Freelancer
Freelancer, also known as Bare or Suppin, is a job in Final Fantasy V. It is available from the start of the game. While initially presented in-game as a featureless baseline that all other jobs are compared to, Freelancer has the special perks of unlimited equipment selection and growing in strength as the user masters other jobs.
Availability
Freelancer is the sole job that is unlocked immediately upon beginning the game, with each party member initially being one.
Stats
| List | Base stat | Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 24 | 0 |
| Agility | 24 | 0 |
| Stamina | 24 | 0 |
| Magic | 24 | 0 |
Freelancer's stats are not static; it receives the positive stat modifiers of other jobs the user has mastered. If multiple jobs have been mastered, the highest modifier for each stat is used.
Equipment
Freelancer is special in that it can equip any piece of gear in the game. This includes normally job-exclusive equipment such as the Ribbon, Thief's Gloves, and Angel Robe.
Abilities
Freelancer has no innate support abilities and is distinct for not learning any abilities of its own. If the user has mastered other jobs, however, Freelancer automatically gains the mastered jobs' support abilities, though some abilities are ineligible and must be equipped manually.
Commands
Freelancer is unique in that it has no innate command ability. It does, however, have two slots to equip abilities, as opposed to most jobs having one, or Mime having three.
| # | Command |
|---|---|
| 1 | ! Attack |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ! Items |
Note: An empty command slot can be used to insert any learned ability, including duplicates.
Stat and ability inheritance
Freelancer and Mime are unusual in that they are directly impacted by the Job Level of other jobs: after a party member has mastered a job by reaching its maximum Job Level, said job's positive stat modifiers and support abilities (with some exceptions) are automatically applied to the character while they are a Freelancer or Mime. If multiple jobs have been mastered, then the highest modifier for each stat is used and support abilities from all mastered jobs are granted.
Exceptions
The following support abilities are exempt from Freelancer and Mime's inheritance system and thus must be equipped in an ability slot:
- ABP Up
- Artful Dodger (Thief's Agility bonus is already transferred, however, making Artful Dodger redundant.)
- Berserk
- All "Equip" abilities (Freelancer can equip anything by default, however.)
- EXP Up
- HP +10%, HP +20%, HP +30%
- Long Reach
- Lure
- MP +10%, MP +30%
- Read Ahead
- Two-Handed
- Undead
In the Fiesta
Under Four Job Fiesta rules, Freelancer is considered a nonstandard job in that it can only be assigned in certain run types, such as Pure Chaos. However, due to the structure of Final Fantasy V, all runs that are done without game modifications feature Freelancer at the beginning, as the first six jobs are not unlocked until the player reaches the end of the Wind Shrine. Additionally, some Fiesta variants force the player to temporarily use Freelancers for longer, such as Natural, where party members whose assigned job is not yet unlocked remain Freelancers until then.
Freelancer's special perks make it typically turn into what can be considered a duplicate of the player's best job, only stronger. Thanks to its unrestricted equipment selection, two ability slots, and inheritance system, it has much more build freedom than other jobs. Even without the aid of other jobs, Freelancer's equipment makes it powerful. For weapons, it always has access to the strongest one and can break rods for magic, heal with the Healing Staff, kill with the Death Sickle and Killer Bow, blind with the Dark Bow, and many more. Defense is an especially good area for Freelancer, as along with its free choice of strong physical or magical armor, it can not only equip a Ribbon, but a shield as well. Freelancer is a great asset to any team its own and has an answer to every boss.
Trivia
- With no abilities to learn, Freelancer is the only job that has no Job Level and thus no use for ABP.
- If all party members are Freelancers, the end-of-battle ABP gain message is skipped entirely.
- Despite having no Job Level, Freelancer will appear as "mastered" on a character who has mastered every other job in the game.