The Ranger X Weapon and Gun Anthology

[Yourself]

Ranger X has some pretty cool "sensibilities" when it comes to its weapon and gun selection. From the adventure-style distribution that steadily expands the arsenal to the solar power zones that broadly designate where ammo can be restored, weapon strategy is more complexly tied to navigation than in your average "grab that power-up!" Contra-style run-and-gun. In fact, the injection of a persistent spatial component into offense management (paired with the idiosyncratic movement mechanics) is probably the key thing that makes Ranger X feel almost more like an adventure platformer than a shoot-em-up. But before the claims of grandeur fly too close to the sun, let's hash out the basics of each weapon - where they're found and how to use them.

Damage and power consumption metrics are a WIP. Right now damage (1-5) is just a feel and power is a ranking (1-7, 1 being the best) determined from how quickly the weapon consumes a full power bar.

For nomenclature, I'll stick to what's in the manual.


The near-omnipresent starting weapon that is always available unless Ranger X is merged with Indra as EX-UP.

Observations
Control mechanics: Hold the A button to fire continuously to the left or the C button to fire continuously to the right.
Power efficiency: N/A
Damage rate: 1 - Baseline
Bullet-eater: No
Targeting/Coverage: While standing, a straight line about 1/3 the character's height from Ranger X to the edge of the screen it's facing (the hitbox of the bullets is much taller than it looks). While Ranger X is rising or falling, the shots arc slightly (about a half character's height) in the direction of movement.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): Everything
Recommended against: Everything
Usage notes: It is kinda weird to try to give tips for the main weapon. It's free to use, effective against almost every enemy, and, because it can be simultaneously fired with a special weapon, never really superseded. Its lacking power and line-of-sight limitation are the main reasons to favor specials.


The only melee option in the game, it only works on certain enemy types.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press left or right on the control pad while the character is facing an enemy and about to make contact with it. Only humanoid walker-type robots are susceptible to this attack. Indra and EX-UP do not have to be facing the target to bump it.
Power efficiency: N/A
Damage rate: 0 - Knockback only
Bullet-eater: No (that would be kinda hypocritical)
Targeting/Coverage: The attack will only trigger when contact is made, but it will also hit any overlapping enemies up to a character's width away.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 1, 2, 6
Recommended against: Walker-type robots, particularly shieldbots.
Usage notes: Kicking is extremely circumstantial. It only works on half a dozen enemy types and even then obviously won't kill them. There are a couple level segments that feel specifically designed to exercise it - namely the gauntlet of bipedalbots leading to the final target of Stage 2 and the column of shieldbots that introduce Stage 6. In the former case it's easier to kick the BPBs out of the way instead of shooting at them, and the later shieldbots are begging to be corralled with Indra.


The gun fired from the Indra bike while it is separate from Ranger X. Indra is available only in Stages 1, 2, and 6.

Observations
Control mechanics: Hold the A or C button to fire continuously in the direction Indra is facing. Indra's movement follows Ranger X but it will only about-face when merged as EX-UP. The player can manually position Indra by ducking with Ranger X (hold down on the ground) and simultaneously pressing left or right on the control pad.
Power efficiency: N/A
Damage rate: 1 - Baseline
Bullet-eater: No
Targeting/Coverage: A straight line about 1/3 the character's height from Indra to the edge of the screen it's facing.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 1, 2
Recommended against: Stage 1 artillery targets, Stage 2 rolly-rocks, Stage 6 shieldbots.
Usage notes: Indra provides a little bonus firepower against grounded targets like the walkers in Stage 1, but its vertically challenged line of sight means terrain limits its general usefulness. Indra comes in most handy when it can be manually positioned to attack while Ranger X ducks behind cover. That tends to be the best way to safely take out the artillery in Stage 1. Though Indra makes a startling return in Stage 6, there aren't many enemies on the ground to be victimized in its default state.


This is the only weapon available when Ranger X is merged with Indra to form EX-UP. Like Indra, EX-UP is only available in Stages 1, 2, and 6.

