So this is a offtank-ish guide for Gladiators focusing on the Ceraunic Storm skill tree. With this build, you will have very high elemental damage, and awesome survivability. I've been able to easily solo Iwajira without losing a single HP point with this, and also soloing the Empyrean Sentinel without dying. I also managed to solo the Invincible Sentinel with this. So yes, it works. It's awesome and fun to play.

So obviously, your focus with this build is going to be getting as many stacks of Maelstrom as possible, and maitaning them. In single fight with bosses you'll be able to easily reach and stay in around 200~250 stacks, and much more when they summon mobs. So first, the red skill tree. No need for those two points in Conduit when leveling up, focus on getting Hades' Shackles as fast as possible. Besides that, put everything as shown here. You can get those last Conduit points on your last two levels. This skills maximize your elemental damage, and also provides ridicolous boosts to fire rate with Unreleting. Your survivability will come with the green skill tree.

Now you've got Hades' Shackles, so you can move on to Phalanx. If you already have the Eridian Vanquisher class mod, you can put that one point on Ephodos. If not, put that after you get Wrath of the Goddess. These skills will greatly improve your survivability, boost your shield capacities (the Reogenator needs that), and also add a nice bit of damage with Ephodos and Wrath of the Goddess.

Yay, you've hit level 50! Wait, you didn't? Then get outta here and go farm or something. Come back when you're 50. Ok, assuming you're 50, here's the equipment you should have:
Weapon (W) 1: Hellfire
W2: 'Ol Rosie
W3: Torrent
W4: Cryophobia
Shield: Reogenator
Class Mod: Eridian Vanquisher
Grenade Mod: Storm Front
Oz Kit: 3DD1.3

All of these level 50, obviously. This set cover every situation you should encounter yourself (large enemy groups, bosses, armored people, etc), dealing nice damage and keeping you alive. So now I'm gonna tell you where to get all this and how to use them properly. But first, you have to know how to properly use your action skill

This is your amazing and broken action skill. Athena rises her shield, blocking all damage dealt to her front. After the skill ends, she throws her shield, dealing back the absorbed damage, and aplying Zeus' Rage to each enemy hit (yes, with Wrath of the Goddess, Zeus' Rage procs five times). So, few things you should know:

1 - With this build, you're not full tank, nor you'll be using your melee attack. So, unlike most of the other Gladiators, you won't be throwing yourself in the fray. You should always be walking backwards, so you absorb the most damage possible.

This is a highly detailed diagram showing how you should position yourself in fights. You're not the tank, so you don't go heads on. However, you do have survivability, and a bullet-blocking shield, so you should be a nice guy and stay in front of your DPSs and supports.

2 - The Ol' Rosie really messes up your aim. Like, a lot. So if you wanna get a certain hit on a specific enemy with your Aspis, you may wanna stop shooting a bit before the skill ends so you can aim properly.

This may be my favorite weapong from the Borderlands series. Despite it's lower-than-average bullet damage, the Hellfire's true strength lies in it's fire DoT. This weapon has increased burn damage, increased ignite chance (20% is A LOT for a SMG), 50% splash damage, and increased magazine size compared to other SMGs. However, in The Pre-Sequel this weapon has a small problem: it is ♥♥♥♥ in vacuum. If you can't set people on fire, then the Hellfire is useless. So don't use this weapon in vacuum. When you are using this weapon, here's what you do: You shoot someone until they catch fire, then you start shooting someone else, and so on. If everybody's on fire already, you switch to another weapon.

You can obtain the Hellfire as a rare drop from the RK-5, or through the Grinder.

ALTERNATIVES: You can use the ZX-1 as a primary source of fire damage. I don't like it, i find the firing pattern too confusing, and very unreliable in Second Wind. But if you know how to use it maybe it's a good pick too

This is going to be your main weapon, since it will easily stack Maelstrom. This may seem like a normal purple shock beam, but this weapon has a awesome 512% damage amplifier, as long as you keep your finger on the trigger. So you're gonna use this weapon to quickly get some Maelstrom stacks and destroy enemies shields. Then you switch to the Hellfire, set everyone on fire, and then switch back to this, and kill everybody. Just remeber to never stop firing, ever.

You can obtain this weapon as a reward for completing The Beggining of the End on True Vault Hunter Mode.

