Phantom Ranger: Player Guide
The dark archer: skills, weapons, armor and PvP
A player guide to the Phantom Ranger, the Dark Elf archer who masters both bow and dagger and wields strong debuffs and magic. Below: starting stats, skills, weapon and armor choices, PvP and mass battle tactics.
The Phantom Ranger (PR) is a cunning, calculating killer. In his youth he chose the bloody path of serving his lord, but just as his master once betrayed his king, the killer left his master with a knife in the back. By his own choice he became an outcast among his people: a master of bow and dagger, he lives for himself - in exile and proud solitude. He honors tradition but acts as he sees fit, and he does not like looking his enemy in the eye, preferring to fight from a distance. Like all dark warriors (Shillien Knight and Phantom Ranger) he has strong debuffs and magic. Unlike the light-elf archers, the PR depends more on the party and is also more useful in it; buffed, he is deadly, yet even alone he brings death to anyone who stands in his way.
Stats
| Stat | Value | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| STR | 41 | The highest strength in the game |
| CON | 32 | Physically the weakest archers; the main drawback - they are easily stunned |
| DEX | 34 | Quite fast, but any light-elf archer will outrun them |
| WIT | 12 | Average among archers |
| INT | 25 | The smartest among fighters |
| MEN | 26 | Weak magic resistance and no skills to protect against magic |
| P.Aspd | 342 | Almost the highest (depends on the bow) |
| M.Aspd | 226 | Slightly higher than humans', lower than elves' |
| Accuracy | 35 | Second among archers |
| Critical | 45 | Also second |
| Evasion | 35 | Not the most agile, but they can get out of trouble |
| Movement | 139 | Fairly fast, but not as fast as the light elves |
Skills
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Hex | Lowers the enemy's P.Def. If it lands, the job is half done: more damage and more frequent crits. It requires the Hex spellbook, which drops from Enchanted Monstereye (41) near Ivory Tower |
| Power Break | Lowers physical attack. Has no effect on mages |
| Drain Health | Takes a good chunk of HP from the enemy and heals you. Unlike the Shillien Knight's Life Leech, it takes a lot of HP from the mob and gives 20% of it to you (the Shillien Knight has both Life Leech and Drain Health) |
| Poison | Instantly poisons the enemy. Comes at level 20, next level only at 49. Even at level 1 it is indispensable solo and decent in PvP |
| Freezing Strike | Freezes the target area: deals damage and slows. Whoever it lands on does not live long, and it looks great |
| Sting | No other archer can level it. Lets you fight in melee: strong damage plus bleeding. Used with a sword, dagger or two-handed weapon |
| Vicious Stance | Active skill: increases critical damage depending on its level. A must for soloing. Consumes 5 MP every 2-3 seconds |
| Confusion | Fickle but effective; it really starts working from level 43. Makes the enemy change its attack target - it will save your life more than once. Casts quickly |
| Ultimate Evasion | Some Shillien Knights call it a "half-skill", but nothing suits an archer better. Multiplies evasion, casts fast, lasts 30 seconds and has a long cooldown. For emergencies |
| Acrobatic Move | While running, raises evasion, magic defense and resistance to sleep, poison and stun |
| Accuracy | Active skill: +10 accuracy, noticeably more hits. Consumes 5 MP every 2-3 seconds. Useful against especially evasive enemies |
| Soul of Sagittarius | Increases max MP at the cost of HP: max HP stays the same while max MP grows |
| Rapid Shot | Raises bow attack speed by about 40-50. Works as a 20-minute buff and recharges quickly |
| Fatal Counter | An arrow carrying the archer's pain: the lower your HP, the stronger the damage. Almost instant cast. Available at level 60 |
| Quiver of Arrow: Grade A | Converts 1 Crystal: A-Grade into 480-1800 mithril arrows |
| Quiver of Arrow: Grade S | Converts an S-grade crystal into 650-2600 mithril arrows |
| Stun Shot | Immobilizes the enemy for quite a while - sometimes up to 10 seconds, usually enough to take off at least half their HP. The success rate is relatively low, but even without the stun it does decent damage. Works at range; good solo and especially in PvP |
| Double Shot | Fires two arrows instead of one, very heavy damage |
The main drawback of Stun Shot and Double Shot is the high MP cost per shot, offset by their strong damage.
