Thanks To:
@Exotek for the banner.
@BookEmDano for his Athena expertise.
@Derch for his efforts in maintaining the previous TG
@Sljm for his custom corrosive emoticon (And the original idea for Top Gears)
@ItsmeJamesAJ and @khimerakiller for their contributions
This is a list of the gear that we, as the community, feel is the best for Athena 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 that benefit Athena in the following categories:
- DPS/Stopping Power
- Ammo Consumption
- Ease of Use
- Effective Range
- Elemental Versatility
- Synergy with Athena’s Skills
- Co-op Benefits
- Other Factors (Moxxi, Melee, Glitch, Farmability, etc.)
Each piece of gear will be accompanied by a short rundown on the weapon, ideal parts and the means of obtaining. 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).
[color=coral]Note[/color]: Considering Athena’s various playstyles, the following tags will be used to identify which type of build is suited for a particular weapon:
Storm: Her gun-heavy build that focuses on abusing Maelstrom and Storm Weaving
Xiphos: Her melee-focused build
Hybrid: Her gun-based build that focuses on debuffing enemies with Blood Rush without relying on Melee Damage
##Table of Contents
- Weapons
1.1 Shotguns
1.2 Submachine Guns
1.3 Lasers
1.4 Pistols
1.5 Assault Rifles
1.6 Sniper Rifles
1.7 Rocket Launchers - Items
2.1 Grenade Mods
2.2 Shields
2.3 Class Mods
2.4 Oz Kits - Future Testing Candidates
- Additional Resources
#Shotguns
(back to top)
Company Man
Storm: The Company Man combines Ammo efficiency, Mag Size, Pellet Count, and a high Fire Rate. This makes it the gold standard for Maelstrom stacking. It is probably the most important piece of gear that you can have if you rely heavily on Maelstrom for DPS. It should be noted that the Thinking is basically the same thing as the Company Man (It can outperform with enough Glitch Effect procs, but generally the Company Man is more consistent), and is actually farmable, making it more than suitable as a substitute.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Hyperion Grip
Torgue Stock
Practicable (Projectile Count) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Tales from the Borderlands Season Pass
Development
Storm: This Torgue-barrel Hyperion Shotgun is one of the most effective closers in the game for Athena due to its high Pellet Count, inherent Hyperion Recoil Reduction, and relatively high base Fire Rate. Its Ammo consumption can be entirely neutralized by Elemental Barrage, making it an ideal weapon to swap to after 400+ stacks. All of these features translate it into an absolute beast of a weapon that, in the hands of a skilled user, can take down the biggest, baddest enemies in a matter of seconds.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Hyperion Grip
Torgue Stock
Practicable (Projectile Count) Prefix
Error Code O0L4M0A4 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Flakker
Hybrid: The Flakker (and by extension the user-friendly Ravager) is very similar to the Development in terms of its capability as a boss killer. It probably has more potential because of the Damage bonus on frozen enemies. However, the downside to Torgue weaponry is that you cannot build Maelstrom while using them so you will have to manage your stacks accordingly. Regardless, they are ideal closers for Xiphos-based builds that rely heavily on the Cryo buff, Omega-Senshu, and Tear for Damage.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Torgue Grip
Casual (Projectile Count) Prefix
Hyperion Stock
Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine -
Obtaining:
Drops from Even-More-Disgusting-Tork in Stanton’s Liver
Grinder/World Drop
Party Line
Storm: Another great closer that blends Flakker elements with the Ammo efficiency of Hyperion in one Incendiary package. You can easily reach max Maelstrom stacks with this while dealing a significant amount of Damage against flesh targets.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Tediore Grip
Hyperion Stock
Gentle (Projectile Count) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Holodome (Guaranteed in Round 4)
Torguemada
Hybrid: This is just a great all-purpose Shotgun to use in either Storm or Xiphos-based builds and probably the best Explosive option for mobbing.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Torgue Grip
Hyperion Stock
Casual (Projectile Count) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “Torgue-o! Torgue-o!”, when turned in to Mr. Torgue
Sledge’s Shotty
Hybrid / Xiphos: While vanilla Scav Shotguns like the Boganella offer up-front Damage, the Shotty takes the spot for the insane amount of synergy it has with Athena’s kit. Its high pellet count and two-shot burst make quick work of most enemies in the game.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Scav Grip
Hyperion Stock
Punisher (Critical) or Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
##SMGs
(back to top)
Fast Talker
Storm: If you can get your hands on a Shock or Incendiary Fast Talker, you will have an SMG that is highly capable of mobbing while also serving as a great stacking weapon in boss fights. Its incredibly high base Fire Rate allow it to instantly achieve high Fire Rate caps with only Storm Weaving or a modest amount of Unrelenting-assisted Maelstrom stacks.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Scav Grip
Dahl Stock
Kwikner (Fire Rate) or True-Blue (Damage) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Tales from the Borderlands Season Pass
Torrent
Storm / Hybrid: Normally Dahl weapons lack synergy with Athena because their burst mode requires ADS for their DPS and Accuracy. Not so with the Torrent. Its impressive all-around stats and improved hip-firing ability make it a true workhorse in a variety of situations.
