The skill trees in Borderlands 3 for each of the four classes are pretty solid. Even amateur players will have a hard time creating a build so broken they can’t progress because there are so many useful skills to be obtained.
That being said there are ways you can optimize your skill point allocation regardless of which class you choose to ensure nothing is wasted. If you’re looking to climb your way up the skill tree faster, more efficiently, and less painfully then keep these things in mind as you play.
10 Have A Build In Mind
Ideally, you’ll want to have a build in mind, or at least some vague notion of what you want to accomplish. This can be as specific as saying you want to do a Titanic Retribution build for Moze or as vague as saying you want to be a long-range sniper with FL4K.
With this end goal in mind you’ll already have some idea of where you need to start allocating points and can recognize which skills will benefit you most. Obviously this can change over time based on preferences or need, but it is important to have a goal to shoot for.
9 Build For Early
In the early part of the game you’ll want to have a build geared around ammo regeneration, sustainability, and improving weapon accuracy. In the early levels you’re weak so having a few passives in health, shield, and regeneration of both is going to be key.
You’ll also be perpetually low on funds as you’ll be buying better gear and restocking your ammo so having a few points allocated for ammo regeneration or preservation will help out in the beginning. Weapon accuracy is also handy as most low level weapons have garbage accuracy.
8 Build For Mid
As you start coming into better gear and you buy more and more storage deck upgrades you’ll want to redistribute those points to have a build that’s a mix of sustainability and DPS. At this point, bosses are getting spongier and the groups are getting larger so having that added DPS is key.
Sustainability is still critical as you aren’t strong enough to handle every situation without it and your build isn’t to its full potential yet. Right now you’re looking for strong weapons and better gear so be patient and have a mix of sustainability and DPS.
7 Build For End
Now you’re at or getting close to reaching level 50. You’ll have a max of 48 skill points and you’ll want a majority of them put towards DPS. The reason being the enemies at this stage have deep health or shield pools and some have incredible health or shield regeneration as well. Sustainability at this point is making sure the enemies go down as quickly as possible.
Typically you’ll also have pretty strong gear to keep you alive. With a legendary shield, a legendary artifact, and depending on what legendary class mod you have you probably don’t need too many points in sustainability anyway.
6 Skill-Based Gear
This is more important for the early parts of the game but can save you the headache of deciding where to allocate your five skill points efficiently. Having gear such as a class mod will give you bonus skill points as long as you have that gear equipped.
This can either augment the skills you’ve already chosen or can be used to free up skill points to be used elsewhere. It’s a great way to feel stronger than you actually are and enables you to be more versatile.
5 Respec Often
While climbing your skill tree one strategy players often use is to respec their character for each combat scenario. Improving DPS for boss fights, increasing movement speed for certain quests, or choosing different elemental abilities against certain enemies can be great reasons to respec often.
You’ll need access to a Quick Change Station, which shouldn’t be too hard and you’ll want a decent pile of cash, for example respeccing around level 15 will cost about $700. But this can be a great way to maximize the skill points you have.
4 Respec Rarely
Alternatively, if visiting a Quick Change Station before and after every quest or loot run doesn’t sound appealing you can focus on a jack of all trades build meant to handle any situation. These won’t be as efficient in combat, but it’ll save you the time and money of constantly changing your skills up.
Granted, the lower level you are the harder this is to achieve. But if you’re a healthy level 30 and you don’t feel like redistributing your points all the time then go for a balanced build.
3 Respec At 25 points
In either scenario, a good strategy to follow is to respec your character after you get 25 skill points to spend. With 25 skill points you can buy enough skills in one tree to gain access to a powerful capstone. Your capstone is arguably what makes or breaks your build and is the reason why you are climbing the skill tree in the first place.
Once you reach that magical number respec your character and test out each of the three capstones. Once you find the one that suits your build’s needs the best, keep it and see your character’s performance dramatically improve.
2 Power Levelling
Another thing to keep in mind is that your efficiency at leveling your character will determine how quickly you can access new skill points and climb the skill trees. You can choose to look up some power level-based builds for your character and get your 48 skill points more quickly to build what you actually want.
At the very least following a few basic strategies for power leveling will save you a ton of time without making you feel like you're focusing on optimization rather than fun. Prioritizing the campaign quests or playing with a friend can save a ton of time leveling, but maybe hold off on higher difficulties if you are trying an experimental build.
1 Experiment
Speaking of which the important thing to keep in mind while climbing the skill tree is to experiment with your skill point allocation now and then. Sometimes you’ll find having a point or two placed in certain passive skills can be all it takes to go from dying a lot to actually progressing.
Don’t be afraid to change a few skills here and there or even your entire tree if you find yourself struggling and not having fun. You may not have the most optimal build, but you could something that’s fun or enjoyable for you and that’s what’s most important.