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Armored Maniacs are enemies that function very similarly to regular psychos. Armored Maniacs appear in Borderlands 2 in True Vault Hunter Mode, which is unlocked after the main story has been completed in Normal Mode. They behave similarly to psychos, with their armor greatly improving their resilience in exchange for vulnerability to corrosion.

Involvement

Armored Maniacs are tougher psychos put in place to pose as a challenge to players who decide to take on True Vault Hunter Mode. Armored Maniacs appear within the ranks of bandits that are commonly found all over Pandora. They act as the close range units along with their other gun-wielding counterparts, and much like psychos, will run to their target shouting aggressive phrases.

Appearances

Strategy

Although slightly less agile than their normal counterparts, Armored Maniacs still run very swiftly. They can vault over low obstacles such as debris and can change direction quite rapidly. Their armor allows them to take more damage, prolonging fights and making them greatly more difficult to kill than normal psychos.

They attack at short range using a melee attack, whereby they will use the axe they carry to perform an overhand strike. From a distance, they can throw the axe. The axe will always respawn after being thrown, enabling the Armored Maniac to continue attacking. When damaged, Armored Maniacs may begin to limp heavily, and therefore cannot perform ranged attacks. They also move much more slowly while limping. They will not be deterred by attacks from Vault Hunters and will continue to melee attack their target at close range until they are either killed or critically damaged.

Due to their armor, they are significantly more resilient than an average psycho (around 60000 at level 50+). Armored Maniacs can be problematic to fight, for they will spawn in the vicinity of an overwhelming number of bandits and completely deny the effectiveness of incendiary weapons usually employed against them. An advisable strategy to combat Armored Maniacs is to back away from them while shooting, as they can't get into range and will not throw their axes when running. It is also worth noting that Armored Maniacs do not have helmets, so fire damage remains fully effective on critical hits. Otherwise, a corrosive weapon can be used to melt them quickly, and the remaining damage types retain their effectiveness.

Notes

  • Armored Maniacs will appear alongside other bandit units, including standard psychos. Psychos are not entirely replaced by Armored Maniacs in True Vault Hunter Mode.
  • Armored Maniacs can be temporarily stunned by grenades.
  • The animations of the Armored Maniac are the same as their weaker counterparts.
  • Armored Maniac are renamed to Ironclad Lunatics in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.

Trivia

  • Their armor appears to be salvaged from the now-defunct Crimson Lance.
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