Krieg Skill Trees and General Information

Salutations! This document contains important and reliable information about skill trees, general builds, and useful information for Krieg. This list was compiled and put together by the members of the BL2 chat in the Borderlands community discord. While not all of the builds listed will tackle all of the content in the game (looking at you, Voracidous), they will work for general play and be useful throughout all levels of the game. All of the gear and general information listed in this guide is up-to-date with the Fight For Sanctuary DLC, and is fine tuned to show the best gear and data for Krieg.

Any questions or concerns related to the information showcased in this document can be answered by the member(s) listed below.

Managed by temmmmy#1010 and Raylen#9948 (temmmmy, Ray)

Basic Information

        Krieg is the Psycho class of Borderlands 2. He has a plethora of builds that involve his skill trees quite extensively. Being the only character released with UVHM in mind, he is very well balanced around the concepts brought in the new mode (slag and HP regen). On the other hand, Krieg’s playstyle is slightly harder to master than others, and should be saved until after you have a handle on the game. His action skill is Buzz Axe Rampage, in which he is equipped with a buzz axe only capable of melee attacks, and ranged throws. Krieg is known for his exemplary mobbing, but also for his in depth bossing, which requires a lot of thought to pull off. Krieg excels with melee, explosive builds, and group mobbing. Krieg has a different melee scaling to other characters in this game (Will be covered in the formula section).

Skill Overview and Guide

        Buzz Axe Rampage: For his action skill, Krieg puts away all weapons and is equipped with a buzz axe. The buzz axe can either be used as melee, or by throwing it at enemies. Buzz axe rampage has a base duration of 16 seconds, with a base cooldown of 120 seconds. However, taking damage from enemies will lower this cooldown (regardless if Fuel the Rampage is spec’d). In the earlier difficulties of the game, this ability is used almost always for proper damage and a strong melee build, but later on becomes more utility based (for speed, besides melee builds). In melee builds, this action skill is still very strong.

Note: Values here are listed at 5/5 or 1/1

Bloodlust Tree:  

Krieg's left tree focuses on the "Bloodlust" mechanic. Bloodlust gives a myriad of benefits depending on which skills you choose in this tree. Bloodlust stacks do not last for very long, and caps out at 100 stacks.

Blood-Filled Guns:

Adds +2.5% magazine size per stack of Bloodlust. This skill is a vital part of any Krieg build. Worth picking up on every build. Bonus magazine size leads to higher DPS throughout, as you can spend more time actually shooting your gun. Synergizes well with any type of weapons, but especially Tediore weaponry in use for raid boss killing.

Blood Twitch: 

Gives +1.5% weapon swap speed per stack of Bloodlust. Another skill that is very valuable for a Gun Based Krieg build and becomes much more valuable in UVHM as Slag becomes more of a necessity.  This swap speed grant's super fast access to slag from weapons (and works wonders with Fuel the Fire, skill explained in Hellborn tree).

Taste of Blood:

Gives 0.5% damage reduction per stack of Bloodlust during BXR and gives 30 stacks of Bloodlust per kill during BXR. This skill is great for a Melee Krieg build as it allows you to become even tankier and allows you to stay constantly capped on Bloodlust with quick melee kills during BXR. However, it is commonly skipped on most other builds. See damage reduction formula in Extra Information.

Bloody Revival:

+1.5% Assault Rifle damage during Fight For Your Life per Bloodlust stack. This skill is not recommended as it is too situational, being only for ARs and only in Fight For Your Life. 5 points better spent elsewhere.

Blood Overdrive:

 Killing an enemy with a bullet gives +2.5% melee damage and -0.02 grenade fuse time per bloodlust stack. This skill is underperforming, and not often specced into and use- it is not inherently bad, rather there are better skills to put points into. This skill will not give you melee damage unless you spec at least 1 point into Taste of Blood.

Blood Bath: 

Killing an enemy with a grenade or explosion gives +2.5% weapon damage per Bloodlust stack for a short time. Enemies killed this way have a 75% chance of dropping Grenade Ammunition. This skill is HIGHLY recommended for almost every Krieg build. Not only does it allow a massive damage increase to any weapon (up to a total of 550% with the right class mod), it also gives enemies a basically guaranteed/guaranteed (dependent on points spec’d) chance to drop grenades to continue your killing. Important to note: Some weapons (Hail, Peak Opener, etc.) are able to activate Blood Bath themselves since their gunfire is classified as an explosion. For more information, a splash guide is listed in extra information. In general - weapons with Grenade or Launcher splash., or shield novas are able to proc Blood Bath.

