BORDERLANDS 2 ZERO BUILDS
EXECUTE WITH STEALTH!
BUILDS FOR ZER0 THE ASSASSIN
Leveling Up
Level 1 to 31
Melee • Survivability
PLAYSTYLE
For this build, we’ll focus on a melee playstyle. Starting with a melee build for Zer0 means you’re less dependent on gear. Zer0’s action skill, Decepti0n, is great for high damage and escaping tough situations. Plus, you can get the Rapier from the Captain Scarlett DLC, which gives a 200% melee damage boost.
The strategy is to shoot enemies from a distance to weaken them, then finish them off with a melee attack. This “shoot and stab” tactic helps you take down enemies efficiently without putting you at risk.
SOLO
This melee build is perfect for solo play. Being close to enemies can be risky, but the Resurgence skill restores health with each melee kill, improving your survivability.
COOP
With this build Zer0 has two kill skills, one that restores health and another that boosts damage, movement speed and melee damage. For the kill skills to work, its preferred to leave Zer0 to finish the enemies off.
SKILLS
Level 0-5: Level up to level 5.
Level 5: Unlock Decepti0n
Level 5-10: 5 Points in Killing Bl0w
+500% damage when dealing melee damage to low life ennemies.
Level 10-15: 5 Points in Be Like Water
Shooting an enemy increases the Melee Damage of your next attack by 30%. Melee attacks increases gun damage of your next shot by 20%.
Level 15-16: 1 Point in Execute
When in Decepti0n, you can dash towards an enemy by doing a melee attack.
Level 16-21: 5 Points in Backstab
Increases melee damage by 40% when it’s done in the back of an enemy.
Level 21-26: 5 Points in Foll0wThr0ugh
Each time you kill an enemy it increases for 7 seconds your movement speed by 40%, gun damage by 30% and melee damage by 40%.
Level 26-30: 4 Points in Resurgence
Killing an enemy with a melee attack restores your health by 16%.
Level 30-31: 1 Point in Many Must Fall
Killing an enemy during Decepti0n extends its Duration and spawn a new Decoy.
Ghost Sniper
Level 47
Sniper • Critical
PLAYSTYLE
Zer0 is hands down the best Sniper in Borderlands 2, and that’s for good reason. His Sniping skill tree offers a lot of potential for ranged gunplay and this build is almost entirely built around that, especially Critical Ascensi0n, B0re, and HeadSh0t. Since each shot has to count, the focus is to increase critical damage to a degree where you can comfortably melt healthbars from a distance. The distance is also necessary because you’re essentially a glass cannon making good use of the sniper’s range.
Your primary sniper, the Tumtum Muckamuck is an incredibly powerful weapon, especially at this point in the game. You won’t have to switch between the other ones, but even if you do, the Critical Ascensi0n bonus remains stacked because of the other snipers equipped. You want to land critical shots, which are highlighted in Decepti0n thanks to B0re. 0ptics will ensure that your aim is steady, so you don’t miss those critical headshots. It’s a simple game plan, and you can eventually dump points into Cunning as you progress further.
Feeling alone? Tired of doing everything yourself? Check out this Two-Turret Axton Build (Soldier)
SOLO
This build is great for solo play, especially when you have a decent amount of distance between yourself and enemies. Decepti0n is your best friend here even without the commitment to the Cunning tree as it works in tangent with B0re. Even if you’re in a situation where an enemy gets close, your critical damage is boosted enough that you won’t have much trouble. Just keep an eye on your shields, and use the transfusion grenade to get some health back.
COOP
Sniper Zer0 works quite well in co-op as well. This is largely because of how much damage support you’re providing from a distance. You’re not someone the team has to look after, and you can do your own thing while maximizing critical damage with headshots, and aiming down the sight. Your ranged capabilities will also get squad mates out of tricky situations, and even if you aren’t in the frontline, your damage potential is invaluable to the entire team.
GEARS
Slot 1: Tumtum Muckamuck
Slot 2: Resource Invader
Slot 3: Pimpernel
Slot 4: Desperate Flakker
Grenade: Slag Transfusion
Shield: The Bee
MOD: Tranquil Sniper
Relic: Vitality Relic
SKILLS
This build focuses entirely on the Sniping tree with a few points in Bloodshed for health bonuses.
