Jobs

A few (well, many) words of explanation... the R column stands for range. The first number is how many panels the ability reaches (the range value), the second is how big the impact area is (the effect value). An "A" as the first number is Auto, that means it can only target the panel you're standing on. "4Dir" is 4 directions; the ability has an unlimited reach, but only in the cardinal directions.

Some abilities have been marked with * or +s. A * means the ability is one of the job's best, a + means that the ability is automatically used by the job, it's only used by other jobs (for example, the Ninja doesn't need its Two Swords ability to equip two weapons).

Finally, for spells, you may see an "R" and/or a "C" after its MP cost. R means the spell can be reflected, C means it can be caluculated.

Special Jobs

All the special jobs have the same reaction, support, and movement abilities as the Squire job (which they replace). Therefore, I haven't bothered to list them, except for the Arc Knight, Steel Giant, and Byblos Jobs, which have different abilities.

---Squire----------------------------------------------

Used By: Ramza

Weapons: Knife, sword, knight sword, hammer

Armor: Shield, hat, helmet, clothes, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITES: GUTS

Accumulate * A/1 300 Phys. attack + 1

Dash 1/1 75 Weak physical attack

Throw Stone * 4/1 90 Weak ranged physical attack

Heal 1/1 150 Cures Dark, Silence, Poison

Yell * 3/1 200 Speed + 1

Wish * 1/1 0 Heals target, lose 1/2 of amt.

Cheer Up (ch. 2+) 3/1 200 Raises Brave

Scream (ch. 4) * A/1 500 Raises Brave, attack pwr, speed

Ultima 10 20 4/2 N/A Magic attack

JP to master: 2515

Evaluation: Ramza's Squire job is just a basic Squire with

some extra abilities, some of which are good (Yell,

Wish) and some of which aren't (Cheer Up, Ultima).

Note that Ultima can't be bought with JP, it can only

be learned in a certain battle. Despite the extra

abilities, this is still a Squire job. Good early

on, but not later (except against Wiegraf).

---Squire----------------------------------------------

Used By: Delita (ch. 1)

Weapons: Sword, hammer

Armor: Hat, clothes, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: BASIC SKILL

Accumulate * A/1 300 Phys. attack + 1

Dash 1/1 75 Weak physical attack

Throw Stone * 4/1 90 Weak ranged physical attack

Heal 1/1 150 Cures Dark, Silence, Poison

Wish * 1/1 0 Heals target, lose 1/2 of amt.

JP to master: 1615

Evaluation: Again, Delita is just a slightly-improved

Squire. He only has one extra ability, Wish. It's a

good one, though.

---Squire----------------------------------------------

Used By: Algus

Weapons: Sword, axe, hammer

Armor: Hat, clothes

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: BASIC SKILL

Accumulate * A/1 300 Phys. attack + 1

Dash 1/1 75 Weak physical attack

Throw Stone * 4/1 90 Weak ranged physical attack

Heal 1/1 150 Cures Dark, Silence, Poison on self

Head Break N/A 300 Destroys target's helmet

Armor Break N/A 400 Destroys target's armor

JP to master: 2315

Evaluation: Head Break and Armor Break would be cool,

but Algus is in your party for such a short time that

it's unlikely you'll learn either one of them. Instead,

give him some black magic (he starts with enough JP

for the Wizard job to buy Fire, I believe).

---Dark Knight-----------------------------------------

Used By: Gafgarion

Weapons: Sword, knight sword

Armor: Shield, helmet, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITES: DARK SWORD

Night Sword * 3/1 100 Dark damage, drain HP

Dark Sword 3/1 500 Dark damage, drain MP

JP to master: 1600

Evaluation: Gafgarion is cool, but he's only in your

party for two battles (plus the intro battle at the

start of the game). He's good while you have him, but

I can't really comment on him.

