Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-5693502-20140503152126/@comment-26484417-20151211045713

I have recently been thinking about this very topic, and it seems to me that any Guide has two options:

 Climb the Tower like any Regular by battling (incl. battle position), and submitting to the concept of Regular, and later to the concept of Ranker. In other words, they would lose their ability to travel between the floors as they wish, but their battle abilities would correspond to their rank. They can forego the focus on battles and focus on being a Guide, which entails they can travel in between floors as they wish. This may possibly include ability to use the official Zahard route without having to pass the tests (for as long as they travel alone), but it can also mean that they are simply not eligible to take the tests because they would have to pass all the prior tests first... Has Hwa Ryun ever taken a floor test, or at least done so without wearing a disguise?  Given the choice, it's understandable that they would choose to take the shortcut to wherever they wish to be, even if that means direct trip to the top. As someone said, the only limit is probably their ability to get to their destination safely. Not to mention that the pure Guides appear to be extremely well received regardless of their battle abilities.

Furthermore, there is one important possibility we should consider: If Guides can access the top of the Tower anytime the want, they may lack any reason to go there in the first place. Many Regulars climb the Tower, but becoming a Ranker sounds more like a means, not necessarily the end / goal (for most). In other words, if the Guide can bypass this "checkpoint", why not take a more direct path toward their goal? =)

As for being a Ranker or not, if Guides (the focused type) work the way they appear to, then they could be both and neither at the same time... We know that everyone who reaches the top becomes a Ranker, so the combat abilities of the individual is not an issue, and we also know that one possible way to climb the ranks is by acquiring political power or by collecting achievements. I believe this is precisely how these Guides move up the ranks... And it's also very likely that their rank is influenced by the degree and accuracy of their foresight, and quality of other Guide-related abilities. It's even possible that one of the determining factors for their initial ranking is how long it took them to reach the top... =P