Formalhaut
06-07-2016, 05:01 PM
With the excited announcement of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, western audiences will finally be able to explore Ivalice again using a tweaked battle system. Perhaps the most dramatic change new players will see is in revamped levelling system, which involves twelve jobs for your six characters to choose from. Here's resident expert on all things FFXII Karifean with an explanation:
Here's the most important things in a nutshell: There are 12 jobs (license boards) to choose from. You can give the same job to multiple people if you really want to (you usually don't). Before picking a job, you cannot spend any LP. Once you pick a job, you are stuck with that job for the rest of the game. Compared to original FFXII you'll generally be stronger in your specialization than if you tried to replicate the job you're using on the universal License Board.
Personally, I enjoyed the Zodiac Job System a lot more than the original license board. In regards to not being able to switch, it's a choice I respect since the whole point is to make a decision you cannot take back and just deal with the consequences; the game is forgiving enough to let you play to your preferences anyways so there's not much to worry about. Any combination of six jobs is perfectly capable of defeating every enemy in the game.
The twelve jobs are all aligned through the zodiac, which has several thematic elements within the world of Ivalice. But the question is: what are these jobs, and which one would you pick for yourself?
We have:
1. White Mage (Aries) - Specialising in white magick and thwacking foes with rods, support your team while smiting the undead!
2. Uhlan (Taurus) - Wield spears and dragoon your way through the competition! Also comes with black magick and souleater to take on a slightly Dark Knighty approach.
3. Time Mage (Libra) - Warp time itself to support your allies and confound your foes! Use crossbows and heavy armour to stay out of the heat of the fight!
4. Samurai (Aquarius) - Using katanas, hack and slash your way like Uma Thurman! Toss that gil and look cool doing so!
5. Red Mage (Cancer) - The world is your canvas: command with white, black, green, time and arcane magick at your disposal!
6. Hunter (Pisces) - Kill those rats! Wield daggers and light armour to outfox your enemy and cast protective magick to give you some variety!
7. Monk (Virgo) - Either with poles or their fists, be a hardy physical striker with superb white magick skills!
8. Machinist (Gemini) - Any problem can be fixed with a gun in hand! Attack at range and support your tanks!
9. Knight (Leo) - Be everyone's hero! Shrug off blows with heavy armour and cleave foes with greatswords. Become the ultimate white knight with magick!
10. Breaker (Scorpio) - Smash through enemy defence or wither their attack by using Addle, Shear, Wither and Expose! Use axes and hand-bombs to cause untold damage... or hardly any at all.
11. Black Mage (Capricorn) - Be the harbinger of destruction! Use black magick to target weaknesses and scathe your enemies!
12. Archer (Sagittarius) - Be a sneaky archer with the widest range of technicks available! Be as swift as an arrow with reduced charge times!
If you were transported to the world of Ivalice, which class would you be? What are you most looking forward for with this new system?
Here's the most important things in a nutshell: There are 12 jobs (license boards) to choose from. You can give the same job to multiple people if you really want to (you usually don't). Before picking a job, you cannot spend any LP. Once you pick a job, you are stuck with that job for the rest of the game. Compared to original FFXII you'll generally be stronger in your specialization than if you tried to replicate the job you're using on the universal License Board.
Personally, I enjoyed the Zodiac Job System a lot more than the original license board. In regards to not being able to switch, it's a choice I respect since the whole point is to make a decision you cannot take back and just deal with the consequences; the game is forgiving enough to let you play to your preferences anyways so there's not much to worry about. Any combination of six jobs is perfectly capable of defeating every enemy in the game.
The twelve jobs are all aligned through the zodiac, which has several thematic elements within the world of Ivalice. But the question is: what are these jobs, and which one would you pick for yourself?
We have:
1. White Mage (Aries) - Specialising in white magick and thwacking foes with rods, support your team while smiting the undead!
2. Uhlan (Taurus) - Wield spears and dragoon your way through the competition! Also comes with black magick and souleater to take on a slightly Dark Knighty approach.
3. Time Mage (Libra) - Warp time itself to support your allies and confound your foes! Use crossbows and heavy armour to stay out of the heat of the fight!
4. Samurai (Aquarius) - Using katanas, hack and slash your way like Uma Thurman! Toss that gil and look cool doing so!
5. Red Mage (Cancer) - The world is your canvas: command with white, black, green, time and arcane magick at your disposal!
6. Hunter (Pisces) - Kill those rats! Wield daggers and light armour to outfox your enemy and cast protective magick to give you some variety!
7. Monk (Virgo) - Either with poles or their fists, be a hardy physical striker with superb white magick skills!
8. Machinist (Gemini) - Any problem can be fixed with a gun in hand! Attack at range and support your tanks!
9. Knight (Leo) - Be everyone's hero! Shrug off blows with heavy armour and cleave foes with greatswords. Become the ultimate white knight with magick!
10. Breaker (Scorpio) - Smash through enemy defence or wither their attack by using Addle, Shear, Wither and Expose! Use axes and hand-bombs to cause untold damage... or hardly any at all.
11. Black Mage (Capricorn) - Be the harbinger of destruction! Use black magick to target weaknesses and scathe your enemies!
12. Archer (Sagittarius) - Be a sneaky archer with the widest range of technicks available! Be as swift as an arrow with reduced charge times!
If you were transported to the world of Ivalice, which class would you be? What are you most looking forward for with this new system?