Ranger Guide

midnight_dawn_smile_2.png
Oil (SCMSV’s character)
Source: Patata-tan (Blackheart612)

Final update: June 23rd 2021

For NA Players

Phantom & Etoile Caseal Presets

Level 100 cap is here! NA matches JP’s skill builds so you should look at Updated Class Combinations for write-ups and their sample skill builds.
If you want a build reference for 100 cap, here’s an idea.

Consider checking out the JP -> NA Translations wiki to see what’s been changed between the two versions.

Blue names indicate NA translation if available.

06/23/21

We’ve moved on from PSO2 to PSO2 NGS! What does this mean for the PSO2 RA Guide? It’s gonna stay around, but as of this writing there will be no more guide updates planned.

Thanks to everyone who’s been with us, and we’ll see you in the whole new world!

02/22/21
Recommended
Updated Weapon Flowchart (Ep6 NA)

01/24/21
Recommended
Updated Weapon Flowchart (Ep6 NA)

01/06/21
Not much to update outside of some housekeeping.

Since Divide Quests is coming soon to NA, my suggestion is to skip Stil and focus on getting Rivalate’s plus/redux potential. Crafting Stil is a massive timesink, and the payoff isn’t worth the costs compared to simply getting the redux pots on the existing 15*’s for comparable performance.

Plus, an upcoming endgame weapon uses the same materials from Divide Quest while being MUCH better, and given NA’s accelerated schedule, you’ll definitely need to save those materials to get a head-start on it.

12/08/20
Photon Arts
Added Sandbag DPS comparison for some PAs (Positron Blast, Satellite Cannon not included)

Crush Launcher Ticia write-up (more or less just copy-pasted from Honorable Mentions)

Recommended
Updated Weapon Flowchart (Ep6 NA)

11/23/20
Gearing Up
Added TRAILBLAZER units.

Recommended
Updated Weapon Flowchart (Ep6 NA)

My opinion on what weapon to focus for? Personally I’d get Atlas EX, skip TRAILBLAZER series and focus on Novel / RIVERLATTE series. There’s nothing wrong with TRAILBLAZER, but Genon Rifle replaces its PP refresh utility… By the way, Genon Rifle shits on most PP regen options.

Since NA will match JP’s content soon, that means I get to copy-paste what JP has for weapons!
RIVERLATTE = Liberate
OOFstere = Austere
TRAILBLAZER = Lightstream
Names with + on them denotes Redux/PLUS upgrade version

Past changes can be found here

Welcome to the guide on the Ranger class. Since each person has varying degrees of experience on playing a Ranger, click on the links below to choose where you want to start off at:

72 thoughts on “Ranger Guide”

  1. Oh Spread needle and vante weihen are very niche weapons now hmmm, does that mean yasminkov 4KFJ will join them too? how good is yasminkov actually atm compared to existing launchers? (in terms of general use and convenience)

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    • Yasminkov 4KFJ is weaker than some of the newer 14* Launchers by ~5-10%, so it loses out damage wise. However, 4KFJ’s biggest strength is the insane PP regen; the quad shots count as separate attacks, so Launcher’s attack PP regen turns from 8+15+15 into 32+60+60.

      Since some Launcher PAs are free moving, chargable attacks that eats PP fast (Divine Launcher Type-0 uses 45 PP for reference), it greatly synergizes with 4KFJ, making it the best in terms of general use and convenience.

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    • A good start is checking out the Weapons section, there are recommended SSAs at the bottom of the page that are generally strong or suit Ranger well. Some are expensive especially right now, but it still stands that they are some of the best in their respective slot, If you have more questions just lmk.

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  5. I’ve run into a wall with my choice of affixes. Currently my build would amount to 210 R-ATK, which I’m putting towards my Lightstream Ambixion. I planned on taking advantage of that Shoot Boost S1 ability since it was a viable option, but this build doesn’t include Phrase Weak. I’ve been wondering whether or not I should go for 200+ or settle for Phrase Weak instead.

    Thanks in advance!

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    • http://4rt.info/psod/?td3aw

      Phrase Weak Lightstream would win against matching element-weak enemies in exchange for losing out on general usage, but most relevant endgame bosses are weak to light, and Lightstream is strong enough that a 2% damage loss is negligible. In this case, it’s more about your resources and patience to go for either >+200 R-ATK, or Phrase Weak.