Buzz Axe Bombardier:

Attaches dynamite to Krieg's Buzz Axe throws while in BXR. This skill is generally specced into melee builds, for extra damage combined with Fuel the Blood. However, it is important to state that this skill will make thrown buzz axes deal significantly less damage to enemies that resist grenade damage (such as constructors). Regardless, should always be picked in a melee Krieg setup.

Fuel the Blood:

Killing an enemy with a melee attack gives +1% Grenade damage per Bloodlust stack for a short time and adds +10 Bloodlust stacks. This skill works wonders in tandem with Buzz Axe Bombardier as chucks from that skill scale with grenade damage. As such, chucking the buzzaxe with Bombardier and Fuel the Blood leads to massively increased damage. Furthermore, very useful skill if you plan on incorporating grenade chucking into your Melee Build and is useful for some raid boss setups and efficient kills. Overall, a very good skill (in theory, necessary) for a melee Krieg build. With this skill active - if you hit yourself with Silence the Voices, you will take massively increased damage (Silence the Voices scales with Grenade Damage).

Blood Trance:

Increases the duration of Buzz Axe Rampage by +0.25 seconds per Bloodlust stack (at time of activation). This skill is generally only picked up in melee Krieg builds, due to an excess of skill points. It is not that good for bossing due to long BXR time leading to no HP regen, however it can work rather well for mobbing. Hit or miss skill, in general.

Boiling Blood:

Increases the time before Bloodlust stacks start to decay by +2.5 seconds. This skill is highly recommended for every Krieg build, as keeping up Bloodlust stacks are a very important aspect for Krieg play. This skill becomes much more valuable in later difficulties, as the bonuses from Bloodlust become more and more important.

Nervous Blood:

Killing an enemy gives +1.5% Reload Speed per Bloodlust stack for a short time. Another vital skill for any Gun based Krieg Build, as it allows for a massive 150% extra Reload Speed with no Class Mod at 100 stacks. This reload speed will basically always be active in mobbing due to Krieg being a kill heavy character, and is a free DPS boost.

Bloodsplosion:

Killing an enemy causes them to explode with an Elemental Nova matching the element of the damage that killed it (Non-Elemental damage will cause an Explosive Nova). Overkill damage is added to this damage. Each Bloodlust stack increases this damage by 5%. This skill is one of Krieg's strongest skills, and is recommended in almost EVERY situation. As an example, this skill allows Krieg to one shot Pyro Pete the Invincible on OP10 with the correct set up. It can allow for entire rooms of mobs to be cleared out from just a single enemy being killed. This skill is a MUST for nearly all Krieg builds. This skill is one of the sole reasons that makes raiding on Krieg (for a majority of raid bosses) possible - the other being Blood Bath and Fuel the Blood. Get this skill as soon as possible once the Mania skill tree is finished in TVHM.

Mania Tree:

        Krieg’s mania tree heavily focuses on melee damage, and his action skill, Buzz Axe Rampage. The tree has boosts to melee damage, health, health regen on a kill, and explosive damage, to increase Krieg’s effectiveness in melee.

Empty the Rage:

+20% Melee Damage; additional +50% while Shield or Magazine is empty. No reason to not pick this up in a Melee Build, recommended in almost every Melee situation (some setups can be done without it).

        Pull the Pin:

Generally a very lacking skill, and is not recommended in most situations, and is completely useless once Max Level is reached. However, one good use for this skill is farming the Bunker with this skill for massive XP gain. Not recommended outside of this one use.

Feed the Meat:

+50% Max Health and +2.5 sec Shield Recharge Delay. This skill is a must have for every single Krieg build. 50% maximum health heavily contributes to Krieg’s “in your face” playstyle, and is very vital to any build. The shield recharge delay is very useful for many of the boosts received when shield is down from skills in this tree, and for Hellborn Krieg especially, with his use of the Flame of the Firehawk Shield. This skill is recommended to be picked up almost immediately. Generally considered (and in my opinion) to be one of the best Krieg skills. With the Legendary Psycho class mod, you can get 100% Max Health - effectively doubling your health with 1 skill alone.