Observations
Control mechanics: Hold the A button to face left, target, and fire continuously or the C button to face right, target, and fire continuously.
Power efficiency: N/A
Damage rate: 2 - Low
Bullet-eater: No
Targeting/Coverage: On firing, the weapon targets the closest enemy in the direction that it is facing or the closest enemy within ~2 char widths that is behind. The gun locks onto the target while fired continuously. Occasionally the stream will split and track two targets at half-strength, possibly because they have equal priority. Unlike the Ranger X machine gun, EX-UP's fire does not arc relative to vertical movement.

Certain enemies won't be auto-targeted by EX-UP (e.g. phase 2 of the Stage 2 boss).

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 1, 2, 6
Recommended against: Everything, especially the Stage 1 and Stage 2 bosses.
Usage notes: With auto-tracking and increased base damage, EX-UP is a tough one to turn EX-DOWN. In fact, the word "OP'd" comes to mind. That said, Ranger X is a game that likes to flood the screen with targets, so while EX-UP might provide a good bullet shield against swarms of missiles (like in the Stage 1 boss fight) and a good lock-on weapon for foes at weird angles (wall-crawlers in Stage 6), it isn't reliable for prioritizing damage. This is especially the case because switching into EX-UP mode means forgoing a special weapon.


The airship Eos supports Ranger X with this weapon in Stages 3, 4, and 5.

Observations
Control mechanics: N/A - Eos fires automatically
Power efficiency: N/A
Damage rate: 1 - Baseline
Bullet-eater: No
Targeting/Coverage: Eos fires automatically at a fixed rate in the stages where it is present. It always targets an on-screen enemy, though it's hard to tell the rule. Maybe the one closest to Ranger X? Even with targeting, it is only about 75% accurate.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 5
Recommended against: "Resting" drones and patrolmenbots.
Usage notes: It's hard to call this "useful" since its autonomous function is kind of built into the levels. In the multi-tiered Stage 5, playing slowly will allow Eos to pick off the slower enemies that haven't yet spotted Ranger X. The other two stages where it's present are just too busy for the slow-firing Eos to affect. Again, it just doesn't matter.


Alright, finally we get to the good stuff, the specials. Flames is one of the two starting weapons and is available through the entire game.

Observations
Control mechanics: Hold the B button to fire in the direction Ranger X is facing.
Power efficiency: 9 sec/meter (6th of 7)
Damage rate: 3 - Medium
Bullet-eater: Yes
Targeting/Coverage: The slow flames are 1/2 character tall and move independently, so the stream trails Ranger X's movement. Horizontal coverage is determined proportionally by power level, from 1/2 screen at max down to a character width at min.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 1, 2, 5
Recommended against: Everything in Stage 1, Stage 2's space tadpoles, quaker targets, and caterpillar boss, the floating brain phase of the Stage 3 boss, and Stage 5's patrol-ship targets.
Usage notes: The flamethrower is your typical beginner weapon. It has a very simple function - shoot things in front of me, but shoot them harder than the default gun. That's good enough for most situations, but more specialized weapons often offer more efficient alternatives, such that after Stage 2 I rarely find myself bring it out.

Its greatest strength is that it provides a steady frontal bullet shield. Its greatest weakness is the way it trails and shortens, making fast-moving and aerial enemies hard to hit.


The other starting weapon, the grenade launcher is available through the entire game.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press the B button to fire a grenade in the direction Ranger X is facing. Max 1 grenade per second.
Power efficiency: 18 sec/meter (3rd of 7)
Damage rate: 3 - Medium
Bullet-eater: No
Targeting/Coverage: Standing fire produces a shockwave starting at Ranger X that is two characters wide and 2/3 a character tall. Only the front edge of the shockwave is damaging, but it will pierce weaker enemies and can reflect off walls. The shockwave will continue to travel as long as it is kept on screen.

When fired from the air, a grenade arcs sharply downward from Ranger X's position, traveling about one character width horizontally per one screen height vertically. When the grenade lands, it triggers the aforementioned shockwave. If it hits an enemy in mid-air, the shockwave starts at the enemy's position and drops straight to the ground before traveling forward. If it hits an enemy on the ground, it simply damages that enemy.

Strategic conclusions
Useful in stage(s): 1, 2, 3
Recommended against: Anything on the ground ever. Stage 1's walkers and artillery targets, Stage 2's quaker targets, Stage 3's buggies, landed hangar targets, and the first phase of the boss, Stage 5's patrolmenbots.
Usage notes: The grenade launcher provides more damage for power and better range than the flamethrower. Drop a couple grenades and "ride the wave" if you want to see Stage 1 clear itself.

