Assault rifle seems rather lackluster.

[Yurai]

I might just have been unlucky with assault rifle drops, but the damage it does seems really low, even factoring in multiple hits. The launcher blows it out of the water (as it should, considering it doesn't let you strafe), but even in situations where I have to remain mobile, my gunlance seems to outdamage it. I'm just level 10, and as I said, the drops I've gotten might have skewered the data I've gotten. What are your experiences in this? Do you feel the assault rifle is able to compete with the other two ranged options?

[Mike]

Two words: Weak Bullet.

[Narue Moon]

It seems pretty weak compared to the launcher.

[DayDreamer]

Two words: Weak Bullet.

^That

[renrinken]

I agree, gunblade seems superior in every way.

[Miyoko]

Two more: Diffusion shot.

Also, that one PA where you unload 15 bullets in rapid succession is AMAZING. Once you get that, you'll change your tune about assault rifles.

[Arande]

I love it compared to the launcher O.o Snipe shot, pierce shot, rocket, shotgun, and homing scatter laser for PA's makes it hugely versatile. Latter two have knockdown on it, giving you massive CC while keeping your full mobility. Snipe shot can let you get some nice hits if aimed right.

Edit: the laser PA is diffusion shot? bleh, still gotta get my names right, was calling caterdagon stretchy dragons earlier XD

[Yurai]

All righty, good to hear that it gets better as you move along. I'll just stick with the others until I pick up more skill discs for the rifle then :)

[Hrith]

You must not know how to use it well yet, because the rifle outdamages the launcher very easily.

I have not faced one situation where the rifle is not the best option (different PAs, of course, but same weapon).

If anything, the rifle is way too versatile; the numerous PAs for that weapon are quite different from one another and cover every need.

[Geistritter]

They're the all-around weapon; they do everything with reliability. They won't blow you away, but you can never go wrong.

And they also have Weak Bullet, which is pretty freaking great. Assault Rifles in general are a go-to boss weapon, largely because of this.

[Ex Valkyrie]

I have a fair amount of PAs for the Launcher and the Assault Rifle.

Although I'll defiantly agree the launcher has more raw power and aoe, which it should, the assault rifle is a lot more versatile and more agile.
It also has weak bullet which is really nice even if you prefer the grenade launcher since you can just quick switch to it after planting the mark. :3

I'd recommend using them both so that you have the option of either one, and at the least, to have access to weak bullet.

[Yurai]

Yes, of course, I try to keep both upgraded. However, I do have very few skills for the assault rifle. These are the ones I have:

- A shot that causes explosive damage, AOE and knocks mobs down.
- The second shot I started with. Not really sure what this one does. Seems to fire a small bolt of light without additional effects (?).
- A shot that does good damage close up and knocks mobs down. Icon is a gun with five bullets going out of it. This is the shotgun ability you guys are talking about I guess?
- A shot where I crouch and advance as long as the button is held. When released, a single shot is fired. Not sure what the benefits of this one are. Maybe longer range?

Two if these I just got these last ten minutes, after I did a quest mainly with the assault rifle. I've been really skill starved for it before that. Am I right in assuming that skill drops give preference to the weapon you use the most? If not I don't really see why I get so few of them. The laser and multi hit abilities you guys are talking about I've never seen.

[renrinken]

I am fairly low RA so not hugely experience, but I am wondering why gunblade isnt mentioned at all. Seems like a extremely good RA weapon, which has both high damage and versatility even a multi lock-on PA.

[Yurai]

I've been using assault rifle exclusively for a few missions now, and it definitely seems like skill drops are affected by the weapon you use. I've gotten several new skills now, and I have to say that the rifle is becoming more impressive. Even if a few of the skills seem mostly useless, it does seem to offer a lot of versatility. I've fallen in love with the shotgun skill, and weak bullet is completely awesome. I still do switch in the launcher at times, but I can see that I've underestimated this weapon.

Question: Is there any point in taking more than one rank in weak bullet? What do further ranks do?

