Why Wizard is the Best Job in the Bravely Default Series

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More Bravely Default yapping today. Or rather, Bravely Second yapping this time! Last time, I talked about my personal grievance with White Mage's overly consistent nature and how there was little to no reason to swap from it during one's playthrough. But today, I wanted to discuss an even stronger class - one that I regard as being the best Job the Bravely series has ever seen: the Wizard.
[1] Tables' google doc on Bravely Second
docs.google.co...
#bravelysecond #wizard
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[@Ehibika]

Personally, I think wizard was maybe the most innovative magic class we've seen in a jrpg in a while, and I hope they try it again, or at least the idea of a metamagic class.

[@nolanstrife7350]

I felt so incredibly smart when I discovered how to make both Good Measure and Spellcraft apply to a spell (as if the exact syntax) Little did I know that's just scratching the surface of what Wizards can do. For example, I just recently discovered Group Cast All allows you to dart EVERYTHING WITH A PRIORITY Hands down the best job in ANY job-based JRPG ever

[@faidou9954]

Just another reason why i love BD pre Bravely Default 2.

[@Sour_AppIe]

its the fact that spell craft works for EVERY kind of magic curaga dart or summon rain

[@katq.9916]

I loved using Wizard in my BS play through lol. Combining the meteor rain strategy with the Ghost status effect and MP Free In A Pinch was hilarious

[@nolanstrife7350]

That's what I did on my first ever playthrough. A bit risky, but so cheap, lol

[@aaa1e2r3]

Benediction + Mist was such a fun combination, it easily trivialized the Geist fights and his Undos.

[@ArkGenesys]

This class partially inspired my entire combat system in the JRPG I'm developing.

[@ianculp1779]

When I played BS for the first time, I used wizard as my mage until I jad the chance to obtain black mage, to which wiraze became the subclass. After reached the 7 demon bosses, I made the realization of bishop mists over the party, specifically revive or healing magic. What ensued was a single bishop sub wizard applying a heal or revive mist, then defaulting. Everyone else was monk subclass dark night. You know where this is going. Phoenix flight, minus strike spam, then full restore. Of course, there were some fights where thia wasn't an option, but that's part of the fun in the Bravely series.

[@lategameessays6295]

There's also a thing you didn't mention about wizard... is the only job in bravely second who has S rank in INT stat, making it automatically the best caster in the game, not mention MND stat also increase spirit magic potency making it useful during the entire game (though that buff doesn't apply when you try to use hammer with them for some reason) anyways I do think wizard while can be fun centering all magic stuff into "what would spellcraft do with it" wasn't a good decision, in bd1 and bd2 magic classes had their own stuff and you could build around them to do funny things, in second I felt that process needed to strictly go by spellcraft, which made it a bit boring a monotonous, not mention some spellcraft effects, like nova don't have many interesting uses, most of crazy stuff comes from rain, mist and wall really, anyways, I would not mind if a job like wizard returns to bravely, but I'd like to see a better iteration of the idea, good video Red

[@Icarus723]

I remember thinking I cracked the code when I first played the game and stumbled my way into Rain -> Summon + Summoning Surge + Ventriloquism and was seeing insane numbers. Like a year later finding out that wasn't even CLOSE to the best thing you can do with Spellcraft DPS-wise was honestly both really humbling and genuinely disgusting like oh my god the devs had NO idea what they unleashed

[@IosLocarth]

I actually didn't use spellcraft at all on my first playthrough of the game and I still had an easy time breezing through it. There's just so much whack-ass bulshit you can start doing in this game it's why I love it so much Edit: for anyone curious I mostly used two summoners with summoning surge to deal damage because apparently that skill is party wide

[@Frost72p]

Crossfire and with bp chef 😂😂😂😂

[@viviblue7277]

Depends on whether availability is a consideration for how good a job is. If we ignore availability there are tons of better options. Bravely gives you countless options to break the game in half so what’s better a job that shatters the game on its own, or one that lets you shatter the game using only stuff available early, or stillness or other game break skills being a crime against the world? My vote for best job is freelancer, perfect availability, nice utility, very fun to play with, good in multiple games, mimic is an incredibly fun and powerful skill to build around. It’s very underrated because it’s the bread and butter that makes your team actually functional. Bonus points for being totally broken in 2 allowing you to get an alternate early ending clearly meant for new game+ with a far more bearable amount of grinding than I expected.

