As you probably know, Final Fantasy V has a fairly unique Job System. Jobs are unlocked throughout the first part of the story and it is what makes your characters that much stronger, aside from level-ups.

Setting up a proper party is easy if you know what you are doing, and good utilization is what makes or breaks (mostly breaks) the game for you.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about or if you are just reading random guides, then shoo.

There are 26 Jobs in this game, which is quite a lot. Each of these has their own Stat modifiers, aside from Freelancer (which is the default Job your characters start in) and Mime. First though, let's go through the stats the PC's have:

• Strength increases damage from normal atacks.
  
• Agility affects how fast the ATB bar fills for that character.
  
• Stamina affects the amount of health a character has, which also affects spells like Regen.
  
• Magic affects the effectiveness of most magic, determining how much damage offensive spells do or how much you are healed from healing spells.

Freelancers and Mimes are the only Jobs to actually get stronger as you progress throughout the game and not only in terms of stats. You'll see why in their respective sections.

The base stats for all Jobs are calculated according to the base stats on the Freelancer Job, which are:

• Strength: 24
  
• Agility: 24
  
• Stamina: 24
  
• Magic: 24

Apply all the modifiers you see in the guide to this baseline. (Note: the base stats for all characters differ slightly from what you see here, but not significantly).

Job Command - None
Innate Abilities - Every innate ability from every job the character has mastered except the Berserker's Berserk, the Gladiator's Lure and the Necromancer's Undead. This does not include HP +, MP +, Two-Handed, ABP Up, EXP Up, Read Ahead, or Long Reach.
Equipment - Possible to equip everything.

What makes the Freelancer class special is the fact that it has nearly every innate ability from every job the character has mastered, as well as the stat bonuses, but not the penalties (such as the boosted Magic of a mage with none of the reduced Strength). So while it starts off very weak at first, at the end of the game, Freelancer becomes the strongest job, along with Mime.

These are the Jobs you get within the first hour of the game, and feature a decent balance between front-line battlers and spellcasty goodness.

Stat modifiers:

• Strength: +23
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: +20
  
• Magic: -14

Job Command - Guard
Innate Abilities - Cover
Equipment - Knives, Knight Swords, Swords, Shield, Heavy Helmets, Clothes, Heavy Armor, Gauntlets

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Cover
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Guard
  
• Level 3 (50 AP): Two-Handed
  
• Level 4 (100 AP): Equip Shields
  
• Level 5 (150 AP): Equip Armor
  
• Level 6 (350 AP): Equip Swords
  
• Total AP to master: 690

When mastered, the Freelancer and Mime Jobs gain the Knight's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless a job with higher modifiers is mastered. Cover is inherited as an innate.

Guard completely blocks all physical damage, though there are some things that bypass it, like attacks that inflict status ailments or damage from Sap.

Cover will have the Knight automatically defend any ally in HP Critical status, though Cover does not work with Petrify, Zombie, Instant Death, Sleep, Paralyze, Confuse, Berserk or Stop.

The Knight is a good Job to slap on Bartz in the beginning of the game. Bartz has the highest base Strength, so he'll do the most damage. Other than that, it's a pretty straightfoward class. Two-Handed is a pretty good ability until you learn the Ninja's Dual Wield. Just don't give the Job a spellcasting ability. That just doesn't flow well.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +26
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: +26
  
• Magic: -23

Job Command - Kick
Innate Abilities - Counter, Barehanded
Equipment - Light Helmets, Clothes, Armlets

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (15 AP): Focus
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Barehanded
  
• Level 3 (45 AP): Chakra
  
• Level 4 (60 AP): Counter
  
• Level 5 (100 AP): HP +10%
  
• Level 6 (150 AP): HP +20%
  
• Level 7 (300 AP): HP +30%
  
• Total AP to master: 700

When mastered, the Freelancer and Mime jobs gain the Monk's bast Strength and Stamina, unless a job with higher modifiers is mastered. Counter is also gained as an innate.

One thing:
Get Barehanded ASAP. It saves money buying weapons and it really helps your spellcasters in the early game as Barehanded also gives the base Freelancer Strength + 26 to the class using it (meaning that every character will have 50+ Strength).

Other than that, the Monk is your physical glass cannon. While it has high health to compensate, it can not wear the heavier armor types and can not wield any weapons. The insane damage output more than makes up for it though, as early on it will do the most damage out of any job (and attacking twice in one round is insane for an early class).

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +1
  
• Agility: +16
  
• Stamina: +2
  
• Magic: -6

Job Command - Steal
Innate Abilities - Find Passages, Vigilance, Sprint
Equipment - Knives, Light Helmets, Clothes, Armlets, Boomerangs, Thief Gloves

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Find Passages
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): Flee
  
• Level 3 (30 AP): Sprint
  
• Level 4 (50 AP): Steal
  
• Level 5 (75 AP): Vigilance
  
• Level 6 (150 AP): Mug
  
• Level 7 (300 AP): Artful Dodger
  
• Total AP to master: 635

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Thief's base Agility. They also gain the Thief's base Strength and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They will also gain Find Passages, Vigilance, and Sprint as innate abilities.

