Ranger: Guide to Weapons and Armor

category:guides
==Introduction==
This guide is based solely on my opinions. There are plenty of those silly equipment charts for rangers out there, but those are hard to read and I find them not particularly useful. The format of the guide is similar to the guides for Thief or White Mage.
The ranged weapons sections are split up by ammo type. The armor sections are divided based on the three possible of gear builds - ranged attack, ranged accuracy, or for Holy Bolt damage. If I have omitted a possible gearing strategy, please feel free to make a contribution to the guide.
===How to use this guide===
==Ranged Weapons==
===Bows===
There are two types of bows - long bows (around 500 delay and higher DMG rating) and short bows (around 360 delay, lower DMG rating). You pretty much always want long bows since the DPS between the two are comparable. Having the longer delay means you will be shooting less arrows (saving you gil). The higher base damage means your weaponskills will do more damage. So with a long bow you pay less to do more. Always get the +1 version of the bow since, unlike melee weapons, the HQ bows always have additional stat bonuses.
:Level 5 Longbow +1 First few levels you can use whatever you want, but I'd pick up a longbow to get used to the delay.
:Level 10 Royal Archer's Longbow Skip if you have a Hunter's Longbow, otherwise grab one until level 16.
:Level 12 Hunter's Longbow It's a good bow, too bad it gets replaced so quickly. 
:Level 16 Power Bow +1 Should last you until Level 30.
:Level 21 Wurger If you're lucky. These levels will fly by anyways.
:Level 30 Great Bow +1 Like the Power Bow +1, will last you for a bit.
:Level 40 Battle Bow +1 Only buy the +1 version. Will last you another 10 levels.
:Level 40 Shikar Bow If you can't afford a Battle Bow +1, get this instead of the NQ.
:Level 50 War Bow +1 Get if you don't have an E/Vbow and refuse to use Marksmanship. Otherwise, consider switching to a gun or crossbow at this point (silver bullets are great at this level).
:Level 55 Eurytos'/Vali's Bow Will last you until end game. Whether or not the price is justified is debatable. Definitely not required for xping, though.
:Level 57 Loxley Bow May be useful for claiming, not a good choice for anything else, though. Your Sidewinders will suffer a lot.
:Level 60 Selene's Bow Easier to get than Ebow/Vbow, and an acceptable alternative, even for end game. 
:Level 71 Master Caster's Bow Replace your Selene's Bow with this if you are a Windurst citizen.
:Level 71 Cobra Bow Selene's replacement for citizens of other nations. (Windy citizens too if 16 delay isn't worth 2 Racc)
:Level 71 Gendawa +1 Rumor has it that this bow has uncapped Ratk. Only included it based on this rumour.
:Level 75 Fay Gendawa May take you a few tries, but it's possible to get a bow comparable (possibly better!) than an E/Vbow.
 
====Arrows====
:Level 1 Stone/Wooden Arrow Will last you an hour or so.
:Level 7 Bone Arrow You can either make these or buy them for 400 gil / stack in Mhaura.
:Level 15 Fang Arrow Better than Beetle arrows. It's a pity these aren't stackable.
:Level 17 Beetle Arrow The standard arrow for 17-29. Use these with your Power Bow +1. 
:Level 24 Silver Arrow Good for soloing since you won't need the +5 Racc on soloable mobs. NPCs sell these for 1600gil/stack depending on Conquest results.
:Level 29 Horn Arrow The standard arrow for 29-40. Will be the last arrow you use if just leveling RNG for sub.
:Level 40 Scorpion Arrow These will last you until at least 60. You could consider TPing in these after 60 to save gil. Macro in Demon Arrows for the additional effect and during weaponskills. Please don't use these at end game events.
:Level 60 Demon Arrow These will last you until 75 and beyond and are acceptable for use during end game events. 
:Level 60 Patriarch Protector's Arrow Macro these in for weaponskills when using Unlimited Shot. Adds a nice oomph to your Sidewinders. The +40 Racc pretty much guarantees that it will land. The San d'Orian alternative is worthless.