      EDIT: Fixed sentence wording

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  7. Thoughts on this?

    https://forum.pso2.com/topic/1657/most-power-assualt-rifle-in-the-game-is

    “ The elder rifle potential is worth 13% when you consider the difference of mobile fire and stationary fire is only the 15% multiplier (1.3x / 1.15x = 1.13)

    So when you also consider how the elder rifle is only a 12 star (hence 50 element only) the overall attack is 2097 at +30 while yask7kV (60 element, 13% pot) is 2144 at +30

    This means the elder rifle is only as strong as the uwb weapons (and better for tainted enemies once the ultimate buster augment comes out).”

    There was also a chart using the same site that you use to show damage output, but it had yasminkov above elder rifle… I can’t find it now though.

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    • It’s true for the most part. http://4rt.info/psod/?gWaQg
      Elder only wins since its +30% damage buff while moving is much easier to maintain over Yas7V + Stationary Snipe buff, but as soon as a stronger rifle releases, Elder goes straight into the storage bin.
      At least, until weapon crafting or Ultimate Buster/Enemy/Element-specific damage boost augments come out.

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  8. Are you planning soon to doing a Hu/X guide? Since PSO from game cube I’ve been Ranger, once I reach good levels I switch to HuCast.

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  9. Thanks for all of this, really the best guide for this game there is. Everything is neat, explained nicely, and done oh so well. Haven’t seen a class guide anywhere this nice. Thank you so much!

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  10. This is an excellent and thorough guide. It’s got me inspired to level my Ranger!

    Since Ranger seems to require manual aim, do you think controller players will be severely impacted?

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    • It’ll be harder to land optimal shots on heads/weakpoints, but controller players can still play fine.

      Controller has better lock-on target navigation though, so that’s a bonus.

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  11. Just wanted to say thanks for the guide. I’ve been hovering between continuing to play PSO2 or not due to all the installation/broken game files/duplicate install issues, but seeing how fun the Ranger could be definitely gives me some fresh motivation to play. Just got to 75 today in NA, looking forward to trying out a bunch of your builds/tips and tricks.

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  12. Hey there,

    I’m Moneybagz, an avid PSO player since GC. I love your guide and reference it frequently when figuring out gearing and progression. I would love to do a collaboration with you which, potentially could be a paid opportunity for you and your contributors. Please reach out to me if you are interested.

    Thanks again and love the guide.

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  13. Hey there, first of all, thanks for this amazing guide

    I was seeing the Damage Calculator for the Rifles with Atlas and saw that Atlas ATP is marked as 1733
    But seeing the wiki, on +35 it says it’s 1892 which makes a huge difference in the damage output for the 2/2/2 and 10%

    Just wanted to know the right value (if it’s 1733, why?)

    Thanks!

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  14. Hello,

    Since the Vante Weihen came into PSO2 NA and you posted a video comparing the Vante to a “vanilla” rifle, I wanted to ask what “vanilla” rifle you were using in the video, since while it obviously shows Vante doing more damage, the impressiveness would be discounted if the “vanilla” rifle was a 13*.

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      • And between spread needle and vate weihen, which one would be better to use. I havent used either of them yet, so i am confused on which one would be better to get as they are quite expensive. I am in NA server.

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      • 1. Personally I wouldn’t purchase Spread Needle since it’s too niche for what Launcher already does; AoE mobbing. The PP regen also gets overshadowed by 4kFJ as well. In terms of prices I would try to nab Vante at ~10-15m and 4kFJ at 20-30m.

        2. Builds with Vante Weihen are the exact same as the ones posted on this site, as there’s no major difference outside of having to carefully plan out rounds.

        3. Vante is strictly better if you’re looking to burst bosses down. The boosted Positron Blast damage beats out all options (even beating most/all of JP’s endgame weapons), but you need a second Ranger if you want to make full use of Vante. I would strongly suggest getting a Atlas Rifle on Ranger, as Atlas offers numerous benefits that can rival both weapons, and a future upgrade make it stronger.

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  16. Hi bro, i know u r busy since the new update. But a quick one, Since they have released lightstream aka trailblazer in na. Should i still try to get the Yasminokov 4kfj. I have been saving for the yasmino 4kfj and i can buy it rightaway and then theres still the 150 erebros stone for the trailblazer which will take some time to collect. Need your advise on it.

