Beginner's Guide to PSO2: Class? Weapon? Damage? Support? Answers and more within.
Disclaimer: I have all classes at max level on multiple characters, all with powerful equipment.
I also have experience leading groups and maining full damage and support classes on other well-known MMOs.
However, I'm definitely not the best player out there, so this info is not 100% perfect, accurate or correct.
Be warned that it's mostly my own experiences and opinions.
This was originally posted in reply to a post in the General Discussion section.
Note that it may be a little strange in structure because of this.
This guide is to help answer questions on which class/weapon/playstyle to play as.
It doesn't really go into depth on how to achieve viable setups.
This info is relevant as of PSO2 Episode 3.
Q. I'm new to PSO2 and I've no idea what class to play as.
PSO2 is different from typical MMOs in many ways. It's more of an action game than an RPG.
Classes are significant in that there are skills (talents) tied to them, as well as class weapon restrictions.
In PSO2, you can freely change class (they each have their own EXP), and there are various ways to equip any weapon on any class.
Some weapons also have multiple damage stats on them, which increases the possibilities of mixing and matching.
You can also have a sub-class, which adds a portion of sub-class stats as well as all of the sub-class's skills.
Sub-class is usually used to support and improve your main class's abilities, usually by increasing damage done.
Note that you must have the main or sub class of a weapon to be able to use its special attacks. To use Techs, you must have the main or sub class of Force, Techer or Bouncer.
However, note that if you don't pay real money, you can only have one skill tree per class.
If you screw up with your skill trees, you can always wait for SEGA to distribute an all tree reset pass when they make balance changes.
You don't need to make a new character or delete your existing one.
Also note that you'll only get one Mag per character. Mags are used to augment your stats, which can be used to equip certain things sooner.
You have to pay real money for more Mags. Mags cannot be traded between characters.
In general, Mags should focus entirely on a single attack stat, and maybe some Dexterity (aka, Ability in the JP version, or Aptitude in some other places).
You can't redistribute points that Mags have gained (yet).
Q. I'm not very good at action games...
Don't worry, PSO2 is pretty forgiving. As long as you're playing in a group, you can't really "fail" most missions.
However, you may want to avoid doing Emergency Quests at the highest difficulties if you feel you'll be a burden (eg. dying a lot & poor damage).
You should probably also avoid Challenge Quest, because dying in that adversely affects the entire multiparty.
Class-wise, Bouncer is pretty simple and easy to play effectively. Jet Boots moreso than Dual Blades, I think.
Alternatively, maybe the casters.
I have a few female friends who play PSO2 despite not playing many games, or not playing action games.
They still enjoy it, although they do avoid higher difficulties and some Emergency Quests, so as to not burden anybody.
Q. What's the most overpowered class? I want to deal lots of damage!
There isn't really one right now. The weapon/class balance is somewhat decent.
There are a few combinations that are particularly effective, with the right setup.
They are all somewhat situational. Examples:
- Fire Fo/Te for burst damage, but not for Extra Hard or Ultimate (enemy HP too high).
- Ice Fo/Te or Te/Fo for sustained damage.
- Ra/Br for high damage and good support. Boss-killer, basically. But you need to be good at aiming.
- Te/Hu or Te/Br for wiping out large groups of mobs instantly via overlapping damage.
- Partisan is also pretty versatile and strong, via Volg Raptor and Zenith Throw combos.
- Dual Blades is probably the easiest and simplest powerful melee weapon to play for good results. Not sure how powerful Jet Boots can be.
Q. I want to go full support!
Full support isn't really viable in PSO2. It focuses more on damage.
If you want to "support", you'll want to try and increase your damage and other people's damage.
Well, and you can try to keep them alive.
Q. So what class/weapon/playstyle should I go with?
It all depends on what you personally like.
- Melee tends to be more difficult and tiring to play as, because you'll be constantly chasing enemies and avoiding attacks.
- Ranged requires good aim for maximum effectiveness, but is generally very effective. For those who can't aim well, you can still lock on to most weak points. You'll still need to do some dodging.
- Casters are fragile but dodging with them is easier. You'll still need to do some melee or ranged attacks to recover PP more quickly.
