Trials of Mana was originally released in 1995, and it is part of a long line of Mana games. Square Enix redid the classic game for the Switch, giving it new life and new graphics, but many things remained the same in this classic RPG. One of the many things that Square kept the same as the original is being able to change classes with each character in the game.
Classes Overview
Square Enix seems to be on a mission to rerelease many of its old, successful JRPGs, like the recently-released Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the Mana series. But unlike the FF7 remake, players will find that class changes in Trials to be much more of a trial. There are a lot of choices and a lot of possibilities for classes.
Players of Trials of Mana will find that they will be able to change classes at level 18, level 38, and in post-game. At level 18, each character will be able to choose between two different classes, one dark and one light. The dark option does more damage while the light option will focus on utility. Once the characters hit 38, they can choose between 4 classes.
Similar to unlocking all the hidden abilities in Trials of Mana, upgrading levels in Trials isn't as straightforward as players might hope.
Tier 2 Classes
Tier 1 classes are the classes that characters start the game with. Tier 2 classes are available as soon as they hit level 18. It shouldn't take too long to get to level 18 if players are grinding in an efficient way to level. This upgrade is automatic.
Duran
- Knight (Light) - Defense, Healing
- Gladiator (Dark) - Damage at the cost of defensive stats
Angela
- Sorceress (Light) - Powerful elemental spells
- Mysticist (Dark) - Fewer spells and less powerful
Kevin
- Monk (Light) - Healing spells
- Brawler (Dark) - Attack Power
Charlotte
- Priestess (Light) - Healing at the expense of Magic attack and Buffs
- Enchantress (Dark) - Pure damage
Hawkeye
- Ranger (Light) - Ranged attacks, debuffs
- Ninja (Dark) - Very powerful debuffs, as seen in the Trial of Mana trailer
Riesz
- Valkyrie (Light) - Defensive buffs for party
- Rune Maiden (Dark) - Single-target debuffs, attack-focused
Tier 3 Classes
Unlike Tier 2 classes, players will have to do some special item hunting to be able to upgrade their characters. The Tier 3 classes that will be available to a character will be based on which Tier 2 class that character currently has. Unlike some of Trials of Mana secret bosses, these items should be pretty easy to come across while playing.
Duran
- Paladin - Defensive, buffs - (Light/Light) - Item needed: Knight Tag
- Liege - Balances defense, attack stats - (Light/Dark) - Item needed: Prince Tag
- Edelfrei - Attack-focused, buffs - (Dark/Light) - Item needed: Battler Tag
- Duelist - Highest attack stats, dark buffs - (Dark/Dark) - Item needed: Duelist Tag
Angela
- Grand Diviner - 2nd level elemental spells - (Light/Light) - Item Needed: Arcana Book
- Archmage - 2nd level elemental spells - (Light/Dark) - Item Needed: Estora Book
- Rune Seer - Instant death spells, effects - (Dark/Light) - Item Needed: Rune Book
- Magus - 2nd level elemental spells, dark spell - (Dark/Dark) - Item Needed: Omen Book
Kevin
- Divine Fist - Fast Class Strike gauge refill - (Light/Light) - Item Needed: Gold Aura
- Warrior Monk - AOE healing, buffs for attackers - (Light/Dark) - Item Needed: Silver Aura
- Fatal Fist - Highest attacks, high critical hits - (Dark/Dark) - Item Needed: Death Aura
- Enlightened - Steal HP from enemies to make the combat even more fun - (Dark/Light) - Item Needed: Mage Aura
Charlotte
- High Cleric - Protection, kill undead spells, light buffs - (Light/Light) - Item Needed: Holy Bottle
- Sage - AOE elemental buffs, light attack, status clear - (Light/Dark) - Item Needed: Salt Bottle
- Necromancer - Balances attack, healing stats - (Dark/Light) - Item Needed: Ash Bottle
- Warlock - Balances attack, healing stats - (Dark/Dark) - Item Needed: Curse Bottle
Hawkeye
- Nomad - Focuses on status-altering spells - (Light/Light) - Item Needed: Lucky Dice
- Rogue - Traps, Ranged - (Light/Dark) - Item Needed: Destiny Dice
- Ninja Master - Debuffs - (Dark/Light) - Item Needed: Precise Dice
- Nightblade - Elemental, Status damages - (Dark/Dark) - Item Needed: Dusk Dice
Reisz
- Vanadis - Single-target buffs, Light Class 3 - (Light/Light) - Item Needed: Brisingamen
- Starlancer - Summons, AOE buffs - (Light/Dark) - Item Needed: Evening Star
- Dragon Master - Powerful summons, Dark Class 3 - (Dark/Light) - Item Needed: Dragoon Band
- Fenrir Knight - Multi-target debuffs, summons - (Dark/Dark) - Item Needed: Gleipnir
Tier 4 Classes in Trials of Mana
Trials of Mana doesn't take much time to beat, but there is some post-game stuff that players will be able to use to expand the amount of fun they can get out of the game.
Duran - Item Needed: Valor Sphere
- Divine Hero - Super Healing - (Light)
- Berserker - Massive Damage - (Dark)
Angela - Item Needed: Safe Sphere
- Mystic Queen - Ignores elemental resistances - (Light)
- Spellbinder - Massive damage - (Dark)
Kevin - Item Needed: Instinct Sphere
- Beast King - Decreases Damage taken, can't be knocked back - (Light)
- Annihilator - Increase attack, normal attacks - (Dark)
Charlotte - Item Needed: Hope Sphere
- High Priestess - Massive healing even on faint - (Light)
- Chaosbringer - Decreases enemy damage, deals massive damage - (Dark)
Hawkeye - Item Needed: Loyal Sphere
- Wardenkeep - Stat increases, loads of damage - (Light)
- Vigilante - Bind enemies, deal loads of damage - (Dark)
Reisz - Item Needed: Kind Sphere
- Meteorite - Holy damage, healing - (Light)
- Brynhildr - adds to CS gauges for allies, does thunder damage (Dark)
Resetting Classes
Trials of Mana also allows players to reset classes. This brings the character back to Tier 1 so they can change their paths from light to dark or dark to light. This is great feature for players who are worried that they won't like the classes they've chosen. It's one of the best upgrades to this new Mana game.
In order to change classes in one of the best Mana games ever made, players will have to have a Goddess Scale. They can be found in the last dungeon of each character's story quest chain. It will be after Zable Fahr. Several more of these statues can be found in the post-game Anise's Stockade. Once a players has a Goddess Statue, bring it to the Mana Sanctuary. This will reset training points, shortcut commands, and all gear will be removed.
There are limited number of these statues in the game, so make sure to use them thoughtfully. With each change in class or character, players can change the game. With all the amazing possibilities and combinations, it's no wonder that this JRPG earned a reboot.
Trials of Mana is available for PC, PS4, and Switch.
Source: Samurai Gamers