Jobs Guide – Stranger of Paradise: FFO

The Job system is a core mechanic in Stranger of Paradise: Jack will have access to a total of 28 in the base game, which increases to 35 with the Jobs added in all of the DLCs, each one having its own unique Action Ability and gameplay style, made up of special Combo and Command Abilities. Initially, you will only have access to a small handful of Basic Jobs, but you will unlock more by finding new weapon types and leveling the Jobs you currently have.

In this guide we will cover how the system itself works, how you can level the Jobs, and then we will look at each of them in detail.

Job Switching

Jack can have two Jobs equipped at any time, and can swap between them freely.

The two Jobs have their own set of equipment that can be assigned in the Battle Settings. They also have their own Break Gauge: take advantage of this feature to keep your Break Gauge from breaking — once you see the bar getting low, switch to your other Job to let the other bar recover. Switching between Jobs will also let you make your own unique combos.

You can set your two Jobs at any time in the Battle Settings. Note that Jack’s allies are locked into one Job initially — the one they have when you first recruit them. However, you can unlock new Jobs for them as you progress through the story.

Leveling Jobs

Jack and his allies do not have their own levels. Instead, each Job has its own level, which you can raise by defeating enemies while using the Job or having Affinity with it. You can also will run into Anima Shards, which can be used to instantly give a chosen Job EXP and level it. The level cap for Jobs is initially 30.

Gaining levels will raise the Job’s stats and give you Job Points, which you can then spend in the respective Job’s Tree.

Job Trees

Each Job has its own Job Tree, which can be accessed before missions or by interacting with Cubes. Each tree has a number of nodes you can fill by using Job Points (with the first node being the Job’s Action Ability and automatically learned).

Nodes on the Job Tree can give a variety of enhancements, including raising the Job’s Affinity, learning new Combo and Command Abilities, or enhancing the Job’s Action Ability. There are even nodes located further down in Job Trees that can unlock new Jobs themselves.

Nodes will require a different amount of Job Points to learn, depending on what it is you’re unlocking. You will acquire these Points by leveling the Job, but once you hit Job Level 30, you can count on having enough to learn every Node in the Tree.

Job Classes

With the release of the Trials of the Dragon King DLC, every Job now has access to two Classes once they hit level 30. There is an Evocation and Ultima Class for every Job, and they enhance the Job’s Action Ability in a certain way. Each Class has its own Tree as well — these Trees will increase the Class’s stats, give passive enhancements, and grant effects to 3 Combo Abilities. You can make progress through these Trees by using Rat Tails.

List of Jobs

Below is a list of all of the available Jobs in the game, along with short summaries on their Abilities and their general playstyle.

You will also notice that each Job is associated with at least one weapon type that can be used with it. When multiple weapons are listed, the Job often offers unique Combo Abilities and Passives for each of the types. If you need help distinguishing and deciding between all of the weapons, you can check out our dedicated Weapon Types guide!

Basic Jobs are either unlocked by default, or simply when you first find the weapon type that the Job uses. Advanced and Expert Jobs will require you to go through the Job Trees of other Jobs to unlock.

Basic Jobs

Swordsman

• Weapon: Greatsword
• Action Ability: Spinning Slash
• Unlock Requirement: None

Swordsman is the Job that Jack starts off with, and it has good offensive and defensive capabilities. This Job uses slow but powerful combos, and their Greatswords allow them to hold to charge and power up attacks. Swordsman’s Spinning Slash Ability allows them to spin their sword in a sweeping attack, hitting surrounding enemies. You can continue holding to keep the Spinning Slash going (as long as you have the MP).

Swordsmen’s Command Ability, Reinforce, reduces the charge time needed for certain attacks, while also reducing the likelihood of the character being staggered.

Passives from their Job Tree reduce overall damage taken, Break damage taken while Guarding, and they increase Slash damage. The Job’s Combo Abilities give Swordsmen access to all three types of physical damage, giving them the option to take advantage of any physical weaknesses an enemy might have.

Evocation Class: Conqueror – Transforms Spinning Slash into Rush Assault, giving the Conqueror the Guard attribute while spinning.

Ultima Class: Lightbreaker Champion – Transforms Spinning Slash into Wind Shear, which will draw enemies in while the Lightbreaker Champion is spinning.

Duelist

• Weapon: Daggers
• Action Ability: Weak Spot
• Unlock Requirement: None

Duelist focuses on quick attacks and on landing critical attacks. The Weak Spot Ability will allow Duelists to land a critical hit, regardless of their position to the enemy.

They’re also able to inflict Poison on enemies with the use of the Venom Command Ability.

Passives from their Job Tree enhance both the Duelist’s evasion, as well as their critical hits, by increasing the duration of their invincibility while Evading, and increasing damage done by their critical attacks. Additionally, they can passively increase the duration of Lightbringer. Their Combo Abilities can do damage around themselves, and they can deal more critical hit damage than normal.

Evocation Class: Cutthroat – Transforms Weak Spot into After Image, allowing the Cutthroat to temporarily increase Break damage dealt after Chain Canceling out of the attack

Ultima Class: Merciless Champion – Transforms Weak Spot into Icy Mangling, which will let the Merciless Champion press after the attack to use the Combo Ability set to their After Parry slot.