---Holy Knight-----------------------------------------

Used By: Agrias, Delita (ch. 2+)

Weapons: Sword, knight sword

Armor: Shield, helmet, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITES: HOLY SWORD

Statis Sword * 2/2 0 Holy damage, causes Stop

Split Punch 3/1 400 Holy damage, causes Death Sntnce

Crush Punch 3/1 500 Holy damage, instant death

Lightning Stab * 3/2 700 Lightning damage, causes Silence

Holy Explosion * 4Dir/5 800 Holy damage, causes Confusion

Wish (Delita only) 1/1 0 Heals target, lose 1/2 of amt.

JP to master: 3400

Evaluation: Agrias is one of the best characters

in the game thanks to her Holy Knight abilities (Delita

is even better, but he only shows up as a Holy

Knight in two battles). All of her abilities are

useful, especially Stasis Sword (early on) and

Holy Explosion. However, later in the game, once

you get better characters like Orlandu and Beowulf,

she will see a lot less use.

---Princess--------------------------------------------

Used By: Ovelia

Weapons: Staff

Armor: Hat, clothes, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: HOLY MAGIC

Mbarrier * 30 25 3/1 0 Gives Reraise, Regen, Protect,

Shell, and Haste status

Deathspell 2 20 25 4/1 0 Cures negative status

JP to master: 1000

Evaluation: Well, Ovelia only fights in one battle, but

she's actually a useful character (you wouldn't expect

her to be, but...). Mbarrier is a great spell; too

bad you can't control her.

---Engineer--------------------------------------------

Used By: Mustadio

Weapons: Knife, gun

Armor: Hat, clothes

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: SNIPE

Leg Aim N/A 200 Causes Don't Move status

Arm Aim * N/A 300 Causes Don't Act status

Seal Evil * N/A 200 Petrifies undead

JP to master: 1700

Evaluation: Until you get Orlandu, Mustadio is the best

character you'll have. His gun has a very long range,

and Arm Aim is cheesy, but effective (it basically

prevents one enemy from doing anything for a couple

turns and works about 75% of the time). Seal Evil

is only useful in certain occassions, but is a lifesaver

then (it not only kills undead, but prevents them

from coming back to life). Once you've learned all

three Sniping abilities, Mustadio makes a good Chemist,

as he doesn't need a seperate ability to keep his

gun (without the gun, he can only snipe 1 square).

---Astrologist----------------------------------------

Used by: Olan

Weapons: Dictionary

Armor: Hat, clothes

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: STARRY HEAVEN

Galaxy Stop ***** 20 All 0 Stop, Don't Move, Don't Act

Accumulate A/1 300 Phys. attack + 1

Dash 1/1 75 Weak physical attack

Throw Stone 4/1 90 Weak ranged physical attack

Heal 1/1 150 Cures Dark, Silence, Poison

JP to master: 1815

Evaluation: Olan shows up in one battle, and you can't

control him, but he nevertheless is ludicrously powerful,

thanks to Galaxy Stop, which will paralyze most of the

enemies on the board every time he uses it (I went a

little overboard on its star rating). It doesn't cost

MP or anything, and results in the easiest battle in

the whole game.

---Cleric---------------------------------------------

Used By: Alma

Weapons: Staff

Armor: Hat, clothes, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: HOLY MAGIC

Mbarrier * 30 25 3/1 0 Causes Reraise, Regen, Protect,

Shell, and Haste status

Deathspell 2 20 25 4/1 0 Cures negative status

Wish 1/1 ? Heals target, lose 1/2 of amt.

Ultima 10 20 4/2 N/A Magic attack

JP to master: 1000

Evaluation: Alma is almost identical to Ovelia, except

that she has Wish. Again, Mbarrier is an effective

spell, but you can't control her. I really thought

she would join, too. (BTW, de-equip Alma of her all

stuff before she leaves, you can't get it elsewhere).

When she rejoins during the final battle, it is possible

for her to learn Ultima from Altima casting it on her,

although unlikely.

---Heaven Knight---------------------------------------

Used By: Rafa

Weapons: Staff, stick

Armor: Hat, clothes, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: TRUTH

Heaven Thunder * 34 4/2 100 Random lightning damage

Asura 25 4/2 200 Random fire damage

Diamond Sword (ch.4) 20 4/2 300 Random wind damage

Hydragon Pit (ch.4) 17 4/2 400 Random water damage

Space Storage (ch.4)*20 4/2 500 Random damage, status problems

Sky Demon (ch.4) 15 4/2 600 Random earth damage

JP to master: 3100

Evaluation: Rafa has one purpose and one purpose only.