Vigilance is pretty good, though at the time you get it, you probably won't have to worry about being screwed over by back attacks.

The job is all about Steal and Mug though. With these abilities, you can get yourself some pretty good stuff ('nuff said). A character with one of these abilities is good to have on your party most of the time.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -9
  
• Agility: 0
  
• Stamina: -2
  
• Magic: +31

Job Command - Black Magic
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Rods, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Black Magic (1)
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): Black Magic (2)
  
• Level 3 (30 AP): Black Magic (3)
  
• Level 4 (50 AP): Black Magic (4)
  
• Level 5 (70 AP): Black Magic (5)
  
• Level 6 (100 AP): Black Magic (6)
  
• Level 7 (450 AP): MP +30%
  
• Total AP to master: 730

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Black Mage's base Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

When you equip the Black Magic (X) ability on a character, the following happens:

Magic = Black Mage Base Magic - 3 * (6 - Black Mage Job Level)

However, the value of the base Magic granted in this way is capped at the Black Mage's base.

So, that means that the base Magic for a character equipped with Black Magic (X) is as follows:

• Level 1 = 40 base Magic
  
• Level 2 = 43 base Magic
  
• Level 3 = 46 base Magic
  
• Level 4 = 49 base Magic
  
• Level 5 = 52 base Magic
  
• Level 6 = 55 base Magic
  
• Level 7 = 55 base Magic

The Black mage is your basic exploiter of elemental weaknesses. It gains access to the basic Fire/Blizzard/Thunder line of spells, can poison enemies and wreak havoc with Flare. Late-game though, Black Magic falls behind the power of the Summoner (nothing trumps a Dualcast Bahamut), so keep that in mind.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -7
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: 0
  
• Magic: +25

Job Command - White Magic
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Staves, Hats, Robes, Armlets.

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): White Magic (1)
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): White Magic (2)
  
• Level 3 (30 AP): White Magic (3)
  
• Level 4 (50 AP): White Magic (4)
  
• Level 5 (70 AP): White Magic (5)
  
• Level 6 (100 AP): White Magic (6)
  
• Level 7 (300 AP): MP +10%
  
• Total AP to master: 580

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the White Mage's base Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

The way an equipped White Magic (X) works on a character follows a formula that's similar to the one used for the Black Mage:

Magic = White Mage Base Magic - 2 * (6 - White Mage Job Level)

The base Magic caps at the White Mage's base, so that means:

• Level 1 = 39 base Magic
  
• Level 2 = 41 base Magic
  
• Level 3 = 43 base Magic
  
• Level 4 = 45 base Magic
  
• Level 5 = 47 base Magic
  
• Level 6 = 49 base Magic
  
• Level 7 = 49 base Magic

The White Mage is a little bit more important to level than the Black Mage, as you you need the job to be at level 3 to use Cura and at level 5 to use Curaga. This is important if you use White Magic (X) on a character that isn't a White Mage.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -8
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: +3
  
• Magic: +23

Job Command - Blue Magic
Innate Abilities - Learning
Equipment - Knives, Swords, Rods, Shields, Hats, Clothes, Robes, Armlets

Level-Up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Check
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): Learning
  
• Level 3 (70 AP): Blue Magic
  
• Level 4 (250 AP): Scan
  
• Total AP to master: 350

The Blue Magic skillset gives characters the Blue Mage's base Magic unless otherwise already at a higher value. Note that to learn Blue Magic, a character with Learning or a Blue Mage has to be hit by the spell and the battle has to end with at least one party member surviving.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Blue Mage's base Agility, Stamina and Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They will also gain Learning as an innate ability.

The Blue Mage is the one to go for when you want versatility. The only problem you can have with this class is that you have to go out of your way to learn (powerful) Blue Magic, which isn't all that fun at times. However, if you put some effort into it, you can have one of the most powerful sets of spells at your disposal.

Level 5 Death, for example, bypasses immunity for Death and some bosses are affected by this spell (the level of the enemy has to be divisable by 5, it will hurt when you try to learn this one).

A fun job all around, if you are willing to work for it.

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This is where you'll have the most fun mage Jobs and the Mime, though the Mime is actually an optional Job that you can only obtain late-game in the Merged World.

