Is THIS Axton with this Legendary Soldier mod the most powerful Lvl.50 in the game?

Borderlands 2 Axton the Commando
#34

5% is basically nothing in this game and I’m pretty sure it’s additive and not multiplicative so you’re getting very little out of it… If it was multiplicative and boosted by a COM, maybe it would be worth it, but even then… Just cause numbers go up doesn’t mean there’s a tangible in game impact…

if you want a breakdown of Axton’s skills from the most knowledgeable Axton player out there check out Demonite’s youtube channel. He’s got several smaller videos and his stuff is mostly oriented to endgame builds, but he has an old video on levelling Axton (though it was made before the last patch). The most comprehensive look at Axton’s skills can be found on his (and Derch’s) channel where he and Derch spend almost two hours going through Axton’s abilities and synergies.

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#35

They do the same job in essence: one helps you when you’re down, the other helps you stay up :slight_smile:
But pressure is always useful while last ditch is only when you’re down.

Playstyle difference. I tend to enjoy shotguns and snipers, so I usually shoot from the hip or standing still (rarely more than 1 or 2 shots at a time

I have never found a use for that skill.

COM boost justifies it plenty.

I assumed as much with my skill distribution. :slight_smile:
Had I had enough points, I would have gone down for Resourceful

In that tree, metal storm is by far the best choice for going down the tree. 60% fire rate is just as good as 60% damage

Ranger is really not that great honestly. I spent my points there because there was nothing left to pick that was good.

It actually works pretty well early UVHM, especially if you get gemini: throw a turret with longbow, kill some foes from afar, deploy the second one next to you and recall it to recall both. Wear a fire bone to both increase damage and cooldown And either an Ingeneer COM or Leg Soldier for even more cooldown. Carry a slagga to paint the room purple before you start. Rinse repeat.

Once you get into OP levels however, it falls completely flat.

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#36

For one point 84% swap speed is nice.

I’ve heard all pet damage can’t be boosted by player buffs like these, is that different for Nuke? Plus isn’t the explosion explosive, and only the DoT is fire? But maybe you meant you might as well since the cooldown is more important?

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#37

Mostly cooldown, but it might as well be fire.

Don’t know about bones increasing nuke damage though.

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#38

Okay, using some Borderlands Math to illustrate to you the general picture:

Axton (72) - Legendary Soldier
(1+0.35+0.4+0.3+0.3+0.05) x 2 x (1.05) = 5.04

Maya (72) - Legendary Siren - I’m not using the Leg Cat, though the numbers are higher, because most gun Mayas run Siren
(1+0.3+0.3+0.39) x 2 x (1+0.5) x 1.25 = 7.46

Zer0 (72) - Legendary Killer (not even counting the massive burst damage OOD or Ambush)
(1+0.5+0.2+0.3) x 2 x (1+0.57+0.4+0.3+1) x 1.8 = 23.54

Gaige (72) - Chaotic Evil Nechromancer (understanding that scoring critical hits is difficult for her)
(1+7.5) x 2 x 1.54 = 26.18

Not doing Salvador because NKLO is pretty unpredictable, and with Krieg, PiP messes up crit calculations.

Axton’s advantage is that with the Soldier Com, alot of that DPS, inclusive of indirect skills like Ready and Expertise, are pretty much passive. But on a flipside, Axton also has alot of circumstantial powerful skills - Metal Storm, Onslaught and Battlefront. All Maya needs to do to reach her peak DPS is to phaselock an enemy.

Of course, while I feel the game designers should have been more generous with Axton’s damage skills, it is sufficient even at OP8, provided you use strong guns. But he is not the type of class that can take a mediocre gun and make it amazing like Sal, Krieg and Zer0 can.

don’t sleep on Legendary Soldier Axton yo!

Don’t get me wrong, the Soldier is a really amazing class mod - up there with the Siren as the best Gen 1 mod. But a large reason it is so revered is because Axton doesn’t have a proper pure DPS Legendary mod like Zer0 and Maya do. The Leg Ranger is his ‘DPS’ mod, but by neglecting to give a passive DPS buff (and boosting Ranger instead of Battlefront/Ready), they really gimped its potential.

in Sentry, fair enough it would make your turret much more powerful and go well with the 5 you dump into Battlefront but I dunno… I often call back my turret shortly after deploying to start cooldown again, almost like a kind of super grenade

I know you are still Lvl 50 and stuffs, but Sentry is one of those non-negotiable 5/5 skills UNLESS you are running a pure grenade build (I would still put 5/5 though). As you progress through the higher difficulties of UVHM, you will realise how important your turret is - especially once you grab Double-up. Expertise I would put 1 point if you are using the Soldier - the swap speed is valuable, but not something you absolutely need 10 points for.

