Classes - Final Fantasy 1
Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster has 6 starting classes that upgrade into stronger versions after a class change midgame. You pick four at the start and keep them for the entire playthrough. Every combination works, but some are significantly easier than others.
The Pixel Remaster’s stat scaling rewards dedicated casters. Black Mage hits 69 Intelligence at level 99 versus Red Mage’s 34, and White Mage isn’t far behind at 48. Both outperform Red Mage by midgame, making them much stronger picks than they were on the original NES where Intelligence didn’t work properly.
Starting Classes
Heaviest armor in the game. Expensive to gear but the safest front line you can pick. Upgrades to Knight with White Magic 1-3.
Fights bare-handed and outdamages every other class by endgame. Cheap to gear since bare-fist damage scales with level. HP growth trails only Warrior.
Weak early with limited gear options. Fastest class with the highest agility. After class change, Ninja becomes one of the strongest in the game.
Can heal, cast offensive magic, and use swords. Best flexibility early but dedicated casters outscale by midgame.
Dia line shreds undead enemies which make up half the dungeon encounters. Healaga sustains through long dungeons without needing to rest.
Group damage spells wipe random encounters fast. Deadly against bosses with elemental weaknesses. Fragile, so stock up on Tents for spell charges.
Party Position
Enemies don’t target your party evenly. Slot 1 takes roughly 50% of all physical attacks, slot 2 takes 25%, and slots 3-4 split the remaining 25%. Put your tankiest class in slot 1 and mages in slots 3-4. See the Tips and Mechanics page for full details.
Best Party Builds
For new players: Warrior, Red Mage, Thief, White Mage. Double healing, strong front line, and Thief becomes Ninja late.
Double healing, strong front line, Thief turns into Ninja late. Forgiving from start to finish.
The most popular FF1 party. Covers every role with no dead weight at any point.
Rough until class change. Once Thief becomes Ninja, physical damage doubles and you get a second Haste caster.
Two Black Mages erase random encounters instantly. Warrior tanks while White Mage keeps everyone standing.
No White Mage. Red Mage handles healing while Monk and Black Mage carry boss damage. Requires careful charge management.
All physical damage. Red Mage covers light healing. Monk punches everything else to death.
Class Change
After defeating Lich, enter the Citadel of Trials and grab the Rat’s Tail. Bring it to Bahamut in the Dragon Caves. All four party members upgrade at once.
Gains White Magic 1-3 including Cure, Protect, and Blink. Your tank can now patch himself up between fights.
Magic evasion roughly doubles after class change, and bare-fist damage keeps climbing with every level.
Complete transformation. Can equip almost everything and gains Black Magic 1-4 including Haste. One of the strongest physical attackers.
Fills out the top tiers up to level 7 in both schools. New gains over Red Mage include Protera, Thundaga, Blizzaga, and Life. Locked out of level 8 spells (Holy, Flare).
Unlocks the endgame whites: Holy (power 80 against all enemies), Full-Life, NulAll, and Dispel.
Unlocks the endgame blacks: Flare (power 100, strongest damage spell in the game), Stop, Kill, and Warp.
Endgame Buffs
Two spells define the late game: Haste doubles hit count and Temper adds flat damage to every hit (it stacks). Cast both on a Master and the damage output is massive. Ninja, Red Wizard, and Black Wizard can all cast both.
For defense, Protera reduces physical damage party-wide and Invisira boosts evasion. Against single-hit bosses use Protera. Against multi-hit bosses stack Invisira. Blink on your Knight works for either.
Best Endgame Gear
Masamune is the strongest weapon at 56 ATK and any class can equip it, found in Chaos Shrine B4. Excalibur is Knight-only at 45 ATK and deals bonus damage to 8 enemy species including Dragons, Undead, Giants, and Mages. It’s forged by Smyth in Mt. Duergar from Adamantite found in the Flying Fortress. Dragon Mail and Diamond Armor tie for the highest DEF at 42. Ribbon resists nearly every status and elemental attack (3 available across Waterfall Cavern, Sunken Shrine, and Flying Fortress). Full stats on the weapons and armor pages.
Base Stats Comparison
Starting stats for all 6 base classes at level 1.
| Class | HP | STR | VIT | AGI | INT | LCK | ACC | M.EVA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 35 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| Thief | 30 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Monk | 33 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| Red Mage | 30 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 20 |
| White Mage | 33 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 23 |
| Black Mage | 25 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 23 |
Stat Growth at Level 50 and 99
How each class scales. Upgraded classes share base stats with their original class but have different growth curves after class change.
| Class | Level 50 | Level 99 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | STR | AGI | ACC | HP | STR | AGI | ACC | |
| Warrior | 54 | 35 | 30 | 157 | 62 | 59 | 43 | 304 |
| Thief | 42 | 24 | 29 | 260 | 48 | 38 | 47 | 505 |
| Monk | 43 | 24 | 17 | 155 | 53 | 36 | 30 | 302 |
| Red Mage | 39 | 20 | 21 | 159 | 43 | 30 | 27 | 306 |
| White Mage | 48 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 48 | 23 | 22 | 103 |
| Black Mage | 33 | 9 | 12 | 106 | 37 | 15 | 18 | 204 |
| Knight | 54 | 35 | 30 | 206 | 62 | 59 | 43 | 402 |
| Ninja | 42 | 24 | 29 | 260 | 48 | 38 | 47 | 505 |
| Master | 43 | 24 | 17 | 155 | 53 | 36 | 30 | 302 |
| Red Wizard | 39 | 20 | 21 | 159 | 43 | 30 | 27 | 306 |
| White Wizard | 48 | 14 | 13 | 103 | 48 | 23 | 22 | 201 |
| Black Wizard | 33 | 9 | 12 | 106 | 37 | 15 | 18 | 204 |