Stat Modifiers:
Strength: +8
Agility: +5
Stamina: -6
Magic: +8

Job Command - Red Magic
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Swords, Rods, Staves, Hats, Clothes, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (20 AP): Red Magic (1)
  
• Level 2 (40 AP): Red Magic (2)
  
• Level 3 (100 AP): Red Magic (3)
  
• Level 4 (999 AP): Dualcast
  
• Total AP to master: 1159

The base magic for a chracter equipped with Red Magic (X) is determined is a similar way as the Black/White Mage classes, capping at the base for Red Mages:

Magic = Red Mage Base Magic - (3 - Red Mage Job Level)

That means:

• Level 1 = 30 base Magic
  
• Level 2 = 31 base Magic
  
• Level 3 = 32 base Magic
  
• Level 4 = 32 base Magic

Also, the Dualcast ability gives characters the Red Mage's base Magic unless otherwise already at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Red Mage's base Strength, Agility and Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Red Magic allows the character equipped with it to cast either White Magic or Black Magic, up to level 3 max. In the hands of the Red Mage, Dualcast only lets the player cast two level 3 Black Magic and level 3 White Magic at once, but given to a Summoner they will be able to summon two summons at once and given to a Time Mage they have the ability to cast two Time Magic spells at once.

However, if you equip a Red Mage with a higher level of (name) Magic (X), it allows them to double cast spells of the higher levels as well. They can also increase the damage of every element due to being able to equip rods (for Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Poison), staves (Holy) and knives (Wind), making them almost as versatile as a Blue Mage. Mastering Red Mage is definitely worth it.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -5
  
• Agility: +2
  
• Stamina: -3
  
• Magic: +24

Job Command - Time Magic
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Rods, Staves, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Time Magic (1)
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): Time Magic (2)
  
• Level 3 (30 AP): Time Magic (3)
  
• Level 4 (50 AP): Time Magic (4)
  
• Level 5 (70 AP): Time Magic (5)
  
• Level 6 (100 AP): Time Magic (6)
  
• Level 7 (250 AP): Equip Rods
  
• Total AP to master: 530

As with the other mage jobs, a formula determines how high the magic stat on a character with Time Magic (X) is:

Magic = Time Mage Base Magic - 2 * (6 - Time Mage Job Level)

As this caps at the Time Mage's base, that means:

• Level 1 = 38 base Magic
  
• Level 2 = 40 base Magic
  
• Level 3 = 42 base Magic
  
• Level 4 = 44 base Magic
  
• Level 5 = 46 base Magic
  
• Level 6 = 48 base Magic
  
• Level 7 = 48 base Magic

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Time Mage's base Agility and Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

The Time Mage specializes in buffing the party and debuffing the enemy. This means they have a lack of good offensive spells, as Comet/Meteor do random damage and Gravity/Graviga only do fractional damage.

It's utility lies in using the Haste line, the Slow line and Quick, which are powerful spells that will speed up battles immensely. Another spell worth to note is Float, which makes you avoid any Earth-based spells.

A good job worth mastering.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -10
  
• Agility: -1
  
• Stamina: -1
  
• Magic: +33

Job Command - Summon
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Rods, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (15 AP): Summon (1)
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Summon (2)
  
• Level 3 (45 AP): Summon (3)
  
• Level 4 (60 AP): Summon (4)
  
• Level 5 (100 AP): Summon (5)
  
• Level 6 (500 AP): Call
  
• Total AP to master: 750

A formula determines the base magic on a character with Summon (X):

Magic = Summoner Base Magic - 4 * (5 - Summoner Job Level)

Capping at the base for a Summoner, that means:

• Level 1 = 41 base Magic
  
• Level 2 = 45 base Magic
  
• Level 3 = 49 base Magic
  
• Level 4 = 53 base Magic
  
• Level 5 = 57 base Magic
  
• Level 6 = 57 base Magic

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Summoner's base Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Summon gives the Summoner access to various abilities that allow them to act offensively or defensively according to the battle. On the offensive, Summon gives the Summoner access to the Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Wind elements, as well as two powerful non-elemental attacks.

On the defensive, Summon gives the ability to grant Reflect to the party, revive one KO'd ally with full life, nullify physical attacks up to a certain point, and drain HP from enemies to restore HP to the party. Summon also grants the ability to inflict Paralyze or Petrify to a single enemy, and a chance to inflict Instant Death to all enemies on-screen.

In the end, Summon abilities become stronger than Black magic, mainly due to the Summon/Dualcast combination. Just make sure you have enough Ethers.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +21
  
• Agility: -9
  
• Stamina: +25
  
• Magic: -23

Job Command - None
Innate Abilities - Berserk
Equipment - Knives, Axes, Hammers, Shields, Heavy Helmets, Clothes, Heavy Armor, Gauntlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (100 AP): Berserk
  
• Level 2 (400 AP): Equip Axes
  
• Total AP to master: 500

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Berserker's base Strength and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Equip Axes gives characters the Berserker's base Strength unless otherwise at a higher value.

Get angry, smash things. That's all the Berserker is about. You have absolutey no control over the action of a Berserker, so make sure you have a good back-up.

