Borderlands 2: How to Choose The Best Character for Solo Play

Your character choice in Borderlands 2 determines the skills and abilities you can wield throughout your adventure, whether you are with others or engaging in solo play. Some of the best traits from various classes are only available when you pick a specific character at the start of your journey. Some characters work better in groups with friends, while others are more powerful when they are alone.

With the inclusion of two characters as DLC, you have six total characters to choose from, with each representing a unique class archetype. Certain characters may play aggressively, while others take time to establish a plan before attacking a group of enemies. Thankfully, the diverse skill trees in Borderlands 2 ensure that there is a style for everyone from every character with their strengths and weaknesses.

Maya The Siren

Tear Through The Story Quickly

Maya the Siren can be nearly impossible to beat for both normal enemies and giant bosses if you manage to upgrade the right skill trees throughout your adventure. This character is a powerful choice near the start, with several abilities that deal huge damage to single targets you come across. This allows you to quickly decimate even the strongest enemies in Borderlands 2 as you get better and better gear.

This character is best suited for those who want to get through the story fast on solo play. The endgame content can be enticing for anyone trying to catch up to friends who may already be veterans of the game at higher levels. This makes Maya a great choice for getting through the narrative, but the ease at which this character moves to Borderlands 2‘s max level could prevent you from farming a lot of legendary items.

Axton The Commando

Experience Something Familiar

Another good choice for solo play is Axton the Commando, a character who is one of the more generic first-person shooter archetypes. This solider has familiar combat that will make fans of the Call of Duty or Battlefield series feel right at home while playing. However, Axton has several skills that make them stand apart and far less boring than you might expect from a gun-slinging military man.

Axton can summon a Turret to stay by your side during combat, giving you additional support that you normally would struggle to have in solo play. This character is great for taking on groups of enemies in closed spaces, but it can be difficult when you are forced to fight hordes in larger spaces. With the right skills upgraded, you can overcome this straightforward weakness pretty early into your Borderlands 2 adventure.

Salvador The Gunzerker

Take Down Enemy Crowds

Out of all the available characters, Salvador the Gunzerker may not be the best choice for solo play alone. This is due to his abilities reflecting Axton’s in a lot of ways, but to a higher extreme than the soldier’s. Salvador excels at mowing down crowds of enemies in tight spaces with a ton of firepower that boasts a potent offense, yet your defense will always be lackluster as a way to balance this playstyle.

Only veterans of games in the Borderlands series will be able to bring out Salvador’s full potential and overcome his many shortcomings. High offense may get you out of many scraps, but it’ll be hard to survive intense encounters with enemy groups without friends by your side with this character. Those looking for a challenge may still choose to play as Salvador and find something that works from his three skill trees.

Zer0 The Assassin

Have A Patient Approach

Zer0 the Assassin has many of the opposite strengths and weaknesses as Salvador or Axon, with a specialty in long-range weapons and stealth combat rather than a loud, boisterous approach. This character rewards those in solo play who like to be methodical and take their time to plan ahead of a battle. While this may not work for every situation in Borderlands 2 with only one character, it can be quite a powerful strategy when it works.

Unfortunately, Zer0’s skills and abilities tend to function better when you are together with other characters on a team. Even as you learn how to play as Zer0 in Borderlands 2, you’ll find that you will need to constantly shift weapons and perks for the character to keep them relevant in tougher battles. Unless you can quickly adapt to difficult situations fast, this character becomes harder to use as time goes on.

Gaige The Mechromancer

Recruit Autonomous Help

One of the best choices for solo play is Gaige the Mechromancer, a DLC character who can tear through most of Borderlands 2 on their own without many problems. The elemental abilities of Gaige synergize well with the autonomous drone Deathtrap to give you multiple strategies for nearly every situation in the game. Your strengths start showing as early as Level 5, making this character strong at almost every point of your adventure.

As you can see in the above video by YouTube creator VinylicPumaGaming, Gaige’s skills are effective tools without help or setup by other characters on a team. While some bosses might be an issue at earlier levels, the right gear can quickly put the odds back in your favor. With very few weaknesses other than poor AI control of Deathtrap, you’ll quickly find that Gaige’s skills are powerful enough to overcome solo-play challenges.

Krieg The Psycho

Only Best For A Challenge

Unfortunately, the second DLC character Krieg the Psycho only really works on a team rather than in solo play. The emphasis on melee close-range attacks makes it hard for Krieg to take on tough enemies or long-range targets without someone backing him up. When alone, Krieg ends up taking tons of damage and often dies before they can close the distance between them and whoever they are trying to hit.

You will likely die a lot when using Krieg in solo play, but those looking for a challenge may want to try this character anyway if they are veterans of the game. In the end, there is technically no wrong choice for the best solo-play character in Borderlands 2, but some will be harder to succeed with than others.

Source: VinylicPumaGaming/YouTube