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FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
For the Sony PlayStation
An FAQ/Walkthrough
Copyright 2005 Richard Beast & Steve McFadden
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|---------------------------------
| v1.00 - Final Guide Statistics |
|---------------------------------
| Originally Started 5/1/05 |
| Finally Finished 5/21/05 |
| Last Updated 5/21/05 |
| Total Size in KB 553.2K |
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==================
Table of Contents:
==================
-!NOTE!-
This guide, as you will soon see, is pretty big. Seeing as how this takes
effect, you will most likely be lost in trying to find out what you want to
read. There is one way to get to it, instantly. Press Ctrl + F, and then look
for whatever you want. Let's say you want to go to the Basics section. Type in
"IV. Basics", and then you'll go to the bosses section, instantly! Pretty
neat, eh?
-=+-------------+=-------------+=-------------+=-------------+=-------------=+
I. Introduction - ** FINISHED **
II. Legal Disclaimer - ** FINISHED **
III. Contact Rules - ** FINISHED **
IV. Basics - ** FINISHED **
V. Jobs/Monsters - ** FINISHED **
VI. Characters - ** FINISHED **
VII. Walkthrough - ** FINISHED **
VIII. Side Quests - ** FINISHED **
IX. Equipment - ** FINISHED **
X. Shops/Items - ** FINISHED **
XI. FAQ - ** FINISHED **
XII. Outro/Credits/Revision History - ** FINISHED **
-=+-------------+=-------------+=-------------+=-------------+=-------------=+
Download the following badass songs while reading this awesome guide:
Rich - "The Last Resort" by The Eagles, "Planning a Prison Break" by The
Receiving End of Sirens
Steve - "Step Up" by Drowning Pool, "Dolphin's Cry" by Live
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+=+=+=+=+=+ I. INTRODUCTION +=+=+=+=+=+
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=-=-=-=
Rich's
=-=-=-=
This makes, like my millionth guide; I've lost count of how many I've done
now. But anyway, this makes quite a bit into my writing career, including my
fourth co-authored guide, and second with Psycho Penguin. This guy is a great
friend and awesome RPG writer, so put his skills with my, errr... slightly
superior ones (sorry Steve ;]), and you can end up with quite a bit of stuff.
But in any case, Final Fantasy Tactics was a game that both of us had been
intending to write for for quite a while, so we decided to put our hands
together and do the guide together. Hope you enjoy.
But anyway, this is just how the guide will go: first you read the incredibly
boring introduction, legal disclaimer, contact rules, and such; then you get
to the game basics. That you do... but anyway, we tried to make the game
basics section less boring than the in-game tutorial, so don't worry. After
that, we cover the jobs and monsters in the game, along with all of their
abilities, then the special characters which differ from regular characters.
After that, the walkthrough, and the optional battles, done by myself.
Following that, the equipment and shops/items sections, done by Steve. As
well, a Frequently Asked Questions section for questions which may get asked a
lot, most in which we made up. So anyway, hope you enjoy.
=-=-=-=
Steve's
=-=-=-=
Hello my friends, we meet again! It's been a while, where should we begin?
Well, let's see here. I wanted to get motivated again for FAQ writing, after a
wonderful 2 months with my girlfriend, I had to be separated from her for a
while. It's hard back here but I'm trying to keep my mind off it by writing. I
was writing a huge guide for another popular game, but it's going to take a
while so I wanted a side project, to show that I am not dead.
Enter my good friend Richard Beast! He's so sexy, and he saw I was feeling bad
and decided to offer another co-write. Our first one, Mega Man 3, went well
despite the fact that I took forever to finish it. This time I won't take so
long, I promise. Anyways, I offered Star Ocean 3, but he thought FFT was a
better idea. I thought about it and agreed.. I could easily do a SO3 guide,
but I'm not a FFT master, and doing a guide by myself would be a pain in the
ass. Besides, this brings me one step closer to writing for all the Final
Fantasy games. After this, I'll have 3, 7, 8, and TA to go.. and I have 7, 8,
and TA started already.
Take care everyone and I'm glad to be back in the FAQ writing scene.
Hopefully, this won't be the last you hear from me!
- Psycho Penguin
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+=+=+=+=+=+ II. LEGAL DISCLAIMER +=+=+=+=+=+
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Rich's
=-=-=-=
You are NOT permitted to put this FAQ on your site without my permission
first. All you have to do is email me or IM me saying you want this FAQ on
your site, then you can tell me your site and the chance is high that I'll let
you. But if you put this FAQ on your site without my permission I swear you
will regret it. If I let you, not ONE word should be changed from this FAQ!
NOT ONE! Got it? Good. Also, make sure that no money is involved. If you want
this FAQ to be sold on eBay, then just forget about it, man. And don't sell
this guide either, or pay people to use it, or you'll be in such big trouble
you don't want to think.
Another little note is that I will not have this guide hosted on many other
web sites besides GameNotOver, GameFAQs, IGN, and Neoseeker. You need full-on
permission if it's not one of the four above sites. I am sick of people
ripping me off (I have been ripped off three times in the past), so if I don't
like your site, I won't let my guide be posted on it. I am sorry, but this is
how it has to be. If you ask politely and I like your site, you will
definitely have the luck of getting it up there. Thank you very much.
=-=-=-=
Steve's
=-=-=-=
If you steal my guide and attempt to make money off it, I will slice your
balls off and eat your current kids. If you just want to use it on your
website, go right ahead, but make sure to ask Rich first just to be safe. I
personally don't care as long as you keep it intact and don't make any money
off of it.
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+=+=+=+=+=+ III. CONTACT RULES +=+=+=+=+=+
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Rich's
=-=-=-=
Oh, and also, rules for contacting me. Those are important, ya? First of all,
feel free to check out the stuff I've written on GameFAQs. Those include a
guide for Mega Man 5, a few other Mega Man games, and tons of random PSX
games. Honor to the PSX, yanno? Hopefully, that'll be added with awesome
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and Tales of Symphonia guides. As you might be
able to guess, I'm a large RPG fan and writer.
Alright, enough shameless advertisement about me. You can e-mail me if there
is a question you wish to ask that hasn't been answered in the guide, but I
REALLY don't want to bother answering questions that have already been done,
answered, and done again in the guide, if it isn't too much trouble. Feel free
to tell me if there's something I've forgotten, however.
My e-mail address is richard_power1000 [at] yahoo [dot] com. Except, replace
the [at] and spaces with a "@" symbol and the [dot] and spaces with a period;
I have to write like that so I don't get a dozen spam bots e-mailing me and
getting me viruses. Just be polite in the e-mail, don't talk like "omg wtf
rich ur gides r t3h su><0rz & how du i beat teh first batl", and don't ask
something that's already been answered in the guide, and I'll respond.
And don't bother sending things like:
"You friggin' idiot. Your guides suck, you suck, and everything about you
sucks. DIE DIE DIE!"
"BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELL, YOU STUPID RETARD!!!"
"What the hell did you think you were doing writing all that garbage, you
piece of crap?
"I hope you fall down the stairs and break every bone in your body!"
"u su><0rz, eVrYtInG BoUt u sUx, dIe ass!!!!!!1"
I will laugh at such e-mails and delete them. So... if you're not just playing
a friendly joke on me or something, don't bother with that crap cos I've been
through with it too much.
Okay, that's enough for that. My AIM name is rbeast288; sorry, I don't have
MSN or YIM. The list is closed, but I'll add you if you ask politely via e-
mail. I like chatting with people, but try not to overdo it on AIM if I add
you to my list. Since I am busy a majority of the time and all.
=-=-=-=
Steve's
=-=-=-=
You can check out all of my other guides on GameFAQs, which will hopefully
include a very sexy Tales of Symphonia guide soon. I can't wait to finish that
thing. I did guides for a lot of Final Fantasies, as well as some random
Castlevania and wrestling games, and both Tales of Destiny games. Check them
out!
And there's always Final Fantasy 12 and NCAA Football 2006 to look forward
to...
I appreciate any information you can contribute, especially to jobs and
abilities list, as well as stuff I missed, walkthrough, etc. Anything can
help.
Also, feel free to email any questions that would be good for a FAQ section,
as I plan to add one to a future update.
Any errors and omissions that you may see can be corrected if you inform me of
them. I'll also credit you, if your error or omission is actually correct and
worth an update for me to fix. I am somewhat busy, you know.
That's about it. If anyone would like me to add anything, you can always email
me.
AIM: JuanDixonFor3
MSN: mcfa4834@bellsouth.net
YIM: nicklacheysnightmare
If you contact me on one of the instant messengers, and I do not respond, it
probably means I am busy. I am always talking with my girl, and friends, so
sometimes I just ignore some instant messages from people I do not know. Be
nice, and I will talk to you, just don't come out and ask the question and be
all rude if I do not respond in five seconds, otherwise I probably will just
block you. I will answer all e-mails about the game, however.
You can contact me by emailing me at penguin_faqs@#yahoo.com
One last note: Only email me about the game at penguin_faqs@yahoo.com, all
emails about Final Fantasy Tactics sent to my other e-mail addresses
will be deleted and/or ignored. Thanks to all those that have emailed me so
far, I appreciate it!
1. Check my email backlog. If it's filled up, you may have to wait a while
before you get a response.
2. I check my email once in a while. Please wait for a response, because I
will respond to all emails.
3. Please read my guide before asking questions, that's why I have a FAQ and
Reader Tips section.
4. I will only post your question/tip in my guide if it is good, and has not
been answered in this guide.
Also, I have AIM and Yahoo. My AIM name is JuanDixonFor3, but PLEASE do not
harass me with annoying questions or I'll block you. I only wish to chat with
people.
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+=+=+=+=+=+ IV. GAME BASICS +=+=+=+=+=+
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Controls
---------
* The controls come right from the awesome FFT manual. Thanks! *
ABOUT THE SELECT BUTTON
On every screen, you can see Help Message by pressing the select button,
then pointing the cursor to the matter you want to learn about. Whenever
there is something you do not understand, try to press the select button. *
There are some exceptions.
CIRCLE BUTTON (CB)
(Battlefield)
* Decide
* Open the menu for the unit you chose with the cursor. When in the STATUS
window, if you press it once more, you get JOB LEVEL, and if you press
once more you can confirm the learned ABILITY.
* When cursor free, return the cursor to the unit.
(World Map)
* Decide
* Call out bar, shop, and other establishment on the cursor.
X BUTTON (XB)
(Battlefield)
* Cancel
* Display the range of possible movement of the unit chosen with the cursor.
* At this time, you can scroll the map by controlling the directional keys.
(World Map)
* Cancel
SQUARE BUTTON (SB)
(Battlefield)
* Cursor cancel (While pressing it, the friendly unit and enemy unit are
distinguished by color) * At this time, you can scroll the map by using
the directional keys.
