FFVIII Job System

So I've been thinking.

How feasible would it be to do a run through of FFVIII with a self-imposed Job system?

- Each playable character would be pre-designated a role before the game starts (ie: Squall as a Knight, Quistis as Mage, etc.)
- Every GF would be assigned to a specific character before the game starts
- The player never removes those GFs at any point (unless forced). Hopefully this ensures that everyone has a use and the player doesn't get to just level GFs for free.

A few wrinkles:
- Are there any parts of the game where characters are unplayable for an extended amount of time? I'm thinking Rinoa beginning in Disc 3, effectively gimping her GFs. I'm thinking Edea takes over for Rinoa when available.
- Irvine doesn't join the team for a while, so any builds need to take this into account.
- How does Drawing magic play into this, if at all? I'm thinking it minimizes spells that have minimal effect on certain stats become less valuable.

The problem with running FF8 as a job system comes from the fact that, unlike pure Job system FFs, the party is revealed slowly and changes throughout the game based on the story. So making unique and quirky builds is a lot more difficult since you have to distribute what you have to who you have, leaving late arrivals with anything earned after their arrivals.


Anyway, has anyone ever tried something like this? If so, how'd it work out and do you have any tips for planning a playthrough like this?

I always put Selphie in the Summoner role and Rinoa as a Black Mage. Others are just uber. I like the idea of Zell being a Black Belt.

EDIT: Now I started thinking of playing the game through without limit breaks, like the past FFs(except VII). It would be different but the game is way too easy nevertheless.

I did something like this some years ago. I played through the game using it and it made it a whole lot more fun :) By the end of the game (save point before Ultimecia's room) - I had every character with a few GF's junctioned and their respective stats were quite maxed out but it was still challenging :)

This is what I wrote down as the guide:


Squall - Paladin
Junctionable stats: HP, Str, Vit, Spr, Hit, Status Def
Usable Magic: Life Magic, Support Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Treatment, Defend, Revive

Quistis - Blue Mage
Junctionable stats: Mag, Spr, Elem-Atk, Elem-Def
Usable Magic: Elemental magic, Support Magic, Time/Space Magic, Status Magic, Forbidden Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Draw, Devour

Zell - Monk
Junctionable stats: HP, Str, Vit, Hit, Eva, Elem-Def, Status Def
Usable Magic: None
Usable Commands: Mad Rush, Defend, Darkside, Absorb, Kamikaze

Selphie - Ninja
Junctionable stats: Str, Mag, Spd, Eva, Hit, St-Atk
Usable Magic: Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Thunder Magic, Status Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Draw, Mug, Doom

Rinoa(Before disk 3) - Trainer
Junctionable stats: Spr, Luck
Usable Magic: Life Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, LV Down, LV Up

Rinoa(After disc 3) - Sorceress
Junctionable stats: Mag, Spr, Elem-Def, Status-Def, Luck
Usable Magic: All Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Draw, Darkside,

Irvine - Gunner
Junctionable stats: Str, Spr, Hit, Elem-Atk, St-Atk
Usable Magic: Time/Space Magic, Support Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Darkside, LV Down, LV Up, Draw

Seifer - Dark Knight
Junctionable stats: HP, Str, Vit, Spr, Hit, Status-Def
Usable Magic: Fire Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Doom, Darkside


Edea - Sorceress
Junctionable stats: Vit, Mag, Spr, Elem-Def, Status-Def
Usable Magic: All Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Draw, Doom

Laguna - Gunner
Junctionable stats: Str, Spr, Hit, Elem-Atk, St-Atk
Usable Magic: Life Magic, Support Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Treatment, Revive

Kiros - Ninja
Junctionable stats: Str, Mag, Spd, Eva, Hit, Elem-Atk
Usable Magic: Time Magic, Status Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Draw, Darkside, Mug

Ward - Dragoon
Junctionable stats: HP, Str, Vit, Mag
Usable Magic: Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Thunder Magic
Usable Commands: Magic, Mad Rush, Kamikaze, Defend

________________________________________________________________________

Side Notes…

Magic
All characters can use Scan given they can use the magic command. The only character unable to do this is Zell.

Commands: The commands GF, Item, Card and Recover can be used by all characters.

Abilities: A character can equip any ability they wish besides mug which only Selphie & Kiros are able. Even if a character cannot junction to a certain stat they can still equip that category of ability: Squall can equip Mag+20% etc but this usually is not efficient as that is not Squall’s primary offence.

Other Important Topics

There is no Summoner class because summoning GF’s is relevant to the games story of the Seed’s relationship with them, therefore all characters besides Edea, Laguna, Kiros & Ward can use the GF Command.

Remember that you have to constantly switch between characters depending on where you are in the game and what enemies you must face. This is to take away the uber-ness that is almost always achieved when playing FFVIII and adds to the challenge and excitement of the game. Good Luck.

its very easy, the way i always saw it was theres a Job System already in play, you have the choice to either play along or not (same with FFVII), i always play along and pretty much do it as youve described, every playtrhough, i even have a list written down pairing which GFs go to which characters to maximize their Job Rolls and/or elemental status...

:D You are talking about my specialty! Hehehe...

Play a Job system into free customization FFs...


Actually FFVIII is very good at that and no matter how many flaws it could have... When a FF as a creative system that lets you create Job classes effectively it's among the best FFs to me...


Anyway...