Pugilist

• Weapon: Knuckles
• Action Ability: Explosive Fist
• Unlock Requirement: None

Pugilists use their fists to build up attack power and land quick combos. As they use Knuckles, they have access to Prowess, which increases their attack power as they land consistent attacks. They are also able to hold to finish combos with a powerful blow. While using Explosive Fist, you can hold to continuously pummel an enemy, building up prowess quickly.

The Counter Command Ability temporarily reduces the Break cost of successful blocks with the Soul Shield, and increases MP restored from it.

Passives from their Job Tree further enhance their Ability use, by boosting the MP recovery from normal attacks, as well as increasing Ability damage. Additionally, they can passively increase their Break Gauge recovery speed. Their Combo Abilities can disorient an enemy, either knocking them back or launching them into the air.

Evocation Class: Martial Master – Transforms Explosive Fist into Phasing Palm, which increases the duration of buffs on the Martial Master every time the attack hits.

Ultima Class: Iron Fist Champion – Transforms Explosive Fist into Bloodpunch, which allows the attack to Soul Burst enemies if they are broken or their HP is taken down to 0. The damage will also be increased when releasing based on the Iron Fist Champion’s Prowess.

Mage

• Weapon: Mace
• Action Ability: Magic
• Unlock Requirement: Find a Mace

Mages specialize in casting elemental spells to exploit an enemy’s weakness, while also keeping their MP up for casting those spells. Their elemental spells are limited to Fire, Aero, Water, and Quake. Holding will bring up a wheel of spells you can choose to cast. Holding the button will also power up your spell depending on how long you charge it for (for example, holding Fire will upgrade it to Fira, and further charging will upgrade it to Firaga).

With their Command Ability, Ruin, they can shoot a non-elemental magic attack that sends enemies flying back.

Passives from their Job Tree increase the MP recovery from normal attacks, increase Break damage with magic attacks when hitting a weakness, and increase resistance to magic vulnerability. Their Combo Abilities grant them an extra attack with Earth and Water elements, as well as allow them to knock an enemy into the air.

Evocation Class: Scholar General – Transforms Magic into Demonic Fusion, which grants the Scholar General access to the Cure, Dia, Regen, and Esuna spells. Esuna cures an ally’s status ailments, and temporarily increases their resistance to status ailments.

Ultima Class: Accursed Champion – Transforms Magic into Prismatic Magic, which grants the Accursed Champion access to the Blizzard, Thunder, Dark, and Osmose spells. Osmose absorbs an enemy’s MP.

Lancer

• Weapon: Lance
• Action Ability: Lance Hurl
• Unlock Requirement: Find a Lance

Lancers attack from a distance using their Lance, they can take advantage of any weakness to physical attack types an enemy might have, all while keeping their Break Gauge high. In addition to the Lance’s natural range, Lancers can further make use of their Lance Hurl Ability, which allows them to throw their weapon at an enemy. Holding will allow you to aim the Ability, as well as charge it up to make it more powerful.

Their Command Ability, Swayback, allows them to quickly jump back from an enemy, while also filling up their Break Gauge.

Passives from the Job Tree increase the Break Gauge recovery speed, increase the damage dealt with physical attacks when hitting a weakness, and increase the duration of Lightbringer. Their Combo Abilities are good for disabling enemies, being able to consistently hit them with a spinning attack, knocking them back, or launching them into the air.

Evocation Class: Errant Champion – Transforms Lance Hurl into Sonic Throw, which will grant the Errant Champion Haste after hitting with a fully charged attack.

Ultima Class: Relentless Champion – Transforms Lance Hurl into Rend Armor, which will inflict the enemy with a status ailment that increases physical damage taken when hit.

Swordfighter

• Weapon: Sword
• Action Ability: Interception
• Unlock Requirement: Complete Main Mission 1

The Swordfighter has great defensive capabilities, while also being able to attack quickly. Their Interception Ability gives them a temporary buff, which will allow them to automatically Guard and counter the next blockable attack that hits them.

The Shield Bash Command Ability gives Swordfighters an attack that hits an enemy with their Shield, while also staggering them.

Passives from their Job Tree increase healing from Potions and reduce damage taken to help keep the Swordfighter alive. They also increase damage dealt by their Abilities. Swordfighter’s Combo Abilities can give them a swift attack, an attack that deals heavy Break damage and a knock back.

Evocation Class: Divine Commander – Transforms Interception into Grounding Stance, which decreases Break Gauge consumption for Soul Shields while active.

Ultima Class: Demonslayer Champion – Transforms Interception into Fangfetter Stance, which allows the counterattack to inflict Paralysis on the enemy.

Ronin

• Weapon: Katana
• Action Ability: Iai-Giri
• Unlock Requirement: Find a Katana

Ronin focus on quickly dealing heavy Break damage to an enemy. They are able to enter the Senshin Stance by holding , which will greatly increase their attack damage. Senshin Stance also allows them to use their Action Ability multiple times in a row (at the cost of more MP) — that being the Iai-Giri. This Ability will inflict heavy Break Damage to an enemy, and can be charged to increase its power.

Their Summon Tachi Command Ability temporarily increases both the damage dealt and damage taken.

