Salvador the Gunzerker is, without a doubt, the strongest Borderlands 2 character in the game. Unlike every other class, which has to choose which weapon to use, Salvador can simply dual-wield two broken guns and combine their effects to create ludicrous amounts of DPS.
For this article, we will focus on the best Salvador builds in Borderlands 2, including the best leveling build (for normal or TVHM), the best solo build, the best OP10 build, and even a tanking build for the Gunzerker.
I’ll try to explain the most important parts of the build so you can understand why the builds work the way they do. That way, you might be able to make your own custom build if you so choose.
Salvador/Gunzerker Leveling Build
For a Gunzerker leveling build, the build will change depending on what level you are and or what mode you are currently playing. A level 20 Salvador will be different than a level 50 Salvador.
So, I will break this up and give you a few different options for this build.
The above image is used for a level 25-26 Gunzerker. You should focus on the middle tree, Rampage, first. This tree basically allows you to Gunzerk all the time.
Here are the important skills to focus on (also a great solo build):
- 5/5 – Inconceivable
- 5/5 – Last Longer: Increases the duration on Gunzerking
- 5/5 – I’m Already Ready: Increases Cooldown Rate of Gunzerking.
- 5/5 – Yippe Ki Yay: Increases the duration of Gunzerking when an enemy is killed during Gunzerking
- 1/1 – Double Your Fun
- 4/5 – Get Some: Shooting enemies decreases the cooldown of Gunzerking. Has a cooldown of three seconds.
If you have just boosted your character, the above skills will work perfectly for you. Last Longer, I’m Already Ready, Yippe Ki Yay, Double Your Fun, and Get Some all either decrease CD on Gunzerking or increase its duration.
Obviously, because Gunzerking increases damage, health, damage reduction, and regenerates ammo, you’ll want to be Gunzerking non-stop. You really don’t need any special gear for this build. For normal mode, this can get you through easily.
Solo Build Gunzerker (Level 50)
The above image is what a solo Gunzerker build might look like at level 50.
Salvador Money Shot (OP10) Build
This is the build that will take you through UVHM and beyond. The Money Shot Gunzerker build has worked for OP8 and later OP10 for years. It is amazing for dealing with raid bosses, but it can also do some mobbing as well.
The Gun Lust tree is the main focus here. You’ll want to go down this tree and get Money Shot, the main skill, and pick up No Kill Like Overkill.
- No Kill Like Overkill: Grants a damage buff to Salvador’s next shot equal to the excess damage dealt to the enemy just killed.
- Money Shot: The last round in a gun’s magazine gets a significant damage boost. This skill works with all weapons, but guns with smaller magazines receive a proportionately smaller buff as a result.
These two skills make the build amazing for raid bosses, and you can easily melt even the hardest of enemies in OP10.
Other skills in the Rampage tree are good for increasing the amount of time you can spend Gunzerking, and the Brawn tree is mainly for All Out of Bubblegum which increases your fire rate when unshielded.
Obviously, the gear is what makes the build for UVHM and up, so here is the best gear for Salvador in BL2.
Best Weapons for Money Shot Gunzerker
For the best weapons, you have lots of choices. Salvador is great with a whole bunch of different weapons, but here are some of the best weapons for the Gunzerker:
- Double Penetrating Unkempt Harold
- Grog Nozzle
- Interfacer
- Lady Fist
- Conference Call
All of these (and many more) are great options for a Money Shot Salvador build.
The Unkempt Harold is one of the best legendary weapons in the game and goes incredibly well with Salvador’s skills which boost pistol damage. You can also dual-wield it with the Lady Fist for 800% crit damage on each projectile. Try your best to get the Double prefix.
Note: You can get a Double Penetrating Unkempt Harold from our BL2 shift codes list!
Another great weapon that is borderline mandatory on every build is the Grog Nozzle. This Moxxi weapon heals you for the damage you do with the weapon. By dual-wielding the Grog Nozzle, your offhand weapon gains the healing effect of the Grog Nozzle. TL;DR: Dual-wield Grog Nozzle for HP.
As for the Lady Fist, it is the same reason as the Grog Nozzle, except instead of healing, you just do extra crit damage with your offhand.
And finally, the Interfacer and Conference Call are great shotguns that benefit from multiple Salvador skills and are great for a Money Shot build. I’d say the Interfacer is better than the Conference Call, but you can get the Conference Call much easier (drops from the Warrior).
Best Class Mod for Money Shot Gunzerker
You have a few options available to you for class mods for Gunzerker. However, the best class mod for Salvador is going to be the Chaotic Evil Monk Class Mod. This class mod gives you a huge boost to crit damage and adds six levels to your Money Shot skill.
Alternatively, you can get the Legendary Gunzerker class mod if you want 100% uptime on your Gunzerk. That being said, you’ll still do less damage.
Chaotic Evil Monk is the go-to option for raid bosses.
Best Grenade Mod for Gunzerker
The best grenade mod for this Gunzerker build is either the Slag Bouncing Betty for raid bosses or the Magic Missile for mobbing.
Best Shield for Gunzerker
An absolute no-brainer. The best shield for Salvador is the Rough Rider. This shield is used in almost every single Salvador build because of how well it synergizes with him.
The Rough Rider is so good because it gets rid of your shield but gives you A LOT of max health. On top of that, it also gives you 20% damage reduction. Not only does this stack with Salvador’s other abilities, but most of his skills give bonuses when your shield is down (meaning he will always have them).
So this is a no-nonsense choice. The Rough Rider is Salvador’s best shield.
Best Relics for Salvador
Gunzerker Tank Build
For the Gunzerker tank build, you’re basically going down the Brawn tree. You’ll be leveling up a whole bunch of skills that will give you health regeneration based on max HP and some damage reduction as well.
One of the issues with the tank build is how quickly it falls off. Sure, during the normal mode, enemies aren’t able to do much damage to you, so you can breeze through it and become an unkillable god. But once you get into true vault hunter mode or ultimate vault hunter mode, you start feeling squishy again.
This build is super fun before then, but for the higher difficulties, I’d respec into something better.
Bonus: JoltzDude Deputy Sal Gunzerker Build
JoltzDude uses a Deputy Sal build which relies on the Deputy Relic for extra shotgun damage and reload speed.
You’ll want to use the Legendary Gunzerker class mod for the 100% uptime on Gunzerk it gives you and the Raider class mod for moving around (because it gives you 100%+ move speed from Incite).
Salvador/Gunzerker FAQ:
Money Shot does not work with the Infinity Pistol. For Money Shot to work, you need to have at least two ammo in the magazine and the ability to reload. Sadly, the Infinity Pistol has neither.
The Brawn tree, or the tank tree for Salvador, is pretty bad for higher levels. Once you reach UVHM, the enemies start doing way too much damage for the skills to negate.
If you go even further and start doing OP levels, you won’t survive and won’t be able to kill enemies. Most players only get the All Out of Bubblegum skill and then spec into the other two trees.
Dual wielding with the Lady Fist or Grog Nozzle is so strong because it gives you the bonus of that weapon for both guns you are dual wielding.
For example, the Lady Fist gives you 800% critical damage. When dual wielding, this effect applies to both weapons. Also, certain weapons like the Unkempt Harold (which has multiple projectiles) get the bonus added to every projectile.
This is the main reason that Salvador is considered broken.
And that’s it for our guide on how to play Salvador! These were the best builds for Salvador the Gunzerker in Borderlands 2 and all of the best gear for him as well. Hope this helps!
