This topic is now made to be a basic guide and also a place to talk about the Ranger class itself; a place to ask questions, rants, give tips, and thoughts on Rangers. This thread has been very successfully for the most part without me present and I hope it continues to be that way.
[About Ranger]
As you may know the Ranger class has change significantly. Instead of just dealing damage from a far, Rangers are more of a support class in a sense: masters of crowd control and debuffs. We use our guns to unload Bullets (our Photon Arts specialty) which inflict special debuffs (Status Effects(SE))on the enemies which enable yourself or party to attack, run away safely, or even deal damage over time (DoTs). Rangers also have a knack to get mob attention. Getting enemy attention isn't a bad thing. By drawing their attention, you can lead them away from others so they can do what they need to eliminate other enemies. Also, Ranger-type classes are the only classes to be able to use Traps. There are many different types of traps that range from dealing damage, applying SE or stopping enemies, but more about that later.
It might take a while for old PSO Rangers to get use to this role, but from what I’m playing on PSU right now it will be a fun one.
[Terms]
Main Hand - Meaning used in right (1h Saber, 1h Claw, 1h Knife)
Offhand - Meaning used in left hand (Handgun, Crossbow, Mechgun)
Buff – Meaning strengthening yourself or enemy
Debuff - Meaning weakening enemy or yourself.
1h - One Handed
2h - Two Handed
DoT - Damage over Time
SE - Status Effect
[Status Effects (Debuffs) for Bullets]
- Fire: Burn – Slowly causes damage over time by a certain % of life. Leaves enemies with at least 1 HP.
- Ice: Freeze - Stops from moving, cast, and attacking.
- Lightning: Shock - Stops from attacking, but can still move.
- Earth: Silence - Stops from casting, but can still move.
- Light: Confusion - Causes inflicted to run around in circles and/or attack others.
- Dark: Infection – Quickly causes damage over time by a certain % of life. Can kill the enemies on tick.[
- Earth: Poison - Quickly causes damage over time by a certain % of life.
[Stats for Ranger]
ATA – The most important stat for Rangers. It is necessary to have in order to use guns. ATA is accuracy which determines the chance to hit the enemy without missing (dealing 0 damage).
ATP – ATP is attack power. Second most important stat for Rangers. ATP is the attack power which deals with how much damage you do to an enemy. Also determines how what melee weapons you can use.
EVP – EVP is evasion. Evasion helps with your chances to dodge an enemy attack. When you dodge an attack, you receive no damage, but causes you to recoil/flinch from what you were doing. This will probably be ranger’s primary source of defense so load up on it.
END/STA – Endurance or Stamina deals with resistance from stats effects.
DFP – DDeals with how much damage you take from an physical .
MST – Deals with how much damage you take from an enemy.
[Race/Gender for Ranger]
Male vs. Female: As you see above, Males have Higher HP, ATP, and ATA than females, making them the better choice for offensive Ranger. On the flip side, females have higher DFP, EVP, and TAP making them better choices for a defensive Ranger.
Casts: Top choice for Rangers. Casts both have high ATA and ATP which Rangers aim for. Also have a decent amount of HP and DFP that helps with taking damage. And for icing on the cake, they have SUVs which are usually very large guns that deal large amounts of damage. Also, Casts get bonuses for being Ranger or Fortegunner.
Newmen: Second best choice for Ranger. They have high ATA but low ATP and HP. Have the Highest EVP out of all races so this will help with dodging damage. Also Newmans get bonuses for being Guntecher so keep that in mind.
Humans: Third best choice for Ranger. Humans do not excel at anything, but they are average: Moderate ATA, Moderate ATP, Moderate HP etc etc… However, they get bonuses from being hybrid classes which makes them ideal for Guntecher.
Beasts: Least favored choices for Ranger. Very low ATA, but have very high ATP. Nanoblast could help out the cause here. They have high HP and DFP so picking a beast will yield interesting results.
[Ranger-Type Classes]
Ranger: No requirements
The basic gun-user class. They begins to start using range weapons, but not all. They are also very limited on melee ability. One of the only classes to use Traps. Stats and Weapons they can use online/offline differ.[/list]
B: Rifles, Shotguns, Twin Handguns, Handguns, Machineguns
C: Spears, Saber, Daggers[/list]
Fortegunner: Requires: Lv10 Ranger
The Expert Class of Ranger. They can use every type of gun and have compatibility of S Rank with most of them. Fortegunner also gets bonus on PP and Bullet efficency.
