Fun Builds

[Huggles the Cat]

I'm struggling to come up with one or two fun builds to fill out slots in my party. Let's share some fun job combo's and maybe help each other out (because I know others will come and search this later).

[Pendergast891]

bushi/knight and bushi/shikari are very good combinations, especially when you get excalibur and ninja swords, you can heavily target holy/dark weaknesses

redmage/archer gives you a jack of all trades that can also dish out heavy fire damage

[Huggles the Cat]

Currently i'm using a...

Shikari/Bushi (ysamat killer and overall fun ninja play)
Knight/Bushi (undead destroyer)
Red Mage/Archer (Ardor + burning bow and ranged support)
Black Mage/Monk (Rod of Magi + Holy + Black Magic + HP)

Some fun combinations i've thought of would be...

White Mage/Monk (healer with high hp and devastating brawler damage or evade/combos using poles)
White Mage/Uhlan (Holy Lancer / Paladin type; gives white mage better melee and reach when not healing)

I'd love to find some good combo for Uhlan. I like spears, but there seem to be overall more efficient melee job combos with the other melee jobs.

I'm struggling to find a good use for Foebreaker too. Foe someone that doesn't care to use breaker abilities, what would be nice job parings with them?
I know Shikari/Foebreaker isn't bad. My Shikari/Bush kind of does the same thing + dark robes, though.

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

Black Mage/Monk (Rod of Magi + Holy + Black Magic + HP)

This is one of the most overrated combos, and is actually a colossal waste of the Monk job. Monk gets nothing it needs in that combo, and doesn't actually contribute much to the Black Mage either - Holy is an absolutely TERRIBLE spell because of its slow animation speed and single-target constraint, meaning that even against holy-weak enemies you're better off doing something else. There is quite literally no situation in which casting Holy is the objectively best thing to do.
Knight/Black Mage is a much, much better combo that actually lets you switch meaningfully and do well - it's a top-tier caster AND a top-tier melee, and Knight actually gets something useful from Black Mage (White Robes).

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I'd love to find some good combo for Uhlan. I like spears, but there seem to be overall more efficient melee job combos with the other melee jobs.

The usual go-to was Uhlan/Machinist, because the two jobs have complementary scaling - Machinist is great in early/midgame if you get the busted guns asap, but falls off at endgame; while Uhlan is pretty much only good at endgame thanks to Zodiac Spear.

However now that you can freely reset jobs at any time this isn't really that important anymore.

If you really want to use Uhlan you can just switch someone to it once you have Zodiac Spear and pair it with a utility job like White Mage to pick up useful buffs.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I'm struggling to find a good use for Foebreaker too. Foe someone that doesn't care to use breaker abilities, what would be nice job parings with them?
I know Shikari/Foebreaker isn't bad.

Shikari/Foebreaker is, in fact, VERY bad. It's one of the worst combos in the game, because it's full of missing synergies - neither job in that combo gets anything it wants from the other, and is missing some key pieces.
The best Foebreaker combo by far is Foebreaker/Monk. Foebreaker isn't an amazing job to begin with, but it has its niche in the midgame thanks to the early availability of Vrscika. At endgame, you switch over to Monk almost exclusively and simply benefit from access to Genji Gear and heavy armor.

[Andrea Honeybee]

my latest playthrough im doing vaan as shikari/red mage, ashe will be white mage/time mage, fran is going to be archer/foebreaker, balthier would be machinist/idk probably bushido? penelo would be probably shikari/uhlan, with basche being a knight/and im not sure what is left.... if there is one i missed that would go here, if theyre already all used by someone, ill end up making basches second class a bushido probably

my main party will always consist of vaan, ashe, and fran, they my favs. only to be switched when needed, which honestly shouldnt be.

[Huggles the Cat]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

Black Mage/Monk (Rod of Magi + Holy + Black Magic + HP)

This is one of the most overrated combos, and is actually a colossal waste of the Monk job. Monk gets nothing it needs in that combo, and doesn't actually contribute much to the Black Mage either - Holy is an absolutely TERRIBLE spell because of its slow animation speed and single-target constraint, meaning that even against holy-weak enemies you're better off doing something else. There is quite literally no situation in which casting Holy is the objectively best thing to do.
Knight/Black Mage is a much, much better combo that actually lets you switch meaningfully and do well - it's a top-tier caster AND a top-tier melee, and Knight actually gets something useful from Black Mage (White Robes).

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I'd love to find some good combo for Uhlan. I like spears, but there seem to be overall more efficient melee job combos with the other melee jobs.

The usual go-to was Uhlan/Machinist, because the two jobs have complementary scaling - Machinist is great in early/midgame if you get the busted guns asap, but falls off at endgame; while Uhlan is pretty much only good at endgame thanks to Zodiac Spear.

However now that you can freely reset jobs at any time this isn't really that important anymore.

If you really want to use Uhlan you can just switch someone to it once you have Zodiac Spear and pair it with a utility job like White Mage to pick up useful buffs.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I'm struggling to find a good use for Foebreaker too. Foe someone that doesn't care to use breaker abilities, what would be nice job parings with them?
I know Shikari/Foebreaker isn't bad.

Shikari/Foebreaker is, in fact, VERY bad. It's one of the worst combos in the game, because it's full of missing synergies - neither job in that combo gets anything it wants from the other, and is missing some key pieces.
The best Foebreaker combo by far is Foebreaker/Monk. Foebreaker isn't an amazing job to begin with, but it has its niche in the midgame thanks to the early availability of Vrscika. At endgame, you switch over to Monk almost exclusively and simply benefit from access to Genji Gear and heavy armor.

