Guild and Class selection

[Isabelyes]

Well, you sure explained everything pretty well. :3
So, Farmers and Warriors are pretty much useless, right?
That's alright. You've finally convinced me to ditch both of them.

And, Subclassing is only to get some non-unique skills.

...I'm gonna check what each Class' unique skill is.

Princess:

[spoiler]Regular attack wise, they won't do much but, honestly, no healer option really will. Monk/Princess may do better damage if you go Fist Mastery route but that's a ton of points needed. And splits their time a bit between healing and attacking that questions the point of the investment. I'd honestly go Warrior sub-class if you keep a Princess main so you can at least Blade Rave. That or Pirate so you can use their status effect attacks.

---

In the Japanese version, my Monk would always do considerably much damage, but since I haven't used a Princess, I couldn't compare their attack power. I think I'll make her a Princess/Pirate, then;
for if I ever need to bind two parts of one enemy in one turn or something.
...Princesses just seem as though they'd make for excellent strategies if they could bind. Also, I checked, and Blade Rave didn't seem that useful.
...Except if it hits every random enemy 3 times, instead of just slashing around thrice. It's a shame, though, that Trickster won't work.[/spoiler]

Hoplite:

[spoiler]You'll probably want one eventually for their defensive abilities (i.e., post-game, maybe some of the later main game bosses). They have Spear attacks, though none of them amazing. They only have 41 STR at 70 which hurts them a bit in the offense category but, honestly, they're meant to keep you alive. That and 41 STR isn't that bad. Phalanx/Shinobi is a great combination and does so much.

...though it conflicts a bit if you already have a Shinobi.

---

So, what would you recommend regarding subclasses for Hoplites?
Still, Hoplites seem handy enough. I'll take fifteen! - I mean, one. :3
[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Oh god, humor fail. >->[/spoiler]

Pirate:

[spoiler]The only real advantage a Warrior has over a Pirate is their Unique Skill that boosts their damage. Other than that, they're not that much better than a Pirate in damage (and potentially inferior since Million Thrust can reach 500% per hit which beats out Blade Rave and Nine Smash).

However, what do you mean they "need" TP to be useful? Every class needs TP to be useful. The Warrior burns through it at 25 (Nine Smash) or 27 (Blade Rave) a turn. And they don't have any method of TP recovery. Pirates have Trickster which restores 10 TP per attack, effectively letting you use In The Dark or Hanging for free or letting it heal your TP per use or at a 10 TP discount. In a regular fight, being able to use In The Dark and GAINING TP nets more damage than a Warrior regular attacking for free.

Before I made my Pirate my Ikkitousen user (doesn't trigger Trickster), my Pirate _never_ ran out of TP. Ever. My Shinobi had more TP issues than my Pirate ever did and all she ever did was spam Dark Ether (3 TP) and Meteor (1 TP).

---

I agree with a Warrior not being anything special.

Also, about my TP comment; I compared the Pirate Class to a Landsknecht, who never really needed much TP.
Though, I guess a Warrior is pretty different.

Pirates seem insanely useful to me now.
I guess their TP regen is pretty unbalanced, though.
Also, does it also activates when you just attack?

And, what exactly does "chasing an Ice elemental attack" mean?
Does it mean that, if someone in the party casts Ice,
the Pirate would just attack the same target?
Does this skill has to be activated, or is it passive (probably) ?
Also, if the Pirate itself casts Ice (because of being Zodiac'd or something), would he follow his own skill with an attack?
...Because that would make him recover 2 TP, cast Ice and attack all by himself. That's fantastic.

...Though, sadly, that's probably not the case.

Still, a Pirate´s Regen, combined with a Zodiac´s focus on elemental attacks...
*Licks lips*[/spoiler]

Shinobi:

[spoiler]I should've clarified a bit. The _random_ targeting prioritizes the front-row and is a 60/30/10 split if I recall; it's something like 80% front-row, 20% back-row and they use the same split. There's attacks (or enemies) that have back-row preference, however. Generally speaking though, anything that calls "random target" will typically hit the top-left.

Edit: You are thinking of _Clone_ right? Not Heat Haze? Heat Haze is meant to be targeted more often. That's the point of the skill. The Clone itself is functionally equivalent to another character and doesn't do anything with the targeting.

Shinobi's have decent STR growth (48 at 70) but are better casters than melee fighters (56 TEC, though the difference between the two as far as the multiplier is concerned is pretty small as they're both around 7 still). Still, they have good attack options with good multipliers (Hawk Wings is around 385% damage, for example) if you take them the dagger route. And you can get two of that from them since you can (and should) clone.

