Borderlands DLC playthrough order?

[SMOGZINN]

There are two types of secondary weapons for the vehicle... machine gun or rocket launcher. Rocket launcher is pretty damn useless though (in my opinion). You just lock on using spacebar and use right click to fire the machine gun.
.

See I find the vehicle turret machine gun to be useless, it is simply WAY underpowered and too inaccurate to do anything with. I much prefer the rocket launcher. The thing is you can't use the lock on method with it. You have keep it pointed in front of you, aim manually, and lead your target. Get good at that and you can take down vehicles rather fast with it.

 

[Nebor]

Agreed, the rocket launcher is way better than the machine gun. Not even a close comparison.

 

[Aikouka]

Agreed, the rocket launcher is way better than the machine gun. Not even a close comparison.

The machine gun requires no actual effort to use other than hitting space bar and going in a circle. However, like I mentioned... the entire vehicle is inferior to actually attacking with a good hand-held weapon. Only thing I use vehicles for is travel and running things (like Spiderants... I hate them) over.

 

[Molondo]

Okay, disappointing ending, started my play through 2. I can't do it. I think I'm finished.

 

[zinfamous]

As for money, you will eventually max out your money very easily and once you max it out, you do gain more more, but it does not show up. Also, I sometimes save things that are worth a lot of money just to give to my "alts" so they'll have a lot of money. There's actually a secret treasure chest in Rust Commons West that you can get, but you have to "log out" to get out. If you attempt to leave the cover of the cliff, you will be killed by the game 😛.



There are two types of secondary weapons for the vehicle... machine gun or rocket launcher. Rocket launcher is pretty damn useless though (in my opinion). You just lock on using spacebar and use right click to fire the machine gun.

Also, the vehicle machine gun is pretty damn useless compared to my Siren's SMG. I can destroy a vehicle in a few seconds, which is a hell of a lot faster than the silly machine gun 😛.

Also, I cheese Mad Mel using the ramp method as well, but I normally use my own guns rather than the vehicle ones... they can still blow up your vehicle, which usually kills you if you're in it.

i was never using space bar to lock on vehicle rockets before you guys mentioned it--oh man, that really is useless. manual aim and fire is pretty easy, though.

but yes, my SMG at level 26 is already better than the vehicle weapons.

 

[zinfamous]

Okay, disappointing ending, started my play through 2. I can't do it. I think I'm finished.

I think I'm half way through (just got into that dude's salvage/junkyard area; forget what it's called. Crazy Earl?), doing all the missions I can find, and I didn't realize there was a story that I should be following, lol.

I'm sure I won't be disappointed. 😀

the game is a fun play.

which character did you use?

 

[Aikouka]

Yeah, Borderlands has a pretty lame ending. The final boss is also a pretty big joke, and is rather boring since it just takes so many bullets to kill it.

i was never using space bar to lock on vehicle rockets before you guys mentioned it--oh man, that really is useless. manual aim and fire is pretty easy, though.

but yes, my SMG at level 26 is already better than the vehicle weapons.

Using the secondary lock is useless for rockets unless the target is right in front of you. Too much lateral movement means the rocket will almost always miss. The lock does work fine with the machine gun though.

 

[makken]

ok, just started playthrough 2 at level 37. Is this the playthrough where everything scales, and I can do all the side quests?

I just picked up an orange SMG, something hellfire I think, and a siren class mod that gives smg ammo regen. wow. I don't see the point of using any other gun from now on; which kinda sucks because I've been finding some really good combat rifles and shotguns lately.

 

[zinfamous]

ok, just started playthrough 2 at level 37. Is this the playthrough where everything scales, and I can do all the side quests?

I just picked up an orange SMG, something hellfire I think, and a siren class mod that gives smg ammo regen. wow. I don't see the point of using any other gun from now on; which kinda sucks because I've been finding some really good combat rifles and shotguns lately.

the builds I've been looking at, with mercenary, there is no other gun to use.

In fact, I've been having tons of fun with SMG from the beginning. I started kinda elemental, but just recently respected at level 25 to focus on the bullet velocity, damage, phase walk stuff--one of those mercenary builds.

it's kinda godly, and i'm still a noob.

 

[n7]

Okay, disappointing ending, started my play through 2. I can't do it. I think I'm finished.

