upper slot counts (whether it’s a sword or not!).
The element of these techniques is the same as the element of your weapon.
(And if the weapon has no elemental affinity, then the attack is non-
elemental.)
Unlike in the PSone version, Crush abilities CAN target monsters and unequipped
humans, and in fact do extra damage against such targets! Crush Armor does the
most extra damage, and Crush Accessory the least. (They all do the same damage
when the relevant equipment slot is filled.) However, Crush abilities always
have a 0% hit rate against targets with Safeguard.
JP to master: 5850
--MY THOUGHTS--
There’s probably not much I need to say here. The Thunder God himself is
overwhelmingly powerful -- he has all of Agrias’s, Meliadoul’s, and
Gaffgarion’s sword techniques (all useful in their own right), he has
tremendous HP and attack power, and he comes with the Excalibur sword, which
gives a permanent Haste. His attacks do tremendous damage and he can take down
most enemy units with a sword technique. Shadowblade even lets him heal
himself in the process!
In other words, the only reason you *wouldn’t* want Orlandeau on your team is
to challenge yourself by making the game harder. Otherwise, he’s going to be
your strongest character -- to the point of being more than a little
unbalanced ;)
Particularly useful abilities are Hallowed Bolt and Divine Ruination for group
damage, Shadowblade for restoring Orlandeaus’ HP, Crush Weapon for disabling an
enemy’s offense, and Duskblade against enemy magick users. Duskblade steals so
much MP that you can often steal an enemy mage’s entire magick gauge and render
them completely useless. This is a great tactic against magick-using enemies!
(You can also use it as a crippling the last enemy if you extend the battle for
any reason.) And, as with Agrias, giving him the Geomancer’s Attack Boost will
make his sword techniques stronger.
---HOLY DRAGON-----------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Reis (before completing Nelveska Temple quest) Movement range : 5
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: none Physical evade : 5%
Stats:
HP: ***** MP: * Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: ***** Speed: ****
--Action Abilities: Breath--
Damage based on user’s: Magick Attack
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ice Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Ice magick attack
Fire Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Fire magick attack
Thunder Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Lightning magick attack
These three Breath attacks can only target characters in a straight line from
Reis, not on a diagonal.
--Reaction Abilities--
none
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
In her dragon form, Reis is limited to her three breath attacks. (And, being
a monster, she obviously can’t change jobs.) She has a lot of HP, though, and
her movement range is actually much better than her human form’s. Her magick
attack is also phenomenally high, which means that her breath attacks are
likely to do more damage now than as a human! However, her very limited set of
abilities and inability to use any kind of equipment or accessories means
you’ll get more use out of her human form in the long run.
Note that if you fail to buy Aerith’s flower at Sal Ghidos, you won’t be able
to complete the quest to restore Reis to human form and she’ll actually be
stuck in dragon form for the entirety of the game.
---DRAGONKIN-------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Reis (after Nelveska Temple quest) Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Bags Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hair adornments, Minerva Bustier Physical evade : 7%
Equippable accessories: Rings, armlets, perfume, and lip rouge only
Innate abilities (as Dragonkin only): Beastmaster, Tame, Dual Wield
Stats When Active Job:
HP: ***** MP: ***** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: *****
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: ***** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: ***** Speed: **
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Dragon--
Damage based on user’s: Magick Attack
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ice Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Ice magick attack #
Fire Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Fire magick attack #
Thunder Breath * 0 2/2 1/- Any Y 0 Lightning magick attack #
Dragon’s Charm * 0 2/2 1/- Foe N 300 Dragon or hydra joins as guest,
and can be recruited after
battle (100% hit rate!)
Dragon’s Gift 0 2/2 1/- Any N 300 Heals dragon or hydra and removes
Blind, Confuse, Silence, Oil,
Berserk, Toad, Poison, Stop,
Sleep, Immobilize, and Disable.
Consumes Reis’s HP when used.
Dragon’s Might 0 2/2 1/- Any N 400 Boosts dragon or hydra’s Bravery,
speed, physical attack, and
magick attack
Dragon’s Speed 0 2/2 1/- Any N 400 Fills dragon or hydra’s CT gauge
to 100 (instant turn!)
Holy Breath 0 4/* 3/3 Any N 900 Holy attack, strikes random tiles
within radius
# The initial three Breath attacks can only target characters in a straight
line from Reis, not on a diagonal.