ALTERNATIVES: I haven't tested the Min Min Lighter, but description says it fires "slow bullets", and this build needs very high fire rate. So I think the Ol' Rosie is your only option here

I chose this weapon for corrosive damage because it's the best choice available for now. With this build you will use medium range weapons with a high fire rate, so mainly SMGs and Lasers. Since there are no corrosive legendary lasers, I chose an SMG. The Fatale is cryo-only, and the IVF is kinda meh so I went with this one.
The Torrent has increased bullet damage, magazine size, fire rate and recoil reduction when firing from the hip. Also, when aiming down the sights, you get get no accuracy penalty for moving. It fires a 5 shot burst when zoomed. So as you can see it is a good balanced weapon overall, and it spawns with the corrosive element. No secrets here, just shoot those armored bastards.

You can obtain the Torrent as a rare drop from Meg (from the side quest Kill Meg) or through the Grinder.

Before making this grind I seriously said the following sentence: "what are the odds of obtaining a corrosive Torrent on the first try?"

ALTERNATIVES: I haven't tested, but I guess you can use a corrosive Shredifier here. It has a monster fire rate so I guess it could work. Other than that, the Torrent is not that mandatory so you can be inventive on the corrosive weapon if you like

This is your crowd control/desperate Second Wind weapon. The Cryophobia is a rocket launcher best used from afar, because it's bullets explode several times mid-air, damaging and freezing everyone close to the bullet's path. Like this:


As you can see yet another semi-pro diagram, the Cryophobia's bullet damages and freezes enemies along it's path, even if it does not hit them. This makes this weapon your best choice for freezing everyone that you think needs freezing. The best way to use this weapon is to aim at a wall, not at the ground like other bazookas. Or at least a fairly far away point in the ground. This way you can freeze multiple enemies with a single shot.
You will use this weapon more in multiplayer than single player. If you got a DPS with you, and encounter a large group of scavs or soldiers or whatever you find, this is your move: Ol' Rosie, bust shields; Hellfire, set people on fire; Cryophobia, freeze everyone; by then the other guy should have already killed everyone. Good job.

You can obtain the Cryophobia as a drop from The Bosun, or through the Grinder.

ALTERNATIVES: I don't see much choice here. You can use the Mongol or the Nukem for desperate Second Wind situations, but the Cryophobia provides a nice combination of high damage, decent magazine size and amazing crowd control

This shield, combined with 3DD1.3, provide monster survivability, to the point where you can leave fights against huge amounts of enemies or even bosses without losing a single HP. The 3400-ish base capacity may seem a little low, but you can get over 7000 final capacity with United Front, the 3DD1.3, and badass ranks. Still, it is a bit low comparing to same level purple shields. Do not worry, for the true strenght of this shield lies in its low recharge delay, high recharge rate, and bizarrely high elemental damage resistance. This, paired with the HP regen, can easily keep you alive in almost any situation. The trick is to use the Aspis AFTER your shield has been broken, so it can easily recharge. The damage resistance and the Aspis blocking damage from the front will certainly hold you up.

The Reogenator, sadly, can only be obtained through the Grinder or on Vending Machines. And I don't know the legendary shield grinding recipe so, you'll have to keep checking those Vending Machines. It sucks, and it will take a huge amount of time. Sorry

ALTERNATIVES: You can use the Fabled Tortoise, since the 3DD1.3 provides extra HP. It is better to get the Stalwart skill instead of United Front if you do so. Also, you can use the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot for extra Maelstrom stacking if you want more damage.

This class mod is better than the Storm class mod in my opinion because I relaly don't like the Flash Freeze skill. I mean, you can easily maintain your stacks if you keep firing, no need to freeze them. Anyways, this provides nice +4 boosts in Invictus, Ephodos, Mercurial, Unrelenting and Gathering Tempest. Mercurial will go to waste until they release the next level cap, sadly. Invictus, Ephodos and Unrelenting massively increase your overrall damage, and Gathering Tempest is what you need to keep firing the Ol' Rosie forever. Other than that, the elemental effect chance boost makes using the Hellfire and the Cryophobia easier, and the max health boost is always welcome. Air control is kinda useless but whatever.

You can obtain the Eridian Vanquisher class mod as a drop from the Empyrian Sentinel and the X-STLK-23-2 (the huge stalker you kill on Science and Violence), or through the grinder. If you know the recipe. Which I don't.

ALTERNATIVES: Nah.

Oh man I love this guy. First, this equip beeps just like R2-D2 whenever you take damage or when it restores your shield. So yeah, pretty freaking awesome. But seriously, this is a damn good oz kit because it has a chance to completely repair your shield and fill your O2 whenever you take damage. Besides that, whenever you kill an enemy, the 3DD1.3 drops a "care package", which hits the ground and turn into a small amount of money, life, and ammo of the gun you used to kill that enemy. So it not only repairs your shield, but restores your HP and gives you ammo. As if this wasn't good enough, it gives you laser damage and shield capacity. Like, what the actual ♥♥♥♥, this is the best Oz Kit ever.

