Bullet Storm (In-Depth Siren Guide)

Whoayeah!

I'm back with another In-Depth guide, this time is for Maya the Siren. Who was my first character to reach the level cap before I got my hands on Gaige the Mechromancer which now I feel like I've neglected Maya because of this and decided to make her a guide as well.
Like always, my guides are here to hopefully help you get a better idea of the class in itself, get past the general playthrough of Borderlands (Normal - UVHM) or even give some veteran Sirens a different build to try!

Introduction

Maya the Siren is loved by many in the Borderlands. Some love her for her Phaselock, others love her for her insane supportive & healing powers... and some guys just love her for who she is...

Skill List Breakdown

MOTION

Accelerate
Gain bonus Gun Damage & Bullet Speed.
Even though you might not notice the difference visually, the Bullet Speed increase synergises really well with Chain Reaction & Suspension.

Suspension
Increase Phaselock duration.
As Suspension adds up to 2.5 seconds to Phaselock making every bullet count when it comes to Chain Reaction.

Kinetic Reflection
Kill Skill. Deflect bullets back to the attacker & gain damage reduction for a few seconds.
Amazing synergy when using an Antagonist shield. making Maya almost immortal.

• Enemy bullets that get deflected also trigger Cloud Kill.

Converge
Phaselocking an enemy pulls nearby enemies towards the target.
Has amazing utility & synergises extremely well with this build. It can also act as a defensive ability by interrupting enemies for a brief moment.

• Enemies that can't be Phaselocked still proc Converge, however the enemy that resisted Phaeslock is uneffected by Converge.

Inertia
Kill Skill. Gain bonus Reload Speed & regenerate a percentage of your shield per second for a few seconds.
While the shield regeneration might be considered overkill, the Reload Speed is vital for this build as it increases the total amount of bullets per second which in this build, the more bullets per second the better. But I guess that's the same for every build haha.

Quicken
Increases the Cooldown Rate for Phaselock.
The more we can Phaselock the better due to us getting a huge powerspike when Phaselocking an enemy thanks to Chain Reaction, Helios, Ruin & Converge.

Sub-Sequence
When an enemy dies while under the effects of Phaselock, there is a chance Phaselock will affect another.
As stated earlier, the more we Phaselock the better. We'll also be killing enemies extremely fast so that Phaselock won't last for it's max duration. Without this we disregard Suspension completely.

• Phaselock's duration timer does NOT pause when the Phaselock orb is in motion.

CATACLYSM

Foresight
Increases Reload Speed & Magazine Size.
As I've said earlier, Reload Speed increases bullets per second as well as bonus Magazine Size increasing the total bullets per second even more.

Helios
Phaselocking creates an explosion of Fire at the target, Dealing AoE damage to nearby enemies.
Makes our Phaselocks more powerful, also Sub-Sequence procs all Phaselock related effects meaning that you'll get constant Helios'.

Chain Reaction
While you have an enemy under the effects of Phaselock there's a chance for your bullets ricochet & hit a nearby enemy.
When I first played Maya I wasn't really into this skill, but after Maining Gaige who utalises ricochets greatly, I've come to love this underrated skill a lot more than I use to. With the Blurred Trickster Class mod you can get upto 88% chance to ricochet which is a massive powerspike.

Cloud Kill
Shooting an enemy releases a Corrosive AoE cloud, dealing damage to enemies who touch it for a few seconds. Only one Corrosive cloud can be active at a time.
I'm personally not fond of Corrosive weapons as much as I should be, with this adds a little bit of extra damage in the element I use least. Also synergises well with Converge.

Reaper
Gain bonus Gun Damage to enemies with more than 50% health.
This isn't as good as it sounds for a general playthrough & only really shines when fighting tougher enemies (Eg. Raid bosses, badasses, loot midgets etc).

Blight Phoenix
Kill Skill. Deal constant Corrosive & Fire damage to nearby enemies.
A lot of people just put a single point in this because you gain badass wings for the whole world to see. Which is part of my reasons as to why I chose this. But I'm putting more points into this as it's really useful when fighting annoying melee enemies (Eg. Rabbid Stalkers, Ironclad Bandits etc).

