Job Classes

Squire

The Squire is a starting job that serves as the foundation for many advanced classes. They're especially useful in the early battles, but don't write them off too quickly - some of their abilities can remain valuable throughout the game.

Chemist

The Chemist is one of the two starting jobs and serves as the foundation for many magic-oriented classes. With low physical attack and HP, they're not particularly effective in direct combat. However, their ability to equip guns later in the story gives them a useful ranged attack.

The Chemist's greatest strength is its Item command, which provides access to healing, revival, and status recovery without the casting time of magic. Chemists can also throw items over longer distances thanks to their innate Throw Items ability. These abilities can be equipped as secondary skills by other job classes, making the Chemist's item-based support valuable throughout the game.

Knight

The Knight is a durable frontline fighter with high HP and physical attack. Its ability to equip swords, shields, and heavy armor gives it a strong balance of offense and defense, making it one of the more dependable physical combat classes.

The Knight's Arts of War abilities allow it to destroy enemy equipment or reduce their stats. While these abilities can feel less useful in regular battles, they become particularly valuable against tougher opponents. Breaking an enemy's weapon can cripple sword-wielding opponents in crucial one-on-one encounters, such as Ramza's battles against Gaffgarion and Wiegraf. Stat-reducing abilities like Rend Speed are also effective against powerful bosses, even the final boss.

White Mage/Priest

White Mages, known as Priests in the original PlayStation version, specialize in healing and support through White Magic. Their spells can restore HP, revive fallen allies, remove many status ailments, and provide protective effects. However, their reliance on MP and casting times can make them slower to respond than the Chemist's instant-use items. Raise can also miss, making a Phoenix Down a safer option when an ally's KO countdown is running low. Healing spells have an interesting twist against undead units, dealing damage instead of restoring their HP.

The White Mages's only dedicated offensive spell is Holy, a powerful single-target attack with a high MP cost. Its Holy element makes it especially effective against undead monsters and certain Lucavi bosses, including Velius and Altima.

Archer

Archers specialize in long-range physical attacks, using bows and crossbows to strike enemies from a distance. Positioning is essential, as taking higher ground can extend the range of their bows and give them a significant advantage over enemies below. Their Charge abilities allow them to increase their attack power, but the longer charge times give enemies an opportunity to move before the attacks connect.

One of the Archer's most valuable abilities is Concentrate, which allows physical attacks to ignore an enemy's physical evasion. This makes attacks considerably more reliable and is especially useful against evasive opponents. Although Archers can be effective ranged attackers early in the game, their damage output tends to fall behind as stronger job classes and weapons become available.

Monk

Monks are powerful martial artists who fight unarmed, relying on their fists rather than conventional weapons. They have high physical attack and HP, but their limited equipment options leave them with fewer defensive upgrades than heavily armored classes. What makes them particularly valuable is their incredibly versatile Punch Art abilities, allowing them to attack multiple enemies, strike from a distance, remove status ailments, heal themselves and nearby allies, and even revive fallen party members.

Best of all, their abilities require no MP and execute instantly, making Monks exceptionally reliable in battle. Their combination of offense, healing, and support makes them one of the most versatile and useful job classes in the game.

Black Mage/Wizard

Black Mages, known as Wizards in the original PlayStation version, specialize in offensive Black Magic, using powerful elemental spells to inflict heavy damage. Most of their attacks can hit multiple enemies at once, making them particularly effective against groups. However, their spells can also damage allies caught in the area of effect, so careful positioning is essential.

Despite their impressive magical power, Black Mages have low HP and limited defensive equipment, leaving them vulnerable when enemies get too close. They remain formidable spellcasters throughout the game, although their reliance on MP and casting times requires careful management in battle. While Summoners offer larger area attacks that spare allies, Black Mages have the advantage in raw magic power.

Time Mage

Time Mages specialize in Time Magic, manipulating the pace of battle by hastening allies, slowing or immobilizing enemies, and even stopping them entirely. Their strength lies less in direct damage or healing and more in controlling the flow of combat through buffs and debilitating effects. Haste is particularly effective when paired with fast units, while Time Magic also makes a useful secondary skill set for more durable classes. However, spell success depends on both the caster's and target's Faith, meaning even Haste can fail.

The Time Mage's offensive options are limited to Demi, Demi 2, and Meteor. The Gravity spells deal damage based on the target's maximum HP (25% and 50%, respectively), making them surprisingly effective against high-HP enemies and certain bosses. Meteor is a devastating non-elemental attack that covers a large area, but its high MP cost, expensive learning requirement, and lengthy casting time make it difficult to use effectively. Even with Short Charge, its casting delay remains a significant drawback, and it cannot be used with Arithmeticks.

Summoner

Summoners are powerful spellcasters who call upon legendary beings to unleash devastating attacks across large areas. Their summons offer some of the most powerful magical attacks in the game, often striking multiple enemies without harming allies caught in the area of effect. However, their more powerful summons have high MP costs and lengthy casting times, requiring careful resource management and positioning.

Beyond offensive magic, Summoners also provide valuable support through abilities like Moogle/Mogri and Faerie/Fairy, which restore HP, Golem, which absorbs incoming physical damage for allies, and Carbuncle/Carbunkle, which grants Reflect. This combination of devastating attacks and defensive support makes Summoners one of the most versatile magic-oriented job classes.

Thief

Thieves are among the fastest job classes in the game, relying on speed and mobility rather than raw offensive power. Their Steal abilities allow them to pilfer valuable equipment from enemies, including weapons, armor, shields, and accessories. Successfully stealing an enemy's weapon or armor can also weaken them considerably. A well-developed Thief can acquire powerful and otherwise difficult-to-obtain equipment much earlier than normal, making the class particularly valuable for building your inventory.

Thieves also have access to Poach (Secret Hunt in the original PlayStation version), a support ability that turns defeated monsters into carcasses that can be exchanged for items at the Poacher's Den. Many rare pieces of equipment can only be obtained by poaching specific monsters. Their Sticky Fingers (Catch) Reaction ability provides another unusual advantage, allowing them to catch weapons and items thrown by Ninjas and add them to the party inventory instead of taking damage.

Mystic/Oracle

Mystics, known as Oracles in the original PlayStation version, specialize in Yin-Yang Magic, using status effects and attribute manipulation to disrupt enemies and support their allies. Their abilities can inflict conditions like Sleep, Silence, Berserk, and Petrify, while others can drain enemy HP and MP, remove beneficial status effects, or manipulate Brave and Faith. However, their spells rely on magical success rates that can make them inconsistent, and spending turns casting debuffs isn't always worthwhile when enemies can be defeated more quickly with direct attacks.

Despite their situational nature, Mystics can be valuable in difficult encounters where disabling or weakening an opponent can make a significant difference. The job also serves an important role in character progression, as developing an Oracle unlocks the Mediator and Calculator jobs in the original PS1 version. Many players move through the class primarily to access these more specialized jobs, but its Yin-Yang Magic abilities can still be useful as a secondary skill set.

Orator/Mediator

Orators, known as Mediators in the original PlayStation version, specialize in persuasion, using Talk Skill to influence both allies and enemies. Their abilities allow them to recruit enemy units, manipulate turn order, inflict status effects, and adjust a character's Brave or Faith. While their abilities can be situational, they offer valuable ways to strengthen allies and weaken opponents, particularly when fine-tuning a unit's physical or magical effectiveness.

Orators can equip guns naturally, and their Equip Guns support ability allows other job classes to do the same. This opens up some interesting combinations, such as allowing Archers to use Aim with guns or enabling Knights to use Arts of War abilities like Rend Speed from a safe distance. These setups become particularly effective when paired with rare Magick Guns, making the Orator's support abilities useful well beyond its own job class.

Geomancer

Geomancers channel the power of the surrounding terrain to unleash ranged attacks and inflict status effects on their enemies. Their Geomancy abilities don't deal particularly high damage, but each attack has a 25% chance to inflict a debilitating status condition, making them unpredictable and disruptive opponents. Their abilities require no MP, have no casting time, and never miss, making them particularly reliable in battle. Geomancers can also equip swords, axes, and shields, allowing them to hold their own in close combat.

The formula of the power of all Geomancy abilities are the same:
Magickal Attack × ( Physical Attack / 2 + 1 )

Dragoon/Lancer

Dragoons, known as Lancers in the original PlayStation version, are powerful physical fighters specializing in spears and devastating Jump attacks. Their signature ability allows them to leap into the air, becoming temporarily untargetable before descending on their enemies with tremendous force. Equipping a spear further increases the damage of their Jump attacks, making them particularly formidable opponents.

