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A specialist of all but master of none, the Red Mage class hasn't changed a whole lot over the years. One of the first jobs available in the Final Fantasy series, the Red Mage is a mixture of spell casting types that makes it nicely diverse - but, in the long run, not as useful in Final Fantasy III as it is in other games.

The big draw for the Red Mage is its ability to cast both black and white spells in battle. This makes Red Mages awesome warriors early on, as they can heal or hurt as the situation demands, and do so with good proficiency. A few Red Mages can easily make up for a lack of White or Black Mages on your team in the early parts of the game. The Red Mage is also heartier than its counterparts, capable of equipping much better armor and weapons and standing on the front line where other spell casters dare not go.

Sound good? It is, to an extent. Since the Red Mage is one of the first classes unlocked in the game it's invariably quite good at the start. As you progress, however, it'll quickly become obsolete, losing ground to Black and White Mages at every turn. The big problem is its lack of staying power: the Red Mage class doesn't afford the four characters of Final Fantasy III many spell options, and the class can't use many of the game's strongest spells since it can't equip anything past level five. They also can't use as many of each spell type before needing a recharge, which is a big minus.

And the final blow? The lack of Double Cast. Many Red Mages over the years have been capable of casting two spells in one round, making the lack of powerful spells less of a problem. Final Fantasy III doesn't offer this option to the Red Mage, however, and consequently they suffer from poor firepower. Their progressively sadder stats don't help replace this deficit, either.

The class is, in the final result, a challenge. Your team will be rather weak with several long-term Red Mages, and thus they're only recommended for late-stage battles if you know what you're doing. If not, look elsewhere.

Red Mages can learn the following spells:

White: Cure, Poisona, Sight, Aero, Toad, Mini, Cura, Teleport, Blindna, Silence, Confuse, Libra, Curaga, Raise, Protect

Black: Sleep, Blizzard, Fire, Thunder, Blind, Poison, Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, Shade, Blizzaga, Break, Thundaga, Raze, Erase

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