* While pressing it, you can scroll the message wiindow.
(World Map)
* Have it pressed, the world map can be scrolled with controlling the
directional keys.
* While pressing, you can scroll the message window. This operation can
be used anywhere, on formation screen and city/street establishments.
TRIANGLE BUTTON (TB)
(Battlefield)
* Open menu window
* Even in the middle of a battle that is progressing on auto, STANDBY can
be made by pressing the triangle button.
(World Map)
* Call out the menu window.
DIRECTIONAL KEYS
(Battlefield)
* Move cursor.
* When cursor cancel, move the screen up/down/left/right
(World Map)
* Move cursor
R1 BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Make the map rotate rightward
(World Map)
* Display and return the complete map.
R2 BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Change the horizontal level of the map.
(World Map)
* Not used.
L1 BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Make the map rotate leftward.
(World Map)
* Display and return the complete map.
L2 BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Change the zoom of the map (enlarge, shrink)
(World Map)
* Not used.
SELECT BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Call out the Help Message.
(World Map)
* Call out the Help Message.
START BUTTON
(Battlefield)
* Cursor will point to units not associated with friendly/enemy forces.
* When cursor free, return cursor to unit.
(World Map)
* Call out the Help Message.
* Call out the menu window.
ABOUT SOFT RESET: You can soft reset by pressing START, SELECT, R1 and L1
buttons all at the same time. * The controls above are the basic controls.
Job System
-----------
I love the job system in Final Fantasy Tactics. It is one of the most
involving and deep systems to ever come out of a video game. The basic premise
is simple. Your character has a choice of (eventually) 20 jobs to master. Each
job has its own benefits and drawbacks, so choosing the right job for each
character is the key to winning. Also, having a well balanced party is very
important. Five Knights may seem cool, but their lack of moving space and
their short-ranged attacks may cause problems eventually.
The first thing to do is go to the menu system and hit triangle at a character
to bring up their "change job" line on the screen. Choose it, and your
character will be surrounded by a circle of jobs that they can change into. If
the job is grayed out, it means that the character needs to fulfill the
requirements needed to unlock the job. Each job has a different requirement,
and you can learn each job's requirement by going to section 5 below.
Change into the job, and you can now learn abilities. Each ability has a
certain amount of JP needed to learn. Once you learn the ability, you can
equip it, NO MATTER WHAT JOB YOU ARE. Learn Two Swords, and suddenly your
White Mage can equip two swords! You only get a total of four abilities at
once, though, so choices are limited. There are four different types of
abilities.
Action: Lets you have a 2nd command ability. Black Magic, Throw, etc.
Reaction: Stuff like Counter and Hamedo go here. Blade Grasp is awesome.
Support: Helps support a character. Gained JP Up, Monster Skill, etc.
Movement: Helps you increase movement spaces, lets you walk on water, etc.
Each ability costs a different amount of JP to learn. How do you learn JP?
Simple, you perform an action during battle. As long as it works, you'll gain
EXP and JP. As you gain more JP, your character's job level will go up. Why is
this important? You'll learn more JP as your character's job level goes up! A
level 8 character with Gained JP Up will gain 51 JP for each ability
performed! Isn't that cool?
Also, an awesome tip that not a lot of people may know about. Each time your
character does an ability with a job and gains JP, your other characters will
gain 1/4 of the JP in that class (1/6 if Gained JP Up is equipped). That means
that if a Wizard does an ability and gains 32 JP, the other characters will
learn 8 Wizard JP as well! Leveling up jobs will become much easier as you go
through the game, as you may turn a character into a Wizard and they'll be on
level 5 and have 700 JP already!
Finally, knowing what job to have your character at is important. If your
character has high faith, have them be a magic user, but if their brave is
high, use physical jobs instead. Having a well balanced party is key as well.
Mix up physical attackers with long-range magic users for best balance. The
game becomes much easier if you have the right abilities and know how to use
them!
Battle System
--------------
The job system of Final Fantasy Tactics isn't that hard to understand, but it
may give some people some problems. Just read here instead of the boring ass
tutorial in the game itself. ;)
Anyway, Final Fantasy Tactics is a role-playing strategy game and is thus
played out on panels. You have a party made out for you come the beginning of
the game, as well as a job system in which you can completely manipulate how
your guys will grow. Like most good players do in chess, I'll call the
characters "units" to avoid confusion. Before most battles, you'll get to place
5 units in total across the battle field. Occasionally you'll split into two
"squads" with three in one squad and two in another squad, and some battles
force you to have only two, but that's another story.
In a unit's turn, they get to do two things: those are Move and Act. Moving,
obviously, is based on going back and forth between the panels. Usually most of
the battlefield is elevated, to which the number at the upper-right will tell
you the height. How much we can move is based on two things: our Move and our
Jump. You can increase Move and Jump with Battle Boots and Spike Shoes
respectively (or even better, Germinas Boots, which destroy the purpose of both
of these!), the movement ability (there are Move+1 through Move+3 as well as
Jump+1 through Jump+3, as well as Ignore Height, which gives infinite jump, or
Teleport, which gives perhaps 7 movement depending on the layout).
Acting is different. As Steve has already told you (and hopefully you
understood it =P), there are the abilities of the class you're using, as well
as those of a support class. And of course, you can't forget attacking. Stuff
like that, is done in Acting. Along with Moving and Acting, there's Waiting. If
you've Moved and Acted, then Waiting will be done automatically. But otherwise,
if you don't want to do one or the other (or both), you can choose to Wait
right there, and your turn (aka AT) will come quicker.
So with that, we come to the most important principle in all of Final Fantasy
Tactics. That's speed. Yep, speed. In a character's status, it'll display the
speed, and you want that to be as high as possible. Final Fantasy Tactics runs
on a kind of "clock tick" system... that is, everything starts from 0 and then
(don't worry, you don't have to wait on this), the first person to reach a CT
of 100 can move/act first. Of course, most people get to 100 first, but usually
it's an enemy unless you're much higher leveled or, of course, it's one of your
guest units. =P
Once you take a turn, the CT will drop back to 0, but if you do only one out of
moving and acting, it won't be completely depleted, and if you do neither,
it'll be around 50 or so. But anyway, that's it for speed. Two other things to
look at are PA and MA, as well as male and female balance. The higher your PA
is, the more damage you'll do with physical attacks, as well as abilities like
those of Holy Sword. And the higher your MA is, the more damage you'll do with
magical attacks, and thus the more effective. However, males have higher PA
than MA, and females have higher MA than PA, so I'd make my physical characters
apart from Samurais male, whereas the magical characters should be female.
A bit more about some things you should look at, especially when it comes to
magic. Lots of abilities require charging. Take a look at a Squire and compare
it to a Wizard, for example. Notice how next to the Squire's abilities, it says
"Now", whereas a number is next to a Wizard's. If the number is there, it's an
ability that must be charged, and the number is how many turns it will take to
charge. A cool thing is pressing left or right there, and you'll see which and
what characters will go before the spell gets charged, black denoting allies
and red denoting enemies. That's pretty nice.
Finally, there's a way to tell exactly how much damage, the accuracy, and the
possible status effect that an attack will do before using it. When you select
the target, look to the bottom left. -XXX HP, XX%, etc... I recommend ALWAYS
checking that. However, the damage there can be a little inaccurate for these
attacks, to name a few: the Squire's Dash and Throw Stone, a Monk's Repeating
Fist, and any physical attack caused by a hammer or an axe, which is why you
should never use them.
The last two factors are Brave and Faith, which are both extremely, extremely
important statistics. First of all, Brave. Ever have a reaction ability on, and
got frustrated by how rarely it worked, whereas the enemy always had theirs
work? Or ever go to the front of an enemy and try to slash them to pieces, only
to have them block your attack? The higher your Brave is, the more chance you
have of using your reaction ability, or of dealing out damage. It's always good
to have high Brave, with one sole exception: if you have Move-Find Item. Most
cases, you can find either one excellent item or one crappy item, and your
Brave is the percentage of finding the crappy item. Ouch.
Other than that, you should always have high Brave. Just don't let it go below
10, or the unit will turn into a chicken and lose control of itself. =P If it
goes below 3, the unit just leaves your party. Very unthoughtful. But anyway,
after that comes Faith. Ever wonder why some spells would do 40 damage to one
enemy and 70 to another? Faith is the primary factor. Faith determines how much
damage your magic does, and what magic's effect on you is, either defensive or
offensive, as well as the accuracy. So it's kind of a double edged sword, but
being able to do more damage with magic outweighs being able to withstand it,
since there are more physical enemies than magical.
Keep physical attackers at a low Faith, however. But no matter, what don't let
the Faith rise too high, because once it gets to 97, the unit will leave you to
lead a religious sort of life. =P So don't create fake Messiahs, no matter how
desperate you are. Anyway, that's probably all you need to know. Enjoy the
game's wonderful battles. :)
Other Tips
----------
Here is just a section where we give out tips for newbies to the game.
- Don't waste a lot of time on one job if you're not going to use the abilities
that the job is learning, unless you really want/need the job. You don't get
anything special for mastering a job in this game, so just get the abilities
that you need and move onto the next job. With all the jobs and abilities
available in the game, you won't want to waste time focusing on a job/ability
you won't use.
- When a character dies, they have a red balloon counter over their head.
Revive them before the counter turns to zero! If you don't, they turn to
crystal and you lose access to them for the rest of the game.
- You can use this to your advantage, though. Let's say you have a generic
character, but you want, say, Agrias to learn their abilities. Have the generic
die, and have Agrias absorb the crystal and choose to learn the abilities.
Agrias now learns all that stuff. ;)
- Defeating human characters and getting their abilities via crystal is an
excellent way to learn new abilities. You need to have the job class unlocked
to learn their abilities, though. If you kill a Calculator, you can't learn
their abilities without having the Calculator job unlocked for the character
absorbing the crystal.
- Try to spread out your characters as much as possible when faced with
summoners, black magic users, etc. so their magic spells only hit one character
instead of 3 or 4.
- When attacking an enemy, always try to aim for the side or the back to
increase the chances of landing a successful hit.
- When the game asks you if you want to save, save on a different file if you
can. Usually, you get into a boss battle next, and if you can't beat it with
your current abilities and jobs, you may be screwed!
- When buying weapons/armor for a party member, be wary of the "best fit"
option. It's been known to give magic users a helmet that reduces MP and
increases HP! I usually just "try it on", as it gives characters individuality
better.
- Also, be wary of weapons like Bags and Flails. While they do good damage
sometimes, they also do horrible damage sometimes as well. I prefer just using
the other weapon that the job class can use. Ninjas can use Ninja Swords, and
females can use whatever weapon their job allows.