That purpose? The Deep Dungeon. With her low Brave

level, she makes the perfect item-finder, especially

when equipped with Germinas Boots. She also makes a

decent magic-user thanks to her high Faith. Your best

bet with her is to change jobs right away, as her Truth

abilities really suck. Don't bother with them.

---Hell Knight-----------------------------------------

Used By: Malak

Weapons: Rod, stick

Armor: Hat, clothes, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: UN-TRUTH

Heaven Bltback * 34 4/2 100 Random lightning damage

Asura Back 25 4/2 200 Random fire damage

Dia Swrd Back 20 4/2 300 Random wind damage

Dragn Pit Back 17 4/2 400 Random water damage

Space Str Back * 20 4/2 500 Random damage, status problems

Sky Demon Back 15 4/2 600 Random earth damage

JP to master: 3100

Evaluation: Take this character. Please. Not only

is Malak the worst character in FF Tactics, he's the

absolute worst character in any game I've ever played.

He's like Rafa, but much worse. His Un-Truth doesn't

ignore Faith like Rafa's Truth does, he has a higher

Brave level (making him less useful in the Deep Dungeon),

and he's just completely incompetent. Dismiss Malak

as soon as he joins your party. Even a blank spot in

your roster can fight better.

---Holy Swordsman--------------------------------------

Used Quite Effectively By: Orlandu

Weapons: Sword, knight sword, katana, ninja sword

Armor: Shield, hat, helmet, clothes, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: ALL SWORDSKILL

Statis Sword 2/2 0 Holy damage, causes Stop

Split Punch 3/1 400 Holy damage, causes Death Sntnce

Crush Punch * 3/1 500 Holy damage, instant death

Lightning Stab * 3/1 700 Lightning damage, causes Silence

Holy Explosion * 4dir/5 800 Holy damage, causes Confusion

Shellbust Stab 3/1 200 Destroys armor

Blastar Punch 3/1 400 Destroys helmet

Hellcry Punch 3/1 500 Destroys weapon

Icewolf Bite 3/1 800 Destroys accessory

Night Sword * 3/1 0 Dark damage, drain HP

Dark Sword 3/1 500 Dark damage, drain MP

JP to master: 5800

Evaluation: From Malak to.... ORLANDU! Those are the

exact opposites of the usefulness spectrum. Orlandu is

by far the most unbalancing character I've seen in any

game. He can kill almost any regular enemy in a single

blow (healing himself in the process), and do severe

damage to bosses. You could almost beat the entire

game with just him. People complained about Knights of the

Round being too powerful, but Thunder God Cid could beat

them all with one hand tied behind his back -- and he must

have, because he has their sword. Excalibur just further

adds to Cid's power by giving him an automatic Haste

and also hitting really hard. The only reason you would

ever not want to use Orlandu is if you were to trying to

roll up points for your other characters (but who needs

other characters?) or if you wanted to make the game

harder.

---Divine Knight---------------------------------------

Used By: Meliadoul

Weapons: Sword, knight sword, crossbow, spear

Armor: Shield, helmet, clothes, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: MIGHTY SWORD

Shellbust Stab * 3/1 200 Destroys armor

Blastar Punch 3/1 400 Destroys helmet

Hellcry Punch * 3/1 500 Destroys weapon

Icewolf Bite 3/1 800 Destroys accessory

JP to master: 2900

Evaluation: Well, Meliadoul's no Orlandu, but she's not

bad. Her sword skills (which Orlandu also has) are cool

as they break the enemy's equipment and never miss, but

they don't work on monsters, which severely hampers her

usefulness. Thus, she is only useful in certain

occasions. Meliadoul would also make a pretty good

magic-user, thanks to her high Faith.