You might think it a waste to give the Berserker one of the Magic skillsets, but equipping an ability that gives a high boost to the magic stat might be a good idea if the Berserker is using either the Gaia Hammer or the Rune Axe.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +14
  
• Agility: +14
  
• Stamina: +14
  
• Magic: +1

Job Command - Spellblade
Innate Abilities - Magic Shell
Equipment - Knives, Swords, Shields, Heavy Helmets, Clothes, Heavy Armor, Gauntlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Magic Shell
  
• Level 2 (20 AP): Spellblade (1)
  
• Level 3 (30 AP): Spellblade (2)
  
• Level 4 (50 AP): Spellblade (3)
  
• Level 5 (70 AP): Spellblade (4)
  
• Level 6 (100 AP): Spellblade (5)
  
• Level 7 (400 AP): Spellblade (6)
  
• Total AP to master: 680

Spellblade abilities give characters the Mystic Knight's base Strength and Magic based on the following formulas:

Strength = Mystic Knight Strength - 2 * (7 - Mystic Knight Job Level)
Magic = Mystic Knight Magic - 2 * (7 - Mystic Knight Job Level)

However, the value of the base Magic granted this way is capped at the Mystic Knight's base. That means:

• Level 1 = It's not normally possible to equip Spellblade with a level 1 Mystic Knight.
  
• Level 2 = 15 base Strength and 30 base Magic.
  
• Level 3 = 17 base Strength and 30 base Magic.
  
• Level 4 = 19 base Strength and 30 base Magic.
  
• Level 5 = 21 base Strength and 30 base Magic.
  
• Level 6 = 23 base Strength and 30 base Magic.
  
• Level 7 = 25 base Strength and 30 base Magic.

Spellblade abilities themselves also increase damage:

• Fire/Blizzard/Thunder/Poison: 2x damage when striking an elemental weakness
  
• Fira/Blizzara/Thundara: 3x damage when striking an elemental weakness
  
• Firaga/Blizzaga/Thundaga/Bio/Holy: Instant death when striking an elemental weakness unless the enemy is heavy-type. 4x damage when striking an elemental weakness on a heavy-type enemy.
  
• Flare: Grants 100 bonus attack power against all enemies, and treats them as if their defense were 1/4 as high

However, when hitting an enemy that resists, is immune to or absorbs the element of your Spellblade, the damage will be reduced, nullified or reversed in the same way as a magic spell.

Spellblade abilities last until the end of battle.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Mystic Knight's base stats unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They will also gain Magic Shell as an innate ability.

Honestly, the Mystic Knight has one of the best skillsets in the game and is extremely abusable when combined with the Ninja's Dual Wield and the Ranger's Rapid Fire. Try it and see the results.

Magic Shell is also worth mentioning. Should you ever get into HP Critical status, Shell is automatically cast, increasing your magic defense. Pretty good, if you can manage to heal up after.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: 0 (takes the highest modifier among Jobs mastered)
  
• Agility: 0 (takes the highest modifier among Jobs mastered)
  
• Stamina: 0 (takes the highest modifier among Jobs mastered)
  
• Magic: 0 (takes the highest modifier among Jobs mastered)

Job Command - Mimic
Innate Abilities - Every innate ability from every job mastered except the Berserker's Berserk, Gladiator's Lure, Necromancer's Undead, and the Equip abilities. This does not include HP +, MP +, Two-Handed, ABP Up, EXP Up, Read Ahead, or Long Reach.
Equipment - Knives, Rods, Staves, Boomerangs, Shields, Heavy Armor, Clothes, Robes, Angel Robe, Thief Gloves

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (999 AP): Mimic
  
• Total AP to master: 999

Mimic causes the Mime to repeat the previous action, with no MP consumption; however:

• Mimicking an item use causes another of that item to be used up.
  
• Mimicking Animals, Dance, and Terrain will still result in a random action.
  
• Mimicking Odin will still choose randomly between Gungnir and Zantetsuken.
  
• Mimicking Zeninage still uses up money.
  
• The character will mimic commands such as Defend.
  
• The mimed action is dependent on the Mime's stats, not the character they're miming.

Just like the Freelancer class, the Mime has every innate ability from every job mastered, as well as the stat bonuses, but not the penalties (such as the boosted Magic Power of a mage with none of the reduced Strength), making it versatile.

The Mime has three ability slots. While this may sound impressive, if the character has no ability equipped, they only have the command Mimic. The player will have to equip the Attack and Items commands separately, although a better idea is to equip Dualcast and two magic commands instead. In fact, Mime is the best job for spellcasters end-game, since they can equip two sets of spells along with Dualcast instead of one.

Fun fact:
While Galuf will never be able to be a Mime through regular means, the developers actually worked on a Mime sprite for Galuf. He has a yellow cape.

