User:MignightHawk/Zer0 Build: C0mbat Magician

C0mbat Magician: Using Decepti0n to fool enemies with Grenade traps, Tediores, and the million-damage-at-level-40-something-nukem.

Assassins are pretty tricky for a novice to close quarters and sniper rifles. Sure, these skills will improve over time, but not everyone will enjoy picking people off from afar or getting downed frequently by using the Bloodshed tree. What about something a bit more unique and innovative, using Decepti0n for ambushing, tricking, and surprise attacking enemies? C0mbat Magician is such a class.

Gear
The first gun we are using in this rogue-like Zer0 class is a bit offset the normal Zer0 build. It's not a fancy sniper, it's not a Law, none of those. It's...

The Conference Call. Seriously, the Conference Call. ''Of all the guns you could pick, that is either genius, or really stupid. Zer0 is supposed to hate shotguns.'' This class is less of a traditional Zer0, more of a far-fetched approach to combat. It deals a pretty solid amount of damage, especially if the Practicable prefix is attatched, giving 7 pellets. When combined with B0re, you have one lethal combination, especially against large enemies, like, I dunno, threshers?

This is the main gun you will be using in regular combat. The others have their specific uses, but this one is for around 70% of the broken Decepti0n kills.

It gets a bit more traditional from here out, and the next class is a life saver. Literally.

The Rubi. ''Why not Grog Nozzle, the true king of Vampires? And making dwarves drunk.'' The dethroned queen of vampires is still a pretty nasty little bitch against enemies, more so than the Grog Nozzle. When combined with a high-damage explosive, wich will be covered later, you can get some pretty nasty healing.

I won't lie. I used to die. A LOT. Then I started using Rubi and my death rate was substantially less. Toss a grenade, retreat to cover, pull out Rubi, and watch the health regenerate back. It's amazing to see your health go from the brink of FFYL to ready to fight Terry. Keeping it next to your Conference Call is the best for ease of reach.

What happens when Rubi fails? Of course there's gotta be a backup.

The Nukem. ''You're crazy. Are you messing with me, or is this an actual build?'' Method to the madness. With enough damage to obliterate anything, yet an insane risk of use, the Nukem is pretty much only here for exiting FFYL and breaking Decepti0n, as breaking it with a Nukem can deal more damage to more people than using even the highest damage sniper. A lvl 50 one can break Decepti0n dealing more damage than a similar level Fastball, and even better, might exceed one million on targets at lvl 50.

Keeping it 2 slots away from the Conference Call is the only way to ensure you will not accidentally blow yourself up. IT'S HAPPENED.

One final slot. One more gun. Hopefully something you can agree with.

Any Tediore SMG. ''Tediore reloads don't break Decepti0n. Finally this class starts making sense!'' Not only are the explode-like-a-grenade abiltiies of Tediore pretty nice not only for not breaking Decepti0n, but they also are damn good SMGs. The solid stats are really useful when used like an actual SMG, as well as when used like a grenade, which will be done a lot during Decepti0n.

I know Dahl and Hyperion both have better stats than Tediore SMGs, but a good Tediore SMG can be more useful to this class than anything else. When the Conference Call is outclassed by range, the slightly higher range of an SMG lets you be slightly more powerful when things get hairy.

Away from the guns, we need some really good loot to help keep this class working fine.

For our shield, I skip legendaries and Uniques entirely here. All we use is a purple rarity Adaptive Shield. The legendary Adaptives, simply put, are pieces of crap not worth farming for. They have too small of a shield to be of any use to us. You may find some use in the Evolution, but my experiences with it turned up naught.

The Grenade Mod here was a bit of a split choice. Either the Bonus Package or Storm Front. Both are great mods, and very well suited for crowd control. But which is better?

The Bonus Package has masses of explosions and booms, lots of damage really quick, but the insane risk of collatoral damage. Great if you are a bit more distant from it, and when combined with Rubi, it can heal insanely fast. The Storm Front's main advantage over the Bonus Package is its inability to hurt the thrower. This is slightly better if blowing yourself up isn't what you want to do, and are willing to sacrifice your insane healing abilities for self-preservation.

In the end, the grenade mod is either Bonus Package (think EXPLOOOOSIONS!) or Storm Front (think SAFETY!).

Why not the Chain Lightning? Simply put, regenerating grenades helps only when grenades are scarce, like when you don't loot chests or containers.

For a Class like this, you will be using your Decepti0n a lot. The Legendary Hunter class mod suits the role the best. With its enhancements to your cooldown, perk bonuses, and reload speeds, you will be blazingly fast with pretty much everything, and can use Decepti0n often to fool those bandits into letting you nuke them with the Nukem will ensure a powerful way to end conflicts rediculiously fast.

The relic you use is mostly bent upon Decepti0n's cooldown being faster. The Bone of the Ancients with Explosive bonuses can suffice very nicely for your stealth needs, and allow you to make those baddies die a lot. If proficency is not your taste, try a Stockpile relic effecting Shotgun, Launcher, and Grenade capacities.

Gear Template

 * Shotgun Slot: Reserve it for a decent clipped shotgun with plenty of pellets. The Heart Breaker or a good single-barreled Bandit shotgun works well here, but always elemental guns sort of are bad in the wrong situation.
 * Moxxi Slot: If Rubi isn't available, try tipping Moxxi until she gives her either the Good Touch or Bad Touch. They aren't nearly as good as Rubi, but suffice. Chère-amie does not cover, as it does not work with a grenade combo.
 * Launcher Slot: Torgue launchers work wonders here with their high damage. While not nearly as high damage as a Nukem, any Blaaa or Duuurp! will work well.
 * Tediore Slot: Tediore is pretty much the only gun type to go here. A pistol will be OK if SMGs are, for whatever reason, too hard to find, or you like pistols over SMGs. Launchers and shotguns won't do because they're going to drain your launcher and shotgun dry if overused.
 * Shield Slot: Adaptive shields are fairy common and you don't need to get in a hussy-fuss if you can't find one.
 * Grenade Mod Slot: Any MIRV Grenade or Tesla Grenade grenade works wonders here. Longbow or Longbow Sticky preferred.
 * Class Mod Slot: Professional is fairly useful the Legendary Hunter mod is hard to get.
 * Relic: Proficency or Stockpile works equally well here.

Perks


This makes up everything you need for your class to be the best it can be, all while being only level 50. The "Combat Mage"



This is for those who have lvl 61. It adds a bit to Bloodshed and makes it a bit more valid as a problem solver, though it still focuses mainly upon preservation in the Bloodshed tree. The "Combat Magician"



When you get to level 72, the class goes much more into the Bloodshed tree, still lying in the self-preservation half, yet stepping into melee a bit. The "Combat Sorcerer"

Final Words

 * Something you don't like? Fell free to change it to suit you. After all, it's your way of using it.
 * NO, I will not dupe you a 50 Conference Call, Nukem, Rubi, etc. Farm them yourself!
 * Enjoy the C0mbat Magician!