The Job System has appeared in a several FFs with several different iterations. My question is which do you consider to be the best version of these classes?
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The Job System has appeared in a several FFs with several different iterations. My question is which do you consider to be the best version of these classes?
Do you mean like which game has the best job system or which game had the best version of each job?
FFV !
The best version of each job!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fynn
So let’s see
Geomancer: FFIII (DS) - this job really breaks the game here and while it’s still pretty cool in other entries, it’s nowhere near as useful
Red Mage: Bravely Default - while it still uses black and white magic, it’s main draw is it’s ability to really stock up on BP for some very aggressive tactics
Berserker: FFV - just like with Umaro in FFVI, I don’t care that I can’t control them as long as they’re just doing things they’re best at, which is just killing things
These are the three that come to mind first when I think about versions that stand out from the others, but I might come back with more later
Umaro is in fact the best berserker though
E-Skill and Quistis is tied for best Blue Mage. E-Skill slightyly edges Quistis out. Everything you need is there and you don't need to Limit Break. Buuuuuuuut, you could do what I did and dump everything into Quistis' HP so even at Critical Health she still has more than anyone else. And her Mighty Guard is the best. It gives Aura which gives everyone unlimited Limit Break.
Disclaimer: I've not played FF 1-3 so you won't see any from there.
Knight - FFXII TZA Job, god that game has a crazy Knight.
Archer - FFX Wakka, he counts fight me.
White Mage - FFVII Aerith, for her limit breaks mostly.
Black Mage - FFIX Vivi, love that little guy and his nukes.
Thief - FFX Rikku, come now.
Monk - FFVI Sabin, such a great skillset.
Machinist - FFVI Edgar, he has an actual variety of great and useful Tools.
Ninja - FFV Job, Dual Wield and Throw are so good.
Samurai - FFX-2 Dressphere, just a lot of fun to play with.
Dancer - FFV Job, sorry X-2 Songstress but this FFV job is just broken good.
Bard - FFX-2 Songstress Dressphere, this one you get though, your Sing is better than your Dance anyways.
Dragoon - FFIV Kain, can't go wrong with him.
Dark Knight - FFX-2 Dressphere, it fits too well.
Berserker - FFX-2 Dressphere, look I know they're supposed to just Berserk, but hell if I don't enjoy a Berserker with actual variety in moves. Plus it has Evade & Counter.
Time Mage - FFVIII Ultimecia, because if she don't count who does. Well, second choice would be the FFV Job though.
Blue Mage - FFVII Enemy Skill Materia, still reigns supreme. Although it's really dumb OP, admittedly.
Freelancer - FFV Job, still can't help but love how obscenely powerful it gets.
Summoner - FFX Yuna, because aeons.
I'm giving myself some rules to make this more interesting. I'm going to ignore sub-job shenanigans otherwise this list would purely be Tactics for most of it. So I'm only going to look at the class in its pure form. This rule applies with characters like the various summoners who tend to be split classes. I may explain in the future if I'm bored enough.
Knight: FFXII TZA/Steiner - I'll agree with Karifean here that The Zodiac Age incarnation of Knight is pretty OP. High level white magic, defensive game with shields, offensive games with great swords. Slow as molasses but one of the most consistent damage dealers in the game. Steiner is my secondary choice. He always feels like he lags behind but that's mainly because the game loves to pull him from your team all the time. If you keep him properly leveled, he's a tanky fighter who eventually gets access to some of the game's best skills that don't require some gimmick to make them good. I think he only loses out to the TZA knight because IX is relatively easy so a lot of his skill set goes to waste. If the difficulty was ramped up he would be a godsend.
Black Mage: Vivi I really thought about this, and with only the Tactics incarnation coming in second, I feel Vivi is one of the better black mages in the series. Mgic is potent in IX so it's always nice to have him and Focus is a broken skill that stacks and doesn't go away if he's killed in battle. Throw in the fact he gets Half MP, Return Magic, Reflect Null, and Null Elem Magic. He's a wrecking ball of a character and no Black mage can stack up without a sub-job mechanic to help.