Passives from their Job Tree enhance their Abilities, reducing the MP cost and increasing the Break damage dealt with them. Slash damage can also be increased. Their Combo Abilities allow them to launch enemies in the air, hit surrounding enemies with a knockback, and deal some Ice damage.

Evocation Class: Wandering Hero – Transforms Iai-Giri into Mekkyaku, which will Dispel the enemy when hit.

Ultima Class: Shadowburst Champion – Transforms Iai-Giri into Kairan, which will reduce the enemy’s maximum Break Gauge to the Gauge’s value after getting hit.

Marauder

• Weapon: Axe
• Action Ability: Upheaval
• Unlock Requirement: Complete Main Mission 2

Marauders specialize in attacks that deal massive damage; they are able to charge all of their attacks and abilities. Their Upheaval Ability is a powerful attack that will temporarily weaken any enemies hit by it.

Their Command Ability, Blood Weapon, allows them to temporarily heal themselves when dealing damage, with the healing being proportional to the damage dealt.

Passives from their Job Tree increase the Break damage from Abilities, increase damage from Slash attacks, and decrease damage taken while attacking. Their Combo Abilities are highly effective attacks that can knock enemies back, and they can be charged to deal even more damage.

Evocation Class: Axe Lord – Transforms Upheaval into Subside, which will inflict a debuff on the enemy which causes attacks to heal the player based on the damage done.

Ultima Class: Bloodaxe Champion – Transforms Upheaval into Rapacious Strike, which will inflict a debuff on the enemy which causes attacks to heal the player’s MP based on the damage done.

Advanced Jobs

Warrior

• Weapon: All weapons except Mace
• Action Ability: War Cry
• Unlock Requirement: Swordsman and Ronin Job Trees

This is a versatile Job that supports fighting with just about any weapon. Warriors are also good at keeping themselves alive. They can use their War Cry Ability to knock enemies back, while also recovering their HP over time.

Their Mighty Strikes Command Ability temporarily boosts the damage of their weapon’s attack type, making it easier for them to bypass resistances.

Passives from their Job Tree increase their max HP, increase their damage dealt while at max HP, and reduce damage taken. They also have several passive boosts to support a Combo Ability with every weapon, except Maces.

Warriors have two Greatsword Combo Abilities. The first Combo Ability gives you the option of holding while performing it, and if you get hit during that time, the attack that happens when you release will deal extra damage. The second Combo Ability is a spinning attack that can be charged to deal more damage.

Evocation Class: Dawn Warrior – Transforms War Cry into Invigorating Warcry, which fills the Dawn Warrior’s Break Gauge upon activation.

Ultima Class: Gladiator – Transforms War Cry into Warrior’s Shout, which will let the Gladiator press after the attack to use the Combo Ability set to their After Parry slot.

Thief

• Weapon: Daggers and Knuckles
• Action Ability: Steal
• Unlock Requirement: Duelist and Pugilist Job Trees

In addition to being highly mobile and swift attackers, Thieves are also capable of Stealing an Instant Ability from an enemy without needing to block it with a Soul Shield first.

Their Command Ability, Flee, temporarily increases their movement speed and Break Gauge recovery.

Passives from their Job Tree increase drop rate, critical damage, and the chance to capture more uses of an Instant Ability. Thieves can also boost a combo for both Daggers and Knuckles — one set of Passives will allow either Daggers or Knuckles to restore MP based on the damage dealt, while the second set will increase attack speed for each. Thieves also have three unique Combo Abilities for Daggers: one will inflict Paralysis, one deals more critical damage than normal, and the last one allows Thieves to instantly move behind an enemy.

Evocation Class: Rogue – Transforms Steal into Mug, which will allow the Rogue to occasionally acquire a Potion while stealing.

Ultima Class: Cutpurse – Transforms Steal into Snatch, which allows the Cutpurse to steal enemy buffs.

Monk

• Weapon: Knuckles, Mace, Lance, and Staff
• Action Ability: Focus
• Unlock Requirement: Pugilist and Lancer Job Trees

This Job is able to unleash powerful combos while also being self-sustaining: Monks can use their Focus Ability to recover HP and their Break Gauge. If you hold it for long enough, they will also temporarily deal more Break damage, making their combos more effective.

Monks’ Command Ability, Chakra, cures any status ailments on them. It also temporarily increases their resistance to status ailments.

Passives from their Job Tree decrease the MP cost of Action Abilities, increase the duration of buffs, and increase damage while the Break Gauge is full. They have two Combo Abilities for Knuckles: one deals a quick knockback, while the other delivers multiple strikes to the enemy.

Evocation Class: Master – Transforms Focus into Supercharge, which allows charged attacks to now be charged up to 4 stages.

Ultima Class: Black Belt – Transforms Focus into Brute Strength, which will cause the Black Belt’s attacks to reduce the enemy’s maximum Break Gauge while the Ability is active.

White Mage

• Weapon: Mace and Staff
• Action Ability: White Magic
• Unlock Requirement: Mage Job Tree

White Mages have access to a wide variety of healing and buffing spells, as well as the Dia spell to inflict Holy damage. They can charge their supportive spells to have them affect your entire party.

White Mage’s Command Ability, Divine Sigil, will greatly increase the duration of the next buff granted by an Ability (for example, Protect) which you cast on yourself, or on the entire party.

