Octopath Traveler 0 class guide – All protagonist jobs and skills

Octopath Traveler 0 is a bit different from its predecessors. You may not follow eight narrative paths, but there are still eight protagonist jobs, or classes, that you’ll get to choose from as you journey around Orsterra.

You get to choose your class after the prologue, but if you end up disliking it, you’ll get to pick another later on in the game. There are eight jobs you can choose from:

• Warrior
• Hunter
• Thief
• Apothecary
• Cleric
• Dancer
• Scholar
• Merchant

Each class in Octopath Traveler 0 offers a different playstyle, skillset, and weapons. Warriors, for example, use swords and polearms, and they often serve as your strong frontline. Dancers, on the other hand, are skilled with daggers and fans, and their skills buff allies. Some classes have a bit of overlap in which weapons they use, but each job has its own set of unique abilities that you can use in combat.

Which one will you choose? Screenshot by Square Enix

Before you pick your job, it’s a good idea to take a look at all of their battle and support skills to choose the right one for your preferred playstyle.

Table of contents

• All jobs in Octopath Traveler 0 and their abilities
  • Warrior
  • Hunter
  • Thief
  • Apothecary
  • Cleric
  • Dancer
  • Scholar
  • Merchant
• How to change your job in Octopath Traveler 0

All jobs in Octopath Traveler 0 and their abilities

Warrior

As mentioned earlier, Warriors are your frontline. They can be tanky, but they can also be powerful fighters who deal tons of damage with swords and polearms. This job centers around physical damage with a few support moves that improve their attack and defense stats.

Battle skills

• Cross Strike (12 SP) – Deal Sword damage to a foe.
• Abide (6 SP) – Raise own Physical attack for 3 turns.
• Spearhead (9 SP) – Deal Polearm damage to a foe. Act faster next turn.
• Helmcleaver (8 SP) – Deal Sword damage to a foe and lower physical defense for 2 turns.
• Counter Posture (36 SP) – Counter Physical attacks with a sword for 2 turns.
• Assault (34 SP) – Deal Polearm damage to all foes. More potent if attacking from the back row.
• Upending Strike (35 SP) – Deal great Sword damage to a foe 2 times.

Support skills

• Peak Performance – Raise the equipped character’s attack skill potency when HP is at least 100%.
• Phys. Atk. +50 – Raise the equipped character’s physical attack by 50.
• Phys. Def. +50 – Raise the equipped character’s physical defense by 50.
• Defiant Spirit – When the equipped character has an attribute-reducing effect, raise BP recovery by 1 at the start of turn.

Hunter

Hunters master bows to defeat foes. Screenshot by Destructoid

Hunter’s strike from afar with bows, but they’ll occasionally get up close and personal with an axe. Most of their skills revolve around physical damage, though they have access to Trade Tempest, a good source of Wind damage. Sniper is by far my favorite part of this job. This support skill causes your character to unleash a special attack at the end of the turn if they're positioned in the back row, which basically gives them a free attack.

Battle skills

• Stray Arrows (14 SP) – Deal Bow damage to random foes 2 times.
• Boomerang Toss (14 SP) – Deal Axe damage to random foes 2 times.
• Trade Tempest (15 SP) – Deal Wind damage to all foes.
• Ensnare (9 SP) – Cause a foe to act last for 2 turns.
• First Shot (30 SP) – Deal Bow damage to a foe. Next attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit.
• Rain of Arrows (12 SP) – Deal Bow damage to random foes 5 to 8 times.
• Two-Tiered Shot (30 SP) – Deal Bow damage to a foe 2 times, then move to the back row. At the end of the turn, deal special Bow damage to a foe 2 times.

Support skills

• Extra Experience – Receive additional EXP at the end of battle. (This effect is not cumulative.)
• Invigorating Break – Restore the equipped character’s HP when breaking a foe.
• Crit. + 50 – Raise the equipped character’s critical chance by 50.
• Sniper – At the end of turn, the equipped character will unleash a special attack with their equipped weapon when in the back row.

Thief

Thieves are all about speed, evasion, and critical hits. With a dagger or sword in hand, they focus primarily on dealing physical damage to foes, but also have access to skills that deal dark damage. A couple of skills in this job play into the whole "thief" role, stealing items, HP, or SP from enemies.