Embrace the Pain:

+35% Fire Rate when Shields are down. +5 second shield recharge delay. This skill is highly important for many Krieg builds, especially gun based builds, for more DPS through Fire Rate buffs and is useful for massive Shield Recharge Delay, letting you take advantage of the Fire Rate Buff for much longer. Synergizes extremely well with the Rough Rider, since it is down at all times - you will always get the fire rate bonus.

Fuel the Rampage:

+100% BXR cooldown from taking damage; additional +100% from taking Health damage. You can now be damaged by Teammates; friendly fire damage is 30%. This skill is a must for early game Melee Krieg if you are playing Solo, and is still somewhat recommended for Multiplayer. However, friendly fire damage can be very detrimental at times, so caution is recommended if picking this skill up in Multiplayer. Spec’d out of once Release the Beast is available at level 31.

        Thrill of the Kill:

Up to 90% of overkill damage is returned to you as Health, depending on how low your health is. This skill is almost always used for every Krieg build, as it contributes heavily to his survivability. However, given this high percentage of overkill damage dealt, normally only 1 point is specced here, which still receives full HP back. Recommended to be specced as early as possible to increase survivability.

        Light the Fuse:

Fight For Your Life is replaced with Light the Fuse. During Light the Fuse you pull out a live bundle of dynamite and can move normally. The bundle detonates when the timer runs out. If you kill someone you are revived. Getting a revive with the bundle explosion gives you bonus Movement Speed for the remainder of the time that was left in Light the Fuse. Light the fuse is a very niche skill point, and generally not used in normal Krieg builds. Light the fuse is only picked up in a suicide Krieg build, which is not used often. Outside of that, this skill is not worth putting a point into. With Blood Bath, Fuel the Blood, and Blood Overdrive working in FFYL, you will deal better damage with those skills.

        Strip the Flesh:

+15% Explosive Damage; addition +15% while in Fight For Your Life. Highly recommended skill for any Explosive based Krieg build. Up to a massive 33% increase with the right Class Mod, you should generally always pick this skill up. This skill is multiplicative which gives it a lot more boost than the card suggests.

        Redeem the Soul:

You can instantly Revive teammates at the cost of downing yourself. You may revive in this way only once each time Buzz axe Rampage is on cooldown. +50% Fight For Your Life time. This skill is generally used when you have extra skill points to spend, as it is useful for the FFYL time it gives. This skill should be treated as a last resort, when you don’t have anything else important to put points into.

        Salt the Wound:

Taking damage from an enemy while your shield is down adds a stack of Salt the Wound to a maximum of 20. +7.5% Melee Damage and +5% Shotgun damage per stack. This skill is very useful for a melee Krieg and deputy Krieg build, as the shotgun damage and melee damage it gives is very important. Almost always worth picking this skill up if you are going down to grab Release the Beast.

        Silence the Voices:

+250 Melee Damage; +12% chance to attack yourself with Melee attacks. This skill is virtually required for a melee Krieg build and should never be skipped over when making one. With the right class mod, you can get up to a massive 550% Melee Damage boost! However, please keep in mind, the 12% self attack can come into play more often than you may think, being notorious for giving some unlucky players 5 or more chains of self hits. Use with slight caution, but always pick up for Melee. With Fuel the Blood active, this skill will be able to one hit down you if you hit yourself - so err on the side of caution.

        Release the Beast:

Activating the Buzz Axe Rampage when at or below 33% of your max health remaining (i.e., when the ! is showing) instantly refills your health and transforms you into a Badass Psycho Mutant with +100% Melee Damage and +50% Damage Reduction. Buzz Axe Rampage is instantly recharged afterwards. This skill is essential to all melee based Krieg builds. The amount of damage reduction and melee damage given is vital to mobbing with Krieg, as well as the fact it immediately refills your health to full. With this skill, chaining kills and mobbing is a breeze for melee Krieg.

Hellborn Tree: 

Krieg's Hellborn Tree focuses heavily on elemental damage and setting yourself on fire. With bonuses to Elemental Effect Chance, to bonuses to yourself while you are on fire. Important to note, this tree is not recommended for early game at all, as setting yourself on fire will be very detrimental because of the lack of health and bonuses for being on fire. Only recommended in mid to late game.

To clarify, this skill tree does not revolve around only fire DoT damage - it revolves around being on fire, and the bonuses from being on fire. You can deal all elemental damage (corrosive, shock, slag) and do amazing damage with this tree - you are not fire locked (helped out with Delusional Damage, as explained below).