-
Elements:
-
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
Cheat Code
Hybrid / Xiphos : Hyperion’s Recoil Reduction gimmick has amazing synergy with Athena because you can hip fire so easily while using Aspis. Add bonus Critical Hit Damage to that and you have an SMG that can excel in a variety of situations. If you like to use the Aspis as often as possible take a look at the Cheat Code in Shock and Incendiary as a primary mobbing tool. The Fatale (which is basically a better version of the Cryo Cheat Code) is a great alternative to the Fridgia with the advantage of stacking Critical Hit Damage on a frozen target.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Hyperion Grip
Dahl Stock
Promotional (Fire Rate), All-In (Damage), or Forthright (Melee) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “System Shutdown”
Grinder/World Drop
Meat Grinder
Storm: Multi-pellet SMG that can rapidly produce stacks when you need it. The slight drop in Accuracy makes it behave more like a Shotgun, but it has good Fire Rate and synergy with Aspis to compensate.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Scav Grip
Dahl Stock
Kwikner (Bullet Speed) or True-Blue (Damage) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Drops from Meat Head in Triton Flats
IVF
Hybrid / Storm: This is your boss killer. The IVF brings the added versatility to the SMG class with its high Damage Tediore Reloads. This can reach an incredible level of DPS only moderate amounts of Maelstrom stacks, especially when coupled with a Femme Fatale Class Mod. The added benefit of element matching turns this thing into a monster when it comes to taking down large enemies like Badasses or Bosses.
-
Elements:
Note: Reload will be if the gun is
-
Best Parts:
Scav or Tediore Grip
Dahl Stock
Refill (Reload Speed) or Hefty (Damage) Prefix
Boominator (Grenade Damage) Luneshine -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Fridgia
Xiphos: High Freeze Chance, Fire Rate, and hip fire Stability make this one of the best Cryo weapons that you can use in a Xiphos based build. ‘Nuff said.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Dahl Grip
Bladed (Melee) or Flying (Bullet Speed) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “In Perfect Hibernation”
#Lasers
(back to top)
Thunderfire
Storm: Up until the Claptastic Voyage, Lasers were largely underutilized by a lot of Athena players, but then, everything changed when the Thunderfire nation attacked. The Thunderfire’s fires a Shock projectile that explodes into an Incendiary Nova at the cost of 2 Ammo per shot. A useful mobbing tool when you only want to use one to get the job done against shielded, fleshy targets. It’s quite obvious that the Thunderfire was created with Athena in mind. It should be noted that the Maliwan Accelerated Blaster can serve as a more Ammo efficient option in longer runs like the Holodome, as the dip in performance is barely noticeable.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Grip
Dahl Stock -
Obtaining:
Drops from Despair and Self-Loathing in Subconscious
Grinder/World Drop
Splitters
Storm: Splitters feature the Tediore Barrel and perform like Laser Shotguns. Both Maliwan and Tediore Splitters are amazing with Athena. Maliwan’s Dichotomized Splitters are stronger against bosses and large enemies with their higher DPS over time while Tediore’s Refracted Splitters are better for quick mobbing scenarios, as their higher projectile count provides quicker upfront DPS and stacking. Go get you one!
