The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (Full Version)

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Jdilla -> The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/2/2014 11:36:59)

The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide



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Note: This guide was recently updated to reflect the changes to the Game Engine. If you're not sure what the deal with the update is, follow that link and then read on. The biggest changes are: (1) aside from some old misc items with a 1-time mana cost, 0 INT builds can no longer use items that require mana; and (2) END is now a relevant stat again. We've got around 2.5x as much base HP as we had prior to the update and monster damage has been adjusted accordingly, but healing spells/pets/effects haven't been modified. That means that base HP (which comes from END) is now much more valuable.

For a while after I took over this guide, I felt more like its custodian than its owner. This guide has been managed by a lot of people over the years, each of them put a lot into it, and what they came up with deserves some respect. But with the changes that I've made, and still need to make, since the patch, I'm starting to feel more like it's my own, and I'm going to do more of what I want with it. Having said that, my goal isn't to spread my ideas, it's for the guide to be as complete, accurate, and helpful as it can be. So if you see something I've missed I'm happy to discuss in the comments or by PM, and only slightly less happy to admit that I'm wrong.

Before we get to the start of the guide, there are a couple of preliminary points we should go through. First, while prior versions of this guide may have toed the line between guide and walkthrough, I view this as a guide. That means that I'll try to explain, in general terms, the most effective ways to build, itemize, and play as a Ranger. This guide won't take you step by step through your build path and itemization, and it also doesn't include any quest-specific or monster-specific suggestions. That part is on you, and if you're having trouble there are other areas of the AQ forums where you can find help. This guide will go through some good Ranger builds, explain how those builds should be itemized and played in a general sense, and identify the best available equipment for those builds.

There's also a relatively new feature of AQ that's hugely convenient, and if you've been away a while you may not have heard about it: Guardians can now upgrade items through their account page. There's some basic info here, but unfortunately the forum post that link directs you to for more details no longer exists. To upgrade an item, go to battleon.com and click 'Manage Your Account.' Log in, click on the link that says 'Shop Item Level Upgrading,' and you're good to go. If you've been away for ages, you may not know that you can also rearrange your inventory (sort order) from your account page, but the main draw here is the item upgrader. Any item that's not part of a MC set - including permanent rares - can now be upgraded in this manner.


Index:



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To get to a specific section, simply use CTRL + F. In the screen that pops up, put in the following codes for the desired section. To return to this index, enter URG000.

[URG001] : Index
[URG002] : Stat Fundamentals
[URG003] : Stat Formula
[URG004] : Ranger Stat Builds
  • [URG101] : Pure Ranger
  • [URG102] : Ranged Hybrid
  • [URG103] : Beastmaster Ranger
[URG005] : Armors
  • [URG201] : No-Drop Armors
  • [URG202] : Class Armors
  • [URG203] : Armor Selection
[URG006] : Weapons
  • [URG301] : No-Drop Weapons
  • [URG302] : Custom Weapon
  • [URG303] : Weapon Set-Ups
[URG007] : Shields
  • [URG401] : No-Drop Shields
  • [URG402] : Shield Progression
  • [URG403] : Compression Shields
[URG008] : Spells
  • [URG501] : Guests
  • [URG502] : Healing, Damage, and Utility
[URG009] : Pets
  • [URG601] Damage Pets
  • [URG602] Utility Pets
[URG010] : Miscellaneous Items
  • [URG701] : Elemental Resist Miscs
  • [URG702] : Player Damage Boosting Miscs
  • [URG703] : Healing Miscs
  • [URG704] : Utility/Compression Miscs
[URG011] : End Notes and Helpful Links
[URG012] : Credits
[URG013] : Change Log



Stat Fundamentals:



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What do stats do?

Strength: STR increases melee and ranged damage as well as melee BtH.

Dexterity: DEX has several effects: (1) it increases melee, ranged, pet, and guest BtH; (2) it increases your odds of blocking incoming attacks; and (3) it increases ranged damage, though it contributes less than Strength to ranged damage.

Intelligence: INT increases your base Mana, your damage and BtH with magic weapons, and your damage and BtH with spells.

Charisma: CHA contributes as much as DEX to pet and guest BtH, and also increases your pet and guest damage.

Endurance: END increases your base Health.

Luck: Like DEX, LUK has many effects: (1) it increases melee, ranged, pet, and guest BtH, though by smaller amounts than DEX does; (2) it increases your odds of blocking incoming attacks, though by a smaller amount than DEX does; (3) it increases your lucky strike damage; (4) it increases your odds of going first in battle; and (5) it increases your odds of inflicting and resisting statuses.

Where do I train my stats?

There are two ways to train (and untrain) stats. One is through the estate system. If you own a Battle Stat Trainer, you can train STR, DEX, and END for a reduced price (and untrain for free, without a fight). If you own a Magic Stat Trainer, you can do the same for INT, CHA, and LUK.

You can also speak with Twilly in Battleon to visit the Stat Trainers. Bear in mind that the stat cap for any one stat is two hundred at the moment and that specialization trumps generalization.

Combat Practice: This trainer is simply a Drakel Sword Master that can be used to test out new equipment. He gives you no gold and no money for beating him and, since you can simply randomly encounter a monster to test against, his usefulness is limited. Still, if you want a straightforward creature to battle, pay him a visit.

Sir Lanceler: Lanceler is the general stat trainer -- he can train any stat up to 75 points. If he has enough MP, he leads with a fire spell (or two); he then deals exclusively earth damage.

Neberon the Mage: Nebron can train your INT, CHA, and LUK up to 200 points. Depending on which stat you choose to train, you'll fight under certain restrictions: when training INT and CHA your 'attack' button is disabled; when training LUK your miscs (as well as potions) are disabled. Nebron leads with a spell that'll deal either energy or water damage (randomly selected) and deals earth damage once he's out of MP.

Grimweld the Warrior: Grimewald can train your STR, DEX, and END up to 200 points. As with Nebron, you'll fight under certain restrictions when training STR and DEX (but not END); when training STR your spells are disabled, and when training DEX you're limited to ranged weapons. Grimewald will deal either energy, earth, or light damage (randomly selected).

Training Costs: No matter how you train your stats, the costs of doing so are outlined in this chart.

Sir Pwnsalot: Did you accidentally train something that you did not want too? Perhaps you want a different build than you intended originally. Well, too bad. That is no problem for the Untrainer! He does, however, reside in a domain accessible first by encountering Death. Simply click on the hourglass adjacent to Death once you die and wander around his domain searching for purple portals until you encounter the grave of Sir Pwnsalot. Click on said grave and let your un-training begin. If you have already done this and are a Guardian, you can access Sir Pwnsalot via the Guardian Tower Teleporter. And if you own a Battle Stat Trainer, you can untrain STR, DEX, and END in bulk with the click of a button. If you own a Magic Stat Trainer, you can do the same for INT, CHA, and LUK.

Sidenote: For those looking to untrain their stats in bulk, click on Sir Pwnsalot's jaw before fighting him. This will dramatically increase his power and speed up the untraining process.



Stat Formulae:



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Stat Damage Bonus (Per 100% Stat Damage)

Melee: STR/8 + LUK*3/80
Ranged: STR/10 + DEX/40 + LUK*3/80
Pets & Guests: CHA/15

Stat Bonus to Hit (BTH)

Melee: [STR*(3/40) + DEX*(3/40) + LUK/40]
Ranged: [DEX*(3/20) + LUK/40]
Pets & Guests: [CHA*(3/40) + DEX*(3/40) + LUK/40]

Blocking Ability

Blocking Bonus from Stats: [DEX/8 + LUK/40]

HP, MP, & SP Formulae

Player HP = [23.8 * ((5.25 + 0.5625 * Level + 0.00375 * Level^2) + (1 + 0.066 * Level) * END/16)] / 1.4
Player MP = [4.1 * (32 + (6.1 + 2.3375 * Level + 0.01125 * Level^2) * MIN(1, INT / MIN(Level * 2.1462 + 5.7076, 200)))]
Player Max SP = [2.25 * (38.1 + 2.3375 * MPLevel + 0.01125 * MPLevel^2)]
Player SP Regeneration = [0.15 * (38.1 + 2.3375 * MPLevel + 0.01125 * MPLevel^2)]

Player Fleeing Cost = Monster's Current SP (capped at 150 SP).

Visit Kaelin's Master List of Game Formula for these and other helpful formulae.



Ranger Stat Builds:



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There are many ways to play AQ and many goals you might have while playing. Some want to level up quickly; some like to war endlessly; some want to role-play a specific build; some are willing to trade speed for efficiency; the list goes on. The most important part of choosing a build is selecting one that suits your priorities. That's probably the most important piece of advice contained in this guide. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. So as you read through this section, try to find a build that looks like it suits your preferred play style.

With that said, you're probably here because you're interested in Ranger builds. While there is no active Ranger class in AQ, a Ranger build is one that utilizes ranged weapons. So that means you're going to want plenty of DEX since DEX factors into both ranged BtH and damage, in addition to its contributions to blocking and pet/guest BtH. You'll want 200 DEX, and it'll likely be among the first stats you max out. Nearly all Ranger builds will also feature STR because it's the stat that's primarily responsible for ranged damage. Many Rangers will want 200, and nearly all will want at least 150.

From there, you can begin to branch out. LUK is the third and final component of ranged damage, and it also has many other useful functions, so some Ranger builds feature a large amount (150+) of LUK. On the current patch, though, LUK is relatively weaker than END, so the builds suggested in this guide opt for END over LUK. END increases your base HP which, with healing no longer as powerful as it once was, is extremely valuable, especially to those who prefer offensive playstyles. CHA increases pet and guest damage, so those who favor a more defensive style - as well as those who favor a riskier, annihilator style - will want to train CHA. And training INT - making you a Ranged Hybrid - would open up the possibility of using powerful spells.

In the rest of this section, I'll go through some of the common Ranger builds. Bear in mind that the suggested stats for each of these builds are not rigid, and that not every viable Ranger build is included. Also, here is a chart of your assumed stats by monsters you face. You can judge for yourself how useful it is, but I found it here and it seems like it's worth keeping.



Pure Ranger:
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A Pure Ranger aims to end up with 150+ STR, DEX, LUK, and END at L150. The most common variant shoots for 200 STR/DEX/LUK and 150 END, but other variants are viable as well. Pure Rangers make good use of offensive play styles, though they can also be effective when played defensively. The fact that they have high STR, DEX, and LUK means that they can do large amounts of damage quickly using skills and offensive armor attacks, while high END will allow them to comfortably survive taking 125% damage. But they can also deal very solid sustained damage, and high DEX, LUK, and END would make them nearly impossible to beat in a defensive armor. As such, they can either use low proc weapons (with offensive armors) or 100% proc weapons (with defensive armors).

Pure Ranger is a solid overall build that's strong in both wars and challenge battles. 150+ END allows Pure Rangers to use extremely offensive styles of play (items such as Algern's and CIT - if you're not sure what those are, I'll get there) safely during wars or while leveling up, and the fact that they won't need to use pets and guests means their battles will be quite quick. 150+ END will also make many challenge battles more manageable. The tradeoff for these strengths is the lack of a secondary damage stat - CHA or INT. That tradeoff is mitigated, however, if you have the Thernda Pet and/or Guest, which boost your Ranged damage based on your DEX stat. If you pick up Therndas, Pure Ranger is the build for you.