Burn, Baby, Burn:

+35% (+75% when on fire) Burn Damage. +35% per fire attack to set self on fire. A flat +35% Burn Damage at all times is very powerful, increasing all the all up to 75% when you are on fire. Recommended for a Hellborn Krieg build.

Fuel the Fire:

Kill Skill. +35% chance per fire attack to set self on fire. Killing an enemy gives +200% Elemental Effect Chance for a short time. Allows you to constantly stay on fire and very easily apply Damage Over Time (DoT) on the enemy. Highly recommended for almost every Krieg build. Combined with Blood Twitch, gives Krieg some of, if not the best, ability to slag with weapons in the game.

Chance to set yourself on fire:

0.07 * [# of points in Burn, Baby, Burn] + [# of points in Fuel the Fire]

        Numbed Nerves:

+50% damage reduction when on fire. Although the percentage is misleading, the damage reduction on this skill is still extremely valuable and should never be passed up.  Damage reduction guide in Extra Information.

Pain is Power:

+25% (+50% when on fire) Weapon and Melee Damage (except for Sniper Rifles). -25% Critical Hit Damage. This skill is very top tier for all attributes of Krieg gameplay. 50% weapon and melee damage is vastly important to Krieg, and Krieg does not care for critical hit damage all too much, which makes this skill vastly important to him. Worth picking up in almost every build. However, hitting crits with this skill will still do more damage than not hitting crits, so you should still aim for crits whenever possible.

        Elemental Elation:

When Elemental Status Effect Damage is being done to enemies you gain stacks of Elemental Elation up to a maximum of 20. Each stack gives +3% Fire Rate and +5% Magazine Size. Stacks will not decay while you are on fire. This skill gives up to a maximum of +60% Fire Rate, and 100% Magazine Size. This skill is extremely powerful, as it gives huge bonuses. Never pass it up. More bonuses to go alongside Blood Filled Guns and Embrace the Pain.

Delusional Damage:

All Elemental Status Effects you cause have a chance to light yourself on fire. Ignite chances are determined by those accumulated from Burn, Baby, Burn and Fuel the Fire. Delusional Damage is vital to all builds involving hellborn tree in any meaningful way, as it allows other elements to be used, not just fire. Highly recommended for almost all builds, to be able to get on fire bonuses for all elements.

        Fire Fiend:

Melee Attacks have a +50% chance to Ignite enemies. +50% Weapon Accuracy and +35% Reload Speed when on fire. While the main use is unconventional, the extra Accuracy is not bad and the extra Reload Speed is great, if you have 5 points you don't feel would do as well somewhere else, this is always a great pick. This reload speed is always active (in effect), alternatively to  Nervous Blood - being a kill skill. Generally better off for bossing, in that regard.

        Flame Flare:

+100% Burn Duration on you. +75% chance for your Burn effects to apply another Burn effect. Simple but powerful skill. Allows you to stay on fire longer, keeping your bonuses, and keeps your enemies on fire longer as well. However, this skill stacks indefinitely and can eventually do enough damage to kill you, thus leading it to be a mediocre skill at best. Generally only 1 point is put into it.

        Hellfire Halitosis:

Melee Override Skill. Pressing Melee causes you to breathe fire in a cone in front of you. Cooldown is 15 seconds. Not a very effective skill, not only does it do lackluster damage, it locks you into the animation for a time, making you unable to heal or move effectively. Not recommended.

        Elemental Empathy:

Elemental status effect damage heals you for 25% of the damage dealt. Amazing skill for its ability to keep you in the fight longer, without the need of a Moxxi weapon. Essential for all Krieg builds that venture this far into the hellborn tree.

        Raving Retribution:

While you are on fire, taking damage from enemies will spawn homing balls of fire that seek out the attacker and explode on impact. Fireballs only trigger once per second. Very powerful skill, not only do the fireballs do good damage, they apply a fire Damage over Time (DoT) to your enemies, allowing you to keep up all your bonuses. This skill can proc Blood Bath.

Gear Guide:

The highlighted colors match the rarities of the items in-game. Effervescent/rainbow rarity is highlighted with this color, and non-uniques with this color.