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  17. Hi bro, i just got the Atlas EX Rifle. I also got the Vante Weihen for cheap (10 mil). Now i am working towards getting the Trailblazer Launcher.

    1. So now for Affixing, how much R-atk and PP should i add on these 3 weapons. Tell me what should be the bare minimum and the optimal value.

    2. And for SSAs should i add more DMG bonus or more PP regen or a balance between the two.

    I was thinking something like this:

    1. For Atlas EX:

    s1: Seagleam
    s2: Goliathslayer will
    s3: Photon Adversity + (With PP Conversion ring)
    s4: mettle of the rested

    * Is sacrificing Precision hit pp gain ring worth it for this set up.
    * Also s1: Ranged Amp seems interesting but is it worth it to add 200 R-atk with just 4 augment slots left.

    2. For Trailblazer Launcher:

    s1: Ranged Amp
    s2: Lustrous partbreaker
    s3: Lucent Domain

    Or should i just hold onto affixing untill ep6 and all SSAs comes out and save meseta untill then. In that case what could be the absolute best SSAs for this weapons for ep6 end game standard.

    Need you advice. Appreciate your reply. Thank you.

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    • 1. Bare minimum is +60 ATK +5 PP after filling the weapons with S-grade augments (if they have any). Optimal is >120 ATK ~10 PP.
      Atlas EX:
      s1 Seagleam is worthless, I would rather replace it with Aggressive Will or Photon Descent.
      s2 is BiS
      s3 Lucent Adversity or Photon Descent? Either works, but I’d stick with Precision PP gain either way since PP Conversion doesn’t regen PP if you’re using PAs.

      Trailblazer Launcher:
      s1 if you can get +200 ATK that’s good
      s2 just use Photon Descent, additional damage to breakable parts is very niche
      s3 is fine, but having more damage would be better on Trailblazer specifically

      By the time Ep6 comes out we’ll have better options for weapons so just affix what you can afford and save up till then.

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  18. Hi, Bro,First of all love all the new info added to the site. Now U said to skip Trailblazer and focus on Rivalate. Is that recomendation for both Rifle and Launcher. I have the Atlas EX Rifle and i have everything ready for Trailblazer Launcher just waiting on the void erebite stones. Also i was wandering should i make Rivalate for both Rifle and Launcher. Thank you.

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    • Rivalate has better unconditional bonuses like +20% crit rate and 15% pp reduction, alongside with having s4 and s5 slots that allow you to double dip for more crit, lifesteal and PP reduction/efficiency.

      Between the two? I’d personally make Launcher first just because Ep6 mobbing content will be much tougher, and RIVALATE’s power will help a lot.

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  19. Hi bro, wanted to know ,

    1. Does s5 anthesis cultivation affects PP as well or just atk stat.

    2. If it does affect pp then will s4 photon adaptation be affected by s5 anthesis cultivation. For example if i add 100pp on the weapon the s5 anthesis cultivation will double it to 200, will then the s4 photon adaptation give 20%.

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    • Also bro, which units will be better and will get me through most untill i get cras units. I want to invest once before Cras. Especially for Ranger , as i only play Ranger.

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      • Get TRAILBLAZER rear, then you can either use Rear + Cleasis Arm&Leg, or go full OOFstere/Austere/Ophisita set.

        Ophistia units gets a 13* upgrade in Ep6 that lets you use the full set better, and Cras Arm + Leg are BiS on Ranger and btfos most options.

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  20. Hi bro, i am having an issue where during fights mini bosses and bosses swings are making me stun. I dodge a lot but still can’t always and getting stun like that makes me vulnerable for a few seconds. Now something like S4 Mettle of the rested helps prevents knockbacks, so is there something like that or anything that will help immune that stun.
    * Also is attaching sovereign ward 3 on units be a waste of a slot provided i have 6 or more slots. Thanks…

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  22. Hi bro, i want to know, would it be better to affix more ATK or more PP on Units. I have the option to add either Graceful Precision (50atk + 5pp) or Grand Spirit (15pp), as they are almost at a close price range at the moment. I am getting (140 R-atk + 40 HP + 12 PP) with Graceful Precision and (90 R-atk + 40 HP + 22 PP) with Grand Spirit per unit and they are 13 star Trailblazer units 7 slotted with SSA as well. I’ll be using this units while working on something better for future like guardian soul and crack V , which will take time to make. Need your advice. Thank you.

