User:Ryutensei/Bouncer Guide
Comprehensive Bouncer Guide 2017
Written by: Ryutensei
Edited by: A Sleepy Knight Rappy
Transcribed by: Nan
Created September 15, 2017
Transcribed October 5 2017
Overview
You are here because you want to play Bouncer and you’re probably wondering to yourself, one of the following;
- How can I get the most fun out of this class?“
- ”Why won’t Katori shut up about this class?”
- “What even is this class─
Well… that aside. You’ve come to the right place. Let’s begin, shall we?
What is Bouncer?
And no, Katori, you’re not allowed to answer that. You’ll scare them away.
Through SEGA's 'changes,' the difference of weapon roles in Bouncer's repertoire has changed since Episode 3! Bouncer is a class that boasts usage of S-ATK and T-ATK with access to technics to supplement its low amount of Photon Arts, all of which are scaled from S-ATK. With this in its arsenal, it has the second highest normal attack damage and all of its damage options boast gratuitous hitboxes as both a big strength and weakness.
Skill Tree
The Essentials
Jet Boots Gear- What’s a weapon without its gear? Jet boots gear gives you access to a damage bonus of up to 15% for max gear across your Photon Arts and normal attacks. The most important part of this is that it appeases your most commonly used stance considering you can change your element on the fly by casting a technic of the corresponding element. This is the main way you’ll maintain gear.
Dual Blade Gear- What are Dual Blades without gear?! Wet noodles. Dual Blade Gear gives you access to a damage bonus up to 20% for max gear across your Photon Arts and normal attacks. The most important part is that now your gear can be expended to throw Photon Blades, the most powerful tool Dual Blades have. Photon Blades are projectiles with slight homing that can be thrown only when you have gear even during movement with the Shift Action. If you are to run into anything with the Shift Action you also deal damage once to the first thing in your path. The power notation ramps ridiculously with the corresponding ring.
Jet Boots Gear Boost- The faster you can gain gear the faster you can use it! There’s no reason not to have this handy. The increase in gear accumulation will keep your rotations clean and fast with the right tools.
Rare Mastery Bouncer- This a primary bonus to get as it gives, as of the recent balance patch, gives a 1.1x damage multiplier for free!
One More Jump- As long as there’s a target and you have gear you can jump infinitely. This is great for positioning when dealing with multiple targets during bossing, as if Jet Boots didn’t have enough ways to chase a weak point.
Jet Boots Escape- You don’t boss without a little utility to keep yourself alive and among them, invincibility during Photon Arts will make ballsy engages that might put you in harm's way a little easier to perform.
Elemental PP Restorate Field- While Jet Boots get a lot of damage from their normal attacks you have to worry about management during PA rotations with technics for upkeep. This field gives you an extra 3 pp per hit for hitting with the elemental weakness on top of your natural on-hit recovery.
Shifta Air Attack Boost/Deband PP Restorate - As a Bouncer, as you’d imagine, you spend a fair amount of time attacking in the air and tree accommodates this. While Shifta boost is active you gain an additional 5% damage while you’re in the air. This is critical to your upkeep. Deband Restorate behaves in a similar manner in that for having the Deband buff active you gain up to an extra 3 pp per normal hit stacking with your field skill when active.
Rapid Boost/Rapid JA Bonus - These two are skills a Jet Boot Bouncer can’t simply boss without. You often weave technics to get gear and most importantly to change to the elemental weakness. Rapid Boost reduces charge time of technics and Jet Boot PAs by up to 15% and increases attack speed normal hits by 15% as well. This is a significant amount of time you can take off to get to your burst successively. Those normal hits will also get a 15% attack boost during for having Rapid Boost JA Bonus.
Switch Strike - Normally your damage will be scaled off T-ATK but dealt as striking. This makes Jet Boots damage and PAs scale from your S-ATK. This is important since any combination that gets the most out of Bouncer as a main class scales best with S-ATK. This is a one of the most important parts your tree and vital to have.
