Anthem guide: Ranger javelin

Anthem's Ranger Javelin is probably the most typical of the mechs in the game. At a glance, you may think that it has no immediately recognizable specialty. But the lack of specificity is actually the Ranger’s greatest strength.

Melee, flying, damage, defense: The Ranger isn’t top billing on any of these. But it is second place on almost all of them (the exception being damage, which Interceptor and Storm own). The Ranger is your captain class, the player that can fill any role and has a high ceiling for what they can accomplish.

If you see yourself guiding a lot of friends through Anthem, Ranger is the perfect class to start on because its playstyle can be so uniquely tailored to the players around you.

Once you’ve landed on the Ranger for your specific mission, there are some tips you’ll want to keep in mind.

Play to what your team is missing

As the Ranger, you have the power to completely alter your playstyle depending on the rest of the team’s makeup. Being the Javelin your team needs by equipping abilities that fill your allies’ gaps.

The Ranger has some serious ability diversity. While it essentially breaks down into grenades and wrist-mounted weapons, the function of these abilities can change drastically depending on what’s equipped.

For example, grenades can freeze enemies or break into clusters that explode in a larger area, taking out more bad guys. The wrist-mounted option is even more versatile.

Single target rockets, area rockets, poison darts, or a beam of focused energy all have different uses.

Run, dodge, and fly

For being the second-best defensive Javelin, you’d think the Ranger would be pretty immobile. However, the Ranger’s jump is second only to the Interceptor, and its ability to fly for long periods of time is handy.

As the Ranger, you don’t need to focus on one movement mode. Hover around if it suits the situation, or double jump over to your allies to get a quick revive going. Your power to move quickly in many ways is unique to the Ranger. Don’t let that mobility go to waste.

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Punch things

The Ranger’s melee ability is potent. It deals electric damage to one enemy if you hit them with it on the ground and area damage from the air. Use it often, especially if you find yourself in an uncomfortably close situation.

The best use for the Shock Mace is to prime combos (the only primer melee in the game) for you and your allies to detonate, but you can also use it to deal some decent single-target damage or briefly stun someone you’re close to.

Leaping into the air and slamming it down can be very powerful in certain situations as well, such as defending an area from a group of low-health enemies.

Focus on high value targets, rather than groups

While the Ranger can use more area-focused abilities, its calling will always be single target damage. Not only is its detonation combo single target focused, their melee and many of their abilities are as well.

As the Ranger, you should focus on eliminating big targets for your team: turrets, yellow health enemies, snipers. Anything that can be a threat to your allies has to go first, and you have the perfect Javelin to handle it — even if you’re specialized for more area focused abilities.

Your ultimate is the best flex ability in the game

The Multi-Target Missile Battery is very good for dealing with single target enemies or large groups. With this ultimate, you can essentially paint which enemies in an area you want to take down with your barrage of missiles. But you’ll shoot the same number of missiles no matter how many enemies you’ve targeted.

If you come across a large group of enemies that all need to die as soon as possible, you can target them all and kill them quick. If it’s a small group of high health enemies, they each get a couple missiles to the face. And if you’re taking on a boss, then they get every missile launched especially for them.

Like our first tip, keep in mind what your team is best at, and use your ultimate to fill that gap whenever you can.

List of Ranger abilities

Here’s a rundown of all of the currently-known abilities for the Ranger. More are likely to be added over time.

Grenades

• Frag Grenade - Ideal for damaging groups of enemies
• Inferno Grenade - Sets enemies on fire, dealing damage over time
• Frost Grenade - Freezes enemies, leaving them vulnerable to attack
• Seeker Grenades - A single grenade breaks into multiple pieces, tracking all nearby enemies
• Sticky Grenade - Latches onto a single target, dealing excessive, focused damageg

Assault Launcher

• Pulse Blast - Target a single enemy with high damage
• Seeking Missile - Fire a long range missile that follows a target and damages nearby enemies
• Spark Beam - Fire a single beam that deals damage over an extended period of time
• Venom Darts - Deal acid damage with a swath of darts
• Blast Missile - Deliver an explosive payload, dealing damage across a wide area

Support Gear

• Bulwark Point - Drop a bubble shield for increased protection inside
• Muster Point - A bubble that increases the damage of those within it

Melee Ability: Shock Mace

Deal electrical damage up close or deliver an area-of-effect blast if you melee while flying.

Ultimate Ability: Multi-Target Missile Battery

Fire many small tracking rockets at once. Capable of wrecking large groups of small targets or focusing entirely on a single large target.

The Ranger is your true all-purpose Javelin. More than any other, your playstyle is up to you and isn’t determined by the Javelin you choose. As long as you’re diligent and flexible with how you play, the Ranger can be a powerful tool for you and your allies.