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Nature-loving archers who can call on local wildlife for aid.

Description

The Ranger, also known as Hunter, is a job in Final Fantasy V. It is part of the Fire Crystal job set, although the actual shard is found in a black chocobo gullet later on. It is the only job outside of the Freelancer and Gladiator that can equip bows, which allows it to deal full damage from the back row.

While bows have a low accuracy compared to most other weapons (roughly 70% accuracy, if not lower), the Ranger gets around this with its innate Aim command, giving it 100% accuracy with any weapon. The main prize of the job is the Rapid Fire command, among the most powerful physical commands in the game, that allows an attacker to hit random enemies four times. This can be exploited in a combination with Dual-Wield, and further with the use of Spellblade to deal immense damage to enemies. The downside to the job is its lack of any innate support abilities.

Mastering Ranger in all four characters in the now defunct mobile and Steam versions earns the achievement "Marksman".

Characteristics[]

The Ranger class represents animals and nature, and so they dress in the color green and don a feather, whether on headgear or alone. The outfits resemble depictions of Robin Hood. Lenna's costume resembles the Bard from Final Fantasy III.

Gameplay[]

Stats[]

Stat Modifier
Strength +16
Agility +12
Stamina +1
Magic -5

The Ranger job possesses decent Strength and Agility (improving its physical damage and turn rate respectively), but low Stamina. While being in the back row helps it against physical attacks, it is prone to magic attacks, due to its inability to raise Magic Defense because of its limited armor options.

Mastering Ranger grants the Strength and Agility modifiers to Freelancers or Mimes, assuming they do not already have a higher modifier from another mastered job.

Equipping the Equip Bows ability will grant the Ranger's Strength and Agility modifier to that job if it does not already have a higher modifier.

Equipment[]

Rangers' ability to equip bows is their main strength, allowing them to deal full damage while remaining in the back row. Their other equipment options are knives, combat hats, light armor, and armlets. Wearing light armor limits their defense against magic attacks, but being in the back row will help them against physical damage.

Bow sprite.

Bows deal damage based on Strength and Agility, but due to a bug, Agility will only add 0 or 1 to the damage modifier. They all have some kind of special effect, from elemental damage to status-infliction (including instant death with Killer Bow) to critical hit chances. In the Pixel Remaster they also deal double damage to flying enemies. Bows only take 50% of the target's Evade into calculations. The ultimate bow in most versions is Artemis' Bow, found in Istory Falls, which is especially potent against Magic Beasts. The Game Boy Advance version added the superior Fairy's Bow, dropping from Grand Aevis. One unique sort of bow is the Magic Bow that deals no damage, only inflicts Silence onto enemies; it could be used to silence groups when used with Rapid Fire.

Their best headgear is Black Cowl, bought from Phantom Village and Great Sea Trench. Their best armor piece in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, and Pixel Remaster versions is Black Garb, also bought from Phantom Village and Great Sea Trench. Vishnu Vest is the new ultimate light armor in versions that have the Sealed Temple optional dungeon. The Bone Mail has the best stats for a light armor, but also makes the user undead, meaning it is situationally useful for elemental resistance to Ice and many status protections with the added durability.

Abilities[]

Ability Job level AP required Type Innate Description
Animals 1 15 Command No Gain the aid of woodland friends.
Aim 2 45 Command Yes Raise the accuracy of attacks.
Equip Bows 3 135 Support Yes Gain the ability to equip bows.
Rapid Fire 4 405 Command No Perform four weaker attacks at once.
Mysidia Rabbit from FFV Pixel Remaster
Rapid Fire from FFV Pixel Remaster

Faris using the Animals (top) and Rapid Fire (bottom) commands in battle.

The Ranger lacks any innate support abilities, meaning mastery provides no benefit to Freelancer or Mime beyond the commands unlocked. The final command unlocked, Rapid Fire, makes mastering the job a must-have for physical attackers.

Aim is the Ranger's innate command ability. It is a physical attack that usually never misses, making it preferable to basic attacks. It cannot be used when under Darkness, and can still miss if the character is equipped with a rod. The ability is most useful for those wielding bows, due to its ability to negate the bows' natural lower accuracy.

Animals is a command that summons animals to help based on the characters' level. It has a variety of effects, including healing the party, dealing damage, or applying statuses, but is random and hard to control, a little bit akin to Geomancer's Gaia. This ability has uses, but is not the main prize of the job.

Rapid Fire hits all enemies four times for halved damage, ignoring the target's Defense and Evasion, but being unable to use weapons' special abilities or effects. This greatly increases the damage output of any physical attacker, doubling it and spreading it across the entire enemy party. In combination with Dual-Wield and Spellblade, Rapid Fire can be a devastating combo that can easily defeat most enemies late game.

Etymology[]

A ranger is an archetype found in many fantasy fiction and role-playing games. Rangers are usually associated with the wisdom of nature. Rangers tend to be wise, hardy, cunning, and perceptive in addition to being skilled woodsmen.

Notes[]

  1. Original English name given in the Japanese Final Fantasy V Battle Analysis guidebook.

Citations[]

  1. Final Fantasy V Battle Analysis, p.28
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