Scourge is the Vengeance (blue) skill tree for Amon in Borderlands 4, and it's a healthy mixture of melee combat and frontal shielding, designed to be aggressive and defensive at the same time. Scourge is great for Amon players who want to deal high damage with guns and their whip, while also feeling safe behind their shield. The Scourge build below should be used by players who want to use high elemental damage to cause immense damage to enemies and bosses, while also keeping up a solid defense. We've listed all the skills and gear you'll want to run to make the best Scourge Amon possible.

Best Skills for Scourge Amon

The skills seen below have been listed in the order in which players should invest, with a total of 49 skill points (50 Levels).

Skill

Effect

Points Invested

Why It's Useful

Scorched Kairos

Amon gains increased Ordnance Damage and Magazine Size.

5/5

More ammo for all weapons and more damage for Ordnance are going to come in handy when Ordnance weapons are used so frequently.

Wrath of Nature

Amon gains increased Status Effect Application Chance and Cryo Effectiveness.

This effect is doubled when his Action Skill is active.

3/5

More chance to apply Status Effect, and more effectiveness from Cryo, is a great bonus, especially when it's doubled from using an Action Skill with a soft cooldown.

Tail of the Comet

Whenever Amon deals Ordnance Damage, there is a Chance to apply a Cryo Stasis Effect that deals Cryo Damage over time for a Duration.

Tail of the Comet is affected by Status Effect Application Chance.

5/5

Using Ordnance weapons will commonly grant Cryo Status Effect, with extra Cryo Damage to really put the hurt on enemies.

Ancient Ways

Amon deals increased Cryo Damage.

5/5

Since there are so many ways to get Cryo damage to pop with this build, increasing said damage by an additional 30% means even more damage overall.

Machinist

Kill Skill. Amon Restores a percentage of Ordnance Cooldown.

3/3

Being able to get Ordnance back simply by killing enemies means more destructive methods.

Eternal Winter

Forgewaves now partially restore Action Skill Duration and Firewall Duration on damaging enemies, and can be activated three times in succession.

The third activation launches a Massive Forgewave that deals increased Damage and does not consume Vengeance.

Augment

The Scourge Action Skill is greatly improved, allowing players to spam the attack button to deal massive Cryo damage, while also extending its duration.

Icy Rage

Kill Skill. Killing an enemy with Cryo Damage from Guns or Status Effects will grant a Stack of Cryo Affinity for a Duration. Cryo Affinity Stacks grant increased Gun Damage.

5/5

Simply by killing enemies with Cryo Damage, enemies can earn a +50% damage buff.

Winter's Kiss

Whenever Amon deals Ordnance Damage, he consumes a Stack of Cryo Affinity for each nearby enemy to spawn an Elemental Shard, dealing Cryo Damage in an area.

5/5

Kill enemies, then pop Ordnance, and kill some more to unleash deadly Cryo on the battlefield.

Glacial Rapture

Firewall is now Glacial Rapture.

Swing Forgewhips, dealing Cryo Ordnance Damage over 2 Hits to nearby enemies before slamming into the ground, creating a Cryonic Fissure that deals Cryo Ordnance Damage and leaves Cryo Hazards for a Duration.

Capstone

A new Forgeskill that will essentially deal more damage than the previous one, with a bonus to Cryo damage.

Primal Surge

Whenever Amon applies a Status Effect to an enemy, there is a Chance to partially restore his Shield and Ammo.

5/5

This important skill allows Amon to basically have constant Shield and ammo restored simply by shooting Cryo weapons and Ordnance.

Age of Ice

Amon deals increased Damage to Frozen enemies and Bosses.

5/5

Extremely important, as this provides an additional 30% damage buff against enemies and bosses just for getting Cryo Status Effects.

Heavy Plate

Amon gains increased Maximum Shield Capacity and Maximum Overshield Capacity.

5/5

This one is optional, but it's always nice to have more Shield to protect Amon.

Gut Punch

Melee Damage and Ordnance Damage have a chance to apply Weakness to enemies for a Duration.

