Final Fantasy 1 Best Team

[Jeymz]

Is this the best team of Final Fantasy 1

Fighter
Thief
Red Mage
White Mage

Rate this team if you disagree

[theundeadhero]

Replace the thief with a black belt and you have it. Thiefs are a worthless class in this game. I never run unless it's against sorcerers in the Ice Cave and by the time they get black magic the magic is weak and pointless.

[Jeymz]

I think the reason thief is good is because you can flee more often and you can use black magic like temper and haste which are helpful. I know that Blackbelts deals more damage overall but the fleeing power is just way too good.

Fighter
Thief
Red Mage
White Mage

vs

Fighter
Blackbelts
Red Mage
White Mage

Which do you think is better or do you think there is a better one?

[VeloZer0]

Thieves don't flee one iota better than any other class. They may have changed it for DoS, but in the classic FF they were completely useless. Even the Black Magic they get a Red Mage can cast.

My personal favorite:
Fighter - Fighter - Red Mage - White Mage

I don't include a Black Mage because I found them to be woefully underpowered in the second half of the game. The most useful spells by far are Fire2 and Temper, both of which a Red Mage can cast for just as good of an effect. I always hear about how much damage Black Belts do, but playing up till the earth crystal I was still having him drag my party down. Even with a little less attack power in the end the having an extra tank is well worth it.

[Jeymz]

If there are two Fighters and Red Mage wouldnt ALL the good weapons be taken with just fighter and red mage? There aren't enough good weapons for these guys right??

Rate each of these teams:

1.)
Fighter
Thief
Red Mage
White Mage

2.)
Fighter
Black Belt
Red Mage
White Mage

3.)
Fighter
Fighter
Red Mage
White Mage

[VeloZer0]

Masamune to one Knight, Excalibur to the other and Sun Sword to the Red Wizard.

Even if you are running with only one Fighter, you then have the choice of Excallibur/Knight - Masamune/RW or Masamune/Knight - Sun Sword/RW. Either way one of the two is performing sub optimally.

#1 - F|F|RM|WM, #2 - F|Bb|RM|WM and F|T|RM|WM a far distant #3. From what I read about the game having a Black Belt instead of a second fighter sounds like it should be better, but I had a poor experience with it. In any case the two parties are very close.

[Jeymz]

If you have Fighter, Fighter, Red Mage and White Mage can you still able to flee with high percentage?

I have a question about Haste and Temper. Does it run out when it is cast? Because I like both spells and having just one Red Mage wouldn't I have to keep casting them?

[Hot Shot]

Fighter
Black Belt
Red Mage
White Mage

Best team. 'Nuff said.

[Wolf Kanno]

#1 - F|F|RM|WM, #2 - F|Bb|RM|WM and F|T|RM|WM a far distant #3. From what I read about the game having a Black Belt instead of a second fighter sounds like it should be better, but I had a poor experience with it. In any case the two parties are very close.

You remembered to keep them unequipped right? Cause frankly BB's have always done just as much damage as Fighter/Knights in my games. Yes the ultimate weapons make Knights pull ahead but I find BB's make the overall journey less tedious and they are still infinitely better than thieves.

I usually like having a BB simply cause they are not only powerful, but because they are low maintenance. Unlike a Fighter who is going to require you to grind at every location to get enough gil to properly upgrade him, and then you have to factor in mages in your party as well, who need spell purchases, I like having one character who needs one piece of equipment and goes on their way. The fact he's the second physically strongest class is a plus as well. ;)

[Jeymz]

Man there is so many great teams it is so hard to choose which is the BEST one :(

who does more damage a Fighter or Black belt

If you need to add something, just use the little edit button on the bottom of your post. No need to double post. ~WK

[VeloZer0]

You remembered to keep them unequipped right?
What do you take me for :p

[Wolf Kanno]

You never know. I run into tons of people who've played the game for years and not know that. Still, I've never had a BB under-perform from a Fighter beyond the very last stretch (literally the last dungeon) of the game so you can see where I'm skeptical. :p

[Jeymz]

So what is your team anyways?

