Final Fantasy XI character classes

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This article is about the character classes in Final Fantasy XI.
For other Final Fantasy character classes, see Final Fantasy character classes.

The Final Fantasy series by Square Enix features a variety of classes (or jobs) that are assigned or assignable to each character in your active party. The classes that appear in Final Fantasy XI, the first online-only title, have certain unique implementations that more closely follow MMORPG convention, while still evoking the traditions of their main-series roots.

One of Final Fantasy XI's most dynamic features is the flexibility of its job system, adapted from previous Final Fantasy titles. Players are able to change their jobs in their residence freely and without penalty, allowing the player to experiment with a variety of play styles before settling on a single one. Each job has unique abilities, which must be activated by the player in order to come into effect, last a limited time, and have a "cooldown" period before they can be used again; traits, which are passive abilities that are always in effect; and a special "2-hour ability" that performs some extraordinary function and has an extraordinary two-hour-long cooldown period to go with it.

As of May 2006, there are a total of 18 jobs to choose from. Three jobs were released with the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion pack. All three were officially announced prior to the release of the expansion pack on the PlayOnline website. These jobs are the Blue Mage, Corsair and the Puppetmaster.

[edit] Standard Jobs

Upon beginning the game, a player may choose from one of six job classes.

[edit] Warrior

The Warrior (WAR) is a melee class with high proficiency in many weapon types, especially the Great Axe or one-handed Axe. Warriors are offensively and defensively balanced. Warrior abilities include Provoke, which produces a burst of enmity and may draw an enemy's attention; Berserk, which increases attack at the cost of defense, its opposite Defender, which increases defense at the cost of attack, Warcry, which gives all party members within range a boost in attack, and generates enmity from the enemy, and Aggressor, which increases accuracy at the cost of evasion. Traits include Double Attack, which gives a melee attack a chance to hit twice. The Warrior's 2-hour ability, Mighty Strikes, guarantees that for 30 seconds every melee hit that connects will be a critical strike. The most popular subjobs include Monk for low level tanking and damage, Ninja to dual wield Axes and use Utsusemi, and Thief for those who mainly use Great Axes.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Warrior/Fighter/Knight

[edit] Thief

The Thief (THF) is a melee class with crucial enmity control abilities. Thief abilities include Sneak Attack, which guarantees a high-damage critical hit when used behind an enemy, and Trick Attack, which displaces hate from melee damage from the thief to a party member that stands between the thief and the enemy. In combination, Sneak Attack and Trick Attack (also known as SATA) are used to plant large amounts of damage on the enemy and place the enmity incurred onto another player (usually a tank). Job traits include Triple Attack, which gives a melee attack a chance of striking three times, and two levels of Treasure Hunter, which increases the chance that an enemy will drop items once defeated. The Thief also gains the trait of Assassin, which allows Trick attack to do even more damage. The Thief 2-hour ability, Perfect Dodge, allows the Thief to dodge all melee attacks for 30 seconds. Popular subjobs for Thief include Monk at low levels to make use of SA + the multi hit Combo Weapon Skill, and later Warrior for Berserk and Double Attack, or Ninja for dual wielding and Ninjutsu.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Thief

[edit] Monk

The Monk (MNK) is a melee class with high HP and damage output. Normally found with hand-to-hand weapons, the Monk also has some proficiency with staves. Monk abilities include Boost, a stackable ability which increases the power of the next melee attack, and Chi Blast, a long-range energy attack, Counterstance, which increases the Monk's chance of countering an enemy's attack while reducing the Monk's defense, Dodge, which raise the Monk's evasion, and Focus, which raises the Monk's Accuracy. The Monk's 2-hour ability, Hundred Fists, reduces the delay between melee attacks by a fixed percentage for 1 minute. The most common subjob is Warrior for Berserk and Double Attack, although it is also a good idea to have Thief and Ninja for higher levels.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Monk