JP to master: 2350
--MY THOUGHTS--
Although Reis’s abilities don’t seem too exciting at first glance, check out
her stats! Dragonkin is the fastest job in the game and Reis also has great
HP, MP, and physical attack power. She can also attack twice (as if she were
a Ninja) and her attack can Tame monsters. Note that bags can’t be Dual-
Wielded (as is true for any character), but Reis’s Dual Wield does work
with her fists or other weapons you give her using Equip ____ abilities.
Unfortunately, the job is weakened by her lack of equipment. Moreover,
although Reis’s primary weapons is her fists, she does *not* have the Brawler
ability. So, to make her stronger, give her Brawler or an Equip ___ ability.
For a melee fighter, Reis’s movement range of 3 is also rather poor, and she
also can’t equip the accessories that would increase it. Move +1 or Move +2
will help, though. (Or, alternately, give her the Septie`me perfume or Tynar
Rouge; a permanent Haste will give her more turns, so it doesn’t matter so much
if she can’t move very far on each turn.)
As for her abilities, her three initial Breath attacks are nice, since they
supplement her fists with elemental attacks with a 2-tile range (and they’re
automatically learned, so you don’t have to spend any JP!). You can make them
stronger by raising Reis’s Magick Attack (e.g. with accessories). Holy Breath
can be used as a range attack and does sizable damage, but since it strikes
random tiles, it’s not very reliable unless you’re fighting a large enemy
group.
The four "Dragon’s _____" are only useful if you have dragons or hydras on your
squad. This gives them a somewhat use -- but the hydra family contains the
strongest monsters in the game, so they may be worth recruiting and adding to
your team! One trick is to use Dragon’s Charm to recruit dragons/hydras just
to help you in one battle and also save you from fighting them; you don’t have
to permanently add them to your party at the end of the battle if you don’t
want to.
---DIVINE KNIGHT---------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Meliadoul Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight’s swords, crossbows, Jump height : 3
polearms Physical evade : 10%
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, clothes, armor, robes
Stats When Active Job:
HP: **** MP: *** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: ** Speed: ***
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: **** MP: ** Phys. Atk.: ***** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Unyielding Blade--
Damage based on user’s: Physical Attack & Weapon Strength
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Crush Armor * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 200 Physical attack, destroys
target’s armor
Crush Helm 0 3/* 1/- Any N 400 Physical attack, destroys
target’s headgear
Crush Weapon * 0 3/* 1/- Any N 500 Physical attack, destroys
target’s weapon
Crush Accessory 0 3/* 1/- Any N 800 Physical attack, destroys
target’s accessory
Unyielding Blade techniques have a 100% hit rate. However, they cannot be used
unless Meliadoul is equipped with a sword, knight’s sword, or fell sword.
Damage from Unyielding Blade techniques increases when you have a stronger
weapon equipped. When you have two weapons Dual Wielded, only the weapon in
the upper slot counts (whether it’s a sword or not!).
The element of these techniques is the same as the element of your weapon.
(And if the weapon has no elemental affinity, then the attack is non-
elemental.)
Unlike in the PSone version, Crush abilities CAN target monsters and unequipped
humans, and in fact do extra damage against such targets! Crush Armor does the
most extra damage, and Crush Accessory the least. (They all do the same damage
when the relevant equipment slot is filled.) However, Crush abilities always
have a 0% hit rate against targets with Safeguard.
JP to master: 2950
--MY THOUGHTS--
Meliadoul’s sword skills are quite useful, since they do good damage, never
miss, and can shatter enemy equipment. In the PSP version, they can even be
used against targets who don’t have the relevant item equipped (e.g. Crush
Armor can still damage a target without armor), which means they also work on
monsters! They’re all limited to hitting a single target, though. Of her
abilities, Crush Armor and Crush Weapon are probably the best -- Crush Weapon
can cripple an enemy’s offense, and Crush Armor does the most damage to
monsters.
Unfortunately for Meliadoul, she doesn’t join the team until *after* Orlandeau,
who has all her sword techniques and then some, as well as better stats! So,
what would otherwise be a good character may not find all that use on your
squad. Both Orlandeau and Agrias tend to have more useful swordskills. Still,
Meliadoul can make for a pretty good second-string fighter. You could also try
making her into a magick-using job since she starts with high Faith. She can
also equip polearms and crossbows, but giving her one of these weapons won’t
allow her to use her sword techniques.
