Final Fantasy/Classes

The game allows you to create a party of four characters (chosen from warriors, monks, thieves, black mages, white mages, and red mages) and go on a quest to activate the four crystals and restore peace to the land.

Each of the six base classes can be upgraded once you complete the Citadel of Trials quest a little over halfway through the game. Warriors become knights, monks become masters, thieves become ninjas, black mages become black wizards, white mages become white wizards, and red mages become red wizards. Aside from a newer, older, cooler look, each character can now equip stronger weapons and armor. Magic using classes will now be able to learn higher level spells and some non-magic using classes will now be able to learn low level magic.

Each character also has an ideal Weapon and Armor configuration once you've obtained the class change and searched every area. This configuration may change based upon your set up. For instance, the Dragon Armor is best for the Knight. However you can only find 1 set of Armor. If you have 2 Knights, you'll have to determine the ideal configuration for your party.

For more on various party configurations, see the party recommendations page.

Fighters
These are the types of characters that you put on the front lines since they can survive hard hits and hit back even harder. You'll generally want to conserve MP, especially early in the game, so you'll have your fighters do all of the fighting while your magicians protect themselves. However, in many situations, it will be magic that ends the fight quickly and your fighters will simply act as a buffer between the magicians and the enemies. You should have at least one, if not two, fighters in your party.

Warrior/Knight

 * Warriors were called "Fighters" in the NES version.

Summary: Warriors are a good start for someone who's new at the game because of their many positive qualities and relatively few negative qualities. They work well with any class and unlike most of the other classes, they are still effective when you have more than one in your party. The cost of keeping them (especially Knights) up to date with the latest equipment makes having more than one rather expensive.

Differences between


 * Pros:
 * High HP, Defense, and Strength stats.
 * They can equip almost every weapon and armor in the game.
 * Knights can take some of the burden of healing off of other characters.
 * All of the best weapons and armor will be given to you during natural dungeon runs.
 * By far the best class in older versions of the game. Most consistent damage output, best survivability, white magic allows for utility, best armor, best weapons, best hit rate, very high HP stat, and highest number of hits (not including Master's bare-handed attacks).


 * Cons:
 * Cumbersome armor will significantly reduce evasion. However, heavy armor has no effect on Agility's effect on turn order. Additionally, the boost in Absorb/Defense most often more than makes up for it.
 * They can't use any magic until they upgrade, and then only weak white magic.
 * Expensive to keep fully equipped if you have more than one Warrior.


 * Upgrade:
 * Knights can use low level (1-3) white magic.
 * They can also carry more weapons and armor.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * Warriors function in the exact same in both the original version and in later remakes. However, they are significantly nerfed comparitively by changes in the mechanics and because every other class got buffed. Warriors are still likely the best class in the game, but the others are not so far behind.

This class does the highest damage over most of the game (overtaken by Master later on) and has the highest survivability against both magic and melee attacks for the entire game. They have incredibly high defensive power as well as high HP - high enough that an attack that would do 80+ damage to any other class will only do 1 damage to a warrior/knight. Strength is the highest stat for the Fighter, with Vitality also being important. In addition to dealing significant damage to monsters, they work as excellent shields for the Mages/Wizards by putting them at the head of the party, since enemies attack the party leader the most often. They also have good agility and decent evasion (improved even further with shields).

Once upgraded you can use them for healing minor wounds in order to save your white wizard's MP for when you need powerful healing spells. The knight can also use the very best of weapons and armor, of which there are 1-2 of each type only usable by this class.

The warrior is the overall strongest class by far. The major drawback of the class is that it is the most expensive to outfit properly; however even a poorly-outfitted warrior will be stronger than a thief or black belt. By late game although other classes can compete in damage-dealing the knight stands alone in survivability. Running without one of this class is not recommended for beginners, and the strongest parties will contain two warriors.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: Excalibur (NES: Xcalber)
 * Head: Healing Helm
 * Body: Dragon Armor
 * Hand: Aegis Shield
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

