BORDERLANDS 2 AXTON Build
LEVEL 1 TO 80 OP10
The Ultimate BUILD Guide
This Borderlands 2 Axton build guide walks you through Axton’s full progression, from level 1 all the way to level 80 OP10. Each stage of his journey is broken down across NVHM, TVHM, and UVHM, with clear explanations of skill choices, recommended gear, and a simple, optimized step-by-step leveling path.
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Normal Vault Hunter Mode – Level 1 to 30
Normal Vault Hunter Mode (NVHM) is your first playthrough, in total there are 3: Normal, True and Ultimate. For the next 2 playthroughs (True and Ultimate) you restart the main campaign but with increased difficulty, but don’t worry, your gear also gets better. To note, you keep your gear and skills when restarting a new playthrough.
Recommended Skills
Level 6-10: 5 Points on Sentry
Increases Sabre Turret’s duration by 10 seconds and adds more shots per burst.
Level 11-15: 5 Points on Willing
Increases shield recharge rate by 75% and reduces delay by 60%.
Level 16: 1 Point on Scorched Earth
Adds multi-rocket pods to the Sabre Turret, which fire multiple rockets.
Level 17-20: 4 Points on Onslaught
Increases your gun damage and movement speed for a brief moment after a kill.
Level 21-25: 5 Points on Able
Whenever you deal damage, regenerate some of your max HP per second for 3 seconds.
Level 26-30: 5 Points on Grenadier
Increases your grenade capacity.
Level 31: 1 Point on Double Up
Adds another gun to your Sabre Turret, which now fires slag bullets.
ProgRession route
Goal: In Normal Vault hunter Mode, I suggest getting over the main story and keeping the side-missions and DLCs for the next playthroughs, so you don’t get over-leveled too much for TVHM and also because gear becomes quickly outdated.
Level 1 to 10: Starting Off
- Follow the starting main quests up until you reach Boom and Bewm.
- While not required, Boom and Bewm can drop the Bonus Package grenade, which can let you breeze through most fights in NVHM.
- Avoid overleveling here. If you don’t get it by around level 10, just continue with the story.
Level 11 to 31: Main Questline
- Keep following the main questline until you complete the whole thing. You should be level 30 or close to it by the time you beat the story.
- If you’re struggling with health despite having Able, consider doing Rakkaholics Anonymous and turning it in to Moxxi to get Rubi. It’s good for healing with grenades, which also makes the Bonus Package more desirable.
Pre-TVHM: Early key pieces
- This build uses The Bee, which you can farm from Treants in the Forest area of the Tiny Tina DLC. Consider getting this before going to the next playthrough, as it will drastically increase your damage output. (Fast Travel to Unassuming Docs to start the DLC).
- Consider farming an Unkempt Harold from Savage Lee. He spawns in Three Horns – Divide, and this drop will be another thing you’ll be updating throughout your journey to 80.
Best gears
Farming specific gear in NVHM is not suggested, as gear quickly becomes under-leveled and needs to be replaced at every 4-5 level. I recommend checking vending machines and looting for the following gear before starting True Vault Hunter Mode:
Slot 1: Any good rifle you can get
Slot 2: Torgue weapons or a rocket launcher for burst damage
Shield: Any good shield
Grenade: Bonus Package
Class Mod: Anything that boosts your weapons’ damage or fire rate
Relic: Find one with bonus explosive damage or Torgue stats if you can
Tips for NVHM
- Save SHiFT Codes for the following playthroughs.
- Do not forget to use Eridiums to increase your inventory.
- Don’t waste time farming specific legendaries in NVHM; they’ll be out-leveled quickly
- Stock up on ammo and do one last check of vending machines for better gear before starting True Vault Hunter Mode.
True Vault Hunter Mode – Level 31 to 50
True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) is your second playthrough, here it becomes tougher, and you’ll want to start optimizing your build: matching elements to enemy weaknesses (fire=flesh, corrosive=armor, shock=shields) and aiming for critical hits is important.
