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Class optimization is largely academic, as you can still beat the entire game (all superbosses included) with basically any setup you like.
That being said, some combos are still objectively more powerful than others - it's just that the differences tend to be very small and not matter all too much.
I can tell you've looked at some of the old guides, which recommend sub-optimal combinations like Shikari/Foebreaker or Monk/Black Mage which were written up quickly when the game released before anyone actually had time to see that they aren't very good.
If you really want to optimize your party, I would suggest reading through some of the more recent threads (1-2 months max) where people explain the WHY behind their choices rather than just giving you a list they probably parroted off somewhere in the first place. You need to find what YOU like, because that's what's most important. Since anything can kill everything, your enjoyment should be the determining factor above all else.
If you don't care about optimization (and it's totally fine not to, you'll still beat everything) then just go by what you think is cool. Experiment, try things out. Many people like to play through the game more than once, and give different combos a shot. And nobody can tell you what you will end up enjoying most.
1) vaan and penelo are boring and ashes voice is weird. that makes balthier basch and ashe my fave characters so recommend classes for them first
2) i want a tank/dps/healer main party that is good on both bosses and trash...so basically i can spam physical attacks on trash and not waste mp (this is the problem with mages in FF games against trash as they use up all their mp before they get to the boss and thats why i rarely gravitate towards black mages). i want an all out healer/support, tank(evasion or damage reduction/high health doesnt matter), and a melee dps. all the guides i read made me come up with shikari/breaker, knight/bushi, and white mage/time mage to fit the brief, and then everyone else just gets lore based balanced classes.
3) usually i am more of a glass cannon type builder so all one minded in their roles no hybrids but it appears here its better to go for a complimentary class for balance so that should help you decide. I get fun out of min maxing tbh and want t o beat yiazmat again so apparently need break abilities like wither expose etc. i like zodiac spear and that seitengrat bow but sadly they would be on fran bow and probably balthier spear
4) i like classes that start out good, then get complimented later by things you only need/want endgame. so yeah dont recommend me a starting class that is the worse of the two
Shikari / Foebreaker
Bushi / Knight
White Mage / Machinist
Black Mage / Monk
Uhlan / Time Battlemage
Red Battlemage / Archer
TANKS
There's two ways to tank in this game. For most of it, it'll be evasion-based tanking with a shield. The best job for this is Shikari, because it has access to Main Gauche, a dagger that greatly increases evasion. However, many high-end enemies and all superbosses completely ignore evasion when they attack, so shields are entirely useless. For those enemies, the best way to tank is using the spell Reverse. It's available to all mages.
Shikari/White Mage - My preferred main tank. Shields/Main Gauche and heals/buffs on the same character means you can focus on pure damage on your other 2 party members. For Yiazmat, this combo can also transition into a damage dealer with Yagyu Darkblade + Black Robes.
Shikari/Red Battlemage - Great tank for when you want to go into high-level areas early on. Less heals/buffs but can spam offensive utility spells like Sleepga/Disable to allow you to sneak into places you shouldn't be. Also has decent offensive power because using spells doesn't suffer from the low weapon power of Main Gauche.
DAMAGE
Knight/Bushi - a staple of every guide, and obviously powerful. Excalibur + White Robes is insane damage against trash and anything weak to holy. For most superbosses, you can switch to Kumbha instead.
Knight/Monk - arguably the highest consistent damage dealer against superbosses (not counting weaknesses) as pole weapons scale only with STR making it easier to get full value at most levels; katana will catch up around lvl 75 or so, but many people never even reach that high before finishing everything. Has maximum HP and maximum STR nodes, as well as easy access to important buff spells (Bravery) and healing (Curaja) without using Espers.
Monk/Bushi - flexible damage dealer, can go for either poles or katana as needed. As said above, Kumbha is only very slightly behind Kanya during low/mid levels and catches up/overtakes at very high levels. Also has Bravery/Curaja but is more effective at healing due to mythic armor and higher MAG stat.
Red Battlemage/Black Mage - my favorite offensive caster. Has access to all damage spells and all (relevant) elemental boost equipment. More glass-cannon than physical/magical hybrids, but with proper tanking that's not a big deal I find. Can also provide some utility/healing during low/mid levels but isn't great at it endgame - not that you need it at that point.
HYBRID
Knight/Black Mage - arguably the best caster/attacker hybrid. Still has Excalibur + White Robes for insane attack damage, but can easily switch to casting as needed. Can provide great area damage as well as single-target damage during most of the game. Has access to quite a bit of white magick, and will do quite well with it thanks to mythic armor and higher MAG stat. Can also tank in a pinch, thanks to shields/heavy armor and/or Reverse. One of the most versatile combinations.
