User:Chee42/Gunner

Weapons
Note: I usually carry about 8 weapons total to fit whatever mood I'm in. These usually include a Masher Revolver which I am very fond of, a Hunting-type shotgun (about 70 accuracy), a second Machinegun which with 8-13 rate of fire, as I've been unsure how I feel about the rate of fire VS damage per bullet situation, and I usually carry the best Missile Launcher I've found to date, though I rarely if ever use it. If you can find a solid explosive weapon, preferably SMG or Machinegun it should be a clear win, otherwise you have to write off Endowed as a 5 skill point casualty on the way to better skills.
 * Combat Rifle - Machinegun-style preference to 8+ rate of fire and faster reload.
 * Anti-Armor Weapon - Maliwan Hellfires are a decent option, having good rate of fire and SMGs usual high reload speed.
 * Optional - If you use an incendiary weapon as your primary weapon I would recommend having a corrosive backup, a Maliwan Crux is a decent choice even though shotguns aren't preferred.
 * Optional - Usually I carry two SMGs, an elemental (as above I'm a fan of the Hellfires) and then a second regular SMG, recently I've been carrying an Anarchy SMG for it's very high short-mid range stopping power, and the expense of ammo consumption.

Mods

 * Warmonger class mod, focusing on Revenge level
 * Transfusion grenade mod, helps make up for lack of good health/shield regain abilities.

Shield

 * Total Shield/HP pool is key, shields are more valuable but health boosting shields seem to be the best choice across the board.

Offense
This spec is a lot about killing all the enemies before you run out of shield and health. This is achieved by utilizing the surprising DPS skills that are hidden in Brick's trees. With the right mod, this spec can provide a +90% damage increase, and a +60% rate of fire increase upon killing an enemy. As far as I can tell, this spec's sheer damage outstrips any other class in pure weapon DPS, however to utilize this it comes with it's own costs. Using SMGs and Machineguns that already have a high rate of fire, and then increasing that by an additional +60% will lead to some ammo problems, this is slightly offset by the huge damage increase from Revenge making even short bursts deadly to regular enemies. Even utilizing short bursts effectively it is often require that you switch between your combat rifles and SMGs as you run out of ammo with one or the other. I also find that even with SMGs and Machineguns with 80+ round magazines, that reload speeds become a big bottleneck, which is why I emphasize getting a machinegun with a fast reload.

Another major drawback is the reliance on on-kill skills. This issue plagues many other classes but it's important to note that the specs two key damage skill require a first kill to be scored. Until you score the first kill you have to rely on the minor damage increase provided by your Warmonger class mod (22% or so) and a few minor damage boosts when applicable (reload speed and explosive damage boosts).

I'm sure a few people are wondering why there's 1/5 in Pay Back, I don't like the skill very much, as it relies on your shields being depleted to come into effect. You also have better things to spend your last few points on, however, the Warmonger class mod adds to the Pay Back skill so it's worth the one point to be able to take advantage of the free skill boost.

These issues may seem very emphasized but I feel like the good parts of this spec are very simple: +60% rate of fire, +90% damage and the addition of +20% damage from class mod providing a huge amount of DPS. When this spec gets going it makes short order of any enemies in sight.

Defense
This spec is a little weak in the defense for my liking. Your overall tactic is to get your first kill in, and then wreck the rest of the enemies before they whittle down your not unsubstantial pool of shields and hit points. Your total pool of shields and HP are modified by the following 7/5 Hardened (with a Warmonger mod) providing +84% HP and 5/5 Safeguard providing +40% shield capacity as well as 5/5 Unbreakable providing approximately +75% shield capacity (read the strategy on the Unbreakable page).

On top of your huge shield/HP pool, you have Juggernaut which will assist you in the rampage fashion this spec plays out, once you get your first kill you become resistant to 50% damage so you want to jump in and continue your killing spree while this is active to continue to flow. Your backup plan is Diehard, I consider this a necessary evil. I don't like relying on this skill to much, but if you are aware enough you can stop in front of a near-dead enemy and let them finish you off providing you a quick second wind that, with 5/5 Diehard will replenish a majority of your huge shield/HP pool.

One of the large problems with this build is that there aren't a lot of ways to regain your health. You are limited to transfusion grenades, and Berserk. As the build does not provide any good bonuses to Berserk, I usually try to avoid using it during combat as the damage is mediocre and requires you to get a little closer than I like, unless I plan on using Diehard.

Pros

 * Flexibility in weapon choice
 * High damage output
 * High rate of fire
 * Large shield/HP pool

Cons

 * Some weapons don't utilize the rate of fire boost very well
 * Reliance on on-kill skills
 * Potential ammo problems
 * Limited ways to quickly replenish shield/HP
 * Almost complete negligence of Berserk class ability

Post 50
With any additional skill points acquired after 50 you'll want to finish of Hardened and then Pay Back, in that order. After that there aren't many useful skills left over that don't focus on Launchers. You can pick up Cast Iron to help mitigate any explosive damage you may ever take but personally the value of that it questionable. You could also pick up Wide Load and dabble a bit in using Launchers, it's not really my thing as I don't find them as effective as other weapons, but after 50 total points spent this build really runs low on useful skills to purchase.

Any constructive comments on this build are welcome.