Recommended Skills
Level 32-36: 5 Points on Impact
Increases both melee and gun damage
Level 37-41: 5 Points on Metal Storm
Briefly increases your fire rate by 60% and recoil reduction by 75% on kill
Level 42: 1 Point on Longbow Turret
Increases turret deploy range by 10000% and increases its health by 110%
Level 43-47: 5 Points on Preparation
Increases shield capacity. You also regenerate health per second while shields are full
Level 48-50: 3 Points on Pressure
Increases your reload speed and decreases shield recharge delay based on current health
ProgRession route
Goal: Try to finish TVHM around level 50, avoid over-leveling before UVHM. Because in TVHM items scale up to maximum level 50, and in UVHM enemies scale to your level, meaning if you finish TVHM at level 55, you’ll only have level 50 gears against enemies (in UVHM) that are level 55. But DLCs will scale to your level even after level 50, so it’s best to do the DLCs after you finish the main story so you have good level gear for your last playthrough: UVHM.
Level 31 to 35: Early story and farming
- Go through the introductory missions again until you reach Sanctuary. Spend some time farming Boom and Bewm to try and get an updated Bonus Package.
- Again, avoid overleveling while doing this. If you somehow get close to level 35 without getting one, move on.
Level 36 to 45: Main campaign completion
- Keep doing the main quests until the story is completed. You’ll likely be done or close to it before hitting level 50.
- If you feel like your damage is falling off, consider getting an updated Unkempt Harold and The Bee, as this combo deals a ton of damage even while slightly underleveled.
Level 46 to 50: Preparing for UVHM
- Once the main quest has been completed and you’re still not at level 50, start your preferred DLC campaign and just play through it at your leisure. Tiny Tina’s DLC is a good choice as there will be a couple of items to farm there until or at 50.
- At level 50, grab a new The Bee, Unkempt Harold, and try to get a Magic Missile from elite enemies or the Handsome Dragon boss in Tiny Tina’s DLC. The Magic Missile will give you another strong option for applying slag, which is going to be important in UVHM.
Best gears
As enemies are now tougher, it’s important to start farming for specific gear, such as The Bee and obtaining the Sand Hawk. These two weapons are the core of this powerful build and are vital to have before starting your last playthrough: Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM).
Slot 1: Unkempt Harold
Slot 2:Sand Hawk(or any fast elemental weapon)
Shield: The Bee
Grenade: Bonus Package or Magic Missile
Class Mod: Legendary Soldier
Relic: Find one with bonus explosive damage
Throughout TVHM, the Unkempt Harold and The Bee will let you breeze through due to the hilariously strong amped damage. With the skills we’ve allocated, you’ll have an easy time keeping The Bee’s effect active, so even random weapons can get you through this playthrough without any issues.
Tips for TVHM
- Use SHiFT Codes if your gears are under-leveled, as gears from Golden Keys always scale to your level.
- Do not forget to use Eridiums to increase your inventory.
- Once you finish the main story on TVHM, every side-quest (rewards) and mobs will scale to level 50.
- Stock up on ammo before starting Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode – Level 50 to 80 OP10
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM) is your final playthrough, for some players the game really starts here. The key part is starting UVHM at level 50 (maximum 52).
Enemies will now continuously scale to your level, so it’s important to have an optimized build. Here you can do the main story, DLCs and side-quests whenever you want, and if needed, you can reset UVHM to redo quests at a higher level.
Recommended Skills
Level 51-52: 2 Points on Pressure
Maxes out our last skill from earlier for faster shield recharge.
Level 53-57: 5 Points on Quick Charge
Briefly regenerate 5% of your shield per second after a kill.
Level 58: 1 Point on Phalanx
Your turrets will now project a shield that can block enemy projectiles.
Level 59-63: 5 Points on Resourceful
25% faster action skill cooldown.
Level 64-68: 5 Points on Grit
20% chance to ignore fatal damage and regain half of your max health.
Level 69: 1 Point on Gemini
Lets you deploy two turrets at once.
Level 70-74: 5 Points on Ready
Increases reload speed by 40%.
Level 75-79: 5 Points on Battlefront
Grants 30% bonus gun, melee, and grenade damage while your turret is active.
