In Earth Defense Force 2025, I suggest Mission 77: Fallen Flagship on Hardest Difficulty as a place to farm Weapons for the Ranger.
Pro: It is possible to farm high level Weapons, even with low Armor.
Con: It takes a long time to complete - 20 minutes or more on Hardest difficulty, a few minutes extra on Inferno. Much of the time is spent running. Also, if the Ranger's Armor is low, it is possible to get killed in one shot.
Preparation:
The primary requirement for this Mission is a good Sniper Rifle. The Lysander F Lv70 is very good with its high damage and okay clip size. With this Weapon, it is even possible to do this Mission on Inferno. The Lysander F can be looted from Mission 77 on Hardest Difficulty.
Otherwise, the Stringer J3 Lv50 is an okay substitute. It does good damage and can penetrate targets to hit targets behind the first (good when sniping a Deroys where a leg may get in the way). Its one-shot clip size and considerable reload time will prolong the mission though.
The MMF100 Lv47 is a good complement to the Stringer J3. While the Stringer J3 may be used on the more dangerous targets at a safe distance, the shorter range MMF100 has higher DPS (damage per second) - important if something gets too close. The MMF100 takes two shots to knock out a Flying Vehicle on Hardest but its clip size means that it is possible to take several shots before reloading.
Having good Armor helps but is not necessary. I did this Mission with 768 on Inferno (with the Lysander F)... after getting killed a few times.
Execution:
At the start, do not recruit the ally Rangers. Also, do not hit the Brain, not even the armored lower portion of it. Doing so will cause all baddies to turn alert and start attacking. Note that there are two groups of Flying Vehicles - the left group and the right group - the latter is closer to the third Ranger squad at the back.
First, use the Sniper Rifle to take out the long-legged Deroys patrolling the perimeter of the crater. Aim for the main body. The Deroys must be defeated fast before it rounds the crater to get close enough to notice (and attack) the player. If it gets close, hope that the two Ranger squads will distract it. Otherwise, a better Sniper Rifle is required (go farm one first).
Here's one trick I have not tried: Wait until the Deroys passes the player's starting area before attacking. Doing so will give more time to take it down as the Deroys seems to only patrol in one direction. I have not tried this trick because it takes a long time and it is boring to wait. Also, doing this may cause the left group of Flying Vehicles to attack.
After the Deroys is down, start moving towards the third Ranger squad at the back (don't recruit any Rangers yet). On the way there, snipe at the right group of Flying Vehicles attacking that Ranger Squad. Those that get close to the player must be shot down fast.
Upon reaching the edge of the crater, it should be possible to spot the red Hector at the back of the map, close to the third Ranger squad. If the baddies in the crater are not alerted yet (this is why it is important not to hit the Brain), it will be safe to climb on the edge of the crater for a better spot to snipe the Hector. Snipe the Hector until it goes down.
Finish the remaining right group of Flying Vehicles. At the same time, have a glance back at the earlier two groups of Rangers to see if any Flying Vehicles are attacking them. If there are, snipe them. It is important to keep as many Rangers alive as possible.
Next step partly depends on the player's position and looting strategy. The end of the first phase is after looting everything and recruiting everyone. So considering this, decide if it is faster to a) move towards the loot left by the red Hector then returning for the other Rangers, or b) recruit the first two groups of Rangers, then moving to the back of the map for everything else. Based on this decision, move in that direction (but do not recruit anyone yet).
The next objective are the three big guns in the crater. The primary target should be the green Hector with the twin plasma cannons. If the player has low Armor, these cannons can OHKO (one-hit knock out). Their shots travel fast and have a blast radius. The next dangerous target is the red Hector with the artillery cannons. The shots are slow but they can OHKO and have a big blast radius. The last target is the Deroys (again, aim for the main body). Its plasma cannon's shot is slow and has a small blast radius. I do not know if it can OHKO but it is easy to avoid. The danger, however, are the lasers in the Deroys' legs.
Select a target (preferably the green Hector) and snipe. At that point, the trio in the crater as well as the two Shield Bearers (did I forget to mention these?) will become alert and start attacking. Hopefully they will target the Rangers so it will be possible to continue sniping them.
However, if they point weapons at the player, or the Deroys starts powering its leg lasers, duck back behind the crater and wait for the explosion. Make sure it is far enough back to avoid the blast radius of the red Hector's shots. It is better to avoid the red Hector's shots by moving aside since those travel in a trajectory and can potentially fly out of the crater. In the case of the Deroys coming close enough to use its lasers, use the minimap to see its position and only come back up when it is safe. While waiting, consider sniping the left group of Flying Vehicles.
While zooming in to snipe one target, even if it is not interested in the player, after every few seconds, zoom back out and see what the other targets are doing - they may suddenly target the player and start charging their weapons.
After all three targets are down, that is the end of the tough part of the Mission. Snipe any remaining Flying Vehicles. Then grab all the desired loot outside the crater and recruit all the remaining Rangers. That is the end of phase one. Next is the boring part.
Phase two, jump into the crater and destroy the two Shield Bearers (if they have not somehow climbed out of the crater. Otherwise, you know, destroy them before jumping in). Grab any desired loot along the way.
Once the Shield Bearers are gone, get to a good position to snipe the top of the Brain and start shooting. The right position is hard to describe here with text, but a good position is one where it is possible to hit two of the red panels of the Earth Eaters that the Brain will summon later.
After the Brain decides that it has enough damage, it will summon Earth Eaters. While the Earth Eaters are moving into position, snipe and destroy as many red panels as possible. One at least. Two is good.
The Earth Eater turrets will start firing but the Rangers will help as decoys (this is why they are important). Also, the turrets do not OHKO (I think). There should be enough time to clear out the remaining threats, either by sniping the remaining turrets or destroying the remaining red panels. Prioritize those that are close enough to consider targeting the player.
Once all hostiles except the Brain are gone, it is the boring part of marching around the crater and grabbing desired loot.
Feel free to take a few shots at the Brain on the way. If you have done this before, you will know how many shots it will take before the Brain gets fed up. Stop sniping before that happens.
Once all the desired loot is collected, snipe the Brain until it leaves.
For the next run of the Mission, think of ways where you can save time.
EDF 2025: Contents
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