This is where you get two of the best jobs in the game, in terms of abilities, and a few oddballs. Fun stuff all around.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +13
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: +8
  
• Magic: -3

Job Command - Catch
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Whips, Light Helmets, Clothes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Calm
  
• Level 2 (50 AP): Control
  
• Level 3 (100 AP): Equip Whips
  
• Level 4 (300 AP): Catch
  
• Total AP to master: 460

The Equip Whips ability gives characters the Beastmaster's base Strength and Agility unless otherwise already at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Beastmaster's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Sources tell me that Calm is bugged and that it is effective against enemies that are not Magic Beasts. If anyone can tell me if that's still the case for this version, I would appreciate it.

The Catch command lets the player capture an enemy during battle, provided the target has less than 1/8 of their total HP remaining. The Kornago Gourd reduces this to 1/2 HP. If the player wants a particular monster, one can try Gravity or the Blue Magic spell Missile, as both reduce the health of the foe without killing it, allowing the character to catch it more easily.

Captured monsters can be released to have them attack once summon style. If the party catches a summoned creature, most will do a Strong Attack when released (which does thousands worth of damage, even in the First World).

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +4
  
• Agility: +2
  
• Stamina: +4
  
• Magic: +24

Job Command - Gaia
Innate Abilities - Find Pits, Light Step
Equipment - Knives, Bells, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (25 AP): Gaia
  
• Level 2 (50 AP): Find Pits
  
• Level 3 (100 AP): Light Step
  
• Total AP to master: 175

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Geomancer's base stats unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They will also gain Find Pits and Light Step as innate abilities.

The Gaia command is useful, especially in the hands of a spell caster. It has a random effect, based on the current location's environment and the caster's level. The effects caused by the command vary, causing something as simple as minor damage to inflicting instant death. Regardless, this command is based on the user's Magic Power and costs no MP, so it is a cheap alternative to magic. Find Pits will reveal trap doors, but only if the user is about to step on one, while Light Step lets the user walk over harmful surfaces like lava.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +15
  
• Agility: +14
  
• Stamina: +3
  
• Magic: -10

Job Command - Throw
Innate Abilities - Dual-Wield, First Strike
Equipment - Short Swords, Knives, Boomerangs, Light Helmets, Clothes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Smoke
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Image
  
• Level 3 (50 AP): First Strike
  
• Level 4 (150 AP): Throw
  
• Level 5 (450 AP): Dual-Wield
  
• Total AP to master: 690

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Ninja's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They also gain First Strike and Dual-Wield as innate abilities.

Throw lets the player choose an item and the ninja will throw it at the target. Rarer items usually equal more damage. First Strike increases the chances of the party receiving a preemptive attack. Dual Wield is the classic ninja ability, letting the ninja hold a weapon in each hand, meaning they attack twice.

A must-master job because of Dual-Wield.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +16
  
• Agility: +12
  
• Stamina: +1
  
• Magic: -5

Job Command - Aim
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Bows, Light Helmets, Clothes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (15 AP): Animals
  
• Level 2 (45 AP): Aim
  
• Level 3 (135 AP): Equip Bows
  
• Level 4 (405 AP): Rapid Fire
  
• Total AP to master: 600

Equip Bows gives characters the Ranger's base Strength and Agility unless otherwise at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Ranger's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

The Ranger lacks innate abilities, meaning that mastering it will have no benefits to the Freelancer or Mime class, but it is still an interesting job. Aim is an attack that usually never misses, making it preferable to Fight, and Rapid Fire is almost a must-have for any physical characters end-game.

Of note, Aim cannot be used if the character is under Darkness. Aim can still miss the target if the character is equipped with a rod.

Rapid Fire's third and fourth hit will not dispel Sleep, Control, or Confuse, as well as will not provoke any counters and is unblockable. Any special abilities or effects weapons may have will not be activated when using Rapid Fire. Effects from Spellblade will still apply.

Master it for Rapid Fire. You'll thank me for it.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -8
  
• Agility: +8
  
• Stamina: -9
  
• Magic: +11

Job Command - Sing
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Harps, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (25 AP): Hide
  
• Level 2 (50 AP): Equip Harps
  
• Level 3 (100 AP): Sing
  
• Total AP to master: 175

The Equip Harp ability gives characters the Bard's base Agility and Magic unless otherwise already at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Bard's base Agility and Magic unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

The Bard has a host of songs. Some songs can only obtained in the first or second world. While the effects of some songs are instantaneous, other songs are ongoing meaning the Bard will continue to sing until he/she is hit by an attack, killed, or silenced, though in most cases the song's effect will remain even after the Bard stops singing. If a party member is turned into a Zombie while singing they will continue to still sing as a zombie.

Songs:

• Sinewy Etude: raises party Strength, found in Crescent in the Merged World.
  
• Mana's Paean: raises party Magic, found in the top floor of the Library of Ancients in the Merged World.
  
• Swift Song: raises party Speed, found in the King's Chamber of Castle Surgate.
  
• Mighty March: casts Regen on the party, found in Crescent (Minstrel's House)
  
• Hero's Rime: raises party level to a maximum of 255, found in Crescent (Minsterl's House) after playing every piano.
  
