Final Fantasy 3 Job Guide

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                        Final Fantasy III - Job Guide

                                     By:

                    Penguin Knight, Seferaga and Egervari3

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                                Version:  1.40

                             Last Update: 3-13-08

                   Penguin Knight: doughnutpond@hotmail.com

                        Seferaga: ff3_guide@yahoo.com

                      All rights reserved (C) 2007-2008

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                           Introduction to the FAQ                            

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

This guide was translated and written by Penguin Knight, and has been combined

with Seferaga's and Egervari3's Job Guide for a more resourceful document. :)

Penguin Knight:

I have gathered, translated, interpreted, and typeset this written guide for

players who cannot understand Japanese, but are interested in understanding how

the statistics work for most aspects of Final Fantasy III DS.

Most of the statistics are taken from the following Japanese sources:

http://www.f-navi.org/ff3/index.html

http://gamedeep.jp/gamesoft/ff3ds/

http://ff3-ds.com/

The descriptions and interpretations are mostly my creation, however, some of

them are taken from valuable discussions I had with the users at GameFAQs. 

Seferaga:

The MAIN purpose of this FAQ is to help all NEW players, in an organized and

user-friendly style, with any Job questions they may have.  

It will inform them of which Jobs are effective in each area of the game,

useful strategies when using their favorite Jobs, details of Job Abilities,

what to use against those DIFFICULT bosses, and A LOT more! ;) 

If you need to, check the "Credits" and "Copyright" sections at the bottom of

the document.

Learn something, and ALWAYS have fun!  :)

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                              Table of Contents                                

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

Use Ctrl+F to find what you're looking for, and copy/paste the brackets {}.

I)  Job Introduction: {I} 

II) General Information: {G1}

      {G1-1} Job Level

      {G1-2} Character Level

      {G1-3} JP Overflow

      {G1-4} The Transition Phase

      {G1-5} Attaining 9999 HP

III) Mechanics and Formulae: {M1}

      {M1-1} Attacking

      {M1-2} Melee Proficiency

      {M1-3} Healing Magic

      {M1-4} Offensive Magic

      {M1-5} Status Magic

      {M1-6} Other Formulae

IV) Descriptions, Stats, and Abilities: {JOB}

      {JOB-FR} Freelancer

      {JOB-WA} Warrior

      {JOB-MO} Monk

      {JOB-WM} White Mage

      {JOB-BM} Black Mage

      {JOB-RM} Red Mage

      {JOB-TH} Thief

      {JOB-RA} Ranger

      {JOB-KN} Knight

      {JOB-SC} Scholar

      {JOB-GE} Geomancer

      {JOB-VI} Viking

      {JOB-DR} Dragoon

      {JOB-DK} Dark Knight

      {JOB-EV} Evoker

      {JOB-BA} Bard

      {JOB-BB} Black Belt

      {JOB-MA} Magus

      {JOB-DE} Devout

      {JOB-SU} Summoner

      {JOB-SA} Sage

      {JOB-NI} Ninja

      {JOB-OK} Onion Knight

V) The Effective Jobs: {E1}

      {E1-1} Land Turtle

      {E1-2} Djinn

      {E1-3} Nepto Dragon

      {E1-4} Giant Rat

      {E1-5} Medusa

      {E1-6} Gutsco

      {E1-7} Salamander

      {E1-8} Hein

      {E1-9} Kraken

      {E1-10} Goldor 

      {E1-11} Garuda

      {E1-12} Odin

      {E1-13} Leviathan

      {E1-14} Bahamut

      {E1-15} Hecatoncheir

      {E1-16} Doga & Unei

      {E1-17} Titan

      {E1-18} Ninja

      {E1-19} Amon

      {E1-20} Kunoichi

      {E1-21} General

      {E1-22} Guardian

      {E1-23} Scylla

      {E1-24} Xande

      {E1-25} Cerberus

      {E1-26} Two-Headed Dragon

      {E1-27} Echidna

      {E1-28} Ahriman

      {E1-29} Cloud of Darkness

      {E1-30} Iron Giant

VI) Job Suggestions: {S1}

      {S1-1} How to Choose an Effective Party

      {S1-2} Job Observations

      {S1-3} Quick Party Set-ups

      {S1-4} Thematic Parties

VII)  Version History  

VIII) Credits

IX)   Copyright

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                           I) Job Introduction: {I}                            

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

Jobs are special classes that can be assigned to each party member.  When you

assign a Job to someone, they will inherit all the different traits and

abilities which that Job is based upon.  All of FFIII revolves around you

changing your Jobs and experimenting with your favorites;  All while attempting

to exploit the weaknesses of your foes, and allowing you to conquer the ever-

growing Darkness!  :)

                                  The Jobs

                                  ~~~~~~~~

                .------------------------------------------.

                |.----------------------------------------.|

                ||                                        ||

                ||    Wind Crystal        Fire Crystal    ||

                ||    ~~~~~~~~~~~~        ~~~~~~~~~~~~    ||

                ||    Warrior                   Ranger    ||

                ||    Monk                      Knight    ||

                ||    White Mage             Geomancer    ||

  .-------------'|    Black Mage               Scholar    |'-------------.

  |.------------.|    Red Mage                            |.------------.|

  ||Initial Job:||    Thief                               ||Secret  Job:||

  ||~~~~~~~~~~~~||                                        ||~~~~~~~~~~~~||

  || Freelancer ||   Water Crystal        Earth Crystal   ||Onion Knight||

  |'------------'|   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~   |'------------'|

  '-------------.|   Viking                  Black Belt   |.-------------'

                ||   Dragoon                      Magus   ||

                ||   Dark Knight                 Devout   ||

                ||   Evoker                    Summoner   ||

                ||   Bard                          Sage   ||

                ||                                Ninja   ||

                ||                                        ||

                |'----------------------------------------'|

                '------------------------------------------'

At the beginning of the game, the only Job you will have access to is the

Freelancer Job.  As you progress further into the game, you will come across

the Four Crystals.  Each Crystal will grant to you a certain amount of Jobs in

which you will then be able to use.  By the end of the game, you will have a

satisfying selection of 23 unique and well-dressed Jobs!  ^_^

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                         II) General Information: {G1}                         

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{G1-1} Job Level  |

------------------'

Q: What is Job Level?

A: Job Level (Job LV) is a renewed idea for the DS version. Each character can

   have, at most, 23 jobs, and every Job comes with a Job LV showing how

   proficient that specific character is at that Job. Maximum Job LV is 99.

