Phantasy Star Online 2 – Condensed Ranger Guide (Skills, PAs, Weapons etc.)

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

Guide to Rangers

Please note: all credit goes to Courage!

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 and poor close-range options.
  • Poor Blight Round placement makes you a liability to everyone.

Skill Build

Core Skills

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!

Only one marker can exist on an enemy at a time!

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.

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 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.

Subclass Choices

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.

Summoner

  • Base: +32.3%
  • Summoner’s Mark & bonuses: +75.7%
  • Great single target damage when applying Summoner’s Mark, 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.

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.

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.

Recommended Rifle & Launcher 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 option to avoid damage, or kite/chase targets.

Steady Shot

Fires 12 shots that can almost laser targets over medium distances. Great as a sustain option, but the long animation holds it back as a top DPS option.

Piercing Round

When used in the air, it becomes a quick-firing projecile that can hit twice for fast damage.

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.

Weapons, Armors & Skill Rings

Weapons

Armor

Level 1-50

Weapons Barrier

  • “Good enough” armor pieces for early game until level 40+, which is when it quickly falls off.

Hiei Set
  

  • Great bridge gap alternative when you’re looking for better armors to use.
  • Each piece gives +40 HP, +3 PP & various resists, the set granting +60 all ATK & 10 PP for a grand total of +120 HP, +19 PP, +60 ATK & +9% various resists.

Level 50-75

Brisa Set
  

  • Solid mid-level gear that boasts +50 HP & +5 PP per piece, granting +70 all ATK, +80 HP & +5 PP when all 3 are worn.

Ray Series
  

  • Endgame armor set that boasts 50 HP, 9 PP, +25 all ATK & +315 all DEF at +10 grind. This set is upgradable later on, and will last until early Episode 5, so hold onto them.

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.

Volodymyr Azimoff
About Volodymyr Azimoff 15056 Articles
I love games and I live games. Video games are my passion, my hobby and my job. My experience with games started back in 1994 with the Metal Mutant game on ZX Spectrum computer. And since then, I’ve been playing on anything from consoles, to mobile devices.

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