- One last thing. Brave Story is a pretty cool feature that lets you read an
awesome story about the war, as well as keep track of all sorts of cool things,
like how many enemies you've killed, how many characters have been killed, etc.
Plus, you can rewatch older story scenes!
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+=+=+=+=+=+ V. JOBS/MONSTERS +=+=+=+=+=+
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Final Fantasy Tactics simply RUNS on a job system, so this is probably more
important than it appears; just telling ya. You may not use monsters at all,
but eh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\\ \\ \\ +-+-+ Jobs +-+-+ // // //
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABILITIES KEY
NAME
-----
In-game description.
* More in-depth description.*
Range: How far the skill goes.
Effect: How many spaces the skill affects.
JP: JP it costs to learn/master this skill.
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Squire ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: N/A
The starting path to Knights and Monks, Archers and Thieves, Geomancers and
Lancers, Samurais and Ninjas... and as one might expect, it sucks. They can
equip weapons such as Hammers and Axes which few other classes can... but hey,
those weapons suck, period. They can equip swords, but hey, so can Knights.
They're incapable of equipping much of the better, heavier equipment, and have
no good things worth learning aside from Gained JP Up and Move+1, which should
be kept on everyone on just about any occasion. Add the very mediocre stat
growth to any Squire par Ramza, and you get a bad class.
As you might expect, the Squire has next to no abilities to speak of. Dash is a
grossly overrated ability, it's only advantage being that it is 100% accurate.
It'll never do more than about 40-50 damage unless you build up your power in
every way possible... Throw Stone is only good if you want to cure someone of
Charm or Confusion; it's another very weak damaging attack. Heal has little to
no quality whatsoever; it's a very unreliable status curing move compared to a
Monk's Stigma Magic. Accumulate is an excellent ability, but not worth leaving
Basic Skill on. If you REALLY need these, just have Ramza with Guts. Of course,
Ramza is a Squire but is an excellent character, but still...
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----------
Basic Skill
-----------
ACCUMULATE
----------
Charge up one's power to raise physical attack power.
* Physical attack increases by 1. *
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 300
DASH
-----
Run into enemy with body.
* Knocks a target back one space. *
Range: 1 Horizontal, 1 Vertical
Effect: 1
JP: 80
THROW STONE
------------
Throw stones at a distant enemy.
* Knocks a target back one space. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 90
HEAL
-----
Recover from abnormal status effects.
* Cures the Darkness, Silence, and Poison status effects. *
Range: 1 Horizontal, 2 Vertical
Effect: 1
JP: 150
---------
Reaction
---------
COUNTER TACKLE
---------------
Counter with a dash attack.
* Allows you to counter an enemy's attack with a dash, knocking them back
one square. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 180
--------
Support
--------
EQUIP AXE
----------
Equip axe regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 170
MONSTER SKILL
--------------
Target friendly monster within a range of 3 acquires new abilities.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
DEFEND
-------
Defend and prepare for attack. Select act command, 'Defend'.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 50
GAINED JP UP
-------------
Amount of JP earned in battle is increased.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
-----
Move
-----
MOVE +1
--------
Increase movement range by 1.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Chemist ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: N/A
The difference between a Squire and a Chemist in quality is so great, it makes
me chuckle. Seriously, the Chemist has even worse stat growth than the Squire,
but other than that it's an excellent class that makes you point the finger and
laugh hysterically at the Squire. The Chemist can equip Guns, which is in
itself a tremendous prop. It can throw items, which have less potential and are
more expensive, but altogether more reliable than the Priest's White Magic. In
this game, healing can be very important, and items are really the best way of
doing it, as long as you have Throw Item handy.
In terms of abilities, all of them are useful, but some are just plain not
worth learning. Potion, Hi-Potion, and X-Potion should not be passed up under
any means, but the single most essential item to learn is Phoenix Down, of
course. =P You should learn at the very least, Ether, but that's as far as you
need to delve into the MP restoring path. Antidote and Echo Grass can be at
times, useful, and Eye Drop, Maiden's Kiss, Soft, and Holy Water are complete
wastes. Remedy is worth considering, although I'd learn that much later. And
finally, Equip Change and Maintenance are very useful in chapter 4 when you're
up against strong Knights, as well as Meliadoul, Rofel, and Vormav.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----
Item
-----
POTION
-------
Use a Potion item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 30
HI-POTION
----------
Use a Hi-Potion item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 200
X-POTION
---------
Use a X-Potion item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 300
ETHER
------
Use an Ether item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 300
HI ETHER
---------
Use a Hi-Ether item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 400
ELIXIR
-------
Use an Elixir item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 900
ANTIDOTE
---------
Use an Antidote item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 70
EYE DROP
---------
Use an Eye Drop item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 80
ECHO GRASS
-----------
Use an Echo Grass item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 120
MAIDEN'S KISS
--------------
Use a Maiden's Kiss item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 200
SOFT
-----
Use a Soft item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 250
HOLY WATER
-----------
Use a Holy Water item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 400
REMEDY
-------
Use a Remedy item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 700
PHOENIX DOWN
-------------
Use a Phoenix Down item.
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 90
---------
Reaction
---------
AUTO POTION
------------
Use lowest available potion when attacked.
* Triggered by HP damage. *
Range: Auto
Effect: 1
JP: 400
--------
Support
--------
THROW ITEM
-----------
Be able to throw items and expand range, even if not a Chemist.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 350
MAINTENANCE
-----------
Equipped items are immune to break techniques.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
EQUIP CHANGE
-------------
Change equipment even in battle.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 0
-----
Move
-----
M0VE-FIND ITEM
---------------
Find any hidden items at your destination.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 100
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Knight ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Squire (level 2)
Knights are huge steps above Squires, although you'll fight Knights in almost
every battle in the whole game, and they're just not THAT good. :) Still, what
they mainly have going for them if that they can equip helmets and armor, which
gives them stellar HP (although the Lancer has that much). They can obviously
equip Swords, but as one might expect, the problem is that they are so slow and
are just not mobile. While they have awesome power, the speed is lacking, so
they're like big tanks. All the same, they're capable of doing more damage than
almost any other class physically, especially if you equip them with Knight
Swords, which are by far the best weapons in the game.
The abilities are for breaking the enemy's stats and equipment. While they're
obviously nowhere near as good as the Thief's steal abilities, they have far
more chance of working. Speed Break is DEFINITELY worth learning, as even a
Calculator can get a turn or two before the enemy if you use this enough. And
obviously, Weapon Break is awesome. It's a major pity these aren't like
Zalbag's Ruin skills, but hey, these don't need to be charged. ;) Weapon Guard
is vital for Thieves and Ninjas (Main Gauches) and Dancers (any clothes); with
the full potential of this, the enemy can miss more than hit.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-------------
Battle Skill
-------------
HEAD BREAK
-----------
Used to destroy item equipped on enemy's head.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
ARMOR BREAK
------------
Used to destroy item equipped on enemy's chest.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
SHIELD BREAK
-------------
Used to destroy equipped shield of enemy.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
WEAPON BREAK
-------------
Used to destroy equipped weapon of enemy.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
MAGIC BREAK
------------
Diminishes enemy's MP.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
SPEED BREAK
------------
Diminishes enemy's speed level.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
POWER BREAK
------------
Diminishes enemy's attack power.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
MIND BREAK
-----------
Diminishes enemy's magic attack power.
Range: Weapon dependant.
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
---------
Reaction
---------
WEAPON GUARD
-------------
Parry attacks with equipped weapon.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
-------
Support
-------
EQUIP ARMOR
-------------
Equip armor regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
EQUIP SHIELD
-------------
Equip shield regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
EQUIP SWORD
-------------
Parry attacks with equipped weapon.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Archer ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Squire (level 2)
Archers are, as almost everyone agrees, a very mediocre job class. They have
among the lowest HP of any job class, and most battles are complete handicaps
for Archers. They do, however, have a few good points going for them. They've
got some innate good movement and speed, but the main problem is power and
weapons. Later on, their attacks become VERY weak, even if they can attack
from a long range. The greater your height, the farther your arrow can go, so
in a few battles, you can use this to your advantage.
The main abilities of an archer, however, are complete wastes of time and JP
learning. You're best off learning Charge + 2 and Charge + 5, and that's it.
Charge + 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 20 are their ONLY abilities, and many of these
never work unless you use a Time Mage along with the archer. However, they
have Jump + 1 as a movement ability, which occasionally comes in handy. They
also have the extremely useful Concentrate support ability, ensuing 100%
success rate of an attack. If you're going to build an archer up, do that for
their abilities, or to get to level 3 for a Ninja.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-------
Charge
-------
CHARGE +1
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 100
CHARGE +2
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 150
CHARGE +3
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
CHARGE +4
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
CHARGE +5
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
CHARGE +7
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
CHARGE +10
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
CHARGE +20
-----------
Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will
be.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 1,000
---------
Reaction
---------
SPEED SAVE
-----------
Raise speed.
* Triggers HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 800
ARROW GUARD
------------
Evade bow/crossbow attack.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 450
--------
Support
--------
EQUIP CROSSBOW
---------------
Equip crossbow regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 350
CONCENTRATE
------------
Cannot evade your attacks. If enemy is in targeted panel, attack is sure to
succeed.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
-----
Move
-----
JUMP +1
--------
Increases jump elevation by 1.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Monk ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Knight (level 2)
The Monk is definitely one of the best job classes to be found in FFTactics.
They have almost everything, that being decent speed along with excellent
power and decent HP for what they are. There's only problem; they cannot equip
headgear. Headgear isn't important just for the extra HP, but because of
things such as Thief Hats and Twist Headbands, which raise Speed and Power,
which would have been a HUGE bonus for them. Oh well... they can still equip
clothes and accessories.
Based on abilities, they have one of the best sets in the entire game because
of how versatile it is. You have one ability which hits targets around you,
one which hits enemies in a line, one projectile attack, one attack which can
either do a ton or very little damage, one attack which causes Death Sentence,
one status recovery spell, one spell which recovers lots of HP and even MP,
and even a spell which brings dead characters back to life! Just... how can
you beat that? They become somewhat outdated around chapter 3 because of not
being able to wear headgear, but they're godsends during chapter 2.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
----------
Punch Art
----------
SPIN FIST
----------
Attacks with spinning fists.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
REPEATING FIST
---------------
Punch repeatedly with one's fist.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1
JP: 300
WAVE FIST
----------
Attacks from afar by emitting battle spirits.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 300
EARTH SLASH
------------
Unleashes a spirit in a straight line, splitting the earth along its path.
Range: 4 Directions
Effect: Horizontal 8, Vertical 2
JP: 600
SECRET FIST
------------
Causes death gradually, striking vital points and blood vessels.
