50 ways to keep Zer0 alive in UVHM

So, I’ll be editing this over time.

This is a elaboration of this thread as it pertains to Zer0.

I was thinking we should create a 50 pointer list of the best tips as to staying alive in UVHM (if we can’t get to 50, we’ll go up to whichever number we work our way up to).

Unlike the general list, this list can be centralized around the design of the character, and therefore can speak on specific builds as well as a moderate degree of item loyalty.

  • Please add a tip and a suggestion as to where it should be in retrospect to all the other tips.
    -This list will be numbered in order of importance, so if there is no consensus on the position of the tip, it shall be placed on the tail end.
  • Avoid tips that are too alike to previous tips.
  • Avoid tips that would allow for no personal influence on a build
  • Tips as to important items to own are welcome.
  • Tips as to common mistakes to avoid are welcome.

Lets begin!


  1. Do your best to time the counter on Decepti0n, especially when working with allies.
  2. You can use Deception as an escape tool too!
  3. Decepti0n makes you invisible, not invincible; don’t run into bullets.
  4. Your decoy is still a physical object. Don’t try to shoot through it.
  5. Tediore reloads and grenades don’t take you out of Decepti0n. Use this to your advantage.
  6. Stalkers gone invis? You can too! They glow in Decepti0n.
  7. Use Deception to get into a prime position to take out high threat targets, like high ground or to get around a congested corridor. Constructors will hate you and your Deception shenanigans.
  8. The Tw0 Fang skill and Dahl semi auto on zoom is downright nasty.
  9. Heatseaker rockets can still follow you in Deception.
  10. Don’t forget the higher the number on the damage card, the better when timing it with the last moment on Deception.
  11. Survey and remember the battlefield, especially on a Melee Zero. Remember to plan your attacks close to points of cover, choke-points, and exits.
  12. B0re can mess up a few bosses quickly thanks to hit box layouts.
  13. B0re is a game changer, but it does take some time understanding. Expect to play around with it and learn the mechanics. There are also useful videos/guides online tailored to specific enemies.
  14. For maximum B0ring, use a Singularity grenade to bunch foes up or to accumulate a few for some back to back executes.
  15. Learn how to use ‘Quick Deception’; Quick deception is going into Deception without having to wait for Zero’s arm swing animation to finish. You can do this while in aim down the sight, saving you that precious second and getting you into safely that much faster
  16. If you’re going for melee, here are some highly useful weapons: Law and Order (shield), Bladed Rubi and Grog Nozzle, and the Rapier. If they come in elements, Slag is the top choice as you can slag before you stab.
  17. The hit that misses does 0 damage; a steady aim is critical to a Sniper Zero.
  18. Sniper Ammo can become limited, over consuming guns may have their downsides.
  19. “Many Must Fall” can be used as a way to score a quick kill and run away while remaining invisible.
  20. Gain a good grasp of where your melee attack blade ends and where enemy hit boxes are. Nothing is more annoying than back to back whiffs.
  21. Be PATIENT! 5 seconds is longer than you think.
  22. Never throw Kunais then do an Execute immediately thereafter. You may be surprised by your own Kunai’s ability to down you!
  23. When tossing out Decepti0n to line a stealth shot, don’t panic even if you have to wait to toss out another; better late than dead.
  24. As a Sniper Zero, prioritize the enemies that will rush you. As a Melee Zero, prioritize those who may cause you grief at a distance.
  25. Execute can fail to make contact, yet you still remain in Decepti0n. Be attentive and hit it immediately afterward if you miss initially.
  26. When playing a Melee Zer0, your melee animation can be a little misleading. Know where your opponents Hitbox is, and the length of your melee attack.
  27. You don’t need to aim down the sights to make a sniper rifle effective in every instance, especially Jakobs ones. You can even shoot from the hip, allowing for faster movement.
  28. You don’t need to cast Decepti0n in to a crowd. You can be miles away from the combat, and still use it’s multiplier ability. If done well, you can even do so without alerting others of your presence.
  29. Use Decepti0n to lead enemies in to corridors and other narrow spaces which make use of abilities such as B0re, or even tossing grenades.
  30. Ambush can be particularly useful in group play, as the tank will often be getting much of the hate.
  31. About to go in FFYL? Don’t toss out a hologram in desperation. If you have weaker enemies around you, choosing to take a knee, and using Decepti0n the moment you get back up may be preferable.
  32. Powerful Sniper rifle? What is it’s critical damage boost? The damage on the item card may not be the most important aspect to it.
  33. Don’t toss Decepti0n where your allies are located. Once it fades, you may find the number of people wanting you dead to include your own team members.
  34. Watch out Elemental Barrels ! Any bullet flying around you could make them explode and put you in FFYL, even if you’re in Decepti0n.
  35. Some Sniper Zer0’s may benefit from setting their aim down the sights to “hold” instead of toggle, which assists with transitional aiming when deploying Decepti0n.
  36. Do not be a Decpti0n miser. It just as unwise to save them for sticky situations only, as it is to use them without regard.
  37. As a Sniper Zer0, don’t always eliminate all of the lesser targets instantly. You’ll regret it if you happen to get in to FFYL.
  38. Certain enemies have a painfully slow turn speed. It may be wise to use Decepti0n if only to make them languidly turn, buying you plenty of time.
  39. Some enemies fire in an arc. Throwing Decepti0n behind you, or above you, may still put you in the way of that arc! Recognize their fire patterns.
  40. Many enemies use AOE attacks. Don’t panic and throw out Decepti0n if they come close. Taking a knee, getting a quick second wind and following that up with a Decepti0n may give you advantage.

