One Shot, One Kill (A Comprehensive Ranger Guide/Discussion)

[ReverseSeraf]

I suppose now would be a good time to do this, since it seems like people were interested in such an official thread forming.

Disclaimer: In no way is anything I post 100% true, nor am I claiming that I'm the best Ranger in PSO2. Everyone should feel like their input has as much weight as any other's. This post is available for updating based on findings with enough concrete evidence from any player!

Anyway, here we go:

One Shot, One Kill
A Comprehensive Ranger Guide/Discussion
NOTICE: UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Pros/Cons:

Spoiler!

Pros:
- Superior bossing capabilities
- Impressive mobbing capabilities
- Great support for MPA with Weak Bullet
- Good utility with trap and tool skills

Cons:
- Setup for maximum damage requires several crucial conditions to be met (i.e. positioning, weakpoint-dependent)
- PP becomes an issue unless built correctly due to restrictions of special bullets

Ideal class combinations:

Spoiler!

Ra/Hu
- Best survivability/tanking options
- Damage modification not as restrictive to weakpoints only

Ra/Br
- Best damage modifications
- Access to Banishing Arrow, which helps tremendously with damage
- Emphasis on hitting weakpoints

Overview of investable Ranger skills:

Spoiler!

Have a Ranger skill tree next to you as you read along.

Relevant description in terms of importance
Not recommended: do not invest at all.
Optional: investing in it is entirely up to the player.
Recommended: invest at least one point in it, but no need to if decided otherwise.
Essential: must get. No questions asked.



Sharpshooter: (Essential)
Essential for any Ranger. The required distance is quite lenient from my experience, and to get a 20% damage boost for shooting from a safe distance should definitely be anyone's cup of tea

Dive Roll Advance: (Not recommended)
Unless you are COMPLETELY unsure of your dodging abilities during your PSO2 career, do not invest in this skill. Dodging comes with practice.

Dive Roll Shoot: (Optional)
Allows you to immediately JA after a Dive Roll, making this skill greatly desired. But there are those who can live without it, so it's up to you.

Stun Grenade: (Optional)
Has utility for PP recovery paired with Tactics Trap. Also useful for clearing Extreme Quest trials requiring x amount of status effected enemies to be killed (NOTE: the next hit after the Stun Grenade MUST kill the enemy).

Gravity Bomb: (Recommended)
Like Stun Grenade, has utility for PP recovery paired with Tactics Trap. Also has a small suction effect, drawing nearby enemies into a single point. Should be noted that some mini-bosses are affected by Gravity Bomb as well: clever use of Gravity Bomb can greatly increase player performance!

Upper Trap: (Optional)
Like before, has utility for PP recovery paired with Tactics Trap. One mini-boss (Anjhadu-lili) flips over when Upper Trap is used, exposing his weakpoint on the top.

Upper T Custom: (Not recommended)
Upper Trap's damage is not very impressive and is used more for utility. Investing into this skill would be a waste.

Poison Trap: (Optional)
Much like Stun Grenade. Only difference is that any status effected enemy in XQ does not have to be killed by the following hit: it must be killed before the duration of the poison runs out.

Poison T Custom: (Not recommended)
Poison Trap already has a pretty decent status effect rate, so no real reason to invest in this skill unless you REALLY want to increase your chances.

Tool Mastery: (Not recommended)
As mentioned before, traps/tools are not impressive damage-wise and are used more for utility. Only 1 point should be invested into this skill to reach...

Tactics Trap: (Recommended [assuming you get at least one trap/tool skill])
A very nice skill to have! Adding PP recovery to your traps/tools would greatly increase their utility, and helps solve one of the cons of Rangers involving PP.

Weak Hit Advance 1/2: (Essential)
The bread-and-butter for Rangers: hitting weakspots increases damage by 1.35 x 1.35 = 1.82 (almost twice the amount of damage!)

First Hit: (Optional)
Useful for mobbing if you are confident in hitting the enemy first majority of the time, but useless for bossing. It's also useful in Time Attack quests. If these conditions are okay with you, then invest; otherwise, steer clear from it.