:Level 70 Kabura Arrow Expensive (a stack of 99 contains 3 ram horns). The Additional Effect: Silence may be useful against certain enemies.
===Crossbow===
As with bows, the +1 version of crossbows have additional effects attached to them making the NQ versions worthless. As before, get the HQ. Crossbows aren't worth using until level 10 when you get access to blind bolts. Even then, Archery will still out damage Crossbows until you get Holy Bolts at level 30.
:Level 12 Crossbow +1 At these levels, the output from crossbows is abysmal. If you are intent on using bolts, you will need the +1. 
:Level 20 Almogavar Bow Probably not worth getting.
:Level 25 Power Crossbow Adds some oomph to your Venom Bolts.
:Level 30 Zamburak +1 
:Level 31 Nous Arbalest Recently added in 11/09 update. +4 MND makes this the perfect Holy Bolt spammer for quite a while. 
:Level 37 Rikonodo Pricey, but a nice upgrade. No need to kill yourself if you can't get one, there's an acceptable alternative in 3 levels.
:Level 40 Thug's Zamburak Affordable, decent upgrade. No Ratk like the Rikonodo, though. 1 AGI makes up for the 1 Racc difference.
:Level 45 Tracker's Bow/+1 Minor upgrade in terms of damage. Not essential. The enmity reduction isn't that useful considering there is no enmity generated from additional effects.
After this, crossbows can be classified into two categories, ones to use when spamming Holy Bolts, and ones for use with Darksteel Bolts. First, crossbows for Darksteel Bolts:
:Level 50 Arbalest +1 It's nice to have a big Ratk bonus again, like in the lower levels.
:Level 58 Armbrust Expensive, but a decent upgrade. Not a big deal if you don't have the gil, only lasts 2 levels.
:Level 60 Heavy Crossbow +1 The +1 crossbows will start to cost more around these levels. Worth the money, though.
:Level 67 Othinus' Bow Take a bunch of friends and go camp the bow. There really is no replacement for this bow, it has the highest base damage of all crossbows. It even has more damage than the Ranger Mythic.
:Level 70 Grosveneur's Bow Cheap. Same DPS as Othinus' with better stats to boot. Just a lower DMG rating. A good alternative if you can't get an Othinus'.
:Level 73 Perdu Crossbow If you have IS to spare and high enough ranking, a decent choice.
:Level 74 Grand Crossbow Also not a bad choice. 
:Level 75 Gastraphetes Mythic. 'nuff said.
For Holy Bolt spam, these are your ranged weapon choices:
:Level 54 Leo Crossbow/+1 Lion crossbow not worth getting. The +1 crossbow is a good choice for spamming Holy Bolts.
:Level 63 Velocity Bow +1 Nice for Holy Bolt spam.
:Level 69 Repeating Crossbow/Machine Crossbow One of the rare cases where the NQ is acceptable. The important stat on this weapon is the delay. The damage / Ratk is inconsequential since most of your damage will be from Holy Bolt additional effect.
:Level 73 Lyft Crossbow If you can't get a Machine Crossbow, this is a nice upgrade for your Repeating Crossbow (same delay, higher damage). 
====Bolts====
:Level 10 Blind Bolt Good for a few levels and in a pinch when you can't find an enfeebler. More useful for solo on THF.
:Level 15 Acid Bolt The additional effect on these are always useful. If you're spamming holy bolts, do your party a favor and macro in one of these between shots.
:Level 20 Sleep Bolt The sleep effect is rather short, particularly on mobs that you'd XP on. So you probably won't be able to sleep an add with these unless you constantly spam these.
:Level 25 Venom Bolt Useful for the 5 levels before Holy Bolts.
:Level 30 Holy Bolt Bread and butter bolt until at least 40. Up to 75 if you plan on spamming these.
:Level 40 Mythril Bolt The quivers drop in campaign now, so they should be cheap on your AH. Spend some time buying up the singles at a bargain.
:Level 52 Darksteel Bolt The highest damaging bolt available. At the very least macro these in for weaponskills. You could get away with not TPing in these, except at end game events. 