Q: What does Job LV do?

A: The more you train as that Job, the higher the level will become, and the

   better your character will perform! Here is EVERYTHING that Job LV affects:

   1. Number of hits when attacking.

   2. Chance of executing a Critical Hit.

   3. Physical damage.

   4. Black Magic damage.

   5. White Magic recovery.

   6. Summon damage.

   7. Attack Power of bare-handed Monks and Black Belts.

   8. It also enhances the special abilities of certain Jobs.

   9. In one of the side quests, a Job Mastery Item will be unlocked when a

      character reaches Job LV 99.

Q: What is NOT affected by Job LV?

A: The characters' overall stats are not affected by Job LV. Strength, Agility,

   Vitality, Intellect, and Mind.

   Two characters with SAME Job and Character LV, but different Job level, will

   have the same stats.  However, their performance may differ.

Q: Speaking of the Job Mastery Items, can I get more than one?

A: There is ONE item per Job, and you can only get each of them once.  In the

   end you can only have 23 of them.

Q: How does the Job LV increase?

A: Every character has a hidden stat called Job Points (JP) that dictates their

   Job LV growth. When JP is accumulated to 99, Job level goes up by 1. Each

   action (except: Front, Back, Escape, and Flee) will contribute a fixed amount

   of job points to the character.

   The amount of JP contributed follows the rules below:

            .------------------------.

            |         JP Gain:       |

------------|------------.-----------|

 Job:       | JobLv 1-14 | JobLv 14+ |

------------|------------|-----------|

Freelancer  |     20     |     20    |

Warrior     |     20     |     14    |

Monk        |     20     |     14    |

White Mage  |     20     |     10    |

Black Mage  |     20     |     10    |

Red Mage    |     20     |     12    |

Thief       |     20     |     18    |

Ranger      |     20     |     14    |

Knight      |     20     |     12    |

Scholar     |     24     |     24    |

Geomancer   |     20     |     14    |

Viking      |     20     |     14    |

Dragoon     |     20     |     16    |

Dark Knight |     20     |     14    |

Evoker      |     20     |     10    |

Bard        |     20     |     18    |

Black Belt  |     20     |     14    |

Magus       |     20     |     10    |

Devout      |     20     |     10    |

Sage        |     20     |     10    |

Summoner    |     20     |     12    |

Ninja       |     20     |     12    |

Onion Knight|     20     |      8    |

------------'------------'-----------'

Thanks to evilynxis at GameFAQs for clarifying this. I have been speculating

about this system for a while, and finally his comment made me re-read the

Japanese thread once more with extra care. And this revision should be right.

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{G1-2} Character Level  |

------------------------'

Q: What does EXP do?

A: EXP is experience points you collect after each battle. When you have gained

   enough EXP, your character will gain one Character LV.

Q: What does Character LV affect?

A: When you go up one Character LV, the following things happen:

   - Your HP Increases; Your HP gain depends on your Vitality and current

     Character LV.

   - Your stats will shift up to the next level within your Job class. For

     all the Stat Profiles, see section III of the guide.

   - If your character is a mage, MP Profile will also shift up one level. For

     all the MP Profiles, see section III of the guide.

Important Notes:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Strength, Agility, Vitality, Intellect, Mind, and MP, are predetermined

   stats.  This means that each Job has its own fixed stat "chart" that will

   always be the same, no matter what you do.

2  MAX HP is the ONLY thing that is carried over between Job changes.

Experience Chart:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a chart showing you how much experience is needed to level up at each

character level.

-------.---------------------------------------------------------------------.

 Level |     1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9     10|

-------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|

   0+  |    16     31     58     99    159    239    343    473    631    821|

  10+  |  1044   1304   1601   1940   2321   2748   3222   3745   4321   4950|

  20+  |  5636   6380   7185   8051   8982   9980  11046  12183  13393  14676|

  30+  | 16037  17475  18995  20596  22282  24053  25913  27863  29904  32039|

  40+  | 34269  36597  39024  41552  44183  46918  49760  52710  55769  58941|

  50+  | 62226  65627  69144  72781  76538  80417  84420  88549  92805  97191|

  60+  |101707 106356 111139 116058 121115 126311 131648 137128 142752 148522|

  70+  |154439 160506 166724 173095 179619 186299 193137 200134 207292 214611|

  80+  |222095 229744 237561 245546 253701 262028 270529 279205 288057 297087|

  90+  |306298 315689 325264 335023 344968 355100 365422 375934 ------       |

-------'---------------------------------------------------------------------'

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{G1-3} JP Overflow  |

--------------------'

This was tested and proven, that, there is a 99 JP "Overflow" limit.  Let me

explain how this works.

Let's say you have an Onion Knight, Job Level 50.  For every action you take,

you will get 8 JP.

 100 / 8 = 12.5

To level up you will have to take 13 actions.

  13 x 8 = 104

If you end the battle at this point, you will have a 4 JP "Overflow".  What

you could do, however, is keep fighting the battle to get more JP!

In every battle, you can get a total of 199 JP.  You will obviously level up

for reaching 100, but that extra 99 will carry-over to your next battle!  With

that much "Overflow" JP, you will only need to take 1 action in the next

battle, to level up your Job!  Nice!

All "Overflow" will differ, depending on how many actions you take and how

much JP Gain you get for that specific Job.  So keep track if you want!

That's it! ^_^

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{G1-4} The Transition Phase  |

-----------------------------'

One of the worst parts about switching between Jobs is the horrible, horrible

"Transition Phase".  Yes, it needed two. :P   Here is an explanation of what

this phase is, and does.

Let's say you currently have Luneth as a Monk.  Then after a while, you decide

to swap Jobs and make him a Warrior!  Because you changed your Job, this will

put you into the transition phase.

In this phase, certain defects will veil your character.

1. Stats will be lowered.

2. Performance hindered.

Just think of it as you "learning" this new Job.  That makes sense right?  I

mean, you have to use something for a while to become good at it!  :P

Fortunately, this phase doesn't last very long.  When you switch Jobs, the game

will let you know how many battles you will need to fight in order to become

proficient at the new Job. (meaning normal stats and performance)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Jobs in FFIII have two properties:

From chaotic to lawful;

From magical to physical.