Photon Blade Fever/Photon Blade Fever Boost/Photon Blade Escape - Here’s where photon blades vital damage source becomes ever more powerful. Photon Blade Fever is an active that doubles the amount of photon blades thrown. The skills fever up increases the damage dealt by these blades by a whopping 30% while Photon Blade Escape adds invincibility time to movement done while throwing photon blades by up to .35 seconds because what’s going to stand still and just let you beat them up?
Elemental Stance/Elemental Stance Boost - This is your main multiplier as a Bouncer. Stances are actives that are permanent once activated. You can only have one stance active at a time from a single class. Elemental Stances gives you 20% damage for hitting with an enemy’s elemental weakness, gaining an additional 10% from the Stance Up passive skill. This is compared to getting half as much without elemental weakness since the non-weak element boost is only 15% total.
Break Stance/Break Stance Boost/Break SD Bonus - This stance gains a damage multiplier based on a really simple concept, does it break? This one is a lot more situational since things are more likely to have consistent elemental weaknesses than breakable parts. Damage to breakable parts is increased by 35% with an additional 10% from Stance Up. The stances no damage up for non-breakable parts without D-Bonus. Break Stance D-Bonus adds a 45% bonus to non-breakable parts for Dual Blades only.
Optionals
Field Remain - The skill is self-explanatory, it allows others to keep the effects of the field skills Elemental PP Restorate and Critical Field for some time after they leave your range. These skills can tighten up some slack on the downtime of those around you since you have to be in melee range of weak points. Other classes that have this damage dealing range won’t complain with free buffs!
Elemental Stance Critical/Break Stance Critical - While critical hits are a damage increase it’s close to about a 3% total damage increase for a 10 point investment. Consider this that this damage increase is inconsistent unless you are at 100% so the worth without a skill that inherently empowers critical damage critical hits only increase your damage variance for a minimum of 10 skill points on Bouncer’s Tree.
S-ATK Boost{Bouncer#tatkup|T-ATK Boost]] - Increases indicated base stat values by an increasing value maxing at either 50 or 100 total for the more points invested.
Step Advance - Invincibility window increased by a maximum of .20 of a second during step. Bouncer weapons are teeming with abilities you more commonly invest in to do this.
Uncommon
Heal Share/Heal Bonus - Heal others nearby for 20% of what you heal for. Heal Bonus increases what you heal for by 15%. Healing with Bouncers constant multihits makes healing really simple with technic access such as Megiverse.
Bouncer Mag/Craft Mastery - Bouncer Mag makes a fixed amount of your Mag’s Dex stat be converted into T-ATK and S-ATK up to 50%. Bouncers commonly use S-ATK mags so this doesn’t do much. Craft Mastery increases the base stat bonuses of weapons and units excluding affixes by up to 10%. This is dated due to the fact you cannot craft over 11*.
Elemental Burst - Passive skill that lets out an elemental shockwave that expends element gained from Jet Boots gear via shift action that deal damage and has a max of 20% to inflict status effects based on element.
Rings
L/JB S. Charge - This ring reduces the charge time for technics following any Jet Boot Photon Arts by 50% at most. What this does for Jet Boot Bouncers considering Vinto Gigue, the biggest source of damage for JB Bouncer, not only empties your gear but returns your element to weapon’s current. Instant charging technics following it greatly reduces downtime during DPS phases since technics charge 2 gear with boost.
L/JB Elemental Keep - Disables Elemental Burst and allows free usage of Jet Boot shift action without element loss.
R/Attack Advance - Increases the damage dealt by normal attacks by 8%. Considering the amount of damage Jet Boot normals deal this ring makes for a nice but minor boost in damage with a minimal amount of effort on the player’s part.
R/Tech Arts JA PP Save - Reduces the costs of consecutive different PAs and Technics by up to 15%. Dual Blade PAs are very costly and this ring can alleviate some of the harsh pp usage on DPS rotations or tighten JB PA rotations for more burst.
L/DB Snatch - Increases the striking damage from moving into enemies during Dual Blade Shift Action by up to 1800%. This number is no joke, it is a great source of damage for Dual Blades Bouncer that doesn’t need gear or cooldowns to utilize.
L/PB Homing - Adds a strong homing effect that can turn on a dime on targets that increases with level. Also adds an 8% damage boost. PB Homing can target things a lot easier and that damage increase on the best tool on Dual Blade Bouncer isn’t bad but because of this the photon blades naturally become slower to home. You want to make sure you’re right up on anything you target to prevent this. Sounds like a great time for DB Snatch to make an entrance.
Weapons
Bouncer has two weapons that, in play, are interchangeable. These two weapons are Dual Blades and Jet Boots. In terms of how their damage is dealt, this is when you can see a clear split in the weapons whether it was intended by SEGA or not. Jet boots proves to be a better weapon for bossing as dual blades excels in mobbing. However, either weapon can do both. Considering Elemental Stance is the main multiplier Dual Blade users often need to build a rainbow set of weapons of every element to know what best to use in a situation whilst Jet Boots change element on the fly via technics meaning you would need only one on a home element.
Dual Blades, The Mobile Multi-Hit Monster
- Dual blades are a weapon that’s main gimmick is its ability to throw projectiles called photon blades by using its gear gauge via shift action.
- Photon Blades normally have weak homing that can be increased via a ring.
- Most dual blade photon arts are multi-hit and primary use isn’t damage but to regain it’s gear quite quickly to get back to photon blades which is the best source of damage while in Photon Blade Fever.
- PBF has a 120 second cooldown and an active time of up to 45 seconds. Considered to be the window of downtime since your best tool is at half of its damage capability during cooldown.
- During this cooldown, Dual Blade PAs such as crafted Kestrel Rampage and Immortal Dove are some of the best ways to maintain your DPS.
- Kestrel Rampage Type-0 is consistent damage ticks for a significant amount of damage in trade for spending all your gear. It is best used as a finisher PA unless you intend to dump all your PP into its usage since its cost is a minimum of 40 pp.
- DB Snatch is also a good source of damage as well as defensive mechanic that allows you to reposition and damage anything you shift action into while moving in a direction with dual blades. This uses all your gear as well.
Jet Boots, Quick Kicks and Heavy Hits
- Jet boots main gimmick is the ability to change elements on a fly. So they’re naturally a ‘rainbow’ weapon set 6 in 1.
- Jet Boots Photon Arts hit for a lot less and have higher power notations than Dual Blades Photon Arts, allowing for instant burst in short phases.
- Rapid Boost cooldown is 120 seconds and has an uptime of 45 seconds. Though Rapid Boost lowers charge time of PAs and technics by 15% and also increases attack speed that much as well as Just Attack damage by just as much. Jet Boots are capable of getting the same effects permanently from rings that stacks on top of this while active meaning JB users have virtually no downtime!
- Jet Boot Normal Attacks have the second highest power notation in game as far as normals go. Even without PP you can output damage that can rival but not beat your Photon Art rotation.
- Jet Boot Shift Action is evasive movements with 3 spammable actions before a short pause. Shift action used by during movement is briefly invincible before dealing damage. None of this costs gear!
- Jet Boot Shift action during Jet Boot Photon Arts causes them to change behavior and power notation. These behavioral changes are casting support technics while dealing damage or gaining a sufficient amount of iframes that you can cancel out of.
- Vinto Gigue is the highest hitting Photon Art Jet Boots have. Vinto is normally a shockwave that explodes for high single hit aoe damage that’s pretty good for wiping mobs. The shift action changes this into a short range kick that does a ridiculous amount of damage. Either of these instances resets your gear and removes added element.
- Recent updates increased the power notation of the Jet Boot Photon Art Gran Wave. The damage dealt when point blank is increased as well!
- The craftable version of the Jet Boot PA Strike Gust increases in power past by 1.5x past 7th rotation and onward. Considering the gratuitous hitbox size this can make for some ridiculous sustained DPS.
Photons Arts
Distraction Wing - Gap Closing Photon Art for Dual Blades. Gains distance with gear. 50% of damage notation per hit.
Heavenly Kite - Swing your Dual Blade in an upwards spinning motion. Fills gear instantly if all hits are landed. Ideal for filling gear with minimal displacement during DPS phases.
