The Best Class in Borderlands 2

Wondering what the best class in Borderlands 2 is?

That’s the question that is on most people’s minds when they start this game — either on Windows PC (such as from Steam or DVD / CD), or via the console path — Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 (PS3).

Let us help you out by showing you the pros and cons, the negatives and positives, the good and the bad…of each class!

And after that, we’ll end with our personal opinion on the best overall class, solo class, support class, crowd control class, etc.

Disagree with what we chose? Then please comment below and tell us why. We are open to changing our minds!

[Carl_Shocker]

I loved being a Siren in the last game, Lilith was awesome but Maya seems under powered. I mean Salvador and Axton can use two guns/turrets but she can't use two Phaselocks at the same time. What I liked about Lilith in the last game was you could go into battle then when things got rough you got phase walk out of there and get your self to an advantage point, I mean she she was weak at the start of the game but if you kept going she turned into an amazing powerful character.

Maya dosen't seem to be doing that...she's a good but I really wish they would of came up with another Phase ability like a PhaseForce attack or PhaseWave where you could force push enemies back and keep a shield round you for a limited time.

[benderx]

I agree that the original Siren ability was incredibly useful. Great for escaping and attacking.

The new siren skill isn't bad though. It becomes even more useful during co-op too.

It's interesting how they've changed the Siren. She has a lot of support skills now, whereas the soldier / commando class now lacks them.

Anyway -- maybe they'll take a hint from everyone's feedback and redo her Phase skill in Borderlands 3 =p

[Carl_Shocker]

Well I hope she just returns as an NPC in the sequel and Lilith will be back in the next game as a main character. Maybe they'll dive into a new plot point that her powers grow thanks to Eridium and she'll gain new power. I mean they can bring back three of the old vault hunters if they wanted, for example Brick could easily gun wield.

[Thatguyinthesuit]

I kinda liked the original vault hunters as NPC's and I'm most likely the odd man out but I want the vault hunters here in B2 to be NPC's in the next one. Flesh out their characters as much as they've fleshed out the original four.

Also (BORDERLANDS-2-SPOILERS-I' M-SAYING-THIS-JUST-IN-CASE-PEOP LE-CARED-AS-MUCH-FOR-THE-STORY- AS-I-DID) I want as my dream DLC Dr. Ned to to attempt to revive Roland hacking a New-U station to gain Roland's memories (I mean that's the conept of the New-U stations right putting your memories in an artificial body) but in the process something goes haywire and thousands of Rolands appear shouting "Critical Bitch" left and right.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

I disagree with the both of you... I found liliths action skill near useless most of the time, as the damage output she gave of was minimum at best

Maya, when you work up the motion tree is amazing as well as the medic tree.

Turn almost any enemy into an ally, and all the other enemies aggro him

Much more useful that phase walking

[AKS]

Lilith was flat out overpowered. At a high level with a good elemental SMG, she was a wrecking ball and could tear through anything, plus she could disappear entirely and heal while doing so. The Siren class needed to be toned down a bit.

I think Maya and Zer0 are getting underrated a bit.

There's a phaselock perk that can chain phaselock after phaselock if you kill the trapped enemy each time. Or use Ruin to inflict all sorts of damage.

In co-op, players using Maya are probably going to use more of a support setup, as she's the only character with those powers, and she's great for that, but she's also no joke solo, especially with the Cataclysm skill tree.

Trick the Cataclysm skill tree out, and entire crowds will be registering an array of various types of elemental damage. Then combine with with Motion's Convergence in a high level Maya and really raise some elemental hell. And top that off by throwing a grenade that breaks off into 10 child grenades at your phaselock. You'll wreck an entire crowd within a few seconds.

[kingPoS]

I can't help but notice how that sounded so unlike many other FPS series.

Borderlands+RPG FTW!

Hunter's my favorite class form BL 1
Luv my near auto snipers!

[Megaton]

That's my plan for Maya. Cataclysm all day. Right now my main character is Axton and my turret tears everything up. I co-op mainly with a melee-focused Zer0 who seems to be really powerful, especially when combined with my turret slagging everything.

[Mutant-Spud]

In co-op I manly use phase lock to create some breathing space to revive team mates, the only thing I really don't like about this game is that some of the missions are confusing and not explained very well, the first Bandit arena has me stumped, I'm not sure what to do, I get to the end of the first wave and then nothing else happens, the enemies don't re spawn and the button on the tower does nothing.

[Swiftcricket]

I started to feel the same way coming from playing Lilith in the first one (and nearly switched characters) but Maya just takes some time to realize her full potential. Ruin changes things a lot and then when you get Converge with it it just gets plain nasty.

[SavageKuma]

My character is the Gunzerker and I agree with your points on him being weak solo, but great as a support character. Nice post.

[benderx]

Gunzerker is definitely super fun.

An automatic in each hand is so gratifying =P It rains bullets!

Have you tried any of the tanking skills? They help a bit, but then you gotta ask yourself -- is it worth trading power for defense?

[TooTall19]

Gun Lust w/ Overkill and Money Shot is crazy powerful. The only other skill I wish I could have is Yippie Ki Yay.

