This guide is still in development & will be updated periodically. The game is pretty recent and people are still figuring out OP combinations. 

Another gaming generation, another JRPG that pays homage to Final Fantasy V, arguably the best one with the Job system.

Bravely Default 2 is 2021’s latest challenging JRPG homage, and features an expansive Job system that lets you switch character classes and equip the best skills.

But which Jobs should you prioritize early in the game and onward? Here are our suggestions. By default (heh), you should at least level up all your acquired Jobs to level 5 to get the bare minimum skills. The Jobs on the list below are the ones you should prioritize in maxing out for mid-game and late-game benefits.

Also, keep in mind that the suggestions and combos below are meant for general mobbing and level-clearing. The majority of the bosses in the game have certain Job setups needed to be cleared efficiently, so make sure to level up those recently-acquired Jobs so that your toolset is wider, eh?

Freelancer

How To Get: You start with this.

Your starter Job is the best with jack-of-all-trade skills and useful support skills that will speed up your Job-Maxing progress exponentially. Get this Job to Level 12 because you’ll gain access to both JP Up and JP Up & Up; you can equip these support skills together for an exponential JP boost.

You can also use Slam Tackle to combo with a big body tank Jobs like Vanguard and Shieldmaster for a huge amount of damage. Best of all, you should use Forage as much as possible to score free items, thus saving you some money during the first few chapters.

Best combo: With any of them, really. The Freelancer is essential for the whole journey, so you better max up all four of your characters’ Freelancer Jobs at least before Chapter 4.

White Mage

How To Get: Defeat the White Mage and Vanguard asterisk holders in the Prologue.

If you’ve played JRPGs, you know that healing magic is vital to surviving boss-level onslaughts. The White Mage will help you out in the first half of the game with its healing and resurrection spells.

Once you max that out, you can use that as a sub job to the Spiritmaster Job for max healing prowess. But in the early and mid-game, you need to at least level up the White Mage Job to decent heights if you want to make it past Chapter 1.

Best combo: White Mage/Red Mage, White Mage/Black Mage, White Mage/Bard, Spiritmaster/White Mage.

Black Mage

How To Get: You’ll score this in the Prologue.

Just like the White Mage, the Black Mage is essential in any JRPG. Except instead of healing, it’s elemental spells and debuffs like Poison.

Elemental spells like Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara are useful in exploiting enemy weaknesses, while Poison is surprisingly effective on some bosses with massive hitpoints! The Black Mage Job is essential for at least two of your party members.

Later when you get the Oracle Job, you should pair it up with the Black Mage Job as a sub while using the Moonlighting support from the Oracle. Why? So that the stats and weapon aptitudes from your sub Job are carried over to the main Job.

Best combo: Black Mage/Red Mage, Oracle/Black Mage. For random shenanigans, pair the Black Mage up with the Gambler. Want to know how to get this extra Job? Head here to find out!

Monk

How To Get: Defeat the Monk asterisk holder in the Prologue. He’s the last boss before the oncoming unwinnable fight of the chapter.

The first offense-based Job that’s worth using. You can access decent early game skills like Strong Strike. However, you want to level up this Job to a good amount to gain access to the Bare-Knuckle Brawler support skill, which lets you deal good damage if you don’t have weapons on your character. You should also use the Monk as a Sub Job to gain access to moves like Flames of War and Pressure Point.

Best combo: Monk/Vanguard, Monk/Berserker, Monk/Swordmaster. Pairing up offense-based Jobs is a great early game way to deal more physical damage. This works even better with the Bare-Knuckle Brawler support skill.

Beastmaster

How To Get: Defeat Anihal the Beastmaster asterisk holder in Chapter 1.

If you have time for experimentation and grinding, you’ll want to have at least three of your party members using this Job. Not only can you Capture and unleash effective monster attacks like a Gigas Pummel or a Skeleton Sellsword’s skill that halves any enemy’s live total (up to 9999), but you gain access to the MP Saver support skill which reduces MP consumption by 20%. That’s very useful for MP-heavy Jobs like the Black/White/Red Mages.

But really, getting three Beastmasters to capture beasts and monsters in you farming spot of choice will help make your early and mid-game progress a tad bearable. At least until you gain access to the late-game Jobs. Still, having spare monsters as additional attacks and high-damage skills with no mana cost is always useful.

Best combo: Vanguard/Beastmaster, Berserker/Beastmaster, Ranger/Beastmaster.

Thief

How To Get: Defeat Bernard the Thief asterisk holder in Chapter 1.

You’re not going to get far without stealing items and loot from enemies, and then using Flee to get away scot-free. The Thief will help you do that, but that’s not all: it has access to Godspeed Strike, a powerful physical attack that’s dependent on your Speed value. High speed = high damage. The Thief and the Ranger has these, meaning any speed-based Job combination will make Godspeed Strike a powerful move.

However, it takes up 95 MP, which is a lot for a Thief Job that’s lacking in MP. Fortunately, they have access to the Steal Spirit ability that lets you steal MP in exchange for 15% life. Have a healer on standby, deal Godspeed Strikes with all your BP, then cap it off with Steal Spirit. Rinse and repeat.

Late in the game, you’ll get the Phantom Job which comes with the highest Speed stat ever in the game. Pair this up with the Thief Job and you’ll be landing critical hits on a regular basis. On that note, this goes well with the Speed Bun farming guide to make your Speed stats absurdly high.

Best combo: Ranger/Thief, Thief/Phantom.

Ranger

How To Get: Defeat the Ranger asterisk holder in Act 2.

In addition to dealing heavy damage to different enemy classes (from Beasts to Demons), the Ranger’s Counter-Savvy support skill is crucial to avoid physical counterattack damage from enemies. Which is basically the latter half of the game.

Best combo: Ranger/Thief, Ranger/Phantom.

Red Mage

How To Get: Defeat the Red Mage asterisk holder in Act 2.

You will need to gain access to Stone and Aero elemental spells if you want to deal more damage to more enemies. What better way to do that than to pair this with the Black Mage as a Sub Job?

In addition, pairing this up with the White Mage means you have some nifty healing options to go along with the Red Mage’s Healera spells. The Red Mage’s support skills Magic Critical and Revenge are essential for any Mage combo: the former is critical hits for Magic, while the latter lets you steal BP from enemies if you get hit.

Best combo: Red Mage/White Mage, Red Mage/Black Mage, Oracle/Red Mage.

Spiritmaster

How To Get: Defeat the Spiritmaster & Swordmaster tag-team combo in Chapter 3.

What’s better than having high magic points for healing? Having spirits to also do it for you. Equip your White Mage as a Sub Job to the Spiritmaster to summon friendly ghosts who will heal you as assists (like your assist companions like Sir Sloan). You’ll basically be the ultimate healer with the Spiritmaster/White Mage combination.

Best combo: Spiritmaster/White Mage.

Hellblade

How To Get: Defeat the Hellblade user in Chapter 4. He’s the guy you couldn’t beat in the Prologue, FYI.

Maxing out this Job will give you access to the Surpassing Power support skill, which lets your attacks exceed the 9999 damage limit. Oh, and you’ll also get access to powerful attacks that cost 25% of your life total. Pair this up with your Spiritmaster/White Mage wombo combo to keep your damage-dealing machine alive and ticking.

Combo: Hellblade/Swordmaster, Hellblade/Monk.

Need a surefire way to get a ton of JP with less hassle? Here’s a guide for exactly that.