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Achieving an S rank on missions in Ready or Not can be a challenge. The game does relatively little to explain how its ranking system works, and it can be hard to intuit the system without a lot of trial and error.
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This guide is designed to take out that guesswork, helping you understand your goals and start unlocking some of the cooler cosmetics in the process. Most missions still won’t beeasy,but you’ll at least know what you’re doing.
S Rank Requirements
An S rank in Ready or Not requires more or less perfection while using only non-lethal force. To achieve an S rank, you must do the following:
Helpfully,missions end automatically when there are no further objectives to complete(including the collection of dropped weapons). Assuming you didn’t receive any sort of penalty during the mission and everyone who can be aliveisalive, a mission ending automatically will mean you have achieved an S rank in that mission (you will also be praised over the radio as the mission ends). Likewise, you should never manually end a mission if prompted, as theoptionto end the mission means there is something you must still do (usually collect enemy weapons and/or complete a hidden objective).
Note that the fact you cannot kill enemies doesn’t mean lethal weaponscan’tbe used; your score isn’t affected by shooting suspects with bullets and similar types of weaponsifthey don’t die. Additionally, gunshot wounds do seem to make enemies more likely to surrender. However, from a practical perspective, less lethal weapons (notably the VPL-25, TPL, and Beanbag Shotgun) are usually far easier and more effective in a firefight when aiming for S rank. Just note that headshots with beanbags are still lethal. Also, before continuing, players interested in the hardcore, tactical experience of aiming for S rank in Ready or Not may also want to check outthese gamesfor other tactical shooter experiences.
Loadout Tips
There is plenty of room for debate when it comes to the best loadout to achieve an S rank in Ready or Not, and the ideal gear will also change depending on the specific mission selected. The images attached to this section show the loadout generally used while testing for this article, but all loadouts, this one included, will have weaknesses (the particular loadout shown is pretty bad in long-range encounters). Note that Ready or Not is a squad-based game; other players or NPC squadmates can select gear that compliments that of other team members, helping shore up individual weaknesses. If using NPCs, keep in mind they may use lethal weapons, like sidearms, when you want them to do otherwise.
Choosing a Primary Weapon
One of the most important choices when selecting your loadout will be the primary weapon you pick. When trying not to use lethal force, you have three options:
Based on testing, most players will likely choose either the VPL-25 or the Beanbag Shotgun when trying to build an S rank loadout that works for them.The customization options for these weapons is going to largely be a matter of taste. Those reading this article out of a love of gear and customization in games might also want to check outsome of the best weapons in Hell Let Loose, another hardcore shooter of a different ilk that’s worth checking out if you like Ready or Not.
Choosing a Sidearm
All sidearms available in Ready or Not are lethal and will almost never be used when aiming for an S rank. While they can sometimes be used to clip enemies in the arms or legs who haven’t seen you and are too far for your primary, the choice of particular sidearm is largely irrelevant. Many players will choose to bring no ammo for their sidearm when looking to S rank anyway.
Choosing a Long Tactical Option
Basically, all Long Tactical options have value, with the possible exception of the M320 Stinger for reasons discussed in the next section. The Mirrorgun allows you to quietly observe beyond a door and prepare for what’s ahead, and the Breach Shotgun allows you to quickly open doors and even trigger traps from a safe distance (but be careful, as this can also hurt and even kill people near the door). Meanwhile, the Battering Ram is basically a better Kick option and the M320 launchers allow you to send grenades much farther and more accurately than throwing them. In testing, the preference was generally the Breach Shotgun, which rarely saw use, but it’s worth experimenting to see which option you like best.
Remaining Gear
Ready or Not offers plenty of customization options in terms of armor, headwear, and munitions, such that testing the viability of all options wasn’t possible. Based on the testing thatwasconducted, a Gas Mask should be viewed as essential if any members of a squad intend to use gas grenades or pepperball weapons, as these masks make you immune to gas and make breaching and moving quickly with gas weapons much easier. Otherwise, Anti-Flash Goggles can be used (but avoiding a flash grenade’s effects without these goggles is much easier than a gas grenade’s without a Gas Mask, as long as you have warning). Wearing a Gas Mask means you cannot wear a Ballistic Mask, but the tradeoff was largely viewed as worth it.
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For armor, most players will either want Light Armor or Heavy Armor, with Light Armor offering more equipment slots and Heavy Armor more protection. Of note is that only Heavy Armor allows you to select the full armor coverage option. At the same time, two more non-lethal grenades might mean getting shot less anyway.
Your greatest freedom will come when selecting ammunition and Deployables. Two big priorities should be ammunition for your primary weapon (in testing, 5 Ammunition seemed to allow a player to almost never run out in a given mission) and non-lethal grenades. Sidearm ammunitionis nota priority; bring none if you don’t expect to use your sidearm or 1 if you think you might occasionally use it. In testing,mostmissions were completed without the use of the sidearm.
Stinger grenades seemed the least useful, with Flashbang grenades offering a similar effect (both stunning enemies and reducing morale), but with Stingersable to cause harm to civilians and lose you score. CS Gas grenades have a smaller radius than Flashbang grenades, but also lock down an area for longer and create a temporary hazard enemies can walk into, causing them to cough and be stunned even if not hit in the initial throw.
The remaining devices are mostly to taste, althoughPepper Spray is often considered by the community to be very bad(just bring more non-lethal grenades or ammunition). Wedges can lock down doors to control the flow of enemies. In testing, it was found the Lockpick Gun had particularly limited use, as the standard lockpicking isn’t especially long or loud, although some in the community would disagree with that assessment (if you’d like some more robust lockpicking in your games,check out this article, as Ready or Not is only going to give so much in that regard).
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