Review: Borderlands 2 Psycho Pack

Since Borderlands 2 came out, I've been occasionally experimenting with character builds, but nothing really took my fancy - in fact, the only character that I actually took to level 50 was the Mechromancer, and even that character lost my interest during the long slog of the second playthrough. When I heard that another DLC character was coming, my interest was piqued. Could a Psycho-based character really be viable and, most importantly, fun? I picked up the DLC yesterday, and played up to level 25 with Krieg - not enough to hit his top-level abilities, but enough to gauge the experience of each of his skill trees. 

Overview

The official story for Krieg the Psycho is that he spent quite an amount of time being tortured in an underground Hyperion lab, thereby buffing his physical abilities, but leaving him with a broken mind, multiple personalities, and a strong urge for vengeance. Gameplay-wise, Krieg's Action Skill, Buzz Axe Rampage, gives him a very large and optionally throwable buzz axe (surprise!) and a 500% melee damage boost. This causes him to be extremely effective at taking out enemies, with the majority going down in 1-3 hits. It also allows him, depending on selected skills, to wipe out both mini-bosses and proper bosses with extreme prejudice. 

I can't overstate how effective this character is at short range. Really. Facing off against hordes of Psychos and Bullymongs is an absolute delight; Krieg can decimate a crowd in seconds. It's definitely a gameplay style which is unexpectedly fun, and the skill trees only serve to enhance the enjoyment. Borderlands 2 is a game which really shines in co-op play, and Krieg perhaps shines brighter than any other character in this mode: he's almost the definition of an unstoppable meat shield.

Skill Tree: Bloodlust

This tree's base mechanics are comparable to the Mechromancer's Anarchy skill: Krieg gains stacks of Bloodlust, which decay rapidly when he hasn't killed anything for a while. Each stack counts towards a bunch of different skills - for example, the Blood-Filled Guns skill increases magazine size of all guns by 0.5% per Bloodlust stack, and also adds a stack for every time you deal damage to an enemy. Apart from all the Bloodlust-related skills, this tree also includes Buzz Axe Bombardier, which allows you to strap dynamite to your buzz axe so it blows up when you throw it at things (enemies/local wildlife/inanimate objects/Moxxi's boobs).

This skill tree really only complements playstyles which concentrate on ranged combat, but it's just as effective as the others if utilized correctly - and the top-level skill Bloodsplosion (killing an enemy causes them to explode violently with an elemental nova matching the element of the damage that caused it) sounds both ridiculously overpowered and ridiculously fun.

Skill Tree: Mania

The Mania tree concentrates on getting in close and dirty to the action, with skills focusing on melee combat and saving your [STRIKETHROUGH]nipple salad[/STRIKETHROUGH] bacon when you go into Fight For Your Life mode. One thing that I noticed while playing was that the Flame of the Firehawk shield (continuous fire novas, obtained from completing the Firehawk questline) complements this skill tree really well. I can imagine it being amazingly overpowered in the second and third playthroughs too - continuously belching rings of fire while beating your enemies into the ground with a gigantic axe? Yes please.

One very important skill in this tree to take note of is Light the Fuse, which replaces Fight For Your Life with - you guessed it - Light the Fuse. When this skill is obtained, instead of going into FFYL and having to sit around waiting to die, you instead pull out a bunch of dynamite and start running around and throwing it at enemies. Once the timer's up, assuming you haven't gotten a Second Wind by killing someone yet, you explode and, hopefully, take out at least one enemy to get yourself back on your feet.

Out of all three skill trees included with this DLC, the Mania was my favourite. Borderlands 2 was sorely missing a melee-based playstyle (Zer0's didn't count because he was weaksauce), especially since the first game had one in the form of Brick. Running headlong into a crowd of enemies is great fun, and the unlockable skills provide a bunch of useful loopholes for avoiding damage and generally not dying.

Skill Tree: Hellborn

Hellborn's skills fixate with an almost single-minded intensity on fire. That's right: fire, and every possible way of setting things alight. Want to run around screaming with your skin melting off your body? Burn, Baby, Burn (+burn damage per level, +chance to set yourself on fire per level), Numbed Nerves (+damage reduction while on fire), and Fuel the Fire (+chance to set alight per fire attack) will get you started, and skills like Elemental Elation (stacks, +fire rate and magazine size per stack) will certainly help you on your way. The best skill in this tree, rivalling the other top-tier skills for pure overpoweredness, is called Raving Retribution, and it's a doozy - while you're on fire, taking damage from an enemy creates homing balls of fire which seek out the attacker and explode on impact.

Conclusion: is he worth it?

Much was made of the fact that Krieg wasn't included in the Season Pass, which promised four pieces of DLC at a discounted price - and by "much was made" I mean a bunch of people complained on the internet about it. This was basically the same way that Gaige, the Mechromancer, was sold. Krieg retails for the same price ($10.00/800MSP), and, as with Gaige, I think that he's definitely worth it. Playing as him is an absolute blast, and his voice lines add an opportunity for some interesting exposition in the future. 

Conclusion Conclusion:

Buy it. He's worth it.

Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion:

Yes.