Passives from their Job Tree increase the MP recovery from normal attacks, damage from Holy attacks, and magic resistance. They gain Combo Abilities for the Mace, which gives them extra Holy damage attacks, as well as a knockback.

Evocation Class: Seer – Transforms White Magic into Prismatic White Magic, which grants the Seer access to the Reincarnate spell. Reincarnate will revive an ally to full HP, and automatically revive them if they die again.

Ultima Class: Alabaster Lord – Transforms White Magic into Advanced White Magic, which changes Regenga, Protectga, Shellga, and Hastega. These spells will only be able to be cast when the casting gauge is full, but will no longer consume MP.

Black Mage

• Weapon: Mace and Staff
• Action Ability: Black Magic
• Unlock Requirement: Mage Job Tree

An upgrade of the Basic Mage Job, Black Mage has access to more elemental spells in addition to being able to cast Flare. However, keep in mind that casting Flare will reduce your max MP.

Their Command Ability, Seal of Blood, increases the damage done by the next Ability, and will cause it to automatically Soul Burst any enemies that it kills.

Passives from their Job Tree increase magic damage, Break damage from non-elemental attacks, and the duration of Lightbringer. They gain three Combo Abilities for Maces: one deals Fire damage, one deals Ice damage, and the third one deals Lightning damage. In addition, the Ice and Fire Combo Abilities can knock enemies back.

Evocation Class: Dark Lord – Transforms Black Magic into Advanced Black Magic, which causes the casting gauge to not deplete while the Dark Lord is not casting a spell.

Ultima Class: Warlock – Transforms Black Magic into Prismatic Black Magic, which will replace Flare with Flare Star. This is a powerful spell that will reduce the Warlock’s maximum MP.

Red Mage

• Weapons: Sword, Mace, Daggers, and Staff
• Action Ability: Chainspell
• Unlock Requirement: Mage and Swordfighter Job Trees

A Jack-of-All-Trades Job, Red Mage has access to both White and Black Magic (although not all of the spells from either). This allows Red Mages to be both offensive and supportive. If they have the MP for it, they can use Chainspell to continuously cast a spell (each cast will cost 1 bar of MP), allowing them to quickly force an elemental weakness on an enemy.

Their Command Ability, MP Regen, gives a temporary Regen effect to their MP. However, this also reduces their max MP.

Passives from their Job Tree increase the accumulation of status ailments on an enemy, increase Break damage with physical attacks, and decrease the Break amount required to activate Soul Shield. They can also boost a combo for both Swords and Daggers, allowing one to restore HP based on the damage dealt, and one to cause an automatic Soul Burst if it kills an enemy. They gain two Combo Abilities for Swords: the first one is a Wind attack, while the second one involves a series of attacks using the Fire/Ice/Lightning elements, which can be charged to deal more damage.

Evocation Class: Marshal – Transforms Chainspell into Cruel Chainspell, which grants the Marshal the Stun spell. Stun inflicts the enemy with Paralysis.

Ultima Class: Crimson Lord – Transforms Chainspell into Perfidious Chainspell, which grants the Crimson Lord the Poison spell.

Dragoon

• Weapon: Lance, Greatsword and Axe
• Action Ability: Jump
• Unlock Requirement: Lancer and Marauder Job Trees

Dragoons are able to use the powerful Jump Ability. This Ability allows them to jump off-screen to avoid any attacks, and then damage all nearby enemies when they land.

Their Command Ability, Lancet, allows them to temporarily recover HP and MP when hitting an enemy’s weakness.

Passives from their Job Tree increase physical damage, MP recovery from a successful Soul Shield block, and the duration of Lightbringer. They gain three Combo Abilities: one gives them a knockback, while the other two are Lightning attacks.

Evocation Class: Holy Dragoon – Transforms Jump into Hyper Jump, which will allow the Ability to be activated while evading.

Ultima Class: Deist Dragoon – Transforms Jump into Boost Jump, which will strengthen the Ability’s attack type, bypassing enemy resistances and making weaknesses easier to exploit. The damage of Boost Jump will also increase based on the distance the Deist Dragoon travels while in the air.

Knight

• Weapons: Sword and Greatsword
• Action Ability: Blessing of Light
• Unlock Requirement: Swordsman and Swordfighter Job Trees

Knights are a defensive Job, focused on enhancing their Guard, and serving as a tank. They have access to the Blessing of Light Ability, which temporarily causes successful Guards to send a shockwave that damages enemies.

Their Command Ability, Provoke, temporarily reduces damage taken and makes enemies more likely to attack you.

Passives from their Job Tree reduce damage taken, further reduce damage taken while the Knight is at max HP, and grant successful parries a Regen effect. They can enhance combos for both Swords and Greatswords, one set allowing a combo for either Swords or Greatswords to heal the Knight based on the damage dealt, and the second set allowing a combo for each weapon to stagger nearby enemies. Knights also gain two Combo Abilities for Swords: one allows you to block and counter attacks by holding , while the other is a quick attack.

Evocation Class: Knight of Destiny – Transforms Blessing of Light into Blessed Shield, which increases the damage done by shockwaves. Successful Parries will also increase the duration of the Ability.