---SOLDIER---------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Cloud Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: Swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Hats, hair adornments, clothes Physical evade : 20%
Stats When Active Job:
HP: **** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: **** Mag. Atk.: *** Speed: ***
Stat Growth Rates:
HP: *** MP: **** Phys. Atk.: *** Mag. Atk.: * Speed: *
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Limit--
Damage based on user’s: Magick Attack
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Brave Slash 3 2/* 1/- Any N 150 Non-elemental magick attack
Cross Slash * 4 2/* 2/0 Any N 200 Non-elemental magick attack
Blade Beam * 5 2/* 1/- Any N 250 Damage = (Cloud’s max HP minus
current HP)
Climhazzard 7 2/* 1/- Any N 500 Damage = (TARGET’S max HP minus
current HP)
Meteorain 10 3/* 3/0 Any N 600 Non-elemental magick attack
Finishing Touch * 5 3/* 2/0 Any N 700 Causes KO, Stone, Stop
Omnislash 15 3/* 3/0 Any N 1200 Non-elemental magick attack
Cherry Blossom 20 3/* 3/0 Any N 2500 Non-elemental magick attack
Limit techniques cannot be used unless Cloud is equipped with the Materia Blade
sword. Note that the damage from Limit attacks is determined by Cloud’s MAGICK
Attack stat, NOT his Physical Attack (unlike Agrias, Meliadoul, and
Orlandeau’s sword techniques).
JP to master: 7150
--MY THOUGHTS--
For being a hidden character, Cloud could be better. His Limit abilities take
a very long time to charge, and they can only target panels (not units), so the
enemy will just move away while he’s charging. Give him the Time Mage’s
Swiftness ability to make up for this. Even with that, Cloud is a little pokey
-- he only has a movement range of 3, so you may also want to give him Germinas
Boots or Move +1/Move +2 to boost his movement. Finishing Touch is very
powerful, though; it petrifies or KOs enemies, and can hit a whole group.
Cloud starts at level 1, which means that you’ll have to spend a lot of time
bringing him up to snuff. As he gains levels, he does end up with pretty good
HP and MP, so you could try making him into a magick-user. Equipping Cloud
with gear to raise his Magick Attack also makes his Limits stronger.
Unfortunately, his physical attack is only moderately strong at best, since
he’s stuck with the Materia Blade if you want to use Limits. Personally, I
still don’t think he’s worth the trouble, but other people seem to like him.
---ARK KNIGHT------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: Zalbaag Movement range : 4
Equippable weapons: Swords, knight’s swords Jump height : 3
Equippable armor: Shields, helms, armor, robes Physical evade : 10%
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Blade of Ruin--
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Magicksap 20 3 4/* 2/0 Any N 0 Lowers target’s MP
Speedsap 20 3 4/* 2/0 Any N 0 Lowers target’s speed
Powersap 20 3 4/* 2/0 Any N 0 Lowers target’s physical attack
strength
Mindsap 20 3 4/* 2/0 Any N 0 Lowers target’s magick attack
strength
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Phys. Attack Yes 300 Counter-attack with physical attack
Counter Tackle Phys. attack Yes 180 Counterattack using Rush
--Support Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Concentration 400 Prevents enemies from evading your
physical attacks
Safeguard 250 Equipment can’t be broken or stolen
Swiftness 1000 Speeds spell/ability charge time
--Movement Abilities--
JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Move +1 200 Movement range + 1
JP to master: 2130
--MY THOUGHTS--
Zalbaag doesn’t really do much. He’s only in one half of one battle that you
may win in one or two rounds. He has a nice set of abilities, but you’ll never
see them in action.
---BYBLOS----------------------------------------------------------------------
Used By: the Byblos (name varies) Movement range : 3
Equippable weapons: none Jump height : 6
Equippable armor: none Physical evade : 33%
Innate abilities: Counter, Poach, Ignore Elevation, can’t enter water
--ABILITIES--
--Action Abilities: Byblos--
Damage based on user’s: nothing
RNG RAD
MP TIC H/V H/V TAR LF JP EFFECT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Energize 0 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Restores HP, the Byblos loses HP
equal to 1/2 of amount healed
Parasite 0 4/* 1/- Any N 0 Causes Stone, Blind, Confuse,
Silence, Oil, Toad, Poison,
and/or Sleep
Vengeance 0 5/3 1/- Any N 0 Damage = (Byblos’s max HP minus
current HP)
Manaburn 0 5/3 1/- Any N 0 Deals damage equal to target’s
current MP
--Reaction Abilities--
TRIGGER BRV JP EFFECT
------------------------------------------------------------
Counter Automatically eqppd. Yes 0 Counter-attack with physical attack
--Support Abilities--
none
--Movement Abilities--
none
JP to master: 0
--MY THOUGHTS--
The Byblos doesn’t join you until you’ve reached the last battle of the bonus
dungeon, which limits its usefulness. By the time it’s joined your team,
you’ve already completed pretty much the whole single-player game!
