Part 151: Gunner

Gunners are ranged AGI-based attackers with access to both physical and elemental damage. They were, pretty obviously, in the original EO2, where they functioned both as excellent damage dealers, with access to elemental damage that didn't create TP black holes, unlike Alchemists. They also, bizarrely, had access to a version of the Medic's Refresh, called Medishot, that was better than Refresh itself. Go figure.

After being absent from EO3 and EO4 (Arbalists and Snipers focused on physical damage entirely), the Gunner class showed up again in EOU, as a Story mode-exclusive class for Frederica. The Gunner class was obscenely broken in that game, thanks almost entirely to one particular skill called Action Boost, which let Frederica perform the same action multiple times on the next turn. If you're thinking "that sounds like a spammable Accelerate, and thus obscenely broken," you'd be entirely right! There were other parts about Frederica that made her broken, too, like Recharge, which was a 30% chance at level 10 to refund all the TP Frederica used on any given skill.

Unsurprisingly, Gunners in EO2U ate quite a few nerfs compared to Frederica. Action Boost has been reworked into the Gunner Force Boost, and it works considerably differently compared to EOU--it's now just 2 activations of any given gun skill, and the second activation deals less damage. Guns also now have lower base accuracy compared to both other weapons in EO2U, and to guns in EOU--they had 98 base accuracy in EOU, and have 92 in EO2U, meaning Gunners are now very prone to missing. This isn't helped by most gun skills now also imposing their own base accuracy penalties. Gunners are still plenty usable, mind, you just have to build them the right way, and prepare for them missing at inopportune moments.

It's also worth noting that guns, much like bows, use the AGI stat for calculating damage in EO2U.


Stats:

Level 1:
HP: 26
TP: 30
STR: 5
TEC: 7
VIT: 5
AGI: 10
LUC: 7

Level 50:
HP: 188
TP: 250
STR: 19
TEC: 30
VIT: 22
AGI: 39
LUC: 27

Level 99:
HP: 457
TP: 474
STR: 37
TEC: 58
VIT: 43
AGI: 74
LUC: 52

Innate weapon choices: Gun

Innate armor choices: Clothes

Common passives: HP Up, TP Up, Phys ATK Up, Take

Gunners have the highest AGI stat out of any class, even Survivalists, but a lot of the non-damage benefits of it are offset by the low speed modifiers and accuracy penalties on gun skills, as well as guns innately having speed penalties and lower-than-average base accuracy. Their HP, TP, and LUC are middling, and their STR and VIT are bad (although their VIT isn't much worse than Ronin).


Gun Mastery
Requirements: None



Required to learn gun skills. Passively increases damage dealt with guns.


Medic Bullet
Requirements: Gun Mastery level 1
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Restores one ally's HP. Heals the target of status ailments.

On an actual Gunner, Medic Bullet's kind of trash, since they have bad TEC and VIT. There's an argument to be made for giving a Medic a Medic Bullet Grimoire, and then giving them a gun. You'll lose out on 100% healing power compared to a level 20 Cure, as well as a lower speed modifier (although 120% is still a lot), but you can purge someone's status ailment while you heal them.


Fire/Ice/Volt Rounds
Requirements: Gun Mastery level 3
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals ranged AGI-based Stab+Fire/Ice/Volt damage to one enemy. Has a 70% speed modifier and -2 base accuracy at all levels.

The most basic of gun skills. Kind of trash on their own, and they scale badly too. You'll still need to level them up, since the good gun skills require points in them.


Charged Fire/Ice/Volt
Requirements: Fire/Ice/Volt Rounds level 5
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals ranged AGI-based Stab+Fire/Ice/Volt damage to one enemy, with line-piercing effect. Until activation, the user takes 50% extra damage from all sources. Has a 30% speed modifier and -5 base accuracy at all levels.

These are actual key gun skills, and what you'll be using most of the time. They eat up a lot of TP, so maxing them out early isn't that great idea (unless you're like me and have the ability and patience to rest and rapidly get back up to level), but you should have at least one of these maxed out once the main story's over (probably Charged Volt). They unfortunately miss quite a lot, since guns having 92 base accuracy and the Charged shots having -5 base accuracy equals, well, terrible base accuracy.


Burst Shot
Requirements: Charged Fire level 3, Charged Ice level 3, Charged Volt level 3
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals ranged AGI-based Stab+Fire+Ice+Volt damage to one enemy, with line-piercing effect. Until activation, the user takes 50% extra damage from all sources. Once Burst Shot has been used, it goes on cooldown for 3 turns. Has a 30% speed modifier and -5 base accuracy at all levels.

For all intents and purposes, the ultimate gun skill. Basically an elemental Charged shot that's multi-elemental and deals more damage. The cooldown means you can't spam it, but it also means that combining it with a level 20 Point Blank is a very good idea.