Guns: 

Assault Rifles:

Ogre, Peak Opener/ Kerblaster, Hail, Torgue Spitter, Rapier, Kitten, Sawbar, Lead Storm, Seeker, Stinkpot, Torgue Barreled Jakobs ARs

Shotguns:

Torgue Ravager/Hulk, Swordsplosion/ Unicornsplosion, Flakker, Carnage, Omen, Heartbreaker, Blockhead

Honorable Mentions:

Conference Call, Interfacer, Slowhand, Butcher , Striker, Citrine Coach Gun, Quartz Oberkill, Twister, Orphan Maker

Pistols:

Unkempt Harold, Tediore E-Techs

Honorable Mentions:

Infection, Lady Fist, Gunerang, Hyperion Darts,  Vladof Darts, Wanderlust

Utility: Grog Nozzle, (Slag) Rubi, (low level) Logan’s Gun

SMGs:

 Baby Maker, Avenger/ Infection Cleaner, Tediore Plasma Casters, Tattler, Maliwan Plasma Casters, Crit, Nirvana/Hellfire

 Utility: Slagga

Sniper Rifles:

Keep in mind, all snipers shown are more niche than not.                

Lyuda, Maliwan Rakehells and Sniders, Elemental Vladof Droogs

Utility: (Slag) Pimpernel, Amigo Sincero, Trespasser

Launchers: 

Vladof Topneaa, Badaboom, Creamer, Tediore Launcher

Honorable Mentions:

 12 Pounder, World Burn, Mongol, Non-unique Bandit Launchers

Utility: (low level) Badaboom

Items:

Grenades:

Bonus Package/Meteor Shower, Fastball (mostly explosive), Crossfire, Leech, Pandemic, Storm Front/Electric Chair
Honorable Mentions: Contraband Skyrocket, Kiss of Death, Quasar

Shields:

Blockade, Neogenator/Evolution, Rough Rider, Flame of the Firehawk,

Honorable Mentions: Hide of Terramorphus, Love Thumper, Antagonist

Class Mods:

Legendary Psycho, Legendary Reaper, Legendary Sickle, (Diesel) Sickle, (Flesh) Crunch, (Scream) Sickle, Legendary Torch, (Power/Razed) Toast, (Blood/Diesel) Blister

Honorable Mentions: (Chaotic Neutral/Evil) Barbarian , (Beef) Slab, (Salt) Meat

Relics:

Blood of the Ancients, Explosive Relic, Sheriffs Badge

Honorable Mentions: Elemental Relic, Stockpile Relic, Bone of the Ancients, Tediore Allegiance Relic

Gameplay Guide

Playstyle: Krieg’s playstyle has a heavy emphasis on “in your face combat” and close quarters fighting. Krieg is able to face-tank many enemies and survive very well through use of his skills, which allow him to play up close and personal. However, it is for this reason that he is not recommended to be a starting character, as his learning curve is very high, and should be avoided until you learn how to play the game. Having said that, Krieg has very high survivability and is often considered one of, if not the best, mobbing character ingame. He is very aggressive, and able to keep control of the battlefield very well, in all difficulties.

Action Skill: Krieg’s action skill, buzz axe rampage, is very reliant on what build you choose to run. Where the action skill is vital in all melee builds, it is not used outside of speed boosts (out of combat) in any other build. Since the damage dealt in this ability is melee, BXR is only used for melee builds. The action skill can be used in out of combat zones to move 20% faster than normal, outside of melee builds, for a general use. However, outside of that, there is no need for BXR without wanting to do melee Krieg.

Basic Mobbing: As stated above, Krieg has one of the strongest mobbing potential in game. As Krieg was released after UVHM, he is the only vault hunter balanced around UVHM. In this case, he doesn’t need slag, but still benefits from it. With bloodsplosion, and his ability to chain kills with ease thanks to Thrill of the Kill, mobbing is very easy and fun for him.

Raiding: Krieg, in being one of the most complex characters in this game, needs constant attention and knowledge of in game interactions to raid for some bosses. This doesn’t make him a bad raider, but one that takes commitment. He is able to solo every raid in game at 80op10, but some raids take more effort than others (Dragons are a lot harder than someone like Pete, for example). His raiding requires time, knowledge of the character and the raid boss, commitment to the character, and effort to pull off.

Damage Formula:

For damage, Krieg has quite a large bloat in scale damage for weapons coming from his skills (Bloodbath). However, his melee damage formula can be rather complicated with the way it interacts with bladed weapons and BXR. Note: For our purposes, “Elemental Damage” refers to StF and relics, “Elemental Modifier” refers to shield, flesh etc.

