Zero Borderlands 2 Skill Tree

[Ling Baus]

Thefollowing are the skill trees for Zer0 in Borderlands 2 Reborn. To view more information about the skills, click on either the icon or the name of the skill to be taken directly to the page containing further details.

Create a holographic decoy and vanish from sight. Gain massive gun, melee, and critical hit damage the longer your are in Decepti0n. Use it to get the drop on your foes, to escape battles completely, or simply to hear Zer0's amazing haikus.

I just bought Borderlands 2 and I started with Zero and I noticed he uses a sword as his melee (duh) and I know he is supposed to be an assassin but does he have a special backstab ability or a stealth mode? Or is he just a play-style that requires sniper-rifles and long range?

Each hero has an ability called an Action Skill, which is a 'mode' or friendly drop (such as a sentry turret) unique to that character that lasts a few seconds. It can be activated at any time once unlocked (at Level 5) and has a cooldown before using it again.

"Decepti0n" grants Zer0 the ability to deploy a holographic decoy of himself and enter an invisible "stealth mode." While cloaked, he can maneuver about the battlefield dealing amplified damage on his next attack. The longer Zer0 stays cloaked, the more damage he can inflict to enemies; however, the shorter Zer0 stays cloaked, the sooner he is able to use the skill again. Zer0 does not enter a separate dimension like Lilith when she Phasewalks, and can still take damage from all sources while cloaked.

There is also the Backstab skill about midway down the tree that increases your melee damage while attacking an enemy from behind, combine that with the Execute skill that allows you to dash a few feet to your enemy whilst in Decpti0n and you've got a pretty kickass invisible stalker.

Without question, Zero is one of the most fun playable characters in Borderlands 2, and there are two primary ways to build him. More specifically, players can build Zero with a heavy focus on melee, or they can instead give preference to sniping, and indeed both options can be extremely powerful. That said, fans that want their Zero to be as strong as possible should gear him with sniping in mind, and this guide will detail one of the very best Zero sniping builds in BL2, along with a good secondary option that's a bite more catered to speed and offense.

This best Borderlands 2 Zero build is a fairly standard sniping build, and it requires 33 Sniping, 27 Cunning, and 15 Bloodshed. While this Zero build is not extremely gear dependent, it does work best when paired with the Legendary Sniper Class Mod, and here is a full breakdown of where players should be putting their points:

Updated January 4th, 2023, by Stephen LaGioia: Whether it's the sharp-shooting assassin Zero or, more recently, the critical-heavy beastmaster Flak, many Borderlands players favor long-range combat and stealth. Despite the more frantic, run-and-gun nature of the game, BL2, in particular, makes sniping and headshots satisfying and rewarding.

This build really works with the strengths of Zero by stressing criticals, accuracy, steady aim, and piercing. It also maximizes getting quick kills. As a secondary feature, it also boosts his melee capabilities somewhat, allowing for a more assassin-style of play as well.

For fans that would like a more thorough breakdown of the skills selected for this BL2 Zero build, that can be found in the following video. This video also contains details on a second build where three points have been shifted into Iron Hand in the Bloodshed tree. The idea here is to combine that skill with a Survivor Class and Turtle shield, which can then be exploited to give Zero very high survivability.

With respect to the gear that should be used with these best BL2 Zero builds, there is a slew of options beyond the Legendary Sniper Class Mod that was mentioned previously. Here is a brief overview of some of the best Borderlands 2 weapons, shields, and relics for this build, and again more details can be found in the video featured above.

One final thing to say about gear for this Borderlands 2 Zero build is that it is advisable to equip potent snipers in all four weapon slots in order to not lose Critical Ascension stacks when switching guns. Indeed, this will allow players to continually increase their standard and Critical Hit damage, turning Zero into a real force to be reckoned with.

Note: This isn't really a guide. It's more of an overview just to help you choose your character. After all, the game never tells you what a character is capable of in the character selection. If you haven't checked out our review for Borderlands 2, don't forget to check it out here first.

This skill is a life saver. It helps you get out of tight situations and has aided me in kiting bosses. Also, every tree has some sort of augmentation that enhances this ability in a different way. Whichever you choose is up to you.