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Grip
Dahl Stock
Error Code O0L4M4A0 or O0L4M0A4 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Vibra-Pulse
Storm: While not as powerful as other beam lasers like the Spadroon or Rosie, the Vibra-Pulse more than makes up for its lack of Damage with its utility. This Shock-based Beam Laser heals you for a percentage of the Damage you deal via Moxxi Life Steal while also chaining Damage to multiple adjacent targets.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Grip
Dahl Stock -
Obtaining:
Moxxi’s Chest in Concordia
Absolute Zero
Hybrid: When you actually want to kill with Cryo, this is a great choice. High Damage and Freeze Chance at the expense of a short Magazine.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Grip
Dahl Stock -
Obtaining:
Drops from EOS in Deck 13.5
Grinder/World Drop
Mining Laser
Xiphos / Hybrid: High Elemental Effect Chance make the Mining Laser a useful tool to Freeze or quickly take out enemies close quarters. The increased Ammo consumption is not that big a deal with the large Laser Ammo Pool. The Longest Yard or Excalibastard can also be used as melee substitutes: the former has a higher Crit modifier while the latter has a situationally useful gimmick.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Grip
Hyperion Stock
Melee Attachment -
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “Infinite Loop”, when turned in to DAN-TRP
Laser Disker
Hybrid: The Laser Disker fires little disks that fly quickly and deal Explosive Damage, doing twice as much to airborne targets. While this alone is amazing, it is also 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.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Tediore Grip
Dahl Stock -
Obtaining:
Drops from 5H4D0W-TP in The Cortex
Grinder/World Drop
#Pistols
(back to top)
T4s-R
Xiphos / Storm: This is one of the most versatile weapons at Athena’s disposal. Equally adept in Melee or Storm builds, it can serve as a main Cryo weapon, Shield stripper, Maelstrom stacker, or accurate closer. It has great synergy with the Aspis and extends the Range at which Athena can engage the enemy.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Torgue or Vladof Grip
Win-Win (Damage), Redundant (2x Projectiles), or Action (Melee) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Holodome (Guaranteed in Round 1)
Anarchist
Storm: If you can effectively manage Storm Weaving and Elemental Barrage, then you will get great results with an Anarchist. It can stack effectively but also has great potential as a weapon to swap to with Unrelenting active, so you can use Athena’s incredible Fire Rate buffs to overwhelm any enemy with bullets.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Vladof Grip
Vengeful (Fire Rate) or Dva (2x Projectiles) Prefix
Error Code O0L4M0A4 or O0L0M4A4 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Shooterang
Hybrid / Storm: Tediore Reload features aside, this Pistol boasts a very high base Damage and great all around stats. Shoot it more than you throw it and you will reap the rewards.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Tediore or Jakobs Grip
Super (Damage) or Two for One (Double) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Slapper
Hybrid: The Slapper is a great Explosive option for Athena in any build. It has more Range and Accuracy than a Torgue Shotgun with a better Ammo consumption (Which is more sustainable due to the larger Pistol Ammo Pool). It makes great use of Athena’s Fire rate, Elemental Damage, and Gun Damage buffs.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Torgue Grip
Double Penetrating (Double) or Hard (Damage) Prefix
Error Code O0L4M4A0 or O0L4M0A4 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
#Assault Rifles
(back to top)
Hail
Xiphos / Storm: What do you say about the weapon that has it all? Bonus Projectiles, +200% Critical Hit Damage, +80% Splash Damage, and 2% Life Steal. The key to mastering this beast is learning its parabolic trajectory. The arc from BL2 has been flattened out in TPS, making it feel somewhere between the Lead Storm and the old Hail from BL2. This is, without a doubt, one of the best weapons for Storm Athena with all of its goodies, which also make it amazing in her other builds Go get you one.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Vladof Grip
Dahl Stock
Rabid (Fire Rate), Ferocious (Damage), or Skewering (Melee) Prefix
Note: The Swift (Bullet Speed) Prefix makes the arc go EVEN HIGHER. I do not recommend. -
Obtaining:
Drops from Iwajira in Serenity’s Waste
Shredifier
Storm: This is another all-purpose tool that works great in Storm builds. Excellent overall synergy with Ceraunic Storms and its Fire Rate boosts, Elemental Damage multipliers, and Ammo mitigation.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Vladof Grip
Dahl Stock
Swift (Bullet Speed), ,Ferocious (Damage), or Rabid (Fire Rate) Prefix
Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) or Punisher (Critical) Luneshine -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Torgue Rifle
Hybrid: This is the dark horse of Top Gear. An Explosive option that gives you better Range and Ammo consumption than its Pistol and Shotgun counterparts, while also boasting the 90% Explosive Splash Damage characteristic of Torgue Assault Rifles. Solid stats all around, and especially good when paired with Cryo.