[@SenshuRysakami]

I was so excited when I realized (far too late in the game, I'm ashamed to say) that you can cast wall spells on the enemy. So I'd cast wall heals on the enemy so they'd counterattack me with a cure spell.

[@dimondsi]

My late game healing strategy was casting Amaterasu mist every 4 turns. It would full heal the whole party every single turn. From my offensive focused mage. It was messed up

[@Quarataia]

Honestly it's hard to disagree, like you, I had Wizard as the main healer for essentially the entire game.

[@MechaWyvern707]

I know that spellcraft is broken as all hell, but I still miss it in every Bravely game that doesn't have it lol

[@Quarataia]

The algorithm will be happy

[@appelofdoom8211]

Wizard + summoner hammer spellcrafts my beloved. I just think it's neat. Regardless yeah wizard is the best even without the game breaking strats. No other class is as splashable every single team could do with a couple spellcrafts unless you're challenging yourself. Your healer? Spellcraft walls or mist to keep the heal train going while doing other stuff. Magic damage dealer? Slap on some darts, hammers and what have you and your output has increased tremendously. Buffs? Again use walls or mists to keep going.

[@aaa1e2r3]

I think one aspect about Wizard that you didn't mention was how the Ghost Status helped make the Wizard even more powerful, mitigating the weak defensive stats by making them non-targetable. Couple that with the Red Mage skill that gives passive MP regen while experiencing the Ghost Status, and it lowkey broke the game.

[@RedNovaTyrant]

Ghost Mage build! Mentioned in passing cuz I already made a video on it years ago :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXOqfZqogLmbfqM

[@FolderBoard]

BEHOLD THE WIZARD! BEWARE HIS POWER! UNSPEAKABLE POWERRRRRRR!

[@adn426]

I'm really not as familiar with BD and BS as I'd like. I'll try to play them soon, but if I were to mention jobs from BDII... Based on your criteria for what makes Wizard the best job, I'd say the best job in BDII may be Beastmaster (access to physical attacks, all elements I guess, and good stats) but it doesn't explicitely have particularly notable synergies with other jobs, especially on the level of Wizard. Oracle is another job that is busted for many reasons, like really good potential damage, very good synergies with other (offensive) magic jobs and the ES cheese, but it's maybe not quite on the same level as Wizard (not to mention more than half of Oracle's entire job actually kind of sucks, in comparison). But then, if we're talking about synergies, there are strategies in BDII that might beat what Wizard can do. Infinite turns with the final job + Bard (and appropriate equipment & passives), guaranteed status ailments + healing for free with Phantom / Salve-Maker... Though all these may not be great comparisons, because of the different battle systems, and even different options available, like equipment and such. Yeah, Wizard is likely the single best job based on what I'm hearing.

[@BahavianBrave]

I know you are allready intrested but i cannot reccomend bd1 and second enough especialy if bd2 clicked with you. Imo bravely second is one of the greatest games of all time and is almost as amazing as bd2(Like neck and neck close). It is alot of peoples faviorite. The bravely second special demo is also a unique game thats canon and worth playing(though you may need to jump through some hoops for that one). Bravely default 1 has a rough patch but its more then worth it for everthing that comes before and after. I hope you enjoy them if you decide to play them.

[@pketr5]

Healing spell + wall on an enemy is funny. You get healed every time you attack that enemy.

