BORDERLANDS 2 MAYA BUILDS
ELEVATE YOUR GAMEPLAY!
Looking for the best Maya the Siren builds in Borderlands 2?
Whether you need a leveling guide or chasing ultimate OP10 end-game power, these builds will help you harness Maya’s Phaselock abilities.
BUILDS FOR MAYA THE SIREN

Leveling Up
Level 1 to 32
Phaselock • Guns
PLAYSTYLE
Most of Maya’s utility is unlocked as she progresses, your early focus comes down to improving survivability through passive healing, liberal use of phaselock, and increased critical gun damage. Skills like Res will help the team a lot, and Wreck is great for boosting your fire rate to improve your proficiency with SMGs.
SOLO
Thanks to a focus on increased gun damage, phaselock allows Maya to take on most enemies from a distance. This is why Maya is so powerful as a solo character even if she has multiple abilities for co-op. Faster reloads, higher magazine sizes, and damage effects help Maya stand her ground.
COOP
In co-op mode, Maya will play the role of a support and damage-dealer character. Thanks to Res, she can revive a downed teammate, and phaselock gives everyone room to breathe, and concentrate fire. Her true potential for co-op comes during mid and late-game, but she’s an asset either way.
SKILLS
Level 0-5: Level up to level 5.
Level 5: Unlock Phaselock.
Level 5-6: 1 point in Sweet Release
1 Life Orb created during Phaselock.
Level 6-10: 4 Points in Mind’s Eye
+20% Critical Hit Damage.
Level 10-15: 5 Points in Wreck
+50% Fire Rate, and +30% Gun Damage against phaselocked enemies.
Level 15-16: 1 Point in Res
You can now revive an ally by using Phaselock.
Level 16-21: 5 Points in Foresight
+20% Magazine Size and +25% Reload Size.
Level 21-22: 1 point in Helios
Phaselocking an enemy causes a fire explosion.
Level 22-26: 4 Points in Immolate
40% fire damage added to all weapons during Fight For Your Life.
Level 26-27: 1 Point in Cloud Kill
Shooting an enemy creates a corrosive cloud that lasts for 5 seconds.
Level 27-31: 4 Points in Chain Reaction
During phaselock, your bullets have a 32% chance of ricocheting after hitting enemies.
Level 31-32: 1 Point in Reaper
Adds 8% damage to gun damage against an enemy with health over 50%.

Elementalist
Level 50
SMG • The Bee • Elemental
PLAYSTYLE
It’s a misconception that Maya’s just a support character, and this build focuses on her extremely high gun and elemental damage capability as well as Phaselock’s potential thanks to her Motion and Cataclysm trees. For mid-game players, it’s hard to go wrong here, and Maya becomes a beast to use.
While Maya can dish out tons of damage thanks to this build, you’ll have to play a bit conservatively to make full use of her skills and gear. This means that direct confrontation should be avoided, and you’ll want to make good use of cover. You can’t take a lot of hits because of the shield’s long recharge, and using phaselock is a must to ensure you get the most out of your skill section that stacks multiple damage bonuses, AOE (area of effect), and elemental explosions.
Feeling alone? Check-out these Deathtrap-focused Gaige Builds (Roboteer)
SOLO
Since this is a damage-focused build, Maya can easily hold her own in solo play. Thanks to investment in Fleet which boosts movement speed when the shield is down, Maya can easily get some distance between her and enemies. Maya’s proficiency in SMGs means she’ll use the Sandhawk to deal devastating damage when combined with the Bee Shield. No matter what build you choose, the Sandhawk is an ideal weapon for every Maya player.
COOP
This build works very well on co-op as well. However, since Maya isn’t acting as a support character, don’t expect to heal your teammates as much. Yes, Maya will be able to heal herself plenty, but she’s not there to provide support, but rather deal a lot of damage. Good communication is essential here because The Bee Shield does take a bit to recharge, and Maya might need some assistance when that’s down. Either way, her phaselock ability helps literally everyone on the squad thanks to all the damage bonuses.
GEARS
Slot 1: Sand Hawk
Slot 2: Bitch
Slot 3: Bad Touch
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Slag Transfusion
Shield: The Bee
MOD: Legendary Cat
Relic: Aggression Relic (SMG)
SKILLS
The focus of this build is to boost damage from a distance to compensate for Maya’s limited melee abilities. Ward will recharge The Bee shield faster, which is essential to combo with the Sand Hawk SMG to deal most of your damage.
Additionally, Backdraft creates a fiery explosion as soon as your shield is depleted, giving you room to make an escape.
Fleet boosts your movement speed while the shield recharges, and Helios, Ruin, and Converge make each use of phaselock even deadlier.

