The Official Build Thread (class info and guides included)

[SociableTyrannosaur]

Most content from UnLucky - Many MANY thanks for all his hard work!


As always, constructive feedback, insights, and questions are always welcome.[/size]

The focus of this guide is to offer general build advice rather than focus on individual class discussion. Try to avoid topics like gear and class balance unless it relates to an overall build. That said, a lot of info here is from other members so first I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone for their input on skills and build optimization.

Please note that while a lot of this information is based on cold hard math, some advice comes from personal experience, play style, and skill level; so MILEAGE MAY VARY.

To start off, I'm going to assume people reading this are fairly new to PSO2. If you're unsure of what class to pick, how a certain class plays, or what race and gender to pick, you're going to want to start in this section first:


Races

Spoiler!

Human

Spoiler!

Standard jack-of-all-trades race. Their Striking and Tech defenses are tied for highest of the races, with their other stats (including HP) not too far behind any particular race. This makes them ideal for people who want to do a little bit of everything on one character. If you're unsure of what you want to do, or just want to keep your options open, this is probably the race to pick.

Cast

Spoiler!

Android race, tuned for enhanced Striking and Ranged combat. Casts have the highest S Atk and R Atk in the game as well as the highest HP and Dex. This makes them the ideal race if you are certain you will be sticking with either or both types of play. To offset their above average attack power, they have significantly lower Tech related stats, this includes both T Atk and T Def. If you choose to play Cast and decide to play a tech-using class, you will be at a distinct disadvantage. While your damage may not suffer significantly, this will at times restrict access to Tech related equipment which WILL impact performance. To alleviate this, you may opt to divert SP towards "stat-up" skills. This will, however, take away from damage multipliers or other skills which will put you at a further disadvantage. Bare this in mind should you choose to a roll a Cast.

Newman

Spoiler!

Genetically engineered humans with a greater aptitude for Photon manipulation, resulting in a race with the highest T Atk and T Def in the game which makes them most suited for Tech classes. Their other stats, especially HP, are the lowest out of all the races which makes them unsuitable for other roles. However, they're not as far behind Casts as the other way around, so they can still be chosen as a slightly weaker human.

Duman

Spoiler!

Mutated humans infected by SEED, Dumans possess great power in a slight frame. Their S Atk and R Atk match or exceed that of a Cast, but their other stats are similar to humans, with their HP tied for lowest. This makes them a potent and versatile yet fragile option for any class.

Genders - Male vs Female:

Spoiler!

The differences here aren't TOO glaring, but this can be significant for anyone interested in min/maxing.

Males: Higher S Atk, Higher HP, Higher S Def
Females: Higher R Atk, Higher R Def, Higher T Atk, Higher T Def.

So males are best suited to melee combat, females are best suited to ranged and techs. Dex is the same for both genders, so it's not a factor.

Both race and gender make a bigger difference when combined, so the optimal choice for each archetype would be:

Striking:
Male Cast / Duman

Ranged:
Female Cast / Duman

Tech:
Female Newman

*ALL RACES AND GENDER COMBINATIONS HAVE THE SAME PP AND PP REGENERATION PROPERTIES. THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE IN PICKING ONE RACE OVER ANOTHER IN THIS RESPECT*

Classes and Builds

At the start of the game you only have 4 classes available: Hunter(Hu), Ranger(Ra), Force(Fo), and Braver(Br).

There are 3 "Advanced Classes" or "Supplemental Classes" that can be unlocked: Fighter(Fi), Gunner(Gu), and Techer(Te).

Once you reach lvl 30 with one of those original classes, you unlock a client order that will let you unlock another client order that will finally unlock a new class related to the one you got to level 30. Braver at lvl 30 will unlock all three classes' client orders. The first CO will come from that class' respective "trainer NPC". That means once you get Ranger to lvl 30, you can unlock Gunner by talking to Lisa and accepting her CO. Once completed you can then accept a new CO from Koffie and upon completion of that, Gunner will be unlocked. In order to unlock Fighter, however, you need to level Hunter to 30 and do two COs for that too.

Each class has access to their own skill tree and weapon set:

Hunter can use Swords, Partisans, and Wire Lances.
Ranger can use Assault Rifles and Launchers
Force can use Rods and Talises
Fighter can use Double Sabers, Knuckles, and Twin Daggers
Gunner can use Twin Machine Guns and Assault Rifles
Techer can use Wands and Talises.
Braver can use Katana and Bullet Bows.

Class Stat Comparison

Spoiler!

*ALL CLASSES CAN USE GUN SLASH*

There are certain weapons that can be equipped by any class, for example Aresvis is a twin machine gun(TMG) that any class can use, however none of the PAs for TMGs can be used unless you're a Gunner (main or sub).


Subclassing:

Spoiler!

You can change classes at any time. Each class has its own levels and skill tree so if you started out as a Hunter and decided you wanted to play Ranger, your Ranger would start out at level 1. All levels and skill trees are saved however, so there's no penalty for switching.

Once you reach level 20 you can get a client order that allows you to pick a second class. This second class(sub class) grants bonus stats and other benefits, and gains 10% of the exp of your main. Like your main class, you can switch your subclass at any time and there are no penalties for doing so.

*ANY CLASS CAN BE TAKEN AS MAIN OR SUB. THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS*

Benefits of sub class:

1: Gives you full access to its skill tree. Anything in your current subclass' selected skill tree is at your main class' full disposal. So as Fi/Hu you can activate and use Fury Stance and Brave or Wise Stance at the same time and get all stat ups from the tree too. This is also why you can use Step Attack when your Fi sub has it, but your Hu main does not.

2: Gives up to 20% of its current base stats to your main's base stats. The limitation is that its stats are capped at your main's current level. So if your Hu (main) is 50 and your Fi (sub) is 20, you'll gain 20% of your Fi's current stats as your own. However if you switch so your Fi is your main and your Hu is your sub you only get 20% of the your Hu's stats as though it were level 20. You still get the full skill tree however, so you get the skill tree of a level 50 Hu even as a lvl 20 Fi.

3: Gives full access to the PAs for the weapons your sub can use. This sounds counter-intuitive based on the fact that mains cannot equip the weapons of your sub. After all if Hu/Fi doesn't get access to double sabers what good are the PAs? Here's the trick: as previously mentioned there are certain weapons that can be equipped by multiple classes. these multi-class or in some cases all-class weapons can be equipped by classes other than their intended. For example, even though Hunters can't equip normal double sabers, they CAN equip the Double Saber Legacy and the Fossil Victor. It should also be noted that the only way to use techs is to main or sub a casting class (either Force or Techer). If you don't, even though you can learn techs or even set them to your subpalette, they'll be dummied out in missions.

Due to #3, it can sometimes be smarter to main one class over another. As a Fi/Hu you get full access to Fi weapons and can still use some pretty good Hu weapons. There are no good all-class knuckles, for example, but the Lambda Hyperion, Lambda Arestin and Lambda Patilumeira (or Neiclaw, Madam's Umbrella, and Amun Tum) are all quite powerful Hu weapons that Fi can equip so you can get a much better range of weapons this way.

