Stat growth Stat growth refers to the permanent improvement of the stats of the player characters . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . Although some stats are increased through fixed formulas , the majority of stats for characters are class - dependent . " Final Fantasy II " . " Final Fantasy II " does not feature a level system . Instead , the player characters ' stats increase based on their performance in battle . Attacking an enemy with a specific weapon ( or shield ) increases the character ' s skill with that weapon . Casting a certain spell will eventually increase the level of that spell , making it more powerful and less likely to miss . Spell and weapon levels take a certain amount of uses , and each use awards a certain number of " points " for that skill to level up . The player starts at level 1 with 256 points , and they need to make it up to a certain number of points by using that spell or weapon . Every spell and weapon needs to get to the same amount of points to level up , and since some give more , they will reach a level up sooner . E . g . Cure gets 2 points with every use . To get from level 1 to 2 , one needs to use the spell a total of 10 times ( 9 to get from 256 to 274 , and one more to jump up to the next level . ) Unarmed awards 11 points per use , while Fire awards 3 points . Different attacks get different amounts of points . Upon leveling a spell or weapon up , the points it has jump up from 256 to 512 to 768 and so on all the way to 4096 ( level 16 , the maximum ) . Attributes are also individually increased based on player actions : Max HP also automatically increases in regular intervals in later versions . " Final Fantasy III " . Whenever a character gains a level , maximum HP increases by an random amount ranging from " Level + 100 % of Vitality " to " Level + 150 % of Vitality " , thus , changing to high - vitality jobs — like Monk , Knight , Viking and Black Belt — before leveling up makes it easier to max out HP . Strength , Agility , Vitality , Intellect , Mind and MP are determined by a character ' s current level and job . For example , a level 20 Knight who previously leveled as a Thief , would have the exact same Strength , Agility , Vitality , Intellect , Mind and MP / spell slots as a level 20 Knight who previously leveled as a Warrior or White Mage . Other stats are generally calculated based on level , job , job level , various base stats ( like Strength or Agility ) , or a combination of the above . Some basic stat calculation formulas for the Famicom version is as follows : " Final Fantasy IV " . In all versions , stat growth is static and character - dependent until they reach level 70 ; after this , the stat growth of specific characters is determined by the Augments they have equipped ( in the 3D versions ) , or is picked at random from one of the eight statistics in the 2D versions . Certain Augments provide certain stat bonuses at level up ; for example , the Kick augment provides a bonus to Strength . " Final Fantasy V " . Each job has a static stat modifier . For example , the Black Mage has a bonus + 31 to Magic , but - 9 and - 2 penalties to Strength and Stamina respectively . While these bonuses don ' t " grow " mastering a job would transfer the bonuses to the Freelancer and Mime , but none of the penalties . These bonuses do not stack , and the highest acquired bonus will be applied . Mastering a Black Mage would grant Freelancer and Mime the aforementioned + 31 to Magic , but if the character then mastered Oracle it would be replaced by the Oracle ' s + 36 to Magic . To attain the highest possible bonus in all stats , a character would have to master Gladiator or Monk for Strength , Thief for Agility , Monk for Stamina , and Oracle for Magic . " Final Fantasy VI " . Each character has unique base stats that do not grow naturally , but the player can boost them once they gain access to magicite , as most confer a stat bonus to the character who levels up with that magicite equipped . For example , leveling with the Ifrit magicite equipped grants a permanent + 1 to Strength , while leveling with Midgardsormr equipped increases the max HP gained at level up by 30 % ( that is , if the character were to gain 100 HP at level up , they would gain 130 instead ; this applies to MP as well ) . The rate at which health is gained per level increases slowly , but steadily , all the way up to level 70 , which caps out at + 162 Max HP . After level 70 , the additions to the player ' s Max HP diminish . If the player plans on using Bahamut ' s or Diabolos ' s bonuses , the increases from 68 to 69 , 69 to 70 , and 70 to 71 are the best choices . A character ' s gear and level have a bigger impact than the permanent stat boosts gained from equipping magicite . Only one stat , when modified , makes an obviously meaningful contribution : Magic Power . Small differences in Vigor hardly have any effect , and boosting Vigor with espers pales in comparison to simply equipping a better weapon . Stamina betters a character ' s chance to evade status attacks , but a Ribbon would guarantee it . Investing meaningfully in the Speed stat would require for that a character to eschew all other stats and the effect could be achieved with a simple cast of Haste . HP and MP investments don ' t make a character that much more durable overall , although having more of each is still useful . The mobile versions use the post - battle quicksaves , meaning that if one accidentally levels up with the wrong esper equipped the player can get a do - over . " Final Fantasy VII " . Stats can be permanently boosted by either leveling up or by using stat boosting items . When a character gains a level , they earn increases to all primary stats