[Thatguyinthesuit]

I also chose the Gunzerker but I actually like him as a solo especially by the time I reached a high enough level to get the overkill skill in his gun lust skill tree.

Focusing on Gun Lust while wielding a pair of Jacobs pistols helps me kill almost any enemy in seconds and the more of them that come out I can amount up to 50K worth of damage with a single non-critical hit bullet.

I mean yeah he dies rather quickly but as long as I have my trusty Jacobs pistols I'm getting kills as much as I get second wind.

I'm thinking of going for a Zero playthrough soon after I reach lvl 50 with Salvador. Also Jacobs pistols + Badass Bowler head item + Gun Lust skill tree = badass yet classy old west feel.

[GrahamGolden]

zero is the best

escaping any tough situatio via sneak,then one shot backstab or one shot snipe

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

Agree totally. Zero's ability (to run away lol) has dug me out of some tight corners so far!
Bit of a slow starter for me (as was BL1) but its really hotting up now.

[AKS]

I think many have misjudged Zer0 and Maya because they are slow starters. They become incredibly powerful as you get to perks at the end of their skill trees.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Only at level 32 right now, but I've been having the most fun with a melee spec for Zer0. Decepti0n together with Execute and Backstab scores some CRAZY numbers.

[KidBroSweets2]

Just hit lvl 50 today with Zer0. I maxed out the bloodshed skill tree then did the critical hits and gun damage in the sniping skill tree. I just run around with the law(100% melee damage) and knife enemies in their backs and kill them. It's such a nice feeling to snipe whenever I like and then get some cqc going :)

[THESONYPS3]

Everyone picks zero... I rarely hear anyone use Axton but he is probably the best out of all. Just like how the soldier was probably the best from Mass Effect.

[ABizzel1]

Agreed those turrets are completely overpowered regardless of which tree you use.

For Co-op I have Dual turrets with rockets.

Single player I run Nuke with rockets.

You can drop them, sit back, and watch as either of them run through just about anything effortlessly.

Maya and Zero are great as well, but they need to reach higher levels to be as deadly as Axton.

[Naota]

I am Zero right now. It sucks that his attack doesn't hide himself when dualing.

[ziggurcat]

was siren last game, am siren again in this game.

[Baba1906]

me too und i think she rocks. i think both sirens are really powerfull and nice to play.

[benderx]

I have a fetish with using the solder / commando / commander class. It lets me be lazy. If I can't see where an enemy is attacking me from, I throw out my turrets and they do the work for me x)

[GameOn]

helps with pesky flying things too

[CalvinKlein]

im the exact same, I throw the turret whenever a stupid flying thing is near.

[Der_Kommandant]

Assassin

[dumahim]

I've played 3 out of the four so far and I like Maya the best so far. The Phaselock is very effective, short cool down, and just downright fun.

I started out with Axton since I played as Roland almost exclusively the first time, but I'm a bit disappointed with the way the skill trees are laid out or the skills in general. While Axton is similar to Roland, I think the skillset is quite different and doesn't really fit the way I want to play.

Zer0 I haven't played as much so far, but he can fun in some situations, so far his skills don't seem to be a good fit. I find sniping not very suitable in most situations and the game just doesn't seem to work for a melee class. Using the R-stick click is a big part of that. I actually swapped it with the B button (xbox 360).

[Captain Qwark 9]

i played as the gunzerker myself first then switched to the commando and loved him. my only beef is the shield deployed with the turret falls to quickly. it was the whole draw of that skill tree but its not as awesome as i had hoped

[CalvinKlein]

slag turret with missiles is pretty awesome.

[Captain Qwark 9]

@calvin

im gonna stick it out with this tree for now. i figure two turrets with shields will make it worth it lol otherwise ill just respec

[bakagaijin78]

I loved Mordecai in B1 and wanted to love Zero in this one so I originally started with him (the assassin). I got to level 20 and decided to try playing as Maya (the siren). I'm finding her so much more fun than Zero.

Its probably just because of my play-style though. I like keeping my distance and shooting from a safe place, but Zero's abilities are really best for up-close-and-personal combat. With Maya I typically use elemental sniper rifles for quick kills and when enemies get too close the phaselock ability works wonders.

[dead_eye]

You didn't use the skill tree right with Zero then. I'm level 20ish and only really use snipers and pistols and Zero is unreal for this.

[bakagaijin78]

No, I actually did use Zero's skill tree 'right' for my play-style. I put pretty much everything into sniper abilities and that worked great and everything, but I found I was never using his actual 'special' abilities.

Whats the point of having a cool ability if you never use it? It started feeling like just-another-shooting-game to me while playing as Zero.

I'm finding I'm having much more fun using Maya and her special abilities instead. But if you prefer Zero then more power to you.

[dead_eye]

Your right it doesn't get much use for snipers but it's great when needed.

I find his ability very useful if I get rushed or over run with enemies while sniping.

Getting the crit locations on enemies is very useful too.

[AKS]

Wut? Zer0 is easily the best sniper in the game. Not even close. You need to respec your Zer0 character. Depending on the tree you pick, he's either the best class for sniping or the best class for melee. No one else comes remotely close.