It could be argued that the Masmune is best for the Knight as it's the strongest weapon in the game. However, Excalibur gives status enhancements against all enemies of special type (i.e. Undead, Mage, Giant, etc.). For the ideal party configuration, it's usually best to give the Masmune to another character. The Healing Helm does not protect as well as the Diamond Helmet (NES: Opal Helmet), offering 6 vs 8 points of protection. However, having available the ability to heal your entire party during a battle makes up for the loss of 2 absorb points, especially with weaker enemies where healing adds more HP than an enemy attack can remove. The Dragon Armor protects your Knight against all elemental attacks. Think of it like Diamond Armor (NES: Opal Armor) with a Ribbon built in. The Aegis Shield is necessary because while the Ribbon protects against Stoning and other status effects, Dragon Armor does not. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

Thief/Ninja
Summary: In the NES version of the game, Thieves start off extremely weak, and stay that way forever. The Ninja is a massive improvement in every way, gaining access to many more weapons, armor, and magic spells. However, even as a Ninja, everything they do will pale in comparison to the Knight. The Knight will still have much higher HP, damage output, defense, and accuracy. The one saving grace they do have is access to the two most important spells in the game: Temper and Haste.

In Dawn of Souls and other later remakes, Thieves start off as a decent alternative to Warriors, but end up being a very competent rival to Knights. Changes in the mechanics, as well as outright buffs, make Thieves much better. In the NES version, agility had no effect on hit rate, accuracy, and turn speed. The only thing it does is boost evasion by 1 per agility. Dawn of Souls changes this by making it so that agility boosts evasion by 2, accuracy by 1, and now affects turn speed - meaning that agility went from being a relatively minor stat to being the best stat in the game.

In these later versions, the Thief has the highest evasion in the game, and will almost never miss a physical attack. Barring Monk's barehanded attacks, they will have the most hits by far compared to any other class. The dynamic between Thief and Warrior is no longer that of Warrior completely outclassing Thief. Instead, Thief has better accuracy, evasion, and more hits; while the Warrior has higher HP, higher damage per swing, but lower number of hits, and lower hit rate and evasion.

In the NES version, the Luck stat was bugged so that it did not help characters run away from battle. Being that Luck is Thief's highest stat, this is a huge detriment as they are no better at fleeing from battles than any other character. However, this was fixed in later version. This, along with, Agility now boosting turn speed, Thieves are now the best class at running away from battles.

It is also important to note that only the frontmost party member's Luck has any effect on whether or not your party gets a Preemptive Strike or gets Ambushed. This is the only reason you'd maybe want to have Thief in front over Warrior, but generally, this is not a worthwhile trade-off.

After the class change they can learn level 1-4 Black magic spells.


 * Pros:
 * Highest evasion of any class.
 * Ninjas can use and, two very useful Black magic spells that improve your fighting ability.
 * In Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition, Ninjas can equip more weapons than Knights and the second most amount of armor.


 * Cons:
 * With moderate HP and a poor selection in armor (though still better than Wizards), they can be killed quickly if enemies gang up on them.
 * Low magic resistance. Not as bad as the monk/master, but expect them to be hit by status effects more often than not. Magic resistance has no direct effect on magic damage received.
 * Their HP is much lower than a Knight's, and can potentially drop below that of a white wizard later on.
 * Poor survivability, and their damage output is lower than every other class except for White Mage.
 * Thieves are not very useful in the early game. Are only moderately useful in the later game.


 * Upgrade:
 * Ninjas can use all low level (1-4) black magic.
 * They can also equip significantly more types of weapons and armor.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * They are buffed significantly in every way imaginable. Thieves are no longer considered the worst class in the game.
 * Damage output now constantly rivals Warrior.

NES Thief is so bad, some consider the class as a means of increasing the difficulty. The more Thieves in your party, the harder the run will be. Know that putting a Thief in your party is willfully wanting to make the game harder for yourself.

If you are playing a later remake of the game, the Ninja makes a good secondary fighter, especially when teamed up with a Warrior/Knight. Don't put him at the front of the party, even as a Ninja he cannot take that much damage. Battles in FFI tend to be challenging, so you will be grinding a lot, solely for the purpose of having enough HP and MP to fight the boss at the end of the dungeons. The major use for them over a second Knight is that they can learn Haste and Temper, which boosts attack by quite a bit (although a Red Wizard can learn those spells as well). Having a Ninja and Knight in your party will be significantly cheaper than having two Knights as they do not compete in equipment selection most of the time.

