A straight run-and-gun, Doom/Quake-styled, URad build for Moze AND Iron Bear. Has high reload speed, fast weapon switching, big damage, and mobility with Speed Demon & Snowdrift. If you value gear flexibility & speed, give this build a try.
For the sake of forum build variety, I wanted to make a Moze setup that didn’t rely on tracker-chucking, shooting forever, broken weapons or minesweeper…just something a lil different.
Build
Skills
Bottomless Mags
Cloud of Lead, 5/5
+Lets you get more shots out of your weapon, and is more consistent than Matched Set.
Stoke The Embers, 3/3
+Boosts all incendiary weapons, and the insane fire damage you do with Skag Den.
Scrappy, 5/5
+The skill that gives this build its ‘Doom’ or ‘Quake’ feel…switching is important for adapting to certain enemies, letting you kill faster. Also, if you use COV weapons (Gargoyle, Sawbar, Yellowcake, etc), this skill speeds up the the ‘start’ animation.
Rushing Offensive, 1/1
+One of your main healing tools, combined with Bloodletter to restore all 100K of your shields in one or two shots.
Scorching RPMs, 4/5
+3 perks in one: critical hit, IB damage and fire rate…nuff said. Also boosts Fire in the Skag Den due to the scaling of Iron Bear.
Specialist Bear, 1/1
+HUGE damage boost to IB, and also applies to Auto Bear, which will, in turn, give you killing momentum while it’s out. Perfect for railguns, since you can mix and match Augments to cover different enemies, while keeping the bonus.
Shield of Retribution
Armored Infantry, 5/5
+Selfless Vengeance, after the nerf to the Recursion, and the insane fire dmg buff to Skag Den, just isn’t worth the 5 points anymore. Armored Infantry is the only solid choice that makes sense moving down the tree, and meshes well with this build anyway.
Security Bear, 1/1
+Recently learned that, whether the shield is off or on, this skill will give you 25% damage resistance. After testing with and without the perk, the difference in survivability is night and day.
Drowning in Brass, 5/5
+Easy 60% damage boost to keep up, since you are constantly killing, and your teammates will appreciate it too.
Thin Red Line, 3/3
+More Shields…hooray…who needs health gate when everything is dead??
Experimental Munitions, 1/1
+Just moving down the tree…it’s more damage for one point so why not?
Desperate Measures, 3/3
+Every build needs starting weapon damage, and you always get full bonus with 1 HP. Get a Bloodletter with +3 to give you max damage.
Demolition Woman
Fire in the Skag Den, 5/5
+Fire Damage on all splash damage. (NOTE: Currently gives 93% per point due to Mayhem scaling, and gets bonuses from “Stainless Steel Bear” and "Scorching RPMs)
Deadlines, 3/3
+Allows you to stay in Iron Bear a LOT longer. Keep a +3 Raging Bear COM with you, as this allows you to do Iron Bear-only runs without ever changing your build.
Grizzled, 5/5
+Cooldown reduction without the diminishing returns of stacking other cooldown perks. Gets Iron Bear back extremely fast due to the ease of killing, and getting Iron Bear faster indirectly gives you more survival against one-shots and massive DOTs.
Torgue Cross Promotion, 5/5
+2 skills in one:
-30% splash damage…combined with AOE/Splash boost from Relic & COM, gets you 100%
-Doubles splash radius: debuff entire field with Piss Nade, chain-kill with splash guns, double Hollow Point range, which takes on the damage of the crit to wipe out all close-by enemies… great for Iron Bear’s Railguns.
Stainless Steel Bear, 5/5
Use IB for longer, tank more damage, and deal more damage. Also boosts Fire in the Skag Den due to the scaling of Iron Bear.
Auto Bear, 1/1
+Will stack kill skills for you, is INCREDIBLY accurate with all railguns, and draws aggro for some survival.
To The Last, 1/1
Mainly for the 25% grenade throw anointment with the 20% debuff stacked on top (with It’s Piss)…increases your chances of getting up from FFYL and restarts your momentum if you lost it dying.
Short Fuse, 1/1
Receives 7x Mayhem scaling, double-dips splash bonuses, and is boosted even more by our main anointment, 150/50 URad. This leads to ridiculous damage across the board, and, after a lot of testing, out-damages full investments in Phalanx Doctrine.