(Editing and Ordering Help by @Gulfwulf )

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  • You can use Deception as an escape tool too!
  • Use Deception to get into a prime position to take out high threat targets, like high ground or to get around a congested corridor. Constructors will hate you and your Deception shenanigans.
  • Speaking of Constructors, heatseaker rockets can still follow you in Deception.
  • If there is a melee blade on a Moxxi weapon, the Moxxi heal effect will apply to melee attacks too.
  • The Tw0 Fang skill and Dahl semi auto on zoom is downright nasty.
  • If you really need to hit a foe hard, get a rocket launcher out and launch a rocket out of Deception (wait for maximum damage ramp up). Talk about ouch!
  • B0re can mess up a few bosses quick, thanks to hit box layouts (BNK-3R, OMGWTF, Hyperious).
  • For maximum B0ring, use a Singularity grenade to bunch foes up.
  • If your going for melee, here is some highly sought out weapons: Law and Order, Bladed Rubi and Grog Nozzle, and the Rapier. If they come in elements, Slag is the top choice, as you can slag before you stab.

Think that’s enough for now lol

To be specific here: The decoy is only solid on the sword.

@Altairsky can detail that for you :slight_smile:

Hey mate! There you are. Missed having you about. Hoped you’d pop up in this thread.

Yeah! I ended up turning notifications off of my old forum account a while ago so I could be more active here.

Should really make it clear that B0re is a general damage boost, not just for specific bosses. I can get a lazy quick kill out of enemies walking together.

Yus, the B0re is the awesomesauce for all the things!

B0re is so overpowered that if you use it with a Twister, bad things will happen! B0RENADO LAG!

Death blossom kunais have a radius! Don’t throw them and then run at your target because they will hit you as well. On a related note, don’t throw them at an enemy in melee range or a wall for the same reason.
You get five DB throws per deception, so spread the love around.
You can use execute to hit surveyors with melee. You can also execute yourself off of a cliff, so always be aware of your surroundings.
Don’t spec into grim if you’re using a roid shield.
Deception increases all damage, not just melee. Have a hard target you’re trying to snipe? Throw out deception to the side, then take your best shot.
Low level sniper rifles with the Vladof barrel are the best for stacking critical ascension.

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  • As Zer0 has very little in the way of Self-healing, Transfusion Grenades are your best friends, especially if you manage to find a slag variant. Debuff the enemy AND heal yourself!
  • On the other hand, Tesla and Lightning Bolt grenade mods (as well as their legendary variants) are extremely handy for stripping your own shields to set up for a melee strike. Just be careful when you’re on low health or using Elemental bonuses such as from a Bone of the Ancients. Don’t want to kill yourself by accident!
  • As Jakobs tend to have high base damage AND critical bonuses, their Sniper Rifles and Shotguns are excellent choices for Deception bonuses, but be aware that outside of uniques, they can’t exploit elemental weaknesses well.
  • Anything that has Slagged as a title (usually Skags and Spiderants, but some psychos too,) are immune to the Slag debuff and resistant to Slag damage itself. However, Zer0’s Mark 0f Death will still debuff them. Mark them and take them out quickly!
  • When playing Co-op, Decepti0n can be a useful tool to help revive your allies while keeping the enemy from downing you as well.
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  • Killing blow is awesome, but unless your enemy has low health it is useless
  • Remember that Ambush and Backstab work Perfectly together when going into deception and hitting from behind.
  • Optics skill is not a bad choice if the weapon sways a little because it is better to sway around ones eyes and mouth than between ones head and his stomach

B0re makes you ignore bullet reflection. I don’t have to tell you how great this is.

