Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Guide Zodiac Job System

Black Mage

Potential Core Nodes

420 HP	—
Swiftness x2	—
Channeling x3	—
Magick Lore x16	—
Ether Lore 1	—
Ether Lore 2	—
Ether Lore 3	—
Remedy Lore 1	Remedies remove Sleep, Sap, Immobilize, and Disable.
Remedy Lore 2	Remedies remove Petrify, Confuse, and Oil.
Headsman	Recover MP when dealing fatal damage to a Foe in the amount of Foe level divided by 4.
Inquisitor	Restores MP when dealing Physical damage. (See Damage to MP chart)
Martyr	Restores MP upon being damaged. (See Damage to MP chart)
Serenity	Increases magick damage dealt by 1.2x and magick healing done by 1.5x when HP is full. Increases chance of landing status effects.
Spellbound	Beneficial statuses last 50% longer
Spellbreaker	Doubles magick damage, increases healing by 1.5x and increases chance of landing status effects when in Critical status
Warmage	Restores MP when dealing magick damage. (See Damage to MP chart)
Staves 1	Oak Staff
Staves 2	Cherry Staff, Wizard’s Staff
Staves 3	Flame Staff, Storm Staff
Staves 4	Glacial Staff, Golden Staff
Staves 5	Judicer’s Staff, Cloud Staff
Staff of the Magi	Staff of the Magi
Mystic Armor 1	Cotton Cap, Cotton Shirt, Magick Curch, Light Woven Shirt
Mystic Armor 2	Pointy Hat, Silken Shirt, Topkapi Hat, Kilimweave Shirt
Mystic Armor 3	Calot Hat, Shepherd’s Bolero, Wizard’s Hat, Wizard’s Robes
Mystic Armor 4	Lambent Hat, Chanter’s Djellaba, Feathered Cap, Traveler’s Vestment
Mystic Armor 5	Mage’s Hat, Mage’s Habit, Lamia’s Tiara, Enchanter’s Habit
Mystic Armor 6	Sorcerer’s Hat, Sorcerer’s Habit, Black Cowl, Black Garb
Mystic Armor 7	Astrakhan Hat, Carmagnole, Gaia Hat, Maduin Gear
Mystic Armor 8	Hypnocrown, Jade Gown, Gold Hairpin, Gaia Gear
Mystic Armor 9	Celebrant’s Miter, Cleric’s Robes
Mystic Armor 10	Black Mask, Black Robes
Mystic Armor 11	White Mask, White Robes
Mystic Armor 12	Golden Skullcap, Glimmering Robes
Mystic Armor 13	Circlet, Lordly Robes
Black Magick 1	Fire, Thunder
Black Magick 2	Blizzard, Blind
Black Magick 3	Aqua, Silence
Black Magick 4	Aero, Sleep
Black Magick 5	Fira, Poison
Black Magick 6	Thundara, Blizzara
Black Magick 7	Bio, Blindga
Black Magick 8	Aeroga, Silencega
Black Magick 9	Firaga, Thundaga
Black Magick 10	Blizzaga, Sleepga
Black Magick 11	Shock, Toxify
Black Magick 12	Scourge, Flare
Black Magick 13	Scathe
Green Magick 1	Decoy, Oil
Green Magick 2	Drain, Reverse
Green Magick 3	Bubble, Syphon
Charge	Restores some MP. Success rate scales with how much MP is missing. Reduces MP to 0 on a failure. When successful, also restores some Mist Charge. See also: Syphon
Charm	Inflicts Confuse on one Foe. Immunity to Confuse applies.

missable Nodes

70 HP	Locked	Quickening	—
390 HP	Locked	Quickening	—
190 HP	Locked	Esper	—
230 HP	Locked	Esper	—
310 HP	Locked	Esper	—
Hand-bombs 2	Locked	Esper	Fumarole, Tumulus
Hand-bombs 3	Locked	Esper	Caldera, Volcano
Makara	Locked	Esper	Makara
Heavy Armor 7	Locked	Esper	Steel Mask, Mirror Mail
Heavy Armor 8	Locked	Esper	Platinum Helm, Platinum Armor
Heavy Armor 9	Locked	Esper	Giant’s Helmet, Carabineer Mail
Poach	Locked	Esper	KO’s a Foe to gain loot. Only works on enemies in Critical Status. Foe does not drop gil, Experience, or items.
Steal	Locked	Esper	Steal an item from a Foe that has an item. Cannot steal after a successful steal. See also: Thief’s Cuffs.
Telekinesis	Locked	Esper	Hits distant and/or flying enemies without needing to equip a ranged weapon.

Sign	Role	Weapon	Armor
Capricorn	Magick Damage	Staves	Mystic

Black Mages use Staves and Mystic Armor to rain magick damage and destruction down on the creatures of Ivalice. They get all sixteen Magick Lores, as well as three Channelings. This grants them both power and persistence. Staves are unusual weapons that often provide massive bonuses to certain elements, only furthering their specialized roles as heavy artillery. Their Locked Licenses add some Heavy Armor, the ability to use Hand Bombs, and a good pile of Health Points. This Job does one thing, and it does it very well. When you need magick damage, and you will, you need a Black Mage.

Their suite of magick capabilities and Augments makes Black Mages a fantastic “subjob” for any Job which needs to use MP but is not innately equipped with it. With an unimpressive suite of Locked Licenses, you needn’t worry too much about which Espers go where for the Black Mage Job. A Knight or Monk, for example, gains many great healing options from Espers but has no Magick Lore to boost it. Time Battlemage can use this MP-fueled cannon to great effect. Frankly, any character standing idle during battle can benefit from having the ability to call down the Thunder.

While Ashe, Penelo, and Vaan all have very high Magick Power, this only matters if you choose to have them wear equipment to boost those numbers all the way to 99, in which case you might consider using someone else. If any of these three are wearing Heavy Armor or doing a lot of melee damage, they are fantastic choices to give you an all-around punch.