Killing Bonus: (Recommended)
Very nice skill to get. Helps solve the PP con of Rangers. Enemies must be in approximately one Dive Roll's distance away from your location in order for PP to be recovered.

Weak Bullet: (Essential x 9001)
If you do not get this skill, you are SEVERELY crippling Ranger's capability as a solo and team player. Any point that you hit with Weak Bullet has its damage modifier increased drastically. If you are a hardcore Time Attack player, only investing 6 points into it is acceptable (assuming you do not mess up when using Weak Bullet); otherwise, max it! Note that using normal attacks when Weak Bullet is used will fire these special bullets instead, which makes PP problematic unless you acquire the necessary skills.

Standing Snipe 1/2: (Essential)
Another huge damage modifier for Ranger that cannot be overlooked. Note that the skill does not kick in until you are standing still for a good 2-3 seconds. The nature of some PAs makes applying Standing Snipe impossible, but that does not negate its usefulness at all.

Weak Hit Blast Bonus: (Recommended)
Also a very nice skill to have: charging your PB becomes SIGNIFICANTLY easier. Maxing it is optional, but it's advised you invest at least one point into it.

Bind/Mirage/Panic/Jellen Bullet: (Not recommended)
Honestly, there is no reason to get these skills. Jellen Bullet is debatable, but the rest are useless.

Moving Snipe: (Optional)
It's contradictory to Standing Snipe, and damage modification is very low when also considering how many points you need to invest into it. However, some people seem to enjoy the 5% boost when facing very aggressive enemies, so the choice is yours in whether you want to invest.

Power Bullet: (Recommended)
Much like Weak Hit Blast Bonus, maxing this skill is optional, but it's advised you invest at least one point into it, since one point for 50 R-ATK seems like a very good trade-off, especially when you'll be expected to use Weak Bullet a majority of the time.

PP Save Bullet: (Not recommended)
If you've already invested in traps (along with Tactics Trap) and Killing Bonus, then there's no real reason to get this.

Bullet Keep: (Recommended)
This would DEFINITELY help with your PP problems, as you are free to switch between Assault Rifle and Launcher without fear of losing your special bullets. Should also note that switching between different Assault Rifles is acceptable.

Some example skill trees:

Spoiler!

Standard Ra/Br
This is a pretty standard Ra/Br build. Everything suggested from the overview is taken. When looking at the Braver tree, you'll notice there's a very strong emphasis on hitting weakpoints due to Average Stance not being invested into. Also note that huge damage modifications are available with Rapid Shoot's relevant skills.

Time Attack Ra/Br
You'll notice only 6 points are invested in Weak Bullet, due to my earlier statement of only really needing 3 WBs maximum (3 bosses in A2 Sanctum and A2 Vopar). Stun Grenade, Upper Trap, and Dive Roll Shoot are luxuries, but not necessities: instead, I invest the points in Power Bullet to help ensure 1 shot kills for bosses and Weak Hit Blast Bonus to have PB available more often. You'll also notice on the Braver tree that Weak Stance Charge is removed along with Attack Advance: that is so that I can leave room for Average Stance and Katana Combat, since there are uses for Katana Combat in some areas. Charge Shot is also removed, since spamming normal attacks is preferable for faster PP regen: your PAs will be doing all the damage when using Bullet Bows. Rapid Shoot is maxed so that landing JAs is easier and faster (if you're into 0.1 second differences).

Standard Ra/Hu
Once again, everything suggested from the overview is taken. What makes Ra/Hu significantly different from Ra/Br is that there's less emphasis on hitting weakpoints due to Fury Stance and relevant JA skills applying to any spot on the enemy as long as both Fury Stance is up and JAs are executed properly. Furthermore, Ra/Hu is able to take hits and not die with Automate Halfline and Iron Will. Also, Massive Hunter allows for Rangers to not get flinched out of attacks, so it syncs greatly with PAs like Satellite Cannon.

