Final Fantasy III: All Jobs RANKED!

The original Final Fantasy was the first game with a job system, but Final Fantasy III was the first game to make it good. With such an in-depth job system, and having more jobs than most other Final Fantasy games, this is one of my favorite job systems in the series. All the jobs are a blast to use, but some jobs are so much better than others, so I decided that I just had to rank them. Now without further ado, RPG Ranked presents... Final Fantasy III: All Jobs RANKED!

24. Onion Knight (Unpowered) - F Tier

Sure, an unpowered Onion Knight has access to all equipment and magic in the game, but their stats aren’t even comparable to the Freelancer. They also will completely screw up your HP stat and make it so you can’t reach 9,999 health. Overall, never use this class, they will literally screw up your stats and your party composition. That is, unless you power them up. But I’ll talk about that later.

23. Freelancer - D Tier

Freelancers are very limited in their equipment draw during the mid-section of the game, but for the beginning and end of the game, they can equip most of the equipment! Unlike the Onion Knight, Freelancers can only use the most basic of magic. So why is Freelancer better? There are a couple fights in the game where bringing a Freelancer along isn’t too bad of an idea, especially in the fight against Medusa. Also, with their ultimate equipment, the Celestial Gloves, they have some of the most balanced and best stats in the game and are actually quite powerful attackers! However, without access to much magic or any special abilities, overall, even with a job level 99 Freelancer with the Celestial Gloves, they are still outclassed by all the other classes in the game.

22. Black Mage

The Black Mage is the best damage dealer at the very beginning of the game, but they quickly become much weaker than the physical attackers soon after you obtain the Fire Crystal. After you get the Fire Crystal, Black Magic soon becomes much weaker than summons, and much, much weaker than physical attacks. There isn’t really any point in using the Black Mage by the end of the game (or any Black Magic for that matter, unless used by an Onion Knight) because attackers like the Warrior, the Black Belt, the Knight, and the Ninja can do better. Also… White Magic includes damage spells like Aero and Holy anyway, so White Mages can be nearly as strong as Black Mages anyway! Overall, the Black Mage is alright at the beginning of the game (though outclassed by the Red Mage), but by the end of the game, he is outclassed by almost every other attacker in the game.

21. Magus - C Tier

Just like the Black Mage, the Magus is rather underwhelming. For the most part, the two are indistinguishable to me. At least the Magus has Flare and Meteor, though. And more MP for high-level Magic too, I guess. Overall, I just don’t see the point of using a Magus over a Summoner or a strong physical class, but it isn’t that bad of a job.

20. Evoker - C Tier

The Evoker is an incredibly odd class in this game. They have a couple of decent support abilities, with Odin’s Protective Light, Ifrit’s Healing Light, and Bahamut’s Aura. With these abilities, they can cast Reflect on the whole party, heal the party, or buff the attack of the party (something no other job can do in Final Fantasy III!). But why risk using this class half the time they just do crappy damage with their Black summons? Overall, the Evoker’s support abilities are not worth the randomness of their summons, nor is it ever worth picking this class over a much better support class like a White Mage, Devout, or Bard.

19. Ranger - C Tier

The Ranger is a decent class for attacking groups of enemies with their Barrage command, and they also are able to use bows to reduce the amount of damage they take! Though they are not nearly as dominant as other attackers, the utility of being safe in the back row is pretty nice! However, when it comes to attacking multiple enemies, Dark Knights and Summoners deal much more damage than Barrage. And when it comes to tanking damage? Jobs like the Knight and Viking have enough health, vitality, and great equipment that they can be in the front row and survive more effectively than the Ranger. Overall, just like the Black Mage and Magus, the Ranger isn’t necessarily bad, they just aren’t necessarily good either.

18. Sage - C Tier

Sages have way too little MP to be good spellcasters. Even at Level 99, they only have four MP to cast level 8 spells. That is absolutely pitiful. Summoners get 13 MP, and Devouts get eight! And since Black Magic and Evoker summons are both very weak? There is literally no point of using this class in the first place. Since they can use White Magic, I still put this job above the other classes in C Tier, but overall, Summoners and Devouts are just much better than this job.