Weapon Damage:

(Weapon Base Damage*Scale Gun + Amp/Pellets)*Elemental Damage*Elemental Modifier*Crit

• Scale Gun = 1 + (Bloodbath + Salt the Wound + Bloody Revival + Pain is Power + Relic)
• Crit = (2+PreAdd)(1+Scale)/(1 - Pain is Power^[1] - Negative Scale)+PostAdd

Melee Damage: This is out of BXR, without a blade

[2*(1+0.02*Player Level)*(8^GameStage) + Roid]*(Scale Melee + Relic)

• Scale Melee = 1 + (Empty the Rage + StV + Salt the Wound + Pain is Power + COM)

Bladed Melee Damage: Out of BXR, with a bladed weapon

[2.5*(8^GameStage) + Roid]*(Blade*Scale Melee + Relic)

• Scale Melee = 1 + (Empty the Rage + StV + Salt the Wound + Pain is Power + COM)

BXR Melee Damage: Do I even need to explain (who am i kidding, you’re a bl2 player ofc i do)

[10*(1+0.02*Player Level)*(8^GameStage) + Roid]*(Scale Melee + Relic)

- Scale Melee = 1 + (RtB + Empty the Rage + StV + Salt the Wound + Pain is Power + COM)

Buzz Axe Bombardier: Note: Normal thrown axes are basically the same thing but omit all the stuff after melee damage.

0.6*BXR Melee Damage*Grenade Damage*Explosive Damage*Explosive Modifier.

Leveling Guide

        Simple Leveling Info: Krieg has a rather easy time leveling through mid-late game, and a mediocre time within early game content. His action skill works very well in normal mode, and Krieg play is a breeze once you unlock Release the Beast at level 31. Note: Take these guides with a grain of salt. They are only recommendations and templates for levelling and are completely subject to change depending on your own preferences. 

Other guides linked in Extra Information at the bottom

Melee Tree Start: Lvl 5-31 (Normal Mode) https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#00000000000050550104050100000000000

Krieg’s melee tree is very useful, and should almost always be the main start for a new Krieg build. It has great skills, such as Feed the Meat and Thrill of the Kill, to help with the up close and personal aspect of the gameplay.

        Gun Krieg: Lvl 16-31 (NVHM)

https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000100000000000000000000000000000 

Generally, you wouldn’t want to start this build until you have at least 1 point into Blood Bath - in which case, you also want a COM that boosts Blood Bath (Blood Blister being the ideal COM). The usefulness of this leveling experience is to use weapons that can proc Blood Bath (launcher splash/grenade splash that is explained well here) to deal massive damage outputs. A main focus is being able to keep up Bloodlust stacks, mostly through corrosive DoTs or Tesla Vladof Grenades. Eventually, you want to reach Bloodsplosion at level 31 like so. 

        Melee Build+: Lvl 31-52 (TVHM/Early UVHM) https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#50500515000050500104055100000000000

Throughout TVHM, your main focus for a melee build is getting down left tree to get Fuel the Blood and Buzz Axe Bombardier, to boost your thrown Buzz Axe damage. Your survivability is greatly increased, with Taste of Blood giving damage reduction, and gaining increased mag size and damage from Blood Filled Guns and Blood Bath respectively.

Explosive Krieg+: Lvl 31-52 (TVHM/Early UVHM) https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500055100550105000005000000000

With the explosive Krieg build, your main focus is keeping up high bloodlust stacks and using splash weapons to keep up a variety of damage increasing skills. Some of the most important skills are Blood Bath and Strip the Flesh, and the general playstyle of the build is garnering high bloodlust stacks, to increase weapon swap speed, mag size, damage, and more. Your main focus after this spec is to start working down Hellborn tree, for more damage buffs, and survivability.

Gun Krieg+: Lvl 31-52 (TVHM/Early UVHM)

With the continuation of the Gun Krieg build, you are able to get more points within middle and eventually right tree to maximum your DPS output and kill enemies and bosses efficiently. Weapon recommendations and COM recommendations stay the same (weapons that proc Blood Bath, Rough Rider, Blood Blister COM, explosive/health relic, Tesla grenades), while the build is further expanded with middle/right tree. First off, I would recommend getting Fuel the Fire and Numbed Nerves like so. With Fuel the Fire, you are able to slag and get DoTs more efficiently in general, to the point of almost guaranteed slag - in which you can stack Bloodlust better. After this, work down the middle tree to reach a point into Thrill of the Kill and Strip the Flesh, like so. Once you hit UVHM, your goal is to reach the end of Hellborn tree, as in a general explosive Krieg spec, but with different weapons and COM to efficiently proc Blood Bath. 