Time Attack Ra/Hu
The Ranger tree is copied from the Time Attack Ra/Br skill tree. The only difference for the Hunter tree (in comparison to the standard Ra/Hu tree) is that instead of opting for tanking skills, the points are reinvested into S-ATK Up 1, 2, and 3 for stronger Assault Busters, which is a useful Partizan PA for clearing mobs relatively fast.

Relevant Photon Arts you should be looking for:

Spoiler!

Assault Rifle
Piercing Shell (situational)
One Point (situational)
Diffuse Shell
Homing Emission
Impact Slider
Parallel Slider (situational)
Satellite Cannon

Launcher
Divine Launcher
Cluster Bullet
Zero Distance
Rodeo Drive
Cosmos Breaker

Bullet Bow
Master Shot
Penetrating Arrow
Kamikaze Arrow
Final Nemesis
Banishing Arrow
Chase Arrow

Suggested weapons:

Spoiler!

For beginners:

Spoiler!

This is all assuming you extend your weapon, which will benefit you immensely! Extend weapons accordingly to your stat. Extending them too much may make them unequippable for you until you reach the necessary stats required. Stat requirement reduction items can be used to help negate this.

Assault Rifle:
Yasminkov 3000R (ヤスミノコフ３０００Ｒ)
- Potential: Zero Effort (Boosts point-blank attack power by 12%/14%/16%)
Edge Blazer (エッジブレイザー)
- Potential: Immediate Strike (Boosts the effect of Just Attack by 3%/4%/5%)
Funny Bouquet Rifle (ファニーブーケライフル)
- Potential: Crushing Blow (Boosts weakpoint damage by 6%/7%/9%)
Firearms (ファイアーアームズ)
- Potential: Steadfast Reaper (Boosts the effect of Standing Snipe by 7%/9%/11%)

Launcher:
Shot Legacy (ショットレガシー)
- Potential: Crushing Blow (Boosts weakpoint damage by 6%/7%/9%)
Ridultiv (リドゥルティブ)
- Potential: Immediate Strike (Boosts the effect of Just Attack by 3%/4%/5%)

Bullet Bow:
Longbow (ロングボウ)
- Potential: Deadly Breeze (Boosts attack damage during Rapid Shoot by 5%/7%/9%)
Phileas (フィリアス)
- Potential: Fragile Assault (Boosts the effect of Weak Stance by 6%/9%/11%)
Fauve (フォーヴ)
- Potential: Immediate Strike (Boosts the effect of Just Attack by 3%/4%/5%)

For experienced users:

Spoiler!

Rainbow sets (referring to having multiple weapons that specialize in either element and/or killing certain enemies) are usually the way to go from here on, but cost much more money and time. However, if you don't feel like putting in the time/money, then don't get a rainbow set.

Crafting weapons may be ideal in certain situations (i.e. cheaper than getting the upgraded version, more attack than clean +10 weapon but with higher damage variance). Craft weapons accordingly to however you see fit. Questions are always welcomed.

Assault Rifle:
Obtainable by buying from player shop / getting from rare stone shop:

Spoiler!

Rainbow set:

Spoiler!

Costablu (コスタブル)
- Potential: Oceanid Hunter (Boosts damage against oceanids by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Ice
Niphly Tron (ニフリートロン)
- Potential: Dragon Hunter (Boosts damage against dragons by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Ice and/or Dark
Anti Android Rifle (対アンドロイドライフル)
- Potential: Machine Hunter (Boosts damage against machines by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Lightning
Sfera Rain (スフェラレイン)
- Potential: Negative Hunter (Boosts damage against Darkers by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Light
Grizz Rifle (グリズライフル)
- Potential: Native Hunter (Boosts damage against natives by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Fire

Others:

Spoiler!

Arao Cylinder (アラオシリンダー)
- Potential: Zero Effort (Boosts point-blank attack power by 12%/14%/16%)
Flow Petal (フラウペタル)
- Potential: Enraged Stance (Boosts the effect of Fury Stance by 4%/5%/6%)
Bio Triner (バイオトライナー)
- Potential: Immediate Destruction (Boosts the effect of Just Attack by 6%/7%/8%)
Hurio Sniff (ヒュリオスニフ)
- Potential: Crushing Blow (Boosts weakpoint damage by 6%/7%/9%)
Mena Alice (メナアリス)
- Potential: Precision Sniping (Boosts damage at long range by 6%/7%/8%)

Must obtain by farming:

Spoiler!

