Does it matter what class I choose for any character?

[Finallyrylan]

Hey all,

I’m going through Final Fantasy XII for the first time, and am looking forward to beating it. I’m having loads of fun, but I’m a bit nervous that things might not work out in the end if I choose a class that may not suit the character. I am aware that you can choose another later on, but I’m afraid that one screwup could ruin the party’s dynamic.

So, are you able to choose any class for any character and not suffer consequences? I am just out of Barheim Passage, and have gotten Basch into my party. He holds the Mythril Blade, but I have made him a Monk.

[Side question: Basch is level 10 and I am level 8. Am I at a good level for the next part of the game?]

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

[Hinnyuu]

Do not even worry. The game isn't nearly difficult enough to make the tiny character differences matter overall. Pick whatever you like on whatever character you like, and you'll still be able to handily beat the story as well as all the optional superbosses.

People make a big deal out of min/maxing in this game, but most of those fine distinctions are actually largely academic. Character-based differences are overall very small, and nothing a new player would need to worry about.

Additionally, this game is a bit unconventional compared to many other RPGs in that level is actually the least important part of your progression. The most important aspect to worry about is gear - with the right gear, you can literally beat the entire game at lvl 1 (indeed there is an entire game mode based around that). So don't feel like you need to grind out experience or anything - take it as a bonus that happens as you go along. Focus on your jobs, your licenses, and your gear, and level will come on its own.

[Finallyrylan]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Do not even worry. The game isn't nearly difficult enough to make the tiny character differences matter overall. Pick whatever you like on whatever character you like, and you'll still be able to handily beat the story as well as all the optional superbosses.

People make a big deal out of min/maxing in this game, but most of those fine distinctions are actually largely academic. Character-based differences are overall very small, and nothing a new player would need to worry about.

Additionally, this game is a bit unconventional compared to many other RPGs in that level is actually the least important part of your progression. The most important aspect to worry about is gear - with the right gear, you can literally beat the entire game at lvl 1 (indeed there is an entire game mode based around that). So don't feel like you need to grind out experience or anything - take it as a bonus that happens as you go along. Focus on your jobs, your licenses, and your gear, and level will come on its own.

Thank you! Your answer was very helpful— I got through Khulu Mines rather easily.

[serPomiz]

in theory, some charater are better suited to determined job, as they have pre-determined status growht (which make penelo a better mage than bash, for example).

but for the game itself, the main story does not start laying down untill pharos, and by that point you should have already maxed whatever job you had chosen

secondary stuff is another story, as even with "perfect" team composition still offer some hard trials, but most of it can bee somewhat cheesed by just grinding more levels.


but, no, you can do everything with almost every combination, just remember to have healers

[N Harmonia]

Well, don't go with six Machinists or six White Mage/Archer combos.

Apart from that...because of the whole class-specific gear and abilities, you'd likely want to have as many unique jobs as you can - that is to say, don't double-up on a Job too much. Apart from using Cheat Engine, you'll be locked in.

Some job combinations work better than others due to Licenses benefiting both, so you might want to think about that too. Not hugely necessary unless you want to go after some Espers and some Marks, but still.

[Mystic Myotis]

Character-specific?

The class and class combos chosen are WAAAY more important than what character you put them on. Equipment matters a lot more than base stats, but it may be worth mentioning that:

Vaan has great stats, but favors STR a bit. Asch is sort of the reverse of him.

Balthier has pretty good stats but leans more towards STR than MAG. Penelo's sort of the reverse of him.

Basch has good STR, but terrible VIT. Some weapon types scale off of VIT so you probably won't want those weapons on him.

Fran has the lowest stats, and so people sometimes give her stuff that's not stat-dependent (machinist is the obvious example).

Characters have different animation speeds for various weapons, which has a minor effect on battle performance. That said, I'd consider what weapon you think a character looks best with rather than efficiency since you'll be playing with them using those weapons for hours. There are videos on Youtube that show off all the weapon animations.

[Arkhne]

I only add one distinction to class choice mattering: Do the animations fit the character model, and can I justify that character's personality being that class. I minmaxed a lot early on, but once I got that out of my system, the "unimportant" things like looks mattered more (Statistically, I like Balthier as a melee char, but some of this weapon animations are a little awkward at times).