into a bullet hose.

  • Elements: :snowflake: :zap:   :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Scav Grip
    Dahl Stock
    True-Blue (Damage) or Kwikner (Bullet Speed) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Meat Head in Triton Flats

Fast Talker

With its large Magazine Size, high Fire Rate, and fast Reload Speed, the Fast Talker is an amazing vanilla DPS weapon.

  • Elements: :zap:   :snowflake:  :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Scav Grip
    Dahl Stock
    True-Blue (Damage) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Tales from the Borderlands Season Pass

Fridgia

Always Cryo. Very high Elemental Effect Chance. No Recoil, extremely high Burst Fire Count. Fires 2 bullets at the cost of 1 Ammo in a fixed pattern of the Lascaux cave paintings. Great as a freeze tool, and pretty good on its own.

  • Elements: Only :snowflake:
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl Grip
    Stopping (Damage) or Flying (Bullet Speed) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “In Perfect Hibernation”


#Assault Rifles
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Major Tom

Each shot fires three projectiles in a horizontal pattern at the cost of two Ammo. While ADS, it fires a burst of five projectiles in an horizontal line. It’s better on bosses and enemies with large Critical Hit Spots, as it lets you take full advantage of Targeting Scope.

  • Elements: :snowflake: :zap: :no_entry_sign:    :fire: 
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Deep (Bullet Speed) or Feral (Fire Rate) Prefix
    Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) or Punisher (Critical) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Torgue Rifle

Torgue AR with the normal Vladof barrel. Similar DPS to a Spitter Rifle, but without the slow spin-up time and poor Accuracy. Works well with Afterburner and Fire Rate buffs. Also features a bonus 90% Explosive Splash Damage on impact.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue or Jakobs Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Slippery (Bullet Speed), Wild (Fire Rate), or Plump (Mag Size) Prefix
    Error Code O0L4M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Minigun

Dahl ARs that use the Vladof “spinigun” barrel. Unlike other spinigun variants, the Minigun reaches its max Fire Rate instantly, with no spin-up time. The Burst Fire of the Minigun also fires way more projectiles than any other Dahl weapon, as each shot in the Burst fires three bullets. These quirks allows the Minigun to perform much better than other Assault Rifles, especially when factoring Glitch Effects and the insane Critical boost from Targeting Scope.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :no_entry_sign:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Dahl or Jakobs Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Attack (Damage) or Onslaught (Mag Size) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O4L0M0A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Gatling Gun

Jakobs AR with the Vladof “spinigun” barrel. Fires 3 bullets at the cost of 3 Ammo per shot. High Damage coupled with a nice Type B Critical bonus coupled with Targeting Scope make it a well rounded AR. Although it is slightly less Ammo efficient than a Hammer Buster II, it more than makes up for it in DPS.

  • Elements: Only :no_entry_sign:
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Boss (Damage) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Hail

The Hail is a unique Vladof Assault Rifle with a steep learning curve. The bullets, upon firing, go skyward in a parabolic arc. When the bullets reach the apex of the arc, they split in two and rain ugly death. This Rifle has an uncharacteristic positive Critical Damage multiplier, coupled with 80% splash damage. On top of all that, it is also a Moxxi weapon, meaning that it will heal the wielder for about 3% of all Damage dealt while it’s held. It must be noted that this particular weapon has anti-synergy with Afterburner, one of Wilhelm’s staple skills, as it raises the arc and makes the split unrealistic to achieve in mobbing scenarios. However, the various upsides for using this weapon, such as the Moxxie heal and the Splash Damage, outweigh this particular downside.

