The Prototype Rancour is a free-to-play 4-star weapon available to all players. While there is no special unlock requirement, obtaining the actual weapon itself will require some grinding. The sword needs a Northlander Sword Billet, only available through weekly boss drops or as quest/exploration rewards.
Once you obtain a Northlander Sword Billet, you can use it to forge either the Iron Sting or Prototype Rancour. The Prototype Rancour is a niche weapon, as only a few Sword characters can viably run Physical damage. However, if you happen to be running a Physical DPS Sword character, the Rancour is your best F2P option.
Prototype Rancour’s Stats
- Rarity: 4-starATK: 44 – 565Secondary Stat: Physical DMG BonusSecondary Stat Levels: 7.5% – 34.5%Passive: Smashed Stone: On hit, Normal or Charged Attacks increase ATK and DEF by 4% for 6s. Max 4 stacks. Can only occur once every 0.3s.
Ascension Materials
Is the Prototype Rancour any good?
The Prototype Rancour is your best bet if you happen to run a Sword character as a Physical DPS. Those are in short stock, however. The Rancour can be run if you are free-to-play without banner weapons, as the base Attack this weapon provides is quite high. The passive is also generally useful.
Otherwise, stick to Physical DPS characters with this weapon. To a lesser extent, the only Sword characters who could feasibly be run as a Physical DPS are Keqing and Kaeya. Those two are better off running an Electro DPS, or Cryo DPS build. But you can build them as Physical DPS if you wanted to.