Job Guide: Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age 

For anyone that wanted to skip directly to a certain class here you go White mage 2:30 Uhlan 3:33 Machinist 4:37 Red Battle-Mage 5:30 Knight 6:42 Monk 7:35 Time Battle-Mage 8:22 FoeBreaker 9:11 Archer 10:07 Black Mage 10:58 Bushi 11:40 Shikari 12:32

Also a patch added the ability to change classes by speaking to Montblanc at the Guildhall in Rabanastre. So if you don't like the combo you're using, fear not. He gives you back the amount of points you used and clears your board.

The most important difference between characters is their swing speed animations with certain weapons. Basch and Balthie for instance have a very fast swing speed with the katana where as Vaan has normal and Penelo and Ashe have slow. With high combo weapons like the Katana and ninja blades, the difference between fast and slow means a lot more attacks and a lot more damage.

If you make Balthier a machinist, definitely also pick up time battlemage for him so he can haste himself. It's actually very powerful.

Here looking for ff jobs when Im unemployed irl

Literally sitting in the SandSea staring at my phone looking up job guides when I get this notification! Thank you so much!!!!

Finally got FF the zodiac age for Christmas. Excited to get started

I just realized Tidus was a Time Battle mage! 😁

The Zodiac Age is out everyone! I hope you guys are all enjoying it so far. If anyone is struggling with what the jobs are and how they should choose, hopefully this should help. However, as I stressed in the video, don't worry too much things, you'll likely be fine to matter what you pick! :) ~Darryl

This was a super useful video. Thank you very much for shedding a little light on these job combos. As a NA player of the original FF12 I had no clue where to go with this stuff! Also thanks for linking the spreadsheet, its awesome.

My obsession for optimisation is driving me crazy right now.

thanks for making this video! it really helped me finalize what i wanted to do for my play through.

I think that foe breaker is a reference to vagrant story's riskbreaker, that game also taking place in ivalice

I played this game when I was really young, but never beat it. I hope I can beat it this time.

This game looks fantastic, can't wait to play it!

I was having trouble looking for a video that gave an overview of all the job, and eventually found it here. Great video man. Thank you. And take your sub. You earned it. :)

love the style and flow of this video, really to the point with nice visuals. Sub'd

great video! really helped me pick my job combos with confidence!

Thank for you this video! You given me more of an idea on where to go rather than just jumping in.

Wow! This sounds like a OCD minmaxer paradise... Or nightmare... I just picked the jobs I thought sounded coolest :-)

Thank you for making this video, I'm just now picking up FF12 on the switch and your videos have been a nice way to hit the ground running

This was very helpful thanks for breaking it down,now I'm really interested.

I just booted up this game on my PS4 again after half a year, thanks to your vids about teaching me things i didnt even really look into!

8:11 you forgot to include Red Battlemage. It gives an all around balance in all things. The right licenses makes for a strong back up healer or offensive mage with strong attack

Great video man. I recall the first Machinist in FF series was Edgar from FF6.

This is useful, really helped me sort out my choices.

This is very useful. Thank you. My copy is out for delivery!

2 more hours of work and I can go home and plan all night! I'm off tomorrow too!

I am really enjoying playing this again. I, like most, had played through most of the original release but not to completion. I have always liked the character progressions of the PlayStation era Final Fantasies. I liked the materia system in VII, the junction system in VIII and the skills progression of IX. FF really began to shine in the sphere grid in X and followed by the job system in XI and XIV (2.0+), the license board in XII and the ascension grin in XV. With the addition of zodiac job system in AZA I find myself loving the new license boards and gambit systems. I have watched a lot of youtube and read a few articles as to what the optimal job set up should be. The great thing about the new job system is that it doesn't really matter all that much. you can pretty much pick what ever job (or none) and be perfectly okay. You would be doing yourself a disservice by playing a game with new content and not using it but your job choices aren't detrimental to your playthrough unless you make everyone a machinist. great video. my choices for jobs were as follows. Vaan - shikari (for speed) and foebreaker (for power) Penelo - Uhlan (for power) and black mage (for her magic stats) Basch - Bushi and time mage (for heavy armor) Balthier - machinist (because he is a pirate and has a gun) and monk (for power) Fran - Red mage and archer (because she has a bow) Ashe - knight (for her 99 strength stat) and white mage (for her 99 magic stat) = power house there many combinations and that is what makes NG+ great!

You worked so hard for the video, thanks for a knowledges appreciated!!!