[Wolf Kanno]

Fighter
Black Belt
Black Mage
White Mage

Yes, I know that the Red Mage is superior to the Black Mage
but I just love the sprite. :love:

[VeloZer0]

Still, I've never had a BB under-perform from a Fighter beyond the very last stretch (literally the last dungeon) of the game so you can see where I'm skeptical. :p
So I have heard from many sources. I think I just got a bad one.
To be fair, I only played to the earth crystal before giving up.

[Jeymz]

So is this team good

Fighter
BlackBelt
Red Mage
White Mage

[Wolf Kanno]

Still, I've never had a BB under-perform from a Fighter beyond the very last stretch (literally the last dungeon) of the game so you can see where I'm skeptical. :p
So I have heard from many sources. I think I just got a bad one.
To be fair, I only played to the earth crystal before giving up.

You should give them more love. By the Water Crystal, my BB was out-damaging my Knight but around the Wind Crystal they start evening out and the then the knight overtakes him. Most people don't like BB cause they either don't know about the Bare-handed element, or they feel they are too boring cause you really don't have to do anything with them.


So is this team good

Fighter
BlackBelt
Red Mage
White Mage

That's a pretty good party, gives you a nice balance of offense and defense as well as two healers and buffers. As I mentioned, keep the BB unarmed, don't ever give him weapons and about level 10 and onward he'll start doing as much damage as the knight. This will free up your money to purchase the Knight equips and mage spells with a bit less grinding.

[Jeymz]

when is the best level to promote my character?

[theundeadhero]

As soon as possible.

[Jeymz]

I mean like is it better to promote them in lower levels??? Maybe it will increase the stats a bit right???

[theundeadhero]

That's what I mean too. The lowest level you can manage to get the crown the better.

[aidenn]

I used to love BB; they do the most damage but they do die rather quickly (lower HP than Ft, and much lower [and buggy] defense).

I think the easiest run I had was Ft/Ft/WM/WM. The Fighters can absorb damage like none-other and the WM can keep them alive. The lack of Fir2/Lit2 early on is a bit painful, and the lack of Fast or a BB does slow down the damage, but you get items that cast those later on.

Replacing a WM with a RM gives you access to black magic and more melee damage, so that's an option too. RM are money hogs early on though, so YMMV

My favorite looking character is the BM, but they become worthless towards the end of the game as anything but machines for buffing your melee characters. Sure Nuke is a great spell, but unless you overlevel you get to cast it once or twice in the final dungeon, which is kind of underwhelming.

All the hating on BB aside, 4BB is the most straightforward party. Just don't get the rat-tail, as BB get worse after turning into masters and don't forget to look at the status screen after each level up (see black-belt armor bug). You will use more heal potions than other classes, but you can afford them since they are so cheap to equip (Masking-tape + A button is your friend).

If you want to get a good feel for each classes strengths and weaknesses, play through with all 4 of that class. It's not obvious until you try it, but 4WM is *much* easier than 4BM, and 4RM is great until you get about 3 orbs lit at which point it becomes mediocre.

[VeloZer0]

Replacing a WM with a RM gives you access to black magic and more melee damage, so that's an option too. RM are money hogs early on though, so YMMV

The extra magic and physical attacks of the RM are nice, but what I found really makes them shine is the fact they can cast Haste. Hasting two fighters for boss fights increases your damage output immensely, more than anything a single character would be doing.

[aidenn]

The extra magic and physical attacks of the RM are nice, but what I found really makes them shine is the fact they can cast Haste. Hasting two fighters for boss fights increases your damage output immensely, more than anything a single character would be doing.[/QUOTE]
Very true, I mentioned the lack of Fast (as haste called in the NES version) is a big downside to no black magic. However, when you have 2 fighters, there are only a few battles where fast is really useful (though most of them are in the temple at the end). I used to list Lif2 as an asset for WM over RM, but now I typically beat the game at too low a level for level 9 spells to make a difference, so RM may be better. I am biased against RM since they are so expensive early on.

