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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Red Battlemage

By
Ben Chard
,
Jarrod Garripoli
, &
Nathan Garvin

Red Battlemage is the jack-of-all-trades of mages, having access to Black Magick 3- 6, Time Magick 1 - 3 and White Magick 2 - 6. They also have access to all Arcane Magicks and Green Magicks, the former of which will allow them to cast the most powerful Fire elemental magick in the game, Ardor. Throughout most of the game, this versatility is wonderful, as it’ll take quite a while to accumulate the high-tier magicks that’ll finally allow your more specialized mages to surpass the Red Battlemage. Eventually, however, Cura just doesn’t cut it, and by the time your other mages gain access to the -ga and -ja magicks, the Red Battlemage will start to transition into more of a supporting role.

For when magicks aren’t sufficient to the task at hand, the Red Battlemage also has access to Maces, which are reliable, if not spectacular weapons. In addition, they have more HP than the other mages and access to all Shield licenses. Don’t be fooled into thinking this makes them a viable late-game melee class, however, as they truly excel at magick. That this is their true calling is made clear by the amount of Magick Lores (12) they have access to compared to Battle Lores (1), and the fact that they wear Mystic Armor to further keep their Magick Power high.

The merits of mixing this job with the Archer has been gone over in great detail under the Archer section, but to summarize, you’ll get a healthy influx of technicks, Light Armor licenses, much more HP, all the item lores, and more importantly, all three ranks of Swiftness. This is very nice, as the Red Battlemage is one of two jobs that only has one rank of Swiftness, otherwise. Best of all you’ll be able to use the Burning Bow, which will make your Ardor spell much, much stronger. If your heart is set on using all twelve classes, it’s hard to find a better pairing for the Archer and Red Battlemage than with each other. It’s also a role that seem tailor-made for Fran… if you care about lore, that is.

As far as Espers go, Famfrit is interesting, as it hides two Battle Lores behind its Esper Gate, but you can island hop those with the Archer, and use the Red Battlemage’s HP 11 license (behind a Quickening Gate) to island hop behind Famfrit’s license on the Archer License Board. The two most interesting Esper Gates remaining are Zeromus, which will give you access to the LP 80 Channeling license and Cuchulainn, behind whose Esper Gate you’ll find Black Magick 9 - 10. Putting these magicks on the Red Battlemage will allow them to function as a secondary Black Mage and dramatically increases their offensive utility in the late-game. Ardor is, with the right gear and against the right foes the most powerful magick in the game, but it’s also an expensive cast, using around 50% more MP than the -ga spells do, and of course, there are enemies who negate or absorb Fire.

Red Battlemage Core Licenses

Category Licenses
Swiftness Swiftness 30 LP
HP HP 3, 5 - 7, 11 (1,235 HP)
Battle Lore x1
Magick Lore x12
Weapons Maces 1 - 5
Armor Mystic Armor 1 - 13, Shields 1 - 7, Spell Shield, Ensanguined Shield, Zodiac Escutcheon
Technicks Charge, Souleater
Magicks Arcane Magick 1 - 3, Black Magick 3 - 6, Green Magick 1 - 3, Time Magick 1 - 3, Whtie Magick 2 - 6
Item Lore Ether Lore 1
Passives Channeling x2, Headsman, Inquisitor, Serenity, Spellbound, Spellbreaker, Warmage

Red Battlemage Esper Licenses

Esper Licenses
Adrammelech
Belias
Chaos Greatswords 3
Cuchulainn Black Magick 9 - 10
Exodus Heavy Armor 8 - 10
Famfrit Battle Lore x2
Hashmal Steal
Mateus
Shemhazai White Magick 7
Ultima Greatswords 1 - 2
Zalera
Zeromus Channeling
Zodiark Greatswords 4
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, Steam, Switch, XB One
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    30 August 2017
  • Last Updated
    17 December 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author
    Nathan Garvin, Jarrod Garripoli

Share this free guide:

Enter an era of war within the world of Ivalice. The small kingdom of Dalmasca, conquered by the Archadian Empire, is left in ruin and uncertainty. Princess Ashe, the one and only heir to the throne, devotes herself to the resistance to liberate her country. Vaan, a young man who lost his family in the war, dreams of flying freely in the skies. In a fight for freedom and fallen royalty, join these unlikely allies and their companions as they embark on a heroic adventure to free their homeland.

This guide contains the following:

  • A walkthrough that’ll guide you through the story, help you obtain all the best weapons and armor, and defeat every monster.
  • An interactive map of the Giruvegan Great Crystal; featuring all weapons, armors, save crystals, gate stones, way stones, bosses and rare enemies.
  • Tips for getting the best equipment from the Bazaar and from enemies.
  • A detailed Job Guide featuring all twelve job classes in the game, and the best ways to combine them and characters to form the ultimate party.
  • How to find and defeat all Hunt Marks and Rare Game.
  • Citations of the differences between this version of the game and the original.
  • A thorough explanation of all of the game’s mechanics.
  • All sidequests, including Trial Mode.
  • A trophy guide that will get you that shiny Platinum Trophy.

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