Without question, Zero is one of the most funplayable charactersinBorderlands 2, and there are two primary ways to build him. More specifically, players can build Zero with a heavy focus on melee, or they can instead give preference to sniping, and indeed both options can be extremely powerful. That said, fans that want their Zero to be as strong as possible should gear him with sniping in mind, and this guide will detail one of the very best Zero sniping builds inBL2, along with a good secondary option that’s a bite more catered to speed and offense.
ThisbestBorderlands 2Zero buildis a fairly standard sniping build, and it requires33 Sniping, 27 Cunning, and 15 Bloodshed.While this Zero build is not extremely gear dependent, it does work best when paired with the Legendary Sniper Class Mod, and here is a full breakdown of where players should be putting their points:
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Updated January 4th, 2023, by Stephen LaGioia:Whether it’s the sharp-shooting assassin Zero or, more recently, thecritical-heavy beastmaster Flak, many Borderlands players favor long-range combat and stealth. Despite the more frantic, run-and-gun nature of the game, BL2, in particular, makes sniping and headshots satisfying and rewarding.
And while BL2 is now over a decade old, Zero remains a fan-favorite. Thus, we decided to revisit and reload this blueprint regarding a couple of great builds for Zero players.
Best Zero Sniper Build
This build really works with the strengths of Zero by stressing criticals, accuracy, steady aim, and piercing. It also maximizes getting quick kills. As a secondary feature, it also boosts his melee capabilities somewhat, allowing for a more assassin-style of play as well.
5/5
Killer
Increases zoom with all gun types. Aim is not disrupted as much when taking damage.
One Shot One Kill
The first shot fired from a fully-loaded magazine deals increased damage.
Bore
1/1
Shots pierce through enemies. Increased damage if shot hits enemy after piercing another.
Velocity
Increases bullet speed, gun damage, and critical hit damage with all guns
Kill Confirmed
1/5
Aiming down the sights with your gun grants you increased critical hit damage. More bonus for longer aiming.
At One with the Gun
Greatly improves accuracy with sniper rifles when shooting from the hip.
Critical Ascension
Scoring a critical hit with a sniper rifle increases your gun damage and critical hit damage with sniper rifles.
Increases reload speed and weapon swap speed.
Ambush
Increases damage dealt when attacking from behind or when attacking an enemy who is targeting someone other than you.
Rising Shot
Each successful ranged or melee attack grants a stacking damage bonus for a short time. Stacks up to5times.
Death Mark
Melee attacks mark the target for death for a short duration. Marked targets take more damage from all sources.
Unf0reseen
Your holographic decoy explodes when you become visible again, dealing Shock damage to nearby enemies.
Innervate
While Deception is active, you gain increased gun damage and movement speed, as well as regenerate health.
Death Blossom
Action Skill augment. Can throw a handful of kunai. Each will explode with a random elemental type.
Grim
Kill skill. Killing an enemy causes shields to regenerate quickly and increases Action Skill cooldown rate for a few seconds.
Followthrough
Kill skill. Killing an enemy increases your movement speed, melee damage, and gun damage for a few seconds.
For fans that would like a more thorough breakdown of the skills selected for thisBL2Zerobuild, that can be found in the following video. This video also contains details on a second build where three points have been shifted intoIron Hand in the Bloodshed tree. The idea here is to combine that skill with aSurvivor ClassandTurtleshield, which can then be exploited to give Zero very high survivability.
Best Zero Gun-Style Build
While this one still stresses accuracy and swiftness, it leans more in the direction of close-range combat, power, and rapid-fire gunplay rather than long-distance and sniping.
Counter Strike
After getting hit, the next melee attack has a chance to deal massively increased damage.
Fearless
While shield is depleted, gain a bonus to gun damage and fire rate.
Melee attacks mark the target for death for a short duration. Marked targets take additional damage from all sources.
Two Fang
Every time you fire a gun, you have a chance to fire twice.
Increases your melee damage and maximum health.
2/5
Kill skill. Killing an enemy causes your shields to regenerate quickly and increases your Action Skill cooldown rate for a few seconds.
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Best Zero Gear
With respect to the gear that should be used with these bestBL2Zero builds, there is a slew of options beyond the Legendary Sniper Class Mod that was mentioned previously. Here is a brief overview of some of thebestBorderlands 2weapons, shields, and relics for this build, and again more details can be found in the video featured above.
While most of these apply to the sniper build, many can still be beneficial to the more run-and-gun Zero build.
One final thing to say about gear for thisBorderlands 2Zero build is that it is advisable toequip potent snipersinall four weapon slotsin order to not loseCritical Ascension stackswhen switching guns. Indeed, this will allow players to continually increase their standard and Critical Hit damage, turning Zero into a real force to be reckoned with.
Borderlands 2is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
