[Build] Kitten Zero

Borderlands 2 Zer0 the Assassin
#1

Updated to level 80!

Note: This is not a new build. I’ve just been really slow porting my stuff over from the old forum. You can find the original Thread here.

…

Inspired by Dark Souls’ Kitten video for the old Top gear thread, I decided to give this a shot, and boy did my pistol build just took a hike :slight_smile:

There is nothing really new about this build, I just want to share my experience and maybe make others want to try it, as I am having a blast :slight_smile: I soloed everything the game has to offer except Raids with it and it’s the easiest time I’ve ever had with Zero. (though I never REALLY tried Melee…)

It’s also a pretty easy build to play and it requires very little gear that is hard to farm. In short, it’s perfect for a new player trying to get the hang of Zero. :blush:

##BUILD!

Fairly standard build, nothing fancy. Execute is there to help movement, since the Kittens are much better from right-in-your-face range. OSOK looks nearly useless, but… well… yeah :stuck_out_tongue:
2 points left, put them where you want. (You might be tempted to put points into Fearless, but you shouldn’t…you’ll see why below)

Gameplay is pretty standard C/B behavior: Deception, Kunai, grenades, shoot to the face, melee weakened enemies… the usual. The only difference is that the Kitten performs MUCH better from very close range.

##GEAR!

###Guns
A pair of Kittens, one fire and one corrosive. Vladof grip, Dahl stock, Severe prefix.
Why Severe ? because the Kitten has horrible spread, and this helps tighten it a bit. If it make just a few bullets hit where they otherwise would have missed, you’ve paid back your damage prefix, and it helps to be efficient at medium range (That said, the damage prefix is still good). Stay away from the Rabid prefix as it will totally kill both your aim and cripple Two Fangs.

Third slot is reserved for a slag Pimpernel.
As a slagging tool first, but also at 6/5 velocity, I can still hit the sweet spot on bigger enemies (badass marauders, loaders etc.).
Now, the weaknesses of this build so far are:

  • Enemies with BIG shields (Rabid stalkers come to mind)
  • Enemies that are far away
  • FFYL

…I tackle all 3 by carrying a shock PBFG, Badaboom, Topneaa or Norfleet… there. solved! :dukeaffirmative:

###Shield
I use an Antagonist, but almost any good shield could do…that’s just what I use.
As @Elbinac once pointed out, a Turtle Shield makes the Kitten’s Moxxi healing even more effective, Bonus point for an inflamable, grounded or alkaline one.
The Blockade is also helpful in making an otherwise squishy Zero, a bit sturdier.

###Relic
Bones of the ancient in whatever flavor the enemy happens to be the most numerous is a substantial help.
A Shadow of the Seraph is also a good choice with the advantage of not requiring to swap, but consuming more ammo and providing no bonus to Cooldown.
A Skin of the Ancient makes Zero much less squishy. Again, your pick. :slight_smile:

###Grenade
If you are holding a Moxxi weapon like the Kitten, there are two ways you can get healing out of a grenade:

  • Transfusion, just like everybody else
  • Or use a DoT grenade.

The Kiss of death does both.
I get healing as it fuses down, and I get the orbs afterwards. A shock version can strip shields (and provide more healing if the enemy has one, since it will do 2.5x the normal damage) and I don’t have to change it between armored and flesh areas.
Otherwise, a slag Singularity could be useful to take advantage of B0re, or a Slag Transfusion would serve dual purpose as healing and slagging tool.

###Class mod

This is where it gets interesting.
At first, I was using a Chaotic Rogue COM.
I then tried a Legendary Killer COM… and got about the same fire rate.
How come ? because of this.
The Chaotic Rogue pushed the fire rate above 10 and broke Two Fangs.
The resulting effective fire rate is about 12.5 for Chaotic Rogue, and about 11.6 for the Killer… that isn’t a big difference.
So fire rate boosts with this build…not good (You can get away with a few if your BAR is low or if you have a non-Vladof grip on your Kitten)

So there are a few good choices of COMs for this setup, and they all work pretty well. (In relative order of preference):

  • Legendary Killer: Humongous crit bonus (COM bonus, boost to Killer and Headshot) and a +5 to two fangs means you get the equivalent of a Chaotic Evil Rogue, with a few more bonus. This is probably the best COM for this build.