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#39

The turret counts as a separate player, so Nuke does not benefit off elemental relics (it deals explosive damage). Bone is probably still the best choice, but its element should be tailored to whatever guns you are equipping.

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#40

hmm, pressure doesn’t increase gun damage though (or movement speed during ffyl), I don’t know if I’d say they do the same job. I prefer Last Ditch

1 Like
#41

The reload speed boost will increase DPS which, depending on choice of weapon, has the potential to get you out of FFYL faster than increased base damage. I guess the question is, are you intending to play to avoid going into FFYL (even though at low health), or accepting that you’ll be there often? The reduced shield delay is also good (and could help you stay out of FFYL for longer.)

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#42

I’d take the points from Ranger and add them to Duty Calls- Jakobs weapons would be the reason for it…

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#43

While in ffyl, you don’t really care about your shield: you’re basically invincible. Getting more damage out is how you get out of it.

While you’re not in ffyl, you want your shield to protect you, gun damage is not as critical.

They both do the same thing IN ESSENCE: keeping you alive.
One helps you get out of ffyl, the other helps you not get there in the first place.

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#44

I take back everything i’ve ever said that could be perceived as negative about Axton. I’m running the Peak with him right now, just finished OP6 and this is the easiest i’ve had it, except for maybe Sal. Brilliant VH.

24874w

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#45

I would add that Pressure is also pretty good in FFYL - given you likely will be at 0 health. Given your reduced concision in FFYL, you would tend to reload more - so +70% Reload Speed can certainly be helpful. Helpful for all weapons, but especially noticeable if you are using Torgue shotties/Harold, RLs or Tediore weaponry.

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#46

YES! SWORDSPLOSION!!!

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#47

IMO this is perfect for starting UVHM
http://bl2skills.com/commando.html#55054150014105010000015020000000

Covers increases for damage, turret abilities, and survival.

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#48

Going back to the original post: No Axton would not be the most powerful with that setup with the Legendary Soldier Mod. Versatile and able to tackle just about anything? Yes. Most powerful? No.

If you include the DLC content Salvador can use a level 50 version of the Deputy Build since it would be possible to go after both the Grog Nozzle and a Rustler’s Orphan Maker. Getting something as simple as a Raider COM would not be hard to do either with the build, even at level 50, able to blow pretty much everything apart. Both the Grog Nozzle and the COM would not need to be replaced and with a Rustler’s Orphan Maker Salvador would be able to do such insane amounts of damage he would not have to worry about replacing it for a while. Even if he does have to replace it, a good Jakobs Coach gun can suffice. The Deputy Salvador build is also the only Jakobs oriented build that I am aware of that can totally demolish Hammerlock’s Hunt which is a DLC that is notoriously difficult for Jakobs oriented builds to overcome, if not downright impossible.

Krieg is another example, especially with a Mania build. By the time Krieg is at level 50 he can pretty much ignore RNG with a highly focused melee build. If the player gets their hands on a Sickle COM and a decent Roid Shield they can do tremendous amounts of damage to the general population of Pandora with only the roid shield requiring replacement as a decent Sickle COM can last until level 72. Krieg is also perfectly capable of turning Hyperious the Invincible into nothing more than a bloated meat shield with a melee setup. Slap on a Rapier with good footwork and Krieg can kill enemies outside of BxR as efficiently as with it.

Those are just two examples of characters who upon level 50 with a bit of farming can bend UVHM and spank the ever living daylights out of it. Maya transitions extremely well from NVHM to UVHM due to all her abilities which includes two slag skills, a lot of crowd control, and defensive abilities.

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#49

I strongly disagree, in favor of something like http://bl2skills.com/commando.html#53000000005104010000015040144151

I had almost exactly what you posted when I started UVHM, and retired the character several times because he sucked horribly. Switching to Gemini-first was like night and day; twice the turrets means much more than twice the distraction, and the swap speed from Expertise means the loss of turret-slag is almost meaningless.

Indeed. :slight_smile: Mine lasted until level 61. Such a ridiculous gun!

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#50

Agree to disagree. I’d much rather have scorched earth, 5/5 ready, and able.

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#51

With the exception of taking Forbearance and Last Ditch Effort over Ready that’s what I pretty much started my original Axton with. Great minds and all that… :grinning:

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#52

Wow, so much variation in Axton players

what a really awesome vault hunter

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#53

Actually I think my shift to Gemini-first was based on advice you gave. :smiley: Thank you!

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