Yasminkov 7000V (ヤスミノコフ７０００Ｖ)
- Potential: Steadfast Reaper (Boosts the effect of Standing Snipe by 7%/9%/11%)
Heavens Punisher (サルスパニッシャー)
- Potential: Damnation Enforcement (Boosts the power of Satellite Cannon by 8%/11%/14%)
Ares Rifle (アーレスライフル)
- Potential: Maboroshisei Blessing (Boosts power according to photon blast gauge by 4-8%/5-9%/6-10%)

Launcher:
Obtainable by buying from player shop / getting from rare stone shop:

Spoiler!

Rainbow set:

Spoiler!

Neckgenn (ネックジェンヌ)
- Potential: Oceanid Hunter (Boosts damage against oceanids by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Ice
Vibrace Cannon (ビブラスキャノン)
- Potential: Negative Hunter (Boosts damage against Darkers by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Light
Coffin Bunker (コフィンバンカー)
- Potential: Machine Hunter (Boosts damage against machines by 10%/15%/20%)
- Suggested element: Lightning

Others:

Spoiler!

Red Scorpio (レッドスコルピオ)
- Potential: Black Heart (Boosts S-ATK and R-ATK when PP is at 50% or less by 300/340/400)
Blacanis (ブランカニス)
- Potential: Holy Cannon (Boosts the power of Divine Launcher by 8%/11%/14%)
Bio Spat (バイオスパット)
- Potential: Immediate Destruction (Boosts the effect of Just Attack by 6%/7%/8%)
Nemethybren (ネメジブレン)
- Potential: Steadfast Reaper (Boosts the effect of Standing Snipe by 7%/9%/11%)
Final Impact (ファイナルインパクト)
- Potential: Crushing Blow (Boosts weakpoint damage by 6%/7%/9%)
Pristine Lamp Launcher (新光燈砲)
- Potential: Celestial Cannon (Boosts the power of Cluster Bullet by 8%/11%/14%)

Bullet Bow:

Affixes you should be looking for:

Spoiler!

Affixing simulator can be found here!

Soul
Mizer Soul (+30 R-AK, +3 PP): boosts success rate of Shoot and Spirita
Fang Soul (+30 R-ATK, +10 HP, +2 PP): boosts success rate of Shoot
Ran'sa Soul (+30 R-ATK, +20 HP): boosts success rate of Shoot and Stamina
Siorg Soul (+35 R-ATK, +20 HP, +1 PP, +5 DEX): boosts success rate of Stigma
Anga Soul (+20 S-ATK, +20 R-ATK, +20 T-ATK, +4 PP): boosts success rate of Vinculum

Stat enhancement
Shoot III/IV (+30/+35 R-ATK)
Spirita III/IV (+4/+5 PP)
Stamina III/IV (+50/+60 HP)
Ability III (+15 all stats [except PP and HP])
Mutation I (+10 S-ATK, +10 R-ATK, +10 T-ATK, +10 HP)
Stigma (+20 DEX, +5 PP)
Vinculum (+20 S-ATK, +20 R-ATK, +20 T-ATK)
Modulator (+30 S-ATK, +30 R-ATK, +30 T-ATK)
Egg Fever (+10 R-ATK, +5 DEX, +10 HP)
Saint Fever (+10 R-ATK, +5 DEX, +2 PP)
Flict Tiro (+20 R-ATK, +3 PP)
Alter Tiro (+20 R-ATK, +30 HP)

Boost items
Shoot Boost (+25 R-ATK)
Spirita Boost (+5 PP)
Stamina Boost (+45 HP)

How to do:

Spoiler!

Bosses:

Spoiler!

Coming soon!

Time Attacks:

Spoiler!

Coming soon!