SimplyRanger

Category:Guides
Hello and greetings everyone! My name is Yukicub of Midgardsormr, and this is my first time ever writing a guide. After spending some time leveling Ranger, I found myself growing increasingly frustrated by various guides written by other players. On the one hand, you got guides that simply state “This is the best, have it, no exception”, and others that are simply equip guides, and have no real basis for a lot of things being there. They simply show at what level things become available, but also show a slight bias in most cases. 
Being someone who likes to know why things are, and have solid data to back things up, I decided to undertake the task of composing a different kind of guide. It is designed for people who are just starting Ranger, as well was veterans. It’s all the information you want to know, with reasons given as well. In short, it’s a complete guide, and you can take from it what you will. 
Let’s start with the basics.
-Understanding your Job Abilities-
Eagle Eye Shot (Level 1): This is your two-hour. It’s a special attack that deals far more damage than you’d expect, but only once every two hours. It’s very accurate, but can miss. If you find yourself in a bind, use this. It’s very likely to turn the tide in battle.
Sharpshot (Level 1): This skill provides a very good boost to your ranged accuracy. It only lasts a minute, and has a five minute recast. It’s worth using every time its recast returns to zero, and is a popular thing to use in combination with Barrage when you get it.
Scavenge (level 10): This skill allows you to find various components used in the crafting arrows and bolts, and sometimes even ammo itself. The ammo you find isn’t ideal for actually using, should you find them, so sell them to an NPC. The rest of the components should be utilized if you have a high woodworking skill, or a friend with one, as crafting ammo can save a lot of money. 
Camouflage (level 20): This skill gives you the effect of Invisible. It’s nice to use if you need to escape from sight-tracking enemies, or when you run into a situation where you can’t use the spell or items. 
Barrage (level 30): This is one of the most potent Job Abilities of a ranger. Unlike other job abilities in the game, Barrage improves as your level does. When you use it, you will fire multiple shots in a single attack. When you first get it, it’s only four shots, but as you get closer to level 75, it powers up to be six shots. There is also the Hunter’s Bracers +1, which adds an extra shot to the mix, for a total of seven. This is often used in conjunction with Sharpshot because once a single shot misses, the rest of the shots (if you have any) won’t fire. The extra ranged accuracy boost means you can usually get the maximum shots off, provided you have a good amount to start with. 
Shadowbind (level 40): This is a useful skill in many situations, the most obvious of which would be escaping from a challenging foe. Shadowbind inflicts the “Bind” status on an enemy. With the exception of a few NMs, this cannot be resisted and will always land, but there is a catch: Once the enemy has been dealt damage, the bind will break, so be careful. 
Velocity Shot (level 45): This potent skill increases your Ranged Attack and Speed by 15%, while lowering your Melee Attack and speed by the same. Most Rangers prefer to use this all the time, since it last five minutes, and has a five minute recast. This extra boost helps to bring out the most of a ranger’s abilities, but be careful, since you’ll be dealing more damage at a faster speed, meaning it’s much easier to draw hate off the tank. 
Unlimited Shot (level 51): This unique skill allows your next ranged attack to not use ammo. Many rangers use this skill with special ammos, obtained from powerful foes or by trading in a lot of CP. These special items are very pricy in cost (if you use CP to buy them), costing about 36,000 CP each. The reason they use these ammos with Unlimited Shot is to avert the cost associated with replacing them. Unlimited Shot can be used with a weapon skill, meaning you can use such potent ammo with your most deadly weapon skills. Using Barrage will overwrite the effect of Unlimited Shot. 
Rangers have a short list of worthwhile support jobs. It’s true that other support jobs may work well, but they aren’t commonplace enough to give a fair reasoning as to why it works as well as it does currently. 
Ninja: The most common support job for Ranger. Ninja adds the potently good feature of Dual Wield, which allows Rangers to utilize potent weapons, such as the Archer’s Knife, in pairs. In addition, the use of Ninja as a support job grants the ninjutsu spells Utsusemi, Tonko, and Monomi. Utsusemi gives Shadows that take damage for you, increasing your life, while Tonko and Monomi give you Sneak and Invisible effects respectively. Using Ninja as a support job comes with an extra bonus that often goes overlooked: Ninjas have one of the best Agility scores in the game. Agility translates into more damage on Weapon Skills for both Archery and Marksmanship, as well as more Ranged Accuracy, which you can never have too much of. 
Warrior: Warrior doesn’t grant as many overall perks as Ninja does, because you lose Dual Wield, A better Agility Score, and Ninjutsu in favor of new abilities and traits. Berserk grants a bonus to Attack and Ranged Attack, which means more damage. In addition to this, Warrior also adds the Attack Bonus trait, which means you have more attack power under your belt. Many players forego the use of Warrior as a support job until level 51, at which point they utilize a Fire Staff for even more Ranged Attack. 