Builds

Note: There is no true single best build, every build has its strengths, weaknesses and role. Builds are fairly subjective and boil down to how you want to play. That being said, these are some Krieg builds to try out. Feel free to change these builds around to your liking. (All of these builds are level 80). If you request lvl 72 builds, the maintainers of the docs will be glad to help you out.

Explosive: The explosive build is a very well put together build, that is very strong at both mobbing and bossing (granted, with some knowledge of the game). It is highly recommended to use a majority of launcher/grenade splash weapons.

Recommended Gear: Rough Rider, Fastball, Crossfire, Flesh Crunch, Legendary Reaper, Peak Opener, weapons that can proc Blood Bath, Torgue Shotguns, Slagga, Explosive Relic, Badaboom, Carnage, Flakker, Harold, Hail, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500055100550105000005555151051  

Blood Blister Krieg: The “gun Krieg” build is a very well put together build, that is very strong at both mobbing and bossing (granted, with some knowledge of the game). It is highly recommended to use a majority of launcher/grenade splash weapons. Very similar to Explosive Krieg in terms of playstyle

Recommended Gear: Rough Rider, Pandemic, Tesla grenades, Storm Front, Fastball, Crossfire, Blood Blister COM, Legendary Reaper, Peak Opener, weapons that can proc bbath, Torgue Shotguns, Slagga, Explosive Relic, Blood of the Ancients, Badaboom, Carnage, Flakker, Harold, Hail, Kitten, Blockhead, etc

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500055100550105000005555151051  

Hellborn: This hellborn spec revolves around use of elemental weapons (not only fire weapons, thanks to Delusional Damage) to deal massive DoT damage.

Recommended Gear: Elemental weapons, Hail, Kitten, Slagga, Topneaas, Flame of the Firehawk, Legendary Torch, Slowhand, Grog, Rapier, Rough Rider, Legendary Sickle, Scream Sickle, Crossfire, Pandemic, Leech, Storm Front, Blood of the Ancients, Heartbreaker, Blockhead, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500055100550100000035555153051 

Hybrid melee: The hybrid melee build revolves around the combination of the trifecta of kill skills in the bloodlust tree, that being Blood Overdrive, Blood Bath, and Fuel the Blood. It is generally not used often, but a rather fun and viable build.

Recommended Gear: Weapons that can proc bbath, Slagga, Rapier, Rough Rider, Legendary Sickle, Scream Sickle, Crossfire, Pandemic, Leech, Storm Front, Blood of the Ancients, etc.

Skill Tree: https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000515005150550105055105505100000

Melee: Krieg’s melee build is very fun and used for mobbing, and is very lax about skill point placement. The only requirement is Silence the Voices and Release the Beast, while other factors are optional. Keep in mind, this build is not used often for bossing.

Recommended Gear: Slagga, Rapier, Rough Rider, Legendary Sickle, Scream Sickle, Crossfire, Pandemic, Leech, Kiss of Death, Storm Front, Blood of the Ancients, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#50500515050150550105055105500100000 (Blood Trance or Pain is Power is personal choice)

Alternative Melee: A very good build in its own regard, this alternative melee spec has more emphasis on going into Hellborn tree for more healing, while also not having certain skills. Thrill of the Kill is not picked up in order to not get a kill to get pushed out of RtB range (where a kill in BXR/RtB heals you to full anyways), likewise, we go down to Elemental Empathy to get more healing from our fire DoTs. ⅕ is taken in Empty the Rage as Legendary Sickle boosts it to 6/5.

Recommended Gear: Slagga, Rapier, Rough Rider, Legendary Sickle, Scream Sickle, Crossfire, Pandemic, Leech, Kiss of Death, Storm Front, Blood of the Ancients, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#50500515050110550004055105550104020 

Peak Krieg: This build is exclusively made for the Peak on Krieg. Since you want to control your kills, there is a distinct lack of Bloodsplosion. This build is not recommended outside of getting OP levels.