The breakdown:

If there's a weapon type you really want to use but your class has a glaring weakness you'd like to overcome(say you really like Double Sabers, but you just don't feel like Fi takes hits as well as Hu, you can take Hu as a subclass and gain all their stances and survival skills as per your own personal build. Give a Fighter JA Advance and Iron Will or Automate Halfline. Or you can main Hu for that badass sword you love but still gain the bonus of fighter's stances. Similarly, you love TMGs but miss your Ranger's Weak Bullet, simply sub Ranger and you can have both. Or you can get crazy and mix and match; Maining Fighter and subbing Force for balls-to-the-wall melee while being able to sling techs, or flip it for huge tech damage bonuses from stances while foregoing melee entirely.

Each class has it own "style" or "role" though some of this is a bit dubious. I've included UnLucky's color coded charts for recommended skills for each class.

Color Priority List:
Green = Extremely important, get these first.
Yellow = Optional, but nonetheless a good choice.
Orange = Something to consider.
Red = Only for very specific builds, or for extra points after everything else.
Grey = You may as well have thrown those points away(avoid at all costs).

For information on individual skills look here.

Thanks go to UnLucky for the tables and build info here. All builds are listed using the interactive skill simulator provided by Gardios

Hunter:

Spoiler!

A beefy, close ranged attacker who uses heavy weapons, each with the ability to guard oncoming attacks. The individual Photon Arts (PAs) will differ, but generally Wired Lances deal high single target damage, Partisans cover a wide area, and Swords do a bit of both.

At first glance, the Hunter tree appears to have a mix of both offensive and defensive skills. But due to a limited amount of Skill Points (SP), as well as the fast paced nature of the game, it's generally a better idea to go fully offensive. All of Hunter's offensive skills boost both Striking and Ranged damage, cementing its place as "universal subclass" though only Fury Combo boosts Tech damage so it falls a bit short for Force. For a main Hunter build, or one that uses all-class Hunter weapons, it's worth a detour to pick up the various Weapon Gears and Just Guard/Counter. For any other class, you can ignore these Hunter specific skills.

Balanced DPS Build (Pure DPS) (Defensive):
With the essentials covered for a Hunter main, the rest is focused on pure damage skills. As a Hunter, Just Guard is such an amazing survival tool trumping all else that it is completely worth the 4 SP instead of 4% damage. It not only negates all (frontal) damage during the block, but the invulnerability lasts for a bit afterwards as well. Just Counter does the obvious thing of letting you Just Attack after a Just Guard, but simply having it actually lets you move out of your blocking animation sooner than without it, even if you didn't want to attack right away.

Sword Gear is obvious if you use more than one PA or simply run around with it for any length of time to actually build and keep the gear gauge. It modifies every PA in a different way (stronger, larger, faster) which really makes Guilty Break an effective gap closer, for example. It's optional if you only switch to it for Over End, or not at all, but those few points wouldn't help you much in Fury Critical instead unless you took Step Attack on Fighter. It's all or nothing for Fury Stance Up 2, like the Hunter sub used in other builds.

For the Fighter side, their weapons have too much overlap with Hunter weapons to be of much use, and their greatest strength is in... their strength. But using weak all-class versions cuts into your damage too much to be worth using over the much stronger Hunter weapons you can use instead, so there's not much point. After maxing the stances, Fighter can learn either Chase Advance or PP Slayer along with some extra S-Atk or Step Attack to free up SP on the Hunter side.

Braver as a subclass can be effective as well, but not as much as the stances and other skills that Fighter provides. You would also need to get very lucky or purchase a very expensive all-class Katana to make good use out of those PAs.

Fighter:

Spoiler!

A lighter and faster close ranged attacker than Hunter, with less HP and a short parry window instead of an extended guard, Fighter packs a powerful punch that their enemies won't see coming. Many of their PAs involve dodging and dashing, with Twin Daggers offering various aerial maneuvers, Knuckles dealing high close ranged damage, and Double Sabers having a bit longer range.

Fighter's two stances, Brave and Wise, depend entirely on the player's relative position to the target. If the Fighter is in front of the enemy, then Brave will take effect, if the Fighter is behind the enemy, Wise will be needed instead. Note that only the very center of the player and the enemy are compared, so this thin boundary can be crossed unintentionally on physically large enemies such as Vardha. For Falz Elder, his center point is considered to be in the middle of the entire arena, so his core and arms can be attacked with Wise stance despite seemingly being in front of him. Another exception is certain attack animations that turn the enemy in place, such as Zeshrayda when he fires projectiles out of his shell while standing on two feet, he is actually still "facing forward" as far as the game is concerned. Enemies that are actually spinning, such as being thrown using Other Spin, won't consistently take boosted damage from either stance, so you have to be mindful of these things at all times.

Status Effect DPS Build (maxed Chase Bind variant):
The trick here is to affix a status effect (SE) on your weapon and use multi-hit attacks for a better overall chance for it to apply. The major drawback to this approach is that every large boss is immune to all SE and minibosses are only susceptible to one or two. You can inflict bosses with a special condition (like Burn on Banther, Freeze on Vol, or Poison on Quartz), but you do not get Chase Advance for these cases since they are not actual SE (Banther/Quartz take no damage from the "status" itself, and Vol's freeze cannot shatter from attacks).

Worth noting is that the Fighter stances themselves don't scale very well, but the Stance Up skills do. This lets us save SP while only missing out on 1% damage per point, opting for a dramatically higher chance to Bind status inflicted enemies, which itself counts as a status ailment for Chase Advance. Chase Bind procs rather frequently even with only 1 SP, and can actually land on the first hit, locking your target down for your entire attack.

All of the Fighter weapons have at least one good PA, and their respective Gear skill improves them to some degree. In any case, they are worth the 1 SP if you ever think you will use the appropriate weapon. Even still, Hunter weapons will be very useful to a Fighter main, and the drop in damage from using all-class equipment doesn't detract from that utility at all. Sword's Over End still has wide sweeping damage (but its Gear is not worth the SP in this case), Partisan's Assault Buster is still quick/powerful/AoE, and Wirelance's Other Spin can gather mobs together in place of Zondeel for obvious benefits. Just Guard won't be needed since it doesn't apply to Fighter weapons. If you don't plan on ever using Hunter weapons, then you can fill up the JA Bonus skills, though the Gears will definitely help for leveling Hunter up to cap.

PP Slayer DPS Build (lower Wise Stance variant):
Since SEs don't work on large bosses, this build focuses on more reliable damage instead, which also frees up an affix slot on your weapons. PP Slayer's 200 S-Atk roughly equates to a little over 10% damage in the current end game, and takes effect any time your PP is less than or equal to 50% at the point of contact. This means you can use a PA at 65% PP and still get the bonus. Do note that the game truncates decimals, so 50/100 may not be exactly 50%, and thus not apply PP Slayer.

Just like before, you can choose to lower Wise Stance in order to max something else, such as S-Atk Up 3 which provides a smaller boost but for both stances.

Ranger:

Spoiler!

Ranger is a high damage potential, mid to long range class with several support options. The support is mostly trumped by the high damage options that Ranger has under the right conditions, especially since many enemies have Ranged-specific weak spots (the head). Weak Bullet (WB) alone makes Ranger a desirable class, since it not only turns any one point on a target into a weak spot for Ranger's own passive damage multipliers, but it also grants everyone triple damage on the target which stacks with whatever regular weakness the enemy already had.