[bakagaijin78]

:)

I respect Zero, don't get me wrong. I plan on maxing him out eventually (along with the other 2 characters), but for now, its all about Maya.

[Naota]

I agree with this. I love running in with him

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I'm using Zero, hes a great character but he needs better defense for the type of style I use (Bloodshed). Not only that but I feel that his sword could be just a little bit stronger also.

I dunno, feel like he should be able to handle himself better in tough situations.

[AKS]

I take it you haven't made it to the bottom of his Bloodshed skill tree, then. He's a melee monster. You can chain multiple Deception attacks and do outrageous damage per strike.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I understand that, but the process of getting there is somewhat grueling at times. But very, very enjoyable though. I'm sure hes is a monster when hes all maxed out no doubt.

[despair]

I'm level 15 with him and I think he's awesome, he's got a bit of the Siren from the original in him and a badass Melee/Sniper hybrid build.

[Elwenil]

To me, the Commando is the only character to play. The other characters are fun and have their uses but in the first game I liked the Soldier and Hunter classes the most, mainly because their special abilities multiplied the damage you could do. Like Roland always said, "It's like having another soldier on the field."

The Siren in B2 is a great support class and the Gunzerker can do massive damage but I found it a little disorienting firing two weapons that reloaded at different times. Just threw off my train of thought for some reason. The Assassin class is cool looking but lacks a killer ability like Bloodwing. His ability is great for defense or for distracting enemies while reviving an opponent but the whole character just seems weaker than the Hunter from the first game. Just like with Brick in B1, I just lose interest in melee fighting in a game that's mainly all about picking up new guns.

So for me, the Commando is the best character. My first run through I upgraded the turret with rockets and then finally a second gun. It's simply devastating. Nothing I have seen the other characters do comes close to it. My only disappointment with the Commando is the lack of ammo regeneration, which I think was given to the Gunzerker.

Just my .02

[NeoTribe]

I'm liking maya at the moment. Dissapointed in the skill tree not evolving. I also miss leveling up whichever gun I used the most. Replacing that feature with badass points just doesn't cut it.

[FCOLitsjustagame]

I played Roland in the first game and then a couple years later played Lilith and found her way more powerful.

Still I couldnt help myself though and started this game with Axom. After a few missions I started wondering how anyone without a turret would survive. So to test that I started Maya and Gunzerker (havent started zero yet). Between those two Maya is kicking arse but the true test will be on my next story mission.

So for now I am switching back and forth between Axom and Maya.

[despair]

I chose Zero...well because he's a number. Plus playing as a melee sniper, yea how could I pass that up.

[Slugg3r]

Zero isn't actually a number though

[despair]

way to break the news man *sobs*

[Naota]

Owch bro lol

[tee_bag242]

Since when isn't 0 a number? Just because it's value is nil doesn't make it cease to exist as a number.

[GhostHero333]

Go Sirens!!!!!!!

[Rynocirator]

if all you guys are caring about is who does the most damage it's without a doubt zer0's bloodshed/cunning tree hybrid...no other character in the game can do 1.1 million damage with a bladed weapon from behind in deception and then marking them for death doing probably a total of about 2000% more melee damage under the right condition with the right class mod and then being able to stay in deception as long as you are getting kills...I stayed in deception for almost an entire minute and a half once all doing upwards of 500k to 1100k (1.1 million) each hit...plus he can lunge to close in on the action, can have an ungodly amount of health, and can regen it while he is in deception or makes a kill with melee. and if you wanna do the big damage you can add a maylay shield into the mix. no doubt about it zero is the best for damage and, in my opinion, overall fun.

[GTRrocker666]

Im having fun with zero. Trying to max out my sniping.

[BitbyDeath]

Why's there no character with an attacking bird in this one?

[The Great Melon]

Closest thing will probably be the Mechromancer and her Deathtrap once it is released.

[Fixlarz]

I'm having a blast with Zer0, poppin' dem heads all day long with my trusty Jakobs' sniper rifle. Still a long way from getting that final skill and 999 stacks of increased critical damage... :D

[kingslayer1000]

Axton ftw

[ExCest]

I just find that whatever you play best is the best. I like support sniper/rusher so Siren really complements me.

Also ^^ what the spam?

[ceballos77mx]

Playing as zero, and no badass is strong enough to survive a shotgun blast + melee, specially if u have one with melee enhancer.

[taijutsu363]

Commando was soooooooooo useful in first Borderlands not sayin Axtons skill now isnt cuz im using him now no mind! But I find myself always needin some ammo! And havin that skill in BL saved time and money! But looks like they removed it so you start using the vending machines and money more! >_>

[MuhammadJA]

Axton is the best!

[MrAnderson]

I've only played 4 hours so far and i'm using Zero, finding it really easy TBH, hoping the difficulty ramps up, because when you snipe everyone in the head it makes the game real easy, having said that, i'm having fun, just wish every gun i pick up didn't suck compared to my sniper rifles.

[-MD-]

Bloodshed Zero (even though the skill tree needs tweaks)