Borderlands 3 is just around the corner and boy howdy are people pumped! It has been such a long time since the sequel came out and as fun as games like the Pre-Sequel and Tales of the Borderlands were, they didn't fully scratch that itch. And, as such, we've done a bunch of research and kept up with all the news while waiting for the release. So let's get a little pre-emptive look at what we think are going to be the most useful skills to nab in these reinvented Skill Trees. This time it's Moze The Gunner with her Action Skill Iron Bear that's absolutely, positively, 100% NOT A Titan from Titanfall.
Disclaimer this was written before the release of the game, we have not had hands-on with BL3, and these skills are might have been changed for the final release. But, we have played all of the Borderlands games to date and have probably put hundreds of hours into them! That said, we wanted to be fair, so we organized this as such; 1 of each low tier skills from each tree, one of each mid, one of each high, and all three of the tier 6 skills as one entry.
10 Low Tier Demolition Woman: Grizzled - Get That Mech Back ASAP
Starting out for the mech-toting pilot is the Grizzled skill from her Demolition Woman tree. This Skill, like a lot of Tier 1 skills, is pretty crucial for most builds. And the reason for that is because it rewards kill-savvy players with a quicker Tita-err... Iron Bear drops.
In layman's terms, every kill takes about 5 seconds off the cooldown, though it does have diminishing returns. But still, just think about how useful that is even at level 2! And don't even get us started about how great it is when stacked with other skills that reduce the cooldown as well.
9 Low Tier Shield Of Retribution: Drowning In Brass - Stacks On Stacks For The Squad
Moze seems like she'll be the go-to Multiplayer character for a multitude of reasons. Like how allies can hop on her back when she's in the Iron Bear. Additionally, she also has insane support skills like Drowning in Brass. Seriously, the skill has only 3 stacks, but for each one, Moze and her allies get 20% more gun damage, capping out at 60%!
That's crazy! And the only penalty is that Moze loses a max of 7.5% fire-rate, which is not a bad trade at all. She gets a stack of this buff whenever she kills an enemy, but with a duration of 15 seconds per stack, it's not at all hard to keep it constantly active.
8 Low Tier Bottomless Mags: Dakka Bear - Even Allies Get To Drive Sometimes
And now we're back to the main she's so great with friends, they can also have fun with the Iron Bear! Not just by riding it, but also with a turret that she installs if players grab the Dakka Bear Skill. This has absolutely no purpose in solo, so keep that in mind, but in Multiplayer, its a ton of fun.
Who knows how damaging it'll be in the full release, but we're hoping it'll at least be as good as a weapon of whatever level Moze is currently at. Plus, everyone loves a skill that allows their friends to experience the fun of their character!
7 Mid Tier Demolition Woman: Auto Bear - Suicidal Auto-Pilot
Onto the mid-tier, and first up is another mech-based skill, Auto Bear. This is, again, similar to a certain mech-focused shooter by Respawn Entertainment (wonder what it could be). Basically, Moze's Iron Bear pilots itself. Whenever the Action Skill ends and Moze is kicked out, the Iron Bear will actually stay deployed for an extra 15 seconds, targeting and gunning down enemies, before running into the fray and blowing itself up.
So it seems like everyone has their own self-aware pets this time around. Moze has Iron Bear, Zane has SNTNL, FL4K has all its pets, and Amara has her...ghost fists? Alright maybe not.
6 Mid Tier Shield Of Retribution: Full Can Of Whoop A$$ - Weirdly Aggressive Name For A Defensive Skill
Really this skill is just an ability augment in disguise as it only buffs her Action Skill. But basically, this automatically recharges everyone's shields whenever Moze enters the Iron Bear. Thats it, no fluff, no extra stuff, it just starts the recharge immediately and fully re-charges them about 25% faster.
So why is it so good? Well because it recharges everybody of course. Making it the second in only two tiers of abilities so far to be a huge help to teammates. Seems like every team needs a Moze.
5 Mid Tier Bottomless Mags: Rushin Offensive - Running AND Shooting? Our Minds Are Blown
Alright, so this might not be good, we're really not sure. But, for as long as we can remember, it's been frustrating to sprint in Borderlands. In each and every game, while the character is sprinting, they can't shoot. What this means if that re-running through areas is a constant state of speeding up and slowing down.
But, with Rushin' Offensive, that's no longer the case, Moze can run AND gun! Plus, with new mechanics like mantling and sliding, this skill might be even better. Basically, it's a pure convenience skill. But still, it'll probably be worth the skill point.
4 High Tier Demolition Woman: Explosive Punctuation - Explosions Are Always A Good Thing
Remember how early we wouldn't shut up about Grizzled? Like hoo insane it would be if there was another skill that reduced the cooldown rate of Iron Bear? Well, we've made it, here's that skill. Explosive Punctuation is absolutely centered around Tediore weapons, grenades, and the grenade/rocket launcher Action Skill. If those aren't part of a players build, they might want to avoid this.
But, if they are, then be ready to have Iron Bear out literally 100% of the time. Because ignoring the cooldown rate reduction from Grizzled, this further reduced it every single time Moze deals splash damage (meaning whenever an explosion is triggered around enemies).
3 High Tier Shield Of Retribution: Phalanx Doctrine - Another Skill With Stack Limit?
Way back in the year 2012, there was a DLC character for Borderlands 2 named Gaige, the Mechromancer. This Vault Hunter seemed pretty simple, but there was one specific skill of hers that really blew us all away, and it was Anarchy. This skill raised Gaige's damage per stack and had an absurdly high max cap when combined with other skills.
Well, it might be back in BL3 with Moze. Phalanx Doctrine has the potential to be staggering because every single enemy killed equates to 10% Gun Damage and 15% more Max Shield. And, these stacks last 30 seconds apiece, meaning that it's child's play to keep the stacks sizeably high even in smaller skirmishes
2 High Tier Bottomless Mags: Same For The Road - Just Imagine This With A Large-Clip Rocket Launcher
Now, who doesn't like the idea of infinite ammo? Who wouldn't want to use their favorite gun without ever having to reload? Find us someone who wouldn't want an infinite gun, and we'll kick them to the curb. If they're a sane human like us and love the idea of infinite ammo, grab Some For The Road off of the Bottomless Mags tree.
The Skill Tree name makes more sense now huh? It's exactly what it sounds like, for 5 entire seconds after exiting Iron Bear, Moze has infinite ammo. That means infinite rockets in a rocket launcher, infinite auto-aim bullets, heck even an infinite pistol if she's so inclined.
1 Top Tier Winner Shield Of Retribution: Tenacious Defense - Literally Just Infinite Shield Potentially
And finally, we've made it to the peak of all skills, Tier 6. And, without a doubt, it's Tenacious Defense from the Shield of Retribution Tree. Just read it! Anytime Moze's Shield gets depleted, she instantly gets 40% back and a 30% gun damage buff for 30 seconds!
Plus, it has no cooldown, just wait for the shield to fully recharge and it's good to go again! Moze is now immortal. Sure Forge sounds good on paper but is highly dependent on the weapon type, while Short Fuse only has a 20% chance and really seems more like a Tier 4 skill. Nah, infinite shields all the way.