Shoot to Kill! A Condensed 2021 PSO2 Ranger Guide

A write-up on PSO2 Ranger that describes their skills, PAs, weapons, and more.

Introduction

Updated for Episode 6 & Level 100 cap!
Hello, and welcome to Ranger! As this is a condensed version of my guide, you'll have to head on over to https://somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com/ for full write-ups, details, and explanations on some topics covered today.

Changelog

Jun 2nd 2022

• The site that calculated PSO2's weapon damage was taken down, so it had to be removed. Sorry!

Feb 3rd 2021

• Updated skill builds for 100 cap.
  
• Added Luster to Subclass Choices
  
• Updated Weapon Flowchart

Jan 24th 2021

• Updated Weapon Flowchart (Ep6 NA).

Dec 6th 2020

• Added Etoile & Phantom write-ups.
  
• Updated skill tree for 95 cap.

Nov 27th 2020

• Added TRAILBLAZER to the recommended units
  
• Updated recommended S-Grade Augments... but really just check the site for the full recommendations.[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Nov 23rd 2020
NA in Episode 6 will more or less match JP's, so I'll be adding charts that include JP terms too.

• Added Ep6 weapon chart
  
• Updated NA weapon breakdown to match JP's

Analysis

Rangers are the middle/long-ranged damage dealers with supportive capabilities. They focus around shooting weak spots to suppress huge threats with their Assault Rifle, or lockdown groups of enemies with their Launcher. Their biggest asset, Blight Rounds, provides a +20% damage for allies attacking marked areas, making them great to have around in raids.

Strengths

• The class trainer is a crazy kill bot!
  
• Easy to pick up; Ranger offers solid damage from most distances, proper positioning and aim increases it further
  
• Rifles offers numerous options for single target damage, Launchers offer strong AoE/burst damage.
  
• Blight Rounds increases everyone’s damage by +20%, very useful to have.
  
• Strong PP recovery options with Ranger’s traps/grenades.

Weaknesses

• The class trainer is a crazy kill bot!
  
• Hard to master; maximizing DPS requires good positioning, aim, and familiarity with Ranger’s kit.
  
• Must use both Rifles and Launchers to be optimal, as either weapon can’t replace each other.
  
• Frequent use of manual aim will be expected (especially with Launcher) to maximize effectiveness (Sorry controller players!)
  
• Vulnerable to enemy aggro; has issues with close-ranged battles
  
• Poor Blight Round placement makes you a liability to everyone.

Skill Build

Core Skills

Current Build for 100 Cap[arks-layer.com]

Skill Priorities

Dexterity Up LV3 -> Dive Roll Shot > Advanced Precision Hit 1 LV5 > Mobile Fire MAX > Stationary Fire 1 LV5 > Stationary Fire 2 LV1 > Stun Grenade & Gravity Bomb > Upper Trap (Optional) > Max Tactical Trap (get Tool Mastery LV1 as pre-req) > Blight Rounds LV6 > Ammo Maintenance > Keep Roll Shoot

Then max the remaining skills in order:

1. Advanced Precision Hit 2
   
2. Stationary Fire 2
   
3. Stationary Fire 1
   
4. Blight Rounds
   
5. Sharp Shooter

Skill Explanations

Blight Rounds
Loads all Assault Rifles with this bullet (max 6 rounds at level 10, 90s cooldown). Firing a bullet applies a marker on the enemy's body/part that lasts for 18 seconds, boosting their damage taken by +20%. This skill also activates Advanced Precision Hit, which is another +32.25% damage boost for Rangers!
Notes:

• Only one marker at a time can exist on an enemy!
  
• Special rounds replaces your normal attacks! You'll need to do dodge roll attacks (roll and attack) with Keep Shot learned, or swap to a different weapon type to preserve bullets.

Ex Trap
EX Trap effects:

• All trap's AoE range increases.
  
• Stun & Gravity Grenade's animation sped up, throwing range & effectiveness improved.
  
• Upper Trap's damage boosted by ~2.47x (~2.058x without 1 SP into Tool Mastery).
  
• Poison Trap applies a DoT which is ~1500 power notation; not affected by Tool Mastery.

With EX Trap, having Tactical Trap maxed is almost mandatory as this free 85 skill greatly improves all traps/grenades effectiveness.