Critical Ascensi0n is invaluable because it stacks sniper-related critical damage, and you can retain that even if you switch to your secondary sniper.
B0re highlights critical points, so you always know where to aim, and Headsh0t, Killer, Kill Confirmed, and Vel0city tremendously boost critical damage per shot. Since the fire rate is on the lower side, One Shot One Kill ensures that your first shot is always lethal.
Silent Storm
Level 50
Melee • Survivability • Fun
PLAYSTYLE
Zer0’s melee capabilities become very viable once you reach the mid-game point, which is around level 45-50. This build focuses on the Cunning and Bloodsheed skill trees and disregards sniping to facilitate movement, decepti0n, and backstabbing. This build is a lot of fun and eventually leads to a very powerful Zer0 who can fly around the map, and finish enemies with barely any gun damage.
Your game plan is a bit dependent on proper positioning because you’re expected to leverage the additional damage from backstabs, which is boosted up to 40%. Decepti0n has to be used liberally and allows you to continue your backstab spree which is further enhanced with Ambush. The gear selection allows you to regain health, and apply slag, both of which help in melee. The additional health buff is essential since you are expected to be at close range. Just throw your grenade, activate decepti0n, and start backstabbing like there’s no tomorrow.
You think the Gunzerker class is just about Guns? Check out this Melee Salvador build (Melee Brick)
SOLO
This build is perfectly viable in solo play but is a bit skill-reliant. Melee Zer0 is the fantasy build for the character, which is why execution matters a lot. If you’re comfortable with positioning, and know when to take a step back, you’ll be completely fine on your own. Some skills, in particular, boost your movement speed, which means you have ample time to fall back should the need arise. Similarly, if you’re down on health, the gear choice ensures you always recover it.
COOP
Similarly, this build works quite well in co-op as well. Since Zer0 is making liberal use of Decepti0n, you aren’t expected to play a specific role rather than provide damage. Maya is a useful companion to have thanks to her phaselock, and slag capability, but other than that, you’re using your own skills to facilitate the team. Keeping you alive is important, so some coordination can increase your usefulness, but thanks to your movement bonuses, you can take a breather by taking a step back.
GEARS
Slot 1: Slag Evisceration Rubi
Slot 2: Slag Rapier
Slot 3: Ornery Law
Slot 4: Norfleet
Grenade: Slag Transfusion
Shield: Order
MOD: Legendary Hunter
Relic: Proficiency Relic
SKILLS
This build focuses on the Cunning and Bloodshed tree to maximize melee and gun damage. While your primary damage is done through melee attacks, the bonuses from the Cunning tree only add more synergy.
Killing Bl0w, Backstab, and F0ll0wthr0ugh carry this build, giving an appropriate boost to both melee and your movement speed.
Rising Sh0t has the potential to stack the damage 5 times, while Execute allows you to basically blink toward enemies while Decepti0n is active.
Night Stalker
Level 72 OP8
Pistols • Survivability
PLAYSTYLE
Zer0’s appeal comes from his maneuverability and deception ability. This build disregards his melee aspect entirely in favor of a pistol-focused gunslinger playstyle that relies on critical and gun damage. Most of the skills in this build directly contribute to overall damage, and reload speed, making each pistol shot count. He’s still a glass canon, but with the right equipment, not only can you regain health, but easily come back from Second Wind.
This build relies on ensuring you land your shots, which will often melt health bars in a few seconds. Simply use your pistols to unload clips as fast as possible, reloads are near instant thanks to Fast Hands and Killer. Deception will ensure you’re not the main target, and Rising Shot is the star here because you will always stack up its bonus 5 times thanks to how fast you unload rounds. When paired with Tw0 Fang, you’ll have a chance to hit twice, dealing in an insane amount of damage.
You like dealing Corrosion, Burn and Shock damage? Check this Elemental Maya Build (Elementalist)
SOLO
This build works exceptionally well in solo play. You’re dealing a ridiculous amount of damage with each shot, and the variety of pistols at your disposal ensures you can take on any enemy type with ease. For instance, if you’re up against robots, the Twin Hornet destroys armor without breaking a sweat. If you’re low on health, the Grog Nozzle is great to quickly regain health, while the Puissant Norfleet is a sure way to earn a second wind if you’re downed.
