Once players reach level 31 they are given the opportunity to choose from one of two paths. These paths are commonly referred to as "jobs," "dual classes," or "second jobs." Here they will be called "jobs."
The job that someone chooses will determine what kind of interesting new skills and abilities they will be able to learn in the future. Each character class is given two different job options, of which they may only choose one. No character is able to have skills from both the jobs available to their class. Because of this, most players have a very tough time deciding which job to take. The fact that each job has its unique ups and downs makes it even harder to decide.
It often helps if you discuss the two different job options with other level 31+ characters of the same class as yourself. They can give you an inside look at how things really are. To read about the different job options available to each class and get a general idea of what their abilities are, please look at the pages linked to below.
Titan job options Knight job options Healer job options
Mage job options Rogue job options Sorcerer job options
Getting the job -
To be able to choose a job, you must :
Be at or above level 31
Have your level 30 general attack skill maxed out
Have 50,000 gold to pay to your class Master NPC (i.e. Master Titan, Master Knight, etc.)
If you do not know or are not sure if you meet all the requirements for choosing the job you want, talk to your class Master NPC. If you are missing anything, they will tell you when you attempt to get the job. If you meet the requirements, then you will be able to successfully change to the job.
Stat points and skills -
Once you have chosen a job, all of your stat points will be reset to 0 and the points will be put back in your stat point "pool." Before redistributing them, take a look at the skills and skill requirements for the job skills you will receive. The level 32, 38, 44 and 70 skills all require a certain number of stat points in three of the four base stats before they may be learned and used. The four base stats areStrength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Constitution.
If you'd like, you can take a look at the Class stat point guides section for charts showing you the suggested way to distribute your stat points from level 31+. They will help youmake sure you meet the stat requirements for all your future skills, as well as get the skills that other players of your class and your job find most useful first.
When distributing stat points, it is a good idea to unequip all your armor pieces, weapon, and accessories. This way you will be able to see how many real stat points you have already put into each base stat. The stat point requirements for your future skills are all shown in real stat points. The extra stat point boosts that you receive from accessories and bloodseals do not count toward your skill stat point requirements.
If you mess up when distributing your stat points, you may talk to the Crean NPC for help. He can reset stat points for you and put them back into your stat point "pool" for redistribution. He charges 20,000 gold per point.
After you choose a job, you will begin to receive more than one stat point per level. At level 32 you will receive 3 stat points. At level 33 you will receive 4 stat points. At level 34 you will receive 3 stat points. At level 35 you will receive 4 stat points again. The number of stat points per level continues to alternate between 3 and 4, with 3 points being given on the even levels and 4 points being given on the odd levels.
Waiting to get the job -
It will not permanently damage your character if you choose your job at a level later than 31. However, it is strongly advised against. Characters who wait to get their jobs are significantly weaker than other characters of equal level who already have a job. If a job is not chosen at level 31, then at level 32 your character will receive only 1 stat point. Your character will continue to receive only 1 stat point for every level after that that you remain jobless. Don't worry though--as soon as you choose a job and your current stat points are put back into your stat point "pool," all the extra stat points that you missed out on will be given to you for distribution.
Besides receiving extra stat points, characters also have their HP and MP boosted when they choose a job. Some character classes have reported that their attack and/or defense is also increased, but this has not been confirmed. The HP and MP boosts are by a set percentage, estimated to be somewhere between 30% and 50%. (More testing is needed to find the exact percentage and whether or not it differs between classes.)
In addition to having fewer stat points and lower HP/MP, characters that wait to choose their jobs do not have the new skills of either job open up to them, so they are left still using their old skills. Level 1-30 attack skills increase damage by a set amount while level 32+ attacks skills increase it by a percentage, making the level 32+ skills much more powerful.
Waiting to get your job is alright, but in all honestly there's really no practical reason why you shouldn't get that job as soon as you can!
Titan job options
The two job options available to Titans at or above level 31 are Warmaster and Highlander.
Warmasters are built for partying and PvPing. They receive two buffs, two AoE debuffs, a stun, and an AoE attack. The most interesting of their skills is definitely their second buff, which reflects a percentage of the damage done to them back at their attacker--often causing the attacker to end up killing themselves.
