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.

Notable strategies

• Breaking a Frost Rod on Magissa can easily skip past her attempt to call Forza.
• Garula can be paralyzed by the Whip Magissa drops.
• Like other rod users, Freelancer can break Flame, Frost, and Thunder Rods to cast Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, respectively. A few Frost Rods can KO Liquid Flame (though its hand form is immune to ice) and Adamantoise (Death Sickles also work), Flame Rods can handle Byblos, and Thunder Rods can expedite Soul Cannon.
• Byblos can be paralyzed with a Whip and dealt heavy damage by breaking Flame Rods.
• A Death Sickle is even better on Freelancer than Berserker because the target can be chosen. It has high power, and a surprising number of enemies are susceptible to the death status, such as Adamantoise, Manticore, Dragon Pod, fleet Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and the Seal Guardians. The Killer Bow is similar and even works on the Undead.
• The Dark Bow is extremely useful for its ability to blind any susceptible enemy with no regards to Magic Evasion.
• Each form of Archeoaevis can be blinded with the Dark Bow. A combination of rod breaks and a Death Sickle can get through its forms' defenses.
• Bridge Gilgamesh can be blinded with the Dark Bow and aged with the Ancient Sword. On SNES/PS, he can be silenced with a Mage Masher to prevent his buffs.
• The Sleep Blade can put Atomos to sleep, at which point rods can be broken to keep him from waking up.
• The Seal Guardians can be blinded with the Dark Bow. They can be instantly killed with a Death Sickle or Killer Bow, and if the user is mini (such as from a Mini Magician outside), there is little fear of pushing a crystal into its spellcasting threshold.
• Hitting someone with a Power Staff inflicts berserk, which can break several bosses. The Wonder Wand can also do this along with other black and white spells such as Blink and Shell.
• A Staff of Light casts Holy when consumed, dealing heavy damage to castle Exdeath to help push him to his second phase.
• Melusine can be paralyzed with a Whip or Chain Whip, blinded with a Dark Bow, silenced with a Mage Masher, and put to sleep with a Sleep Blade. Freelancer has the weapons to deal good damage to her regardless of form.
• For legendary weapons, Freelancer can make particularly good use of the Rune Axe, as Freelancer does not need to use an ability slot on Equip Axes or a Magic-raising command to make the most out of the weapon's power.
• For Omniscient, the Rune Bow can be used to reflect silence off an ally without harming them. If Omniscient is silenced, paralyzed, or stopped, then his protect, shell, and regen can be removed by using the Judgment Staff. Alternatively, the Power Staff or Wonder Wand makes him berserk, and he can be blinded with a Dark Bow.
• Apanda can be made berserk with the Power Staff or Wonder Wand, blinded with a Dark Bow, silenced with a Mage Masher or Rune Bow, and heavily damaged by a Beast Killer, Artemis Bow, Flametongue, or Firaga from a rod or Fire Lash.
• Halicarnassus can be blinded with a Dark Bow.
• Necrophobe's Barriers can be instantly killed by reflecting a Death Sickle's or Assassin Dagger's Death. Necrophobe himself can be blinded with a Dark Bow.
• While Freelancer itself has no easy way to fight Omega, a Ribbon and an Aegis or Flame Shield make it good at withstanding Omega's attacks, and can use an axe, Coral Sword, Trident, or critical hit weapon to pierce Defense.
• Freelancer can make Shinryu berserk with the Wonder Wand or Power Staff, blind it with the Dark Bow, and inflict heavy damage with Apollo's Harp, Dragon Lance, or Dragon's Whisker.
• Tree Exdeath is weak to the Man-Eater, and a Ribbon blocks White Hole (as does an Aegis Shield on SNES/PS and GBA). Each Neo Exdeath part can be blinded with a Dark Bow; the front part mainly attacks physically, but the back can too, as can the last remaining part. The top part is weak to Apollo's Harp, Dragon Lance, or Dragon's Whisker, with the latter also having a chance to paralyze it (as do most other whips). The bottom part is weak to the Beast Killer and Artemis Bow. Almagest may be dodged with an Aegis Shield. There is also a slim chance to petrify the bottom part using the Wonder Wand's Break or Magic Lamp for Catoblepas.

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.