Zane the Operative Builds | Borderlands 3 (2024)

PLAYSTYLE

Compared to the rest of the cast of Borderlands 3, Zane is probably the most skill-based character in the entire game. He has a lot of potential for high damage, but you need to get used to moving around and using his action skills effectively. This is why he’s so fun to play, and with this leveling-up guide, we’re focusing on maximizing kill skills and getting bonuses from that. You’ll be moving around, shooting enemies in the face, and receiving bonuses every few seconds.

SOLO

Zane is a great character for solo play because he has access to two action skills. With this build, you’ll be calling in the SNTNL a lot, who is essentially your best friend who plays alongside you. Additionally, you’ll want to move around the map quickly to maximize damage. Zane’s agility makes him one of the fastest characters in Borderlands 3 and an absolute joy to play solo.

COOP

Similarly, thanks to Zane’s agile playstyle and build potential, he’s the perfect character to have on the team. Yes, he’s technical, but he does a lot of damage in the right hands. This leveling-up guide focuses on the Hitman tree that boosts his speed, gun damage, and kill skill bonuses. Any help is welcome because Zane isn’t a tank, but more of an assault character who also has access to a drone that does his bidding.

SKILLS

Level 0 – 2: Unlock SNTNL

Level 2 – 5: 3 Points in Violent Momentum
Killing an enemy increases your movement speed.

Level 5 – 7: 2 Points in Violent Speed
Gun damage is increased when you’re on the move.

Level 7 – 8: 1 Point in Salvation
Killing an enemy grants you a 2% gun damage lifesteal for 8 seconds.

Level 8 – 13: 5 Points in Cool Hand
Increase reload speed by 15% while also giving a stack of 20% additional reload speed per kill. This can be stacked over 2 times.

Level 13 – 14: 1 Point in Seein’ Red
Activating any action skill activates all kill skills. Kill skill bonuses are increased by 15%.

Level 14 – 17: 2 Points in Violent Momentum and 1 Points in Violent Speed
Killing an enemy gives you movement speed, and gun damage is increased when you’re on the move.

Level 17 – 22: 5 Points in Playin Dirty
Killing an enemy has the chance to add 1 extra projectile to each of your next 5 shots.

Level 22 – 27: 5 Points in Violent Violence
Killing an enemy grants a stacking Fire Rate of 15% per stack, and a Burst-fire delay of 20% per stack.

Level 27 – 28: 1 Point in Good Misfortune
Killing an enemy extends your Action Skill Duration by up to 4%.

Level 28 – 29: 1 Point in Death Follows Close
Increase the kill skills bonus effect by 25%, and kill skill duration by 7%.

Level 29 – 32: 3 Points in Synchronicity
Each active action skill increases gun damage by 12%.

Action Skill 1: SNTNL
Augment 1: Bad Dose

Action Skill 2: Static Field
Augment 2: Digi-Clone

PLAYSTYLE

Zane is the fastest character in Borderlands 3, and his agility is one of the reasons he’s usually the first pick for many new players. That and his excellent voice-acting. Zane isn’t as complex as someone like FL4K, but he does a lot of damage and can have two active skills that make him an excellent character at every level in the game. This build focuses on maximizing his speed, and gun damage by getting direct bonuses from kill skills.

Zane isn’t a difficult character to play with, and all you really have to do is stay on the move and liberally activate your action skills. Both your SNTNL and digi-clone should be deployed as soon as the combat encounter starts, and it’s important to stay on the move while dishing out gun damage. At level 50, Zane becomes strong enough to down most bosses easily, and his kill skills are a vital part of it.

SOLO

At level 50, this is one of the best builds for Zane, and there isn’t anything you can do to mess it up. The game plan is simple, the bonuses are vast, and you technically have two additional allies with you. With this build, it’s still very important to finish off enemies, which in return will activate all your kill skills, not only that, but you want to liberally use the action skill because Seein’ Red activates all your kill skills with a 15% boost to all.

COOP

Zane isn’t a support unit, nor is he a tank, but an incredible damage dealer who uses his speed to move around the map without breaking a sweat. Any occasional support is appreciated, but Zane has enough in his toolkit to survive most enemy and boss encounters. He’s a valuable asset to the team thanks to his two active skills, so it’s always a good idea to have him in any team composition.

GEARS

Slot 1: The Butcher
Slot 2: Queen’s Call
Slot 3: One Pump Chump
Slot 4: Lyuda
Grenade: Recurring Hex
Shield: Ward
MOD: Infiltrator
Artifact: Fire Stone Otto Idol

SKILLS

Violent Momentum boosts gun damage while you’re on the move, and Violent Speed increases movement speed if you score a kill. Each action increases your movement speed by 12% with Supersonic Man.