One of the things I dislike about most ranger guides is what they have to say about equipment. Truth be told, there is a lot of gear in the game for ranger, and, admittedly, most of it isn’t very good. However, it never gives any alternatives or reasonable expectations on the gear. I feel that needs to change, so the following is a list of gear that I feel most up and coming Rangers will find useful. The majority of the gear on the list is available via AH, and generally isn’t overly expensive. This is for the up and coming Rangers, not the Elite Endgame Ranger. There is gear that is better than what I recommend, but it is either very difficult to get, or carries an unfair price tag. 
Melee Weapon:
Level 7: Beestinger (+1 AGI and DEX. This helps with Weaponskill damage, critical hit rate, and ranged accuracy in very small amounts)
Level 19: Small Sword (+2 DEX. This helps with critical hit rate in a very small amount)
Level 28: Archer’s Knife (+10 Ranged Accuracy. One of the best weapons you can use)
Level 30: Hawker’s Knife (+11 Ranged Accuracy and +2 Agility. This translates into Ranged Accuracy +12. This item is only moderately better than an Archer’s Knife, but is usually three times the price)
Level 51: Fire Staff (+4 STR and Ranged Attack +10. This is one of the rare pieces of gear with Ranged Attack on it. It’s worth looking into if you can do without so much Ranged Accuracy)
Level 61: Trailer’s Kukri (Ranged Accuracy +14. This item provides the single largest ranged accuracy boost on a weapon, but usually sports a high price tag of around 200k. It drops from a relatively simple BCNM 60 called Celery, but is on a list of 6 items that is guaranteed to drop, so its drop rate is fairly inconsistent)
Level 63: Fransisca (This is a great weapon because it gives Ranged Accuracy and Attack +7. It drops from a crab NM named Aquarius, who can be difficult to handle, but is easily downed with a group. The drop rate is pretty good too. Because the weapon is Rare/Ex, you’ll have to fight the NM if you want this weapon)
Ranged Weapons:
Note: Ranged Weapons are unique when it comes to differences between their NQ and HQ versions. The HQ version is –always- worth getting. The price difference usually isn’t anything terrible, and the effects are worth it. HQ Ranged Weapons come with bonuses to Ranged Accuracy, Ranged Attack, or both. Most of the following weapons are readily available on the AH.
~Archery~
Level 1: Shortbow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +3)
Level 5: Longbow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Attack +3)
Level 12: Hunter’s Longbow (+1 STR and AGI, +2 Ranged Accuracy, +5 Ranged Attack)
Level 16: Power bow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Attack +9)
Level 30: Great Bow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Attack +12)
Level 40: Battle Bow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Attack +15) or Shikar Bow (Ranged Accuracy +4, Ranged Attack +12) 
[Battle Bow +1 is more expensive than Shikar Bow. Shikar Bow is generally 5-10k, while Battle Bow +1 is 25-40k depending on your server. While the Shikar Bow has 1 less DMG and 3 less Ranged Attack, because it has 2 more Ranged Accuracy, these two bows are generally considered equal in ability.]
Level 50: War Bow +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Attack +18)
Level 60: Selene’s Bow (+2 STR. The level of Ranged Accuracy scales depending on it’s Full or New Moon, or somewhere in between. During a new moon, it’s Ranged Accuracy +5, Ranged Attack +25. During a Full moon, it’s the opposite. For every moon phase, the level changes by moving 5 of one to the other. This bow is dropped by a fairly simple NM Rabbit named White/Black Coney. Drop rate is decent. This is generally accepted as one of the best Bows in the game, but players generally prefer to have a Eurytos’s Bow, which is very difficult to obtain and carries a massive price tag that is almost 3 Million gil on most servers)
~Marksmanship (Crossbows)~
Level 1: Light Cossbow +1 (Ranged Attack +3)
Level 12: Crossbow +1 (Ranged Attack +6)
Level 30: Zamburak +1 (Ranged Attack +9)
Level 50: Arbalest +1 (Ranged Attack +12)
Level 67: Othinius’ Bow (Ranged Attack +18. This bow is dropped by an NM named Wyvern Poacher Drachlox. He can take awhile to spawn, since he’s a timed lottery, but the drop rate is pretty good)
~~Ammo~~
Note: Ammo is a unique subject. There are many of them in the game, and some sport incredible damage. However, here, I will be listing what you should consider using full time. I recommend keeping a stack the most powerful ammo you can have for your level, and macro them in for Weapon skills only. Use what I recommend for building TP.
~Arrows~
Level 1: Wooden Arrows
Level 7: Bone Arrows
Level 17: Beetle Arrows
Level 40: Scorpion Arrows
Level 60: Demon Arrows
*You can avoid Demon Arrows if you’d like. They are very expensive for stacks of quivers, almost 100k per stack. To duck this, you can continue to use Scorpion Arrows to TP in to 75. 