[edit] White Mage

The White Mage (WHM) specializes in healing and restorative magic, as well as enhancing and some enfeebling magic. White Mages use clubs and staves almost exclusively and may also equip shields. White Mage abilities include Divine Seal, which increases the potency of the next curative spell and Divine Veil, which transforms a status-removing spell (i.e. Erase, Poisona, etc.) from a single target to Area of Effect (AoE) when combined with Divine Seal; traits include Auto-Regen, which gives constant HP regeneration. The White Mage's 2-hour ability, Benediction, instantly restores full HP to the whole party and removes all status ailments. The downside of using Benediction during battle is an extreme increase in enmity toward the White Mage due to sheer amount of HP healed. Black Mage is the most common subjob for Conserve MP, Elemental Seal, and various debuffs; Summoner as a subjob also has a major following for those who feel that Max MP Boost and Auto Refresh are more helpful.

See also: White Mage

[edit] Black Mage

The Black Mage (BLM) is a mage class that specializes in damage-dealing through "nukes", or powerful offensive magic. Black Mages equip staves and clubs almost exclusively; unlike their White Mage brethren, they are unable to equip most shields; at higher levels, however, they are allowed to equip scythes as main weapons. Black Mage abilities include Elemental Seal, which raises the accuracy of the next spell cast; traits include Conserve MP, which has a chance to lower the MP cost of a spell. The Black Mage's 2-hour ability is Manafont, which allows the player to cast spells without consuming MP for 30 seconds nor having the spells casted being interrupted by anything (less the BLM is silenced, moved a great distance, or is killed). White Mage is the most common subjob as it lets Black Mages double as back up healers and supporters; Recently Red Mage has also become more common as a subjob for those who swear by Fast Cast and the few Red Mage exclusive spells.

See also: Black Mage

[edit] Red Mage

The Red Mage (RDM) is a mage/melee hybrid class with particular aptitude for enhancing and enfeebling magic. Red Mages may equip a variety of weapons from swords and daggers for melee damage to wands and staves for stat bonuses. Spells exclusive to the Red Mage include Refresh, which regenerates an affected character’s MP, and Dispel, which removes a beneficial status effect from an enemy. Red Mage abilities include Convert, which swaps current HP and MP pools; traits include Fast Cast, which reduces the casting time of a spell and its cooldown timer. The Red Mage's 2-hour ability, Chainspell, allows for chain-casting of spells instantly and without the normal cooldown period. Due to their jack-of-all-trades nature and their access to several defense-reducing and -absorbing spells, Red Mages at high levels are one of the few classes in the game capable of soloing monsters in their own range of level and strength. The most often used subjobs are White Mage and Black Mage, however Red Mage subjobs are often situational. Generally speaking, it is wise for Red Mages to have as many subjobs available as possible. Subjobs such as Ninja and Dark Knight are particularly useful toward the higher levels of Red Mage.

See also: Red Mage

[edit] Advanced Jobs

Upon achieving level 30 on any of the starter classes, the player may complete quests to unlock extra jobs. Dragoon, Samurai, and Ninja were introduced with the Rise of the Zilart expansion and cannot be obtained unless the expansion pack is installed. Blue Mage, Puppetmaster, and Corsair were introduced with the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.

[edit] Paladin

The Paladin (PLD) is a melee tank class possessing very high defense, low attack and a small library of white magic spells. Paladins are often found with swords, but may use staves or greatswords as well. Paladin abilities include Shield Bash, a blunt attack that has a chance of stunning the target, Sentinel, which raises the Paladin's defense, and Cover, which allows the Paladin to take damage in place of a party member, so as long as the PLD is in between that party member and the monster. The Paladin's 2-hour ability, Invincible, reduces all physical damage taken by the Paladin to zero for 30 seconds and produces a huge burst of enmity. The Paladin's job traits include Undead Killer, which gives the Paladin a chance to intimidate (similar to a stun which renders the target unable to act) Undead creatures, several bonuses to Defense, and in a May 2006 update concurrent with the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion pack, Paladins were given an Auto-Refresh trait that allows them to recover MP over time. Warrior is the most typical and easy to use subjob, however a growing but still minor trend is to sub Ninja and make use of Utsusemi and/or Dual Wield.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Paladin