---Arc Knight------------------------------------------

Used By: Zalbag

Weapons: Sword, knight sword

Armor: Shield, helmet, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: DESTROY SWORD

Magic Ruin 20 34 4/2 0 Lowers target's MP

Speed Ruin 20 34 4/2 0 Lowers target's speed

Power Ruin 20 34 4/2 0 Lowers phys. attack

Mind Ruin 20 34 4/2 0 Lowers magic attack

COUNTER ABILITIES

Counter 300 Attack back when attacked

Counter Tackle 180 Use Dash when attacked

SUPPORT ABILITIES

Concentrate 400 Can't miss

Maintenance 250 Equipment can't be broken

Short Charge 800 Charge time speeded

MOVEMENT ABILITIES

Move+1 200 Movement range + 1

JP to master: 2130

Evaluation: Zalbag doesn't really do much. He's only in

one battle, and it's a very short battle (you can win it

in one or two rounds). In fact, I only saw him do one

thing: attack one enemy with his sword. He has some

cool abilities, but you'll never see them.

---Temple Knight---------------------------------------

Used By: Beowulf

Weapons: Knife, sword, knight sword

Armor: Shield, helmet, armor, robe

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: MAGIC SWORD

Blind 6 4/1 50 Causes Darkness

Aspel 2 4/1 0 Absorbs enemy MP

Drain 12 4/1 180 Absorbs enemy HP

Faith 10 4/1 200 Causes Faith condition

Innocent 10 4/1 200 Causes Innocent condition

Zombie 14 4/1 150 Causes Undead condition

Silence 16 4/1 90 Causes Silence

Berserk 16 4/1 200 Causes Berserk

Chicken * 12 4/1 500 Lowers enemy Brave

Confuse 14 4/1 200 Causes Confusion

Despair 20 4/1 300 Cancels positive status

Don't Act 14 4/1 50 Causes Don't Act status

Sleep 20 4/1 170 Causes Sleep

Break * 24 4/1 300 Causes Petrify

Shock! * 20 8/1 600 Less HP = more damage

JP to master: 4190

Evaluation: One word for you. CHICKEN!!!!! Beowulf is

basically an Oracle on steroids -- he has similar

abilities, but they don't have to charge. Also, Beowulf

is a good fighter (especially with an Excalibur) with

a fair amount of HP. Those attributes are totally

irrelevant, however, when faced with the mighty power of

Chicken. Chicken will cause an enemy to lose FIFTY

BRAVE and works 70%-100% of the time! And it only costs

12 MP! Furthermore, if you reduce an enemy's Brave

below 10, they'll turn into a chicken and run into a

corner, regaining 1 Brave each turn, until they get back

up to 10 Brave. This ability is essential in the Deep

Dungeon, and extremely useful everywhere else. Top

that off with Break (petrifies enemies; works most of

the time!) and Shock (a potentially very strong spell

and it has a great range) and you have the second-best

character in the game (after T.G. Cid). Never

underestimate the power of Beowulf.

---Steel Giant-----------------------------------------

Used By: Worker 8

Weapons: none

Armor: none

Worker 8 has the inherent Any Ground and Any Weather

abilities and cannot enter water.

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILIIES: WORK

Destroy 1/1 0 Physical attack

Compress 1/1 0 Instant death attack

Dispose * 8/1 0 Physical attack

Crush 1/1 0 Physical attack

REACTION ABILITIES

Counter Automatically eqppd. Counter-attack when attacked

SUPPORT ABILITIES

Defense UP Automatically eqppd. Lowers phys. attack damage

MOVEMENT ABILITIES

none

JP to master: 0

Evaluation: I don't know why nobody likes Worker 8; I

think he's great. Sure, he can't change jobs, and his

abilities do consume some of his HP, but he's still

really powerful. His Dispose attack has a range of 8

panels. He also has NO Faith (as he is a robot), which

means that he is nearly impervious to magic. His physical

attack is very strong as well. He's not Orlandu, but he

certainly deserves a place on your team.