* Adds the Death Sentence status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: 1
JP: 300
STIGMA MAGIC
-------------
Recovers abnormal status by emitting the yin spirit.
* Removes the Petrify, Darkness, Confusion, Silence, Berserk, Frog,
Poison. Sleep, Don't Move, and Don't Act status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 200
CHAKRA
-------
Restores HP and MP by focusing one's mind on vital pressure points and blood
vessels.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 350
REVIVE
-------
Calls back dead units with a loud cry
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1
JP: 500
---------
Reaction
---------
HP RESTORE
-----------
Restore HP when terminal.
* Triggers Critical. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
COUNTER
--------
Counter with a physical attack.
* Triggered by a physical attack. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
HAMEDO
-------
Attack before being attacked.
* Triggered by a physical attack. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
--------
Support
--------
MARTIAL ARTS
-------------
Gain the bare-handed fighting strength of a monk.
* Non-Monk characters get the attack power of a monk when bare handed. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
-----
Move
-----
MOVE-HP UP
-----------
Recover HP as you move.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Thief ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Archer (level 2)
As much as I love fast job classes, the Thief class comes along as being just
a little mediocre, sadly. They ARE faster than your average class, but it's no
huge difference. They have VERY low PA and MA, making them almost a joke once
in chapter 3. That being said, they do have their strengths. They have quite
high Move and Jump, as well as even the movement abilities of Move +2 and Jump
+ 2, which are EXTREMELY useful. Their abilities also make a great secondary
to most characters.
But anyway, the most important Thief skill, especially if your Thief is of the
female sex, is Steal Heart. Using this skill, you can "charm" a member of the
opposite sex (or a monster) to help you for a while, or until they end up
attacked. Steal Gil and Steal EXP are pretty much obsolete, but their regular
abilities, those being steals of weapons, shields, helmets, armors, and even
accessories, comes in quite handy. I'd try and get all five equipment steal
abilities before mid chapter 4, but preferably from bar propositions.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
------
Steal
------
GIL TAKING
-----------
Steals gil.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 10
STEAL HEART
------------
Charms an enemy that is of the opposite sex.
* Adds the Charm status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 150
STEAL HELMET
-------------
Used to steal equipped helmets.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 350
STEAL ARMOR
------------
Used to steal equipped armor.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 450
STEAL SHIELD
-------------
Used to steal equipped shield.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 350
STEAL WEAPON
-------------
Used to steal equipped weapons.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 600
STEAL ACCESSORY
----------------
Used to steal equipped accessories.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 500
STEAL EXP
----------
Used to steal experience from an enemy.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: 1 enemy
JP: 250
---------
Reaction
---------
CAUTION
--------
Takes a defensive position.
* Adds in several defense power points. Triggered by HP damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
GILGAME HEART
--------------
Receive gil in the amount of damage you received.
* Triggered by HP damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
CATCH
------
Catch a thrown item and keep it.
* Triggered by an enemy throwing an item at you. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
--------
Support
--------
SECRET HUNT
------------
If you beat a monster, you can take it to a fur shop.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
-----
Move
-----
MOVE +2
--------
Increase movement range by 2.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 520
JUMP +2
--------
Increase jump elevation by 2.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 480
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Geomancer ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Monk (level 3)
While slightly overrated, Geomancers are still an excellent job class, barring
abilities. They can equip swords, believe it or not, and they have some fairly
good HP and MA; certainly some of the best of characters in the warrior path.
Counter Flood, their reaction ability, is a perfect reaction ability. Together
with this, the Geomancer's abilities allow you to manipulate the elemental
powers of the Wizard, as well as possibly cause status effects, putting any
Oracle out of business! And as unbelievable as it may sound, Geomancers have
fantastic PA. Not only this, but Attack UP is the perfect support ability.
The only problem I have is that the damage of the Geomancer's abilities is very
weak, and that you have to be standing on the right terrain to use them. Still,
you get to control the elements and even have a small chance of causing status
effects with these (casting Stop and Petrify is especially nice) simply cannot
be resisted. First of all, some abilities I'd recommend you learn are Pitfall,
Hell Ivy, Carve Model, Water Ball, and Gusty Wind. There are very few chances
in the game to use Blizzard, Sand Storm, or especially Lava Ball, so I'd pass
those up.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
----------
Elemental
----------
PITFALL
--------
Elemental that damages with a warp in space-time.
* Adds the Don't Move status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
WATER BALL
-----------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of water.
* Adds the Frog status effect. Is a water element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
HELL IVY
---------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of plants.
* Adds the Stop status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
CARVE MODEL
-----------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of stones.
* Adds the Petrify status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
LOCAL QUAKE
------------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of rocks.
* Adds the Confusion status effect. Is an earth element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
KAMAITACHI
-----------
Elemental that damages with atmospheric power.
* Adds the Don't Act status effect. Is a wind element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
DEMON FIRE
-----------
Elemental that damages with mysterious powers within the place.
* Adds the Sleep status effect. Is a fire element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
QUICKSAND
----------
Elemental that damages with a warp in space-time.
* Adds the Don't Move status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
SAND STORM
-----------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of dust.
* Adds the Darkness status effect. Is a wind element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
BLIZZARD
--------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of snow.
* Adds the Silence status effect. Is an ice element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
GUSTY WIND
-----------
Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of wind.
* Adds the Slow status effect. Is a wind element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
LAVA BALL
----------
Elemental that damages with atmospheric power.
* Adds the Dead status effect. Is a fire element attack. *
Range: Horizontal 5, Vertical 5
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
---------
Reaction
---------
COUNTER FLOOD
--------------
Counter with geomancy.
* Triggered by a geomancy or physical attack. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
--------
Support
--------
ATTACK UP
----------
Can cause great damage with a physical attack.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
-----
Move
-----
ANY GROUND
-----------
Walk easily over waterlands like rivers.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 220
MOVE OVER LAVA
---------------
Move and stop over rocks.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 150
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Lancer ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Thief (level 3)
In my opinion, Lancers are even better than Knights, albeit not a class you'd
expect to see after Archer or Thief. ;) Lancers are superior to Knights in
terms of mobility and abilities, and especially power. A Lancer can jump a slow
character in the air (doing this to a Wizard, Time Mage, or Summoner is quite
juicy, I might add), and learn jump abilities to improve this. However, what
gives a Lancer its true shining point is the movement ability Ignore Height.
You'll be using this one a lot because if you have it, you can ignore Jump like
it doesn't exist.
The Lancer's abilities, as in Level Jump 4, Vertical Jump 2, etc., are not
really abilities, but kind of extensions to a Lancer's incredibly powerful Jump
ability. Level corresponds to how far across you can jump, and Vertical
corresponds to the height, so yeah, extensions. The thing is, you can learn the
highest tier Level Jump, and you can jump that far, AND everywhere else, so you
can just ignore all the other abilities except the best, and learn them with
the best! Personally, my advice is to learn Level Jump 3 and Vertical Jump 3,
then just learn the highest tier Level Jump, and the best Vertical Jump.
Since I'm sure many don't know exactly what the timing of Jump is, this is how
it works: the timing is equal to 50 / the Lancer's speed. So let's say the
Lancer's speed is 10, we'll have the timing at 5. What do I mean by this, you
ask? Well, anyway, we have to consider enemy CT. Let's say we have an enemy
with a speed of 5, and a CT of 60. Our timing is 5, and its speed is 5, so
multiply those and you get 25. 60 + 25 = 85; it'll have to be 100 if the enemy
wants to avoid the jump. ;) But let's say its speed is 10. Then it'll be 50,
and that plus 60 is 110, so it can move out of the way before you land. That's
how it works, in a nutshell.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----
Jump
-----
LEVEL JUMP 2
-------------
Allows you to jump 2 panels horizontally.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 150
LEVEL JUMP 3
-------------
Allows you to jump 3 panels horizontally.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
LEVEL JUMP 4
-------------
Allows you to jump 4 panels horizontally.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 450
LEVEL JUMP 5
-------------
Allows you to jump 5 panels horizontally.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
LEVEL JUMP 8
-------------
Allows you to jump 8 panels horizontally.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
VERTICAL JUMP 2
----------------
Allows you to jump 2 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 100
VERTICAL JUMP 3
----------------
Allows you to jump 3 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
VERTICAL JUMP 4
----------------
Allows you to jump 4 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
VERTICAL JUMP 5
----------------
Allows you to jump 5 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
VERTICAL JUMP 6
----------------
Allows you to jump 6 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
VERTICAL JUMP 7
----------------
Allows you to jump 7 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
VERTICAL JUMP 8
----------------
Allows you to jump 8 panels vertically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
---------
Reaction
---------
DRAGON SPIRIT
--------------
Protection from death.
* Adds an Auto-Raise effect. Triggered by death. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 560
--------
Support
--------
EQUIP SPEAR
------------
Equip spear regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
-----
Move
-----
IGNORE HEIGHT
----------------
Jump to any height regardless of jumping ability.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 700
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Priest ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Chemist (level 2)
A Priest is kind of a better version of a Chemist. The first thing to notice is
that the Priest has better stats than a Chemist; the primary thing is Speed,
which wins out nicely. Other than that, Priests have far better MA than a
Chemist; the only problem is that they don't get guns, whereas Chemists do. Oh
well, a Priest is far more capable than a Chemist when it all comes down to it,
plus they get to equip a Healing Staff, while can be a quick, invaluable
alternative to using magic!
As for abilities, the Priest, as we all know it, relies on curative magic for
what it does. The curative abilities are all worth learning, except for Cure4,
which takes way too long to charge and the extra HP gain really isn't worth it
in comparison to Cure3. Reraise might also be a skip over, because it costs so
much JP to learn. Protect, Shell, and Wall are all useful, although the
advanced versions should just be skipped over. And as for Holy... what more can
I say? It's beautiful work in what it does, and better than Flare in my honest
opinion. Combine that with Math Skill, and you win out. =D
-----------
White Magic
-----------
CURE
-----
White magic cures physical injuries and restores HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 50
CURE 2
-------
White magic cures physical injuries and restores HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 180
CURE 3
-------
White magic cures physical injuries and restores HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
JP: 400
CURE 4
-------
White magic cures physical injuries and restores HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 180
RAISE
------
White magic revives dead units from abyss.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 180
RAISE 2
--------
White magic revives dead units from abyss. Full HP recovery.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 500
RERAISE
--------
Divine protection. Once cast, will raise units automatically upon death.