[Daventhalas]

I always rolled through the game at low levels with the Ftx2, RW and WW combo. And I never run from a battle, even if it does mean that I'll be slain in one hit.

[theundeadhero]

Fast does help the fighters get more hits which equals more damage, but to be perfectly honest you're going to kill the bosses within three rounds anyway without haste so it doesn't help all that much anyway.

[the_best_noob]

My first(and still my easiest to beat the game with) is Fighter-Fighter-Black and White mage. Ive played most of them. My favorite.

[Jowy]

playing again on the iOS version and using:

Fighter
Thief
Black Belt
White Mage

And I'm just steamrolling everything...won't be able to even touch the bonus bosses without Temper/Haste stacking though.

[*Laurelindo*]

This is an interesting combo:

Fighter
Fighter
Fighter
Red Mage

I haven't tried it myself before, but I'm fairly sure it would make the game really easy.

[Sylvie]

you would be grinding for such a long amount of time to get money for equipment and whatever spells you need

[theundeadhero]

I've done it and it was fairly easy. I enjoyed it.

[ljkkjlcm9]

Hands down easiest playthrough is
fighter - uses Masamune
fighter - uses Xcalibur
red mage - uses Sun Sword
red mage - uses Defense

Expensive, but ridiculously easy. Even moderately equipped fighters and red mages will do better than anyone else early on. And late in the game you have the money, plus the best weapons/armor aren't bought. Attack Magic is near worthless in the NES version, unless you use the magic casting items. This gives you 4 characters with healing magic, 4 heavy physical attackers, and 2 with attack magic (that you should never use once you get the items that cast spells).
Mage Staff does Fire 2
Thor's Hammer does Lit 2
Zeus Gauntlet does Lit 2 as well
Black Shirt does Ice 2
Light Axe does Harm 2
White Shirt does Invs 2 (for defense!)
Heal Staff/Helm for Heal

THE JACKEL

[Spooniest]

Ok, I have a story to tell you guys. When I read this thread, it made me think

Fighter
Red Mage
White Mage
Black Mage

But it took me a minute to remember why. Then I realized I had seen a piece of artwork in an old issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly depicting these four characters together, but I couldn't remember which issue it had been in. Google image searches were turning up mostly pictures of Lightning and whoever the hell the guy on the cover of FF14 is, or FF7 fan art.

So I stumbled on some magazine scans...I won't say where...and after hours of downloading and rifling through them, not knowing if the particular magazine issue I was looking for was even on the site I was at, I found...

36670
This.

It turned out to be the April 1994 issue, so this would have been while Final Fantasy 6 was in the localization process, unless I'm mistaken. Indeed, the accompanying news story mentions that the journalist in question was at a Square expo of some sort where FF6 was on display.

Anyway, tl;dr version is, I saw this picture in EGM when I was a kid, and that's been my main party ever since. Not because it makes the game easier or harder, necessarily, just because of this picture. Is that weird?

[Sylvie]

It's always been my party too, but I don't recall seeing it in EGM. When I was a kid I was looking at 1997 PSM magazines that mainly covered Final Fantasy VII, and it was the best thing ever, and I wish I were that young again.

[Quindiana Jones]

I never managed to complete this game, as I just ran out of motivation. I hated the Red Mages. My hatred of the Red Mage in my party was probably a major factor into why I got bored of the game. I just don't get why people like that bastard. xD

[Citizen Bleys]

You remembered to keep them unequipped right?
What do you take me for :p

I played for years using nunchucks on black belts. In my defence, I was a child at the time :(

[Mercen-X]

I've never tried to construct a best team. I just make sure I have a Red Mage and a Thief who can become a Ninja because I like them the best. I don't prefer to have a White Mage because until they get Holy, they're useless. I don't like really like Monks because I've already got a Warrior and Ninja, but the last time I played, I had a team of Fighter/Warrior, Thief/Ninja, Red Mage/Red Wizard, Monk/Master.

[Raistlin]

The best team for me is Fighter/Fighter/White Mage/Black Mage. Pretty much any F/?/WM/BM team will work, but Fighters are the beasts in the front row. Thieves are useless, and black belts have relatively poor defense for the front row. I also like the WM/BM combination because I like magic, and it adds some variety.