While rifles are the obvious boss killers since they're tied to WB, launchers and gunslashes are your AoE trash mob cleanup tools. You'll want to carry all three to maximize your damage potential in every situation, with a Hunter sub for the best damage multipliers available.

Pure DPS Build:
Maximizing damage on your Ranged attacks, with frequent usage of Weak Bullet to further boost your and your party's damage by 3x. I can't stress this enough, but Weak Bullet is the best support in the game, allowing everyone multiple chances to deal vastly increased damage that stacks with any and all skills and effects (except more WB, that only refreshes the effect, maximum one per enemy at a time).

Killing Bonus doesn't directly increase your damage, but it can be surprisingly helpful at times. That said, each point isn't significant, since it's only 1 PP per kill, so you could choose to max Weak Hit Blast Bonus, First Hit, or Trap Search with your spare SP along with however much from KB as necessary.

Weak Hit Blast Bonus is fairly minor since Rangers should be getting a full PB gauge quick enough already, not to mention the PB itself is not helpful enough to be using regularly.

First Hit doesn't boost every hit in a multi-hit PA, so only a launcher could get much use out of it for mobbing. Against bosses, even if you do get the first hit, WB actually deals a bit of damage on its own, so First Hit will never stack.

Trap Search is for relief from a common annoyance and not so much extra damage or anything. If the other skills don't catch your heart, we finally have enough SP to justify taking this skill (along with Just Reversal if you can't fit it on your subclass).

The Hunter tree is purely as supplementary damage and not for any of Hunter's weapons outside of dashing or fun times.

Gunner:

Spoiler!

A nimble, close ranged powerhouse with potent long ranged capabilities as well, Gunner makes for an excellent solo class. The Twin Mechgun's weapon action has the Gunner perform a side or backflip during which the player is completely invulnerable yet still able to attack. Many PAs involve positional kicks and dives with something for every occasion.

Chain Trigger marks a target much like Weak Bullet, but does not take effect right away. The Gunner's party can build the displayed chain up anywhere from 1 to 100 hits, which will make subsequent attacks stronger once it is activated when struck by one of the Gunner's PAs. Other party members cannot activate someone else's CT, but their own PAs will count towards the chain combo. Also unlike WB, only the Gunner's immediate party can see or interact with the CT, not anybody else in the MPA, and only the Gunner themself will get the damage boost.

Sustainable DPS Build:
The idea is to stack a lot of general damage boosts that are always active while regening PP during the SRoll that you should be using to start every PA to double your damage. But note that SRoll Up/Arts themselves do not get any bonus from JA, so these should not be used for damage purposes, only PP regen (for which SRA is counter productive).

Without ever switching from the Twin Mechguns, this build still has a lot of utility and damage, either at close range or from a distance, to a single target or many, and is not obligated to hit weak points as their only form of damage. Of course, with everything at once you can see some insane numbers, and it's easier to achieve than when subbing Ranger.

Burst Damage Build:
Its ace in the hole is the deadly WB+CT combo for achieving incredible maximum damage on a single target on a cooldown. That doesn't mean you can neglect the other three WBs in your rifle, as simply going AFK between each shot could still add up to more total damage than your own little party trick.

Your general TMG (or even rifle) damage doesn't suffer too much of a drop compared to the /Hu builds, albeit with a much higher reliance on weak points, though you should always be looking for an opportunity to use your Chain Trigger. And not to a 100 hit combo, either. About 20 or 30 hits gives you the greatest bonus per hit, and any more can actually end up being less damage over time, even if you don't miss the Chain Finish which is entirely likely.

The extra points in SRoll Up and SRArts are mainly for building up your Chain and doing respectable damage doing it, since neither will set off the Finish. They can also boost your general damage since you can shoot before getting your SRoll JA.

Force:

Spoiler!

With low HP, a vast array of long ranged techs, and an incredibly long dodge, Forces are happy to stay a safe distance away from their enemies while raining down death or supporting themselves and allies. Unfortunately, their buffs aren't very substantial, either in potency or duration, and due to the fast paced nature of the game, it becomes incredibly difficult to support other players.

The techs themselves aren't locked to a weapon, and can even be set to the subpalette along with consumable items and active skills. The difference is in the normal attack of the weapon, namely throwing a card from the Talis which can then become the origin of your next tech. Rods are more straightforward, having a simple melee attack and always cast techs directly from the Force, but come with higher stats.

Wide Elemental Coverage:
With only one skill tree, as any extras cost real money, one can be hard pressed to find a good Force build that can be effective in any area. This attempts to equalize the elements without sacrificing too much in any single one.

The result avoids any embarrassment against all Darkers and Natives, being able to use any technic from any elemental school at any given moment. With a focus on general tech damage and targeting elemental weaknesses, the potency is there, and coupled with increased PP regen both passively and on command means you can stay in the fight much longer than most builds.

You can also opt to use Braver as a sub (included in above) instead of Techer for increased damage to elemental weaknesses, but you miss out on extra Mastery skills as well as PP regen. Luckily, Braver's Weak Stance also boosts tech damage on glowing weak points, even if the element doesn't match, which makes the build a bit more general purpose.

Pure Fire (ice variant) (lightning variant):
You can obviously reach higher maximum values by going solely into a single element, but then just as obviously you will fall very far behind a different pure build on different targets.

But that's the beauty of Fighter stances: they boost all tech damage no matter the element. So not only do they completely obliterate the specific targets you're specced against, but anything you didn't directly counter will still take heavy damage often on par if not surpassing that of a generalized build.

After the Stances, only Chase Advance Plus (not Chase Advance itself) will directly increase your damage, but Knuckle Gear and Step Attack let you move much quicker than anything Force could do on its own, Adrenaline makes a quick uncharged buff into a full 60s duration, and Crazy Heart makes even Caves tolerable to run by giving you such ridiculous PP regen rivaling both Techer and Gunner's PP passives combined, though it's only during status effects.

For Braver, Average Stance is less damage than Brave, so there's little point in bringing Fo/Br to areas where you can't target enemy weaknesses, but there isn't much else that can benefit a casting class other than the two stances.

A Techer subclass, if not used for its own Masteries, can supplement Force's elements rather well. For Fire, max PP Convert can help sustain the high PP cost of Nafoie and shorter charge times on them all. For Lightning, max Territory Burst makes Zondeel extra devastating, and then TBPP Save along with the other PP skills make the already cheap techs even cheaper, so you can afford to take points away from Bolt PP Save and instead max Tech JA Advance.

Pure Dark (light variant) (wind variant):
To be used strictly as a subclass for Force or Te/Fo only. These builds do not work as Te/Fi or Te/Br because they lack PP Charge Revival, resulting in drastically lower PP regen even with everything else. Force still provides plenty of general damage, rivaling even Braver's Weak Stance, so it's not a difficult choice.

The Light Build gains access to Super Treatment, which not only allows you to heal 50% of your HP instantly with an uncharged Anti, you also gain PP Convert levels of regen. The limiting factor is being inflicted with a status effect, which can be difficult to achieve (especially without dying). The trade-off here is 5/10 PPR, but with many Light techs taking longer to charge, 3/10 PPC is still enough to sustain indefinite casting.

Wind Masteries are, unfortunately, out of the way of Techer's most useful skills, requiring a sacrifice of some kind. Thankfully, Wind techs are generally cheaper than most, so even without PPC you can still cast a great number of times in a row.

