So what's everyone's preferred job routes for each character?

[Mindu]

The last time I played this game, I spent a considerable amount of time grinding to give everyone the best combination of abilities. I'm not a completionist by any means, but by the end of the game I had Bartz Sshot-ing Flare and another character who could dual-wield, counter, and use Giant Drinks. I started a new game last weekend, but due to a lack of free time these days I do not intend to do any grinding. I've just been using my knowledge from prior playthroughs to have each character accomplished in a good pairing of jobs.

This is my current path:

Bartz: Knight and Mystic Knight. This is obviously a great combination for the Bare class, as the Knight's superior strength and two-handed makes sword magic devastating, and the Mystic Knight is infinitely more useful than a Black Mage for having similar stats to a Knight, and being able to use all the best Black Magic spells for a fraction of the MP cost. Depending on whether there is enough time before the end of the game, I may raise Bartz as a Hunter to get the Sshot ability for the Mime class again.

Reina/Lenna: White Mage and Summoner. A good combination, and as the Summoner's stats are higher you can get away without mastering White Mage. Before, I also had Reina learn the Drink command to able to double her HP, but they made the effects of this ability temporary in the GBA version so this time I don't think it will be worth it.

Faris: Thief, Time Mage and Samurai. Time Magic is great to have in any FF game, and the Thief's innate abilities are good to have in any dungeon in order to find all of the treasure. You can get away without mastering Time Mage because you don't really need the extra magic stats. A Samurai's $toss is great against the final boss, and the Sword Grab ability is a good natural ability to have. A combination of a Samurai's strength and stamina, and a Thief's speed is excellent for the bare and mime classes.

Galuf: Monk and Ninja. The Ninja's Throw command has been infinitely useful throughout the game, and the Dual-wield and Counter are great skills to pass on to the Bare and Mime classes. I may also raise Galuf as a Hunter for Sshot.

I haven't bothered with Blue Magic this time around, and quite frankly haven't needed it.

[Cereal~Killer]

I only played the game once, but I believe this is how I had my characters:

Bartz - Knight. Always gotta have a knight in my party when I can, and more often than not, it's the main character that is the knight.

Farris - I THINK I had Farris as a thief and eventually ninja. Yeah, that sounds right.

Galuf - Switched around between blue mage and black mage. I like blue magic and black magic is a must in a Final Fantasy game, in my opinion.

Reina - White mage. It's cliche, but the main female character had to be the white mage. That's just the way it mostly seems to be in FF games.

Krile - She takes over for Galuf when Mr. Galuf becomes unavailable.

I had to switch some classes around during the final battle, so I could work out a smarter strategy for winning, but I forget exactly what I did. All I remember is I made Reina a chemist.

[Michael Swayne]

As I have said in similar threads, I base my decision on which Job by their individual stats as a Freelancer.

In my current plathrough:

Bartz (Strength)- Monk, Thief

Lenna/Reina (Magic)- Black Mage, Summoner

Galuf (Stamina)- Monk, Berserker

Faris (Strength/Agility)- Knight, Ninja, Ranger, Mystic Knight

[Mindu]

Farris - I THINK I had Farris as a thief and eventually ninja. Yeah, that sounds right.

It would make sense to do that because the classes are quite similar in both abilities and stats. However, I find it better to have two characters that are speedy combined with abilities from some of the other classes.

Reina - White mage. It's cliche, but the main female character had to be the white mage. That's just the way it mostly seems to be in FF games.

On my first time through I did a similar thing. It seemed obvious to start Reina out as a White Mage and Bartz, arguably being the main character, as a Knight. Galuf, being old and looking stereotypically like a wizard seemed to be suited for Black Mage. Faris, being a pirate, fitted being a Thief.

Bartz (Strength)- Monk, Thief

Lenna/Reina (Magic)- Black Mage, Summoner

Galuf (Stamina)- Monk, Berserker

Faris (Strength/Agility)- Knight, Ninja, Ranger, Mystic Knight

That seems like a decent combination for Galuf. A Beserker that could counter attack would be a force to be reckoned with. Although instead of having a character that I can't control, I prefer to use the Beserk spell in certain boss battles when I'm certain I won't need to control someone anymore.

