The Mechronomicon: Levelling as a Mechromancer to 72 & OP8

This guide is for the new and levelling Mechrophiliac as well as the experienced Wrench Monkey.

The MOST Accessible lvl 72+ Build discussed within!

Random Capitalization included Free of Charge!

Introduction

WHO I AM
I'm a Gaige enthousiast with 4 max level Vault Hunters in vanilla BL2 on Xbox and 800+ hours on PC. My prior experience led me to choosing the Mechromancer for my first PC adventure. Boy I wish somebody had told me about her screaming when she takes damage . . .

WHAT THIS IS
A guide to fill the gaps between the already excellent existing guides on lvl 72 and OP8--although those two topics will be discussed within and the merits of different approaches to playstyle and build. I'd still recommend visiting the Gearbox forums http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/c/borderlands-2
for those who truly wish to min/max.

Levelling

A finer point of BL2 that some players may miss is the timing of level-ups to coincide with the Modes of difficulty. My interpretation is as follows:

Level 1-35 Normal Vault Hunter Mode (NVHM)
15+ Any NVHM DLC
35-50 True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM)
50ish-65 Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM)
65-72 Any UVHM DLC
72+ Digistruct Peak

Once in UVHM I'd suggest taking note of those quest reward weapons you enjoy using and SAVE THOSE QUESTS for your last playthrough at UVHM so you won't have to try and grind those quests at the insane difficulty of OP8!!! There is a balance between farming for boss and badass drops at your present level and earmarking quests to complete at OP levels (I'm thinking of you, elusive OP8 Redundant Fibber!) Of course you can always reset your UVHM playthrough after completion of the main quest line from the Character select screen--but be warned this will reset ALL your prior UVHM quests (lose access to Sanctuary, Grog Nozzle, raid bosses, etc.) and you will have to start your playthrough from Liar's Berg and the beginning of the DLCs.

Regardless of your approach, simply playing through the main storyline/sidequests will net a huge assortment of Moxxi weapons and functional blues and purples and if you are lucky that random legendary.

I initially spent my skill points in the Best Friends Forever (BFF) tree.

http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#540050150051000000000000000000000000

For Gaige I ended up farming a mountain of Torgue tokens between each step of difficulty. Torgue manufactured weapons don't exactly jive with her abilities but they do tend to have smaller magazines and fast reloads. Tediore weapons are always great for Gaige as well. Keep in mind that the Torgue tokens earned from an earlier game mode still apply at higher difficulties (i.e. I would often find myself farming tokens in the easier TVHM to spend in UVHM).

Like a n00b I didn't really give the Anarchy tree a shot until after experimenting heavily in the Little Big Trouble (LBT) tree. If I had to level over again I would fill out the Anarchy tree before touching the LBT tree. Something along the lines of this at the start of UVHM

http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#540050150051000000000000415150121010

The best build is ultimately the one that works for you, synergizes gear and abilities, and most importantly makes levelling fun for you. I continually jump back and forth between builds at lvl 72 and don't think I will ever settle on just one playstyle. So on to my lvl 72 Mech!

What to do at 72?

Complete all of your quest log if you really love Gaige!


Pyro Pete up there is your friend--he drops Seraph Crystals at any level in UVHM. Farming him for Crystals to spend at the vendors in Flamerock Refuge, Aegrus' Hunter's Lodge, Oasis, and in the Badass Crater of Badassitude is a fantastic use of your time if you aren't spawning weapons as needed. As soon as you are able to buy any OP level item from aforementioned vendors, DO IT! On average I'd say a good weapon should last 2-3 OP levels and max level relics and COMs will last much longer. I used a lvl 71 shock Bone of the Ancients until my Siren friend Manticore provided me with a new one . . . at OP8. Thx Manti!

Moxxi weapons are your friends. If you happen to turn in Tiny Tina DLC quest "The Beard Makes the Man" and don't have a permanent Grog Nozzle then I am sorry for your loss--this gun is a helluva lot of fun. Really any Moxxi weapon will save your life, especially as you wait for DT's ~30sec cooldown to reset. Learn to use the Hail, Kitten, Creamer as well as the full assortment of Moxxi weapons and how to acquire them. The Slow Hand, and other plasma projectile weapons, do NOT richochet and thus are to be used at your own discretion!

As for her Skill tree at 72, I'd recommend as a baseline selecting to Sharing is Caring in the BFF tree, Interspersed Outburst in the LBT tree, and up to Rational Anarchist and the Nth Degree in the Anarchy tree. I suggest skipping the skills that increase Deathtrap's speed, damage or augment his attacks. While he remains useful at 72 our robotic friend's damage is underwhelming and can easily be bypassed to accrue more Anarchy stacks.


When you have collected enough gear and xp to tackle Digistruct Peak remember that taking the proper team is just as vital.

OP 1-8

I managed to solo grind up to OP3 but thereafter needed reinforcements. I was having trouble simply out-DPSing the health regen of baddies on Digistruct Peak and most of them could kill me even while I used Moxxi weps. My frustrations precipitated into multiple overhauls of abilities and loadouts. I didn't want to become too dependent on DT or Shock/Electrocute damage--at one point I even went so far as to implement a Torgue-centered explosive relic buildout utilizing Death From Above in the Anarchy tree. In retrospect it was an excellent idea shackled by terrible execution.

