[Build] Elemental Shotgun

Borderlands 2 Maya the Siren
#1

In BL1 I have a shotgun build for Lilith that is pretty powerful (I was able to out kill @MidnightNova in the Underdome with it) and I’ve been trying to think of a way to bring that build to Maya. For a while I was hung up on the fact that Maliwan no longer makes shotties, but thanks to @Derch’s Good, Bad, and Ugly series, I finally figured out what weapons would be good for it.

This is a mobbing build, and partially a theme build too since I’m trying to imitate my Lilith build as best I can (aka, trying to make Maya like Lilith). I currently play at 72 OP0, so if someone would like to try this at OP8 for me, I would be very appreciative. And maybe if someone could come up with a more creative build name than “Elemental Shotgun” :P.

Edit: I have tested this build on OP8 in Bloodshot Stronghold and Friendship Gulag. It’s quite a difficult build if you’re not used to close-quarters Maya, but it is strong and quite fun. Note that the ammo consumption in Loader areas will be much higher than in flesh areas. Also, thanks to @Derch, @Nicorani, and @DeputyChuck for helping make it better for OP8.

Gear:

Tediore Blockhead - The closest gun in this game to the Friendly Fire, this is the main gun. I’ve managed to one-shot Bruisers with this on OP0, and it’s fixed spread makes it a reliable gun to shoot at farther range if need be.

Jakobs Twister - An absolute powerhouse of a gun. However, because of it using 4 ammo per shot, I tend to only use this on a need-to-use basis.
*An easier-to-get alternative to this would be the Ravanger, as suggested by Derch. If you want to stick with the elemental theme, try getting a Slow Hand.

Corrosive Hyperion Butcher - While not in my Lilith’s shotgun build, the BL2 version has earned it’s spot as my robot killer. I watched it melt a Super Badass in about a second, and watched it destroy a group of 5 or 6 loaders nearly as fast (once again on OP0).
*Alternatives for the Corrosive Butcher suggested by @Chuck80: Hyperion Conference Call and Bandit Jolly Rodger.

For the last weapon, use whatever. The above guns are the only ones that matter. Perhaps a rocket launcher for second winds.

Legendary Binder - Nice boosts to the damage to increase the one-shot capabilities of the Blockhead and Twister, as well as extra healing and cooldown rate.

Flame of the Firehawk - In my Lilith build, Phoenix is used to melt people alive while I’m stuck reloading or running to someone more threatening. So how do I imitate Lilith’s Phoenix? By using her gift to us.

For the grenade, I use a Stormfront, but this is up to preference. Derch recommended either a Quasar or a transfusion.

For the relic, I use a Bone of the Ancients for the added damage and cooldown rate, but a Resistance might be an alternative since this build prefers having your shield down while in the thick of it all.

Skills:

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Motion:
Accelerate 5/5 - Nice small bonus, but also the only option to go down the tree with.
Suspension 10/5 - A potential 5 more seconds of Wreck and Chain Reaction? Hell yes!
Kinetic Reflection 4/5 - More Life Tap healing.
Converge 1/1 - Honestly, what Maya build doesn’t have this skill?

Harmony:
Mind’s Eye 5/5 - Headshots are always preferable, might as well make them stronger.
Sweet Release 6/5 - More than 5 is overkill for solo, so one point for the com.
Wreck 10/5 - 100% fire rate and 60% more damage while an enemy is Phaselocked. I don’t need to explain this.
Elated 5/5 - Free healing while you’re going mad with Wreck and Chain Reaction.
Sustenance 5/5 - DoTs on OP8 eat you up, so this will help counteract them. Not amazingly, but it might save your life.
Life Tap 4/5 - Lilith may have had powerful shield regen, but Maya has powerful healing capabilities. This skill is almost required to stay alive with this playstyle.
Scorn 1/1 - Free slag.

Cataclysm:
Flicker 3/5 - Derch said that he is convinced this skill helps Scorn, so I’ll take it.
Foresight 5/5 - More mag size and reload speed.
Immolate 5/5 - Multiplicative damage boost in FFYL.
Helios 6/5 - For more Life Tap.
Chain Reaction 5/5 - The ability to kill enemies you weren’t even shooting at is great, as well as it’s other uses.
Cloud Kill 1/1 - Must have skill, strong enough to kill flesh enemies without much difficulty.
Reaper 10/5 - 80% multiplicative bonus, the one of the keys to one-shotting the enemies.
Ruin 1/1 - Free slag.

Level 80 update: just top up Life Tap and Kinetic Reflection, then put the leftovers into Quicken or Fleet.

Video of this build by @Gulfwulf (his recording software crashed 5 minutes in, just ignore that):

6 Likes
Siren Master List: Build Collection
Advice for a pair of Sirens
Siren Master List: Build Collection
#2

Rubbing it in?

