There are 24 Jobs in Bravely Default 2. 21 of them are gained linearly throughout the game's 30+ hour adventure while the other three are framed as optional. However, that's not really true as it is impossible to actually beat Bravely Default 2 with the real ending without a complete collection.
The good news is that these aren't that hard to find. Furthermore, the player doesn't have to max out any Jobs in order to get the true ending. This is all to say not all Jobs were created equal and many of them feel like filler. Let's go through the ten best that will help create an overpowered party.
Updated on 31 August 2021 by Rhenn Taguiam: Despite its playful graphics, Bravely Default 2 boasts an incredibly deep narrative with an equally complex character progression system. Rather than just have one Job, characters have the opportunity to mix and match to find a combination ideal for their playstyle and role. For players who want to dominate combat in their playthrough, selecting the right Job can make a huge difference for their entire party. Thankfully, some of the best Jobs in Bravely Default 2 have equally diverse potentials in combat, regardless of where players are in their respective playthroughs.
15 Arcanist
Unlike other Spellcasters, the Arcanist specializes in dealing vast amounts of damage across the battlefield. This comes with the unfortunate caveat of affecting themselves and the allies around them.
Stats-wise, they boast the best in terms of MP and Magic, with solid Magic Defense and Healing Power. Given the off-chance of damaging themselves, Arcanists should get Resistance against elements they themselves plan on using to be on the safe side.
14 Dragoon
Being a more specialized class, the Dragoon is more or less an all-rounder – boasting decent attack, defense, and speed. They have middling HP and MP but compensates with above-average Strength and Defense. Most importantly, they’re on the top of their game with their superior Magic Defense and Agility.
As with the version in the Final Fantasy series, the Jump action remains a core strategy of the Dragoon. This gives them a bit of leeway to leave the battlefield and strike with the force of a dragon to eliminate foes.
13 Thief
Despite its rather middling stats, the Thief Job rules the Agility game in Bravely Default 2. At its core, the Thief’s Steal and Mug abilities allow them to secure items otherwise unobtainable through ordinary means.
Moreover, at the cost of 95 MP, the Thief can use God Speed Strike to deal devastatingly high damage two times to a single target. With the right MP regeneration and sustains, the speedy Thief can make quick work of tough bosses.
12 Red Mage
Compared to the Spellcasting prowess of the Black Mage, the Red Mage taps into the utility aspect of spells to maximize their usage in the field. Despite their rather low MP numbers, they compensate with decent HP, Healing Power, and Agility. Most importantly, they rule the Job System when it comes to their superiority with Magical Defense.
Perhaps the core elementalist in the game, Red Mages can deal with various status ailments on top of their elemental magic. For instance, Water Spells can Freeze or Poison opponents. Likewise, Lightning Spells can Paralyze or Confuse opponents.
11 Swordmaster
Contrary to the ordinary warrior, the Swordmaster focuses on transforming combat to their advantage. Boasting remarkable Strength on top of decent Agility, the Swordmaster specializes in counters to return the pain to melee combatants. And even without their trademark counters, the Swordmaster boasts decent physical stats to enjoy the buffs of tanking classes.
In terms of gameplay, Swordmasters should capitalize on their Flurry to damage bosses as much as possible. Their Stances could also help them adjust to most situations. For instance, Fluid Stance banks on dealing damage to enemies as counters. Meanwhile, Solid Stance relies on attacking multiple times to wear out the enemy.
10 Phantom
This Job basically turns a character into the assassin of the team. Phantom has high evasive maneuvers and can land critical hits easily. That’s what most of its skills are based on.
The big reason to take notice of this class, though, is the Dual Wield Passive Ability which negates any sort of weight restrictions from holding two weapons.
9 Spiritmaster
This Job is sort of like a Summoner from the Final Fantasy series. Characters summon spirits to imbue the party with reoccurring boons like healing HP, or the best skill of all, regenerating dead allies for a set amount of turns.
Spiritmaster has a great Passive Ability too, Sub-Job Speciality 1. This will unlock another Specialty for every Job, making every one of them stronger in some form.
8 Beastmaster
The Beastmaster may as well be called a Pokemon Master because that’s what it is. Weakened monsters can be captured and then released with another skill as a one-time summon. There is a Job Specialty, Creature Comforts, that increases stats by the number of creatures captured.
Therefore, if someone really wanted to become a god, they could capture everything. Another great thing about this Job is its Passive Ability, MP Saver, which decreases spell cost by 20%.
7 White Mage
This is a classic must-have Job of many RPGs. The White Mage's healing spells make it well worth mastering even if it’s just to keep around as a Sub-Job.
This Job also has two great Passive Abilities called Better than Ever and Above and Beyond. These two things increase HP beyond limits when healed, allowing characters to break through 9999. Yes, it is over 9000.
6 Berserker
If played right, Berserker can be like an unstoppable tornado in Bravely Default 2. Certain skills can make it go into a rage in other words. There is also a very strong attack called Level Slash which hits all enemies at the cost of HP.
Berserker has its uses beyond strength too, like the Passive Ability Unshakable Will that protects against sleep, paralysis, dread, berserk, confusion, charm, and freezing.
5 Hellbade
The Hellblade is essentially like the Dark Knight of Bravely Default 2. Its attack powers derive from using a mix of elemental prowess with hard-hitting physical attacks. The best reason to use this Job is to unlock its Passive Ability, Surpassing Power.
This allows characters to do more than 9999 damage. This is very important later in the game when enemy HP levels are in the hundreds of thousands.
4 Salve-Maker
This is the potion master of the group and in many ways is actually the best healer Job in the game. This all depends on a player’s money situation. Later in the game, players can buy Elixirs which heal all HP and MP.
They cost 10,000 apiece, which is high, but there are exploits to get a lot of money fast. For instance, one of this Job’s skills is Widen Area, which uses an item on the whole group. This is also a good tip for when using Phoenix Downs.
3 Monk
In terms of raw power, Monk can be the strongest Job in Bravely Default 2. That’s due primarily to the Monk's two Passive Abilities, aka Bare-Knuckle Brawler and Natural Talent.
The first one increases attack power when no weapons are equipped while the other increases all stats if all weapons and armor are removed. Players can become a cheap lightning-fast tank, striking hard with the Focus Blast skill.
2 Freelancer
The Freelancer may seem like a lame Job at first since it really doesn’t have any cool attack skills nor does it stand out on its own. However, the Job Specialty, Late Bloomer, boosts stats based on the number of Jobs mastered.
Therefore, if someone were to master all 24 Jobs, this class could go toe to toe with video game gods like Kratos. Furthermore, the Passive Abilities of JP Up and JP Up and Up help make that grind to the top lesser.
1 Bravebearer
While the overall stats are not as strong as some of the other Jobs, there is a big reason why Bravebearer is Bravely Default 2's best class and is saved for last. As the name might suggest, this Job’s strength is its ability to create BP from everything thus giving players way more turns.
From defeating targets to limit breaks and even just getting to a turn, almost everything can increase BP in battle. This makes getting it from the accompanying boss challenging but rewarding. Gigagravity is also a devastating skill all its own.