Level 80: 1 Point on any skill node you desire. Do or Die is a decent choice, or cap off Onslaught.
ProgRession route
Goal: Your goal is to complete the main story, do the DLC’s and complete the side-quests (in whatever order you want), by doing all of this, it should take you to level 80. You can also try some XP farming methods, to reach higher levels faster.
Level 50 to 80: One last story playthrough
- Since everything starts scaling to you in UVHM, the best thing to do is to speed through the story and start playing through your preferred DLCs. The entire goal is to reach max level before you start seriously min-maxing gear.
- Update your gear every 5 levels to keep up with the scaling enemies. At the very least, get a new Unkempt Harold and The Bee whenever you feel the need to.
Level 80 to 80 OP10: Digistruct Peak
- At level 80, you can start working towards OP 10 by repeatedly finishing Digistruct Peak. At OP10, you can start farming for the absolute best versions of your gear (especially the Unkempt Harold).
- Make sure to update your gear at each OP level as difficulty scales fast and hard.
Best gears
As enemies scale to your level, it’s important to refresh your gear at every few levels. It’s also a good time to farm gear with the right spare parts:
Slot 1: Double Penetrating/Intense Unkempt Harold
Slot 2: Sand Hawk
Slot 3:Casual SWORDSPLOSION
Slot 4: Florentine
Shield:The Bee
Grenade: Magic Missile
Class Mod: Legendary Soldier
Relic:Find one with bonus explosive damage
UVHM is where slag starts becoming a necessity. With the help of Magic Missile, you can easily apply it to large groups while also dealing a lot of damage at the same time. You won’t have any issues with grenade upkeep as it regenerates on its own over time.
An Unkempt Harold with either the Double Penetrating or Intense prefix will have a much higher DPS than regular ones. A SWORDSPLOSION with the Casual prefix is another extremely powerful tool to have due to its high explosive damage. The other guns are there for when you need faster fire rate or specific elements.
Tips for UVHM
- Save fast travel points near boss farms for quicker re-farming.
- Reach higher levels quickly with these XP farming methods.
- Try this Glitched quest for unlimited money.
- Do not forget to use Eridiums to increase your inventory, especially ammo as Salvador is a high ammo consumer.
MORE AXTON BUILDS
DOUBLE UP
Level 50
Turret • Slag • Well-balanced
PLAYSTYLE
The Double Up build for Axton is great for increasing your Sabre Turret’s effectiveness. With this build, your Sabre Turret can slag enemies, which increases the damage enemies take. This is a great build that creates a good balance between Axton and its Turret.
When using this build, the main thing is to deploy your Sabre Turret strategically, which will determine the outcome of your battles. The additional damage and slag effect from the Double Up skill ensures that Axton can easily take enemies down.
SOLO
In Solo, the Sabre Turret acts as an additional ally, which changes the whole scenario for your battles. This helps you focus on weakened enemies from the turret or on high-priority targets. The power and versatility of the Sabre Turret mean that Axton wouldn’t constantly need cover or have to retreat.
COOP
The build works pretty similarly in Coop, the Sabre Turret can take the heat off the battle while you and your allies can focus on taking down more powerful enemies without getting distracted. As mentioned, the Sabre Turret is like an additional ally which is never a bad idea for any team. So you and your team will have a much easier time in the game using this build.
GEARS
Slot 1: Norfleet
Slot 2: Unkempt Harold
Slot 3: Sand Hawk
Slot 4: Grog Nozzle
Shield: The Sham
Grenade: Magic Missile
MOD: Legendary Engineer
Relic: Bone of the Ancients
SKILLS
The skills Double Up, Scorched Earth and Sentry are important as they increase your Sabre Turret’s overall damage.
Regarding Axton’s survivability, the skills Willing, Able and Preparation ensure that Axton has better shield and health regeneration.
GEMINI
Level 50
Two Turrets • Survivability
PLAYSTYLE
The Gemini build is all about placing and using the double Sabre Turrets at their best. This turns Axton into an absolute master controller of the battlefield, which helps you shift the dynamic of the fights to suit you. With this build, you will have area denial, crowd control, and even the ability to be safe with the Sabre Turrets’ Phalanx shields.