Fire/Dark Build:
Combining two otherwise pure element builds is usually a simple process, but Fire is an exception due to its high PP consumption. Though PPR is lower in this build, maxed PPC is well worth it.

Here we opt for Talis Tech Bonus instead of maxing Tech JA, since even though Rods grant precision aiming with Foie and Nafoie, Ra/Gifoie and Namegid can easily be used with a Talis. Following a Zondeel with Nafoie or Gi/Ramegid is a powerful mobbing tool, especially with Territory Burst active.

Techer:

Spoiler!

A close ranged Force with higher S Def and lower T Def yet the exact same HP, Techer focuses much more on melee damage and support.

The Wand is a weaker, shorter Rod with an added delay for casting techs, but deals extra melee damage instead. Coupled with Wand Gear, Techer's normal attacks can be surprisingly powerful.

Again, the support skills aren't all that great, as Shifta/Deband Advance only add a fraction of a fraction of players' stats. Consider someone with 1000 base Atk stat, with another 1000 Atk from their equipment, for a total of 2000 Atk fueling their damage. Shifta lv16 acts on only the base stat, adding 19.5% of 1000, or 195, nearly a 10% damage increase. 10/10 Shifta Advance acts on Shifta directly to turn that 19.5% into 24.4%, to then give 244 Atk instead of 195, or an extra 49 Atk. Compared to that player's stat total, your 10 SP gave them a 2.5% damage increase.

Considering how hard it is to land even one 15s buff on just one person, keeping your entire multiparty refreshed is a full time job. Instead of doing that, you could be attacking enemies yourself for a lot more total damage than the combined buffs of every other player.

Melee Build (no EWH variant) (no Wind Mastery variant):
Maining Techer means to use a wand for its melee attack. If you're not, then playing Fo/Te makes much more sense as a caster than Te/Fo (not to mention Fo/Fi or Fo/Br).

Swinging your wand is obviously a Striking attack, and as such gets boosted by Fury Stance a great deal more than anything Force or Techer could provide. But oddly enough, even the Wand Gear explosions count as Striking damage and also get the majority of Fury Stance's bonuses despite being based on your T-Atk. Sadly, they do not get Just Attack bonuses, so the tech portion will always fall short of the physical whacks. Element Weak Hit does apply for all Striking (and Ranged) damage, but it requires the correct element on your weapon so that can get a bit costly. With the 25 SP it takes to get EWH freed up, you can instead max pretty much everything else relevant to a melee Techer. Longer Territory Burst means much easier mobbing, and a longer Wand Lover means easier boss battles.

Techer without a Force sub for PP Charge Revival absolutely kills your PP regen while casting, so both PP Restraint and PP Convert are next to useless for a Te/Hu. Fortunately, we only need those to charge the Wand Gear or gather enemies using Zondeel, so casting is kept to a minimum whereas normal attacks are thrown around as often as possible so PP management isn't as hard as it may first seem. Wand Lovers is also there for those times when building Wand Gear just isn't practical and you don't need Zondeel, like during a boss fight.

Wind spells, or rather Zan, is an excellent way to charge Wand Gear in most any situation. At close range, the multiple blades all hit at once, and at a distance they spread out to hit multiple enemies at least twice. That said, the actual damage of the techs are not the focus of the build, so points in Wind Mastery can be freely reallocated into the other skills.

The only thing that makes this build more than a gimped gimmick with no PAs is the fact that one Wand Gear explosion procs per enemy struck with the wand, and each explosion can hit all nearby enemies. That means if you Zondeel 10 enemies together, that's 11 hits on each of them every time you swing. 110 total hits with one melee attack! As many as eleven tens! And that's not terrible.


Elysion Builds

Spoiler!

This build is overly specialized with the express purpose of using uncharged techs with an Elysion - an 11* wand with a potential that enhances the damage on uncharged techs. Many techs you were using before will no longer be used as their DPS will be compromised by the changed to the force tree. I doesn't matter though because if you want to cast spells, Te/Fo will out damage most any other casting class with arguable differences for Te/Fi. Te/Fi will do better damage per hit but suffers from not being able to regen PP during charging which surprisingly is still a thing. You'll find that Namegid must be charged for ~1 second to form it's first sigil and only then will this spell work. if you release it before then, you just wasted 60PP. In addition if you hold a tech for a half second before releasing to regen PP and have the tech still be uncharged. In addition you will still be using zondeel quite a bit and ilzonde to zip around. That said, PP charge revival is still a thing.

Your main form of damage will be Sazan. With Elysion, your uncharged Sazan will be doing as much as your charged Sazan used to. Keep crafting "efficient sazan" getting as close to -10 as you can get. An 8PP Sazan is much more spammable than an 18 or even a 12 and with no PP regen between casts, you're going to need every scrap of PP you can get.

*Note the 7 S atk on the mag in these builds. if you are a human or newman female you must have -AT LEAST- 7 S Atk on your mag to be able to equip your Elysion as a 65/65 Te/Fo*

Generic "all purpose" build:

This build focuses almost exclusively on Sazan. Passive PP regen is worth going out of the way for and expending 3 points for territory burst is always worth it. PP Convert is also useful as a pocket Cetus Proj. The bolt tree is granting us a 21% damage boost to all uncharged techs and sparing us the pain of a 26PP Zondeel and a very efficient ilzonde. Because fire techs are no longer our heavy hitters, we're actually spending 11PP for PPCR, but it's worth it. In addition we're dipping into the ice tree for T Atk High Up, trying to squeeze every bit of damage we can out of force. In this case, we're putting points into PP Up 2 which normally sounds like blasphemy, but now gives you an extra sazan or two from a full meter. If you're only using 1 tree for your Te/Fo this is it.


EWH Wind Build:

This build forgoes the passive regen boost from PP create and picks up EWH. This is only used in places where enemies weak to wind are in high concentration, like the forest on naberius. Anywhere else, EWH does nothing to help you. 2SP in PP up because there's little else to do with it. feel free to leave it off or put a point in Extend Assist.


Dark Tree:
This is only going to be used in places where most everything is weak to dark. Here, Namegid is extremely good as it actually has a small AoE effect which can be expanded with the "Wide Namegid" tech extension, but a well placed Zondeel can usually get the job done. Because Namegid is going to be so heavily used you'll want PPC to be able to regen your PP as quickly as possible so we're maxing it out. With 4 points remaining we're going to dip down and grab another 4% boost on our dark techs to get the most out of our Namegid.


Note that in all these trees, force stays the same. Uncharged ilfoie is powerful but difficult to hit with and costly. If you were rushing bosses weak to lightning, you can change the force tree by getting out of ice completely and maxing both lightning masteries like so. Here you're going to be spamming sazonde which will kill your PP extremely fast but stacks damage very quickly. Don't use this for anything other than boss rushing things like wolga zesh or maybe falz though. Lighting is very much a utility element and building into it for damage is pretty impractical as of now.

Braver:

Spoiler!

A split melee and ranged class with a focus on Dex as opposed to a single Atk stat, Braver borrows a few aspects from other classes to be its own thing. With a guard like Hunter, varied ranged attacks like Ranger, both single target and AoE damage, along with unique active skills, Braver has a lot to offer.

Katana:
Katana has wide AoE and quick single target PAs to make it a well rounded weapon. Combat Escape turns Katana Combat into your greatest defensive option when it already was your greatest offensive option. Cruise through any boss fight or enemy spawn with 20s of invincibility followed by an incredibly powerful finisher over a massive range.

