Explain to me how to deal damage

[Petralicious]

I know it may be a dumb question - but I struggle with DPS. I take perks that say I do more damage, try to match them for what sounds like synergistic effects, try to keep my weapons up to date level wise yet everything from like Chapter 3 onwards feels like an incredible bullet sponge. I've yet to get past Ch3 due to the boss fight taking ages and just dying to the floor breaking.

I usually chalk this up to something I can improve myself but I've been hitting most of my shots, and the huge amount of text on perks affixes etc. is a confusing soup to me - so please help a noobie out.

[Hook Master]

Straight up never take any basic "_____ deals __% increased damage" perks. Flat increases are rarely going to help compared to most other perks.

DPS maxing is very class specific, because classes like Bastion are at their best when you put as much as you can into the bubble and being powered up while under its effects (not to mention Meteo Weapon)
Basically you want to work in conjunction with your abilities as most perks will give you a boost when you use them, which is better for DPS flow. Besides, most abilities are your best consistent damage dealers.
Best teacher is experience by far but I can say you'll find elemental damage to be a big ally with any class.

[letir]

If your biggest worry is damage, play Ranger or Engineer.

Engineer is pretty simple: you can get elemental upgrades of different kinds, including main weapon. Almost every elemental upgrade giving straight up damage bonus of 10%, and some other perks as well. Invest into one element, get both utility and damage.

Ranger is crit-based class with very strong secondary ability. Spears deal high crit damage, can be upgraded to deal even more damage, and cooldown can be reset by picking. Spears can take down crucial targets, stealth helps to avoid mobbing, and crits are devastating with focus points.

[WHITE BOY]

When it comes to elements, burn is king IMO. Engineer and Elementalist both can specialise in it and cause it to deal mucho damage. Don't worry about affixes too much, just find high rarity guns you like and that rock and you'll be solid. If you're keeping the same weapon for awhile boost it's level at the smithy guy, this'll help keep it competitive. Levels increase range and damage and the further you go the higher level gear can and will be.

Don't be afraid to grab favourite weapon perks to give a big boost to your damage at the cost of a weapon slot. One solid weapon is better than 2 mediocre ones

Guardian: Guardian is a solid all rounder. Tempo shot and Green Beret are great damage boosting perks. Guardian's more about surviving so IMO your gun is more important here.

Recon: All about that overslash, take out/damage high value targets with it. Lock and Load is a great boost to DPS. Simple geometry is great on a crit build as well.

Engineer: All about them elements, pick your favourite and specialise in it. Elemental Buddies is great to give your drones access to the element. Elemental Mastery is a must have IMO, bonus damage and effect on an element. Lock and Load is again a great DPS boost for some bonus fire rate on reload.

Commando: Commando is great, you can spec into rockets which works great or the passive of Fury for some sick gun builds. Remember to spam rockets and shorty to keep fury up. Elemental Powder is great for a big elemental damage boost. Repair O' Fury is amazing for sustain. Scanning burst is fantastic, causes your shorty to mark enemies, increasing their damage taken by 50%. Self Control is great if you can handle it, if you get hit a lot, don't take it. Warning Rocket is a free 35% damage boost when using rocket and shorty, which you should be spamming anyway.

Ranger: Point blank is great for an up close and personal build. Sonar Throw is an amazing boost to damage, causing your Javelins to mark targets which increases damage against that enemy by 50%. But your MUST HAVE perk is Shadow Strike and it's upgrades. Bonus damage in stealth plus refilling stealth by 0.5 seconds on kill is criminal. If you're struggling, I do recommend Ranger.

Elementalist: A great class that can do massive damage with Trinity and Comet with the right build. Robo-Wizard is a great stacking damage buff for your abilities. Meteor increases your comet damage and radius when using Trinity, an absolutely fantastic perk. Warning Blast is the same as Warning Rocket, free damage. Elemental Resonance is great for some extra damage per enemy status affliction. Chromatic Mastery is a must have, same as Engineers elemental mastery. Gun Diet is a solid perk for extra fire rate and damage.

Generic perks: Sometimes you'll only get generic perks. In these cases, go for DPS boosts such as fire rate or elemental damage.

