Zane, Amara, Moze and FL4K are the playable characters in Borderlands 3. Zane is the hitman and relies on technology to protect himself and take out enemies. In this Borderlands 3 Zane guide, we are going to go over the best builds for this character. In doing so, we are also going to cover the different levels of the character and his abilities.
Zane has three starting Actions Skills that are very different from one another. Call a drone that can attack enemies. Create a duplicate of Zane to function as a decoy to confuse opponents and you can protect yourself by putting down a barrier. You can also pick up the barrier which will then move around with you.
Every Action skill has another feature as well The drone can mark targets. The clone and Zane can be interchanged. You can pick up the barrier and move it around with you as you traverse. Note that when you do get the second action skill and use it, you will no longer have access to the grenade.
Borderlands 3 Zane Build
Zane has three skill trees just like the other playable characters in Borderlands 3. These are the Hitman, Doubled Agent and Under Cover skill trees. For our recommended Borderlands 3 Zane build, we are going to combine skills from all of these skill trees. The following is our recommended build for Zane:
| Ability / Skill Tree | Skill Type |
| SNTNL [Hitman] | Action Skill |
| Static Field [Hitman] | Action Skill Augment |
| Almighty Ordnance [Hitman] | Action Skill Augment |
| Violent Speed [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Violent Momentum [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Cool Hand [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Salvation [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Death Follows Close [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Violent Violence [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Playing Dirty [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Good Misfortune [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Seein’ Red [Hitman] | Passive Ability |
| Barrier [Under The Hood] | Action Skill |
| Nanites of Some Shite or Retaliation [Under Cover] | Action Skill Augment |
| All Rounder [Under Cover] | Action Skill Augment |
| Adrenaline [Under Cover] | Passive Ability |
| Hearty Stock and/or Ready for Action [Under Cover] | Passive Ability |
| Confident Competence [Under Cover] | Passive Ability |
| Really Expensive Jacket [Under Cover] | Passive Ability |
| Best Served Cold and/or Futility Belt [Under Cover] | Passive Ability |
With the recommended build out of the way, we can move on to the different skill trees and talk about them. The following is what you need to know about the different action skills and skills that Zane can use as part of his different skills trees.
Hitman Skill Tree
Zane has a single active Action Skill in each of the skill trees. You can customize Action Skill from different skill trees. The following is what you need to know.
| Skill Name | Action Skill Effects |
| SNTNL | Summon an automatic drone that flies around and shoots enemy units. You can manually select the target for the drone as well. |
Action Skill Augments
Action Skill Augments can be found in the columns on either side of the skill trees. You will need to unlock them by investing a certain number of points into the skill trees. The following is what you need to know about the Action Skill Augments for Zane in the Hitman skill tree:
| Requirements (Points) | Augment Name | Augment effects |
| 5 | Winter’s drone | Drone does increased cryo damage. |
| 10 | Bad Dose | Drone sometimes a radiation beam that weakens opponents. |
| 15 | Boomsday | The drone will have a rocket launcher rather than machine guns. |
| 10 | Static Field | Drone shocks nearby enemies and destroys their shields. |
| 15 | Almighty Ordnance | The drone can do a missile attack on a specific area on the map. If the rocket attack kills someone the duration of the drone will be refreshed. |
Passive Abilities
Zane also has access to some Passive Abilities as part of the Hitman Skill Tree. The following is what you need to know about them:
| Requirements (Points) | Skill Name | Passive Skill Effect |
| 0 | Violent Speed | Get a movement speed buff for a short duration after killing a target. |
| 0 | Cold Bore | Get a weapon swap speed bonus. The shot after the weapon swap will do additional cryo damage. |
| 0 | Violent Momentum | Weapon damage is increased while mobile. The faster you move the higher the buff you get. |
| 5 | Cool Hand | Reload speed bonus. Reload speed bonus for killing an enemy for a few seconds. |
| 5 | Drone Delivery | From time to time the drone will throw a grenade. The nature of the grenade will depend on the grenade mod that you have on Zane. |
| 5 | Salvation | After an enemy is killed, Zane can steal HP from attacking opponents. |
| 10 | Death Follows Close | All skills related to killing opponents are buffed and have increased duration. |
| 15 | Violent Violence | Rate of fire buff after killing a target. |
| 15 | Playing Dirty | Once you have killed a target, the next 5 rounds you fire have a chance to create an extra bullet or missile. |
| 20 | Good Misfortune | The time of the action skill is increased if you kill a target. |
| 25 | Seein’ Red | All skills related to killing targets are triggered when you use the action skill. |
Doubled Agent Skill Tree
Next, we have the Doubled Agent Skill Tree for Zane. This Skill Tree has Action Skills, Augments and Passive Abilities of its own that you can combine with the Hitman Skill Tree. The following is what you need to know about this skill tree.
Action Skill
Zane has access to the Digi-Clone Action Skill as part of the Doubled Agent Skill Tree. This creates a clone of him that will distract enemies.
| Skill Name | Action Skill Effects |
| Digi-Clone | Create a copy of Zane that pulls enemies and damages them for 15 seconds. |
Action Skill Augments
The action skill can be improved by using Augments. Action Skill Augments can be found on either sides of the trees. You will need to unlock them by investing a certain number of points into the skill trees. The following is what you need to know about the Action Skill Augments for Zane in the Doubled Agent Skill Tree for this recommended build.