[Aeris]

Two more: Diffusion shot.

Also, that one PA where you unload 15 bullets in rapid succession is AMAZING. Once you get that, you'll change your tune about assault rifles.
Been working on getting that PA and i am set for it along with weak bullet.

[Yurai]

Diffusion shot? What does that one do exactly? I'm not sure if I have it or not. Are there any special requirements to getting the 15 shot one, or is it just a random drop like the others?

[Aeris]

Its the shotgun like shot but got to be close range for it to hit and hits for pretty good damage to all the enemies in front of you, the 15 shot one you have to find but probably drops on higher levels though.

[Yurai]

Aaah, I see. Yeah, got that one, one of my absolute favorites so far :)

[BronxSage]

for higher damage with the assault rifle, go into third person view mode and aim for the head.

[Scyris]

The assault rifle is a PA spam weapon, you'll notice it regens PP really fast. Though I do think launcher is a wee bit overpowered, I have done like 200 dmg hits with a normal just attack, not even a pa, just a norm hit and pretty much 2 shoted a pack of mobs.

[HFlowen]

Weak bullet is goddamn nuts for supporting your party. Had a ranger tag a rockbears face earlier today and next thing I know my PAs are smacking him for 600-700 damage a hit.

[Hrith]

- A shot that causes explosive damage, AOE and knocks mobs down.Basically a launcher with strafing and high mobility, makes launcher quite useless.


- The second shot I started with. Not really sure what this one does. Seems to fire a small bolt of light without additional effects.It penetrates monsters, rather useless.


- A shot that does good damage close up and knocks mobs down. Icon is a gun with five bullets going out of it.Very high damage, short range, can hit multiple targets if they are clustered.


- A shot where I crouch and advance as long as the button is held. When released, a single shot is fired. Not sure what the benefits of this one are. http://keffypoo.pagesperso-orange.fr/pso2/hrith013.jpg

Sneak Shot is going to be your highest DPS against bosses, but the crawling part can be a hindrance, and One Point can be just as good (bit weaker but easier to use).

[Aeris]

Lol its about 3x the normal damage thats why you hitting that hard on his weak point.

[Chik'Tikka]

Two words: Weak Bullet.

oh this!! it's amazing to use that crawl on the ground sniping shot and hit 1300 on a rockbear at lvl 11 with the bouquet rifle+^_^+ the heat seeking missiles aint to bad either+^_^+

[The Walrus]

http://keffypoo.pagesperso-orange.fr/pso2/hrith013.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa239/xphire/mother-of-god-super-troopers.jpg

[Vylera]

Assault rifles need good PAs to be useful.

If you just want to spam left click, then yes there are better options.

[Miacis]

http://keffypoo.pagesperso-orange.fr/pso2/hrith013.jpg

Sneak Shot is going to be your highest DPS against bosses, but the crawling part can be a hindrance.
Is there anything specific to do to get Sneak Shot to do that much damage?

Like, be in the back of the enemy, or fire his weak spot?
Or just, shooting at the guy directly does that?

[DreXxiN]

Haha, good to see Hrith back here number crunching again. It's been awhile.

I was a bit concerned the rifle would be underwhelming but figured it'd be something that'd scale later on.

[soulpimpwizzurd]

yeah its good cause its what lets you shoot weak bullet. but i get it, you're probably just talking about the weapon itself and etc.

it is pretty bad. i like the shotgun attack it has and rapid fire is cool too, but eh. it's almost like my gunblade with charge shot does the job just as well :/

[Archandes]

my shotgun does 400 dmg aoe, while it can be spammed 3/4 times with very fast casting speed. So yeah it's a low dps weapon.


............srsly what world do you live in anyway?

[Triple_S]

http://keffypoo.pagesperso-orange.fr/pso2/hrith013.jpg

Sneak Shot is going to be your highest DPS against bosses, but the crawling part can be a hindrance, and One Point can be just as good (bit weaker but easier to use).