-
Elements: Only
-
Best Parts:
Vladof or Scav Barrel
Torgue Grip
Dahl Stock
Slippery (Bullet Speed), Wild (Fire Rate), or Plump (Mag Size) Prefix
Error Code O0L4M4A0 or O0L4M0A4 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Major Tom
Storm: The advantage of Major Tom is its ability to fires 3 projectiles per shot. Coupled with Athena’s inherent Damage and Fire Rate boosts and you have an Assault Rifle that is highly capable as either a stacking weapon or a closer.
-
Elements:
-
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
#Sniper Rifles
(back to top)
Snider
Xiphos / Hybrid: High Elemental Effect Chance, Critical Damage, and a bonus 50% Splash Damage make the Snider quite a powerhouse in the hands of a Melee Athena, while also serving as a decent long range weapon for her other builds.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Barrel
Maliwan Grip
Dahl Stock
Sublime (Melee), Barking (Damage) or Gentleman’s (Critical) Prefix
Error Code O4L4M0A0 or O0L4M4A0 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Droog
Storm: For when you want to go full auto at range or behind the Aspis. Best used as a closer after having stacked enough Maelstrom to benefit from Elemental Barrage to sustain the small Ammo Pool. You can also use a Longnail for its gimmick against enemies with large Shields.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Vladof Grip
Dahl Stock
Skorry (Fire Rate), Gromky (Damage), or Razrez (Critical) Prefix
Error Code O0L4M0A4 or O0L4M4A0 -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Pitchfork
Storm: The Pitchfork has incredible potential but its Dahl mechanics, Ammo consumption, and lack of Aspis synergy require careful planning. Treat it like you would using a Rocket Launcher as a closer. Five projectiles per shot at the cost of 2 Ammo and the Dahl gimmick require careful management of Maelstrom stacks, Storm Weaving, and Elemental Barrage. If you can manage this, it will prove itself among the best closers for Athena.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Dahl Grip
Pacifying (Damage) or Night (Critical) Prefix
Dahl Stock
Punisher (Critical) or Piercing Rounds (Shield Bypass) Luneshine -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
#Rocket Launchers
(back to top)
Badaboom
Hybrid: Six Rockets per shot, deep Magazine, and ease of use make the Badaboom the best Rocket Launcher to abuse Maelstrom stacks with.
-
Elements:
-
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
Hybrid: Highest Damage Rocket Launcher in the game at the expense of two Ammo per shot. Elemental Barrage makes its main drawback irrelevant, turning it into a monster, especially behind the protection of the Aspis. Pick it when you need close range power or mass destruction.
-
Elements: Only
-
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
Kaneda’s Laser
Hybrid: Explosive Rocket Launcher with the ability to score Critical Hits. Nuff said.
-
Elements: Only
-
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
Mongol
Storm: Using the Mongol with maximum Maelstrom stacks and Unrelenting active will literally transform the screen into a tidal wave of Rockets bearing down on your enemies.
-
Elements:
-
Best Parts:
Vladof Grip
Torgue Exhaust
Tediore Sight
Rugged (Damage) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
#Grenade Mods
(back to top)
Note: Assume the preferred Fuse Time for all Grenades to be 0.0s, and the preferred Delivery method to be Longbow/Sticky Longbow.
Storm Front
Not only does the Storm Front deal Shock Damage but it offers one of the most sustained methods of stacking Maelstrom. The Storm Front’s wide area of effect makes it easy to blanket an area in a massive Tesla field. Highly functional Grenade with a focus on stacking Maelstrom and killing the enemy. You can also use the Fire Bee as an Incendiary alternative.
-
Elements: Only
-
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Quasar
Quasar offers the best form of crowd control across all characters. Its large Singularity pull ensures that enemies are grouped for easier targeting or as a means of slowing their attack. Its secondary purpose is to strip Shields and stack Maelstrom.
-
Elements: Only
-
Obtaining:
Drops from Felicity in The Holodome and Titan Production Plant
Grinder/World Drop
Cryo
The Vladof Area of Effect Grenade is highly effective for freezing groups of enemies solid. If you want a secondary means of freezing the enemies or as an alternative form of crowd control, this Grenade is perfect for melee or explosive minded builds.