• Requiem: Damages undead, found in Quelb.
  
• Romeo's Ballad: casts a short-lasting Stop on all enemies, found in Istory.
  
• Alluring Air: casts Confuse on all enemies, found in Lix.

In my opinion, not a job worth using much. It has some utility, but it doesn't fit my tastes. Might work for some others though.

The last jobs of the original game. Only the Chemist adds something new though (though Samurai is a fun Job too).

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +18
  
• Agility: +5
  
• Stamina: +15
  
• Magic: -12

Job Command - Jump
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Spears, Shields, Heavy Helmets, Clothes, Heavy Armor, Gauntlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Jump
  
• Level 2 (150 AP): Lance
  
• Level 3 (400 AP): Equip Lances
  
• Total AP to master: 560

Equip Lances gives characters the Dragoon's base Strength unless otherwise at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Dragoon's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Jump has the character leap up the first turn, then come falling down on the enemy the next. If the character is equipped with a spear, Twin Lance, Man-Eater, Staff of Light, or Judgment Staff they will do twice the damage. Jump ignores Row, will not activate any special abilities or effects of any equipped weapons, and critical hits (including those that consume MP to force a critical) will act as normal. Spellblade effects will still apply to Jump attacks, and rods may still miss even with Jump. Weapons that deal no damage and are based on Magic, such as Harps, the Healing Staff, and the Wonder Wand, will always miss. Jump is unblockable.

While cool as a concept, Square kinda dropped the ball on this one. Aside from Jump, and even that one is situational at best, mastering this class will get you nothing useful. A real damn shame.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +5
  
• Agility: +5
  
• Stamina: -10
  
• Magic: -5

Job Command - Dance
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Hats, Clothes, Robes, Armlets, Man-Eater, Lamia's Tiara, Ribbon, Red Slipper, Rainbow Dress

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (25 AP): Flirt
  
• Level 2 (50 AP): Dance
  
• Level 3 (325 AP): Equip Ribbons
  
• Total AP to master: 400

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Dancer's base Strength and Agility unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Dance is another one of the random job commands, which has one of the following effects:

• Tempting Tango - Confuses the enemy.
  
• Jitterbug Duet - Drains HP from the enemy.
  
• Mystery Waltz - Drains MP from the enemy.
  
• Sword Dance - Attack for four times the damage.

Rainbow Dress, Red Slippers, and Lamia's Tiara will all make the wearer do a Sword Dance when he/she would've done a Tempting Tango instead, doubling Sword Dance's chance of appearing to 50%, and making Dance a powerful command. The random HP/MP drain can also be helpful as long as the target isn't an undead. Sword Dance is especially good if Barehanded is equipped as a support ability (learned from Monk).

Of note, Flirt never works on a Heavy-type enemy and Berserk overwrites the effects of Flirt. Equip Ribbons allows the character to equip the Dancer-specific equipment which includes the Ribbon, Man-Eater, Rainbow Dress, Red Slippers, and Lamia's Tiara, despite the in-game description.

This Job can actually be quite powerful, if you go for the equipment listed above. Otherwise, just master it for the achievement and never look back.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +19
  
• Agility: +2
  
• Stamina: +19
  
• Magic: -12

Job Command - Zeninage
Innate Abilities - Shirahadori
Equipment - Knives, Katanas, Shields, Heavy Helmets, Clothes, Heavy Armor, Gauntlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (10 AP): Mineuchi
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Zeninage
  
• Level 3 (60 AP): Shirahadori
  
• Level 4 (180 AP): Equip Katanas
  
• Level 5 (540 AP): Iainuki
  
• Total AP to master: 820

Equip Katanas gives characters the Samurai's base Strength unless otherwise at a higher value.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Samurai's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They also gain Shirahadori as an innate ability.

The Samurai is usually associated with the ability to throw money, and Final Fantasy V is no exception. The higher the level of the thrower is, the more damage Zeninage does, and the more gil it consumes (temporary level boosts raise the damage done, but not the gil consumed). This command is one of the most powerful attacks in Final Fantasy V, but the obvious drawback means that frequent use usually isn't an option. Shirahadori increases the ability to dodge physical attacks by 25%.

Mineuchi will ignore an equipped weapon's special abilities or effects, and will not dispel Confuse, Sleep, or Control.

Iainuki has 85% accuracy and takes into account the level factor that magic attacks use, and will never work against Heavy-types.

A very versatile physical attacker, but you'll likely go for Zeninage and be done with the Job.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +2
  
• Agility: +3
  
• Stamina: +6
  
• Magic: -4

Job Command - Drink
Innate Abilities - Pharmacology
Equipment - Knives, Staves, Hats, Clothes, Robes, Armlets, Angel Robe

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (15 AP): Pharmacology
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Mix
  
• Level 3 (45 AP): Drink
  
• Level 4 (135 AP): Recover
  
• Level 5 (405 AP): Revive
  
• Total AP to master: 630

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the Chemist's base Strength, Agility and Stamina unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job. They also gain Pharmacology as an innate ability.

