BL3
Borderlands 3: Walkthrough & Strategy Guide
Zane - Skills Tree & Guide

Zane - Skills Tree & Guide | Borderlands 3

Last Updated:
Zane - Skills Tree & Guide | Borderlands 3 - GameWith
Hot Topic
Learn How to Beat Wotan The Invincible Raid Boss!

Learn all you need to know about Zane the Operative's skill tree in Borderlands 3! Featuring all Action Skills, Augments, notable Skills from each tree, all skill list and more!!!

Table of Contents

More About Vault Hunters Skill & Traits

All Character Tree - Build & Overview

Zane - Operative Character Class Overview

Zane - Operative Character Class Overview

A member of the notorious Flynt family, Zane is a semi-retired corporate hitman who uses his trickery and gadgets to get the upper hand in battle. Zane's arsenal is composed of a SNTNL drone, a Barrier Shield, & a Digi-Clone!

Check Out the Zane Best Builds Guide Here

Versatile Skills To Adapt To Any Situation

Zane's skills allow him to be versatile and adaptable when in combat. He charge into the heat of battle with his drone, drop his barrier to hold his ground, or even deploy his Digi-Clone to draw the enemy's attention.

Can Equip Two Action Skills

Zane is the only Vault Hunter that can equip two action skills at a time. This allows him to control the tide of battle on the fly. He can mix & match his skills for maximum DPS, or even create a balance between damage and sustain!

Check out skills guide Here!

Doubled Agent - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Doubled Agent - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Notable Skills in Doubled Agent Tree

Synchronicity

Increases gun damage whenever an action skill is up. If both action skills are up, it will give Zane a huge increase in gun damage.

Quick Breather

A great way to quickly jumpstart your shield recharge if you ever run out of shields during a fight!

Old-U

Allows you to instantly gain a Second Wind if you ever go down in a fight, allowing you to fight for much longer.

Boom. Enhance.

Will increase the Digi-Clone's Gun Damage, Max Health, Fire Rate, Reload Speed, and Digi-Clone Duration at the expense of your grenades. Will make your clone as strong as it can be!

Digi-Clone

Digi-CloneDigi-CloneSpawn a Digi-Clone of Zane. The Clone stays in place, but distracts and fires at enemies.

Pressing F or G while the Clone is active causes Zane and the Clone to swap places
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 28 seconds

Gain the Tactical Advantage

The Digi-Clone will be able to distract enemies while Zane can focus on flanking, looting or even healing. It's a great way to keep enemies pre-occupied while giving you some breathing room!

Hitman - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Hitman - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Notable Skills in Hitman Tree

Death Follows Close

Will allow you to increase the duration of all of your Kill Skills. Most of the skills in this tree are Kill Skills. Perfect for players aiming to spend most of their skill points into this tree.

Salvation

Killing enemies temporarily gives your currently equipped weapon lifesteal. This is perfect for sustain when going against tougher enemies. Best used on hordes of low tier enemies to keep the skill active!

Violent Speed & Violent Momentum

These skills go hand-in-hand with each other as increasing your movement speed after scoring a kill will in turn increase your gun damage!

SNTNL

SNTNLSNTNLSend into battle an automated SNTNL drone that continually flies through the environment and attacks enemies with its Machine Guns.

Pressing F or G while SNTNL is active causes it to attack the enemy under Zane's crosshairs, if any.
Duration: 24 seconds
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Machine Gun Damage: 4

Whittle Down Enemy Health

With the SNTNL Drone, you will be able to have another source of damage against enemies. The SNTNL Drone lets you whittle down the health of multiple enemies!

Under Cover - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Under Cover - Skill Tree & Action Skills

Notable Skills In Under Cover Tree

Stiff Upper Lip

This skill makes you resistant to the damage type you are receiving. This allows you to soak up more damage against enemies and stay in the fight for longer.

Confident Competence

A skill that will increase gun damage based on how much shield you have. This gives you an upper advantage when starting out fast, letting you hit the enemies much harder and kill them quicker!

Really Expensive Jacket

This skill lowers a status effect's duration on Zane, protecting him from most of the negative effects during fights. The latter skill will also increase your resistance to non-elemental damage, making you more sturdy in combat!