Suggested End-Game Build (L150): 200 STR/DEX/LUK, 150 END
Suggested End-Game Build (L135): 200 STR/DEX/LUK, 75 END



Ranged Hybrid:
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Ranged Hybrids should shoot for 200 INT as well as at least 150 STR and DEX. You'd then want to split your remaining points between LUK and END depending on your preferred play style. If you prefer to play defensively, you may be able to get away with 0 END. But if you prefer an offensive style, you'll likely want at least some.

Traditionally, most people have preferred to play Ranged Hybrids offensively. FO armors, low-proc weapons, and powerful spells make for a solid combination of burst and sustained damage. However, while powerful armor attacks and skills synergize well with FO armors, spells work best with FD armors (since they are not affected by the lean), and it's generally not practical to carry an armor of each lean for each element. Because of the synergy between spells and FD armors and well as the symbiosis between FD armors and 100-proc weapons, Ranged Hybrids can also be played defensively.

Finding the right balance of LUK and END to fill out your build may take some time in this new environment, but once you do a Ranged Hybrid build can be extremely powerful and flexible. A Ranged Hybrid build will give you close to the best of both worlds. With 200 INT/DEX and 150 LUK, your spells will pack a punch. And with 200 STR/DEX and 150 LUK, you'll hit hard with your ranged attacks. This flexibility means that the Ranged Hybrid can excel against a number of different monster styles and in a wide variety of environments (wars, farming, challenge fights). However, because this is a Hybrid build, it can't fully specialize as either a Mage or a Ranger, so Ranged Hybrids are slightly weaker spellcasters than most Mages and weaker attackers than most Rangers. That makes this a somewhat less forgiving build; finding the right balance of stats to suit your play style will determine your success in harder fights as a Ranged Hybrid.

Suggested End-Game Build (L150): 200 STR/DEX/INT, 150 END
Suggested End-Game Build (L135): 200 STR/DEX/INT, 75 END



Beastmaster Ranger:
[URG103]
A Beastmaster Ranger (BMR) uses DEX and CHA as its core stats, so BMR's aim for at least 150 of each. From there, most BMR's spread out the remainder of their stat points between STR, LUK, and END. CHA is an offensive stat, primarily, but it has defensive capacities as well (healing and effect pets). It's a less offense-focused stat than STR or INT, but it's probably more offense-focused than DEX, LUK, and END. Prior to the swap to Game Engine 39, most people opted for CHA as a 4th stat after maxing DEX, LUK, and either STR or INT, and many chose to max CHA over DEX. On Game Engine 39, though, both DEX and END have received significant buffs.

BMR builds specialize in sustained damage. Offensive BMR's deal among the highest sustained damage of any build, making them great in long quests. However, offensive BMR's will struggle in some challenge battles if they don't build END. Defensive BMR's sacrifice damage per turn for efficiency of a different kind, utilizing FD armors and 100-proc weapons to take 80% incoming damage while dealing 90% with weapon attacks as well as 100% with pets and guests. While that's theoretically appealing if you don't mind a slower playstyle, at the moment there isn't enough FD-oriented gear for this build to compete with FO builds. FD-oriented compression and MC equipment, especially armors and weapons, are lacking.

Suggested End-Game Build (L150): FO - 200 STR/DEX/CHA, 150 END
Suggested End-Game Build (L135): FO - 200 STR/DEX/CHA, 75 END




Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:14:14)



Armors:
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No-Drop Armors:
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quote:

                  
                    Dark
              Water      Earth
           Ice                 Fire
               Wind      Energy
                   Light

  • Good: This is the way your armor is elementized. If you picked Fire, Fire is your "Good".
  • Ally: These are the two elements that are closest to your elementization on the element wheel. For example, if you picked Fire, your Allies are Energy and Earth.
  • Neutral: These are the elements that are two spaces away from your elementization. For Fire, they'd be Light and Darkness.
  • Poor: These are the two elements that are closest to your "Opposite" resistance. For Fire, they'd be Water and Wind.
  • Opposite: This is the element opposite your elementization on the element wheel. For Fire, that would be Ice.

    • Leather Armor vs. Steel Plate
      • These are the Adventurer no-drop armours. Both are neutral armours and have flat resistances. At higher levels you generally don't ever want to use them, and even at lower levels you shouldn't use them unless you must. If you picked up the Spear, you can make some use of the Leather Armour's full set bonus which gives all ranged attacks a +7% damage boost. Steel Plate's full set bonus is an additional 6 BtH to your melee attacks. At lower levels, if your STR is at least as high as your DEX, you can make good use of melee weapons and this BtH bonus can be helpful, especially if you feel you aren't hitting monsters often enough.

    • Guardian Leather vs. Guardian Plate
      • These armours are a significant improvement over Steel Plate and Leathor Armor, especially since you can choose the elements they focus on. Leathers has a 10% damage increase for ranged weapons if you wear the full guardian set. I encourage you to elementize to something and use Guardian Spear coupled with Guardian Leathers. After you get the Awe weapon be sure to upgrade to one of the other Guardian no-drop armors (below) as they are much better.

    • Deft Armor of Awe vs. Mighty Armor of Awe
      • The Armours of Awe are mid-defensive, and both the Mighty and Deft versions provide heals. So if you want a defensive armour, go with the Armour of Awe Series. Mighty is better for builds with low DEX and LUK, as it heals a small amount of HP each turn. High DEX and LUK builds should get Deft instead since they have a decent chance to block, which triggers Deft's large heal.

    • Deft UltraGuardian Leathers vs. Mighty UltraGuardian Plate
      • When paired with a melee weapon, Mighty is one of the top offensive armors around. Deft has a slightly more accurate attack, though a slightly weaker one to compensate. Rangers will likely prefer Deft, since when you use a ranged weapon with it, its second attack has a chance to paralyze the enemy.




    Class Armors:
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    Class armors can comfortably carry you through your first 75-90 levels, and several are useful even beyond level 90. As such, you'll likely spend much of your time in the early levels training various classes. There are four tiers of class armors with Tier 1 intended for L0 to L30, Tier 2 intended for L30 to L70, Tier 3 intended for L70 to L90, and Tier 3.5 intended for L90 to L120. Higher tier classes require you to train up to a certain level in one or more lower tier classes before you begin your training.

    On Game Engine 39, many class armors are no longer usable by 0 INT builds because their skills cost MP. I'll still include those classes in the guide since they may be useful for Ranged Hybrids, but I'll label the ones that shouldn't be used by 0 INT builds with an M.

    One other thing that's worth mentioning here is that Wizard's class armors are, by far, the best in the game. They can easily and quickly carry mages through their first 90 levels, and some have even trained up to level 120 and beyond using only Wizard class armors. They're not nearly as useful for rangers, but if you're looking for a quick and (relatively) easy way to level up, Wizard class armors are just about all you'd need as a Mage.

    Tier 1 Class Armors:


    Tier 1 Armors are the foundational classes, as many further classes require levels in one or more of these classes in order to commence training. Whether you're a Guardian or Adventurer, you can train them up all the way to level 10, although only Guardians can use the top 5 skills (gained at levels 6-10).

    Fighter: Fighter Armor
    While this armor's skills aren't super powerful, it's worth training in its own right as well as because it acts as a prerequisite for further classes.

    Mage: Mage Robes M (Mana required for effective use)
    Ranged Hybrids will love these for their elemental skills, while 0 INT builds should not train as Mages. Mage also acts as a prerequisite for several other classes, though none of them are usable by 0 INT builds.

    Rogue: Rogue Outfit
    This class armor has a few skills that can boost your damage and accuracy that are somewhat useful early on, so it's worth training. It's also a prerequisite for some good classes. It'll have some limited utility at later levels due to its ability to summon a Black Cat. This Black Cat has a unique ability: for each monster attack there is a chance it will jinx the monster, inflicting a BtH penalty equal to your rogue level. If you're in Rogue/Ninja armors this penalty is increased by an additional half your rogue class level ("Strongly Jinxed!"). With your Rogue level maxed, monsters would have a BTH reduction of 10%, which is the equivalent of +10 blocking, or 15% (equivalent of +15 blocking) in rogue/ninja armor.

    Scholar: Explorer's Outfit
    The skills from this class won't be good for too long, but there is one particular skill that will be very good and interesting: Zard Prism. In the very beginning of the Game, when you're below L30 or so, you won't really need a strong attack so Scholar's attack is acceptable. You can use Zard Prism to change your weapon's element, meaning that all you'll need is one strong weapon and you're good to go for quite some time.

    Tier 2 Class Armors:


    Tier 2 contains many armors with an assortment of interesting skills, and some with one or two of those unique abilities that will prove very useful even at higher levels. They are made to last until L70, but quite a few of them have uses up until and well past L100. Tier 2 classes also function as stepping-stones to Tier 3 classes, oftentimes requiring a certain degree of training in these classes to move forward.

    Beastmaster: Primal Garb M, Feral Garb M
    The primary selling point of the Beastmaster class is the ability to summon two elemental guests at once for Guardians or one guest for Adventurers. But while these guests have no SP or MP upkeep, they cost MP to summon. For that reason, these class armors will be of little use to most Rangers.

    Berserker: Berserker Hides M
    Berserker Hides' abilities, unfortunately, cost mana, so they're not an option unless you're a Ranged Hybrid. If you are, Berserker is a very useful offensive class, but it should be used with care. Its damage increases as your HP decreases, reaching its peak damage when you're below 25% HP. When you reach that point, its damage is massive, but if you get caught off guard by an SP skill, you could easily find yourself owing Death a favor. I expect that when this class is swept, its skills will be modified to cost SP, but until then, this is a strong class for Ranged Hybrids only.

    Dracomancer: Dracomancer Armor M
    Dracomancer is another class that's only usable by those with some INT, but 0 INT builds aren't missing out on a ton here. This class is rather lacking at the moment; the main selling point here is Great Dragon L8 which costs a lot of MP with a sizable chance of failure. It grants you access to Harm damage, which would be nice aside from the fact that Assassin is more efficient in that regard. Beyond that, the L4 ability is solid for wind damage, but that is about it. The L10 skill is decent but consumes too much MP to be worth-while.

    Dragonslayer: DragonSlayer, Elite Dragonslayer, Golden Dragonslayer, Golden Dragonslayer Eclipse
    This armor is mainly used to combat dragons, as the name suggests. It has several fun abilities for you to play around with. However, picking this up as an adventurer is definitely not advisable. The skills which are extremely popular as well as deadly include Cripple Dragon!, lowering the monster's STR and DEX, therefore lowering its accuracy and blocking capabilities (NOTE: This skill works on dragons as well as regular monsters), Daze Dragon and Dragon's Blood which stack with Dragon Strike, as well as the final ability, Dragonheart Strike. After this class was swept, Dragon Slayer became a far more useful armor. Elite Dragon Slayer is better suited to combat regular dragons whereas the Golden Dragonslayers are more armed against Undead/Were variants of dragons.