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Of all the character that needs to break line of sight, a no-moxxi gun Zer0 is it. He is the penultimate character to practice this on. I would also recommend the Leg Hunter Com but that might be too limiting of a choice for a lot of people. Faster cool down rate equals more dps and durability over an extended period of time.

Always have a exit strategy, if you know you are about to be overwhelm (which happens) just back peddle away. Deception can be massively useful for that, always position yourself in a safer place, remember that you only need to survive for the next 14 seconds (11 with Leg Hunter).

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I’m liking these tips mate. How would you word them by stress the aspect you find most key?

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  • If you’re trying to run past a group of enemies, turn to your right
    or left, throw your hologram, turn back to your heading and proceed.
    This helps distance you from what they are shooting at. This tactic
    is useful in many ways.

  • When coming out from behind cover, throw your hologram behind cover and sneak out while invisible so you can take the first shot with a sniper while everyone is calm or at least thinking you’re still not in sight.

  • Conversely, when coming out of cover, throw your hologram out first, and go around the other side of the object .

  • Use execute to quickly move between targets even if you don’t instead
    to melee. This is great for speeding around the map.

  • Legendary turtoise shield is great with execute because execute will
    still rush you around.

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How deep in to UVHM have you effectively used the Legendary Tortoise? I suppose Health-Gating must come in super handy?

Can you give me a few scenarios mate? I’m thinking I can expand on it in to two tips/

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  • The Love Thumper can be a very good melee shield (as well as easy to obtain due to being a sidequest reward,) especially for players who aren’t used to the flow of combat of self-shield-stripping before a melee strike. On the flip side, because of the Love Thumper’s minutes-long delay, it is carries a huge cost to survivability. In addition, when playing Co-op, the nova will damage your allies so consider alternative melee shields.
  • Anything that causes novas (Obviously Nova Shields, but also the Love Thumper and the Hide of Terramorphous,) will set off barrels, which even in TVHM can be fatal. Know your arena, and destroy barrels pre-emptively if necessary.
  • If you’re teaming up with Gaige, Buck Up can either help you, or hurt you, depending on if you’re using a gun-centric or a melee-centric build respectively. Always talk to your teammates to get a better understanding of each other’s builds, and work together rather than accidentally tripping each other over.
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  • You don’t always need to strip your shields if you go melee. Sure, 'roid shields hit hard, but unless you are attacking Ultimate BadAsses or Bosses, most of the damage is overkill. With all the melee buffs that Zer0 can put behind Execute, he can certainly afford to not take advantage of one or two of them (including 'roid shields) when he needs to cut a bitch.
  • Dude, Grim is a great skill to have, despite what pure-melee build guides say. Not only does it help keep your shields up, but it also brings up Decepti0n sooner, in case you do need to make a quick exit.
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Many Must Fall will give you more Kunai to throw. Never execute without Deathmarking first.
Multiple Zer0s can put many Death Marks on something. Use this to brutalise bosses who give you trouble.
B0re. This is a hint in it’s own right.
Execute can be used to get closer to victims to shotgun their faces. This is a great as it sounds.
Never use the love thumper in coop. Your friends will hate you.
Ambush is always active when in Deception, so you don’t allways need to get behind them.
Anything can B0re, even the SWORDSPLOSION!!!
The Legendary Sniper Com is surprisingly good for Shotguns.

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Wrong. Guns that are pure splash damage, with a few exceptions, will not bore.

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I’d tend to disagree if trying to keep my shield stripped. Also, on this point, BA Rank can be a hindrance if you’ve pumped points into Shield Recharge Delay. Anyone who has ported their characters over onto current gen and haven’t reallocated these points might want to bear that in mind. :wink:

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Pure-melee builds don’t use Grim in favor for getting the Maylay shields’ 'roid bonus. That’s a reasonable exception if you can still survive while putting on the big hurt. But as this thread is about staying alive, my advice is still valid. Also, there is this bullet point that preceded the quote referenced:

You don’t always need to strip your shields if you go melee. Sure, 'roid shields hit hard, but unless you are attacking Ultimate BadAsses or Bosses, most of the damage is overkill. With all the melee buffs that Zer0 can put behind Execute, he can certainly afford to not take advantage of one or two of them (including 'roid shields) when he needs to cut a bitch.

Again, in terms of survival, Zer0 can Execute most mobs without 'roid shield bonuses, stripping wouldn’t be necessary. This is important to note when there are several mobs attacking at the same time; sometimes a little extra shield can soak up a hit or two to prevent FFYL mode. Unless you are going full-melee on Zer0 (i.e. making use of 'Roid shield bonuses), then Grim is good skill to keep you alive.

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