Barrier

BarrierBarrierDrop a deployable Barrier that blocks incoming projectiles. Zane and his allies can shoot through the Barrier, dealing increased Gun Damage.

Pressing F or G while Barrier is active picks up and holds the Barrier, but the size and bonuses are decreased.
Duration: 14 seconds
Cooldown: 24 seconds
Damage Amp: +25%

Zane All Skill List & Effects

All Doubled Agent Tree Skills & Effect

Digi-Clone

Digi-Clone iconDigi-CloneSkill Type:
Action Skill
(Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 28 seconds

Spawn a Digi-Clone of Zane. This Clone stays in place, but distracts and fires at enemies.

Pressing F or G while the Clone is active causes Zane and the Clone to swap places.

Synchronicity

Synchronicity iconSynchronicitySkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Gun Damage: +4% / +8% / +12% / +16% / +20% per active action skill

Whenever one or more of Zane's action skills are active, he gains increased Gun Damage for each active action skill.

Praemunitus

Praemunitus iconPraemunitusSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Magazine Size: +8.3% / +16.7% / +25.0%

Zane and his Digi-Clone gain increased Magazine Size.

Borrowed time

Borrowed time iconBorrowed timeSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Action Skill Duration: +3% / +6% / +9% / +12% / +15% per active action skill

Zane gains increased Action Skill Duration for every active Action Skill.

Binary System

Binary System iconBinary SystemSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Digi-Clone Must be equipped to use)
Effect:

Whenever Zane swaps places with his Clone, a Cryo Nova is triggered around Zane and his Clone.

Donnybrook

Donnybrook iconDonnybrookSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Gun Damage: +3% / +6% / +9% / +12% / +15%
Health Regeneration: +0.5% / 1.0% / 1.5% / 2.0% / +2.5% of Missing Health / sec
Duration: 8 seconds

Kill Skill. Whenever Zane kills an enemy, he and his Digi-Clone receive increased Gun Damage and gain Health Regeneration for a few seconds.

Fractal Frags

Fractal Frags iconFractal FragsSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Grenade Chance: 30%

The Digi-Clone throws a copy of Zane's current grenade mod when it is first activated. If the Digi-Clone is killed, it drops a free grenade.

Kill Skill. Killing an enemy while the Digi-Clone is active gives the Clone a chance to throw a grenade.

Duct Tape Mod

Duct Tape Mod iconDuct Tape ModSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Grenade Chance: up to 4% / +8% / +12% / +16% / +20%
Cooldown Time: 8 seconds

The first shot fired from Zane's gun has a chance to also fire a grenade. This skill has a short cooldown

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude iconSchadenfreudeSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Digi-Clone Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Shields Restored: +100.0% of Digi-Clone damage

Whenever the Clone takes damage, Zane's shield is restored by a portion of that damage.

Quick Breather

Quick Breather iconQuick BreatherSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:

Whenever Zane swaps places with his Clone, his shield immediately begins recharging.

Which One's Real

Which OneWhich One's RealSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Digi-Clone Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Duration: 4 seconds

Enemies are more likely to target the Clone for a few seconds after it’s summoned and after swapping places.

Dopplebanger

Dopplebanger iconDopplebangerSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Digi-Clone Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Damage: Up to 280

Hold down F or G to end the action skill early.

When Zane’s Clone is ended, the Clone explodes, dealing Splash Damage to all nearby enemies.

The more Clone time remaining, the greater the damage.

Pocket Full Of Grenades

Pocket Full Of Grenades iconPocket Full Of GrenadesSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Grenade Regeneration: 7% / 13% / +20% / sec
Duration: 8 seconds

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane gains Grenade Regeneration for a few seconds.

Old-U

Old-U iconOld-USkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Max Health Restored: 100% of Max Health

Press F or G during Fight for Your Life if Digi-Clone is active to destroy the clone and immediately gain a Second Wind with full health.

Supersonic man

Supersonic man iconSupersonic manSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Movement Speed: +4% / +8% / +12% per active action skill
Reload Speed: +0.6% / +1.2% / +1.8%
Max Duration: 8 seconds

Whenever one or more of Zane's Action Skills are active, he gains increased Movement Speed for each active Action Skills.

