Phantasy Star Online 2 - The Ultimate Guide to the Best Free-to-Play MMORPG

Phantasy Star Online 2 (PSO2) is a free-to-play online action role-playing game developed by Sega. First released in Japan in 2012, it eventually came to North America on Xbox One and Microsoft Windows in 2020. With its fluid combat, in-depth customization, and wealth of content, PSO2 has become one of the most popular online RPGs.

What is Phantasy Star Online 2?

PSO2 is set in the science fiction universe of the Phantasy Star series. Players create a customizable character and journey to the Oracle colony fleet in search of adventure. This persistent online world is home to a vibrant community of players who work together to take on quests, defeat enemies, and collect loot.

Unlike previous Phantasy Star games, PSO2 features real-time hack-and-slash combat. Players actively dodge attacks while using weapons and abilities against hordes of aliens and mechanical foes. With thousands of weapon variants and a flexible skill system, you have control over your playstyle.

While the main story explores the mysteries of Oracle and planet Naverius below, the heart of the experience is taking on quests with others. These missions range from simple resource gathering to epic boss battles against towering enemies. Harder difficulties and special Emergency Quests offer exclusive rewards for those seeking a challenge.

What are the key features of Phantasy Star Online 2?

Character Customization

PSO2 starts with creating your ideal protagonist. With options for race, facial features, body type, and fashion, you have plenty of tools for unique self-expression. Change your look at any time by collecting new hairstyles, accessories, and outfits.

Action Combat

The real-time combat emphasizes fluidity and finesse. Lock onto targets while unleashing weapon combos and area attacks. Time your dodges and blocks to avoid damage. With nine main weapon types like swords, guns, and magic rods, you can find a playstyle that suits you.

Four-Player Co-op

Quest solo or join up to three others in co-op. Play with friends or get matched with players worldwide. Coordinate with teammates to chain abilities and take down tough enemies. Healers, tanks, and damage roles create balanced parties.

Deep Progression

With level caps beyond 100, you’ll be upgrading for a long time. Unlock stat boosts, new skills, and bonus attributes. Hunt rare loot to enhance gear or use multiple weapons to increase their potential. Mix and match equipment for unique builds.

Frequent Events

Limited-time events occur throughout the year with exclusive quests and rewards. Join in annual festivities, earn rare cosmetics, or do daily tasks for loot boxes. Along with free game updates every few months, there’s always something new.

Why is Phantasy Star Online 2 popular?

As a free-to-play online RPG, PSO2 makes it easy to get started and try out its addictive blend of action and loot hunting. With ten years of updates in Japan, it has accumulated an impressive amount of content. Players inevitably find fun goals to work towards like collecting outfits, taking on new classes, or optimizing their gear.

The responsive real-time combat combined with four-player co-op also gives it wide appeal. Encounters stay fresh and exciting by encouraging player movement and coordination. Friends can team up to see who gets the highest score while casually chatting.

While optional microtransactions are present, the game never gates progress behind real money. Paying only provides cosmetic items and quality-of-life improvements. This fair free-to-play approach helps retain its substantial player base.

PSO2 also benefits from the Phantasy Star name. Fans of the single-player RPGs on Genesis and Dreamcast were excited to revisit the universe. The online format brought it to a new generation of players. Anime aesthetic and tropes additionally draw in fans of the genre.

Overall, Phantasy Star Online 2 succeeds by embracing addictive RPG progression, solid co-op action, and player creativity. These factors will likely keep it popular well into the next decade and beyond. Whether diving in now or returning after a long break, there’s always more adventure to be had.

Gameplay

Phantasy Star Online 2 offers fluid hack-and-slash combat combined with multiplayer co-op. With room for creativity in building your character, you can fine-tune their playstyle as you take on missions and enemies. There is plenty to learn when getting started, but the game does a good job easing you into its systems.

How to Play Phantasy Star Online 2

After creating a character, you arrive on the Oracle fleet to begin your adventures. Move with WASD keys and control the camera with the mouse. Left-click swings your equipped weapon while right-click activates photon arts abilities. Opening the menu with ESC provides options like changing gear, using consumables, and more.

Accept client orders to take on specific tasks for citizens. Main story quests also drive the narrative forward while rewarding experience points (EXP). Killing enemies and completing objectives grants EXP to level up and meseta currency to buy items from shops.

Loot like weapons, units (armor), and materials drop from defeated foes. Stronger enemies may rarely provide rare cosmetic outfits as well. Visit the shopping area to stock up on healing items, use storage, or turn in quests via the Quest Counter.

When ready for a more challenging mission, access quest selection from the elevator. Join quests alone or with a party to explore the planet Naverius below. Combat, gather specified items, or take down bosses to complete them.

Character Creation and Customization

Before starting, use the detailed character creator to choose your appearance. Options include face, hairstyle, body proportions, voice, and initial fashion.

Pick from five races:

Humans – Balanced and versatile
Newmans – Focused on speed and technology
CASTs – Robotic with high defense
Deumans – Spiritual race with extra magic
Elinor – Elf-like species adept at dexterity

Next, select from nine main class types, which determine your playstyle and starter gear:

Hunter – Sword-wielders with high HP
Ranger – Ranged damage dealers
Force – Magic casters
Fighter – Fists and dual blades
Gunner – All about firearms
Techter – Support magic
Braver – Katana and bow user
Bouncer – Dual saber and boots
Summoner – Fights with pets

Customize further as you play with new hairstyles, accessories, layered outfits, and lobby actions earned from story progress, events, and AC Scratch.