The value of a Shinobi is pretty much in their subclass, however. Shinobi/Zodiac works so well because you can clone on the first turn, Dark Ether with one Shinobi and then Meteor with the other. Instead of spending 60 TP per Meteor, you're only spending 1 TP (well, 4 TP if you count the Dark Ether cost).

I honestly can't think of anything besides a Ballista/Shogun using Ikkitousen that does better in the back-row. And even that relies on having a Shogun/Pirate otherwise.

---

I'm probably talking about Heat Haze. It wasn't really a clone.
It's just that I never knew the name of the skill, due to not being able to moonrune, and I, for lack of a better word, simply used "Clone".
Sorry for the confusion! Still, Heat Haze was pretty useful.

If I'd, for instance, have one Shinobi/Zodiac, and a Zodiac/XXX,
couldn't I just clone in the first turn, and in the second turn have the original Shinobi use Dark Ether, and both Zodiacs (/Shinobi imitating Zodiac) using the Meteor skill? That would make for some insane damage!

[/spoiler]

Zodiac:

[spoiler]What is the relevance of their low ATK? They'll almost never physical attack and, even then, wATK is an important part of the damage function too. And, again, the STR function is a square root function that is very bottom heavy so they don't need to get a super-high STR to be effective (34 at 70 is still nearly a 6 multiplier). I ran Zodiac/Ballista so I could have better auto-attack damage and my Zodiac had little issue actually doing damage due to Crossbows having high wATK.

As for their TP regen, it's a +5 TP per kill thing. It's almost irrelevant, to be honest, with their huge TP pools. Still, they have so much TP that it's almost a non-issue to even have any TP Regen. Especially if you have a Shinobi/Zodiac and are using Dark Ether to make them spend only 1 TP per Meteor.

And, I harp on Meteor a lot but the elemental skills are nice but not that effective. Typically, Meteor will just result in better damage than them. It's balanced by the fact it costs a ton (60 TP) but Dark Ether still drops it to 1 TP and that's just sick.

---

Zodiac/Ballista; that's a pretty original combo right there.
If, however, chasing attacks works the way I'm thinking (-more like hoping, though), wouldn't subclassing her as a Pirate be better?
She'd be able to follow her own spells.

Though, again, I'm probably misunderstanding Chasing.
Also, It'd be pretty useless if I already have a Pirate/Zodiac.

Dark Ether also seems insanely handy to me;
and , if I recall correctly, her elemental attacks damaged the First Stratum's Boss more than, say, a Warrior's regular attack.

If subclassing with a Pirate wouldn't work - well, forget that.
I already have a Pirate/Zodiac which would work better - than I'm just going to shamefully imitate you by using a Zodiac/Ballista.
They've both got elemental attacks, which would make them a somewhat fitting combo.
[/spoiler]

Farmer:

[spoiler]Alright, fuck them.[/spoiler]



A Hoplite:

[spoiler]I'm on the fence here. I never really needed a Phalanx in my main-game run so I can see not using one being a non-issue but, at the same time, I can't see other classes doing that much more here. I ran a Warrior and she was mostly useless as I would get a few Blade Raves off (like, 3) and then back to regular attacks.

Honestly, not much here changes anything. I'd probably just go with the Phalanx.

---

Alright, I will. What subclass would you recommend me to give her?[/spoiler]

A Pirate:

[spoiler]Conversely, what does a Warrior bring? Damage? You probably won't even have Blade Rave by the time any boss rolls around and the Pirate can get just as good damage options from their basic skills as the Warrior's basic skills. The Pirate can go infinitely on TP, however, while the Warrior is stuck regular attacking.

Seriously. The Warrior doesn't bring much of anything to the table besides slightly better damage with no utility.

---

You're right. I never realized that Pirate's have an awesome TP recovery ability; really, it changes about everything.[/spoiler]

A Shinobi:

[spoiler]I'd rather have the option to Leg Bind for 1 TP than anything a Farmer brings. Or have two Shinobi's so I can use one to use items as needed or just do more damage. Much better than anything the Farmer really brings.

