Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II Character and Class Comparison guide. Character and Class Comparison Guide Version 1.0 Date: 5/30/03 Creator: FurryBagi Document copyright 2002, Nico Young. Character and Class Comparison - Contents 1. Introduction/Technical information 2. What this guide is 3. Contacting me 4. Past updates 5. Future updates 6. The guide 7. Frequently asked questions 8. Credits/Thanks 9. Copyright/Trademark information Character and Class Comparison - 1. Introduction / Technical Information Hiya, I'm FurryBagi.. (Bay-jee.. Not Baggy)... All I ask is that if you like this guide and see me around, let me know! I hang out on the GameFAQS message board as.. FurryBagi! Or if you see any of the following characters on PSO, then that is (probably) me too, until someone steals the names: FOnewearl: Bagi RAmarl: Meeya HUnewearl: Neo Katt FOmar: Dani Filth I usually hang out on Deneb/4, Antares/9, Alcyone/6, or rarely Vega/1 Only PSO-World and Ragol.co.uk have my explicit permission to use this FAQ.. However anyone may download it for their personal use, or post it onto message boards, so long as I am given credit, and a link to the original is included! (Here at Ragol.co.uk) Any other personal or PSO related website that wishes to use it, may simply contact me and I will (99% chance) add you to my list of acceptable web-sites! This guide was written entirely by me. Character and Class Comparison - 2. What this guide is This guide is a comparison of the different classes, and the different characters within each class. It is here to help you, the player, more effectively choose who he/she should play as. A couple of simple facts however, that should be taken into consideration. These are mostly just MY opinions, based around many known factors. While they may have similar opinions, my opinions do NOT reflect the opinions of the Ragol.co.uk staff. That said, I'll continue. Character and Class Comparison - 3. Contacting me AIM: FurryBagi MSN: dragonlordfoulu@aol.com Email: neo_katt@yahoo.com See introduction for the other 2 places I can be found. Do NOT (I repeat do NOT!!) contact me trying to rant about my opinions! My opinions are my own, and I have every right to have them! Any complaints about my opinion will result in an instant warning, and a block. Character and Class Comparison - 4. Past updates None yet.. This is version 1. Character and Class Comparison - 5. Future updates None planned.. Character and Class Comparison - 6. The guide MY ratings: As you will see me say alot, these ratings are based on MY opinions, and do not reflect those of the PSO-World staff. If you disagree, then that is not my fault. Opinions are meant to be unique anyways. Offline: Hunters: 1. HUnewearl Online: Hunters: 1. HUcast 2. HUmar 2. HUnewearl 3. HUcast 3. HUmar 4. HUcaseal 4. HUcaseal Rangers 1. RAmarl Rangers 1. RAmarl 2. RAmar 2. RAcast 3. RAcast 3. RAmar 4 RAcaseal 4. RAcaseal Forces 1. FOnewm Forces 1. FOmar 2. FOnewearl 2. FOnewearl 3. FOmar 3. FOnewm 4. FOmarl 4. FOmarl An overall comparison (and rant): Before we get started, I would just like to make sure it is known that the characters of PSO are much like human beings. For one thing, it is not the characters race or class that makes it better, it is the person itself. Quite simply: All characters are created equal, it is the way they live their life that determines if they are good or bad. This does not mean that a Force must always use techs, and a Hunter must always use swords, and a Ranger must always use guns. What it DOES mean however, is that if you play a Force with the purpose of using Melee, than you should strive to be good at it. You do not have to by any means, nor do you have to listen to the common stereotypes online about what makes a good force. It is your game, your character, your 9$ a month.. If you find you are being harassed for your playing style, my suggestion is that you either find new people to play with, change your style of play, or tell those people 'Hey, if you wanna tell me how to play the game, you pay my hunters license'.. Hunters: Hunters are generally considered the brunt force of the Phantasy Star Online universe. They have the highest ATP along with the best growth potential for their ATP. If you play a hunter, you should probably strive to be good with hand to hand weapons, however this means that you risk more, and you get to hit less enemies. So an overall good idea is to make sure your hunter is carrying some means to hit all the enemies in a room if you are in need of some exp. (Razonde for the 2 who can use it, and a handgun/partisan for the 2 who cant) HUmar The HUmar is the best class to use if lots of hack and slash, with very little thought required is your style. They have very high Attack Power, and decent Accuracy and Defense. They do, however, lack greatly in the magic department. If you are planning to play only offline, HUmar may not be the best choice, as you will have no way to Shifta/Deband yourself, and this can be a severe handicap at later levels. HUnewearl HUnewearl has the most balanced potentials of the hunters. Decent ATP, decent ATA, decent MST, decent EVP, and decent DFP. She also gets level 20 shifta/deband, which is a very big plus for offline players or the occasional recluse (Hey, I'm online, but I'm a big time recluse, so generally I stick with characters I can survive with by myself) HUnewearl is my 2nd favorite of the characters, because she can easily hold her own, has a couple of nice exclusive weapons, and is just that much better when she has the benefits of a high level force alongside her. But she is not the strongest by any means. HUcast The absolute strongest character in the game (ATPwise), the HUcast is a nice choice if you are looking for pure power. Being that he is an android however, means that he can use no techs whatsoever, but has the use of traps. This is especially noteworthy since he gets the most freeze traps out of all the androids (And freeze traps are generally considered to be the most useful). He does lack however in the Accuracy department, but not enough