Archives June 2022

As we have reached the end of the Tactics PvP Job Series, we have our final discussion about generic jobs’ competitive viability in PvP, ending with the mastered Onion Knight job.

PvP Performance Statcard

Based on the above ratings, mastered Onion Knight seems to be a decent option for PvP. Let’s expand more on that below.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Onion Knight
For the scope of this article, we will be covering the mastered version of Onion Knight as that would be the most considered option for PvP.

Stats and Information

Mastered stats (can only be primaried): HP: 150% | MP: 140% | SP: 120% | PA: 130% | MA: 120%
C-EV: 30 | Move: 4 | Jump: 4

Can equip: All weapons, gear, and accessories

Onion Knights do not have abilities nor can they slot any, but they can equip every piece of gear, weapon, and accessory in the game. Where their effectiveness lies in is their gear versatility, though how well they perform will vary because they are limited to only Move and basic physical attacks which can be mitigated or evaded. Since they cannot slot reaction abilities, it is ideal to slot a highly evasive shield such as Onion Shield or Reverie Shield (reduces elemental damage by half which can be used against abilities like Unholy Sacrifice) to help them evade attacks and abilities.

They do have 30% class evasion which further helps with their evasiveness and 4 Move and Jump which can be paired with Gaius Caligae or Germinas Boots to further their mobility since they cannot slot a movement ability.

Conclusion

For the amount of work it takes to get a mastered Onion Knight (14 mastered jobs except Squire, Chemist, Dark Knight, and Mime), they do not bring much to the table for such an accomplishment and not having access to other slottable skills limits their potential. Onion Knights do hit very hard with their high PA when paired with physical-based weapons, but their overall results will vary.

As we are nearing the end of the Tactics PvP Job Series, we discuss the competitive viability of the Dark Knight job as the main role in competitive PvP.

PvP Performance Statcard

Dark Knight is a very solid option for PvP game modes. We will expand more on the reasoning below, starting with their abilities.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Dark Knight

Abilities

Dark Knights use their Darkness skillset to absorb the HP or MP from foes or deal massive single target or area damage. Some of their abilities, such as Abyssal Blade or Unholy Sacrifice damage the caster after use, but they will still typically leave a dent in whoever they damage if they aren’t already KO’d from their attacks. Dark Knights are the only generic job that can equip Knight’s Swords or Fell Swords so they are the closest thing to unique sword users such as Orlandeau or Agrias. It is very important to note that they must have a Sword, Knight’s Sword or Fell Sword equipped to use their abilities and all of their attacks have a 100% hit rate. Now let’s take a closer look at their abilities:

Sanguine Sword (action) – Absorbs HP from the target. This simple skill is one of the best ways to sustain long-term fights as it directly heals you for the damage done.

Crushing Blow (action) – This hard-hitting ability does a ton of single-target damage with a 25% chance to inflict stop status.

Abyssal Blade (action) – This conal attack deals more damage the closer the target is to the caster. Inflicts 20% of your maximum HP to yourself afterwards.

Unholy Sacrifice (action) – Considered a “bomb,” the user deals dark area damage around themselves and inflicts 30% of their maximum HP to themselves afterwards. Works best around loosely stacked or tightly stacked enemy formations.

Vehemence (support) – Increases your damage dealt by 50% and increases your damage taken by 50%. This is a risk/reward support ability that incentives the “glass cannon” playstyle, trading sustain for raw damage. Works well on both physical and magick builds.

HP Boost (support) – Increases your maximum HP by 20%. The more a character is stacking into HP through job and gear, the futher your sustainability increases.

Move +3 (movement) – Though this ability is not available in the Starter format, this is the quintisential mobility option if looking at easily traversing the map.

Stats

Stats as a primary job: HP: 80% | MP: 90% | SP: 100% | PA: 140% | MA: 80%
C-EV: 0 | Move: 3 | Jump: 3

Can equip: Swords, Knight’s Swords, Fell Swords, Flails, Axes, Shields, Helmets, Armor, Clothing, Robes

Dark Knights are the most substantial physical attack job out of all generics with their 140% PA. With great strength, they do have some downsides; they have zero class evasion, standard Move and Jump of 3, and not a ton of HP bulk. They are the only generic job that can equip Knight’s Swords and Fell Swords (Knight’s Swords are better in most situations due to their access to buffs and having access to a shield or dual wield, whereas Fell Swords are two-handed). Dark Knights do have access to helmets and armor to increase their 80% HP to fairly robust values or robes, such as Lordly Robe if speccing for a mixed build. Since they have high Physical Attack, they can utilize Martial Arts or Jump as well.

Conclusion

Dark Knights are one of the top choices in PvP due to the sustainability and damage of their Darkness skillset. Though they are very strong, they have to be within a range of 3 tiles to effectively use their kit, so smart opponents will likely try to cripple them early but if they get in range, they can do some serious damage to the opposition quickly.

As we continue towards the end of the Tactics PvP Job Series, we will have a look at the viability and the performance of the Mime job as the main role in PvP for competitive use.

