First things first, great analysis.
As a Zer0 main, I can surely relate to what you say about this kind of character being versatile and I can also see why it can be considered an Axton 2.0. It needs some tweeks here and there to be able to catch other class on damage, but he isn’t abysmal or barely unplayable by any means.
I’ve testing with some builds and I’ve reached some conclusions. First, Undercover and high-speed builds are not compatible. You can try, of course, but I think it’s better if you go for the Damage+Survavility instead of the Damage+Survavility+Speed, which results in a loss of traits you’ll want for Zane.
Secondly. I firmly believe that Doubled Agent skill tree is overrated. While Digi-Clone may outclass SNTNL due to its greater synergy with Synchronicity (alongside other skills that preffer the lower CD of Digi-Clone to shine), the Digi-Clone, by itself, isn’t any better. Synchronicity is one of Zane best skills and I think almost every build should want to attain it. It’s a flat 40% increase in damage that it’s also easy to maintain. Donnybrook is great too. 15% Gun Damage affected by DFC. Grenades are overrated as ■■■■. Not only do they lack in damage or even support (in the form of crowd control, etc.); they should be (at least with Zane) a nice add, but the build shouldn’t make itself around this. At this point, with DB glitched, I think Quick Breather (depending on your build, obviously not if you’re wearing RR) and Supersonic Man are the only two skills that shine in that tree.
I’ve been working on a build able to reach Confident Competence and Dome augment, while achieving all of Hitman fundamentals and DMG based Double Agent skills, and I’ve come up with this: https://borderlands.com/en-US/characters/zane/#t=“cb__3497412252___p__2886514866-5_2585585538-4_1105028631-1_4076945791-1_855159471-5_630140661-5_882593851-5_4221916440-1_4007997923-4_957917588-5_123113358-1_2942539557-5_3886810084-3_570334902-2_342715552-1___e__3441733518-1251885132_1590166781-4219377344_1434065960-2776360292_1831362103-3548678278_2424622424-1868013622_2477539908-97512464”
Now, here’s the thing. With a Class Mod like this
You’ll be getting +6 in Violent Violence and +8 in Playing Dirty (80% chance to add a secondary proyectile), which is fundamental to abuse low pellet count/high damage weapons, like Queen’s/King’s Call or the obscene Chump. While also being formidable with quick fire burst weapons (due to the points we’ve put into Cool Hand, a kill skill that should not be overlooked because we all know how lethal it was with pjs like Roland in the past) like The Butcher (in this game excels at close range, ripping shields in no time if you have a Shock version), Lucian’s Call, Artics, Crossroads, Lyudas, or whatever you’ll want to equip at a certain moment.
Even if it’s not an ice build, 2 points in Brain Freeze + the passive effects of the COM should be enough to instantly frozen a Badass. The point is, you don’t want to freeze everything unless you are playing the main Undercover version of the build, which focuses in double agent and undercover and infinite action skill time. You just want to kill things as fast as posible dealing tons of damage with your actions skills, + your dmg skills alocated in Double Agent, + the damage you are getting from the shield, AND be able to freeze Badasses in no time thanks to high fire rate weapons like the Artic Hawkin we’ve talked about before.
I’ve a version of the Otto Idol that gives me 18% health everytime I kill an enemy, and anso provides 105% slidding speed (in my opinion, NOT MANDATORY, but noticeable in a Zane build, for it allows you to evade non-hitscan bullets with ease, take cover if necessary (sometimes ppl forget Borderlands is a rare case of shooter with free movement and almost everything around you can act as cover) and relocate the Digi-Clon. 1.666 Max. Shield and 21% Action Skill recharge time.
Transformer > Stop-Gap. Stop-Gap makes you invulnerable when your life is below 50% and that’s nice. It also has a little bit more of capacity. But! 40% chance to absorb (aka ignore) bullets, will make the Transformer much more difficult to break through. I’ve not done the mat, but if one has, let’s say, 15.000 shield while the other “only” has 12.000, but this one ignores 40% of the proyectiles, his theoretical capacity is much higher. Anyways, Stop-Gap is another option you’d look to, I’m just sharing my impressions.
I haven’t dedicated much attention to Grenade Mods. Hex should be fine in Cryo or Rad version, the one that heals your shield is also nice, altho you’ve plenty of shield regen. Storm Front is another option. There are lots of them, but I sincerely believe they are the lowest point of Zane arsenal and, while considered, should not be your main preocupation.
I’ll share impressions as I play more with the build.
#ZaneGang.
