What carries each stretch
- Early (Wind): a front line of Warrior / Monk, a Red Mage (does a bit of everything), and a White Mage. Simple and durable.
- Mid (Fire/Water): bring in Knight (tank/cover), Ranger (safe bow damage from the back), Dragoon (see Garuda), and Black Mage. Dark Knight shines anywhere enemies split into clones.
- Late (Earth): transition to the master jobs — Ninja for physical, Sage / Devout / Magus for magic. This is your finale roster.
Endgame dream team: the classic comp is two Ninjas + two Sages — Ninjas dual-wield and Throw for huge physical burst, Sages cover all healing, buffs, nukes, and summons. (If you grind the Onion gear, four Onion Knights eclipse even this — see Secrets.)
04 · The Answers
Boss-specific picks
- Garuda → Dragoons. Garuda shrugs off ground attacks and hits brutally hard; the intended answer is to make your party Dragoons and spam Jump — you're airborne (safe) and the dives wreck it. The game's signature "use the right job" moment.
- Hein → Scholar. Hein raises a barrier that shifts its elemental weakness. A Scholar's Study reveals the current weakness so your Black Mage hits the right element (or just cycle elements each turn).
- Clone/split enemies → Dark Knight. Souleater hits everything at once, clearing duplicating foes before they multiply.
- Mini / Toad caves → embrace the shrink. Some dungeons force you Mini; bring the spell and don't fight more than you must while transformed.