Different Races and Classes

Races provide small stat differences at character creation. For example, Newman’s high DEX makes them quick casters while CAST’s VIT increases their defense. But any race can play any class effectively in the long run.

Classes determine weapon proficiency, available photon arts, and stat gains on level up. However, you can freely change class any time after the tutorial. Mix and match them to create unique hybrid builds.

Later in the game, you can unlock advanced classes by reaching certain level caps:

Gunner – Ranged damage with assault and twin machine guns
Fighter – Close combat with twin daggers and knuckles
Techer – Support and elemental magic
Braver – Combines katana and bow attacks
Bouncer – Wields dual sabers and jet boots
Summoner – Fights alongside magical pets
Hero – Uses any weapon with amplified effects
Phantom – Stealthy with rifle and rod
Etoile – Boosts damage with double saber and wand

Experiment to discover advanced classes that suit your preferred playstyle.

Weapons and Equipment

Weapons determine your main attacks and photon arts. With nine broad categories like swords, guns, and rods, there’s lots of variety:

Swords – Balanced melee with good range
Wired Lances – Long spears with area attacks
Partisans – Polearms with sweeping strikes
Twin Daggers – Rapid hits and close dodges
Double Sabers – Deadly spinning blade attacks
Knuckles – Punch and grapple enemies up close
Assault Rifles – Ranged damage and detonations
Shotguns – Spread shots with ailment rounds
Twin Machine Guns – High DPS ballistic fire
Rod – Casts elemental techniques
Wands – Support healing and buffs
Jet Boots – Stylish flying kicks
Twin Chakrams – Thrown fire rings with return
Katana – Iaijutsu quick draw slashes
Bullet Bows – Charge shots with strong single hits
Launchers – Blast away groups with rockets

Equipping units (armor) increases defense while also providing set bonuses that boost offense. Combine units of the same type for added effects. The number of available gear slots expands as you level up.

Weapons and units come in rarities from 1 to 13 stars. Find loot dropped from enemies or buy items from player shops and NPCs. Grind duplicate gear to increase stats through limit breaking and affixing.

Combat System

PSO2’s real-time combat emphasizes dodging and positioning while using normal attacks, photon arts, and weapon actions:

Normal Attacks – Mash normal attack for combos. Varies by weapon. Manage PP (photon points).
Photon Arts – Activate with weapon buttons. Special attacks with cool downs.
Weapon Action – Press weapon action button for unique moves. Triggers counters, blocks, or support effects.
Dodging – Double tap a direction to dash and avoid attacks. Has brief invincibility.
Counters – Block or use weapon action at the right time to counterattack.
Weak Points – Deal extra damage by targeting enemy weak spots. Glowing parts when attacked.

Tap subtitle buttons during combat to access four weapon palettes. Set photon arts on each palette to switch between ability sets. Open the skill tree menu to learn support techniques like Resta healing.

Enemies have various tells before attacks. Study patterns to properly time dodges, blocks, and counters. Patiently whittle down health bars while avoiding damage yourself.

Exploration and Quests

Journey to planet Naverius and explore its varied regions. Forests, tundras, deserts, ruins, and more comprise the open zones. Move between areas via ryuker devices.

Scattered landmarks provide fast travel points after activation. Traverse environments to find enemy spawns, gather points for items, and regional teleporters.

Quests drive the action and progression. Pick up client orders from citizens before departing. Complete objectives like hunting a specific number of enemies, gathering ingredients, or taking down bosses.

Daily recommended quests provide solid EXP and meseta. Urgent quests on planet Naverius rotate every few hours for rare materials. Limited-time events also occur frequently.

Quests are ranked from 1 to 5 stars based on difficulty. Match or surpass the recommended battle power (BP) of enemies to succeed. Play through story quests to unlock additional planets and regions.

Multiplayer Gameplay

PSO2 really shines when playing cooperatively. Parties allow up to four players total. Two key multiplayer options:

Party Cross-Block – Play on same ship/server. Need member invites.
Multi-Block – Match across ships and regions. Join randomly.

Match your battle power when creating or joining parties for smooth runs. Distribute party roles for efficiency:

Hunters – Tanks who draw aggro and defend.
Rangers – Ranged damage dealers.
Forces – Support with healing and buffs.
Mixed – Balanced characters in any role.

Coordinate attacks with teammates, time photon arts together, and revive fallen players. Chat via keyboard, emoji stickers, and voice chat.

Higher difficulties and Emergency Quests are very hard solo but become manageable with a good party. Tackle these challenges for exclusive loot and cosmetics.

Content

With a decade of regular updates, Phantasy Star Online 2 is packed with content. The main story provides structure while free roaming, events, and multiplayer offer plenty of gameplay variety.

Story Mode

The main narrative focuses on exploring the Oracle colony fleet and planet Naverius. Your silent protagonist awakens on Oracle with amnesia, guided by a supportive AI named Afin.

Complete story chapters to advance the plot, unlock game features, and obtain rewards. Early chapters introduce game systems while later ones ramp up the stakes against warring factions.

Key story characters include:

Afin – Your onboarding AI guide and companion.
Echo – Scientist who aids researching Naverius sites.
Gettemhart – Shady ARKS officer with unclear motives.
Regius – Highly driven ARKS leader who pushes progress.
Xion – Mysterious being who knows more than she lets on.