Ruin
Phaselocking an enemy now Slags, Corrodes & then Electrocutes nearby enemies.
Apart from what I said earlier about everytime we Phaselock or Sub-Sequence we get even more badass. Ruin is part the reason why Maya doesn't need to heavily rely on Slag for UVHM.

Skills that didn't cut it & why

Ward
Gain bonus Shield Capacity & Recharge Rate.

• This shows its use when fighting tougher enemies. However I'd rather put the points elsewhere.

Fleet
Gain bonus Movement Speed when your shield is depleted.

• Amazingly useful for farming OR doing speed runs when using a Rough Rider. However for general gameplay this isn't as useful as your shield will most likely be up constantly.

Thoughtlock
Phaselock causes target to switch allegiance & fight amongst themselves. Aditionally Phaselock's cooldown & duration is increased.

• Thoughtlocked enemies take focus from other enemies, which is half-good as my build is running an Antagonist Shield which deflects bullets, making it so that I want to be the one under focus.
  
• While the Phaselock duration is good, the cooldown duration is also increased by a flat amount & I'd personally want to Phaselock more often more than I'd want them to remain Phaselocked.
  
• Thoughtlock is purely personal preference & worth putting the point into if you want it.

Flicker
Gain bonus Elemental Effect Chance.

• Mathematically Elemental Effect Chance is multiplicitive as opposed to additive(Ie. 10% of 10% = 11% instead of 10% + 10% = 20%).
  
• Can be useful if using high Elemental Effect Chance weapons like Sniper Rifles, however I'd rather put my Skill Points elsewhere.

Immolate
Gain additional Fire damage per bullet when in Fight for Your Life.

• Due to a health reducing glitch (Eg. Shaing is Caring & Turtle Shield), Immolate is incredibly powerful when using a Fire Sandhawk, however I don't approve of using exploits so I put my remaining points elsewhere.
  
• Just because I don't approve of exploits doesn't mean you have to agree. Feel free to put points here if you really want it.

Backdraft
Your Melee attacks deal bonus Fire damage. Additionally releases a Firey Nova when your shield becomes depleted, shield must fully regenerate between explosions.

• Same reason I'm not using a Nova shield on Maya is because she can't effectively regenerate a full shield often enough to proc additional novas.

HARMONY

• This build focuses around the Motion & Cataclysm trees.
  
• Nothing wrong to put the remaining points in this tree.

Skill Tree Progression (Based off Story progress)

This very specific build pattern is optimal for a Motion & Cataclysm playthrough.
Generally speaking Normal mode going from levels 1-30, TVHM 30-50 & UVHM 50-61.

Level	Skill
BUILD PATH 1	Whoayeah's recommended
6-10	Accelerate
11-15	Kinetic Reflection
16	Converge
17-21	Inertia
22-25	Suspension
26-30	Sub-Sequence
31-35	Foresight
36-40	Helios
41	Cloud Kill
42-45	Chain Reaction
46-50	Reaper
51	Chain Reaction
52-55	Blight Phoenix
56	Ruin
Core Build Finished	Remaining points player preference
57-60	Quicken
61	Suspension
BUILD PATH 2	Alternative Path	6-10 Foresight	11-15 Helios	16 Cloud Kill	17-20 Chain Reaction	21-25 Reaper	26 Chain Reaction	27-30 Blight Phoenix	31 Ruin	32-36 Accelerate	37-41 Kinetic Reflection	42 Converge	43-47 Suspension	48-51 Inertia	52-56 Sub-Sequence	Core Build Finished Remaining points player preference	57 Inertia	58-61 Quicken

General Gear

Weapon Slot #1

Use any Non-Elemental (or Explosive) weapon you want as you never want to be solid on a single element due to the fact that when you encounter an enemy that resists said element... You're gonna have a bad time...

Whoayeah's preference;

• The Butcher's passive gives it an incredibly deceptive magazine size which works extremely well with Chain Reaction as the more bullets per second the better.

Weapon Slot #2

High magazine size weapon OR Moxxi's weapon. If you decide to get an elemental weapon I'd recommend getting Shock or Slag (or both) as they're considered Neutral elements.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Increased drop rate from Scorch located at Frostburn Canyon.
  