What's the broken gun? i'm not much aware of gun stuff since i didn't like them in the original game (too slow for me and too much damage drop-off, as you said). I looked at this White / Machine combo, but the idea of guns turned me off. their access to some high level time magic is a good combo with white mage, though. Kind of made me wonder if i should do White / Time mage combo instead.

Is the job switching really that easy to do? I heard you could now reset, but i thought it was just point alocation and not the job you chose. I also expected such a feature to be buried deep into the game and maybe be limited in use.

The Foebraker / Monk sounds like a really interesting combo. I'm going to take a look at that in a build planer.

[Andrea Honeybee]

job switching is super duper easy, just go the hunters clan and talk with monteblank (that moogle that gives you clan marks)

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

What's the broken gun? i'm not much aware of gun stuff since i didn't like them in the original game (too slow for me and too much damage drop-off, as you said).

You can use the bazaar to make Arcturus (3rd-highest gun) just before Tomb of Raithwall (making it just after is easier, though), and you can make Mithuna (highest gun) after Tomb (but more easily after Eruyt Village/Henne Mines). Either one of them makes the midgame a complete joke because the damage output is silly.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I looked at this White / Machine combo, but the idea of guns turned me off. their access to some high level time magic is a good combo with white mage, though. Kind of made me wonder if i should do White / Time mage combo instead.

While perhaps not 100% optimal, I personally have always loved White Mage/Machinist. I use it as a stupid gun turret during most of the game (Berserker Bracers) and then use it as a Reverse tank at endgame, because it can cast Haste/Faith/Bravery on everyone else while tanking, which is great for fights like Yiazmat.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

Is the job switching really that easy to do? I heard you could now reset, but i thought it was just point alocation and not the job you chose. I also expected such a feature to be buried deep into the game and maybe be limited in use.

As stated above, you simply talk to Montblanc and you can reset any character - this will reset EVERYTHING on that character: jobs, licenses, quickenings, espers. It will refund all LP, so you lose nothing. It has no cost and no limit, so you can do it as much as you like.

[Arkhne]

The most fun run I had was Knights of Ivalice where everybody's first class had to be Knight, and everybody had to have a different second class.

[Andrea Honeybee]

is that a mod or just a play challenge? cuz that sounds fun as ♥♥♥♥ actually probably do a third playthrough like that

[Pendergast891]

its just a self imposed limitation, everyone will be knights until you unlock your 2nd board and then you can diversify your characters

[Andrea Honeybee]

yeah that sounds like it would be fun for sure

[MOIZEBINGUS]

White mage / Machinist... Because, like I've said before... Ashe with a gun = HAF.

[Huggles the Cat]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

What's the broken gun? i'm not much aware of gun stuff since i didn't like them in the original game (too slow for me and too much damage drop-off, as you said).

You can use the bazaar to make Arcturus (3rd-highest gun) just before Tomb of Raithwall (making it just after is easier, though), and you can make Mithuna (highest gun) after Tomb (but more easily after Eruyt Village/Henne Mines). Either one of them makes the midgame a complete joke because the damage output is silly.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

I looked at this White / Machine combo, but the idea of guns turned me off. their access to some high level time magic is a good combo with white mage, though. Kind of made me wonder if i should do White / Time mage combo instead.

While perhaps not 100% optimal, I personally have always loved White Mage/Machinist. I use it as a stupid gun turret during most of the game (Berserker Bracers) and then use it as a Reverse tank at endgame, because it can cast Haste/Faith/Bravery on everyone else while tanking, which is great for fights like Yiazmat.

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

Is the job switching really that easy to do? I heard you could now reset, but i thought it was just point alocation and not the job you chose. I also expected such a feature to be buried deep into the game and maybe be limited in use.

As stated above, you simply talk to Montblanc and you can reset any character - this will reset EVERYTHING on that character: jobs, licenses, quickenings, espers. It will refund all LP, so you lose nothing. It has no cost and no limit, so you can do it as much as you like.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that's abusive (the free resets on jobs). I love it, although it also takes away the developer's original intent of having players live with their decisions. But, i'll take the free reset. If a player wants to live with their decision they can just choose to not reset.

Not sure why, but reading you talk about how you used white mage with a gun makes me realize that if it's charge speed is so bad i can still use hastega to make it better. i think i'll try that and then reset later if i feel like it. thanks for the good inputs.

[Serafie1999AD]

Originally posted by Mr.Huggles:

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that's abusive (the free resets on jobs). I love it, although it also takes away the developer's original intent of having players live with their decisions. But, i'll take the free reset. If a player wants to live with their decision they can just choose to not reset.

Not sure why, but reading you talk about how you used white mage with a gun makes me realize that if it's charge speed is so bad i can still use hastega to make it better. i think i'll try that and then reset later if i feel like it. thanks for the good inputs.

I agree that the job reset takes away the gamer's responsibility to make sensible choices. Using the feature even refunds your LP, so you don't get a penalty for reseting jobs. As you said, though, you always have the choice of living with your class decisions. In addition, if you've maxed out your primary and secondary classes, it is extremely tedious to purchase all your licenses and set your gambit decks all over again.

Give your White Mage / Machinist Berserker Bracers, as the Berserk status will increase the character's speed and attack power, and you can always remove the accessory if you need to control the character (e.g. if you need to heal). Berserk stacks with Bravery and Haste too. The combo is missing Focus/Adrenaline, though, so it's not exactly optimized for gun damage.

[Scheneighnay]

Archer-Uhlan makes the god of death midgame.
Unexpected side effect was that the Uhlan board let my Archer get all of the ra-level elemental spells on top of having high physical damage in general.

Shikari and monk complement eachother well too, with high speed, weapons that benefit from speed, and high hp.