Borderlands 2 remains one of the greatest looter shooters ever made, even over a decade after release. Handsome Jack is widely regarded as gaming's best villain, the procedural weapon generation creates billions of unique guns, and the 4-player co-op scales perfectly from solo to full parties. The game's six playable vault hunters each offer distinct skill trees that support multiple viable builds through Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode and the OP level system. With all DLC included, Borderlands 2 offers hundreds of hours of content including four campaign DLCs, headhunter packs, and the endgame Digistruct Peak challenge. The farming and build optimization community remains active to this day.
Picking the right build determines how your experience plays out. These builds are ranked by overall effectiveness — factoring in damage, survivability, gear requirements, and how well they scale into endgame.
Quick Rankings
| Role | Tier | Playstyle | Core Gear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunzerker | S | Activate Gunzerking with Grog Nozzle in left hand (healing) and DPUH in right hand (damage). Money Shot chains provide infinite burst damage. | Unkempt Harold (DPUH), Grog Nozzle, Chaotic Evil Monk COM, Rough Rider shield |
| Siren | S | Phaselock priority targets, deal massive SMG damage with Cat COM + Bee Shield, heal team through Elated and Sweet Release. | Sandhawk, Bee Shield, Cat COM, Bone of the Ancients relic |
| Assassin | A | Gun Zer0: snipe from Decepti0n for massive crits. Melee Zer0: chain Decepti0n kills through Many Must Fall for infinite melee. | Pimpernel (gun), Rapier (melee), Legendary Hunter/Ninja COM, Love Thumper shield |
| Commando | B | Deploy turrets for aggro and supplementary damage, use Bee Shield for weapon damage, grenade for burst. | DPUH, Bee Shield, Legendary Soldier COM, fastball grenade |
| Mechromancer | A | Build Anarchy stacks by killing enemies and reloading prematurely. At 400 stacks, even inaccurate shots bounce toward enemies for massive damage. | Fibber (ricochet barrel), Bee Shield, Slayer of Terramorphous COM, Anarchy stacks |
S-Tier: Gunzerker
Salvador dual-wields any two weapons simultaneously with his action skill, making him the most broken character for DPS. The Money Shot skill adds massive damage to the last rounds of a magazine, and specific gun pairings exploit infinite ammo glitches. Easiest character to solo all content.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Unkempt Harold | A Torgue pistol firing a spread of explosive rounds that split mid-flight. |
| Core Gear | Unkempt Harold (DPUH), Grog Nozzle, Chaotic Evil Monk COM, Rough Rider shield | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Gun Damage, Fire Rate, Money Shot optimization | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | procedural weapon generation | Every weapon is procedurally generated from manufacturer parts — body, barrel, grip, stock, sight, and accessory. |
How to Play Gunzerker
Activate Gunzerking with Grog Nozzle in left hand (healing) and DPUH in right hand (damage). Money Shot chains provide infinite burst damage.
Salvador dual-wields any two weapons simultaneously with his action skill, making him the most broken character for DPS. The Money Shot skill adds massive damage to the last rounds of a magazine, and specific gun pairings exploit infinite ammo glitches. Easiest character to solo all content.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Unkempt Harold and procedural weapon generation creates a gameplay loop that outperforms other options. Core gear like Unkempt Harold (DPUH), Grog Nozzle, Chaotic Evil Monk COM, Rough Rider shield amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Highest overall performance
- Clear stat priority (Gun Damage, Fire Rate, Money Shot optimization) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Popular pick, resources may be contested
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
S-Tier: Siren
Maya's Phaselock suspends enemies in the air, dealing damage and healing the team. The Subsequence skill chains Phaselock between enemies. Cat COM boosts SMG damage to absurd levels. The best co-op support character who also deals excellent damage.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Bee Shield | An amplifier shield that adds massive bonus damage to every projectile when shields are full. |
| Core Gear | Sandhawk, Bee Shield, Cat COM, Bone of the Ancients relic | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | SMG Damage, Cooldown Rate, Elemental Effect Chance | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | skill tree builds | Each vault hunter has 3 skill trees with a capstone ability at the bottom. |
How to Play Siren
Phaselock priority targets, deal massive SMG damage with Cat COM + Bee Shield, heal team through Elated and Sweet Release.
Maya's Phaselock suspends enemies in the air, dealing damage and healing the team. The Subsequence skill chains Phaselock between enemies. Cat COM boosts SMG damage to absurd levels. The best co-op support character who also deals excellent damage.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Bee Shield and skill tree builds creates a gameplay loop that offers reliable performance. Core gear like Sandhawk, Bee Shield, Cat COM, Bone of the Ancients relic amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Most versatile option
- Clear stat priority (SMG Damage, Cooldown Rate, Elemental Effect Chance) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Lower peak damage than S-tier
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
A-Tier: Assassin
Zer0 has the highest skill ceiling with Decepti0n providing massive melee or gun burst damage. The B0re skill can one-shot raid bosses when projectiles pass through overlapping hitboxes. Melee Zer0 with Many Must Fall chains stealth kills infinitely in mobbing.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Sandhawk | A Dahl SMG from the Captain Scarlett DLC that fires a burst of projectiles in a hawk pattern. |
| Core Gear | Pimpernel (gun), Rapier (melee), Legendary Hunter/Ninja COM, Love Thumper shield | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Critical Hit Damage, Melee Damage (melee build), Decepti0n uptime | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | co-op scaling | Enemy health and damage scale with the number of players in the session. |
How to Play Assassin
Gun Zer0: snipe from Decepti0n for massive crits. Melee Zer0: chain Decepti0n kills through Many Must Fall for infinite melee.