For this build to work well, you have to place your Sabre Turrets strategically to take control of the field. I recommend placing your Turrets on ceilings so they can’t be hit by melee enemies. With two Sabre Turrets, you can cover multiple areas and stay within the Sabre Turrets’ Phalanx shields to attack enemies.
SOLO
In solo, this build will help Axton become a one-man army. The ability to have two Sabre Turrets on the field is unparalleled when it comes to crowd control and dealing damage. The Sabre Turrets can also protect Axton with the Phalanx shields, especially, if you place the Sabre Turrets side-by-side then Axton can benefit from a double Phalanx shield.
COOP
The build does not fall short in coop, offering great value to both Axton and the team. The Sabre Turrets can be your additional allies and protect your teams with their Phalanx shields or distract enemies while you deal lethal damage. All of this allows your team to capitalize on important enemies or objectives to help get things done faster and safer.
GEARS
Slot 1: Norfleet
Slot 2: Unkempt Harold
Slot 3: Sand Hawk
Slot 4: Grog Nozzle
Shield: Antagonist
Grenade: Magic Missile
MOD: Legendary Engineer
Relic: Bone of the Ancients
SKILLS
The main skill for this build is Gemini, which enables you to use simultaneously two Sabre Turrets.
Other important skills for increased survivability are Healthy, Preparation, Quick-Charge and Willing, you’ll gain increased maximum health and faster shield regeneration.
NUKE
Level 51
Fun • Explosive • Nuclear blast
PLAYSTYLE
As the name suggests, this build is all about explosions. When the Sabre Turret is deployed it sets off a nuclear blast that deals a good amount of damage to enemies, even through walls. This build also improves Axton’s overall damage and focuses on weapons with explosive damage, so you don’t have to completely rely on the Sabre Turret.
With this build, you want to initiate the fight by deploying your Sabre Turret close to enemies so they get hit by the nuclear blast. Then let your Sabre Turret distract the enemies while you take enemies down with explosive-elemental weapons. Unlike the other builds, the Sabre Turret doesn’t have much power and use, apart from the nuclear blast and distracting enemies.
SOLO
The Nuke build shines in solo as a fun build to play with. Deploy as often as you can your Sabre Turret to enjoy the nuclear blast. However, this build is going to make it difficult for you to solely rely on the Sabre Turret, meaning solo play will be challenging and there will be more threats for you to deal with. But the explosive damage and fun of this build make all that well worth it.
COOP
In coop, the Nuke skill can be a bit weak, however, Axton’s damage-dealing skills are in the Nuke skill tree, meaning that Axton can serve as a good damage dealer for the team. You can also send in your Sabre Turret to distract enemies and create openings for you and your team.
GEARS
Slot 1: Ravager
Slot 2: Ogre
Slot 3: Unkempt Harold
Slot 4: Grog Nozzle
Shield: Antagonist
Grenade: Magic Missile
MOD: Rifleman MOD
Relic: Elemental Relic: explosive damage
SKILLS
As this build name suggests, the most important skill is Nuke. Additionally, investing in the Longbow skill enables Axton to deploy the Sabre Turret from a longer distance and deal good damage to enemies with the nuclear blast.
You will also have two kill skills Metal Storm and Onslaught which improve Axton’s gun damage, movement speed, fire rate and recoil.
BEEFOUR
Level 72 OP8
Bee shield • Two turrets • Slag
PLAYSTYLE
The BeeFour build is all about maximizing the Bee shield gun damage boost when fully charged. By investing in skills that speed up shield reload and reduce recharge delay, Axton can benefit greatly from the Bee damage boost. Additionally, Axton can deploy two Sabre Turrets that can slag enemies. With the combined damage boost from the Bee Shield and the slag effect from the Sabre Turrets, Axton becomes a real powerhouse commando, dealing an impressive amount of damage.
