Job systems are rather commonplace in Final Fantasy, with some titles letting players switch these roles on the fly while others feature characters with fixed jobs whose personalities are reflected in the abilities they have. For the most part, the jobs that players can mess around with in Final Fantasy are pretty great.

However, some notable outliers can be a huge pain to deal with. Players must do some serious mental gymnastics to make these jobs work in their favor, which isn’t all that worthwhile given how much easier it is to master other jobs instead.

8 Shikari

Features One Of The Weaker License Boards In The Series

The License Board of Final Fantasy 12 lets players enjoy a palpable sense of progression, with The Zodiac Age letting players multiclass and make progress in unique License Boards for each job. For the most part, players who have a vague idea of how these jobs work can pick a great combination to make the most of their chosen roles.

However, the Shikari is a job with a notable asterisk next to it for the many limitations it has compared to the other ones in Final Fantasy 12. The job is somewhat limited when it comes to the magic and equipment it has access to. It’s also the only job in the game where players can’t unlock all weapon licenses, which can be another source of annoyance for players.

7 Lady Luck

Relies On Luck To Be Effective

Any job that relies on Luck to be effective is a tough one to recommend, and such is the case with the Lady Luck dressphere in Final Fantasy 10-2. While this job tries to entice players with decent stats, the abilities of this dressphere are a gamble that can be frustrating to adjust to after a point.

The worst part about Lady Luck is its Reels, which can spell doom for players if they get a Dud. The user’s HP is shaved by 75% and a party member can be KO’d with a chain attack, leading to players losing a battle simply because of their bad luck.

6 Bard

Good For Buffing Allies But Suffers From A Weak Defense

Final Fantasy Tactics

Systems

Released

June 20, 1997

Developer(s)

Square

Most Final Fantasy fans are aware of how disappointing the Bard job is in Final Fantasy. Players hate this support job with a passion, which is a huge reason why most people celebrated when Edward left the party permanently in Final Fantasy 4.

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Thankfully, Final Fantasy Tactics does a decent job of making this job viable in combat, even if it’s far from a great job to invest in. Party-wide buffs are always welcome, but the trade-off is that a character with the Bard job is so weak that it won’t take too long for enemies to down this party member.

5 Red Mage

Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None

At a glance, the Red Mage may seem like the best of both worlds. They have access to both Black and White magic and can use more powerful weapons than the game’s pure mages, but players will soon realize that this jack-of-all-trades job suffers from not specializing in anything by the end of the title.

Not having access to any high-level magic can be a nightmare for players who don’t have either a Black or White Mage in their party. These mages have slightly lower magical stats and don’t boast huge physical damage either, making them rather ineffective by the end of the game even after the job upgrade.

4 Gambler

An Unpredictable Job That Can Be Hard To Rely On

Most people will be pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of jobs they can mess around with in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Despite how edgy this game seems, it’s a faithful translation of the job system in real-time action combat that’s pretty satisfying to master.

Players will slowly unlock a wealth of jobs as they go through this experience, but the Gambler job is one that players won’t feel like using all that often. In a game about guaranteed damage numbers, using Roulette can be frustrating since its results are far from reliable and will eventually force players to check out another job that is more efficient in the fast-paced combat system of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

3 Freelancer

Gets Progressively Weaker Over The Course Of The Game Despite Its Proficiency With Weapons

Final Fantasy 3 is the first time the series allowed players to switch their jobs on the go, which turned out to be a huge success for the series. Players love the many varied jobs they have access to that can flatten enemies to a pulp in no time.

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The only job that gets weaker over time is the one that every character starts with. Being a Freelancer is far from ideal, and most players would prefer to use its versatile equipment options up to a point before choosing to invest in specialized jobs instead.

2 Berserker

The Inability To Control Party Members Is Always A Negative

Being a Berserker can be pretty interesting in Final Fantasy 5 since players don’t have to manage this party member as they wallop enemies with endless physical attacks. However, this one-trick pony job will soon overstay its welcome once players realize just how inefficient it is against tougher enemies.

Players may need to use items at any given moment, but a Berserker party member will be unable to complete this simple task. It’s a nice job to check out for a while before players switch out to something else unless they are adamant about mastering every job in Final Fantasy 5.

1 Dancer

Must Stay In The Front Row To Be Effective Despite Having Poor Stats

Given that the Earth Crystal is the final one that players must try and save in the game, it’s easy to see why the jobs offered by this crystal’s shard would seem so appealing to players. While most of these are a joy to use, the same can’t be said for the Dancer job.

Despite being a job that must remain in the front row, weak stats and limited equipment options mean that a Dancer can suffer extensive damage from regular enemy attacks. The Dance command is unreliable since its effects occur at random, cementing the Dancer’s position as one of the worst jobs in Final Fantasy 5.

Final Fantasy

Creation Year

1987

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Publisher(s)

Square Enix