Machinist/White Mage - great damage if you get the good guns early. UNREAL damage if you get the best guns early. My personal favorite combination, but requires expert knowledge of the game to get the most out of. For me, usually a full-time damage dealer for 99% of the game. For superbosses, a Reverse tank that can cast Bravery AND Hastega on your two (berserked) damage dealers. Has access to Dark Shot + Black Robes for +50% damage, can also use that to instantly full-heal characters with dark-absorbing gear since guns cannot miss.
Archer/Red Battlemage - very popular hybrid with great versatility. Strong during early/mid game with a wide array of useful spells and respectable attack damage. Can use Burning Bow at endgame for +50% fire damage on Ardor (arguably the strongest spell in the game). Loses virtually no casting power by going Archer because MAG is so easy to raise (you'll have it at 99 around lvl 60 on most characters). Fairly low-maintenance combo that can switch roles as needed at a moment's notice.
TRAPS
Foebreaker - the most overrated job of all. While breaks are undeniably (some even say: stupidly) powerful, 99% of the time you only really need Wither. The reason is twofold: first, most enemy attacks, even ones that look like magic (e.g. Yiazmat's Cyclone), actually scale purely off of STR; second, the low base hit rate and pitiful multiplier on Shear/Expose means they are almost never worth using. Several other jobs have access to Wither, including Monk who gets it for free (no Quickening or Esper required). Additionally, breaker weapons are quite poor to their random scaling factor, making Foebreaker a very weak job.
Time Battlemage - traditionally regarded as the weakest job. It basically has two spells you want to use: Haste, and Hastega. No one else can get Haste, and that is definitely annoying, but Hastega is available to Machinists via the Esper Famfrit. Given that Machinists also have some of the best early/mid game damage if you play them right, Time Battlemage has few redeeming factors left. Float is a convenience spell to be sure, but Float Motes can be bought at a shop later in the game and there's only a handful of areas where it's really super useful anyway. I tested this job extensively, and found the least painful combination to use it to be Archer/Time Battlemage.
Shikari/Monk (vaan)
Knight/Bushi (basch)
Whm/Machinist (ashe)
that leaves maybe this to follow your advice and still fill out the 12 job brief...
Black Mage/Red Mage
Archer/Time Mage
Uhlan/Foebreaker
I like having tank + healer in one character, because that's most efficient. Since tanking only requires you to cast 1 spell every minute or so (keeping up Decoy) for the most part, there's no reason not to do it. If you're going to lose action time to heal, might as well lose it on the character already doing less damage i.e. the tank. That way your other two characters can go full-out damage. This is especially important because the best combat buff in the game by far is berserk, which doesn't let you act - having tank + heal on the same character lets you have more people in berserk.
Differences between characters are present, but fairly small. There's generally two differences: in stat allocation (girls tend to have more MAG, guys more STR) and in animation speed with certain weapon types. Stat differences matter less the higher you go in level, as you can't go past 99 and MAG especially is very easy to max out waaaaay before maximum level.
Animation differences are present, but not overly significant. Most of the time you won't even notice an appreciable difference outside of suuuper long fights like Yiazmat, and who cares if you kill it in 40 minutes or 35 minutes.
That being said, if you REALLY want to min/max character choices then go by animation speeds, because of the whole stat cap thing. Who cares if Penelo has more MAG than Balthier if both reach 99 easily in their 60s. But I cannot stress enough just how small most of these differences are, and how little it actually matters during actual battles. If you like seeing Balthier use a gun, give the man a gun. Who cares if he's got the slowest gun animation speed.
Vaan - Archer/Time Battlemage
Basch - Knight/Bushi
Balthier - Shikari/White Mage
Fran - Monk/Foebreaker
Asche - Machinist/Uhlan
Penelo - Black Mage/Red Battlemage
But that's mostly personal preference speaking. And I wouldn't ACTUALLY run it, since I don't run 12-job setups. :P
i wish this game didnt make your choice permanent. i get the limitations of two jobs thats fine...but let us switch if we want imo would have been better lol
It really doesn't matter a lot what you do before Raithwall's Tomb. Nothing up to that point is difficult in any way, and can be beaten easily with any job ever. The most unforgiving part of the game, really, is going into high level areas after Raithwall. And you already have both jobs for that.