17. Red Mage - B Tier

The Red Mage is the most dominant job for the majority of the Floating Continent, outclassing jobs like the Black Mage, the White Mage, and occasionally even physical jobs like the Warrior! This is kind of how it goes for the Red Mage in most Final Fantasy games. They are the best job for a decent portion of the game, but fall off quickly and hardly. However, at least the Red Mage can still be well-utilized as an out of battle healer, as well as can equip the Ultima Weapon! The fact alone that he can equip the Ultima Weapon during the endgame puts him above other jobs like the Black Mage and the Ranger.

16. Geomancer - B Tier

Due to this game’s interesting (yet limiting) MP system, dishing out magic damage is rather tough to do because Elixirs are the only way to restore MP! However, Geomancers remedy this, basically replacing the Black Mage and Red Mage in terms of usefulness. Even in the endgame, they are pretty relevant, as they can be one of the best jobs to take into the Forbidden Land of Eureka due to their increased chance to cast their ultimate ability, Shadowflare! However, even though they are stronger than mages like the Red Mage and the Black Mage, they still can’t deal as much damage as the Summoner or the physical attackers of the game, so overall, they are no better than the top of B Tier.

15. Scholar - A Tier

People bash on this job a little bit too much. This job can actually be quite powerful if you know what you are doing! Scholar is basically a more powerful Red Mage at the point of the game you get the Scholar, as Scholars have much more intellect than the Red Mage and the Black Mage (though they have less mind…). However, even though they have less mind, they also have quite a bit better stats across the board, and their Item Lore ability makes them a fantastic single target healer in battle that can throw around Hi-Potions for double the effect! Though their White Magic isn’t the greatest for battle, they can also act as pretty good out of battle healers! They are also fantastic against Hein, of course. But with only this? They’d be around the same spot as the Red Mage and the Black Mage, as magic isn’t really the best thing ever in Final Fantasy III. Well, that is normal magic. With item magic, you can do enormous amounts of damage! With the high intellect of the Scholar (they have the same intellect as the Magus), as well as the Item Lore ability? You can deal double the damage of a normal Black Magic spell! This makes Black Magic incredibly more relevant! However, this relies on having to steal a ton of items with the Thief, and to know what enemies you can steal from. This also isn’t as relevant until very close to the end of the game, so the Scholar falls off during the third fourth of the game. Overall, Scholar is a great replacement for a Red Mage during that portion of the game, they fall off for a bit, but then they can become very powerful again during the endgame.

14. Thief - A Tier

This is one of the few games I feel like stealing is pretty powerful. With the ability to steal powerful items for the Scholar, to steal Phoenix Downs (which you can’t buy), and to steal powerful weapons like the Gungnir, the Thief is pretty dang relevant in this game! They are also very useful for the dungeons that have locked doors! Also, the Thief has the highest agility stat in the game, as well as ranged weapons! With the agility stat being almost as important as strength in this game due to agility determining your hit count, Thieves are actually not that bad at attacking! Overall, with decent damage, decent weapons, and fantastic utility, Thief is actually a pretty great job in this game!

13. Monk - A Tier

The Monk is a very inexpensive and powerful attacker! They have high health bonuses, potentially a ton of damage with Retaliate, and very cheap equipment options! With job levels, they become obscenely powerful barehanded, and if you keep them in your party throughout the game, you can deal thousands of damage with ease. However, they start off pretty weak, and though they are incredibly powerful throughout the game, they don’t have the defensive abilities of attackers like the Knight, and they don’t have the special abilities of characters like the Dark Knight or the Viking. They also become outclassed by the Black Belt. Overall, the Monk is incredibly powerful and is plenty good for the entirety of the game, but it isn’t quite as good as some of the other characters.

12. Knight - A Tier

In my opinion, the Knight is way too overrated in this game. Sure, they are good tanks, and their damage is good, and their out-of-battle healing is great (if limited). But their agility sucks, so their damage isn’t as good as a lot of other classes. Though they can equip most of the best equipment in the game, they are a weaker tank than the Viking, and can’t quite dish out as much damage as characters with special abilities and/or high agility. However, with great equipment, high vitality and strength, and great survivability, overall, the Knight is a very reliable (yet overrated) class.