| Requirements (Points) | Augment Name | Augment effects |
| 5 | Binary System | A freezing effect takes place around the clone and Zane when Zane swaps places with the Digi copy. |
| 10 | Schadenfreude | Your shield will repair to a certain degree when the clone receives damage. |
| 15 | Doppelbanger | You can press the Action Skill key to cancel the ability beforehand. When you do that the Digi clone is going to explode. The explosion does fire damage to targets in the vicinity. The radius of the explosion will depend on how soon you cancel the ability. |
| 10 | Which One’s Real? | Enemies will attack the Digi clone more often when it is active or when you swap places with it. |
| 15 | Digital Distribution | If you get damaged while the clone is present then some of the damage will be reflected on the Digi clone. |
Passive Abilities
Like the other Skill Trees, Zane has access to a variety of Passive Skills as part of the Doubled Agent Skill Tree. The following is what you should know about these skills.
| Requirements (Points) | Skill Name | Passive Skill Effect |
| 0 | Synchronicity | If one or more skills are active then action skills get a weapon damage buff. This can stack. |
| 0 | Praemunitus | Zane and clone get bonus weapon magazine size. |
| 0 | Borrowed Time | Action skill lasts longer. |
| 5 | Donnybrook | You and the clone get gun damage Bugg and better health regen for a short time, when you kill an enemy |
| 5 | Fractal Frags | The clone is able to use grenades. The nature of the grenade will depend on the kind of grenade mod you are using. |
| 5 | Duct Tape Mod | You can throw a grenade at the same time as your first gunshot. |
| 10 | Quick Breather | Your shield will start to recharge when you switch places with your Digi clone. |
| 15 | Pocket Full of Grenades | Your grenade supply will replenish after some time one you have killed an enemy. |
| 15 | Old-U | During Fight For Your Life press the action skill key to destroy the clone and come back to life with your health fully restored. |
| 15 | Supersonic Man | Get a movement speed buff when one or more action skills are active. |
| 20 | Like a Ghost | You and the Digi clone can ignore projectiles sometimes. The chance of that happening increases for a short duration after the action skill is activated. |
| 20 | Boom. Enhance. | When the clone is summoned, 3 grenades are used from the inventory. For the spent grenades, the clone gets weapon damage, health, attack speed and reload buffs. |
| 20 | Trick of the Light | Do increased shock damage to targets that are not aiming right at you. |
| 25 | Double Barrel | The Digi clone gets a replica of the weapon that you are currently using. Switching places with the clone will increase the weapon damage of the clone and your character. |
Under Cover Skill Tree
Lastly, we have the Under Cover Skill Tree for Zane In Borderlands 3. This also has a couple of Action Skills, Augments and Passive Skills for Zane to take advantage of. The following is what you need to know about this Skill Tree.
Action Skill
The Action Skill for this Skill Tree is Barrier. This allows Zane to put down a barrier that is going to act as a protection shield. Zane can shoot through this barrier to damage enemies. The following is what you need to know about this Action Skill.
| Skill Name | Action Skill Effects |
| Barrier | Summon a barrier that protects you from incoming fire. You and your team can shoot through it. Doing so will grant you and your team a weapon damage buff. |
Action Skill Augments
The action skill can be improved by using Augments. Action Skill Augments can be found either side of the skill trees. You will need to unlock them by investing a certain number of points into the skill trees. The following is what you need to know about the Action Skill Augments for Zane in the Under Cover Skill Tree for this Borderlands 3 recommended build.
| Requirements (Points) | Augment Name | Augment effects and commentary |
| 5 | Charged Relay | You and your team get a movement speed and attack speed buff for a short duration after touching the barrier. |
| 10 | Nanites or Some Shite | You and allies get a HP regen buff and cooldown buff inside the barrier. |
| 15 | Retaliation | Each time the barrier is damaged, you and your team get weapon damage buff. |
| 10 | All-rounder | Barrier takes the shape of a done and protects you and your team from all around. |
| 15 | Deterrence Field | If opponents come in contact with the barrier they will receive shock damage. |
Passive Abilities
Like the other Skill Trees, Zane has access to a variety of Passive Skills as part of the Under Cover Skill Tree. The following is what you need to know about these skills.
| Requirements | Skill Name | Passive Skill Effect |
| 0 points | Adrenaline | Action Skill cooldown buff depending on the percentage of the shield. |
| 0 points | Hearty Stock | 10% bonus shield capacity for each level. |
| 0 points | Ready for Action | Shield recharge speed buff. |
| 5 points | Brain Freeze | Every time you do cortical damage, you get a chance to slow down the target. This will stack until the enemy is frozen in place. |
| 5 points | Stiff Upper Lip | Immunity buff for a short duration depending on injuries. |
| 5 points | Rise to the Occasion | HP regen buff depending on how strong your shield is. |
| 10 points | Confident Competence | Injury (max +20%) and Accuracy buff (Max +33%) while shields are in effect. |
| 15 points | Really Expensive Jacket | Incoming elemental damage duration reduces to half. |
| 15 points | Best Served Cold | When you kill an enemy, create a cryo nova that will damage opponents in the vicinity. |
| 15 points | Futility Belt | Resistance to non-elemental damage buff. |
| 20 points | Refreshment | When you damage a target that is frozen, some of the damage is returned as HP. |
| 20 points | Calm, Cool, Collected | Shield will begin to recharge instantly when you freeze an enemy. If shield is at max capacity then this will trigger HP regen. When HP is full, Action Skill will cool down faster. |
| 20 points | Nerves of Steel | Accuracy buff depending on how long the shield is at max capacity. |
| 25 points | Distributed Denial | Barrier skill gets the same effects as the shield that you are currently using. The effects of the shield will apply to all your teammates inside the barrier. |
While this is our recommended build, you can customize it to match your playstyle. You can mix and match skills from the different skill trees to make a combination that you like.
That is all for our Borderlands 3 Zane build guide. If you are interested in learning more about the game then you can check out our recommended build for Moze and FL4K.
