5. Zane Build for Borderlands 3: The Ultimate Ice Age

5. Zane Build for Borderlands 3: The Ultimate Ice Age

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5. Zane Build for Borderlands 3: The Ultimate Ice Age
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Zane is a versatile character in Borderlands 3 with a unique skillset that allows him to adapt to various playstyles. Whether you prefer to dish out damage from afar, support your team with abilities, or create chaos with drones, Zane has a build to suit your needs. In this article, we’ll explore the best Zane builds, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and essential gear. We’ll cover builds for both solo play and cooperative multiplayer, ensuring you can optimize Zane’s capabilities in any situation. So, grab your cryo cannon and prepare to dive into the world of Zane’s mayhem.

One of the most popular and effective Zane builds is the “Seein’ Dead” build, which focuses on maximizing critical hit damage. This build utilizes the “Synchronicity” skill, which increases critical hit damage for every active skill. Combining this with skills like “Violent Momentum” and “Playing Dirty,” Zane can stack significant critical hit bonuses, making him a formidable damage dealer. To complement this build, gear with bonuses to critical hit damage, such as the “Seein’ Dead” class mod, is essential. Additionally, weapons with high critical hit multipliers, like the “Monarch” assault rifle, will further enhance Zane’s damage output.

For those looking for a more versatile and supportive Zane build, the “Clone and Drone” build is a great option. This build revolves around Zane’s ability to summon a clone and deploy drones to aid in combat. By investing in skills such as “Digi-Clone” and “Drone Delivery,” Zane can create a formidable distraction while dealing damage from afar. The “Cyber Hands” skill also boosts the damage of both Zane and his clone, making this build effective for solo play. Gear-wise, the “Transformer” shield provides immunity to shock damage and boosts damage dealt while using action skills, synergizing well with this build. Additionally, the “Deathless” artifact grants Zane a second wind, allowing him to recover from critical situations.

Zane’s Essential Skills for MAXIMUM Mayhem

**1. Blue Tree: The Hitman**

The Hitman tree in Zane’s skill tree is a cornerstone for maximizing his damage output. These skills focus on increasing Zane’s critical strike damage, weapon handling, and movement speed. Core skills in this tree include:

  • Seein’ Dead: Increases critical hit damage and weapon handling. Essential for boosting Zane’s overall DPS.
  • Playing Dirty: Grants Zane increased movement speed and weapon accuracy while using the SNTNL drone. Crucial for maintaining mobility and accuracy during combat.
  • Confident Competence: Further enhances Zane’s critical hit damage and weapon handling. A synergistic upgrade to Seein’ Dead.

Additional skills in the Hitman tree complement these core abilities, allowing Zane to become a swift and deadly assassin capable of tearing through enemies with ease. These skills include:

  • Violent Speed: Grants bonus movement speed and reload speed after scoring a critical hit.
  • Headshot: Increases critical hit damage against enemies’ heads. An essential skill for maximizing Zane’s damage against vulnerable targets.
  • Cool Hand: Reduces Zane’s action skill cooldown upon scoring a critical hit. Allows for more frequent use of powerful skills.

Perfect Zane Build for Soloing Endgame Content

Gettin’ SNTNL

SNTNL is easily Zane’s most useful and powerful skill tree. It synergizes well with just about every other one of his skills, and it makes soloing content a breeze. Here are some of the best skills to focus on in this tree:

  • Cybernetic Enhancements: This skill grants Zane increased damage, magazine size, and shield capacity for each of his action skills that are active. This is a must-have skill for any Zane build, as it provides a significant boost to his overall power.
  • SNTNL-0M: This skill summons SNTNL, Zane’s drone companion. SNTNL can attack enemies, revive Zane, and provide him with various buffs. It’s an incredibly versatile skill that can be used in a variety of situations.
  • Violent Momentum: This skill grants Zane increased movement speed and fire rate for a short duration after activating an action skill. This is a great skill for getting around the battlefield quickly and taking down enemies before they can react.
  • Headshot: This skill grants Zane increased critical hit damage. This is a great skill for boosting Zane’s damage output, especially against bosses and other tough enemies.
    SNTNL can be further enhanced and specialized by investing points into the Drone Delivery and Binary System skills.