  • (Unequalled) Professional: You get the Two Fangs bonus, you also get a good reload speed boost (which makes it just as good as a Good Rogue functionally) but instead of a boost to Velocity, you get a boost to Killer (more crits and even more reload speed) and/or Ambush (more damage).
    …And you also get shield capacity to boost survival.

  • Rogue: (Two Fangs and Velocity) Another good choice, though not as good as the previous 2.
    The Neutral prefix helps, so does Good. I haven’t tried the Lawful, but if you don’t have a severe prefix on your kittens, it might be worth a look. The Chaotic one breaks Two Fangs so it adds nothing functionally… and the Evil one isn’t too bad… but if what you want is crit bonus, you should be using either of the previous ones instead.

…

I hope you enjoyed reading this :slight_smile:
if you have any comments or feedback, please post them :slight_smile:

4 Likes
Any spectacular gun-based Zer0 builds?
Is there a Zero build not focused on EITHER sniping or melee?
Recommendations on a Zer0 AR Build?
What is your favourite build
#2

Interesting build. I’ve always liked the Kitten although, as you say, the spread on some of them can be a problem at greater distance.

Not specific to the build, but I have a question about Innervate: Does the gun damage boost only apply to the first shot (which will take you out of deception), or does it have a short window in which it applies?

1 Like
#3

I have a shock Kitten for my Vladof allegiance build, and with the Rogue COM, the Kitten is incredibly fun… I use it as a shotgun analog.

1 Like
#4

First shot only. The OSOK, Innervate and Deception bonus are not exactly optimized in this build, but usually you have damaged your target during deception and applied slag, so they should go down very fast still :slight_smile:

#5

Chuck, MOLMF just did a hybrid version of this build with the Love Thumper!

Also, nice build! I got one question: can it work with another Moxxi gun, like the Heartbreaker or the Good/Bad Touch?

1 Like
#6

Really ?
I mean, he probably thought of it by himself… I doubt @MOLMF would need to look at my builds to make one of his own. Still, if he did, that’s pretty cool. :smile: (Big fan of his “does it suck” series)

Yes, it could work with other moxxi guns, or even with non-moxxi guns too if you’re a bit more careful, but the touches are much less powerful than the Kitten, and the Heartbreaker only comes in fire. You could totally replace the fire Kitten with a Heartbreaker (I did while testing it long ago)
it’s more powerful in expert’s hands, but it’s a bit harder to manage since you have bad aim on your first shot, you have to reload more often and manage a smaller ammo supply… But it’s totally a great choice. Hyperion grip, Torgue stock, crit accessory. ( though the need for the Hyperion grip is lessened if you really know what you’re doing, use the Professional COM or have a “good” variant of the Rogue COM… In those cases, the Bandit and Jakobs grips are good choices too)

In the end I went with the Kitten because I always try to make builds with new players in mind (those who actually need build advice :slight_smile: ) and the Kitten is easier to use.

Top of the line builds for Zero are many, between MOLMF’s stuff, Seraph, Coon’s, Striker… I don’t think I could bring anything to the table for typical C/B, Sniper or pure Melee builds, So I prefer to deal with simpler more accessible stuff :slight_smile:

Having two kittens as your main guns also allows you to use an AR aggression relic if you can’t find the other options I mentioned with a minimum of loss, or even a Vladof allegiance relic (especially if your RL is a Topneaa)

Another option if ease of use is not a concern is the Hail. Which might actually be more powerful than the Kitten.

1 Like
#7

The problem with the Hail is the learning curve and how Accelerate mess with it. Thinking about it, the Kitten is problably the best overall option. Good point on the accessory, also.
Thanks for the reply, Chuck! Im a fan of your great work. :smile:

1 Like
#8

Someone else is using the Kitten on Zer0?! You gotta be kitten me.

11 Likes
#9

Now this is interesting. Looks like I’ll be shopping for a set of kittens.