Suppose X axis is from physical (negative) to magical (positive); and Y axis is

from chaotic (negative) to lawful (positive). The coordinates should be:

Freelance (0,0)

Warrior   (-1,1)

Monk      (-1,-1)

B. Mage   (1,-1)

W. Mage   (1,1)

R. Mage   (0,2)

Ranger    (-1,3)

Knight    (0,4)

Thief     (-1,-4)

Scholar   (2,2)

Geomancer (3,-3)

Dragoon   (-3,3)

Viking    (-3,-3)

B. Belt   (-4,0)

Bard      (3,3)

D. Knight (0,-4)

Evoker    (-3,0)

Warlock   (4,-4)

Devout    (4,4)

Summoner  (-4,0)

Sage      (4,2)

Ninja     (-2,-4) 

The number of battles in the Transition Phase is then:

|vertical distance between points| + |horizontal distance between points| - 

job level of the new job / 10

For those of you who are not very sure about what is |x|, it means absolute

value. For example, |7| and |-7| both would become 7.

For instance, to change from a Freelancer to a new Monk, the formula will be:

|-1 - 0| + |-1 - 0| - 0/10 = 2 battles

If you level up the Monk up to job level 20, then there should be no Transition

needed for freelancer-to-monk job change.

There are a few rules to this penalty:

- It accumulates, so multiple job changes at one time will stalk up the

  adaptation period.

- It has a cap of 10, so even changing from a Magus to a new Dragoon should

  take 14, the requirement will still be only 10.

If you are having a hard time understanding this, check out the following

chart made by OneWittyBritty.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/924897/50243

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{G1-5} Attaining 9999 HP  |

--------------------------'

HP is the only statistic that is carried over between Job changes. 

If you have been a low HP Growth class, such as mage, for a long time, your HP

will be relatively lower than your fighter cohort.

Why? Let's look at the formula of HP growth:

HP Gain =  Character's Level + Vitality + Bonus

Bonus   =  (Random # between 0 and 0.5) x Vitality

Take note that the Vitality in this formula is the BASE Vitality; All penalties

toward stats, after Job Changes or during Mini status, as well as Stat boosts

obtained from equipment, DO NOT affect your HP growth.

Because stats are fixed within each Job, choosing a low Vitality Job will

result in a character with relatively low Max HP.

The lowest Character LV to beat the Final Boss, as far as I have seen, is two

28's and two 29's; So getting Max HP to 9999 is not necessary. However, if

you aim at perfection, and MUST attain Max HP, you might want to consider

leveling up with the highest HP class: Black Belt.

NOTE:  Job Level has nothing to do with HP.

The following chart estimates how much HP you will gain, as a Black Belt, from

your current Character LV to LV 99. 

For Example:

You have a Warrior with 2300 Max HP, at Character LV 49, and you change him

into a Black Belt.  What is the possible HP growth until Character LV 99?

Go down the chart to Character LV 49.  You'll see:  49 | 7350 | 8269 | 9188.

This means, if your luck is bad, you can still have a 7350 HP gain. If you're

okay at being lucky (getting half of the bonus), you'll still have a 8269 gain.

And if your luck is good, you'll gain 9188, which means, you'll actually reach

9999 HP sooner than you'll reach Character LV 99.

I started the chart at Character LV 21 because you normally won't get the

Black Belt Job sooner than that.

The chart shows numbers higher than 9999, but that's just calculation, Max HP

never goes beyond 9999.

             .----------------------------------------.