    • Terminator

    The Terminator tree is all about survivability. It grants Zane increased health, shields, and damage resistance. It also gives him access to some powerful skills that can help him regenerate health and survive even the most dangerous situations. Here are some of the best skills to focus on in this tree:

    • Supersonic Man: This skill grants Zane increased movement speed and fire rate. This is a great skill for getting around the battlefield quickly and taking down enemies before they can react.
    • Salvation: This skill grants Zane increased health regeneration. This is a great skill for staying alive in the heat of battle.
    • Confident Competence: This skill grants Zane increased damage resistance. This is a great skill for reducing the amount of damage that Zane takes from enemies.
    • Sturdy: This skill grants Zane increased shield capacity. This is a great skill for increasing Zane’s survivability, especially against enemies that deal elemental damage.

      • Professional

      The Professional tree is all about dealing damage. It grants Zane increased weapon damage, critical hit damage, and accuracy. It also gives him access to some powerful skills that can help him take down enemies quickly and efficiently. Here are some of the best skills to focus on in this tree:

      • Calm, Collected, and Calculated: This skill grants Zane increased weapon damage and critical hit damage. This is a great skill for boosting Zane’s damage output, especially against bosses and other tough enemies.
      • Violent Speed: This skill grants Zane increased movement speed and reload speed. This is a great skill for getting around the battlefield quickly and taking down enemies before they can react.
      • Seein’ Dead: This skill grants Zane increased accuracy. This is a great skill for improving Zane’s aim, especially at long range.
      • Double Barrel: This skill grants Zane a second action skill slot. This is a great skill for giving Zane more options in combat.

        • Ultimate Zane SNTNL Dominance: Stinger or Duct Tape?

        Stinger vs. Duct Tape: Which is the Superior SNTNL Upgrade?

        The choice between Stinger and Duct Tape ultimately boils down to your playstyle and the specific build you’re using. Here’s a detailed breakdown of their benefits to help you decide:

        Stinger

        • Enhanced Damage: Stinger increases the SNTNL’s base damage by 15%, making it a more potent offensive tool.
        • Faster Firing Rate: Stinger boosts the SNTNL’s firing rate by 5%, allowing it to dispatch enemies more quickly.
        • Greater Accuracy: Stinger grants the SNTNL a significant boost in accuracy, ensuring it lands more shots and deals more consistent damage.

        Stinger is the ideal choice if you’re looking to maximize the SNTNL’s damage output and overall effectiveness as a combat companion. It’s particularly well-suited for builds that focus on Zane’s SNTNL tree, where increased damage and accuracy can significantly enhance the SNTNL’s contribution to your combat performance.

        Duct Tape

        • Improved Durability: Duct Tape increases the SNTNL’s health by 200%, making it more resilient to enemy attacks.
        • Increased Shield Capacity: Duct Tape grants the SNTNL an additional 300 shield capacity, further bolstering its survivability.
        • Faster Shield Regeneration: Duct Tape causes the SNTNL’s shield to regenerate at a rate of 30% per second, allowing it to recover from damage more quickly.

        Duct Tape is the preferred option if your focus is on keeping the SNTNL alive and in the fight for longer periods. It’s especially useful in builds that rely on the SNTNL for crowd control or distraction, where its survivability is paramount. Additionally, Duct Tape’s enhanced shield regeneration is beneficial in situations where there’s a constant barrage of enemy fire.

        Zane’s Digi-Clone Disruption: Tactics for Takedowns

        Basics of the Digi-Clone Skill

        Zane’s Digi-Clone skill allows him to create a holographic decoy that draws enemy fire and can deal damage with its own weapons. The Digi-Clone can be customized with various augments that enhance its abilities, such as increased health, damage output, and movement speed.

        Positioning and Movement

        The positioning of the Digi-Clone is crucial for maximizing its effectiveness. By placing the Digi-Clone in strategic locations, players can create distractions, draw enemy aggro away from themselves, and control the flow of combat. Additionally, using the Digi-Clone’s movement abilities, such as sprinting and jumping, can help it avoid enemy fire and prolong its lifespan.

        Augment Selection

        The choice of augments for the Digi-Clone can significantly impact its performance. The following augments are particularly useful for takedowns:

        • Headshot: Increases the Digi-Clone’s critical hit damage.
        • Synchronicity: Allows the Digi-Clone to use Zane’s active skills.
        • Barrier: Creates a protective barrier around the Digi-Clone.
        • Clone Drone: Equips the Digi-Clone with a companion drone that provides additional fire support.