    Knight: Squire's Training Armour
    Knight mirrors Martial Artist in that, once the basic training is complete, there are four paths to choose from. The class armors are mid-defensive, and you are able to further tighten your defenses through learned skills. On the offensive end, Knights generally seek to weaken or incapacitate the opponent through status conditions. Training as a Knight is worthwhile for rangers primarily for two reasons. First, the mid-defensive class armors are a good option at early and mid levels to cover two elements (which elements it covers depends on which type of Knight you train as). And second, each subclass offers a powerful 100% proc bow that is a solid option at all levels for 100% proc users and is the best 100% proc end game fire weapon. The subclasses also each offer misc items as well as a lance that may be useful to certain builds.

    Martial Artist: White Gi
    This is one of the largest classes yet, containing four divergent schools of thought that each possess unique abilities. You don't need to train all five schools, as your level in one school carries over to the others. These classes area fair bit stronger on Game Engine 39 as their SP skills can now be used more often. With this in mind, let's examine the usefulness of each school for Rangers:
    • Ancient Spirit Gi M will only be useful for Ranged Hybrids as several of its abilities have significant MP costs.
    • Serpent Fang Gi is a good defensive armor. It has good defenses, and abilities which boost its defenses even further. It has a few poison and counterattack skills, which combined with the good defense, makes it great to tank in since you can heal up and still do some damage. It's best used by those with high DEX and at least some LUK.
    • Mountain Cudgel Gi is a powerhouse with low accuracy, much like a Troll. The usefulness of this school is situational, with strategic skills that can Daze and Stun.
    • Swift Talon Gi resembles a Gogg, which is essentially a glass-cannon which favors quick and powerful attacks but has weak defenses. It can be useful if you need to do a whole lot of damage quickly, but you won't want to stay in it for long.

    Ninja: Shinobo Shozoku
    This revamped class offers several useful abilities which cost SP. Smoke Bomb decreases your foe's BTH for 4 turns; Dragon Double raises your defense modifiers by 5 each for one turn and will counter-attack your foe if he misses. This class also has the passive Merciless ability, which has a chance to strengthen some of your skills, which can be quite deadly if used correctly with some luck. Sacred Duality is an attack which allows you to attack with any 2 of the 8 elements, which is very versatile. The passive Ninja Evasion ability boosts your defensive modifier according to your foe's attack, and caps at 3. The Vampire's Bite skill can paralyze your opponent for 1 turn, and finally, the Ninja Death Strike ability is an interesting one indeed. Alone, it is rather weak, but combined with the passive Merciless ability, this attack creates great synergy. Overall, an excellent class for mid-level rangers that's only gotten stronger on Game Engine 39.

    Pirate: Swashbuckler's Raiment M, Sea Scourge M
    These classes are in an odd place for Rangers at the moment. Their skills, which focus on wearing down your foe with status conditions, work best for defensive, 100-proc Rangers. The Rotten Jolly Roger ability is a three-hit attack and, if at least one hit connects, it can make your foe Afraid for 4 rounds (25% chance). The Cannon Fodder ability deals solid fire damage and the Grog 'n Flog ability can Burn your foe, or leave him bleeding via flogging. The L9 Plunder can steal 1 HP and 1 MP potion from your enemy which is nice in certain situations. Finally, the L10 Davey Jones' Locker can Entangle your foe. But while these skills would primarily be useful for defensive Rangers, they cost MP and as such are only an option for Ranged Hybrids. If you're a Ranged Hybrid and you'd like the ability to play this defensive, status-based style, these classes can work well for you.

    Shadowslayer/NightHunter: ShadowSlayer, NightHunter

    These classes are similar to Dragon Slayer in that they specialize in killing a specific monster, in this case: Werewolves, Vampires and other Darkovian Monsters. They provide excellent Earth and Darkness resistance for their levels and offer a wide variety of skills for dispatching foes. ShadowSlayer is the more offensive armor, with a skill (Throw Weapon) which allows you to choose from a variety of different weapons that specialize against different kinds of monsters. NightHunter, on the other hand, is more defensive, boasting the ability to summon guests and use a plethora of status-effect skills to bog down and kill the enemy. Shadowslayer will be more useful for Pure Rangers and Ranged Hybrids, while Nighthunter may be more useful to BMRs.

    Wizard: Wizard Robes M
    The revamped Wizard class is by far the most powerful in AQ at the moment, but it's not usable by 0 INT builds. The L3 Summon Elemental ability will call a guest of the element of your choosing, chosen by clicking on an element on the elemental wheel at the top. These guests consume a bit of MP each turn, but are very manageable for Guardians via the L8 Dharana ability. Dharana in Generalist's Robe takes 22 SP and, in turn, replenishes 257 MP. Adventurers will miss out on this greatly, but Guardians will love Dharana as it will allow them to regenerate MP to heal themselves or to sustain their MP guests. The real selling point of these armors, though, is their spell-boosting power, which is immense. Ranged Hybrids will love this class and should train it as soon as they can.

    Tier 3 Class Armors:


    Tier 3 Armors are intended for players from L70 to L90, although these classes have uses far beyond that and may be trained way earlier than L70 in the case of Necromancer and Paladin. You must be L70 in order to start your Assassin training, though.

    Necromancer: Necromancer Cloak M, Obsidian Cloak M
    This is an excellent class for Ranged Hybrids but is no longer usable by 0 INT builds. Undead Giant and Undead Mutant are two offensive skills that provide a ton of early game damage - 5x and 10x your weapon's damage, respectively. Undead Giant only costs 30 MP and is available to both adventurers and guardians, while Undead Mutant costs 125 MP and is guardian-only. These skills are a great source of early game damage, though they fall off as you progress because they don't factor in stat damage. Later on in the game, the Necromancer's Fear skill, which can lower monster M/R/M, will be somewhat useful. This is another class that Ranged Hybrids should train early and use often.

    Paladin: Holy Armor M, Golden Holy Armor M
    Like Necromancer, Paladin is a very solid class for Ranged Hybrids but can't be used by 0 INT builds. Bless Weapon is a skill that is ideal for finishing off creatures with high M/R/M due to its 80 BTH, although the attack itself is rather weak. Summon Daimyo provides an earth and light guest that also heals your HP and MP a bit each turn. It has no upkeep, so it's a nice option to have. Perhaps the most notable skill is Lay on Hands, which gives you a full heal (HP and MP). Though it is useful if you're in a tight spot, it requires 90 charges and you accumulate one charge a turn. Holy Might and Holy Light are also very powerful light skills, and are especially useful against undead foes. Paladin is more situational than Necromancer, but it's another class that Ranged Hybrids should train early on.

    Assassin: Whispering Raiment
    Assassin is one of the most popular classes released due to not only the satisfaction of having completed such difficult and arduous class training and the superb storyline, but also because of all of the amazing abilities. It provides you an initiative boost, which increases your chances of going first in battle. Its first offensive skill is Dual Wield, which can be devastating when your class level is maxed, effectively providing you with bonus damage with a cheap SP Cost. Yajuu Dageki is a nice source of Harm damage. It can be deadly when coupled with Dual Wield, although it is successful only 40% of the time. Death From Above requires charging up bolts, but it's incredibly powerful, particularly the Rain of Disaster which can inflict Prismatic Burn on the opponent.

    Zetsubou Dageki, which can also deal Harm damage, is more reliable than Yajuu Dageki; however, it takes quite a chunk of SP to use, maybe not always connect, and takes three rounds to be effected once it does connect. The Finishing Blow has four abilities, and they're all fun to use; however, you'll find the most use in Stalwart Solitude and Assassin's Creed. Stalwart Solitude is a buffed up Dragon's Double, providing an amazing counterattack, though it is most reliable for those who have high DEX and LUK. Assassin's Creed is usually used for a gamble or a quick and easy kill. Its success rate is pretty low, depending on the monster, but it's a good skill for quick farming.

    The Assassin class is significantly more powerful on Game Engine 39 as its powerful SP skills can be used far more often. While Assassin training is extremely difficult, the armor is well worth the effort. In addition to the skills mentioned above, it grants you a large initiative bonus, greatly increasing your odds of attacking first in battle.

    Shapeshifter: Shapeshifter Forms
    Shapeshifter is the first class with L135 and L150 tiers, and it is also useful at low and mid levels. There are both guardian-only forms, which are MC, and forms that are available to all, which are not MC. Each armor is accessed through a spell that transforms you into the appropriate form. This spell cannot be cast before the battle starts, though. This class will - in general - be most useful to Pure Rangers, as Beastmaster Rangers and Ranged Hybrids will have other demands on their spell slots. At low to mid levels, you can use these forms to fill armor gaps, as there is a limited selection of armors available during the early levels.

    In order to make effective use of this class at the level cap, you'll need to do something about the first turn of battle. If, for example, you use Stone Golem Form as your only Earth armor, you may end up having to tank an Earth spell on the first turn of the battle in a sub-optimal armor. One way to deal with this is to use an armor with a 44% secondary resist - such as Wyrm Knight's Hide. If you're using Wyrm Knight's Hide as your primary fire armor, you can take advantage of its 44% Earth resist to open up an extra armor slot by using it as your first-turn Earth armor before swapping to Stone Golem Form. Another option - if you're looking to carry several Shapeshifter Forms - is to carry Whispering Raiment as your general first-turn armor. Its initiative bonus will allow those with high LUK to all-but-guarantee going first.

    This class opens up interesting end-game possibilities for Pure Rangers. Since they are likely to have an abundance of free armor slots, they can cover several elements with both offensive and defensive armors. That will allow them to, for example, tank a monster's SP skill or MP spells in a defensive armor before swapping to an offensive armor to take it down. This class, as you can see, has many strategic uses.



    Armor Selection:
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    For this section, as well as for the remainder of the guide, I've decided to move away from the traditional 'progression' model. That is, rather than giving you a progression of the armors you should pick up for each lean/element at successive levels throughout the game, I'm going to be listing the best available options in each sub-category as well as some good gap-filling equipment. So, for example, instead of this:

    Z-Blade Scythe Replica (10G) -> Blazing Glaive (16G) -> Sariel's Vigil (22) -> Blazing Glaive (38G) -> Sariel's Vigil (52, 72G) -> Spear of Agony's Chains (83G) -> Sariel's Vigil (92) -> Mature Dragon Knight's Fang (105) -> Sariel's Vigil (112, 126, 132G) -> Wyrm Knight's Fang (150G)

    You'll now see this:

    The Spear from the Dragon Knight Series will be your best end-game option. Sariel's Vigil and Blazing Glaive are useful gap-fillers.

    I believe this format will be just as helpful to those searching for equipment while also being simpler, clearer, and easier to maintain. Having said that, the Armors section won't need to change much. For the most part, you'll want to pick up a Mastercraft (MC) armor for each element at around L75 and then upgrade that when available until you hit the level cap. As I mention above, class armors can carry you through the first 75 levels or so. During that time, it would behoove you to experiment with different flavors of equipment so you get a sense of which sort of armors you prefer - offensive, defensive, or neutral. Those who prefer offensive armors should pair them with weapons that have low special rates, while those who prefer defensive armors should pair them with 100-proc weapons. You should aim to have a full complement of armors - including coverage for each element - by around L75 since there is a palpable increase in difficulty during the middle stages of the game.



    Getting Started

    In the very early going, you can rely on Scholar class armor's zard prism skill to swap your weapon's element to the monster's weakest resistance. Aerodu Armor and Werepyre Form are two good options for early-game offensive armors. Those training some INT will find Mage robes useful in the early going, as its elemental skill will do decent damage. Ranged Hybrids will also find Berserker to be a useful class. All rangers should train as a Knight and specialize to a subclass. Knights have access to a good armor, a good bow and lance, and a pair of good miscs, each of which specializes to certain elements depending on your subclass.