Sweet Harmony
Level 50
Support • Slag
PLAYSTYLE
Maya is a versatile character who can be invaluable to her team, especially with the right skills and gear. This build focuses on her support aspect, and you’ll revive and heal your teammates while applying status effects to enemies to deal damage as a team. Maya is still very strong here and can stand her ground, but you’re an asset to your team rather than a lone wolf.
Maya’s game plan isn’t that complicated here. When initiating a fight, you’ll want to use phaselock right away to stun enemies, apply slag, which is an excellent damaging effect, and pull them together thanks to your Converge skill. After this, you’ll want to reserve phaselock for reviving your teammates, but if your team is reasonably strong, you can continue using phaselock on enemies, and apply slag with your weapons. This results in a high damage, and consistent support from Maya, and an incredibly fun build to play.
You want to rush through the game? Check out the best Salvador Builds
SOLO
This build can certainly work in solo play, but it isn’t recommended. The reason, a lot of points went into the Harmony tree is to assist teammates. If you run this solo, you’ll definitely deal a decent amount of damage, but you’ll also have limited tools to deal with some of the harder enemies and bosses. I recommend checking out the Elementalist build if solo play is what you’re after.
COOP
This is the perfect build for co-op play as it turns Maya into a healing, reviving, and slagging machine. Thanks to Restoration, shooting at your teammates will heal them so your gear is focused on dealing massive AOE (area of effect) damage with the rocket launcher, and shotgun, while you can heal yourself with a Grog Nozzle. The Nurse class mod adds regeneration for the entire team, and almost every skill in the Harmony tree will heal you, and your teammates. Finally, thanks to the slagging capability of this build, you’re boosting the damage potential of each member of your team.
GEARS
Slot 1: Slagga
Slot 2: Grog Nozzle
Slot 3: Conference Call
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Slag Transfusion
Shield: Antagonist
MOD: Nurse
Relic: Blood of Terramorphous
SKILLS
Since this is a build focused on healing and reviving, the most valuable skills are definitely Sweet Release, Restoration, Res, and Sustenance. These combine to not only provide health bonuses to the team, but you can revive a teammate using your phaselock ability.
Converge pulls enemies towards a target allowing you and your squad to concentrate fire. Similarly, Scorn throws Slag orbs at enemies boosting your damage potential throughout the team, especially when paired with the Slagga SMG.

Stormcaller
Level 72 OP8
The Bee • Aggressive
PLAYSTYLE
Maya is a very strong character in Borderlands 2 thanks to her proficiency with SMGs, and her versatile phaselock ability. This build is for players seeking out an aggressive, and fast playstyle that allows Maya to constantly switch between multiple weapon types, phaselock enemies, provide support and always be on the move. This is what Maya is supposed to feel like at her strongest.
This build relies heavily on gun damage, so you’ll be using your firearms to take care of most enemies. The Sand Hawk is still a standout, but don’t dismiss the Unkempt Harold and Norfleet either. All these guns work well from a distance and that’s where you want to keep Maya at. She’s still a bit weak up close, but the best part is that you don’t need to use melee at all. Phaselock ensures that your enemies are impacted by a status effect, immobile, and kept together for you to concentrate fire on.
You like Melee and setting yourself on fire? Check out this crazy Psycho Build (Inferno)
SOLO
Given the aggressive playstyle of this build, Maya can absolutely wreak havoc solo. Thanks to the powerful weapon choice, and a focus on Cataclysm, and Motion trees, Maya can quickly swap weapons, shoot and reload, as well as use phaselock for an upper hand on enemies. Since The Bee takes a bit to recharge, you can always use the Grog Nozzle to heal yourself in the meantime. Even if you’re downed, the Norfleet ensures a confirmed second wind thanks to its insane damage.
COOP
This build is well suited for co-op play thanks to just the sheer amount of damage Maya does with her weapons and phaselock. Her role is essentially a damage-heavy restrained tank if that makes any sense. She has to keep some distance to be effective, but at the same time, she can also revive teammates thanks to the Res skill. Teammates will want to keep her alive so she doesn’t have to resort to the Grog Nozzle, or Norfleet, and just maximize damage with her Sand Hawk and Unkempt Harold while using phaselock for status effects, heals, and damage.
GEARS
Slot 1: Grog Nozzle
Slot 2: Unkempt Harold
Slot 3: Sand Hawk
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Longbow Quasar
Shield: The Bee
MOD: Blurred Trickster Class MOD
Relic: Bone of the Ancients
SKILLS
This build focuses largely on the Motion and Cataclysm tree to ensure Maya does plenty of damage with her weapons while improving her survivability through speed and phaselock.
Fleet gives her a speed buff when shields are down, while Kinetic Reflection reduces any bullet damage you receive while scoring a kill.
Wreck, Immolate, Foresight, and Reaper are powerful skills that directly improve your firearm capability, while Ruin, Chain Reaction, and Converge make phaselock even stronger.

