Part 51: Mini Update: Clan Overview

Mini-Update 51: Clan Overview

Hello again! And after 50 updates in one year, we've really come a long way since our original six units in Targ Woods. Today I'd like to give a brief overview of the clan, to give you an idea of how the units have progressed and perhaps jog your memory if (like me) you occasionally forget who is who in Clan Sawyer.

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Samuel Clemens (Geomancy Parivir/Blue Mage)
Recruited: Update 1

Samuel is our preeminent melee fighter. His main attacks are the Parivir's Blade abilities, which deal twice the damage of a normal attack. Add in the elemental weakness from Geomancy and you're looking at a pile of damage. His secondary ability set is Blue Magick, a first for me! I've found it to be extremely useful, giving him versatile utility that Parivir doesn't provide at all.

Samuel's biggest drawback is constantly being overleveled, which means I don't get to use him as often as I'd like in side quests.


Talf (Alchemist/Sage)
Recruited: Update 1

Talf is the only nu mou in the clan. Frankly, most clans only need one. Alchemist/Sage is a powerful combination that's only limited by range and how much MP you manage to charge him with. He absolutely relies on Half MP, which is fine -- Geomancy is generally preferred, but he has few elemental abilities. He occasionally moonlights as an Illusionist when team-wide damage is called for.

Talf is held back by his low speed, as are most nu mou. I like to think of it as making every one of his turns a special, magickal event.


Lenolia (Double Cast Blood Price Red Mage/Summoner)
Recruited: Update 1

Lenolia is probably the most terrifyingly powerful member of this clan. Not only does she command the raw elemental power of the Espers, but she pays their levy with her own blood. She single-handedly turns the tide of every battle she's in, and I love it.

Her drawback? Battles end too quickly. Also, her speed is starting to suffer a bit, since Red Mage and Summoner are not the quickest jobs.


Henri (Master Monk, Cannoneer)
Recruited: Update 1

Henri is something of a wild card. Bangaa have a lot of really nice physical jobs, and he happily does them all. He's also our only Cannoneer, a role I occasionally like him to fill. Besides that, he makes an excellent Master Monk, with White Monk as a useful secondary ability set.

I can't think of any drawbacks. He's solid and dependable.


Zoe (Ravager/Geomancer)
Recruited: Update 13

Zoe is one of our early recruits. I dabbled with gria in my previous playthroughs, but Zoe's convinced me to always recruit one (or more) in my future runs. Geomancers have some exceptionally strong spells, and the other three jobs all have something powerful to offer. Zoe spends most of her time as a Ravager (if I want Sneak Attack) or a Raptor (because it has the best stat growths) with Geomancy (not the P-Ability) as backup. Also, flying is awesome. She's also mastered literally every skill a gria can learn.

Like Henri, she's very dependable, but not too flashy -- besides the mobility, of course.


Imino (Moogle Knight/Juggler/Black Mage)
Recruited: Update 1

The last of the original Clan Sawyer crew, Imino has always been a generalist. He's primarily physically focused, with plenty of Moogle Knight and Juggler abilities to draw on. But his second ability set is almost always Black Magick. He's also trained as a Fusilier, one of my favorite jobs.

I'm generally not a fan of moogles, but Imino's alright.


Adelle (Ninja/Heritor)
Recruited: Update 5

Technically our first recruit, and certainly the first of the unique units. Adelle came into a lot of power early: she required little training to become a Ninja, and she joined just in time for us to plunder the Auction Houses. She's since lost a bit of her shine now that more of the clan has matured, but she's still incredibly fast and hits extremely hard. And, of course, you can't forget the excellent Heritor abilities!

I haven't really bothered training her in any other jobs, because I like Heritor and I like Ninja.



Lian (Trickster/Bishop)
Recruited: Update 9

Lian was Clan Sawyer's first real recruit. He's also the first magickal bangaa I've ever used, and he has exceeded all of my expectations. His most used skill set is Bishop, thanks to the powerful Holy, Water and Aero spells. His signature spell is Break, of course, and he's trivialized a large number of battles with just that spell. He spends time as a Trickster for the extra Speed and Magick growth.

Drawbacks: Some enemies resist Stone, which is just uncool.


Tsing (Ranger)
Recruited: Update 9

Our second recruit. I've done what I could to make him branch out, but let's face it, seeq are good for one thing and one thing only: Ranger. And even then, Ranger is only really good for Awareness and Mirror Items. For all that, he's been an enjoyable companion and a welcome addition to any team we field.