Drink lets the Chemist drink one of the following potions:

• Giant Drink
  
• Hard Body
  
• Hero Drink
  
• Power Drink
  
• Speed Drink

The potion will give it a stat boost of some kind. The Chemist isn't a high damage-dealing job, so the Drink ability can be put to good use by classes like Knight or Gladiator. Pharmacology doubles the effect of all curative items in the game when used by the Chemist.

Of note, Recover cures Darkness, Mini, Toad, Silence, Confuse, Paralysis, Old, and Sleep. Recover will never cure Petrify as intended due to a bug. Revive restores 6.25% of a KO'd ally's Max HP.

This Job is all about Mix. Mixing the correct items can produce some of the most broken effects in the game and is a great way to support the entire party without it costing MP.

As an example, Dragon Kiss (Maiden's Kiss + Dragon Fang). It grants the target the 'Dragon' and 'Heavy' types, which makes them impervious to most status effects, with the only downside taking more damage from attacks that are effective against Dragons.

Another is Shadowflare (Dark Matter + Dark Matter), which deals insanely high amounts of non-elemental damage.

List of Mixes:
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Mix_%28Final_Fantasy_V%29

These Jobs were originally added in the GBA re-release, and all are fairly powerful. Do note that you must have obtained all of the Tablets in the Merged World to access the Gladiator, Cannoneer and Oracle Jobs. The Necromancer is obtained after beating Enuo, one of the bosses of the Sealed Temple.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +4
  
• Agility: +1
  
• Stamina: +21
  
• Magic: +29

Job Command - Dark Arts
Innate Abilities - Undead
Equipment - Knives, Rods, Hats, Robes, Armlets, Chaos Orb

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (15 AP): Oath
  
• Level 2 (30 AP): Dark Arts (1)
  
• Level 3 (45 AP): Dark Arts (2)
  
• Level 4 (60 AP): Dark Arts (3)
  
• Level 5 (100 AP): Dark Arts (4)
  
• Level 6 (200 AP): Dark Arts (5)
  
• Level 7 (300 AP): Undead
  
• Total AP to master: 750

The Undead innate ability means that a Necromancer will be hurt by healing spells and items in battle, but spells like Death will heal their HP fully. Outside of battle, however, they can be healed normally. Like the Berserker's Berserk ability, the Freelancer and Mime class are not affected by it once this class has been mastered. Undead inverts all draining spells except Drain Touch, and most healing spells and items will deal damage instead. Any item or spell that would revive sets the Undead user's HP to single digits. Characters with the Undead ability set that are KO'd may be revived normally, as opposed to the Bone Mail's innate Undead ability.

Dark Arts is more powerful than the Black Magic and Summon skillsets, and can be further boosted due to the equipment choices the Necromancer has (rods for Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Poison, and Air Knife for Wind). The Necromancer is similar to the Blue Mage, in that to learn any Dark Arts, the Necromancer has to learn it from opponents; the Necromancer must deal the finishing blow to a specific enemy to learn a Dark Art spell.

Dark Arts Level 1 will give the character base Freelancer Magic +13. For each Dark Arts level gained, up to level 5, the Magic bonus is increased by 4 per level, for a maximum of +29 Magic at Dark Arts Level 5.

List of Dark Arts:
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Arts_%28Final_Fantasy_V%29

Pro:
Extremely powerful.

Con:
You get it when there's nothing to use it on anymore (unless you like Cloister runs).

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +9
  
• Agility: +6
  
• Stamina: +6
  
• Magic: +4

Job Command - Open Fire
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Swords, Shields, Hats, Clothes, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (50 AP): Open Fire
  
• Level 2 (150 AP): EXP Up
  
• Level 3 (300 AP): Combine
  
• Total AP to master: 500

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain a bonus to Strength and Agility unless higher bonuses have been gained from another mastered job.

The Cannoneer has a slight advantage over other physical-based jobs with its Open Fire command, as it allows them to deal damage while being in the back row, and allows the Cannoneer to equip weapons they don't necessarily need to attack with and instead will help them survive longer, such as the Main Gauche. The Cannoneer is similar to the Chemist in that their ability Combine allows them to mix a shot with an item for various effects, ammunition can only be bought from the traveling merchant. The downside to the Cannoneer is that on their own, they do not have the damage output other physical-based jobs have, and have trouble increasing their damage output at all.

The Open Fire command deals heavy non-elemental damage to one enemy, and may also inflict a random status ailment, including Instant Death, Blind, Poison, or Confuse. It also ignores row, making it generally preferable to use over normal attacks.