Bloody Nurse
Level 72 OP8
Damage • Support • The Bee
PLAYSTYLE
Thanks to her varied skill trees, Maya has multiple playstyles she can easily adapt to. If you like to deal high damage and be a valuable teammate, this balanced build is the way to go. At OP8 this build shines thanks to your high gun damage with SMGs and healing. Her Phaselock is an essential part of the puzzle, and something you’ll make plentiful use of.
Your game plan isn’t that complicated, and thanks to the build’s point allocation, you’ll largely stick back, phaselock groups of enemies, and blast them with your insanely powerful SMG, the Sandhawk. When you aren’t shooting, you’ll slag enemies thanks to phaselock, as well as your grenades. Some amount of distance is key here, and the skills from the Harmony tree will ensure you’re getting constant opportunities to self-heal as well. The gear selection also serves a similar purpose and directly makes use of your particular skills to apply slag, and deal extra damage.
You think Zer0 is only good for Melee? Check out the Assassin’s Sniper Builds (Pro Sniper)
SOLO
Since this is a balanced build, it’s very viable in solo play. You are still advised to maintain some distance because The Bee Shield takes a bit to recharge. Most of your skills in the Cataclysm skill tree boost your weapon damage and you’ll want to capitalize on that with the Sand Hawk SMG. If you’re downed, you can always switch to the Norfleet rocket launcher to easily get a fast second wind. Finally, phaselock is another must here, and you don’t need to be conservative with its use since you aren’t reviving another teammate.
COOP
This build focuses on both damage and healing, which makes Maya the perfect co-op teammate. Thanks to a balanced focus across Maya’s skill trees, the Harmony skills are extremely useful for cooperative play. Res allows you to resurrect a teammate when you use phaselock, so you’ll want to keep a charge for any teammates that have a habit of being downed often. Sweet Release heals you and the team, while Scorn applies slag to a group of enemies allowing the entire team to do increased damage.
GEARS
Slot 1: Sand Hawk
Slot 2: Bitch
Slot 3: Unkempt Harold
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Magic Missile
Shield: The Bee
MOD: Legendary Cat
Relic: Heart of the Ancients
SKILLS
This build has some skills from each tree, but there’s a focus on the Harmony and Cataclysm tree.
To ensure Maya empties magazines fast Accelerate comes in very handy while Converge pulls multiple enemies together for you to phaselock them, which activates Ruin that applies slag, corrosion and shock.
Chain Reaction gives a 40% chance of bullets ricocheting, and Elated, Res, and Life Tap provide you and the team with tons of healing and revival chances. Everything else in Cataclysm aids your gun damage, reload speed and rate of fire.