Range: 3
Effect: 1
JP: 800
REGEN
------
White magic restores a unit by gradually replenishing its HP.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 300
PROTECT
--------
White magic protects units from physical attacks by covering them with
invisible armor.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 70
PROTECT 2
----------
White magic protects units from physical attacks by covering them with
invisible armor.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 500
SHELL
------
White magic protects units from magic attacks by covering them with an
invisible magic veil.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 70
SHELL 2
--------
White magic protects units from magic attacks by covering them with an
invisible magic veil.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 500
WALL
-----
White magic protects units from physical and magic attacks by covering them
with an invisible barrier.
Range: 3
Effect: 1
JP: 380
ESUNA
------
White magic cancels abnormal status with its purifying light.
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
JP: 280
HOLY
-----
White magic attacks by enveloping enemy within a holy light.
Range: 5
Effect: 1
JP: 600
---------
Reaction
---------
REGENERATOR
------------
Receive Regen when attacked.
* Triggered by HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
--------
Support
--------
MAGIC DEFEND UP
----------------
Magic attack defense is increased.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Wizard ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Chemist (level 2)
Wizards are great characters to use in battle, and if you have a choice between
having a Wizard or a Summoner in the battle, I'd opt for the Wizard because the
Summoner has such bad speed. The Wizard is about as fast as a Priest, which is
definitely good enough. In random battles, a Wizard is one of the best classes
you can bring, since tons of monsters have a weakness to either fire, ice, or
lightning. They aren't QUITE as much of weak death machines as they were in the
classic FFs, but they're still very useful allies.
It's pretty obvious that a Wizard is the opposite of a Priest; they rely on
offensive magic rather than defensive. All the abilities are worth learning on
their own, although it's really not worth learning Fire3, then Ice3, then Bolt3
if you have Bolt2... but anyway, Frog can turn your enemies into absolute...
well, toads. And that's not to mention Flare, which is extremely powerful, but
I really prefer to use Holy, which is much cheaper than Flare. Magic Attack UP
is definitely worth learning; Counter Magic is not.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----------
Black Magic
-----------
FIRE
-----
Black magic erupts in a blazing volcano.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 50
FIRE 2
-------
Black magic erupts in a blazing volcano.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
JP: 200
FIRE 3
-------
Black magic erupts in a blazing volcano.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 480
FIRE 4
-------
Black magic erupts in a blazing volcano.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 850
BOLT
-----
Black magic strikes down in a flash of lightning.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 50
BOLT 2
-------
Black magic strikes down in a flash of lightning.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
JP: 200
BOLT 3
-------
Black magic strikes down in a flash of lightning.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 480
BOLT 4
-------
Black magic strikes down in a flash of lightning.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 850
ICE
----
Black magic releases falling ice chards.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 50
ICE 2
------
Black magic releases falling ice chards.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
JP: 200
ICE 3
------
Black magic releases falling ice chards.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 480
ICE 4
------
Black magic releases falling ice chards.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 850
POISON
-------
Black magic creates poison inside one's body, gradually lowering HP as the
body is consumed from inside.
* Adds the Poison status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 50
FROG
-----
Black magic turns target into a frog. Can also be used to reverse the effects
of this spell.
* Adds the Frog status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: 1
JP: 500
DEATH
------
Black magic slays target instantly by removing its soul.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 600
FLARE
------
Black magic burns an entire area by converting ultra-energy to heat.
Range: 5
Effect: 1
JP: 900
---------
Reaction
---------
COUNTER MAGIC
--------------
When attacked by magic, counter with same.
* Triggered by Magic Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 800
--------
Support
--------
MAGIC ATTACK UP
----------------
Magic attack power is increased.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Oracle ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Priest (level 2)
Oracles, in my honest opinion, are really not that great of a job class at all.
I mean, sure, they're useful, but they might be seen as wastes of time when
you're trying to use abilities on the enemy that miss all the time. The best
use I have for Yin Yang Skill is really putting it as a secondary on a Knight
or physical attacker, so that if they can't reach the enemy, they can handicap
them a bit. The statistics are about the same as a Priest or a Wizard, although
they have the advantage of being able to equip Sticks.
That being said, Yin Yang Magic DOES have its uses, but the problem is that
once you get Beowulf in your active party (who is an awesome physical attacker
as well as being able to immediately utilize the effects of Yin Yang Magic on
an enemy whereas an Oracle has to take time to charge the magic and goes down
far easier than Beowulf), building up an Oracle is just plain useless. Sure,
they get multiple targets with the spells, but some just far too long to
charge. Still, Life Drain ALONE is just superb, and whenever you fight a Zodiac
beast, you should use it.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
---------------
Yin-Yang Magic
---------------
BLIND
------
Yin Yang magic blinds enemy and lowers the rate of physical attacks.
* Adds the Darkness status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 100
SPELL ABSORB
-------------
Yin Yang magic absorbs enemy's MP, restoring one's own MP.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 200
LIFE DRAIN
-----------
Yin Yang magic absorbs enemy's HP, restoring one's own HP.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 350
PRAY FAITH
-----------
Yin Yang magic fills soul with faith.
* Adds Faith. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 400
DOUBT FAITH
------------
Yin Yang magic makes targets lose their faith, reducing their faith level.
* Reduces Faith. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 400
ZOMBIE
-------
Yin Yang magic brings bodily death.
* Adds the Undead status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 300
SILENCE SONG
-------------
Yin Yang magic mutes enemy, making it impossible to cast spells.
* Adds the Silence status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 170
CHICKEN SONG
-------------
Yin Yang magic lowers brave level.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 200
CONFUSION SONG
---------------
Yin Yang magic makes enemy lose rationality and act confused.
* Adds the Confuse status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 400
DISPEL MAGIC
-------------
Yin Yang magic cancels positive status effect by neutralizing Yin and Yang.
* Cancels all positive status effects. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 700
PARALYZE
---------
Yin Yang magic doesn't allow enemy to take action.
* Adds the Don't Act status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 100
SLEEP
------
Yin Yang magic immediately puts enemy to sleep.
* Adds the Sleep status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 350
PETRIFY
--------
Yin Yang magic immediately turns enemy's body to stone.
* Adds the Petrify status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 600
---------
Reaction
---------
COUNTER MAGIC
--------------
Restore your MP by the same amount your enemy used.
* Triggered by MP Effect. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
--------
Support
--------
DEFENSE UP
-----------
Physical defense power is increased.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
-----
Move
-----
ANY WEATHER
------------
Walk easily over swamps, marshes, poison marshes, regardless of climate.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
MOVE-HP UP
----------
Recover MP as you move.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 350
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Time Mage ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Wizard (level 2)
Time Mages are, without a doubt, one of the best magic classes in the entire
game. The speed isn't as bad as Summoners, fortunately, and they get some good
MA. However, I recommend having your character who's building himself up as a
Wizard/Summoner skip Time Mage, while your Priest build herself up a little as
she is and then switch over to Time Mage, since Oracle and Mediator really are
not worth getting experience as, in my opinion.
The set of abilities on the Time Mage, especially the Reaction, Support, and
Movement choices, are among the best of any class in the game. Meteor, while
being very slow, is capable of doing huge damage; same goes to the faster Demi
and Demi 2, which take off 1/4 and 1/2 HP from an enemy, respectively. Quick
isn't bad, but I'd pass that up until later. And you can't forget Stop or Don't
Move, which are particularly good on Wizards and Knights. Critical Quick is an
awesome reaction ability and good for physical classes. Short Charge is also
good for mages, and Teleport is great as an alternative to Jump.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----------
Time Magic
-----------
HASTE
------
Time Magic increases speed by accelerating time.
* Adds the Haste status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 50
HASTE 2
--------
Time Magic increases speed by accelerating time.
* Adds the Haste status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 550
SLOW
-----
Time Magic decreases speed by slowing the passage of time.
* Adds the Slow status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 80
SLOW 2
-------
Time Magic decreases speed by slowing the passage of time.
* Adds the Slow status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 520
STOP
-----
Time Magic puts target in stasis, preventing its AT from occurring.
* Adds the Stop status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 330
DON'T MOVE
-----------
Time Magic breaks space apart, making it impossible to move.
* Adds the Don't Move status effect. *
Range: 3
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 100
FLOAT
------
Time Magic distorts space, lets one float 1h above the ground.
* Adds the Float status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 200
REFLECT
--------
Time Magic creations that reflect magic by inverting magic space.
* Adds the Reflect status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 300
QUICK
------
Time Magic vastly increases the speed of time passage, hastening AT.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
JP: 800
DEMI
-----
Time Magic damages with the powerful pull of gravity by creating ultra high-
density space.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
JP: 250
DEMI 2
-------
Time Magic damages with the powerful pull of gravity by creating ultra high-
density space.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 3
JP: 550
METEOR
-------
Time Magic unleashes a huge meteor from the heavens, devastating its target.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 4, Vertical 3
JP: 1,500
---------
Reaction
---------
CRITICAL QUICK
---------------
When HP level is lessened, your AT is executed next.
* Triggered by HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 700
MP SWITCH
----------
Physical damage is converted into magic damage. MP is lost instead of HP.
* Triggered by HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
--------
Support
--------
SHORT CHARGE
-------------
CT is shortened.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 800
-----
Move
-----
TELEPORT
---------
Distort time, moving immediately into your destination. Moving too far will
end in failure.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
FLOAT
------
Float 1h over land automatically.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 540
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Mediator ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Oracle (level 2)
Much like the Oracle, I think the Mediator has some potential once brought out,
but just... not nearly as much as the Wizard, Time Mage, Priest, and Summoner.
They have one shining advantage, and that is that they can equip guns. But
honestly, they do not fit into the magical path at all. Their MA is EXTREMELY
low, and Triangle Hats, Wizard Robes, and Magic Gauntlets, all put together,
are going to make the MA average at best. And you'd expect with low MA, you'd
get high PA, but you don't. Nor do you get higher HP. Personally, I recommend
you just ignore them unless going for a Bard, Mime, or completion.
The set of abilities isn't too bad, but some seem to be ones that could have
just been given to the Oracle class. Invitation is by FAR their best ability;
you can completely put the Thief skills out of business with this, unless it's
a boss or something. With this, you can get an enemy on your side, and when
they join you after that battle, take all of their equipment for free. ;) Their
other abilities are fine and all, but still, I'd opt to turn my Priest into a
Time Mage after she has enough White Magic learned; Oracle and Mediator just do
not satisfy me.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----------
Talk Skill
-----------
INVITATION
-----------
Word skill tricks enemy into becoming an ally.
* Adds the Invitation status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 100
PERSUADE
---------
Word skill used to ask enemy to wait its turn to act.
* Adds the Persuade status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 100
PRAISE
-----------
Word skill raises Brave level by complimenting the target and raising their
confidence.
* Increases Brave *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 200
THREATEN
---------
Word skill lowers Brave level by frightening target.
* Lowers Brave *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 200
PREACH
-------
Word skill used to raise faith by preaching the miracles of God.