             |               HP Gain                  |

-------------|-----------.--------------.-------------|

Character LV |           |              |             |

when changed | Low Bonus | Medium Bonus | Large Bonus |

to Black Belt|           |              |             |

-------------|-----------|--------------|-------------|

    ----     | ----      | -----        | -----       |

     21      | 9282      | 10442        | 11603       |

     22      | 9240      | 10395        | 11550       |

     23      | 9196      | 10346        | 11495       |

     24      | 9150      | 10294        | 11438       |

     25      | 9102      | 10240        | 11378       |

     26      | 9052      | 10184        | 11315       |

     27      | 9000      | 10125        | 11250       |

     28      | 8946      | 10064        | 11183       |

     29      | 8890      | 10001        | 11113       |

     30      | 8832      |  9936        | 11040       |

     31      | 8772      |  9869        | 10965       |

     32      | 8710      |  9799        | 10888       |

     33      | 8646      |  9727        | 10808       |

     34      | 8580      |  9653        | 10725       |

     35      | 8512      |  9576        | 10640       |

     36      | 8442      |  9497        | 10553       |

     37      | 8370      |  9416        | 10463       |

     38      | 8296      |  9333        | 10370       |

     39      | 8220      |  9248        | 10275       |

     40      | 8142      |  9160        | 10178       |

     41      | 8062      |  9070        | 10078       |

     42      | 7980      |  8978        |  9975       |

     43      | 7896      |  8883        |  9870       |

     44      | 7810      |  8786        |  9763       |

     45      | 7722      |  8687        |  9653       |

     46      | 7632      |  8586        |  9540       |

     47      | 7540      |  8483        |  9425       |

     48      | 7446      |  8377        |  9308       |

     49      | 7350      |  8269        |  9188       |

     50      | 7252      |  8159        |  9065       |

     51      | 7152      |  8046        |  8940       |

     52      | 7050      |  7931        |  8813       |

     53      | 6946      |  7814        |  8683       |

     54      | 6840      |  7695        |  8550       |

     55      | 6732      |  7574        |  8415       |

     56      | 6622      |  7450        |  8278       |

     57      | 6510      |  7324        |  8138       |

     58      | 6396      |  7196        |  7995       |

     59      | 6280      |  7065        |  7850       |

     60      | 6162      |  6932        |  7703       |

     61      | 6042      |  6797        |  7553       |

     62      | 5920      |  6660        |  7400       |

     63      | 5796      |  6521        |  7245       |

     64      | 5670      |  6379        |  7088       |

     65      | 5542      |  6235        |  6928       |

     66      | 5412      |  6089        |  6765       |

     67      | 5280      |  5940        |  6600       |

     68      | 5146      |  5789        |  6433       |

     69      | 5010      |  5636        |  6263       |

     70      | 4872      |  5481        |  6090       |

     71      | 4732      |  5324        |  5915       |

     72      | 4590      |  5164        |  5738       |

     73      | 4446      |  5002        |  5558       |

     74      | 4300      |  4838        |  5375       |

     75      | 4152      |  4671        |  5190       |

     76      | 4002      |  4502        |  5003       |

     77      | 3850      |  4331        |  4813       |

     78      | 3696      |  4158        |  4620       |

     79      | 3540      |  3983        |  4425       |

     80      | 3382      |  3805        |  4228       |

     81      | 3222      |  3625        |  4028       |

     82      | 3060      |  3443        |  3825       |

     83      | 2896      |  3258        |  3620       |

     84      | 2730      |  3071        |  3413       |

     85      | 2562      |  2882        |  3203       |

     86      | 2392      |  2691        |  2990       |

     87      | 2220      |  2498        |  2775       |

     88      | 2046      |  2302        |  2558       |

     89      | 1870      |  2104        |  2338       |

     90      | 1692      |  1904        |  2115       |

     91      | 1512      |  1701        |  1890       |

     92      | 1330      |  1496        |  1663       |

     93      | 1146      |  1289        |  1433       |

     94      |  960      |  1080        |  1200       |

     95      |  772      |   869        |   965       |

     96      |  582      |   655        |   728       |

     97      |  390      |   439        |   488       |

     98      |  196      |   221        |   245       |

     99      |    0      |     0        |     0       |

-------------'-----------'----------------------------'

Worried that you won't be able to make it?  Check the following chart to see if

you can still get Max HP.

If you have LESS then the Required HP for your current level, you will NEVER

be able to get 9999 HP.  Sorry. :P

----------------.-------------.

Character Level | Required HP |

----------------|-------------|

     ----       |    ----     |

      42        |      24     |

      43        |     129     |

      44        |     236     |

      45        |     346     |

      46        |     459     |

      47        |     574     |

      48        |     691     |

      49        |     811     |

      50        |     934     |

      51        |    1059     |

      52        |    1186     |

      53        |    1316     |

      54        |    1449     |

      55        |    1584     |

      56        |    1721     |

      57        |    1861     |

      58        |    2004     |

      59        |    2149     |

      60        |    2296     |

      61        |    2446     |

      62        |    2599     |

      63        |    2754     |

      64        |    2911     |

      65        |    3071     |

      66        |    3234     |

      67        |    3399     |

      68        |    3566     |

      69        |    3736     |

      70        |    3909     |

      71        |    4084     |

      72        |    4261     |

      73        |    4441     |

      74        |    4624     |

      75        |    4809     |

      76        |    4996     |

      77        |    5186     |

      78        |    5379     |

      79        |    5574     |

      80        |    5771     |

      81        |    5971     |

      82        |    6174     |

      83        |    6379     |

      84        |    6586     |

      85        |    6796     |

      86        |    7009     |

      87        |    7224     |

      88        |    7441     |

      89        |    7661     |

      90        |    7884     |

      91        |    8109     |

      92        |    8336     |

      93        |    8566     |

      94        |    8799     |

      95        |    9035     |

      96        |    9271     |

      97        |    9511     |

      98        |    9754     |

      99        |    9999     |

----------------'-------------'

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                        III) Mechanics and Formulae: {M1}                      

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-1} Attacking  |

------------------'

This section delineates all the statistics about physical attacks. These

formulae are shared among all Jobs. Notice that basically, all physical attacks

are similar, with the exceptions of Archery, Bare Hands, and Harps. (which will

all be separately discussed)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Number of Hits: |

----------------'

For attacks other than Archery and Harps, the calculation is as follows:

Number of Hits = 1 + Agility / 7 + JobLV / 14 + (Melee Proficiency. - 1) / 7 -

                 Wt. of Equipment / 6

- This is calculated once per hand.

- Maximum hits is 16 per hand, but actually it works like damage; The number of

  hits can go beyond 16 per hand. However, you will only see 16 (one hand) or

  32 (both hands) on screen.

For Archery attacks:

Number of hits = 1 + Agility / 9 + JobLV / 14 + (Sum of both Melee Prof. - 2)

                 / 14

For Harp attacks:

Number of hits = 1 + Agility / 6 + JobLV / 22 + (Sum of both Melee Prof. - 2)

                 / 14

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic Damage: | (except Archery, Bare Hands, and Harps)

--------------'

Basic Damage = (Attack + Strength - Enemy's Vitality / 2 - Enemy's Def. / 2 +

               JobLV / 11 + Melee Prof. / 9) x (Attack / Enemy's Def.) x

               Weapon Property Adjustment x Magical Property Adjustment

- This is calculalted once per hand.

- The (Attack / Enemy's def) term has a permitted maximum of 2.

- Property Adjustment is 2 if it is weakness, 0.5 if it is resistance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hit Rate: | (except Archery, Bare Hands, and Harps)

----------'

Hit Rate = {[80 + Weapon Hit Rate + Agility / 10 + JobLV / 10 - Enemy's

           Agility / 20 - Wt. of the Weapon / 6] / 2}%

- Maximum is 95%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic Damage: Bare Hands |

-------------------------'

Basic Damage = (JobLV + Strength - Enemy's Vitality / 2 - Enemy's Def. / 2 +

               CharacterLV / 9 + Melee Prof.) x (Attack / Enemy's Def.) x 

               Weapon Property Adjustment x Magical Property Adjustment

- This is calculalted once per hand.

- The (Attack / Enemy's def) term has a permitted maximum of 2.

- Property Adjustment is 2 if it is weakness, 0.5 if it is resistance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hit Rate: Bare Hands |

---------------------'

Hit Rate = {(165 + Agility / 10 + JobLV / 10 - Enemy's Agility / 20) / 2}%

- Maximum is 95%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic Damage: Archery |

----------------------'

Basic Damage = (Sum of both hands' Attack + Strength - Enemy's Vitality / 2 - 

               Enemy's Def / 2 + Sum of both hands' Melee Prof. / 2) x (Attack

               / Enemy's Def.) x Weapon Property Adjustment x Magical Property

               Adjustment

- The (Attack / Enemy's def) term has a permitted maximum of 2.

- Property Adjustment is 2 if it is weakness, 0.5 if it is resistance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hit Rate: Archery |

------------------'

Hit Rate = {[80 + Weapon Hit Rate + Agility / 10 + JobLV / 10 - Enemy's

           Agility / 20] / 2}%

- Maximum is 95%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic Damage: Harps |

--------------------'

Basic Damage = Attack of Weapon + Mind - Enemy's Mind - Enemy's Mag. Def.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hit Rate: Harps |

----------------'

Hit Rate = (40 + Mind - Enemy's Mind)%

- Maximum is 95%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Final Damage: Everything |

-------------------------'

Damage Inflicted = Basic Damage from both hands x Random No. x No. of

                   Successful Hits x Critical Adjustment x Dual-hand Adjustment

Random No.    = number between 0.5 and 0.7

Critical Rate = (Agility - Enemy's Agility + 5)%, Maximum is 10%.