What can it do, though? Like Construct 8, it’s a special "monster" and can’t
change jobs or use equipment. So, the Byblos is limited to its four abilities.
While none of these are *bad*, they still give only the Byblos a very limited
set of abilities ... and the Byblos doesn’t share Construct 8’s immunity to
magick. The Byblos does have an innate Poach, although the addition of Luso
(who also has an innate Poach) to the PSP version makes this somewhat less
exciting. It’s also reasonably mobile thanks to its innate Ignore Elevation.
%%%JOB STATISTICS COMPARISON%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00jobstat
---Stats During Active Use-----------------------------------------------------
A character’s current stats differ based on which job he or she is currently
using -- for example, Black Mage has high MP, while Samurai has high attack
power. This chart is just a quick comparison of the stats of each job, rated
on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best).
Note that job-specific evade rates (C-Ev) are only effective against attacks
from the front; for more information on evade rates, see Evasion Rates under
Basic Mechanics and Tactics.
---NORMAL JOBS---
HP MP Phys.Atk Mag.Atk Speed Move Jump Evade
Squire *** *** *** ** *** 4 3 5%
Chemist *** *** ** ** *** 3 3 5%
Knight **** *** **** ** *** 4 3 10%
Archer *** ** **** ** *** 3 3 10%
Monk ***** *** ***** ** **** 3 4 20%
White Mage ** ***** *** *** **** 3 3 5%
Black Mage ** ***** ** ***** *** 3 3 5%
Time Mage ** ***** * **** *** 3 3 5%
Summoner ** ***** * **** *** 3 3 5%
Thief *** * **** * **** 4 4 25%
Orator *** *** *** ** *** 3 3 5%
Mystic ** **** * **** *** 3 3 5%
Geomancer *** **** **** *** *** 4 3 10%
Dragoon **** * **** * *** 3 4 10%
Samurai ** **** ***** *** *** 3 3 20%
Ninja * * **** ** ***** 4 4 30%
Arithmetician * *** * * * 3 3 5%
Bard * * * **** *** 3 3 5%
Dancer * * **** *** *** 3 3 5%
Mime ***** * ***** **** ***** 4 4 5%
Dark Knight *** **** ***** ** *** 3 3 0%
Onion Knight * * * * *** 3 3 5%
Onion Knight# ***** ***** ***** **** ***** 3 3 30%
# Upon mastering 14 other jobs, Onion Knight advances to job level 8 and its
stats increase substantially. (Squire, Chemist, Mime, Dark Knight, and special
jobs that replace Squire do not count towards this 14.)
---SPECIAL JOBS---
These jobs are only available to particular story characters.
HP MP Phys.Atk Mag.Atk Speed Move Jump Evade
Squire [Ramza]**** **** **** *** *** 4 3 10%
Holy Knight ***** **** *** *** *** 3 3 25%
Machinist *** *** *** **** **** 4 3 18%
Game Hunter **** **** **** *** *** 4 3 10%
Skyseer *** **** *** *** **** 3 3 10%
Netherseer *** **** *** *** **** 4 3 8%
Templar **** ***** ***** *** **** 4 3 14%
Sky Pirate *** *** **** *** ***** 4 4 25%
Sword Saint ***** ***** ***** *** **** 4 3 12%
Holy Dragon ***** * ***** ***** **** 5 3 5%
Dragonkin ***** ***** ***** *** ***** 3 3 7%
Divine Knight **** *** **** ** *** 4 3 10%
Soldier **** **** **** *** *** 3 3 20%
---Stat Growth Rates-----------------------------------------------------------
A character’s job also affects the rate at which his/her permanent stats change
upon gaining a experience level. While all jobs will grow all stats, some jobs
grow certain stats faster and slower. For example, Monk will grow HP quickly,
while Ninja will grow Speed quickly. Note that these growth rates don’t always
match up with the stat bonuses when you’re using the job. (For instance,
almost every job has the same magick attack growth rate, but they definitely
differ in their *current* magick attack!)