Battle skills

• Steal (3 SP) – Steal an item from a foe.
• HP Thief (9 SP) – Deal Dagger damage to a foe 2 times and steal HP equal to 50% of damage dealt.
• Shadow Bind (8 SP) – Deal Dark damage to a foe and lower speed for 2 turns.
• Level Slash (14 SP) – Deal Sword damage to all foes.
• SP Thief (9 SP) – Deal Dagger damage to a foe 2 times and steal SP equal to 5% of damage dealt.
• Master of Shadows (8 SP) – Deal Dark damage to a foe 2 times.
• Tri-Edge (27 SP) – Deal Dagger damage to a foe 3 times.

Support skills

• Extended Enfeeblement – When the equipped character inflicts an attribute-reducing effect, extend duration by 1 turn.
• Evasion +50 – Raise the equipped character’s evasion by 50.
• Speed +50 – Raise the equipped character’s speed by 50.
• Entrap – When the equipped character takes physical damage, gain a 50% chance to inflict a random status-reducing effect on the foe.

Apothecary

Apothecaries know how to wield an axe. Screenshot by Destructoid

Apothecaries create medicines to restore their allies’ health points and cure them of any pesky status ailments. But don’t be fooled—they don’t only support their teammates from afar. They can get in the action with axes and tomes to deal a bit of damage as well. Vivify is by far one of the most attractive things about this class, giving you the ability to revive an ally without having to use an Olive of Life.

Battle skills

• First Aid (6 SP) – Restore HP of an ally.
• Amputation (12 SP) – Deal Axe damage to a foe.
• Enshroud (9 SP) – Gain a chance to inflict blindness on a foe for 2 turns.
• Rehabilitate (15 SP) – Grant an ally immunity to status ailments for 2 turns.
• Vivify (24 SP) – Revive an ally.
• Heal All (15 SP) – Grant HP regeneration to the entire front row or back row for 3 turns.
• Cross Cleave (30 SP) – Deal great Axe damage to a foe.

Support skills

• Resist Ailments – Improve the equipped character’s resistance to poison/bleeding/sleep/paralysis/blindness/silence/terror/weakness.
• Max. SP +50 – Raise the equipped character’s max. SP by 50.
• Max. HP +500 – Raise the equipped character's max HP by 500.
• Inspiriting Break – Restore the equipped character’s SP when breaking a foe.

Cleric

Clerics, like Apothecaries, are all about protecting their allies from death, topping off health bars, and providing incredibly useful buffs. But they're also specialists of Light damage, which you may find yourself lacking in earlier stages of the game.

Battle skills

• Heal Wounds (12 SP) – Restore HP of the entire front or back row.
• Holy Light (11 SP) – Deal Light damage to a foe.
• Brain Bash (18 SP) – Select a weapon and deal damage to a foe.
• Sacred Flame’s Protection (16 SP) – Grant an ally a small chance to prevent enemy attacks for 2 turns.
• Light of Judgement (22 SP) – Deal great Light damage to a foe.
• Celestial Veil (8 SP) – Grant an ally the ability to restore SP equal to 3% of damage taken for 2 turns.
• Wondrous Veil (30 SP) – Grant an effect that allows an ally to recover with 25% of their max. HP upon being incapacitated (one time only).

Support skills

• HP Recovery Up – Raise the amount restored by the equipped character’s HP recovery/HP regeneration skills.
• Elemental Defense + 50 – Raise the equipped character’s Elemental Defense by 50.
• Max. SP +50 – Raise the equipped character’s max. SP by 50.
• Encore – Grant an effect that allows you to recover with 25% of your max HP upon being incapacitated (one time only).

Dancer

Members of this class dance around the battlefield, providing buffs to allies and quickly dishing out damage. Dancers wield fans and daggers, and get a few interesting support skills that allow them to gain an upper-hand at the start of combat.

Battle skills

• Lion Dance (6 SP) – Raise physical attack of an ally for 2 turns. Dance skill.
• Wild Strike (14 SP) – Deal Fan damage to random foes 2 times.
• Coney Caper (6 SP) – Raise Evasion of an ally for 2 turns. Dance skill.
• Frosty Refrain (11 SP) – Deal Ice damage to a foe. Song skill.
• Peacock Strut (6 SP)– Raise elemental attack of an ally for 2 turns. Dance skill.
• Porcupine Stomp (6 SP) – Raise elemental defense of an ally for 2 turns. Dance skill.
• Triple Arc (27 SP) – Deal Fan damage to a foe 3 times.

Support skills

• The Show Goes On – When the equipped character grants an attribute-raising effect, extend duration by 1 turn.
• Extra JP –Receive additional JP at the end of battle. (This effect is not cumulative.)
• Speed +50 – Raise the equipped character's Speed by 50.
• Boost-Start – At the start of battle, restore 1 BP.

