User:Soma4themass/Jack-of-all-trades

First of all, this build aims to be adoptable for all situations. Sure, you can respec in almost every level, but when you are faced with a bunch of badass bandits and you invested 0 in Grit, it is a bit too bloody late for that. Class mods, on the other hand, can be swapped on the fly to boost skills (for example, Leader class mod can add 3-4 to Grit). However class mod will not add skill when base skill is zero.

So, in order to use the right class mod for the right situations, you need to invest in a bit of everything. This is the build.

Detailed Explanations
Skills with 5 points

Sentry, Barrage: using turret is a necessary part of Roland, it is a perfect distraction while you aim for critical. Therefore you really want to invest to make it powerful just in case you miss.

Fitness: goes without saying.

Grit: another essential skill. The average wildlife like skag is not dangerous, but the average bandit can deal a lot of damage if he luckily got a machine pistol. So invest.

Skills with 4 points

Impact: Ideally, I would want it to be 5 points, but in order to open up the higher tier skills (metal storm, scattershot, refire, assault), I have to sacrifice. Between Impact and Sentry, Impact is clearly the less important skill, because you can get 3% more damage easily (difference between Impact@4 and Impact@5) by finding better weapon, but you can't raise damage of turret by any other means other than raising the skill.

Defense: similar to Impact, ideally it should be 5 points, but because I want to open up stockpile, I have to shave one point off it. It is no big deal, you can find better shield, but if you don't have stockpile, you can't fully use Support Gunner class mod (which boosts 3-4 to Stockpile)

Deploy: similar to Impact and Defense, ideally 5, but you need quick charge, because some class mods can boost it to respectable level (Commando, Heavy Gunner boost 3-4), so I have to shave it off deploy.

Skills with 2 points

Aid Station, Overload: Aggressive turret dropping means aid station skill points would be wasted, because when you drop the turret behind enemy covers, you have to immediately run away to avoid dying, while you let the turret mow people down. This is why I don't invest much in aid station. Overload you have to invest at least one, because Heavy Gunner mod will add 3-4 points to it making it respectable, especially when using rocket launcher. However, if you don't plan on dropping turret aggressively, then by all means put Aid Station@4, but always leave a point for overload. Just make sure you invest enough to open up Grit.

Skills with 1 point

Scattershot, Assault: Commando and Rifleman class mod will significantly boost these skills (add 3-4 points) respectively, so if you got some badass shotgun or assault rifle and plan to use them, invest. One point is quite enough, because you can't deal with everything just with shotgun or assault rifle, you need sniper rifles for long range headshots, and rocket launcher for ultimate crowd control. Especially for rocket launcher, because Roland never needs to worry about ammo, he can go crazy with rockets when even Brick can't. Even SMG can sometimes rival shotgun up close and personal, because SMG can have very high fire rate, you can unleash a storm of bullets just as effective as a shotgun. So don't invest too much on these two skills.

However, if you don't plan on using shotgun/assault rifle, just put scattershot/assault to 0 and add points to Impact or Refire.

Quick Charge, Metal Storm: Class mods will significantly boost these skills, so no need to invest more than necessary. Quick Charge is very useful against skags, to refill shield on the fly when you can't hide. High level Metal Storm will unleash bullet storm with full auto assault rifle, shotgun or SMG.

Stockpile: entirely optional. Support gunner class mod can do a much better job to refill ammo, but sometimes you don't want to equip support gunner mod all the time, because you are gimping yourself not using heavy gunner class mod. Supply drop in less hectic fight can refill ammo to max, but not in coop when you just soldier on. One point to this skill is just to be safe. If you don't mind not having max ammo all the time, then by all means leave it blank and add one back to Defense.

Cauterize: party favourite, don't play coop without at least one point, and one point is quite enough already to heal teammates.

Refire: ideally this should be @ 5, because it cuts down turret cooldown time. However with Deploy@4, one point here will be sufficient. This skill complements Deploy, because they both cut down cooldown time. If you have to take points off Deploy, invest here instead of other skills in Infantry Tree.

Supply Drop: essential if you don't use support gunner class mod. In terms of quality of supply this is better than support gunner class mod, because it refills ammo for weapons not on hand, and also grenades. In terms of quantity however, support gunner is clearly superior. Level 1 Supply Drop will make 3 drops per turret spawn. That is usually enough for solo play to refill everything to max. In coop, however you cannot rely on Supply Drop. If you plan on using support gunner class mod ALL THE TIME, then just do not invest in this skill. You can cut back on Deploy and instead invest in Refire to open up Guided Missile or add to Stat.

Stat: Ideally you want to invest five points in this skill. This skill makes you a walking hospital, important in solo and coop. However because it is a tier 4 skill, by the time you open this up, there isn't much skill point left, and this build can only afford one point here. Still pretty useful if you don't have health regen shield. If you don't invest in Guided Missile or Supply Drop, sink all the remaining points here instead.

Skills with 0 point

Guided Missile: If you want to open this up, cut back on Stat, Supply Drop or Deploy, add one point more to Refire and open this up. Between Supply Drop and Guided Missile, I used to pick Guided Missile. However Guided Missile is not very useful indoors, because the missile can't hit intended targets there. So I pick Supply Drop instead.

Grenadier: Supply Drop refills grenade much better than grenadier, shock trooper class mod can add 3-4 to this skill, it still can't beat Supply Drop for the speed of refill. Added grenade damage is not very useful, even with bouncing betties it still can't beat rockets for shear damage.

Revive: a complete waste. Get your ass over to the fallen comrade and revive instead of using the turret. You have to invest heavily to make it useful, it just costs too much.

An alternate Jack-of-all-trades build is to put less oomph on turret but increase its uptime: