The best Hunter/Fighter
DPS/Off-Tank build for PSO2

The Best PSO2 Builds by Odealo

1. Introduction

PSO2 does not follow the "holy trinity" system of party roles too strictly (tank, healer, and DPS) and so, there is no designated tanking class in it. Of course, some classes offer much more defensive options than others, but selecting them is not necessary most of the time. If you'd like to play a class that resembles a Tank the most, however, Hunter is the obvious choice. Survivability provided by His Skill tree is so high, that you will be able to straight-up disregard some of the incoming damage while focusing on maximizing your DPS. Moreover, thanks to skills like War Cry, you will also be able to protect your party members. If you are looking for a resilient setup that works well solo and in a group, this Hunter'Fighter build might be a way to go. 

The Sub Class of choice of this Hunter build is the Fighter, as he is in great contrast to our chosen Main Class. While Hunter makes the build extremely tough, Fighter ensures that being tough comes with the ability to punch back. And this build can punch back really hard. Thanks to this, our Hunter/Fighter build performs very well both as a damage dealer and a "tank". 

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

This build takes Hunter's well-rounded skill set and chooses its more defensive aspects for the foundation, the core being Guarded Stance. Then, it wraps this defensively-focused core with the offensive power of a Fighter. The result is a very tough build, able to withstand a lot of punishment and capable of acting as a tank in parties, that also packs a solid punch. If the situation demands it, you can draw the enemy's attention while your teammates finish them off or simply overpower them yourself. On top of that, thanks to the combination of solid defenses, self-healing, and good damage output, this build also works great during solo play. 

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 Hunter main class and Fighter sub-class. For Hunter's side of things, we have chosen Skills that are focused around survivability, deflecting attacks, and keeping the enemy's attention, but we didn't forget about offensive power hidden in the Hunter skill tree and took advantage of that as well. Fighter Skill Tree was used to supplement the build's damage output and provide a much-needed offensive kick. The complete Skill Trees look as follows: 

MAIN 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, so maxing these out is a no-brainer.
	Guard Stance - Stance that reduces your melee damage taken at the expense of your ranged and melee damage output... Except that it doesn't reduce your Damage dealt while it's maxed out. At 10/10, you keep 100% of your melee and ranged potencies, while your damage received falls to 75%. This also gives you a +200 Melee Defense bonus. If you want to create a PSO2 Tank Hunter Build, you have to take this over the Fury Stance, even if it will render the Hunter as a subclass less viable (Fury Stance damage bonus is better than the defense from Guard Stance main if you subclass Hunter).
	Advanced Guard Stance - When you perform a successful Perfect Guard while your Guard Stance is up, this will grant you a high damage boost. At 5/5 Advanced Guard Stance will boost your Potency to 150% for 60seconds. Who told you that Tanks can't deal high damage?
	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. Trying to act like a tank while also keeping up solid DPS is busywork, this ensures that you have 1 less thing to worry about.
	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 (on 5/5 points, it provides 25% damage mitigation for 45 seconds on a 90second Cooldown). For a setup that aims to be able to withstand a lot of incoming damage, this is a must-have. Hunter Physique is one of the skills that make this a "Tank Hunter Build".
	War Cry - Taunt ability that draws the enemy's attention to you. "Tank" without a threat-generating ability would not be a tank, would he? 3/10 points in this should be enough, but if you like to really specialize in tanking, you should think about adding more points to this.
Sub CLASS: FIGHTER
Core Fighter Skills:
	Melee Power Up (1, 2 & 3) - These three Skills provide you with a substantial offensive boost and turn you into a wrecking ball in melee.
	Valiant Stance - Increases Damage you Deal to an enemy from the front. As a Class that wants to keep the enemy's attention, you can be sure that you will face your opposition head-on 99% of the time. This is also great for solo play.
	Photon Slayer - When your PP is below 50%, you gain Melee, Ranged, and Technique Power boost. At 10/10 this provides +200 Power to all three attack types. With this skill, you will want to manage your PP so that it is always at 49% or below.
	Adrenaline - Gives your Deband and Shifta buffs an additional 30 seconds duration. They are still capped at 60 seconds, but the bonus means that they can be refreshed to their full duration without being fully charged, which is nice. 1 Skill Point is definitely worth spending to gain this effect.

5. Recommended Gear

LEFT RINGS
Perfect Guard Sonic Arrow (L)	With this ring, your successful Perfect Guards will make you Cast a Sonic Arrow.
Party of Toughness (L)	This ring decreases your damage taken in proportion to the number of players in your party. Level 20 ring of this type, in a party of four, will give you 5% Damage Reduction. This is good to have and it embraces your "tank" role.
RIGHT RINGS
PP Conversion (R)	Gives you access to the PP Conversion Skill. Using the skill will increase your natural PP regeneration rate and reduce your max HP by 30% for 20 seconds. It has 90 seconds Cooldown. Not the best thing for a "tank", but it's good to have in case of emergency.
Precision Hit PP Gain (R)	Your Active PP restoration is increased by 20% while you are attacking the enemy's weak point. This ring comes in handy when you are in dire need for more PP; good to have, but not mandatory.
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. Alternatively, you can get a Brisa set, which will give you a bit more defenses at the cost of lower offensive power.
MAG
Striking Attack + DEX	This build relies mainly on Striking Attacks so you need to use the S-ATK Type Mag and evolve it accordingly. Getting 20-30 DEX, in addition, will not hurt either.

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