Final Fantasy XI/Characters

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This job requires the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion.

==Subjobs==

While FFXI gives you the freedom of selecting ANY job combination for use with your character, not every combination is going to be as beneficial as it might seem. It is important to note that while a subjob may give you access to its passive abilities and weapon skills, you will not have access to its 2-hour ability and your weapon choice and equiment remain limited to your main job. As a general rule, main jobs make the best subjobs and advanced jobs often do not, but there are exceptions. Here is a list of commonly used subjobs and how they effect the main job.

===Warrior===

Warrior is, without exception, the ONLY subjob for a tank-class character in party situations. The ability to use Provoke is an essential tool for Ninja and Paladins, and the Warrior's enhanced defense offers plenty of survivability to these roles. Low level Blue Mages may consider taking Warrior as a sub for limited tanking (Cocoon makes for an absurd defense rating), Blue Mages won't want to be tanking past level 20. Also, with its bolstered attack abilities (and later, double-attack), Warrior makes a superior subjob for most melee-based damage dealers like Monk, Dark Knight, and Dragoon, though others may prefer Ninja or Thief. While Warrior may seem promising to weak mage classes attempting to solo, selecting it as a subjob does not significantly increase any stats and cripples your character's potential, as job abilities like Provoke and Berserk are worthless.

===Thief===

Thief is arguably the most popular subjob, if not main job, for farming purposes. Access to the Treasure Hunter ability, as well as Sneak Attack, make it a quick way to earn items and gil off of easy monsters. However, with the exception of Evasion Boost, Thief has no abilities that boost its main job's tanking ability, making it a less popular solo sub for more difficult enemies. In party situations, Thief's ability to Sneak Attack and its higher dexterity stat make it a popular choice for melee damage-dealers like Dark Knight, Warrior, and Dragoon, though advanced jobs will most often prefer Warrior for melee purposes, as Thief offers little to increase damage over time. Blue Mage/Thief couples significantly well because, as Blue Mage spells are enemy weapon skills, Sneak Attack can be used with Blue Mage spells to produce absurd damage. Other mage classes will not benefit from Thief in party situations.

===Monk===

Monk is almost exclusively used by two characters: tanking Warriors and damage-dealing Puppeteers. Because Monk's abilities focus almost entirely on hand-to-hand melee and puppeteer is the only other job to do so, it does not match up well with any other main jobs. What makes Monk a significant benefit to tanking Warriors, however, is an increased HP and the ability to Boost attacks, making the Warrior/Monk almost as effective at keeping hate at low levels as the Paladin.

===Red Mage===

Red Mage is such a well-rounded main job that it adds very little as a subjob, even for other mage classes. Its primary advantages are the Fast Cast ability, quickening spell casting spell time, and its high intelligence, making it a possible alternative to White Mage for the Black Mage's sub. Despite increased damage, however, the Black Mage/Red Mage will never gain access to Raise, Poisona, Curaga, Divine Seal, and other abilities which make Black Mage/White Mage the most popular choice.

===White Mage===

Arguably the most popular subjob due to its versatility with various main jobs. Every support job class should consider White Mage as its sub for an increased MP pool and the indispensible ability to cure and heal status ailments in a tight spot. Bard/White Mage is perhaps the most sought-after party member in experience parties aside from White Mage itself, and Corsair/White Mage can be played very similarly, adding in the ability to damage-deal with guns. Summoners may choose Black Mage to boost damage dealing ability and MP, but most Summoners, particularly at high levels, will want to choose White Mage as their sub, leaving their summon to do the damage while they assist in healing. Soloing, White Mage adds significant survivability to various jobs that already have an MP pool like Paladin and Dark Knight, and gives Beastmasters the ability to stay alive long enough to charm something if things go ill. Other melee jobs like Warrior and Thief will not want White Mage as a sub, as the MP gained is insignificant. Dragoon/White Mage remains a special case, as their pet gains the ability to heal the Dragoon each time a weapon skill is used without the use of MP, making it a highly soloable job combination.