PvP Performance Statcard

Mime seems to be a good choice regarding PvP, but there are some tidbits we will go over more below as they are a bit more complex than other jobs.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Mime

Abilities (well sort of)

Mimes don’t actually have a skillset. Instead, they copy the last used ally’s ability that is from a generic job and cast it immediately, at no cost, in the direction they are facing and at the range the ability was used at (including height). This occurs at the end of each ally’s turn. If carefully positioned, Mimes can be dangerous to the opponent, but they typically require the use of Turn Order to be very effective. The end result is that they can be not as effective or very effective depending. Let’s look at some additional tidbits regarding the job:

• Mimes cannot slot any abilities or gear.

• They can mimic basic attacks and generic abilities but cannot mimic unique character and monster abilities. Uses the ally’s weapon when mimicking a basic attack.

• Since Mimes have no abilities, they can only move or attack during their turn.

• Mimes cannot mimic the action of a previous Mime.

• A Mime cannot mimic if they are affected by negative status effects.

• Regarding ability range: If an ability was cast 2 tiles forward and 1 left, then the Mime will mimic 2 tiles forward and 1 left from its position and facing.

Stats

Stats (can only be primaried): HP: 140% | MP: 50% | SP: 120% | PA: 120% | MA: 115%
C-EV: 5 | Move: 4 | Jump: 4

Innate: Brawler, Beastmaster, and Concentration

Can equip: Nothing

Mimes have great all-around stats which gives them good HP bulk, solid PA and MA as well as being fast so they can re-position often if necessary. Keep in mind their Move and Jump cannot be changed due to job restrictions on abilities. They cannot equip any gear, so they will be fully relying on others for status buffs or immunities.

Conclusion

Mimes can be very interesting in PvP. They do require a lot of thought and pre-planning for them to be most effective. In most cases, keep the amount of Mimes you run on your team limited to 1 or 2 as the more you have, the less mimicking you can do.

In this Tactics PvP Job Series, we take a closer look at how the Dancer job performs in a competitive PvP environment.

PvP Performance Statcard

Going by their performance ratings, Dancer isn’t a great option overall for PvP modes. We will go over why that is the case below, starting with their abilities.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Dancer

Abilities

Dancers are a female-only job that uses their Dance to debuff the enemy or deal HP or MP damage regardless of distance. Like their male counterpart, Bard, their abilities besides Witch Hunt and Mincing Minuet (deals MP and HP damage respectively) have a 50% chance to miss once they cast their ability. And just like Bardsong, while performing a Dance, your evasion rates are ignored as well. Let’s take a look at the abilities that you would likely come across or use in PvP:

Slow Dance (action) – 50% chance to lower each of your opponent’s Speed by 1. This ability can make the difference in one of your units acting before another when comparing Speed.

Polka/Heathen Frolick (action) – 50% chance to lower each of your opponent’s Phyiscal Attack or Magick Attack by 1 respectively. Though their effectiveness relies on the type of composition your opponent is mostly comprised of, reducing their PA or MA in the early game can slow down the flow of combat in your favor since incoming damage is less.

Forbidden Dance (action) – 50% chance to inflict one of blind, confuse, silence, sleep, toad, stop, slow or poison status. Though even more random since its a randomized selection at which gets applied (making it a 1/8 of a chance for a particular status on top of 50% chance to hit). Stop, slow, and toad are the best ones to get since they are the most disruptive.

Last Waltz (action) – 50% chance to set each opposing unit’s CT to 0. Though it can net a positive reward as long it affects at least half of the opposition, Last Waltz’s biggest drawback is the amount of time (20+ in-game clock ticks) it takes to even cast.

Fury (reaction) – This ability has a Bravery% chance to increase your PA by 1 after taking damage. Mostly only plausible on physical-based builds that can sustain long-term damage to make use of this proc.

Fly (movement) – This ability is a built-in Ignore Elevation, go over characters and obstacles when traversing, and ignores fall damage. While Fly has advantages, Teleport tends to be the better option for traversing height differences since there is no penalty for teleporting height differences.

Stats

Stats as a primary job: HP: 60% | MP: 50% | SP: 100% | PA: 110% | MA: 95%
C-EV: 5 | Move: 3 | Jump: 3

Can equip: Knives, Cloths, Bags, Hats, Clothing

Dancers have a bit more stat versatility compared to the male-exclusive Bard, giving them a better variety of skillsets and utilities. Having access to bags, such as Hydrascale Bag for +1 Speed or Croakadile Bag for +1 MA can also build towards Dancer’s diversity by making faster performances or even using Iaido. Cloths are a good option with Parry since they have a 50% parry rate, but you cannot evade while performing so this is going to depend on playstyle. If looking to optimize Dance, Ninja or Thief is your best option as Speed plays an important part in starting performance early.

Conclusion

While they have better overall stats and gear options compared to Bard, Dancer still struggles with viability in faster PvP formats compared to slower ones. Dance does tend to be a bit more effective to Bardsong since debuffing tends to yield better results in the long-term, but Dancer as a primary job is very niche at best and their skillset is likely best suited for other high-Speed jobs if considered.

As we are approaching the end of the Tactics PvP Job Series, we will focus on the viability of the Bard job as the main role in PvP.