Bloodshed seems like a really fun specialization. This one augments your melee attacks and enhances your health so you can get down and dirty in the front lines and slice your enemies to bits with your melee attacks. Though I said Zero is the class of wits this one is the more barbaric, charge-in-there and kill or be killed gameplay some people seek.

My most favorite aspect of this skill tree is once you reach max level, you can chain decoys together and keep it going as long as you get kills. On top of that, most of the skills in this tree involve some sort of "increases melee damage by X% every time you kill an enemy" or something. Pretty wicked and this is the class to choose for those who enjoy extremely fast-paced gameplay... or those who can't shoot, that works too.

We have less points in this tree, but important ones, like 40% gun damage when you have both action skills up. And another Kill Skill that gives 32% more gun damage when activated, which will be essentially all the time. I rounded this out with the movement speed buff and the grenade shooting chance skills.

Pick your grenade of choice and then just make sure it has the 25% extra damage anointment when thrown, as this build will have Zane, his clone and SNTL throwing grenades out randomly all the time, so that buff will activate a lot.

Zer0 can perform massive amounts of damage quickly, either with melee combat or from a distance. Zer0 is the finisher in the group, being particularly effective when fighting single enemies, and can kill them off faster than any other class. However, Zer0 is less effective against a large number of enemies.

While cloaked, enemies are drawn to the decoy in an attempt to kill it with melee or guns. Zer0 can then sneak around and place a powerful sword strike or well placed shot on any unsuspecting enemy. Zer0 is also able to throw his grenades while invisible.

Any attack by Zer0 with his sword or a gun will break Decepti0n, or after the timer reaches zero (typically 5 seconds, depending on the skill tree). If Zer0 attacks early during the stealth period, the cooldown to initiate it again will be shorter, but the attack will not be as powerful. If Zer0 waits until near the end of the stealth period to attack, damage will increase, but the cooldown will take longer.

Sniper Rifles: Snipers are the Assassins primary weapon if you plan to focus on long range. They are also the second most powerful single-shot guns. A headshot with any sniper will do massive damage and can make you a difficult target for the enemies if you distance yourself from them.

Shotguns: Shotguns are the primary weapon for a melee Assassin. Chances are, if you're meleeing, you're going to be very close to the target, and having a shotgun handy to blow the enemy's brains out while in such close quarters can be very helpful.

Any Gun with a Blade: If you plan on being a melee Assassin, then you need a gun with a blade. The blades grant a 50%, 100%, or 200% bonus melee damage. A bladed gun definitely increases your chances of killing with melee attacks.

Shields: Melee Assassins should use roid shields because they provide bonus melee when your shields are down. Also, the Assassin tends to be the "squishiest" of all the characters, so the bigger the shield, the better off you will be.

Zer0's high speed and deadly stealth gives him a slight advantage over his foes. As long as you have a steady trigger finger and a quick reflex, no one will stand against you! Now, before you go and melee someone thinking you couldn't possibly lose, be sure to equip Zer0 properly for combat.

Ideally, Zer0 can be a glass cannon, which means you don't need to worry about using tokens on health or shield at first. You want to make damage your primary concern because, if spec'd just right, the duel will last as long as Decepti0n lasts, meaning you won't take a single hit. Zer0 is also significantly better with sniper rifles than his vault hunting companions, so you'll want to find yourself a decent sniper rifle. Whatever feels comfortable, whether it be a burst-fire, an automatic, or a bolt action is up to you.

Making good use of Zer0's Decepti0n skill and Sniper efficiency is a sure-fire way to win any duel. Being a skill that deals no damage doesn't necesarily mean you're out of the run for beating up on other vault hunters.

Before the match even begins, Axton can put down one or two turrets, both doing high damage or preventing you from damaging them. Fortunately, they won't fire upon you until the fight begins. This makes ample time to plan around the turret(s) and strike. When the fight begins, that is when you will want to use Decepti0n facing away from the arena so the turrets unload on it and away from you. After doing so, you must get out of there and find Axton. Upon doing so, you'll want to either go for the back stab (not recommended) or get a quick shot to the dome with a Sniper.

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