[fantasy winner]

fighter
theif
b belt
r mage
the party has every skill attack runing away w magic b magic defence

[Chzn8r]

It's really hard to bet against:

Fighter
Black Belt
Red Mage
White mage

Some of this has been said before, but: the party is balanced, has high damage output early and late in the game, has manageable expenses early, can make for workable arrangements at different stages of the game (depending on your equipment, HP, who you want to put in front or back etc), and in general is one of the most fun. You have a place to land for most of the game's best equipment barring the two Katanas (Sasukes) and some leftover armor, and should have no trouble dispatching of bosses at any point.

[Jeymz]

Which is better:

Fighter, Red Mage , white Mage, black Mage

Or

Fighter, black belt, white Mage, black mage

[Roogle]

I would say that the team consisting of Fighter, Black Belt, White Mage, and Black Mage would be better as the productivity of the Red Mage class wanes as you near completion of the game.

[Jeymz]

I would say that the team consisting of Fighter, Black Belt, White Mage, and Black Mage would be better as the productivity of the Red Mage class wanes as you near completion of the game.

which would be better then:

fighter, black belt, white mage and black mage

or

fighter, black belt, red mage and black mage

or

fighter, black belt, white mage, red mage

or

fighter, black belt, red mage, red mage

[Raistlin]

FI/RM/WM/BM would probably be technically better, but very expensive (if you're willing to spend money, why not go with FI/FI/WM/BM?). FI/BB would be a little easier on the wallet, even if BBs suck.

As to your second post, I tend to prefer the WM/BM combo, because I like the balance and having the full array of magic at my disposal. There's others who don't like BMs, but they are terrible people and you should not listen to them.

[Jeymz]

FI/RM/WM/BM would probably be technically better, but very expensive (if you're willing to spend money, why not go with FI/FI/WM/BM?). FI/BB would be a little easier on the wallet, even if BBs suck.

As to your second post, I tend to prefer the WM/BM combo, because I like the balance and having the full array of magic at my disposal. There's others who don't like BMs, but they are terrible people and you should not listen to them.

why does BB suck? i mean i thought they deal more damage than any other character in the game.

from these three which the BEST

FI,RM,WM,BM

or

FI,BB,WM,BM

or

FI,FI,WM,BM

[Laddy]

The first or third.

[Heath]

I can see why people like F/F/RM/WM but I find I miss the Black Mage. I can see why it's technically a superior party, but I find I have more fun with F/RM/BM/WM. I think 8-Bit Theatre conditioned me to feel like I was committing some form of betrayal if I didn't use a BM.

The most pimpin' (and therefore best) team, however, is obviously RM/RM/RM/RM.

[Raistlin]

I consider FI/FI/WM/BM to be the best overall party. FI/BB/WM/BM is substantially cheaper once the BB uses his fists, as long as you're content hauling the BB's carcass around when he starts dying all the time in the second position. FI/RM/WM/BM will cost even more than FI/FI with not much benefit, considering you'll be equipping the RM with both attack gear and magic -- especially when you'll just be attacking normally with the RM most of the time.

EDIT: Actually, I should have clarified what version I am talking about. My opinions is exclusively for the NES version of FFI. In later versions, FI/TH/WM/BM may strike a better balance, but the Thief is useless in the original.

[VeloZer0]

..., but the Thief is useless in the original.
So is the Black Mage, but that doesn't seem to be deterring you.

[Necronopticous]

My vote goes to:


Black Mage
N/A
N/A
N/A


http://www.necronopticous.com/upload/ff_blm_07.gif

http://www.necronopticous.com/upload/ff_blm_13.gif

[black orb]

My vote goes to:


Black Mage
N/A
N/A
N/A


http://www.necronopticous.com/upload/ff_blm_07.gif

http://www.necronopticous.com/upload/ff_blm_13.gif
>>> :eek:..:luca:

[Jeymz]

I consider FI/FI/WM/BM to be the best overall party. FI/BB/WM/BM is substantially cheaper once the BB uses his fists, as long as you're content hauling the BB's carcass around when he starts dying all the time in the second position. FI/RM/WM/BM will cost even more than FI/FI with not much benefit, considering you'll be equipping the RM with both attack gear and magic -- especially when you'll just be attacking normally with the RM most of the time.