You should probably focus on these points:
- Find a viable attack playstyle you enjoy (ie. a weapon or two, or Techs).
- Find a viable support playstyle you enjoy (ie. Ranger, Bouncer and/or Support Techs).
- After deciding on the above two, try to viably combine what you enjoy most.
Anyway, to help with deciding, the rest of the post will be a quick information dump on classes, weapons, techs and the like.
Q. How about skill trees?
Right at the bottom.
Q. How do I get decent equipment?
Qualia's Acceptable Equipment guide!
Zeig's Crafting Client Orders (COs) - EP3 by EliteFerrex
Q. How do I earn money quickly?
Arksenth's Guide for Poor People to Make Meseta!
That guide is a little outdated. Some Daily Orders now give tons of cash, and there are Extreme Quest orders from Chroto that give nearly a million.
Q. How do you add stats to weapons and units?
Selphea's Affixing 101
Q. Got any Class/Weapon guides?
Dual Blades:
Dual Blade Bouncer Guide Part 1 – Bouncer Skills by Selphea
Gunslash:
On the Art of Gunslashery: Gunslash Guide/Discussion by Maenara
Ranger:
One Shot, One Kill (A Comprehensive Ranger Guide/Discussion) by ReverseSeraf
Gunner:
Gunner Guide Part 1 – Gunner Skills by Selphea
Wand melee Techer:
Techer Guide/Thread 2.0 by Lonely Garuga
Guide on How to Melee TE! by qoxolg and Arksenth (outdated)
General:
The Official Build Thread: Episode 3 - Reboots, Rebalance, and Reprisal, oh my! by UnLucky (outdated)
Classes:
Hunter:
Has the most survival skills, including damage reduction and cheat death. Highly recommended.
Also very good as a subclass for boosting melee and ranged damage (via JA attacks and Fury Stance), but not always the best anymore, depending on what you want to do.
Not good as a subclass for casting Techs, as it doesn't increase Tech damage or utility.
You'll have to level up Hunter if you want to mess around with viable class combos later.
Fighter:
Has two stances that boost damage, depending on whether you're facing the front or rear of an enemy.
From personal experience, the rear stance is highly situational, as most enemy weak points are on their front and if you're soloing then the enemy will nearly always be facing you.
For this reason, you should probably only focus on the front stance.
Also has a skill that boosts damage by up to 15% if you mix attacks in a Just Attack combo (ie. don't use the same special twice in a row).
Ranger:
Has skills (not stances) that boost ranged damage, and long-range ranged damage.
Also has various support abilities, such as throwing grenades that can suck enemies up, or placing traps.
Nobody uses the traps, though.
Primary unique skill is Weak Bullet, which involves placing a crosshair on a target that increases damage dealt to that area by a very large percentage (I forget how much it is now, I think it's 250%).
However, Weak Bullet is only available to Rifles, and while it's loaded you cannot use regular attacks.
Switching weapons loses all bullets and you have to wait for it to cooldown.
If you get a specific skill, you can switch to Launcher without losing the bullets.
Also, a single enemy can only have one Weak Bullet applied.
Note that certain bosses have breakable parts that lose the Weak Bullet crosshair when the part is broken.
In such a case, it's useful to have a secondary Weak Bullet user whilst the primary user cools down.
Weak Bullet is virtually a necessity nowadays. It is useful everywhere.
Gunner:
Has skills (not stances) that boost ranged damage and close-range ranged damage.
Has an active skill called Showtime that temporarily boosts all damage for a short time.
Also has a PP regenerating skill.
Primary unique skill is Chain Trigger, which involves placing a temporary crosshair on a target to build up a combo via normal attacks, and then "finishing" with a special attack that has its damage multiplied based on the number of hits you've accumulated.
Chain Trigger is particularly effective in parties, as other players can contribute to the hit count.
Note that it's very difficult to keep the hit count going, especially on moving targets. The higher the count, the less time you have to continue it.
Force:
Caster main. Mostly increases damage and utility of Techs.
The two popular Tech trees are Fire and Ice. Fire is mostly for high burst damage.