S: Rifle, Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, Laser Cannon, Handgun
A: Spear, Saber, Dagger, Twin Handguns, Crossbow, Mechgun
Figunner: Requires: Lv5 Hunter, Lv3 Ranger
Hybrid of of Hunter/Ranger. They focus heavy on melee weapons while using a few ranged weapons. Excel in quick melee weapon and have S Rank compatibility with a few. Have the exclusive usage of Double Saber.
S: Double Saber, Twin Saber, Saber, Twin Dagger, Dagger
A: Sword, Fists, Spear, Twin Claw, Claw, Twin Handguns, Handgun, Crossbow, Mechgun
Guntecher: Requires: Lv5 Ranger, lv 3 Force
Hybrid of Ranger/Force. They focus more on ranged weapons while using magic to support/damage. Guntecher excels in support. A few S Rank ranged weapon and has access to use magic and wands.[/list]
S: Twin Handguns, Handgun, Crossbow, Mechgun
A: Saber, Dagger, Rifle, Shotgun, Long Bow, Laser, Card, Wand
Protranser Requires: Lv 5 Ranger, Force, and Hunter
Protransers are known as Trap Masters. Protransers get 75% bonus from traps. They have a bit of everything from all of the other classes and versatile in weapon types.
A: Sword, Fists, Spear, Axe, Saber, Shotgun, Long Bow, Grenade Launcher, Laser Cannon, Handgun
[Weapon Analysis by Users ]
Ranged Weapons
Twin Handguns: This is by far one of the most popular weapons as a ranger. They are quick and do decent amount of damage in short period of time. Also, they lay SE quite often although they do not last as long as other gun's SE. Also, they have the best strafing ability than all of the other guns available, so makes tagging and dealing damage alot easier. Ideal for fighting against pretty much any type of mobs including bosses.
Twin/Dual Handguns by Itsuki-chan: Better at delivering status effects, but the status effects don't last quite as long as rifles. Because of enemy def and lower atp online, they probably overall deal roughly the same as rifles. Better vs larger groups of enemies and when status effects and/or mobility are needed.
Rifes: Excellent weapon for Ranger, and namely our trademark weapon. Rifles deals high damage compare to other ranged weapon category. Rifles have a long reach which allows Ranger to stay further away from damage with a short recoil time. Rifles also have a decently large amount of PP and uses very little which allows you to fire more shots. Also, Rifles have the best chance of SE landing on an enemy and has the highest SE level, 4. Ideal for boss fights.
Laser Cannon: One of my favorite weapon so far. Laser Cannon deal one of highest amount of damage out of the ranged weapons so far. It has a large range and can hit multiple enemies in a linear formation or next to each other. Major downfalls to this weapon is the PP cost of each shot, it shoots slow, and the recoil time. Alternative for boss fights or crowds.
Shotgun: Another one of my favorites. People overlook this weapon because they want to see higher amount of damage. Shotguns deals low amount of damage, but in exchange it spreads across the screen with 3 bullets (4 or more if Bullet is high) hitting multiple enemies and causing them to flinch. Also, if you are close enough, you can hit the same enemy multiple times in one shot adding up damage and giving more chance for SEs to be applied. Very ideal for crowd control.
Shotgun by Itsuki-chan: Really isn't bad, I just started using one. It doesn't deal anywhere near what dualies or rifles will deal until the PA is 11+. Good for sperading a status effect, good for inflicting a status effect on a single enemy reliably (by point blanking it). Damage... not all there. Infact, at lower levels, you may be pushing your luck to deal any damage at all with it. And you need to atleast deal damage to tag.
Shotgun by Dusk21: Click the link next to this. This is a very detailed post about Shotgun and its bullets. Kudos to the post.
Crossbow: Highly misunderstood and underestimated weapon. People thought of this as a slower version of a handgun, but in reality, they are a Spread Needle reincarnated (mini shotgun in other words). When Crossbow's bullets reach lv 11 or higher, they get an addition spread to their shot maxing out at 3 per shot. Very useful because not only the spread, but the fact that it is an offhand which means you can use a main hand weapon (Dagger or Sword).