Scholar

Scholars master the elements, including Wind. Screenshot by Destructoid

If you’re looking to do a ton of elemental damage, this class is for you. Scholars pack the heat—sometimes literally, when they’re using their Fire skills. What’s the most underrated part of this job, though, is the support skill Study Foe, which discovers one weak point of a foe before the fighting even begins. Having that knowledge is an incredibly useful tool against your opponent.

Battle skills

• Analyze (1 SP) – Discover 1 weak points of a foe and reveal HP.
• Fireball (12 SP) - Deal Fire damage to all foes.
• Tornado (12 SP) - Deal Wind damage to all foes.
• Luminescence (14 SP) – Deal Light damage to all foes.
• Fire Storm (33 SP) – Deal Fire damage to all foes 2 times.
• Maelstrom (33 SP) – Deal Wind damage to all foes 2 times.
• Blinding Light (33 SP) – Deal Light damage to all foes 2 times.

Support skills

• Study Foe – At the start of battle, discover 1 weak point of each foe.
• Elemental Attack +50 - Raise the equipped character's elemental attack by 50.
• Lasting Memory – Status effects are not removed when incapacitated.
• Mystic Breath – At the end of turn, raise the equipped character’s elemental attack/defense for 2 turns when in the back row.

Merchant

You can collect hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Leaves from enemies using Collect. Screenshot by Destructoid

Last, but certainly not least: Merchant. This job is fantastic if you want to make some money—and no, that’s actually not a joke. Yes, Merchants are capable of dealing damage with their polearms and bows. But that’s not why you pick this class. You pick it for the skill Collect, which steals Leaves from enemies, and the support skill Extra Leaves, which grants more money at the end of battle. This job is one of the best ways to make money in Octopath Traveler 0. Everything else is just a perk.

Battle skills

• Deadly Thrust – More easily land critical Polearm hits on a foe.
• Rest (0 SP) – Restore own HP/SP and cure own status ailments.
• Mystic Shot (18 SP) – Deal Bow damage to all foes and restore SP equal to 2% of damage dealt to the entire front row.
• Collect (3 SP) – Collect Leaves from a foe.
• Piercing Thrust (30 SP) – Deal critical Polearm damage to a fow.
• Arrow of Fortune (35 SP) – Deal great Bow damage and obtain JP based on damage dealt.
• Donate BP (5 SP) – Grant 1 BP to an ally.

Support skills

• Extra Leaves – Receive additional leaves at the end of battle. (This effect is not cumulative.)
• Phys. Def. +50 – Raise the equipped character’s physical defense by 50.
• Elem. Def. +50 – Raise the equipped character’s elemental defense by 50.
• Borrow BP – Borrow insufficient BP for Boost from paired back ally. Neither will restore BP next turn.

How to change your job in Octopath Traveler 0

Before you can change your character’s job in Octopath Traveler 0, you need to first unlock all of the skills in your first class by spending JP, which you earn in battle. Once you've unlocked all of your skills for your first pick, you’ll be able to master skills or switch jobs to something new.

Mastering skills essentially makes them an inventory item called a Mastery, which can then be equipped by another ally. Not every character will be able to use every Mastery, though. Apothecaries, for example, can’t equip Masteries that use bows, since that job only uses axes and tomes.

To change jobs in Octopath Traveler 0, head to the menu and scroll down to "Skills." Then choose "Protagonist's Jobs" and use the wheel to select the class you'd like to switch to.

Switch jobs in the Protagonist's Jobs menu. Screenshot by Destructoid

Even if you have no interest playing as one class, you may still want to consider unlocking it for your protagonist because a skill might still be valuable for your companions. Vivify, for example, is an incredibly powerful skill that allows you to revive fallen allies. You can get it by mastering it through Alfyn, one of your many companions, or by purchasing it from an NPC in Donescu. Both of these options don’t appear until much later in the game, so if you wanted to stick the skill on another teammate earlier in the game, you’re going to have to play as an Apothecary and spend JP to master it.

Just be aware that while unlocking a new job doesn’t cost JP, you’ll have to unlock all skills for that job before you can switch classes again. It costs about 2,730 JP to unlock all the skills in a class, so you best get to grinding monster encounters if you want enough to unlock them all.

The post Octopath Traveler 0 class guide – All protagonist jobs and skills appeared first on Destructoid.