[edit] Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (DRK) is a melee class possessing very high attack, low defense, and a small library of black magic spells. Dark Knights are proficient in the use of scythes and greatswords. Unique to the job is a line of spells that absorb each of the seven statistics from an enemy, and its particular strength against arcane-type monsters. Dark Knight abilities include Souleater, which sacrifices HP for added attack damage, and Last Resort, which sacrifices defense for added attack damage. The DRK's 2-hour ability, Blood Weapon, produces a large HP drain effect for every melee attack for 30 seconds. Like many other melee jobs, Warrior is the most common subjob; Thief is also used in late game to increase damage of such Weapon Skills as Cross Reaper and Spinning Slash; before Berserk is available, very low level Dark Knights sometimes use White Mage to make use of an otherwise somewhat useless MP pool.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Dark Knight

[edit] Beastmaster

The Beastmaster (BST) is a pet/melee class that can tame monsters to do their bidding. Beastmasters are the only job capable of gaining significant experience points without a group above the lowest levels, and they are commonly found with an axe. Beastmaster abilities include Charm, which places a monster under the beastmaster’s command if successful, and Call Beast, which uses a special "jug" inventory item to summon a pet; traits include a series of "Killer" effects that give the Beastmaster a chance to intimidate different types of monsters. The Beastmaster's 2-hour ability, Familiar, extends the duration of a charm, and slightly increases pet potency. They also possess the Wide Scan ability, which allows them to locate specific creatures on the map. White mage is the most common subjob as many Beastmasters choose to solo, however in a party Ninja and Warrior are better for dealing damage.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Beast Master/Tamer/Trainer

[edit] Ranger

The Ranger (RNG) is a melee class that specializes in ranged weapons. Rangers use bows, crossbows and guns for ranged damage, as well as daggers or axes for close-range melee damage. Ranger abilities include Barrage, which fires multiple arrows at once, and Sharpshot, which gives a temporary boost to ranged accuracy; traits include Alertness, which reduces the chance of being seen by an aggressive mob. The Ranger's 2-hour ability, Eagle Eye Shot, is an instantaneous ranged attack with tremendous power and accuracy. Rangers also have an ability, called "Widescan", that allows them to track mobs via the in-game map system. This proves especially valuable when they, or a party, is seeking a specific creature. Ninja is the most popular subjob for dual wield and the added protection of Utsusemi, however others feel maximizing damage with Warrior and Berserk is better.

See also: Ranger (character class)

[edit] Bard

The Bard (BRD) a party support class that specializes in enhancing and enfeebling songs. Although Bards are sometimes considered to be a mage class, they do not require MP to do their job. Bards equip instruments as ranged weapons and also light melee weaponry including clubs, swords and daggers. Bards are particularly favored for their area of effect (AoE) sleep song, their accuracy enhancement songs, their attack enhancement songs and their group MP regeneration songs. Besides their songs, Bards have only four job abilities: three passive Resist Silence traits, and the 2-hour ability, Soul Voice, which doubles the effect of songs. White Mage is the most common subjob as it further aids Bards in supporting the party. Bards in end-game experience parties sometimes use Ninja as a subjob for safer pulling, Paladin for its combination of Healing Magic and Auto-Refresh, or Red Mage to speed the performance of their songs via Fast Cast.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Bard