The actual damage of Combat Finish depends on the total number of hits during Katana Combat. The skill must be manually toggled off, and will not unleash itself once the timer hits zero. Also note that Combat JA does not boost the Finish since it is technically performed after Combat is over.

If you do not want Just Reversal Cover and don't have a pure Dex mag, you could try putting those points into Weak Stance for stronger uncharged PAs and Combat Finish on weak points, but it won't help charged PAs any.

Bow:
Now, Br/Hu definitely still applies for bows, especially for Kamikaze Arrow since that counts as Striking for some reason so it gets the full effect of Fury Stance and none of Weak Hit Advance, but the main benefit is Weak Bullet.

WB makes any target receive Weak Stance's bonus even if it otherwise shouldn't. This means you can still efficiently break boss parts or fight certain enemies without (easy) weak points to target normally.

Average Stance Hybrid (Weak Stance variant):
Average Stance is straight forward, since it's pretty much Fury Stance Lite. But Weak Stance relies either heavily on equipment and the Hunter tree alone to clear groups of small enemies with the Katana, or the Bow's single target damage to quickly take them out one after the other. The Bow does have some mobbing capabilities, but despite seeming to have a bit of everything, it's actually nothing special, similar in that regard to the Rifle.

For bosses, you can either hope for someone else to bring Weak Bullet for the breakable parts, or go straight for the weak point. The bow or Katana Combat should make targeting weak points a lot easier, and Weak Stance makes Combat Finish even stronger.

With only one chosen stance, you have plenty of SP for both active skills. Now instead of waiting on only one cooldown for your main weapon, you can switch between the two of them as the skills come up.

Dual Stance Hybrid:
Involving lots of switching back and forth, this build attempts to be the best it can be at any given time. That means hitting weak points when available with either the Bow's strong single target PAs, or the Katana's AoE, and switching off to Average Stance in order to avoid Weak Stance's penalty.

While Combat Finish and uncharged PAs aren't any worse than with other builds, your SP is spread a little too thinly, reducing the effectiveness of both weapons.

About: Rare Mastery (Class)

Spoiler!

This skill gives you a bonus to your main damage type attack score whenever you have a 10*(or higher) weapon equipped. It will not activate on your subclass so you can only get one bonus at a time. The bonus itself is minuscule topping out at +50 at lvl 10. What's this sound like to you? Yes, it's a static stat bonus skill like anything else in the tree EXCEPT: IT DOESN'T ADD TO YOUR BASE STATS. This makes it less worth while than the static stat bonuses you can get since those increase the effects of Shifta, work even when they're on your subclass and actually allow you to equip better weapons (and armor).

The one benefit this skill carries is putting a single point into it gives you a bonus of 30 to its respective attack score making a 1SP investment a reasonable choice. Anything more than this though is a waste.

[SociableTyrannosaur]

PAs and Techs UPDATED: 3/21/2014

Gunslash PAs:

Spoiler!

Good PAs:

Ein Raketen
Knockdown - If you have nothing else that can launch enemies, this PA can disable several targets at a decent range.

Aiming Shot
Single Target - High damage when charged.

Thrillerplode/Thrillsplosion
AoE - Jumps backwards slightly and deals high damage at your original position. Can be maneuvered to jump forward instead, and then you turn around right before the shots explode to hit enemies in front of you.

Additional Bullet
AoE - Good damage to a wide frontal area.

Regenschlag
Gap Closer - Dash forward a great distance before stopping at a target and shooting them for decent damage. Can be steered (not in TPS mode) and works in midair.

Bad PAs:

Tri-Impact
AoE? - Bad damage, bad range. Outclassed by practically any melee weapon.

Rage Dance
Single Target - Bad damage for a melee attack, and takes too long for the single shot to be worth using as a ranged attack.

Serpent Air
Single Target - Bad damage, bad range. Other weapon PAs can do more in the same amount of time for the same PP cost.

Slash Rave
Single Target - I'm not sure what the power rating is supposed to convey, but this skill is pretty much exactly the same as Rage Dance, only if you miss the first hit then the PA just stops completely.

Kreisenschlag
AoE - Spin around dealing decent damage to nearby targets, but the damage and range isn't worth the time it takes to perform.

Sword PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Sword PAs:

Ride Slasher
Gap Closer - High damage, can be charged for longer distance traveled.

Guilty Break
Gap Closer - High damage, can be charged for longer distance and higher damage. Stops at its target, unlike Ride Slasher.

Sonic Arrow
Long Range - Good damage, pierces targets at a distance.

Over End
AoE/Single Target - Good damage to a large area, with a very powerful final strike. Can be difficult to land the final hit since it takes so long to perform, but the PA can be canceled with Guard beforehand, though the PP cost may not be worth doing that regularly.

Bad Sword PAs:

Rising Edge
Single Target - Decent damage for one hit. Can be charged for extra, weaker hits, but often isn't worth the charge time.

Twister Fall
Single Target - Starts with a couple weak hits followed by one decent one. Overall not worth using.

Nova Strike
AoE - Good damage over a small area. Can be charged to split that damage over multiple weaker hits. Too small of an area to be useful.

Stun Coincide
Single Target - Very weak, but can stun small enemies. Won't work on anything you would actually want to stun.

Cruel Throw
Single Target - Deals a little damage when grabbing the target, then throws them down which is actually fairly powerful. Anything the target hits will take less damage. If the target cannot be grabbed (too large, has super armor, dies), then an energy ball will be thrown instead, dealing the smaller amount to a smaller area than usual. Too slow and weak to use on bosses, too slow and annoying to use on mobs.

Wired Lance PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Wired Lance PAs:

Grapple Charge
Gap Closer - Grabs a target and reels in for a kick. Still works even without a target at all.

Heavenly Fall
Single Target - High damage at close range.

Other Cyclone
AoE - Grabs a target and deals good damage to nearby enemies.

Other Spin
AoE - Grabs a target and spins them around, attracting nearby enemies dealing good damage.

Holding Current
Single Target - Very high damage, however requires mashing the PA button and roots you in place which can be dangerous.

Cerberus Dance
AoE/Gear Builder - Deals low damage in a frontal AoE with a more powerful finisher. Mostly to build Gear.

Wild Round
AoE/Gear Builder - Faster but weaker Cerberus Dance. If all you want is Gear, then this would be more efficient than Cerberus Dance. Hits in a 360 around your character.

Bad Wired Lance PAs:

Bind Through
Single Target - A weaker Heavenly Fall but with slightly longer range.

Air Pocket Swing
Single Target/Gear Builder - Deals high damage, but is very hard to use, especially on a moving target.

Partisan PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Partisan PAs:

Slide End
AoE - High damage to a wide frontal area when charged.

Assault Buster
Gap Closer - Dashes forward and deals high damage when charged.

Sacred Skewer
Long Range - Good damage at a distance over multiple hits.

Bad Partisan PAs:

Slide Shaker
AoE - Very weak hits in a large area, followed up by a decent finisher. Not worth the time.

Speed Rain
AoE - Weak hits in a frontal area.

Rising Flag
Single Target - Two-hit combo for decent damage, but another PA would do more in just one.