Digital Distribution

Digital Distribution iconDigital DistributionSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Digi-Clone Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Shared Health Damage: +75.0%

If Zane takes health damage while the Clone is active, a portion of that damage is shared to his Clone instead.

Like A Ghost

Skill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Ignore Bullet Chance: 2% / 4% / 6%
Additional Ignore Bullet Chance: +3% / +6% / 9%
Duration: 8 seconds

Zane and his Digi-Clone gain a chance to ignore bullets. This chance is increased for a few seconds after activating an Action Skill. This effect stacks.

Boom. Enhance

Boom. Enhance iconBoom. EnhanceSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Gun Damage: +20% per grenade
Max Health: +81% per grenade
Fire Rate: +5% per grenade
Reload Speed: +31% per grenade
Digi-clone Duration: +25.0% seconds per grenade

Whenever Zane summons his Digi-Clone, it consumes up to 3 grenades. For every grenade consumed, the Digi-Clone gains increased Gun Damage, Max Health, Fire Rate, Reload Speed, and Digi-Clone Duration.

Trick Of The Light

Trick Of The Light iconTrick Of The LightSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Bonus Damage: +6.0% / +12.0% / +18.0% of damage dealt

Zane deals Bonus Shock Damage to enemies that aren't targeting him.

Double Barrel

Double Barrel iconDouble BarrelSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Item Duping: +100%
Gun Damage: +20%

The Clone is equipped with a copy of Zane's Current Weapon when activated.

Swapping places with the Clone causes Zane and his clone to gain increased Gun Damage.

All Hitman Tree Skills & Effect

SNTNL

SNTNL iconSNTNLSkill Type:
Action Skill
(Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Duration: 24 seconds
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Machine Gun Damage: 4

Send into battle an automated SNTNL drone that continually flies through the environment and attacks enemies with its Machine Guns.

Pressing F or G while SNTNL is active causes it to attack the enemy under Zane's crosshairs, if any.

Violent Speed

Violent Speed iconViolent SpeedSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Movement Speed: +4.0% / +8.0% / +12.0% / +16.0% / +20.0%
Duration: 8 seconds

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane gains increased Movement Speed for a few seconds.

Cold Bore

Cold Bore iconCold BoreSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Weapon Swap Speed: +13% / +23% / +31% / +38% / +43%
Bonus Cryo Damage: +6% / +12% / +18% / +24% / +30%
Max Duration: 8 seconds

Zane gains increased Weapon Swap Speed. The next shot fired after swapping weapons deals Bonus Cryo Damage.

Violent Momentum

Violent Momentum iconViolent MomentumSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Gun Damage: +4.0% / +8.0% / +12.0% / +16.0% / +20.0% at default walk speed

Zane's Gun Damage is increased while moving. The quicker he moves, the greater the Gun Damage bonus.

Winter's Drone

WinterWinter's DroneSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(SNTNL Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Converts SNTNL Weapon Damage to Cryo
Drone Damage: -20%

Converts SNTNL's primary weapons to Cryo Damage.

Cool Hand

Cool Hand iconCool HandSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Reload Speed: +2.9% / +5.7% / +8.3% / +10.7% / +13.0%
Reload Speed: +4.0% / +7.0% / +11.0% / +14.0% / +17.0% after kill
Max Duration: 8 seconds

Zane gains increased Reload Speed.

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane's Reload Speed is increased for a few seconds.

Drone Delivery

Drone Delivery iconDrone DeliverySkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Cooldown: 15 seconds

SNTNL will occasionally drop a free grenade based on Zane's current grenade mod while attacking enemies.

Salvation

Salvation iconSalvationSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Life Steal: 2% / 4% / 6% / 8% / 10% of damage dealt
Duration: 8 seconds

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane's weapons gain Life Steal for a few seconds.

Bad Dose

Bad Dose iconBad DoseSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(SNTNL Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Fire Rate: +2.00% per enemy
Movement Speed: +6.00% per enemy
Damage: 4 / second
Duration: 12 seconds
Cooldown: 8 seconds

SNTNL occasionally shoots out a beam of Radiation that weakens enemies and buffs Zane.

For every weakened enemy, Zane’s Movement Speed and Fire Rate are increased.

Weakened enemies have decreased Movement Speed and Attack Speed.