Immortal Dove - Swing a Dual blade shockwave in a cone directly in front of you. Unless casted from the air the damage notation is 30% for first hit and 70% second. When casted from the air it’s a single hit for 100% of the notation. It is the shortest Dual Blade PA as well as the second hardest hitting one.
Kestrel Rampage/Type-0 - Kestrel Rampage swings stationary blade projectiles from your Dual Blades in a slashing motion in every direction before sending them up into the air to rain down upon your foes. This action is the longest PA Bouncer has. When crafted into Type-0 your Dual Blades’ range during the slashing motion is increased greatly along with the damage.
Justice Crow - Uses your dual blades to draw the image of an ARKS Star that has weak homing and flies towards nearby enemies and explodes with splash damage for moderate damage. Fills gear completely. damage is lackluster.
Starling Fall - Gather blades that’ll launch you in midair away from danger. While this does a shockwave that hits once. The damage is low. This is used for its hilariously long Invincibility Frames for surviving what could be a killing blow.
Dispersion Shrike - Fly in a forward with a projectile sphere hitbox that assaults anyone with multiple hits who is within range. If all hits are landed, instantly fills gear. Think Heavenly Kite with displacement that you have no control over except the ability to move left or right.
Vinto Gigue - Jet Boots PA that charges energy to release a shockwave that resets gear element/empties gear. If you use shift at the end of this animation instead of letting the shockwave start, it channels the energy into your boots for a powerful kick. This is the most powerful Photon Art that Jet Boots have due to its ridiculous notation.
Moment Gale - Jet Boots dash around in the air in slashing frontward motions with sizable AOE before ending in a kick forward. Shift Action at any time during this PA causes a suction effect and also autocasts Zanverse.
Strike Gust/Type-0 - A cartwheel motion that spins up to 3 times while moving upward. Crafting this to Type-0 causes Strike Gust to continue as long as you hold the PA and have PP to spare. The drain is about 10 PP second and the damage exponentially increases after the 7th revolution. Decent gear if you have the spare. Shift action any time during this PA slams with a small shockwave for 3 hits that also autocasts Shifta.
Gran Wave - This is the Jet Boot gap closing PA. Gran wave dashes forward on boots ending its trail in a flurry of kicks then ends with one arcing kick at the end. This Photon Art increases in damage from being up close to its target. If all hits land you gain 2 gear.
Demonstrations
What’s a good explanation without visual examples? Here are some bread and butter combinations most commonly used by Bouncers.
Photon Blade Fever Looping [Heavenly Kite>(Immortal Dove>Shift Action)]
What is being performed here is Heavenly Kite to accumulate gear followed by Immortal Dove to land which is immediately cancelled via Shift Action to throw Photon Blades. This method is called ID Cancelling. The best way to maximize your damage output during PBF is to fill your gear then PA > Shift Action. Immortal Dove > Shift Action is chosen here since it has the highest damage notation for dual blades in relation to the amount of PP time taken to perform the PA. Common variations on this is Tech Canceling which is done by holding a technic with max gear and spamming shift action to cancel and throw blades faster or Attack Canceling by using Normal DB hit and cancelling it with Shift Action. While this 8% is nice you get more milage out of TAJAPPS ring due to the 15% pp reduction during loops.
JB PA Looping with Quick Gear Charge via JB Short Charge Ring/Attack Advance Ring Damage Bonus Normals during Rapid Boost
[JA x 3 + (Vinto Shift>Technic>Gran Wave)]
This loop displayed is the entire Just Attack loop for Jet Boots followed by Vinto Gigue during Jet Boots Gear with Ice Element from pre-casting Ilbarta. Once Vinto empties the gear, through use of the JB Short Charge ring casted Ilbarta, elemental weakness and two bars of gear are quickly regained. From there Gran Wave is used since you’re up close and personal on a weak point for extra damage while refilling gear before recasting Vinto with max gear for the highest damage output. While Rapid Boost is active you can see the movements and charge times of Jet Boot rotations are significantly sped up. If you run low on pp during this method for any reason remember your normal attacks and Elemental PP Restore fields since you can quickly recover PP while doing significant damage due to Attack Advance ring giving a 8% Bonus.
