The most powerful character in the game?

[The Last Monke]

It can't be Athena. I've been playing with her and that shield so far is kind of meh.

[JackBurton]

Athena is an all-purpose invincible badass, dominant w Shock & Incendiary weapons. If you're having issues it's either your build, gear, or both. In which Skills have you invested XP?

https://www.thepresequel.com/Athena/0000000000000000000000000000000000

[The Last Monke]

Originally posted by JackBurton:

Athena is an all-purpose invincible badass, dominant w Shock & Incendiary weapons. If you're having issues it's either your build, gear, or both. In which Skills have you invested XP?
https://www.thepresequel.com/Athena/0000000000000000000000000000000000

I haven't invested much into the character because I recently started playing.

[JackBurton]

Try to refrain from judgment until no sooner than end of first playthrough. In all likelihood you won't see her full potential until end of TVHM. Be patient. She's a badass.

unleashing stored elemental damage on a mob
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2017030283

vs airborne targets
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1815402234

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2017028998

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2017080871

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1819553788

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1811791225

[Nakos]

Originally posted by Necromonke:

It can't be Athena. I've been playing with her and that shield so far is kind of meh.

All the characters are viable. Athena is fine, but like JackBurton said, you have to actually invest your skill points, and have a plan for how you're going to play the character.

But there's 6 choices. Try them all, see which one feels the best to you. Everyone likes something a little different. All of the characters play very similarly in the beginning, but gradually become more varied as you invest skill points.

Experiment. Play the one you like.

[CrescentMouse]

too me it's always been athena cause she's just pretty darn good at all stages at the game. early on she's incredibly hard to kill thanks to the shield and the shield is good for taking down the strongest man. late game she's still incredibly hard to kill, and can shred everyone. but i've heard great things about Nisha. and i still love wilhelm although he's definitely not the strongest.

[Khlori]

I played only Athena so far and I had same feelings about her shield at beginning, but in later stages of the game where enemies start to doing some serious damage this ability starts to be more and more invaluable and deal a LOT of dmg itself, especially if you invest in her left skill tree.

Other than that I imagine Nisha being very good with her aimbot and dual pistols (once you unlock them), and I saw things about Jack being awesome too.
Or you can play , some of the Vault Hunter modes are really op (pirate ship is one example), but there's "randomness" factor.

[warmy bear]

It is Athena but in general you can do everything with everyone, and it'll be that much easier if you play someone you enjoy

[tonkotsu ramen]

Best for horde killing : Nisha, Aurelia
Best for boss killing : Athena
Good characters overall that stay alive : Wilhelm, Claptrap
Meh : Doppleganger

That's been my experience though I never hit the cap with most of the characters so I don't know how good they each perform in UVHM. I think everyone can be viable once you spec into the character viably (probably even doppleganger). Claptrap is kind of a mixed bag, but his killbot health regen skill + maniacal laughter alone makes him incredibly sturdy.

[nicj]

This is probably the best Maelstorm build for Athena : https://www.thepresequel.com/Athena/0555151001150051005000415515015000

Omega-Senshu and Tear are multiplicative...It's why you must put these 2 skills for the 2 existing Athena builds (Melee and Maelstrom).

[Gator13 (nosound)]

i got through the first playthrough with doppleganger and felt no challenge.
Athena is incredibly fun and balanced in my opinion. i prefer to fill out the entire second skill tree (Xiphos) and invest in the first two maelstrom skills. i have never invested in the first tree that focuses on the shield.
there are times where i forget to use Athena's action skill. i use it only when im about to be downed.