Recommended Gear: Fastball, Infection, Pandemic, Storm Front, Hail, Torgue Shotguns, Harold, Slagga, Grog, Flame of the Firehawk, Rough Rider, Topneaas, Flakker, Hive, Kitten, Splash damage weapons that can proc Blood Bath, Explosive Relic, Blood of the Ancients, Bone of the Ancients, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500055000550205100005555105051 

Melee Hellborn: Melee hellborn Krieg is a very fun, but rather underused, melee build. Instead of focusing on the damage from thrown buzzaxes with Buzz Axe Bombardier, it focuses on keeping up DoT damage to keep up health and survivability, and damage.

Recommended Gear: Flame of the Firehawk, Slagga, Legendary Sickle/Torch, Slayer of Terramorphus, Power Toast, Bone of the Ancients/Blood of the Ancients, Topneaas, Crossfire, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55005505005100550105000054505102051 

Javelin Krieg: Javelin Krieg revolves around the use of Tediore launcher mechanics in order to do massive amounts of damage (Note: for mobbing only). This build is very good at crowd control mobbing, and is recommended for fun mobbing situations.

Recommended Gear: Tediore E-Tech Launcher, Bunny, Legendary Psycho, Crossfire, Rough Rider, Explosive Relic, Blood of the Ancients, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55005505005100550105000054505102051 

Suicide Krieg: Suicide Krieg is a niche build, and is used very rarely in mobbing situations. It is a specialized build that utilizes the Deadly Bloom and Light the Fuse to essentially blow up enemies with you. Note: Suicide Krieg is not a very effective playstyle

Recommended Gear: Deadly Bloom, Explosive Relic, Crossfire, Slagga, Flesh Crunch

Skill Tree: https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000505055150550115105005505100000 

Deputy Krieg: Deputy Krieg, made by Demonite, is a Krieg build that uses shotguns, mostly Jakobs shotguns, and critical hits to deal massive mobbing damage. This build is very niche, while still being rather viable at the highest difficulties. For more information, check out the video linked in Extra Info.

Recommended Gear: Twister, Blockhead, Striker, Coach Gun, Bushwack, Orphan Maker, Slagga, Crossfire, Storm Front, Blood Blister, Legendary Reaper, Legendary Psycho, Chaotic Evil Barbarian, Lawful Evil Barbarian, Blood of the Ancients, Deputy’s Badge, etc.

Skill Tree:https://bl2skills.com/psycho.html#55000500020000550105150055505154051

Extra Information

Derchlands’ Krieg Skill and Gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkxpmyMfq50 

LazyData’s Melee Krieg (OP10 viable): OP10 Melee Krieg

Krieg skill guide form: Top gear for Krieg - Borderlands 2 / Krieg the Psycho

Demonite’s Deputy Krieg Build: Deputy Krieg (Crit Based) - Build Showcase

Krieg vs OP10 Vorac:  Krieg vs OP10 Voracidous in 2 Seconds [WR]

Splash Damage Guide:

https://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/t/complete-splash-damage-guide/1553510 

General BL2 Information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WRECqt1fRNuXYGDZ8Nr05ZeY2HBnSLIwkTkB92XY2Bs/edit 

fuck you

Damage Reduction:
In this game,  damage reduction is not as simple as

It is a bit more complicated. The general damage reduction formula can be

written as this:

In this situation, this holds true for all skills that have written damage reduction , such as I’m the Juggernaut from Salvador, or Taste of Blood from Krieg. Even with 100% damage reduction, you are not immune to all damage taken - you simply take half the damage you would have taken.

You can find more clarification on how different sources of damage reductions work between each other in the links below:

Demonite’s damage reduction doc:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eqZU4Z8ZVy9mfMwtNq0OMrQWNpVOftC8eKm4TFgUFl4/edit

The video that the doc above was made around
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJK3aFncuTo

osetor74’s revised damage reduction summary, attempting to fix some of the misinformation and rewording it to be more like how it actually works in-game:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OkNeuRahyRuynq7u7_I_ZMw7GF9nKyp6PV83kFFrP2k/edit

Melee is not viable in the op levels- signed VPG

Please Don’t Read Any of This I Beg You

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TV3VfF543yB8cyGzRcWzJYdsaWymtGL3Dk6v5DFJ44A/edit?usp=sharing 

Hehe im doomatic and im cool