This section covers the "bonus" job classes in the game - the GBA exclusive classes, and the Mime class.

MimeEdit

Mime
Command	Mimic			Innate Skills		None			Equipment	Knives, Rods Staffs
Ability 1	Mimic			Description	Copy the last action used							999 ABP
Ability 2	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 3	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 4	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 5	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 6	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 7	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP

The Mime and the Freelancer were in a neck and neck race to be the best class in the game. Then Mimic tripped on his face inches before the finish line. While Freelancers have only two ability slots, Mimes have three, and they come with most the innate abilities of your Mastered jobs. This lets you stack up three Command abilities of your choice. This gives the Mime a lot of versatility and potential. Sounds good so far, right? This is where the bad news comes in. I already said Mimes have most of the innate abilities of all your Mastered jobs. Notice I said most.

There's one subset of innate abilities Mimes don't get - "Equip X". Equip Swords, Equip Bows, etc, they don't get those abilities. This means the Mime has basically the same equipment draw as the Mage classes, crippling what would otherwise be the best class in the game. The Mime may have more abilities than the Freelancer, but not the arsenal to use them. What's the point of Spellblade-Rapid Fire-Dual Wield if you have to do it with a weak dagger? Such a pity too, imagine Spellblade-Rapid Fire-Dual Wield with Quick so you could do it twice in a row. You'd be destruction incarnate. It saddens me to see such potential thrown away. The up-side is that Mime is perfect for Mages, letting them use three schools of magic, or better yet, two schools with Dualcast. Mages are used to being limited to Knives and Rods, they won't mind the restriction.

BTW, if you do use the Mime, keep in mind that Mastering it is a formality. Mimic really isn't that great ability, certainly nothing you'd want to use with another class, and isn't worth the time to purposefully Master.

CannoneerEdit

Cannoneer
Command	Open Fire			Innate Skills		None			Equipment	Knives, Swords Shields
Ability 1	Open Fire			Description	Blast an enemy with cannon							50 ABP
Ability 2	Exp Up			Description	Earn 1.5x Exp in battle							150 ABP
Ability 3	Combine			Description	Mix and fire explosives							300 ABP
Ability 4	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 5	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 6	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 7	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP

The Cannoneer is an okay job, like all the GBA bonus jobs it's worth taking for a single passive ability. Open Fire is just a normal attack but it may cause a status ailment, including Instant Death, so like the Ranger's Aim and Geomancer's Gaia, use it every turn over Attack. Combine is just another variation of Mix. Really, it's the exact same, combine two items to random effect, the only difference is the combinations.

The Cannoneer's true value is "Exp Up", which boosts all the Exp you earn by half. And it's a passive ability, meaning all your characters will want to Master this job to earn that bonus.

GladiatorEdit

Gladiator
Command	Finisher			Innate Skills		Lure, Long Range			Equipment	Knives, Swords, Katana Spears, Bows, Axes, Shields
Ability 1	Lure			Description	Increase enemy encounter rate							30 ABP
Ability 2	Finisher			Description	Execute one of three random moves							70 ABP
Ability 3	Long Range			Description	All attacks ignore row							150 ABP
Ability 4	Bladeblitz			Description	Attack all enemies at once							450 ABP
Ability 5	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 6	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 7	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP

Who put the glad in Gladiator? Not me, because these guys are just unnecessary. They've got the largest arsenal of weapons bar the Freelancer, but it's not enough. Just as Combine is a variation of Mix, Finisher is a variation of Dance - it randomly does 9999 damage, a critical attack, or nothing. Not worth it. Lure is useless, and Bladeblitz is outclassed by Rapid Fire. The only good ability is Long Range, but if you Master the job you get Lure too. It's not worth it. These guys don't have anything to offer worth your time. The only appeal I can find is using Finisher on an enemy and shouting "FINISH HIM!", but that's not enough to make the class good.

OracleEdit

Oracle
Command	Condemn			Innate Skills		None			Equipment	Staffs
Ability 1	Condemn			Description	Use a random attack							25 ABP
Ability 2	Predict			Description	Use a random attack							50 ABP
Ability 3	ABP Up			Description	Earn 1.5x ABP in battle							150 ABP
Ability 4	Read Ahead			Description	Lower enemy encounter rate							300 ABP
Ability 5	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 6	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP
Ability 7	None			Description	N/A							N/A ABP

When I got the Oracle, I was expecting my character to put on old lady clothes and start dispensing Fortune Cookie advice in between bouts of baking and smoking. Think about it, did The Oracle ever really give Neo any actual advice, she was cool but mostly she just said "you already know what I'm going to tell you", or "you already know the answer to that question". I could get better insight into the future by consulting a crystal ball. Um...where was I? Oh right, FF5. BTW, I noticed the entire FAQ I've used "AP" when the game uses "ABP". Oh well, I ain't changing it now.

Oracle is easily the worst of all the bonus Jobs. The problem with the Oracle is that it's two abilities, Condemn and Predict, are entirely random effects that can backfire, healing enemies and/or damaging you. Useless. It's passive abilities are somewhat better. Read Ahead lowers the random encounter rate, and ABP Up boosts the amount of AP you earn. The problem is in order to use ABP Up with a job, you have to use it in your one extra ability slot, leaving you with nothing but the job's original command. That's a big handicap, depending on the job it's too large of one. Use it if you want, it's your game. If you think you can manage with only your base ability, go ahead.

NecromancerEdit

Necromancer
Command	Dark Arts			Innate Skills		Undead			Equipment	Rods, Knives
Ability 1	Oath			Description	Call a demon to attack							15 ABP
Ability 2	Dark Arts 1			Description	Cast Drain Touch and Dark Haze							30 ABP
Ability 3	Dark Arts 2			Description	Deep Freeze and Evil Mist							45 ABP
Ability 4	Dark Arts 3			Description	Meltdown and Hellwind							60 ABP
Ability 5	Dark Arts 4			Description	Cast Chaos Drive and Curse							100 ABP
Ability 6	Dark Arts 5			Description	Cast Dark Flare and Doomsday							200 ABP
Ability 7	Undead			Description	User counts as undead							300 ABP

The Necromancer completes the foursome of uninspired GBA bonus jobs. You've probably noticed most of the other classes use a couple random passive abilities and a variation of another job's ability - Combine/Mix, Finisher/Dance, and Condemn and Predict/Animals and Gaia. The Necromancer follows this tradition by ripping off the Summoner and Blue Mage classes.

Oath conjures a demon to do an attack, pointless. The Dark Arts are made up of offensive attacks learned by killing enemies. So once you actually earn the class, you have to go globetrotting to kill those enemies. If you have this job, you just completed the bonus dungeon, what do you need those skills for anymore, you just beat the game's hardest challenge! It's like earning Diabolos in FF6, you get it too late to get any real use out of it. And Undead makes your character undead, so you can't heal them. Why would anyone want that by choice?

ContentsEdit

• Knight, Thief, Monk, Blue Mage, White Mage, Black Mage
• Red Mage, Time Mage, Summoner, Berserker, Mystic Knight
• Beastmaster, Geomancer, Ninja, Ranger, Bard
• Dragoon, Dancer, Samurai, Chemist
• Mime, Necromancer, Cannoneer, Gladiator, Oracle
• My Original Job Classes