Gear
Between Torgue Cross Promotion, and possible AOE rolls on COM and relic, you’re getting 100% (a Blast Master’s worth) of splash damage, while also getting a massive boost from Skag Den. So it’s vital that you use splash weapons, which are already the strongest (& most fun) in the game. And as a Deathless Moze, you need to hit hard, or die fast without a health gate. Here are some gear ideas:
Pistols
Unkempt Harold
BL2 classic…can be just as strong in this build, but only if you keep your distance and let the bullets split.
Farm: Caber Dawd (Crew Challenge), Bloodsun Canyon, Gehenna
Scoville
Just fire this thing indiscriminately in any direction and watch entire mobs explode.
Farm: Torgue Challenge Reward, Handsome Jackpot DLC, destroy all hot sauce bottles.
Gargoyle
Slooooow projectiles, but hits for impact and stickies. If you can master the shot speed, and get a 150/50 anointment, it’s one of the most powerful pistols in the game. Being locked to corrosive would be a problem for any other VH, but Moze covers all bar types between URad and Skag Den.
Farm: Dickon Goyle (Crew Challenge), Bloodsun Canyon, Gehenna
Miscreant
Do yourself a favor: find a x2, URad version, switch to double-barrel mode and fire…you won’t be disappointed. Fast reload from this build negates the 3 long seconds spent refilling the magazine.
Farm: Quartermaster, Bloodsun Canyon, Gehenna
Prompt Critical
Extremely strong impact/sticky pistol that increases radius and damage for each stick placed. Comes in all elements too.
Farm: Evil Lilith, Castle Crimson, Krieg’s Mind
Shotguns
Tigg’s Boom
Absolute mob killer…spawns meteors when you shoot. Just don’t get too close…Torgue Cross Promotion gives meteors huge AOE.
Farm: Wotan the Invincible, Midnight’s Cairn (Maliwan Takedown)
Flakker
Previously the victim of poor scaling, the ridiculous damage of “Skag Den” and “Short Fuse” with the 300/90 anoint makes this a mob killer. The mobility of snowdrift and “Speed Demon” also prevents you from self-splash (if you move right).
Farm: Manvark (Crew Challenge), Konrad’s Hold, Pandora
Redline
[Buffed on 15 Oct] Any-element, full-auto Shotgun that eats ammo like your mom eats Chick-Fila. Impact mode shreds through basic mobs, and the sticky mode takes care of badasses.
Farm: Roaddog, Splinterlands, Pandora
Anarchy
You already know…build stacks with kills/automatic reloads -> one-shot everything. The Anarchy shots count as splash, and Moze gets tons of initial damage between Short Fuse, Skag Den, and Desperate Measures. The only problem is the explosive reload, which is deceptively large, killing you from 15-20 feet away…and when you’re downed, you lose all stacks…use at your own risk.
Farm: Kukuwajack (Crew Challenge), Negul Neshai, Xylourgos
Shocker
A shock-only shotgun that splits into 3 orbs after a certain distance. If you can master the distance, and get a 300/90, it’ll one-shot most things, save bosses.
Farm: Voltborn (Rare Enemy), Negul Neshai, Xyloburger
Assault Rifles
Boom Sickle
Mother Russia’s AR of choice…really strong, shoots like a shotgun (gets shotgun boosts too), and a nice counter to flying types…nothing else to it.
Farm: Anointed X-4 (“Malevolent Practice” quest), The Anvil, Eden-6
Contained Blast
Fires stickies that do huge impact damage. Also, if you can land them on the same target, they get a dmg boost that ramps up really fast, but projectiles are slow and take getting used to.
Farm: Abbadoxis (Crew Challenge), Ashfall Peaks, Gehenna
Sawbar (Suggested by @aaroncarrier)
[Buffed on 20 Aug] Splits into 3 exploding projectiles at a certain distance. I can’t even put into words how powerful this thing is, but only after you master the distance…it’s really far for typical guns, but once you see the damage, you’ll know it’s worth it.