[edit] Summoner

The Summoner (SMN) is a mage class that is able to summon, at a certain MP/second cost, magical avatars to aid in battle. Summoners primarily use staves and clubs. Currently, the avatars available to summon are Titan, Leviathan, Garuda, Ifrit, Shiva, and Ramuh, known as the Celestial Avatars, and Carbuncle, Fenrir and Diabolos, the Terrestrial avatars. In addition, the Summoner may also call upon spirits that correspond to the eight-element system of Vana’diel. The ability to summon an avatar is acquired by succeeding in battle against that avatar; spirits require scrolls, like any other type of magic. Summoner abilities include Blood Pact, which enables the avatar to use its own unique abilities; traits include Auto-Refresh, which grants the Summoner constant MP regeneration. The Summoner's 2-hour ability, Astral Flow, permits the Summoner to keep an avatar out without spending MP, and allows access to the avatar's special attack, although when used, all current MP would be completely drained. Astral flow also requires at least 2x the Summoners current level in MP to be used successfully, otherwise the ability will fail. An example would be if a level 75 SMN uses astral flow, he/she would need at least 150 mp to successfully unleash the avatars respective Astral Flow. White Mage is the most common subjob and enables a Summoner to act as main healer.

See also: Summoner (character class) and Magic in the Final Fantasy series#Summon Magic

[edit] Dragoon

The Dragoon (DRG) is a melee/pet class with the ability to summon a Wyvern and perform jump attacks. The polearm is the Dragoon's main weapon. Dragoon abilities include three levels of Jump, the later two being hate-shedding attacks, and Call Wyvern, which calls a wyvern "pet" to battle alongside the Dragoon; traits include Dragon Killer, which grants the Dragoon particular strength against dragon-type mobs. The Dragoon's wyvern also has unique "breath" abilities that are triggered by the Dragoon's actions and vary from offensive attacks to curative effects, depending on the Dragoon's subjob choice. The Dragoon's 2-hour ability, Spirit Surge, gives the Dragoon the power of its wyvern for a short time, enhancing all stats and giving a large TP boost. Like most melee jobs, Warrior is the prime subjob, with Thief having a smaller following; while once a common subjob, Samurai fell out of favor when its massive TP returns were greatly reduced.

See also: Dragon Knight (character class)

[edit] Ninja

The Ninja (NIN) is a melee class that specializes in variety combat, and uses ninjutsu (Ninja skill) magic. Ninjutsu differs from standard magic in that every use of ninjutsu skill permanently consumes a "tool" from the Ninja's inventory, rather than magic points as in traditional mage classes. The class's high evasion rate and agility, in combination with the damage-absorbing ninjutsu "Utsusemi", has led players to turn the class from a melee damage dealer into a "blink tank" that avoids damage rather than taking it well. Passive traits of the Ninja class include Stealth, which reduces the chance of being detected by enemies, Dual Wield, which allows the Ninja to equip two one-handed weapons, generally katanas, at once, and Subtle Blow, which reduces the amount of TP gained by the monster when attacking. The Ninja's 2-hour ability, Mijin Gakure, is a suicide attack that deals fire-based damage, based on the player's current hit points, with no experience penalty for the death. Warrior is the most common subjob for tanking and damage dealing; some people have started using Dark Knight as a subjob at very high levels for Soul Eater and Stun; a very rare and rather hard-to-finance subjob is Black Mage, which can be used to boost Ninjutsu and turn a Ninja into a caster.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Ninja

[edit] Samurai

The Samurai (SAM) is a melee class that specializes in performing weapon skills and skillchains, excelling in gaining TP due to job specific abilities. Samurai wield 2-handed Great Katanas almost exclusively, but also have some skill in polearms and bows. Samurai abilities include Third Eye which evades the next attack; Meditate, which generates 20 TP every 1.5 Seconds for a maximum boost of 100 TP; Hasso which increases damage, accuracy, and speed of two-handed weapons, but increases magic casting times; and Seigan which reduces the casting time of Third Eye and gives it a chance to not be consumed, but requires a two-handed weapon, increases magic casting times, and over writes Hasso. Traits include Store TP, which increases the Samurai’s base TP gain, and Zanshin, which allows the Samurai to perform a follow-up attack should an attack miss. The Samurai's 2-hour ability, Meikyo Shisui, generates 300 TP, and allows the user to execute weapons skills by expending only 100 TP, instead of draining the TP pool completely. This allows it to self-skillchain. Like other melee jobs Warrior is the most common subjob, with Thief in second place; Ranger is also used to give Samurais use of powerful Bow Weapon Skills such as Sidewinder and skills to improve their archery.