- If using two weapons, the Dual-Hand Adjustment will become 0.6.

- Archery, Bare Hands, and Harps DO NOT have dual-hand penalty.

- Harps do not have critical hits.

The 0.6 Dual-Hand Adjustment seems to be a penalty, but actually not. When

two same weapons are equipped, attack became the sum (doubled) in the damage

calculation. In the final damage calculation, instead of halfing the damage,

the formula only takes 40% away. So, you'll find your two-hand fighting deals

even more damage than adding up each single-hand damage together. The

difference is then the 10% (60% instead of 50%) difference. Conclusion: It's

very effective to fight with two hands.

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-2} Melee Proficiency  |

--------------------------'

Q: I saw "Melee Proficiency" in the formula, what is that?

A: According to the Japanese Complete Guide, this Melee Proficiency is a

   hidden statistic. Each arm has its own proficiency, and the initial level

   is 1, maximum is 99.

Q: How do you increase Melee Proficiency?

A: By attacking. For every 33 attacks, you will gain one level in Melee

   Proficiency. Just keep hitting and it will naturally go up.

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-3} Healing Magic  |

----------------------'

(Outside Battle)

----------------

Total Recovery = Root Recovery x MTA

Root Recovery  = Base x (Mind / 2 + JobLv / 4 + Recipient's Vitality / 8)

MTA            = 1, if 1 ally targeted.

 "             = 0.8, if 2 allies targeted.

 "             = 0.75, if 3 allies targeted.

 "             = 0.7, if 4 allies targeted.

(Inside Battle)

---------------

Total Recovery = Root Recovery x MPA x Random No. x MTA

Root Recovery  = Base x (Mind / 2 + JobLv / 4 + Recipient's Vitality / 8)

MPA            = 1

               = 2, if used on undead.

Random No.     = number between 0.9 and 1.0.

MTA            = 1, if 1 ally targeted.

 "             = 0.7, if 2 allies targeted.

 "             = 0.6, if 3 allies targeted.

 "             = 0.5, if 4 allies targeted.

---------.------------.

W. Magic:|   Base:    |

---------|------------|

Cure     |     10     |

Cura     |     30     |

Curaga   |     80     |

Curaja   |    120     |

---------'------------'

---------.------------.

Summon:  |   Base:    |

---------|------------|

Heatra   |    120     | - Healing Light

---------'------------'

MPA = Magical Property Adjustment

MTA = Multiple Target Adjustment

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-4} Offensive Magic  |

------------------------'

Total Damage = Root Damage x MPA x Random No. x MTA

Success Rate = (30 + Int - Enemy's Mind)%

Root Damage  = (Base + JobLv - Enemy's MDef - Enemy's Mind) x Int / 3

MPA          = 2, if weak against.

 "           = 0.5, if resistant.

Random No.   = number between 0.9 and 1.1, if Success Rate IS passed.

 "           = number between 0.5 and 0.6, if Success Rate ISN'T passed.

MTA          = 1, if 1 enemy targeted.

 "           = 0.6, if 2 enemies targeted.

 "           = 0.5, if 3 enemies targeted.

 "           = 0.4, if 4 enemies targeted.

---------.-----------.

W. Magic:|   Base:   |

---------|-----------|

Aero     |     40    |

Aeroga   |    200    |

Holy     |    300    |

---------'-----------'

---------.-----------.

B. Magic:|   Base:   |

---------|-----------|

Fire     |     40    |

Blizzard |     43    |

Thunder  |     46    |

Poison   |     35    |

Fira     |     85    |

Blizzara |     88    |

Thundara |     85    |

Break    |    110    |

Blizzaga |    180    |

Thundaga |    183    |

Firaga   |    190    |

Bio      |    170    |

Quake    |    140    |

Drain    |    130    |

Flare    |    320    |

Meteor   |    170    |

---------'-----------'

---------.-----------.

Summon:  |   Base:   |

---------|-----------|

Icen     |    190    | - Icy Stare

Icen     |    220    | - Diamond Dust

Spark    |    193    | - Thunderstorm

Spark    |    220    | - Judgment Bolt

Heatra   |    200    | - Hellfire

Heatra   |    220    | - Inferno

Hyper    |    170    | - Clobber

Hyper    |    175    | - Stomp

Hyper    |    220    | - Earthen Fury

Catastro |    255    | - Slash

Leviath  |    300    | - Cyclone

Leviath  |    350    | - Tidal Wave

Bahamur  |    400    | - Megaflare

---------'-----------'

MPA = Magical Property Adjustment

MTA = Multiple Target Adjustment

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-5} Status Magic  |

---------------------'

Inflict Rate = Chance + (JobLv / 7 + Int - Enemy's Mind)%

---------.-----------.

W. Magic:|  Chance:  |

---------|-----------|

Toad     |    10%    |

Mini     |    10%    |

Confuse  |    25%    |

Silence  |    40%    |

Tornado  |    40%    |

---------'-----------'

---------.-----------.

B. Magic:|  Chance:  |

---------|-----------|

Sleep    |    25%    |

Poison   |    30%    |

Blind    |    30%    |

Break    |    30%    |

Shade    |    20%    |

Warp     |    20%    |

Breakga  |    10%    |

Death    |    10%    |

---------'-----------'

---------.-----------.

Summon:  |  Chance:  |

---------|-----------|

Icen     |    25%    | - Mesmerize

Spark    |    20%    | - Mind Blast

Catastro |    10%    | - Zantetsuken

Leviath  |    10%    | - Demon Eye

Bahamur  |    10%    | - Rend

---------'-----------'

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{M1-6} Other Formulae  |

-----------------------'

Action Sequence:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Action Score = Agility x 2 - All weight + Random No.

Random No.   = number between 0 and Agility.

- The higher the score, the earlier to take a turn; Calculated every turn.

- All weight includes equipment weight and action weight. Both are not covered

  in this FAQ.

Defend:  (except Knights)

~~~~~~~

For one turn:

Damage received = Original damage x 0.5

Escape:

~~~~~~~

Escape Score = Lowest CharacterLV in party - Highest Monster LV in enemies

- If result > 1, escape is successful.