Move, Jump, and evade rates do not change with level-up, so there are no growth
rates for these stats.
You can exploit differences in these growth rates by leveling-down as a job
with crummy growth rates and then gaining levels as a job with a good growth
rate. While this is by NO means necessary, if you want to max out your stats
in this way, check out the Level-Downs and Stat Grinding section under
Statistics and Leveling, below. (press Ctrl+F and enter 00down to jump there)
---NORMAL JOBS---
HP MP Phys.Atk Mag.Atk Speed
Squire *** ** ** * *
Chemist ** ** * * *
Knight **** ** **** * *
Archer *** ** **** * *
Monk **** *** *** * *
White Mage **** **** *** * *
Black Mage ** ***** ** * *
Time Mage ** **** ** * *
Summoner ** ***** * * *
Thief *** ** *** * ***
Orator *** * ** * *
Mystic ** **** ** * *
Geomancer **** **** **** * *
Dragoon **** ** **** * *
Samurai ** *** **** * *
Ninja ** *** **** * *****
Arithmetician ** **** * * *
Bard * * * * *
Dancer * * *** * *
Mime ***** **** ***** **** **
Dark Knight ** * **** * *
Onion Knight ** *** * * *
Onion Knight# ***** ***** ***** **** *****
# Upon mastering 14 other jobs, Onion Knight advances to job level 8 and its
stat growth rates increase substantially. However, Onion Knights never gain
experience, so the only way to gain levels as an Onion Knight is to breed Wild
Boars and use their Bequeath Bacon ability. (See Level-Downs and Stat-Grinding
for more.)
---SPECIAL JOBS---
HP MP Phys.Atk Mag.Atk Speed
Squire [Ramza]*** **** *** ** **
Holy Knight **** **** *** * *
Machinist *** *** *** * *
Game Hunter *** **** **** ** **
Skyseer *** **** *** * *
Netherseer **** **** *** * *
Templar **** **** *** *** *
Sky Pirate **** *** *** * *****
Sword Saint **** **** **** *** **
Dragonkin ***** **** ***** ***** **
Divine Knight **** ** ***** * *
Soldier *** **** *** * *
%%%MONSTERS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00mon
In addition to human characters, Final Fantasy Tactics also features a variety
of monsters. Monsters mostly appear in random battles, but also appear in a
few story battles.
---About Monsters--------------------------------------------------------------
---MONSTER TYPES---
Monsters are divided by Family and Rank. Each monster Family has three Ranks:
for instance, the chocobo family contains Chocobo (Rank I), Black Chocobo
(Rank II), and Red Chocobo (Rank III).
Within a Family, the monsters look the same but simply have different color
schemes. Each’s monsters color scheme is listed in the table below. The color
scheme will help you quickly identify a monster. It can also be used to help
identify the monster inside an egg (see Previewing Monster Eggs under Various
Tricks)
---MONSTER ABILITIES---
Monsters cannot change jobs, but instead have a fixed set of 1-3 Action
Abilities. These are their only actions; they have no regular attack command.
Each monster also has one EXTRA ability. This abilitiy can only be used if an
ally with the Beastmaster support ability (Squire) is standing directly next to
the monster. (Reis’s Dragonkin job also has an inherent Beastmaster).
All Action Abilities used by standard (non-boss) monsters have no charge time
and consume no MP.
*ALL* monsters have Counter as an innate Reaction Ability. Since this is true
of EVERY monster, I haven’t listed it for each monster in the table, but be
aware of it!
Most monsters one or more innate Movement abilities (such as Ignore Elevation
or Levitate). These are listed in the tables.
Finally, many monsters also have various elemental affinities, such as
Absorbs: Fire (fire attacks actually heal the monster), Immune: Ice, etc.
---RECRUITING MONSTERS---
Monsters can be recruited into your party in five ways:
1. Use the Orator’s Entice skill to recruit an enemy monster onto your team.
After the battle, you’ll be able to permanently sign the monster up for your
team. Note that in order to use Entice (or any other Speechcraft skill) on
monsters, you must have the Beast Tongue support ability (also from Orator).
Beast Tongue is an innate ability for Orators and doesn’t need to be learned or
equipped as long as you’re an Orator, but if you switch to another job, you’ll
have to equip Beast Tongue to Entice monsters. Reis’s Dragon’s Charm ability
also has the same effect and does not require Beast Tongue, but only works on
Game Reviews Index
