Forum:Why no love for Sal?

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Srsly, tho, y?

This question has been burning in my mind since the creation of the Fave VH poll. Salvador has consistently been the bottom ranked VH. Now, I understand that there has to be a last place, but the margin is astonishing. As of this post, here are the standings in the poll:

1st: Krieg (398 votes)

2nd: Maya (377)

3rd: Axton (347)

4th: Zer0 (313)

5th: Gaige (303)

6th: Sal (184)

It amazes me that the margin between Sal and Gaige, adjacent in the rankings, is greater than that between Gaige and Krieg, almost opposite ends of the ranking, and that all VH's, save for poor ol Sal, have broken 300 votes. This means that less than 10% of voters like Salvador. Is he bad? Does Gunzerk suck as an Action Skill? Is he still pretty damn awesome, but whereas he's a 10, all the other VH's crank this bitch up to 11? I understand why people wouldn't like Gunzerk, because it's power is completely reliant on the guns you find. Gaige and Axton's skills are toss-and-forget, Zer0's can function as an escape button, Maya is used in almost every Raid Solo strategy I've seen, and Krieg is just batshit crazy fun.

However, the biggest strength of Gunzerk is something that can only be achieved through modding: combining special abilities on guns. You ever wanted to do piles of damage with a Grog Nozzle? You ever wanted insane amounts of healing from your DPUH? Well, put a Nozzle in one hand, a Harold in the other, and you, my friend, are on the threshold of immortality. Oh, and Sal has abilities specifically geared towards pistols and wielding the same weapon type in each hand. A match made in heaven, one might say! And don't give me that crap about, "Well, you have to get some awesome guns, first herfderf!" Please. Some of the best guns in the game are just given to you. Moxxi guns are rewards for fairly simple missions, or given to you if you're a good tipper, you don't even have to complete a mission to get a Nozzle, and thanks to Torgue vending machines, a DPUH is a few refreshs away from being yours. And the only thing standing between you and a Sand Hawk is half of a sub-par DLC.

But here's the best part: you want to deal sick damage with the Sabre Turret? You want slag guns and missile pods? Skill points. You want slag and rockets with Sal? Go loot guns. Dying too much, Maya? Better put some points into Elated. Dying too much, Sal? Equip that Rubi that's 4 levels old, but you're not going to fire it, no. You're pairing that thing with that Maliwan SMG you just found. Set bitches on fire, get healing. Sal is the only VH whose skill can be strengthened and modified without spending a single skill point. But he still gets skill points, which makes him mountains of badass. The potential of Gunzerk is limited only by the amount of guns and gear in the game, and even though a Bazillion isn't a real number, it effectively describes just how versatile Sal can be.

TL;DR: Why do people not like Salvador?

Mech-Romance (talk) 00:37, September 30, 2013 (UTC)

First, let me say that i love Salvador. He was my first character in BL 2. That said, the reason he is liked less than other VH's, IMO, is the very reasons you have stated.  All the other characters action skills are powerful, pretty much from the get go. Thier action skills dont require good weapons, in fact, they almost completly overcome the lack of great weapons. 

Salvador is almost completely reliant on great weapons to make him great. He has no real Shield buffs. His health buffs are inadequit in UVHM. Finally, getting the weapons you mention still requires you to have good weapons to get to the points you must reach to aquire them. 

Yes, once you have the right load out, he is a beast. He is a great character and quite useful in the right settings. 03:32, September 30, 2013 (UTC) 

+1^ Having two guns is very strong. Regen health and ammo on top. Sal was my first character as well and I had expectations of tanking like a Brick. I think I got to around level 34 and my friend was living much better than Sal was capable of at the time. He also had crap weapons. He is much better if you have guns already to give him or know where to find them. On the combinations: Very intriguing. When I stopped playing Sal, I always imagine the power of the combinations of guns I found on other characters. I will definitely go back to Sal in the future with those combinations to experiment with. On skill points: The very "weakness" you describe in other characters by sinking skill points for survivability or damage output is the very strength you are missing about other characters. They are less dependent on gear and more dependent on skills. Every so often, every character goes through a low point in the game (no matter what the level). These low points are either when the gear is just not up to par for the missions or when the skill points are not enough or both. Characters that buff their talents with skills can level a few times and things just start working again. If you dont find a good sniper for 10 levels, your character can really suck if that is your playstyle. The skill changes and playstyle changes make a character more versatile, not less. The versatility of weapons is extreme and profound, and so is not having the weapon level you need at the time. I get what your saying, but I see points on both sides of the coin. 07:52, September 30, 2013 (UTC)

Good point about the skill points IATBR. Also, Salvador seems like he should be the tank of the group, able to take tons of damage while using Zerk, but that is just not the case. Maybe I'm just playing him wrong, but he is just not putting out the damage nor does he have the survivability of some of the other characters in UVHM.-- 13:16, September 30, 2013 (UTC)