I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve always been interested in the Mechromancer class. Not because I liked her concept or design, but for the simple fact she was new to the Borderlands universe. Now that Gearbox has finally released the patch to make her playable, is she worth the time and money or is she a cool bonus if you’re just starting?
Similar to other characters, there appears to be two main ways to play as Gaige. The first is making Deathtrap (your pet) into your ideal partner, which can make single player a bit more enjoyable. This is because Deathtrap has many skills that make him invaluable in the solo experience, For instance, there is a skill that will extend Deathtraps time for each kill you get. Since he doesn’t need to kill for the effect to work, it’s a great way to keep enemy fire off of you. Besides simply being there, he also has the ability to recover your shields and even revive you during a second wind. Finally when you consider all the crazy weapons he can use, he’s a real force to be reckoned with.
The other way to play as Gaige, is to build your skills around Anarchy, which is a skill that trades accuracy for damage. Now what makes Anarchy appealing, is that you can keep stacking the effect, so the more people you kill, the more powerful it becomes. The skill should cap off at about 500, so she will gain roughly 500% more attack for as duration of the effect. While this might sound good on paper, premature reloading resets the counter. So if you tend to reload your guns often, don’t be surprised if you ruin your stack over a careless reload or completely forgetting about the skill.
Unless you’re looking for a good solo class, I don’t think the Mechromancer really stands out. I found Deathtrap can get killed pretty easily if you’re not careful and his 1 minute cooldown is brutal. Sure you can lower it with skills, but that also limits a lot of your options. On the other hand Anarchy is a really powerful skill if used correctly, but I think most people will need to change their playstyle to even make use of the ability. Ultimately she’s a cool character, but she doesn’t have enough going for her to justify the price tag.