Characters

Explore character development in final fantasy xii, detailing stats and suggested classes for Ashe, Balthier, Basch, Fran, and Penelo.

This section details character development in final fantasy xii, focusing on the unique stats and suggested job classes for each party member.

Ashe

Ashe has respectable HP, the second highest MP score in the game, passable Strength, and the highest Magick Power in the game. While this would make her a fine Bushi or even a Knight/Bushi, her real gift lies with being a mage. Aside from Ardor, her top-tier talents seem wasted with the generalized Red Battlemage, making the White Mage or Black Mage especially tempting. In those two roles, she’ll excel, especially as a Monk/Black Mage, where her already fair HP are further augmented, and her melee prowess doesn’t entirely go to waste. Mostly, however, she’ll be a sturdy Black Mage capable of doing obscene amounts of damage throughout the game. It takes a while to get Ashe, as she’s the last character to fully join your party, but since Black Magick isn’t decisive until after you get her, there’s no rush.

Suggested Classes: Monk/Black Mage, White Mage/Machinist, White Mage/Time Battlemage, Knight/Time Battlemage, Knight/Bushi

Balthier

Balthier excels at little, having the highest Speed score (a dubious honor, at best) and being mediocre or downright bad at everything else. His combined Strength/Magick Power score is the lowest in the game, making him a poor choice for a Bushi, and his poor MP and Magick Power stats should rule him out as most any sort of mage (save perhaps Time Battlemage, which is mostly buffs and utility, hence less affected by those deficiencies). Most other characters have things they’re clearly good at, so Balthier should end up filling whatever roles are left over at the end of the day.

Suggested Classes: Shikari/Foebreaker, Uhlan/Time Battlemage, Uhlan/Machinist

Basch

Basch is, at a glance, the obvious choice for the warrior/tank role. He has the most HP in the party and is tied for the highest Strength score. Unfortunately, this comes with an awful lot of liabilities, which all conspired to make sure he’s never the best choice for any of the better two-class combos out there. His MP, Magick Power, Vitality and Speed are all bottom-of-the-barrel, making him a dubious pick for any magick-using job. Furthermore, since Katanas determine damage with both Strength and Magick he’s far from the best choice for Bushi, and since he’s got the lowest Vitality in the game, the Foebreaker’s weapons will not be at their best in his hands.

All that said, the difference between an optimal character and a sub-optimal one usually isn’t great, so just keep his weaknesses in mind and don’t fret if his Magick Power or MP will make him a less than ideal katana-wielder or support mage. As long as you’re not burdening him with too much responsibility as a magick-user, you probably won’t notice the difference.

Suggested Classes: Knight/Bushi, Uhlan/Time Battlemage, Knight/Time Battlemage, Knight/Time Battlemage

Fran

Fran, like Balthier, is a character whose lackluster stats make her hard to place. She’s more the “jack of all trades” than he is, however, boasting a list of mediocre attributes, only one of which is outstanding - Vitality. She’s got the highest Vitality in the game, and while in the International Zodiac Job System this might have made her an appealing pick for Foebreaker, in The Zodiac Age, with two jobs available to all, this is less of an issue, as nobody should feel compelled to put up with the unpredictable damage output of axes & hammers.

While Ashe and Penelo are natural magick-users thanks to their chart-topping Magick Power and MP scores, Fran’s more balance stats make her a good secondary mage… at least a better alternative than Basch or Balthier. This also frees up Vaan to tackle more Strength-based jobs. Simply put, like Balthier, Fran’s job should be decided in large part based on what you assign your more competent characters to, and what needs you have left over.

Suggested Classes: Red Battlemage/Archer, Knight/Time Battlemage, Uhlan/Time Battlemage, White Mage/Machinist, White Mage/Time Battlemage, Red Battlemage/Black Mage

Penelo

Penelo is the best pure mage in the game, a decision made easier by the fact that her physical stats are generally poor, compared to Ashe, Vaan, and even Fran. Her role as top-tier mage is cemented by her Magick Power (2nd) and MP (1st) scores. She does have one glaring weakness you should keep in mind, however - her HP score is the lowest in the group, and special care might be necessary to select jobs that have at least a decent number of HP licenses to counter this. Black Mage/Monk, White Mage/Machinist, White Mage/Shikari and Red Battlemage/Archer are all combos that make good use of her stats while providing enough HP to cover (press the cover button to crouch behind walls or objects) her liabilities.

Suggested Classes: Black Mage/Monk, White Mage/Machinist, White Mage/Shikari, Red Battlemage/Archer