Row Row , Change , Swap Rows , Rear or Front , is a recurring term and battle command in the " Final Fantasy " series . It refers to a unit ' s position in battle , which affects overall performance . A player character can either fight in the front row or the back row . Most " Final Fantasy " games allow the player to change the rows of a party member freely even in battle , but sometimes switch back after the battle has ended . Starting a battle as a back attack reverses the characters ' row placement . Fighting in the front row allows characters to deal regular damage to enemies , but in turn receive regular damage from enemies as well . This is generally best for characters with high HP and Defense , such as the Warrior or Paladin jobs . Being in the back row will make characters inflict less damage with melee weapons , but receive less damage from enemies as well . This is best for characters with low HP and Defense , like White Mage s or Summoners . Monsters can also be in the back or front row , depending on the placement of their allies . They will experience the same increases / decreases to damage as the player ' s characters do , although killing the front - row enemies typically moves back - row enemies forward . Typically , there are exceptions to the above rules . Magic is almost universally unaffected by row . Most games have ranged weapons that inflict normal damage regardless of row : bows , throwing items like boomerangs and shuriken , and gun s usually ignore row , along with other specialized weapons . Some games also have an ability known as Long Range or Reach that gives the equipped character the same power as if they were using a long - ranged weapon . Appearances . " Final Fantasy I " . The party ' s order determines the likelihood of each character being targeted by enemies ' physical attacks . The member in the first position receives 1 / 2 of attacks , the member in the second position receives 1 / 4 of attacks , and the members in the third and fourth positions receive 1 / 8 of attacks . " Final Fantasy II " . Characters in the back row can only be hit by magic and bow attacks , and can only attack with bows and magic themselves . They can wield other weapons , but they always miss . The player can only change rows outside of battle , triggered in the NES version by pressing on the map , and from the main menu in other releases . KO ' d characters that are brought back to life will be put in the back row . At least one character must be in the front row , and characters in the back row will automatically move to the front row at the end of the turn if all front - row characters have been knocked out . By having more characters in the back row , the character ( s ) in the front row will be attacked more frequently . " Final Fantasy III " . Magic , bows and boomerangs deal the same amount of damage regardless of row . This game was the first to introduce back attack . When this occurs characters in the front row are placed in the back row and characters in the back row are placed in the front row . In the 3D versions , the Rear command makes a character go in the back row while the Front command makes them go to the front row . " Final Fantasy IV " . Bows , boomerangs , and harps are ranged weapons and deal full damage from the back row . In the 3D remake releases , the augment Reach lets the character deal full damage from the back row . Characters in the back row will take less damage from physical attacks . Unlike in most games , which allow players to pick and choose which row they want their characters in , " Final Fantasy IV " forces players to put two characters in the front row and three in the back row , or vice - versa . The player can change whether they want two or three characters in the front or back row in the menu screen , and can temporarily force all party members to change rows in battle by selecting the Change , Swap or Swap Rows command , which players can find by pressing on the control pad or control stick . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . The Swap Rows returns as a command and it functions the same way . This functions works the same as in the original game . " Final Fantasy V " . Long range attacks that ignore row include damage done by bows , whips and boomerangs . The Ninja can also use the Throw command , and the Samurai can use Zeninage , which deal ranged damage . The ability Long Range is exclusive to the GBA and succeeding versions , and is the Level 3 ability of the Gladiator class . The enemy ability Magnet reverses the party ' s rows . " Final Fantasy VI " . In the back row , damage and attack power are halved . Row can be changed using the main menu by pressing and . The Row command is also found by pressing on the character ' s battle command window . Usually only attacks dealt with the Attack command are affected by being in the back row , but the characters ' special commands , such as Sabin ' s Blitz and Edgar ' s Tools commands , are unaffected . Maces , boomerangs , clubs , and gamblers are long range weapons and deal full damage from back row . The enemy ability R . Polarity switches a player ' s row . Battles that are Pincer or Side Attacks have no rows , but the player is still able to use the row command . The spells auto - cast from weapons do not ignore the caster ' s row , so from the back row they will do half damage , unless the weapon that casts the spell ignores row . " Final Fantasy VII " . Attacks dealt with the normal Attack command are the only attacks that are affected by row , meaning even Morph , D . blow , Slash - All and 4x - Cut deal full damage from back row ( 2x - Cut , however , deals half damage from back row ) . Aeris is the only character who joins the party being in the back row by default . The young Cloud appearing in the Nibelheim flashback is also in the back row . Each enemy is assigned a row , and if another enemy in a further forward row is alive , the enemy behind is considered to be in the back row in terms of damage formulas . Though potentially there are three or more rows , all enemies bar those in the front row take equal damage as back row enemies . Some enemies are not assigned a row , and are instead assigned to be out of reach . These enemies cannot be hit by short - range attacks . A number of enemies switch to this state if they have a flying form . The enemy cover system means that enemies in one row can prevent short range attacks targeting an enemy in the rows behind them , set up by determining the number of columns the enemy resides in , five columns in total . If an enemy in row 1 resides in a column that an enemy in row 2 also resides in , then the enemy in row 2 cannot be targeted by a short - range attack . Not all formations use the cover system , and the columns are not specifically mapped to the enemy ' s location , so an enemy appearing behind another will not always mean they cannot be targeted . Barret , Red XIII , Yuffie and Vincent have long range weapons , and the other characters can equip the Long Range Materia to deal ranged attacks . The Throw command and Coin Toss are also considered long range . Battles that are Side Attacks have no rows . The enemy ability Electromag switches the party ' s current row . A character covering for an ally with the Cover Materia still takes half damage from attacks even if covering for an ally who is in the front row . The boss battle against Motor Ball is a back attack , and thus reverses the party ' s row . In some battles the Change command to change row is grayed out . This happens in the battles fought as Yuffie in the Wutai Village pagoda , and Cloud ' s final showdown against Sephiroth . In these battles the enemies also start with an empty ATB gauge and one ' s first physical attack will deal double damage , as if the battle was a back attack . Although not flagged as a long range weapon , Barret ' s Pile Bunker suffers no damage penalty from attacking from the back row or at enemies in the back row even though it uses the melee animation . This is most likely a bug . " Final Fantasy IX " . Vivi , Dagger , Freya , and Eiko join the party being in the back row by default . Quina ' s attacks deal random damage , so while s / he joins in the front row , s / he might be better placed in the back . Zidane , Steiner , Freya , and Amarant can learn Long Reach , which allows them to deal normal damage from the back row . The game ' s only naturally long range weapons are the rackets , but Amarant can also throw weapons . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Here known as Row Change , players may change row out of battle but not in battle . Unlike most character configuration changes , character row may be changed even while in a dungeon . Row Change may be accessed by choosing Party , then Members , then Party Formation . Characters retain their assigned rows even when not in the current party . Characters start in the front row when they first become available . " Final Fantasy Legend II " . Except in the battle screen , if the player presses the Select button , the Alter Order screen will be displayed to change the positions of the characters , except for the guest s . The characters in the front will be attacked first and more often , so keeping weak characters behind where they will be protected .