Note: Despite the name, the Thief doesn't have a steal ability.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: Sasuke's Blade (NES: Katana)
 * Head: Ribbon
 * Body: Diamond Armlet (NES: Opal Bracelet)
 * Hand: Ice Shield
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

As with the Knight, it could be argued that the Masmune is best for the ninja as it's the strongest weapon in the game. Sasuke's Blade does not offer status enhancements like Excalibur so the Masmune is simply the more powerful weapon. However, for the ideal party configuration, you'll have to determine if it's worth giving the Masmune to another character. There is some debate surrounding which Armor to use. You could equip your Ninja with the Heal Helmet but then you'd lose the protection of the Ribbon. You could attempt to compensate with the Flame Armor and Ice Shield but you'd still be vulnerable to Gas, Lightning and Stoning. The gain to the party isn't worth the risk and exposure to your Ninja. It ultimately would cost your party more. The Diamond Armlet offers the strongest protection at the lowest weight. This allows your Ninja to dodge attacks more readily than heavy armor. The Ice and Flame shield offer the same protections but with no additional magical protection if you have the ribbon. However, fire attacks are more likely before you find the Ribbon. Since the Ice Shield protects against fire, it's the one to keep. It's found in the Ice Cavern and will dramatically help your character in the Citadel of Trials against the Rakshasa (NES: ManCat) who cast potentially lethal Fire2 spells. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

Monk/Master

 * Monks were called "Black Belts" in the NES version.

Summary: Monks are the most unique class of all. They can fight as well as a Warrior, except they have much lower Defense. Not too far into the game, they will be able to do more damage unarmed than even a Warrior/Knight equipped with the best available weapon. They also use very little armor and no weapons so they are very cheap to maintain. While their defense is low, they actually earn a defense bonus by not wearing any armor at all. Even still, it is not recommended that you put them at the front of the party. Their lack of need for armor and weapons make them a very inexpensive choice. Unfortunately, they cannot learn any magic at all, even after class change.


 * Pros:
 * High Damage stat, high numbers of attacks per turn, and high HP, allowing them to do more damage than a Warrior/Knight.
 * Very cheap to keep fully equipped since they won't need weapons and or much equipment later on.
 * Unequipping weapons and armor will boost their strength and defense.


 * Cons:
 * Lower evasion and magic resistance. A Master may take 2x-5x as much damage from a spell as a wizard or knight.
 * They sometimes do little damage to monsters and/or bosses that have a high absorb and/or defense stat.
 * HP is low in early levels, but does raise considerably later on. No magic at all.


 * Upgrade:
 * Borderline nothing.
 * Masters gain much less magic defense per level as opposed to their non-upgraded class.

Master has unique formulas and features that are not present in any other class. These mechanics also change based on the version of the game that you are playing.

NES, PSX Version: When the Monk/Master has a weapon equipped: Attack = Weapon Attack + STR ÷ 2 + 1

If the Monk/Master has no weapon equipped: Attack = Level × 2 Critical Rate = Level × 2 When barehanded, Monk will have twice as many hits than normal. This means that at level 50, Master will have 100 Attack with a 100% chance to critical hit.

If the Monk/Master has no body armor, gloves or helmet equipped:

Absorb = Level If any armor out of the 3 equipment slots, is equipped, the Absorb stat functions like regular.

GBA, PSP, etc.:

If the Monk/Master has no weapon equipped:

Monk Attack = (Stamina + 1) × 3 ÷ 4 Master Attack = Stamina As with the original, Monk/Master deals twice as many hits when unarmed.

Unlike in the older versions, each equipment slot will contribute to Monk and Master's Defense stat. No helmet defense = Stamina ÷ 8 No gloves defense = Stamina ÷ 8 Monk no body armor defense = Stamina ÷ 4 × 3 ÷ 2 Master no body armor defense = Stamina ÷ 2

With no armor equipped, a Master's Defense stat is equal to Stamina * 3 ÷ 4.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * Once again, the two versions function the same, but the nuances vary dramatically.
 * Improved defense and magic resistance.
 * Upgrade now provides improved unarmed bonus and magic defense per level
 * Stamina is now Monk's most important stat by far. For Monk and Master only: this one stat matters more than all others combined.