COOP
This build is also perfect for co-op, and you’ll play one of the high-damage roles of your squad. Thanks to all the speed bonuses, you’re positioning will be in the front while everyone else supports you so you aren’t downed easily. While most of the skill choices here boost damage, Death Mark comes in handy as it will mark enemies for additional damage from all sources, including your allies. Ambush also helps because if enemies are targeting your team, you can deal around 20% more damage.
GEARS
Slot 1: Twin Hornet
Slot 2: Double Penetrating Unkempt Harold
Slot 3: Punctilious Grog Nozzle
Slot 4: Puissant Norfleet
Shield: Antagonist
Grenade: Longbow Slag 0-Negative
MOD: Shadow Stalker
Relic: Sheriff’s Badge
SKILLS
Most skills here boost your reload speed, rate of fire, critical damage, and movement speed.
One Sh0t 0ne Kill ensures that your first round does 60% more damage, Fast Hands boosts reload speed, Rising Shot stacks multiple damage bonuses, while Death Mark aids your deception capability for increased overall damage.
Innervate synergizes with B0re to boost your damage stats while you’re in Decepti0n. All of these skills combine to make full use of your gear themed around Pistols.
Shadowblade
Level 72 OP8
Melee • Complex
PLAYSTYLE
Melee is a big part of Zer0’s toolkit and this build utilizes his melee capabilities to deal devastating damage reaching 999999k and beyond. It relies on effectively using Slag, Death Mark, multiple skills from each skill tree, and a pinch of practice to pull off. You will also strip your shield, which means willingly depleting it to gain bonus melee damage thanks to Hide of Terramorphous’s depletion bonuses.
For this build, you’ll first need to apply Slag to the enemies and use decoy to avoid getting hit. Next, you’ll want to throw Kunai, without spamming, unless it’s a badass or boss as it will mitigate MMF (Many Must Fall) activation. Continue applying Slag or shield stripping, and once your shield is depleted switch to your Rapier and go for backstabs. MMF will activate as you continue to backstab. The Chain lighting grenade paired with the Grog Nozzle comes handy to regain health almost instantly.
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SOLO
For solo play, this is the “character fantasy” build in my opinion. It allows players to live out Zer0’s assassin class persona in a rewarding way. The complete reliance on Melee means you’re simply moving from target to target, and finishing them off with quick blows. Due to its complexity and perfect execution demand, it’s one of the harder builds to fully master. Slag is your best friend here, and knowing when to throw Kunai can often finish off bosses as well.
COOP
This build is very friendly in co-op, and compatible with most classes, and builds. You’re still doing a lot of damage here, and Maya is the perfect support character for this particular build. Her Scorn and Ruin skills phaselock enemies while adding significant Slag to aid your playstyle. Zer0 can stand his ground and doesn’t need particular support, but Gaige can prove detrimental to this particular build because of her Buck Up skill that regenerates shield, which you don’t want.
GEARS
Slot 1: Rabid Rapier
Slot 2: Evisceration Grog Nozzle
slot 3: Banbury Pimpernel
Slot 4: Gromky Lyuda
Grenade: Chain Lightning
Shield: Hide of Terramorphous
MOD: Legendary Ninja Class Mod
Relic: Bone of The Ancients
SKILLS
To increase melee damage, you’ll rely a lot on Killing Bl0w which increases melee damage by 1000% when an enemy is below 30% health.
Backstab adds an extra 80% damage and is extremely useful while you’re in deception. Execute and F0ll0wthr0ugh add to your traversal potential, allowing you to zap around the map in style.
Many Must Fall chains deception and Death Mark greatly increase damage, and B0re highlights critical spots and comes in handy for a second wind.
Pro Sniper
Level 80 OP10
Sniper • Critical
PLAYSTYLE
Zer0 is a versatile character who can work effectively in several archetypes, but he’s especially competent with a Sniper rifle. Paired with Decepti0n, Zer0 can easily dish out massive damage from a distance, relying on headshots while disregarding melee skills to a degree. This build is also a bit less gear-dependent and largely uses the Sniping skill tree to maximize damage, but it’s also one of the most fun ways to play the character.
Your game plan is simple and largely comes down to ensuring your hits land, especially headshots which the Headsh0t skill boosts. You’ll switch between your two main snipers that deal a ridiculous amount of damage thanks to skills like Critical Ascensi0n which rewards critical shots and its effect can be stacked up to 999 times. You will need to maintain distance for the most part to avoid direct damage, but even up close, your snipers deal serious damage even when non-scoped.