The writing aims for a light tone with anime and sci-fi tropes. Story cutscenes play out fully voiced Japanese dialogue with English subtitles. It provides just enough narrative glue for the gameplay.

Free Mode

Free Field and Ark Quests are the games ‘general content where you freely take on missions. Grind EXP, meseta, materials, loot drops and work on daily and weekly objectives.

Free Field – Travel to planet Naverius and its landscapes. Farm experience from mobs, search for harvest materials, or hunt rare spawns.

ARKS Quests – Choose standalone one-off quests with specific objectives, like gathering or defeating a number of enemies.

These modes are continuously expanded through major game updates every few months. New regions, enemies and mechanics keep the grind satisfying.

Emergency Quests

Emergency Quests are unique missions with special bosses and rewards that rotate hourly, daily, and weekly. They often involve multi-stage battles leading up to a climactic boss fight.

Some examples include:

Mining Base Defense – Stop the assault on Oceanids mining facility.
Shadow of the Revenants – Defeat Dark Falz doppelgangers.
Tokyo Bonus Quest – Fight intense versions of bosses.

These missions drop materials for upgrading weapons along with rare cosmetics. Successfully completing Emergency Quests provides Battle Points (BP) for spending in a special shop.

Urgent Quests

Urgent Quests are time-limited missions that randomly appear for 40 minutes. When they spawn, race to join before time expires. These have special rare enemies not found elsewhere.

Defeating these powerful foes can reward rare weapon camos, boosters, and excubes currency. Excubes allow buying high end items and cosmetics. The rare spawns test your skills, so come prepared with good gear and strategy.

Limited-Time Events

The seasonal events calendar keeps the experience fresh by introducing new activities and rewards. These typically run for 2-4 weeks at a time.

Recent examples include:

Festivals – Summer, Christmas, and Easter celebrations.
Collaborations – Events based on other Sega IPs or anime shows.
Battle Arena – Competitive battles with ranks and leaderboards.
Fresh Finds Shop – Rotating selection of unique items.

Participate to collect costumes, accessories, weapon camos, boost items, and other exclusives before they leave. Some scratch ticket cosmetics also make appearances.

Raids and Boss Battles

Taking down towering boss enemies and raid bosses with a party is incredibly satisfying. These require learning patterns and working together to avoid devastating attacks.

Early boss fights ease you in, teaching the mechanics and tells. Later encounters can take 30+ minutes requiring multiple stages and forms to defeat. But the epic loot is worth it!

Major boss examples include:

Dark Falz – Corrupted AI overseer of Oracle.
Profound Darkness – Planet destroying being.
Luther – Rogue scientist and mastermind villain.
Persona – Mysterious malevolent figure.
Apprentice – Ruthless humanoid weapon.

Team communication is key, so don’t be afraid to use symbols or voice chat!

PvP

Battle Arena provides simple PvP matches with three modes:

Battle Royale – 8 players fight solo or in teams.
Team / Solo Guard – Defend your crystal from the enemy team.
Team / Solo Elimination – Defeat the enemy team to win.

PvP emphasizes skill over gear, with mechanics like equalized HP and photon arts cooldowns. Earn event currency and rise through the rankings for rewards.

While limited, Battle Arena is a fun side activity to break up the co-op PvE grind. Matches are quick and intense.

Systems

Phantasy Star Online 2 contains many meta systems that give you things to work towards in the long term. These guide progression and give activities purpose.

PSO Points

PSO Points are a premium currency bought with real money and used in the game’s store. Save big bundles for cosmetics like:

Fresh Finds Shop – Rotating selection of costumes.
Color Change Passes – Reskin outfits and weapons.
Accessory Salon – Unique visual flairs.
Material Storage – Expand inventory space.

Small point packs offer consumables that provide boosts:

Experience Boost – +50% EXP gain for 30 minutes.
Rare Drop Boost – +100% rarer loot for 30 minutes.
Meseta Boost – +100% meseta from enemies for 30 minutes.
Tri Boost – EXP, Rare Drop, and Meseta boost combined.

Use these timed boosts efficiently when grinding for progression.

AC Scratch Tickets

AC Scratch Tickets provide cosmetic rewards using AC, an earnable currency. Scratch for outfits, accessories, lobby actions, emotes, and room decorations.

Recent examples:

Garou:Mark of the Wolves – Themed on SNK’s fighting game.
Persona Collab Tickets – Styled after the JRPG series.
Sonic Collab Tickets – Items based on Sonic the Hedgehog.

Build a unique look by mixing and matching pieces across many scratch tickets. Sell duplicates for meseta.

SG Scratch Tickets

SG Scratch has exclusive outfits, accessories, and room decor using Star Gems. SG is extremely rare, so these items have prestige.

Ways to obtain SG:

Mission Pass Gold Tier – Earn enough experience to get some SG.
Monthly Campaigns – Check email gifts and campaigns.
Urgent Quest Rewards – Very small chance on clear.
Player Market – Buy SG scratch items from other users.

The rarity makes SG scratches less about collecting and more about showing off.

Weapon Enhancement and Fusion

Enhancing weapons raises their attack power at the cost of meseta and materials. Grind duplicate weapons to earn grinding points and boost stats through:

Grind Cap Increase – Raises Weapon’s level cap by set amounts.
Attribute Enhance – Boost Attack, HP, PP bonuses.
Add Special Ability – Transfer S-grade abilities between weapons.
Add Photon Blast – Attach blast cutscene to your weapon.

Grind high rarity 12 and 13 star weapons to +35 for massive attack power. Use grind success rate boosters purchased with FUN or excubes.