Zenith/Pick Up Throw
Single Target - Fairly weak until the final grab and throw, but still not strong enough compared to other PAs. If the grab fails, then the majority of your damage goes missing.

Trick Rave
Single Target - Steady stream of weak hits. Takes too long for so little damage.

Bandersnatch
Single Target - A few weak hits before jumping backwards.

Twin Dagger PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Twin Dagger PAs:

Raging Waltz
Gap Closer - Since touching the ground instantly depletes your Gear gauge, you have to rely on PAs for aerial positioning.

Symphonic Drive
Single Target/Gap Closer - Great damage with some repositioning built in. Use the weapon action parry (Shift) to cancel the retreating jump after the kick.

Bloody Sarabande
AoE - Great damage to a frontal area and blocks attacks.

Facet Folia
AoE - Great damage to nearby targets in all directions while invulnerable. Note that the first hit must connect for the rest to follow.

Bad Twin Dagger PAs:

Shoot Polka
Single Target - Bad damage, short range.

Scar Fugue
Single Target - Good damage if you don't miss the initial grab since the majority of the followup is lost. Symphonic Drive is better in every way.

Wild Rhapsody
AoE - Low damage to nearby targets.

Dark Scherzo
Long Range - Low damage to a distant target. Useful if you don't want to approach for some reason, but it's not really that far.

Quick March
Single Target - Slow and weak.

O(oo)rchestra(aa)
Single Target - Good damage, but roots you in the air so it's easy to miss most of the hits.

Double Saber PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Double Saber PAs:

Deadly Archer
Single Target - High damage when charged, fills Gear gauge quickly.

Acro Effect
Single Target - Good damage, guards attacks.

Bad Double Saber PAs:

Tornado Dance
Gap Closer? - Low damage, moves too slow to be useful. In fact, the small movement hurts more often than it helps.

Scissor Edge
Single Target - Low damage

Rumbling Moon
AoE? - Low damage, small area

Illusion Rave
Single Target - Good damage, but takes way too long and costs too much PP.

Fake Capture
Single Target - Decent damage, but it's a grab PA.

Surprise Dunk
Gap Closer? - Good damage, but the jump is too slow to be useful.

Deadly Circle
AoE? - Laughable damage and area, simply terrible in every imaginable way.

Knuckle PAs

Spoiler!

Good Knuckle PAs:

Straight Charge
Gap Closer - Good damage and speed in a straight line.

Flash Thousand
Short Range AoE - Not worth it unless you can get a lvl 16 disk. High DPS if you can get your hands on it though.

Backhand Smash
Single Target - Incredible damage, but very little range and high PP cost.

Surprise Knuckle
AoE - Good damage to a close frontal area, especially for the PP cost, but is largely beat by other weapon PAs.

Bad Knuckle PAs:

Ducking Blow
Single Target - Slow startup for low damage.

Flicker Jab
AoE - Low damage to a frontal area.

Pendulum Roll
Single Target - Ducking Blow but with more hits. Good damage for the cost, but takes time to execute.

Slide Upper(cut)
Knockdown - Low damage and Backhand can be used for this purpose as well.

Quake Howling
AoE - Stuns nearby small targets. Low damage and won't stun large targets.

Katana PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Katana PAs:

Kanran Kikyou
AoE - Massive range, but low damage. Also knocks down enemies. Useful for large groups, but be mindful of any Fighters in your party, as the knockdown can turn enemies around, breaking Brave Stance's bonus.

Sakura Endo
AoE - High damage to a frontal area, but does not knock down enemies. Sheathing animation can be canceled with a guard or dash for faster execution.

Asagiri Rendan
Gap Closer - One of the fastest dashes which can be canceled before the relatively weak slashes.

Hatou Rindou
Long Range - High damage at a distance, and actually LOW damage when up close. Hits multiple hitboxes of the same target which can be extremely effective on certain enemies.

Shunka Shunran
Gap Closer - Very high damage to multiple targets after dashing forward. Can be followed up by additional dash attacks if a direction is held: left/right for a weaker but wider slash, or forward/back for a stronger but narrower slash. The very last attack hits twice.

Bad Katana PAs:

Tsukimi Sazanka
Single Target - A single, low damage hit.

Gekka Zakuro
Single Target - Two, low damage hits. Will automatically jump if used on the ground, so it's faster in the air (or after a Just Guard).

Hien Tsubaki
Long Range - Several low damage hits that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Fudou Kuchinashi
AoE - Deplorable damage, extremely high PP cost, and it's yet another lackluster stun PA that won't work on large targets. Use Kanran instead.

Bow PAs:

Spoiler!

Good Bow PAs:

Master Shoot
Single Target - High damage at long range while also useful for switches and rubble due to multiple hits.

Penetrating Arrow
AoE - Good damage in a straight line, but takes a long time to charge.

Kamikaze Arrow
Gap Closer - Very high Striking damage, which makes it less useful for Br/Ra which has fewer Striking multipliers than Br/Hu.

Banish(ing) Arrow
Single Target - Deals an equivalent amount of the damage you deal to the enemy in a short window.
Lasts for quite a while without being activated, so you have time to set up practically anything (including Namegid).
Charging does not increase its damage at all, but does somewhat increase the size of the resulting explosion.
It does gain a boost from regular Just Attack, but not JA skills.
Damage to any part of the enemy will count towards the explosion, which is not affected by weakness or resistance. As in, if the PA lands on the enemy's leg, then you deal 100k to the WB'd face, the explosion will deal 100k to the leg and any nearby enemies (actually 130k with JA).

Bad Bow PAs:

Torrential Arrow
AoE - Low damage to a small targettable area but, despite what the animation might suggest, it does NOT hit top-down. It also takes too long to execute so enemies can walk out of the PA to avoid most of the damage, even after it starts.

Gravity Point
AoE - Sucks enemies in, dealing decent damage, but takes way too long to activate for general use. It won't activate at all if the target dies with the PA stuck in it.

Sharp Bomber
AoE - Decent damage to a small area. Difficult to hit multiple enemies at all let alone their weak points.

Tritt Shooter
Single Target - Relatively high, mostly Striking damage at close range, but the duration is way too long to be worth the damage output.

Last Nemesis
Single Target - Very high damage, but very long charge time which roots you in place and can easily be interrupted. Often not worth using over multiple Kamikaze Arrows or Master Shoot, though it can be a good first PA for Banishing Arrow (but only the once).

Technics:

Spoiler!

Single Target

Spoiler!

Rafoie (ラ・フォイエ):
THE all purpose tech. Instantly explodes at your target, no matter how far away it is, no matter how fast it is moving, requires no line of sight, and can even hit inside solid objects. If you have a lock on, Rafoie will hit it. Has a small area of effect (AoE) to hit small groups, but isn't amazingly powerful. Flame S Charge makes this relatively weak tech into a great source of damage at the expense of PP.

Nafoie (ナ・フォイエ):
The best single target damage available to fire, and likely the best in the game with a PP regen proc active. Otherwise its PP cost is too great for more than simple burst damage, but it is still worthwhile for that purpose. Nafoie travels in an arc with a guiding arrow as well as a target marker on the ground. The fireball itself does major damage directly to one target and anything virtually on top of it, but the flames on the ground are negligible. When cast off of a Talis, the fireball drops straight down instead.