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  24. Hey Zenora, was wondering what your thoughts are on the best launcher other than Cras(basically between Atlas, TB or Rivalate) and what S grade abilities you like on it? Also, what do you feel are the best s grade abilities for units(as ranger ofc).. S6-S8? Thanks in advance!

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    • Rivalate’s currently our best weapon, as for SGAs I personally run:
      S4: Escalating Pursuit/Photon V Adapation
      S5: Skillful Adept Will (Fatal Round if you only play Ranger), Obliterating Blast.

      S6: Skillful Adept
      S7: Still Grace
      S8: Skydance Support

      S6 is more for weapons that don’t have/use S5 Skillful Adapt Will (Launcher generally doesn’t use Skillfull)
      S7 is best in slot and can’t be replaced due to how Ranger’s gameplay works
      S8 is very strong utility that’s easily achievable on Ranger

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      • Thanks for the response! So you like S5 Skillful Will Adept even w/ Etoile sub? I’m currently RaEt(after running RaHu up until now), I’m enjoying the tanky nature but definitely miss hunter physique and sometimes auto-mate, still not sure which subclass is really better, your thoughts?

        Anyways since S5 Skillful Will Adept was feeling a bit lackluster as Etoile sub, I switched to S5 Augment Bloom(our Anthesis Cultivation)…

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      • Hunter is definitely easier to play around with, but strictly speaking Etoile’s damage reduction and better passives makes it the better Ranger sub for most serious content.

        Rifle specifically lacks solid S5 choices so it usually defaults to Skillful Adept Will just for the +20% crit rate. On Rivalate Rifle specifically you would opt for a different s5 if you don’t play Phantom

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  25. Hi bro, as currently the limited ac scratch swap shop event is happening on NA. And it has s7 still grace and s8 sky dance support for 40 ac scratch items or recycle badges. And currently recycle badges are going for 1.1 mil each. So i wanted to know should i buy the badges and get those s7 or s8.

    *If so which one should i get as I can only get 1. Or is it spending 45 mil won’t be worth it for them.

    *And can they be gettable later on. I know s8 skydance is dropping on mining vr ultra hard. what about the s7 still grace, is there a trigger where it will drop. thx

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    • The upcoming UH version of Dark Falz Persona will have those S7&S8 as a unit drop, otherwise they usually drop in future Ep6 UQs. If I had to buy one right now though, I would definitely pick s7 first because that greatly improves Ranger’s PP efficiency in most scenarios.

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  26. Hi bro, i have 3 characters but i have messed up on one of their name. I was thinking of deleting and recreating that character as its still low level. But someone told me that if i delete a character i will need to buy a character creation ticket to be able to recreate a character in that slot. But i thought the first free 3 character slots can be deleted and recreated as many times i want. I am confused, can you shed some light on this…Thank you……

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  28. Hi bro, wanted to know
    1. Is the First Hit skill worth it to put points into.

    2. Does the poison trap and jellen shot 100% guarantee status effect and jellen. I never used it so wanted to know. Are they worth it to put points into.

    3. I am using Ra/ET. I have put 3 points on power bullet , and 5 points on pp save bullet. without the stun grenade and poison trap I have 26 points left. I wanted to know should i take the POISON TRAP and JELLEN SHOT and KILLING BONUS and if so should i put phrase chase and phrase decay on weapons. Phrase chase for rifle and phrase decay for launcher. Jellen shot will only be loaded during mobbing of course. This is for both solo and group play.

    4. And i have both the exium bunker and the liberate launcher. so i wanted to know should i use s5: obliterating blast on the liberate and just not use exium bunker, i mean dmg wise won’t liberate outperform the exium bunker with zero distance. or putting s5: anthesis cultivation give more mileage on the liberate. My exium bunker has 200 atk, and liberate has 160 atk, and if jellen shot is a go then i can put phrase decay on top of it.

    5. And for mag , i use julius nifta or cetus proi depending on situation. But is there a specific action , special action and trigger actions i should put on the mag that will help with ranger’s play.

    A lot of questions, thx in advance for taking the time….

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    • 1. Personally yes; while it’s situationally bad, there’s not much Ranger skills that we can take, and the +20% damage makes a significant difference in oneshotting mobs or not.