as well as HP and MP , but the amount they increase is random , and depends on the stat , the character and their current level . A character like Cloud is designed to be an all - around good character with high stat growth in all his stats , whereas Aeris gains big boost in her Magic when leveling up , but has little Strength , and Barret has high Vitality but less Dexterity . Although individual stat boosts gained by a level up are randomized , they are fixed in a way that the player can never stray too far from the intended average . A character ' s primary stats are capped at 100 ; using Sources or wearing equipment and accessories does not increase a character ' s base stat from where the stat bonuses are calculated at a level up , and thus does not affect the rate the character gains stat increases through leveling . In addition to stats increasing as a character levels up , there are several items which , when used , permanently increase a given stat by one point . These are : the Power Source , which increases Strength ; Guard Source , which increases Vitality ; Magic Source , which increases Magic ; Mind Source , which increases Spirit ; Speed Source , which increases Dexterity ; and Luck Source , which increases Luck . Gelnika is notable as a location where every monster can be morphed into a Source . It is possible to duplicate the Sources with the W - Item duplication bug for quick stat boosts . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . The player can permanently boost the Materia ' s stats through Materia Fusion . The Materia can be fused with various items that grant stat boosts and the boosts carry over to different Materia during fusion . The Materia can then be equipped to Zack . Zack also gains minor stat boosts himself by leveling up . " Final Fantasy VIII " . While character stats are already highly customizable with the Junction system , these changes are not permanent . Instead , some Guardian Force s have high level abilities which grant a permanent bonus upon leveling . For example , Leviathan can learn the Spr Bonus ability , which when equipped grants a permanent + 1 to Spirit upon level up . An easy way to attain permanently high stats is to stay on a low level until acquiring the GF Cactuar , as it has every stat boost ability . Stats can also be permanently boosted by devouring high - level enemies . Upon devouring a suitable enemy the character ' s stat is permanently boosted by one . Items that give permanent boosts can also be found , but are rare . They can be manufactured with certain GF abilities , though they require a lot of gil . The following method requires Doomtrain , Eden and Tonberry . The abilities needed are Doomtrain ' s Forbid Med - RF , Eden ' s GFAbl Med - RF , and Tonberry ' s Familiar and Call Shop . One must have visited all of Esthar ' s shops for them to be accessible through Call Shop . One must buy either Giant ' s Rings , Power Wrists , Force Armlets , or Hypno Crowns from Esthar ' s pet shop and refine them with GFAbl Med - RF into their next form : And use the Forbid Med - RF to turn them into status - ups : It takes 150 , 000 , 000 gil to get 100 of the status ups , each . To get Vitality , one can refine Vit Ups by buying Vit - J Scrolls and using the GFAbl Med - RF to refine 10 into 1 Orichalcum and refine 10 of those into an Adamantine , then use Forbid Med - RF to turn 5 of those into 1 Vit Up . To get Speed one can refine Spd Ups by fighting Cactuars on Cactuar Island , and getting 100 Cactus Thorns to refine them with GFAbl Med - RF to 1 Hundred Needles and refine that using Forbid Med - RF , into 1 Spd Up . " Final Fantasy IX " . Each character has a fixed stat growth , but some equipment pieces provide permanent stat growth when a character levels up while wearing them . The best stat - boosting equipment can be purchased on disc 3 and 4 in shops , the Treno Auction House , found in chocograph s , and in some treasures on disc 3 and 4 . Some examples are the Black Belt , Dark Matter , Magic Racket , Pearl Rouge , Ribbon , Genji Armor , Venetia Shield , and N - Kai Armlet . For those interested in maximizing stats , it ' s recommended to keep the party ' s level as low as possible , and then start to level up with stat - boosting equipment on disc 4 . It ' s possible to keep their levels low until Amarant joins the party so that the additional characters won ' t receive more stat penalties . This is because the higher the initial levels for Freya , Quina , Eiko , and Amarant when they join the party , the more stat penalties they suffer . This explains why , for example , Freya ' s max HP on player A ' s save file can be lower than Freya ' s max HP on player B ' s save file , even if Freya is at the same level on both . The only stats that can be manipulated via equipment are Speed , Strength , Magic and Spirit . Speed and Spirit max at 50 , while Strength and Magic max at 99 . The stats that increase by leveling are as follows : The StatBonus values start at 0 . When a character gains a level , StrBonus and MagBonus increase by 3 , SprBonus increases by 1 and MStBonus increases by 5 . In addition to these automatic increases , the Bonus values also increases based on the stat bonuses given by equipment . There is no equipment that gives MStBonus . For example , if a character has a Bone Wrist equipped , it gives + 1 Strength while it is equipped . If that character levels while it is equipped , that character will gain 1 StrBonus when he levels up . Hence , if for example , one save file has Zidane equip nothing from 1 to 99 and another has just the Bone Wrist equipped , the Zidane with the Bone Wrist equipped will have 3 more Strength by level 99 ( 1 StrBonus x 98 level ups / 32 = 3 . 