Wizard is the first magic-based job you get and, boy, is it a game-changer. For one, it boasts the highest Intelligence out of all jobs and its Spirit Magic includes spells of all elements, making it easy to explot enemy weaknesses and deal huge amounts of damage.

However it’s Spellcraft that really makes Wizard shine, allowing characters to customise their spells on the fly. How do you like a spell that goes first or a spell that triggers at the end of every turn? Spirit Magic eventually falls behind in terms of raw power, but Spellcraft is always amazing.

Specialty: Spellcraft¶

Allows the character access to the Spellcraft command (via the Ability command or after selecting a spell) during battle. For an additional BP and some extra MP, you can add one of many Spellcraft effects to a magic spell, modifying the properties of the spell.

In Bravely Default, magic was merely OK and mostly underpowered compared to physical attacks. Here, thanks primarily to Spellcraft, it’s amazing . Although the additional BP and MP cost will naturally limit how many times you can use it early on.

Level 1: Spirit Magic¶

Enables the use of the following Spirit Magic: Heal, Frost, Lightning, Tornado, Soil, Shining, Shadow and Spirit. However you must own the corresponding magic scroll to use that magic.

Spirit Magic is the only way for Wizards to attack, unless you assign them a secondary job. With these eight spells, you can quickly cover all your bases. But as implied earlier, the damage output of Spirit Magic is fairly low and outclassed by later spells.

As such, later on, it’s a good idea to have a secondary magic job assigned so you have stronger spells at your disposal.

Level 2: Spellcraft Level 1¶

Enables the use of Dart and Needle Spellcraft.

Dart modifies a spell so that it targets one enemy and always casts at the beginning of the turn. The spell’s damage is also increased by 1.5 times and some status-enhancing spells have their duration extended. Since Wizards are slow, this is great for nailing single foes.

Needle makes a spell affect all targets with the same name. The spell’s damage is also increased by 1.5 times and some status-enhancing spells have their duration extended. This is mainly useful for dealing with enemy mobs that have many common enemies.

Level 3: Damage Dispersion¶

When user takes single-target damage, their non-fallen allies each receives 15% of the damage, while the user sustains the remaining damage. Does not trigger for reflected magic damage or poison/freeze damage.

If you have four party members all standing, the other three party members will receive 15% damage each (for a total of 45% damage between them), while the user receives 55% damage. Handy for keeping fragile characters alive (like a Wizard).

Level 4: Spellcraft Level 2¶

Enables the use of Hammer and Mist Spellcraft.

Hammer makes a spell deal 2 times physical damage, rather than magical damage. Some status-enhancing spells have their duration extended. Useful for taking down enemies with high Magic Defence, but Hammer runs off physical attack, which for a Wizard is usually low.

Mist modifies a spell so that it affects all targets at the end of every turn for 3 turns. The possibilities for this are almost endless. You could use Mist on an offensive spell to prolong the pain or a healing spell to passively support your party. Note that only one Mist for each party can be in effect at once.

Level 5: Spellcraft¶

Allows the character access to the Spellcraft command (via the Ability command or after selecting a spell) during battle. For an additional BP and some extra MP, you can add one of many Spellcraft effects to a magic spell, modifying the properties of the spell.

In other words, the Spellcraft Specialty that you can give to other jobs. Although Wizard is a stellar job, Spellcraft can work wonders in the hands of other powerful magic-based jobs.

Level 6: Spellcraft Level 3¶

Enables the use of Blast and Wall Spellcraft.

Blast is simple, it makes a spell affect all allies or all foes. Spirit Magic already affects all foes, so it’s useless for a Wizard alone, but it’s great for other types of magic. For instance, you can combine it with Astral Magic to buff your entire party.

Wall modifies a spell so that it acts as a counter for enemy physical attacks for 10 turns. Does not trigger for reflected magic. Interesting if you like punishing foes, but not terribly useful most of the time. Can also be used on enemies to trigger healing or support spells for your attackers.

Level 7: Absorb Magic Damage¶

User recovers HP equal to 25% of the damage from magic attacks. Does not trigger for poison/freeze damage or when the user is KO’d.

As long as your character isn’t KO’d by the attack, this effectively reduces magical damage by 25%. Handy for tough magic-based enemies.

Level 8: Full Charge¶

Doubles damage from offensive magic when MP is full.

This ability is nigh useless by itself, since you rarely have full MP. However it can be combined with the Red Mage’s MP Free in a Pinch ability, which negates MP consumption when at critical HP. This may sound dangerous, but there’s a safe way to use it and that’s by becoming a Ghost.

Level 9: Spellcraft Level 4¶

Enables the use of Rain and Arrow Spellcraft.

Rain is pretty neat, making a spell hit four random targets at 60% power. Some status-enhancing spells have their duration extended. On the face of it, you’re only doing 20% more damage per turn, but each of the four hits can reach the damage cap, instead of the one spell.

Arrow lets you select as many or as few enemies as you want, with the spell’s power increasing up to 2 times more the fewer enemies selected. Some status-enhancing spells have their duration extended as well. If you don’t need to go first, this is better than Dart.

Level 10: Ventriloquism¶

Spellcraft abilities will also affect any magic cast by allies (and the user) during the same turn.

What this means is that after the user chooses a particular Spellcraft, every magic spell cast by your characters during that turn will have the Spellcraft effect applied. For example, if a character with this ability uses the Rain Spellcraft, every spell will have the Rain effect.

This ability is the epitome of “game-breaking” and invaluable for effortlessly defeating even the strongest of bosses. Physical attackers… what are they again?

Level 11: Spellcraft Level 5¶

Enables the use of Nova Spellcraft.

What Nova does is make a spell deal double damage to all combatants–friend or foe. In addition, Nova bypasses Reflect. This is extremely hazardous for your health, unless you’re using a healing spell or your characters are immune to the spell’s element.