EDIT: Actually, I should have clarified what version I am talking about. My opinions is exclusively for the NES version of FFI. In later versions, FI/TH/WM/BM may strike a better balance, but the Thief is useless in the original.

i am currently playing final fantasy dawn of soul for GBA. i was wondering which team is the best for LLCC (low leve class change) and still the best team out there in end game

[ignoman]

This is an interesting combo:

Fighter
Fighter
Fighter
Red Mage

I haven't tried it myself before, but I'm fairly sure it would make the game really easy.

This is probably the easiest party too, in my opinion. Even with most of the Fighters using hand-me-down gear, you'll be taking so little damage (even with cheap equipment) that you can afford to delay the upgrades 'til you have more money.

The only reason to take a Thief is if you want to equip the Katana... which pretty much only makes them an option as a 4th melee character if you're building a beatdown party.

Black Belt is ok. I don't feel strongly about them. They are cheap, but cost time in protection and healing.

Mages are only occasionally useful until you start getting crystals... then they are mostly just for looks, FAST, WARP and EXIT. They're also just as expensive as Fighters, or worse.

In short, the more fighters the better.

If I had to build the best party out of 4 different classes, I'd pick
Fighter <-- best class by far
Black Belt <-- best alternative to Fighter
Red Mage/White Mage <-- casts EXIT/FAST
Thief <-- second best alternative to Fighter, casts FAST

[Roogle]

from these three which the BEST

FI,RM,WM,BM

or

FI,BB,WM,BM

or

FI,FI,WM,BM

I prefer the second or the third teams. I really find the Red Mage to be mediocre as you get later into the game.

[Jeymz]

best team for LLCC (low level class change) in final fantasy dawn of souls GBA

[dissident]

Fighter/Fighter/Fighter/Red Mage

or

Fighter/Fighter/Red Mage/Red Mage


Offensive magic is really not required with a properly prepared and equipped party, which includes using the peninsula of power to level up. Equipment is no big deal and neither is cash after leveling up here.

Red Mages because they can heal, use exit (red wizards) , and use haste/Fast magic and TMPR magic to buff fighters during boss fights. They also have decent enough defense and can use decent equipment and have decent attack.

White mages can't cast haste... for the way I play I don't need the top tier white magic to save my butt, because I'm not going to die anyways. I'm going to cast FAST and TMPR on my fighters and they will make short work of any boss.

Black mages.. interesting but largely useless for what a majority of the game is spent doing, fighting battles in the relatively high random encounter rates.


You could also go Fighter/Fighter/Black Belt/Red Mage to make things less boring if you wanted... black belts are very useful for grinding mid-game when properly levelled... their damage output is fairly high.

Fighter/Fighter/Fighter/White Mage would also be easy, but without access to TMPR and FAST the boss battles would actually be harder than a 2 fighter, 2 Red Mage setup. Did I mention the top level healing of white wizards is over-rated and not really needed, and you only get a few casts anyways? Stick with 2 red mages.. more usefulness, more damage, more carnage, more fun. The best of black and white magic together with decent attack and dual buffing.

[VeloZer0]

^ I like you. :D

[dissident]

I changed my mind a bit.. I now believe the best party if you are going to level your party to level 30ish or higher and power level early using the peninsula of power for pure fun factor is the following

Fighter
Fighter
Black Belt
White Mage

The black belt just pummels through bosses though it definitely takes more damage from area of effect spells in the final dungeon. I found the white mage to be more useful than I had originally thought.. it's good insurance.. just have it casting with the heal wand.

Alternately, I haven't tried this setup yet but I'd imagine

Fighter
Fighter
Thief
White Mage

would also work, and give you the FAST/HASTE spell (after class change) along with thieves having a better defense than Monks. It doesn't matter how early you get the class change with this one... the earlier the better. And finally there's

Fighter
Fighter
Fighter
White Mage

Boring, but effective. Won't beat chaos as quickly as having a high level black belt or thief that can cast FAST in the party though.