I saw somewhere that Monk & Uhlan combo well together, making you function like a pseudo red mage with the right license choices (chaos)

I've never used lure, so I was really confused to see the duck over Basch's head XD This video prompted a sub! Thanks for sharing~

For anyone wondering, archer can boost the power of ardor by equipping the burning bow and fire arrows giving all fire based attacks a 50% boost. Pair that with an enemy inflicted with oil and I believe it’s the strongest attack in the game. Then if the enemy is naturally weak to fire things can just get ridiculous.

Very helpful video, thanks for uploading it.

Now I just need the time to play it. Great vid.

Just an interesting side note to add about the last job - shikari or shikar in my language (Bengali) means hunter so i knew exactly what that one meant as soon as I heard you mention it 😁

Here are my suggested job classes for each character. I made this job recommendations while trying to make each party member true to its character. Don't worry about optimizing it too much. The bosses in the game are not that hard anyway (except trial 100). Just try to enjoy the game! Job Assignment: Vaan - Shikari & Bushi Balthier - Machinist & Foebreaker Fran - Archer & Uhlan Basch - Knight & Monk Ashe - White Mage & Time Battlemage Penelo - Red Battlemage & Black Mage Esper Assignment: Belias - Ashe Adrammelech - Balthier Zalera - Penelo Cúchulainn - Fran Mateus - Basch Exodus - Vaan Zeromus - Ashe Chaos - Basch Shemhazai - Penelo Ultima - Fran Zodiark - Vaan Hashmal - Basch Famfrit - Balthier

I think I'll choose first class for each character based on what weapons I want them to use. I loosely remember the pretend classes I gave them way back when.

My copy should be arriving today. Can't wait.

I have been choosing them based cosmetic reasons so far, lol. I can't be arsed thinking about it too much. I gave Fran the bow and Balthier the Gun Vann the Dagger and Basch the Sword. Not chosen one for the remaining characters yet. I think I'll give penelo the rod if you know what I mean.

Not the ultimate party set up, not optimized for every character's stats and to utilize all that the job matchups would provide, but one combination of Jobs (and Espers) that I fond that both suits the character's personalities and lore well, but also is really synergistic and strong is: Vaan as Shikari/Monk (Zalera/Zeromus/Zodiark as Espers, with the Quickenings 50/75/125 unlocked) Balthier as Machinist/Foebreaker (Exodus, Famfrit as Espers, with the Quickenings 50/100/125 unlocked) Fran as Archer/Red Battlemage (Shemhazai/ Cúchulainn as Espers, with the Quickenings 50/75/125 unlocked) Basch as Knight/Bushi (Mateus/Ultima as Espers, with the Quickenings 75/100/125 unlocked) (these 3 bein' together as the first team...) Ashe as White Mage/Uhlan (Belias/Chaos as Espers, with the Quickenings 50/75/100 unlocked) and Penelo as Black Mage/Time Battlemage (Adrammelech/Hashmal as Espers, with the Quickenings 50/75/125 unlocked) (...and these bein' together as the second one) Both comps bein' really fun, specially the First team of Vaan, Balthier and Fran, with Vaan on Wyrmhero Blade, Balthier as kind on a Support both applyin' Oil on Fire-weak enemies and Hastega on the party to take full advantage of Vaan's weapon, while Fran and Vaan are the main damage dealers and also healers P.s.: Yes, I'm aware that some Espers weren't well utilized on some characters, but I wanted each character to have 2 Espers (and Vaan to have 3) and this is best combination I could find to satisfy my perfectionist mind

Great Vid! I'm pretty sure Breaker would be a reference to Vagrant Story (also set in Ivalice!) with the focus on weapons. I guess with the axes it's also kind of a berserker...

Great informative video. I have learned a lot. Thanks you. Liked and subscribed. Good luck with your channel :)

So here's the job setup I have. Vaan: Shikari/Bushi Balthier: Machinist/Foebreaker Fran: Archer/Red Battlemage Basch: Knight/Uhlan Ashe: Black Mage/Monk Penelo: White Mage/Time Battlemage So far, so good. I mostly use Vaan, Basch and Penelo, sometimes Ashe instead of Basch. Fran and (especially) Balthier have fallen behind, though.

I'm so glad when they ported 12 zodiac age to switch they gave the update to switch the jobs by going to monteblec in rabanasta. I was happy to here that. My team combos I had to put a lot of work especially cause machinist sucks in 12. I was pissed finding out it was the only other class that had access to time magicks mainly float and hastega.