~Bolts~
Level 1: Crossbow Bolt
Level 10: Blind Bolt
Level 15: Acid Bolt
Level 30: Holy Bolt
Level 52: Darksteel Bolt
*You never really stop using Holy Bolts. Because the additional damage is based on MND, many RNG create a MND+ Gear Set to use with them. There is also a weapon in the game called a Trilling Dagger that provides a significant boost to the extra damage. Due to all these means of boosting the damage, they are generally accepted as the best damage bolt in the game for DoT. 
~Armor~
Head: 
Level 10: Royal Footman’s Bandana (+1 AGI)
Level 24: Empress Hairpin (DEX and AGI +3. Dropped by Valkrum Emporer. One of the –best- head items for RNG)
Level 54: Hunter’s Beret (Ranged Attack+5. Increases the activation of Rapid Shot by 1%)
Level 70: Optical Hat (Ranged Accuracy +10. Guaranteed drop from the NM Hakutaku)
Neck:
Level 7: Feather Collar +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2)
Level 14: Ranger’s Necklace (Ranged Accuracy and Attack +5)
*After level 14, a number of upgrades become available. Depending on your style of play, and your budget, you can avidly pursue a large number of various items.
Earrings:
Level 35: Drone Earring (AGI +3)
Level 50: Vision Earring (Ranged Accuracy +2)
Body:
Level 16: Trailer’s Tunica (AGI +1. Rumored to increase Rapid Shot Activation. Dropped from a Slime NM name Maltha. Drop Rate is really good)
Level 30: Noct Doublet +1 (Ranged Accuracy +3)
Level 58: Hunter’s Jerkin (Ranged Accuracy +10)
Hands:
Level 30: Noct Gloves +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2)
Level 60: Deadeye Gloves (Ranged Accuracy +6. Can be pricy, ranging between 300-500k, since it’s a rare NM drop)
Rings:
Level 16: Bone Ring +1 (Ranged Accuracy +3)
Level 21: Beetle Ring +1 (Ranged Accuracy +4)
Level 35: Horn Ring +1 (Ranged Accuracy +5)
Level 40: Marksman’s Ring (Ranged Accuracy +6)
Level 45: Carapace Ring +1 (Ranged Accuracy +7)
Level 70: Behemoth Ring (Ranged Accuracy +11)
Back:
Level 24: Nomad’s Mantle (AGI +1)
Level 50: Thunderer’s Mantle (Ranged Accuracy +4. Drops from a Lynx NM with low chance. Runs about 60-100k on most servers)
Level 61: Amemet Mantle +1 (STR +2, Ranged Attack +15. Can be pricy, running between 200-300k on most servers, but has one of the best Ranged Attack bonuses for a back item)
Waist:
Level 5: Bronze Bandolier (Ranged Accuracy +1. Found in Locked Caskets in South Gustaburg)
Level 30: Mercenary Captain’s Belt (AGI +1)
Level 50: Royal Knight’s Belt (STR and AGI +2)
Level 60: Precise Belt (Ranged Accuracy +5. It carries a heavy 250-350k price tag, since it comes from Assault, but has one of the best Ranged Accuracy bonuses on a waist item.)
Legs:
Level 24: Martial Slacks (AGI +2)
Level 30: Noct Brias +1 (Ranged Accuracy +2)
Level 55: Jaridah Salvars (Ranged Accuracy +2, Ranged Accuracy +3)
Feet:
Level 7: Leaping Boots / Bounding Boots (DEX and AGI +3. Bounding Boots are dropped by Leaping Lizzy with a low chance. Leaping Boots comes from a somewhat difficult BCNM 30 called Petrifying Pair, and also has a low chance to drop. These boots last a very long time if you can get them)
Level 20: Royal Footman’s Clogs (AGI +1)
Level 55: Jaridah Nails (Ranged Accuracy +2)
Level 60: Hunter’s Socks (AGI +4)
Level 70: War Boots (Ranged Attack +5)
THINGS TO REMEMBER ON RANGER
1.	2 AGI = 1 Ranged Accuracy
2.	2 STR = 1 Ranged Attack
3.	Archery Weaponskills, with the exception of Namas Arrow (The Relic Weaponskill) are always based on 16% STR, 25% AGI
4.	Marksmanship Weaponskills, with the exception of Coronach (The Relic Weaponskill), are always based on 30% AGI
5.	The Formula for Ranged Accuracy is:
*	When combat skill is <=200
Ranged Accuracy = ( Combat Skill + AGI/2 + (+Ranged accuracy from gear) + (+Ranged accuracy from trait/ability) ) * (1+ (percentage from food effect/100))
*	When combat skill is beyond 200
Ranged Accuracy = ( 200+ ((Combat Skill-200)*0.9) + AGI/2 + (+Ranged accuracy from gear) + (+Ranged accuracy from trait/ability) ) * (1+ (percentage from food effect/100))
6.	The formula for ranged attack is:
*	Ranged Attack = {( 8 + Combat Skill + STR/2 + (+attack from gear) + (+attack trait/ability/minuet)) * berserk effect (if available)} * (1+ percentage increase from food )