In the diverse and action-packed world of Borderlands 2, few characters offer the versatility and strategic depth of Axton the Commando. As one of the game’s six playable Vault Hunters, Axton’s unique skill set and customizable builds make him one of the best solo characters in Borderlands 2.
Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned veteran, this article will explore the most effective and powerful Axton builds designed to help you dominate the hostile world of Pandora.
From turret-focused solo builds to UVHM and OP10 Axton builds, we’ll guide you through the ins and outs of mastering Axton’s abilities, ensuring you’re always prepared for the challenges. So strap in, load up, and let’s dive into the world of Axton the Commando!
Axton/Commando Leveling Build
For an Axton leveling build, we will focus on the Survival Skill tree. This tree has many excellent skills for surviving normal mode and starting TVHM on the right foot.
The image above will show you exactly what you should look like as a level 31 Axton, but I’ll also show you some builds for level 50 Axton so you can start leveling in UVHM.
Why Survival and not Guerilla? Well, technically, you can go with any of the trees and be entirely fine. Normal mode and TVHM aren’t as punishing as UVHM. However, we mainly go down the Survival tree because it provides good turret bonuses and survivability. Shocking, I know.
Important skills in this tree:
- Preparation – +3% shield capacity per level; regenerate 0.4% health per second per level when shields are full.
- Pressure – Up to +14% Reload Speed and -12% Shield Recharge Delay per level, depending on how low your health is.
- Phalanx Shield – Your Sabre Turret projects a shield that attempts to block enemy ranged fire but lets friendly ranged attacks pass through.
- Quick Charge – Kill Skill. Killing an enemy regenerates 1% of your shield per second per level for a short time.
- Gemini – Allows you to deploy two Sabre Turrets.
If I had boosted my character, these would be the skills I would use.
Best Solo Build for Axton (Level 50)
A solo level 50 Axton leveling build for UVHM looks like this:
Basically, the exact same build as before, where you are going all the way down the Survival tree, but you are now finally making your way down the Guerilla tree as well. Guerilla will give you lots of bonuses for your turret, including adding rockets and more shots every time it fires.
You want to avoid Grenadier and Crisis Management. Those skills are useless for the most part (with the build we have in mind), and therefore you should focus on other Axton skills like Ready and Able (yes, those are the names).
Once you reach the bottom, you will have two turrets with dual guns that can slag. Absolutely perfect Axton build for getting through Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
Axton UVHM OP10 Build
For UVHM and OP10, the game gets much harder and you’ll have to start thinking about your build a bit more. You can’t simply throw turrets at your enemy and cower in a corner anymore.
Thankfully, this OP10 build is perfect for making your enemies cower in a corner.
You’ll continue down the same path as the leveling build, making sure to pick up the Double Up skill, which adds slag to your turrets attacks. Very important for UVHM.
Once finished with the Guerilla tree, you want to head down the Gunpowder tree and pick up as many grenade damage bonus skills as you can.
Here are the most important skills for Axton in that tree:
- Longbow Turret – Your Sabre Turret can be deployed using Longbow technology, allowing you to deploy it much further away. Also, increases the Maximum Health of your Sabre Turret.
- Battlefront – While your Sabre Turret is deployed you deal increased damage.
- Do or Die – Allows you to throw grenades while in Fight For Your Life. Also increases damage dealt with grenades and rocket launchers.
All of the skills that increase grenade damage also increase gun damage for very specific guns. In short, if it has splash damage, grenade damage bonuses affect it. This makes guns like the Unkempt Harold even better.
I didn’t take the Grenadier skill in this build, but you can add it if you want. Remove skill points from Ready if you’d like.
Best Weapon for Axton
Axton has many weapons that work well with him. Most of the usual suspects, like the Conference Call, the Double Unkempt Harold, Norfleet, etc., are all great for Axton.
Some of the weapons that are good for Axton are going to be the weapons that benefit from grenade damage increase. Because your skills increase grenade damage, certain weapons actually do more damage (mainly torgue weapons).
Here is a list of good weapons for an OP10 Level 80 Axton Build:
- Double Unkempt Harold
- Norfleet
- Peak Opener
- Pimpernel
- Grog Nozzle
Best Shield for Axton
Much like how Axton is great with many of the best weapons, he is also terrific with all the best shields in the game.
For our build, however, the best shield for Axton is the Bee shield. This shield does extra amp damage while the shield is full. With Axton’s skills that shorten the shield delay and increase the recharge rate, you will always be at full shields.
This is one of the most popular builds for Digipeak Axton, so I recommend you try it out.
Other shields that might work with Axton include the Antagonist, the Sham, and the Blockade.
Best Class Mod for Axton
The best class mod for Axton is going to be the Legendary Soldier Class Mod. This class mod is just terrific for what Axton wants, more gun damage, more CDR, and an increased fire rate. You also have a bundle of skills that are quite good.
There might be some class mods that can work with Axton pretty decently, but I would highly recommend going with the Legendary Soldier Class Mod nearly every time.
Best Grenade Mod for Axton
Most grenades will work for Axton (have I heard this before?), but most of the time, you will want to use the Magic Missile. This is a great grenade for doing raid bosses and is one of the strongest grenades in the game, anyway.
Feel free to substitute it for something like the Fastball if you’re feeling frisky.
Best Relic for Axton
Bone of the Ancients is going to be the best relic for Axton. It gives a good cooldown rate for his action skill, his turrets, which will give him more damage and less downtime.
Conclusion
That’s the end of the best builds for Axton. If you have any interesting builds for Axton you haven’t seen in this article make sure to link them below! Thanks!