DLC is where this game shines, seriously. The ending of the main game is crap (though i do love how beautiful Eridian Promontory is).
Once you get PT2 done, move onto Knoxx 🙂

Or if you really don't want to play thru the main game again, you can jump right into some of the DLC in PT1, though it will make you overleveled for PT2.

 

[n7]

ok, just started playthrough 2 at level 37. Is this the playthrough where everything scales, and I can do all the side quests?

I just picked up an orange SMG, something hellfire I think, and a siren class mod that gives smg ammo regen. wow. I don't see the point of using any other gun from now on; which kinda sucks because I've been finding some really good combat rifles and shotguns lately.

ok, just started playthrough 2 at level 37. Is this the playthrough where everything scales, and I can do all the side quests?

I just picked up an orange SMG, something hellfire I think, and a siren class mod that gives smg ammo regen. wow. I don't see the point of using any other gun from now on; which kinda sucks because I've been finding some really good combat rifles and shotguns lately.

Well, Merc w/ +ammo regen is by far the most commonly used build, due to weapons like the Hellfire, Anarchy, double stingers, etc.

I personally like to mix it up a lot though, & use Plaguebearer, Firefly, Catalyst, Dahl Professional, Maliwan Specialist, & Specter (those last three are only in DLC3).

Scaling starts once you finish PT2, which should be around 50-53ish.
Then you want to do Knoxx.

 

[Aikouka]

I just picked up an orange SMG, something hellfire I think, and a siren class mod that gives smg ammo regen. wow. I don't see the point of using any other gun from now on; which kinda sucks because I've been finding some really good combat rifles and shotguns lately.

Hmm I don't recall the Hellfire gun being that potent... I'm pretty sure I sold one a few weeks ago. The guy I'm using is literally a level 29 gun... I have variants of it that are a higher level, but they're simply not as good.

Here's the gun:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/aikouka/screenshot/577796269312223171

(Thought I'd try out the Steam screenshots feature!)

Also, about different weapon types... I would avoid switching so much. You don't just level your character, but you also level your weapons. I wasted a bit of EXP on other weapon types...

http://steamcommunity.com/id/aikouka/screenshot/577796269312257289


EDIT:

Oh, and you can't see it, but that gun isn't just 96 damage... it's 96 x 4 😛.

 

[makken]

Hmm I don't recall the Hellfire gun being that potent... I'm pretty sure I sold one a few weeks ago. The guy I'm using is literally a level 29 gun... I have variants of it that are a higher level, but they're simply not as good.

Here's the gun:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/aikouka/screenshot/577796269312223171

(Thought I'd try out the Steam screenshots feature!)

Also, about different weapon types... I would avoid switching so much. You don't just level your character, but you also level your weapons. I wasted a bit of EXP on other weapon types...

http://steamcommunity.com/id/aikouka/screenshot/577796269312257289


EDIT:

Oh, and you can't see it, but that gun isn't just 96 damage... it's 96 x 4 😛.

I ran across a few of those x4 type SMGs, but their terrible accuracy makes them near unusable at anything but point blank for me. Also, I haven't been able to find one of those w/ an elemental proc, and it just feels like I wasted 5 points in spark by using them.

 

[Aikouka]

I ran across a few of those x4 type SMGs, but their terrible accuracy makes them near unusable at anything but point blank for me. Also, I haven't been able to find one of those w/ an elemental proc, and it just feels like I wasted 5 points in spark by using them.

The thing is, point blank range is fine for the most part. If you have the talent that lets your shield regenerate whenever you kill an opponent and you have a high shield (which should be the #1 aspect you look for in a shield), you will regenerate shield energy faster than they can take it away. The biggest problem with having to fight at point blank range can sometimes be closing a gap. But I do have different SMGs. One of those I have equipped is a Maliwan Explosive SMG with ~3x zoom and good accuracy.

Also, not all of those multi-shot SMGs are that great. I have two more in my bags right now (both visible in that screenshot... the Double Anarchy guns), and one of those has about a 6.5 fire rate... compare that to the fire rate on the one I have equipped and it's practically night and day! I do wish that SMG also had a boost to reload speed as well. My reload speed isn't slow, but I have another gun that increases reload speed, and the difference is noticeable.

