Final Fantasy V Job Classes

Freelancer

Vital Statistics

"Unspecialized fighters who can equip any armor or weapon."

Job Description

The Freelancer is the default Job. It can equip any type of weapon or armor and possesses no special characteristics of its own, but it will gain more powerful stats and abilities as you master the other Jobs in the game.

Job Ability Summary

The Freelancer can possess these inherent qualities once the Jobs from which they originate have been mastered: Cover, Barehanded, Counter, Find Passages, Sprint, Vigilance, Learning, Magic Shell, First Strike, Dual-Wield, Light Step, Shiradori and Pharmacology.

Transfer to Freelancer

The Freelancer gains positive stat boosts from Mastered Jobs, as well as most inherent abilities to those Jobs. It can also combine any two abilities in the game, making it capable of mimicking every action (except !Kick) there is.

The Freelancer has low-ish average stats across the board, but since abilities grant stats in this game, it can do everything. Basically, it's a better X than X itself, in every case. A Freelancer with Barehanded is a better monk than a Monk due to equipment options. A Freelancer with !Black 6 is a better caster than a Black Mage, due to equipment options as well as superior Magic Power! When you've mastered Monk, Thief and Summoner and have equipped a Ribbon, your stats will be nicely inflated.

As far as equipment goes, the Freelancer can equip anything. This includes the Ribbon and Aegis Shield, which are the two best defensive pieces of equipment in the game. Fighters can equip any weapon, so they can swap between those that favor a particular enemy type (Dragon's Whisker, Beast Killer, Man-Eater) in-battle. Mages can equip the Rune Chime, which has the broadest array of elemental boosts in the game.

Since the Freelancer can tap into almost all inherent support abilities of other Jobs, it'll be quite useful. The ones that stand out most are Vigilance and First Strike (you'll be perfectly set up every battle), Counter and Shiradori (to work with physical attacks) and Dual-Wield (for the option to swap away a Shield for another weapon, whether for extra stat boosts or just the power of it).

The Freelancer has no ABP-related growth. Instead, you 'master' the Freelancer Job as soon as you have mastered all other available Jobs. Mastering the Freelancer will get you nothing but three stars over the Freelancer sprite.