- If failed, multiple attempts will accumulate the chance.

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

                  IV) Descriptions, Stats, and Abilities: {JOB}                

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

The purpose of this section is to provide you with detailed Job descriptions

that are meant to go above and beyond the manual - giving you top quality and

in-depth information that you can't find anywhere else.   

Also included into this section are Job Profiles; Which show JP Gain charts,

Stat progression, MP growth, and usable equipment for each Job.  There are also

detailed breakdowns of all Job Abilities.  :)

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{JOB-FR} Freelancer  |

---------------------'

Description:

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Freelancer is the first Job you get to use, even though you probably

don't know you're using a Job at this point if this is your first time playing

the game.

There's not much to say about the Freelancer. They can use a wide variety of

low-level equipment - basically any weapon or armor you will acquire in the

first few hours of gameplay up until you are blessed with the powers of the

Wind Crystal.

Freelancers can cast level 1 White and Black Magic, which let you cast

low-level spells to cure your party, as well as cast offensive magic to exploit

enemy weaknesses (Fire will most likely be the spell you'll use against the

tougher Undead enemies at this point).

Once you acquire the jobs from the Wind crystal, you'll immediately want to

switch all of your characters over to another Job. I suggest you read all the

job descriptions in this FAQ to help you make your decision.

As for endgame, the Freelancer obviously doesn't factor in, even though there's

some potential. It is possible to use some of the best equipment on the

Freelancer, like the Ultima Weapon and Excalibur, which not only give you an

amazing attack power, but this will give you a +20 point boost to all your

stats. Furthermore, if you use the Wi-Fi connection to unlock their mastery

gear, the Celestial Gloves, you will further get another +15 point boost to all

of your stats!

While this is pretty nifty on paper, the Freelancer's base statistics aren't

that amazing to look at. While they have no inherant weaknesses, they also have

no inherant strengths either. Even with the Celestial Gloves, because other

Jobs have better stats all across the board (Dark Knight, Dragoon,

Red Mage, etc.), this one piece of armor still causes the Freelancer to come

up short.

For example, let's compare the Freelancer to the Red Mage. The Red mage can

essentially use the same equipment and receive the same set of stat boosts

(minus Celestial Gloves, plus Crimson Vest). Red Mages can also cast level 1-5

for both White and Black Magic, and they have better Vitality, Intelligence and

Mind stats to boot (a 33 point different at level 99)!

That's not to say Red Mage is the best class in the game, but it is superior to

Freelancer in every way (not to mention the character model is hugely

nostalgic!). Therefore, I suggest only using the Freelancer until you acquire

the jobs from the Wind Crystal - as if you had a choice! :)

---------.--------------------------------------------------------.------------

Profile: |                       Freelancer                       | Initial Job

---------'--------------------------------------------------------'------------

-----------------------------------.

 JP Gain: | JobLv 1-14 | JobLv 14+ |

----------|------------|-----------|    "Freelancers can use low-level

 Attack   |     20     |    20     |     magic, but their base attributes

 Magic    |     20     |    20     |     are pretty low."

 Guard    |     20     |    20     |

 Item     |     20     |    20     |

----------'------------'-----------'

Actions........ Total actions taken during battle, for one character.

JP Gain........ Amount of JP you gain for each action.

Add............ Additional JP from previous battle.(Overflow)

Total JP Gain.. The amount of JP at the end of battle.

Overflow....... Extra JP that will carry over to the next battle.

-----------.----------.----------.------.----------------. .-----------.

 Battle #  | Actions: | JP Gain: | Add: | Total JP Gain: | | Overflow: |

-----------|----------|----------|------|----------------| |-----------|

     1     |    5     |    20    |  --  |      100       | |    --     |

     2     |    5     |    20    |  --  |      100       | |    --     |

     3     |    5     |    20    |  --  |      100       | |    --     |

     4     |    5     |    20    |  --  |      100       | |    --     |

     5     |    5     |    20    |  --  |      100       | |    --     |

-----------'----------'----------'------'----------------' '-----------'

Etc, etc...

The Freelancer is one of the easiest Jobs to level up.  No matter what your

current Job Level is, you will always gain 20 JP, making Overflow potentially

non-existant.

On average, you must take 5 actions per battle to level up a Freelancer.

------------------------------. .----------------------------------.

           MP Chart:          | |              Stats:              |

------------------------------| |----------------------------------|

 LV | L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 | | LV | STR | AGI | VIT | INT | MND |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

  1 |  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | |  1 |   5 |   5 |   5 |   5 |   5 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 10 |  7  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 10 |  10 |  10 |  10 |  10 |  10 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 20 | 12  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 20 |  15 |  15 |  15 |  15 |  15 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 30 | 15  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 30 |  20 |  20 |  20 |  20 |  20 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 40 | 17  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 40 |  24 |  24 |  24 |  24 |  24 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 50 | 20  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 50 |  29 |  29 |  29 |  29 |  29 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 60 | 20  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 60 |  34 |  34 |  34 |  34 |  34 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 70 | 20  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 70 |  38 |  38 |  38 |  38 |  38 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 80 | 20  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 80 |  43 |  43 |  43 |  43 |  43 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 90 | 20  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 90 |  48 |  48 |  48 |  48 |  48 |

----|-------------------------| |----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 99 | 50  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 | | 99 |  52 |  52 |  52 |  52 |  52 |

------------------------------' '----------------------------------'

NOTE: LV = Character Level       NOTE: LV = Character Level

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Battle Commands

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attack: Attacks with equipped weapon.

Magic:  Can cast Lv. 1 White Magic and Lv. 1 Black Magic.

Guard:  Increases defense, reducing all damage by 50%.

Item:   Use an item from the item list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weapons to Use

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knives: Knife, Dagger, Mythril Knife, Spark Dagger, Main Gauche, Poison Dagger.

Swords: Golden Sword, Longsword, Wightslayer, Mythril Sword, Tyrfing,

        Serpent Sword, Salamand Sword, Freezing Blade, Royal Sword, Excalibur,

        Ultima Weapon.

Bows:   Bow, Great Bow, Killer Bow.

Arrows: Wooden Arrow, Holy Arrow, Iron Arrow.

Claws:  Bronze Knuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armor to Equip

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Head:   Leather Cap, Mythril Helm, Shell Helm, Headband, Ice Helm, 

        Feathered Hat, Scholar Hat, Black Cowl, Chakra Band, Dragon Helm,

        Diamond Helm, Ribbon, Genji Helm, Crystal Helm.