White Mage: FFIII's Devout - I know I'm cheating here since this is an advanced White Mage class but FFIII I feel has one of the classes best spell selections with more offensive spells like the Aero. Great healing spells and the class is surprisingly tanky. My second choice would likely be Rosa since she still has access to a few spells given to Time Mage.
Thief: Zidane - I'm a bit mixed here because stat wise, Zidane is not a thief with higher defense and attack power than he deserves but I loe the fact he gets a whole slew of skills that give this class a bit more to do. Sadly, like Steiner, IX is on the easy side so it's likely most players never bothered with the non-Dyne version of the skills. They are fun though and I still love the fact Zidane has a special Libra skill that lets him see what items enemies cary and the fact he can continue to steal from an enemy to actually get their rare steals.
Monk: FFTactics - I was initially going to give this to Sabin until I remembered how broken and horrifying Monks are in Tactics. In addition to just being their typical wrecking ball selves, the class sports one of the most useful skillsets with access to attacks that allow them to directly attack enemies across a field and non-mp consuming healing and revival skills. Though the revive skill does have some stipulations that nerf it. Still,Erath render and Aura Fist are brutal and the class gives us the counter skill as well.
Red Mage: FFIII (DS) While the OG version isn't bad, the 3D version with the game's wonkier mechanics that tilt the favor heavil in the player's favor gives this class a major longevity not shared by the other crystals jobs in it's set. This class can carry you for half the game being just as strong as the warrior and fairly good at both White and Black magic as their mage counterparts. This version is the epitome of Master of All. It's only drawback is it's lack of equipment options by the game's second half and in ability to learn the truly devastating Lv. 7 and 8 spells but that doesn't really matter when this class can take you all the way to the crystal that grants you those jobs.
Dragoon: tie -Kain/FFIII (DS) - Technically the DS version is better since he can dual wield spears and giving them a Blood Spear as their secondary one means they will likely never die unless the enemy can kill them in one blow. Kain is mainly here because he is pretty BS in his own game with his Jump giving him double damage and his Spears for some unfathomable reason having the Throw element attached to them meaning he does double damage to aerial enemies. What this means is that Kain's Jump command with a spear does 4x damage to aerial opponents. You'll likely see max damage with Kain first. I'm not even going to bother talking about the BS gear he gets from the Lunar Trials that make him one of the best damage dealers in your party.
Ninja: Shadow - I chose Shadow because of two major factors: His throw command is broken and easily does high damage with even the lowest form of Throw items which are stupidly cheap in this entry. The second reason is his BS Interceptor counter which will likely hit the max damage limit before you even get your hands on your first esper. Made even better since Interceptor not only counters the attack but does his namesake and no-sell the attack as well. Shadow is fairly overpowered without the game's other mechanics which is likely why you're not allowed to have him very often.
Samurai: FFTactics - This was the hardest to choose because unlike the majority of the classes on this list, the Samurai class has undergone the most changes over the years. I initially went for the FFV variant but remembered my rule about sub job means it's not quite as useful as I would like with it's meager skill set. I opted for the Tactics variation though X-2's isn't a bad choice either if a bit problematic since it takes awhile to get it going Meanwhile the Tactics variant has Blade Grasp which is bulltrout in this game since it's success rate is dependent on a character's bravery meaning a high enough bravery activates nearly all the time. The Bushido/Draw Out ability is also great since it offers a bit more versatility than it's X-2 variant with healing options. The fact it's other support skills are Doublehand to improve it;s basic attack power and bonecrusher as well. It's a menacing class on it's own right even before the sub-job mechanics. The only issue is this dependency on swords to cast it's abilities but considering how good the ones attached to cheap and easy to find weapons are, it;s not a big deal.
Summoner: FFV - Another tough one and I ultimately opted for versatility as usual. While X has my favorite summon mechanics, the small amount of summons and their lack of versatility made me look elsewhere. I was thinking of FFTactics but the charge time issue makes it problem. I also disqualified Junctions and Master Summon MAateria out of principle. FFV hits the sweet spot of giving you options with summons built for both defensive an offense. Hits all major elements except Holy and Gravity. Not to mention the equipment setup of the class allows them to boost those elemental abilities. So variety and versatility win out here for me.
