Co-op Games - A few questions

[knighm]

As I am still trying to find players to help me to get past Wilhelm in UVHM, Level 53 I have a few questions:

1. On entering Tundra Express and meeting up with Tina I have to get the 2 Badonkadonks (missile launching bits). If I get these in solo mode and then enter a game in co-op will I need to get these again?

2. The reason for asking is I am considering doing the Tundra Express bit solo, then entering the End of the Line section. If I quit here I presume the game would re-start at the entrance to End of the Line. If so I could sit there until some co-op player opts to join. If this takes weeks I am stuck as I will not be able to visit other areas and side missions. Catch 22

3. If I join another game say in the Tundra Express section would I need to get the Badonkadonks again?

4. If I ever manage to be part of a team to defeat Wilhelm would I be able to pick up the dropped shield for Sanctuary if I am part of another game?

5. As I am not used to playing co-op is it best to use Quick Matchmaker or search current games? In the Current Games screen what is the number and histogram on the right hand side of each game? Either way how long does it normally take to get a suitable game? I am now coming to the end of day 3 with no luck so far.

Thanks

knighm

[VaultHunter101 (Flying: throwing yourself at the ground and missing)]

On entering Tundra Express and meeting up with Tina I have to get the 2 Badonkadonks (missile launching bits). If I get these in solo mode and then enter a game in co-op will I need to get these again?

If you’re hosting, no. If the person hosting hasn’t picked them up yet, yes in their game

The reason for asking is I am considering doing the Tundra Express bit solo, then entering the End of the Line section. If I quit here I presume the game would re-start at the entrance to End of the Line.

I haven’t tried it but I think that’s correct - take the map transition from Tundra, stay in “End of the Line” map, save/quit/restart, should be right at the gate.

If I ever manage to be part of a team to defeat Wilhelm would I be able to pick up the dropped shield for Sanctuary if I am part of another game?

When mission items get picked up, they’re added to every player’s progress so yes, if you saved/quit and then restarted your own game, you’d have the power core for Sanctuary.[quote=“knighm, post:1, topic:1553802”]
As I am not used to playing co-op is it best to use Quick Matchmaker or search current games? In the Current Games screen what is the number and histogram on the right hand side of each game?
[/quote]

From memory there are indicators for: host level and number of players/slots. The bars indicate the quality of the connection: four greens means you should experience little to no lag; red bars means watch out!

I hope you don’t mind my asking, but is there some reason you don’t want to Tackle Willhelm solo? I realise that every new boss is a pain the first time you ever face them, but Wilhelm is not actually so bad once you learn his moves.

If you need some hints, you’ll find some (mostly spoiler free) here:

[Guide] Borderlands 2 Basics for New Players

#Vault Hunting 101: Borderlands 2 Basics for New Players Part 3 of your spoiler-free guide to characters, gear, loot, quests, and skills for your first play-through, covering Bloodshot Ramparts to End of the Line. Continuing the Normal Vault Hunter Mode (NVHM) play-through from part 1 and part 2 of this guide. As before, cyan headings denote missions, while other colours denote main sections, gear and weapons, or skills entries. If you find any errors, parts that are unclear, or just have a q…

We also just had a discussion about this in another thread the other day, so a bit of a search might dig that up.

Finally, on the finding a match thing: I don’t know how many people are playing from scratch on the PC side at the moment. There where a whole bunch who picked the game up on XB1 over the holidays, so there’s a bunch of new players there. If you haven’t already, you might want to just post a general request in this section of anyone interested in running normal mode (first play-through).

[knighm]

I have fought Wilhelm 6 times so far in my campaign. In NVHM there is no problem but in TVHM and UVHM he has kicked my butt every time. The worst attempt was in November 2016 when playing as Zero at level 59 I found it totally impossible to get past him. As I was at level 59 I couldn’t find anyone at that level prepared to help with this mission.

Also my xp is close to taking the step change in difficulty. If I started solo I am concerned that the extra difficulty level would make it really impossible alone.

I am trying to do as much as possible of the UVHM solo. The two mission where I know I will need help is End of the Line (Wilhelm) and Wildlife Preserve. There may well be others.

Speaking of the Wildlife Preserve. When trying to get the Cult of the Vault Symbol in the Bot infested Dock area I die every time. When standing on the crane bucket to get lifted up to get on the roof, every time the crane moves up I instantly die going straight to the regeneration screen. Is there a particular way to stand on the crane bucket? Do you need to actually stand in the orange section or up on the black ledge-bit?

knighm

[VaultHunter101 (Flying: throwing yourself at the ground and missing)]

The worst attempt was in November 2016 when playing as Zero at level 59 I found it totally impossible to get past him.