The chances of each status is as follows:

• 6/16: Poison
  
• 5/16: Darkness
  
• 4/16: Confuse (ignores Confuse immunity)
  
• 1/16: Instant Death (ignores Undead nature)

Cannoneer also teaches the valuable EXP Up ability, which allows characters to gain levels quickly by adding +50% EXP at the end of battles.

List of Combine effects:
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Combine_%28Final_Fantasy_V%29

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: +26
  
• Agility: +14
  
• Stamina: +3
  
• Magic: -14

Job Command - Finisher
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Knives, Swords, Knight Swords, Katanas, Spears, Bows, Axes, Shields, Heavy Helmets, Light Helmets, Heavy Armor, Clothes, Gauntlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (30 AP): Lure
  
• Level 2 (70 AP): Finisher
  
• Level 3 (150 AP): Long Range
  
• Level 4 (450 AP): Bladeblitz
  
• Total AP to master: 700

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain a bonus to Strength. They also gain a bonus to Agility and Stamina unless higher bonuses have been gained from another mastered job.

The Finisher command can do one of three things:

• Elemental Attack - Elemental attack that does max damage (9,999).
  
• Critical Hit - Perform a regular critical hit.
  
• Nothing - The attempt failed.

The ratio between failure, elemental attack and critical hit varies by job level:

• Job Level 0: 37.5% chance to fail, 37.5% chance for Critical Hit, 25% chance for Elemental Attack.
  
• Job Level 1: 31.25% chance to fail, 37.5% chance for Critical Hit, 31.25% chance for Elemental Attack.
  
• Job Level 2: 31.25% chance to fail, 31.25% chance for Critical Hit, 37.5% chance for Elemental Attack.
  
• Job Level 3: 31.25% chance to fail, 25% chance for Critical Hit, 43.75% chance for Elemental Attack.
  
• Job Level 4: 25% chance to fail, 25% chance for Critical Hit, 50% chance for Elemental Attack.

The element used depends on the character's crystal element: Bartz's elemental attack is Wind, Lenna's is Water, Faris's is Fire and Krile's is Earth. Galuf is given the innate element of Earth, and therefore his Finisher ability will take this element, although the player will not be able to see this unless they hack the game so Galuf can use this job.

Elemental Attack will always inflict 9,999 damage unless the enemy is immune to or absorbs the element, in the latter case the enemy will get healed for 9,999 instead. A non-boss enemy weak to the character's element will get killed instantly if the Elemental Attack lands. In spite of a slash "animation", Krile and Galuf's Elemental Attack will miss flying foes, making their version of this ability less useful than the others.

Bladeblitz deals a normal physical attack to all enemies equal to 75% of the Attack command's damage. Row modifiers will be ignored if the equipped weapon ignores row, and all special abilities or effects of the equipped weapon will be ignored (however, MP-driven criticals and regular criticals will function as normal). MP-driven criticals will reduce MP once for every target hit. Any non-Heavy target hit by the Lilith Rod will have its effect applied to. Weapons that rely on Magic Power, such as Harps and the Wonder Wand, will not work with Bladeblitz.

The Gladiator is among one of the more powerful physical-based jobs in the game, boasting the highest Strength out of the heavy armor jobs, and tied with Monk with the highest Strength in the game. Due to this, and their Long Range ability, they are also the strongest attackers from the back row.

The Gladiator's abilities can help with mastering other Jobs, so I recommend this one to be one of the first to master.

Stat Modifiers:

• Strength: -9
  
• Agility: -1
  
• Stamina: -4
  
• Magic: +36

Job Command - Condemn
Innate Abilities - None
Equipment - Staves, Hats, Robes, Armlets

Level-up abilities:

• Level 1 (25 AP): Condemn
  
• Level 2 (50 AP): Predict
  
• Level 3 (150 AP): ABP Up
  
• Level 4 (300 AP): Read Ahead

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain a bonus to Magic Power.

Oracles have the highest Magic Power of any class. Condemn becomes faster as the Job levels go up. Both Condemn and Predict have a chance of benefiting the enemies rather than the party; as such they are risky commands.

Condemn has the following effects:

• Rejuvenation - HP restore
  
• Recuperation - Esuna
  
• Brimstone - Fire damage
  
• Black Frost - Ice damage
  
• Judgment - Thunder damage
  
• Salienta - Frog
  
• Doom
  
• Still Wing - Stop

The level chosen with the Predict command affects which event occurs. Level 1 costs 1 MP and takes very long for the prediction to come true, while level 2 and level 3 cost more MP (3 and 7 respectively) but also has a shorter charge time. The attack used in the prediction is dependent on the prediction that happened previously with that character, as well as the last digit of the caster's MP at the time the prediction comes true. The power is dependent on the last digit of the character's HP at the time the prediction comes true.

Master it for the Magic modifier, and leave it at that.

That's it for the guide.

I'll modify the guide if changes come up that warrant it, but at this time it is as complete as can be.

Thanks for reading, I hope it will be useful for both veterans and new players!