---Holy Dragon------------------------------------------

Used By: Reis

Weapons: none

Armor: none

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILIIES: BREATH

Ice Bracelet 2/1 0 Ice attack

Fire Bracelet 2/1 0 Fire attack

Thndr Brcelet 2/1 0 Thunder attack

REACTION ABILITIES

none

SUPPORT ABILITIES

none

MOVEMENT ABILITIES

none

JP to master: 0

Evaluation: I can't really evaluate this job very

well as Reis is not a dragon for very long. Her three

breath attacks are powerful and she has a lot of HP.

In some ways, she's actually more useful as a dragon.

---Dragoner--------------------------------------------

Used By: Reis (after transformation)

Weapons: none

Armor: Ribbon

The Dragoner attacks twice and has inherent Train

and Monster Skill abilities.

Note: Reis *can* equip Bags, not because of her jobs, but

just because she's a woman. You can stop e-mailing me

now.

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: DRAGON

Ice Bracelet * 2/1 0 Ice attack

Fire Bracelet * 2/1 0 Fire attack

Thndr Brcelet * 2/1 0 Thunder attack

Dragon Tame * 2/1 300 Dragon joins party

Dragon Care 2/1 300 Heals + cures dragon

Dragon PowerUp 2/1 400 Raises dragon's stats

Dragon LevelUp 2/1 400 Raises dragon's CT

Holy Bracelet 4/3 900 Random holy damage

JP to master: 2300

Evaluation: Reis keeps her breath attacks in her human

form, which are still her best attacks. The four

Dragon abilities only affect dragons, and thus have a

limited use. One trick is to use Dragon Tame to recruit

dragons to help you in one battle (and also save you

from fighting them), but don't add them to your party

at the end of the battle. Reis can attack twice (as if

she were a Ninja), and her attack can invite enemies

(she has Train). Reis is really slow, however, and has

a slow move range, so she almost never gets to hit.

She's generally worthless and second only to Malak as

the crummiest character. If you do want to use her,

change her to another job that can use equipment

and set her Dragon abilities as a secondary ability.

---Soldier---------------------------------------------

Used By: Cloud

Weapons: Sword

Armor: Hat, ribbon, clothes

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: LIMIT

Braver 34 2/1 150 Physical attack

Cross-slash * 25 2/2 200 Magic attack

Blade Beam * 20 2/1 250 Less HP = more damage

Climhazzard 15 2/1 450 Target: less HP = more damage

Meteorain 10 3/3 560 Magic attack

Finish Touch * 20 3/2 670 Causes Dead, Petrify, Stop

Omnislash 7 3/3 900 Magic attack

Cherry Blossom 5 3/3 1200 Magic attack

JP to master: 4380

Evaluation: For being a hidden character, Cloud

could be better. His Limit Breaks take forever

to charge, and they can only target panels, so the

enemy will just move away. Give him the Time

Mage's Short Charge ability to make up for this.

Even with that, he himself is slow, and his attack

is weak (since he has to equip the cruddy Materia

Blade in order to use his limit breaks). Finish

Touch is very powerful, though -- it petrifies or

kills enemies, and can hit a whole group. Cloud

starts at level 1, which means that you'll have to

spend a lot of time bringing him up to snuff.

Personally, I don't think it's worth the trouble,

but other people seem to like him.

---Byblos----------------------------------------------

Used By: the Byblos (name varies)

Weapons: none

Armor: none

Byblos ignores height and cannot enter water. It also

poaches any monster it kills.

MP SPD R JP EFFECT

----------------------------------

ACTION ABILITIES: BYBLOS

Energy 4/1 0 Heals by 2x Byblos's HP

Parasite 4/1 0 Causes many status problems

Shock 5/1 0 Less HP = more damage

Difference 5/1 0 Changes target's MP to

the amount of damage dealt

to enemies

REACTION ABILITIES

Counter Automatically eqppd. Counter-attack when attacked

SUPPORT ABILITIES

none

MOVEMENT ABILITIES

none

JP to master: 0

Evaluation: Hmmm... the Byblos isn't as good as I thought

it would be. It only has a few attacks. They're okay,

but they have a fairly short range and only hit one guy.

Byblos can't change jobs, either, so you're stuck with

four abilties. Worker 8 does good things with four

abilities but Byblos doesn't. Maybe I'm just missing

something.