It's the first time I'm now seeing the zodiac job system. Which I'm so use to the original job system.

this is a wonderful guide, thanks very much.

Thank you this is good stuff and will definitely be useful info to know when making these decisions. I only just got the game. So I'm at the beginning yet also I did beat and own the original ff12. It was not easy

This was a very informative video

I'm just now starting this game back on the Xbox version since it has some nice quality of life changes the biggest one I'm excited about is being able to change my class job at any time and a new game plus actually functioning the way it should

Rosa in FFIV could be considered a proto-Archer. Obviously, her White Mage abilities were primary, but she still had a proficiency in bows and Archer-related commands (like Aim).

An very good video about the jobs

You get super OP in this game. my level 12 party beat that level 29 dino in the begining.

Very informative, Ill just play with whatever on my first playthrough and worry about min/max later.

Awesome video! Take my sub!

You can change jobs by talking to the leader of your clan and get all your points back

I'm running Ashe as a knight/whitemage right now and she is a beast. Tanky, good damage, mad heals. She is the best paladin NA.

The PS2 version does not use jobs. Any character can use any weapon anytime once you unlock it in the license. You can also find two or three zodiac spears which makes the game a lot easier. Very fun

I found this very helpful thank you very very much for posting this with the depth you did :).

When I first played FF12TZA, I turned Vaan into a Bushi primarily to get him ready to use the Kumbha when I could get it!! At that stage of the game, that's ALL I cared about!!! Yes, I admit the lack of planning did bite me in the butt later but I powered through it!

this is excellent and it helped me a lot......thanx!

Just got the game. Thankfully their is a update that allows you to reset jobs

I picked this up the day before yesterday, didn't get into it back in the day...I have the feeling it is going to be to tougher than the others....

thank for this

This has been very helpful! I think I messed up by making Ashe Knight and White Mage.....oh well lol

Well I’m late but finally got this game. Red mage is my all time favorite job and I love that it corresponds to Cancer because that’s my sun sign and my rising sign. I’m destined to be a red mage!!!

ohhh man.. i made Balthier a mechanic, because i thought it fits him perfectly. now the min maxer in me is whispering in my ear that i have to restart the whole thing... nooooooooo :(

i really wish they kept the old board as a option, like you could possibly choose which one like with FFX you could choose the advanced sphere grid or the basic and in this you would choose the advanced license board with jobs or the basic board without. especially when i still set up all my people to fit into certain jobs but with the benefits of still everyone being able to heal and dish out damage from spells and basic attacks without being limited on party selection, such as now making sure i have a member with a healer job on the team always.

Pickin up my preorder today, this video is exactly what I needed to jump right in! I always like to pair the best possible jobs and abilities in games because I like efficiency, and this is perfect. Thank you, FFU!

You 100% can change your class in the Zodiac age. Montblanc who gives rewards for the Hunters Clan will erase your current Jobs letting you choose new Jobs and reassign you license points. I just did this a few days ago since I didn't like how I originally assigned my second Jobs.

Just finished the mines with Lamont in Bhujerba, rocking: Vaan- Shikari(prob add foebreaker) Basch- Bushi(prob add TIme Battlemage) Balthier- MAchinest(not sure about his future yet) Fran- Monk(prob add Archer) Penelo- White Mage(add black mage) Ashe- (dont have her yet but def Knight/Red BAttlemage) Keep in mind this is not my optimization playthrough for Trial Mode

To the signs. Mine fits me perfectly. Although I don't like it completely. I wonder if others find the main class & link able ones fit them.

The absolute optimal combination is *NOT* using all 12 classes. Uhlan, Foe Breaker, and Machinist can be left out. Vaan: White/Shikari (Great tank/support with high MP & HP) Balthier: Time/Shikari (Best ninja sword attacker + Haste & Float for party #1) Fran: Monk/Time (Best pole attacker + another Haste + Float for party #2) Basch: Knight/Bushi (Best kitana attacker + Best possible combo #1) Ashe: BM/Monk (Highest Magic stat + Best possible combo #2) Penelo: RBM/Archer (2nd Highest Magic stat + Best possible combo #3) -All the abilities are spread out, makes gameplay more smooth and efficient -Everyone but Basch can cast Green Magic -Everyone has MAX swiftness. -Everyone can equip 2 types of gear -Everyone has high HP *Can't get more optimal than this*

What jobs do you recommend for each character? Thanks in advance! I'm really stuck on picking jobs for the rest of the gang. I have Fran as a Machinist, and Vaan as a bushi But that's it so far