Also fuse weapons to combine stats, abilities, and transfer them to a new base weapon. Fuse identical weapons to limit break for increased caps.

Armor Crafting

Armor units can be crafted by trading materials and meseta to Zieg in the Shop Area. Provides access to high end gear.

Exchange common materials and meseta for 11 star units.
Combine 10 star units with rare materials for 12 star sets.
Use Sigma materials from bosses to make top tier 13 star units.

Focus on sets of the same category for bonus effects like increased PP. Work towards equipment with beneficial skill rings.

Skill Trees

Skill points unlock passive buffs and abilities across three trees as you level up:

Hunter – Sword focus with damage boosts.
Ranger – Ranged and elemental power.
Force – Support techniques like healing.

Max out Hunter for damage, Ranger for crit, and Force for survivability. Reset trees to reallocate points anytime.

High level caps let you fully fill out two or even all three trees eventually. This creates powerful hybrid builds.

Mags

Mags are helpful creatures that provide photon energy and support effects. Feed them items to increase stats aligned with melee, ranged, or technique. Examples:

Weapons – Raises corresponding ATK type stat.
Devices – Boosts DEX and allied defense.
Units – Increase HP stat.
Photon Fury – Mag’s special attack during combat.

With enough feeding, evolve Mags into new forms that unlock support actions to aid you in battle. It takes work, but pays off.

Classes

Phantasy Star Online 2 features nine main classes and nine advanced classes. Each provides a unique playstyle based around their weapon and abilities.

Hunter

The balanced Hunter uses swords to inflict damage up close. With good HP and defense, they also serve as tanks.

Weapons: Swords – Standard greatswords with a mix of wide swings and precision strikes.

Partisans – Long spears with sweeping area attacks.

Wired Lances – Whips that pull enemies in and hit groups.

Key Features:

High HP, attack, and defense. Withstand lots of damage.
Area sword attacks draw aggro from enemies.
Weapon actions that block or counterattack.
Arts for closing gaps, building meter, and burst damage.

As a versatile starter class, Hunter excels at solo play with its durability and consistent DPS. It remains useful at all levels of play by tanking hits and holding aggro in parties.

Ranger

Rangers stay at range using rifles and launchers to pick off targets. They reload to deliver powerful charged shots.

Weapons:

Rifles – Single shot with low spread and high weak point damage.

Launchers – Fire rockets with huge AoE explosions.

Key Features:

Charged shots after reloading. Excellent burst potential.
Weak point damage bonuses from rifle precision.
Area bombardment with launcher explosions.
Traps that provide support utility.
Arts for repositioning and gathering enemies.

With their ranged style, Rangers bring consistent DPS uptime on enemies. Swapping between rifles and launchers keeps the gameplay varied.

Force

Forces are casters that wield rods and talises to destroy groups with elemental photon techniques.

Weapons:

Rods – Cast offensive elemental techniques.

Talises – Support healing and buffing abilities.

Key Features:

Powerful charged elemental spells with AoE.
Support techniques to heal and enhance allies.
Can inflict status effects like burn, shock, and freeze.
Arts that gather groups and shield allies.
Squishy at low levels but high damage output.

Forces excel at clearing out groups of enemies with their wide area techniques. Focus on good positioning to avoid damage while dishing it out.

Gunner

Gunners wield twin machine guns and assault rifles to pepper enemies with bullets. They chain stylish gun kata moves.

Weapons:

Twin Machine Guns – High rate of fire with mobility.

Assault Rifles – Versatile automatic rifles with grenades.

Key Features:

Mix up combos between main weapons.
Gun kata weapon arts with acrobatics.
Chain attacks flow smoothly together.
Grenades and bombs provide AoE explosions.
Great mobility with jumps, rolls, and flips.

The Gunner’s fluid animations and non-stop attacks create a very stylish damage dealer. The weapon swapping keeps their gameplay fast and varied.

Techter

Techters enhance allies with buffs from their talises and also deal area damage with rods. A key support class.

Weapons:

Rods – Offensive elemental techniques.

Talises – Support buffs and healing.

Key Features:

Support Shifta and Deband buff allied attack and defense.
Resta technique heals teammates.
Offensive elemental damage with charged rods.
Can inflict status effects on enemies.
Arts that enhance attribute resistances.

In addition to damage, Techters really help teams survive and push damage further with their buffs. Every party loves a Techter support.

Bouncer

Bouncers elegantly wield jet boots and dual blades to perform acrobatic melee attacks from any angle.

Weapons:

Jet Boots – Stylish kicks with mobility and ranged attacks.

Dual Blades – Rapid strikes with mid-air dodges.

Key Features:

Jet boots let you attack from the air.
Dual blades hit fast with elemental charge attacks.
Arts can be activated while moving for fluid combos.
Gather enemies with pulls and vortexes.
Great dodges, rolls, and air dashes.

With their fast and visually appealing moveset, Bouncers bring energy and excitement to any fight.

Braver

Bravers seamlessly switch between katanas and bullet bows to adapt to any situation in battle.

Weapons:

Katana – Iai quick draw slashes along with combos.

Bullet Bow – Charged precision arrows and rapid bursts.

Key Features:

Katana counters and iai draw attacks.
Bullet bow snipes weak points from afar.
Swift stance switching shakes up the action.
Arts chain katana and bow attacks.
Balanced offense and defense.

By mastering two vastly different weapon styles, Bravers can adapt to handle any combat scenario that arises.