In my opinion, you did waste points by getting Spark. I'd pretty much stay out of that tree until you've gotten everything good in the other two. I can't remember the names of the trees, but I filled out the left one first (Controller, I think) and then went into the right one. Now, I'm working on the middle one a bit. The thing is, you will literally get so many talent points, that you can get almost any talent you want, because Gearbox never extended the talent trees, but gave us a nearly 20 more levels (and more points available from Moxxy).

I can take a screenshot of my talent distribution later to give you an idea of what I mean. I did respec once though... I originally took the melee slow in Controller, as it was helpful in the beginning. Once you get the final talent in Controller, it becomes pretty useless. I actually used to hop over Skaggs and melee them while in air to proc that effect 😛.

 

[zinfamous]

I ran across a few of those x4 type SMGs, but their terrible accuracy makes them near unusable at anything but point blank for me. Also, I haven't been able to find one of those w/ an elemental proc, and it just feels like I wasted 5 points in spark by using them.

yeah, that's the point, as Aikouka mentioned. all depends on your build. (remember, you can always respec)

close range is aw0esome if you want to burst into a mob, stun them as you exit, keep the shield up as you blast them point blank and spread some nasty acid or something, then blast out of the mob to safety.

 

[zinfamous]

Also, not all of those multi-shot SMGs are that great. I have two more in my bags right now (both visible in that screenshot... the Double Anarchy guns), and one of those has about a 6.5 fire rate... compare that to the fire rate on the one I have equipped and it's practically night and day! I do wish that SMG also had a boost to reload speed as well. My reload speed isn't slow, but I have another gun that increases reload speed, and the difference is noticeable.

I don't knwo the name and specs off the top of my head, it's a Malevolent SMG or something something, but the reload is insane. less than a second, I believe. I'm still only level 27, and this may be a level 16 gun, but this thing is mowing the fuck out of lvl 25 bruisers and spiderants. damage is ~45, i think (lol), but accuracy is 90s, and has a scope zoom. super awesome weapon. picked up a mod with +9 SMG regen and I am one happy dude.

 

[Nebor]

I just started anew with a Siren for the first time 2 days ago, I'm level 39 on my second playthrough now. I have a high damage Hyperion as a primary, and then a fire, explosion and corrosive SMG in the other slots. I find that close quarters really aren't a problem. If I get in trouble I can just phasewalk out.

 

[makken]

Yeah, I took all the talents that boosted gun/SMG damage first. I started off on the far right tree, took the +crit damage, the +damage that procs when you kill something, and the additional bullet velocity and damage

then moved to the middle tree and took the fire rate increase and spark, now i'm working on the far left tree.

I'm most comfortable engaging at medium to short range (by short I mean just outside of effective shotgun range). I really don't like getting up to melee range in FPS games.

The reason I went into spark is because elemental weapons just felt so much more powerful than their equivalent normals. I actually have an SMG that deals about 50% more damage than the hellfire I'm using (fire rate ~equal), but the hellfire just seems to drop enemies significantly faster, and I cant' quite put my finger on why.

 

[SMOGZINN]

The reason I went into spark is because elemental weapons just felt so much more powerful than their equivalent normals. I actually have an SMG that deals about 50% more damage than the hellfire I'm using (fire rate ~equal), but the hellfire just seems to drop enemies significantly faster, and I cant' quite put my finger on why.

The hellfire has a really large tech pool, which means it's elemental damage procs WAY more often, which means it does more damage.

 

[zinfamous]

I suppose elemental can do more damage than a high physical damage gun if you unload until your target is dead. But I think the more common use amongst people is to probably get the target to 20% health or so and let the fire finish the job. I did that for a bit, but I'm not really a fan of that strategy.

In the end, you're much better off taking your target out as quickly as possible, with as little of your attention is needed. I think high damage, high fire rate is still the best way to go.

 

[n7]

The beauty of this game is that there is no "right way" to play, or "right gun" to use.

There are an insanely huge number of combinations you can utilize, & what weapons & play-style you choose is entirely up to you.

For pure reliable DPS in all situations, it's hard to beat Mercenary with a good Double Anarchy + Hellfire + Double Stinger (for longer range), but that's just one way to go.
If you use Phasewalking a lot, Catalyst can be incredibly fun, & allows for killing enemies without even needing to use guns much if you have specced into Radiance + Phoenix.