11:23 Balthier looks pretty badass with a Katana there!

i loved tbe job system

My favorite combos will always be: Shikari/Bushi (ultimate yiazmat killer) Shikari/Foebreaker (bruiser for high defense bosses and enemies) Black Mage/Monk (because having swiftness and more hp on a caster is great) Machinist/White Mage (ultimate support class)

2:28 White Mage 3:32 Uhlan 4:36 Machinist 5:29 Red Battlemage 6:42 Knight 7:35 Monk 8:21 Time Battlemage 9:11 Foebreaker 10:07 Archer 10:59 Black Mage 11:41 Bushi 12:32 Shikari

Late to the party, BUT in the Xbox and Switch versions you can change your characters jobs later on, by talking to Montblanc. It completely resets your License Board, but it also gives you back the LP you spent to reapply how you wish (still unsure if this applies to Espers and Quickenings as well). So it's a bit of a hindrance if you ever want to switch jobs, but it isn't as hurtful if you 1) want to be experimental at the start, and 2) it also makes it so you have consequences for your choices, not just free reign to alter them as you please.

Great video. You got a sub from this fellow gamer.

Thank you

10:08 “I am the bone of my sword”

Vaan - Shikari & Foebreaker Penelo - Monk & Red Battle Mage Balthier - Machinist & Time Battle Mage Fran - Archer & Black Mage Ashe - Knight & White Mage Basch - Uhlan & Bushi Best combination job for them and yes Balthier and Fran should stick to their original job hahaha.

I picked Vaan for Time Mage, Penelo for Black Mage, Balthier for Uhlan, Fran for Machinist, and Basch for White Mage. Not sure what I'll have Ashe do, maybe Bushi or Shikari. Not sure what I'll do for most of the second jobs, but I will probably pick Monk for Basch's second job, because I want a healer who's a master at bare-knuckle brawling.

With the copy of the game in hand i am watching this, knowing only 2 chars for sure! Oh my i need to look into this more haha.

For Vaan I always went time mage/uhlan

Great videos! I'm hoping for a sale on this soon in the PS4 store...or do I just bite the bullet...if I cant make this choice how will I decide the job choices? Decisions decisions. :)

I honestly hate picking jobs like this in newer final fantasies since the characters were clearly designed with specific styles in mind, like Basch as a knight, Fran as an archer, balthier as mechanic, and so on with that said this totally helps and I think I know what jobs I’m picking for each character

thanks Darryl! this is a much needed guide!

anyone else not realise when speaking about the pairings with Archer, he said "Red Battlemage" when the image of Time Battlemage.

looking forward to making a monster foebreaker

While I loved the little bits of background & brief summaries, I found the suggestions confusing. Was fine helping me pick my 1st licenses sim to what I had on the ps2. When I got access 2nd lot I decided work out what I wanted to spread abilities all at the same time. A whole bunch of your suggestions are x pairs well with y or z. But when I go watch the y or z section their suggested pairings aren't with x but bunch different classes. For instance, "you will really want to pair timebattle mage with bushi" with no mention of why or tbm for bushi suggestions. Or "machinst pair well with white or red-battle mage" but then watch rbm & get suggestions of either black mage or archer. I know you explained at the start there was no such thing as wrong combos, I just find the suggestions very confusing when trying decide what ones compliment the others weaknesses.

fran ironically has the slowest attack speed with the bow so lol although that is her default weapon it's like the developers are purposely fucking with the players

can you please do a video of wich 2 jobs are best for every characters and wich esper to assign to every characters please?

I love that this game is now seemingly getting the recognition it deserves. For so long after the original release, this game got so much unwarranted criticism.

Actually you can reset your Licenses and jobs by talking to the owner of the Guild hall in Rabanastre (the head moogle whose name I can't remember and don't have the time to Google it bc work).

This morning I couldn't decide what I wanted Vaan to choose so I just took the most basic one... the Knight. I think this class could probably work well with any other class when the time comes to choose another, which is my reasoning behind it.

I love this game my second favorite behind 9 😁

Personally I kinda wanna go this route: Vaan: Knight/Monk Penello: White Mage/Time Mage Balthier: Machinist/FoeBreaker Basch: Uhlan/Bushi Fran: Archer/Red Mage Ashe: Blackmage/Knight (or Black Mage and Bushi just depending on what my thoughts are at the time).

i all ready chained dustia all day. I'm level 65 and only have vaan and panelo