EDF 5 - Ranger DLC weapons analysis

The Ranger is with the Fencer the class that has been blessed by exceptional DLC weapons. Almost all are awesome and highly useable.

DLC 1 - Level 100 - MA9 Slade

DLC 2 - Level 111 - MA10 Slade

Exceptional Assault Rifles, period. Fantastic damage with small damage fall off, penetration, fast reloads, accuracy, zoom equipped, reasonable clip. Either is good, no questions, way way beyond non-DLC ones. These are MUCH improved TZ-Storks.

DLC 1 - Level 108 - Blazer

Likely the best ranger weapon. A fantastic laser rifle, rechargeable (unlike the 4.1 one) with great damage, range, good clip. The only things missing are a faster reload and zoom, but it's already top of the class as it is.

DLC 1 - Level 103 - Buster Shot

A fantastic shotgun with explosive pellets. This weapon can do absolutely devastating damage. The pellets take some time to explode but when they do it's crushing to most enemies. Awesome for Erginus and Archelus. Just beware that the explosions can also damage you and NPCs, the reload is long and has a small range. It's particularly easy to kill your teammates on multiplayer with it so be aware of that, and is even prone to self damage. Its power can be easily seen on DLC 2-11.

DLC 2 - Level 106 - Fracture

The Fracture is supposedly a slightly better Slaughter EZ. However it shoots flechettes instead of pellets and frankly the results are usually worse, so I stick with the Slaughter EZ for most occasions. Nothing really much here, so pales in comparison to the Buster shot and its usefulness.

DLC 1 - Level 101 - Dunkel N236R

A long-range Assault Rifle. Everything is great except the damage which won't kill any enemy in inferno in one shot, and it's not piercing. Not good for fast moving enemies.

DLC 1 - Level 104 - KFF71S

A good sniper especially for smaller stuff. Even on mission 108 it can kill red bees in one shot, not even fully upgraded for damage, all that flies that it's out of its damage range are blue tadpoles and imperial drones.

DLC 2 - Level 112 - Lysander ZF

If the Lysander was nerfed on 4.1, in 5 the ZF is stellar. Considering that the MR100 Fang, the Stringer J9 substitute was nerfed from 4.1, this one is the best sniper of the game for harder enemies. It's almost a large clip MR100, for instance, it takes the same 4 headshots on a heavy cosmonaut in mission 107 to kill him, so the Lysander is much better. Compared to the regular level 82 Lysander Z it's much more powerful and it's piercing which is always handy. Overkill and too slow for small stuff.

DLC 1 - Level 102 - Goliath ZDXE

I'm not a fan of rocket launchers, so none of these are weapons I use much as I think there are always better options than them. The biggest issue with rocket launchers in 5 is how easy for any NPCs to just throw themselves in front of you when you're firing and with the amount of damage they do likely ending your mission. Also, the way the spread enemies that don't die usually can create a bigger problem after their usage.  They have their uses but it's seldom. Still, this is a powerful missile to handle static hordes. Works great on DLC 2-7, Underground 3 thought.

DLC 2 - Level 107 - E21 Hornet

Same as the previous one, but worse.

DLC 2 - Level 110 - MS Falcon

Contrary to rocket launchers, I'm a fan of missile launcher even if they have their issues. The MS Falcon is basically a mix of the MLRA and the Emerald. The Emerald has a curved path that makes its use somewhat limited many times, the MS Falcon sends its missiles in an up-and-then-down path, avoiding more obstacles. They have an excellent tracking range, do reasonable damage and send most enemies flying back with their explosions. A really good and useful weapon.

DLC 1 - Level 106 - Flame Geyser F

The Volcanic Napalm was a fantastic weapon to use in cave missions in 4.1 when you could bottleneck enemies in tunnels (and even flying enemies between narrow buildings. However in 5 due to the number of high powered enemies (mostly silver spiders) it's almost useless in inferno and the only option that works is this, the Flame Geyser F. It's not perfect and it's finicky to use but there's nothing else and enables some cheesing of a few missions.

DLC 2 - Level 110 - Stampede XAM

The Stampedes are always really dangerous weapons to use and their results are unreliable. They create awful messes if they don't kill most of the enemies you're using them against, as it will spread them all over the map creating bigger problems pretty quickly. Killing yourself or most of your NPCs is always possible with each shot, it requires some technique and luck to use. Still, this one can kill most basic ground stuff at once (or even flying ones), but it does have a reasonable reload time. Get used to jump before shooting it, it can somewhat lower the chance of self damage.

DLC 1 - Level 106 - Lightweight Liquid Armor E9 

Not very useful, since the level 110 DLC 2 one is much better once you have it.

DLC 2 - Level 106 - Special Recovery Device

Useful for missions with lots of capturable NPCs as it provides both a huge increase in crates acquisition range (still inferior to Probe Type 5) and 2.5 times armor recovery for captured NPCs.

DLC 2 - Level 108 - Hybrid Protector XE

The best and most useful support equipment overall, as the speed and obstacle destruction improvements it offers help a lot in many missions progress and staying alive.