Advanced Precision Hit 1 & 2
You deal more damage when shooting weak points. +15% for both passives, which means +32.25% damage boost when both are maxed.

Stationary Fire 1 & 2
Gain a damage boost when activating attacks when stationary. With both maxed, it's a +43.75% boost when you start any attack while standing still. Do note that it takes one second for this effect to apply.
Special Note: Stationary Fire works in the air too! You need to completely stationary however, which certain attacks can activate. Video coming soon :tm:

Mobile Fire
Gain a damage boost while moving. A simple +25% boost when maxed, and this will always apply as long as you don't stand still for a second.
Both Mobile & Stationary Fire bonuses are checked on activation, and carries throughout the animation. Watch the video below to learn more:

Tactical Trap
Dealing damage with traps & grenades restores a percentage of your max PP. This skill is very good for recovering & sustaining PP, as it restores +20% of your max PP per hit, when maxed! Combined with Stun Grenade and Gravity Grenade, Ranger can upkeep their damage in most situations.

Ammo Maintenance
Main class only
Keep loaded bullets when swapping to different weapons. Self-explanatory.

Keep Roll Shoot
Shooting while rolling/dodging lets you preserve bullets loaded. Useful to have so you don't accidentally consume Blight Rounds.

Read more on skills here[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Subclass Choices

1. Etoile
   Base: +49.5%
   Tech Arts Count Bonus (TACB, +15%): +71.9%
   A potent alternative to Hunter; Etoile subclass ranks as one of the best for Ranger due to two big reasons:
   
   • 70% damage reduction from Damage BOUNCER makes Ranger durable enough to take 1 or 2 big hits
     
   • Standing Massive allows for uninterrupted DPS opportunities while stationary, which Ranger does naturally. This is a real time buff and activates mid-animation!
   Damage BOUNCER however reduces all external healing sources by 100% outside of consumables, leaving you vulnerable to attacks and/or losing out on DPS while healing. Additionally, Etoile subclass requires Rangers to play more methodical due to TACB and Damage Balancer especially in higher difficulties, which can be overwhelming for newcomers.
   Etoile subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
2. Hunter
   Fury Stance & Perfect Attack: +61.4%
   Consistent damage at any distance when using Perfect Attacks. Coupled with great survival skills like Auto-Mate Half (auto healing when dropping below 50% HP), Iron Will (75% chance to survive a fatal hit), and Massive Hunter (ignore flinching and gain damage reduction while active), Hunter is one of the best subclasses for Ranger.
   Hunter subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
3. Summoner
   Base: +32.3%
   Summoner's Mark & bonuses: +75.7%
   Great single target damage through Summoner's Mark (a separate debuff marker) in exchange for weaker mobbing damage, similar bulkiness to Hunter and access to Techniques allows you to buff and heal, but heavy micromanagement involved due to the added button presses and more.
   Summoner subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
4. Luster
   Base: +50%
   Voltage bonus: +65%
   The jack-of-all-trades subclass. The defining trait to Luster sub is its Voltage mechanic; racking up stacks allows for great benefits like immunity to status effects, auto-Shifta & Deband, and passive damage reduction, while boasting a respectable damage boost for both Ranger weapons and Gunslash | Gunblade! The added mechanic does require some micromanagement, as you don’t gain any bonuses if you cannot build Voltage at all.
   Luster subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
5. Fighter
   Valiant Stance: +54% (+77.1% with conditionals)
   Wise Stance: +75.5% (+101.8% with conditionals)
   Glass cannon specialist; Fighter boasts one of the highest on-paper damage. In practice? Fighter loses to Hunter and Summoner in most cases since most fights have bosses facing you, and constantly juggling conditionals among other factors will make you lose DPS in the long run.
   Fighter subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
6. Phantom
   All Attack Bonus Ph (+30%), Photon Stream (+10% at 200 PP): +43%
   Phantom sub opens up a lot of opportunities for a new tech usable subclass and is the only subclass to give Ranger more usage out of critical builds. Having two of its multipliers tied to base PP pool does require around 200+ to be able to perform optimally. Being a tech sub, it has access to buffs, Zanverse, heals and defensive options like Nabarta-0 to help with damage and survivability.
   Phantom subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]
   
   
7. Braver
   Basic Stance: +26.5% (+39.2% with charged attacks)
   Precision Stance: +48.5% (+63.4% with charged attacks)
   In a nutshell, Braver is an inferior Hunter subclass. With only a +2% damage difference with Precision Stance vs Fury Stance, and Basic Stance being outright terrible, Braver doesn't have much to offer compared to other choices.
   Braver subclass skill tree[arks-layer.com]

Techter, Force and Gunner is strongly not recommended on Ranger due to low damage% modifiers. If you still want to run them in endgame content, then good luck!