There are over 6 kill skills in total here, which all get activated when you use your action skill thanks to Seein’ Red.

Borrowed Time and Good Misfortune increase your Action Skill’s duration while Synchronicity increases gun damage for each active action skill.

Action Skill 1: SNTNL
Augment 1: Static Field
Augment 2: Bad Dose

Action Skill 2: Digi-Clone
Augment 1: Which One’s Real?
Augment 2: Digital Distribution

PLAYSTYLE

Zane is easily one of the most fun characters to play with in Borderlands 3, and one of the reasons is his incredible speed and agility. This build focuses on that aspect while also adding a few key skills from the DLC tree into the mix. If you’re a fan of fast characters who zip around the map and do tons of gun damage, this is the build to go with.

Your game plan is pretty simple for the most part. Zane has two active skills here, which you’ll want to deploy as soon as the combat encounters start. This will give him some leeway, and allow him to start doing some ridiculous gun damage. Make sure you finish off enemies to activate your kill skills and don’t be afraid to move and shoot because you can.

SOLO

This is a fantastic build for solo play because Zane is a speed freak who can routinely switch places with his digiclone. He’s never alone thanks to the SNTNL drone, and there aren’t many enemies that stand a chance against his gun damage. Even in a tricky situation, you can get out of things by simply running away, or even swapping places with your clone. Gun damage is your main source of damage output, and it’s important to finish enemies to activate kill skills.

COOP

Similarly, this build is perfect for co-op as well. Zane is an assault unit that will be doing tons of damage to enemies and bosses without a need for direct support. Giving him occasional heals and shield boosts are definitely appreciated, but Zane can stand his own ground for the most part. Being able to move around the battlefield at his speed means that he can’t be cornered, and won’t need constant saving.

GEARS

Slot 1: The Butcher
Slot 2: Queen’s Call
Slot 3: One Pump Chump
Slot 4: Lyuda
Grenade: Recurring Hex
Shield: Ward
MOD: Infiltrator
Artifact: Fire Stone Otto Idol

SKILLS

There are over 6 kill skills in total here, which all get activated when you use your action skill thanks to Seein’ Red.

Violent Momentum boosts gun damage while you’re on the move, and Violent Speed increases movement speed if you score a kill. Fugitive allows Zane to sprint and shoot at the same time, while Tunnel Vision improves weapon handling and accuracy while Zane is moving.

Playing Dirty adds a 30% chance to add 1 extra projectile to each of your next 5 shots after killing an enemy.

PLAYSTYLE

Zane has great movement speed, excellent gun damage, and the ability to use two active action skills. This makes him a formidable vault hunter who can pretty much stand his ground, and do tons of damage regardless of the level, or team composition. This all-rounder build tries to maximize his potential to provide a balanced experience that’s easy to play, and leaves room for mastery.

Your game plan is pretty simple here. You can deploy your SNTNL and Digi-clone right off the bat, and start doing gun damage, swapping places with your digi-clone when required. Being on the move is essential though, and ensuring that you actually land kills is also important. Simply reducing the overall health of an enemy isn’t useful to Zane because we have over 8 kill skills that give Zane tremendous bonuses, boosting his damage, reload speed, fire rate, active skill duration, and a lot more.

SOLO

This is by far one of the best ways to play as Zane at level 72. You have plenty of kill skills, two of the best action skills active, and a few abilities that directly regenerate your health and shields. Having the two action skills also means that you aren’t going to be directly targeted at all times, and can take a breather. Similarly, your high speed means you won’t be cornered by enemies, and you can make good use of the digi-clone to basically transport you out of sticky situations.

COOP

Zane is a great character to bring along in co-op because he largely works independently. He brings two additional units with him, his clone and drone, so the overall team size can increase dramatically, especially with this build. Zane also has a few skills that regenerate his shield and health in this build, which makes him less of a burden, and someone that actively dishes out large amounts of damage. He’s not a tank, but a high-damage assault character who wouldn’t mind the occasional support.

GEARS

Slot 1: Clairvoyance
Slot 2: Skullmasher
Slot 3: Crit
Slot 4: Hail
Grenade: Recurring Hex
Shield: Transformer
MOD: Seein’ Dead
Artifact: Ice Breaker

SKILLS

Rise to the Ocassion provides Zane with health regeneration, while Salvation allows him to lifesteal enemies with gun damage. Ready for Action, and Quick Breather directly help Zane’s shield recharge and delay.

Violent Momentum boosts gun damage while you’re on the move, while Violent Speed increases movement speed if you score a kill. Each active action skill increases your movement speed by 12% with Supersonic Man. Zane can sacrifice the clone to gain full health thanks to Old-U.