Weakened enemies deal reduced Damage, and take increased Damage.

Weakness is affected by Status Effect Duration, and is itself considered a Status Effect.

3/3

Pairing with Amon's other Status Effect abilities, Gut Punch will not only make enemies more susceptible to Cryo, but just with a punch of Ordnance, they will deal less damage and take more damage, making them extremely vulnerable.

The Scourge build above is designed around Cryo Damage and Ordnance Weapons. The skills used will make it easier to apply Status Effect, especially Cryo, which, in turn, restores ammo and shield, while providing extra damage for those frozen by Cryo, including bosses. This means that players will want to rely on Cryo weapons, while also popping their Action Skill when they can for the added protection, while still using their range of weaponry. This is a great build for deleting bosses, and for controlling hordes of enemies with a surge of ammo from Rocket Launchers and other effective elemental weapons.

Best Weapons and Gear for Scourge Amon

cryo rainbow vomit

With Scourge as an Action Skill, players are going to want weapons that combine well with this riveting ability that absorbs all frontal damage, while allowing players to shoot their weapons through it. As such, there's a mixture of close-range and medium-range weapons that players can benefit from. Like other builds, we've found a favorite in Rainbow Vomit, a Shotgun from the Wildcard Mission, A Lot to Process. This Shotgun has a fast rate of fire and reload, and shoots 3 elemental projectiles, with Cryo being the most important one, but feel free to choose any weapon that benefits your style of play.

amon legendary class mod-1

For equipment, we picked the Chilling Elementalist, a Legendary Class Mod obtained from killing Inceptus, a Primordial Guardian found within the Fadefields Vault. Not only does this provide additional skill points in the blue tree, but it also means that when you gain an Affinity Skill, you gain a Stack in all Affinity Skills, and increased Movement Speed. Try and locate a Class Mod that works for you, like extra Action Skill damage, or Health. Alongside a Class Mod, a high-healing Repkit, and a large Shield is beneficial, as the more protection, the better.

ordnance rocket launcher

The second most important factor for this build is the Ordnance Weapon. We picked a Torgue Heavy Weapon Ordnance, allowing us to shoot fast-firing rockets into enemies, which really complements the skills picked for the build. With a Rocket Launcher, we can deal explosive damage mixed with Cryo damage, which also provides near-infinite ammo with Primal Surge to annihilate enemies and bosses.

Best Specializations for Scourge Amon

specilizations for scourge amon

For players who reach the Specializations stage of Amon's build, it's best to start with Runner. While increasing Melee Damage isn't a huge bonus, getting 10 points in Runner will allow players to shoot while hipfiring with Bullet Train, which really makes Amon's movement better when he's using his shield. Other than Runner, 20 points in Survivor and Brute are great for Bullets Are Scared of Me and The Best Defense for +30% damage and damage reduction. With Brute, invest in Riddle You This for a whopping +50% damage with guns. Alternatively, combine Survivor and Brute to invest in Gadgeteer for bonus Ordnance damage.

Best Firmware for Scourge Amon

scourge amon baker

Players have a few Firmware choices to pick from, but here's what we invested in:

Firmware

Bonuses

Pieces Equipped

Baker

  • Shield Capacity is increased by +10%
  • Repkit Cooldown Duration is reduced by +15%
  • Maximum Health is increased by +25%

3

GOOFJFC

  • Action Skill Cooldown Rate is increased by +10%
  • Action Skill Damage is increased by +15%

2

With Baker, players are seeing a bonus to their Shield, Health, and healing ability, which are all great bonuses for survival. With GOOFJC, players are going to see further advantages to their Action Skill. For Scourge, this is great, as players are going to want to rely on the shield of their Action Skill, as well as the Cryo-capable damage of the whip, so more uses and more damage are always a plus.

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Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
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Released
September 12, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s)
Gearbox Software
Publisher(s)
2K
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Genre(s)
Looter Shooter, Action, Adventure, RPG