Longbows: Another favorite weapon of mine. Bows have very high ATP and ATA thus dealing high amount of damage. It also has a very far reach allowing you to attack from a safe distance. Bows have a large PP pool which allows the user to make the most of it. Furthermore, it can be used to pound an enemy if you aim correctly. In FP view, you can adjust your shoot while you are firing allowing more manual accuracy. One thing that people probably didn’t notice either is bow’s shoots penetrate enemies meaning that no matter where it hits, it pretty much does the same about of damage. Downside to the bow is its very stationary and it has a short load time before it is fired. Idea for stationary situations and boss fights.
Cards (aka Fans/Slicer) by Itsuki-chan: Its kinda fun to use. Full strafing ability, ATP is basically equal to duallies, but I think the PA increases it more significantly and the elemental damage is alot higher. I know for a fact the elemental damage is high. 1st tier dualies is 4% elemental, 1st tier card is 17% elemental.
Melee
Dagger/Offhand combo: I personally like this combo. Daggers are quick and do decent damage in a short amount of time, allowing me to get in and out when need to . The Handgun is good for making enemies flinch while you are getting close to or away from an enemy as well. If you a Bullets like Electric or Ice, it allows you to stop enemies in place or actions giving you more time to do what you need. Only downfall here is the damage. Another variation to this is Dagger/Mechgun. Mechgun works the same here as Handgun; it attacks faster allowing more damage and SEs over time than Handgun, but the PP usage can be a bit high and can not go First Person view to aim. Another Choice is Dagger/Crossbow. Crossbows deal high amount of damage and applies SEs pretty well. It also spreads to up to 3 shots. Bad side here is the recoil time.
Saber/Offhand combo: Pretty much the same as Dagger. It have a decent speed and deals a good amount of damage in 3 hits. The PA Rising Strike can knock the enemy up in the air, allowing you to shoot them safely or switch weapons. See Dagger/Offhand above for the Offhand choice.
Spears: Rarely used Melee weapon althought its quite useful. It has quite a distance reach and it attacks up to two enemies in a linear position or multiple parts of an enemy. Very useful if you want to save bullets and on bosses and enemies that have multiple targets.
[Weapon Comparisions]
Handgun vs Mechgun by Itsuki-chan: Online, if you're not overleveled for an area, mechguns most likely won't deal more than 20-30 a hit. Considering the FO next to you is going to be dealing 300-400, they tickle. Of course, a handgun isn't going to deal more than 70-80 either. So they both kinda tickle. Handgun is more reliable for damage, mechgun is more reliable for status effects. Niether one really runs out of PP unless you sit there and spam it all day.
Dagger vs. Saber by Itsuki-chan: Saber is more party oriented since it more reliably launches. Its good mob control. Dagger on the other hand is more damage, but doesn't reliably stun anything. Its best used on big monsters and mini-bosses that don't launch or don't launch reliably. Also, when soloing, dagger is probably the weapon of choice.
Bows vs. Rifle by Rizen: Both have SE 4. Bows have higher ATP and ATA while Rifles are faster. Bows are awesome in stationary situations like boss fights and hallways, but majority of the time you do not have the pleasure to stay still. Rifles are great because you can fire on the move and stay stationary if need be. The bow's stats and initial damage are indeed higher but the overall damage between the two evens out over time with firing.
[About Bullet Photon Art]
Each ranged weapon type has 6 element Bullets (Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Light, Dark). Bullets are what give ranged weapons their punch. Bullets add SEs to ranged weapons. As Bullet levels get higher, it changes the way shots are fired from ranged weapons. In most cases, the SE level and damage % is increased, but in specialshotgun's and crossbow's case, it adds an addition shot to the spread.
All Bullets have separate levels so one element level from a weapon type will not transfer to another weapon type's element. For example, if you buy a Electric Bullet disk for a Shotgun and level it, it wont level up your Electric Bullet for your Handgun or other ranged weapons. So you have to spend time leveling up each weapon type's element bullet. Its kinda like PA skills. Bullet PAs level at different rates from weapon to weapon.
Also, Bullet elements can be switched out at anytime, so they are not bounded to be one element type like melee weapons are condemned to.
[Bullets based on Level]
Rangers are dependant upon Elemental bonuses from their Photon Art Bullet and the weapon type. Bullet Photon Arts differs and upgrades at levels 1, 11, 21, and 30. Note that this is different from offline.
[Traps]
Traps are probrably over looked because of the price and the number you can hold. They are very useful for crowd control and applying SEs.
How to Set Traps (A2K):- When you wish to set traps, you assign them to the "item" column of your action palette, along with healing items and the like.