Anyway a normal run should take 30-45 minutes to complete. I'd recommend rolling with at least a competent Siren. Your main priority is to slag and shield strip a single target--hopefully whatever DT or your party is focused on--while staying alive. Sounds easy right?

My standard OP8 loadout:

• Storm Sniper rifle
  
• Grog Nozzle
  
• Consummate Florentine/Shock Slow Hand
  
• Topneea/Nukem/Creamer/Tunguska
  
  
• Big Boom Blaster
  
• Shock Storm Front/Magic Missile
  
• Shock Bone of the Ancients
  
• Legendary Anarchist Mod

I do enjoy a bit of flexibility with the COMs though so I currently run a 26/26/15 build
http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#530051140151550014130511412141110000
to accomodate 3 mods-- the Legendary Anarchist, Catalyst , and Roboteer mods.

Melee Gaige is certainly a sub-optimal build but can be just as fun. I'm looking forward to level 80 and the next round of mayhem! Thank you for reading my guide and I hope it provided some insight and help for anyone who's an avid Wrench Monkey like me and looking for something to round out their favorite character in BL2.

I also hope this post answered some of the burning questions you may have regarding life as a Mecrophiliac. I can't wait for BL3 release in April 2020!

Endgame: 80 and OP10

My journey to level 80 and OP10 didn't really alter my play style or talent choices beyond removing more points from DT talents and putting them into shock damage talents. Behold my 80 build:
Level 80 Shock Mechromancer[bl2skills.com]

As I continue my quest for 100% completion I'll be trying out a few different builds and weapons and will report back!

[Jojo Goyle]

Do you play with community patch? I'm asking because you use the storm in your build.While I've never used it,most borderlands 2 streamers and video makers tend to hate on it and say it's bad.

[Leslie]

brilliance bro

[skosgo月星]

So im going to be starting a one life gaige run and trying to get her to op 8 since no one has done it before. I was wondering if there should be any different skills that I would need to take over others. Any help would be madly appreciated. Thanks!

[Mentalriot]

I've found terribly unfair, upseting and boring leveling in UVHM. I've spent hours farming some lvl 50 legies, 2000 torgue tokens just to find that weapons are pretty useless against 53-54 enemies. If each 3-4 levels i must spent hours farming i don't think i'm interested in playing the right way. After ending main story 14 times, and 9 times dlcs i think this may be time to quit forever or cheat the game. Nice guide by the way, but not what i was looking for.

[quali]

I'm a Mechromancer player who is level 23 and this is awfully confusing

[Ragnar]

Yeah, Explosive Clap may not be great, I figured it was worth the point. Unstoppable Force feels redundant with Blood Soaked Shields, but it may be useful in keeping your shields regenerating for a short time rather than the up/down that can happen with BSS. Some stuff, like the Nth Degree, you just kind of have to trust and hope that they're beneficial. The math says it's good, but it's not something I feel while playing.

I think you're spot on for shotguns. I just got a Conference Call and it's fantastic.

Twister I've heard great things about, but also haven't gotten yet.

An accessible shotgun is Jolly Roger, a mission reward in Captain Scarlett's. Another is Hydra, a reward from Tiny Tina's.

Casual Swordsplosion is another mission reward, works more like a rocket launcher.

Others to keep an eye out for are Omen, Blockhead, Interfacer, Butcher, or Flakker.

[.:CHiP:.]

Good builds Ragnar! I would tweak them a little bit but otherwise they fit the bill (i.e I love Unstoppable Force but am not convinced by the utility of Explosive Clap). To each their own.
Nth Degree has never really worked for me but everything I've read or tried says either 1 or 5 points in it.
As for Shotties my weapons of choice are Conference Call (synergy with Close Enough, Nth Degree) of any element, Orphan Maker (Blood Soaked Shields and Shock and AAAGGHHHH!, and Slow Hand (Moxxi wep--but it will kill you like a Plasma gun if you're not careful). I've never managed to get my hands on a Twister as I hear that's one of the best for her too. Happy Murdering!

[wader]

What shotguns do you recommend for gaige? I'd like to know as all the videos I find are outdated. I'm looking for good shotguns for a BFF and OD gaige build. Also a good shotgun for a shock gaige build. Thanks.

[Ragnar]

I think OC for Anarchy and BFF is the way to go for leveling. I went through TVHM with this build: http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#535050101051000000000000411150121000
I went down the OC tree to get Rational Anarchist and then focused on BFF down to Sharing and Caring. Then give DT a shield such as Flame of the Fire Hawk, Love Thumper, or even a Maylay shield and have him go to town.

After that I specced up to Nth Degree, like this: http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#535050101051000000000000413150141010
From there you can either max Nth Degree or start moving up the LBT tree towards this: http://bl2skills.com/mechromancer.html#535050101051140053110500413150141010
I scattered some skills around LBT for the class mod that buffs them.

By the time you hit 72 you'll know if you want to that build for shock damage or Nth Degree instead of Wires Don't Talk, or want to take points out of BFF or PC to get to the bottom of LBT.

[.:CHiP:.]

I'd definitely recommend 26 points in BFF tree IF you have a shield that aids DT. There are a lot of useful survival and DPS increases with 26 points up to the capstone SiC.
Otherwise spec into Anarchy and give it a whirl--you become very weapon dependent but the same is true in the full BFF spec with DT and your cooldown. Pick your poison! Go poison people! Like I said I leveled up relying on shock damage and it wasn't very fun