Ultima Class: Black Knight – Transforms Blessing of Light into Miracle of Light, which increases the MP consumption and reduces the duration of the Ability, but allows the effect of a successful Parry to be triggered with a Soul Shield.

Berserker

• Weapons: Greatsword and Axe
• Action Ability: Berserk
• Unlock Requirement: Swordsman and Marauder Job Trees

Berserkers specialize in direct attacks and being highly aggressive. They can use the Berserk Ability to give themselves a huge boost in attack power, increase the chance to stagger enemies, and decrease the chance of being staggered themselves. However, they will be unable to use Potions while this boost is active.

Their Command Ability, Lunatic, temporarily increases Berserker’s attack speed, but at the cost of stopping automatic recovery of their Break Gauge.

Passives from their Job Tree increase HP, physical damage dealt, and then further increase physical damage dealt when near death. They gain Combo Abilities for Axes that are powerful spinning attacks, and these Abilities can be charged to deal even more damage.

Evocation Class: Desperado – Transform Berserk into Fanaticism, which prevents the Desperado from being broken while the Ability is active.

Ultima Class: Raider – Transforms Berserk into Adrenaline, which reduces the Ability’s duration, but allows the effect to be extended with each successful hit.

Samurai

• Weapon: Katana
• Action Ability: Meikyo-Shisui
• Unlock Requirement: Ronin Job Tree

The Samurai excels at replenishing MP. Their Ability, Meikyo-Shisui, enhances their normal attacks and parries, making both restore more MP than normal. This will allow the Samurai to use more combos to take down enemies. Keep in mind that Meikyo-Shisui will immediately drop if you get hit however.

Their Command Abilitiy, Zanshin, temporarily reduces the MP cost of the Samurai’s Combo Abilities.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Break Gauge recovery speed, increase damage from Abilities, and allow physical damage to be temporarily boosted from successful parries. They gain two Combo Abilities with Katanas: the first deals heavy damage, while the second knocks enemies back.

Evocation Class: Genji – Transforms Meikyo-Shisui into Master’s Mentality, which allows MP to be restored every time the Genji Chain Cancels.

Ultima Class: Yojimbo – Transforms Meikyo-Shisui into Shishi-Funjin, which increases the MP consumed, but will nullify damage taken if the effect is canceled by an enemy attack.

Expert Jobs

Dark Knight

• Weapon: Axe, Sword, Greatsword, Knuckles, Lance, Katana, and Staff
• Action Ability: Souleater
• Unlock Requirement: Warrior, Black Mage, and Berserker Job Trees

Dark Knight is a high-risk/high-reward Job. They have the highest attack power in the game, but this comes at the cost of their health. Their Souleater Ability can be toggled to grant additional Dark damage to their attacks. Beware that while it’s active, it slowly drains MP, and every attack will consume a part of the Dark Knight’s HP. On top of that, the additional damage from Souleater increases with the amount of HP consumed. Souleater will be instantly removed when changing Jobs.

Their Command Ability, Drain, will let the Dark Knight absorb some HP from surrounding enemies.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Ability damage, decrease Break damage taken, and increase physical damage when near death. They gain one Combo Ability for Axes, and two for Greatswords. The Axe Combo Ability is a ranged attack, while the Greatsword ones will provide sweeping attacks.

Evocation Class: Warmage – Transforms Souleater into Dark Arts, which will temporarily increase the additional damage dealt and reduce HP consumed when the Warmage is at maximum HP.

Ultima Class: Abyss Knight – Transforms Souleater into Nightfall, which causes your Break Gauge to refill when attacking an enemy vulnerable to Dark damage.

Paladin

• Weapon: Sword, Greatsword, Mace, and Staff
• Action Ability: Holy Fang
• Unlock Requirement: White Mage and Knight Job Trees

Paladins excel at keeping their HP high in combat. They can toggle their Holy Fang Ability to enhance their attacks to heal themselves. Holy Fang will deal additional Holy damage at max HP, and this additional damage will increase the higher their max HP is.

Their Command Ability, Sentinel, nullifies a certain amount of damage. The amount of damage nullified increases with their max HP.

Passives from their Job Tree increase HP, decrease damage taken, and increase damage dealt when at max HP. They gain two Combo Abilities for both Swords and Maces — one combo for each weapon provides a knockback. Meanwhile, the other Sword combo creates a Holy area attack, which can be extended (to get more attacks at the end of the combo) by holding .

Evocation Class: Royal Guard – Transforms Holy Fang into Shield of Kings, which allows the Royal Guard to restore MP when attacking an enemy that is weak to Holy damage.

Ultima Class: Holy Knight – Transforms Holy Fang into Holy Arts, which will temporarily increase the additional damage dealt and HP recovery when the Holy Knight is near death.

Ninja

• Weapons: Daggers, Knuckles, and Katana
• Action Ability: Ninjutsu
• Unlock Requirement: Thief and Samurai Job Trees

Ninjas are a versatile Job that has access to special Ninja Tools through their Ninjutsu Ability. These Tools allow Ninjas to throw shurikens (which function as the Job’s ranged attack), and inflict status effects on enemies, all without spending any MP. Ninjutsu’s Ninja Tools also allow them to deal elemental damage to enemies. While the Ninja Tools do not cost any MP to use, they do have limited uses (which can be restored at Cubes).