[@nosleepjones4551]

More Bravely content lets GOOOOOO

[@EduSolsa]

I played it long ago, so don't remember much, but I knownthat I put it in the protag and keep him like that the whole game, without ever needing to change (except when I wanted to learn another skill, but still was my sub job)

[@aofi3735]

tbh i think they should have split up spellcraft abilities among different jobs in the game. lvls on black mage gets u things like dart, lvls on kaizer gets u things like mist, etc. i just think it would be cool if things like spell fencer also had thier enchantment magic become spellcraft too...

[@RetroNutcase]

Despite how overpowered Wizard is, I loved it because it made magic feel way more viable for the entirety of Bravely Second, whereas in Bravely Default, physical damage was king.

[@BahavianBrave]

Amazing video as useual. Yeah wizard is cracked and as late game essays said it feels like all magic revolves around it(Though i did not use it on my healer and it did fine.). I don't think i like the idea of essentialy needing to use it but it didnt bother me and i had tons of fun using it so im not quite sure how to feel about it. I think it would make a perfect bravebearer/yokai/conjurer esque "cracked endgame job" (though bravebearer is iconic and i have a feeling it might be here to stay.) Also i disagree with you saying that spirit magic is outclassed. Spirit magic eventualy completly outclasses at least the first 2 teirs of teir 3 magic. Summoner and yokai spells (i assune meteor, dark and light as well but i have never used them in bravely second.) are so strong it does not matter. But spirit magic still has a place because its so much cheaper and can basically be used as a "normal attack" for magic users.

[@ZectorV1]

Thanks for articulating this very specific rant that i give to my friends least twice a month

[@PedroFelipeVale]

I love use Spellcraft in my strategy. I use in my Edea because she's a Time Mage and Summoner. And few moths ago I replay this game in a certain lemon (if you know what I mean) and even though the statuses weren't mega buffed (on this "platform" it's not possible to farm bread) it still helped a lot in the fight against the optional boss, and the rest of the game too of course.

[@carlossantana9645]

Let's be honnest here, the undisputable best class in any Bravely game is Ghost. I don't care that it's a status effect, making your squishy mage immortal is the most broken specialty in the series period and activating MP free in a pinch is just the icing on the cake.

[@thrillhouse4151]

It’s also the best class in DnD.

[@dew-it8744]

Ironically, the wizard in BS is more like the sorcerer in dnd since they can alter spells.

[@jahipalmer8782]

Yeah, yeah, Wizard is incredible, but have you tried Catmancer!?

[@styxranger436]

I think Wizard basically single-handedly DEMOLISHING The Adventurer is evidence in of itself. On an unrelated note, I hope Yokai returns in another game. I really loved the aesthetic, the sin beasts, the katanas(I just think they're cool)

[@ThundertheDevil]

Honestly Wizard was so cool i think you could buid an entire game on the Wizard class alone. One of my favorite things to do was cast Cureage mist or dart on my party so they'll heal continuously or at the start of a turn

[@Werewolf293]

Its really rare to see the first job class you get is the most broken one in any FF / BD series 😂😂😂

[@sehmohambekia6005]

How about you talk about your favorite astrisk holders

[@lunamaster123]