I tend to be somewhat close to bosses when running the assault rifle (love abusing that mobility to stay close for easy aiming), so I tend to abuse the shotgun PA a lot. Fast, hits hard, knocks enemies down... what's not to love? But does Sneak Shot really do that much more damage in comparison? I tend to shy away from it because it cripples mobility when using an assault rifle, and that's just awkward.

[Hrith]

It's Weak Hit (low level) + Weak Bullet Lv2 + Sneak Shot Lv4 on the head of the Rockbear (headshots double damage on most enemies in that game).

Sneak Shot is only worth it against bosses, once you know their weak spots and can apply Weak Bullet to stack damage, otherwise I stick to One Point for concentrated damage to one target.

[rouenx]

Well this seems to be an assault rifle discussion, anyone have any practical ideas/uses for heat laser shot?

I've been trying to find it to be useful but the damage is really poor and the usage isn't as automatic if i want to fire more than one against mobs, but even then it doesn't even home correctly

[JeyKama]

You can use the targets to "paint" multiple targets on certain mobs (even rappies have 2 targets I believe). As long as the boss doesn't move too erratically the shots should all hit -somewhere- anyway.

[Triple_S]

Well this seems to be an assault rifle discussion, anyone have any practical ideas/uses for heat laser shot?

I've been trying to find it to be useful but the damage is really poor and the usage isn't as automatic if i want to fire more than one against mobs, but even then it doesn't even home correctly

I didn't use it much. Yeah, I can hold the button to lock on to multiple enemies or weak spots... but I can also just shoot them for better and faster damage.

Makes me wonder if the Assault Rifle PAs are all based off of future Ranger weaponry. I mean, it'd make sense... it's the Jack of All Trades, and it already has a PA emulating the Launcher, so...

[ashley50]

Heat laser shot? since when? Are you sure that's THE name?


It's Weak Hit (low level) + Weak Bullet Lv2 + Sneak Shot Lv4 on the head of the Rockbear (headshots double damage on most enemies in that game).

Sneak Shot is only worth it against bosses, once you know their weak spots and can apply Weak Bullet to stack damage, otherwise I stick to One Point for concentrated damage to one target.

Now I wish there were more Knowledgeable rangers like you who doesn't spam Launchers all the time, unless there's a ton of enemies in the area.

[Scrub]

I like both but I sure do fucking wish there were more than two types of weapons.

[Yurai]

Lots of good feedback in this thread (along with a few smartass comments from people reading the first post and not bothering to read the rest). Thanks a lot guys, it's been a huge help ^^

[Raging Ghost]

Since you folks started discussing on ARs, what are the recommended PAs?

[ashley50]

The PAs, it all depends on your playing style.

[rouenx]

Heat laser shot? since when? Are you sure that's THE name?

No, but if you read my entire post you would understand the idea and which skill it is. But I'm sure there's no necessary information you can provide if you're concerned about the name.

[Squire Zed]

The AR becomes more important when you can't be rooted to use a rocket launcher. If you need run and gun, a good AR is the way to go. If not, I prefer the launcher for the splash and the range of techniques, including the dash attack and riding the launcher.

[Yurai]

After applying weak bullet, it does seem like a launcher will be able to churn out damage on the weak point faster than even the sniper shot. Then again, this might be the result of inequal weapons. However, I don't have any problem with switching back and forth depending on my weapon strengths.

Still haven't seen a couple of the PAs mentioned in this thread though. Are some of them from NPCs? (I see threads where people mention certain force PAs being from NPCs, so I would guess the same possibly goes for ranger as well).

[DreXxiN]

So what PA exactly is weak hit? I can't seem to identify it :X. (Sorry if this has been answered already.)

[Yurai]

If you mean weak bullet, it's not a PA. It's a buff that you equip to your item bar after learning it from the skill tree.

[DreXxiN]

Yeah..I noticed..sorry derped.

[Yurai]

No worries ^^