Summoner

Summoners call upon magical pets and creatures to fight alongside them against adversaries.

Weapons:

None, relies on pets. Uses talises to support pets.

Key Features:

Has a variety of pets with different abilities to swap between.
Commands pets to attack targets or use special actions.
Talis enhances pet attributes and heals them.
Arts trigger pet burst attacks and strengthen bonds.
Pets draw aggro allowing Summoner to attack from range.

With proper pet management, Summoners unleash powerful AI companions against foes.

Phantom

Phantoms wield rods for magic and rifles for precise shots. They utilize stealth and deception in battle.

Weapons:

Rods – Cast ranged techniques and support magic.

Rifles – Accurate weak point shots from stealth.

Key Features:

Enter stealth mode to ambush enemies unseen.
Clone decoys draw away enemy attention.
Rifle headshots while hidden do massive damage.
Rod techniques hit at range while on the move.
Arts that tracking mark targets and teleport.

By combining phantom cloak stealth with devastating ambushes, Phantoms thrive on guerrilla tactics.

Etoile

Etoiles enhance their dual sabers and wands with damage boosting effects to unleash devastating arts.

Weapons:

Double Saber – Deadly spinning attacks.

Wands – Charge magic for area attacks.

Key Features:

Damage boosts enhance all attacks periodically.
Arts chain powerful sword and wand attacks.
Guard stances to reduce damage taken.
Support abilities to enhance party members.
Both melee and ranged fighting capabilities.

Etoiles overwhelm enemies through sheer amplified damage across multiple fronts.

Races

Phantasy Star Online 2 allows choosing from five distinct races. Each has their own backstory and provides slight variations in base stats.

Human

Humans make up much of the Oracle colony population. Their average stats allow flexibility to take on any class.

Features:

Balanced stats with no particular strengths or weaknesses.
Can equip most fashion items with no restrictions.
Plain appearance allows extensive customization.
Natives of Earth looking to colonize new frontiers.
Driven by curiosity and need for control.

With well-rounded capabilities, Humans work well in any playstyle. This combined with unrestricted fashion cements them as a very popular pick.

Newman

Newmans are bioengineered humans created on Oracle. Their high DEX makes them adept Scouts and Rangers.

Features:

Highest base DEX for accuracy and evasion.
Above average TEC suited for casting.
Can equip unique Newman fashion items.
Pointed ears resemble fantasy elves.
Created to be Oracle caretakers.

For those who enjoy playing ranged classes, Newman’s provide an edge with their dexterity and technique. Their exclusive outfits also appeal aesthetically.

Cast

Casts are androids from planet Neudaiz built in humanity’s image. With high defenses, they make sturdy Hunters.

Features:

High base VIT for reducing damage.
Above average T-ATK for melee weapons.
Male casts cannot equip most fashion items.
Customizable with accessories and parts.
Logical and loyal robots seeking purpose.

As walking tanks, Casts attract players who want to soak hits and stay in the fray. Just be prepared for limited cosmetic options.

Deuman

Deumans are an exiled people imbued with magic powers. Their TEC makes them gifted Forces and Techters.

Features:

Highest natural TEC for technique damage.
Can equip Deuman exclusive fashion.
Horns and pointed ears signify demonic heritage.
Shunned for unleashing dangerous magic.
Seek revenge against society that exiled them.

For mastering the elements, Deuman’s increased TEC gives them an edge when wielding rods and staves.

Elinor

Elinor are refugees who resemble elf-like creatures. Their high DEX makes them talented Bouncers and Phantoms.

Features:

Top base DEX, great for evasion.
Can equip Elinor exclusive fashion.
Animal ears and tails with petite bodies.
Peaceful healers fleeing their homeland.
Trying to integrate in Oracle despite prejudice.

With naturally high DEX, Elinor are perfect for those who want to be nimble damage dealers able to evade attacks.

Choosing a Race

While races do influence stats, they ultimately don’t limit your class potential. You’re free to change class at any time.

Try out different races during character creation to get a feel for appearances and animations. Fashion options can also help drive your choice.

But feel free to go with whatever appeals most aesthetically! The stats give small starting boosts but equipment and leveling up supersede any racial advantages.

Weapons

Phantasy Star Online 2 features a wide selection of weapons across melee and ranged types. Each has their own combat style and photon arts to master.

Swords

The balanced sword is a staple melee pick. Wide swings hit groups while thrusts deal quick precision damage.

Types:

Standard Sword – Great baseline damage and reach.
Double Saber – Light spinning attacks hit all around.
Wired Lance – Long spears with pulling moves.
Partisan – Polearms good for keeping distance.

Arts Include:

Overend – Spinning leaping slash.
Gurenzan – Barrage of frontal attacks.
Surtr’s Torch – Erupt the ground with slashes.
Genon – Unleash a piercing uppercut.

With good damage and mobbing capabilities, swords allow new players to easily slice through battles.

Katanas

Katanas sheathe powerful Iaijutsu quick draw techniques for bursting down targets.

Types:

Katana – Quick slashes combined with strong iai moves.
Dual Blades – Wield a blade in each hand for rapid hits.

Arts Include:

Shunka Shunran – Blink in and instantly slash.
Hatou Rindou – Unleash a flurry of blinding cuts.
Gekka Zakuro – Ignite the katana for extra damage.
Seigyoki – Counterattack while evading.

For masters of timing and precision, katanas provide the means to elegantly dismantle foes.