Body:   Vest, Rusty Mail, Leather Armor, Mythril Armor, Mage Robe, Shell Armor,

        Kenpo Gi, Ice Armor, Scholar Robe, Flame Mail, Knight Armor,

        Black Garb, Reflect Mail, White Robe, Black Robe, Bard Vest,

        Black Belt Gi, Dragon Mail, Gaia Vest, Demon Mail, Diamond Mail,

        Genji Armor, Crystal Mail.

Arm:    Bronze Bracers, Mythril Bracers, Mythril Gloves, Gauntlets,

        Thief Gloves, Rune Bracers, Power Bracers, Diamond Bracers,

        Diamond Gloves, Protect Ring, Genji Gloves, Crystal Gloves,

        Celestial Gloves.

Shield: All (excluding Onion Shield)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mastery Item 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:   Celestial Gloves

Def:    40

MDef:   18

Bonus:  +15 All Stats

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{JOB-WA} Warrior  |

------------------'

Description:

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Warrior is a decent enough job to start with, mainly aimed at doing damage

while also soaking up some hits for the party. The Warrior also gets an ability

called Advance that let's him do more damage at the cost of lowering their

defense. 

In the beginning of the game, the Advance skill's effects don't amount to much 

either way, and like any job ability, it'll make a bigger difference later on, 

doing up to 2.4x the attack damage of a regular attack while being job

level 99. The problem with the job, though, is that you probably won't remain

a Warrior long enough to tell or care.

Outside of the Advance ability, how does it stack up damage wise? Actually,

pretty good. I mean, the whole point of Warriors is to deal damage, and the job

doesn't disappoint. The main problem is that while the Warrior gets the job

done, there are other jobs that can do it equally well... and "then some"

(in case you don't know, I'm pointing to the Red Mage). Red Mages can attack

for the same damage, use the same weapons, and wear the same armor until you

get to the Fire Crystal, making the Warrior an inferior pick.

This is very contradicting to what you might think, especially after playing

many Final Fantasy games in the older generation. The old adage that you must

have a knight/warrior character in the front position is pretty much thrown out

the window based on how FFIII defines its job's statistics and job archetypes.

This is especially true when the game forces your beginning party into a few

situations where physical attacks are meaningless (due to the constant use of

the Mini spell).

To make matters worse, every other fighting job in the game outclasses a

Warrior at some point, including the Monk within the same tier of jobs. This is

mostly due to the fact that the Warrior stat growths are not nearly as high

compared to other jobs. This is most notable, even by the time you get the

Fire Crystal.  Knights and Rangers may take a few job levels to reach the

number of hits and damage you'll be accustomed to, but eventually the Warrior

won't measure up. 

Also, the weapons and armor that become available won't be exclusive to the 

Warrior either. The Royal Sword is the last Sword he can use for example, and 

that's meant for the Knight in all honesty. Basically, the Warrior doesn't 

remain competitive for long. With the Monk and Red Mage available, why bother 

using the Warrior in the first place?

That pretty much sums up the Warrior. The job's nearly useless at the

beginning, and has no end-game potential whatsoever. The exception to this is

unlocking the job's ultimate equipment through job maxing. This gives the

Warrior his mastery weapon: The Gigantic Axe, which boosts their strength stat

by a whopping +20 and gives them an attack power of 155, free to use another

weapon in their off-hand. 

Still, only the most determined to power level their Warrior to job level 99 

will ever enjoy these benefits. I also think the Warrior's stat growths are on 

the low side compared to a Knight and other top tier classes, making the whole 

affair to be quite moot. A Knight at job level 30-40 with Excalibur, Ragnorak 

and/or Ultima Weapon is immediately useful. Why invest so much time into the 

Warrior when you already have something better with no investment? For the rest

of us who don't care about exploiting trophy accomplishments and

power-leveling, we can safely skip this one. I recommend that you never take

a Warrior through Final Fantasy 3, ever.

---------.-------------------------------------------------------.-------------

Profile: |                       Warrior                         | Wind Crystal

---------'-------------------------------------------------------'-------------

-----------------------------------.

 JP Gain: | JobLv 1-14 | JobLv 14+ |

----------|------------|-----------|    "Warriors are weapons experts.

 Attack   |     20     |    14     |     Their Advance ability allows

 Advance  |     20     |    14     |     them to deal even more      

 Guard    |     20     |    14     |     damage than normal, but they

 Item     |     20     |    14     |     also get hit a lot harder."

----------'------------'-----------'

Actions........ Total actions taken during battle, for one character.

JP Gain........ Amount of JP you gain for each action.

Add............ Additional JP from previous battle.(Overflow)

Total JP Gain.. The amount of JP at the end of battle.

Overflow....... Extra JP that will carry over to the next battle.

-----------.----------.----------.------.----------------. .-----------.

 Battle #  | Actions: | JP Gain: | Add: | Total JP Gain: | | Overflow: |

-----------|----------|----------|------|----------------| |-----------|

     1     |    8     |    14    |  --  |      112       | |    12     |

     2     |    7     |    14    |  12  |      110       | |    10     |

     3     |    7     |    14    |  10  |      108       | |     8     |

     4     |    7     |    14    |   8  |      106       | |     6     |

     5     |    7     |    14    |   6  |      104       | |     4     |

     6     |    7     |    14    |   4  |      102       | |     2     |

     7     |    7     |    14    |   2  |      100       | |    --     |

     8     |    8     |    14    |  --  |      112       | |    12     |

     9     |    7     |    14    |  12  |      110       | |    10     |

    10     |    7     |    14    |  10  |      108       | |     8     |

-----------'----------'----------'------'----------------' '-----------'

Etc, etc...

On average, you must take 7-8 actions per battle to level up a Warrior.

----------------------------------.

              Stats:              |

----------------------------------|

 LV | STR | AGI | VIT | INT | MND |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

  1 |   5 |   5 |   5 |   5 |   5 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 10 |  10 |  10 |  10 |   9 |   9 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 20 |  17 |  17 |  16 |  14 |  14 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 30 |  24 |  24 |  22 |  18 |  18 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 40 |  31 |  31 |  28 |  22 |  22 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 50 |  38 |  38 |  34 |  26 |  26 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 60 |  44 |  44 |  40 |  29 |  29 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 70 |  51 |  51 |  46 |  33 |  33 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 80 |  58 |  58 |  52 |  37 |  37 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 90 |  65 |  65 |  58 |  41 |  41 |

----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|

 99 |  71 |  71 |  63 |  45 |  45 |

----------------------------------'

NOTE: LV = Character Level

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Battle Commands

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attack:  Attacks with equipped weapon.

