Final Fantasy Tactics Tips and Info

Here are some basic tips and general information for Final Fantasy Tactics! (Especially stuff the game does not tell you.)

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Suggestions
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Ramza's canonical birthday is January 12th, making him a Capricorn. That Zodiac sign is actually recommended for better ally compatibilities and somewhat easier boss battles.

I recommend sticking with Ramza and three or four generic people as your main party. You'll eventually gain unique party members you can use if you want. Do not turn down (or dismiss) any unique characters, especially if you want to unlock four of the secret characters in Chapter 4.

Guests are not permanent. They all eventually leave, and they take their equipment with them! Keep this in mind.

It is better to level up Job Points (JP) over Experience Points. **Enemies scale with the level of your highest party member!** (Usually Ramza.) Job Points get you the fun stuff; levels just make the game more difficult.

The Squire has arguably the most useful ability: **JP Boost**! Use it! On everyone! At least until they learn what you want them to learn. Super useful.

Try not to waste turns doing nothing (unless you're holding someone back on XP... (Ramza, looking at you!)). Always try to do something—even if you just throw a stone at your own characters and heal the measly five or so damage with a Potion (which are very cheap anyway). This maximizes JP growth and lessens future grinding. The Focus (Squire) ability is great for this.

The Thief class is very useful in obtaining some nice equipment one or two story missions earlier than normal. Some of these items are unique only to certain bosses!

Use Poach (Thief) often. You can convert them to items in Chapter 3 onward. (See Advanced section.)

Ramza's and Summoners' question mark abilities can only be learned by being damaged by them. Ramza can learn his as early as the middle of Chapter 4. Both can be learned in the optional secret dungeon.

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Mechanics
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Bravery
> This stat is effectively the percentage chance of reaction abilities. Higher is good.
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> But for the Chemist's Treasure Hunter ability, the percentage chance is inverted; low Bravery can get you rarer items! (Guides are recommended to find those items; most are obtainable shortly after each location anyway. But the secret optional dungeon has unique stuff to find!)
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> Characters with super low Bravery (5-) will leave your party forever out of cowardice!

Faith
> This stat is all about magic numbers. Higher Faith means you **deal and take** more magic damage and healing.
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> Characters with high Faith (95+) will leave your party forever to follow a righteous path!
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> If you want a good magic tank, lower their Faith! Items are ideal for healing characters with lower Faith.

You can raise and lower Bravery and Faith using certain in-battle abilities, most notably from the Orator job. Every four points gained/lost in battle is one point gained/lost outside battle. It can be a grind to raise these stats over the course of multiple battles, but it's generally worth it. (You can also ignore it entirely and still beat the game just fine.)

I recommend using characters with naturally high Bravery (70+) in physical classes. Likewise for high Faith in magical classes. Avoid characters with about 50 in both stats; they're too boring. =P

Don't worry about Zodiac compatibility unless you really want to. (I don't.) It affects various things, including steal chances and damage, but it's really more of a passive aspect of the game.

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Stats
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Physical Attack (PA) and Magickal Attack (MA) are not always what you need for damage. Some jobs may use other stats to calculate damage, even with basic weapon attacks. Examples:
- PA and Speed
- MA instead of PA
- average between PA and MA

Similarly with job abilities. Some physical classes actually use MA for their abilities! This means equipping them with gear that increases MA may be better than giving them as much PA as possible.

You would need to look up the specifics of each job if you want to min/max your classes. The game will not tell you which stats determine damage. If you don't want any spoilers, don't look them up until you discover each class yourself.

Men and women have slightly different stats and growths. Men generally have more HP and PA while women generally have more MP and MA. Does this really matter? Only when min/maxing. You can definitely use magickal men and warrior women to beat the game just fine.

Men and women each have a single unique support class, and both are generally worth looking into.

This guide is great if you want to dive into the details for each stat and job with minimal fluff:
<https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3581203978>

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Extra Stuff
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Pay attention to all on-screen tooltips and buttons in all menu and battle screens. Otherwise, you might find yourself missing out on some useful info and displays!

There are five secret characters in Chapter 4. It is impossible to search this online and not get spoiled, so...BEHOLD! My spoiler-free guide!

First, reach Chapter 4. Then follow the steps below. If a place isn't available yet, then continue the story until it is. Many of these are battles.

- Goug - scene: metallic sphere
- Gollund - rumor: haunted mine
- Lesalia - recruit someone at the bar
- Gollund - recruit someone else after a series of battles
- Goug - recruit someone again
- Zeltennia Castle - rumor
- Sal Ghidos - scene: buy a flower
- Goug - scene
- Nelveska Temple - battle (There are TWO amazing and unique Treasure Hunter items atop the two pillars! Highly recommended.)
- Goug - scene
- Sal Ghidos - recruit someone
- Mt. Bervenia - (random battle) Treasure Hunter spot at the top of the volcano!

There is an optional endgame dungeon you can participate in, ideally after the above:

- Warjilis - rumor: dungeon

It is highly worth using a character with Treasure Hunter there! And using a guide. Ramza and Summoners can learn their question mark abilities during the last battle of the dungeon. There is also a final secret character to recruit if they survive.

Here is a great website for finding Treasure Hunter items on each map:
<https://fft-companion.vercel.app/maps>

Treasure Hunter items can only be found once. You cannot obtain the rare item after finding the common one. Feel free to reload if you don't get the rare item.

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Advanced
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The Orator job can bring enemies to your side! Use this on monsters. They will automatically generate eggs in your party. Each monster has three different color types—or tiers. Poaching higher tiers yields significantly better (and even unique) items! Yes, it's mean...but essential if you want to be overpowered or hunt achievements.

There are some pretty nice ability combos. Mix, match, and experiment! If you ever come into a situation where Ramza is having difficulties with certain bosses, let me know, and I can point you to a great combo...

Each job has different stat growth rates. They are thematic, so fast classes gain more Speed, tanky classes gain more HP, and magic classes gain more MP and MA. It is generally better to level up as the more advanced classes. Try to avoid leveling up with the two starter classes as much as possible!

With that said...being able to use items is S-tier for its utility as a secondary class. (You don't need every character to do this; one is fine as long as you have another character who can heal and revive.)

There is a unique class for male characters that provides great buffs. Likewise with female characters and debuffs. They're not the "best" or "worst" classes, but they make fun support units. They also provide amazing movement abilities that are worth aiming for.

There is an "ultimate" magic-based class. It is S-tier when utilized properly, but most casual players don't bother.

There is one final "ultimate" class requiring a lot of grinding as other classes. It is not really worth it, but it can be fun when utilized properly...if you're lucky with the battle order timing.