When it comes to showcasing blood and guts with style and a sick sense of humor to boot, the Borderlands franchise needs no introduction. Arguably one of the most engaging multiplayer first-person shooters ever since the first steps taken on Pandora with its conception back 2009, and hands down the fabled masterpiece of Gearbox Software.
But that’s enough brown nosing, the real reason you’re here is to check out the latest in all out badassery that is Borderlands The Pre-Sequel, and the new skill tree set up for the Gladiator class mod, or otherwise known as Athena. You may remember her as the former elite agent from the DLC for Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. What was once a non-playable character, much like the other three who will be revisited in the upcoming installment, is now a uniquely designed killing machine to be utilized at your disposal!
She comes complete with an interesting ability called Kinetic Aspis, a power that makes extraordinarily painful good use of a shield that puts even Captain America to shame. Once activated, the shield will absorb enemy damage of any kind, and when the timer runs out or if the player prematurely releases it, the shield is then thrown at nearby adversaries, dealing immense amounts of hurt!
Below are a few noteworthy skills from the three trees: Phalanx, Xiphos, and Ceraunic Storm. Even further below that, is the latest gameplay review of this character in action! Check it out! (North America release date: October 14th, 2014)
Phalanx Tree-
- Vanguard – Regenerates health for you and teammates during Kinectic Aspis
- Prismatic Aspis – Aspis absorbs and dishes out elemental damage when active
- United Front – Damage absorbed by Kinectic Aspis powers your shields and those of nearby allies
- Clear! – Aspis grants Second Wind to fallen nearby friends when thrown
- Prepare for Glory – Taunts enemies when Aspis is active
- Wrath of the Goddess – Causes Kinetic Aspis to ricochet to up to four enemies
Xiphos Tree-
- Gun Kata – Increases gun damage, and melee damage is increased for a period after shooting an enemy
- Omega-Senshu – Increased damage to enemies with less than 50 percent of maximum health remaining
- Mercurial – Killing an enemy increases movement speed and damage resistance
- Rend – Melee attacks inflict bleeding (damage over time), benefits from melee damage bonuses and is more impactful on higher health targets
- Bloodlust – Health regeneration when making an enemy bleed
- Epicenter – Butt slamming creates a black hole
- You’ve Got Red on You – When an enemy is bleeding when killed, it explodes
- Blood Rush – Changes your melee attack to a dash with increased damage. This has a cooldown that is automatically reset if attack inflicts bleeding or kills enemy.
Ceraunic Storm-
- Maelstrom – The cornerstone of the tree, dealing shock or incendiary damage earns you a stack of Maelstrom. As Maelstrom stacks build, all elemental damage dealt is increased.
- Conduit – When at least one electrocute status is in effect, shields regenerate for each stack of Maelstrom you have
- Unrelenting – Killing an enemy ups your weapon swap speed and fire rate proportional to the number of Maelstrom stacks you have
- Smite – Shooting an enemy while airborne causes incendiary and shock damage in a small area, the more Maelstrom stacks you have, the more damage you do
- Flash Freeze – Freezing an enemy stalls your gain and loss of Maelstrom stacks