Melee Zer0? I can imagine that would be hard - I switched mine from melee to a gun hybrid around level 55 because of Piston’s stupid Blimp in DLC2, although I was already past Wilhelm in main story at that point.

Also my xp is close to taking the step change in difficulty. If I started solo I am concerned that the extra difficulty level would make it really impossible alone.

You mean you’re close to levelling up? One thing I’ll note is that UVHM actually gets a bit easier above level 59, simply because the number of skill points allows you to really pull your build together. I can’t emphasize paying careful attention to your skill tree though - it really is way more important in UVHM than any other mode.

The two mission where I know I will need help is End of the Line (Wilhelm) and Wildlife Preserve.

I’ve done both solo with multiple characters, and I am not some über-twitch-gamer type. If you’re prepared, neither is that bad. WEP obviously requires decent shock gear because the number of rabid stalkers you run into is obscene. A quasar or decent purple Tesla grenade goes a long way there, as does keeping in constant motion (not backwards though) and jumping around lots - throws off the AI. In the Observation Arena, you can try and take cover under the elevator (if you send it back up) or stay in the centre of the circular elevator doors in the floor at the far end. In that location,most of the airborne attacks don’t actually hit you, and you’re in the perfect spot to grab health and ammo from Mordi’s occasional supply drops. That and some decent rapid fire SMGs/shotguns will get you through with pretty much any character.

When trying to get the Cult of the Vault Symbol in the Bot infested Dock area I die every time.

Yep. Go too high on the crane, and you will die every time. You need to be standing on the edge of the crate and NOT on the gripper part of the hoist. It’s a bit disconcerting because your character stays facing one way while the crane and crate rotate around, so it looks like you’re always about to fall off. Edging closer to the cable guarantees a one-way trip through the blue tunnel. I usually just rotate my character on the spot (view/aim not motion) so I’m always facing the direction of travel, and that works out fine.

[ChemicalConundrum (What does it all mean!?)]

What’s your current gear and spec look like? That could be part of the problem.

[knighm]

I am currently a Level 53 Siren. In my Skill Tree I have Cloud Kill and Converge active, full Quicken and Chain Reaction. My Level 53 Weapons are extensive including:
Spike Shield
Adaptive Shield
Bee Shield
DPUH
Muckamuck non-elemental Sniper
Gentleman’s Storm Shock Sniper (Pearlescent)
Rakehell Slag Sniper
Dandy Snider Corrosive Sniper
Resourse Snipe Incendiary Sniper
Cartel Terror Incendiary Sniper
Agresive smig non-elemental SMG
Moxxi’s Good Touch Incendiary SMG
Feculent Trance Slag SMG
Shock Splat Gun
Impetuous Hulk Explosive Shotgun
Cowboy Rifle AR
Leather Cannon AR
Electrified Aegis Pistol
Leather Iron Pistol
Crammed Rod Pistol
Anarchist Pistol
Rubberised Tesla Grenade
Rubberised Transfusion Grenade
Homing Incendiary Grenade

All other weapons (including corrosive SMG) are level 50, 51 or 52.

I am carrying 7 Launchers as this seems to be the only way past Wilhelm. These are (in damage order):

1. Level 50 Nukem
2. Level 46 Badaboom
3. Level 52 Explosive
4. Level 51 Slag Launcher
5. Level 47 Bombabarbardeer (mag. size 10)
6. Level 50 Explosive
7. Level 52 Topneaa Shock

As you can see there is not a corrosive Launcher.

Other than this I carry 2 stockpile relics: + 39.5% Ammo on AR, Sniper and Pistol, and secondly +42.5% Launcher Ammo and +3 Grenades.

The latter Relic looks an option but I will probably not last long enough to get more than 1 or 2 shots off.

Hope this helps.

knighm

[VaultHunter101 (Flying: throwing yourself at the ground and missing)]

The Storm should help with shield-stripping. Rubberized grenades are a bit problematic on that map, so I’d try and scrounge up a homing or longbow Tesla and slag transfusion. Without a corrosive weapon, you’re definitely at a disadvantage in this fight though. Explosive or a good non-elemental will help, but you will definitely need to slag first. The level 46 Badaboom isn’t really helping much.

I would recommend that you either farm Knuckeldragger for a Hornet, or run the Assassins in Southpaw Steam & Power and see if you can score a corrosive Emperor SMG. Knuckledragger is by far the easiest farm, especially if you enter from Liar’s Berg via the map transition to Windshear Wastes. That will put you inside the Hyperion barge, and Knuckledragger will spawn right out side. When you save/quit/restart, you’ll immediately be back inside the barge. The other thing you could do would be to complete In Memoriam (Lilith mission) which unlocks Boll in Three Horns Divide. You can then farm him for a corrosive Fastball grenade, which should help a lot.

