PSO2 FAQ #8

Highlighted Lines are the Questions (Updated 13/04/16)

Where to start Related Questions:


How do I sign up?
Click the hexagon shaped button.
http://pso2.jp/
Use the information on the link under to sign up.
http://arks-layer.com/signup.php


Where do I download the Demo Character Creator? Does it have an English Patch?
The character creator is in episode 4 however there is no english translation for it yet.
http://pso2.jp/benchmark


Where do I download the Game Launcher?
http://pso2.jp/players/download/
Click the downloader.exe

The downloader/Launcher takes too long, is there an alternate download?
Check this link: http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2983399

What are these buttons on this launcher?
First big button is to play the game.
Second button is to access the settings.
Third button is to update the game (If you have an English patch installed it will remove it)
Fourth button is to exit the launcher.


Why is it downloading so slow?
The servers are in Japan. Plus many people might be downloading the patch. Also the patch at this point is 20GB+
You also can try the tweaker http://arks-layer.com/index.php


Can you tell me a little about Phantasy Star online 2?

This game is highly praised for its customization features and style of gameplay.

Storywise
The adventure begins as YOU the main protagonist are set on a space vessel to defeat darkers with your partner afin.
As you patrol through the Naberius forest you find an unconscious girl in the forest. The girl awakens to find she has no memory of her past. It's all up to you to discover a secret that will change everything as you know it.

Episode 4 premise
You awaken in a frozen time capsule greeted by one of the other crew members upon an Arks vessel. You are given the duty to investigate a strange occurrence of that has taken place of earth of a child being born from a videogame where you will learn pso2 is more than just a videogame to their world and the story of 2 worlds connecting using pso2.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasy_Star_Online_2


Coummunity

What ship/block does /vg/ play on?
/Pso2g/ plays on both ship 2 and ship 4. Many ship 2 /pso2g/ players can be found on block 31 Franka's cafe area. Ship 4 /pso2g/ players are much more difficult to find but still exist.

Which ship has more English players?
Ship 2 undoubtedly has more English players and more members from both /pso2g/, reddit, PSO-World forums, and other places at this time. Ship 4 is comprised of mostly Japanese players, with older /vg/ players scattered among them.

What's the difference between the ships?
Ship 2 of course has more English players, however that also comes with a bigger population spouting memes and being generally annoying by /pso2g/'s standards. They generally congregate on a few blocks but primarily block 1. Due to this the feelings of the Japanese players toward foreign-players are more negative than Japanese compared to other ships. You will however have many more English players to play with during the day, and if capable can play with Japanese players during the off-hours as well.
Ship 4 may not have as many English players. Blocks are much more quieter to nearly being silent. English players are scattered and it is advisable to know two basic Japanese phrases so you can party with most Japanese when necessary. Japanese players are very friendly with English players here. It is important to note that the English players on ship 4 are scattered in different time-zones. Ship 4 when the Japanese-population is included is one of the most highly populated and active ships with a great player-base, but will be dead during non-JP hours.


How do I search for names or teams?
Search for purple terminals labeled visiphones and check the options "arks search"

What team should I join if I'm on ship 2 or 4?
Ask in thread, but prepare for memes.



Can the character I made in the CharacterCreator be ported over to the actual game?
If saved, just port over the character file at the creation screen.

What are the graphic requirements for playing/what is good on the benchmark?
As long as you aren't using an on-board GPU you should encounter little problems. The benchmark is relatively inaccurate, most people will have little trouble running the game, even at higher settings except T6(Tier 6) which was newly introduced, however you will encounter problems with certain visual effects that have high particle density due to poor optimization on SEGA's part.


Game Related Questions:

Will there be an English Localization?
Right now it's JP only. Sega has announced an English Version, but it's been delayed multiple times https://twitter.com/sega/status/507206954800803840 (stop asking). The SEA version also exists by Asiasoft which can be found here http://pso2.playpark.com/en/ Please do not discuss the SEA-version in the general thread at this team as there are next to no SEA (Southeast Asia) players in the general at this time. If you want to use the English patch, see the link in the OP.

Do I have to Pay 2 Play?
No, the game is free to play and has a cash shop (called the AC shop). It is generally acknowledged as pay to look pretty. However are are a myriad of advantages paying gets you. Being a premium member gives you access to the shop which you can use to make a great amount of meseta. It also gives you 300 extra storage spaces and the ability to buy 10* units and weapons, as well as 11* weapons. It is important to note that you can exchange 10* weapons and 10* units into passes while a premium member, and use those passes to purchase others while not a premium member.

What is the level cap?
The current level cap is 75.

What is the Mag cap?
The current mag cap is 200.

How many free characters can I make?
Only three across all ships, but each character can play every class. Deletion of a character takes 24 hours. Some races have certain stat advantages over others though. this will be elaborated in a stat section later.

Can I change my character past initial character creation?
You may change the eyes and eye color, accessories, body paint, voice, and hairstyle at any given time. Changing proportions, HAIR COLOR, or anything else will require 500 AC.With the latest update you can get a makeover pass if you've logged in enough times. They also appear in some campaigns, so its best to try and listen for any of the upcoming events or play when you have the free time.


What class should I play?
Can't really help you choose there. Gotta pick what feels right. Hunters, and Fighters are the Melee classes, Rangers and Gunners the Ranged classes, and Force and Techer the Caster classes. There are classes like Braver and bouncer that have 2 different attributes in combat but you can only benefit from going completely into one side than the other. Finally there is the newest class named summoner, It is very effective in and unique from typical summoner mmo classes. Information for this class is varying but its best to ask in thread. You can change your class on your character in game, so feel free to experiment. However unless you are willing to pay you will only get one skill tree on each class. (Skill tree reset passes for ALL skill trees are handed out occasionally by SEGA).