Spears

Spears boast long reach and effectiveness at hitting multiple surrounding enemies.

Types:

Wired Lance – Whips that yank enemies into spinning attacks.
Partisan – Lengthy poles with wide swings.

Arts Include:

Trick Rave – Pole vault skyward and slam down.
Four Thousand Rain – Jumping top spin drill.
Twirl Fall – Spin lance at range to gather targets.
Infinite Storm – Surround yourself with a whirlwind.

Spears allow controlling the battlefield while dishing pain to groups. Just watch your spacial awareness.

Rifles

Rifles pick off targets from a safe distance with precise aim and charged shots.

Types:

Assault Rifle – Powerful rapid-fire arm with grenades.
Twin Machine Gun – Even faster bullet barrages.

Arts Include:

Gravity Bomb – Fire a slow field grenade.
Bullet Squall – Unleash a hail of bullets.
Reverse Tap – Quick turn and dash shot.
Divine Launcher – Lock-on for guaranteed hits.

For those seeking safe steady damage, rifles reward properly distancing and pinpoint accuracy.

Launchers

Launchers devastate packed enemies with explosive rocket salvos and missiles.

Arts Include:

Gravity Grenade – Arm mortar for wide blast.
End Attract – Fire shotgun blasts that pull.
Chase Collider Bomb – Launch guided missiles.
Skyfall Meteor – Ultimate aerial rocket barrage.

Despite slower attacks, launchers enable heavy fire support from afar. Just watch for enemy dangers up close!

Rods

Rods cast elemental photon techniques to inflict massive damage to multiple foes at once.

Types:

Rod – Fires offensive spells like fireballs.
Talis – Support healing and enhancements.

Arts Include:

Rafoie – Incinerate enemies with a fireball.
Barta – Freeze groups solid with icy shards.
Zonde – Smite crowds with piercing lightning.
Resta – Regenerate health for yourself and allies.

Rods allow unleashing nature’s wrath upon adversaries through potent magic.

Twin Daggers

Twin daggers swipe at warp speed to carve up opponents with terrifying flurries of slashes.

Arts Include:

Cleaving Feather – Spinning aerial scissors attack.
Surprise Knuckle – Charge up fists before a dash punch.
Rising Fang – Launch foes with an uppercut barrage.
Break Stance – Counterattack following a perfect guard.

For those desiring an acrobatic critically-focused playstyle, twin daggers deliver with rapid hits.

Knuckles

Knuckles pummel foes with charged fist attacks and devastating grappling techniques.

Arts Include:

Straight Charge – Dash forward with a flying punch.
Raging Upper – Launch enemies skyward with an uppercut.
Pendulum Roll – Spin rapidly with outstretched fists.
Break Stance – Follow a perfect guard with a counterattack.

If you want to punch and grapple enemies like a martial arts master, knuckles are your weapon of choice.

Chakrams

Chakrams hurl circular fire rings that slice groups before returning to your hands.

Arts Include:

Swift Blossom – Throw spinning chakrams out in an arc.
Brilliant Ruin – Rip up the ground with erupting blasts.
Photon Splash – Surround yourself with protean rings.
Blooming Blades – Spin chakrams at your sides before hurling.

By blending ranged ring throws with melee attacks, chakrams provide a dynamic hybrid playstyle.

Wands

Wands focus on support healing and enhancements to empower allies during battle.

Arts Include:

Resta – Regenerate HP for allies.
Anti – Remove status ailments.
Shifta – Boost attack for party members.
Megiverse – Group heal while attacking enemies.

While able to deal damage, wands really shine by keeping the party alive and strengthening their attacks.

Equipment

In Phantasy Star Online 2, equipping armor units provides defense and set bonuses. Various cosmetic innerwear and accessories offer customization.

Headwear

Headwear includes functional and cosmetic options:

Caps – Standard hats covering the head. Offer defense.
Helmets – Sturdy head armor with visors. Higher defense.
Hair Accessories – Visual head adornments like cat ears.
Headphones – Circumaural headphones for music lovers.
Goggles – Pilot-style eyewear for mechanical looks.
Masks – Conceal identity with decorative masks.
Glasses – Lenses ranging from stylish to scholarly.
Hats – Formal hats like top hats and magician caps.
Tiaras – Elegant ornamental headpieces.

Mix and match headgear to complete your look.

Bodywear

Body outfits provide defense and include various styles:

Jackets – Durable tops with sleeves. Offer protection.
Dresses – One-piece gowns typically more revealing.
Tops – Shirts ranging from plain to elaborate.
Coats – Knee-length overcoat jackets. Usually worn open.
Sweaters – Warm knitted tops and vests.
Suits – Formal two-piece suits for gentlemen.
Robes – Loose cloak-like robes.
Uniforms – Occupation uniforms like maids.
T-Shirts – Casual short-sleeve t-shirts.
Tank Tops – Sleeveless tops showing shoulders.

Body outfits make up the bulk of your character’s look.

Legwear

Legwear provides defense and includes:

Pants – Full-length trousers and jeans. Offer protection.
Shorts – Above knee length shorts.
Skirts – Knee-length skirts. Shorter skirts on basewear.
Dresses – One-piece gowns covering legs.
Boots – Durable boots and greaves protecting feet.
Shoes – Stylish sneakers, heels, and sandals.
Hose – Skin-tight leg coverings.
Stockings – Thigh-high socks.

Complete your outfit with legwear that matches your style.