PvP Performance Statcard

Looking at the above performance ratings, Bard isn’t the best option as the primary job in competitive PvP. We will go further into this, starting with their abilities.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Bard

Abilities

Bards are a male-only job that uses their Bardsong skillset to apply HP and MP restoration and buffs to allies regardless of distance. Bardsong abilities act similarly to magicks in the sense that they have a cast time, but instead of taking a damage penalty while performing, your evasion rates are ignored instead. While the song is performing, the song will continue to cast when able, and taking any other action will cancel the current Bardsong. Each Bardsong other than Seraph Song and Life’s Anthem has a 50% chance to successfully apply whatever buff you are trying to cast on your units. Anyways, let’s take a look at some of their commonly used abilities in PvP:

Rousing Melody (action) – 50% chance to increase all allies’ Speed by 1. With this having a fairly short charge time, upping your allies’ Speed enables them more turns, as well as other benefits, such as more damage to Throw or faster Jump landing.

Battle Chant/Magickal Refrain (action) – 50% chance to increase all allies’ Physical Attack or Magick Attack by 1 respectively. These abilities become more effective when your team composition is mostly physical or magick-focused builds.

Finale (action) – 50% chance to set allies’ CT to 100, causing them to have immediate next turns. This sounds great on paper and works wonders when it goes off on at least half of your units, but its biggest drawback is is the amount of time (20+ in-game clock ticks) it takes to even cast.

Move +3 (movement) – Though this ability is prohibited in the Starter format, it is by far the most versatile form of movement in PvP.

Fly (movement) – This ability is a built-in Ignore Elevation, go over characters and obstacles when traversing, and ignores fall damage. While Fly has advantages, Teleport tends to be the better option for traversing height differences since there is no penalty for teleporting height differences.

Stats

Stats as a primary job: HP: 55% | MP: 50% | SP: 100% | PA: 30% | MA: 115%
C-EV: 5 | Move: 3 | Jump: 3

Can equip: Instruments, Hats, Clothing

Bards are quite limited in stats, with only really having 115% MA to work with as their best feature. They are also limited to only using instruments as weapons, which can only target at a range of only 3. Having Speed is important in order to get your turns quickly so you can start performing a Bardsong early. Ninja or Thief is likely your best option if looking to strictly use Bardsong due to their higher innate Speed.

Conclusion

Though Bardsong can buff allies across the map, it can take a considerable amount of time to cast and it is very RNG-focused when hoping for buffs to apply to certain allies. In slower formats or games, Bardsong’s effectiveness does get better as there are larger opportunities to take a chance on the buffs. But looking past that, Bards aren’t bringing much competitiveness to their limited equipment options and all-around low stats.

In today’s Tactics PvP Job Series, we discuss the competitive viability of the Arithmetician job in PvP as the main role.

PvP Performance Statcard

Though they are effective strictly because of their Arithmeticks ability which we will cover further, Arithmeticians don’t seem like they are a good option for PvP. We will explore why below.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Arithmetician

Abilities

Arithmeticks are very efficient because they utilize various other skills from other jobs (White, Black, Time Magicks, and Mystic Arts) with zero cost, instant-cast, and no range requirement. Arithmeticks still factor MA and the Faith of the caster and target(s). They use “calculation” methods that either target the CT, Level, Exp, or Height of all units on the field and then factor these methods with a value of either prime numbers, multiples of 3, 4, or 5 to determine who is targeted by the magick being cast. Pro-tip, make sure to always pan the camera around the field to see who is targeted based on the calculated conditions. Now to further discuss the Arithmetician’s abilities:

Arithmeticks (action) – Since there are so many variables that can be applied here, instead I’ll go over some tips when using Arithmeticks:
● Absorb-element gear, such as Sage’s Ring, can heal from using certain types of magicks, such as Holy.
● Boost-element gear, such as Black Robe, can increase the damage of select elements.
● Magicks cast this way cannot be reflected, but can be evaded.

Cup of Life (reaction) – Being overhealed from another source other than yourself has a Bravery% chance to heal all other allies, rounded up, based on the excess value, regardless of distance. This can be used as a “battery” method to heal remotely from a distance.

Soulbind (reaction) – This Bravery% chance ability returns half the damage taken and heals HP from that same amount. This ability is very welcoming on high HP units, increasing their sustain further for longer fights.

Stats

Stats as a primary job: HP: 65% | MP: 80% | SP: 50% | PA: 50% | MA: 50%
C-EV: 5 | Move: 3 | Jump: 3

Can equip: Poles, Books, Hats, Clothing, Robes

Arithmeticians’ biggest downfall is their stats. With only 50% MA, 50% SP, and 65% HP, they are underperforming against all other casters. Their access to clothing and robes gives them some versatility, but their innate weapon choices and limited mobility leave very little to be desired.

Conclusion

Arithmeticians just cannot compete especially in formats where speed is important and require too much investment to try to catch up to others. They are too frail as well and don’t have any stat advantages that would give them consideration for picks. Though their skill set is one of the best due to its versatility, it is better as a secondary for any other caster job.