1 Like
#10

Corrosive Kitten so good. It’s my second fave gun after Twister when Digipeaking.

#11

Bumping an oldish conversation to say that this thread is awesome. There are many conversations or references to “builds” of various types, but most of those discussions involve builds that are more similar than they are different. The kitten builds may be similar in terms of skill plan, but the gear focus and the resulting play style set them squarely apart.

I had a great time watching MOLMF’s kitten Zero video, as well.

2 Likes
#12

Is Velocity pretty neutral on the Kitten??..neither helps or hurts?? I would think it would tighten the smiley face spread…

Does an 11/5 Precision tighten that smiley face any.

If max Velocity and Precision Help it

Would not a Legendary Sniper Mod be an option since the Critical hit data is bugged and applies to ALL weapons??

#13

I don’t know Kitten spread too well so this is just assumption but I’d think Velocity does not hurt it too much. AFAIK Kitten spreads into its pattern after a very short while so Velocity would only hurt in on very short distance engagements.

Precision not too sure but I’m fairly confident it has an effect on it’s spread. When it comes to natural patterns like the kitten has I’ve really no experience but I’d think it helps at least a bit. The predetermined patterns I’ve tried it seemed to matter but not necessarily in a predominant way. I guess this is up to experimentation for every gun.

Back to Velocity: since all bullet spread is done by bullet airtime in BL2 speccing into Velocity should only hurt you if you are shooting the enemy very close by.

I’m not sure if the Kitten has a sweet spot like the Lyuda does but if it has then it would move the sweet spot for hitting all the projectiles further away.

EDIT: This is just I’d presume it’d work. These skills are confucing at best and when it comes to predetermined patterns you never know.

EDIT2: What is your build for a Kitten Zer0. I tried making one in the skillbuilder and I’m running into ultimatums between skills. I’ve done SMG and Revolver builds before but I’m honestly torn between skill here if I wanted to go for this.

#14

According to Derch, Velocity actually helps the Kitten, because the pattern’s spread is based on time and not distance, so faster bullets don’t have as much time to spread out.

Whether or not this has an appreciable impact in actual play, I don’t know. But I can tell you that, at the very least, it doesn’t hurt in any way.

1 Like
#15

It would not be a bad option, but the Leg. Killer increases crit just as much and has better skills to go along. I cannot stress enough how much 10/5 Two Fangs helps get things rolling.

1 Like
#16

I don’t think Vel0city or Precisi0n will alter any fixed weapon patterns (Lascaux, Infinity, Kitten, for example). The shots just get downrange faster with Vel0city (plus the damage buffs), and I think Precisi0n is wasted on them. I’m basing this off the testing I did with Vel0city and the Lyuda as well as the Infinity… it’s quite possible that the Kitten’s pattern could remain tighter longer with Vel0city. I tend to use it ranged more like an SMG, so haven’t really noticed.

[quote=“johnrr6, post:12, topic:372116”]Critical hit data is bugged and applies to ALL weapons??[/quote]Oh wow… never looked into that. Is it just the Legendary version, or do all “Sniper” COMs do that?

1 Like
#17

All crit bonus from COMs apply to all guns, no matter what the card says

#18

Like I said, the impact might not be very significant, but at least it doesn’t hinder you.

As for precision, it does help with fixed pattern weapons like the Kitten and Lascaux.

2 Likes
#19

[quote=“Chuck80, post:18, topic:372116”]As for precision, it does help with fixed pattern weapons like the Kitten and Lascaux.[/quote]For me, the Kitten is already “tight enough” (don’t be gross). The Lascaux though, with that shot pattern tightened up… might be a game changer for me. Off to Pandora!

[quote=“Chuck80, post:17, topic:372116, full:true”]All crit bonus from COMs apply to all guns, no matter what the card says[/quote]Right, but he was asking about the Legendary Sniper COM, which specifies sniper damage enhancements. Do non-sniper rifles get that crit damage as well (or is that what you were trying to say)? :confused:

1 Like
#20

Yes

Yes :stuck_out_tongue:

All crit bonus from COMs (including the Sniper and Legendary sniper COM ) apply to all guns (including non-sniper rifles) no matter what the card say.