Release the Beast

Release the Beast
I'VE GOT A HUGE HAND!!!
Character	Krieg
Type	Gamechanger
Tier	6
Maximum Points	1
Skill Tree	Mania
Minimum Level	31
Game	Borderlands 2

Release the Beast is a tier 6 skill in Krieg's Mania skill tree. Activating his action skill while at critical condition (e.g. when the "!" indicator appears denoting critical health loss) causes Krieg to mutate into a Badass Psycho Mutant, providing melee boosts, damage reduction, temporary invincibility and recharging Buzz Axe Rampage instantly when it ends.

Krieg's Badass Psycho Mutant form

Effects

• All of Krieg's health is instantly refilled upon activation of Release the Beast, and after the action skill ends it fully recharges.
• +100% melee damage, +50% damage reduction.
• When Release the Beast triggers, Krieg undergoes a transformation animation. During this period, Krieg may move around but cannot perform other actions, nor would he take any damage. Until this animation ends, the skill duration does not begin to count down.

Strategy

A way to keep Krieg alive with this skill is to chain it by only using Buzz Axe Rampage when Krieg loses too much health. Skills like Taste of Blood and Blood Trance from the Bloodlust tree, which increase damage resistance during rampage and rampage time respectively, supplement Release the Beast rather well, capitalizing on the almost permanent upkeep of buzz axe rampage allowed by Release the Beast and all its bonuses. The Numbed Nerves and Fire Fiend skills from the Hellborn tree will increase both Krieg's damage output and damage resistance even further.

In multiplayer, Krieg can act as a tank for the group. If the group has a Siren healer, Krieg can almost indiscriminately make enemies focus on him. The group can stay in a safe support position and Krieg can draw fire to the sides or behind enemies, away from the group. Redeem the Soul augments both tanking and healing ability for the group. Taking on missions with much higher difficulties, such as A History of Simulated Violence, can be done this way. The windows for success are small but manageable.

Another multiplayer strategy is two or more Kriegs with Release the Beast and Redeem the Soul unlocked. If one Krieg is downed, the other can instantly revive them using Redeem the Soul, and they continue this until both are alive in critical health. Then, both can activate Release the Beast, which can allow them to mow through a massive horde of enemies. Should either of them end Release the Beast with critical health, the skill can immediately be used again. If they are downed, the other Krieg(s) will be able to instantly Redeem the Soul once their Release the Beast ends due to it recharging the skill, allowing them to restart the combo. If even more Krieg players are involved, this combo can become virtually unstoppable, due to the temporary invincibility, 50% damage resistance and full health restoration.

Notes

• When Release the Beast activates, Krieg's left arm shortens, while his right arm grows. At the end of Buzz Axe Rampage, his arms return to normal.
• One can use Fuel the Rampage and allow allies to damage Krieg's health to critical to trigger Release the Beast.
• Upon activating the skill, both of Krieg's voices (his sane, inside voice and his meat-loving outside voice) will deepen.
• Occasionally, the game will glitch and not show the animation of Krieg's arms shortening, and Krieg's voice will not deepen. However, the 50% damage reduction and the 100% melee damage increase are still applied upon activating at less than 33% health. This seems to happen more often when the (!) is showing next to the health bar, but not next to the shield bar.
• While Krieg is in the final animation where his arms are returning to normal, one can still melee and throw the buzz axe. Getting a kill while doing this may not restore health, however.
• If Krieg takes fatal damage and becomes crippled when in Badass form, he can make one more melee attack when the camera briefly changes to third-person angle if he doesn't have Light the Fuse. This attack can be very helpful if it hits, given Krieg's generally high melee damage output.
• The voice deepening effect of Release the Beast applies to the voice modulator from the story mission The Man Who Would Be Jack.
• Release the Beast can ruin synergies with some skills or items:
  • If used after gaining a second wind (where it is likely to trigger with Krieg being at low health), Krieg is fully healed, making the Tenacity Relic and any equivalents redundant.
  • Fuel the Rampage and Thrill of the Kill become somewhat redundant, as Krieg can easily bypass action skill cooldown with Release the Beast, during which healing overkill damage is irrelevant as he will regain all health on kill.
• Release the Beast happens in addition to Buzz Axe Rampage, not instead of it. Krieg receives an additional 100% bonus damage as well as the 500% he would normally have received, along with the 50% damage resistance.
• If a player uses Release the Beast, and then immediately spawns and teleports to the driver's seat of a car, upon exiting the car, Krieg will be immune to all damage. This includes shields, the character's health, and even vehicles. The glitch loses effect upon transitioning levels (Fast Travelling, etc.).
• The timer does not begin counting down until the animation has ended.
• Transport between maps or mounting a car (driver or gunner seat) during Release the Beast will end it without recharging cooldown.
• Krieg has additional voice callouts when this skill is ranked which can trigger when his health reaches critical levels, as an additional signal to the player that Release the Beast is available.