        Advanced Tactics

        Beyond the basics, there are several advanced tactics that can further enhance the effectiveness of Zane’s Digi-Clone in takedowns:

        • Positioning for Sniping: Place the Digi-Clone in cover to draw enemy fire, allowing Zane to safely engage from a distance with a sniper rifle.
        • Crowd Control: Use the Digi-Clone’s Barrier augment to create a temporary barricade, blocking enemy movement and preventing them from reaching Zane.
        • Double Trouble: Combine the Digi-Clone with the Kill Skill “Seein’ Red” to gain significant damage bonuses. “Seein’ Red” triggers whenever Zane kills an enemy with a critical hit, granting him increased critical hit damage and movement speed. By placing the Digi-Clone in a location where it can score critical hits, Zane can continuously trigger “Seein’ Red” and maintain its benefits.

        Legendary Class Mods for Zane: Tier List and Synergy

        As a master of trickery and deception, Zane Flynt’s class mods in Borderlands 3 offer various passive abilities that enhance his combat prowess. Here’s a tier list and synergy breakdown of the best legendary class mods for Zane:

        S-Tier

        These mods provide significant combat bonuses and synergize well with Zane’s kill skills and action skills:

        • Seein’ Dead: Boosts critical hit damage, increases Clone’s damage, and extends Barrier duration.
        • Infiltrator: Enhances the damage and cooldown of MNTIS.
        • Transformer: Converts elemental damage to shield capacity, making Zane extremely resilient.

        A-Tier

        These mods offer a balance of combat bonuses and utility:

        • Doubled Agent: Increases damage for Zane and his Clone, while also improving cooldown reduction.
        • Old God: Enhances grenade damage and provides increased health regeneration.
        • Executor: Boosts weapon damage after activating action skills, synergizing well with Zane’s fast cooldown abilities.

        B-Tier

        These mods provide situational benefits or less impactful bonuses:

        • Stonethrower: Increases accuracy and magazine size, but only while using heavy weapons.
        • Pearl of Ineffable Knowledge: Enhances skill duration and provides resistance to elemental damage.
        • Super Soldier: Boosts both health and shield capacity, but offers limited offensive bonuses.

        C-Tier

        These mods are generally outclassed by higher-tier options:

        • Agent: Increases damage for Zane and his Clone, but lacks additional bonuses.
        • Bounty Hunter: Boosts loot luck, but has minimal combat impact.

        D-Tier

        These mods provide minimal or negligible benefits, and are generally not recommended:

        • Static Charge: Increases lightning damage, but is situational and has limited synergy.

        Zane’s Barrier Masterclass: Maximum Protection and Utility

        Choosing the Right Skills

        To fully utilize the Barrier, invest in the following skills:

        • Barrier Extension: Extends the Barrier’s duration.
        • Calm, Cool, Collected: Reduces recharge time and depletion rate.
        • Barricade: Grants bonus damage, damage reduction, and increased Barrier health when inside.
        • Hyperfocus: Increases magazine size and critical damage while inside the Barrier.
        • All-Seeing Eye: Reveals nearby enemies and grants bonus elemental damage while inside.

        Optimizing Barrier Performance

        1. Placement and Positioning: Plant the Barrier strategically to cover key areas or provide a safe haven in open combat.

        2. Timing and Rotation: Deploy the Barrier before engaging in combat, and rotate it regularly to maintain coverage and avoid damage.

        3. Combining with Skills: Use skills like "Playing Dirty" to freeze enemies within the Barrier, or "Salvation" to restore health for allies inside.

        4. Triggering Perks: Certain skills grant bonuses while inside the Barrier, such as "SNTNL Support" for increased damage while SNTNL is active.

        5. Resistance Mods: Equip mods that reduce elemental damage taken or increase damage resistance while inside the Barrier.

        Advanced Barrier Techniques:

        6. Extending Barrier Duration:

        a. Anointed Weapons: Obtain weapons with the "Barrier Action Skill Duration" anointment, which grants additional duration upon performing an action skill.

        b. Class Mod Bonuses: Certain class mods, like the "Executor," provide passive bonuses to Barrier duration.

        c. Artifacts: Equip artifacts like the "Old God" or "White Elephant," which further extend the Barrier’s lifespan.

        d. Skill Synergies: Combining skills like "Barrier Extension" with "Calm, Cool, Collected" allows for significantly extended Barrier durations.

        e. Skill Augments: Augments such as "Borrowed Time" (increases Barrier duration while Triggered) and "Mechromagician" (increases Barrier duration while Schadenfreude is active) provide additional duration benefits.

        Zane’s Double Barrel “Infiltrator” Guide: One-Shot wonder

        Skills

        Zane’s Infiltrator skill tree offers a versatile array of abilities that enhance his survivability, movement speed, and damage output. To optimize the Double Barrel “Infiltrator” build, focus on these key skills:

        • Violent Speed: Increases movement speed when shield is depleted, synergizing with the Double Barrel’s short range.
        • Playing Dirty: Grants bonus Shield Capacity and Damage Reduction, bolstering Zane’s durability.
        • Best Served Cold: Adds Cryo damage to weapons, slowing down enemies and facilitating follow-up shots.