It's also less flexible and useless for defense. In particular the weapon's viability falls off a cliff as soon as Stage 4 rejects the notion of solid ground. While they see a short resurgence of usefulness for Stage 5's patrolmen, the same enemies are vulnerable to other weapons that won't require Ranger X to be exposed to their line of fire.

Grenade is also totally useless against all bosses (as in will not hit or hurt them at all), barring the tentacle blob in Stage 3.


The lock-on laser can be picked up early in Stage 2 on a detour directly above the first water pit.

Observations
Control mechanics: Tap the B button to fire a pair of lasers in the direction Ranger X is facing. Hold the B button to fire the lasers continuously, starting in the direction Ranger X is facing and slowly tracing a 360 degree arc in opposite directions until a target is found.
Power efficiency: 42 sec/meter (1st of 7)
Damage rate: 2 - Low*
Bullet-eater: Yes
Targeting/Coverage: The lasers fire from the top and bottom of Ranger X, so when shooting forward they cover an entire character height until the end of the screen. Tapping B will fire them steadily forward. As soon as a laser strikes a viable target, it locks on and will remain locked on until the trigger is released.
*Obs. note: Damage per laser. Up to 2 lasers at a time can damage an enemy.

Strategic conclusions
Location notes: Every path in the Stage 2 maze leads to *something*, so it's natural that a player exploring based on architecture rather than their radar would stumble across this.
Useful in stage(s): 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This is a very useful weapon!
Recommended against: Regular enemies far and wide. It isn't much for bosses though.
Usage notes: The great advantage of lock-on-laser is that the targeting is semi-manual. Unlike EX-UP and falcon which automatically attack the closest enemy, laser can be aligned with a target anywhere on the screen for some long-range devastation. Its sweep pattern is a bit too slow to be reliable, but there's usually no need to wait for it - just put Ranger X in position so a forward shot will lock on.

The ability to target two enemies at once is also huge, allowing the weapon to serve a simultaneous offensive and defensive function while one laser is locked on and the other is sweeping.


Our sharp-feathered friend can be picked up along the forest floor around the third target hangar landing spot in Stage 3.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press the B button to launch the falcon in the direction Ranger X is facing.
Power efficiency: 21 sec/meter* (2nd of 7)
Damage rate: 4 - High
Bullet-eater: Sorta - while it's flying, but not while it's latched on.
Targeting/Coverage: The falcon does direct damage - it does not cover a range. It targets the closest enemy, flies to it, deals damage until the target is dead, then moves to the next enemy.
*Obs. note: The falcon consumes power at an inconsistent rate - faster when it's doing damage than when it's just flying. That makes this hard to measure - actual usage probably ranges between 15 sec and 25.

Strategic conclusions
Location notes: The item is so close to one of the objective factories that it is really hard to miss, but if a player was desperately sticking to the air (which is safer) they could fly over.
Useful in stage(s): 3, 4, 5
Recommended against: Everything in Stages 3, 4, and 5.
Usage notes: The most powerful traditional weapon, the easiest to aim, and it's energy-efficient to boot! The catch is that the falcon has zero defensive capability. The player will need to prioritize quick attacks and dodging to stay safe with this equipped. While at first (particularly on Easy or Normal) the falcon might feel like God Mode, as enemy firing rate increases with difficulty it becomes pretty challenging to use.

Like grenade launcher (the other elite weapon I guess), falcon is useless against bosses. It's too lazy to even attempt an attack. A few enemies (most notably the wall-crawler targets in Stage 6) are also immune to its charms.


To reveal the plasma beam pick-up in Stage 4 the player needs to shoot at a skyscraper window just under the platform that terminates the sheer vertical cliff between targets 06 and 05.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press the B button to initiate the targeting sequence. The player then has about 2 seconds to position and face Ranger X before the beam fires.
Power efficiency: 1 sec/meter (7th of 7)
Damage rate: 5 - Hella strong
Bullet-eater:
Targeting/Coverage: The beam covers the entire screen horizontally and 1/2 the screen vertically during it's 2 second duration. It's horizontal position will remain aligned with Ranger X, which the player can continue to move during the attack. The beam pierces all obstacles including walls and damages everything in its zone.