      2. Poison Trap isn’t, but Jellen Shot is guaranteed. I personally don’t run it because you lose any existing bullets (you lose Blight Rounds/Weak Bullet) to reload new bullets, and it conflicts with First Hit. Plus, most mobs don’t live long enough for you to apply Jellen and charge a Launcher PA, as they’ll die beforehand.

      3. I would take Stun Grenade at least. Poison Trap is preference, Killing Bonus and Jellen Shot are usually ignored in favor of taking R-ATK 1/2 or some other skill.

      4. Liberate is much stronger in practical situations, especially with S5: Obliterating Blast. You use other PAs on Launcher as well, which blows Exium Bunker out of the water for that reason.

      5. Stacking Status Recovery actions on your mag is worthwhile, as the only thing that could kill you as Etoile sub is the freeze status. Level 200 actions you either use Vulcan for PP recovery, or Dance for stackable damage% per tick (max 10%).

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  30. Also bro, forgot to add it on previous question,
    I am finally done with affixing my Klauz Launcher, it has Guardian soul,Mana reverie and well Phrase decay (ya i did it). Now for SSA’s, i was thinking of going with the Gleam route.I was thinking something like:
    S1: Petalgleam= 3%
    S2:Rainbow will= 5%
    S3:Petalsea song 2= 7%
    S4:Rainbow balance / Escalating Pursuit
    S5: Obliterating blast…
    So here’s my confusion:
    1. Is it ok to go with the Gleam route with Klauz Launcher or should i go with the Crit route, i mean both are giving the similar percentages around 15%…
    2. For S4 should i use Rainbow balance (30% pp reduction) or Escalating Pursuit ?
    3. For S5 obliterating blast it enhances the Zero distance PA by 250%, but the wiki say’s it also increases
    potency by 2%. What i want to know is, that 2% potency increase, does it stay active during the cooldown period after the zero distance pa is used.

    Thanks in advance…

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    • 1. Augment Bloom only looks at your weapon’s affixes. If you have +200 ATK on the weapon, it will double that alongside with the HP and PP.

      2. You swap off too often from Launcher to be able to upkeep Gleam combo, and you’d also lose out on marking mini-bosses/bosses with Weak Bullet/Blight Round to make your runs faster. Rifle can get away with using it if you’re still interested, but critical damage builds is more consistent over gleam.

      3. Escalating Pursuit is better if you have the s6 that turns it into an AoE, otherwise stick with Rainbow Balance.

      4. The +2% damage is always on regardless of boosted Zero Distance’s cooldown.

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  31. Hi bro, so for critical build on klauz launcher,
    S1:Augment will=6%
    S2:Precision will 2=4% / Perfect adept will=2%+(15%crit)
    S3:Precision will 2=5%
    S4:Escalating pursuit
    S5:Obliterating blast
    S6:Escalating expanse
    1. Is this setup ok, or can it be improved ?
    2.For 100% crit what would be the optimal for this setup ?
    So with this i get 100% crit.
    * Base=5%
    * Etoile sub=50%
    * Critical field right ring=30%
    * S2: perfect adept will=15%
    =100%
    But I am loosing 2% dmg from S2: precision will 2. Also Critical field right ring has 40sec cooldown. The critical strike ring gives 20%.
    3.So is there a way to have 100% crit all time while using the above SSA’s on Klauz Launcher ?

    Thanks in advance…

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    • Unfortunately with that specific set-up you’ll be running at 75% before external sources (like Techer buffs). You could consider swapping S2&S3 for unconditional benefits like PP reduction or +2% damage up, or still run crit build on the Launcher; the S4 + S6 together is strong enough to make up for the loss of crit though.

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  33. Hi bro, wanted to know, does buffing and support technique works on AIS. In the Arks visiphone mechanics section, it states that yes support techs does work on AIS. For some reason in my ship (ship 4) a strange rumour spread that buffing doesnt work on AIS. So wanted to make sure that Arks visiphone is right..
    Thx in advance….

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  34. Hi bro, Since a new campaign started for leveling classes to max level. I am planning to make a multiclass weapon for exp farming with Alternate History and Increased EXP III. I am thinking of making a multiclass launcher. But i am confused as to which one should i choose between BLOOD AND OCCULD series.
    Blood gives access to Divine launcher PA and S1. While Occuld gives S2 and S3 and lifesteal. Which one would you recommend.
    Thx in advance…

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