Yes, You Can Play as the Deadly Assassin Zer0 in Borderlands 3
For those looking to reprise the role of the cunning assassin from Borderlands 2, I have good news – Zer0 returns as a playable character in Borderlands 3! This quick-striking melee fighter allows players to slice and dice enemies with precision and stealth, made even deadlier by three all-new skill trees providing expanded build variety.
As both an avid Borderlands stat-cruncher and Zer0 main, I‘ve compiled this comprehensive guide so you can make the most of the assassin vault hunter on your adventures across the galaxy. We‘ll analyze new abilities, best builds, ideal gear, involvement in the BL3 storyline, and more! Let‘s dive in fellow vault hunters!
An Overview of Zer0‘s Skill Trees and Action Skills
Gearbox has granted our masked murderer more build diversity than ever in BL3 thanks to three unique skill trees:
| Skill Tree | Focus | Action Skill |
|---|---|---|
| Stalker | Sniping & Critical Hits | Fractal Frags – Sprinkles frag grenades during Decepti0n |
| Hitman | Weapon Damage & Handling | Digi-Clone – Spawns copy that fires guns |
| Hunter | Melee Attacks & Movement | T0ne ‘Em Up – Enhances melee capacity |
Zer0‘s signature ability Decepti0n also makes a return – activating stealth and bonus melee damage based on the consumed action skill meter. This provides the cornerstone for high burst potential.
Early analysis shows Hitman and Stalker builds outputting solid weapon DPS, while Hunter specs dish out lethal melee strikes. But more on optimizing builds later!
Zer0‘s Involvement in the Borderlands 3 Story
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD – skip this section to avoid BL3 plot details
For those wondering about his role in BL3‘s story…it‘s pretty minimal unfortunately. Zer0 appears briefly to provide a few supporting missions focused around targets that need assassinating (more on this later).
We learn little about what he‘s been up to since BL2 or even motivations for joining the new Vault Hunter crew. A bit disappointing for those invested in his mysterious backstory, so hopefully DLC flesh this out!
That said, his specialized missions provide plenty of challenging end-game content for Zer0 die-hards. And Gearbox nailed the smoothly sardonic banter – haiku poetry and all!
Targets of Opportunity – Zer0‘s Featured Missions
One of my favorite additions for Zer0‘s gameplay loop is Targets of Opportunity – a series of 10 assassination assignments on unique enemies throughout the galaxy:
| Target Name | Location | Recommended Level |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic | Tazendeer Ruins, Neckrotafeyo | Level 13 |
| HIVELORD | Voracious Canopy, Eden-6 | Level 31 |
And 8 more targets across various planets
These timed missions test your efficiency and skill with Zer0‘s toolkit. Completing all 10 rewards Boom Sickle – a powerful legendary Jakobs sniper rifle that ricochets bullets! Fantastic end-game goal for our vault hunting assassin.
Leveling Builds and Progression for Zer0
When first starting out as Zer0, I recommend speccing into Hitman while leveraging guns over melee attacks – respec once you unlock game-changing T0ne ‘Em Up at level 21.
Here‘s a quick build guide to maximize Zer0‘s damage output while leveling:
| Level | Priority Unlock | Gear Target |
| 10 | Synchronicity (Hitman) | Any Sniper Rifle |
| 17 | Donnybrook (Hitman) | Hornet Pistol |
| 25 | T0ne ‘Em Up (Hunter) | Blademaster Class Mod |
Follow this leveling guide to quickly fell enemies on your way to the level cap!
Best Borderlands 3 Zer0 Builds for End-Game
Alright, time for my favorite part – diving into advanced builds and gear min-maxing!
While leveling as Zer0, you‘re mainly looking to amp weapon damage. But once unlocked, T0ne ‘Em Up combined with melee-focused gear results in his top damage specs for end-game content. This pairs perfectly with Decepti0n bursts after building meter.
Here‘s the skill and gear distribution for Zer0‘s highest parsing melee build:
| Skill Distribution | Gear Recommendations |
|---|---|
|
|
This spec leans hard into base melee damage and elemental multipliers resulting in over 10 mil damage backstabs on Joey Ultraviolet! Ridiculous one-shot potential!
Of course sniper oriented builds still compete well, especially for mobbing packs at range. But if playing Zer0, I highly recommend trying a melee build for deleting bosses! So much fun!
Final Tips for Mastering Zer0 in Borderlands 3
To wrap up this extensive guide to our stealthy assassin, here are my top tips for dominating as Zer0:
- Activate Decepti0n before reloading to speed up the animation
- Throw grenades at the end of invisibility for extra damage
- Use the Hunter skill From.Shadows to close distance quickly
- Take advantage of crit boosts from Fast Hands and Headsh0t
- Respec between boss killing and mob clearing loadouts
Now get out there andStart cleaving baddies in half my fellow vault hunters! Feel free to ping me any other Zer0 questions in the comments!
Happy looting,
-BorederlandsAddict
