When it comes to selecting your Vault Hunter in Borderlands 2, there are several different choices you can make. From the stealthy assassin Zer0 to the psycho-manic Krieg, there is a character and class for every type of player. Naturally, some of these classes are better than others, which is why you are going to need this Borderlands 2 Tier list for all Vault Hunters including the two DLC ones.
S-Tier
Salvador
Action Skill:
Gunzerking – Gain the ability to dual-wield weapons upon activation.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Brawn | Perks that increase physical toughness. |
| Gun Lust | Focused on increasing weapon stats and giving varied aggressive abilities. |
| Rampage | Overall offensive stat bonuses with buffs to the Gunzerking Action Skill. |
Salvador used to be my go-to pick for an easy run because of how broken it used to be. Despite being more balanced now, it still holds as an S-tier Vault Hunter class. Salvador is a Gunzerker that can dual-wield guns in each hand. Salvador also has great potential for tanking damage and surviving the constant barrage of enemies. If “guns-blazing” can be described as a person, it’s Salvador.
Zer0
Action Skill:
Decepti0n – Gain the ability to go completely invisible while simultaneously deploying a decoy upon activation.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Bloodshed | Skills that focus on improving close combat and stealth. |
| Cunning | General utilities and damage buffing skills. |
| Sniping | Enhancments to critical damage and use of Sniper Rifles. |
Zer0 is an Assasin who satisfies the ultimate cyber ninja fantasy with abilities like full invisibility, decoys, and most importantly – a deadly sword. Zer0 can be built as a long-range sniper or a stealth assassin who sneaks and gets up close and personal. With the right build, Zer0 can do immense amounts of burst damage using melee or snipers to hit critical shots.
A-Tier
Maya
Action Skill:
Phaselock – Target particular enemies that can be held in place for a given amount of time. Can also deal damage while held in stasis.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Cataclysm | Focuses on multiple types of elemental damage. |
| Harmony | Defensive and support abilities. |
| Motion | Buffs to Phaselock and general crowd control abilities. |
Maya is an essential support class character in any party but this is also the reason why it’s in the A-tier instead of the S-tier in this Borderlands 2 tier list. Maya is a Siren that can keep the team alive with her powerful support abilities while holding off enemies in the process but as much as she excels in that, she is weaker in raw power and soloing enemies or bosses.
Krieg
Action Skill:
Buzz Axe Rampage – Increases your melee damage by 500%, movement speed by 33%, and also regains all health on each kill while skill is active. Can either swing the buzz axe or throw.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Bloodlust | Skills that grant Bloodlust stacks. Each stack of Bloodlust increases damage, reload speed, grenade amount, etc. |
| Mania | Melee focused. Abilities that can transform Krieg into a Mutant Badass Psycho. |
| Hellborn | Focused on Buffs that are applied when you set yourself on fire. Other fire damage skills. |
Krieg is a Psycho which by far has the most fun and wacky build-making potential out of all Vault Hunters. I have played hours of Krieg as a glass cannon build where I do extreme amounts of damage by lighting myself on fire and sacrificing my health. If those kinds of psychotic playstyles are your thing, then it can’t get better than Krieg.
B-Tier
Gaige
Action Skill:
Deathtrap – Summon a battle robot companion that stays on the battlefield for 60 seconds as it fights enemies, pulls aggro, and deals shock damage.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Best Friends Forever | Utilities that focus on restoring shields and health. Also has close-range damage-dealing abilities. |
| Little Big Trouble | Shock elemental-focused abilities and perks. |
| Ordered Chaos | Utilities that focus on restoring shields and health. Also has close-range damage dealing abilities. |
Gaige the Mechromancer is the only Vault Hunter in this Borderlands 2-tier list that can have a robot companion called Deathtrap that can be used to pull aggro and deal shock damage to enemies. Gaige is a bit complicated to play right; she has a mix of support abilities, shock elemental, and survivability skills. If you like having a companion, then Gaige might be the class for you.
C-Tier
Axton
Action Skill:
Sabre Turret – Deploys an automated turret that will shoot enemies as long as they are in range of it. Can be modified to shoot missiles and even spawn dome shields around it.
| Skill Tree | Focus |
|---|---|
| Guerilla | General damage skills with defensive skills mixed in. |
| Gunpowder | Turret upgrades and other long to mid range damage enhancements. |
| Survival | Defensive and survivability skills. |
Axton The Commando is your typical soldier-type class that focuses on defense abilities. He has one of the best survivability as he can use things like turrets and shields. It is one of the easier classes to play but is also the least exciting when it comes to building potential and fun abilities. He can still be decent for the player who likes being defensive rather than aggressive.
That is it for this Borderlands 2 Tier list. If you are interested in other such tier lists, you might also be interested in checking out our Arena of Valor Tier List.