Zonde (ゾンデ):
Autotarget with a tiny AoE, similar to Rafoie, but requires a line of sight, and doesn't go as far. It makes up for this with a large damage jump at lv11+. Do note that only the primary target will take full damage, anything caught in its small area will take slightly reduced damage. Also since the tech travels downward, Zonde can miss moving targets or hit the wrong spot. Bolt PP Save allows you to cast this tech nearly indefinitely, especially with PP Restorate and PP Charge Revival.

Sazonde (サ・ゾンデ):
Fairly powerful single target damage over time (DoT) that has to be triggered by lightning tech damage. A triggered Sazonde can trigger further Sazondes with each tick, which can also each inflict Shock. Made cheap with PP Save. Surprisingly, Sazonde deals more damage when uncharged, even with Tech Charge Advance, so it is actually a viable strategy to rapid fire it with boosted PP regen. Uncharged is only 2 ticks instead of 4, however, so this trick isn't quite so amazing.

Grants (グランツ):
Autotarget, doesn't require line of sight, and follows moving targets for each hit. Hits lots of times, is fairly powerful, and has no travel time. It takes longer to cast, however.

Zan (ザン):
Lots of hits and fairly powerful even without elemental masteries. It fans out wide and boomerangs back so it requires a large, open and flat area. The huge spread is actually not as useful for AoE damage since each target will only be hit twice unless you actively dodge the wind blades as they return. This tech is much better as close-range, single target damage.

Sazan (サ・ザン):
A smaller, safer Zondeel that doesn't need to be activated. Very powerful at lv16, especially for an autotarget tech, but can still be outdone by Zan if all three blades hit twice each. While it is weaker and slower than Nafoie, the much lower PP cost makes Sazan very attractive. It retains the suction effect while it deals its damage, which is good because enemies stay grouped together and will suffer every hit, but it's also bad because it moves the center of the enemy towards the center of the tech which won't always hit their weak point. It also hits multiple times even when uncharged, which makes it useful to quickly destroy rubble or hit switches. One small quirk is that it is very difficult to manually aim, often stopping in midair for seemingly no reason and completely waste the cast.

Samegid (サ・メギド):
Three homing shots, weaker than Gimegid, but a lot more usable. The homing is a little dumb, so stand a ways back. Using this point blank will often only connect with one of the three. A good application for poison from a distance, or for steady damage output.

Namegid (ナ・メギド):
The only autotarget dark spell and the heaviest hitting technic in the game, also with the longest charge time (6 seconds) and highest PP cost (60 PP). After the first second of charging, a sigil appears on your current target that won't switch unless the target disappears or Namegid is released. For every second spent charging, the sigil transforms and the damage improves until it's finally released automatically. If the target is lost for whatever reason, continuing to charge will switch to a new target without costing any extra PP, but the sigil will start from scratch again. Despite the incredible damage, the long charge time makes it unsuitable for many targets, especially those not weak to dark.

Multi-Target

Spoiler!

Foie (フォイエ):
Does full damage to enemies just by grazing them. It will stop if its core hits something, which is smaller than the visible fireball. If aimed properly, you can get a lot out of each cast. And obviously you can cast a lot of them really fast with Flame S Charge.

Gifoe (ギ・フォイエ):
Really wide AoE that stays out really long. Standing inside the circle is really safe, due to the hitstun on normal enemies. Can be cast really fast. Good damage too.

Safoie (サ・フォイエ):
Multiple quick and powerful hits in a wide arc at close range. Much easier to connect with than Nafoie, and doesn't require Zondeel to be useful for clearing mob spawns. With Flame S Charge, it's a very reliable source of damage, even to a single target.

Ilfoie (イル・フォイエ):
A large meteor strikes the target marker after a long period for quite a lot of damage to a wide area. Takes three times as long as other fire techs to cast, all while being rooted in place unlike Namegid and can still be interrupted by attacks, wasting all 50 PP of the cast. The meteor itself takes time to fall, so quick enemies can avoid the attack even if they were directly under the marker when the charge was complete. However, the large damage, AoE, and persisting explosion are worth the drawbacks whenever you can make use of it. Against a single target, however, Nafoie remains better DPS.

Gibarta (ギ・バータ):
Decent power in a large frontal cone with a little vertical reach. It will break its own Freeze effect without Freeze Keep and lacks the benefits of AoE techs, but is useful for stunlocking enemies in front of you.

Rabarta (ラ・バータ):
Doesn't cover a very wide area, but it's a 360 degree version of Gibarta, making it easier to use off of a Talis. It hits twice at the beginning which makes it just as powerful as Gibarta despite the lower Power notation.

Zondeel (ゾンディール):
When activated by lightning tech damage (or by throwing Sazonde into/through the field), this does a fair amount of damage over a wide area and lasts fairly long. Once activated, the vacuum effect is lost, and the active field will trigger successive Zondeels if they overlap. It can be risky to use since it starts by sucking in nearby enemies, but the damage is worth it and it can be much safer using a Talis.

Ilzonde (イル・ゾンデ):
Fairly power and quick to charge, Ilzonde envelops the player (even when using a Talis) and propels them forward, hitting the same or multiple targets once or twice. Note that you can still take damage while using Ilzonde, so try not to charge into dangerous situations.

Gigrants (ギ・グランツ):
Lots of hits, very powerful, and covers a decent area, but takes longer to cast, and doesn't last very long. The drawbacks, however, aren't enough to stop it from being good for the damage and inflicting Panic.

Nagrants (ナ・グランツ):
A larger, stronger, and faster charging, but more expensive and slower executing version of Gigrants. It also pushes enemies away, so for pure damage (without Zondeel) it can actually end up weaker than Gigrants unless the target has super armor. That property, however, along with its size and duration, make it excellent for stunlocking and blocking enemies while still dealing good damage at the same time.

Utility

Spoiler!

Shifta (シフタ):
Gives all allies within the small circle up to 19.5% of their base S/R/T-Atk for 15 seconds per tick, up to a maximum of 60s. Charging this tech increases the area and amount of ticks from 2 to 4. Note that a player's base stats are a small portion of their total stats, as this does not include equipment. Techer can increase the buff to 24.4%, the duration to 180s, and the area by 50% for a time, but cannot increase the amount of ticks nor the duration per tick.

Deband (デバンド):
Same thing as Shifta, but for the defensive stats. Can sometimes be enough to allow you to survive an extra hit, but this is often not worth keeping refreshed. Deband Cut can improve the buff by reducing incoming damage by up to 15%.

Resta (レスタ):
A heal. It heals. Takes a second to charge, but roughly triples the amount healed, and increases the area and ticks just like Shifta/Deband. Your equipped weapon's T-Atk is not factored into the amount healed, so you may as well keep it on your subpalette rather than on your weapon for easy access no matter what you're using. Affixes do count, so any extra T-Atk on your weapons and units will slightly increase the heal.

Anti (アンティ):
Removes status ailments within a small area. Slow to charge and costs PP, so using a Sol Atomizer is usually a better choice when supporting allies, especially since those are fairly common, and annoying status effects less so. A quick uncharged cast is enough to cure your own ailments, so don't bother charging it when no one else is around.

Megiverse (メギバース):
Gives vampiric life steal to anyone dealing damage within the small circle. Amount is 25% of damage dealt as HP recovered, regardless of if it's charged or not. Charging increases the area and duration of the field. DoTs and AoEs placed before Megiverse was cast will still heal you, so this is one of the few times where an uncharged tech is actually useful.

