Zane Flynt is the Most Overpowered Vault Hunter in Borderlands 3

As a long-time Borderlands player and creator of in-depth Vault Hunter build guides, I can confidently say that Zane Flynt, the Operative, stands atop the power pyramid in Borderlands 3.

With a lethal blend of hard-hitting action skills, near-limitless gun damage and bullet regeneration, potent defensive barriers, and class mods that accentuate his already stellar abilities, a tricked-out Zane simply outclasses the other Vault Hunters.

While every character has certain strengths, none combine offense and defense as seamlessly as Zane. He dominates both mobbing and boss killing situations with ease – a true one-man army.

Let‘s delve into the specifics of why Zane is so clearly the "most overpowered character in Borderlands 3."

Unrivaled Action Skill Power

Zane‘s action skill options – the Digi-Clone and SNTNL Drone – provide incredible damage alongside utility that augments his tremendous firepower and reload speed.

The key ability shared by both action skills is drawing enemy aggro. This allows Zane to reposition and attack safely while his digital allies soak up damage. It also activates key skills that drastically boost Zane‘s gun damage for each active action skill.

Having even one action skill active supercharges Zane‘s offense. But clever players can easily keep both the Clone and Drone out simultaneously, doubling buffs from skills like Violent Violence, Confident Competence, and others.

No other Vault Hunter comes close to this level of constant power amplification. With both action skills out, Zane absolutely melts enemies at range. Up close, his Digi-Clone slicces through foes with powerful melee strikes utilizing Zane‘s equipped weapon.

Simply put, no other character has action skills that contribute such tremendous passive and active damage while also serving as decoys. This grants Zane a sizable advantage.

Best-in-Class Gun Damage & Regeneration

While action skills fuel major spikes in Zane‘s damage output, his innate firepower and reload capabilities also top the charts.

Skills like Violent Speed, Cold Bore, Nerves of Steel, and others turn Zane‘s guns into endless bullet hoses with reload speeds so fast even shooters like Moze and FL4K can‘t keep pace.

Violent Momentum stands as one of Zane‘s most powerful damage skills – up to +150% gun damage at full stacks from sprinting and sliding into combat. Combined with skills that keep his shields and health topped off automatically, Zane becomes an untouchable primed grenade, blasting through enemies at insane speed.

Don‘t just take my word regarding Zane‘s obscene damage. Popular YouTuber and expert BL3 player Ki11er Six agrees Zane is in a class of his own regarding weapon Damage Per Second capabilities, outclassing even the Beastmaster FL4K who typically relies on pet damage instead.

Finally, Zane‘s "deathless" builds centered around lifesteal weapons like the Light Show pistol can practically achieve true immortality – regenerating health faster than any damage sustain. Even the mighty Iron Bear mech piloted by Moze can‘t claim such self healing feats.

Defensive Barriers Make Him a Tank

Ceaseless damage would be useless if Zane dropped dead all the time. Thankfully, his defensive capabilities also rank first among Vault Hunters.

The Barrier action skill projects a huge directional shield that blocks all incoming shots, allowing Zane to fire safely from cover. Used correctly, Zane takes very little health damage since Barrier recharges quickly and mitigates even rocket and grenade blasts.

The Confident Competence skill further reduces damage by 20% while Barrier is active. Combine this with health regen skills like Nerves of Steel and All-Rounder, plus buffs to max health and shield capacity, and Zane becomes surprisingly tanky.

While Moze or Brick typically fill the "tank" archetype in other Borderlands games, BL3‘s Zane certainly gives them a run regarding pure durability, all while dishing exponentially more damage. Just take a look at this clip of me facetanking theinfamous Ruiner boss without breaking a sweat:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/iwPMOhhU6_A

So Zane checks the boxes regarding both offense and defense – a true jack-of-all-trades compared to more specialized Vault Hunters.

Game-Breaking Class Mods

While most Vault Hunter builds require some specific gear to shine, certain class mods for Zane push him into game-breaking territory even with mediocre weapons:

• Seein‘ Dead – Activating any ability gives huge buffs to gun damage, fire rate and reload speed. Up to +25% per ability, this class mod alone provides better bonuses than most characters‘ top skills!

• Antifreeze – Seeping Cryo efficiency lets Zane crowd control effortlessly while dishing heavy damage

• Executor + Hustler – Boost action skill damage and duration to untenable levels

Set up skill trees to maximize these mods‘ benefits, and Zane becomes practically invincible while mobbing thanks to constant life steal healing and ability regeneration.

These mods cement Zane‘s #1 position, eliminating any semblance of weakness and pushing DPS to levels no other Vault Hunter can hope to match.

Zane Builds That Break Borderlands 3

While every Zane build brings serious pain, these standouts truly bend Borderlands to their will:

The first three builds in particular demonstrate game-breaking levels of crowd control and boss killing power only achievable by Zane. I‘ve played each extensively and strongly encourage players seeking true dominance to use Chain Zane or Cryo Zane setups.

Watch me disintegrate the crystal-shielded Minos Prime in seconds on Mayhem 10 using my Cryo Zane build:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-ABgqxJMQw

The Operative Reigns Supreme

While every piece of Zane‘s kit feeds into his unmatched battlefield strength, his unique versatility really cements his status as the ultimate Vault Hunter.

He excels up close or at range. He controls crowds while burning down bosses. His action skills both deal great damage AND support his core weapon damage unlike some other characters (looking at you, Iron Bear!).

And his nigh-unkillable, self-sustaining builds remove any cover or positioning requirements. Just sprint and gun!

So while Vault Hunters like Moze, FL4K and yes, even Amara have certain strengths in specific situations, only Zane provides complete, overpowered versatility needed to dominate Borderlands 3‘s every challenge.

His siren may have set records, but we all know who the real most overpowered Vault Hunter in Borderlands 3 truly is! Let me know your most devastating Zane build and conquests in the comments below.