Head/Arm/Leg Snipe
Requirements: Gun Mastery level 5
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals ranged AGI-based Stab damage to one enemy. Attempts to bind the target's head/arms/legs. Has a 70% speed modifier and +35 base accuracy at all levels.

These skills made more sense in EOU, where the Story party had no way to inflict binds naturally (aside from Head Pierce and Shield Smite, both of which were incredibly unreliable). In EO2U, though, where you most likely have another way to inflict binds, like a Dark Hunter or Hexer, the Snipes end up being kind of redundant. The base accuracy bonus means they're basically guaranteed to hit, but that's a pretty small bonus for dealing pitiful damage.


Charged Shot
Requirements: Gun Mastery level 7
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals ranged AGI-based Stab damage to one enemy, with line-piercing effect. Until activation, the user takes 50% extra damage from all sources. Has a 30% speed modifier and -5 base accuracy at all levels.

Charged Shot is utterly redundant, since while it deals more surface than the elemental Charged shots on the surface, consider that you're probably going to be hitting an elemental weakness with those, which is usually 125% or more. For that scenario, compare Charged Shot's 375% damage at level 10, to an elemental Charged shot at 10, which would be (310 * 1.25) = 387% (technically 387.5%, but EO rounds down fractions).


Ricochet
Requirements: Gun Mastery level 10
Required equipment: Gun
Body parts used: Arms



Deals multiple instances of ranged AGI-based Stab damage to random targets. Can hit the same target multiple times. Has an 80% speed modifier and -15 base accuracy at all levels.

Ricochet is absolute trash. While it might seem like it deals more damage than the rest of the gun skills, that -15 base accuracy penalty plus guns having naturally low accuracy means it'll miss, and it'll miss a LOT. Skip it.


Cover Fire
Requirements: HP Up level 1



When the user is in the back row and uses the Defend command, any party members in the front row will recover a static amount of HP, plus a percentage of their maximum HP.

A really situational passive. I guess it's free healing, kinda? You'll need a lot of skill points for the real gun skills, though, so this thing is a pretty bad use of your levels.


Shell Shock
Requirements: HP Up level 10
Body parts used: Arms



When used on the enemy back row, reduces the enemy back row's attack, defense, non-base accuracy, and non-base evasion. Also attempts to stun. When used on the enemy front row, does nothing.

A really trash skill that does nothing in boss fights. It also got nerfed really badly from EOU, where it reduced attack by 36% at 10, and defense by 76% at 10, as well as having a 200% base stun chance. Also, it requires maxing out HP Up, which does little for a Gunner.


Preemptive Shell
Requirements: Shell Shock level 5



If the user knows Shell Shock, gives them a chance to use it automatically at the start of the fight.

Shell Shock is trash, so that makes this skill extra trash!


Penetrator
Requirements: Phys ATK Up level 5



All normal attacks and single-target skills become line-piercing. If the line-piercing effect activates, the damage to the enemy in the back row is reduced. If only attacking an enemy in the back row, or if the skill was already piercing, increases damage to the back row enemy instead.

If you've run out of skills to invest in, there's worse things to invest in than a skill that helps your Gunner contribute a little more to random encounters without consuming as much TP as a Charged Shot. I guess. Kinda. Maybe.


Point Blank
Requirements: Phys ATK Up level 10
Body parts used: Head



On the next turn, all ranged attacks become melee instead, in exchange for increasing damage and having increased non-based accuracy. Has an 80% speed modifier at all levels.

The best charge skill in the game, solely because the level 20 version doesn't cost you damage output, and because the accuracy bonus is incredibly appreciated with how inaccurate guns innately are, plus how inaccurate most gun skills are.


Act Quick
Requirements: TP Up level 5
Body parts used: Head



On the next turn, reduces the TP cost of the skill used, and increases its speed.

The worst charge skill in the game. It costs you a lot of damage, and while conserving TP and having more speed isn't exactly bad, it becomes bad when you lose out on a lot of damage for it.


Double Action
Requirements: TP Up level 10



Passively gives attack skills a chance to activate twice. Does not stack with Action Boost.

One of the best passives in the game, especially if it activates on a charged skill. You get double the damage from something for no extra TP! It unfortunately costs a lot to max out, but it's worth it.


Action Boost
Force Boost

For 3 turns, all gun skills will activate twice. The second activation deals 60% of the damage of the first. Overrides Double Action.

Compared to Action Boost in EOU, this is an incredibly massive nerf. On its own merits, however, it's basically a damage-increasing Force Boost that has a chance to miss. Still good, mind you, but less good compared to something like Full Charge or Analysis.


Supreme Bolt
Force Break
Body parts used: Arms

Deals ranged AGI-based Stab damage to one enemy. If the enemy is not immune to stun (0% resistance), they will be stunned. Damage scales linearly from 600% to 2100% based on user level. Has a 200% speed modifier.

Pretty decent Force Break. The damage is nice, and a guaranteed stun is useful in a lot of boss fights. Not a lot else to say about it.