Ways to Play: FL4K the Beastmaster

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FL4K the Beastmaster is on a never-ending hunt in Borderlands 3, accompanied by loyal beasts who are eager to please them. This robotic leader of the pack has access to both an Action Skill and an autonomous Pet that fights by their side and obeys commands to pounce on specific targets. Here’s a look at FL4K’s Hunter, Master, and Stalker skill trees, which give them and their Pet the killer instincts they need to overcome whatever the galaxy throws at them.

Critical hits are crucial to the Hunter skill tree, with plenty of passive skills that reward you for hitting your quarry’s weak points. You may get a chance to restore ammo to your magazine after a critical hit, or potentially reduce your Action Skill cooldown. Other options provide boosts to your Hunter Skills - a special type of skill found in all of FL4K’s skill trees. Here are some other helpful picks from the Hunter skill tree:

·        Ambush Predator is perfect for snipers who prefer to fight from afar: while there are no enemies nearby, FL4K’s weapon handling and critical hit damage are increased.

·        The Most Dangerous Game is a Hunter Kill Skill that literally pays dividends if you go after tougher targets. Whenever FL4K kills a Badass or stronger enemy, they gain increased critical hit damage, gun damage, and handling for an extended period. Additionally, they receive a cash reward from the Intergalactic Bureau of Bounty Hunting, which clearly recognizes that FL4K deserves a tip for their hard work.

·        Megavore is a game-changer, giving FL4K a chance to score a critical hit with weapons against any part of enemies. Even if you miss a headshot here and there, Megavore can make a bullet to the butt just as lethal as one to the brain.

Action Skill Augments in the Hunter skill tree give you more ways to wreak Rakk havoc, like adding extra Rakk to the pack or making them deal cryo damage. Meanwhile, you can evolve your Spiderant Pet to deal incendiary or corrosive damage and provide buffs on top of the baseline health regeneration. If you love to carefully line up your shots from a safe distance and execute your target with a few critical hits, the Hunter skill tree plays to your sniping prowess.

The Master skill tree offers plenty of ways to increase your Pet’s damage output, like a passive skill that causes their first melee attack against an enemy to be an automatic critical hit. Beyond providing cover fire, FL4K can directly aid their Pet through skills like:

·        Who Rescued Who? strengthens the symbiotic bond between FL4K and their Pet. Whenever their Pet deals damage, FL4K regenerates some health, and whenever FL4K deals damage, their Pet will be healed for a portion of the damage dealt.

·        Psycho Head on a Stick, which sounds like a fantastic chew toy, is a Hunter Kill Skill that buffs FL4K’s Pet with increased movement speed and damage for a few seconds whenever FL4K kills an enemy.

·        Dominance emphasizes the ‘master’ in Beastmaster. This new melee attack lets FL4K convert an enemy to their side for a short time, with doubled duration if your dominated target is a beast. Dominance is also a means for dealing damage to your temporary ally: your target loses health until the effect ends or they die fighting for your cause.

FL4K can improve the utility of their Gamma Burst by giving their Pet a radiation aura on activation or providing health regeneration whenever FL4K and their allies are near the rift. The Skag Pet evolutions can give FL4K increased gun damage or fire rate, along with teaching the Skag some destructive new tricks you won’t see at any dog show. Power up your Pet to the fullest with the Master skill tree, then fight alongside your beast as they dutifully do your bidding.

Evasion and resilience are the hallmarks of the Stalker skill tree. If FL4K is ever in a bind, using the Fade Away Action Skill will facilitate a quick getaway by instantly cloaking them and affording them increased movement speed and health regeneration. Once FL4K maneuvers into a better position, they can fire off three shots that are guaranteed critical hits, completely turning the tide in a tough fight. Your furry Jabber Pet provides bonus movement speed, and even has its own adorable little gun to fill your enemies with lead.

You’ll find plenty of ways to up your survivability in the Stalker skill tree; maybe you’ll opt to simply increase FL4K’s maximum health, or choose a passive skill that shares FL4K’s health regeneration with allies and doubles the bonus for their Pet. Staying healthy is a major part of maximizing your effectiveness with the Stalker skill tree, which includes such life-saving skill as:

·        Lick the Wounds lets your Pet attempt to revive you whenever you’re downed in the Fight For Your Life state. You’ll appreciate your Pet that much more after they pull off a clutch revive during a heated firefight, and it’s a great option for staying alive in solo play.

·        The Fast and the Furryous gives FL4K increased gun damage and movement speed whenever they’re above half health. It sounds simple, but trying to preserve your health and maintain your buffs becomes a metagame in and of itself.

·        The Power Inside makes FL4K and their Pet gain increased damage after FL4K activates an Action Skill—but if FL4K is at full health, that damage increase is doubled. Triggering that doubled bonus is easy to do before a fight, but good luck pulling it off once you’re in the thick of all the ensuing chaos.

Increase your odds of survival even further with Action Skill Augments, like gaining damage reduction after Fade Away ends, or giving your Pet the ability to taunt enemies to grab their attention. Your choice of delightfully coiffed Jabber evolutions will change their gun of choice, along with adding maximum health or critical hit damage buffs on top of the increased movement speed. You’ll be damn difficult to take down when specializing in the Stalker skill tree, giving FL4K and their Pet plenty of ways to outlive their prey.

Check out the FL4K character page if you’d like to tinker with their skill trees, then share your favorite build for the robotic Beastmaster.

Remember, just because you choose a particular Action Skill it doesn’t mean that you’re locked into that skill tree; you’re free to mix and match to see what powerful combinations you can come up with. Be sure to check out the other Vault Hunters you can play as in Borderlands 3: Zane the Operative, Moze the Gunner, and Amara the Siren.