    You can pick up Nighthunter/Shadowslayer armors at level 30, so you'll likely want to begin training there around then. If you're planning to train as a Necromancer and/or as a Paladin (INT requried for both), I'd recommend starting early - you can pick up basic versions of both armors at level 38 that will be useful for a long while. Ranged Hybrids should also be able to pick up Wizard Robes around this time. And I'd also recommend that all Rangers train as Ninjas.

    With a Nighthunter/Shadowslayer armor, Shinobo Shozoku, and a specialized Knight armor, you should be in good shape. If you find yourself fighting dragons often, training as a Dragonslayer would be a good idea. It also wouldn't hurt to train as a Martial Artist now that SP skills can be used more frequently. When you hit level 70, Dracopyre of Night is a nice pickup, and you can train as an Assassin as well.

    While you can get by with class armors for a while, if you'd rather not spend the time completing class training you could also pick up the basic elemental armors available in Yulgar's. These armors are nothing fancy; they're neutral lean armors with no bells or whistles, but they'll get the job done. Their availability gives you greater flexibility in terms of when you should start questing for Mastercraft Armors. My general recommendation is around L75; while some are available before then, the quests to unlock them are long and at low levels you'll outgrow them quickly. If you want to wait until L90 or later, though, that's fine too. You can explore the encyclopedia's armor section and find equipment that works for you, using the armors in Yulgar's to fill any gaps you may have.

    When you decide to start questing for Mastercraft armors, you should make sure to have an armor, weapon, shield, pet, and misc item for that quest. You can purchase an appropriate armor and shield from Yulgar's and you can check out the weapon and misc sections below for information about the best available equipment.



    Fire

    Offensive

    Guardians: Overlord Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Overlord Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    Defensive

    Guardians: Dragon Knight Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Dragon Knight Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)



    Water

    Offensive

    Guardians: Black Pirate Costume (79, 99, 119, 129, 139G, 149G)

    Adventurers: Black Pirate Costume (79, 99, 119, 129)

    Note: The seasonal rare WHEEL (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G) is the best option here for Adventurers and Guardians since Black Pirate Costume's attack is partially locked to water. If you don't have WHEEL, you will probably wish to attune your no-drop armor to water. You could also pick up a Snide Misc, but if you do, keep in mind that you won't have a first-turn water armor (unless you also grab a pirate costume).

    Defensive

    Guardians: Flawfish (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G)

    Adventurers: Flawfish (70, 90, 110, 130) -> Llyr's Druid (135)

    Note: LLyr's Druid (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G) may be a better option for Ranged Hybrids, though other than L135 Adventurers, those with 0 INT would be better off with Flawfish.


    Wind

    Offensive

    Guardians: Horde's Series (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G)

    Adventurers: Horde's Series (70, 90, 110, 130)

    Note: The seasonal rare Tyrannochicken Rex Rider is a better alternative -- it's a multi-hit FO armor with good secondary resistances and a powerful skill.

    Defensive

    Guardians: Fujin Plate (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Fujin Plate (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)



    Ice

    Offensive

    Guardians: Horo-Show Series (68, 88, 108, 128G, 133, 148G)

    Adventurers: Horo-Show Series (68, 88, 108, 133)

    For Adventurers, Castigator's Doctrine (120) is a viable gap-filler between L108 and L133. And if you know you won't want to use the skill, you can skip the MC and save some gold with Void Vigilante.

    Defensive

    Guardians: Horo-Show Series (68, 88, 108, 128G, 133, 148G)

    Adventurers: Horo-Show Series (68, 88, 108, 133) or Nemesis Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    The best defensive Ice armor for both Adventurers and Guardians is the seasonal rare ReignDragon Rider (75, 95, 115, 135, 150G). If it's not in season, though...

    For adventurers, the Nemesis series is noticeably better than the HSVV series defensively. But the HSVV series has a far stronger attack as well as a strong skill and is on the old armor lean system, so your incoming damage is not multiplied by 1.25. For that reason I'd generally suggest sticking with the HSVV series, but if for whatever reason you prefer the Nemesis Series it is a good option for adventurers. Since there's no L150 Nemesis Armor, though, Guardians should stick with HSVV.

    Note that if you generally use 100-proc weapons, you'll want to pair HSVV with a low-proc fire weapon. 100-proc users could also consider aligning their no-drops to Ice, since Spear of Awe (Ice) can be used with Wyrm Knight's Hide (due to its *.9 lean) if you'd rather not quest for a temporary 100-proc weapon.



    Earth

    Offensive

    Guardians: Morningstar Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135) -> Ep-Pig (145G) -> Chimeran (150G)

    If you picked up the seasonal rare WHEEL (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G) for water, you can use it for earth as well -- its skill is useful against a fairly large number of earth monsters and the compression is nice as well.

    Adventurers: Morningstar Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    Defensive

    Guardians: Earth Dragon Form (76) -> Bland Truphma Suit (83G) -> Expert Hunter (94) -> Truphma Suit (106) -> Peerless Hunter (119) -> Deadly Hunter (134G) -> Bland Truphma Suit (146G)

    Adventurers: Earth Dragon Form (76) -> Truphma Suit (86) -> Expert Hunter (94) -> Truphma Suit (106) -> Peerless Hunter (119) -> Ancient Dragon Knight's Hide (135)

    Note: If you picked up Doll Form (seasonal rare), it's the top defensive Earth armor and it also edges out HSVV for defensive ice armors. Another option for Guardians is Stone Golem Form (Shapeshifter class). Doll Form is a slightly stronger Earth armor, but Stone Golem can save you an armor slot - you can use Wyrm Knight as your first-turn Earth armor.



    Energy

    Offensive

    Guardians: Taladosian Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Taladosian Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    Defensive

    Guardians: Quester's Heavy Gunner Series (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G)

    Adventurers: Quester's Heavy Gunner Series (70, 90, 110, 130)



    Light

    Offensive

    Guardians: Shadow of Doubt (77G) -> Ultimon's Armor (105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Solaris Series (70, 90) -> Ultimon's Armor (105, 120, 135)

    Defensive

    Guardians: Communicant Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Communicant Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    Note: Those who wish to save a bit of gold and/or an armor slot (by compressing light and darkness) can go with the Shadow of Doubt series for light and darkness.



    Darkness

    Offensive

    Guardians: Shadow of Doubt (77G) -> Ultimon's Armor (105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Nemesis Series (75, 90) -> Ultimon's Armor (105, 120, 135)

    Defensive

    Guardians: Twilight Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Adventurers: Twilight Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135)

    Note: As above, those who wish to save a bit of gold and/or an armor slot (by compressing light and darkness) can go with the Shadow of Doubt series for light and darkness. I would not recommend using an armor from the Nemesis series as your primary darkness armor, as doing so will leave you without an armor to use against the plethora of Shadow monsters out there.


    Utility Armors and Z-Token Options:
    • Rider Armors available in the Guardian Tower (Guardian only) can replace your no-drop armor (note that the armors don't scale with your level, so this is really only relevant at L150). They're available in Fire, Wind, Earth, Light, and Darkness, and are a noticeably higher pLvl than your no-drops at L150 (153 vs. 145). If you use one of these, keep in mind that you'll also be able to set your no-drop element to cover your weakest weapon and shield. They're neutral in lean and non-MC, but if you're not a fan of your no-drop armor -- or if you'd benefit from the ability to set your no-drop element without worrying about your armors -- keep in mind that these are available.

    • Shapeshifter Forms: These are available to both adventurers and guardians, though the adventurer forms are all neutral in lean. They each take up a spell slot and can each summon an armor. Keep in mind that if you're using one of these as your only armor of a certain element, you won't have a first-turn armor in that element.

    • Algern's Carapace: While technically a darkness armor, Algern's Carapace (AC) is not prototypical due to the darkness lock on its attack. This means that, unless you are using a weapon such as a bow that bypasses an armor's inherent properties, you will only deal darkness damage. But, as a result, AC receives elemental compensation that boosts its attack power. AC's skill sacrifices some damage to regenerate your HP. Because it is strongest defensively against darkness attacks and is locked into dealing darkness damage, it is strictly a utility armor; but against certain monsters, it is an extremely powerful armor.

    • Svadilfari's Oath: Svadilfari's Oath (SO) is designed in the mold of AC, but it's an energy armor. SO's skill sacrifices some damage for the chance to inflict paralysis.

    • Fujin Plate: The first and best of a few defensive utility armors, Fujin Plate is extremely strong in several situations. Some carry it specifically for the Wind Essence since it's your best option for that fight, but its utility doesn't end there. For those with high DEX/LUK, if you carry an MRM boosting misc its skill allows you to more or less turn off damage for 3 turns. That's useful against monsters such as Goggs, as well as in many other situations.

    • Shadow of Doubt: This isn't a 'must have', but it may be the best defensive utility armor other than Fujin. It's not worth carrying if you're using Ultimon's and is less useful if you don't have high CHA, but if you do, its skill is a nice option.

    • Neutral No-Drops: I'm a bit hesitant to recommend changing your no-drops to Neutral since for many they still fill a useful elemental gap, and because they'll force you to use a compression armor and shield. But if you're someone for whom that's not a huge issue, Neutral no-drops have their uses. With multi-elemental monsters at their current power level, the armor and shield can both be useful, and if you have a compression weapon UG Scythe is a good utility weapon for offensive Rangers.

    • Generalist's Robes: Generalist's Robes are a very good utility armor for Ranged Hybrids, mainly due to their spell-boosting power.

    • Ebony Sepulchure Form: If you have some Z-tokens to spend, Ebony Sepulchure is a solid investment. There are plenty of other good darkness armors so it's not an essential pickup, but it has a couple of useful secondary resistances (earth and water) and a skill that synergizes very well with any Undead trigger items you might have.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:15:19)



    Weapons:
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    No-Drop Weapons:
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    • Long Sword vs. Short Sword vs. Spear
      • These are the 0% Proc earth default weapon options for Adventurers. Long Sword is the standard weapon while Short Sword has a base and accuracy lean. Spear also has an accuracy lean but it comes with a random lean. If you have more STR than DEX, you'll do more damage with dagger (and with melee weapons in general). But if your DEX is at least as high as your STR, use Spear. Due to their power level being twenty levels below your actual level, look to use compression or temporary weapons that cover earth.

    • Guardian Blade vs. Guardian Dagger vs. Guardian Spear
      • These are the default weapons for Guardians before the Blade of Awe is complete. The style of these weapons parallels the Adventurer counterparts in that Dagger is base and accurate leaning like Short Sword and Guardian Spear is random and accurate leaning like Spear. What is special about this set of weapons is that their elements change every turn. This is not an issue early on, but you definitely want to upgrade to the Awe weapons at your earliest convenience. The special rate on these is only 5%, so they work well with offensive armors. As above, if you have more STR than DEX, use dagger; otherwise, use spear.

    • Blade of Awe vs. Dagger of Awe vs. Spear of Awe
      • The element of these weapons follows your no-drop element with the default element being earth. These have a 10% proc rate, which is below the standard 20%, so they work well with offensive armors. The Awe weapons have a variety of powerful specials. As always, the Dagger and Spear are both preferred over the Blade due to their accuracy leans, and the Spear is preferred if you have at least as much DEX as STR.