Warmasters use swords which, while they have a faster attack speed than axes, lack the attack power that axes have. Because of this, Warmasters do not do so well fighting alone. They are best suited to killing with a party of others.
Approximately 80% of Titans become Warmasters.
Warmaster
Highlander
Highlanders have the highest physical attack power--and un-skilled physical damage--in the game. They use axes, which attack slower than swords but hit harder.
While Highlanders do not have any AoE skills like Warmasters, they do have two attacks, a buff, and one very unique self-buff. With this self-buff Highlanders are able to grind longer and more efficiently than any other physical character. They solo very well.
Unfortunately, since Highlanders don't receive any stuns or debuffs, they don't do very well at PvP. So this job type is preferred by those who just like grinding.
Approximately 20% of Titans become Highlanders.
Knight job options
The two job options available to Knights at or above level 31 are Templar and Royal.
Templars are traditionally viewed as a party animal, there to support and aid the weaker classes such as Healers and Mages. Their skills are all party skills, which means they're for using to help other players--not themselves.
A Templar's skill set includes two buffs, one that raises defense and one that raises attack based on the number of party members; a skill that allows them to take part of the damage done to someone else; and a skill that transfers monster aggression to them. They also get the unique ability to teleport players and monsters to their location.
Templars use the sword and shield, allowing them to have a much greater defense than Royals. However, because they use single-handed swords, their attack is much lower than that of a Royal, which results in them killing slower.
Approximately 5% of Knights become Templars.
Templar
Royal
Royals are considered gods of PvP, often able to one-hit or two-hit their opponents. This possible thanks to two powerful attack skills that double and even triple their deadly and critical hit damage. Royals are, in fact, the second highest damage-dealers in the game.
They also learn one buff skill and one stun skill. The buff skill is found by many other classes to be quite helpful, since it increases a skill's chance of success. The stun skill doesn't last long, but it's long-range and allows the Royal to move very quickly over to his target.
Royals are front-line fighters that usually use only special attacks to fight, causing them to very quickly consume all of their mana. They wield two swords, often referred to as duals or twinblades. These have a higher attack than a single sword, though by using them a Royal loses the added defense of a shield.
Approximately 95% of Knights become Royals.
Healer job options
The two job options available to Healers at or above level 31 are Cleric and Archer.
Clerics are thought of as a party's best friend. They learn two more healing skills--one which is very fast and one which is extremely strong. No other character in the game can even begin to compare to a Cleric's ability to heal--not even other Healers!
A Cleric's other skills include an attack buff for physical melee characters, an attack buff for magical characters, and a debuff that causes attacks on the target to do up to twice as much damage. They learn no high-damage skills, so they are considered a support class.
Clerics use scepters, which have magical attack. Because of this, a plain scepter and plain bow of equal level do about the same damage. However, if they are upgraded, then the bow will begin to do more damage overall. Scepters have a smaller range of damage than bows, so Clerics can be sure that they will always do about the same damage each hit.
Approximately 10% of Healers become Clerics.
Cleric
Archer
The Archers class is often favored because of an Archer's ability to do great damage--with the right bow, of course. Archers learn only damage skills, making them more of a front-line fighter than a healer. In fact, in many situations it is often best for an Archer not to play healer because they usually have to resort to spamming party heal, which chews up precious mana and causes monsters to become aggressive towards them. This is unwise for an Archer to do.
Bows are used by Archers. Most bows have more than twice the attack of a scepter of equal level, though bows do physical damage--not magical damage--so this great difference in attack amount is necessary.
Archers learn five different attack skills. All of them damage the opponent as well as deliver another special effect. Two of the skills cause the targets to become poisoned, one places a speed debuff on them, and a fourth removes their ability to use any sort of skill of their own. An Archer's last attack skill is an extremely powerful AoE stun. This stun--while short--has proven to be very useful to Archers in both PvP and PvE and is the reason why they are hard to beat at higher levels.
Approximately 90% of Healers become Archers.
Mage job options
The two job options available to Mages at or above level 31 are Witch and Wizard.
Witches are known as goddesses of PvP. Almost all of their skills are for stunning, weakening, and disabling their opponents.They learn no high-damage skills, so they are considered a support class.
