Best Bushi Second Job Combos in FF12: The Zodiac Age

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At first glance, it would be easy to call Bushi the Samurai of Final Fantasy XII.

They use katanas, like to do multiple hits, and can even use Gil Toss. Of course, traditional Samurai don’t have the magical prowess that Bushis do.

The Bushi board alone gets fourteen magic lore panels. It also permits mystical armor, and to top it off, katanas themselves deal damage based on magic (figure that out).

So Bushi are less like Samurai, and more akin to Mystic Knights.

They have buckets of magic power, but no native spells, instead focusing that magic into their sword to do lots of damage. And in The Zodiac Age, you can affix two job boards together.

So let’s take a walk and find out which jobs best compliments our magic samurai friends.

 

3. Bushi + Monk

Monks have lots to give including tons of HP, plenty of strength, and even some choices in white magic.

Holy is the one of the classic big boys of attack magic, and can be used to great effect by the Bushi, even moreso if you dress it up in some White Robes (which boost holy damage).

Being able to heal hit points and cure bad statuses is a pleasant bonus.

Another magical perk that subbing Monk has is the Shades of Black technic.

No, it’s not the same as having free choice from a library of black magic. But it is a way to cast black magic.

This is great for dealing with flying enemies, as well as anything or anybody you want to decimate (which might end up being a lot).

Monk can also use spears, should you need your Bushi to take on some flying enemies and find yourself low on MP (though with all the abilities you get to restore MP, this should be a rare occurrence).

 

2. Bushi + Shikari

I’ll be frank with you: there’s only one real reason to put Shikari together with your Bushi, and that’s the Yagyu Darkblade.

There are other reasons, of course – such as the boosts to speed and strength, as well as a lot of technics and the ability to use guns and ninja blades.

Plus the Shikari also lets you use light armors, of which the Brave Suit might be appealing.

But the real reason is to get the gang together. The gang being, of course, the Yagyu Darkblade and the Black Robes.

The Bushi can’t naturally equip the Yagyu, and the Shikari can’t wear the Robes. So this combo is a match made in heaven.

The Black Robes boost dark damage by 50%, and guess what? The Yagyu Darkblade is dark elemental!

You can take this power further by putting on a Genji Glove, making your Bushi a magic sword powerhouse that hits a ton for a ton of damage… to anything that doesn’t absorb the dark element.

But those enemies will be few and far between. And you still have the holy spell anyway, right?

 

1. Bushi + Knight

When you’re considering which license boards to pair together, it’s best to look at what your primary job is lacking, and supplement that.

The Bushi uses magic as its primary stat. But its chosen weapon, the katana, also uses strength to determine damage – a stat that the Bushi is lacking.

This is where the Knight comes to the rescue.

The Knight’s main stat is strength.

And besides getting lots of strength squares on its board, the Knight can also wear heavy armor.

Most (if not all) pieces of heavy armor further add to your strength.

A Bushi-Knight combo has terrific magic and strength, which makes the perfect fuel for their katanas.

And your main job Bushi returns the favor to the Knight by providing much-needed speed, as well as making the Knight’s few spells much more powerful. Plus since the Bushi can wear mystic armor, with Knight as your secondary job, you can use both the holy-boosting White Robes and the holy sword Excalibur, creating the Ivalican Paladin.

Of course, nobody would blame you if you just stuck with katanas and magically sliced your way through anything that came your way. That works too.

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Brian Conley

Brian knows more about RPGs than he does world history. Combine with his love of writing and you get somebody who can, and will, go on forever about every nuance of every game he's played.