Timing is essential, as Jump targets a specific tile rather than tracking an enemy. If the target moves before the Lancer lands, the attack will miss. Learning higher Jump abilities also increases the distance and elevation they can reach, allowing them to strike enemies across difficult terrain. When used effectively, Jump combines powerful offensive damage with excellent temporary protection from incoming attacks.

Samurai

Samurai are powerful physical fighters who wield katanas to unleash the spirits within them through Iaido. Their abilities offer a variety of effects, from damaging enemies and draining MP to healing allies and granting beneficial status effects. Samurai also have naturally high physical evasion, making them difficult opponents to hit, although their relatively low HP and inability to equip shields limit their defensive capabilities.

One of the Samurai's greatest advantages is the versatility of Draw Out, whose offensive damage is determined by the user's Magic Attack rather than Physical Attack. This makes the abilities particularly powerful when combined with high magical stats or the Arcane Strength support ability learned from the Black Mage. However, using Draw Out carries a risk: each ability requires its corresponding katana to be in the inventory, and there is roughly a 1-in-8 chance of that katana breaking with each use.

Ninja

Ninjas are among the fastest and deadliest fighters in the game, excelling at both close and long-range combat. Their innate Dual Wield ability allows them to equip two weapons simultaneously, making their physical attacks particularly devastating. Although they have low HP and limited equipment options, their naturally high Speed and physical evasion help compensate for their weaker defenses. They can also use the Knight's Equip Armor support ability to access heavier protective gear.

Their Throw abilities provide a powerful ranged option, with damage determined by the Ninja's Speed and the Weapon Power of the thrown item. Axes and flails are particularly effective because of their high Weapon Power, while elemental bombs can exploit enemy weaknesses for additional damage. However, thrown weapons are consumed when used, making inventory management important.

Ninjas can become exceptionally difficult to hit when equipped with cloaks that improve their physical and magical evasion. Their own Reflexes ability doubles these evasion rates, while the Samurai's Shirahadori offers another powerful defensive option against physical attacks. They can also achieve tremendous mobility by combining the Thief's Move +2 (or the Bard's Move +3 for male characters) with Germinas Boots, making them exceptionally agile on the battlefield.

Arithmetician/Calculator

Arithmeticians, known as Calculators in the original PlayStation version, can be among the most powerful magic users in the game. Their Math Skill abilities allow them to cast eligible spells instantly, without consuming MP or requiring casting time. By combining a target condition, such as Level, with a numerical rule, such as Multiple of 5, they can affect every unit on the battlefield that meets the calculation, including both allies and enemies.

Math Skill can use eligible spells learned from White, Black, Time, and Yin-Yang Magic, making it an incredibly versatile ability. However, Summoning Magic cannot be used with Math Skill, and careless calculations can easily harm your own party. Calculators also have poor Speed and Magick Attack, so using Math Skill as a secondary ability on a stronger mage, such as a Black Mage, can produce much better results. Learning a variety of spells and understanding how to target enemies without catching your allies in the effect are essential to mastering this job.

The damage/healing formula for Arithmeticks is as follows:
Magick Attack × PWR × ( Faith / 100 ) × ( Target Faith / 100 )

The success rate of inflicting statuses is as follows:
( Magick Attack + PWR ) × ( Faith / 100 ) × ( Target Faith / 100 )

Note: To use Math Skills, you must first learn at least one condition (CT, Level, Exp, or Height) and one number (Prime, 3, 4, or 5).

Bard (Males only)

Bards are support-oriented characters who use their songs to strengthen and sustain their allies. Their abilities can restore HP and MP, increase Speed, Physical Attack, and Magick Attack, or grant several beneficial status effects. Their songs affect all allies regardless of their position on the battlefield, and repeated performances can gradually build up their attributes, making Bards particularly valuable in prolonged encounters. Although their low HP and limited equipment make them poor frontline fighters, their supportive abilities can provide significant advantages.

One of the Bard's most useful characteristics is that its songs automatically repeat until another action is selected. This makes them particularly effective for gaining additional EXP and JP while continuously supporting the party. They can even combine their songs with the Treasure Hunter movement ability to search for hidden treasures without interrupting their musical performances.