* Increases Faith *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 200
SOLUTION
---------
Word skill used to lower Faith by preaching about other secular theories.
* Lowers Faith *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 200
DEATH SENTENCE
---------------
Word skill foretells the enemy's death.
* Adds the Death Sentence status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 500
NEGOTIATE
----------
Word skill used to negotiate with enemy and receive gil.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 100
INSULT
-------
Word skill used to upset enemy with curses and abuse.
* Adds the Berserk status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 1
JP: 300
MIMIC DARAVON
--------------
Word skill used to put enemy to sleep with boring stories.
* Adds the Sleep status effect. *
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: 2
JP: 300
---------
Reaction
---------
FINGER GUARD
-------------
Evade word attacks.
* Triggered by Word Skills. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
--------
Support
--------
EQUIP GUN
----------
Equip gun regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 750
TRAIN
------
When enemy becomes terminal, force them into becoming allies.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 450
MONSTER TALK
-------------
Speak with monsters and use 'Word Skill' even if not a Mediator.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 100
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Summoner ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Time Mage (level 2)
Summoners aren't a bad job class, although they aren't nearly as good as the
Wizard. The thing is, they have a speed handicap (original 5 in compared to
the Wizard's original 6), but even worse, their MA is not as good as that of a
Wizard, so the best setup is to learn the Summoner's best abilities, such as
Shiva, Titan, Golem, Lich, and Fairy, and then to give the summon ability to a
Wizard. But with the magic class, stats don't tend to be so important, so
don't let this turn you away.
The abilities of a Summoner form one of the most versatile sets in the entire
game, only surpassed by the Monk and the Samurai. You have two healing spells,
Moogle and Fairy. You have the elemental powers of Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh, as
well as the latter Leviathan and Salamander. And there is, of course, Lich,
which will do ENORMOUS damage to Zodiac beasts, its only fault being that it
has a chance of missing. And you have the ultimate defensive spell, that being
Golem, which should not be passed up. And also, if you have Half of MP, you're
an ultimate mage, trust me.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-------------
Summon Magic
-------------
MOOGLE
-------
Summon monster cures target's wounds with pure wind and restores HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2 - allies
JP: 110
SHIVA
------
Summon monster breathes on the enemy with extremely cold breath.
* Has the element of Ice. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 200
RAMUH
------
Summon monster mercilessly pours lightning shower on enemy.
* Has the element of Lightning. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 200
IFRIT
------
Summon monster rains a blazing inferno down upon the enemy.
* Has the element of Fire. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 200
TITAN
------
Summon monster overturns the earth by striking it with a powerful blow.
* Has the element of Earth. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 220
GOLEM
------
Summon monster shares part of ally's damage. Evades physical weapon damage.
Range: Auto
Effect: All Allies
JP: 500
CARBUNCLE
----------
Summon monster protects allies by reflecting magic attacks with ruby light.
* Adds the Reflect status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2 - allies
JP: 350
BAHAMUT
--------
Summon monster unleashes a devastating breath attack.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 4, Vertical 3
JP: 1,200
ODIN
-----
Summon monster charges through enemies on the back of a dragon-horse.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 4, Vertical 3
JP: 900
LEVIATHAN
----------
Summon monster engulfs the battlefield with a huge water swell.
* Has the element of Water. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 4, Vertical 3
JP: 850
SALAMANDER
-----------
Summon monster burns battlefield with scorching red flame.
* Has the element of Fire. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 820
SYLPH
-------
Summon monster mutes enemy with the spirit of leaves in the wind.
* Adds the Silence status effect. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 400
FAIRY
------
Summon monster restores ally's HP.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2 - ally
JP: 460
LICH
--------
Summon monster born from darkness, dwells in the bowels of hell.
* Has the element of Darkness. *
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 600
CYCLOPS
--------
Summon monster sunders the battlefield in the wake of its catastrophic
onslaught.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 2
JP: 1,000
ZODIAC
-------
Summon monster focuses star light energy, and unleashes it in a blazing form
of destruction.
Range: 4
Effect: Horizontal 4, Vertical 3
JP: N/A
---------
Reaction
---------
MP RESTORE
------------
Restore MP when terminal.
* Triggered by being low on HP. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
--------
Support
--------
HALF OF MP
-----------
MP used when casting magic is cut in half.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Samurai ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Knight (level 3), Monk (level 4), Lancer (level 2)
Samurais are, without a doubt, one of the best classes in the whole game.
Perhaps their single flaw is that they have lower HP than the average physical
powerhouse; it may also be worth noting that they can't equip shields. But
putting that aside, Samurais have unusually good MA. Their PA is excellent,
and the speed isn't bad either. Plus, Meatbone Slash and Blade Grasp are only
outmatched by Hamedo for best reaction ability; the former doing your max HP
worth of damage when critical, and the latter making you almost impossible to
hit.
The set of abilities doesn't disappoint either. Samurais are sort of like
Chemists; to use their abilities, you must have the respective katana. And
every now and then, once you use it, it may get "blown away", but this is a
rare occasion, unlike the 100% chance with a Chemist. They have a very well
rounded set of sword skills; several doing damage around you, one hitting in a
line, one healing, one casting Protect and Shell on you, one casting Haste and
Regen on you... and I believe I've mentioned their reaction abilities already.
Give some of these abilities to a character, and you won't regret it.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
---------
Draw Out
---------
ASURA KNIFE
------------
Releases spirit of the katana. An invisible blade slashes the enemy.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 100
KOUTETSU
---------
Releases spirit of the katana. The cry of the Banshee, released in a brutal
wave.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 180
BIZEN BOAT
-----------
Releases spirit of the katana. Ghost's whisper causes MP damage.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 260
MURASAME
---------
Releases spirit of the katana. Released spirit's tears restore HP.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3 - ally
JP: 340
HEAVEN'S CLOUD
---------------
Releases spirit of the katana. Ethereal spirit flows out and attacks.
* Adds the Slow status effect. *
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 420
KIYOMORI
---------
Releases spirit of the katana. Spiritual essence engulfs allies in a
protective veil.
* Adds the Protect and Shell status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3 - ally
JP: 500
MURASAMA
---------
Releases spirit of the katana. Vengeful wraiths gradually remove the soul of
the enemy.
* Adds the Confusion and Death Sentence status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 580
KIKUICHIMOJI
-------------
Releases spirit of the katana. Vengeful spirit charges the enemy in rage.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 660
MASAMUNE
----------
Releases spirit of the katana. Benevolent spirits enhance the strength and
agility of allies.
* Adds the Regen and Haste status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3 - allies
JP: 740
CHIRIJIRADEN
-------------
Releases spirit of the katana. Spirits become blue flame and attack living
things.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
JP: 820
---------
Reaction
---------
MEATBONE SLASH
---------------
When terminal, give damage in the amount of your max HP.
* Triggered by being low on HP. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
BLADE GRASP
------------
Evade physical attack. Works well against long distance, too!
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 700
--------
Support
--------
EQUIP KNIFE
------------
Equip Katana regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
TWO HANDS
----------
Hold weapon in both hands, raising destructive power.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
-----
Move
-----
WALK ON WATER
--------------
Move or stop over the surface of the water.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Ninja ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Archer (level 3), Thief (level 4), Geomancer (level 2)
The Ninja... it's a mix of almost everything good from a class. It's one of
the fast job classes; coming across seeming better than the Thief in this
area. It has perhaps the best PA of any class in the whole game, but you can
expect that because it attacks twice instead of once. =) To add to this, they
have superb Move and Jump capabilities, and with their Throw ability, they can
put any Archer out of business. They have a couple flaws however, those being
that they have quite low HP (about as much as a Thief) and low defense. Oh
well, they've got great class evasion, so with Sunken State/Abandon, a Mantle,
and weapons with moderate evasion, they become impossible to hit from the
front.
However, the Ninja's abilities obviously aren't too great; learning these adds
to the weapons that a Ninja can throw. Most of them other than Shurikens,
Balls (for versatility), Swords, Knives, Spears, Hammers, and Axes aren't
really worth learning and should be spent on Sunken State or Two Swords,
however. The thing about Hammers and Axes is that they do remarkable damage
when thrown (throwing is based on speed; you can kill almost anything if you
throw a Morning Star with an 12-13 speed Ninja), because of their raw power.
Using Two Swords together with a physical powerhouse or special character will
make you almost a mechanism.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
------
Throw
------
SHURIKEN
---------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 50
BALL
-----
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 70
KNIFE
-------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
SWORD
------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
HAMMER
-------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
KATANA
-------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
NINJA SWORD
------------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
AXE
---
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
SPEAR
------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
STICK
------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
KNIGHT SWORD
-------------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
DICTIONARY
-----------
Allows you to throw the listed item.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 12, Vertical 12
JP: 100
---------
Reaction
---------
SUNKEN STATE
-------------
Hide by becoming invisible.
* Triggered by HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
ABANDON
--------
Evade percentage rises and it becomes easier to dodge attacks.
* Triggered by physical attack damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
--------
Support
--------
TWO SWORDS
-----------
Use two weapons regardless of job.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 900
-----
Move
-----
MOVE IN WATER
--------------
Move or stop on water.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 420
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Calculator ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Priest (level 4), Oracle (level 3), Wizard (level 4), Time Mage
(level 3)
What exactly IS the Calculator? This is what: it's by far the worst class in
the entire game, but it has by far the best ability set in the whole game. How
can this be? Well, let me say one thing at first: you should NEVER bring a
Calculator into battle. They have absolutely HORRIBLE speed, innate of about
3. They also have almost non-existant power, and terrible MA. Simply put,
there are no good points to a Calculator as a class, and infinite bad points.
However the abilities are something different...
Let me just explain exactly WHAT Math Skill is. There are four "basis" skills,
those being Height, EXP, Level, and CT. And there are four "parameter" skills,
those being Prime Number, 5, 4, and 3. Math Skill is, believe it or not,
capable of using the spells of a Priest, Wizard, Time Mage, and Oracle, no
charge time, no MP needed, find a basis such as how high up the enemy is or
its EXP, and cast ANY SPELL THAT YOU KNOW. No lies. So Math Skill is the
ultimate ability, and perfect secondary for a character. Just use bar
propositions to build a Calculator up, and you're on your road to a perfect
mage. Also, Damage Split is a simply excellent reaction ability. Trust me.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----------
Math Skill
-----------
CT
---
Math Skill used to calculate CT.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
LEVEL
------
Math Skill used to calculate level.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 350
EXP
----
Math Skill used to calculate experience.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
HEIGHT
-------
Math Skill used to calculate height.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 250
PRIME NUMBER
-------------
Math Skill that guides selected item in prime number.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
5
--
Math Skill that guides items in multiples of 5.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
4
--
Math Skill that guides items in multiples of 4.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
3
---
Math Skill that guides items in multiples of 3.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 600
---------
Reaction
---------
DISTRIBUTE
-----------
When HP is maxed, excess HP is shared with party.