Advance: Increases attack power, but decreases defense.

          Advance Damage  = Original Damage x (1.5 + JobLv / 110)

          Damage Received = Original Damage x (1.5 + JobLv / 110)

          If JobLv = 99, then both are multiplied by 2.4!

Guard:   Increases defense, reducing all damage by 50%.

Item:    Use an item from the item list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weapons to Use

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knives: Knife, Dagger, Mythril Knife, Spark Dagger, Main Gauche, Poison Dagger.

Swords: Golden Sword, Longsword, Wightslayer, Mythril Sword, Tyrfing,

        Serpent Sword, Salamand Sword, Freezing Blade, Royal Sword, Excalibur,

        Ultima Weapon.

Bows:   Bow, Great Bow, Killer Bow.

Arrows: Wooden Arrow, Holy Arrow, Iron Arrow.

Axes:   All

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armor to Equip

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Head:   Leather Cap, Mythril Helm, Shell Helm, Headband, Ice Helm, 

        Feathered Hat, Scholar Hat, Black Cowl, Chakra Band, Dragon Helm,

        Diamond Helm, Ribbon, Genji Helm, Crystal Helm.

Body:   Vest, Rusty Mail, Leather Armor, Mythril Armor, Mage Robe, Shell Armor,

        Kenpo Gi, Ice Armor, Scholar Robe, Flame Mail, Knight Armor,

        Black Garb, Reflect Mail, White Robe, Black Robe, Bard Vest,

        Black Belt Gi, Dragon Mail, Gaia Vest, Demon Mail, Diamond Mail,

        Genji Armor, Crystal Mail.

Arm:    Bronze Bracers, Mythril Bracers, Mythril Gloves, Gauntlets,

        Thief Gloves, Rune Bracers, Power Bracers, Diamond Bracers,

        Diamond Gloves, Protect Ring, Genji Gloves, Crystal Gloves,

        Celestial Gloves.

Shield: All (excluding Onion Shield)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mastery Item 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:   Gigantic Axe

Atk:    155

Bonus:  +20 STR

=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=

{JOB-MO} Monk   |

----------------'

Description:

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Monk is a variant on a typical fighting Job, essentially giving you higher

damage output and more hits per round at the cost of wearing lower-defense

armor. An interesting facet with the Monk is that the Job can deal damage with

his bare hands, meaning you don't have to find or buy weapons to make the Monk

effective.

During the beginning of the game, Monks start off weak, but with some Job 

levels, they really start to come into their own. Typically, before the Fire

Crystal, Monks do more damage than any other Job using standard attacks.

The Monk also has the Retaliate ability, which allows them to dish out a

counter attack on the enemy to deal 2x the damage of a regular attack,

provided they get hit. 

This ability is hit and miss, because if your Monk is not attacked, you miss

out on the opportunity to attack that round. If you only had a 2-member party,

or had a way to coerce the enemy to attack the Monk, this ability would be

even or better. However, given that the chance of being hit is only 25%, and

that you don't deal 4x+ damage, I'd say this ability is worthless. I'd suggest

sticking to normal attacks.

The only exception to this rule is when you are attacked by 3 enemies (doesn't

happen until Nepto Temple to the best of my knowledge), or when the boss does

3 attacks per round (this is very rare). In those cases, it's statistically

favorable for the enemy to hit your Monk, because there is a 75% chance that

your Monk will do 2x the damage. If you were to run this scenario 100 times,

you'll end up dealing more damage on average than simply using regular

attacks.

Also, when fighting the Iron Giant, he will attack 4 times per round. In this

case, there is a 100% to do 2x the damage. Using the Retaliate ability in these

cases is actually beneficial.

Outside of using your bare hands to attack, the Monk can also equip Claw

weapons, just like Yang in Final Fantasy IV. However, the main problem with

using these claw weapons is that they often lower your attack power,

especially at higher levels. Too often, having no weapons equipped will deal

more damage than using two claws. 

Now, I find this rather odd, because the game constantly feeds the player with

new and higher attack power claws in almost every dungeon, ending with Hellish

Claws in the Ancients' Maze. In fact, I can't think of any other weapon type

that is consistently fed to the player throughout the entire game! It's as if

the game is toying with you, trying to get you to use them. Outside of

exploiting an elemental weakness, I don't see the point. There's even a set of

claws called "Faerie Claws" that boost your Intellect and Mind stats. The Monk

is supposed to take advantage of this... how?!

The Monk has some end-game potential - although it's a hit and miss... just

like the Retaliate ability :) The Black Belt Job is available at tier 4, and is

the natural replacement for the Monk. The Black Belt has higher stats in

Strength, Speed and Vitality, making it highly seductive to switch over. If you

don't have the ability to use the Wi-Fi Connection AND if you don't mind

Job-leveling to get the max benefit, then you should do so. You may have to

build up your Job Levels a little, but the end result will be worth it.

However, if you have a Wi-Fi connection and don't mind putting the effort into 

acquiring the Monk's ultimate equipment, there is some potential to be more 

effective then the Black Belt, but in a different way than you might expect. 

This also has the added bonus that you won't have to max out the Job Levels of 

the Black Belt from square one.

In addition to using the Fuma Garb (let's face it, the Master Dogi on the Black

Belt is not that big of an upgrade) and the Ribbon to help out with the Monk's 

glaring Magic Defense problems, the Monk gets access to the Shura Gloves, which

gives 45 defense! That's 27 more defense than the Protect Ring! Also, the Magic

defense is +1 better too! This gives the Monk quite a bit of an edge over the 

Black Belt.

Since weapons don't matter, the amount of damage you do is only limited by your

character's level/Job level. The same can be said for the Black Belt as well,

so the Black Belt has an advantage there having higher stats. Still, using all

of this gear on your Monk will definitely make him end-game worthy. There's

also something to be said about not having to Job-grind all the way back to

level 99 as well.

Overall, my recommendation is to possibly use this Job over a Red Mage up until

you get the Jobs from the Fire Crystal. Then, make a choice if you want to keep

him or not. If you want to put the time into making the Monk qualify for

endgame, that's up to you. For the rest of us, we can safely upgrade to the

Black Belt.