Monks are unique in that they gain empty-handed fighting ability with experience. Therefore, they are best equipped with nunchaku early on, but fight better with no weapons by experience level 8 or 9. Armor-wise they are trickier to outfit; although the class does get a bonus when going unarmored it is still extremely weak defensively in doing so (particularly vulnerable to spells), yet the armor available to the class is so poor that equipping it is hardly an improvement.

The major advantage of the class throughout most of the game is that they cost nothing to maintain, saving valuable gold that can be used to upgrade other characters. They would be even better than the Knight if not for their lower defense, which keeps them from being a good person to put in the front slot. That said, the Master is great in the second slot, with a Warrior/Knight in the front row taking most of the damage. Around level 20 or so they will get more hits in than any other character resulting in more damage. When Haste and Temper are cast on the Master, he can kill most bosses in one hit. He will take a fair amount of damage, so it is recommended that you also take a White Mage/Wizard with you to heal, or at least stock pile Hi-Potions.

All this changes at higher levels, however. Since the master's damage and to-hit rating continue to increase significantly with each level, past level 40 or so they become the strongest damage-dealers, and by level 50 will do more damage than an entire party of other characters - enough to kill even the final boss in one swing, with a lucky hit. Unfortunately for this class most parties will not reach that high of a level, but for a player that does a lot of leveling-up late in the game or wishes to maximize out your party, a high-level master is the strongest character by far.

This is a slower-burn character compared to the others. Monks are trickier to use and aren't as immediately as good as others. However, their damage output skyrockets midway into the game. Considering how they don't need any new weapons or armor, the only investment needed for this class is time and patience, and it is an investment certainly worth making.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: None (hands only)
 * Head: Ribbon
 * Body: Diamond Armlet (NES: Opal Bracelet)
 * Hand: none. Zeus Gauntlet as item.
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

The Master is so strong that equipping the Masmune would only slow him down. The ultra light ribbon detracts only 1 point from your Master's evade. This small loss ability to dodge attacks is unnoticeable while the Ribbon's ability to help him withstand powerful elemental and status attacks will be invaluable. The Diamond Armlet offers the strongest protection at the lowest weight. With an added 34 points of protection, it is the only device that exceeds the Monks natural Absorb increase. However, be warned: strategically you will hurt your Master's defense if this is not applied before either the Ribbon or the Protect Ring! Once you've collected the Diamond Armlet, then you get the other equipment for his added protection. With nothing in his hands, like a shield, you can put another piece of Armor in this slot. This is especially useful in the original NES version where each character is limited to 4 slots. The Zeus Gauntlet is by far the best choice here. The Power Gauntlet is not worth the power gained for the round of attack lost. The extra Healing Helmet isn't worth it since this will be your primary attack fighter towards the end of the game. You'll also have another Healing Helm and the Heal Staff. The Zeus Gauntlet will add to the Master's only weakness; his inability to attack multiple enemies at once. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

Magicians
There are two types of magic in the game: white and black, and a mage that can use each type exclusively. A third class of mage, the Red Mage, may use both types of magic, but they are restricted from casting the strongest levels of magic as a consequence. All wizard classes have low attack, low HP, and low defense. If the magic users are in the bottom two rows they will not be targeted as often. It is still necessary to have a physical attacker or two since you cannot use magic all of the time.

Later on in the game you will start finding equipment that can cast spells an unlimited number of times, however they are no replacement for magicians as the items can only cast low level spells, and the effectiveness of the item-spell is determined by the wielder's magic stat (except in the NES version, where the Intelligence stat is bugged and does nothing, instead spells have a fixed range of possible damage). Mages have much higher magic power than a fighter, so these items will be more effective when used by them. Besides, it's usually preferable to keep your fighters attacking the enemies, not using items.

Red Mage/Red Wizard
Summary: A Red Mage is a versatile sorcerer who is able to cast both black and white spells. This allows him or her to be useful both in curing wounded allies and in destroying enemies with magical destruction. The Red Mage is also relatively versatile when it comes to equipment and can use many swords as well as a number of protective devices usually forbidden to mages. A jack of all trades, master of none, they are not as physically strong as the fighter classes, nor are they as powerful with magic as the other magician classes. They are still a beneficial class throughout all phases of the game because of their versatility, and one of few classes that may still be effective when there are two in the party.


