FFVII and Classes: What could have been...

[SteahMeLee]

Well, I'm the classes fanatic but I shall say that I prefer that the characters have this free development with Materias so that I could be the one to re-create the traditional classes myself without having to accept pre-created classes already assigned to characters like in IV or IX...

My favorite FFs are those like VII where you can freely create classes and it's not true that your characters are the 3 sets of Materia, I have a set for any character and any of them reflects a traditional Job Class of the brand...
I think they would have added classes just as mere titles like they are in FFVI where you can assign most magic and commands to whoever you want...


Anyway, let's come to how I assign classes here:


Cloud - Mystic Knight
110px-FF5-MysticKnight.png

Materia: Lightning, Ice, All, Elemental
Equip: Buster Sword, Escort Guard, Tetra Elemental
Limit: up to Level 4

Attack
Magic

Item

He is a SOLDIER and although being a swordsman he has a proficiency with magic, he is based on having an element imbued to the weapon and many elements to absorb via Materia, Armor and Accessory so that he can also heal himself with his attack spells.



Barret - Knight/Machinist
110px-FF5-Knight.png

Materia: Cover, HP Plus, Slash All
Equip: Gatling Gun, Warrior Bangle, Tough Ring
Limit: Level 1 (constant Sadness status)

Slash-All


Item

A Knight/Machinist as seen with FFVI Edgar! He is the tank specialized in defense and allies protection and uses the Mindblow Limit that is the typical Knights Magic Break to cut MPs. It fits with him being strong but protective and he is sorta a knight of his cause although in a modern way! Slash All act as Machinist Tools.



Tifa - Monk
110px-FF5-Monk.png

Materia: Deathblow, Counter, Counter Attack
Equip: Leather Glove, Gigas Armlet, Champion Belt
Limit: up to level 4

Attack
Deathblow

Item

Tifa could only be a Monk, it's just to decide how and Deathblow with the counters are the sole answer. Counter is paired with Deathblow for a multi-counter!



Aeris - White Mage/Summoner
110px-FF5-WhiteMage.png110px-FF5-Summoner.png

Materia: Barrier, Full Cure, Heal, Destruct, Restore, Revive, Shield, Seal, Exit, Choco-Mog, Shiva, Ifrit, Ramuh, Titan, Odin, Leviathan, Bahamut, Kjata, Alexander, Phoenix, Neo Bahamut, Hades, Typhoon, Bahamut Zero, Knights of the Round
Equip: Guard Stick, Wizard Bracelet, Circlet
Limit: up to Level 4

Attack
Magic
Summon
Item

Aeris is the recurring White Mage/Summoner seen also with Dagger, Eiko and Yuna but I give this setup to others healer girls in the series! This setup hides other purposes that could be noted by some. For example being her the Summoner and because she dies, it's not possible to "cheat" with Knights of the Round. Of course what I'm saying is that after her death these Materia are not used anymore! Losing a character means also losing his/her class and role in battle!



Red XIII - Berserker/Scholar
110px-FF5-Berserker.png110px-FF3-Scholar.png

Materia: Fire, All, Sense, Added Effect, Mystify
Equip: Mythrill Clip, Mythrill Armlet, Power Wrist/Fury Ring
Limit: up to Level 3 (constant Fury status)

Attack
Magic
Sense
Item

Pretty absurd and funny combination of Berserker and Scholar is the good reflection of a wild beast with an intelligence outmatching humans. He has Sense (from Scholars) and some spells (Ultimania describes him as a SOLDIER of sorts due to Hojo's experiments) but the rest of what he has is of a Berserker! He has Mystify + Added Effect in the weapon being able to put both the enemies and himself in Berserk attacking or cast the Berserk spell, or he could start already in Berserk with the Fury Ring.



Yuffie - Thief/Ninja
110px-FF5-Thief.png110px-FF5-Ninja.png

Materia: Steal, Throw, Speed Plus, Enemy Away, Added Cut, Steal as Well, Pre-Emptive, Gil Plus, Sneak Attack, Luck Plus
Equip: 4-Point Shuriken, Chocobracelet, Sprint Shoes/Sneak Glove
Limit: Level 1

Attack
Throw
Steal
Item

Of course Yuffie is the Thief/Ninja combination and she has all that can be expected from these classes that are often combined as the same or one the evolution of the other! Dexterity and speed with stealing & throwing abilities!



Cait Sith - Black Mage/Gambler
110px-FF5-BlackMage.png

Materia: Comet, Contain, Earth, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Gravity, Mystify, Poison, Time, Transform, Ultima, Manipulate, Magic Plus, Quadra Magic, MP Turbo
Equip: Silver M-phone, Wizard Bracelet, Circlet/Hypno Crown
Limit: up to Level 2

Attack
Magic
Manip.
Item

I pair the Black Mage class with Gambler like I do with Sezter and Quistis since magicians and cards/dices are affine! It's a way to make Cait Sith strong and worthy! It fits the story since Cait Sith is a sort of avatar of Reeve that is a magician or whatever that is being described in Ultimania like an Inspire, someone that can give life to non animated things using magic and move them from afar!



Vincent - Ranger/Chemist
110px-FF5-Ranger.png108px-FF5-Chemist.png

Materia: Morph, Double Cut, W-Item
Equip: Quicksilver, Silver Armlet, Ribbon
Limit: up to Level 4

4x Cut
Morph

W-Item

The classic pairing of Ranger and Chemist, since actually someone expert in bullets and gunpowder could be also expert in alchemy! In this case the 4x Cut is the X Fight and Morph is Poach, skills taken by the Ranger! W-Item is there to give him also some traits of Chemists!



Cid - Dragoon/Blue Mage
110px-FF5-Dragoon.png110px-FF5-BlueMage.png

Materia: Enemy Skill, Enemy Lure, Chocobo Lure, Long Range, Underwater
Equip: Spear, Dragon Armlet, Protect Ring
Limit: up to Level 2

Attack
Enemy Skill

Item

The Dragoon/Blue Mage mix seen also with Kimahri that I apply also to Krilie! The usual Dragoon but with the aid of the Blue Magic versatility! His Jump attacks are used via Limits and also the Dragoon other command Dragon to drain HP/MP.






So, this is how I pretty much create traditional classes although the game doesn't give you fixed ones!
It's one of the FF I studied more with this purpose!

I don't like class system at all. I prefer characters that have lots of abilities and spells rather than just a handful of abilities.

But going too much beyond in this direction characters becomes all the same and flat, without a specific fighting style that can boost their characterization greatly instead of having and indefinite wide set of abilities and spells without a sort of "theme" that makes them having a sense together and it's what a class basically is, even if not taken from the traditional set!