Zer0 has the highest skill ceiling with Decepti0n providing massive melee or gun burst damage. The B0re skill can one-shot raid bosses when projectiles pass through overlapping hitboxes. Melee Zer0 with Many Must Fall chains stealth kills infinitely in mobbing.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Sandhawk and co-op scaling creates a gameplay loop that offers reliable performance. Core gear like Pimpernel (gun), Rapier (melee), Legendary Hunter/Ninja COM, Love Thumper shield amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Best survivability
- Clear stat priority (Critical Hit Damage, Melee Damage (melee build), Decepti0n uptime) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Slower clear speeds
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
B-Tier: Commando
Axton deploys turrets that provide supplementary damage and aggro draw. Gemini skill deploys two turrets simultaneously. Solid and reliable but lacks the broken interactions other characters exploit. Good for new players learning the game.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Norfleet | An E-tech rocket launcher that fires slow-moving energy orbs covering the entire screen. |
| Core Gear | DPUH, Bee Shield, Legendary Soldier COM, fastball grenade | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Gun Damage, Turret Damage, Grenade Damage | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | elemental damage types | Five elements: Fire (bonus vs flesh), Shock (bonus vs shields), Corrosive (bonus vs armor), Slag (debuffs enemies to take double damage), and Explosive (neutral bonus). |
How to Play Commando
Deploy turrets for aggro and supplementary damage, use Bee Shield for weapon damage, grenade for burst.
Axton deploys turrets that provide supplementary damage and aggro draw. Gemini skill deploys two turrets simultaneously. Solid and reliable but lacks the broken interactions other characters exploit. Good for new players learning the game.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Norfleet and elemental damage types creates a gameplay loop that provides a unique approach. Core gear like DPUH, Bee Shield, Legendary Soldier COM, fastball grenade amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Strong in group/team content
- Clear stat priority (Gun Damage, Turret Damage, Grenade Damage) makes gearing straightforward
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- Weaker solo performance
- Requires deep game knowledge
A-Tier: Mechromancer
Gaige's Deathtrap robot provides autonomous damage and tanking. The Anarchy skill stacks additive damage up to +700% but reduces accuracy to near zero. Close Enough skill bounces missed bullets toward enemies, synergizing perfectly with high Anarchy stacks.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Conference Call | A Hyperion shotgun where pellets spawn additional horizontal pellets on impact. |
| Core Gear | Fibber (ricochet barrel), Bee Shield, Slayer of Terramorphous COM, Anarchy stacks | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Anarchy Stack Count, Close Enough%, Deathtrap uptime | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | raid boss encounters | Endgame raid bosses (Terramorphous, Voracidous, Hyperius, etc. |
How to Play Mechromancer
Build Anarchy stacks by killing enemies and reloading prematurely. At 400 stacks, even inaccurate shots bounce toward enemies for massive damage.
Gaige's Deathtrap robot provides autonomous damage and tanking. The Anarchy skill stacks additive damage up to +700% but reduces accuracy to near zero. Close Enough skill bounces missed bullets toward enemies, synergizing perfectly with high Anarchy stacks.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Conference Call and raid boss encounters creates a gameplay loop that provides a unique approach. Core gear like Fibber (ricochet barrel), Bee Shield, Slayer of Terramorphous COM, Anarchy stacks amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Unique, rewarding playstyle
- Clear stat priority (Anarchy Stack Count, Close Enough%, Deathtrap uptime) makes gearing straightforward
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- High skill floor, punishing when misplayed
- Requires deep game knowledge
Build Progression Path
- Start with Siren — the most forgiving option for learning the game
- Transition to Gunzerker once you understand core mechanics and have access to Unkempt Harold
- Keep a Assassin setup for content that keeps killing you
- Try Mechromancer for a fresh experience once you've mastered the basics
Gearing Tips
- Invest in your primary weapon first — it gives the biggest power spike
- Farm the Unkempt Harold early. Savage Lee respawns instantly by saving and quitting in Three Horns Divide. The DPUH prefix is the god roll — keep farming until you get it.
- Slag is mandatory in UVHM. Every enemy should be slagged before shooting them with your main damage element. The Grog Nozzle (mission item from Tiny Tina DLC) slags and heals simultaneously.
- Don't spread upgrade resources across multiple builds until endgame
See our tier list for current meta rankings, or the beginner's guide if you're just getting started.