#3

Obvious Legal Disclaming voice

No, I’m just stating that an unorthodox build was able to beat a build that took advantage of all the randomized conditions while I didn’t :wink:

1 Like
#4

If I can ever get hold of a Twister I’ll give this a shot- no pun intended :grin: (I play on OP8 BTW)…

1 Like
#5

Might give it a shot if I ever gett my Maya to 72.

2 Likes
#6

Made some updates.

#7

I may give this a try and upload a video after our bandwidth resets. Any particular place you want a video of? I’m thinking of the Bloodshot Stronghold since that area is a good testing ground for builds and gear.

1 Like
#8

I’d love for someone to record this! Go right ahead :D.

As for the location, Bloodshot works but i haven’t been able to test it at Sawtooth yet. Also somewhere loader heavy like Friendship Gulag or Washburn.

#9

It’ll probably take a few days, but I’ll see what I can do.

1 Like
#10

Consider using low level corrosive Slow Hand. Put a dot on you and watch 8 seconds of fotf novas melting everything around.

1 Like
#11

Interesting build. I like most shotgun builds already but this one is well-made :smile:

Have you considered listing a few alternatives ? The Twister and Butchers are not exactly easy to get.

A few good guns to add as alternatives:
The heartbreaker. Almost as good as the blockhead, especially with a crit accessory.
The CC is easier to get than a butcher and the extra projectiles are great with CR.
The Jolly Roger can be a good alternative to the Twister: even with all those pellets, it’s still very accurate thanks to it’s fixed spread. It’s also a quest reward, so it’s pretty easy to get in shock. (Consider it in corrosive too: loaders have multiple crit points so one blast may be enough to kill one, even at OP8.)
The Omen, while not easier to get than most other on the list, can replace just about any entry here.

2 Likes
#12

Thanks :).

I view the CC as more of a boss gun, and this is a mobbing build. However, maybe it would use less ammo than a Butcher, so I’ll have to try that out.

Really? Hmm… I might have to try that as well…

1 Like
#13

Perceptions. I have mobbed plenty with the CC, but I have never taken it to a boss fight (well, to a raid)

Per ammo spent:

Butcher: 7.5 pellets (5, but technically 1/4 of your shots will refill the magazine, so you get roughly 6 shots every 4 ammo spent)
CC: 21 pellets, 2/3 of them unlisted.

The Butcher will fire much faster though, but spend ammo much faster, resulting in good DPS but rather hard to sustain rate. To me, the Butcher is the boss gun because of that, and the CC is better for mobbing since it’s more efficient per ammo.

The Jolly Roger is one SERIOUSLY underrated shotgun. It already works great on Gaige, since the fixed spread will curb Anarchy quite well, and on Hellborn Krieg in fire it’s also Awesome. It’s on the Zero Top gear already and Sal…well, Sal makes everything great so no surprises there. No one has ever ( as far as I know) given it a fair shot on Maya though. :wink:
Maybe @Derch or @BookEmDano have ? I don’t know.

#14

I tried them earlier. I still prefer the Butcher (I should say this: I did worse with the CC because I suck at sweet spots :P), but those are good alternatives. I will list those in the thread for if you can’t get a corrosive Butcher.

#15

I prefer the Butcher too, but that’s just personal preferences IMO. :stuck_out_tongue:
BTW, the CC doesn’t have a “sweet spot” per se, but rather a minimum distance for the extra pellets to spawn. So it’s more like “anywhere from at least 15 yards out” which is much simpler to get used to. That’s why I didn’t mention the Interfacer here.

Edit: Also, the Jolly Roger plays a bit more like the Twister (Big blast, slow fire rate) So I originally suggested it as a shock gun alternative. It’s a bit more a question of playstyle here: Saying that the JR could replace the Butcher is a bit of a stretch since they play nothing alike.

#16

So it’d be better suited for someone used to playing at mid-long range. I’m someone who has a natural close-quarters playstyle, so that might be why I’m doing bad with the CC when it’s not shooting BNK-3R. :slight_smile:

#17

Yeah, you could say that :smile:
Though the butcher works fine at short range, it’s strength (as most Hyperion shotguns) is mid-range combat since it does not suffer from recoil (and in the case of the butcher, can hold a bead for quite a long time)
If you play more from point-blank range, the CC is lackluster, but the Twister and JR will shine more than either the Butcher or the CC :smile:

#18

The Jollyrodger is good but not fantastic.

1 Like
#19

Ah! thanks :smile:

As an “easy-to-get” alternative to the Twister, what would be fantastic on Maya then ?

#20

I’m out at dinner right now, ill respond later in more detail when I get home.