Spark is not a necessary skill per say, but what it does is increase the tech pool for elemental weapons, giving a higher chance for the element to proc (causing DoT - damage over time).
So while i wouldn't consider it mandatory early in the game, it's definitely useful later on unless you never use elemental weapons.

As skill points are limited early, i always suggest placing them based around what COM (class optimization module) you are wanting to use, as the + skill specfic boosts on the COM only apply if you have at least one point in that skill.

In terms of what one to use, it definitely is up to the individual, but as someone who's play a TON of this game, i'll mention the important ones, IMHO.


In the Controller tree, Inner Glow & Girl Power are simply amazing.
Health regen while invincible is why many call that siren ability a "god mode", overpowered, etc...
Having a boost to shield regen speed upon killing enemies makes it a lot hard to go down.

Diva is generally chosen as the route to getting down there, since Striking has limited value, especially as enemies become tougher.
Dramatic Entrance is a fun skill, but ultimately not worth putting all those points into in most cases.

Hard to Get is a must-have for any phasewalker, as it allows for phasewalking very frequently, which handy for getting around in a hurry, getting away from tough situations in a hurry, or just getting into position to attack an enemy from behind you wouldn't normally be able to, etc.

Mind Games is nice for any rapid-firing weapons as the dazing effect is more likely then, but like all dazing, i do not consider it imperative as i just don't find dazing enemies to be all that necessary.


The Elemental tree is probably the most neglected tree in the game due to it often being misunderstood & overlooked, but i consider it by far the most fun tree to spec into as a siren.

Quicksilver is an absolutely must-have 5/5 skill, zero questions about it.
Increasing firing speed for all weapons is a HUGE benefit.
Spark is very useful for elemental weapons, thought not imperative initially unless you are going down the elemental tree right away.

Resilience is largely useless sadly as not many enemies use elemental guns, & the damage reduction against isn't really enough to bother with.

Radiance is very powerful against shielded enemies & far underrated IME.
The entire key to using Radiance is playing phasewalk tag.
Basically while phasewalking, you run thru the entire group of enemies, tagging them all with shock damage from Radiance.
This removes their shields or slows shield regen extremely well, & is very helpful to any close-range phasewalking-oriented build.
You generally only need a point or two in this skill.

Venom is another sadly ineffective skill.
Melee can be fun in this game, but simply isn't very effective even with all melee skills boosted, so i just cannot recommend wasting anything more than one point in this skill (& i wouldn't even bother with that).

Intuition is by no means "needed", but it's a skill i absolutely love on a siren due to the huge speed boost gained, which allows for literally flying around enemies at ridiculous speeds 😀

And finally, we have Phoenix, easily one of the best skills a siren can have.
First, there are drawbacks.
As Phoenix basically turns your gal into wings of fire that burn everything nearby, exploding barrels are your worst enemy, & you WILL die from damned barrels you run by until you get used to it.
Secondly, due to how it allows for ammo saving, unfortunately when the effect for ammo saving ends, you can be left with your gun not automatically reloading (which is annoying if you don't manually reload).
In spite of those drawbacks though, i still consider Phoenix extremely valuable.
The proximity fire damage it puts out is staggering, & allows you to burn enemies up easily without a single shot fired.
And the ammo-saving is incredibly useful & allows for more weapon flexibility.

If you combine a Catalyst or Firefly COM w/ Spark/Radiance/Intuition/Phoenix, you will have the ability to basically race around killing everything close range without needing to fire all that many bullets.


The Assassin tree's first line gives you Slayer, & Silent Resolve.
If you're good @ hitting the head or crit spots, Slayer is very useful.
Silent Resolve is especially helpful with phasewalking due to the damage reduction you get from exitting phasewalk.

Enforcer isn't terribly necessary unless you have a lot of points to spread around.
Hit and Run is mainly best for increasing time you can spend in Phasewalk.