I have quite a bit to say. Please bear with me. I agree that Wizard is the best class in BS, but I think you overhyped how broken it is. Most of the game, your options are pretty limited and needing to use extra actions in the early game is super costly. I don't think Wizard really goes online until mid to late game where you have access to most of your magic classes and the ability to mitigate the BP cost. As for the most broken class in the series... it's not BD2 Thief. I think it is the second. (Side note: People focus on Godspeed Strike, but its entire kit is broken. Even if you removed that skill, it would still break the game in half.) The actual most broken class is BD2 Beastmaster. Let's start with its primary function: its ability to summon monsters. For starters, they end up with a massive arsenal of skills at their disposal. If there is anything you want, it has it. Buffs? It has it. Debuffs? Yep. Damage? Check. Healing? Check. Status aliments? All of them. It can use nearly every skill the player has access to and then some. And the best part? _It isn't tied to the player but the monster itself._ There are a couple of important notes about this. First, this means that you can catch monsters in the current dungeon, and their damage and skills will usually be up to snuff for boss at the end. It doesn't matter if you are underleveled or not. For example, the flower girl monster in the final dungeon of Chapter 2 has White Wind that heals around 2.3k. This means that you now have access to a free 2.3k party heal no matter what. The second is that it doesn't matter what class is your main class. Your monster skills are just as effective. That White Wind example I used? Slap Beastmaster on to Thief, and now you have a super speedy healer. Speaking of other classes, I guess Beastmaster's stats are a bit lacking. They seem very average and not exceptional in the physical and magic depart. I guess that makes sense since you are supposed to focusing on mons- Hmm? I got a massive stat boost after maxing out the class. What's its second specialty? "Creature Comforts?" ... What were the devs smoking when they made this? So now you have a class that has a disgusting array of skills at its disposal... and now it gets more stats as you collect more? Some might be thinking that it isn't an issue since monsters aren't affected by these stats. That is correct... but your sub job is. This means that Beastmaster now synergizes with almost every single class in the game. That specialty turns Beastmaster into one of the highest damaging classes in the game. It also has some of the best defense and HP in the game as well (which plays into its lackluster first specialty). So in the end, Beastmaster do almost everything. It's only weakness is having to catch more monsters (which is mitigated by Beast Whisperer... which is affected by luck) and bad UI... I unironically think that you could play the entire game with Beastmaster only (no sub jobs or passives from other jobs), and the game would still be too easy. It's too broken.

[@lategameessays6295]

@@lunamaster123 i agree with that, though big stats doesn't mean "it synergizes with everything" in my opinion, now is such a shame creature comforts exists, I'd make a good use of beastmaster in my current runs, but use it is just absurd once you get second specialty, we are talking about capturing 100 beasts means +40 points in offensive and defensive stats and +500 extra hp, not mention it counts the total number of beast captured, so, no matter how many beasts you spend, the stats won't be harmed, now, about thief, without godspeed strike it becomes an average class in my opinion, good, but not overturned, I'd put above vanguard for attention seeker, shieldmaster for being the best tsnk in the series and Freelancer which has a massive stat buff though not as absurd as beastmaster, godspeed strike is overturned because it adds the raw speed stat in the damage formula (which is a huge boost for how damage formula works) and apply the attack twice, making it by far the most unbalanced ability of all, aside that, Thief does have interesting tools and you can make interesting strats around it, but no one is just a "press a to win" as gss is, there's much better jobs in my opinión tbh

[@lunamaster123]

@@lategameessays6295 I made the point about its stats giving synergy because its boosts are valuable to most classes. At a certain point, there isn't a reason to not have Beastmaster as the main class unless you really want the specialties. As for Thief, my opinion took into account multiple small things that added up. First, availability. It is the seventh (or eighth if you do Shirley first) class you get in the game. It being in Chapter 1 means that you have it for most of the game. Second, its speed. It is the fastest class in the game. Its speed is tied only to Dragoon, Phantom, and Bravebearer. This is its biggest trait because BD2 uses individual turns instead of round based turns. Thief is so fast that it is not uncommon for it to lap both enemies and allies. This means it gets to perform more actions than most other classes. (This will be important later.) Third, Steal Courage. I think this skill is Thief's best skill after Godspeed Strike. The ability to deprive bosses of extra actions is really strong. The only way for them to get more damage is from counters... which are easy to deal with. I understand why people over looked this skill. Having a 50% chance and costing 2 BP is pretty high risk. The good news is that the percent is affected by. As for the 2 BP cost... Final, its specialties. Specialty 1 is mid but useful. Being able to deprive enemies of the buffs is good but not a lot of enemies buff. Specialty 2? That's where the fun. Making every BP move cost MP is insane. From Thief's own toolkit, it makes Steal Courage a 40 MP. So now you can attempt to steal BP risk free (and cheaply). Though that's not the skill I believe brings it over the edge. "Gift of Courage" This skill when combined with Specialty 2 breaks the BP economy. With Thief's high speed, it can easily give out 2 BP before another character moves. It costing only 40 MP makes it sure cheap and super spam-able. The only counterpoint is that "Sub BP Saver" exists, but that comes an entire chapter later and the next class that has the speed and free time to abuse it comes the chapter after that. (Why use Dragoon as a BP bot?) Even then, Thief's ability to take BP and get its own makes it still the best option. When put together, Thief is a Chapter 1 class that holds the power to demolish the BP economy. Even if you don't pair it with Vanguard, its high speed and utility makes it an excellent main support class that pairs well with other support classes due to its high action economy. This is why I think it is still broken even without Godspeed Strike. Oh, I think it can steal items and equipment... but no one cares about that.