    Custom Weapon:
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    With the update to the Custom Weapon Quest, Guardians have an incredibly versatile option at their disposal. Custom Sword, Custom Staff, and Custom Spear provide players of nearly every discipline a viable option to choose from, containing weapon parts that determine level, element, accuracy, and special. For the purposes of this guide, Custom Spear will be the weapon of interest. Unfortunately, this means that 100% Proc Rangers are out of luck.

    Before moving on, Msyu has written a detailed analysis of the multitude of possibilities for the Custom Weapon including how they perform against one another as well as a spreadsheet that readers can use for their own purposes.

    Hilt: The hilt determines the element of a weapon. Which hilt to choose is rather straightforward since the Weapon Set-Ups section outlines the available non-rare options. If there is an equipment gap, that further simplifies the decision. If there are competing options, it becomes an issue of style.

    Handle: The handle determines the accuracy of a weapon. If element alone cannot adequately determine which hilt to choose, it often boils down to how accurace of a weapon is best suited for your build. Most Rangers will be pure builds, so end-game accuracy should not be a large issue. Especially with misc. items such as Scope and Pendant that boost accuracy, you may opt to choose a handle that better balances accuracy and damage rather than heavily favoring accuracy. On the other hand, there is a large pool of monsters with pure builds, so opting for an accurate handle can free up your misc. slot for an item that favors power more heavily. In no situation would I recommend choosing a handle that heavily compromises your accuracy, though. Non-pure builds have a more narrow pool to select from as they should opt for handles that boost accuracy.

    Gem: Gem determines the proc rate of your weapon. Which gem is most effective is contingent on what armor you are in while you use your weapon. If you favor an offensive leaning armor, a weapon with a high special rate will only slow you down. Accordingly, if you have a defensive leaning armor, you should invest in weapons with higher proc rates since the special attack should eclipse your regular attack.

    With that being said, there are further options that inflict a status on your opponent. Shining gem is capable of burning your opponent and thus doing damage over time while Glowing gem inflicts paralysis. If your opponent is already burned, the burn is enhanced. With a standard proc rate of 20%, Shining and Glowing gems are useful for those with a more defensive style of play. Those with offensive leaning armors will prefer the lower proc rate gems.



    Weapon Set-Ups:
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    Those who want to carry around purely 100% Proc weapons will not find too much help in terms of no-drops, but the Dragon Bow should prove useful since it attunes to your no-drop element when it's not triggered. This is probably more viable at higher levels, but still useful at lower levels if need be. Drakel Tube (4, 24, 44, 64, 84, 104, 124, 144G) is another option that's easier to acquire. Adventurers should look more towards picking up temporary weapons from other sources to replace their no-drop weapons, such as from miscellaneous items. Trakel Harpoon is a good 0% proc option.

    Fire

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: There are two compression weapons with L150 versions available: Maple Piercer, which compresses Earth and is 20-proc, as well as Time-Twisted Eye of Carnax, which compresses Energy and is 10-proc. Alternatively, there's the Spear from the Dragon Knight Series. Sariel's Vigil and Blazing Glaive are useful gap-fillers.

    Adventurers: There are two compression weapons with L135 versions available: Maple Piercer, which compresses Earth and is 20-proc, as well as Time-Twisted Eye of Carnax, which compresses Energy and is 10-proc. Alternatively, there's the Spear from the Dragon Knight Series. Sariel's Vigil, Floss Lance, and Blazing Glaive are useful gap-fillers.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Bow of Stormfallen is the best end-game option, unless you're committed to another Knight subclass. If you are, you can use Drakel Flasher. Quester's VBG is an interesting option as well. All three are good at all levels.

    Adventurers: Firebolt Crossbow is the best end-game option. Flaming Throwing Knives and Drakel Flasher can be used as gap-fillers.



    Water

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: Megalodon Reaper is the best end-game option. Hydro Halberd series can be used as a gap-filler.

    Adventurers: Spear of Lugh is the best end-game option. Hydro Halberd series and Hadal Quindent series can be used as a gap-fillers.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Flying Fish is the best end-game option for those who prefer pure damage and X-Etcher will work for those who prefer an effect weapon. Dank Tome series can be used as a gap-filler.

    Adventurers: X-Etcher is the best end-game option. You could also go with Mega Saturator unless you strongly prefer a pure damage weapon, in which case you could opt for Boatman's Bow. Dank Tome series can be used as a gap-filler.



    Wind

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: From L75 on, Fujin Spear is the best option. Early-mid game options include Guardian First Wind series and Gilt Giant Arrow series.

    Adventurers: From L75 on, Fujin Spear is the best option. Early-mid game options include Giant Arrow series, Captain's Lance, and Aerodu Sword.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Gas Rat Grenade is the best option. If you prefer a pure damage weapon, Aerodu Shortbow is your best bet unless you're committed to another clan, in which case Novel of the Winds is a good option. Paintball Gun is a useful gap-filler.

    Adventurers: Gas Rat Grenade is the best option. If you prefer a pure damage weapon, Aerodu Shortbow is your best bet unless you're committed to another clan, in which case Assailing Blade is a good option. Paintball Gun is a useful gap-filler.



    Ice

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: If you're not using it elsewhere, Custom Spear is a nice option here. Alternatively, Wolf Spear is a good end-game option, and Frigid Spire and IceRazor can be used as gap-fillers.

    Adventurers: Stone Cold Spear is the best end-game option, and Frigid Spire and IceRazor can be used as a gap-filler.

    Note: Stone Cold Spear's special does ice and light damage (50% of each; *1.1 damage as compensation). If you prefer a single element weapon, the IceRazor will be your best bet.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: If you can play as a Werewolf, Lycanbow is the best end-game option. If not, your best bet is Hyberborean Longbow. Icebolt Crossbow and Frozen Dinner can be used as gap-fillers.

    Adventurers: Icebolt Crossbow is the best end-game option. Lycanbow and Frozen Dinner can be used as gap-fillers.



    Earth

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: Chimeran Spear is the best end-game option, but Maple Piercer is a compression weapon (Fire toggle) that will deal slightly less damage because its MC goes towards compression while Dragon Knight Spear's goes towards its Spiritual Seed. Jade Lance series can be used as a gap-filler.

    Adventurers: Chimeran Spear is the best end-game option, but Maple Piercer is a compression weapon (Fire toggle) that will deal slightly less damage because its MC goes towards compression while Dragon Knight Spear's goes towards its Spiritual Seed. Crystal Lance, Rough Luntet, and Centurion Glaive can be used as gap-fillers.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: The best end-game options are Frag Rat Grenade if you prefer an effect weapon (inflicts a stacking bleed) or Gatling Gun if you prefer a pure damage weapon. While you shouldn't need gap-fillers, Morningstar Lionheart and Bac-Gun are worth mentioning.

    Adventurers: From L75 on, Morningstar Lionheart is the best option. Frag Rat Grenade is an option, but it maxes out at L130. Early-mid game options include Crossbow, Bac-Gun, and Throwing Knives.



    Energy

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: Time-Twisted Eye of Carnax, as mentioned above, is a 10-proc compression weapon. Alternatively, Star Screamer is a nice 0-proc option. Energy Dragon Sticker and Hydra's Bite are good gap-fillers.

    Adventurers: Time-Twisted Eye of Carnax -- which also compresses fire -- is your best end-game option. Drill Lance, Ramleon Polearm, and Hydra's Bite are good gap-fillers.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Mjollnir, Oblivinator, and Cosmic Space Gun are good end-game options. JoltJumper Guardian Warbow is a useful gap-filler.

    Adventurers: Asgardian Hammer of Lightning and Oblivinator are the best end-game options. Space Gun is a useful gap-filler.



    Light

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: Osiris Spear is the best end-game option. Gap fillers include Radiant Lucian Spear if you're not committed to another clan, Luminous Spear is your best bet, Wyrm Spear G series and Aristocratic Lance series.

    Adventurers: Osiris Spear is the best end-game option. Gap fillers include Lucian Spear if you're not committed to another clan, Sovereign Lance is your best bet, and Wyrm Spear G.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Flashbang Grenades are the best end-game option and a good option at all levels. If you prefer a pure damage weapon, Guardian Flashlight will work.

    Adventurers: Flashbang Grenades are the best end-game option and a good option at all levels. If you prefer a pure damage weapon, either Lightbolt Crossbow or Morningstar Cross will work.



    Darkness

    Non-100% Proc

    Guardians: From L70 on, Greater Glaive of Victory (Dark) is your best bet. Guardian Crude Spear, Razor Fan, and Goblin Spear (40) are good gap-fillers.

    Adventurers: From L75 on, Twilight Spear is your best bet. Guardian Crude Spear, Razor Fan, and Goblin Spear (40) are good gap-fillers.

    100% Proc

    Guardians: Silent Stars is the best end-game option and a good option at all levels, though Alchemist's Nightmare has a more favorable progression so it is a good option prior to L150.

    Adventurers: Alchemist's Darkness is the best end-game option. Grimstalker series and Thanatos Scythe are good gap-fillers.


    Utility Weapons

    Now that there's a 20-proc compression weapon that costs gold with end-game tiers for both Adventurers and Guardians, Adventurers can now cover all 8 elements without using their no-drop weapon and Guardians can free up a slot for a Utility Weapon. There aren't a ton for most Rangers, though, with Ranged Hybrids being an exception to that rule as they can use items like Healing Branch. For Rangers with 0 INT, one option is Swift UG Scythe. If your no-drops are unaligned its boost is larger, but if they're aligned its attack is a bit more reliable in terms of the element it uses. You could also consider using the one or more of the Rat Grenades. I find the Flashbang Grenade particularly useful.


    Alternative Options
    The following are Z-Token items aimed primarily at Adventurers seeking weapons whose power level is above the L135 threshold.

    Boomstick: L135Z 100% Proc
    Bullseye Spear: L133Z 20% Proc
    Cello Bow: L135Z 100% Proc; seeks between earth and wind
    Ebon Spear: L132Z 20% Proc
    Iconoclast Spear: L132Z 0% Proc
    Meduso Bow: L135Z 100% Proc

    These are two other Ranged weapons worth noting. Knight Lance is a 0-proc weapon whose element depends on your Knight Subclass. And SplitRend Lance is a 20-proc Lance that compresses earth and light.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:16:25)



    Shields:
    [URG007]


    No-Drop Shields:
    [URG401]
    • Adventurer Shield
      • With the hefty power level penalty, Adventurer Shield is extremely limited in utility. It can masquerade as a multi-elemental coverage shield during middle levels, but you will want at least one compression shield to compensate for this consuming an active slot.

    • Guardian Shield vs. Shield of Awe vs. UltraGuardian Shield
      • All three of these shields offer the same defensive modifiers. The primary difference lies in their mastercraft abilities. Shield of Awe's combat defenses increase for one turn if the monster's last hit connected, while UltraGuardian replenishes SP if you block the monster's last hit. Most prefer Ultraguardian shield, since its SP heal is rather large.