Items: Items really add up and make a difference, bonus damage, fire rate, movement speed. Be sure to grab items like Coffee's 10% fire rate boost, Thimble's fire rate boost on reload, Candle for a burn build for some extra damage. Do not neglect items, but be careful with corrupted items, make sure the reward is worth the risk. Although the 40% reload with a 5% chance to self burn on reload is always with it IMO

Weapons: 90% of weapons are viable (Pulling that statistic out my ass). Find what you like and what you don't. I'm partial to the Volcano Rifle myself.

[Petralicious]

Thank you for all the indepth replies - maybe my downfall is ignoring elemental effects (they aren't very clear to me/I might be blind and have missed some tutorial on them).

My preferred is Guardian with shotguns and Power Fists (if a game has an option to punch an enemy I am taking it no matter how suboptimal) so I guess I gotta spec into shield upgrades to push my DPS - I think I've seen a perk that boosted my stats while shielded in some runs!

Originally posted by StaticSpark:

Straight up never take any basic "_____ deals __% increased damage" perks. Flat increases are rarely going to help compared to most other perks.

Are those flat damage? I'd have thought they are multiplicative since they mention a %. Yeah, I've been almost exclusively taking those...

Originally posted by Chachingboy1:

Weapons: 90% of weapons are viable (Pulling that statistic out my ass). Find what you like and what you don't. I'm partial to the Volcano Rifle myself.

Power Fists any good? I am simply asking to gauge how much work I have ahead of me, I have already committed to punching every enemy to death with them, they're too much fun.

[WHITE BOY]

Originally posted by Petralicious:

Thank you for all the indepth replies - maybe my downfall is ignoring elemental effects (they aren't very clear to me/I might be blind and have missed some tutorial on them).

My preferred is Guardian with shotguns and Power Fists (if a game has an option to punch an enemy I am taking it no matter how suboptimal) so I guess I gotta spec into shield upgrades to push my DPS - I think I've seen a perk that boosted my stats while shielded in some runs!

Originally posted by StaticSpark:

Straight up never take any basic "_____ deals __% increased damage" perks. Flat increases are rarely going to help compared to most other perks.

Are those flat damage? I'd have thought they are multiplicative since they mention a %. Yeah, I've been almost exclusively taking those...

Originally posted by Chachingboy1:

Weapons: 90% of weapons are viable (Pulling that statistic out my ass). Find what you like and what you don't. I'm partial to the Volcano Rifle myself.

Power Fists any good? I am simply asking to gauge how much work I have ahead of me, I have already committed to punching every enemy to death with them, they're too much fun.

Definitely usable, maybe not optimal but playing for fun is what matters. You've got synergy with them on Guardian with your shield and Green Beret

[Petralicious]

Yep, Green Beret is one I am always on the lookout for.
Also tried to prioritize elemental upgrades and affixes and it was very noticeable - Burn shreds through healthbars, wow. Especially with Recon's dagger, making that into Fire has been a fun power trip! Close enough to punching, anyway.

[WHITE BOY]

Originally posted by Petralicious:

Yep, Green Beret is one I am always on the lookout for.
Also tried to prioritize elemental upgrades and affixes and it was very noticeable - Burn shreds through healthbars, wow. Especially with Recon's dagger, making that into Fire has been a fun power trip! Close enough to punching, anyway.

I agree, did a fire Recon build recently and it was great!

Oh and I forgot to explain elements.

Burn = Damage over time

Both Cold and Shock fill up a bar above the enemies HP, when this bar is full:

Shock = Stun
Cold = Slow

[Petralicious]

Oh thank you, I was confused on what they do.
Does Slow only affect movement or also how fast they attack?
And can bosses be stunned? Games usually make those immune to CC effects.

[WHITE BOY]

Originally posted by Petralicious:

Oh thank you, I was confused on what they do.
Does Slow only affect movement or also how fast they attack?
And can bosses be stunned? Games usually make those immune to CC effects.

Slow affects both and bosses can be stunned and slowed, just takes a bit. Some enemies cannot be effected by some status. You'll be able to tell by a small symbol next to their HP.