[@RedNovaTyrant]

Beastmaster is another good argument, and I may discuss that in the future (I avoided it for now so as to not copy someone else's really good video on the topic). My main reason for not picking it is that, while Beastmaster can solo pretty much everything on its own, I don't feel that has it has great or interesting customizability compared to Wizard; that being, it doesn't offer much to other Jobs outside of having "more or better numbers", which IS still good, don't get me wrong. But with the way you can play into the Wizard's Spellcraft and create so many more interesting combos by actively engaging with other Jobs, vs. "this Job gives the other one better numbers". And I think that plays more in the Bravely series' spirit of team customization :) That, and also the fact that Wizard just works as soon you reach the right level and have the spells unlocked, vs sitting around grinding out captures for however long to get those stats, which you'll then have to replenish with MORE grinding when you use those creatures

[@lunamaster123]

@@RedNovaTyrant I think it a bit cheating using that as the comparison when BS is the peak of the B/D system while BD2 doesn't really let you go crazy until the end of the game. I slightly disagree with Beastmaster's synergy. I wasn't joking when I said that it has a lot of crazy buffs. For example, I think the only way to abuse Dragoon's Spirit-Crusher is to use Beastmaster's crit buff. Turn Tables is pretty useless passive in BD2 (outside of Phantom skill) but Beastmaster has an AoE evasion buff to assist. If there is something you want, Beastmaster probably has it. It may not augment the classes as much as Wizard does, but it is easily the most slap-able class.

[@lategameessays6295]

@@lunamaster123 i know about steal courage, is probably one of my fav strats in the game and was what I was talking about, but there are some things to consider too: Speed is not the only way to make characters fast, you must manage the weight to really make them fast, a characters with 0 weight and 100 speed is faster than one with full weight of 70 for example and 250 speed stat, having to unequip and build a character to be as fast as possible costs Steal courage has a 50% chances, of course you can increase it with lucky charm (+15%) wish upon a star (+30% at night) night shift (+20%) lunar powered (+10%) and more, I myself did so many fights using this strat, what is the problem? It just works mostly for 1vs4 bosses, which is useful for most part of the game but not when it comes multiple bosses fights and counter any + bp, of course is still overturned strat, I won't deny, but compared to simply one shot everything with godspeed strike, or making a team virtually unbeatable by protect ally + elemental supplement, or give all statuses as possible with phantom is argusbly more braindead and way more broken Then again, thief is one of the best jobs in bd2, but if you take away gss it becomes just decent at best, with so many interesting things it can do still thanks of its specialties and kit (plus magpie enables to steal rare items which are usegul too) but not as overturned compared to other jobs in the game, we are talking about a game where a job like vanguard exists, who can easily reach to 999 points in phys attack stat, and destroy everything, freelancer who can spam body slam to never let the enemy to attack (cost 1 bp but you know how to avoid it) a shieldmaster who thanks of its specialties its defenses are way too high and once you abuse it, it will get always 3 bp to use in battle, in my opinion there is way more broken things than just steal courage who speaking about it, it can't steal at negative bp, curiosly dragon's spirit crusher can do it under certain conditions and can be broken too, anyways, there is so many broken things/strats as I said

[@scarecrow6020]

almost has same thought about spellcraft for those experienced played all series. BS=spellcraft>BD=stillness >BD2=godspeed/beastmaster