Create the classes is easy... First of all, to answer to some doubts you mentioned in the posts before, it's not true that you have to switch Junction with characters not in the group, or at least just rarely...

Every character of mine has a Job class and has GFs that are specific to him/her, something the game maybe even encourages since GFs creates a bond with the characters they junction to...
My choices depend mostly on the abilities and commands the GF has in relation to the class I want to give to the character...


The Magic command is something only mages have and their spell list reflects the kind of mage they are...

On the other hand, following the tradition of the series, every character has the Item command on the bottom of the list opposing to the Attack command that stays at the top...

About GFs, any character has at least one GF specific to him/her but most of GFs are junctioned to the White Mage/Summoner of the group with the purpose to be summoned in battle!


The Job classes I assigned are as follows:





Squall - Paladin (Knight)
Attachment 43381

GF: Shiva, Brothers

Attack
Draw
Defend
Item

Cover
Vit +60%
Auto-Protect
HP +80%

Pretty obvious! Squall is the knight, his role is to protect allies and fight in the frontline.



Quistis - Gambler/Black Mage
Attachment 43382

GF: Quezalcoatl

Attack
Magic
Card
Item

Mag +40%
Expendx2-1
Expendx3-1
Mag +60%

My self created cameo of the recurring Gambler/Black Mage (reproduced also with Cait Sith and Setzer), makes sense to have Quistis as a Gambler considering who she is in the Triple Triad game. She of course has many attack spells.



Zell - Monk
Attachment 43383

GF: Ifrit

Attack
Recover
Revive
Item

Str +40%
Counter
Str +60%

Not much to explain here! Zell can only be a Monk... Recover is basically the Chackra command... Revive is by itself a recurring ability of Monks.



Selphie - White Mage/Summoner
Attachment 43384Attachment 43385

GF: Many

Attack
Magic
GF
Item

Spr +40%
Auto-Shell
Spr +60%

Selphie is the typical White Mage/Summoner officially presented by Dagger and Eiko in FFIX and Yuna in FFX but I apply this class combination also on many other (Aeris, Reina, Ashe, etc.)
Selphie has many healing and support spells but also most of the GFs (apart from those junctioned to the other characters) to be summoned! She was also the first party member to have relation with GFs when she was a child, even storywise.



Rinoa - Thief/Trainer
Attachment 43386

GF: Diablos, Tonberry

Mug
Level Down
Level Up
Item

Mug
Spd +40%
Auto-Haste
Initiative

Yes, Rinoa isn't a mage! It's true she awakes the power of a Sorceress later on and for this fact she has something powerful junctioned to the Magic stat and even without the Magic command she can cast the spells! But outside of that she is a revolutionary outlaw very smart but not so much strong, thus fitting the Thief class perfectly! Also she is a Trainer with her dog and the commands to level up and down enemies!



Irvine - Ranger/Chemist
Attachment 43387

GF: Cactuar

Attack
Treatment

Item

Med Data
Move-HP Up
Auto-Potion
Luck +50% (or Ribbon, if owned)

My usual Ranger/Chemist combination, somehow hinted by the Ivalice saga (Balthier is also a representant to me) and applied to guys like Vincent and others! Someone crafting bullets and having to do with gunpowder should be a good alchemist maybe... XD



Seifer - Dark Knight
Attachment 43388

GF: Doomtrain

Attack
Draw
Darkside
Item

Return Damage
Vit +60%
Auto-Protect
HP +80%

I know it's a mere theory because Seifer sides with the Sorceress but this is how he would be if succeded to be a SeeD, basically the Dark Knight being Squall's class nemesis! They are both the knights of different Sorceresses.



Edea - Sage
Attachment 43389

GF - Shiva

Attack
Magic
Doom
Item

Mag +20%
Mag +40%
Mag +60%

The supreme mage that leaves the paty early but has powerful magic to cast, both offensive or supportive, but not much more!



Laguna - Machinist
Attachment 43390

GF - Cactuar

Attack
Kamikaze
Draw
Item

Eva +30%
Luck +50%

Good with machineguns and explosives to the point of using a bomb on himself to be a kamikaze! This reflects the fact that he is a comical character and a lighter version of Squall!



Kiros - Berserker
Attachment 43393

GF - Ifrit

Attack
Mad Rush

Item

Str +20%
Str +40%
Str +60%

His limit name suggest this and he seems to fit the role of the wild attacker!



Ward - Dragoon
Attachment 43392

GF - Pandemona

Attack
Absorb
Devour
Item

Str +40%
Spd +40%

Of course he couldn't be anything else than a Dragoon! Absorb of course reflects the Dragon command and Devour is a good representation of a dragon hunter able to hunt monsters!

They kind of do have jobs already. You can tell by their Limits.
Squall is a Knight/Paladin
Zell is a Monk/Martial Artist
Irvine and Laguna are sharpshooters (not a standard job, considering most FF job games don't have guns)
Quistis is a Blue Mage
Selphie is a Red Mage as she has several skills that can either damage the oponent or heal the party
Rinoa is tricky, I'd say she's a White Mage/Summoner after she gets the Wing skill, but up until her limits are based on Angelo, so you could say she's a pet trainer (there's a job in X-2 like that, can't remember the name)
Seifer is a Dark Knight
Edea is a Sorceress/ Black Mage
Kiros and Ward are the supporting characters, but if you had to go deeper I'd say Ward is a Dragoon and Kiros maybe a thief because of his blades