Geomancer: FFIII (DS) - It's honestly just crazy how overpowered this class is in the DS remake. Tanky for a mage class, incredibly powerful skills at it's disposal, and assuming you're not in a water based area, almost all of their skills are on par with powerhouse magic like Flare, Bahamut, and Holy, and it doesn't cost any MP. This is the mage class to bring when dungeon exploring. Yes the spells are random, but when three of the four are going to bring the hurt, does it really matter? Did I mention Dark Flare has a stupidly high RNG in the Dark World meaning this class will be nuking everything you come across? My second choice would be the Tactic's incarnation because Counter Flood is broken.
Bard: FFV - This was one of the easier choices. Bards tend to get trout on in most FFs that are not MMOs but oddly the class is better than people give it credit for if you use them right. V is a weird case because while the class itself in terms of stats and equipment options is a complete trout show, their skill set is incredibly overpowered with excellent buffing, debuffing, and zombie killing options at your disposal. It's one of the rare entries where a team of Bards can be devastating when used right.
Dancer: FFV - Another one where the class has differed a lot over installments. V makes them interesting as a high risk/high reward class with the worst stats of any melee focused class but makes up for it with Dance being brutal. Steal HP/MP, Confuse an opponent or just deal 4x damage to an enemy. Even with the base class you'll see some great results and they even get an exclusive equipment set that drops the Confuse dance for another shot at using Sword Dance, meaning they can do 4X damage 50% of the time. That gear is also some of the best light gear in the game. Did I mention they are the only class besides Freelancer that can equip the almighty Ribbon?
Blue Mage : FFV - I will concede that the Enemy Skill materia is better but I'm not counting it because, A) it's not really a job class as it's just an equippable rock so it lacks any nuance, and B) unlike other games where you can have multiple Blue Mages, V is the only entry where having one character learn the spell makes it available to everyone. That makes it way easier to acquire the spells and far less of a hassle overall. My other reasoning here is that FFV incarnation makes you feel like a brainy god if you know what you're doing. This class can cripple a lot of the game's bosses on their own and it has a cool spell list that is deceptively better than it looks on paper. The Blue mage also has a good equipment setup in this game making it a better red mage than the actual class within it's own game.
Time Mage: FFV - It was a toss up between this one and the Tactics incarnation, but I decide that the V version has way better spell selection. Old, Quick, Comet, and a useful Meteor spell makes this class pretty potent. Even more so, it has Return, which is an awesome ability the devs quickly realized was too smurfing useful and so they gutted it from future installment and the very games that still have the spell nerfed it hard. Basically the spell lets you reset the battle back to the beginning which is useful in battles where things go south, and even more useful when you're trying to steal a rare drop from an enemy. While Equip rods is a useless ability for them, the class is fairly self contained and made a big impact on it;s intro game.
Berserker: FFV/Umaro - The V version is the best, Umaro is just listed here because I feel he's the most fun Berserker to play with. The V incarnation though is one of the best in the series and it really comes down to the useful weapon selection it has access to that improves it's useful. From having a Death Scyth that can instant kill enemies to using a GAaia Hammer to occasionally cast Quake on all your opponents, this class is deceptively more customizable than it first appears and that's not counting what you can do with the Job system. It's a brutal class with the right build.
Chemist: Rikku - She's an okay Thief, but her real strength is being a chemist. Thankfully with the right Overdrive charger setting, she can be concocting potions more often than you would think. Throw in the overabundance of some items in this (which her other class will help give you) she has access to a wide range of very potent spell effects that other chemist classes wish they have. Unlike her V incarnation that is a little too dependent on acquiring Dark Matter and Dragon Scales to be useful in a combat setting, Rikku can use the game's various gems to do Lulu's job better than she ever could. Throw in the fact Al Bhed Potions are ridiculously easy to come by and offer better healing than a certain drywall white mage summoner and you've got a potent class that can end things.