Strategic conclusions
Location notes: This one is very easy to miss, as it requires both a new method of exploration (shoot an unmarked area to reveal an item) and comes in a level that makes it hard to hold/revisit ground. The power-up only remains for a few seconds after it's revealed and then vanishes forever, so the player needs to grab it quickly.

Useful in stage(s): 4, 5, 6
Recommended against: Stage 6 wall-crawler targets, bosses
Usage notes: The plasma beam is definitely the oddest special weapon. It deals a ton of damage quickly, but leaves Ranger X's gas tank on empty. That's a pretty major vulnerability to trade for a single screen clear in Stages 4 and 5 where power regenerates painfully slowly.

Where plasma beam becomes useful is against enemies resistant to other special weapons. Since you'll mostly be using machine gun against the final four bosses anyway, why not spend the power meter to take off a third of their health bar?


Located right at the beginning of Stage 5 under the first thin floor on the main path.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press the B button to fire a wave in the direction Ranger X is facing. Max 1 wave per second.
Power efficiency: 13 sec/meter (5th of 7)
Damage rate: 1 - Baseline*
Bullet-eater: Yes
Targeting/Coverage: The fire wave is twice as tall as Ranger X and takes about a second to travel to the end of the screen. It is made up of 5 fireballs that make contact independently, so if the lower part hits a wall, the top half will continue traveling on its own.
*Obs. note: Fire wave is the only weapon except for airborne grenades that deals damage on contact instead of damage over time. Each fireball makes contact separately, so the damage ranges from about 1 (machine gun power) to 3 (grenade power) depending on how many land.

Strategic conclusions
Location notes: Thin floors are first introduced in this stage, so here at the beginning a new player might not know to check under this one. On a second pass, it's a no-brainer.
Useful in stage(s): ???
Recommended against: The patrol-ship targets in Stage 5...
Usage notes: ...although it's about the fourth most effective weapon against them. Fire wave is mostly defensive in nature - it'll wipe clean a wall of bullets in front of Ranger X. But lock-on laser does the same thing better, and shield is certainly the best choice for defense in Stage 6.

Ignoring the better options, wave's strength - the breadth of its attack - is also its weakness. Each fireball only does a small amount of damage, and each shot has to be aimed independently. Landing consecutive hits requires maintaining alignment and exposing Ranger X to laser fire.

With as late in the game as fire wave appears, there aren't a lot of scenarios to test it against.


At the beginning of Stage 6, kicking the second shield bot about a dozen times will destroy it and cause it to drop the shield upgrade.

Observations
Control mechanics: Press the B button to turn on shield. Press the B button while shield is on to turn it off.
Power efficiency: 16 sec/meter (4th of 7)
Damage rate: 2 - Low
Bullet-eater: Yes (obviously)
Targeting/Coverage: The shield damages only enemies directly in contact with Ranger X. The final two bosses (the only ones where Shield is available) are invulnerable to this damage.

Strategic conclusions
Location notes: Kicking is the normal first move against a shield bot (to take down their shield), but kicking also doesn't damage foes, so repeatedly kicking this one is kinda a "you have to look it up on the Internet to know to do it" scenario. Especially because just about the only way to get in this many kicks is to corner the bot. Shield seems kinda OP at first and thus it makes sense it's an easter egg, but on repeated plays on harder difficulties it's really not that great. Not sure why it's hidden so obtusely.
Useful in stage(s): 6
Recommended against: Floating mines, laser traps, the Stage 6 boss, and the final boss.
Usage notes: For the short time it's around, shield is a mixed bag. It spends a lot of power, which sorta wastes the primary advantage of the final stage, that power regenerates really fast. To make full use of it, the player will need to pause from time to time to let it recharge, which is dangerous once the boss shows up for griefing.

Still, none of the other weapons are particularly effective in Stage 6, so shield isn't a bad choice. And it makes the otherwise dangerous trap gauntlets trivially easy. It also is happy to take all the fun out of the final boss fight.

[Yourself]

some weapon demos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8nFE2 ... 8MqYvKIST3