:Level 60 Gold Musketeer's Bolt Macro this bad boy in for an extra heavy Slug Shot when your Unlimited shot is up.
===Guns===
Guns have gotten a bad rep due to their long delays. 600 on the gun and another 240 on the ammo. They are also not even worth considering until level 22 when you get access to Bullets, and even then you need to wait a few more levels to get access to guns that are actually worth using. Guns don't really come into their own until level 50 when you can start using silver bullets and get access to the really good guns. Note that due to their long delay, you really want to pack in as much DMG as you can (possibly at the sacrifice of some delay) when picking a gun since you need to make up the DPS difference from Archery with higher barrage damage and Slug Shots.
 
:Level 22 Arquebus +1 While the HQ doesn't get any bonuses over the NQ, this weapon is pretty weak. If you can't get the +1, stick to bows or crossbows.
:Level 27 Pirate's Gun +1 A nice gun, but expensive due to its rarity and no one making them. If you can afford it, then it is a good choice.
:Level 30 Military Gun Good stats and a short delay. Hard to get a hold of due to it being a Garrison drop.
:Level 34 Serpentine Gun Excellent bonuses, but the 660 delay is painful. Would be much more popular if the delay was closer to other guns.
:Level 42 Negoroshiki/+1 +1 is pretty rare. The NQ can be seen from time to time on the AH since it drops from some treasure caskets. A decent upgrade regardless of what you've been using previously.
:Level 46 Deluxe Carbine Readily available since it is quested. It is a decent gun, but as with most of the guns mentioned so far, it's not the greatest ranged weapon.
:Level 50 Musketeer Gun Your first great gun. Acceptable delay, good damage, and great bonuses. Perfect timing too - same level as silver bullets.
:Level 52 Musketeer Gun +1/+2 Increases damage and lowers delay while keeping bonuses. The +2 is worth getting if you can't get a Shark Gun.
:Level 60 Fourth Gun Should replace your Musketeer +1. Debatable whether this is better than Musketeer +2 .
:Level 60 Shark Gun Purchased with 16k IS if you have Mercenary Rank: Corporal. Better than both Musketeer +1/+2. Definitely get it if you have the appropriate rank.
:Level 69 Basilisk Of the two earring-based guns, this is the better gun - higher DMG, lower delay, and you don't even need the earring! Use this if you don't need the Racc on the Shark Gun. Definitely replaces your Fourth Gun, though.
:Level 69 Murderer Only worth using if you have the earring to go with it. Otherwise grab a Basilisk or keep using your Shark Gun. 
:Level 70 Hellfire/Hellfire +1 Has the best damage rating on guns barring Relic (same as Corsair's/+1, though). The bonuses are great too. However, that delay is killer, even on the HQ. 
:Level 72 Coffinmaker A good (and possibly free) weapon if you are willing to invest the time to unlock it. Not much better than it if you need the Racc.
:Level 75 Corsair's Gun/+1 The NQ is acceptable due to its high DMG rating and the rarity of the HQ. One of the best silver bullet launchers (barring relic) if you don't need the stat bonuses from the other guns.
:Level 75 Annihilator RNG Relic. Use if you have it - duh!
====Bullets====
:Level 22 Bullet First bullet worth using. Get used to the delay between shots, it won't be getting any better!
:Level 30 Spartan Bullet Dirt cheap on AH due to presence in union coffers. The stun could be useful. (Although, you could secretly TP in these).
:level 50 Silver Bullet The last bullet you will ever use. They are actually cheaper to make than Steel Bullets, despite steel bullets being worse.
:level 75 Hightail Bullet Nice macro piece for weaponskills when Unlimited shot is up. It took how many years for SE to introduce an R/E bullet?
==Ranged Attack==
===Weapon===
:Level 42 Veldt Axe/+1 You're probably better off using an Racc weapon instead of this axe, even in a Ratk build. 