  • Elements: :zap: :snowflake:    :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Jakobs or Vladof Grip
    Dahl Stock
    Ferocious (Damage) or Rabid (Fire Rate) Prefix
    Note: The Swift (Bullet Speed) Prefix makes the arc go EVEN HIGHER. I do not recommend.
  • Obtaining:
    Dropped from Iwajira in Serenity’s Waste


#Rocket Launchers
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Kaneda’s Laser

This Tediore Rocket Launcher is unique in the fact that instead of Rockets, it fires a highly accurate Explosive Laser that can Crit. The bonuses from Targeting Scope allow Wilhelm to snipe Crit Spots while hip firing for an insane amount of Damage. Coupled with its high Mag Size and quick Reload Speed, this is by far the best Rocket Launcher for Wilhelm.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Tediore Grip
    Torgue or Vladof Exhaust
    Torgue Sight (Fixed)
    Damage Attachment
    Note: The weapon will be called “Kaneda’s Laser” regardless of its Attachment, so look out for that
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Badaboom

Fires six mini-rockets for the price of one rocket Ammo, which is super good considering the rarity of rocket Ammo in the borderlands. One of the most versatile Rocket Launcher choices for Wilhelm.

  • Elements: :boom: :zap:   :snowflake:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Scav Grip
    Torgue or Maliwan Exhaust
    Maliwan or Tediore Sight
    Clever (Reload Speed), Kwik-Change (Weapon Swap Speed), or Heap’d (Damage) Prefix
    Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Nukem

This Torgue Rocket Launcher fires straight before taking a nosedive into a giant mushroom cloud of an explosion. This Launcher does a lot of Damage and can be used to clear an entire room of baddies quickly. The catch is that it only has two shots before needing to Reload. However, with skills like Overcharge and Rapid Reinforcement, this issue is not nearly as hampering.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue Grip
    Torgue or Maliwan Exhaust
    Tediore Sight
    dippity (Reload Speed) or Fwap A (Weapon Swap Speed) Prefix
    Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Flame Knuckle in The Holodome
    Grinder/World Drop

Duurp

A Torgue Rocket Launcher with a Torgue Barrel. The addition of Glitch Effects really makes this thing shine. In particular, the yellow and red Glitches take the already high Base Damage and makes it ridiculous. Synergizes well with Afterburner, as the Projectile Speed is very slow.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Best Parts:
    Torgue Grip
    Maliwan or Torgue Exhaust
    Maliwan or Tediore Sight
    dippity (Reload Speed), Fwap A (Weapon Swap Speed), or fiddle de (Projectile Speed) Prefix
    Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O4L4M4A4
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Berrigan

The Berrigan is quite similar to the Badaboom. The Berrigan shoots a three round burst, each containing two rockets, for a single rocket Ammo. Its higher Fire Rate allows it to have higher upfront DPS, but its lower Damage and Mag Size ultimately makes the Badaboom the better choice for longer fights.

  • Elements: :boom: :zap:   :snowflake:  :fire:
  • Best Parts:
    Vladof Grip
    Torgue or Maliwan Exhaust
    Tediore or Maliwan Sight
    Rugged (Damage) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Holodome (Random Badass Round Reward)
    Grinder


#Grenade Mods
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Note: Assume the preferred Fuse Time for all Grenades to be 0.0s, and the preferred Delivery method to be Longbow/Sticky Longbow.


Cryo

A Vladof Cloud Grenade that deals constant Cryo Damage to any enemy in its Area of Effect. This is a great way to freeze multiple enemies at once, setting them up for Explosive Damage and/or Crits! If you don’t want to use a Cryo weapon, grab one of these instead.

  • Elements: Only :snowflake:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Quasar

Always Shock Singularity Grenade. Reduced Damage but increased Blast Radius (larger Singularity pull and Tesla effect). Enemies pulled within the Blast Radius suffer Shock DoT until the explosion occurs. Great Grenade for battlefield control, as well as stripping Shields.

  • Elements: Only :zap:
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Felicity in The Holodome and Titan Robot Production Plant
    Grinder/World Drop

Storm Front

Deploys as a Tesla Grenade, then launches multiple smaller range, lower Damage child Tesla Grenades in an even distribution around the deployment point. Child Grenades can stick to walls and other non-horizontal surfaces. Works great as a Shield stripper, as well as freeze tool with Cold War. You can also use the Storm Front on yourself to proc Emergency Response and Vengeance Cannon.