-
Elements: Only
-
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Transfusion
Transfusion Grenades can serve as either a primary or secondary source of Health Regen in Athena builds.depending on your reliance on Vanguard, Bloodlust, Conduit, and/or Moxxi weapons. You can also use a Leech for a quicker, less powerful heal, as it allows for more of a “panic heal”.
-
Elements:
-
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’s large Blast Radius also allows for easy Aspis absorption, which synergizes with skills like Prismatic Aegis and United Front. On top of all that, 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 solid pick.
-
Elements: Only
-
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “Chip’s Data Mining Adventure”, when turned in to Chip
#Shields
(back to top)
Shield of Ages
Shield of Ages quickly became the best Shield upon the release of Clappy’s DLC. It’s essentially a Fabled Tortoise without any drawback: It has the highest Capacity of any Shield, its Health reduction is half of the Fabled Tortoise, and you receive no Movement Speed debuff while wearing it. High Capacity Shields benefit the most from Conduit as it’s percentage based. Perfect for Shield tanking.
- Best Parts: Fixed Parts
-
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “The Temple of Boom”, when turned in to Gladstone
Haymaker
High Health Adaptive and Elemental Resistance Shield that offers a respectable Capacity, and an interesting Melee gimmick. This is a very good alternative to the Shield of Ages for playstyles that don’t rely on Shield Capacity exclusively for defense and like the additional buffer that the Health boosts add. An Adaptive Shield can also be used to err more on the side of Shield Capacity.
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Body
Maliwan Battery
Hyperion Capacitor -
Obtaining:
Mission Reward from “DAHL Combat Training: Round 5”
Black Hole
A passive crowd control Shield that combines a large Singularity pull with a high Damage Shock Nova. It requires full depletion to activate, and full Shield recharge to be ready again. Conduit is triggered on the Nova so you gain Shield back instantly.
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Body
Maliwan Battery
Maliwan Capacitor -
Obtaining:
Drops from Zarpedon in Eye of Helios and The Empyrean Sentinel in Eleseer
Grinder/World Drop
Avalanche
The standout Shield for Melee builds due to its multiple means of freezing enemies and the highest Roid bonus of any legendary Shield.
-
Best Parts:
Maliwan Body
Maliwan Battery
Maliwan Capacitor -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Prismatic Bulwark
Prismatic Bulwark is a strong choice for Laser builds with its bonus Damage and the high chance to absorb Laser attacks, which are surprisingly more frequent than you would think. Given the list of strong Laser weapons introduced in the Claptastic Voyage DLC, this is a much more viable option for Athena.
-
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
Rerouter
The Rerouter is an Amp Shield that restores Health equal to the Amp Drain whenever you fire an Amp Shot. Naturally, the Rerouter has amazing synergy with Conduit, allowing you to abuse a higher frequency of Amp Shots.
-
Best Parts:
Torgue Body
Anshin Battery
Maliwan Capacitor (Incendiary Immunity) -
Obtaining:
Drops from 5H4D0W-TP in The Cortex
Grinder/World Drop
#Class Mods
(back to top)
Celestial Gladiator
+27% Fire Rate / +19104 Max Health
Vanguard / Hold the Line / Gun Kata / Clarity of Purpose / Gathering Tempest / Conduit
Shield Recharges on Aspis Activation
Celestial Gladiator is worthy of its legendary status and is one of the best all-purpose Class Mods for Athena. First and foremost, this is a Class Mod built for tanking with most of the skills it boosts, Health boost, and its instant Shield Recharge upon Aspis activation. It also has some solid DPS boosts with Gun Kata, Gathering Tempest. and its Fire Rate boost. Athena is almost invulnerable with this Class Mod equipped.
-
Obtaining:
Drops from The Empyrean Sentinel in Eleseer
Grinder/World Drop
Storm
+49% Shock Damage
Storm Weaving / Unrelenting / Flash Freeze
This is the prominent DPS COM for an Athena. Nothing comes close to the amount of firepower that Athena can generate when using this class mod to its full potential and hitting max stacks with Maelstrom. The key skills are Unrelenting and Storm Weaving which have the potential at 999 Maelstrom stacks to increase your fire rate by 726%. Factor in Maelstrom’s 400% Elemental Damage bonus, Storm’s 49% Shock damage, and zero ammo consumption at 700 stacks via Elemental Barrage, and there is nothing that can withstand Athena. It is Storm Athena’s ideal Class Mod for raiding. For mobbing, however, it should be noted that the Rainbow Hologram is incredibly potent, especially with typically “low stacking” weapons, as it allows your abilities to do most of your stacking for you.
