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Priests who use white magic to heal and protect allies.

Description

The White Mage is a job in Final Fantasy V, obtained after the Wind Crystal shatters. It is the game's first job to focus primarily on healing and support, and provides mostly curative spells that restore HP or remove negative status effects. White Mage spells are important to have, making the job crucial to level up, even if it is almost entirely defensive.

White Mages cast spells from the White Magic skillset, whose spells must be purchased at shops. Their spells are almost entirely supportive, and their inability to equip knives or rods means the job has very little offensive capability without equipping abilities from other jobs. Their spells are incapable of harnessing elements outside of the Holy element, but curative spells can harm undead enemies.

Mastering White Mage for all four characters in the mobile and Steam versions earns the achievement "Master of White Magic".

Characteristics[]

The White Mage attire is that of a traditional White Mage from the Final Fantasy series: a white robe with a red triangular trim. Bartz and Galuf wear their hoods down. Lenna and Faris wear their hoods up. Krile wears a white cloak with cat ears and red clothes, referencing the Devout class from Final Fantasy III.

The White Mage attire is an indication that Faris is female, before the party even finds out, as she wears her robes the same way Lenna does. This also applies to the Black Mage job.

Gameplay[]

Stats[]

Stat Modifier
Strength -7
Agility +1
Stamina 0
Magic +25

The White Mage has a respectable Magic stat modifier, though their modifier is lower than both Black Mage and Summoner. However, they also have less harsh penalties to their Strength and no Stamina penalty, meaning their HP will be that of a base Freelancer.

Equipping the White Magic ability on other jobs also grants the Magic modifier, depending on the level:

  • White Magic Level 1 = Magic +15
  • White Magic Level 2 = Magic +17
  • White Magic Level 3 = Magic +19
  • White Magic Level 4 = Magic +21
  • White Magic Level 5 = Magic +23
  • White Magic Level 6 = Magic +25

This will apply assuming the character does not already have a higher Magic modifier.

Upon mastery, Freelancers and Mimes gain the White Mage's Magic modifier unless they already have a higher base from another mastered job.

Equipment[]

White Mages can only equip staves, magic hats, robes, and armlets. Their limited choice of weaponry further hinders their offense potential: because they are unable to equip rods or knives, they are unable to inflict damage with normal attacks the way other spellcasting jobs, like Black Mages, can. This locks White Mages further into a supportive role unless they equip offensive abilities from other jobs.

The White Mage, the Monk, and the Oracle are the only jobs that cannot equip knives, as there is no "Equip Knives" ability. The only knife they can use is the Man-Eater if they first equip the "Equip Ribbons" ability gained from the Dancer.

Staff sprite.

Different staves use different damage formulas: Light Staff, Staff of Judgment, and Sage Staff deal damage based on the attacker's Magic stat and the target's Magic Defense, while Staff, Flail, Morning Star, and Mace of Zeus use the axe damage formula, and benefit from Two-Handed. The best staves in most versions are Sage Staff (sealed weapon) and Judgment Staff (stolen from certain enemies). The even superior Mace of Zeus is found in the new post game dungeon added to the Game Boy Advance and 2013 versions: Sealed Temple. Many staves can be used as items to cast item magic.

The ultimate magical headgear the White Mage can wear in most versions is Circlet, bought from the Phantom Village. The superior Royal Crown is available from the Sealed Temple in the Game Boy Advance version. However, another good hat to wear is the Golden Hairpin, which halves MP use. The best robes in most versions are the White and Black Robes, bought from the Phantom Village, though the Game Boy Advance version added the superior Robe of Lords.

Abilities[]

Ability Job level AP required Type Innate Description Spells
White Magic (1) 1 10 Command Yes Perform white magic. Cure, Libra, and Poisona
White Magic (2) 2 20 Command Yes Perform white magic. Silence, Protect, and Mini
White Magic (3) 3 30 Command Yes Perform white magic. Cura, Raise, and Confuse
White Magic (4) 4 50 Command Yes Perform white magic. Blink, Shell, and Esuna
White Magic (5) 5 70 Command Yes Perform white magic. Curaga, Reflect, and Berserk
White Magic (6) 6 100 Command Yes Perform white magic. Arise, Holy, and Dispel
MP +10% 7 300 Support No Increase maximum MP by 10%. N/A
Ff5White

The White Magic skillset grants spells almost entirely focused on healing the party and granting positive status effects. The only offensive spell included in White Magic is Holy, a powerful late-game spell that takes advantage of the Holy element, and thus its power can be boosted further via Sage's Staff. Until gaining Holy, White Magic spells are almost entirely defensive.

The White Mage job innately has access to all White Magic spells that have been purchased at shops (or in some cases, such as with Holy, acquired through other means). To be able to use all White Magic spells as a non-White Mage, a character must level their White Mage job up to level 6 and equip the White Magic level 6 ability.

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