Tl;dr (You play anything, you can change anytime without without heavy penalization as long as you remember to use the right skill trees.)

How can I get a subclass?
You need to reach Level 20 on a class then do a Client Order from Koffie to unlock it.Once you unlock it you receive a portion of the subclass stats, many but not all of its abilities (this does not necessarily mean you can use any weapon that subclass can use). Certain weapons marked all-class or specified for other classes are allowed to be used. You can "craft" a weapon to make it able to be equipped by every class, but this comes with consequences (see crafting section/guide).



So I can play every class effectively?
No. Unfortunately you only get a certain amount of skill trees unless you purchase more at a cost of 500 AC per, and you only get one MAG per character which cost an additional 300 AC per, so you can play one thing really effectively. Since you will likely want a 200 S-ATK, R-ATK, or T-ATK MAG, unless you pay you will be weaker in the other classes. The same applies to some classes which need multiple skill trees, particularly FO and TE for people who want to specialize in an element, you would need many skill trees to have every element.

I got Error Code <###>, what do I do?
Refer with this list:
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204836&highlight=error

How do I add Friends? What does this menu option do? How do I switch Blocks?
Refer to this post on Bumped:
http://bumped.org/psublog/pre-open-beta-starter-guide-for-phantasy-star-online-2/

A bunch of people in the lobby are gray and untextured. How do I fix it?
When you're In-Game, go to Options. Click the last tab then click the 2nd option. There will be a slider with the number 12. Crank it up as high as you can, it will cause more load and more lag in the lobby.

What does Ability/DEX do?
Ability/DEX makes the damage range smaller on your attacks. So instead of being big like 200-250 it becomes more along the lines of 240-250, this stat is effectively useless in most cases. Higher ranked weapons have a naturally smaller damage range built into them. This however becomes useful for "crafted" weapons which have large damage variance. (see craft section/guide)

How do people have Gaebolg? Or the Bouquet Rifle? Or look like Madoka? How can I?
Those items are items you get from promotional codes. Some of these are gotten from magazines like the Gaebolg, Bouquet Rifle was from Pre-OBT by completing a quest, SEGA often does collaborations with different studios and adds special items like the Madoka outfit to the game.

How do I trade?
Trading is a Premium feature. Despite that it still has limitations. In order to ghetto-trade, you can leave an item in someone's gift box in a room or try to snipe one another's wares on your respective shops for cheap amounts. There are some limitations to this, but beware if someone beats you to it.

There's so much currency, what is what?
Meseta is your main currency. The yellow drops in-game is Meseta.
FUN is Currency you can use for a scratch card. You earn it by logging in for consecutive days or giving people good jobs.
AC is the Cash Option. Pay real money for it. Buys stuff in the AC shop and gets you special AC scratches.
CC is challenge coins. These are gained after cmode runs and can be used to buy 13 star weapons.

What is OTP?
OTP or One-Time Password is a tool you can download and setup up for your PSO2 account, doing so will grant you 200 free extra storage spaces. This pretty much functions as an authenticator you will be prompted for when you login. Beware if you lose it, you are locked out of your account since you most likely connect from a foreign IP which SEGA will not work with. Additionally you can choose to freeze it, but doing so loses the extra OTP storage.

One of my questions wasn't really answered? What should I do?
Make sure you read through the guides listed throughout the paste and below. We are making a great effort to provide the best and most relevant information possible. If you can't find your answer there, feel free to ask on the thread and maybe recommend it be added to the pastebin.

Who's to blame for all these shit changes to the pastebin?
Koishi and OsMoSe of Ship 4 primarily (both are dead). Other people have been given credit where credit is definitely due.

Skill Tree/Guides/Tutorial Section:
Below are a list a various resources and guides you should try using before asking how to do things on the thread. The maker of each part has been credited (unless they did not want to be), please refrain to only having constructive criticism if you wish to do, each person is putting effort in to make things better overall.

Affixing and affixing listings

Listings and simulator
http://srpgp.supersanctuary.net/dudu/#!/s=&a=&b=&r=&o=


Crafting & Gear
http://bumped.org/psublog/pso2-crafting-system-mini-guide/#comment-60037 *This is a temporary link to the basics for crafting, an in-depth guide will hopefully soon be created
Koishi and an Anon's Crafting Guide http://pastebin.com/Phy7kXz8 *Technique portion is still incomplete, hope to add it in the near future
Spreadsheet of recommended units at higher levels https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16IaZeKtufU-ks_TAIOUW560ojTCZ0FOI3-Z5moSlhkg/pubhtml

Gameplay Guide
Yumi's Dashing Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig-4y0rcNQM

Guide to screenshots
http://pastebin.com/TgUtGK7K

How do I get my screenshots?
search on you computer for a file named "sega"
Sega> Phantasy star online 2> Pictures
Your screenshots should be located in that folder.

What is pso2es?
A sister game to pso2 in which your pc account is tied to a mobile account and you can play as your pc character on mobile.
By playing the mobile game you can gain items and buy AC for the pc version of the game.


How do I run it without a mobile phone or tablet?
http://www.bluestacks.com/
Search for pso2es or download from
http://www.bumped.org/psublog/phantasy-star-online-2-es-smartphone-version-guide/


Pso2es information
English patch:
http://arks-layer.com/pso2es.php

Chip catalog
http://phantasystar.wikia.com/wiki/Character_Chips_in_PSO2es
http://www.bumped.org/psublog/pso2es-guide-chip-database/

Is it ok to talk about the some other pieces related to the phantasy star series?
Sure, just don't derail thread with it.

Pso2es gameplay talk related is always welcomed considering it is a sister game in current connections with pso2.