0625 . ) Due to the Marcus / Eiko stat bug , all of Marcus ' StatBonus values transfer over to Eiko , while not affecting her level . " Final Fantasy X " . Characters are highly customizable using the Sphere Grid system . Each player is placed in a position on a series of points in a grid , and as a player gains experience in battle , they acquire Sphere Levels allowing them to move within the grid . When a character lands at a given node they can use spheres acquired through the game to activate a node and receive the node ' s attributes , such as HP or MP boost , Strength , or Luck . Some spheres let the character learn another character ' s abilities , like the White and Black Magic Spheres , and other spheres let the character move into another node on the Sphere Grid , like a Return Sphere and Teleport Sphere . Each character begins at a certain point in the Sphere Grid , giving them a path for most of the game . For instance , Yuna is a White Mage , so her progression in the Sphere Grid will mostly boost her Magic stat and teaches her curative spells . Later in the game , the player can go on other characters ' paths and increase in the stat that they mostly specialize in . The player can also completely remake the Sphere Grid with Clear Spheres , which erase the current node and make it blank and fill it back up with a sphere of their choosing . There are lock spheres on the grid that can be unlocked with key spheres , but the key sphere has to match the level of the lock sphere . Many of the special abilities are behind locked spheres , but since all the characters share the same Sphere Grid , any lock only needs to be unlocked once to make the path available for all characters . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Each dressphere has different stats on each level , but stat growth is not dependent on dresspheres themselves . Meaning that if Yuna levels up wearing exclusively the Gunner dressphere , she will have the same stats as a level 25 Gun Mage as she would if she leveled up with a different dressphere . Stat values can be changed by equipping certain accessories or Garment Grid s . " Final Fantasy XI " . The jobs have stat modifiers and penalties , but are tied to the job in question and disappear upon changing jobs . Different races also have stat modifiers , but they are small enough to be mostly insignificant at higher levels . Since a character can freely switch between jobs , and there is a fee to have more than one character , picking a race that is " perfect " for a job isn ' t possible or practical . A Galka may make the ideal Warrior , but can ' t match a Tarutaru as a Black Mage , and the player can ' t have both without paying for the extra character , for whom they would have to redo much of the game ' s content . Upon reaching level 75 and higher with a job , any experience gained can optionally go towards limit points . Limit points can be cashed in for Merit Points , which can be used to customize the character . Among the many options are permanent stat bonuses up to 120 HP / MP , and + 8 in other stats . Experience points are forced into limit points should the level of the job caps at the maximum experience point limit at level 99 . " Final Fantasy XII " . Stat growth is character - specific and can ' t be influenced . Each character gets stat boosts by leveling up . The only exceptions are the HP and MP stats ; HP can be permanently boosted by unlocking augments on the License Board , and MP can be permanently doubled , and finally tripled , of the original value , by learning Quickenings . There are augments that boost battle and magick power , but do not themselves grant stat boosts . The only way to boost stats permanently is by leveling up . Every character has their unique pre - programmed stat growth . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Final Fantasy XIII " introduces the Crystarium system . Characters earn Crystogen Points ( CP ) to spend on the Crystarium to gain permanent stat boosts in HP , Strength , and Magic power . Everybody ' s Crystarium tree is unique and every character has six roles , each with its own section in the Crystarium . Defense cannot be permanently boosted , but is only affected by accessories . The player can instead permanently boost the accessories ' attributes through equipment upgrades . The maximum stats attainable only by fully advancing through Crystaria for each character are : " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " reintroduces the Crystarium in a changed form : now each role can attain level 99 and the Crystaria for Serah and Noel have twenty - two stages at each a bonus is selected . Serah has the superior Magic growth and Noel has the superior HP and Strength growth . There are two types of node spheres : small and large . Small spheres in the same positions tend to give similar stat bonuses on each playthrough , while the large are role - sensitive . Leveling a role on a large Crystarium node increases certain stat by certain amount : These stats can also be improved by equipping various weapons and accessories . Monster growth differs from those of the playable character as each monster have only one role available for development . To develop monsters , materials are used . Material are divided into Potent ; which slightly raises HP , Strength , and Magic altogether ; Vitality , which raises HP better than Potent ; Power , which raises Strength better than Potent ; and Mana , which raises Magic better than Potent . Materials are further divided into Biological which are used by feral creatures and Mechanical which are used to develop mechanical monsters . " Final Fantasy XIV " . In both " Legacy " and " A Realm Reborn " players gain a flat amount of stats every level , as well as one stat point every level which they can freely distribute to a single stat . The player may reassign already spent points by using one copy of the " Keeper ' s Hymn " item . A character ' s base stats are tied to their race and job , and a character can freely change job , making finding the optimal race and job combination impractical . Additional characters do not have fee limiting the player from having several " perfect " combination characters , but there is several hours of content the player would have to repeat to unlock the game ' s content for new characters . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . Each job has a specific stat growth . For example , Thieves have higher speed stat growth , while Mimes have the highest MA growth . Arithmetician s have the lowest stat growth . The best way to grow stats is to level up in a job with good growth , then de - level through the degenerator trap or enemy abilities as an Arithmetician , then re - level as a good stat growth job . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . " Final Fantasy Tactics A2 : Grimoire of the Rift " features a wide array of races and , each with unique stat growth rates . Many players use them to optimize their characters , while other choose to ignore them completely . The main attributes of each character are hit points ( HP ) , mist points ( MP ) , attack ( Atk ) , defense ( Def ) , magick ( Mgk ) , resistance ( Res ) and speed ( Spd ) . Their growth is controlled by a series of formulas within the game . All stats except for Spd rise when the player levels up , by an amount predetermined by the following formula : ( ( growth * 4 ) + 9 ) / 10 . The " growth " is a number dependent on class that ranges from 1 . 50 to 3 . 00 in increments of 0 . 25 for the four passive stats ( Atk , Def , Mgk and Res ) , from 5 to 9 in whole integers for HP , and from 1 to 8 for MP . Speed works differently ; each unit has a percentage chance for their speed to rise by 0 . 25 points when they level up . With these figures in mind , ratings can be assigned to each attribute . HP ranks from A - E , MP from A - H , and the other stats from A - G . These are the stats featured in each of the . For player perspective , B ratings are rare , and A more so . Just because a class doesn ' t have anything that high , it does not mean the class is weak . Typically , a good array is considered to , ignoring HP and MP , have two poor stats ( G - F ) , one moderate ( E - D ) , and one good ( C + ) . The Trickster job has a Res growth of 1 . 86 , making it the only example of a stat that doesn ' t have a growth rate divisible by 0 . 25 . This is the only " E + " rating . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Characters ' stats are raised by equipment and leveling up , but to otherwise permanently boost them , the player needs to use stat enhancement items in the Promotion menu at relic terminals . Stat boost items are rare . Surrendering Supersoldiers and Heavy Gunners may yield HP Enhancers or ATK Enhancers . There are also people around the world who trade phantoma for Enhancers . During the Escaping the Imperial Capital mission , the player can find an HP Enhancer from the end of the train they board . Enhancers are also rewards for some tasks and the superboss Nox Suzaku yields them . Stats max out at 255 . " Final Fantasy Adventure " . Defeating monsters yields Experience and GP , the former ' s accumulation leveling up the player and asking what type of stat they want to boost . Players can create a powerful character in terms of physical attacks , a powerful magician with strong magic attacks , or anything in between . The stat they choose will be the primary stat that will be boosted . Some stats will also boost a different stat , but to a lesser degree . Types of stat growth : " Final Fantasy Legend III " . The human and mutant classes produce the highest HP by far because of how the other classes have fix base stats . Unfortunately , the cap for all stats ( Attack / Defense / Agility / Magic ) is 99 , but equipment makes all stats exceed 99 . So , the real cap is 99 + equipment bonuses . The robot class produce the second highest HP and the cap for all characters is 1195 HP . Robots takes a pretty bad stat penalty , so 99 for all stats and 999 HP and anything over 999 is just calculated as 999 , which is the reason robots fall way behind humans and mutants . However , robots also have robotic parts bonus cap of 99 for all stats and 999 hp that adds directly on to these stats , so the cap for robots becomes 1195 HP , 147 Attack , 107 Defense , and 144 Attack with 0 MP . And just like humans , equipment also adds directly on top of those caps , so the real cap for robots is penalized base stats + robotic parts bonuses + equipment bonuses . The rest of the classes have fixed base stats depending on what form they take , which are lower than 999 HP and 99 for stats , so they ' re all lower than humans , mutants and robots . Monsters can ' t even wear equipment for equipment stat bonuses . All classes can additionally have Fast and Shell cast on them during battle to increase their stats even more . Each spell can be cast up to 9 times before having no more effect . Character ' s stats increase through leveling up or by buying increases ( eg : Hp Up , Atk Up ) from moogles . Only a certain amount of each increase can be bought and they are very expensive . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . The only way to permanently boost a character ' s stats is by leveling them up . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . The system from the original " Dissidia " returns as the leveling up system ; where EXP is gained and permanent stat boosts occur .