* Triggered by Recovery. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 200
DAMAGE SPLIT
-------------
Shift damage received from yourself to your enemy.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 300
--------
Support
--------
GAINED EXP UP
--------------
Spirit is heightened. Gain more experience from the same experiences.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 350
-----
Move
-----
MOVE-GET EXP
-------------
Gain experience as you move.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 400
MOVE-GET JP
------------
Gain JP as you move.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 360
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Bard ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Male; Mediator (level 4), Summoner (level 4)
Bards are usually heralded as the worst character. While they are indeed, very
bad characters, they're much better than Calculators. Their speed is weak, I'll
say that much, and their MA is quite disappointing. Still, the advantage is a
certain weapon in which only Bards can equip, called Bloody Strings. Unlike a
Blood Sword, you can buy it. While Harps are very bad weapons because they can
ONLY hit from three panels anyway, Bloody Strings drains HP. Hahaha. It's got a
decent power on it, but once you gain the appopriate abilities, I wouldn't hang
around as a Bard.
Sing is an only decent ability. You've got abilities which can recover HP/MP,
raise speed, raise PA/MA, cause random positive status effects, and even one
which can boost everyone's CT to 100, but come on... they're very inaccurate,
and as such, most of them won't get much use. Especially Last Song, which is
VERY slow and VERY unreliable. However, MA Save is perfect on Samurais, and for
developing mages, Face Up is pretty nice. Also, if you're willing to delve into
Bards a bit, you should definitely pick up Move+3 or Fly; both are perfect
movement abilities.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
-----
Sing
-----
ANGEL SONG
-----------
Song for divine protection of an angel. Restores MP.
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
LIFE SONG
----------
Song about the greatness of life. Restore HP.
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
CHEER SONG
-----------
Song about encouraging and cheering up enemies. Raises Speed level.
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
BATTLE SONG
------------
Song about battle. Raises physical attack power.
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
MAGIC SONG
-----------
Song about laws of sorcery and origins of magic. Raises magic attack power.
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
NAMELESS SONG
--------------
Unknown song which has been handed down for generations. Various divine
protection.
* Adds the Reraise, Regen, Protect, Shell, and Haste status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
LAST SONG
----------
Ultimate song. Raises ally's CT count to 100/
Range: Auto
Effect: All allies
JP: 100
---------
Reaction
---------
MA SAVE
---------
Raises magic attack power.
* Triggered by HP Damage. *
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 450
FACE UP
--------
Raises Faith.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
-----
Move
-----
MOVE +3
--------
Increases movement range by 3.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 1,000
FLY
----
Leap over enemies and obstacles.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 1,200
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Dancer ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Female; Geomancer (level 4), Lancer (level 4)
Dancers are flawed classes, much like Bards, but they're still better than
Bards, and except for the fact that Jump+3 pales in comparison to Move+3. They
are females, and can thus make use of ribbons and perfumes. Plus, all of their
cloth weapons have a 50% evasion rate if you throw Weapon Guard on, making them
extremely hard to hit. Something I have to pick on is that it's a bit bad that
only males get Bard (a magical class while females are better magic users), and
only females get Dancer (a physical class while males are better attackers). Oh
well, females can still be utilized for speed, so it's not a total loss.
Apart from the class itself, Dance is much better than Sing, in my opinion. Of
course, Last Dance is just as terrible as Last Song, but other than that, you
have some fairly useful abilities. Witch Hunt and Wiznaibus are some very good
things to use; and Slow Dance and Polka Polka are great for turning strong
opponents into pansies. While I would have loved A Save and Brave Up on a male
character, they're still great abilities for classes like Ninjas. Jump doesn't
even become a factor if you have Ignore Height, though, so pass up Jump+3 and
learn Fly instead.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
------
Dance
------
WITCH HUNT
-----------
Dance causes MP damage with a mysterious costume.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
WIZNAIBUS
----------
Dance causes HP damage with powerful dance steps.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
SLOW DANCE
-----------
Dance lowers enemies' Speed level by confusing them with slow dance movements.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
POLKA POLKA
------------
Dance with vivacious moves. Lowers physical attack power.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
DISILLUSION
------------
Dance lowers enemy's magic attack power by distracting them with a mysterious
costume.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
NAMELESS DANCE
---------------
Dance with unexplainable moves. Causes various abnormal statuses.
* Causes all negative status effects. *
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
LAST DANCE
-----------
Ultimate dance. Turns enemies' CT count to 0.
Range: Auto
Effect: All enemies
JP: 100
---------
Reaction
---------
A SAVE
-------
Raise physical attack power.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 550
BRAVE UP
---------
Raise Brave.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 500
-----
Move
-----
JUMP +3
--------
Increases jump elevation by 3.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 1,000
FLY
----
Leap over enemies and obstacles.
Range: N/A
Effect: N/A
JP: 1,200
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Mime ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Prerequisite: Squire (level 8), Chemist (level 8), Mediator (level 4),
Summoner (level 4), Geomancer (level 4), Lancer (level 4)
Mimes are completely different from any other character. First of all, they
can't equip a single thing, but they don't even need to because they have such
high HP and HP gains anyway, that you don't even need equipment! Their PA is
pretty decent, but what they excel best with is a support character that stays
in the back while you use Math Skill to destroy half of the enemy army. Then
they'll do exactly the same thing. :) Very useful job classes, but they don't
get any abilities, and you can't mimic other Mimes.
=-=-=-==-=-=-
| ABILITIES |
=-=-=-==-=-=-
The mime cannot learn new abilities. He simply mimics other characters'
actions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\\ \\ \\ +-+-+ Monsters +-+-+ // // //
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Chocobos ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
The chocobo is probably the most annoying possible enemy to battle against in a
random encounter, because they're fast, they're powerful, they can freaking
HEAL themselves (as well as enemies), and they can fly away from you, and can
take a while to go down. They're not really extremely good at anything, but
they have some power in almost anything they do. But anyway, in battle, each
kind of chocobo is good for its own purpose. The yellow Chocobo can heal you,
the black Chocobo is slow but can heal status effects and is strong, and the
red chocobo is fast and has VERY powerful attacks from a distance. Plus, with
Monster Skill, they can use Choco Cure. ;) Chocobos are great assistance
because you can ride them and move around much more. Excellent allies all in
all.
Chocobo
=-=-=-=-
Poach: Phoenix Down (Common); Hi-Potion (Rare)
CHOCO ATTACK
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
CHOCO CURE
-----------
Heals some HP.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
CHOCO ESUNA (Monster Skill)
------------
Restores status effects.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
Black Chocobo
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Poach: Eye Drop (Common); X-Potion (Rare)
CHOCO ATTACK
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
CHOCO BALL
-----------
Strong projectile attack.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
CHOCO ESUNA
------------
Restores status effects.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
CHOCO METEOR (Monster Skill)
-------------
Powerful projectile attack.
Range: 5
Effect: 1
Red Chocobo
=-=-=-=-=-=-
Poach: Remedy (Common); Barette (Rare)
CHOCO ATTACK
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
CHOCO BALL
-----------
Strong projectile attack.
Range: 4
Effect: 1
CHOCO METEOR
-------------
Powerful projectile attack.
Range: 5
Effect: 1
CHOCO CURE (Monster Skill)
-----------
Heals some HP.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 2
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Goblins ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
I don't really like Goblins as characters at all. Sure, they're not bad as
short ranged physical fighters, but they don't have any long ranged attacks,
and out of all the monsters in the entire game, they're probably the easiest to
kill. They never really have very substantial HP, but they have a huge weakness
to ice. The Gobbledeguck, however, can be great if you rely on luck. Just get
hit until you're at critical HP, then use Mutilate. Have fun. Or if that
doesn't work, try Goblin Punch. Other than that, they're quite weak.
Goblin
=-=-=-=
TACKLE
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
EYE GOUGE
----------
Causes Darkness on an enemy.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
GOBLIN PUNCH (Monster Skill)
-------------
Damages equal to Goblin's wounds.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
Black Goblin
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
TACKLE
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
TURN PUNCH
-----------
Attacks with spinning fists.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
JP: 150
GOBLIN PUNCH (Monster Skill)
-------------
Damages equal to Goblin's wounds.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
Gobbledeguck
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
TACKLE
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
EYE GOUGE
----------
Causes Darkness on an enemy.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
GOBLIN PUNCH
-------------
Damages equal to Goblin's wounds.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: 1
MUTILATE (Monster Skill)
---------
Absorbs 3/4 of the enemy's HP.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Bombs ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
The Bomb is a great ally if you don't like to keep monsters in your party and
just want to have a bit of fun. Bombs absorb fire, and even get to half ice,
which is very nice. What's more, earth won't affect them as they float above
the ground, and their own weakness, Water, is very rarely utilized by enemies
(other than Summoners with Leviathan, grrr!). But however, once you reduce them
to critical and/or surround them, they can Self Destruct, which will kill them,
but deal massive damage to any characters around it. Very, very useful. Plus,
the Explosive gets the simply awesome Spark ability.
Bomb
=-=-
Poach: Fire Ball (Common); Flame Rod (Rare)
BITE
-----
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
SELF DESTRUCT
-------------
Uses all HP up to damage opposition.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
SMALL BOMB (Monster Skill)
-----------
Stronger physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Grenade
=-=-=-=
Poach: Hi-Potion (Common); Water Ball (Rare)
BITE
-----
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
SMALL BOMB
----------
Decent physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
SELF DESTRUCT
--------------
Uses up all HP to damage opposition.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
SMALL BOMB (Monster Skill)
-----------
Causes Shell.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
Explosive
=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Lightning Ball (Common); Fire Shield (Rare)
BITE
-----
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
SELF DESTRUCT
--------------
Uses up all HP to damage opposition.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
SPARK
------
Fire elemental attack.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 1
SMALL BOMB (Monster Skill)
-----------
Strong physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Panthers ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Panthers... well, they're not really that great, but they're not really too bad
either. They have a decent speed, they're fairly powerful, and you may have
some trouble hitting them. Plus, their countering ability can be quite
devastating, because of their good power. However, their abilities aren't
exactly awesome. Poison Nail rarely works, and Cat Kick is fairly unreliable.
Same goes with Blood Suck, which doesn't work often enough for me. Their best
ability, I think, is Blaster, which is part of the reason why Vampires are a
huge pain in the arse to fight. Just don't bring a panther against a Summoner
with Titan. :)
Red Panther
=-=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Antidote (Common); Battle Boots (Rare)
SCRATCH
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
POISON NAIL
-----------
Causes the Poison status effect.