Farm: Borman Nates (Rare Enemy), Meridian Outskirts, Promethea
Dowsing Rod (Suggested by @13igTyme)
The primary fire sucks, but the secondary nade launcher is extremely powerful (especially with 300/90). Turns out, when you switch from the Dowsing Rod, the grenade launcher regens faster than just holding it. So basically, you switch to DR, fire 3-4 grenades, then switch to another weapon. 5-6 seconds later, you’ll have full mag on your nade launcher to use again. This falls right in line with the fast weapon switching you get on this build.
Farm: Pteradomini (Crew Challenge), The Blastplains, Gehenna
SMG's
Kaoson
Sticky-bomb SMG, and both the impact and sticky explosion count as splash. It’s phenomenal, even though the nerf pretty much locks it as a ADS(aim down sights)-only weapon. Fast reload from this build means you can go for a x2 variant with no downside.
Farm: Captain Traunt, Athenas
Flipper
Starts at 1 projectile and increases to 9 when the trigger is held. This previously wasn’t mentioned as recommended gear, because of lack of ammo regen in this build (and also not being a fan of Maliwan), but the inclusion of Short Fuse still makes this a powerful SMG.
Farm: Minosaur (Crew Challenge), Bloodsun Canyon, Gehenna
Blood-Starved Beast
Comes in x2 or x3, and has a chance to spawn an explosion. The shots themselves don’t count as splash, but when the explosion happens, it’s massive aoe and damage, and won’t actually down you. The chance though is inconsistent, and might not kill when you want it to, but still a great gun.
Farm: Evil Lilith, Castle Crimson, Krieg’s Mind
Launchers
Backburner
Your boss/Anointed/Badass killer…the extra projectiles from this thing do DISGUSTING damage, but if you’re playing Co-op, the BB will kill your teammates.
Farm: Agonizer 9000, Guts of Carnivora, Pandora
Nukem
The launcher for not giving a f***…debuff with Piss, fire it, then stack Overkill with a 300/90 anoint.
Farm: Loco Chantelle (Crew Challenge), VIP Tower, The Handsome Jackpot
PlagueBearer
The carpet-bombing rocket launcher, if you don’t mind the slow charge up time. Projectiles track, so they make good anti-movement/anti-air weapons too.
Farm: Warden, The Anvil, Eden-6
Yellowcake
STILL good after 2 new level caps, but keeping your distance so the rockets can split and destroy is required.
Farm: Next Cartel Event or Trade
Snipers
Sandhawk
Crazy powerful, and the projectiles count as splash…but with no ammo regen, this is recommended only for badasses and bosses.
Farm: Katagawa Jr., Atlas HQ, Promethea
Headsplosion
(Buffed on 20 Aug) Unlike the Sandhawk, it’s ACTUALLY a sniper rifle. Ricochets 3 shots on crit, which all seem to apply the gun’s anointment (300/90 or URad), leading to some massive field-clearing.
Farm: King Bobo (“Rumble in the Jungle” quest), Voracious Canopy, Eden-6
Shields
Transformer
The default shield for this build…you’ll heal off any shock damage, (which is very exploitable, i.e. leave shock badass alive for free healing, shock Pool party, etc), and ignore 40% of all bullet damage (absorb), making you a true tank.
Farm: Queen Ant Wanette, Splinterlands, Pandora
Big Boom Blaster
Effortlessly keeps you alive with boosters, and regens your rockets/grenades, since this build doesn’t use “Means of Destruction.” If you’re version relies on grenades/rockets, use this instead.
Farm: The Unstoppable, Ambermire, Eden-6
Plus Ultra
THE best cooldown shield in the game, and has an unlisted x2 max HP bonus that doubles Iron Bears health, with a 25% chance to ignore bullet damage (absorb) and get you more cooldown…awesome for Iron Bear-only runs.
Farm: Dr. Benedict, Benediction of Pain, Krieg’s Mind
Grenades
It’s Piss
25% on throw with a 20% debuff on hit. Both bonuses will stack and give you a massive start to your killing momentum. Not to mention, with TCP, you can debuff an entire field.
Farm: Sloth, Konrad’s Hold, Pandora
Doc Hina’s Miracle Bomb
If you’re looking for raw damage and area control, this nade spawns fire puddles that do MASSIVE DOT. Throw out a bunch of these and watch the kills rack up.