        Weapons

        The Double Barrel Shotgun is the cornerstone of this build. Its high base damage and spread make it ideal for close-range engagements.

        Equipment

        • Class Mod: Infiltrator: Specifically designed for this build, it enhances Double Barrel damage and cooldown rates.
        • Artifact: Ice Breaker Victory Rush: Increases shield capacity and Cryo damage, synergizing well with Violent Speed and Best Served Cold.

        Anointments

        • Weapon: Consecutive Hits: Boosts damage after each successful hit, maximizing Double Barrel’s burst potential.
        • Shield: Transformer: Converts Shock damage into Shields, providing additional survivability.

        Playstyle

        This build excels in close-quarters combat. Use Violent Speed to quickly approach targets, then unleash a devastating Double Barrel blast. Cryo damage slows down enemies, making them easier to hit and finish off. Deploy your SNTNL drone to distract foes and draw their attention away from you.

        Skill Tree Distribution

        Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5
        Synchronicity Violent Speed Playing Dirty Best Served Cold Double Barrel
        Cool Hand Pocket Full of Grenades Violent Momentum Seein’ Dead Supersonic Man
        Headman’s Hand Violent Tapestry Tricky Teleport High Card Fractal Frags
        Barrier Body and Soul Stinger Hive Synchronicity Not My Circus
        Adrenaline Restless Rumor has It Poindexter Replenish

        Zane’s Drone Delivery: Essential Skills for Support

        Active Skills

        **SNTNL**: Zane’s drone companion is a versatile support tool with various skills.

        Passive Skills

        **Cool Hand**: Increases accuracy and handling for both Zane and his drone while they have their respective action skills active.

        **Headshot**: Grants Zane and his drone bonus damage when hitting critical spots.

        Augment Skills

        **Drone Delivery**: Enhances Zane’s drone abilities, such as increased damage, movement speed, and health restoration.

        **High-Flyin’**: Allows Zane’s drone to stay airborne longer.

        Barrier Augments

        **Fabricator**: Grants Zane’s barrier the ability to create supply drones that deploy ammo and health to nearby allies.

        **Transformer**: Transforms Zane’s barrier into an energy field that damages enemies and transfers their health to the barrier.

        Kill Skills

        **Violent Momentum**: Grants Zane a bonus to speed and accuracy when killing multiple enemies in a row.

        **Seein’ Red**: Provides increased damage and fire rate when Zane’s shield is depleted.

        **Confident Competence**: Restores a portion of Zane’s action skill cooldown when he kills an enemy.

        Zane’s Frozen Caustic: Synergizing Ice and Corrosive

        Intro

        Zane is a master of action skills in Borderlands 3. Many of his skills can be specialized to apply certain status effects to your enemies, which in turn can synergize with certain builds and weapons, resulting in devastating results. One such example is his Frozen Caustic build, which pairs the cryo (ice) and corrosive damage types to maximize the damage potential of certain weapons and skills.

        Skill Tree

        To create a Frozen Caustic build, you’ll want to focus on Zane’s skills that can either apply cryo or corrosive damage to enemies, or that benefit from applying multiple status effects. Some key skills for this build include:

        • Action Skill: CCC (Cold, Calculated, Cruel) – This action skill grants you the ability to toss a clone that deals cryo damage with every shot.
        • Lone Star – This passive skill increases your critical damage whenever you have an action skill active, such as CCC.
        • Deep Freeze – This skill will freeze enemies that are damaged by your CCC action skill, setting them up for increased damage..
        • Confounding Status – This skill increases your damage against enemies that are afflicted by multiple status effects.
        • Pipe Bomb – This skill causes your grenades to explode twice, dealing both cryo and corrosive damage.
        • Cold Bore – This passive skill grants you bonus weapon damage after you deal cryo damage to an enemy.
        • Headman’s Hand – This skill increases your gun damage after you deal corrosive damage to an enemy.
        • He Bites! – This skill causes your SNTNL to deal cryo damage with its rockets.
        • Lasting Impression – This skill increases the duration of all status effects that you apply to enemies.