All these are variations on a theme... in this game a black mage just doesn't really fit into my builds because of the random encounter rate combined with the low number of spell charges. All these would work, as would the red mage setup in the above post... but I found just taking the white mage and having it use the heal wand constantly just works better given the random encounter rates... and the high level healing spells aren't so underrated either. :)

It's worth noting that I've been playing the Origins version for PS, not the NES version...

[Rac23heal]

I know that Blackbelts deals more damage overall but the fleeing pohttp://meron.gcapc.com/6.jpghttp://meron.gcapc.com/7.jpghttp://meron.gcapc.com/8.jpghttp://meron.gcapc.com/9.jpg

wer is just way too good.

[Jeymz]

what do you guys think of this team

Fighter, RM, BB, WM

for LLCC ( low level Class Change) class change around level 10-11

is this good?

[theundeadhero]

I think you'll find it a bit weak.
If you're on the NES version magic will be very limited at low levels.
It's an expensive party to equip. Getting gold means gaining levels at the same time.

[Jeymz]

I think you'll find it a bit weak.
If you're on the NES version magic will be very limited at low levels.
It's an expensive party to equip. Getting gold means gaining levels at the same time.

i am playing on GBA dawn of souls....is it still weak?

[Gzussaves]

so i see all these normal teams.. my favorite team would have to be
1. Fighter
2. Fighter
3. Fighter
4. Fighter

Aww yea 4 warriors of light anyone?

[theundeadhero]

Until class change, yeah. After class change it won't be because mana was so drastically different.
Actually, I just saw that you had a black belt and not a black mage. You'll be good to go with that party.

[Bloodnight]

Fighter
Red Mage
Black Mage
White Mage

:p

[Dragonfire]

i've always liked:

Fighter
Fighter
White Mage
Black Mage

[Jeymz]

What about this team?

Figther, RM, RM, BB

is it also good for Low Level Class Change?

[theundeadhero]

Not bad, I've done it before.

[Neiryu]

I go for Fighter, Black Belt, Black Mage, White Mage. I like to upgrade them right away though so Kary gets beaten way late every time I play through.

[theundeadhero]

Me too. After Lich I usually:

Get my canoe
Get the tail
Class change
Waterfall
Upper Water Shrine
Mirage Tower
Lower Water Shrine
Sky Tower
Gurgu Volcano
Temple of Fiends

I like having Thor's Hammer for the Lower Water Shrine.

[Neiryu]

I like having Thor's Hammer for the Lower Water Shrine.

After grinding for a little bit and getting the best gear possible, skipping to the Mirage Tower I think is the best part of the game because you create the base level for your party and can either set yourself up for a cake walk or for fight harder then Chaos.

[Dragonfire]

I do the same. Kary is always the last Fiend I kill. I'll only grind at the Peninsula of Power early on for a couple levels so I can have a decent amount of xxx2 spells. Then it's off to get the Floater, Rat Tail, and the Waterfall loot. After that I go after Kraken, Tiamat then Kary (after getting Xcalibur).

[Sefie1999AD]

I think the best party consists of

Fighter
Fighter/Black Belt/Thief
White Mage
Red Mage

This depends on your playing style, though. Offensive magic is so limited, at least on NES, WSC and PSX versions, that I prefer having a Red Mage instead of a Black Mage. You'll still get the basic Fire/Lit/Ice 2 for mobs, Fast/Haste for buffing physical attackers, some extra healing and an additional physical fighter.

