FPS General

Have you had a chance to download the Mechromancer update in Borderlands 2 and fire up a new game?

If you've been on the edge about whether or not you should start a new game to play as the Mechromancer, we've put together a quick guide as to what she brings to the table, hopefully giving you a chance to see her before you pick up the DLC for yourself. 

Probably our favorite part of playing as Gaige, the Mechromancer is Deathtrap, the hulking robot bodyguard that serves as Gaige's action skill. Deathtrap is a formidable ally to have on the battlefield and can prove to be the deciding factor in just about any fight.

See for yourself in the Class Spotlight above, crafted with loving care by our own Andrew who has been spending a lot of time with the Mechromancer over the past week. 

If you're in the market to incite rebellion, there's no weapon finer than a sturdy Vladof. Arming rebellions of every kind, Vladof lives to supply the oppressed. Wherever folk are attempting to overthrow their oppressors and break free from their bonds of tyranny, Vladof weapons will inevitably be in attendance.

In Borderlands 2, Vladof also produces weapons with the highest rate of fire on Pandora. So, if you're looking to lay down a wealth of bullets on your enemies in a short span of time, Vladof has your back.

Let's take a look at a handful of the many weapons Vladof will have available in Borderlands 2!

Assault Rifles

Vladof assault rifles focus on high rate of fire with a bit more accuracy than, say, a Bandit-made AR. Where Bandit focuses on mass amounts of bullets, fired rather indiscriminately, Vladof prefers a more accurate hail of bullets at a very high rate of fire.

It is also possible to outfit your Vladof AR with Torgue gyrojets, essentially giving you the power of gyrojets with the speedy delivery that Vladof prides themselves on.

Vladof has a wealth of assault rifles available in Borderlands 2, ranging in damage and magazine capacity.

Salvador is all about guns and the killing of enemies with said guns. If you're looking for sheer power on the battlefield, with little care for discretion or stealth, Salvador is your man.

As the Gunzerker in Borderlands 2, it's fitting that Salvador's action skill is Gunzerking. When activated, Sal will draw a second gun and go flat out nutters. When Gunzerking, the player automatically regains 50% of their total health as well as damage reduction against enemy attacks and constant ammunition and health regeneration. Essentially, he goes berserk and unloads on enemies irregardless of their attacks against him.

His skill trees are Gunlust, Rampage and Brawn. Let's take a look at those.

First up, we have Gunlust, a skill tree that is all about changing the way that Salvador interacts with his beloved guns. There are a ton of awesome buffs for weapon swapping here, which is how we plan to set up our build when we stop fawning over Zero. 

Quick Draw is straightforward and increases your weapon swap speed, while All I Need Is One causes your next bullet after swapping weapons to do bonus damage. Auto-load is also a gem, automatically reloading every weapon except the one currently in your hand after you get a kill. Using Auto-load wisely, you can essentially avoid reloading altogether.

Keep reading for more on Salvador, the Gunzerker!

The Maliwan Corporation is very heavy on elemental damage. If you're a player who likes to have that extra bit of deadliness coming out of the end of your gun, you're probably going to want to go Maliwan. These guns don't deal the most damage at first, but easily deliver the most damage-over-time of any manufacturer on Pandora.

If you're not familiar with elemental damage, you clearly didn't play Pokemon growing up. Guns that deal elemental damage can cause the enemy to be afflicted with various status effects. These include things like fire, caustic damage, electric shock, slag and explosive damage.

When you use a Maliwan weapon, you have a very good chance of causing your target to catch fire which will continue to cause damage after you've stopped pouring bullets into them. And just like Charizard vs Dewgong, you need to know your opponent's elemental weakness to deal the most damage.

So, let's take a look at some of the weapon types that Maliwan produces.

Pistols

Maliwan sidearms are best used to make sure your enemy is properly slagged or on fire, before moving to a heftier weapon to finish the job.

These guns have a very high rate of fire but don't do very much initial damage and the magazine size is usually pretty low.

There perfect for applying your elemental damage of choice, before swapping to a deadlier gun to finish the job.

After you've finished the target off, swap back to your Maliwan pistol and reload for the next baddie that comes your way.

Maya, the Siren, hails from the greener pastures of Athena, where she was revered with something akin to God worship. Not one to sit idle, being gawked at by the locals, Maya rebelled against the cloistral order that sheltered her. Ultimately, this confrontation led to Maya putting a bullet in the Head Monk.

In the face.

Well, now she's in Pandora looking to expand her skills as a Siren.

Maya's action skill is Phaselock, not to be confused with Lillith's Phasewalk skill. When Sirens harness their energy, it manifests itself into a single spell or power. Lillith from Borderlands had Phasewalk, and Maya from Borderlands 2 has Phaselock.

Phaselock is a skill that immediately locks an enemy down, trapped in another dimension and incapable of fighting. Enemies who cannot be Phaselocked will take an immediate damage hit instead.

Maya's skill tree branches include Motion, Harmony and Cataclysm. Let's take a look at each, in turn.

First up is Motion, a branch that can totally change the way that Maya's Phaselock works. The branch also includes two kill skills, but let's take a look at how you can alter Phaselock first. Combining Quicken and Suspension will result in your Phaselock skill being both longer and requiring less cooldown time between uses.

Converge, on the other hand, causes enemies to be pulled towards the original target of your Phaselock. This also deals damage to the enemies being pulled in. The kicker, however, has to be Thoughtlock which actually causes enemies trapped in Maya's Phaselock to turn on their friends. The duration of Phaselock is increased with Thoughtlock, but so is the cooldown period.

