[Build] The Pimpslapper

Borderlands 2 Zer0 the Assassin
#1

The Pimpslapper

The Pimpslapper is a sniper/hybrid build for running Digistruct Peak. That means that while it can take on any mobbing situation in the game, it is tweaked towards high efficiency versus minibosses. This build was going to be ported over from the old forums, but it seems like those pages are falling victim to internet erosion, so I’ll just punch it out from scratch.

The Skills

http://bl2skills.com/assassin.html#505451005150455105015050113000

The Gear

  • Slot#1: Fire Banbury Pimpernel, Maliwan grip
  • Slot#2: Corrosive Banbury Pimpernel, Maliwan grip
  • Slot#3: Slag Sublime Pimpernel, Maliwan grip. For slagging, removing shields, and slapping mid-tier and below enemies
  • Slot#4: Various utility gear, depending on local conditions and resistance:
  • Rapier: WIth this equipped, the build punches for 91% of a pure melee build
    Used for instantly removing high-tier enemies like the Black Queen and the Assassins.
  • Rustler’s Orphan Maker: The lower left side of the Sniper tree should really be called the Jakobs Shotgun tree. This is used for surveyors and anything that wants to get their faces close. This isn’t really required, I just like it a lot.
  • Shock Lyuda: Can be used for everything that the ROM is used for, but I only use it against Marauders in the Doc Mercy area.
  • Shield: Grounded Hide of Terramorphous.
  • COM: Legendary Ninja.
  • Grenade: OP6 Storm Front. Strips the OP8 Grounded Hide with minimal damage to health.
  • Relic: Bone of the Ancients, matched to opposition

The Skillz

The first thing that should be apparent it that it is a sniper build with ninja gear. So a certain experience with pimping/sniper zero and melee zero is required. Both are easier to play, and both are more efficient at what they do. Sniper Zero has a COM to further buff gun damage, and Melee Zero has MMF and more points in backstab. The point is to bring the utility of both, but this comes at a price.

The second thing is the healing. The grenade slot is used for a shield stripper, and the gun slots are used for guns that deal damage. The sources for healing are Innervate and health vials found on the map. Which means you need to be good at avoiding damage, and good at managing your shield.

This build only works as well as you make it work, and that is really the main reason to use it. That’s the reason I never went back to playing any pure zero builds once I started with this. It makes BL2 more akin to old shooters where health is a very valuable resource, coupled with the versatility of Zer0.

FAQ

Grim with a roid shield?
Sure. Without MMF you can only punch once anyway, and after that one punch, you want your shield to go back up as soon as possible. You only need to make sure that Grim is not active when you strip your shield, something which can be easy to forget when things get frantic.

Does this really work?
Sure. Here is a guide to beating the peak with it, showcasing almost exclusively the worst spawns and some bad play. It is an unfinished version of what was meant to be released when youtube enabled 60FPS, so there’s still some typos and it’s a bit dark in places, but new projects took away from the time needed to properly finish it. YouTube informs me that since I took the time and effort to promote other people’s music, you can’t watch this if you live in Germany. Sorry about that.

What about a more forgiving variant of the build?
Sure. Swap the sublime pimp for a grog. That’s what I did for Doc Mercy and the Assassins when I first started experimenting with this. But the grog slags way worse than the pimp, and has no offensive capability outside of the knife.

How about leveling?
For UVHM, sort of. I once did this challenge where I’d start at level 50 with 4 pimps equipped, and see how far I could level with them. I started out with this: http://bl2skills.com/assassin.html#300000000050455105015050015000 and just filled in the sniper tree. For the gear other than guns I just used what dropped of roid shield/grenade pairs and coms. I made it through all DLCs and killed the Warrior at 72, but the last few levels was extremely grindy, so you might want to swap out the pimps with fresh ones when you get half way. Some footage from level 64:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQea7k8djjc

Does it have a theme song?
Sure.

4 Likes
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#2

I love love love Sniper Zero with a Roid shield.

I like it!

I usually use Love Thumper, so I would leave Grim off. Putting those points into Backstab and maxing out the 4/5’s… and that’s the build I run with.