In a Fi/?/Wm/Rm party, the [?] part is a tough choice. Another Fighter would provide more attack power and armor, but having two characters of the same class is arguably rather uninteresting. :p Black Belt is a very good choice. You'll get great attack power, and his low defence shouldn't matter since you can make Red Mage your 2nd character. When you keep Black Belt as your 3rd character, he should stay alive pretty well. Thief is another good choice if you want to sacrifice some offensive power for better survivability. Again, Thief is quite weak during the early game, but that's why you keep Red Mage as the 2nd character in your formation. A nice part of this team is that the characters make up for each other's weaknesses: Red Mage/Wizard is good during the early game but gets less powerful during the late game, whereas it's the other way around for Thief/Ninja. Finally, with two healers (three after class change), all those defensive spells and Thief being good in escaping from battles, this is a party that is very hard to kill. :)

[VeloZer0]

The theif being good at escaping from battles is a complete myth. Though I agree with Fi/x/Rm/Wm probably being the most solid basic setup.

I just played through with Fi/Bb/Rm/Wm and interestingly enough it turned out to be Fi/Rm/Wm/Bb. Yes, the White Mage has consistently better defense than a Black Belt through the entire game. All and all I would rate it good, but still worse than Fi/Fi/Rm/Wm.

[theundeadhero]

Your doing it wrong then. I leave one in the second slot the entire game and they never die.

[VeloZer0]

Your doing it wrong then. I leave one in the second slot the entire game and they never die.
A) Confirm we are talking about the original version (or ones that use the same mechanics)

B) What the heck are you equipping them with? There isn't a whole lot of build flexibility in the game to 'do it wrong'. I geared the Bb and Wm up with what I had and the Wm was tougher.

C) I'll ignore your hyperbole because no-one in this game never dies.

[Sefie1999AD]

The theif being good at escaping from battles is a complete myth.

That's strange. In NES, WSC and PSX versions, Thief and Black Mage have always been the characters who usually succeed in escaping from battles. Fighters, Red Mages and Black Belts seem to be worse at running away.

[VeloZer0]

D. RUNNING
Running is always successful in a preemptive attack, and never possible in unrunnable battles.
Running is successful if:

Luck > 0...[Level + 15]

However, running is bugged on the NES and it loads something else instead of the runner's level:

Slot 1: Slot 3's Status byte
Slot 2: Slot 4's Status byte
Slot 3: Identifier for entity that attacks third, either 0-8 or 128-131
Slot 4: Depending on the one's digit of Slot 4's HP, 128-137

So, someone in Slot 1 or 2 will usually be able to run if their Luck is 15 or higher and the character in slot 3 or 4 has normal status.

Running was supposed to have been fixed on the Origins version, but it succeeds much less frequently than one would expect given the formula above,and without apparent regard for luck. It appears that running is bugged in a different, unknown way on Origins.

[Sefie1999AD]

I see. Now that I think about it, my party was Fi/Fi/Wm/Bm in the NES version, so I haven't even used a Thief in the original version. After that, I played through the game 3-4 times on WSC, and twice on PSX, so my observations are mostly based on the WSC version. In a battle where it is possible to run away, Thief may not always succeed in running away on the first try, but he (or Black Mage) was usually the one who made the team escape.

[theundeadhero]

A. Nes
B. Not equipped with anything.
C. Not hyperbole. They don't die.

[David1217]

I've been playing this game since I was a kid, getting "old" now, but I always liked the

Fighter
Red Mage
White Mage
Black Mage

group. Very, I mean VERY expensive in both equipment and spells. I guess the grinding for loot never bothered me much. Once I rid the world of Astos and get the key, I head almost directly to the Hall of Giants. But first I get all silver equipment, then once I get the Earth Cave finished, I get the Floater and my class change.
This time through, I'm at level 24 and I've already looted the Sea Shrine, the Mirage Tower and the Sky Castle, to put it simply, Kary and the rest of the crew at the Gurgu Volcano aren't gonna know what hit 'em.

[gamewizzard16]

I am using a Fighter Thief W.mage b.mage and the game seems to be pretty easy using those characters

[Jeymz]

I think the best party is

Fighter, Red Mage, Red Mage, Monk

- can use the top 3 best weapons in game
- nice resistance
-awesome damages
- can heal pretty well
- can have low level class change
- can stack temper and haste on monk for 1-3 turn kill on any boss
- doesnt need AOE spells cuz they can sweep any monster with melee
- they "can" use black mage