User:Rasimpson/Beer Witch (Melee Maya)

This build was born when I watched a youtube video of a player tanking hits from Pete the Ultra Invincible without apparently taking damage. This was achieved using 11 points in the Recompense skill and a Grog Nozzle, causing a slagged Pete to take 300% of all damage he dealt to Maya and healing Maya for 195% of that damage. Needless to say this approach was extremely effective at not dying, but since the grog nozzle is a terrible weapon actually killing anything posed a bit of a challenge. It was my thought that perhaps an effective build could be made which incorporated this concept and focused on melee and/or grenades for damage. Unfortunately my dreams were dashed by the inability to reliably have a bladed grog nozzle as it was a quest weapon which was newly generated each game session. However, since the Borderlands 2 $100,000 Loot Hunt I have obtained a legitimate non-quest version of an Evisceration grog nozzle, allowing me to finally realize this build in all its ridiculous glory.

Skills

 * Recompense: This is the keystone of the build. With a Rebounding Warder class mod you can have a 100% chance of returning all damage you take back at your attacker.  Combined with a Grog Nozzle, you heal 65% of that damage.  The main idea behind this build is that a slagged enemy cannot actually hurt you since their attacks heal you for more damage than they do.

Everything else in this build is optional, but there are a few skills that work well with this idea.
 * Mind's Eye: Maya's only raw bonus melee damage skill. Maya doesn't have a lot going for her in terms of melee, so you need to take what you can get.
 * Backdraft: Maya's only other skill that improves melee attacks. This skill is only really good against fleshy enemies, but it's pretty good against them.
 * Blight Phoenix: In addition to looking like a badass, you do a decent amount of fire and corrosive damage to nearby enemies. This won't be useful against Pete, but it will be useful against pretty much everything else you can get within melee range of.

Everything else in this build is pretty much just filler. Sure, it's useful, but you could pick pretty much whatever you wanted. Personally, I picked skills that supplement Maya's damage, but if you play in a group you could go the other direction and pick up more support skills.

Equipment
This build is VERY gear dependent. Most notably, you need an Evisceration Grog Nozzle, which only dropped from the Gold Golem for one day during the Loot Hunt.

Weapons
Evisceration Grog Nozzle. Try to get someone to dupe one for you, I guess. Sorry that there just isn't any way to legitimately obtain one anymore.

For other weapons you can use whatever you want as backup when you can't melee. I use a corrosive Shredifier, a Lyuda, and a Norfleet. Generally speaking this build kind of sucks against things you can't melee or kill with phaselock.

Shield
A melee build requires a good melee shield. I suggest the Love Thumper since it's easy to get and it's really, really good, especially since this build prefers to not have its shield up. I haven't tried it yet, but I understand that the Hide of Terramorphous is also a good melee shield.

Class Mods
This build is all about maxing out the Recompense skill. Unfortunately the only class mod that boosts Recompense is the Warder class mod, which gives literally nothing else of use to this build. Get yourself a Rebounding Warder class mod and never look back.

Grenade Mods
This build doesn't have to be only about melee. It can also be about grenades. I've been using a Chain Lightning grenade mod for its regenerative abilities and spamming the heck out of it. You could go a different route, such as using a Magic Missile or Bouncing Betty Grenade mod for more slag or a Storm Front or Bonus Package for damage.

Relic
I'm currently using a Might of the Seraphs relic for increase melee damage, but a Strength Relic would work just as well. I haven't tried fighting some of the more dangerous enemies like raid bosses yet, but depending on how much you want to rely on health gating a Vitality Relic might also be a good choice.