Read detailed write-ups here[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Recommended PAs

Rifles

• Positron Blast
  Main boss killer against huge targets. Easily bursts down bosses as it hits up to 5 times. Has 2 charge levels, and requires 3+ ticks to land for it to beat most options.
  
• Impact Slider
  Your other boss killer. Fast damage that hurts like a truck, and you also can't be hit while sliding.
  
• Slideburst Crafted
  When crafted, Slideburst becomes your best dodging option as the start-up animation gives you a ~1s window where you can't be hit. Alow lets you kite/chase targets when held, and air usage lets you activate Stationary Fire for the next attack if you're completely still.
  
• Steady Shot
  Fires 12 shots that can almost laser small/fast targets over medium distances. Great as a sustain option, but because of the long animation it loses to Positron Blast/Impact Slider in DPS situations. Air usage lets you activate Stationary Fire for the next attack.
  
• Piercing Round
  Fires a slow, moving projectile that can hit twice. When used in the air, the animation speeds up greatly, making it a good DPS option in some cases. Air usage also activates Stationary Fire for the next attack.

Launchers

• Divine Launcher Crafted
  When crafted, this projectile becomes a chargable nuke that will annihilate anything caught in it.
  
• Triple Shot
  A cost-efficient version of Divine Launcher that cleans up stragglers left alive. Has good reach.
  
• Cosmos Breaker
  Fires an ultra-slow grenade that, when it explodes, slowly expands and hitstuns anything caught in it. Best used by firing it towards the ground/point-blank.
  
• Rocket Rodeo Crafted
  When crafted, you ride your Launcher like a motorcycle while held. Run them over!
  Also a decent single target DPS option, but you'll get yourself killed using this.
  
• Photonic Laser
  While held, fires a laser that can clear lines of enemies. Also a decent single target option. Eats PP fast!

For a detailed breakdown frames, PA damage, costs, etc., check out this link here, courtesy of Spin Cycle: Link[docs.google.com]

Read more about PA write-ups here[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Weapons, Armors, Skill Rings, etc.

Mag

Standard 200 RNG Support.

Weapons

KLAUZ = Cras
AGILE = Ayer
RIVERLATTE = Liberate
OOFstere = Austere
TRAILBLAZER = Lightstream
Names with + on them denotes Redux/PLUS upgrade version

Armor

Level 1-50

Just use anything really.

Level 75+

Stella Walls

Free poverty 12* units that you get from reaching level 75 as any class! (Obtainable from the title counter) They're entry level so don't expect much.

KLAUZ Series

Rear: Offers HP+70 PP+15 ATK +120
Arm: Offers HP+220 PP+15 ATK +60
Leg: Offers HP+40 PP+30 ATK +80

Atlas Series


Offers HP+100 PP+11 +90 ATK (per piece)

TRAILBLAZER Series


Offers +100 HP, +16 PP & +65 all ATK per piece.

Novel/RIVALATE Series



Offers:
HP+180 PP+3 +40 ATK (Novel per piece)
HP+60 PP+15 +75 ATK (RIVALATE per piece)

Skill Rings

• Launcher Non-Weak Bonus (L)
  When maxed at +20, this skill ring makes it so Launcher's attacks apply 100% of Advanced Precision Hit on non-weak points, which translates to constant +32.25% damage. Max this ♥♥♥♥ ASAP.
  
• Precision Blight Rounds (L)
  Turns Blight Rounds into a hitscan attack instead of a projectile.
  This ♥♥♥♥ is OP, cuz what it actually does is give Blight Rounds wallhacking properties if you're locked onto something, so it can't miss.
  
• Perfectionist: Ranged (R)
  Gain a damage boost when above a certain HP% (+3% damage when above +75% HP at +20). Rangers usually don't get hit when sitting at the back, so this is one of the best options to use.
  