Armwear

Armwear includes gloves, sleeves, and shoulder adornments:

Gloves – Protective hand covering. Fingerless also common.
Sleeves – Detachable long sleeves.
Braces – Sturdy forearm protectors.
ShoulderItems – Armor plates and decorative mantle pieces.
Armlets – Jewelry encircling the bicep.
Gauntlets – Large armor pieces covering the forearms.

Though small, armwear pieces can really polish off an outfit.

Accessories

Various accessory types allow visual customization:

Eyewear – Glasses and monocles.
Earrings – Simple studs to elaborate dangles.
Scarves – Stylish neck wraps.
Necklaces – Decorative neck chains.
Bracelets – Wrist jewelry.
Rings – Adorn fingers with bands and jewels.
Badges – Pins and insignia.
Waist Items – Belts, sashes, fanny packs.
Rear Items – Tails, capes, and wing adornments.

The right accessories can really take a look to the next level.

Innerwear

Innerwear provides cosmetic options as base layers:

Basewear – Undergarment tops and bottoms.
Body Paint – Intricate artistic body markings.
Mystic – Glowing technological body lines.
Stickers – Playful decorative stickers.
Tights – Boldly colored leggings.

While mostly covered by outfits, innerwear allows subtle personal expression.

Mix and match equipped fashion pieces to define your individual style!

Combat

Phantasy Star Online 2 provides satisfying real-time combat. Learn to effectively use your weapons, photon arts, and defensive techniques.

Basic Attacks

Each weapon has normal attack combos performed by mashing the attack button. These build photon points (PP) to spend on arts.

Combo speed and animations vary between weapons.
Manage PP generation by not over-tapping the attack buttons.
Time your combos to avoid leaving yourself open.
Movement slows during attacks so position wisely.

Master basic combos until they become muscle memory. This builds essential combat fundamentals.

Charged Attacks

Holding attack charges a powerful strike once fully charged. Useful for burst damage.

Timing varies between weapons. Hold until fully charged.
Charged attacks spend PP. Use judiciously to not drain it.
Some weapons reload instead of charge. Must reload to use arts.
Charged damage increases with gear enhancement levels.

Work charged attacks into combos for devastating critical hits.

Special Attacks

Weapon Actions provide unique attacks or defensive moves.

Activates by assigned weapon action button.
Common types are counters, guards, pulls, jumps, blocks.
Useful for reactive defense, repositioning, or opening combos.
Powerful weapon-specific move to master.

Special attacks expand your arsenal with new tactical options tailored to each weapon.

Combos

Chaining normal attacks, arts, and weapon actions enables damaging combos.

Switch between standard, charged, and arts attacks.
Weapon actions can start, extend, or end combos.
Manage PP usage so it lasts throughout combos.
Practice combo timing to keep enemies stun-locked.

Linking everything together creates devastating flows of continuous offense.

Counters

Counters allow punishing enemy attacks with precise timing.

Activate counters right before getting hit.
Common from weapon actions or stealth stance.
Must learn enemy attack patterns to time properly.
Counterattacks deal bonus damage.

Mastering counters turns enemy offense into opportunities for punishment.

Elemental Weaknesses

Enemies are weak to fire, ice, electric, and other elements.

Check enemy info to see elemental weaknesses.
Use rod and talis techs to exploit weaknesses.
Weapons can be grinded to add elemental attributes.
Talis buffs add elemental charge to your attacks.

Targeting elemental vulnerabilities increases damage drastically. Keep enemy intel in mind.

By mastering these combat elements, you’ll prevail against any adversary!

Exploration

Journey across the planets and landscapes of the Phantasy Star Online 2 universe. Discover scenic vistas and lethal enemies awaiting around every corner.

Different Planets and Areas

The main planets and regions to explore include:

Oracle – Home colony ship where you start out. Features residential and commercial areas. Safe haven.

Naverius – Planet with diverse biomes. Forests, deserts, tundras, beaches, and ruins. Teeming with native creatures.

Lillipa – Planet of vast grasslands, salt flats, and ancient civilizations. Home of the natives and technology.

Vopar – Planet of extreme cold, specialized gear needed in frigid wilderness. Isolated outposts.

Masq – Sandswept desert planet. Oasis shelters protect from heat and storms.

Earth – Scarred homeworld. Abandoned cities reclaimed by nature. ARKS investigate secrets.

Traversing each unique planet provides plenty of sights and challenges to discover.

Enemies and Bosses

A wide variety of creatures stand between you and survival:

Predators – Planet natives like wolves, sharks, and dinosaurs.
Criminals – Outlaws and poachers causing havoc.
Machines – Robots of unknown origin. Hostile autonomous drones.
Infected – Those mutated into violent horrors by photons.
Darkers – Shadowy entities corrupting worlds.
Falspawn – Servants of Dark Falz seeking energy.
Trains – Massive siege platforms defended by legions.
Elder – Towering ancient beasts and demigods.

Bosses require learning patterns and working together to avoid devastating special attacks. Stay determined!

Hidden Items and Secrets

Keep an eye out for glittering points of light marking hidden treasure:

Weapons/Units – Equipment with random rare enhancements.
Materials – Used for crafting, grinding, and enhancing gear.
Consumables – Recovery items for restoring HP/PP.
Auxiliary Items – Stat boosts, experience multipliers, telepipes.
Grind capsules – Apply grind exp towards gear enhancement.
Photon Spheres – Trade for exclusive weapons and items.

Searching thoroughly rewards you with better equipment and items to take on greater challenges.

