Borderlands Class Guide The Soldier (Roland)
Borderlands Guide Soldier Skill Trees for creating Soldier Builds
Nov 11, 2009
Borderlands offers a unique First Person Shooter / Role Playing Game blend with intense action. It features online cooperative multiplayer for up to 4 players just like Halo 3. But, instead of featuring an epic campaign like most FPS games, Borderlands features a mission-based, action RPG with experience points, 4 different character classes, leveling up, skill points distributed across three branches, and loads of loot.
The following strategy guide offers information, strategies, skill trees, and more on how to help players create a good Solider build.
Roland as The Soldier - Action Skill Scorpio Turret and Class Info
Action Skill Scorpio Turret (cooldown 100 seconds): Roland deploys a turret which automatically fires upon nearby enemies and provides shield cover for 20 seconds. The Scorpio Turret can also provide numerous other benefits with various skill upgrades.
The Soldier works well as a lone-gunner and as a co-op partner. For single-player builds, Roland can focus on increasing combat skills and turret damage with the Infantry skill tree, or, for those interested in crafting a good co-op build, The Soldier can focus on the Support tree to regenerate ammo and supplies, or the Medic skill tree for health regeneration.
Infantry Skill Tree - Solider Skills List
- Impact: Increases bullet damage with all weapons permanently, +3% per level
- Sentry: Increases Scorpio Turret damage by +7% per level
- Scattershot: Increases shotgun damage by +3% and spread by +5% per level
- Metal Storm: Killing an enemy briefly increases fire rate by +6% and recoil reduction by +15% per level
- Refire: Shooting an enemy reduces the cooldown by 1 second per level (the effect only works once every two seconds)
- Assault: Increases magazine size and reduces Combat Rifle recoil by +9% per level
- Guided Missile: Scorpio Turret launches guided missiles in addition to bullets, missile launched every 8 seconds at level 1, missile launched every 4 seconds at level 5
For Soldier builds focused on direct combat, Impact, Scattershot, Metal Storm, and Assault increase Roland's effeciency with weapons. Impact, in particular, is an excellent skill great for just about any build, permanently adding extra damage to all bullet-based weapons.
Builds focused more on enhancing Roland's Scorpio Turret beefit from Sentry, which adds more damage, and Refire, which allows for more frequent deployment, and Guided Missile, which greatly increases the turret's effectiveness in combat.
Even for those pursuing a single-player build, it's best not to focus too much on the Infantry skill tree, as both the Support and Medic branches offer more unique enhancements for the Soldier class.
Support Skill Tree - Soldier Skills List
The Support skill tree offers some co-op friendly skills, but also a few defensive skills beneficial for a single-player build.
- Defense: Shields recharge more quickly by +4% recharge speed per level
- Stockpile: Roland and teammates nearby the Scorpio Turret regenerate ammo in the weapon currently in hand, +1 ammo regeneration rate per level
- Quick Charge: Killing an enemy briefly enhances shield regeneration by +1-2% per level (+7% shields per second at level 5)
- Barrage: Each burst of the Scorpio Turret receives +1 shots fired per level
- Grenadier: Killing an enemy briefly increases grenade damage and grants grenade regeneration, +3% grenade damage and +2 grenades per minute
- Deploy: Cooldown reduced for Scorpio Turret by +20% per level
- Supply Drop: Scorpio Turret periodically drops supplies, a supply drop every 7 seconds at level 1 (every 3 seconds at level 5)
For those pursuing a combat-oriented Soldier build, the Defense and Quick Charge skill trees increase Roland's ability to take damage. For builds focused on the Scorpio Turret, Barrage and Deploy adds greatly to it's effectiveness in combat.
Since ammunition is rarely a problem in single-player, Stockpile and Supply Drop are best saved for co-op builds.
The extra damage bonus for Grenadier is pretty small, and the ammo regeneration is unreliable and barely noticeable until level 5 is reached, so only players with an affinity for grenades should bother with the Grenadier skill.
Medic Skill Tree - Soldier Skills List
The Medic branch offers the perfect skills for a primarily co-op focused build. However, even solo Soldiers can benefit from the numerous health enhancements offered in this skill tree.
- Fitness: Increases max health by +5% per level
- Aid Station: Allies near Scorpio Turret regenerate +1% health every second per level
- Overload: Increases magazine capacity for all weapons by +12% per level
- Cauterize: Shooting teammates with bullets or explosives heals them by +6% per level
- Revive: The Scorpio Turret has a chance to instantly revive nearby allies by +14% chance per level
- Grit: Increases bullet damage resistance y +3% per level
- Stat: Killing an enemy briefly increases health regeneration for the user and nearby allies by +1% per level
With a primary focus on the Medic skill tree, a player could craft the most co-op friendly class build ever. The Aid Station and Revive skills turn the Scorpio Turret into an effective team saver when in a pinch. Cauterize allows The Soldier to heal allies even from afar, and Stat can offer frequent health regeneration bonuses when the Scorpio Turret is unavailable.
Fitness, Overload, and Grit are all reliable skills great for just about any build. Grit is one of the best defensive skills in Borderlands, since so many enemies use bullet-based weapons. And Overload is especially beneficial for Soldier builds focused on primarily using Combat Rifles.
The Soldier Class Guide Conclusion
Roland, The Soldier, offers quite a bit of versatility. For those looking to fly solo, focusing on the Infantry skill branch with a few skills from the Medic tree creates a formidable warrior, while those looking for a great co-op build can make teammates happy with ammo and health regeneration bonuses from the Support and Medic skill trees.
Interested in more information on the other classes in Borderlands? Then check out the Borderlands Class Guide. Interested in more great games for the 2009 Holiday season? Then check out the Best Xbox 360 Games for Holiday 2009.
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