[ChemicalConundrum (What does it all mean!?)]

In my opinion, Maya becomes “complete” at level 52/53 (depending on co-op or solo with Res). This is because you have all of her key skills at this point, though of course there’s many ways to Spec and be effective. This is my recommendation, but you didn’t list your class mods so it would change a bit with those. The key skills I want are Res, Ruin, and Converge along with the powerful skills Cloud Kill, Chain Reaction, Wreck and Reaper. Scorn and Life Tap will have to wait. I put one point in Mind’s Eye in case I have a Leg Siren mod, because 4/5 in SR is enough usually. You can fill up SR though as Mind’s Eye is pretty useless. Flicker or Helios would depend on personal preference or a class mod, either is fine.

bl2skills.com/siren.html#505001000014050100000554510501

In terms of your gear, a DPUH and a Bee should crush all, so you can always resort to that. Remember you can get Wreck on bosses by phase locking an Add (like Wilhelm’s Surveyors) then hitting the boss. The DPUH/Bee combo is so powerful though, that you can get trapped by it and not learn the mechanics of the game. Most of your gear is mid-tier to low tier, so you could definitely step up in many areas. You have great Snipers, but otherwise… You might want to take a Snowman run to see if you get a Leg Siren COM, plasma caster or something else interesting.

I would want a slag grenade, though Maya needs them less with Ruin and Converge. I would also be looking for some strong shotgun, but you have enough decent gear pieces to be effective now. A Snowman run or two should sort you out and you can get rid of a lot of that lower leveled stuff or those middling Jakob’s pistols you have (their solid, but you can likely do better).

If you are going down a lot, look for a tenacity relic, but I normally favor Proficiency (cool down), elemental, vitality (health), or a matching stockpile/damage relic to my main gun with Maya.

[knighm]

Thanks for this. I managed to get past Wilhelm in co-op. I can see some of the advantages of co-op. I have a couple of related questions you may be able to help with:

1. As a Siren I have a full Quicken Skill, so if I get a Cooldown relic will this make any difference to how quickly I can re-use Phaselock? But then what is the difference with an Override Cooldown Relic? Which is better for a quicker recharge of Phaselock as I rarely use melee?

2. Would Phaselock damage the Constructor and Gluttonous Threasher? I am aware that I cannot enclose then but does firing the phase blast at them damage them in any way?

3. Going into Bright Light, Flying City mission there are a lot of Bots in the two Highlands sections. As a result I have got Cloud Kill active. But will this be a disadvantage against the Gluttonous Thresher as this skill may mask the shock and slag weapons I intend to use?

4. The Wildlife Exploitation Preserve is a very large battle arena and when I have gone through in NVHM and TVHM ammo top ups have been about right for a solo player. Bearing in mind that the only vending machines are in the mid section would there be enough ammo in say a 3 person co-op game? Also in co-op games is it first come first served with ammo and loot chests or does each player have access to there ‘own’ loot chest ammo refills?

Thanks in advance.

knighm

[ChemicalConundrum (What does it all mean!?)]

Override cool down refers to the special melee attacks like Sal’s Fist of Hurt, or in this case Maya’s Scorn. These don’t help you. You want a proficiency relic or a Bone of the Ancients that reduces the cool down of your action skill. Cloud Kill is free damage every 5 seconds. Unless you are farming a BA challenge that it interferes with, you always want it because youare spec’ing to Ruin anyway. Phaselock damage on non-bubble-able things is worthless, but with Ruin you can slag them which can be very useful. Quicken is nice, but given she has better skills and fast cool down, I’d avoid it till I had more points.

There’s ammo machines halfway through WEP and right before the final boss area. You should be fine if you are using more than one weapon type. Ammo is not exclusive btw, but unless you are playing with idiots who hog everything, you should be fine. Edit: no Ammo machines at the end but you should still be fine as there’s lots of crates and drops

[VaultHunter101 (Flying: throwing yourself at the ground and missing)]

Ammo is not exclusive btw, but unless you are playing with idiots who hog everything, you should be fine.

Gun ammo is shared just like cash and eridium. Grenades (and rockets IIRC) are not shared.

@knighm - an additional ammo tip: pick up any weapon of the type you’re short of ammo for; the ammo in the picked up item is transferred to your backpack. You can then safely drop the item, which will now contain no ammo.