Dark Knight: Tactics - While I am sure one of the MMO incarnations are better, I don't think anything comes close the Tactics version except maybe the X-2 version. The key difference that makes the Tactics versions stand out is access to Sanguine and Infernal Sword techs, which drain a crap tone of HP and MP respectively from their opponents with 100% accuracy and at no cost to it. That means it can then blast enemies with it's own versions of Darkness/Souleater without worrying about getting knocked off so easily. It's support skills raise it's HP and even boosts it damage at the cost of defense making this class ready to kill things quickly. Their Fell Swords are also quite potent with great special effects, bonus damage from their dark element, and sport higher damage than several knight swords. Now if only they weren't locked behind multiplayer...
Ranger/Archer: Tactics Advance - While I enjoy the TA series, I could never get over how lightweight a lot of classes are in the series. The one exception is the Archer unit which takes the framework of the Tactics archer and giving them Mustadio's skill set. This class controls the field of battle with moves that stop enemy movements and actions. Skills to increase damage and others to even stop counters. It has one of the best skill sets of the game. It's only flaw is it's abysmal stat growth but spending time in other jobs to get some beefy stats and coming back shows how much of a power house this class can be. I don't even like Archer classes, but I tended to keep one around in these games.
Beastmaster: FFV - Beastmaster's are a sorry lot in the FF series. They tend to be under-powered and controlling enemies on the field tends to be only useful for getting those difficult but awesome Blue Magics. FFV introduced the class, and it still does them more justice than later installments. The main reasons are better weapons that have great secondary effects to offset their low power, and the capturing and releasing monsters allows you access to some of the best enemy abilities in the series. Yes it's a one shot, but in some cases, one shot is worth it. The game also has enough annoying monsters to make Control way more useful for neutralizing an enemy.
Sage: FFIII (Famicom) - The Famicom was the first to introduce the class and it never quite is as overpowered as it was in it's first outing. The DS version nerfed this class hard. The original had high MP use than any spell casting class and in addition to using all white and black magic spells, it could also use all of the summons. The class also had killer stats that made it fairly tanky for a mage class and the highest scores in both magic stats. The class is a wrecking ball and needed for the Realm of Darkness in the OG FFIII.
Mime: Gogo - Some would argue the FFV incarnation is the definitive version, and I mostly agree. But if you really want to smurf someone up, Gogo is the way to go. Gogo has overall the worst stats of the VI cast, limited equipment options, and Gogo can't even equip espers to alter his stats. So how is this character better than the FFV Mime that gets the same mastering bonus as the Freelancer job? Because Gogo can fill his three slots with character abilities. Need a spare Edgar or Sabin on your team? Gogo is your non-binary person. Gogo may not be as powerful with these abilities as their usual users, but these skills are still powerful as hell and a secondary character using these skills can be a boon for any party build. There is a reason why several players are more likely to leave Gau and Umaro behind at Kefka's tower but still bring the quirky mime.
MMO versions are tough to include on these lists because their balance and resource management is approached in a much different way than single player games, but I do want to give a shoutout to FFXIV's red mage for having a unique function in endgame content when in most versions of this job you have to abandon it mid-game.
Of course in an MMO all jobs are useful endgame, but in FFXIV red mage is uniquely useful when progging end game content for its ability to instantly raise over and over. The healer jobs (plus summoner) in this game can only insta-raise once, then there's a very very long cast time if they need to do it again over the next 60 seconds. Red mage never needs more than 2 seconds to raise. You can be the only one left alive in the party and still be able to salvage the situation. You might have a full MP bar and can res almost the whole party back, or just have enough in you to get the white mage up so they can use their limit break, or even just buy a couple more minutes to see more of the fight and learn something for a more successful second attempt.
Red Mage Chainspell in FFXI was also fabulous. CS Stun a mega boss, CS nuke something almost dead, CS Raise us all up to click some stupid ??? before it disappears. Fun times. RDM in the MMO FFs rocks.
One of these days I'm going to figure out FFXI and solo the story.