PLAYSTYLE

Zane is a bit of a straightforward character who doesn’t have gigantic cosmic hands, a mech, or the ability to call on beasts. He can, however, put out a clone of himself, has the fastest movement in the game, and does tons of gun damage without breaking a sweat. If you’re looking for something a bit simple, but also super satisfying to play around with, this Zane build is meant for you.

The build also utilizes Zane’s DLC skill tree which improves his maneuverability, and critical damage, and incentivizes using action skills. Your approach is simple. Start every combat encounter by placing a digi-clone, and start shooting enemies. Your main weapon, the Free Radical is perfect for taking on mobs, and thanks to its lightning-fast reload speed, you’ll be emptying out your magazines as the vault Gods intended.

SOLO

This is an excellent build for solo play because you’re still technically bringing your clone. Zane’s damage potential is through the roof here, and he’s the fastest vault hunter in Borderlands 3. This means you can escape tough situations, reload, and start shooting back. It’s hard to actually get hit while playing with this, but the off chance you do get hit, it’s not the end of the world because getting a second wind is very simple thanks to Zane’s splash damage, and he has multiple abilities that lifesteal.

COOP

Similarly, Zane plays a more of general assault role while in co-op. He doesn’t really need any direct support from his teammates, but keeping him alive should be a priority because he will be doing a lot of damage around the battlefield, and because of his speed, he’ll routinely break formation, and do his own thing. The abilities here don’t actively support the team, but he’s still a valuable member who is very capable of holding his ground.

GEARS

Slot 1: Free Radical
Slot 2: Plasma Coil
Slot 3: Anarchy
Slot 4: Sand Hawk
Grenade: It’s Piss
Shield: Re-Volter
MOD: Suave Spy
Artifact: Victory Rush

SKILLS

Violent Speed, Supersonic Man, and Violent Momentum directly improve Zane’s movement speed. Fugitive allows Zane to shoot, and sprint at the same time, while Seein Red activates all of Zane’s kill skills when using the action skill.

Death Follows Close increases the effect and duration of all kill skills bonuses. You can sacrifice the clone to gain full health thanks to Old-U, and Salvation grants gun-damage lifesteal after you kill an enemy.

Action Skill: Digi-Clone
Augment 1: Which One’s Real?
Augment 2: Doppelbanger

Action Skill: MNTIS Shoulder Cannon
Augment 1: No Way Out

PLAYSTYLE

Zane is the fastest character in Borderlands 3, hands down. He can move around a combat faster than anyone, and the speed isn’t just a perk, but it can tie into his entire playstyle. If being on the go, and doing damage while you do so is your preference, then it’s hard to go wrong with this build where Zane can literally zap around the battlefield without a problem.

Zane isn’t a complicated character, so the approach is fairly straightforward. Don’t stop moving. Yes, Zane’s skills greatly benefit from his movement speed, and the ability to empty out magazines fast. So, deploy your SNTNL for damage, while the MNTIS cannon for some ridiculous damage, all while you’re moving around. It’s a simple build that doesn’t require much from the player, but you’ll want to make sure you’re actually finishing off enemies to activate kill skills, which isn’t much of a problem thanks to our weapon choice.

SOLO

This is a fantastic build for solo play, and if you’re like me, moving around and agility are very important for my play style. Zane’s movement speed is buffed insanely high, which makes the run-gunning experience all the more special. Zane isn’t alone either, because instead of his fake digi-clone, we’ve actually brought his trusty drone around, which does damage, and even restores your shield. As Zane, it’s really hard to go wrong with this build, especially if you prioritize a simple playstyle that’s built on speed, and gun damage.

COOP

Similarly, this build is perfectly viable in co-op as well. Zane doesn’t directly support the team in terms of healing, or shields, but he does great damage and can stand his ground. The team doesn’t need to work around him because he can do his own thing for the most part, but any potential healing opportunities can help improve his survivability. At this level though, Zane is extremely powerful, and if you stay on the move, he’s hard to catch.

GEARS

Slot 1: Free Radical
Slot 2: Plasma Coil
Slot 3: Crit
Slot 4: Unkempt Harold
Grenade: It’s Piss
Shield: Re-Volter
MOD: Infiltrator
Artifact: Toboggan

SKILLS

Violent Momentum boosts gun damage while you’re on the move, and Violent Speed increases movement speed if you score a kill.

Each active action skill increases your movement speed by 12% with Supersonic Man. Fugitive allows Zane to shoot and sprint at the same time, while Tunnel Vision improves his accuracy and handling while moving by over 30%.

There are over 10 kill skills in total here, which all get activated when you use your action skill thanks to Seein’ Red.

Action Skill: SNTNL
Augment 1: Static Field
Augment 2: Boomsday

Action Skill: MNTIS Shoulder Cannon
Augment 1: No Way Out
Augment 2: Proliferation