See also: Final Fantasy character classes#Samurai

[edit] Blue Mage

The Blue Mage (BLU) is one of the new jobs included in the newest expansion pack, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Blue Mages employ the legendary arts of Aht Urhgan, as these formidable fighter-mages employ elegantly curved blades for close combat, while decimating their enemies from afar with fel magic mastered from their opponents. Blue Mages learn their spells from special moves utilized by many different monsters across Vana'diel. Once learned, a Blue Mage can then setup available spells and cast them back on enemies to defeat them, as well as gain statistical bonuses from these spells. The types of Blue Magic that can be attained range from Physical to Magical, and specific Blue Magic can be cast on either themselves, party members or enemies. The Blue Mage's abilities include Burst Affinity, which allows the Blue Mage to use magical Blue Magic in a Magic Burst, and Chain Affinity, allowing a Blue Mage's physical Blue Magic to participate in a Skillchain. With these abilities, a Blue Mage can potentially self-skillchain, and proceed to create a magic burst to do decent damage to an enemy. The Blue Mage's 2-Hour ability, Azure Lore, enhances the effects of Blue Magic. Thief is a very common subjob to boost the power of physical Blue Magic such as Bludgeon and Jet Stream; Ninja is also used to for Utsusemi and Dual Wield; White Mage is common in early levels to make Blue Mages back up healers, though its usefulness declines in later levels.

See also: Blue Mage

[edit] Corsair

The Corsair (COR) is one of the new jobs included in the newest expansion pack, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. They are descendants of the dauntless pirates that once scourged the seas of the Near East. Corsairs rely on the “Hexagun,” a multi-barreled revolver, and elaborate luck-based abilities to alter the stakes of battle. Corsairs serve mainly as a support role in parties using their luck based skills (known as Phantom Rolls) to increase the other parties abilities, much like a Bard. However, the Corsair has a different selection of abilities and has greater capabilities to inflict damage on enemies with the use of ranged weapons, much like a Ranger. Mid level Corsairs learn Quick Draw to shoot elemental cards with their guns. This attack requires additional Card items, much like a Ninja uses Tools. Quick Draw can not only provide high magical damage, but also increases the effect of debuffs already on the monster, and can be used to inflict Sleep or Dispel. Corsair's two hour is called Wild Card and produces a different effect depending on the number (1-6) rolled. It is interesting to note that, should a 6 be rolled, all job ability cool downs are reset, allowing for other jobs abilities (including non-Corsair 2 hours) to be immediately used. Ranger is the most common subjob to increase a Corsair's damage output, though some feel that Ninja is also useful; White Mage is sometimes used to make Corsairs more supportive, but this can greatly hamper their damage.

[edit] Puppetmaster

The Puppetmaster (PUP) was revealed at the 2006 Final Fantasy Fan Festival to be the final new job that will be included in the latest expansion pack, Treasures of Aht Urhgan.^[1]. Players are able to control a puppet, known as an automaton, to undertake actions in battle. The puppet is semi-autonomous, though players can exert a great deal of influence over the actions the puppet performs. The type and fighting style of the puppet can be adjusted through mixing model pieces. At the present time, 4 different models are available with a separate head and body piece for each of them. Improvements and abilities can be added by equipping attachments that add abilities, or increase the frequency that the automaton performs certain actions. The job also has some limited skills in hand-to-hand combat which can aid their puppet in battle. The Puppetmaster's two hour ability is called "Overdrive" and increases the fighting ability of the automaton to its maximum level. In low levels Monk is a common subjob to increase Hand to Hand skills, though Warrior becomes common once they learn those Martial Arts traits themselves.