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SOLO
Since you’re mostly playing from a distance, this build is easily viable in solo play. You don’t have to worry too much about losing health, and thanks to Decepti0n, you have some control over how combat encounters play out. This is certainly one of those builds that will rely a bit on your sniping abilities, but even if you aren’t popping off headshots, you’ll do enough damage to make it out of most encounters. The Transfusion grenade comes in very handy here, thanks to its healing capability if you do get overwhelmed.
COOP
Similarly, this build works quite well in co-op as well. You aren’t expected to be on the front, but provide damage assistance from a distance while liberally using Decepti0n. Skills like Ambush and Death Mark will continue to provide you with bonus damage when enemies are either marked or engaging with your squad. Zer0 can stand his ground and doesn’t need any particular support here either. Your role here is to offer damage utility rather than direct support to another teammate.
GEARS
Slot 1: Barking Pimpernel
Slot 2: Razrez Lyudmila
Slot 3: Banbury Chere-amie
Slot 4: Skorry Droog
Grenade: Sticky Longbow Slag Transfusion
Shield: Hoplite
MOD: Legendary Sniper Class Mod
Relic: Heart of the Ancients
SKILLS
This build is centered largely around sniping, which is why you’ll be filling out most of the Sniping tree.
Critical Ascensi0n is the star here, which is why it’s important to have snipers equipped in all four slots so you don’t lose your stack bonuses. Additionally, At 0ne with the Gun is another skill that is essential for this build to function thanks to its Sniper-specific bonuses.
You’re only investing a few points in Bloodsheed, largely for movement bonuses and the lower action skill cooldown.
Tranquilizer
Level 80 OP10
Versatile • Melee • Sniper
PLAYSTYLE
This build is for players who like everything about Zer0. Whether it’s the sneaky melee, the sniping capabilities, or his Decepti0n skill. This is the jack of all trades, and somehow one of the most viable build, even at OP10. Thanks to the points distribution, you can one-shot most enemies with your sniper, or backstab them and get the kill. It’s a balanced build, but one that offers diversity in playstyle.
When you have a bit of distance, you can default to your sniper, and pop off headshots. Even though this build isn’t as effective as a pure sniper build, you’ll still do excellent damage thanks to the investment in skills like Headsh0t which boosts critical damage, and B0re which not only highlights critical points during Decepti0n but pierces through enemies as well. When you’re close, you can switch to your pistol which does tons of melee damage and heals you as well. This back-and-forth between melee and sniper is the backbone of this build to work effectively.
Have you heard of Glitched Builds? Check out this insane Salvador Build (Duuurpernel)
SOLO
Since this is a balanced build, you’re not going to have much trouble solo. Yes, Zer0 is still a largely glass-cannon-type character, so taking a lot of damage isn’t ideal, but since you can switch between styles thanks to your gear, you can avoid situations where you’re downed. While not the strongest solo build, this is still one you can use especially when you figure out when to switch between weapons. Like the Wind in particular is a handy skill because it boosts both gun and melee damage as you move around and switch your approach.
COOP
Similarly, this build works quite well in co-op as well. You aren’t expected to be on the front, but provide damage assistance from a distance while liberally using Decepti0n. Skills like Ambush and Death Mark will continue to provide you with bonus damage when enemies are either marked or engaging with your squad. Zer0 can stand his ground and doesn’t need any particular support here either. Your role here is to offer damage utility rather than direct support to another teammate.
GEARS
Slot 1: Amigo Sincero
Slot 2: Cutting Slagga
Slot 3: Ornery Law
Slot 4: Pertinent Norfleet
Grenade: Chain Lightning
Shield: Order
MOD: Legendary Hunter
Relic: Aggression
SKILLS
This build uses a variety of skills from multiple trees, but the main focus is to boost both sniper and melee damage.
Killing Bl0w is excellent for finishing off enemies, while F0ll0wthr0ugh is essential for staying mobile, and dishing out gun and melee damage.
When you’ve switched to Ornery law, Rising Shot does a great job of stacking up damage while C0unter Strike increases your melee damage potential upon taking a hit. Backstab also helps a ton, especially while you’re in Decepti0n, and allows you to deal 40% damage from behind.