Range: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 3
CAT KICK
---------
Physical attack that causes random damage.
Range: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Cuar
=-=-
Poach: Soft (Common); Germinas Boots (Rare)
SCRATCH
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
CAT KICK
---------
Physical attack that causes random damage.
Range: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
POISON NAIL
-----------
Causes the Poison status effect.
Range: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 3
BLASTER (Monster Skill)
--------
Causes Petrify or Stop.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Vampire
=-=-=-=
Poach: Holy Water (Common); C Bag (Rare)
SCRATCH
-------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
CAT KICK
---------
Physical attack that causes random damage.
Range: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BLASTER (Monster Skill)
--------
Causes Petrify or Stop.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BLOOD SUCK (Monster Skill)
-----------
Gives HP taken away from the enemy to the character.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Squids ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Squids... okay, they're one of the most annoying enemies you could possibly
fight against. For example, Mind Blast. Put that on yourself, and you might
just go insane. While squids may be good for causing abnormal status effects,
they're just really not my cup of tea when it comes to battling. Their attacks
are very weak, and Black Ink isn't entirely reliable. Plus, put a Bolt2 or
Ramuh on them and they're just dead meat; there just aren't enough water users
in FFTactics to make good use of this.
Pisco Demon
=-=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Echo Grass (Common); Potion (Rare)
TENTACLE
--------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BLACK INK (Monster Skill)
---------
Causes Darkness.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Squidlarkin
=-=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Small Mantle (Common); Sleep Sword (Rare)
TENTACLE
--------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BLACK INK
---------
Causes Darkness.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
ODD SOUNDWAVE
-------------
Purges positive status effects.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 1
MIND BLAST (Monster Skill)
----------
Causes Confusion or Berserk.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
Mindflare
=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Hi-Ether (Common); Dracula Mantle (Rare)
TENTACLE
--------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BLACK INK
---------
Causes Darkness.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
MIND BLAST
----------
Causes Confusion or Berserk.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 1
LEVEL BLAST (Monster Skill)
-----------
Reduces the target's level by 1.
Range: Horizontal 4, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Hawks ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Hawks are actually much better allies than you might expect at first glance.
They're good at evading attacks, have surprisingly decent HP, they can fly and
are thus fairly mobile, and of course, you've got the Cocatoris, which is not
only powerful, but has the awesome Beak skill, which can Petrify an enemy. How
cool is that? Feather Bomb is also a very good long ranged attack, plus you
can't forget Beaking, which can be very useful. However, they have no good
poaches, so if that's what you're looking for, you're outta luck here. ^_^
Juravis
=-=-=-=
Poach: Potion (Common); Rubber Shoes (Rare)
SCRATCH UP
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
FEATHER BOMB (Monster Skill)
------------
Projectile attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Steel Hawk
=-=-=-=-=-
Poach: Phoenix Down (Common); Hunting Bow (Rare)
SCRATCH UP
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
SHINE LOVER
-----------
Steal Gil from enemy.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BEAK (Monster Skill)
----
Causes Petrify.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Cockatoris
=-=-=-=-=-
Poach: Soft (Common); Phoenix Mantle (Rare)
SCRATCH UP
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BEAK
----
Causes Petrify.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
FEATHER BOMB
------------
Projectile attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
BEAKING (Monster Skill)
-------
Lowers the target's PA.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Ahrimans ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Ahrimans aren't very strong, but they can be very annoying to fight against,
because of Look of Devil and Look of Fright. Put those on an enemy, and you'll
have a much easier battle. Ahrimans can fly, although they're weak against ice
magic and don't have that much HP. Still, Ahrimans are great against mages for
Circle alone, and you'll probably want to poach a Plague eventually, to get a
Zorlin Shape, which is one hell of a good weapon for a Thief. Oh, and you can't
forget Death Sentence, which is very useful.
Flotiball
=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Shuriken (Common); Platinum Dagger (Rare)
WING ATTACK
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 1
LOOK OF FRIGHT (Monster Skill)
--------------
Lowers the target's Brave by 10.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Ahriman
=-=-=-=
Poach: Magic Shuriken (Common); Air Knife (Rare)
WING ATTACK
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 1
LOOK OF DEVIL
-------------
Causes abnormal status effects.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
LOOK OF FRIGHT
--------------
Lowers the target's Brave by 10.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
DEATH SENTENCE (Monster Skill)
--------------
Causes Death Sentence.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Plague
=-=-=-
Poach: Yagyu Darkness (Common); Zorlin Shape (Rare)
WING ATTACK
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 3, Vertical 1
LOOK OF FRIGHT
--------------
Lowers the target's Brave by 10.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
DEATH SENTENCE
--------------
Causes Death Sentence.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
CIRCLE (Monster Skill)
------
Lowers the target's MA.
Range: Horizontal 4, Vertical 4
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Skeletons ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Skeletons are useful allies for fighting most monsters, as they have access to
lots of elements... lightning, water, ice, and wind. Still, skeletons are very
tough to keep up as allies, because they're undead and thus, cannot be healed,
unless you drain it's HP, and who wants to do that? :) They're very easy to
fight against during battle if you have a healer, or someone who can use Fire
or Holy. And sometimes they'll rise instead of turning into crystal, but all
the same, I think ghosts make better allies than skeletons.
Skeleton
=-=-=-=-
Poach: Holy Water (Common); Ether (Rare)
KNIFE HAND
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
THUNDER SOUL
------------
Lightning elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
AQUA SOUL
---------
Water elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Bone Snatch
=-=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Hi-Potion (Common); Partisan (Rare)
KNIFE HAND
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
AQUA SOUL
---------
Water elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
ICE SOUL (Monster Skill)
--------
Ice elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Living Bone
=-=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Wizard Mantle (Common); Elf Mantle (Rare)
KNIFE HAND
----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
ICE SOUL
--------
Ice elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
WIND SOUL (Monster Skill)
---------
Wind elemental attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Ghosts ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Ghosts, in my honest opinion, are better than skeletons in battle. They've got
the range of a skeleton, but rely more on status effects than damage. What's
more, Ghosts are MUCH harder to take down than Skeletons, because they have an
innate Teleport ability, so as long as you aren't too greedy, you can Teleport
around while a slow enemy like a Knight tries to attack you and fails, while
you use Throw Spirit. Hehehe... other than that, you get Sleep Touch and Drain
Touch, both of which are awesome, as well as Zombie Touch and Grease Touch,
which can make enemies very weak.
Ghoul
=-=-=
Poach: Ether (Common); Ninja Knife (Rare)
THROW SPIRIT
------------
Projectile attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
SLEEP TOUCH
------------
Causes Sleep.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
GREASE TOUCH (Monster Skill)
------------
Causes Oil.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Gust
=-=-
Poach: Water Ball (Common); Main Gauche (Rare)
THROW SPIRIT
------------
Projectile attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
GREASE TOUCH
------------
Causes Oil.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
DRAIN TOUCH (Monster Skill)
------------
Absorbs 1/3 of target's hit points.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Revnant
=-=-=-=
Poach: Hi-Ether (Common); Mythril Gun (Rare)
THROW SPIRIT
------------
Projectile attack.
Range: Horizontal 3, Vertical 3
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
DRAIN TOUCH
------------
Absorbs 1/3 of target's hit points.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
ZOMBIE TOUCH (Monster Skill)
------------
Causes Undead.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 2
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Boars ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Boars are what you might call a hidden joke from the creators of Final Fantasy
Tactics. They are very weak, and you would never really want to bring one of
them into battle if not for the hilarious abilities; example: Pooh, Please Eat,
and Nose Bracelet. LOL. So they're no good in battle, BUT they're excellent for
poaching, and you can get some of the best stuff in the game from poaching the
advanced Boars. They're not easy to encounter, but apart from that you'll want
to have a few in your party just for the fun alone. Just never bring them into
battle unless you want to poach them.
Uribo
=-=-=
Poach: Maiden Kiss (Common); Caschua (Rare)
STRAIGHT DASH
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
OINK (Monster Skill)
----
Revive a downed unit.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Porky
=-=-=
Poach: Chantage (Common); Nagnarok (Rare)
STRAIGHT DASH
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
POOH
----
Causes Confusion or Sleep.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
NOSE BRACELET (Monster Skill)
-------------
Charms enemies.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Wild Boar
=-=-=-=-=
Poach: Ribbon (Common); FS Bag (Rare)
STRAIGHT DASH
-------------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
NOSE BRACELET
-------------
Charms enemies.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
PLEASE EAT (Monster Skill)
----------
Wild Boar becomes a level up roast.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Trees ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Trees, yep. It's such a pity, but the tree is probably the worst monster in the
entire game. At least Boars get good speed. But anyway, the Tree is extremely
slow, can be pounded into pieces in almost no time, and has terrible abilities
that can be used much better by a Priest. However, a Taiju is worth poaching to
get a rare Defender, which is an excellent sword. But hey, Boars are better all
around poaching (and in everything else), so I recommend completely forgetting
these horrible monsters.
Woodman
=-=-=-=-
Poach: Eye Drop (Common); Healing Staff (Rare)
LEAF DANCE
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
PROTECT SPIRIT (Monster Skill)
---------------
Causes Protect.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
Trent
=-=-=-
Poach: Gold Staff (Common); Fairy Harp (Rare)
LEAF DANCE
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
SPIRIT OF LIFE
---------------
Heals some HP.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
CLAM SPIRIT (Monster Skill)
------------
Causes Shell.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
Taiju
=-=-=-
Poach: Defense Ring (Common); Defender (Rare)
LEAF DANCE
-----------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
PROTECT SPIRIT
---------------
Causes Protect.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
CLAM SPIRIT
------------
Causes Shell.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
MAGIC SPIRIT (Monster Skill)
-------------
Heals some MP.
Range: Auto
Effect: Horizontal 2, Vertical 0
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
\\ ++ Malboros ++ //
|~+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+-=~-=+~|
Malboros are pretty mediocre allies in battle, who really don't rely on dealing
damage to their enemies, but rather, causing a whole bunch of status effects. I
will be the first to say that Malboros have some good abilities; Goo and Bad
Bracelet are both great, and Moldball Virus can be great in some circumstances,
but Malboros lose out in almost everything else. They're very slow, not very
powerful, are very weak against ice so you can reduce their decent HP to almost
nothing in no time. All the same, they're really not that good and don't have
very good poaches either, since I never use dictionaries as weapons.
Morbol
=-=-=-
Poach: Platinum Dagger (Common); Ice Shield (Rare)
TENTACLE
---------
Weak physical attack.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
LICK
-----
Causes Reflect.
Range: Horizontal 1, Vertical 0
Effect: Horizontal 1, Vertical 1
B