11. Summoner - A Tier

The Summoner is by far the best offensive magic caster in the game and the second best multi-target damage dealer in the game. With a possible maximum of 13 Level 8 spell charges and the almighty Bahamut, you can dish out tons of damage to groups of enemies! However, as much as the Summoner is powerful, physical attackers can dish out damage at all times, without an MP limit. Also, the Dark Knight’s Souleater can be as powerful or more powerful than Bahamut, so Summoner isn’t quite a top tier character. Overall, Summoners are the best magic attackers in the game, but in a game where physical attacks are dominant, I couldn’t justify placing this job in the top 10.

10. Dragoon - A Tier

If you steal the Gungnir, the Dragoon is incredibly overpowered. But that’s a bit of a hassle, as you need to level a Thief to job level 71. However, even if you don’t, they are still a pretty decent job! This class is especially powerful against Garuda, Bahamut, and Ahriman, basically trivializing the fights. In fact, with Jump, I was able to one shot Bahamut due to how the damage cap in this game works (it only displays 9,999, but you can actually deal up to 99,999 damage). The Blood Lance is also an incredibly powerful weapon and is great for healing your health! However, if you don’t grind for the Gungnir, they aren’t quite as good other available attackers, and the Gungnir eventually gets outclassed anyway. However, with the Gungnir and Blood Lance, the Dragoon is definitely the best fighter up until the Earth Crystal. Though the Dragoon is amazing due to these two powerful weapons, and is amazing against enemies weak to wind, overall, I don’t find them to have quite as powerful as other next few jobs.

9. Ninja - A Tier

Due to their high strength and agility, the Ninja can hit for a ton of damage! Combine that with their ability to ignore rows with their Boomerangs and Shurikens, and you have a very powerful attacker that can stay safe in the back row! This class is basically a direct upgrade to the Thief and the Ranger, and it is crucial in fighting the Iron Giant due to its obscene defense stat! However, at high enough levels and job levels, Shuriken deal less damage than basic attacks, which causes Ninja’s special ability to eventually become almost obsolete. Overall, with great physical attacks and Shuriken, Ninjas are awesome for casual players, but they hit their peak much faster than other jobs for people who like to max out their jobs (like me).

8. Dark Knight - A Tier

With Souleater, Dark Knights can decimate everything. The damage on this ability is absolutely insane, and is (in my opinion) the best multi-target attack in the game! The Dark Knight is also indispensable when fighting enemies that split! Though it takes a toll on your HP to abuse Souleater, this is quite easily remedied by using items or White Magic. However, outside of Souleater, they have some of the worst stats of any physical job class, so they will most likely be one of the weaker attackers when it comes to single-target attacks. However, they are also one of the few classes that can equip the Ultima Weapon! Overall, though they have relatively weak stats, their access to the Ultima Weapon as well as the insane Souleater ability lands them near the top of A Tier.

7. Bard - A Tier

Final Fantasy III may just have the best bard of any Final Fantasy game! Though, if you count Aemo from Final Fantasy Dimensions II, she is probably the best… but I digress. With Final Fantasy III’s Bard having the ability to change equipment in battle at any time, you are able to utilize any harp whenever you want! Because of this, you can cast Protect on the whole party with Minne, Shell on the whole party with Elegy, Haste on the whole party with Minuet, deal damage with Requiem, or heal the party with Paeon! This makes the Bard a very versatile support character that can always be doing something! They also don’t have any MP charges, so they can buff or heal infinitely! However, the Bard simply cannot replace a White Mage in bosses, as its Paeon doesn’t heal enough health to make up for some bosses' attacks. Overall, the Bard is an incredibly powerful support character that I highly recommend to have in your party, but since they cannot replace a White Mage or Devout, I couldn’t put them any higher on this list.

6. White Mage - A Tier

Other than the small portion of the game where the Red Mage is dominant, you will most likely always have a White Mage in your party until you get the Devout. This job is the most crucial job to have throughout the game, as it is basically a necessity to have a devoted healer in this game! The White Mage also has access to powerful Aero attacks in this game, as well as equipment that can cast magic… so don’t fret! They can still be incredibly useful even when you are not healing! Also, I find the White Mage to be better than the Devout in two ways: 1) they will be at a higher job level than a Devout, making them the better healer if you don’t plan on leveling up the Devout and 2) they are better out-of-battle healers since they have much more spell charges on lower spell levels. Overall, though the White Mage is weaker than the Devout and should not be used during endgame boss fights, they are a crucial job to use throughout the game and still have endgame use for out-of-battle healing!