 * Pros:
 * They can use (most) level 1-7 white and black magic.
 * They can equip many of the same weapons and armor as a Warrior/Knight until late in the game.
 * Significantly better defense than either of the two other wizards, about on par with a Ninja or Master, though it has much better magic resistance.


 * Cons:
 * A few of the best spells of both categories are denied to them - mostly at high level but some of the better low-level spells are unavailable as well.
 * They get less HP in comparison to many other classes, and less MP than other mages.
 * They can be more expensive than any other class to maintain since you have buy both spells and equipment.
 * Their Spell Level goes up 1-3 levels after the Black and White Wizards.


 * Upgrade:
 * Red Wizards can use up to level 7 magic (with some restrictions).
 * Most level 1-5 magic that was restricted can now be used.
 * More weapons and armor become available to them.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * Decreased HP - they will often have around half of what a Knight of the same level has.

In the beginning they are as strong as a Warrior and can use most spells, so new players might be tempted to go with four Red Mages. However, as you progress their limitations will become more and more apparent. Even though they can use up to level 7 spells, they are restricted from using quite a few of them - specifically the useful White spells. There will also be more and more weapons and armor that they cannot use, so they will fall behind the Knight in terms of attack and defense. However, there are still several powerful weapons they can make use of. Red Wizards make suitable substitutions for a Ninja, Master, or even a Black Wizard. However, they cannot replace a Warrior's high damage nor a White Wizard's high curative powers.

The incredibly low HP will be the biggest problem of a Red Wizard, and will be a handicap early on, so they should be moved to the third or fourth slot, even behind a White Wizard. It should also be noted that in Dawn of Souls or Anniversary Edition, you can use the silver apple two times on a Red Mage/Wizard and their HP will be higher than the Black Mage/Wizard. The Silver apple can be obtained by chance as many times as you want it in the Earth Gift Shrine on the dark forest floor level.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: Masmune (Defender)
 * Head: Ribbon
 * Body: Diamond Armlet (NES: Opal Bracelet)
 * Hand: Protect Cloak (NES: Pro Cape)
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

The Red Wizard can handle many kinds of weapons other magic casters cannot. The Defender (NES: Defense) is the second strongest sword he can swing and also a good one to use as an item as it casts Blink (NES: Ruse) raising his evade a full 80 points! However, given the additional power he'll have over either the White Wizard or Ninja by the time you get to the penultimate floor of the Temple of the Fiends, the Red Wizard is certainly the character to hold the incomparable Masmune. The Ribbon is the obvious choice for this magic user. They cannot wear helmets and they need all the physical protection they can get, especially from powerful magic. The Diamond Armlet offers the strongest protection at the lowest weight. This allows your Red Wizard to dodge attacks while still being protected when he does get hit. The Protect Cloak offers additional protection at low weight which can be beneficial against enemy attacks. However, if you're playing with a White and Black Wizard as well, you will want to let them have the Protect Cloaks and let your Diamond Armlet serve as your main defensive armor. Especially in the NES version, this could be an opportunity for your Red Wizard to hold an extra item, like the Zeus Gauntlet. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

White Mage/White Wizard
Summary: The White Mage is a sorcerer devoted to the restorative power of white magic. They are capable of casting many powerful spells that can restore allies to combat readiness even after sustaining grave wounds. The White Mage is also able to cast a limited number of offensive spells, mainly targeting the unholy creatures that are classified as undead.


 * Pros:
 * They can use level 1-8 White magic, including Life, Cure, and Harm.
 * They can use magic that enhances the stats of the rest of the party.
 * They are cheap to maintain in terms of equipment.
 * Decent (not great) HP, and very good MP.
 * A White Wizard can revive a dead team member to full health.


 * Cons:
 * They have low Defense and Strength stats. Her low Strength isn't much of a problem if you have two fighters, but their low Defense means they need a lot of protection.
 * Except for Holy, their attack spells only work against the undead, so they can do next to nothing against other types of enemies,
 * They have the lowest evasion and speed of all the classes, causing them to be easy targets.
 * They have the most limited choice of usable equipment, being able to equip fewer weapons than the Black Mage/Black Wizard.