Got distance shooting, slag, and something to teach those pesky rabid animals not to rush you.

I like the Orphan Maker for the surveyors. I never really liked that gun because I could never find a good use for it. Well done.

#3

Thumper is unusable with this, it needs an actual shield to tank damage

2 Likes
#4

It’s not unusable. I just said I use it.

You just have to weapon swap a lot to Rubi and melee a lot.

#5

On the peak at OP8? Because that’s what this build was made for.

#6

Wow guys, come on. Learn to take a compliment and a little variation of opinion on a single detail.

I’m watching the video right now. With a little more lateral movement, he won’t be eating all of those shots and won’t need to tank. You can rage about a shield if you like. But Zero is not a tank.

#7

Do you use it on the peak I op8? I reaalt am curious. The shield has less melee damage and less survivability. Seems like a poor choice here.

#8

Since this will soon go to a “Pics or it didn’t happen”, I’ll see if I can make a video for you this weekend, sweetheart

:slight_smile:

#9

It’s not based around regaining health from slapping things in the face with a moxxie weapon. That’s a vastly different playstyle.

1 Like
#10

Running with the LT on the peak at OP8 is very dangerous due to DOTs(corrosive DOT will take 3 healthbars), and just now worth it in general.

#11

Please don’t call me sweetheart

3 Likes
#12

Yeah, he prefers sweetcheeks. :dukejk:

I do agree that the Thumper isn’t a good shield for the Peak given it’s lower shield capacity and roid damage versus a Hide of Terra. And anybody but Krieg won’t get full use out of the novas as well.

@dotanuki: can you strip a grounded HoT with a storm front? Seems a bit counter-intuitive to me, but I don’t use roid shields, so I don’t know. I’d go for an alkaline given how deadly corrosive can be, especially since it lasts longer than either shock or fire.

I remember playing The Last Ninja one on my C64. The only thing I hated about that game was the lack of the ability to save… :dukeangry: It still kicked ass and broke joysticks…

#13

You cannot use the Love Thumper without a Moxxie weapon very effectively. This build is about not using Moxxie weapons.

2 Likes
#14

I’m glad you finally ported this :slight_smile:
Well done Dotanuki, as usual.

#15

You can strip it with a SF, yes.

…

I just want to add that if one farms for his/her gear, getting the maxed out Grounded HoT isn’t realistic even with the x3 drop increase(the chance is one in ten of thousands), so you’re basically stuck with Pun-Chee for this build. Which isn’t THAT bad, btw: I just recently completed the OP8 Peak with a ~1000k roid Grounded Pun-Chee. Things like the Queens, Assassins(except Oney) are still “one-shotable” while slagged and kunai’ed. However, that’s with the maxed out Backstab, so a little more roid is probably needed.

On the other hand, since someone didn’t think much about the importance of the parts while developing the game, you can… you know, bend the rules a little. Bad rules are bad rules.

1 Like
#16

Yes, it’s based around using a perfect op6 storm front to near perfectly strip a perfect op8 grounded hide. To go out and farm for those items would be a complete disregard for the value of one’s own free time, so one will need to, uhm, check out the “trade forums”.

I have no idea how it would actually perform with a punchee, even if one was able to get a grenade that does not eat too much into the health. I know that if I don’t get the full kunai stack on a slagged queen with the perfect hide, she won’t be oneshotted.

Seems to me there’s mainly two types of people who’s sticking with this game for hours in the triple digits, those who like to play the gun lottery, and those who like to tinker with the mechanics and squeeze performance. You can say that this build is best suited for the latter group, who in most cases seem extremely well geared.

2 Likes
#17

Cheers!

#18

Ah, thanks for the reply. :dukeaffirmative:

#19

I like the Punchee when running hybrid builds with Zer0. I do usually melee with Rapier when my shield is depleted and, if the thing isnt one-shoted, I swap to a gun like the ROM and finish it. But I never played Zer0 past 72, actually.
What I like about the Punchee is the relatively low recharge delay, so I can do more gunplay and save the melee to burst damage when the shield depletes.

#20

Interesting- if i ever come across a grounded Hide of Terra I might give it a shot…