:Level 51 Fire/Vulcan's Staff Has +10 Ratk on it, which is the highest you can get out of a single weapon. Not a bad choice gil-wise, especially since the HQ only offers 1 additional STR over the NQ. Don't forget to factor in the STR bonus when choosing weapons.
:Level 63 Fransisca Drop off an NM crab. The first worthwhile one-handed Ratk weapon with +7 Ratk.
:Level 71 Kriegsbeil Comes with +8 Ratk. Also a good choice for an Ratk build. A lot of RNGs in end game will Dual wield one of these with a Fransisca.
:Level 75 Tartaglia Only use this if you are having hate problems and need the -5 Enmity.
===Head===
:Level 15 Njord's Mask Salvage drop. No big deal if you can't get it.
:Level 25 Freyr's Mask Another Salvage drop.
:Level 33 Risky Patch Probably not the best piece to use at 33 due to the Racc penalty, but a good choice at higher levels.
:Level 35 Freya's Mask Last Salvage drop on the list.
:Level 39 Sinister Mask Nice piece with +2 STR, but hard to get.
:Level 41 Voyager Sallet A STR piece like Sinister, but also hard to get due to CoP level caps.
:Level 52 Super Ribbon +1 STR and +1 Ratk with no penalties. Purchasable off the auction house, too.
:Level 54 Hunter's Beret Your AF hat and one of the better AF pieces.
:Level 70 Bowman's Mask Is a useful part of a Ratk build ONLY if you have the feet to go with it.
:Level 71 Ebon Visor +4 Ratk along with Snapshot bonus. A good choice if you can get it. Can become a great piece with the right Evoliths.
:Level 71 Zha'Go's Barbut SCNM drop. Hard to get, but one of the best head pieces for a Ranger.
:Level 75 Anwig Salade Relevant augments would be Haste/Snapshot, STR/WS Acc, Racc/Ratk. With the right augments, can compete with Zha'Go's piece.
:Level 75 Wyvern Helm/+1 5/6STR is hard to beat on a head piece. Useful during WS.
===Body===
:Level 50 Shikaree Aketon RNG/COR Brygid the Stylist Returns reward. The -Enmity is nice, too.
:Level 70 Kyudogi/+1 Expensive, and only an average piece. There are better pieces now, esp. for RNG.
:Level 71 Archer's Jupon +10 Ratk is nice, but the -10 Racc is a lot.
:Level 71 Ebur/Furia Jerkin A good piece because you get Ratk and Snapshot bonus without sacrificing too much Racc. Has Evolith slots for 2x Vs. Family type evoliths, and 1x Magic Skill evolith.
:Level 75 Kirin's Osode The STR/AGI bonuses work out to +5Ratk/+5Racc, with fSTR benefits on top of that.
:Level 75 Mirke Wardecors Relevant augments are +10Ratk, Snapshot +5.
:Level 75 Denali Jacket Nyzul Isle drop.
===Hands===
===Legs===
===Feet===
===Neck===
:Level 14 Ranger's Necklace Cheap on AH, you get it when you unlock RNG. The +5Ratk will be tough to beat for a long time. 
:Level 21 Spike Necklace A useful WS piece due to the +3STR. Don't macro this in at low levels since the Racc on Ranger's Necklace is more important.
:Level 40 Jagd Gorget An additional 1Ratk on your neck slot. While it is an upgrade, probably not worth the price on the AH. Use it if you already have it.
:Level 69 Lleu's Charm the +4AGI make it a decent WS macro piece. Still can't replace Ranger's Necklace for Ratk. Low drop rate, too.
:Level 69 Sniper's Collar While it doesn't improve on the +5Ratk of Ranger's Necklace, the -Enmity and additional Racc make this a possible replacement. 
:Level 70 Diabolos's Torque Good macro piece when in Dark weather.
:Level 70 Kubira Bead Necklace Einherjar reward. replaces your Spike Necklace for +STR macro piece during WS.
:Level 74 Qiqirn Collar +8Ratk finally replaces Ranger's Necklace as your full-time neck piece.
:Level 75 Kappa Necklace Also has +8Ratk, but no Racc bonus. Rare salvage reward. Just buy the Qiqirn collar.