===Black Mage===

While not as popular as the White Mage sub, Black Mage can offer significant benefits to the magic-user. Because Black Mage has a higher intelligence and MP pool than White Mage and the unique abilities to randomly reduce the cost of spells, boost the effect of a single offensive spell, and drain MP from an enemy, it isn't uncommon for a damage-focused Red Mage or Summoner, who already has access to healing abilities, to choose Black Mage as their sub. Whether or not Black Mage or White Mage is a better subjob for those jobs, however, depends entirely on the party setup. Dark Knight may choose to take Black Mage in party situations because, at low levels, this adds to the MP pool and increases their non-physical damage ability. However, by end-game Dark Knights will want to be more reliant upon physical strength, relying on MP only to drain enemy abilities, MP and HP, so getting used to Dark Knight/Warrior is generally recommended. Ninja and Corsair have the unique ability to lower an enemy's resistance to a certain element and consequently Black Mage can be used to exploit those weaknesses, however, such a character is difficult to play.

===Ninja===

Ninja is by far the most useful subjob of the advanced jobs. Not only does the main job gain the ability Utsusemi, allowing it to go without taking damage for three hits, but it also allows for the ability to wield a weapon in the off-hand. Warriors will most often take Ninja after level 20 for its threefold benefits of boosting damage output, building hate, and reducing damage taken. Rangers and Corsairs will love the fact that they can pull and occasionally take hate without having to worry about their defense rating, as well as being able to equip two knives which boost ranged accuracy. While the Thief/Warrior specializes in high-damage output per hit, Ninja's Dual Wield ability allows Thieves to build TP faster and increases the time between attacks, allowing them the ability to Sneak Attack their Weapon Skills more often and giving them more time to set it up, all but guaranteeing incredible damage output. White Mage/Ninja is capable of blink-tanking without taking damage, but keeping hate with this method will burn a lot of MP and is very difficult to master. Jobs which focus on two-handed weapons like Dark Knight, Dragoon, and Samurai will not benefit from Ninja as a sub, as Dual Wield becomes useless, and Monks do not benefit because they already dual wield fists. These high-level damage dealers will not want Utsusemi either, instead focusing on spreading out their damage evenly so as not to take hate from the tanking jobs. The only major drawback of this sub is the significant expense it adds to your main job.

