Use of advanced classes

I'm a conjurer soon to have arcanist at 15. I understand it is best to switch to white mage at 30 even though I could switch eg at 40 and have conj as well as WM abilities for 31-40 after doing class quests. The theory being that conj abilities over 30 aren't worth playing as the weaker class and groups can get snippy if you try it. Correct?

Once I hit the expansion - this requires both level 50 and completion of all old world msqs I believe - I can add tank and ranged dps to my repertoire to have some diversity and the dark knight and machinist start at level 30. These classes are at least as powerful as getting old world classes to 30 the hard way though they should be supplemented by getting cross-class skills from old world classes and I should try the old world classes too in case I prefer the play style. Also correct?

Thanks.

Correct on both counts.

Sounds mostly right. The phrasing about the class/job relationship seems a bit odd, though. To clarify, a white mage is effectively still a conjurer. Being a white mage rather than just a conjurer adds benefits like job-specific actions, but you still ALSO have the conjurer class actions you've always had. The only thing it actually takes away from you is the ability to add additional actions from any other classes; jobs' additional actions are restricted to two specific associated classes rather than all of them. So you will still have conjurer abilities to use beyond 30 regardless. Groups are mostly snippy with 30+ conjurers (that do not have a white mage soul equipped) due to not having white mage job actions.

Thanks. So if a conjurer gets a certain ability at level 35, I can assume that a white mage, being still a conjurer will get that same ability at 35. Failure to understand this was the basis of my wording. Never would have asked the question had I understood that - so I'm glad I asked - knowledge is power!

I had the dungeons and dragons approach in mind. At least the way it worked when I played. If you switched to a new class you might keep all the abilities of the old class but you would stop gaining any old class abilities and from that moment on only get new class abilities. So although the new class might be stronger you still lost something by not getting any more old class abilities.

Yeah you are still leveling conjurer and gaining conjurer abilities when your white mage soul stone is equipped. It just narrows the selection of cross class actions you can pick, instead giving you access to new spells from whm job quests and giving you a stat boost. You just always use job soul stones from the moment you can access them.

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Originally Posted by istvana

Thanks. So if a conjurer gets a certain ability at level 35, I can assume that a white mage, being still a conjurer will get that same ability at 35. Failure to understand this was the basis of my wording. Never would have asked the question had I understood that - so I'm glad I asked - knowledge is power!

I had the dungeons and dragons approach in mind. At least the way it worked when I played. If you switched to a new class you might keep all the abilities of the old class but you would stop gaining any old class abilities and from that moment on only get new class abilities. So although the new class might be stronger you still lost something by not getting any more old class abilities.

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That's basically it. Of note, the job quests are basically a continuation of the class quests, as the class quests are a requirement and the first job quest has your guild pointing you to your new trainer, plus all your quest obtained abilities after 30 will be WHM abilities instead of CNJ ones. It's just that your level 30 quest narrows your focus a bit more (Aforementioned restriction to only cross-class abilities from 2 specific other classes, as well as halving the number you get, AND re-adjusting your stats slightly to focus on your main role) as well as giving you an ability.

If anything, it's closest to the job upgrade in Final Fantasy 1, except with a slight downside to using it. You're expected to take it, and the change in title reflects a greater mastery of your role.