Zondeel (ゾンディール):
Without being activated, this will suck in most enemies into the center of the circle. Does no damage on its own unless activated by lightning tech damage (doesn't have to be your own). The field lasts quite a while and is devastating with a powerful followup tech. Can also be used as a safety measure as long as you are not in the circle after it is cast.

Zanverse (ザンバース):
Everyone in the field triggers a secondary wind effect that deals 20% of the original hit, modified by the caster's Wind Mastery. Essentially, it's a damage increase for you and your party by 20-28%. It doesn't last long enough to be worth casting while solo, but as its range is expanded by Territory Burst it is an excellent support skill.

Razan (ラ・ザン):
Lifts standard enemies and knocks them down, even when uncharged. Very useful when followed up by a powerful tech, especially on enemies such as Garongos where their weak point is underneath them. Also useful simply to stop an enemy from doing whatever it was they were doing, or are about to do. One charged Razan will break rubble while two charged Razans will activate a hit switch, making it useful for TA as well.

Nagrants (ナ・グランツ):
Sets up a large field that continuously deals damage for a long duration. Nagrants prevents enemies (without super armor) from entering the field, effectively creating a safe zone. It can also be used to quickly and safely build Wand Gear, since coupled with Zondeel you can keep groups of enemies stunlocked as they take damage from Nagrants itself as well as consecutive wand melee attacks.

Ilzonde (イル・ゾンデ):
Since it propels you forward faster than normal running speed, Ilzonde can be used for faster travel about on par with dashing with Twin Daggers or Knuckles, albeit with a PP cost. Note that it is not the fastest possible means of travel, even for a Force or Techer, but its simplicity and ability to be used on any weapon from the subpalette makes it a valid choice for saving time where appropriate.

Situational at best

Spoiler!

Barta (バータ):
Travels along the ground and pierces targets. Anything larger than a half-step will stop this tech dead in its tracks, and it cannot hit aerial targets without TPS aiming or an airborne Talis, but the way it arcs makes even this usage very difficult. It isn't very wide, so its piercing properties still won't let it hit many targets at once.

Sabarta (サ・バータ):
Fairly powerful and autotargets, but has a very long charge time, starts far too slowly, and requires line of sight. Smaller enemies will be held in place allowing it to hit normally, but on larger enemies this effect is lost and it does not track, causing it to miss. Adding insult to injury, this single-target tech does not outdamage Gibarta nor Rabarta.

Nabarta (ナ・バータ):
A short ranged, continuous "ice thrower" technic. Immediately consumes 34 PP and then continues to drain 5 PP/s as long as it is held. The initial hit does the same damage as the proceeding ones, and then hits about twice per second. Each hit is weaker than any other ice technic, and also cannot get Tech Charge Advance. In order for Nabarta to be worth the PP cost over Gibarta in terms of damage per PP, you have to hold it for at least 5s versus 3 casts of Gibarta. Comparing them in terms of PP per hit, you have to hit 6 times for either 3.5s of Nabarta or 2 casts of Gibarta. But in every case, Nabarta is less total damage. If you spend your entire PP bar on Nabarta, you can get 80% of Gibarta's damage for 50% of its PP cost, but that's ignoring PP regen and the fact that it takes 50% longer.

Razonde (ラ・ゾンデ):
Fairly powerful, but it starts a bit above the casting point and fans out downwards. The higher up the casting point is, the larger the AoE. Essentially requires a Talis to use properly, but will need to be repositioned every cast to successively hit moving targets. The damage is not enough to offset its usability issues, even for skilled players.

Gizonde (ギ・ゾンデ):
Bolts of lightning chain from target to nearby target, but its short range, low damage, and tendency to miss moving targets reduces its effectiveness. Has a place in a pure Bolt spec, but not for general use. In most cases, Zondeel would be better AoE lightning damage.

Nazonde (ナ・ゾンデ):
A wide sphere of electricity emanates from the casting point, and can hit about twice as fast as Zondeel. However, it has a smaller reach than Zondeel, the hits are weaker, the PP cost is higher (25 after PP Save vs 16), and that's not even the bad part. Nazonde roots the caster in place for its duration, where they do not regen PP, they do not gain super armor, and cannot cancel it with Mirage Escape. For almost every situation, multiple casts of Zondeel would be superior.

Gizan (ギ・ザン):
A bit weak, and does not cover a very wide area. Most any other AoE (especially Gifoie) would be a better choice.

Nazan (ナ・ザン):
Creates a small blast of wind directly in front of the casting point, knocking enemies back on contact. Charging it sends the struck target even further, but the range and power are still not very good. Razan would typically be a better way to disable your target.

Megid (メギド):
Fairly powerful, weak homing, and creates a massive explosion when it connects, but it travels extremely slowly when charged which makes it unsuitable for long range. Casting off of a Talis drastically reduces Megid's travel time, but int hat case Zondeel+Gi/Ramegid would be a more effective mobbing tool.

Gimegid (ギ・メギド):
Very powerful and autotargets, but starts to attack too slow, requires line of sight, and does not follow its target. Just like Sabarta, this is only useful on completely stationary targets, but unlike Sabarta, it does not hold its target in place.

Ramegid (ラ・メギド):
Fairly powerful, but starts above the casting point and rains downwards. Lasts fairly long, though it's area doesn't increase with height like Razonde, but similarly must be repositioned after every cast.

Ragrants (ラ・グランツ):
A large multi hitting laser is emitted from the caster towards the target. Stronger and charges faster than Grants, but starts slow and the range isn't even close to the what the animation suggests. Due to its slow speed, it's difficult to use on moving enemies. Useful vs Dark Falz to destroy his arms, but not much else.

[Nandemon]

Bump for perfect post. Build section should start off with some buffer classes (;

[SociableTyrannosaur]

Class descriptions and close-ups added. race and gender differences listed.

[UnLucky]

Hm, I've got some minor corrections w.r.t. grammar and consistent capitalization, but I don't wanna list them here. Wish I could just edit your post >_>

Also do you not want to recommend Hunter and Techer as subs for Ranger? Maybe not in the Ranger section itself, but in each of the others'.

So I guess the intent would be, the class you're currently looking at is what you already have, and "recommended subclass" would be what you should aim to get afterwards, but "subclass for" would be somewhere useful you can stick your investment (at least for the time being, such as for leveling).

[SociableTyrannosaur]

Hm, I've got some minor corrections w.r.t. grammar and consistent capitalization, but I don't wanna list them here. Wish I could just edit your post >_>

Also do you not want to recommend Hunter and Techer as subs for Ranger? Maybe not in the Ranger section itself, but in each of the others'.

So I guess the intent would be, the class you're currently looking at is what you already have, and "recommended subclass" would be what you should aim to get afterwards, but "subclass for" would be somewhere useful you can stick your investment (at least for the time being, such as for leveling).

PM me the changes and I'll take care of it.

[SociableTyrannosaur]

Edited for grammar. Builds trickling in.

[UnLucky]

I would do some kinda write up on technics, but I do not have Ragrants :<

[SociableTyrannosaur]

if you can do the rest, i can add my 2 cents about that one

[God of Awesome]

Just want to say thanks for all the effort it must have took to type this up. I especially like the pictures, very helpful and gives a solid opinion to all newcomers.