Dancer (Females only)

Dancers use their performances to weaken enemies across the battlefield, with each dance producing a different effect. Their abilities can reduce enemy attributes, inflict random status ailments, drain MP, or even deal direct HP damage. Although their individual effects can be unpredictable, their ability to continuously weaken every enemy on the battlefield makes them particularly useful in prolonged encounters.

Witch Hunt and Mincing Minuet are especially interesting because their effects scale with the Dancer's Physical Attack and Brave attributes, while most other dances rely on chance-based success rates. However, Dancers have poor defensive capabilities and relatively low physical attack, making survivability more important than raw damage in many situations. Samurai's Shirahadori can provide excellent protection against physical attacks while dancing, and the Ninja's Vanish ability offers another unusual defensive strategy by allowing an Invisible Dancer to continue performing without being targeted by enemies.

Mime

Mimes have a unique ability to automatically copy their allies' actions, reproducing physical attacks, spells, and abilities without consuming MP or items. They can mimic most abilities available to generic job classes, but cannot copy exclusive skills like Orlandu's Sword Skills or Mustadio's Snipe. Reaction abilities and actions performed by other Mimes cannot be copied either. Their effectiveness depends heavily on positioning, timing, and the actions performed by their allies, making them one of the most unusual and strategically demanding job classes in the game.

A Mime reproduces an ally's action using the corresponding position relative to its own location and facing. This creates opportunities for indirect attacks, allowing Mimes to strike enemies from different angles or distances when the original attacker cannot reach them. For example, if an ally attacks a tile two spaces forward and one to the left, the Mime will target the corresponding tile from its own position, potentially striking an entirely different enemy. However, abilities with strict elevation requirements can fail when the target is at a different height. Even a 0.5 height difference can prevent Martial Arts abilities like Revive or Doom Fist from connecting.

Mimes have exceptionally strong stats and some of the best level-up growth rates among generic job classes, particularly for HP, Physical Attack, and Magic Attack. Although they cannot equip conventional weapons or armor, their innate abilities, including Brawler, Concentration, and Beastmaster, help make them capable physical fighters. Their exceptional growth rates also make them popular among players interested in maximizing character attributes through repeated level-downs using Degenerator traps.

Mimes are particularly effective when paired with jobs whose abilities don't depend on the user's position, such as Arithmeticians, Summoners, Bards, and Dancers. They can continuously reproduce Math Skill calculations, instantly cast powerful summons, repeat Bardsong to strengthen allies, or perform dances to weaken enemies and gradually drain their HP. Although Bards and Dancers are gender-exclusive jobs, Mimes can copy their abilities regardless of their own gender.

Dark Knight

Dark Knights wield the power of darkness through their Darkness abilities, draining enemies' HP and MP while unleashing devastating sword attacks. Some abilities sacrifice the user's own HP to inflict tremendous damage across an area, making them powerful but potentially risky fighters.

The Dark Knight is a playable job introduced in “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions” for PSP, later released for iOS and Android. In the original PlayStation version, the job was exclusive to Gaffgarion and known as Fell Knight. While his HP- and MP-draining sword techniques resemble those of the Dark Knight, Gaffgarion's versions are slightly more powerful.

*In addition to the job class requirements, a party member must land the killing blow on twenty enemies. They must die. Meaning, their death counter must run out during battle. The enemy must turn into a crystal or treasure chest.

Onion Knight

Onion Knights initially have some of the weakest stats in the game and cannot equip abilities from other job classes. However, their true strength comes from mastering other jobs, somewhat resembling the Freelancer class in Final Fantasy V. The more jobs a character masters, the stronger their Onion Knight becomes. Once fully developed, they have some of the highest stats in the game and can equip virtually every type of weapon and armor, including the exclusive Onion equipment.

To increase their Onion Knight Job Level, a character must master two qualifying jobs for each level gained. Reaching the maximum Job Level 8 requires mastering 14 jobs. Squire, Chemist, Mime, and Dark Knight do not count toward this progression, nor do character-specific special jobs. The Onion Knight is also unable to learn or equip any action, reaction, support, or movement abilities, making its strength entirely dependent on its stats and equipment.

The Onion Knight was introduced in “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions” for PSP, later released for iOS and Android. It is not available in the original PlayStation version or “Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles”.