  • Elements: Only :zap:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Transfusion

The Transfusion Grenades are manufactured by Maliwan, and return Health to you after they Damage an enemy. Both the initial explosion and the child Grenades deal Damage and can proc Elemental Effects. Especially useful in Cryo.

  • Elements: :snowflake:  :zap:    :fire:   :boom:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Data Scrubber

The Data Scrubber is basically a Transfusion Grenade, but instead of Health, it restores Shields. It offers a different avenue of tanking when coupled with large Capacity Shields with characteristically low Recharge stats. It also regenerates Grenades like the “Magic” Grenades from BL2 did. If you can get over the fact that it has a dumpy Delivery mechanism or the fact that it only comes in Shock, it’s a very solid pick, especially for quickly restoring Shields for Emergency Response.

  • Elements: Only :zap:
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “Chip’s Data Mining Adventure”, when turned in to Chip


#Shields
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Prismatic Bulwark

This Shield absorbs Laser Ammo and boosts Laser Damage and Resistance. A lot of enemies on Elpis use Lasers, so the defensive capabilities of the Bulwark are actually pretty useful. This Shield coupled with an 3DD1.e is the go-to combination for any Laser-based build.

  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Body
    Maliwan Battery
    Hyperion Capacitor
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from Zarpedon in Eye of Helios and The Empyrean Sentinel in Eleseer
    Grinder/World Drop

Haymaker

Adaptive Shields provide bonus Health and Elemental Damage Resistance, and are great for all purposes.The Haymaker is an interesting Adaptive Shield manufactured by Dahl, as it comes with the ability to robo-punch your DoTs away. More importantly: it comes with the highest Health boost out of all Adaptive Shields, which helps with Wilhelm’s percent Health skills, such as Energize and Fortify. Alternatively, you could use an Adaptive Shield , if your build is more focused on Shield Capacity than Health.

  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Body
    Maliwan Battery
    Hyperion Capacitor
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “DAHL Combat Training: Round 5”

Shield of Ages

The Shield of Ages has the largest Capacity of all Turtle Shields (~200k at Level 70) at a comparably small Health penalty (~20k at Level 70). The catch is that it has fairly poor Recharge stats. However, Energize and Heatsinks can compensate for this downside. Also, this is the best Shield to combo with Divert Power, as the Health Reduction makes it proc sooner and it will regen the most Shield due to its large Capacity.

  • Best Parts: Fixed Parts
  • Obtaining:
    Mission Reward from “The Temple of Boom”, when turned in to Gladstone

Shield

Tediore Shields have low Capacity, high Recharge Rate, and a low Recharge Delay. Because of this, they’re usually back up as soon as they go down, especially with Heatsinks and Divert Power. It’s also useful for constantly proc’ing Emergency Response and Vengeance Cannon. It must be noted that since Divert Power, Wilhelm’s primary defensive skill, is generally going to be wasted on a low Capacity Shield, that you will be very easy to kill with this Shield.

  • Best Parts:
    Dahl Body
    Hyperion Battery
    Maliwan (Incendiary or Shock Immunity) or Hyperion Capacitor
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Reogenator

A wierd hybrid between a Tediore and an Adaptive. Very low Capacity, but extremely high Health Boost coupled with fairly good Recharge stats. The Reogenator also features a slow passive Health Regeneration that gets stronger the lower the Shield is. Wilhelm likes this Shield as an offensive Adaptive variant, designed to have a constant Emergency Response buff, while still having a decent Health Pool to sustain in combat and benefit from Wilhelm’s percent Health skills like Energize and Fortify. It should be noted that the Recharge stats are not as good as a Tediore Shield, so you’re basically only reliant on Health for survival.

  • Best Parts:
    Maliwan Body
    Maliwan Battery
    Hyperion Capacitor
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop


#Class Mods
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Celestial Enforcer

+35% Gun Damage / +19428 Shield Capacity
Afterburner / Fire Support / Man and Machine / Targeting Scope / Auxiliary Tanks / Energize
10% Movement Speed during Action Skill

This is the best all-purpose COM for Wilhelm, as it boosts some of Wilhelm’s best offensive and defensive skills while also providing great offensive and defensive utility.