To play this build, you will have to adapt the hit-and-run playstyle. You’ll want to deploy the two Sabre Turrets strategically, so they can slag and distract enemies. While Axton’s shield is full, go out and take as many enemies down as you can; when you get hit and the shield is down, hide and wait for it to refill.
SOLO
This build is very strong and fun in solo because Axton doesn’t fully rely on the Sabre Turrets to take enemies down. Also, the Sabre Turrets can protect Axton with the Phalanx shields, to help him stay in the back to wait for the Bee shield to refill. This build improves Axton’s global characteristics, such has his survivability with health and shield regeneration but also his damage with increased gun damage and fire rate.
COOP
The BeeFour build is great in coop mode, with the Bee shield and the extra damage skills, Axton becomes a real damage dealer in the team. In addition, having 2 Sabre turrets with the ability to slag enemies and protect you and your team with the Phalanx shield can make a real difference, it’s like having two extra allies on the battlefield.
GEARS
Slot 1: Unkempt Harold
Slot 2:Sand Hawk
Slot 3: SWORDSPLOSION
Slot 4: Florentine
Shield: The BEE
Grenade: Magic Missile
MOD: Soldier MOD
Relic: Elemental Relic: explosive damage
SKILLS
For this build to work, we want to focus on shield regeneration skills to optimize the Bee damage boost bonus, such as Willing, Preparation and Quick charge.
Then we want to invest in Gemini and Double Up to improve the Sabre Turrets efficiency, with these two skills Axton will be able to deploy simultaneously two Sabre Turrets that fire slag bullets.
We will also invest in two important kill skills: Onslaught and Metal Storm, for a short period of time after killing an enemy Axton’s damage and fire rate are increased.
GRENADIER
Level 72 OP8
Grenades • Mobbing
PLAYSTYLE
This build is perfect if you like to devastate your enemies with non-stop grenade action. The build excels at clearing groups of enemies due to the high area-of-effect damage from grenades. You want to invest in the skills that boost your grenade damage and maximize enemy casualties. Overall, this build is ideal for anyone wanting to bring an explosive approach to combat.
To play this build, toss grenades left and right to make it rain explosives. Aim to bounce grenades off walls or corners to hit enemies behind cover or around corners. Carry a slag grenade as it maximizes damage output and helps you exploit vulnerabilities. Do not forget to use your turret as a distraction while you keep the explosions rolling.
SOLO
Playing this build solo is very satisfying as you throw grenades and watch the chain reaction of explosions. Be mindful of your positioning and stay close enough to enemies to hit them with grenades but far enough to avoid excessive damage.
COOP
Playing this build as CO-OP is so much fun as you don’t rely on the turret. Your grenades become a valuable asset in clearing rooms and large groups of enemies. Your primary job is to focus on supporting your team by focusing on grenade damage, while your teammates can handle other tasks like reviving fallen allies or dealing single-target damage. Good to know, there’s no friendly fire in Borderlands 2, meaning your grenades can’t harm your teammates.
GEARS
Slot 1: Grog Nozzle
Slot 2: Baby Maker – Fire
Slot 3: Pimpernel – Fire
Slot 4: Badaboom
Shield: Big Boom Blaster
Grenade: Fastball – Fire
MOD: Expert Grenadier MOD
Relic: Bone of the Ancients – Fire
SKILLS
Max out Grenadier to boost grenade damage. Invest in Steady for improved grenade and rocket damage.
Invest points in Battlefront to boost your damage when the turret is deployed.
In the Survival Skills Tree, go for Healthy and Preparation for maximum health capacity and shield regeneration.
EXPLOSIVE
Level 80 OP10
Torgue • Explosive • Fun
PLAYSTYLE
This build, as you can guess, is all about explosions, especially from grenades and splash damage. With Torgue guns, famous for their splash damage, and the right skills, Axton can deal a lot of damage. Plus, every time Axton’s Sabre Turret is deployed, it creates a nuclear blast and can fire slag bullets. When you combine Torgue guns with the Sabre Turret’s ability to slag enemies, you get one of the best builds for Axton in UVHM.