Their Command Ability, Jubaku, temporarily causes attacks to extend the duration of existing status ailments and debuffs on enemies.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Ability Break damage, increase damage on enemies inflicted with status ailments, and they help Ninjas with faster accumulation of status ailments on an enemy. They gain one Combo Ability for Knuckles, two for Daggers, and three for Katanas. These offer a variety of effects, from the ability to quickly cover a large distance, to inflicting elemental attacks.

Evocation Class: Fuma Ninja – Transforms Ninjutsu into Youton Ninjutsu, which will cause an elemental Ninjutsu to trigger an additional attack if the enemy is weak to the element.

Ultima Class: Shadowmaster – Transforms Ninjutsu into Inton Ninjutsu, which will allow the Shadowmaster to receive additional Ninja Tools when inflicting an enemy with a status ailment.

Assassin

• Weapon: Daggers, Mace, Knuckles, and Spear
• Action Ability: Assassinate
• Unlock Requirement: Thief and Monk Job Trees

Assassins specialize in keeping themselves hidden from enemies and taking advantage of critical hits. When landing a critical hit, they will put Marks on enemies. They can then use their Assassinate Ability to deal damage to enemies based on the amount of Marks they have.

Their Command Ability, Invisible, temporarily makes enemies less likely to attack the Assassin, and boosts the effects of critical hits.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Break damage from critical hits, increase the duration of invincibility from Evading, and temporarily increases damage dealt on a successful Soul Shield. They gain two Combo Abilities for Daggers, and one for the Knuckles. One combo for each weapon gives a powerful multi-hit attack, while the other combo for the Dagger will deal more critical damage than normal.

Evocation Class: Ravager – Transforms Assassinate into Requiem, which will cause the Ravager to automatically cast the Ability when Chain Canceling. Activating Requiem this way will not consume any MP.

Ultima Class: Phantom – Transforms Assassinate into Exterminate, which if used with no Marks present, will unleash a shockwave in the surrounding area that will put a Mark on any enemy it hits.

Sage

• Weapon: Mace and Staff
• Action Ability: Magic Sigil
• Unlock Requirement: White Mage and Black Mage Job Trees

Sages have access to both White Magic and Black Magic, and are able to swap between the two by pressing while holding . They are also capable of casting Ultima. Casting a spell of one of the types will give them an emblem corresponding to that school of magic (for example, casting a White Magic spell will produce a White Emblem), which reduces the time it takes to cast more spells of that type. The emblems get consumed when you swap magic types or cast Ultima.

Their Command Ability, Teleport, temporarily causes Sage’s Evading to teleport them instead.

Passives from their Job Tree increase magic damage dealt, decrease Action Ability MP cost, and increase the amount healed by Potions. This is the only Job in the game that does not learn any Combo Abilities.

Evocation Class: Arch Wizard – Transforms Magic Sigil into Soul of Minwu, which grants the Arch Wizard access to the Raise spell.

Ultima Class: Demon Lord – Transforms Magic Sigil into Soul of Xande, which grants the Demon Lord access to the Meteor spell.

Tyrant

• Weapon: Knuckles, Sword, Mace, Daggers, Lance, and Staff
• Action Ability: Enchantment
• Unlock Requirement: Monk and Red Mage Job Trees

Tyrants are able to deal elemental damage with their physical attacks. Their Enchantment Ability allows them to imbue their weapon with a chosen element. You can hold to charge the element chosen (for example, Enfire > Enfire II > Enfire III). This will allow them to either take advantage of an existing elemental weakness, or force a weakness whenever needed.

Their Command Ability, Magic Arts, temporarily increases MP recovery when landing a hit. Every hit landed will extend the duration.

Passives from their Job Tree increase damage dealt to enemies inflicted with status ailments, increase Break Gauge recovery speed, and increase MP recovery from normal attacks. They gain two Combo Abilities with Knuckles: one gives a long-ranged Wind attack, while the other is a series of attacks that can be extended up to 5 times by pressing .

Evocation Class: Lunarian – Transforms Enchantment into Luna Enchant, which replaces Endark with Enluna. Enluna consumes MP with every attack, but restores HP. This will stack with other enchantments.

Ultima Class: Magitek Knight – Transforms Enchantment into Magitek Enchant, which replaces Enholy with Enmagic. Enmagic consumes MP with every attack, but reduces the enemy’s maximum Break Gauge. This will stack with other enchantments.

Liberator

• Weapon: All weapons
• Action Ability: Mighty Guard
• Unlock Requirement: Warrior and Dragoon Job Trees

Liberators are a great defensive support Job — Liberators work great with any playstyle, all while keeping themselves alive with their strong defense. This is the only Job in the game that can equip every weapon. Liberators can toggle their Mighty Guard Ability to activate a field under themselves, granting Protect, Shell, and Regen to all allies standing inside of it. Mighty Guard will instantly be removed when switching Jobs.

Their Command Ability, Bravery, temporarily increases the damage dealt by the party and gradually refills the Liberator’s Break Gauge.

Passives from their Job Tree decrease Break damage taken, increase buff duration, and decrease the Break Gauge cost of activating Soul Shield. They gain 2 Combo Abilities for both Spears and Axes: one Axe combo provides a quick attack, and one of the Spear combos gives a sweeping attack.