===Back===
:Level 50 Sniper's Mantle Also a drop from a BCNM that hardly anyone does. Also not worth spending seals to get.
:Level 55 Royal Army Mantle A good choice if you already have it, but don't spend CP just to get it for RNG. You'll only use it for 6 levels.
:Level 60 Bullseye Cape Better choice than NQ Amemet. Free if you have the points, far cheaper than NQ Amemet Mantle.
:Level 61 Amemet Mantle/+1 You should at least get the NQ version. The HQ will last you forever on most jobs, not just on Ranger.
:Level 64 Smilodon Mantle +1 The +1 is a good WS piece over the NQ Amemet. Amemet +1 is better, though. I wouldn't bother with the NQ version, though.
:Level 69 Psilos Mantle Affordable and replaces both NQ Amemet and Bullseye cape. 
:Level 70 Gunner's Mantle +20 Ratk is impressive, but only spend the beastcoins to get it if you can make up the 10 Racc loss.
===Waist===
:Level 18 Brave Belt At the level you get it, the NQ's +1 STR isn't worth the 1AGI loss. Only get the HQ. Will last you a while, even in a Racc build.
:Level 45 Vanguard Belt +3 STR is good for a while.
===Rings===
===Earrings===
Most of the earrings don't offer much for an Ratk build. I would seriously consider some +Racc or +AGI earrings on your ear slots til 60+.
:Level 1 Cassie Earring +1 STR. Expensive, but use it if you have it.
:Level 49 Heims Earring Also +1 STR.
:Level 55 Feyuh's Earring Yet another +1 STR earring. Mithra only.
:Level 55 Waetoto's Earring +2 STR on ear piece. Taru only.
:Level 60 Wilhelm's Earring First earring with +1 Ratk on it. You don't even need the other earring if you want to full time it. However, worth macroing in the other one for WS if you have it. If you don't have the matching earring, you'll want to macro in a pair of STR earrings during weaponskills.
:Level 60 Silver Fox Earring +2 Ratk is the best you'll find on an ear slot for a while.
:Level 65 Ladybug Earring/+1 Hard to find on AH, but good for about 2/3 of the day if you have a Bonecraft buddy.
:Level 67 Triumph Earring/+1 +2 STR, pricey.
:Level 67 Harmonius Earring Also +2 STR, but silly expensive.
:Level 69 Supremacy Earring Only if you are using a Murderer.
:Level 72 Bushinomimi Reward from RoZ mission. I wouldn't get it just for an Ratk build, though.
==Ranged Accuracy==
===Weapon===
:Level 13 Felling Axe Good til level 24. The +4 Racc is quite a lot at the level that you get it. Added in 11/09 update. Will last you 11-16 levels, I'd say it's worth getting. 
:Level 24 Ranging Knife/+1 Also added in 11/09 update. Crafted from a NM drop in Valkurm Dunes. +1's unnecessary since these will only last you 5 levels.
:Level 29 Archer's Knife Getting two of these is the bare minimum for an XP setup once you hit level 29, will last you until at least 60.
:Level 30 Hawker's Knife/+1 NQ is a minor upgrade from Archer's Kinfe. The HQ may or may not be worth it to you.
:Level 38 Chiroptera Dagger Use it if you have it, not worth spending the time to get it if you don't.
:Level 61 Trailer's Kukri Finally a real upgrade from Archer's Knife with +14 Racc. 
:Level 67 Courser's Pugio Cheaper (read: free!) alternative to Trailer's Kukri. The +5 Agi will help on some weaponskills.
===Head===
===Body===
===Hands===
===Legs===
===Feet===
===Neck===
===Back===
===Waist===
===Rings===
===Earrings===
==Holy Bolt Damage==
Please remember to macro in some of the other status bolts even if you are spamming Holy Bolts. Your party will love you for it.
===Weapon===
===Head===
===Body===
===Hands===
===Legs===
===Feet===
===Neck===
===Back===
===Waist===
===Rings===
===Earrings===