ALTERNATIVES: You can use the Oxidizer for a bit of extra damage, but it is pretty useless when you're in the vacuum. It is really up to you, but the 3DD1.3 is the best oz kit ever.

No screenshot, haven't found it yet :P

I just found out that the Storm Front has also made into the Pre-Sequel, so it is the best possible choice for elemental Gladiator. The Storm Front is a Tesla grenade that works like a MIRV, spawning several mini-Tesla grenades that stick to walls and other surfaces. If a normal Tesla grenade could get you about 40 Maelstrom stacks against a boss, the Storm Front will easily get you 100+ stacks.

You can get the Storm Front through the Grinder or on Vending Machines

ALTERNATIVES: You can use the Bonus Package for huge AoE damage, the Leech to improve your survivability and provide some support. I'm gonna test the Quasar, I think it is a better choice. Until then, I think these are your choices.

This is the question you might me asking yourself after seeing an almost 100% legendary build like this one. Don't worry, here are some tricks to easily get all the legendaries you need.

1- The Grinder: The Pre-Sequel introduced this wonderful instrument that lets you exchange any 3 weapons or itens you do not want for 1 random weapon or item. Thing is, you can expend moonstones to ensure that you will get the best result possible for the three itens you fed the Grinder. The Grinder may seem a bit too random, but there are "recipes" that can be followed to get what you want. For example, the recipe for legendary weapons goes like this:

Any two legendary weapons + one purple weapon = One legendary weapon the same type of the purple weapon you used

For example, if you put two Thingies and one purple rarity pistol in the Grinder, and use the option "moonstone grind", you have a 100% chance of getting a legendary pistol. Of course, you can get any of the legendary pistols in the game like this, so you'll have to keep grinding until you get what you want. And remeber that the level of the resulting item of a grind is a average of the level of the three input itens, so try to always use itens lvl 48~50. But where are you going to find so many legendaries to grind?

2 - The Iwajira Grind: In Serenity's Waste (the second area of the game, where you first meet Janey Springs), you can find a giant green kraggon called Iwajira. Go to the moon zoomy station, exit with a Stingray, turn right as soon as you can, and you should find yourself on a slight upward slope, with two kraggon nests. You'll go up the slope, and jump into the cave where the lava stream that falls into the lava lake below starts. Yout Stingray won't go in there. Make sure you park your Stingray at the top of the lava stream (you may get some fire damage but nothing too dangerous), and go in. Fall down the hole, and you'll find Iwajira. Here's his exact location:


Why am I telling you this? Because Iwajira is fairly easy to kill, you can quickly reach him, and he has a good chance of dropping a legendary rocket launcher, the Thingy. So you can just farm this guy until you get two Thingies, and then use any purple weapon in the grind and get what you want (he also drops a good amount of purple itens, at least three per kill). Just remeber, when battling him, try to pull him away from the lava, because his lootsplosion is annoyingly strong, and you don't want your loot falling into the lava. If it does, don't worry, you can walk on the lava, but you'll take damage.

3 - Vending Machine Grind: In this game, unlike BL2, Vending Machines have a small chance of selling a legendary item as Item of the Day. So you can theoretically get anything you want if you keep logging in and out of the game and cheking the vending machines. But I warn you: this takes a long time, it sucks, and the chances of finding what you want are low. If the item you want has a enemy you can farm it from, it's preferable. This tactic should be used as a last resort.

OK, so now you have your sweet loot. Let's use it.

OK, you have everything set up. Sadly, as we don't have any campaign DLC yet, the only thing you can do is find some friends to kill the Invincible Sentinel, or farm stuff. Either way, I'll show you how to use this build.

First, take position. Behind your tanks, in front of the DPS's and supports. Start the fight with a single shot of the Cryophobia. Now you find the shields. Destroy as many shields as you can with your Ol' Rosie, and kill squishier enemies like normal scavs or little kraggons. Switch to the Hellfire, and set as many people on fire as you can. When everyone is agonizing properly, switch back to the Ol' Rosie and finish the job. Of course, against armored enemies, you skip the Hellfire and use the Torrent to kill them. This simples strategy works pretty well against the Invincible Sentinel. I've even managed to solo it.

So that's that. Not that hard, only the item finding is kinda boring. At least, it is WAY easier than in BL2. Please, if you have a comment, a suggestion, or a correction, I would appreciate it.