Katana Braver/Hunter
DPS build for PSO2

The Best PSO2 Builds by Odealo

1. Introduction

Braver is a true master of melee combat, especially when he decides to equip a Katana, the most elegant and deadly of all melee weapons available in Phantasy Star Online 2. Katana Braver focuses on dealing damage with his rapid attacks and exploits the enemy's weaknesses by performing devastating counterattacks. His close-quarters-combat mastery and the finesse of his moves also allow him to negate incoming damage by putting up guards. 

The Sub Class of choice of this Braver build is the Hunter, as he provides a healthy portion of both offense and defense to Braver's already impressive toolkit. Thanks to this combination, our Braver/Hunter build performs very well both as a damage dealer and a pseudo-tank. In fact, survivability provided by Hunter's Skill tree is so high, that you should be able to straight-up disregard some of the incoming damage, focus on maximizing your DPS in almost any situation, and just use Hunter's defensive Cooldowns when needed. 

Important note:  This build idea adopts a lot from the JP version of the game and might be slightly reworked as we get to do more thorough testing for the PC version. Nevertheless, it will provide a very solid base for beginners who want to delve down the path of the Braver, and help you understand the basic playstyle and principles of this Class. 

You can also check other PSO2 Builds created by our team right here: Best PSO2 Builds

2. General Information and playstyle

Katana allows you to put up a guard that will block attacks that come from the front. If you time it well (which means putting up the guard less than a second before enemy attacks) you will perform a hard-hitting counter-attack in addition to blocking; this is known as the Just Guard. This build is focused around utilizing this mechanic. Thanks to Skills like Counter Edge and Counter Bonus, your Counterattack damage is exceptionally high; you must learn how to use the Just Guard mechanic to its full potential if you want to master the Katana Braver/Hunter. If you are new to this type of build, our version will be perfect for you, as the Hunter subclass provides great survivability options that will allow you to shrug off incoming damage while you learn how to master the mechanics. 

3. Build's PROS & CONS

4. Skill Trees

Our recommended setup was made for a level 75 Characters (the current cap on the English/North American server) with the Braver main class and Hunter sub-class. For the Braver's side of things, we have chosen Skills that are focused around Katana gameplay and performing devastating Counters. Hunter Skill Tree was used to supplement the build's DPS and provide much-needed survivability skills. The complete Skill Trees look as follows: 

MAIN CLASS: BRAVER
Core Braver Skills:
	Katana Focus - This adds Focus Gauge to your Katana. Successful attacks will fill the Gauge; Your Critical Rate and Melee Power will get a substantial increase, for a set time, when you perform a Counter while your Focus Gauge is maxed out. Learning how this skill works and how to use it to its full potential is essential for maxing out Braver's damage output.
	Katana Focus Boost - Increases your Focus regeneration and boosts your passive and on-hit PP regen by 50% when used. Additional resources provided by this Skill will greatly affect your overall damage output.
	Katana Combat - Skill that only works with Katanas; Makes you move at high speed and slash nearby enemies with your weapon for a set time (20 seconds when maxed out). Using the skill again will unleash a finishing blow. While this has a long, 90-seconds, Cooldown, the damage that it deals is definitely worth it. Moreover, you get a period of invulnerability during the finishing blow animation.
	Combat Finish - Grants substantial damage bonus to your Katana Combat Finishers. When maxed out, it rises the finisher's damage by 300%, which makes it hit exceptionally strong.
	Counter Edge - When countering, this skill releases an additional strike that skewers enemies. It has base 200% potency and increases with your Katana Focus tier for a maximum of 700%, which makes it hit really hard. Counter Bonus makes this Skill even better by granting additional Potency Bonus (700% Potency and 300% Edge Potency) and PP recovery, which results in incredibly high damage rolls.
	Enhanced Attack - Last but not least. This simple skill boosts the potency of your Normal Attacks to 135% when maxed out, adding greatly to your overall damage output.
Sub CLASS: HUNTER
Core Hunter Skills:
	Perfect Attack Bonus (1 & 2) - This gives your non-Technique perfect attacks a very solid damage boost. A substantial portion of your overall DPS comes from these two Skills.
	Fury Stance - Increases your Damage Dealt and Damage Received. It is important to rise it to 10/10 as rank 10 mitigates damage taken increase, leaving just damage bonus. 10/10 fury will you 20% extra Melee Potency. Fury Stance 1 & 2 improve your gains from this even further (5% each).
	Critical Fury - Boosts your critical hit rate by 25% when maxed out. This provides a massive damage increase in Fury Stance.
	Auto-Mate Half - Your character will automatically use a "-mate' item when your Health falls below half. If you don't have lightning-fast reflexes, this will make your life much, much easier. It will also allow you to play more aggressively without looking after your HP total as much. Moreover, this skill may save you from being burst down from 100% HP to 0.
	Iron Will - Gives you a chance to survive an otherwise lethal attack with 1 HP. When maxed out, the chance equals 75%. Moreover, when activated, Iron Will gives you 5-second Invulnerability. One of the most powerful defensive skills in the game, it will let you survive, even if odds are heavily stacked against you.
	Hunter Physique - Reduces damage taken and prevents you from being knocked down while active. A very powerful defensive cooldown, when maxed out, it has a whopping 50% uptime (when maxed out, it provides 25% damage mitigation for 45 seconds on a 90second Cooldown).

5. Recommended Gear

LEFT RING
Katana Combat Hitcount Up (L)	With this ring, each of your hits gives more power to your Katana Combat Finish. When maxed-out, you will need 25 hits instead of 50 (50% less!) to reach 1800 Power.
RIGHT RING
Combo Var. PATK PP Save (R)	This ring reduces PP consumption when you chain different Photon Arts (PA) or Techniques (TK) one after the other. When maxed out, it provides a 15% reduction.
UNITS
++ Saiki Set	One of the most powerful Sets in the game. It gives you +60 across all offensive stats (S-Atk, R-Atk, and T-Atk) as well as 80 Dexterity and 25 PP. As for Affixes, Soul3/Attack3/HP3orPP3/Fever should be good enough.
MAG
Striking Attack	This build relies purely on Striking Attacks so you need to use the S-ATK Type Mag and evolve it accordingly.

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