Final Fantasy XI/Characters: Difference between revisions

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@@ Line 119: / Line 119: @@
 This job requires the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion.
+==Subjobs==
+While FFXI gives you the freedom of selecting ANY job combination for use with your character, not every combination is going to be as beneficial as it might seem. It is important to note that while a subjob may give you access to its passive abilities and weapon skills, you will not have access to its 2-hour ability and your weapon choice and equiment remain limited to your main job. As a general rule, main jobs make the best subjobs and advanced jobs often do not, but there are exceptions. Here is a list of commonly used subjobs and how they effect the main job.
+===Warrior===
+Warrior is, without exception, the ONLY subjob for a tank-class character in party situations. The ability to use Provoke is an essential tool for Ninja and Paladins, and the Warrior's enhanced defense offers plenty of survivability to these roles. Low level Blue Mages may consider taking Warrior as a sub for limited tanking (Cocoon makes for an absurd defense rating), Blue Mages won't want to be tanking past level 20. Also, with its bolstered attack abilities (and later, double-attack), Warrior makes a superior subjob for most melee-based damage dealers like Monk, Dark Knight, and Dragoon, though others may prefer Ninja or Thief. While Warrior may seem promising to weak mage classes attempting to solo, selecting it as a subjob does not significantly increase any stats and cripples your character's potential, as job abilities like Provoke and Berserk are worthless.
+===Thief===
+Thief is arguably the most popular subjob, if not main job, for farming purposes. Access to the Treasure Hunter ability, as well as Sneak Attack, make it a quick way to earn items and gil off of easy monsters. However, with the exception of Evasion Boost, Thief has no abilities that boost its main job's tanking ability, making it a less popular solo sub for more difficult enemies. In party situations, Thief's ability to Sneak Attack and its higher dexterity stat make it a popular choice for melee damage-dealers like Dark Knight, Warrior, and Dragoon, though advanced jobs will most often prefer Warrior for melee purposes, as Thief offers little to increase damage over time. Blue Mage/Thief couples significantly well because, as Blue Mage spells are enemy weapon skills, Sneak Attack can be used with Blue Mage spells to produce absurd damage. Other mage classes will not benefit from Thief in party situations.
+===Monk===
+Monk is almost exclusively used by two characters: tanking Warriors and damage-dealing Puppeteers. Because Monk's abilities focus almost entirely on hand-to-hand melee and puppeteer is the only other job to do so, it does not match up well with any other main jobs. What makes Monk a significant benefit to tanking Warriors, however, is an increased HP and the ability to Boost attacks, making the Warrior/Monk almost as effective at keeping hate at low levels as the Paladin.
+===Red Mage===
+Red Mage is such a well-rounded main job that it adds very little as a subjob, even for other mage classes. Its primary advantages are the Fast Cast ability, quickening spell casting spell time, and its high intelligence, making it a possible alternative to White Mage for the Black Mage's sub. Despite increased damage, however, the Black Mage/Red Mage will never gain access to Raise, Poisona, Curaga, Divine Seal, and other abilities which make Black Mage/White Mage the most popular choice.
+===White Mage===
+Arguably the most popular subjob due to its versatility with various main jobs. Every support job class should consider White Mage as its sub for an increased MP pool and the indispensible ability to cure and heal status ailments in a tight spot. Bard/White Mage is perhaps the most sought-after party member in experience parties aside from White Mage itself, and Corsair/White Mage can be played very similarly, adding in the ability to damage-deal with guns. Summoners may choose Black Mage to boost damage dealing ability and MP, but most Summoners, particularly at high levels, will want to choose White Mage as their sub, leaving their summon to do the damage while they assist in healing. Soloing, White Mage adds significant survivability to various jobs that already have an MP pool like Paladin and Dark Knight, and gives Beastmasters the ability to stay alive long enough to charm something if things go ill. Other melee jobs like Warrior and Thief will not want White Mage as a sub, as the MP gained is insignificant. Dragoon/White Mage remains a special case, as their pet gains the ability to heal the Dragoon each time a weapon skill is used without the use of MP, making it a highly soloable job combination.
+===Black Mage===
+While not as popular as the White Mage sub, Black Mage can offer significant benefits to the magic-user. Because Black Mage has a higher intelligence and MP pool than White Mage and the unique abilities to randomly reduce the cost of spells, boost the effect of a single offensive spell, and drain MP from an enemy, it isn't uncommon for a damage-focused Red Mage or Summoner, who already has access to healing abilities, to choose Black Mage as their sub. Whether or not Black Mage or White Mage is a better subjob for those jobs, however, depends entirely on the party setup. Dark Knight may choose to take Black Mage in party situations because, at low levels, this adds to the MP pool and increases their non-physical damage ability. However, by end-game Dark Knights will want to be more reliant upon physical strength, relying on MP only to drain enemy abilities, MP and HP, so getting used to Dark Knight/Warrior is generally recommended. Ninja and Corsair have the unique ability to lower an enemy's resistance to a certain element and consequently Black Mage can be used to exploit those weaknesses, however, such a character is difficult to play.
+===Ninja===
+Ninja is by far the most useful subjob of the advanced jobs. Not only does the main job gain the ability Utsusemi, allowing it to go without taking damage for three hits, but it also allows for the ability to wield a weapon in the off-hand. Warriors will most often take Ninja after level 20 for its threefold benefits of boosting damage output, building hate, and reducing damage taken. Rangers and Corsairs will love the fact that they can pull and occasionally take hate without having to worry about their defense rating, as well as being able to equip two knives which boost ranged accuracy. While the Thief/Warrior specializes in high-damage output per hit, Ninja's Dual Wield ability allows Thieves to build TP faster and increases the time between attacks, allowing them the ability to Sneak Attack their Weapon Skills more often and giving them more time to set it up, all but guaranteeing incredible damage output. White Mage/Ninja is capable of blink-tanking without taking damage, but keeping hate with this method will burn a lot of MP and is very difficult to master. Jobs which focus on two-handed weapons like Dark Knight, Dragoon, and Samurai will not benefit from Ninja as a sub, as Dual Wield becomes useless, and Monks do not benefit because they already dual wield fists. These high-level damage dealers will not want Utsusemi either, instead focusing on spreading out their damage evenly so as not to take hate from the tanking jobs. The only major drawback of this sub is the significant expense it adds to your main job.

Final Fantasy XI/Characters: Difference between revisions

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