    Shield Progression:
    [URG402]

    This section focuses primarily on highlighting the best shields available in each element, as well as some useful compression shields that can make room for utility shields such as Ironthorn. Until around level 75 or so, you can get away with sub-optimal coverage - you could grab a multi-element shield such as Imparted Mogloo. If you prefer single element shields, Yulgar's beginner and intermediate shops carry one of each element that will serve you well at lower levels. Once you start picking up MC armors, you could pick up MC shields as well (they're generally available from the same quest shops), but it's worth keeping in mind that the shields from Adder's Forge (Isle D'Oriens) will be nearly as good and cost far less.

    One other shield that's worth bearing in mind for guardians is Paxian Defender (4, 24, 44, 64, 84, 104, 124, 144). It aligns its elemental resistance to your clan's element (default is earth) and provides a status resistance that corresponds with that element.



    Fire

    Starting at L75, Overlord's Shields will be a good option. Before then, you can pick up Shifter and then Pyro Shield.

    Note: If you have a way to take advantage of its MC (bonus MRM against burnt enemies), Dragon Knight Shields may be a better option than Overlord's.



    Water

    Transmorpher Shield will be a good option starting at L70. For end-game Adventurers and Ranged Hybrids, Celtic Series Shields will be a better option. Before then, you can pick up Shifter and then Drench Shield.



    Wind

    Starting at L75, a Shield from one of the Fujin Series - Fujin Shield or Yata Mirror - will be your best bet. Before then, you can pick up Whirlwind Shield and then Gust Shield.

    Note: Those who prefer shields that offer status resistance should consider Rooted Flora Shield.



    Ice

    Horo-Show Void Vindicator is the best end-game option for Guardians. Nemesis Shields are the best end-game option for Adventurers and can be used as an alternative to HSVV by Guardians until L135. Earlier on, you can pick up Frigid Shield and then Frozen Shield.



    Earth

    From L75 on, Chimeran Champion Shields will be the best option. Before then, you can pick up Plant Shield and then Boulder Shield.

    Note: Those who prefer shields with secondaries should consider Corn Shield, Cheese Shield, and Wheat Shield.



    Energy

    From L75 on, Taladosian Ward will be the best option. Before then, you can pick up Shock Shield and then Spark Shield.

    Note: Those who prefer shields with secondary resistances might consider Drakel Power Shield (end-game Adventurers) or Magnae's Power Shield (guardian only). Asgardian Shields have a secondary ice resistance and an energy skill that costs SP. Those who prefer shields that offer status resistance should consider Grounded Flora Shield.



    Light

    There are several good end-game Light shields, all of which are good options from L75 onwards, including Osiris Ikm, Ethereal Shield, Communicant's, and Arthurian Shield. Those with high CHA (so the turn using the MC skill isn't entirely wasted) and LUK (for the save roll) might also consider Eye of Naab. Earlier on, you can grab Sparkle Shield and then Bright Shield.



    Darkness

    For most builds, the best option from L75 onwards will be the Twilight Shields. Guardians with high CHA and LUK could also consider Undead Terror, and those who prefer shields that offer status resistance should consider Corrupted Flora Shield. Earlier on, you can pick up Adlivun Shield and then Gimokodan Shield.



    Compression Shields:
    [URG403]

    Although it is generally better to purchase a shield for each element, there are utility shields such as IronThorn that may warrant a slot in your active inventory. To make room for such shields, you could pick up one of the compression shields below. Adventurers will definitely seek at least one compression shield to compensate for their sub-par no-drop shield. Knowing which shields offer compression is not always easy and choosing among them is perhaps even more difficult.

    Darkness/Earth: Shadowslayer Shield
    Darkness/Fire: Demon Prison
    Darkness/Light: Daylight Savings Time, Luminous Shield, or Paladin Guard
    Earth/Light: Sackelberry Safeguard
    Earth/Water: Bac-ler, Magnetic Safeguard, or Chameleon Shield
    Earth/Wind: Shield of Sands
    Energy/Wind: Sublime Tower Shield
    Fire/Ice: Fur of Igneus
    Ice/Water: Spell Barricade




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:17:40)



    Spells:
    [URG008]


    Ranged hybrids will want to carry INT based spells for as many elements as they can while also fitting in at least one healing spell and possibly a utility spell. See the Mage Guide or the Hybrid Guide for spell guides (these links will be updated once the guides are moved back into the Active Guides forum). BMRs will eventually want to carry guests for as many elements as they can while also fitting in at least one healing spell and possibly a utility/damage spell or two. For now, though, there are very few SP guests available, so BMRs will have to fill out their spell inventories with the damage, healing, and/or utility spells listed below.

    With the Shapeshifter Class revamp, Pure Rangers now have several additional options to fill out their spell inventories (each spell contains an armor). BMRs and Ranged Hybrids can take advantage of these as well, though they'll likely prefer to fill their spell slots in other ways. For Pure Rangers, though, Shapeshifter Spells can free up slots for utility armors, or they can enable you to carry both offensive and defensive armors for several elements.



    Guests:
    [URG501]

    Fire: Poutine Golem sacrifices some of its damage for an entangle. Salamandr Seed Pack (seasonal rare) is a misc that summons a pure damage SP fire guest.

    Water: None.

    Wind: None.

    Ice: Nezujimbo is your best bet.

    Earth: If you have Friendship Bracelet, you're all set here, as its warrior guest scales to your level. Alternatively, if you have Green Dragon Ocarina (seasonal rare), its DragonZard guest is quite good. If you don't have those miscs, or if you prefer a status-based guest, Mittens is the way to go. It sacrifices about 30% of its damage to passively attempt to paralyze the enemy.

    Energy: Once again, if you have the Friendship Bracelet, you're good to go, as its mage guest scales to your level. If not, Barry Jotter (SP) is your best bet.

    Light: The best options are Guardian Spirit and Guardian Angel Elder, which has a rare HP/MP heal.

    Darkness: Scion is a decent effect guest. Ninja Lawyers (seasonal) cost a bit of gold each turn, but they're a powerful and versatile guest, allowing you to choose between entangling, bleeding, or dealing pure damage to your enemy.



    Healing, Damage, and Utility Spells:
    [URG502]

    Healing Spells: Now that healing spells have been updated, there are three stats that can fuel them: END, CHA, and INT. Most builds end up with at least 150 in at least one of these, so you'll have at least one powerful healing spell available to you. Note that the spells that cost MP (such as Pumpkin Patch and Cure Wounds) are only an option for Ranged Hybrids.
    • Recovery Series (5, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140G): These are powered by END and use SP.
    • Waters of Immortality (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): These are powered by END and use SP.
    • Pumpkin Patch (seasonal rare) (5, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140G): These are powered by END and use MP.
    • Cure Wounds Series (5, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140G): These are powered by INT and use MP.
    • Seeds of Restoration (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): These are powered by CHA and use SP.
    • Purifying Pollen (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): These are powered by CHA and use SP. They can purify Poison and Disease statuses, losing some of their healing power to compensate for this ability. If you are not poisoned or diseased, they are fully-powered healing spells.
    • Mending Vines (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): These are powered by CHA and use SP. They can purify Burn and Bleed statuses, losing some of their healing power to compensate for this ability. If you are not burnt or bleeding, they are fully powered healing spells.
    • Healing Seeds (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): These are powered by CHA and use SP. They inflict a Heal-based Spirtual Seed on the player that lasts three turns. At the end of that duration, the player is healed, with appropriate compensation for the time delay (*1.03).
    • Cure Poisons (105, 120, 135, 150G): These quick-cast (no turn cost) spells use SP and can cure or reduce the power of poisons, as well as granting you poison immunity.


    Damage Spells: There's at least one good damage spell for just about every ranger build, so these are worth taking a look at. For the most part, I wouldn't recommend carrying more than one, but depending on your build, it may make sense to do so.
    • Entangling Vines (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): Earth skill powered by CHA that uses SP. It sacrifices damage to attempt to entangle the monster (save is CHA/LUK vs STR/LUK).
    • Thorny Vines (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): Earth skill powered by CHA that uses SP. They sacrifice damage to attempt to control the monster (save is CHA/LUK vs STR/LUK).
    • Scarab Swarm (105, 120, 135, 150G): Pure damage Light skill powered by CHA that uses SP. It deals extra damage against monsters with lower-than-average blocking.
    • Meteorbak (seasonal rare) (7, 27, 47, 67, 87, 107, 127, 147G): These are powered by STR and use SP. They have very inaccurate leans (-10BtH, *85/75 damage).
    • Necromantic Cry (seasonal rare (15, 35, 55, 75, 95, 115, 135, 150G): Pure damage wind skill, powered by CHA.
    • Drop the M.O.A.P. (seasonal rare) (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): Pure damage Fire skill, powered by CHA. It uses all of your remaining SP (not a typo) and deals more damage the more SP it consumes.


    Utility Spells: Depending on your build and equipment, you may or may not want to carry one of these.
    • Randomizing Blight (54, 92): They increase monster damage and randomize their resistances. Handy if you carry an element locked armor. Since they cost MP, only Ranged Hybrids should consider these.
    • Scrambler Beacon (54, 92): They increase monster defenses and randomize their resistances. Handy if you carry an element locked armor. Since they cost MP, only Ranged Hybrids should consider these.
    • Catnip Senses (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): They grant the player two turns of +20 Immobility Resistance and Regeneration.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:19:06)



    Pets:
    [URG009]



    Now that DEX and LUK contribute to pet accuracy and pet attack rate no longer depends on CHA, filling out your pet inventory is a significant step even if you're not training CHA. In general, those with low CHA as well as those using defensive armors should look to use pure damage pets, those with high CHA can make good use of effect pets, and those using offensive armors along with high CHA make especially good use of effect pets.

    I've broken this section down into two parts: one that covers the best damage option(s) for each element, and one that goes through the various healing and utility/effect pets that are worth a look. I won't list gap-fillers for each element, but bear in mind that Vampragons are useful in that capacity.


    Damage Pets:
    [URG601]

    Fire: Overlord's Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Water: Badb Catha (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Wind: Fujin Dragon (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Ice: Icewere (guardian) (70, 110, 150G) or Jr. Archmage (69, 89, 109, 129, 149G). Nemesis Guardian is the best end-game option for Adventurers.

    Earth: Azamay Golem (77G, 110, 130, 150G) or Land Shark (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G). Hideous Eye Spy is the best end-game option for Adventurers.

    Energy: Sacragon Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G) or Asgardian Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G)

    Light: Communicant Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G); Lepre-Chan (15, 35, 55, 75, 95, 115, 135, 150G) (seasonal rare) will deal quite a bit more damage when used with Offensive armors.

    Darkness: Twilight Series (75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G) is the best end-game option for Guardians. For Adventurers, if you're not committed to another class, Undead Archer (necromancer) is your best bet.



    Utility Pets:
    [URG602]

    • Fairy Godmother (10, 10G, 30G, 50, 50G, 70G, 90G, 110, 110G, 130G, 150G): FGM is now the light pet of choice for guardians of all levels and for adventurers when a level-appropriate version is available. You can toggle between full-powered light attacks, HP heals, and MP heals.

    • Hammer Turret (67, 87, 107, 127, 147G): Hammer Turret is an excellent fit in any paralyze strategy, given that the major roll is against monster CHA. This means that you do not necessarily need any CHA for paralysis to happen with regularity.

    • Neko Waifer (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): The neko pets have a chance (passively) to paralyze the monster each turn, but they take a damage penalty for that effect. Hammer Turret's paralysis rate is noticeably higher, but Neko Waifer will deal more damage.

