Part 72: Intermediate Physical Jobs

Job Overview: Intermediate Physical Classes

Ranger



Requirements: Scoundrel (4 abilities)

Unlocks:

4 abilities (Gunner*)

5 abilities (Peddler)

*= Other jobs required

Equipment: Axe, Bow, Crossbow, Light Armor

Mastery Bonus: HP+5, ATK+5, EVA+1

The Ranger is an intermediate class that, as the name implies, is best when working at long range. It has decent all-around growths, with a slight focus on speed and attack and a lower defense growth. It is one of only two classes in the game to use regular bows, which have longer range and do more damage than the comparable crossbow, though crossbows get an accuracy bonus instead. They have a good number of useful skills including 2 separate physical AOE attacks, the unique collect pelt ability, which can be incredibly useful in specific circumstances, and what I believe is the most powerful single attack in the game.



Notable Abilities:

Multishot: This is an attack that can put a plus shaped AOE anywhere within the user’s weapon range (and it does exclude the user, so it’s safe to use in melee). While it’s not as strong as a regular attack, being able to put out AOEs without any cost is very useful, especially at range.

Collect Pelt: I mentioned this ability earlier, but here it is again. It deals a weaker physical attack to an enemy (0.8x), but if it kills a monster, then you get a rare component. Additionally, if the target is defeated by this ability, it cannot be raised for the rest of the encounter, and any rebirth status will be ignored. Later in the game, there can be multiple enemies with raise abilities and they love to spam them as much as players would. This is the only way to actually stop them from just reviving downed units again, so it is one of my favorite abilities just for the utility.

Sniper Shot: A very expensive skill (it costs 36 MP to cast, and you normally only get 10 a turn); it is also incredibly powerful. For the cost, the user gets rooted, and then inflicts a 3.8x hit! With the right positioning and maybe some buffs or debuffs, it’s quite common to straight up one-shot squishy or even average bulk enemies with this. It also works off of weapon range, so just like FFTA’s Ultima Blade on a gunner, you can throw out massive damage at huge range with a bow (or gun in other classes).

Templar



Requirements: Knight (4 abilities)

Unlocks:

5 abilities (Reaver)

6 abilities (SECRET!!!!!)

Equipment: Scythe, Sword, Mace, Heavy Armor, Shield

Mastery Bonus: Def+5, Res +5, Holy Resist +5

Templars are a very interesting class. They’re more offensively minded than a mercenary or knight, but not nearly as much as a Reaver. With a good attack and decent mind growth, there are definitely worse classes for a future hybrid to be in, and they have a pretty good resistance growth as well. They have a good equipment selection, with heavy armor giving them some nice bulk, and have a choice between more offense or defense with a scythe or either of the 1 handed weapons. For skills, they have a mix of offensive and support skills, including a cheap AOE heal centered on themselves, a strong elemental hit, and an AOE attack buff. In general, I like this class, but I really love sticking its skill set on another class as a secondary to fill in any gaps. Being able to use a scythe is great though!



Notable Abilities:

Cleansing Blade: A cheap attack that uses the attack stat but hits res, and starts off as a weak 0.5x. If the target has any buffs active, it will dispel them all and gain a 0.45x modifier boost per dispelled buff. Enemies love to spam buffs on each other, so this can quickly skyrocket in damage, and is just generally useful because not too many moves can get rid of them.

Righteous Blade: A solidly expensive (24 MP) hit that deals a 2.8x Holy attack to the target. As the modifier and cost suggest, this is very powerful, especially because a lot of monsters have 25 or 50% weaknesses to the holy element. When combined with Siphon (which does damage and drains MP from the target), you can actually use this relatively often, and it’s one of my favorites because it lets you really clear out troublesome enemies.

Emboldening Chant: A buff that boosts the attack of the user and any adjacent target. It costs no MP and attack buffs are relatively rare, so this is a great support skill that helps set up for future rampaging with the blade skills.

Raptorous Chant: A self KO (for 0 MP) that will heal and remove all debuffs from the user’s allies. The user will not suffer an injury from using this. A skill that I really need to remember to use. Admittedly, the user going down does make it effectively cost 12-24 MP per use, and requires a healer’s turn to bring them back, but it can definitely turn a bad situation around if timed well.