Weapons
If you decided on the Phantom Ranger from the start, your weapon from the very beginning is a dagger: learn to use it, you will always need it. At level 20 buy a bow. The ideal bow has normal attack speed (spd 293).
| Bow | P.Atk / M.Atk | Speed | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elven Bow | 105/32 | 293 | Differs from the Dark Elven Bow only in design and weight. About 600-650k adena; nothing better before level 30 |
| Dark Elven Bow | 105/32 | 293 | See above |
| Gastraphetes | 132/39 | 293 | About 1.1 million, once you have saved up |
| Light Crossbow | 191/54 | 293 | Only dropped or crafted, at least 3 million or more. The best D-grade weapon: the highest damage and normal speed |
| Crystallized Ice Bow | 220/61 | 293 | C-grade: attack speed with relatively low damage |
| Noble Elven Bow | 252/68 | 293 | Also speed over damage, and very beautiful. The Ice Bow and Noble Elven Bow cost roughly 2.5-3.5 million |
| Elemental Bow | 277/75 | 227 | Power with low speed |
| Akat Long Bow | 315/83 | 227 | Power with low speed. Elemental and Akat cost 3.5-5.5 million, depending on your bargaining skills |
| Eminence Bow | 323/83 | 293 | The ideal: high attack speed and strong damage. Be ready to pay up to 15 million |
By C-grade you will most likely be in a clan, so equipping yourself should not be a big problem.
Daggers. You keep dagger skills after level 40 too, so a dagger as a secondary weapon is worth considering.
| Dagger | P.Atk / M.Atk | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Cursed Maingauche | 62/42 | The main recommendation: lower attack, but it inflicts bleeding by itself without Bleed or Sting. The bleed is level 5 and hard to remove |
| Stiletto | 107/68 | C-grade, after level 40 |
| Cursed Dagger | 94/61 | C-grade, after level 40 |
Armor
The Phantom Ranger has skills only for light armor, so that is what we cover. Collect sets where possible.
| Grade | Set | Pieces (P.Def) | Price and difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| No-grade | Wooden Set (+2% P.Def, +41 HP) | Wooden Breastplate (47), Wooden Gaiters (28), Wooden Helmet (19) | 20-30k, sold entirely in the shop |
| D | Reinforced Leather Set (+80 MP) | Reinforced Leather Shirt (73), Reinforced Leather Gaiters (46), Reinforced Leather Boots (24) | 350-550k, the boots are hard to find |
| D | Manticore Skin Set (+91 MP) | Manticore Skin Shirt (81), Manticore Skin Gaiters (51), Manticore Skin Boots (27) | 800k - 1 million, the boots are hard to find |
| C | Theca Leather Set (+5.24% P.Def) | Theca Leather Armor (106), Theca Leather Gaiters (66), Theca Leather Boots (37) | From players or for crystals; the boots are hard to find |
| C | Drake Leather Set (+5.24% M.Def) | Drake Leather Armor (179), Drake Leather Boots (39) | The whole set has to be crafted |
Magic robe. Although the rules do not intend it, many archers advise carrying a magic robe. The best is the Elven Mithril Set (+7 run speed, +1 WIT, -1 INT): Mithril Tunic (P.Def 54, +169 MP), Mithril Stockings (P.Def 34, +105 MP), Elven Mithril Gloves (P.Def 27). With weak P.Def you get +7 speed, +1 WIT (casting speed) and extra mana, which is always short, at the cost of 1 INT (M.Atk).
Raising a Phantom Ranger is much harder than other archers - that is what makes it a unique class: beautiful and dangerous, cunning and clever.
Where and with whom to level
Pick slow mobs without arrow resistance, or use the run-and-shoot tactic. Ideal partners are an oracle, best of all a Shillien Elder, or a mage.
Class change quests: Trial of the Seeker (from level 35), Testimony of Fate (from level 37) and the last, decisive Test of Sagittarius (from level 39).
PvP
Every attack in any fight (PvP and mass PvP) should be backed by a Soulshot and a Blessed Spiritshot - they raise physical and magic attack.
The basic combo: Stun Shot + Freezing Strike + Hex + Power Break. After that it depends on your imagination and skill. If the Stun lands, the fight is half won: you get the chance to hit the enemy with impunity. Some skilled players like switching to a dagger in PvP - usually about 30% of the fight. We do not recommend it in your first fight, as it takes practice; but if you dare, you gain an extra combo, Sting + Bleed, and another chance to win.
Keep a separate shortcut bar for PvP. An example layout:
Example PvP hotkey bar from the original article
Tip: against a dagger user, never let him get close - that almost certainly means defeat.
Mass PvP
The goddess Shillien created the Phantom Ranger as a counter to enemy mages and archers, so in mass battles your main targets are mages and healing supports. Destroy the supports first, or consider the battle lost from the start. Think about archers last: without a healer they fall in seconds. There is no time for the full PvP combo here - Stun Shot + a Soulshot-charged shot is quicker and more convenient. Then act as the situation demands: help finish off remaining enemies or put Power Break + Hex on everything that moves (except your allies, of course).
Buffs you need but people forget
The Phantom Ranger, like the Shillien Knight, is not only a warrior but partly a mage, so he needs magic buffs too:
- Empower - raises magic attack power: with it the archer's spell damage multiplies and debuffs land more often.
- Acumen - raises casting speed; combined with Empower it works wonders.
- Concentration - lowers the chance of cast interruption. You will be running the whole fight, free seconds are rare, and losing them is fatal.
Original article author: warrior13