Evocation Class: Divine Knight – Transforms Mighty Guard into Heroic Guard, which will allow it to affect allies outside of the Ability’s field.

Ultima Class: Cosmocrator – Transforms Mighty Guard into Cosmic Guard, which will cause the Cosmocrator’s Break Gauge to gradually deplete while active, instead of their MP.

Void Knight

• Weapons: Sword, Greatsword, Daggers, and Axe
• Action Ability: Runic
• Unlock Requirement: Knight and Red Mage Job Trees

Void Knights specialize in defending themselves against magic attacks. The Runic Ability allows them to absorb all magic attacks that hit them and store them as power — they can then use this power to restore their MP, or to unleash it as an attack by pressing .

Their Command Ability, Runic Protection, temporarily causes the Void Knight to take MP damage instead of HP damage when getting hit.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Ability damage, decrease the MP cost of Action Abilities, and decrease damage taken. They gain one Combo Ability for Swords, and two for Greatswords. One combo for each weapon gives an elemental attack, with the Sword combo also launching enemies in the air. The other Greatsword combo gives you the option of holding while performing it, and if you get hit during that time the attack that happens when you release will deal extra damage.

Evocation Class: Rune Knight – Transforms Runic into Shining Rune, which will grant the entire party Shell when restoring MP.

Ultima Class: Imperial Knight – Transforms Runic into Rune Drive, which when landing a slash attack, will inflict the enemy with a debuff that increases elemental damage taken.

Breaker

• Weapon: Katana, Greatsword, Lance, and Axe
• Action Ability: Zantetsuken
• Unlock Requirement: Dragoon, Berserker, and Samurai Job Trees

Breakers aim to one-shot their targets, but at a high MP cost — they do so by using their Ability, Zantetsuken, which has Breakers using the iconic sword in an attempt to instantly kill their enemies. They can charge the attack to deal more damage. If they do successfully kill enemies with it or break their Break Gauge, it will force a Soul Burst and recover MP.

Their Command Ability, Overpower, is a powerful long-ranged attack. However, this one can only be used while Lightbringer is active, and will cause Lightbringer to end when used.

Passives from their Job Tree increase Ability Break damage, decrease the MP cost of Action Abilities, and increase physical damage dealt. They gain one Combo Ability for Katana, two for Axes, and two for Spears. These give a variety of effects, from inflicting Earth damage, to allowing for large area attacks.

Evocation Class: Barbarian – Transforms Zantetsuken into Annihilating Light, which will increase the area of effect for the Ability.

Ultima Class: Shin-Zantetsuken – Transforms Zantetsuken into Shin-Zantetsuken, allowing it to charge up to four times.

Post-Game

Once you complete all of the story missions for Stranger of Paradise, you will unlock the possibility of leveling Jobs beyond 30. You will also unlock a final Job, the Cyclic Warrior.

Leveling Past 30

Once you complete the game and unlock the Chaos difficulty, you will be able to break the level cap of your Jobs — that is, you will be able to go beyond level 30. In order to do this, you must beat certain missions that will grant a ‘Limit Release’ for a specific Job. Once you have gotten all of the Releases for a Job, you will be able to level it up to 99. The three DLCs for Stranger of Paradise each grant you access to more Limit Releases for each job — by collecting all of these, the level cap for each Job will now be 300!

Since there will will be no more nodes in the Job Tree to unlock at this point, you will instead unlock a Master Point with each level. You can access the dedicated menu to distribute these points by going into the Job’s Tree and pressing . You can use these points to acquire many passive bonuses, such as increasing your base stats, increasing Ability damage, and even increasing the loot drop rate. You are able to reset and redistribute these points at any time, so feel free to experiment with them.

Cyclic Warrior, the Final Job

• Weapon: Greatsword and Axe
• Action Ability: Soul of Chaos
• Unlock Requirement: Complete the game’s story on any difficulty

The Cyclic Warrior is a powerful Job that can use both big physical attacks and powerful magic attacks. Their Soul of Chaos Ability allows them to choose a powerful magic attack using one of the four crystal elements (Fire, Earth, Wind, Water). However, this Ability will reduce your max MP upon use, so the Job strongly encourages using Soul Shields and Soul Bursts to increase your MP pool and keep it high.

Their Command Ability, Chaosbringer, is unique in a few ways. This is the only Command Ability learned from a Job that can replace Lightbringer, and can only be assigned to > (meaning you cannot equip both Lightbringer and Chaosbringer). When activated, your MP will become completely drained (leaving you at 0 max MP), your Soul Gauge will become purple and slowly decrease (showing the duration of the effect), and will grant the following bonuses:

• Increases Break damage dealt
• Attacks reduce the enemy’s max Break Gauge
• Enemies defeated while this is active will be automatically Soul Bursted
• Abilities do not require any MP to activate

Passives from the Cyclic Warrior’s Job Tree increase all damage dealt, damage while Lightbringer is active, and the duration of the Lightbringer. This Job does not learn any Combo Abilities.

Evocation Class: Primal Warrior – Transforms Soul of Chaos into Chaos Rising, which automatically grants the effects of Lightbringer while this Ability is active.

Ultima Class: Apocalypse Warrior – Transforms Soul of Chaos into Light’s End, which if it inflicts an elemental weakness on an enemy, will trigger additional attacks.

