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Borderlands 3 FL4K build guide: Best Beastmaster buildsThe top-tier Jabber, Skag, and Spiderant builds
The top-tier Jabber, Skag, and Spiderant builds
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / 2K
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / 2K
FL4K the Beastmasterhas always been one of the most versatileBorderlands 3characters, with his ability to match his three powerful Action Skills with a unique and loyal companion creature.
In thisBorderlands 3 FL4K build guide, we’ve laid out the top-tier builds that you can use in the base game to get the most out of this powerful Beastmaster: one forJabber & Fade Away, one forSkag & Gamma Burst, and one forSpiderant & Rakk Attack.
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Borderlands 3 FL4K build guide
Like other Borderlands 3 characters, FL4K has an extra skill tree that can be unlocked with the Ultimate Edition. But for the purpose of this guide we’re focusing on the best builds you can create utilising the skill trees found in the base game.
FL4K is often considered to be the go-to Vault Hunter for solo play because of their pet, but the truth is that the flexibility of these skill trees and pets means you can build FL4K however you want. You could choose to ignore upgrading the pet entirely if you wish, and focus on your Action Skills or your damage; or vice versa. The below three FL4K builds will focus on a specific skill tree and pet in order to create completely different (and equally powerful) playstyles.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on YouTube
If you need a bit of a primer on the various Borderlands 3 characters and classes, look no further than ourBorderlands 3 characters & skill treesguide. If not, let’s skip right ahead to theFL4K builds!
Sniper build, Spiderant & Rakk Attack! (Borderlands 3 FL4K build)
Borderlands 3 FL4K build -Spiderant/Rakk Attack! (Sniper build). Click to view at higher resolution!
For all that FL4K was advertised as a sniper prior to the release of Borderlands 3, that’s not the way it goes for most people and most builds, probably just because the highly mobile and high-octane nature of combat means you often have no choice but to get right into the thick of it. If sniping is the way you want to play FL4K though, this build is for you. We’re diving deep into the Hunter skill tree, along with a couple of pickups from the other trees as well, in order to create a high-damage build that focuses on maintaining distance from the enemy while constantly critting and sending out powerful Rakk Attacks against anyone who gets too close.
I would first suggest investing in the three right-most skills in the first three tiers of the Stalker tree:Furious AttackandOverclockedwill give you some pretty fantastic early damage, andTurn Tail And Runfurther increases your damage when standing still, while also making you more survivable while on the move - crucial for sharpshooters. After this you should head to the Hunter tree and start investing heavily, beelining fromInterplanetary StalkerthroughAmbush PredatortoTwo F4ng- one of the best skills available to FL4K which is particularly strong with slow-firing high damage guns such as sniper rifles.
At this point I’d go back and put my three points intoPersistence Hunterin the Master skill tree, just for the extra damage boost; and then it’s back to Hunter, because we want to work our way up to the capstone skill,Megavore, which gives you a chance to crit on any part of your target. Combined with crit-based skills such asLeave No Trace,Head Count,The Most Dangerous Game, andGalactic Shadow, you’re going to be dealing mega-damage with your snipes - especially if you find a good strong (probably Jakobs) sniper rifle to go with this build (perhaps one of the ultra-powerfulBorderlands 3 Legendary weapons?).
Pet build, Skag & Gamma Burst (Borderlands 3 FL4K build)
Borderlands 3 FL4K build -Skag/Gamma Burst (Pet build). Click to view at higher resolution!
There’s more than one way to build a strong solo FL4K, but one of the most fun is to elevate your pet of choice to god-tier levels of damage and survivability. This you can do thanks to a very balanced combination of the Master and Stalker skill trees. Here we’re going to be using the Skag in tandem with a Gamma Burst that delivers extreme damage and benefits to both your pet and yourself whenever you use it (which will be constantly).
At this point we’re going to swap over to the Stalker skill tree, and go throughSelf-Repairing System(a larger health pool is always good) so that we can max out the essentialEager To Impressskill, which will allow us to basically spam our Gamma Burst at every opportunity.All My BFF’sandTurn Tail And Runare great additional pickups for survivability after this, and they’ll allow us to reachHidden Machine, which increases your damage against enemies not targeting you. The idea is that most of them should be targeting your now very tanky and dangerous Skag, leaving you in the clear.
High Damage build, Jabber & Fade Away (Borderlands 3 FL4K build)
Borderlands 3 FL4K build -Jabber/Fade Away (High Damage). Click to view at higher resolution!
I thought for quite a while about whether I could improve upon this build in any way, but honestly if extreme gun damage is what you’re after, it really doesn’t get much better than this. The combination of theUnblinking EyeandGuerillas In The Mistaugments to give you the maximum possible benefit from Fade Away’s guaranteed crits, the points invested in skills such asHead Count,Two F4ng,Grim Harvest,Persistence Hunter,Overclocked, andThe Fast and the Furryousto give you the most bonkers damage with pretty much any weapon you like. If you’re just after raw DPS potential, here it is.
Take a look at NickTew’s build video below.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on YouTube
And with that, I think I’ll end this Borderlands 3 FL4K build guide for the time being. But be sure to bookmark this page and check back every so often in case some fantastic new build has been discovered that ensures you get the maximum possible benefit from this deadly Beastmaster.
If you need more help with Borderlands 3 we’ve got other guides you can turn to. Check out ourBorderlands 3 Shift Codespage to get free Golden Keys, or head to our primers on theBorderlands 3 weaponsandLegendary weaponsto bring yourself up to speed. We’ve also got other build guides forAmara,MozeandZane.
