For those who hear things would most likely already know that Slag is key to UVHM...
As true as this is.... Who cares?! EXPLOOOSIONS!!

GUNPOWDER

Impact
Gain bonus Gun Damage & Melee Damage.
Bonus damage is always geat to have, also the Ranger Class mod gives bonuses to Impact.

Expertise
Gain bonus Weapon Swap Speed, Aim Speed & Movement Speed while aiming.
Weapon Swap Speed is huge for this build as we'll be constantly be switching weapons, more importantly going to be switching to our Rocket Launcher which has a really slow Weapon Swap Speed to utalise the bonus ammo from our Big Boom Blaster.

Metal Storm
Kill Skill. Gain bonus Fire Rate & Recoild Reduction for a few seconds.
We'll be killing enemies constantly through the playthrough that Metal Storm will be up constantly giving us up to a bonus of 60% Fire Rate which is amazing.

Steady
Gain bonus Recoil Reduction, Grenade Damage & Rocket Launcher Damage.
This explosive build focuses around the use of high firepowered grenades & rocket launchers in which the percentage bonus gives a lot more total damage (Eg. 20% of 1,000,000 = 200,000 bonus damage).

Longbow Turret
Increases Turret max health. Additionally changes Turret Deploy from a Lobbed to a Longbow pattern.
Turrets die really fast in UVHM & without the increased health they're not worth putting points into Turret damage. Even though we're not using them for their general damage as we're not going down the Guerilla tree, the Longbow range synergises really well with Mag-Lock & Nuke.

Battlefront
Gain increased Gun Damage, Melee Damage & Grenade Damage while Turret is deployed.
Only putting one point here instead of Phalanx Shield as the shields don't last long enough to be worth taking away from a bonus 6% Grenade Damage, which isn't much, but compared to other skills available for our last point 6% of a high firepower grenade is a lot more than it sounds.

Do or Die
Allows you to throw Grenades while in Fight for Your Life. Additionally gain a bonus 10% Grenade & Rocket Launcher Damage.
This is pure golden, not only being able to throw grenades while in Fight for Your Life, but the bonus 10% damage is huge! With this I really doubt we'd end up not being able to get a Second Wind... Seriously.

Ranger
Gain bonus Gun Damage, Accuracy, Critical Hit Damage, Fire Rate, Magazine Size, Reload Speed & Maximum Health.
Although it's not a specialist skill, the generalistic bonuses are good all around, which is the same reason people tend to use Legendary Class mods over specialist class mods. Not to mention we'll be getting more bonuses if we use a Ranger Class mod.

Nuke
Deploying your Sabre Turret sets off a small Nuke. Additionally igniting nearby enemies.
Nuke offers great utility, much like Singularity effects as it's a knockback as well as doing insane damage for just 1 investment point. It also synergises really well with Gemini as you get 2 Nukes instead of 1.

SURVIVAL

Preparation
Increases Shield Capacity. Additionally regenerate health per second while your shield is full.
This only really shows it's use when out of combat as much like amp shields, once you take damage then you stop receiving the bonuses, which you'll most likely be in the frontline taking damage constantly.

Last Ditch Effort
Gain bonus Gun Damage & Movement Speed while in Fight for Your Life.
Last Ditch Effort is such an underrated skill. Having at least 5/5 in this skill can get you to the point where you're close to walking speed while in Fight for Your Life. Which might not sound too great, but do I need to remind you of all those cheeky Marauders who once they get you into Fight for Your Life & go off, hiding until you're dead? I really don't see us staying in Fight for Your Life for a long time especially with Do or Die.

Pressure
Gain increased Reload Speed & decreased Shield Recharge Delay depending on how low your health is.
Generally speaking we'll be sitting on low - half health depending on how many Grit procs we get as we have no dramatic methods of healing (Unless you grab a Moxxi or Transfusion grenade). The only healing we get is from Grit procs & Preparation, so we end up getting faster Reloads & Shield Recharge Delays more often than not.

Resourceful
Increased Action Skill Cooldown Rate.
Despite us not using our Turrets for raw Turret Damage from the Guerilla tree, the faster we can throw our turrets the better because of the synergy between Nuke & Gemini, also Battlefront for a little bit of bonus damage is always nice.

Mag-Lock
Turrets now stick to all surfaces.
Not a bad skill as you can throw your turrets at a ceiling & it'll rain down on melee enemies who can't touch it. Makes it harder for you to retrieve your turrets if you throw both on an unreachable surface. Mag-Lock would be more benefitial if we went down the Guerilla tree, but it's still nice to have for just 1 point.

Grit
Whenever you take fatal damage, there's a chance to ignore that damage & regain 50% health.
Grit has come to be my most favourite skill on Axton & it's helped out so much especially in UVHM. With a class mod you can get up to 44% which is insane survivability. Not to mention in those times where Grit doesn't save you, you have Do or Die & Last Ditch Effort there to back you up!

Gemini
Allows you to deploy two Turrets instead of one.
Two Turrets is always better than one. Gemini has amazing synergy with Nuke as you now get 2 Nukes instead of 1, you also get 4 x the Turret Maximum Health as a standard turret thanks to Longbow.

Overload
Increased Magazine Size for Assault Rifles.

• It only applies to Assault Rifles which I prefer to have a variety of different gun types.

Duty Calls
Gain bonus Gun Damage & Fire Rate for Non-Elemental weapons.

• This is an Explosive build, which Explosive is counted as a nuetral element, like Shock & Slag, Explosive can also be resisted by small variety of enemies.