First, deploy your Sabre Turret close to enemies so they get hit by the nuclear blast. Then, let your Sabre Turret slag the enemies around while you deal damage using grenades and Torgue guns. If you’re low on health, find cover. Let the Sabre Turret distract the enemies while you regain health using the Grog Nozzle.
SOLO
This build is strong and fun when playing solo mode. It strikes a great balance between Axton and his Sabre Turret, so you’re not just depending on the turret. In UVHM, using slag is key to defeating enemies. With this build, you won’t need to constantly swap guns to slag enemies because your Sabre Turret will handle it for you.
COOP
There are a few advantages of this build in coop mode. Firstly, Axton’s Sabre Turret ability to slag enemies which will let you and your team more time to focus on damage output rather on slaging enemies. Secondly, Axton’s high explosion damage with Torgue guns and grenades which can clear maps in seconds.
GEARS
Slot 1: Ogre
Slot 2: Grog Nozzle
Slot 3: Badaboom
Slot 4: Unkempt Harold
Shield: Antagonist
Grenade: Fastball – Explosive
MOD: Expert Grenadier MOD
Relic:Elemental Relic – Explosive
SKILLS
To improve Axton’s overall damage, invest in Impact, Battlefront and Steady. Also, don’t forget these 2 great kill skills: Onslaught and Metal Storm, for increased damage and fire rate each time you take down an enemy.
Then, it’s important to invest in Double Up and Nuke, so the Sabre Turret can fire slag bullets and release a nuclear blast each time it’s deployed.
SOLDIER
Level 80 OP10
Turrets • Slag • Mobbing
PLAYSTYLE
This Soldier build is great for mobbing and raid bosses. With this build, Axton will have a versatile playstyle that can handle most of the game’s content. It relies on powerful weapons with high damage and two Sabre Turrets shooting slag bullets. By investing in skills to increase damage, fire rate, and speed, the Soldier build turns Axton into a real powerhouse.
To play this build, you’ll want to deploy your Sabre Turrets first thing when you encounter a group of enemies, let them take the aggro and slag enemies, while you take them down with your guns and grenades. Don’t forget, for faster cooldown, pickup the Sabre Turrets. If health is getting low, don’t hesitate to throw one or two longbow transfusion grenades to regain health.
SOLO
The Soldier build is amazing when playing solo. With two Sabre Turrets by Axton’s side, taking down groups of enemies becomes a breeze. But be careful, as this build doesn’t prioritize survival skills, you’ll need to keep an eye on your health. If you find yourself in Fight For Your Life, thanks to the Do or Die skill, you can throw grenades and easily come back to life.
COOP
This build is fantastic in coop mode. Having two Sabre Turrets that can slag enemies is a huge advantage. Axton can deploy one Sabre Turret for distraction and another on a wall or ceiling to slag enemies while staying out of melee enemies’ reach. However, the Sabre Turrets will not deal heavy damage; it will be Axton’s and your teammates’ role to take enemies down.
GEARS
Slot 1: Pimpernel
Slot 2: Lady Fist
Slot 3: Conference Call
Slot 4: Peak Opener
Grenade: Longbow Slag Transfusion
Shield: Antagonist
MOD: Legendary Soldier MOD
Relic: Bone of the Ancients – Fire
SKILLS
With Double Up and Gemini skills, Axton can deploy two Sabre Turrets that can slag enemies. Also, invest in Longbow to increase the Sabre Turrets’ health.
To improve Axton’s global characteristics, invest in these two kill skills: Onlsaught and Metal Storm. Also, remember these essential skills: Expertise, Steady, and Battlefront.
Other Borderlands 2 Character Builds
If you enjoy experimenting with different characters, you may also want to try these other Borderlands 2 builds:
Maya Siren Build
Elemental damage and crowd control using Phaselock.
Salvador Gunzerker Build
Dual-wield weapons and unleash massive sustained DPS.
Zer0 Assassin Build
Stealth gameplay with devastating critical hits.
Gaige Mechromancer Build
Stack Anarchy for huge damage and fight alongside Deathtrap.
Krieg Psycho Build
High-risk melee combat with explosive damage potential.