Ice is more viable for general usage. It's much stronger now than it used to be in the past.
Not sure about Bolt Techs, as I haven't mained them since they got nerfed a few years ago.
Techer:
Has skills that makes buffs stronger and a lot easier to manage, by significantly increasing their duration and reducing their cost.
Techer can work as both melee (any melee weapon, preferably Wands) or ranged (guns, Techs, Talis).
Also has several important caster skills, such as Elemental Weak Hit and PP Restorate.
Braver:
Can be good as an overall subclass for any damage type.
Has two stances that boost damage, particularly damage of chargable attacks.
Average Stance is like a weaker version of Fury Stance.
Weak Stance increases damage done to weak points.
Bouncer:
Ability to use Techs for buffing, and has a few Field abilities that can assist.
However, I don't think Fields stack, and their bonuses aren't significant or necessary.
Also, Field means you need to be close to others, which means you should be melee if you intend to use them.
Weapons:
I've no idea what weapons you might like, but I can give you a basic run down of them:
Sword:
Slow, and weak without its Gear, which virtually requires Hunter main.
Most of its special attacks require charging for an extremely long time, which sucks.
Sword Gear virtually nullifies the charge time and increases damage and hits, but takes a while to build and drains quickly.
Still a somewhat decent weapon, and has the ability to guard.
Its dash is slower than any other weapon.
Decent mobbing ability.
Partisan:
Very versatile, and potentially high damage. Can also guard, and has a single long range attack.
Some special attacks require charging for maximum effectiveness, but charge time is very minimal.
Partisan Gear increases damage and range of attacks, and is built by doing poses or holding guard.
Decent mobbing ability.
Wired Lance:
A little slow, but somewhat versatile and powerful. Can also guard, and has a single long range attack.
Most of its attacks involve grabbing and throwing, which can sometimes be a nuisance in parties.
Wired Lance gear is similar to Partisan Gear, but is built and used by doing certain special attacks.
Has a special attack that can suck enemies up.
Decent mobbing ability.
Twin Daggers:
Particularly great for aerial attacking. May be a little difficult to use. Range is not great.
Mostly single target, but has some mobbing skills (Bloody Sarabande).
Its Gear is built by doing the shift action to spin in the air, and it increases damage.
The Gear is reset when you land.
Note that its shift action can be great for guarding.
Knuckles:
Very high single target damage, but very, very poor range. Has trouble with aerial enemies.
Its gear adds a fancy effect to your swings, and increases various attributes of its special attacks.
Has a brief swaying dodge, which can be difficult to time correctly.
Double Saber:
I don't use this at all, so I can't say much about it.
Can deal decent damage, but a little too clunky, IMHO.
Range is not great. Can be decent in both mobbing and for single targets.
Gunslash:
Producer Sakai's favorite weapon. Equippable by everybody. Has no guard.
I personally don't think it's good as a main, but there are some people who are very strong with it.
Has a variety of attacks for all sorts of situations.
I primarily use it to regenerate PP, or for fast travel.
It's also a good weapon to have drop/experience bonuses on.
Katana:
Great for both single and multiple targets. So-so at aerial.
Used to be more powerful, but was toned down. Is still somewhat decent for damage.
Has a very good guard that cancels into attack. Also activates Katana Gear when the gauge is full.
Katana Gear increases damage done, until the Gear drains.
Katana Combat has a skill that grants temporary invulnerability if Braver main.
Katana Combat Finish can wipe out a huge group of enemies with high damage, but has a long cooldown.
Dual Blades:
Takes some getting used to using, but once you get the hang of it it's very easy.
Has a few PAs, but they are versatile and serve pretty much every purpose.
Its Gear shoots projectiles that have insane range.
With Photon Blade Fever, the projectiles deal huge damage.
You should pretty much always use Fever when it's available.
Great for single targets, great for aerial. Decent mobbing ability.
Rifle:
Very versatile, and powerful if you use its special attacks well.
Some special attacks are a little complex to use (Homing Emission).
If you're good at aiming and FPS games, then Rifle will probably be your thing.
Maybe so-so for mobs (relies on Piercing Shell, Glory Rain).
Has a piercing special attack.
