I’ve been having trouble finding good builds for Salvador that is for early level. I’ve had a lot of trouble with staying alive in-game and it always frustrates me. I do “decent” damage, but I feel like Sal is supposed to do even more.
I have been looking for build guides around the fourms here, but they’re mostly for OP8 or level 50. If anyone could recommend a early level build, that’d be nice. Thanks.
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My solution to this problem was to always save Gunzerk for after I went below 50% health since it heals you for 50% max health right away (i.e. you health gate with it).
Edit: As for damage, I spec’d Gunlust tree down to Auto-Loader (forgot what I took to get there) before switching to Rampage tree (so I am starting off with damage build).
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Between his trees I found that I had the best results from Rampage while aiming for something like this, the order of levelling would go this way:
Inconceivable >> Last Longer >> Steady as She Goes >> All in the Reflexes >> Double your Fun >> Yippie Ki Yay >> Get Some >> Keep Firing
I am certainly no expert with Sal, but I took a quick look at his skill tree and came up with a build for lvl 30: http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#500000000000505010000005040000000
Hopefully, someone who has experience with Sal could make suggestions for improvement.
Forum ID: Poisd2Strike
GT: Poisd2Strike
Trades: http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/poisd2strikes-humble-shop/367700
Gun Prefixes | Gun Parts | Max Stats
Maya OP8 | Banshee RR / NRR | Binder | Cat | Nurse | Siren | Trickster B / M
A lot of this will depend on the weapons and class mods you have available- needless to say, you’ll want to spec into skills if they’re supported by the class mod you use most often, as well as what weapons you tend to favor. If you’re going off a typical pistol build for Sal I’d suggest this:
http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#505000100005005000000040000000000
While Sal regens health while gunzerking it’s keeping his health up between fights that can be a problem so that’s why I have Hard To Kill over Incite (but definitely get it at higher levels). If you don’t have a class mod that buffs Money Shot put that point back into Steady As She Goes- just be aware that the skill doesn’t play well when using Hyperion weapons. If you get a Hoarder mod then shift the skills in the Rampage tree to take advantage of them, especially if you get ammo hogs like plasma caster SMG’s, Tediore weapons or the DPUH. Unfortunately all of the Skill links in the Salvador sticky are broken so you’ll have to find another source to explain what works best when and in which mode…
Not a single point in gunlust is necessary before level 50 as it only adds DPS, and Sal will not need more than he already has until the UVHM ramp-up. Rampage should be your priority as you level up, and during that time, Brawn is totally viable 
At level 31, your build should look roughly like this: http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#000000000005505000415100000000000
I have a small leveling guide at the end of my Sal skill guide, you should have a look
You will have to edit the build’s link’s addresses to remove the prefixes that the old forum tacks on everything, but it should be easy enough. 
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Maybe not necessary, but certainly enjoyable- especially if you are going for a pistol build. 
Personally the only characters I took straight thru to a capstone skill in normal were Axton (Gemini), Maya (Scorn) and Krieg (Bloodsplosion)- and even then I might have put a point or two into other trees since I usually finished normal at about level 32-35, depending on any dlc I did. Since I’ve stated before how much I love healing skills for characters, I can say that I definitely had some points in Hard To Kill well before reaching level 20, let alone 31…
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Oh you don’t have to go straight down the Rampage tree, but if you want to diverge from it, Brawn is where it’s at. I played my first 2 playthroughs with Sal with an almost straight Brawn build, dipping in the Rampage tree occasionally. It looked something like this: http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#000000000005005010000055205003051
In my leveling guide, I do recommend putting points in HtK pretty early, but once Get some is available, you should respec to be able to get it.
My point about Gunlust is that it doesn’t help you to do anything: everything already dies very quickly, so the extra damage from gunlust is just overkill. it’s hard to spot the improvment, while Brawn and Rampage both let you endure being shot at much better. Besides, you’ll be stuck using gunlust later on, so you might as well enjoy the time you can have without it.
For early levels Sal, I would be looking for shotguns, especially Hyperion ones: they are powerful and fast, and the ccuracy gimmick negates Sal’s biggest weakness (the inability to ADS) All these strong points are balanced around a small ammo pool, which Sal completely laughs at 
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To be honest I’ve never really tried the Brawn tree- that and Zero’s Bloodshed tree are the two character class trees I’ve not done much with until much later- maybe one day I’ll start another mule Sal and mule Zero and try those out at normal (although I’d have to switch off my BAR as it’s getting close to 24% across the board)…
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What kind of class mod would I use for this?
I like the Beast COM in the low levels.
If you’re using pistols, a Renegade COM is nice even with no points in I’m your Huckleberry. (so even a white one is ok here)
Berserker is ALWAYS good, so is Hoarder
War dog is better than most people think
If you have Tiny tina’s DLC, the Monk COM is good if you have good prefixes, though the difficulty is scaled to about level 30 even in normal mode, so it might not be the best thing to go from 1 to 30, but it’'s something to think about as you get into TVHM
Is there any specific weapons/shields that would sort of synchronize in this build?
An early favorite combo for me in normal for Sal would be the Rubi/Heart Breaker- except for loaders it works well and with a shock Rubi shields shouldn’t be much of a problem. As for shields- depending on what side missions you do- you can get the 1340, The Transformer or the Veritas, all of which are decent absorb shields (absorb shields are among my personal favorite shields in the game).
Shield is anything you like for early level, with Adaptive being the best overall IMO.
@Carlton_Slayer mentioned a good combo, but the heartbreaker can be replaced by just about any Hyperion shotty you find. They really are great on Sal. Or the rubi itself can be replaced by the heartbreaker since it offers moxxi healing too
I have now entered TVHM, is there any tips for me that you would like to tell? I have been getting some trouble surviving lately, I am using the brawn build. I also do like no damage at all now. Maybe I’m just bad or something.
I spent hours on my level 1-4 Sal builds. DAYS on level 5.
Sal is very gear-dependent… maybe the guns you have at the moment suck…
If you entered TVHM, you probably have enough skill points to get the rampage tree filled. put 5/5 in last longer and Yippy-kay yay, that should help a lot
Can’t say that I’ve ever done a Brawn build with Sal or gone much beyond All Out Of Bubblegum. Care to post your build and describe the gear you have? Maybe some gold key codes will help you out for now…
Practicable Heart Breaker
Practicable Devolpment
Miss Moxxi’s Bad/Good Touch
Burst Fire Lascaux/Double Penetrating Harold
Invasive Adaptive Shield
Savage Beast Class Mod
Sticky Longbow Bouncing Bonny
Deputy’s Badge (Level 35 Salv btw)
http://bl2skills.com/gunzerker.html#000000000005005010000055205003051
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