    • Love Machine (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130 150G) (seasonal rare): Takes a damage penalty to attempt to fear the monster. For those with high CHA and LUK, this is among the strongest fire pets in the game.

    • Lil Drac (30, 40Z, 60, 90, 120, 150G) (seasonal rare): Lil Drac is the top darkness pet for those with high CHA, though it is somewhat situational - you won't want to use it against monsters with high CHA. If the monster has no CHA, though, Lil Drac has about a 10% chance of controlling the monster for one turn.

    • Mighty Morphin' Golem Stranger (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): This Golem's elemental selection is contingent on your Paxian clan. Half the time, it attacks with the element of you clan. A third of the time, it chooses a related element in the Elemental Wheel located in the "No-Drop Equipment" section in "Armors." A sixth of the time, it chooses an unrelated element. The selling point here is the wide selection of statuses the Golem can inflict, statuses whose major rolls consist of DEX, END, and CHA depending on your clan's element. The commonality is that you need CHA to win these rolls. Only one of these eight rolls are against CHA. Given that monsters generally have high DEX and END but low CHA, these are very much CHA-driven unless you are in Nocturu. If you are clanless, this defaults to Geoto.

    • ElBhe Doll (70, 90, 110, 130, 150G) (seasonal rare): Element is selected randomly each turn between light and darkness. Deals *1.2 damage to compensate for this.

    • Nightmaregon (71, 91, 111, 131, 141) (guardian only): Nightmaregon doubles as a darkness pet and a SP regeneration device. Most regard this as a must-have in any inventory.

    • Retro Twilly (61, 81, 101, 121, 141G): MC HP healing pet (MC effect is a chance of increased healing). For its level, its heals are stronger than FGMs, though it does not have an elemental attack and cannot heal MP.

    • Harpy Dragon (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G): MC Pet that seeks between Wind and Fire. Its Fire attack deals pure damage but its Wind attack sacrifices half of its damage each turn to heal you.

    • Chiaro Symbiote (105, 120, 135, 150G): Functionally, this is comparable to what healing pets do. But, instead of recovering from damage that has already been inflicted upon you, you take about 14% less incoming damage. It is idle for two turns while it charges and attacks on the third turn. This attack has a chance of dazing both you and the monster.

    • Nerfbat(seasonal rare) (75, 90, 110, 130, 150G): Does substantially reduced damage on its primary attack (3 hits) in order to attempt to nerf the monster (save is CHA/LUK vs INT/LUK). If the nerf lands, the monster's wind resistance is increased and its combat defences are decreased, but this effect only last for [#hits connected] turns and only applies to your wind attacks.

    • Nerfkitten (10, 50G, 90G): The ultimate pet of days gone by. Everyone's favorite kitten has not yet been swept, but will likely end up looking something like the Nerfbat series. For now, though, you can still enjoy super OP permanent nerfage.

    • Haunted Sword Series (62, 62G, 82, 102, 122, 132, 142G): An ice pet that sacrifices damage to passively attempt to reduce the BtH of each of the monster's attacks (save is CHA/LUK vs DEX/LUK).

    • Caeszard (67, 87, 107, 127, 137G, 147G): It attempts to daze the monster (save is CHA/LUK vs END/LUK). If the monster is dazed, or if two consecutive daze attempts fail, it does its earth attack.

    • Peace Zard (73G, 98, 123, 133G): Passively reduces all damage done (by itself, you, your guest, and the monster). Its primary attack attempts to inflict a 2 turn daze (save is CHA/LUK vs CHA/LUK), and it does an earth attack when the monster is dazed.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:20:06)



    Misc Items:
    [URG010]


    Miscellaneous items can be the difference between victory and defeat. There are a lot of good options out there, so your misc setup will depend heavily on your build, playstyle, and preferences. Below is a reasonably comprehensive list of the miscs that might be useful to rangers. I've tried to group them in a way that makes some sense, but there are many items that belong in multiple categories. For that reason, there's no sub-section devoted to beastmaster friendly miscs - all of the worthwhile ones are listed below under other categories.

    More than any other equipment category, you'll want to take advantage of any storage slots you might have for extra miscs. There's a diverse pool of specialized miscs, each of which can be very helpful in some situations but few of which are always useful. Miscs are also the cheapest equipment category, so you're better off buying a specialized misc for a tough fight than buying an armor or shield. For that reason, I wouldn't encourage you to approach this section looking for 8 miscs. I'd suggest that you look through the items listed below and think about whether each is worth using for your style of play. If the answer is 'it would help with some boss fights,' 'it would save me from having to buy a specialized shield for that multi-elemental guy,' etc., then you should buy it (assuming you have storage slots available).

    Because you'll probably want as many miscs as you have storage slots, I can't give you a 'suggested miscs' section. But I can give you some pointers as you fill up your available slots. For starters, you'll probably want to have an elemental resist misc for each element. Bear in mind that there are two types: (1) multiplicative miscs (*.5 to Fire), which are generally more helpful against multi-elemental mobs, and (2) subtraction miscs (-10% to fire), which are generally more helpful against single element mobs. (Note that this is not the case at early to mid levels, where multiplicative resist miscs will be stronger against both single and multi-element monsters). If you have the slots it can't hurt to have one of each kind, when available, but there aren't multiplicative miscs available for every element at this point.

    One resist misc that's worth highlighting is Cyclops Eye. If you're looking to compress as many single-element resist miscs as you can into one item, this is just the thing - it effectively compresses all eight. However, it's a multiplicative misc, so if you find that you need subtraction miscs you'll want to look elsewhere. And while you can use Cyclops Eye against seeking mobs, you can't use it against mobs that shift elements randomly or according to a pattern, so if you're worried about multi-elemental monsters you may want to carry several multiplicative resist miscs rather than relying on Cyclops Eye.

    If you're loooking for an MRM boosting misc, I prefer the Power Shard Varnak series to the Horo-Show Void Visor series. At level 88, for example, HSVV provides 7 MRM while Varnak provides 5 MRM and 20 DEX, which is the equivalent of 7.5 MRM for blocking purposes, plus a bit of extra accuracy for you and your pets/guests. The max level Varnak is level 100 (guardian), but it provides 6 MRM and 25 DEX, which is equal to 9.1 MRM for blocking purposes - almost as much as the level 148 HSVV's 9 MRM. HSVV has other useful boosts that make it worth the turn cost to use, so it's certainly not a bad item, but I find Varnak more useful because it provides basically the same MRM (along with a bit of accuracy) without the turn cost.

    Beyond that, you'll probably want a few miscs that increase your damage as well as a few that compress equipment (guest, armor, etc.). At this point, you can probably see why I've suggested aiming for more than 8 misc items. Once you have a bunch that you like, don't be afraid to rotate between then depending on what you're doing. Some miscs excel in wars, others in long quests, and others in challenge fights. Miscs are extremely diverse and specialized, and the best way to take advantage of that is to own as many good ones as you can and rotate them to suit your needs.



    Elemental Resist Miscs:
    [URG701]

    Fire: OPTIC (7, 27, 47, 67, 87, 107, 127, 137G, 147G), Dragon Knight's Crest (45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G), Helm of Drakonnan (G), Kragoth's Helm (35, 55, 75, 95, 115), Deflecting Seal I (Z), Kitsune Mask (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G)

    Water: Layard's Loyalty (3, 23, 43, 63, 83, 103, 123, 143G), Coire Dagdae (45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G), Pirate Hat (45, 70, 95, 120, 145G), Eye of the Sacragon (105, 120, 135, 150G), Reflective Seal I (Z)

    Wind: Urn of Prevailing Winds (64, 85G, 103, 136G), Bulwark Seal I (Z), Yakasani Jewel (105, 120, 135, 150G), Sphinx's Riddle (101, 116, 131, 146G)

    Ice: Horo-Show Void Visor (8, 17, 28, 48, 68, 88, 108, 128G, 133, 148G)

    Earth: Head of Raydius Dragon (G), Clover Essence (14, 34, 54, 74, 91G, 94, 114, 134, 144G) (seasonal rare), Polygalactase Process (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G), Green Dragon Ocarina (15, 35, 55, 75, 95, 115, 135, 150G) (seasonal rare)

    Energy: Helm of Drakonnas (G), Shock Collar (5, 25, 45, 65, 85, 105, 125, 135, 145G)

    Light: Eye of Osiris (45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G), Evil Eyeglasses (20, 40, 60, 80, 100), Solaris Helm (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130), Luminous Wyrm Helm (12Z, 32Z, 52G, 72Z, 92Z, 112G, 132Z), Shadowkitten Spray (12, 32, 52G, 72, 92Z, 112, 132G, 150)

    Darkness: Shikyo Mask (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G), Head of Raydius Dragon (G), Kragoth's Helm, Shadowkitten Spray (12, 32, 52G, 72, 92Z, 112, 132G, 150), Liquid Courage (10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150G)

    Other Options: Eye of the Unholy (55, 75, 95, 115, 135, 145G) can cover different elements depending on your knight subclass. There are also three 8-element compression miscs: Cyclops Eye (100, 115, 130, 145G), ZardAde (seasonal) (15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150G) and Beleqwaya's Gift, Diamond of Body (50, 75).



    Player Damage Boosting Miscs:
    [URG702]




    Healing Miscs:
    [URG703]




    Utility/Compression Miscs:
    [URG704]





    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/16/2014 18:21:15)



    End Notes and Helpful Links:
    [URG011]


    With that, this guide is at its end. I hope that, through reading this guide, you will be the proud owner of one of the most potent Rangers in all of Lore. This will be updated as new items are released. Be sure to check the AQ Encyclopedia from time to time to see if something new has come as well as Equipment Comparison to see if it is worth purchasing. If a monster is giving you trouble, be sure to head over to Battle Strategy to request assistance.

    A collection of the resources referenced throughout the guide:

    Stat Training Cost
    Assumed Stat Training
    Custom Weapon Analysis
    Standards & Assumptions
    Custom Weapon Spreadsheet

    Be sure to check out these other helpful guides:

    Armors by Element and Level
    Master List of Game Formulae
    Kaelin's Build-a-Build Workshop
    The Training Academy: Ultimate Mage Guide Link will be updated when the guide is moved back to the active guides forum.
    The Training Academy: Ultimate Warrior Guide Link will be updated when the guide is moved back to the active guides forum.
    The Training Academy: Ultimate Hybrid Guide Link will be updated when the guide is moved back to the active guides forum.


    Credits:
    [URG012]

    Shoutout to the creators and previous keepers of this guide, as well as to the writers of the mage and warrior guides, which I reference at several points in this guide.


    Change Log:
    [URG013]

  • 1.6.2015 So, I've decided to start using this section. I'll try to note here when I make edits of substance from now on. I've updated the text portion of the Misc section.
  • 2.8.2015 I've updated the Armor and Spell sections to reflect the Shapeshifter Class revamp.
  • 5.25.2015 I've updated the Armor section to reflect the release of Quester's VBG; I've also made some modifications to the guide as a result of the changes in patch 39.2 and made several other minor equipment-related updates.
  • 7.14.2015 The Weapons Section has had a bit of an update.
  • 1.4.2016 I've made various updates to different sections of the guide -- mostly adding items one or two at a time -- and recently updated the 'Suggested Builds' section.
  • 4.8.2016 I've updated the Pets, Guests, and Miscs sections to reflect recent releases, and update the early level armor section to reflect the release of the new Armors and Shields in Yulgar's.