Uses roll to dodge. Has no guard.
Launcher:
Slow, but powerful. I feel that it's somewhat situational.
It's perfectly fine to use whilst Rifle is stuck with Weak Bullet loaded.
Decent mobbing ability.
Uses roll to dodge. Has no guard.
Twin Machine Guns:
Mostly close-range damage, but has a few medium-range options.
I feel that it's PAs are kind of a mess and conflict with each other.
Uses roll to dodge. Has no guard.
Has a unique Stylish Roll flip that has high survivability and can be used to move around in the air.
Mobbing ability is so-so.
Has a special attack that can suck enemies up, but it tends to be interrupted by its own hits.
Bow:
Depending on sub, can be used at both close and long range.
Banish Arrow -> Last Nemesis combo playstyle is high risk, very high reward damage.
Has a special attack that can suck enemies up.
Also has a piercing special attack.
Poor PP management on its own. Has so-so mobbing ability.
Rod:
If you want Tech damage, Rods are usually the go-to, unless you have a better weapon.
Not great at regenerating PP (via its melee).
Uses Mirage Escape to dodge. Has no guard.
Talis:
For ranged casting. Takes some getting used to using.
Generally weaker casting damage than Rods. and Wands (I think).
If you main Talis, you should get the Force Skill that boosts thrown Talis damage.
Affects some Techs in unique ways (eg. Na Foie's fireball will drop straight down).
Uses Mirage Escape to dodge. Has no guard.
Wand:
Slightly slower at casting.
Mostly used for its melee ability, which, if you have the Wand mastery skills, can deal HUGE damage via normal attacks.
However, Wand whacking tends to be exceedingly brain-numbing.
Wand Gear will trigger an explosion off regular attacks. This explosion can overlap and stack on enemies.
To make maximum use of it, you should use Zondeel to suck enemies up so that a single swing will trigger multiple overlapping explosions.
Has no guard. With Wand Lovers, you can toggle between Step Dash and Mirage Escape.
Jet Boots:
I don't main these, so I can't say too much about them.
Pretty simple to use. Can cast Techs in the air, which allows you to hover.
Can double jump, and multiple air dash, which makes them a necessity for aerial movement.
Not the best option if you want to main Techs. Decent mobbing ability.
Its Gear changes the current element of its attacks. Shift resets the element (and also dodges).
You change the element by casting a Tech. Does not apply to certain Techs (mostly support ones).
Techs:
Quick rundown of Techs. You'll want to customize these, as you get effects like wider range, less casting time, less casting cost, etc.
They all come with pros and cons, though. Note that customization has a shitty success rate, and can eat up a lot of time and money.
Aim for level 3 customizations, don't even bother with anything below that.
Most Techs share the same basic properties. Here's a quick list:
- Long-range single-target focus attack, which is usually great when paired with lock-on. Some of these have AOE damage. Examples: Grants, Ra Foie, Sa Barta, Na Megid.
- Long-ranged projectile attack, sometimes with AOE, and all with varying properties such as speed, piercing or range. Examples: Foie, Barta, Zan, Megid.
- Short-range attack with some AOE ability. Examples: Sa Foie, Gi Barta.
- AOE attack. Not much to say about these. I think GiZan may knockdown. Examples: Gi Foie, Ra Barta, Gi Zan, Gi Grants.
Some Techs have infinite range when aimed with Z-aim (eg. Ra Foie, Ra Zan, Grants, Il Barta).
Some are instant, and some have lag. Some have so much lag that they cannot hit moving targets (eg. GiMegid).
Some are precise with their hitbox, and others are not.
There are some other Techs that function differently, such as Sa Zonde (applies damage over time when detonated by a Bolt damage Tech).
Here are some of the others that don't fall into the above categories or are notably useful:
Resta:
Heals. Can be used uncharged on yourself for a small desperate heal.
Shifta:
Boosts damage done, and if you have Shifta Critical, it boosts critical rate too.
Note that critical just means "ensures maximum damage of damage range", unless you have the Fighter skill that increases critical strike damage.
Note that Jet Boots has a special attack that casts this.