I would generally recommend speccing into Slayer & Silent Resolve to unlock the the third line & not bothering with Enforcer or Hit & Run till later in the game.
High Velocity is another amazing skill you'll want at some point on every siren setup.
Increased bullet velocity is extremely helpful, & the damage boost is just icing on the cake.
Blackout is another very helpful skill for any phasewalking-heavy build.
With all the phasewalking skills maxed, especially with Catalyst, you can have a siren who can basically phasewalk almost constantly in places like Zombie Island or other places with lots of enemies.

Phasestrike is by far the most disappointing final tier skill, & simply does not work all that well, even with all melee skills maxed.
I would not bother with this skill at all.


This turned into way more of a novel than i had planned, sorry 😛
I hope someone can gain something from the wall of text i just got carried away with...

 

[makken]

Thanks for the analysis;

Phoenix, I don't think would work well with my build or playstyle, as I like to keep things at range, so the fire effect wouldn't do much.

I tend to use phasewalk defensively as an "OH SHIT" ability to retreat to a safe spot if I bite off more than I can chew. Other than that I just use it to get around faster if a vehicle isn't available.

 

[zinfamous]

awesome, thanks for the breakdown. I was considering maxing out phoenix and mind games as my elite skills--or whatever they are killed. just wasn't sure hot to get to phoenix as i'm not much interested in anything beyond quicksilver. i'll have to go back and look, though, as i'm still quite the noob. not really sure what everything is, still--well, not that I can recall all the details while away.

i'm a fan of the top two skills in assassin. at first, I thought slayer increased crit chance, but this was before realizing that crit is dependent on where you hit. I still like it, though, as I'm always trying to go for the noggin. while, not in a crowd, anyway.

I like to "walk up" or "walk down" my targets, from head to chest or vice versa, if I can.

what is the deal with those stingers? I only have the one that is given as a reward for one of teh early New Haven missions, and I don't find it to be very useful for me. the velocity is so damn slow as it spirals toward your target, and is it supposed to cause extra damage when the bullets ricochet all over the place? I suppose it's for close quarters and some certain build that I just don't understand?

 

[n7]

The stinger that shoot the "swirly bullets" has what's called the barrel3_twisted.

In Borderlands, all guns are created by a generator that follows various rules using various gun parts to create that gun you are using.

The barrel3_twisted's main benefit is that it adds additional [elemental] tech for elemental stingers (when elemental the bullets do not swirl).

Sadly on a non-elemental stinger the twisted_barrel is really, well, useless, & actually detrimental.
I'll admit it looks cool, but it's really just crap.

Yeah, not that exciting sadly.


One thing about Borderlands is the amount of detail in the items.
It's just incredible when you begin to understand it.

Once you understand the basics behind the COM/shield/gun generation system, it can become extremely addictive as you then have a never-ending quest to find the perfect gun, with the perfect combination of parts, etc.
That is why people like myself have put in insane amounts of time into farming in the game for such items...

The simple charm of the game once you've gotten into it combined with the most amazing weapon generation system ever created in a game (arguably) can make for a lot of hours spent, though admittedly not for everyone.

I highly suggest venturing into the official Borderlands forums if you want to learn more about the game, as the amount of information there is just amazing, & while less active now, there is still a great community of people far more knowledgeable than myself that still post there.

For newbies, this might be rather overwhelming, but if you are curious about how the generation system works, here are some VERY good reads.
http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showpost.php?p=2063812&postcount=1
http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=86935&highlight=parts+picker

Gear Calc allows you to play with making your own gun, etc, though sadly the creator has not been around to update it to level 69.
http://blmodding.wikidot.com/gear-calculator

The Wiki is filled with a lot of incorrect information, so i always recommend the forums for accurate info, but there is some good general info on there, like this section detailing COMs.
http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Class_Mod


Also, if anyone is up for playing on PC, i'm usually up to play some Co-op.
Steam: sardonicn7
Xfire: n7dgs
Gamespy: ense7en

 

[Aikouka]

This is the build that I'm currently using, but I'm still testing and tweaking a few things... mostly in the Elemental tree. Seeing what I like, what I don't like. I'd like to use Phasewalk more, but I need to get Hard to Get maxed out before I can use it more often (as well as Blackout).

http://steamcommunity.com/id/aikouka/screenshot/577796269320281403

I mostly took Elemental Resistance to help with the Lance, who in General Knoxx actually have elemental-specific units. It might be overkill if I end up being heavy into Phasewalking by then though.