If only his other jobs were worth using...


Cid (Master Monk/Shield Wall)
Recruited: Update 11

Cid has never quite recovered from spending so many levels as a Warrior before he joined, but Master Monk has really suited him. OK, so the only thing I ever really do with him is let him dual wield Reverie Shields and see how many attacks he can dodge, but it's hilarious and Henri and Lian do bangaa stuff better than he does.

Major drawback would be his speed and general superfluousness. But I like Bison Dad as a character.


Hurdy (Bard/Time Mage)
Recruited: Update 13

I complained about Hurdy when we first encountered him and were subsequently forced to recruit him, but honestly he's grown on me. He's a support unit, especially with the MP-restoring Magick Ballad. Geomancy has made his Black Magick extremely potent, but I prefer him as a Time Mage for more support.

As a moogle, I'm generally disinclined to like him, and there's an argument to be made that offensive characters are overall more useful than support units. But he's alright.


Leed (Ninja/Seer)
Recruited: Update 13

At the insistence of the thread, I recruited a magickally-inclined Ninja and threw books at him until he learned Magick Frenzy. And you all did not steer me wrong! Leed is behind only Lenolia in terms of sheer power, thanks to his dual katanas and powerful spells. Even better, he sometimes uses Illusions to just wreck the entire enemy team. He's also the fastest unit in the clan, thanks to Ninja's excellent speed growth. Frankly, he's an absolute joy to watch in battle, and I'm happy every time he gets a turn.

Downside: Sometimes he'd rather sit at home with tea and a good book, so I can't drag him into every fight.


Jalia (Sniper/Assassin/Spellblade)
Recruited: Update 15

I had originally intended Jalia to be a Sniper/Spellblade, dropping awesome conditions on enemies from across the battlefield. But instead I kept her as an Assassin, and she helped Lian turn everyone into statues. One of these days I'll get around to showing off the Sniper/Spellblade combo. She's also tied with Leed for fastest unit, though I think she's boosted by her equipment.

A ton of fun to use in battle and definitely one of our stronger units.


Frimelda Lotice (Ninja/Paladin)
Recruited: Update 26

Frimelda's was a tragic tale that eventually had a happy (?) ending thanks to Clan Sawyer. Since then, she's been a general melee/support fighter, joining Adelle as another "Ninja by default." She's been spending time as a White Mage, probably so I could turn her into a Seer? Honestly, I don't remember. But she's cool and strong, which is really all I need.

All those levels as Paladin left her Speed entirely too low, but she's slowly recovering.


Penelo (Dancer)
Recruited: Update 27

Penelo is yet another forced recruited, at quite a late point in the game. Dancer has decent speed and offensive growths, so you can easily turn her into a useful viera. I've only used her occasionally since then, and have enjoyed her support abilities. I imagine people who played FFXII have a stronger connection to her, but honestly I could take her or leave her. That said, she has been useful in a number of battles, so I won't complain too loudly about her tagging along.

You'd be better off recruiting an Assassin for the sheer speed, but you could do worse.


Vaan (Sky Pirate)
Recruited: Update 27

Vaan is Yet Another Human, which means Yet Another Ninja to me. Sky Pirate brings little of interest to the table. He gets work done and happily adapts to any physical role you throw at him. Essentially, if I have a hole in a team, Vaan is usually able to fill it.

He's basically a second Luso, now that I think about it.



Al-Cid (Agent)
Recruited: Update 38

Al-Cid has been something of a pleasant surprise. Despite being locked into one job with limited abilities, he's made a good impression in several battles now. Then again, he's basically a watered-down Fusilier, and I can't help but think a speedy moogle would a better job.

Like Vaan, Al-Cid fills a useful role for some teams, but I can't say he excels at it.


Montblanc (Black Mage/Time Mage)
Recruited: Update 43

Montblanc completes the moogle triad with Imino and Hurdy. He's just as magickally inclined as his younger brother, but he prefers the raw power of Black Magick. Which actually makes him somewhat boring, because without elemental weaknesses to exploit, you can just blindly choose Fire, Thunder or Blizzard. I get the feeling Montblanc is supposed to be a nice reference for the FFTA veterans and useful filler for players who don't bother to recruit anyone. Like other members of this clan, I think Montblanc is a solid choice for any team.

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Thanks for reading! Regular updates will resume next week.