Trials of the Dragon King Jobs

The Trials of the Dragon King DLC brought three new Jobs to unlock, all of which take advantage of the Staff, the Weapon Type that was also released with this DLC. You can unlock access to these Jobs once you complete the Main Mission, ‘Trials of the Dragon King’.

Pilgrim

• Weapon: Staff
• Action Ability: Assault Hook
• Unlock Requirement: Complete the ‘Trails of the Dragon King’ Main Mission

The Pilgrim can attack from a variety of ranges, thanks to their Staff. Their Assault Hook Ability grants them a mid-ranged attack which can be used to either pull an enemy towards them with , or to pull themself towards one with .

Their Command Ability, Onslaught, will increase Break damage dealt. Executing a Chain Cancel while this effect is up will enhance the Ability, up to three times.

Passives from their Job Tree decrease the MP cost of Action Abilities, increase Strike damage, and increase damage while Lightbringer is active. They gain 3 Combo Abilities for Staves: these give a couple of wide-reaching attacks, and an attack that deals heavy Break damage.

Evocation Class: Fey Wraith – Transforms Assault Hook into Extending Staff Expertise, which will reduce the MP cost of the Fey Wraith’s next Ability when they pull themselves towards an enemy.

Ultima Class: Truthseeker Champion – Transforms Assault Hook into Phantasmagoric Staff: if the Truthseeker Champion pulls the enemy towards themself, it will cause the next Ability used by any party member to restore their HP, based on damage dealt.

Evoker

• Weapon: Sword, Mace, and Staff
• Action Ability: Evocation
• Unlock Requirement: Pilgrim Job Tree

Evokers can use their Evocation ability to summon a spirit to help them in combat. Once summoned, your Command Abilities will be replaced with Abilities for your companion, with a yellow circle surrounding the Command Ability window. Your spirit will not move, and will remain out either until this circle is fully depleted, or if you dismiss it early by holding .

Their Command Ability, Pray, restores a party member’s HP, but inflicts the Evoker with Silence.

Passives from the Evoker’s Job Tree increase MP recovery from normal attacks, reduce the time needed to recover from status ailments, and increase damage dealt while at max HP. They gain 4 Combo Abilities for Staves. These give them access to Earth and Water attacks.

Evocation Class: Conjurer – Transforms Evocation into Advanced Evocation, which makes the spirit’s recovery effect to recover the Break Gauge as well.

Ultima Class: Arcanist – Transforms Evocation into Enigma Arcana, which increases the damage of the spirit’s shockwave, and causes it to Soul Burst enemies when it breaks them or reduces their HP to 0.

Summoner

• Weapon: Sword, Greatsword, Mace, Daggers, and Staff
• Action Ability: Summon
• Unlock Requirement: Complete the ‘Trails of the Dragon King’ Main Mission

Summoners can summon the mighty Bahamut. When conjured, you will take control of him, giving you access to a new set of Combos. While Bahamut is out, your MP and max MP will be constantly drained. Once enough MP has been drained, Bahamut can use the Megaflare attack by holding . Bahamut can be dismissed early at any time by holding (when Megaflare isn’t ready), or he will leave when the Summoner’s MP is fully depleted.

Summoner’s Command Ability, Boost Magic, will temporarily cause your Max MP to increase based on the amount of MP gained from standard attacks.

Passives from their Job Tree increase the MP recovery from a Soul Burst, decrease damage taken while attacking, and increase Ability damage dealt. They gain 3 Combo Abilities for Staves. These give them access to Dark attacks.

Evocation Class: Demonlogist – Transforms Summon into Advanced Summoning, which makes each successful Soul Shield reduce the time needed before Megaflare can be used.

Ultima Class: High Summoner – Transforms Summon into Ultima Summon, which allows the High Summoner to press after a Combo Ability to unleash consecutive Flare Breaths.

Wanderer of the Rift Job

The Wander of the Rift DLC bought only a single Job with it, but it is a highly popular one — the Blue Mage. This Job takes advantage of Instant Abilities, and will unlock once you’ve made some progress in the Rift Labyrinth.

Blue Mage

• Weapon: Sword, Katana, Axe, Daggers, Spear, Staff, and Gun
• Action Ability: Blue Magic
• Unlock Requirement: Complete floor 6 in the Rift Labyrinth

Blue Mages are a versatile Job that takes advantage and enhance Instant Abilities. When one is available, they can use it with to unleash an enhance version of the Ability. They can hold to charge it, increasing the power depending on how long it is held.

Blue Mage’s Command Ability, Azure Lore, temporarily increases Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, and Luck. This Ability costs 1 Instant Ability use, and can be stacked up to 3 times.

Passives from their Job Tree increase buff duration, increase MP recovery from normal attacks, and decrease the Break amount required to activate Soul Shield. This Job learns no Combo Abilities.

Evocation Class: Blue Magus – Transforms Blue Magic into Advanced Blue Magic, which will increase the Blue Magus’s Instant Ability uses based on the damage dealt by normal attacks and Combo Abilities.

Ultima Class: Soulflayer – Transforms Blue Magic into Chain Affinity, which allows the Soulflayer to press during a Combo Ability to activate Blue Magic.