Farm: “Miracle Elixir Fixer” quest, The Blastplains, Gehenna
Ghast Call
Big-damage nade…between this, URad & Skag Den, it covers armor, shields and health, respectively. You can spec into Holy Pin for more damage…just take 5 points out of Stainless, put 3 in PtHP, and 2 in Vampyr, for Moze/IB healing that syncs well with Rushing Offensive.
Farm: Golden Loot Ghosts (Halloween Event)
Relics
Snowdrift Deathless
The Snowdrift gives Moze some desperately-needed mobility, and the Deathless makes you tanky. AOE roll is optional, but reload speed on either this, or a class mod, is a must.
Farm: Phoenix (Crew Challenge), Splinterlands, Pandora
Flesh Melter Deathless
If you don’t need the snowdrift, and you’re fighting guardians or robots, go crazy…the damage stacks real good with your other SoR skills.
Farm: Phoenix (Crew Challenge), Splinterlands, Pandora
Class Mods
Bloodletter
Keeps your shields full, and has synergy with Transformer/Big Boom Blaster and Rushing Offensive to keep you alive. AOE is optional, but reload speed on either this, or an artifact, is a must.
Farm: Skag of Survival, Trial of Survival
Raging Bear
If you want to be in Iron Bear longer, find one of these with +3 in “Deadlines.” This is my preferred COM for Guardian Takedown/Slaughter Shaft, and you don’t even have to change the build for it.
Farm: Billy the Anointed, Jakobs Estate, Eden-6
Flare
I honestly thought this was a redundant Iron Bear mod, but its starting, 100% multiplicative damage is deliciously higher than any other COM, which makes this the best bossing mod for Moze.
Farm: Evil Mordecai, Castle Crimson, Krieg’s Mind
Anointments
Weapon
Frankly this anointment was designed for Moze. Constant elemental boost to your never-ending damage, and stays on even if you switch weapons, or go into FFYL…the centerpiece of this build. Short Fuse takes on and reapplies this anointment on its explosion too.
V2 damage anointment for single-shot, hard-hitting weapons…stacks overkill, on top of the damage you stack naturally with SoR. The Short Fuse explosion also reapplies the 300% damage, leading to one-shot kills even on bosses.
Shield/Nade
The recommended shield anoint for surviving out of Iron Bear. If you can get the cooldown back in the 25 seconds of this anoint, Iron Bear will get the 75% boost to his armor and keep it.
Huge, on-demand damage boost and start to your killing momentum, best used with It’s Piss for stacking with debuff.
Iron Bear Loadout
Railguns (All of Them)
In this build, Iron Bear is used as an extension of Moze, and can out-DPS her in most cases. IB railguns cover all elemental types (fire, shock, corrosive) and can be mixed to cover different kinds of enemies. If you got aim, hitting headshots in conjuction with the “Hollow Point” guardian rank perk and TCP, will often wipe out entire bands of Anointed or Badasses in a single shot (if they’re close enough).
Vanquisher Rockets + All Augments
Best bossing tool for Iron Bear (with Flare COM), but with the downside of reloading. All augments for this IB gun are extremely useful:
Active Tracking: Takes time to find targets but once they’re out, the mass damage is amazing.
Target Softening: Combining this with Auto Bear will have him debuff the closest targets with him…this is only effective if you’re shooting at what IB’s shooting at…you’re teammates will appreciate the debuff too.
Hammerdown Protocol: Nukes. You like Nukes? I like Nukes.
Other
Modifier
I mean, who doesn’t want to be fast as f***?? This modifier is required for this build, and should be necessary for Moze in general. She gets no mobility, and is constantly cryo’d like nobody’s business. This also lets you get away from your own splash damage. Any coop friends who join will also appreciate you…
Science Booster
If you’ve invested some time into the Science Arcade machine (and saving our planet!!!
), buying these falls right into the function of this build. Having this, plus reload speed on either class mod or artifact (& guardian rank), will give you about 30% reload speed (almost as much as Zane).
Thanks/Links
-The Borderlands community for the Updated Drop List:
All Updated Drop Locations
-Ideas, Weapons & Suggestions: @13igTyme, @aaroncarrier
(For those on PC, I put a save file in Youtube video .)