• Scorch can only be found when part of Cult Following has be completed.
  
• Despite me stating that Shock or Slag elements are better, this doesn't render other elements useless thus the Hellfire was chosen.

Weapon Slot #3

Normal & TVHM can use any weapon they want here, but in UVHM I'd recommend a slag elemental weapon as it'll be your main source of slag.

Whoayeah's preference;

• The Rubi can be obtained by handing in the Rakkahol to Moxxi as opposed to Mordecai during the Rakkaholics Anonymous quest.
  
• Due to it being one of Moxxi's weapons, it has an in-built life steal. However unlike most other Moxxi weapons, the Rubi offers 12% life steal as opposed to the standard 2.5%.

Weapon Slot #4

High fire power weapon used as a last resort to get you up from Fight for Your Life.

Whoayeah's preference;

• The Norfleet is a rare drop from Vermivorous the Invincible & Hyperius the Invincible.

Shield Slot

Absorb Shields, Adaptive Shields, Turtle Shields, Amp Shields OR Cut Rate Shields.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Purchasable from the Seraph Vendor in Flamerock Refuge in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC.
  
• The Antagonist is considered an Absorb Shield despite it deflecting bullets as opposed to absorbing them.

Class Mod

Slayer of Terramorphous & Legendary Siren class mods are accepted however specialist class mods can be proven to be superior.

Whoayeah's preference;


OR

• Blurred Trickster is optimal for this build for general gameplay.
  
• Cunning Binder is optimal for slaying Raid bosses.

Grenade Mod

Any grenade mod you want, strongly recommend utility mods like Slag Bouncing Betties, Tesla or even Singularity mods. Due to Maya having to rely on a Moxxi weapon for healing in this build, Transfusion genades are also proven to be useful.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Quasar is a Singularity grenade which offers great utility & synergises well with Converge.
  
• Increased drop from Ultimate Badass Varkids.

Relic Slot

Use any relic you want as long as it's justifiable.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Even though we already have a lot of damage reduction & general survivability, I just wanted to add a bit more to compensate for the lack of health regeneration. With that being said I find the health regenerating relics to be very minimal & not worth the relic slot.

Related Guides

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=159979320
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160084008
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160301141
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160404986

[Techhead7890]

This is great, as a solo player this helped me a lot more than Dashi's Harmony-focused guide which was really team and healing oriented. Thanks a ton!

[mkvamm]

Is this guide still good for a casual solo playthrough even though it hasn't been updated to the max level?

[little green man]

wiener

[Whoa]

@Gremlin; That is a really good question. I suppose that depends really on how you want to play. If you want more damage, more durability or playing with friends.

I would probably look at the Harmony tree next as you can go for Mind's Eye/Wreck for extra damage. Sweet Release, Restoration and Res for more team play focused and durability can come from Ward, Sweet Release or Fleet (Movement speed helps for evading).

Also consider if you want to use a non recommended class mod to put points in the skills to activate the mod.

[DripDrap]

@Whoayeah do you have any skills that you can suggest getting while you are on your way to reach level 72?

[Lord Wanker the Great]

Before this guide I was dying constantly in UVHM with siren
After this guide I felt like I played siren wrong all along
Harmony skill tree never again

[Whoa]

As far as progression goes and my build; 1. I'm not using Flicker 2. I'd rather use Helios than Flicker and Immolate (Don't plan on being in FFYL) for progressing towards Reaper and other good perks 3. Cloud Kill is only a 1 point for extra damage which that same 1 pointer would go towards maybe Quicken, Blight Phoenix or Mind's Eye (None of which seem too relevant) but as this is a guide you may move the points around for your liking.

[Rogue]

I was veiwing info from "GBX Community Guides: MAYA" and found out the HELIOS, CLOUD KILL, and FLICKER are the worst skills to pot point to, there ok at the start of game but what about mid and end game, like TVHM, where there end up useless, look up GBX Community Guides: MAYA and read it.

[Marvel]

Yo, I know this guide has been dated to a certain time but...
I think it should be updated with the Class mod section being the Legendary Binder

[Whoa]

While I do use an Unkempt Harold in game; I wanted to show diversity in my guides showing of other good & viable guns.