  • Obtaining:
    Drops from The Empyrean Sentinel in Eleseer
    Grinder/World Drop

Cronicler of Elpis

+49% Freeze Chance / +49% Cryo Damage / +14895 Shield Capacity
Rolling Thunder / Escalation / Emergency Response / Divert Power / Hazmat Containment System

Great all-purpose COM that boosts a bunch of useful high tier skills, letting you 5/5 some one point wonders such as Rolling Thunder and Hazmat Containment System, allowing you to diversify your point distribution. Almost mandatory for heavily Cryo-based builds, but works amazingly even in non-Cryo builds due to its amazing point distribution.

  • Obtaining:
    Holodome (Guaranteed in Round 3)
    Grinder

Blaster

+23% Laser Fire Rate / +33% Laser Accuracy
Venom Bolts / Laser Focus / Welcome to the Gun Show

One of Wilhelm’s best DPS choices for non-Cryo Laser builds, as well as some Tediore Lasers. It should be noted that this COM offers no defensive capabilities, making it less versatile than a Celestial Enforcer.

  • Best Parts:
    High-Tech (+6 LF, +5 WtGS) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Howitzer

+49% Explosive Damage / +43% Critical Damage
Fire Support / First to Fight / Targeting Scope

An amazing choice for any Explosive weapons, especially Torgue Shotguns. Other Shotguns are better served by a Celestial COM.

  • Best Parts:
    Siege (+5 TS, +4 FS, +4 FtF) Prefix
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

High-Tech Projector

+23% Laser Fire Rate / +49% Slam Damage
Emergency Response / Divert Power / Heatsinks

This COM features a heavy Shield focus, while also boosting offensive capabilities. More useful in an Overcharge build focused on abusing the doubled effectiveness of Heatsinks, as it can heavily boost the effectiveness of higher Capacity Shields.

  • Best Parts:
    (+5 Heatsinks, +4 Divert Power, +4 Emergency Response) Variant
  • Obtaining:
    Holodome (Guaranteed in Round 4)


#Oz Kits
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3DD1.E

In addition to its Laser Damage and Shield Capacity boosts, in combat, there is a random chance for Shields and Health to rapidly regenerate. When damaged, there is a random chance to Shock nearby enemies. When killing an enemy, there is a random chance to release a care package, which provides Health, Ammunition and/or Money drops. This is a great all-around Oz Kit based solely on the utility it provides, and is practically mandatory for Laser builds.

  • Elements: Only :boom:
  • Obtaining:
    Drops from CL4P-L3K in Veins of Helios. If left alone during the mission “Eradicate!”, you can come back later to farm it.
    Grinder/World Drop

Tranquility

No friends? Don’t worry, because the Tranquility Oz Kit is just as good, providing a Damage Boost that is only marginally smaller than a full Support Relay, without forcing you to have a full Co-Op with the same Oz Kit. The Damage boost is almost always at its maximum in Atmosphere, and can be easily kept high in Vacuum.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :boom: :zap:  :fire:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Duality

All Gun based Duality Oz Kits boost Gun Damage and Recoil Reduction in Atmosphere and Fire Rate and Reload Speed in a Vacuum, which are both highly useful to non-Laser weaponry. The Element based variants offer Shield Recharge boosts in Atmosphere and Elemental Damage and Effect Chance in a Vacuum. If you’re not going with a Laser build, these kits can be a good, sometimes better, alternative to the Tranquility.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :boom: :zap:  :fire:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Bomber

Boosts Grenade Damage, which is highly beneficial to most Tediore, Torgue and Maliwan weaponry. Throwing Grenades midair also comes with a 59% chance to not consume Grenade Ammo.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :boom: :zap:  :fire:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

Systems Purge

This Oz Kit uses some of your Oxygen in order to deal a Non-Elemental Nova on hit that can shatter air masks. Also replenishes Oxygen on kill. All in all, it’s a fairly consistent boost to DPS, especially in Atmosphere.