Off-Meta Viability
A brief prelude, all builds spoken of this in the next section have been tested along a course of 2000 hours of theory crafting and have been thoroughly tested on behalf of the community and stamped for approval by Arkuma himself.
Subs and Flubs
Fighter/Bouncer (Damage Up, Uptime Up, Defenses Down) - Take away the survivability and stability you get from the Hunter subclass. Your precious Automate? Your best buddy Iron Will? Gone. You are here because you think you Bouncer like a boss and is dead tired about your damage shift when PBF is on cooldown. Fi/Bo trades that survivability for the sweet bursty near death embrace of Limit Break so you can be as free with your PAs with a 15% damage increase via Tech Arts JA Bonus for the low cost of minus 15% PP from Tech Arts JA PP Save. This takes nothing away from traditional DB Bouncer play other than the fact your PAs will actually be worth using enough to rival the damage from PBF. The main gimmick of this is your ability to get 100% crit easy from investing in the critical skills of both skill trees since main classing Fighter allows you to use Critical Strike making any crits deal 15% more damage while Bouncer’s Critical Field gives 30% critical hit chance just from a single active. PBF cooldown isn’t even an issue anymore since you can still do PBF rotations as Fi/Bo but unlike any other Hunter you don’t have downtime of waiting around for the cooldown considering you can activate Limit Break and Critical Field which has enough uptime to cover Photon Blade Fever’s cooldown. The problem with this build is that Fighter equippable 13* Dual Blades are a seasonal rare weapon.
Bouncer/Fighter (Damage Up, Defenses Down) - Plays like a normal hunter sub with trading survivability for technic bonus damage and pp reduction, viable with JBs only.
Bouncer/Braver (Damage Down, Defenses Down) - Those who pitch sub Braver make the mistake of looking through the tree with expectations to use stance that has situationals compared to Fury and abuse of Attack Advance for some reason despite the ring existing. Bouncer/Bravers die like a Fi/Bo without the damage or reasoning and synergize less than Bo/Fi who barely uses their subclass tree. Where was I again? Oh right-
Techer/Bouncer (Support, Possibly Cursing SEGA’s Existence) –
With the nerf of Zanverse, the dreams of all who ran this god-tier support class have been slain.
{{#widget: YouTube|width=180px|height=150px|id=KQ-UlqPkeBA}}
And a brief moment for the builds that were never alive to begin with: BoSu, SuBo, BoRa, RaBo, and BoFo. Rest nowhere. Nobody ever loved you, except Kohri, she loves everyone, especially Hitsugi.
End of the Road
Dual Blade Bo/Hu by Ryutensei
Jrt Boots Bo/Hu by Ryutensei
Hybrid Dual Weapon Bo/Hu by SilentWorld
Bo/Fi by Ryutensei
Fi/Bo by Ryutensei
Helpful Information and Guides:
JB PA Presentation by SilentWorld -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnW79IckgiU&feature=youtu.be
DB PA Presentation by SilentWorld -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbAOeQ_MTPI
PA/Technique/Skill Changes as of Episode 5 by VNRG -
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mLuf1fIAViSCdV5BAO-ezU6gsWkfuPG2ij0AkWN43iU/edit#gid=0
JB DPS Charts -
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yo5-tdy4vjstbGRkiVPRJVNJ61ghMyvHzojbjj8TCE/edit#gid=0
Credits
- To my team, Gyrus Hex, for putting up with my Bouncer rants
(It’s enough to kill a man)
- To PSO2 Fleet for driving me to finish this guide that was on the back of my to do list.
- To my friends who think I’m the Bouncer equivalent of a broken record! (They aren’t wrong but now I can at least make others suffer)
- To SilentWorld for being my recording slave throughout this little adventure, love ya.
- Now it’s your turn Zenora! Gimme that RA guide you’re hiding!
- And last but not least, Snarby for supplying all the memes, images and suffering all this google doc madness with me.