 * Upgrade:
 * White Wizards can use all white magic.
 * White Wizards can equip a few weapons with decent power.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * Higher defense and speed stats.
 * Significantly stronger, especially after the class change, though still the weakest class.
 * Much more HP.

Throughout most of the earlier part of the game, a red wizard would be a superior substitute to this class. However, without a white wizard, you will lack the extremely powerful Curaja and Full-Life spells, which could make the endgame far harder. Even with a knight's incredibly high defense and HP, they will require a lot of attention from White Wizards later on in the game.

They are excellent for supporting your other party members because of their healing magic. However, their low Defense, Evasion, and usually weak armor will make them easy targets later in the game. Since Red Wizards and Knights cannot cast Life or the more advanced Cures, you will have to rely on items for healing if you don't have a White Wizard. While they will always be weak, when equipped with they can do about half the amount of damage as a ninja. They can also use the Harm/Dia series of magic, which is quite powerful against the undead - which you will be facing a lot of in the game.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: Thor's Hammer (Masmune)
 * Head: Ribbon
 * Body: White Robe (NES: White Shirt)
 * Hand: Protect Cloak (NES: Pro Cape)
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

The White Wizard can suddenly become an attack warrior with the Masmune in her hand. However, if you're playing with a Red Wizard, you should give them Masmune and keep Thor's Hammer. It's more likely the Red Wizard equipped with the Masmune can kill an enemy in 1 round, especially at the higher levels. This is increasingly important when dealing with powerful enemies. In any case, keep Thor's Hammer as an item. Mindflayers are vulnerable only to Lightning spells and they will be the biggest thorn in your side at the end of the game. Having someone able to cast Thundara who ordinarily cannot will be of great advantage. The Ribbon is the obvious choice for this magic user. She cannot wear helmets and they need all the physical protection she can get, especially from powerful magic. The White Robe offers as much protection as the Ruby Armlet (NES: Gold Bracelet). However, the added benefit of being able to autocast Invisara (increasing your entire team's evade) is not only more valuable than simple Absorb points but also allows you access to ALL level 6 spells, making it clear which 3 you should buy. The Protect Cloak offers additional protection at low weight which can be beneficial against enemy attacks. This adds 8 absorb points to the White Robe, giving you a total 32 absorb points. This doesn't match the 34 absorb points of the Diamond Armlet but it comes very close. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

Black Mage/Black Wizard
Summary: Black Mages are wielders of the destructive black magic and use the elements of the world, poison, and mental attacks to destroy their foes. They are great to have because of their spells but, like the white wizard, they have very low offense, defense, and life (lower, actually). When used properly, black magic can do more harm than any of the fighters.


 * Pros:
 * They can use level 1-8 Black magic.
 * Many spells can target multiple monsters at once, allowing you to kill them all easily instead of killing each one at a time. Most of the major bosses are weak against one or more of their spells.
 * Most of their equipment is very inexpensive.
 * Despite their low defense, their fairly high evasion makes them quite hard to hit.
 * Once equipped with a Cat Claw they can do quite a bit of damage.
 * Very high magic power - even higher than the White Wizard.


 * Cons:
 * They have a limited amount of weapons and armor that they can use, though not as limited as a White Wizard.
 * They have the lowest HP and Strength of all the classes. Though their magic defense is higher than a Thief or a Monk.
 * Offensive spells have wide variability in damage. Sometimes a spell will do 150 damage to an enemy and the next time the same spell is cast against the same enemy it will only do 40 damage.


 * Upgrade:
 * Black Wizards can use all black magic.
 * Black Wizards can equip a few weapons with decent power, including the.


 * Changes in Dawn of Souls and Anniversary Edition:
 * Slightly stronger defense and HP, though they are still the weakest.

A very useful class, though not quite a valuable as the White wizard and Knight. They are excellent for clearing out large groups of enemies (which you will frequently encounter). Once you get the, anyone can "cast" Bolt2/Thundara so their usefulness in this regard is diminished. However, they still have the highest magic power and can cast some very powerful spells, including the most powerful spell, Flare. Once you get their strongest weapon they are surprisingly powerful and can kill many weaker enemies in a single hit. If you are willing to sacrifice a little offensive magic ability for more physical power (and a character that can survive repeated hits), a Red Wizard makes a suitable replacement for a Black Wizard.