  • Elements: :snowflake:    :boom: :zap:  :fire:
  • Obtaining:
    Grinder/World Drop

#Future Testing Candidates
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Have a suggestion? Don’t like some of the entries here? Post below and discuss with the community! We’re still a little bit short on data, especially involving Glitched weapons.

Current Candidates

#Additional Resources
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11 Likes

Reogenator/MORQ?

They’re effectively Tediore Shields that give a Health bonus (synergy with %HP Bonus/Regen).

1 Like

I haven’t considered them, but they could definitely give the boot to the avalanche, which was mostly filler prior. I will add it to the candidates list.

@Ha_Na

:smirk:

Ah, but Wilhelm is not Nisha. Rapid Reinforcement is made for fast-recharging shields, while Order is made for high-capacity shields.

Reo/MORQ are also not advisable on Athena, who benefits more from higher shield capacity due to Conduit, etc.

Tediore shield have 150% the recharge rate of their capacity, Reo/MORQ have 33% recharge rate of their capacity, which means I need at least a +200% recharge rate boost to make them insta fill. Divert power’s cooldown is too long to be reliable, and even with maxed Heatsinks and Energize, Wilhelm still feels very squishy (quite a few FFYL even when fighting trash mobs), and that’s with maxed out HP skills (M+M and Fortify) and a Juggernaut Oz kit.

@Sljm Wrong Skill (Rapid Reinforcement Boosts CDR, MS, and RS), are you thinking about Heatsinks, Energize, or Divert Power?

Anyways, we should add Vengeance Cannon to the Tediore shields. Not only ER is triggered, but the middle capstone as well.

Nah, that was about the Aurelia Top gear, not Nisha :smile:
It features both Tediore shields and Adaptive shields. I just pointed out the same thing you did :stuck_out_tongue:

Well there’s a different Mindset between Tediore and Adaptive, one is more about getting your Shield Break skills as quickly and consistently as possible while the other is more focused on effective Health and surviveability. Having a little bit of both splits that focus. Whether or not it’s better or worse is up in the air, as I haven’t done extensive testing with it.

Yeah. I explained it there too. Needs to much adjustment with gear (COM, ozkit) and skills to be able to trigger those shield break skills every second with a Reo/Morq as compared to a Tediore while still ending up as squishy.
Adaptive shields on the other hand are mainly useful for their solid defense, and Reo/Morq just feel like a bad something inbetween both ends (fast insta recharges vs thick solid defense)

Edit - ninja hiveminded.

Can you tell this was a collaborative effort?

1 Like

Meant Emergency Response.

I only play Wilhelm and I have tried all the shields. For me and my playstyle there is nothing that beats a good purple adaptive shield.

I simply live much much longer. And have far less FFYL’s in almost any situatuon

Better than Reo’s Morqs, haymakers’etc…at least for me…

Match it with a 20% Damage Reduction cocktail from Moxxi and you should basically never go down with the right build.

Oh and I know there is a lot of discussion about hard to kill. And yes it is a situational skill. But I must tell you since I started consistently Specking hard to kill I have dropped my number of deaths by at least 50% I just don’t go down near as much as I used to.

Maybe I’m just getting better, or maybe that skill is a little underated.

2 Likes

There’s some weird Shield Quirks with Wilhelm. Emergency Response benefits quick shields, but Divert Power and Energize benefit more from large Capacity Shields, and then there’s Heatsinks that works for both.

Purple Adaptives is Very Similar to the Haymaker, but when optimizing for Health, you get a little bit more from a Haymaker, I just wanted to be absolute with my choices…@Chuck80

May I suggest the Gwen’s Other Head for the pistol section? It boasts a pretty high crit modifier and can come in all elements. A cryo variant works extremely well due to Escalation, Cold war, and targeting scope.

We Actually did test Gwen’s, it did fairly well, just marginally worse than the current Top Gear

Really? It got beat out by a normal glitched pistol? Thats weird. I always thought the crit modifier it had would land it a guaranteed spot.

Just out of curiosity, what is the highest number you’ve hit with both during testing? I’m really curious now.

No maggie, interesting