- When you select these traps on the battlefield, you will de-equip your current weapons and go into a "trap setting" mode.
- Press Down Arrow/Square/X to set up to three traps on the ground. You may not set any more until the ones currently set have been detonated. In Network Mode there seems to be a bit of a delay in placing them after hitting the button, probably due to network latency. It would probably help to anticipate this.
- If you've set "G" type traps, press Right Arrow/Triangle/Y to detonate them.
- If you move out of trap setting mode by either re-equipping your weapons or switching to a different type of trap before they have detonated, they will disappear and you will lose them forever.
- You may set traps during boss battles, although one would question whether or not they would be all that effective.
[PP Management]
One question that’s been asked a lot is how do Rangers fare with PP on guns. Well, Rangers can use an extensive amount of PP over a course of time, but not a huge problem. As long as you don’t spam bullets all the time, you shouldn’t run out of PP quickly.
Here are some ways you can do to manage PP:- Buy Photon Charges at the Green stores for 500 meseta. These come in handy if you completely run out of PP for all weapon. They stack in 10 so use them wisely.
- Carry multiple weapons. Its a common strategy to save PP. You basically rotate usages of weapons to keep a steady PP rate.
- Relax. Overtime, PP will refill itself. If you wait a bit you will get quite a bit of PP back allowing you to continue firing.
- Aim wisely. Sometimes enemies have weak spots that will allow you to do 50% more damage that than normal.
- Use melee weapons. If you use melee weapons, this will save you from having to use your guns PP. Also if you have a gun on your offhand, it will recover PP as you use your melee weapon.
- Don't spam bullets needlessly. Most rangers get a bit trigger happy when it comes to fighting. If you see that you are dealing low damage with a gun on a certain mob, you might want to switch to a melee weapon for the time being, then switch back to gun.
[Keeping up with Damage as a Ranger]
People constantly keep saying Ranger’s damage is worthless, but this is far from true. Yes, we do not deal high bursts of damage, but our damage is nothing to squeeze at. Rangers just have to do a bit more than other classes to keep up with damage.
- Level your bullets. Every time a bullet levels, you gun’s ATP and ATA increases allowing you to deal more damage and become more accurate by a certain % . Also at lv 11 and lv 21 the % element on the gun will change.
- Level a variety of Elements. Enemies comes 6 elements (not counting neutral). By using the oppose element of the enemy, you can deal up to double your normal amount of damage.
- Grind weapons. Yes, very dirty and risky business here, but very worthwhile. With enough grinding, a weapon’s ATP can exceed a weapon 3 or more starts higher than it.
- Know your enemy. Enemies have weakness that are waiting to be exploited, or a strength waiting to destroy you. Some enemies have high resistance to ranged weapons so you might have to switch to a melee weapon to higher damage.
- Apply Damage over time (DoTs) debuffs. These do damage according to % of an enemies life.
- Use Virus, Poison and Burn Traps on high HP enemies. In higher rank missions, enemies tend to have very high HP and high defense making them harder to take down. Also, applying SEs become difficult at times because you need a certain level of SE in order for it to be applied. These traps instantly apply and last for a good amount of time.
[Other classes through the Eye of a Ranger]
Hunter: This is your basic melee class. They excel in close combat using a variety of weapons. Where does this fit in with Ranger? Well, Rangers have 3 basic melee weapons they can use: Dagger, Saber, and Spear. If you choose to switch to hunter, you should focus on these three and maybe Twin Daggers unless you are choosing Figunner, in which case you can focus on as many as you want. You will also have access to a Handgun so you can still them to lv10. As far as PA skills, choose what you are comfortable with. Just keep in perspective your path in the future.
Force: Your everyday magic caster. They excel in range combat with powerful magic called Technics. Anything for Ranger? Forces have exclusive use of Bows, a ranged weapon, out of the three basic classes. If you are choosing to Protranser or Guntecher, you might want to invest sometime in leveling this up. Also, depending on what class are going for, you choice of Technics will vary. If Protranser, you probably will only need a Reverser and Resta and use of Bow. If Guntecher, you are more flexible, but still need balance. Resta and Reverser are high priority. Next buffs and debuffs will play key factors in a life for a Guntecher, so invest in those when they become available. And you can get 3 or 4 nukes for magic attacks, Diga being a favorite.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Rizen on 2007-11-25 11:20 ]</font>
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