Despite a mage's naturally low defense, Witches can survive well alone because they receive a self-healing skill as well as two debuffs that can reduce their enemy's health, mana, attack, defenses, and hit accuracy by a fair amount. Their other skills include a stun that removes buffs and debuffs, a long AoE stun, and the ability to completely blind opponents.
Witches are wand-users, which means that their normal hits have a lower damage output than Wizards. Fortunately for Witches, wands attack a fair bit faster than staffs, which helps a little to make up for the lack of power in their normal attacks. With a good wand, no one can stand up to a Witch.
Approximately 3% of Mages become Witches.
Witch
Wizard
Wizards learn only high-damage skills--with the exception of one skill--and are therefore viewed as masters of PvE. Because they do great damage and can kill quickly, Wizards are considered front-line fighters.
Wizards are staff-users. Staffs always have higher attack than wands--sometimes even up to twice as much at the lower levels! This allows Wizards to inflict much more damage per hit than their Witch comrades, despite the fact that staffs attack slower than wands.
Many of the Wizard skills are based on the elements. These include an extremely powerful earth attack, an AoE fire attack, an ice attack with a speed debuff, and another very powerful AoE that appears to use the power of electricity and wind combined. They also learn a semi-stun that causes their target to turn and run for a short time.
Wizards are the highest damage-dealers in the game.
Approximately 97% of Mages become Wizards.
Rogue job options
The two job options available to Rogues at or above level 31 are Ranger and Assassin.
Rangers are Rogues with the ability to fight long-range, thanks to their weapon--the crossbow. Though slightly slower and weaker than an Assassin's daggers, a Ranger's crossbow allows them to spend less time running from target to target and more time just killing.
Most Ranger skills are attack skills. These include a powerful arrow that has a secondary effect similar to that of poison, an arrow that damages everything between the Ranger and the target, and even an attack that may only be used while the Rogue is invisible!
A Ranger's last and most interesting skill is a self-buff that increases their physical attack a fair amount, but in exchange for the attack increase their physical defense is lowered and they cannot move for the duration of the buff. Many find this to be a very useful skill later on.
This job is favored by those who enjoy kiting and prefer to avoid taking damage.
Approximately 30% of Rogues become Rangers.
Ranger
Assassin
Assassin is the preferred job because Assassins use daggers. Daggers attack faster than crossbows and have a slightly higher damage, however they are somewhat handicapped because they only work short-range.
Assassins receive no buff or debuff skills. The closest thing they get is a skill that causes their opponent to stop attacking them and transfer aggression to another target within range. Assassins also receive two skillful dagger attacks, both of which multiply normal damage by a given percentage. One attack may be used at any time and the other, more powerful one, may only be used while the Assassin is invisible.
Assassins receive the unique ability to play dead. Playing dead allows them to lose monster aggression and, in some cases, make a quick escape.
This job is favored by those to enjoy speed and power, and PvP.
Approximately 70% of Rogues become Assassins.
Sorcerer job options
The two job options available to Sorcerers at or above level 31 are Elementalist and Specialist.
Elementalists are Sorcerers who choose to keep their power to summon elementals. They continue to work with their elementals, making them stronger and more fearsome than before. Elementalists use the fallarm. It is weaker than the scythe, but Elementalists always have their elementals with them so this is not much of an issue.
The original elementals all learn exciting new attack skills, including two AoEs, a stun, and a powerful suicide attack. The Elementalist himself learns new and improved support skills to help keep his elementals -- and himself -- alive.
Approximately 30% of Sorcerers become Elementalists.
Elementalist
Specialist
Specialists are Sorcerers who have chosen to lose their elementals, receiving the ability to transform themselves instead. They have two transformations -- a Knight and a Demon.
A Specialist's Knight form has a low attack and a high defense, making it good for taking damage, especially in parties. The Demon form has a high attack and a low defense, allowing the Specialist to kill faster.
Specialists use the scythe, though they rarely fight when they are not transformed so you will probably never actually see a Specialist attacking with their scythe.
Approximately 70% of Sorcerers become Specialists.
Note: If you wish to choose the Specialist job option, do not officially make the choice until you are as close to 99% of your way to level 32. Otherwise, you will loose your elementals and will not learn the transforming skills until level 32 -- leaving you to tough it out until you reach level 32.