As I've gone further through the game, I'm finding that the White Mage/Summoner combination runs out of MP too quickly. I have to use Ethers and Elixirs a lot more than I do in any other FF game. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to allocate White Magic and Summoner to separate characters because it would interfere with using other characters as "tanks". It wouldn't do to have a Knight that couldn't attack because it needed to use White Magic throughout a whole boss battle. I think Mystic Knight makes Black Mage redundant, and I would have similar MP problems with a Black Mage/Summoner combination anyway. In any case, the Dancing Dirk's ability to absorb MP solves this somewhat, but Mystery Waltz doesn't always happen when you need it. It's a tricky one...

I'd have thought your combination for Faris would be a lot of ground to cover. Do you master all four classes, or just use certain abilities? I know that Dual-wield and X-fight require Ninja and Archer to be mastered, which I'm assuming is what you were aiming for.

[Michael Swayne]

As I've gone further through the game, I'm finding that the White Mage/Summoner combination runs out of MP too quickly. I have to use Ethers and Elixirs a lot more than I do in any other FF game.

You will find that as you master the magic classes, the abilities you learn become more beneficial to keep them in the party. I am not sure on the specifics, but there are "MP+XX%" and even an "MP 0" abilities. This makes summoning and casting magics a wonderful thing. And with the Summoner, there is also a "Call" ability that allows you to summon a random creature at 0MP cost.

I'd have thought your combination for Faris would be a lot of ground to cover. Do you master all four classes, or just use certain abilities? I know that Dual-wield and X-fight require Ninja and Archer to be mastered, which I'm assuming is what you were aiming for.

For Faris, it is more along the lines of finding new and more suitable jobs. I started her with the Knight because of how her Strength and Agility are equal. Then, as I received more jobs, there were jobs more suitable for her stat advantages (Mystic Knight, Ninja, and Ranger). She hasn't mastered any of them yet, but will at some point.

[Mindu]

You will find that as you master the magic classes, the abilities you learn become more beneficial to keep them in the party. I am not sure on the specifics, but there are "MP+XX%" and even an "MP 0" abilities. This makes summoning and casting magics a wonderful thing. And with the Summoner, there is also a "Call" ability that allows you to summon a random creature at 0MP cost.

Yeah. I remember that mastering White Mage gets you MP+10%, and the Black Mage's final ability is MP+30%, which is more worth an ability slot. There are also a couple of Gold Hairpins to be found throughout the game, which half MP use. But the problem with those is that they dramatically decrease your stats late in the game, compared to the armour you will be finding at that point. I would personally never use an ability like Call due to its unreliability.

For Faris, it is more along the lines of finding new and more suitable jobs. I started her with the Knight because of how her Strength and Agility are equal. Then, as I received more jobs, there were jobs more suitable for her stat advantages (Mystic Knight, Ninja, and Ranger). She hasn't mastered any of them yet, but will at some point.

I don't know how far into the game you are, but if you master all three of those, you will have access to the most powerful attack in the game: Dual-wield + Sshot + Flare. Replacing Flare with a third-tier elemental spell does insane damage to any boss weak to an element. A Knight's "Two-Handed" is a little bit better than Dual-wield, but is not a natural ability and has to be equipped.

[SuperSabin]

My favorite job alignments are these:

Bartz - Monk, Thief, Mystic Knight, Knight, Geomancer, Ninja, Archer

Lenna - White Mage, Black Mage, Time Mage, Thief

Galuf - Black Mage, Monk

Faris - Knight, Thief, Black Mage

Some cool combinations I like with the job classes that I remember are the following:

Job - Knight + Skill - Mantra or Build-up (Build-up is even better when either dbl grip skill or dual wield)

Job - Black Mage + Skill - White Magic

Job - White Mage + Skill - Black Magic

That's about as much as I remember. I like to be creative when it comes to picking skills for my equipped jobs.

[SailorCallie]

On my first playthrough, I allowed all characters to master their jobs. Will do that again when I get around to my second one.

EDIT: My 200th post!