Example of an Armoured Maniac in Thousand Cuts
Armoured Maniac
Armoured Maniacs are much the same as Psycho's and have a similar back story. Armoured Maniacs however appear in Borderlands 2 in True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) after the main story has been completed in Normal Mode. They behave similarly to Psycho's. They use melee attacks and unlike normal Pyscho's they are equipped with armour which makes them considerably tougher.
Overview
Armoured Maniacs are tougher psychos put in place to pose as a challenge to players who decide to take on True Vault Hunter Mode. Armoured Maniacs appear within the ranks of Bandits that are commonly found over Pandora. They act as the close range units along with their other gun-wielding counter-parts and much like psychos, will run to the player shouting aggressive phrases.
Strategy
Armoured Maniacs run very swiftly, they can vault over low obstacles such as debris and can change direction quite rapidly. They are sligthly less agile than their Psycho counterparts but maintain their ability to move quickly. Unlike Psycho's they are heavily armoured and prove a challenge to bring down.
They attack much like Psychos at short range using a melee attack where-by they will use the axe they carry to perform an overhand strike onto the player inflicting around 15000+ damage. At medium range they can throw the axe which they carry which has the ability to respawn so as another attack can be performed. When damaged the Armoured Maniacs may begin to limp heavily and therefore not perform ranged attacks. Armoured Pyschos will not be detered by an attack by the player and will continue to melee attack the player at close range until they are either, killed or damaged to near death.
Armoured Maniacs have substantialy more health than a Psycho (around 60000 at level 50+). This extra health is provided by their armour (old crimson raider armour) which hence classifies them as an armoured foe. This means that Armoured Maniacs can be a problem to players as they can overwhelm a player when engaging multiple hostiles. They can prove hard to kill and having the The Bee shield equipped is advised. An advisable strategy to combat armoured maniacs is to back away from them while shooting so as they cannot melee attack the player. While kept running an Armoured Maniac cannot use the throwing axe ranged attack. An Armoured Maniacs critical hit spot is the only un-armoured part of their body which is their head.
Notes
- Armoured Psychos will appear along side other Bandit units
- They will appear along side the less powerful Psychos and do not completley replace them in TVHM.
- Armoured maniacs can be temporarily stunned by grenades
- Armoured maniacs can resist elemental damage but are not entirely immune to elemental damage