        Weapons

        When choosing weapons for a Frozen Caustic build, you’ll want to focus on weapons that deal either cryo or corrosive damage, or that can apply both status effects simultaneously. Some good choices include:

        Weapon Type Weapon Name Element
        Assault Rifle Plasma Coil Cryo
        Shotgun Flipper Cryo & Corrosive
        Sniper Rifle King’s Call Corrosive
        Rocket Launcher Krakatoa Corrosive
        Grenade Mod Ice Breaker Cryo

        Tips for Tanky Zane Builds: Surviving Mayhem 10

        Damage Absorption

        • Equip the Transformer shield: This shield instantly absorbs 100% of shock damage, making you immune to Moze’s splash damage and Maliwan shock attacks. Its capacity is also increased by 20% for each point of Health you sacrifice.
        • Embrace the Barrier action skill: Zane’s Barrier can absorb enemy fire, providing you with extra protection while you advance or retreat.
        • Choose the Body and Mind skill tree: This tree offers skills that boost Zane’s health, shield capacity, and damage absorption. The Violent Momentum skill, for example, grants a health shield equal to 15% of your action skill damage.

        Shield Regeneration

        • Use the Old God shield: This shield regenerates 1% of your shield every second, keeping your defenses up in heated battles.
        • Equip the Stop-Gap shield: This shield instantly restores your shields to full when you enter Fight for Your Life.
        • Take advantage of the Drone Delivery skill: This skill deploys a drone that heals nearby allies and regenerates shields.

        Damage Avoidance

        • Enhance your movement speed: Use the Speed Demon skill and the Seein’ Red class mod to boost your movement speed, making it harder for enemies to hit you.
        • Equip the Front Loader shield: This shield increases your speed while it is not depleted, allowing you to easily evade enemy attacks.
        • Use the Shield of Retribution: This shield deflects 30% of incoming damage back at your attackers, deterring them from shooting you.

        Miscellaneous Tips

        • Upgrade your weapons and gear: Higher-level weapons and gear will significantly improve your survivability in Mayhem 10.
        • Form a team with other players: Combining different character abilities can provide additional protection and support.
        • Utilize cover and line of sight: Smart positioning and cover utilization can drastically reduce the damage you take.
        • Be patient: Surviving Mayhem 10 requires a combination of skill, strategy, and patience. Don’t get discouraged and keep fighting!

        Best Zane Build for Borderlands 3

        Zane Flynt is one of the four playable Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3, and he is a master of gadgets and technology. He has a variety of skills and abilities that can be customized to fit any playstyle, making him a versatile and powerful character. In this guide, we will discuss the best Zane build for Borderlands 3, including his best skills, weapons, and gear.

        Zane’s best skills are those that enhance his survivability and damage output. Some of the best skills to invest in include:

        • SNTNL-057: Zane’s drone is a powerful ally that can deal damage, revive downed teammates, and provide cover. The "Drone Delivery" skill improves the drone’s damage output, while the "Calm, Cool, Collected" skill reduces the drone’s cooldown.
        • Barrier: Zane’s barrier is a versatile tool that can be used to block enemy fire, provide cover for teammates, and reflect projectiles. The "Confident Competence" skill increases the barrier’s health, while the "Headshot" skill adds bonus damage to enemies who shoot through the barrier.
        • Digi-Clone: Zane’s Digi-Clone is a holographic decoy that can distract enemies and deal damage. The "Trick of the Light" skill increases the Digi-Clone’s damage output, while the "Infilitrator" skill allows the Digi-Clone to teleport behind enemies.

        People Also Ask About Best Zane Build BL3

        What are the best weapons for Zane?

        Zane’s best weapons are those that take advantage of his skills and abilities. Some of the best weapons for Zane include:

        • Jakobs rifles: Zane’s "Headshot" skill increases the damage of precision weapons, making Jakobs rifles a great choice for him.
        • Vladof pistols: Vladof pistols have a high rate of fire, which is perfect for Zane’s "Drone Delivery" skill.
        • Maliwan weapons: Maliwan weapons deal elemental damage, which can be very effective against certain enemies. Zane’s "Ice Breaker" skill can increase the damage of Maliwan weapons even further.

        What is the best gear for Zane?

        Zane’s best gear is that which enhances his skills and abilities. Some of the best gear for Zane includes:

        • COMs with the "Transformer" or "Executor" prefix: These COMs increase the damage of Zane’s Digi-Clone and Barrier, respectively.
        • Artifacts with the "Badass" or "Chrono" prefix: These artifacts increase Zane’s survivability and damage output, respectively.
        • Relics with the "Breaker" or "Rectifier" prefix: These relics increase the damage of Zane’s SNTNL-057 and Digi-Clone, respectively.