5. Warrior - S Tier

The Warrior may just be the most underrated job in the entire Final Fantasy III. They have the potential to deal more damage than any other character in the game with their insanely powerful Advance ability. Though this ability reduces the Warrior’s defense, it is well worth it. Even at job level 1, Advance makes you deal 1.5x as much damage… but by job level 99? With this ability, you can deal 2.4x as much damage as a basic attack! Other than using Boost with the Black Belt or Jump with the Dragoon, there is no way to deal this much damage. I would never use a Knight over this class because Advance is that powerful… and also? Warriors have a significantly higher agility stat, so they deal basically the same amount of damage as a Knight even without Advance! Overall, with their powerful equipment draw and insanely high damage potential with Advance, the Warrior is easily one of the strongest attackers in the game. The Warrior should definitely be in your endgame team.

4. Viking - S Tier

The Viking is the best tank in the game, as well as a decently strong attacker! The Viking, in my opinion, is basically a much better version of the Knight. With more strength and the same amount of agility, the Viking will hit harder than the Knight! However, the real use of the Viking is not to attack, but to use Provoke. Provoke basically breaks this game. As long as you invest some time into leveling up the Viking, the Provoke ability will almost always succeed, allowing you to be an amazing tank. Slap two shields onto your Viking, put them in the back row, and you will have a meat shield that can protect your party from most of the attacks in the game. Sure, multi-target attacks will still hit everybody, and Vikings aren’t the greatest attackers due to their low agility and lackluster weapons, but overall, there is still no denying that the Viking is one of the best jobs in the game. The Viking should definitely be in your endgame team.

3. Black Belt - S Tier

With extremely high strength and the Boost command, it is possible to kill the final boss in one hit. No other job has that type of damage potential! At job level 99 with Barehands, you can deal upwards of 30,000-40,000 damage per hit without even trying. That’s absolutely broken. They also are the only job in the game that can get you to 9,999 health, so every one of your characters should dabble in the Black Belt if you are trying to maximize your health stat! Also, they are one of the three jobs that can get 99 strength (the others are the Viking and the Onion Knight), and one of two jobs that can get 99 vitality (the other being… you guessed it, the Onion Knight). They also have pretty great agility! The only downsides to the Black Belt are their weak armor choices and how late you get them in the game. Overall, the Black Belt is the strongest attacker in the game and can get your characters 9,999 HP, but due to their weaker armor, you shouldn’t build your entire team with Black Belts. The Black Belt should definitely be in your endgame team.

2. Devout - S Tier

The healer is almost always one of the best jobs in the game, and it is no different in Final Fantasy III. With incredibly powerful healing and reviving capabilities, as well as the Holy spell, the Devout has everything you need to carry a team. As long as you invest some time into leveling them up (and maybe boosting their health by using the Black Belt), the Devout will basically be the best job in the game. With the Devout’s healing, most battles are trivial. Overall, the Devout is so close to being the best job in the game due to their great White Magic, but there is still one job that does it better.

1. Onion Knight (Powered) - S+ Tier

Don’t even try this class unless you are somebody who is willing to max out the game. But with access to all the equipment in the game, Black and White Magic, and the best stats in the game, if you are willing to make the investment, the Onion Knight completely breaks the game. Overall, there isn’t much to say about the Onion Knight, but when they are powered up, they are easily the best class in the game.

As a bonus, I’ll recommend my favorite party compositions:

The Physical Team: Black Belt, Viking, Warrior, Dark Knight
The Magical Team: Devout, White Mage, Summoner, Scholar
The Iron Giant Team: Ninja, Bard, Viking, Devout
The Wind Crystal Team: Warrior, Monk, White Mage, Red Mage
The Fire Crystal Team: Knight, Warrior, Monk, White Mage
The Water Crystal Team: Viking, Knight, Dark Knight, Bard
The Earth Crystal Team: Ninja, Black Belt, Summoner, Devout
My Favorite Team: Warrior, Viking, Black Belt, Bard/Devout
The Worst Team: Freelancer, Freelancer, Freelancer, Freelancer
The Onion Team: Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight

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