Death Follows Close

Death Follows Close iconDeath Follows CloseSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Kill Skill Duration: +7 seconds
Kill Skill Bonus: +25.0%

All of Zane's Kill Skills gain increased effect and duration.

Static Field

Static Field iconStatic FieldSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(SNTNL Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Shield Damage: 2 / second
Cooldown: 2 seconds

SNTNL emits a static field that sends a Shock Beam to nearby enemies, draining their shields and replenishing Zane’s.

Boomsday

Boomsday iconBoomsdaySkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(SNTNL Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Rocket Damage: 21

SNTNL adds a rocket pod to its primary weapons, allowing it to shoot rockets as well as machine guns.

Violent Violence

Violent Violence iconViolent ViolenceSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Fire Rate: +4% / +8% / +12% / +16% / +20%
Duration: 8 seconds

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane gains increased Fire Rate for a few seconds.

Playing Dirty

Playing Dirty iconPlaying DirtySkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Extra Shot Chance: 10.0% / 20% / 30% / 40% / 50%

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, Zane’s next five shots all have a chance to fire an additional projectile.

Almight Ordinance

Almight Ordinance iconAlmight OrdinanceSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(SNTNL Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Missile Damage: 32
Missiles per Barrage: 4

Hold down F or G while SNTNL is deployed to paint a target area.

SNTNL fires a missile barrage at that area, and if an enemy is killed, SNTNL's duration is reset.

This can only be used once per Action Skill use.

Good Misfortune

Good Misfortune iconGood MisfortuneSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Duration Return: up to +4% / +8% / +12% max duration

Kill Skill. Killing an enemy increases Zane's Action Skill Duration. This skill has diminishing returns.

Seein' Red

SeeinSeein' RedSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Reload Speed: +0.4% / +0.8% / +1.2%
Reload Speed: +0.6% / +1.2% / +1.8%
Max Duration: 8 seconds

Activating an Action Skill automatically activates all of Zane's Kill Skills.

All Under Cover Tree Skills & Effect

Barrier

Barrier iconBarrierSkill Type:
Action Skill
(Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Duration: 14 seconds
Cooldown: 24 seconds
Damage Amp: +25%

Drop a deployable Barrier that blocks incoming projectiles. Zane and his allies can shoot through the Barrier, dealing increased Gun Damage.

Pressing F or G while Barrier is active picks up and holds the Barrier, but the size and bonuses are decreased.

Adrenaline

Adrenaline iconAdrenalineSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Action Skill Cooldown Rate: 7% / 14% / +21% / +28% / +35%

Zane gains increased Action Skill Cooldown Rate. This bonus is based on the amount of shields he has. The more percent full, the greater the bonus.

Hearty Stock

Hearty Stock iconHearty StockSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Max Shields: +10% / +20% / +30%

Zane gains increased Maximum Shield Capacity.

Ready For Action

Ready For Action iconReady For ActionSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Shield Recharge Rate: +6% / +12% / +18% / +24% / +30%
Shield Recharge Delay: -7% / -14% / -19% / -24% / -29%

Zane gains improved Shield Recharge Rate and Shield Recharge Delay.

Charged Relay

Charged Relay iconCharged RelaySkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Barrier Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Reload Speed: +20%
Movement Speed: +11%
Duration: 8 seconds after moving away from Barrier

Whenever Zane or an ally touches the Barrier, they gain increased Movement Speed and Reload Speed for a few seconds.

Brain Freeze

Brain Freeze iconBrain FreezeSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Slow Chance: +4.0% / +8.0% / +12.0% / +16/0% / +20.0%

Whenever Zane scores a Critical Hit on an enemy, there's a chance they will be Slowed. This effect stacks until the target is Frozen.

Stiff Upper Lip

Stiff Upper Lip iconStiff Upper LipSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Damage Resistance: +6.0% / +12% / +16%

Whenever Zane is damaged, he gains Damage Resistance against that damage type.

Rise to the Occasion

Rise to the Occasion iconRise to the OccasionSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Health Regeneration: up to +1.0% / +2.0%/ +3.0% / +4.0% / +5.0% Max Health / sec

Zane gains Health Regeneration. The lower his shield is, the higher the bonus.