that I would consider it a big handicap. A general tip for all of the androids out there is to carry a simple handgun so that they can disable traps with ease, since they are the only ones who can see them without the use of extra items. HUcaseal Much like the HUcast, her ATP is fairly high, but not quite as much. She is very strong, with a high evasion and accuracy to boot. She as well lacks in the magic department, and has traps to make up for it, however her trap growth rate is very slow for all the types available, and her HP does seem to be a bit lacking for a robot. She is usually considered a great choice for challenge mode though, so if your going for an S-rank she is a good choice. If you are going to be playing offline only, I do not reccomend her at all because you will be lacking in ATP, HP, healing, and have absolutely no way to buff up your attack and defense power, with few traps to help out. Rangers: Rangers are the (of course) gun users of the group. They have very high accuracy, and decent power. If you like hitting enemies from afar, or even just using hand to hand weapons with a high chance of hitting, then you may be a full-blooded ranger. The rangers accuracy goes up insanely fast, allowing you to use the most powerful guns sooner, and the ability to almost never miss at higher levels. RAmar RAmar has the highest accuracy of the Rangers, meaning that they can use the best guns, sooner. They also have the use of shifta and deband, which gives them a slight bonus. Like all rangers, they have average power and defense, but for magic power, the RAmar is fairly lacking. If you want a fairly well balanced ranger who can hold his own, then I highly suggest him, but if you are looking for stronger ATP, or decent magic use, then perhaps you should pass him up for one of the other rangers. RAmarl The RAmarl is by far my favorite character in the game. This in no way means she is the best for your playing style however! She has a great array of magic, including level 20 shifta/deband as well as level 20 jellen/zalure, which for offline players means that she is a great choice. She has high accuracy, and evasion, which is very helpful at lower levels. If you want a good magic user, with gun-toting abilities, then RAmarl is the pick for you! RAcast The RAcast has the highest ATP of the rangers, but like all androids, he has no magic. His trap potential for damage traps is the highest, which can have its uses, and his potential for freeze traps is about average. The RAcast has a formiddable ATP even without shifta, and is just that much better when he does have it. The fact that he is a ranger with the abilty to use spread type guns, and the ability to see traps also helps quite a bit. Many people underestimate the ability to take out a freeze or confuse trap in a dangerous area. RAcaseal RAcaseal is much like the RAcast, but a bit weaker, with a noticably higher ATA and EVP. But the lack of shifta/deband, and the fact that she has the slowest growth potential for freeze traps makes her about the worst choice for offline play. If you want decent ATP, and high ATA plus some nifty traps for a ranger, she may be your best bet. She is by far the most shunned character of PSO though for some odd reason. Forces: Forces are the magic users.. Many people stereotype them to being for 'support' only, but honestly, that is very very untrue. A force with knowledge of tech weaknesses, and high level techs is a very formiddable.. well. force.. If you like magic (And dont mind beggars constantly begging you to use shifta/deband on them), then a force is probably who you wanna be! FOmar The FOmar is among the most favorable of the forces, since he has a bonus to support techniques, and the ability to hold his own in a tight situation. The ability to use level 30 shifta/deband with a bonus and be one of the only forces to actually make use of it for himself (since he has a decent ATP), makes him a great choice for people who wish to play a melee force. If you are looking to be an attack tech force however, he is probably not a wise choice at all. FOmarl The FOmarl is my most despised class (Note I said _my_ most despised class.. To most everyone else, the RAcaseal is the worst) She is a great character if you play a purely defensive role who doesnt have any way to actually fight for herself decently. While at higher levels her attack tech damage and melee damage do become 'noticable' they are still very very low. I do not reccomend them for online or offline play, unless you just plain like them. FOnewm FOnewm is the absolute best force when it comes to attack techs. He has a high MST, and a bonus to all the Gi and Ra spells. While his lower level attack spells are weaker than those of the FOnewearl, that generally isnt much of a problem, since that slight boost can often be made up for. Being that he is a newman, he also has inherent TP regeneration, which can be a great plus in certain situations. FOnewearl FOnewearl is a great choice if you have patience, and the desire to be a healer. FOnewearl has the absolute highest MST in the game, meaning she has the most TP and the highest damage potential if she is played properly. With a boost to simple techs, this means that she can do great damage, but usually only to one enemy at a time for a low TP cost. She also has the best Resta/Anti range and effect. If you are a healer with patience, go for her! Character and Class Comparison - 7. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Are your opinions correct?!?! A: How can my opinions be correct? They are mine, and mine alone. Q: I disagree with you!! xxxx is way better than xxxx PERIOD!!! A: If it was hands-down better then I wouldn't have room to disagree now would I? Character and Class Comparison - 8. Credits / Thanks PSO-World and Ragol.co.uk for hosting this guide. All the people who read this guide! All my friends who I play with whom I analyzed to get this data! Character and Class Comparison - 9. Copyright / Trademark information Document copyright 2002, Nico Young. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.