Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chroncles is here and players who are new to the game might have trouble wrapping their heads around jobs and which ones are the best.
Jobs have popped in and out of the Final Fantasy franchise since being introduced in Final Fantasy 5. Final Fantasy Tactics took things to a new level by offering a deep character progression system that few games have been able to match decades later.
But how can players unlock all the different jobs and which ones are the best? Here’s a full guide.
Table of contents
All Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles jobs and prerequisites
Each playable character in Final Fantasy Tactics unlocks new jobs by raising their job levels with certain jobs. Job levels are separate from character levels, and can be tracked on the Jobs screen. There are also two gender-specific jobs; Bard and Dancer. These jobs are exclusive to male and female units, respectively.
Each job has its own unique set of abilities and once these are unlocked, they can be mixed and matched with other jobs.
Here are the prerequisites for each Final Fantasy Tactics job:
| Job | Prerequisites |
| Squire | None |
| Chemist | None |
| Knight | Squire 2 |
| Archer | Squire 2 |
| Black Mage | Chemist 2 |
| White Mage | Chemist 2 |
| Thief | Archer 3 |
| Monk | Knight 3 |
| Time Mage | Black Mage 3 |
| Mystic | White Mage 3 |
| Geomancer | Monk 4 |
| Dragoon | Thief 4 |
| Summoner | Time Mage 3 |
| Orator | Mystic 3 |
| Samurai | Knight 4, Monk 5, Dragoon 2 |
| Ninja | Archer 4, Thief 5, Geomancer 2 |
| Arithmetician | White Mage 5, Black Mage 5, Time Mage 4, Mystic 4 |
| Dancer | Females only, Geomancer 5, Dragoon 5 |
| Bard | Males only, Summoner 5, Orator 5 |
| Mime | Squire 8, Chemist 8, Summoner 5, Orator 5, Geomancer 5, Dragoon 5 |
There is something resembling parity with characters as they advance down the Chemist and Squire job path. There are steeper requirements for the Squire line of jobs, but this is manageable based on their simpler usability.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles job tier list
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles gives characters access to 19 jobs. For special characters like Agrias and Mustadio, their unique classes replace Squire. Their action abilities are unique, but they have the same roundup of JP Boost, Counter Tackle, and Movement +1 past that.
Here’s the definitive tier list of the best jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.
| Tier | Jobs |
| S-Tier | Ninja, Knight, Arithmetician, Black Mage, Samurai |
| A-Tier | White Mage, Summoner, Monk, Chemist, Time Mage |
| B-Tier | Dancer, Dragoon, Squire |
| C-Tier | Orator, Mystic, Thief |
| D-tier | Mime, Archer, Bard, Geomancer |
Final Fantasy Tactics best jobs
While the tier list is a great way to decide the best endgame classes and builds in Final Fantasy Tactics, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Some classes have specific reaction, movement, or support abilities that are worth going out of the way for. Here’s a breakdown of the best jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.
Squire
Squire is one of the best jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics, but it’s not an optimal endgame class. Still, every character should spend some time as a Squire because of two specific skills.
The movement ability Move +1 is extremely valuable and low-cost at just 200 JP. More important is the JP Boost ability. This offers incredible acceleration to characters’ growth and costs just 250 JP. Whether players want to hustle to an endgame class or more quickly level up just one, a stint as a Squire is a must.
Chemist
The other starter class is also very powerful, but isn’t necessarily a must. Healing items are extremely powerful and permadeath is a major threat in Final Fantasy Tactics. Teaching characters how to use potions and Phoenix Downs goes a very long way on its own.
Just as importantly, Auto-Potion is one of the most powerful reaction abilities in the game and can effectively make characters immortal. The Treasure Hunter movement ability is also key for getting a select few rare items. All this, and the fact that Chemists can use guns, makes them deceptively powerful in the endgame.
Ninja
Ninjas have solid damage output on their own, alongside a few very valuable abilities. While throwing weapons isn’t optimal, the ability to dual-wield makes them hit hard. The option to unlock the Dual Wield support ability also makes Ninja a great short-term class. For other classes, this can seriously increase their damage potential.
Knight
Even though Knights are an early-game class, they have some of the best basic attacks in the game, even in the endgame. That said, it’s their ability to rend weapons and stats that makes them particularly valuable. What makes the Knight particularly powerful is the fact that their skills can be used on ranged class. Breaking weapons from across the stage as a Chemist can instantly swing a battle.
Samurai
Samurai is a solid, versatile class in its own right. The various skills associated with each katana have a broad range of effects, both for dealing damage and supporting allies. While the job isn’t as offensively threatening as some, this can be improved with the Doublehand ability.
While this is decent, what actually makes Samurai one of the strongest jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics is the Shirahadori reaction ability. This essentially makes the class immune to melee attacks, which makes the class extremely valuable in tough battles.
Black Mage
Players will instantly recognize that Black Mages are deadly. They have high damage potential and more importantly, having four different versions of each elemental spells lets players maximize damage. This is the key element that makes Black Mages a better job than Summoners. Meanwhile, Magick Counter can be downright devastating especially in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles which has plenty of enemy NPCs that can be one-shot with their own spells.
Arithmetician
Arithmeticians don’t have much damage potential on their own and their slow speed makes them underwhelming on their own. That said, once players learn all their action abilities, those abilities can be moved over to a class with higher damage to make for a downright menace.
Onion Knight and Dark Knight classes among cut content
The Onion Knight and Dark Knight classes were cut from Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.
One of the key selling points of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions on the PSP was that it added two new jobs. Unfortunately, those jobs were cut from The Ivalice Chronicles. Alongside these two cut jobs were The War of the Lions’ two unique playable characters; Final Fantasy Tactics A2’s Luso and Final Fantasy 12’s Balthier.
As for why they were removed, an official explanation was given.
“The original version of Final Fantasy Tactics is a very complete game both from a game design and story perspective…With this in mind, our first step in reviving Final Fantasy Tactics in the present was to adhere to the original and put a spotlight on the original game’s characters and jobs, as well as the original gameplay experience,” game director Kazutoyo Maehiro stated in an interview.
The initial reaction to The Ivalice Chronicles removing content from The War of the Lions was poorly received by fans. Still, the remaster has enjoyed strong critical acclaim.