  • Remellion -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/17/2014 9:03:11)

    Hi! Great guide! It's been an incredibly useful reference for defensive playstyles in general too. Now that it's out of Pending Guides (congrats) it's now as visible as it should be.

    Just some errata/thoughts:

    URG003 (Stat formulae)
    Average stat damage bonus for LS is now LUK*3/80 not LUK/20. Also HP/MP/SP formulae not updated.
    URG201 (No-drop armours)
    Steel and Guardian Plates only give BtH bonus to melee attacks. Leathers/Deft forms should always be used (except possibly Mighty Awe)
    URG203 (Armour selection)
    Typo - "Blazing Glaive" not "Glavie".
    Armour progression is still written in the old form - intentional?
    Yellow Pirate Costume could be mentioned as compression for defensive Water/Wind, especially for adventurers before endgame (top tier 129/149G). It loses by 1% to Lyr's and Fujin at 150, but isn't bad overall (also as gap-filler if desired.)
    Nemesis' Testament > Horo-Show for defensive endgame 135 adventurers. That 2% ice difference translates to ~11% more damage received assuming -24% shield, probably not worth 3 MRM. Nemesis doesn't need to be used for compression, but it is a better pure ice choice.
    URG303 (Weapon set-ups)
    Typo - again "Blazing Glaive".
    URG403 (Compression shields)
    DST and Bac-ler could be singled out as the better compression shields.
    URG501 (Guests)
    Both light guests are underleveled for 150.
    Also, it's not the Angel Guard but the Guardian Angel Elder that is SP upkeep.
    URG502 (Healing/Damage/Utility spells)
    Cure Poison series is another (quickcast!) SP series.
    Angelic Light will probably go rare after its time in the Void - just a headsup.
    Also, is Drellie Blaze rare?

    ...Yep, that's it for now. Once again, great guide!




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/17/2014 12:30:37)

    Thanks for the detailed feedback!

  • Stat formulae corrected.
  • Clarified regarding Steel Plate/Guardian Plate. At lower levels, eventual Rangers may have STR equal to or even greater than DEX, in which case they'd be best off with melee weapons. And Steel Plate's BtH bonus may be useful at lower levels, so it's worth considering.
  • Fixed typos. I'm not including Yellow Pirate Costume because Fujin is just too good to pass up on and if you're grabbing Fujin anyway, there's no reason to use Yellow Pirate over Flawfish for water. I've added Nemesis Testament as an alternative option to HSVV for defensive minded Adventurers, but I think HSVV is better overall. Because it's on the old lean system (no *1.25 to incoming damage), its offensive advantages over Nemesis are larger than Nemesis' defensive advantages. If/when a defensive ice armor with L135/L150 tiers is released, it'll take over here, but for now HSVV remains my primary recommendation.
  • I'm not sure what you mean about armor progressions being in the old format. For the most part, I just suggest one series from L75 on; levels are included in parenthesis because they were there prior to my recent update to the guide and I chose not to take them out. The two exceptions to that format are Earth and Energy defensive armors, and those are intentional; if/when we get defensive MC sets for those two elements, I'll replace the progression.
  • Noted that Hydro Blaze, DST, and Bac-Ler are the best end-game compression shields.
  • You're right about Guardian Angel Elder, but while it and Guardian Spirit are underleveled for 150 they're the best options at the moment, and with guest BtH now fixed they're usable at L150. For now, they're staying, since BMR's are short on usable spells anyway.
  • Added Cure Poison series. And yeah, I'm keeping an eye on Angelic Light (as well as Drop the MOAP); once the former is gone I'll remove it, and once I get clarity on whether Drop the MOAP is seasonal or permanent rare I'll clarify that as well. And IIRC Drellie Blaze is a promo item of some sort, but if I'm wrong about that I'd be happy to add it to the guide (and my inventory).

    Thanks again, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the guide!




  • Remellion -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/17/2014 22:17:33)

    I understand about Yellow Pirate Costume - I don't find myself using it much on my Guardian BMM and BMR. Nemesis I think is better for 100-proc users as HSVV's attack is redundant there, but the utility of having attack+skill may be a consideration. The armour progressions for Earth and Energy stood out the most for being detailed, but at the same time I can see why, because the Hunter armours force both elements to upgrade hand in hand. It's an interesting touch I feel. SP guests are shorthanded throughout and I understand the choices for light - in fact my own BMR is just waiting for more guests to become viable. Drellie Blaze I have no idea about, and there's not enough info on the forums to tell where it came from.
    It's a great guide, I've actually been using it to guide my 100-proc BMM along, and is generally a good guide to understanding the viable playstyle options in AQ today.

    Yet another round of feedback incoming, this time mostly to do with links but also a few items that should be replaced.

    URG202 (Class armours)
    Feral and Primal Garb links are swapped.
    Pirate Class - links to status effects Afraid, Burn and Entangle broken.

    URG203 (Armour selection)
    Earth - Doll Form 'pedia entry is up.
    Light/Darkness - Ultimon's Armor 'pedia entry is up.

    URG303 (Weapon set-up)
    Water - Flying Fish G132 is Guardian-only, so can't be a 100-proc adventurer endgame choice. Boatman's Bow 130 would fill that niche, preferable over Soaked Tome 120.
    Ice - Stone Cold Spear 'pedia entry is up.
    Darkness - Thanatos Scythe 'pedia entry is up.

    URG402 (Shield progression)
    Water - Transmorpher Shield 'pedia entry is up.
    Wind - Fujin, Yata, Rooted Flora shields' 'pedia entries are up.
    Energy - Drakel, Magnae's Power Shields, Grounded Flora Shield 'pedia entries are up.
    Darkness - Undead Terror, Corrupted Flora Shield 'pedia entries are up.
    Compression - Hydro Blaze 'pedia entry is up; both Bac-ler links are broken. Candy Floss Shield 'pedia entry is up, but item is rare.

    URG602 (Utility pets)
    ElBhe Doll is Mogloween seasonal rare.

    URG701 (Elemental Resist Miscs)
    Fire - Dragon Knight's Crest 'pedia entry is up.
    Earth - Clover Essence 'pedia entry is up, item is Blarney seasonal rare.
    Light/Darkness - Mother's Charm Earrings 'pedia entry is up, item is rare.
    Others - Eye of the Unholy 'pedia entry is up.

    URG702 (Damage Miscs)
    Shadowfeeder Pendant 'pedia entry is up.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/17/2014 23:34:35)

    The reason the formatting for the armors section looks a bit different is that for the most part, once you hit L75 and pick up an MC armor you'll just want to upgrade that at 15 (or maybe 20) level intervals until you reach your cap. Because armors are so expensive, replacing them more often than that doesn't make sense. For some other equipment, most notably for weapons, while you could just pick up an MC weapon for most elements and upgrade it at 15 or 20 level intervals, there are many times when there are better options at intermediate levels. Weapons also aren't so expensive that you can't upgrade every 10-15 levels, rather than every 15-20. As far as defensive earth and energy armors, specifically, those are the two hardest elements to find defensive armors for, so the progression listed might be helpful. I do plan to remove it when we get MC defensive earth and energy armors.

    Nemesis is better if you're using a 100-proc weapon, but since it's got a neutral lean you'd be better off with a low-proc fire weapon. And if you're going to use a low-proc fire weapon, HSVV's stronger attack matters. Glad to hear the guide has been helpful to you, because these have been two very helpful comments for me - I know the 'pedia is in the midst of a major update, so I'm going to continue to go through my links and replace info subs. Thanks for saving me some time; I'll try to update those links tomorrow.




    Brasca123 -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/23/2014 19:31:45)

    perhaps you could add a section for compression armors, or put them on the utility armors list, it might help, considering the power of the multi-element monsters nowadays
    great guide btw, you were quick to update it, gj

    edit: you could also add a section for utility shields such as the ironthorn that you mentioned on the guide, there should be others worth mentioning but none comes to mind at the moment

    edit 2:
    quote:

    Healing Spells: Now that healing spells have been updated, there are three stats that can fuel them: END, CHA, and INT. Most builds end up with at least 150 in at least one of these, so you'll have at least one powerful healing spell available to you. Note that the spells that cost MP (Waters of Immortality, Pumpkin Patch, and Cure Wounds) are only an option for Ranged Hybrids.


    just noticed there is a small mistake there, waters of immortality is a spell that costs SP




    GAUSER -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (4/1/2015 0:26:55)

    Hi, i have a question to ask!

    I am currently a lvl 50 ranger, and I cant help but notice none of my bows seem to have any specials, unlike spears which with some armors get triple hits, while bows get 2 hits max. Does that mean spears are at a advantage since they have higher chances to trigger lucky strike?





    Rafiq von den Vielen -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (4/1/2015 4:26:12)

    Advantage or not is discussable. See, a Bow attack is treated as a special attack, that's why Bows (most of them, at least) are referred to as 100% proc weapons - they have a 100% special rate. Since these Bow attacks override your armor attack they're mostly used with a FD armor (which deals lesser damage on its armor attacks to reduce damage taken in), to override their weaker armor attack and deal consistent damage.




    pavlpaks -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (4/2/2015 15:33:48)

    With regards to the recent update (i.e. The HP reduction), is END still a stat worth improving or should I just forget about improving it? Btw, I'm a lvl 70 Pure-Type Ranger.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (4/2/2015 20:53:31)

    At your level it's probably a better idea to focus on STR and DEX, unless you're having survivability issues. For more specific advice you could request a character rating in the Q&A forum.




    Carandor -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (9/25/2015 22:23:18)

    At best, Shapeshifter was a mini class before the revamp. After, they are just armours that are equipped by using a spell, the same way snide is equipped by using a misc. Whether you put them under armours, give them there own little section or put them under utility spells, I don't think they belong in the section for classes.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (9/26/2015 10:22:29)

    They're mentioned in the class armor section -- as they should be. But they're also mentioned in the Armor section (Stone Golem, specifically), and at the top of the Spells section. I think they're covered adequately.




    TRB1965 -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (10/8/2015 15:30:51)

    For the Guest section, Death Flair is no longer in the void.




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (10/8/2015 15:37:50)

    Thanks!




    Rafiq von den Vielen -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/31/2015 4:30:09)

    ReignDragonRider Sweep would make this the new top choice for us 100% proc users, am I right?




    Jdilla -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (12/31/2015 9:23:31)

    Yes. I'm waiting for the portrait to be released before I update the guide though as I'd like confirmation that it's a seasonal rare; I don't add permanent rares to the guide. However, whether it's seasonal or permanent, the best way to use this armor will almost certainly be to buy the portrait (assuming one's available) and use the temp version to replace your no-drop armor.




    Rafiq von den Vielen -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (1/2/2016 8:59:31)

    I can pretty much confirm RDR is a seasonal. It's been in Frostval LTS before, and just hasn't been released the past year or two because of larger events at scale. I understand though if you want to wait.




    TRB1965 -> RE: The Training Academy: Ultimate Ranger Guide (1/17/2016 17:20:22)

    Under Guest Poutine Golem was from the Time Limited Shop ( http://forums2.battleon.com/f/fb.asp?m=22042627) and s no longer there.




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