Hawk Rider
Level 80 OP10
Aggressive • Survivability
PLAYSTYLE
Maya’s varied skill tree allows her to switch between multiple playstyles, and she can be extremely aggressive once you reach the end-game. This build focuses on damage, and each part of your gear contributes to that in some shape or form. Her proficiency with SMGs means she can dish out substantial damage to enemies from a distance by phaselocking them, and avoiding taking direct damage.
For this build, you want to rely heavily on the damage from your Sand Hawk SMG. This pairs perfectly with The Bee shield, and you’ll melt the health bars of enemies and even bosses. Keep an eye on your phaselock meter because you’ll want to use that constantly. Converge comes especially handy here as you can pull together enemies and concentrate fire. All the skills here actively play a part in improving overall gun damage, as well as Maya’s survivability. Additionally, the good old’ Grog Nozzle and Chain Lightning pair well to heal Maya if you do end up taking a few hits.
You like big damage numbers? Check out this DPS-focus Axton build (BeeFour)
SOLO
Since this is an aggressive build, it’s perfectly viable for solo play. Maya is still a bit vulnerable and doesn’t work well in the frontline, but she’s an absolute tank from medium to far distance. The Sand Hawk and Bee combo will get you through basically anything, and you’ll want to liberally use phaselock since you don’t have anyone to revive. Just avoid getting hit, especially from direct attacks because Maya is a bit weak, and it takes a bit for the shield to recharge.
COOP
Even though this build capitalizes on an aggressive playstyle, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t play well with others. Thanks to a generous investment in the Harmony tree, Maya has plenty of options for not only healing herself but her teammates as well. Elated is especially useful for healing, while Res allows you to revive a fallen friend. Maya is a tank that also heals, but proper coordination is essential, and keeping her alive can often be the one thing you need for victory against a tough raid boss.
GEARS
Slot 1: Sand Hawk – Fire
Slot 2: Sand Hawk – Corrosive
Slot 3: Grog Nozzle
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Chain Lightning
Shield: The Bee
MOD: Legendary Cat
Relic: Heart of the Ancients
SKILLS
With this build, skill points are spread out almost evenly in each tree. Though the focus with each is to largely boost her gun-wielding capabilities.
Ward synergizes well with The Bee and reduces the shield recharge delay while Suspension increases the duration of Phaselock.
Scorn and Ruin add a ton of slag to enemies, while Sweet Release, Elated, and Res come in handy for healing and reviving. Converge from the Motion tree is incredibly helpful, and pulls enemies together during phaselock.

Siren’s Aid
Level 80 OP10
Support • Sniper
PLAYSTYLE
Maya is great on her own but can be invaluable to a team by serving in a support role. This build focuses on high-level play and allows Maya to not only deal a lot of damage but also keep her team alive while providing opportunities for increased overall damage.
This build leverages Maya’s affinity with SMGs and adds in Sniper Rifles to complement her phaselock potential. You want to keep your distance because Maya isn’t a great melee character who relies on phaselock and high gun damage. Reloads are fast, and you can snipe enemies during phaselock. This is where the Cobra shines because of its explosive projectiles that destroy locked enemies. Your commitment to the Harmony skill tree means you can heal your allies, and even revive them for easy second winds.
What about having a Robot called Deathtrap destroying enemies for you? Check out the Gaige builds
SOLO
This build is viable in solo play even if it is geared towards support. Thanks to her high damage, and preferred distance, Maya doesn’t need to get close and take a lot of hits. You can stick back, snipe away, and use your extremely powerful SMGs to take out enemies without breaking a sweat. Getting hit can be a problem, but the investment in Harmony Tree ensures you have plenty of opportunities for healing if you play your cards right.
COOP
This is the ideal build for cooperative play, especially at higher levels. Maya can use Res to instantly revive a teammate, and thanks to Elated, she heals the entire team, and finally Restoration allows Maya to directly heal a teammate by shooting at them. Sweet Release is another skill that provides the entire team with healing orbs. Maya isn’t just a “healer” here either because the investment in the Cataclysm skill tree means she does plenty of damage, and her phaselock abilities are enjoyed by the entire squad.
GEARS
Slot 1: Bitch – Corporate
Slot 2: Flying Sand Hawk
Slot 3: Klook Cobra
Slot 4: Grmoky Lyudmila
Grenade: Magic Missile
Shield: Antagonist
MOD: Legendary Nurse
Relic: Bone of the Ancients
SKILLS
Since the focus is on making Maya the ultimate support unit of the team, there’s a larger focus on the Harmony tree, followed by Cataclysm.
Restoration allows Maya to shoot and heal her allies, while Res instantly revives them during phaselock. Converge pulls together enemies, and Scorn and Ruin work in harmony to apply slag, corrosion, and shock.
SMGs leverage Wreck which boosts fire rate by over 50%, while Inertia boosts her Reload Speed by 50% when you kill an enemy. Additionally, Chain Reaction further makes phaselock deadly with an added ricochet effect to bullets.