 * Ideal Equipment Configuration:
 * Weapon: Cat's Claw
 * Head: Ribbon
 * Body: Black Robe (NES: Black Shirt)
 * Hand: Protect Cloak (NES: Pro Cape)
 * Arm: Protect Ring (NES: ProRing)

The Black Wizard's Cat's Claw is seemingly designed especially for him. With a limited weapons array, the Cat's Claw makes the Black Wizard formidable. However, he's physically weak enough that it wouldn't be worth tossing him the Masmune, unless you wanted to try it for fun. The Ribbon is the obvious choice for this magic user. They cannot wear helmets and they need all the physical protection they can get, especially from powerful magic. The Black Robe offers as much protection as the Ruby Armlet (NES: Gold Bracelet). However, the added benefit of being able to autocast Blizzara allows you access to the full range of elemental spells: Ice (Black Robe), Fire (Mage Staff), Lightening (Thor's Hammer, Zeus Gauntlet), Gas (Bane Sword). The Protect Cloak offers additional protection at low weight which can be beneficial against enemy attacks. This adds 8 absorb points to the Black Robe, giving you a total 32 absorb points. This doesn't match the 34 absorb points of the Diamond Armlet but it comes very close. The ProRing guards as well as any gauntlet but with the added bonus of protecting against instant Death spells and minimizing instant Death attacks (typically from the Mindflayer (NES: Sorcerer)).

Upgrading your character class
You'll need the which you can find in the. Once you acquire it from the chest, you have to take it to Bahamut's Cave in the, the chain of islands between the North Eastern and North Western continents.

A good source of experience points
Early on, the best way to level up is to battle the enemies at the Power peninsula near. From Pravoka, on the world map, go a little south to find the path that goes immediately east. After a short walk you will come to a fork in the road, with the option of going north or southeast. Go north, past the dock, around the mountains, until you cannot go any further. The 2 x 2 section that makes up the edge of the peninsula has enemies from the continent across the strait. Enemies include:


 * (usually in groups of 1-4)
 * (usually in groups of 1-4)
 * (usually in groups of 4-9)
 * (usually in groups of 2 with 1 or 2 Necrotaurs)

The Winter Wolves have fairly low HP, but can hit all of your party at once. The Necrotaurs and Trolls are much stronger, but can be killed somewhat quickly as well. The Hill Gigas are very strong, but give 800 XP a piece (not to mention 800 Gil). At low levels your party might be able to defeat one or two, but you would do well to flee from packs of four unless you are over level 10.

Before even attempting to fight in this area, you should get the and  spells, and the best weapons and armor you can buy from Pravoka. sells, however they cost 4,000 Gil a piece. You should buy them as soon as you can since they make fighting a lot easier. If you have a Red Mage or Black Mage, get the spell as well.

Character exclusive equipment
It's impossible to see every aspect of Final Fantasy 1 in a single game, because only a maximum of four different classes out of six can be chosen at the beginning of the game. The following table and lists show the unique traits of each class.

Unique weapons:
 * Knight: Excalibur sword (deals every elemental damage)
 * Ninja: katana sword (no special effects)
 * Master: karate (Japanese for "bare hands"; power increases with Master's strength)
 * Black Wizard: wizard's staff (casts L4 Confuse)

Unique armor:
 * Knight: 7 armor parts (none of them has any special effect),
 * White Wizard: white robe (casts Invisira)
 * Black Wizard: black robe (casts Blizzara)

Unique magic:
 * White Wizard's 12 spells:
 * Healing: Healara, Healaga, Curaja, Full-life,
 * Support: Stona, NulAll,
 * Debuff: Fear, Dispel,
 * Attack: Dia, Diaga, Diaja, Holy.
 * Black Wizard's 9 spells:
 * Debuff: Stun, Blind, Stop,
 * Attack: Death, Quake, Break, Kill, Flare, Banish.

Naming the characters
The characters of Final Fantasy 1 have no preset names, they are just known as the Four Heroes of Light. The player can name them any way he/she likes.

Still, some versions of the game also offer the option of choosing from a series of geographical names taken from other games in the series. In the table below, instead, each class is compared with the character names from some games in the series.