Borderlands – Does interacting with cameras “do” anything

A fairly straightforward explanation for this is that the skins are saved on your console profile. So progress you make as the User[1] persists until you close the game and then is lost because there is nowhere to save it. I don't know that to be a fact, and with some web research I could not track it down, but it would seem to be the only way it would feasibly work. I have observed this behavior anecdotally on other games, but I don't have Borderlands 2 on PS3 to be able to confirm.

So, to address this issue, create a second profile on your PS3 and log into it when you are playing couch co-op as the second player. Your second account should not need to be registered to PSN, although it is free so there isn't really a downside other than the hassle. I'd suggest trying it with an offline profile first, and then registering with PSN as a last ditch.

Elemental effects tend to take effect "around" the shield, so Damage Over Time can take effect, explosive rounds can cause some damage, and you can slag them. This is generally slow and will take lots of ammunition and time though. Grenades are a way to get explosive damage on them without swapping guns.

If you're a Siren you can simply Phaselock them and shoot their bodies. Otherwise try to move in and get around them. Alternately, stay way back and get a sniping headshot. The shields are the biggest problem at medium range; you really need to either get closer or get farther away. Also note if you're close, you can feint in close to them, at which point they'll slowly start a melee shield bash attack. You can get a second or so of free fire on their bodies while they do this.

You can also shoot through their shields, either by blasting off part of the metal (full metal shields) or by killing/freeing the midget from their shield. But the collision detection is extremely buggy around those holes, and most bullets don't seem to go through them right, so I avoid using this strategy.