Healthy
Gain bonus Maximum Health.

• Mainly a personal preference to get Healthy or Preparation. Healthy is better for tougher enemies like Raid bosses, badasses etc. where as Preparation is better for general gameplay.
  
• Feel free to take Healthy over Preparation if you don't like the fact you need to be at full shields to receive the bonuses.

Forbearance
Reduce Status Effect Duration received. Additionally gain bonus Maximum Health.

• Forbearance is a nice skill to have in UVHM if you find yourself getting slagged often as the elemental effects work the same against players as they do enemies. With that being said, if you find yourself getting ignited or electricuted more often then Forbearance won't make much of a difference as you'll be taking bonus elemental damage to either your shields or direct health as you're a fleshy target.

Phalanx Shield
Your Turrets gain a shield that attempts to block enemy ranged projectiles whilst allowing friendly ranged attacks through.

• Phalanx Shield only proves it's worth during the lower stages of the game where it can soak up more total damage compared to UVHM where the shields don't scale well enough to soak up the damage enemies deal in UVHM.

Quick Charge
Kill Skill. Regenerate a percentage of your shield per second for a few seconds.

• Quick Charge depends on personal preference as we'll be killing enemies constantly to proc Metal Storm but I just prefer to put points elsewhere.

• This build focuses around the Gunpowder & Survival trees.
  
• Nothing wrong to put the remaining points in this tree.

This very specific build pattern is optimal for a Gunpowder & Survival playthrough.
Generally speaking Normal mode going from levels 1-30, TVHM 30-50 & UVHM 50-61.

Weapon Slot #1

Use any Non-Elemental (or Explosive) weapon you want as you never want to be solid on a single element due to the fact that when you encounter an enemy that resists said element... You're gonna have a bad time...

Whoayeah's preference;

• Unkempt Harold has an increased drop rate from Savage Lee located in Three Horns Divide at the Marrowfield.
  
• Unkempt Harold can be purchased from anyone of the Torgue Vendors in Torgues Campaign or Carnage DLC for 613 Torgue Tokens.
  
• Despite stated as above, to be solid on a single element is a bad thing to do still remains true, however Explosive is a neutral element & only resisted by very minimal enemies thus being solid on Explosive elements isn't as dramatic as solid on other elements.

Weapon Slot #2

High magazine size weapon OR Moxxi's weapon. If you decide to get an elemental weapon I'd recommend getting Shock or Slag (or both) as they're considered Neutral elements.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Can be purchased from the Seraph Vendor in Flamerock Refuge from Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC for 120 Seraph Crystals.
  
• The seeker CANNOT score critical hits, however generally speaking it has 100% accuracy as it homes in on it's target.

Weapon Slot #3

Normal & TVHM can use any weapon they want here, but in UVHM I'd recommend a slag elemental weapon as it'll be your main source of slag.

Whoayeah's preference;

• Slagga has high fire rate & high slag chance.
  
• Has an increased drop rate from Tector & Jimbo Hodunk as well as the Handsome Dragon in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep's DLC.
  
• Tector & Jimbo Hodunk can only be found once you have completed the Clan War sidequest story.
  
• Despite having stated that we won't be needing Slag in UVHM, which is true however it's always good to have Slag readily at hand, especially since we're not picking up the Double Up Skill in the Guerilla tree.
Weapon Slot #4
High fire power weapon used as a last resort to get you up from Fight for Your Life. Whoayeah's preference;
• Creamer can be obtained by completing the Creature Slaughterdome Circle of Slaughter.
  
• Due to the Creamer being one of Moxxi's weapons it also heals you for a percentage of the damage dealt.
  
• As we don't have any forms of dramatic healing, the Creamer has replaced the previous preferred; Tunguska.
Shield Slot
Absorb Shields, Adaptive Shields, Turtle Shields, Amp Shields OR Cut Rate Shields.Whoayeah's preference;
• The Big Boom Blaster is a rare drop from Pete the Invincible.
  
• Despite Booster Shields not be stated as above, Big Boom Blaster is an exception due to it's boosters regenerate Grenade & Rocket Launcher ammo on pickup, with this effect it is recommend to never be full on Grenades & Rocket Launcher ammo as you'll be effectively losing a lot of bonus damage.
Class Mod
Slayer of Terramorphous & Legendary Commando class mods are accepted however specialist class mods can be proven to be superior.Whoayeah's preference;OR
• Ranger is optimal for this build where as Unstoppable Pointman is great for those who seek extra survivability.
  
• Ranger Class mod can only be obtained through Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC.
Grenade Mod
Any grenade mod you want, strongly recommend high fire power grenades like Mirvs. However utility mods like Slag Bouncing Betties, Tesla & Singularity or even supportive Transfusion are also another alternative.Whoayeah's preference;
• Increased drop from Boom & Bewm located in the Southern Shelf.
  
• Can be purchased from anyone of the Torgue Vendors in Torgues Campaign or Carnage DLC for 613 Torgue Tokens.
  
• Bonus Package is a very dangerous Grenade Mod & recommend to take caution when using it as it has an incredibly large Blast Radius & can put you into Fight for Your Life mode with ease if you're not careful.
Relic Slot
Use any relic you want as long as it's justifiable.Whoayeah's preference;
• As we are using a solid Explosive setup both with the gear we're using & Nukes from our Gunpowder tree this relic proves to increase overall DPS dramatically.

• 17 July 2013 - The Tunguska Rocket Launcher replaced by the Creamer.

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