-
Best Parts:
Surging (+6 Unrelenting, +5 Storm Weaving) or Raging (+6 Storm Weaving, +5 Unrelenting) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Dominator
+23% Fire Rate
Mercurial / Tear / Gathering Tempest
Fantastic DPS Class Mod for Hybrid builds that utilize Blood Rush+Rend combination to set up Tear’s Gun Damage boost. If you prefer a more aggressive play style, then consider using the Dominator.
-
Best Parts:
Crimson (+5 Tear, +4 Mercurial, +4 Gathering Tempest) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Defender
+22342 Shield Capacity
United Front / Conduit / Superconductor
The Defender is the one Class Mod that can outperform Celestial Gladiator from a purely defensive perspective. The Celestial Gladiator emphasizes a combination of Health stacking, and Regeneration whereas the Defender’s entire focus is on bolstering defense through Shield Capacity and Regeneration. The combination of Conduit, Superconductor, and United Front adds a multi-layered approach to Shield Regeneration that enables you to maintain constant forward momentum. Due to the unique passive stacking capability of Superconductor, the potential to hit a high Maelstrom stacks is definitely a possibility.
-
Best Parts:
Supercharged (+5 Superconductor, +4 Conduit, +4 United Front) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Femme Fatale
+49% SMG Mag Size / +43% SMG Gun Damage
Mercurial / Gathering Tempest / Unrelenting
If you have an affinity for SMGs then the Femme Fatale is an incredible class mod. Solid DPS perks with the SMG Mag Size and Gun Damage bonuses, combined with the Fire Rate, Weapon Swap Speed, Mag Size, and Reload Speed from Unrelenting and Gathering Tempest. Throwing in the Damage Resistance and Movement Speed of Mercurial is a nice bonus.
-
Best Parts:
Relentless (+5 Unrelenting, +4 Mercurial, +4 Gathering Tempest) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Bloodthirster
+43% Melee Damage
+416.4 Health Regeneration
Clarity of Purpose / Omega-Senshu / Fury of the Arena
This is your Melee COM. The Bloodthirster aims to abuse the large multiplicative Damage boost from Omega Senshu in conjunction with her other Melee abilities to execute all who stand in your way.
-
Best Parts:
Reaping (+6 Omega Senshu, +5 Clarity of Purpose) Prefix -
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
#Oz Kits
(back to top)
Tranquility
The Tranquility may not be flashy, but it provides a respectable Gun Damage boost which is extremely valuable when used in combination with Athena’s several multiplicative Damage boosts. You can also use one of the several Duality Oz Kits to optimize your build for the weapon you intend on using.
-
Elements:
-
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 55% chance to not consume Grenade Ammo.
-
Elements:
-
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Clear Skies
The Clear Skies (and by extension the Ack Ack) is situational, but is amongst the best when it comes to fighting airborne targets. The individual mechanics offer some extra fine tuning when it comes to optimizing your build for specific enemy types and locations. The Clear Skies gives a multiplicative Damage bonus against airborne targets while also offering a Fire Rate bonus upon killing an airborne target,
-
Elements:
-
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
Acrobat
The frontrunner when it comes to Melee and Hybrid builds, the Acrobat not only boosts Melee Damage while airborne but also increases Movement Speed upon buttslamming. A fun and effective Oz Kit.
-
Elements:
-
Obtaining:
Grinder/World Drop
3DD1.E
The 3DD1.E has many features make it worthy of its legendary status: health and ammo drops, instant Shield Recharge, passive Shock attack, bonus Shield Capacity and Laser Damage. This Oz kit does so much in terms of utility, which definitely makes it a favourite of many.
-
Elements: Only
-
Obtaining:
Drops from CL4P-L3K in Veins of Helios. If left alone during the “Eradicate!” mission, you can come back later to farm it.
Grinder/World Drop
#Future Testing Candidates
(back to top)
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
(back to top)