Keep reading for more on Maya's skill tree!

Montgomery Jakobs founded his company on traditional, die-hard principles. One single bullet to destroy your target. Literally destroyed. Arms over there, legs over here. Skull reduced to dust and shrapnel.

Destroyed. Kaput. Good old-fashioned dead.

Jakobs doesn't fuss overmuch with things like accuracy, recoil compensation or elemental damage. These are firearms of a different breed. Sporting the trademark wood design, Jakobs weapons are some of the baddest in Pandora.

Jakobs has a multitude of weapons available in Borderlands 2, but let's take a look at some of the core varieties.

Shotguns

There's bad, there's bad and then there's Jakobs shotguns. Perhaps the best part about Jakobs shotguns is not the sheer power, but rather the breech-loading style.

This enables you to fire the shotgun as fast as you can pull the trigger.

This rapid fire capability, however, comes with a downside. Very small ammo capacity. We're talking 2 to 6 rounds per reload on average. So, expect to be reloading often and without any elemental damage to speak of, make these shots count.

Torgue is all about firepower and stuff exploding. If it shoots explodey things, it's probably Torgue. Rather than traditional bullets, Torgue weapons fire gyrojets that move slower than normal bullets but explode for some serious damage. The downside, of course, is that your magazine holds far few gyrojets than bullets but if you're looking to go big, Torgue is the best option.

Here is a look at a smattering of Torgue's weaponry...

Assault Rifles

As mentioned above, Torgue assault rifles fire gyrojet rockets that do heft damage on targets. The gyrojets pick up speed as they travel, so you're actually going to get more bang per rocket if you're able to take out targets at longer ranges.

At close-range, the projectile should do high damage but you're not going to want to waste too many gyrojets on targets at mid-range while your projectile is starting to pick up speed.

The downside to Torgue assault rifles, however, is the meager magazine size. You're not going to see huge magazines on these rifles as you would on something like a Bandit. Either way, Torgue assault rifles are basically miniature rocket launchers and there's nothing wrong with that.

Founded by Stanton Dahl, the Dahl Corporation is one of the most trusted names in weapons in all of Pandora. Dahl weapons are also some of the most in Borderlands 2, matched by none in recoil compensation. Hyperion's stabilizers are great if you don't mind firing off a dozen shots in who knows which direction. Dahl, on the other hand, values a steady shooting experience.

In addition to the steadiness, Dahl is the only weapons maker that offers multiple firing modes. When you aim down the sights of a Dahl weapon, it will automatically switch to burst-fire mode

Assault Rifles

Dahl manufacturers a slew of assault rifles that are diverse as it gets. Some of their rifles launch grenades and make use of Torgue technology.

Keep in mind, however, that being a Dahl, that assault rifle that throws grenades will still fire in burst mode when you aim down the sites...

Do you see where we're going with this?

Burst-fire grenade lobbing. It's the new burst fire bullet shooting.

If you're going to make use of the burst fire mode, we recommend doing so with a Dahl assault rifle.

Keep reading for more on the weapons that Dahl manufactures in Borderlands 2.

Tediore weapons function much like any other manufacturer, with the slight exception that they explode after one-use. These are 'disposable' guns, in a sense. When you reload Tediore weapons, the player will toss it away as it explodes. Incidentally, if you're smart you can coordinate these explosive reloads in the vicinity of your enemies, doing some damage to them as you chuck away the exploding weapon.

Here is a look at some of the weapons that Tediore manufactures.

Pistols

Tediore pistols are the most 'disposable' of weapons, with their smaller magazine size and less overall firepower. When your magazine is empty, that's all she wrote.

The player tosses aside the pistol before it explodes. Incidentally, the more ammunition you have left in the pistol, the more damage it deals on exploding.

If you plan these reloads properly, and fire off a few shots before reloading, you can release a decent explosion towards your enemies. Think of them as pistol-shaped hand grenades.

Some of the pistols that Tediore produces include the Peppy Handgun, Two For One Handgun, Super Gunerang, Bulk Power Shot and the  Fresh Biggun.

These are just a fraction of the pistols that Tediore manufactures, of course, but it should give you an idea of what you'll be working with.

Yes, Hyperion is the evil, merciless corporation featured in Borderlands 2. Yes, they are headed by CEO Handsome Jack. Yes, the same Handsome Jack who wants you and your bandit friends rounded up and executed. But, we'd be kidding ourselves if we said they don't make some of the finest weaponry in Pandora.

Hyperion specializes in four weapon types; Sniper Rifles, Submachine Guns, Pistols and Shotguns. All Hyperion weaponry comes with cutting-edge stabilizer technology. What this means is that initially, the weapon has some pretty hefty sway and recoil but before long, the stabilizer kicks in and compensates for it, providing a smooth experience for the rest of that magazine.

Basically, the longer you fire a Hyperion weapon, the more accurate it becomes.

Pistols

Hyperion manufacturers several different models of pistol, some of which include the Inspiring Lady Fist, the Earnest Apparatus, the Maximized Vision and the Win-Win Impact. These range in price from $2,279 to $8,572.

Perhaps the most powerful pistol that you can acquire from Hyperion is the Win-Win Impact but the accuracy (or lack thereof), firing rate and slow reload time balance out the higher damage point.

The Inspiring Lady Fist, on the other hand, is a well-balanced pistol with higher-end damage, reasonable accuracy and a quick reload time.

If you're buying Hyperion, and you're going for a pistol, our money is on the Lady Fist.

Keep reading for more information on a few of the sniper rifles, submachine guns and shotguns that Hyperion is currently producing.