Hmm. Two Shinobi's is pretty much overkill - except if you meant clones, which you probably did.
You're right. They seem much better than a Farmer.[/spoiler]

A Zodiac:

[spoiler]Monk's do not have considerable attack power. I had a benched Monk with maxed Fist Mastery and it wasn't really anything special. It pretty much makes them in-line with what you'd expect a class with that STR and a weapon would do. Zodiac's have so much TP, even early on, that they can spare using Ether Concentration (12 TP) and a basic Elemental spell (8 TP) on FoEs and Bosses as you run into them.

However, if you don't run Shinobi/Zodiac to get Dark Ether + 2x Meteors per turn, I'm not sure how useful a Zodiac is all-game. Meteor damage is nice (~1000 per use from a Meteor late game; more if you go Zodiac/Warrior and Charge) but I'd imagine Ballista/Shogun may do better than them AND they have Elemental attacks.

To be honest, I kept my Zodiac because I liked the design.

---

You're right. They're pretty handy.

I really like the idea of spamming Meteor - even though it might detract a lot from the game's difficulty, and therefore, of the fun. >->

Still, a Shogun will be unlocked by the time I'll be able to multi-class, right?

...I really don't know. I'm just going with a Zodiac.[/spoiler]

Also, I've done a little research about the Shogun:

[spoiler]Their unique Class Skill looks fantastic, really.
I might just retire my party later in the game and make a Shogun instead of having it as a subclass to one of my party members.

Endure, Restore Will & Suicide Assistant are all bad-ass skills, though.
Really, I'm seriously considering a Shogun right now.

They seem to have plenty of other great skills, too.

[/spoiler]



So, my planned party.
Explanations are in the spoilers.


Princess/Farmer
[spoiler]
I can't really think of something else for her.
Also, it seems that this combination might make for some interesting strategies. To name a few:

Cry to Cease Attack: If a full-health Princess were to use this, it'd guarantee three turns of healing.
Great Moment of Injury (:3) : Coupled with a Princess' King's Victory Song,
this would be pretty useful.

Though, to be honest, I'd rather make her have a different sub-class.
It's just that I don't really know which Class would suit her best.
After all, a Princess specialties are her healing powers, whose usefulness is
somewhat heightened by the afore-mentioned skills.
[/spoiler]

Hoplite/Monk
[spoiler]
I'm kind of bothered by the absence of a Revive skill.
Also, a Hoplite is the least probable to die,
which would increase her potential if coupled with healing powers.
Everyone's dead? Just make her brace herself for three turns, revive everyone and everyone's happy again (Well, not, but you get the idea.).
[/spoiler]

Pirate/Shogun
[spoiler]
So, a Pirate's decent attack power and great TP recovery abilities would
make for an excellent combo with a Class focused on expensive, yet powerful attack skills. Naturally, a Warrior and a Shogun come to mind.
However, you've proven that a Warrior isn't really all that useful.
Also, the skills of a Shogun are pretty handy and unique, and I have a feeling they'd fit really well with a Pirate.

Even if Trickster doesn't work for Shogun-skills,
If he runs out of TP, I could just let him use a 1 TP Pirate-skill,
effectively restoring 9 TP in one turn.[/spoiler]

Shinobi/Zodiac
[spoiler]
YES[/spoiler]

Zodiac/Ballista
[spoiler]Well, yeah. You pretty much explained their potential to me; I won't need to counter-explain it. :3
Also, I can't see any other class that might be useful for her.[/spoiler]

[Isabelyes]

[scy]

[Isabelyes]

[Sampson]

Well, the USA site updated today with the names of the two hidden classes:
[spoiler]Shogun...and Yggdroid.[/spoiler]

[Self]

[zamisk]

[scy]

Much of it was already covered so the only big thing is that Cry to Cease Attack is a 5%-20% chance to not be targeted. It's not a, "use this to not be hit" skill. Also, all-target attacks can still hit them and, really, that's your biggest worry.

As for Phalanx/Shinobi, there's no option that nets you better defenses so adding +35% more Evasion, as well as restoring TP whenever you dodge, is a pretty big boost. Arguably better than the 90 HP whenever you use a skill from a Monk subclass.

And, for Trickster, offensive skills are those that attack the enemy. Ikkitousen, and the chasers, do not attack the enemy; they setup a "state" that then attacks. The skill themselves cause no damage and, thus, are not offensive.

And, no, I don't think Split Spirit is worth a Farmer subclass. It's a 40% chance to revive at 20 HP and only works once per battle. It's not an amazing skill by any means.

[Isabelyes]

[scy]

[Wolkenritter]

[scy]

[AzureZeal]

[scy]

[AzureZeal]