• Critical Strike: Ranged (R)
  Gain +20% critical rate and +3% critical damage.
  Best used on Etoile/Phantom subclasses.

Recommended Skill Rings to install onto 12* units

• Leaping Dodge (L)
  
• Mate Lovers (L) (non-Hunter subclass) or Atomize Fanatics (L) (Hunter subclass)
  
• Precision Blight Rounds (L) or Launcher Non-Weak Bonus (L)

Recommended S-Grade Augments
Uhhh, there's lots that I can't fit here, but my opinion?
Rifle:
S1: Goliathslayer's Resolve | Augment Will (if 7+ slot weapon) | Aggressive Will
S2: Goliathslayer’s Resolve | Precision Will 1/2 | Aggressive Will | Photon Descent
S3: Aggressive Will | Precision Will 1/2 | Photon Descent
S4: Mettle of the Rested (Atlas Rifle) | Photonic Trap (Atlas Launcher) | Photon V Adaption (Atlas Partizan)

Launcher:
S1: Augment Will (if 7+ slot weapon) | Aggressive Will
S2: Aggressive Will | Precision Will 1/2 | Photon Descent
S3: Aggressive Will | Precision Will 1/2 | Photon Descent
S4: Photonic Trap | (Atlas Launcher) | Photon V Adaption (Atlas Partizan)

S4 Lifesteal should be avoided unless you have lots of issues surviving.

Read the rest of the recommendations here[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Read more about weapons, armors & skill ring choices here[somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com]

Conclusion

The content written here are all personal opinions based on playing Ranger in PSO2 JP for the past 6 years. It's okay to disagree with some choices written here, and that's fine! My goal here is to inform players about the choices they can make, before making educated ones for themselves, because at the end of the day, what matters most is having fun.

And yes, you may have noticed that I've been shilling referring to the guide at https://somethingaboutlagging.wordpress.com/, and I do recommend checking it out if you like to learn more about Ranger, as this is only a glance of my full guide located above.

Credits

• Spin Cycle, for helping to edit, proofread, and contribute to the guide, and being an all around cool dude.
  
• Aida Enna for PSO2 Tweaker, Arks-Layer, and various resources.
  
• SynthSy for being a cool dude too.
  
• And you, for reading our guide and providing feedback, thanks!

[i wish i wasn't here right now!]

@Hunting Achievements

Sadly I wouldn't be able to make one; affixing is a complicated topic for me to discuss, and I wouldn't know the current efficient recipe for endgame units.

[DRIFTER]

Would you be interested in making a "affix for dummies" guide? Literally the recipes of what to smash together for endgame units only, as efficiently as possible. No explanations needed.

[admontblanc88]

Excellent.

[masonhusk]

I use this guide all the time. The layout and simplicity of this guide is unmatched. Thanks for putting this together.

[i wish i wasn't here right now!]

@Tim
Minimum subclass level is having them at 85 if you want to use it for endgame content, otherwise max level would be preferred for the stats/skills to learn if any.

Atlas Launcher is pretty outdated at this point, I personally run Rivalate Rifle and Trailblazer Launcher as I also play Phantom (Rifle) on the side.

[tim]

Awesome guide Courage, I'm struggling a bit with the hunter levelling at 78 - (Using sigma launcher to try to level up.) I'm currently 80 ranger. Is there an optimial level for the sub class use or is it max level? Also just done the even to get the 3 end game weapons. Is it worth getting the Atlas launcher and then for the rifle a rivalate or trail blazer? Thanks again for the awesome guide

[Chris_Chocobo]

But im Lv95 Ranger / Hunter. I put the skill points like in this guide, and the unused point on Dexerity Up. Im going to level up Braver at least and see if i can equip the set. Thanks!

[i wish i wasn't here right now!]

Trailblazer units are like level 80+ units due to their high DEX requirement, and unfortunately leveling DEX in your skill tree is a mistake (unless you have a skill reset lying round).
You can also try leveling Braver & Bouncer to level 75 for the title rewards that gives +60 DEX (in total) to all your characters.
http://www.bumped.org/psublog/pso2-class-boost/

[Chris_Chocobo]

I followed this guide except from the augments. Im getting the 13* parts of Trailbazer units but i cant equip them because i dont have enough Dex. Any help? i wasted the rest of SP points on rising Dex but its not enough.

[Blue Jet Lightning]

nice info