Techer's Shifta Strike skill will further increase damage done during Shifta by 10% of total damage.
Deband:
Boosts defense, and if you have Deband Toughness, max HP.
Note that Jet Boots has a special attack that casts this.
Anti:
Cleanses debuffs, such as poison. The item Sol Atomizer does the same thing.
Megiverse:
When within range of the effect it creates, any damage you deal will heal you.
Faster than Resta, and can be used uncharged. Very useful if you're a melee main.
Zanverse:
Adds some Wind damage to any attacks done within its effective range.
I never use this. Note that Jet Boots has a special attack that activates this.
Zondeel:
Sucks enemies in. Very, very useful for being efficient.
However, risky as it sucks them to you. If you're not tough, using Zondeel from a Talis is recommended.
Note that casting a Bolt Tech within range of Zondeel will cause it to detonate, turning it into an AOE attack and nullifying the suck-in effect.
Ra Zan:
Quick and easy way to knockdown enemies. Recommended on Sub Palette for easy accessibility.
Use this after a Zondeel to reduce the chances of getting hit after sucking enemies in.
Il Zan:
Think ranged tunnel Zondeel. Can be useful in some situations.
Note that some Techs are also used to put bosses into a favorable state, because they have a higher chance to inflict an elemental debuff.
Examples include:
- Il Grants, to stun Biblas.
- Detonated Zondeel, to stun Elder or Arms.
- Zan and Sa Zan, to stun and open the core of Luther.
Popular/Viable Class Combinations:
Some quick examples to get you started:
Hu/Fi, Hu/Br, Hu/Bo. Fi/Hu, Fi/Br, Fi/Bo. Br/Hu, Br/Fi. Bo/Hu, Bo/Fi.
Various popular melee weapon combinations.
Fo/Te, Te/Fo:
Fo/Te is the primary caster combination. Te/Fo is only if you really need to.
Force is better for Techs (slightly faster, more damage).
Tech is better for support, but not as powerful as Force.
Te/Hu, Te/Br, Te/Fi:
Melee Wand combinations. Te/Hu for survivability, Te/Br for more damage.
I haven't tried Te/Fi, but the Techer Wand guide says it's viable.
Ra/Hu, Ra/Fi, Ra/Gu. Gu/Hu, Gu/Fi, Gu/Ra, Gu/Br:
Ranged weapon/Twin Machine Guns combinations
Note that Ra/Gu and Gu/Ra are weaker in terms of damage output.
Braver subclass is only if you feel confident to hit weak points (particularly headshots).
I've personally never tried Fighter as a ranged sub.
Ra/Br, Br/Ra:
For high risk high reward Bow damage.
But also versatile as it can use Rifle and Launcher.
Requires some skill to consistently hit weak points (including headshots).
Note that Ranger main is preferred as it has better main class skills.
Anything, Ra:
Only use this if you're afraid that there won't be anyone else competently using Weak Bullet, and you REALLY want to level your main.
Skill Trees:
Here are my current all-purpose recommended skill trees. Feel free to shift points around based on your preference.
I won't go into detail about why I picked what, as that'll take up way too much space. Maybe another time.
Note that if you don't intend to use a class as a main, you can redistribute main-only skill points into skills like PP Up.
Caster masteries are pretty straight forward if you want to go Ice or Wind. Just get Ice or Wind Mastery 1 and 2 instead
Increase survival skills if you REALLY feel you need them, BUT in general, don't get skills for things that you can get via equipment (eg. Atk, PP and HP from equipment, not skills).
Skill points should primarily go into stuff that you can't get otherwise.
Don't get any Gears or masteries that you don't intend to actually use.
Hunter
Fighter
Ranger
Gunner
Force/Techer (Caster)
Techer (Wand)
Braver (Katana)
Braver (Bow)
Bouncer (Dual Blade)
I didn't include Jet Boots because I don't have a Jet Boots main.
I don't feel that I know enough about them to give such advice.
Credits:
- LonelyGaruga (some advice)
- Terrence (suggestion)
- Various sources including this forum and the JP swiki.
I'm sure I've forgotten some stuff, but there you go.
Hope that helps.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by TaigaUC
Connect With Us