Explore every landscape from mountain peaks to abyssal depths. Walk steadily towards horizons filled with adversity and wonder.

Quests

Quests provide goals to pursue in Phantasy Star Online 2. Take on tasks that suit your current objectives.

Story Quests

Main story chapters advance the plot while unlocking features.

Cinematic cutscenes flesh out the narrative. -Rewards include experience, new areas, and gear.
Limited time only. Can’t repeat if missed.
Chapters released periodically with major updates.

Pushing the story unlocks essential systems, so make sure to keep up.

Side Quests

Optional client orders offer quests from citizens.

Provide experience, meseta, materials, and gear.
Objectives involve hunting enemies or collecting items.
Daily recommended quests offer great rewards.
Repeatables allow redoing them.
Offer insight into the world and characters.

Side quests provide valuable grind resources and world building lore.

Daily Quests

Daily tasks reset with server reset for rewards:

Client orders and recommended quests.
Daily free scratch ticket pull.
Casino daily free play.
Mission Pass daily tier points.
Renewing urgent quests.
Shop daily deals and discounts.

Be sure to play daily for free items, currency, and progression.

Weekly Quests

Weekly tasks reset with server reset:

Limited Buster Medals from quest clear.
Casino weekly free play amount.
Fresh Finds Shop weekly selection.
Mission Pass weekly tier points.
Big weekly Time Attack Extra Stage.

Maximize weekly tasks to make the most of rotating content.

Urgent Quests

Timed emergent missions for rare loot:

Appear randomly and last 40 minutes.
Announced with alerts to join quickly.
Exclusive enemies and upgrade materials.
High difficulty encourages teams.
Grants excubes and other currencies.

Urgent quests break up gameplay with exciting rare challenges.

By picking and choosing quests strategically, you can achieve your in-game goals efficiently. Consider which tasks will benefit you most right now. Let quests pave your path to progression!

Tips and Tricks

Master Phantasy Star Online 2 with these helpful tips and tricks. Learn how to optimize leveling, gearing, and handling tough enemies.

How to Level Up Quickly

Gaining EXP efficiently is key to quick leveling:

Take advantage of experience boost items.
Play story chapters for first time bonus exp.
Run recommended daily client orders.
Trigger EXP bonus keys at end of quests.
Play highest difficulty level manageable.
Join others for multiplier when first doing new quests.
Save up rest exp for when focused on leveling.

With smart play and exp multipliers, you’ll hit level caps quickly.

How to Get the Best Gear

Obtaining powerful end-game gear takes work:

Play Emergency Quests for rare materials.
Grind weapons and units to +35 for massive stat gains.
Learn to farm items for affixing and crafting.
Build units around set bonuses that boost damage.
Purchase 12 star units with EX cubes.
Run bosses that drop 13 star weapons and units.
Buy endgame gear from player shops if affordable.

Getting perfectly affixed gear takes time and meseta, but it becomes easier with practice.

How to Beat Difficult Enemies

Tough enemies require careful strategy:

Study their patterns and tells before attacking.
Bring traps, debuffs, and healing items.
Elemental weakness makes a huge damage difference.
Keep distance and don’t get greedy when attacking.
Use block, photon blast, and restoratives if in danger.
Have one player draw aggro so others can attack safely.

Weakness knowledge, patience, and teamwork lead to triumph over strong adversaries.

How to Solo Hard Content

Soloing challenging content takes proper planning:

Lean on your class strengths and survive over fast kills.
Bring plenty of healing items, traps, and stat boosts.
Don’t be afraid to run away and reset a fight going badly.
Use skill points for survivability over pure damage.
Invest in gear with HP, PP, and defensive stats.
Take advantage of enemy weakness using subpalette.
Engage carefully and don’t draw multiple enemies together.

Careful approach and self reliance allows even lone ARKS to emerge victorious.

How to Farm Items

Items unlock gear potential, so optimizing farming is key:

Bring rare drop rate boosts to increase yields.
Check online guides for best enemy and quests to target items.
Repeat missions endlessly while watching/listening to something else.
Break parts off enemies for additional material drops.
Run quests on highest difficulty you can quickly clear.
Bring along Harvest Roms for extra common materials.
When tired of farming, buy from player shops.

Keep at the grind with drop boosts, and you’ll obtain the rarest crafting materials.

Use these tips to excel and achieve your Phantasy Star Online 2 goals faster!

With its addictive action combat, unending progression, player driven economy, and anime aesthetic, Phantasy Star Online 2 has cemented itself as one of the most beloved free-to-play online RPGs.

The skill-based real-time battles encourage learning weapon capabilities and enemy patterns. Seeing your character grow from humble beginnings into a neon colored engine of destruction through acquiring crazy gear never gets old. Teaming up with friends to take down colossal bosses after optimizing your build provides an unmatched cooperative PvE thrill.

While it can seem daunting getting into as a new player this many years after original launch, the welcoming community helps guide new ARKS recruits. The story is lighthearted pulp sci-fi fare that provides enough narrative glue without getting in the way of the hunting and looting gameplay. Surmounting progression systems like weapon grinding and affixing crafting offers satisfying long-term goals.

With the Nintendo Switch bringing PSO2 to a console audience and exposing it to wider acclaim, the future looks bright. The world of Oracle and planetary exploration continues to grow with major version updates. Now is a great time to join the millions already immersed in this free-to-play masterpiece. Load up your photon saber and get ready to lose countless hours gearing up with fellow ARKS operatives against endlessly more powerful adversaries!