Nanites Or Some Shite

Nanites Or Some Shite iconNanites Or Some ShiteSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Barrier Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Health Regeneration: up to 4% of Max Health/sec while near Barrier
Shield Recharge Delay: -33%
Reload Speed: +11%

Zane and his allies gain Health Regeneration, increased Reload Speed, and greatly improved Shield Recharge Delay while near his Barrier.

The lower his health, the more health is regenerated.

Confident Competence

Confident Competence iconConfident CompetenceSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Gun Damage: up to +20%
Accuracy: up to +33%

While Zane's shields are active, he gains increased Gun Damage and Accuracy. This bonus is based on the amount of shields he has. The more percent full, the greater the bonus.

All-Rounder

All-Rounder iconAll-RounderSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Barrier Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Cooldown: +20%

Zane's Barrier becomes a dome, covering all sides.

Retaliation

Retaliation iconRetaliationSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Barrier Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Gun Damage: +10%
Duration: 3 seconds

Zane and allies near the Barrier gain increased Gun Damage for a few seconds after the Barrier takes damage.

Really Expensive Jacket

Really Expensive Jacket iconReally Expensive JacketSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Status Effect Duration: -50%

Elemental Status Effects applied to Zane have reduced duration.

Best Served Cold

Best Served Cold iconBest Served ColdSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.5)
Effect:
Damage: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 11
Cooldown: 3 seconds

Kill Skill. Whenever Zane kills an enemy, they create a Cryo Nova, dealing damage to all nearby enemies. This skill has a short cooldown.

Futility Belt

Futility Belt iconFutility BeltSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Damage Reduction: +15.0%
Duration: 8 seconds

Zane gains resistance to non-elemental damage.

Kill Skill. After killing an enemy, all elemental damage Zane takes is converted to non-elemental damage.

Deterrence Field

Deterrence Field iconDeterrence FieldSkill Type:
Action Skill Augment
(Barrier Must be equipped to use)
Effect:
Shock Damage: 27

Enemies that touch the Barrier take Shock Damage and are staggered.

Refreshment

Refreshment iconRefreshmentSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Life Steal: 8% / 16% / 24%

Whenever Zane damages a frozen enemy with his weapon, he gains some of that damage back as health.

Calm, Cool, Collected

Calm, Cool, Collected iconCalm, Cool, CollectedSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:
Health Regeneration: up to 3% max health / sec
Regeneration Duration: 3 seconds

Whenever Zane Freezes an enemy, his shield instantly begins recharging.

If Zane's shields are already full, he regenerates health for a few seconds.

If Zane's health is already full, his Action Skill Cooldowns and Durations are immediately reset.

Nerves Of Steel

Nerves Of Steel iconNerves Of SteelSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.3)
Effect:
Accuracy: +2.0% / +4.0% / +6.0% per second
+2.4% / +4.8% / +7.0% per second
Max Stacks: 15

Zane gains increasing Accuracy and Handling. The longer his shield is full, the greater the bonus.

Distributed Denial

Distributed Denial iconDistributed DenialSkill Type:
Passive Ability (Max Lv.1)
Effect:

Zane's Barrier gains the effects of his currently equipped Shield Mod. Additionally, shield effects are applied to all allies near the Barrier. Bonuses to Zane are reduced.

Other characters in Borderlands

All Character Tree - Build & Overview
Have some feedback? Click here

Your feedbacks will be checked by our staffs and will be attended to accordingly. Please be advised that we may not reply to every individual feedbacks.


Article Written by
BL3 Strategy Team

BL3 Strategy Team

Reader Comments
Max. 300 Characters

By clicking Submit you are agreeing to the Terms of Use.
*Offensive, insulting or inappropriate use of forum may lead to ban/restriction.
To avoid griefing, you will not be able to post or report for the first %d hours upon visiting this forum for the first time.

Close

Looks like nobody posted here yet...

Copyright Notice

© 2019 Gearbox. Published and distributed by 2K.
Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Its licensors have not otherwise endorsed and are not responsible for the operation of or content on this site.
Borderlands 3 - Official Page

Article Menu
Latest News
Mission Walkthroughs
DLC Mission Walkthrough
Character List
Game Database
Play Tips
Useful Information
Maps & Locations