Scholar Final Fantasy Guide – The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

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Murillo Zerbinatto

Murillo is a writer of Final Fantasy informer, a job that his teenage version never imagined he would have. He played - or observed - his first Final Fantasy when his brother rented Final Fantasy III for SNES (which was actually Final Fantasy VI), but since it was the Japanese version, they understood zilch and soon gave up. Sometime later - and some English RPGs in-between - they rented Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV, yeah, it was a mess) and began to delve into the incredible world of Final Fantasy and never to get off it.

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Final Fantasy should be a union because how much this franchise struggles to invent and delegate new Jobs is no joke. Bad humor, sorry. But it’s the truth. If you have played plenty of games, you see how Final Fantasy is always brainstorming to create new gameplay features to entertain its player base with novelty. Final Fantasy Jobs are their go-to for innovation.

It’s no wonder it gets increasingly harder to innovate after sixteen mainlines and countless spinoffs. Every once in a while, the game slips up, designing some Jobs that are just a mashup of others or a different skin that performs the same effects. The Job in discussion this day, Scholar, had this bumpy start.

The Scholar was a little of everything and a lot of nothing. Lorewise they are warfare specialists who use their studies to exploit enemies’ weaknesses and favor allies.

However, their spells were derived from other Jobs, which is something the Red Mage already does very well. With the online games, Scholar got a rebranding and began to shine on their own. Analyze and study this Scholar Final Fantasy Guide on how sticking your faces in the books can help you become the world’s savior.

Traits of a Scholar

Scholar was born in Final Fantasy III and had two abilities, Scan and Peep, which analyzed the enemy’s weakness and HP, respectively. In the re-releases of the third game, their ability mingled into Study, but the effects were similar.

The Job was most recognized in the online games Final Fantasy XI and FFXIV. In the former, Scholars weave White and Black Magics and can use their Grimoire to buff one school over the other. In Final Fantasy XIV, the Scholar is one of the MMORPG’s healers.

• Japanese Name: 学者, Gakusha, which means scholar; academic; scientist.
• Main Weapon: Books.
• Games Appearances: Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy Tactics A2.
• Armor: Usually wears cloth armor and robes with a design similar to an academic dress. In Final Fantasy XIV, they wear armor and accessories with the “of Healing” suffix.
• Role: Magical DPS in Final Fantasy III and XI. Healer on Final Fantasy XIV.
• Notable Scholars: Surito Carito, Erlene

How to Unlock Scholar in Final Fantasy III

In Final Fantasy III, we unlock new Jobs for our beloved Onions Knights each time we find a crystal. The Scholar comes in a bundle with others when we locate the Fire Crystal in the Molten Cave.

In the SNES version, the Scholar can use the abilities Scan and Peep to analyze the enemy’s weakness and HP, respectively. They wield tomes, which have relatively high damage and elemental properties. Yet, being a Scholar is not a good job choice in front of the others available.

In the 3D remake of Final Fantasy III, Scholar gains the use of White and Black magic up to level 3. The abilities Scan and Peep turn into Study, inflicting the same result plus removing beneficial statuses from the studied enemy. In addition, the Scholar has Item Lore, which doubles the effect of any item used in battle.

Finally, in the FFIII Pixel Remaster, they kept the Study from the remake and changed the Item skill name to Alchemy, increasing the effects of items highlighted when browsing through them. While the Pixel Remaster tried to remain faithful to the original SNES version, changing Scholar proves that Square recognizes it was an underwhelming job.

How to Unlock Scholar in Final Fantasy XI

Players interested in Scholar need to own the MMO’s fourth expansion, Wings of the Goddess. In it, players travel to the past, 20 years before the original game, and visit the Crystal War. In that event, Scholars were prevalent with their warfare skills, something mildly important when you are on a war footing.

Then, have a Job level 30; otherwise, you will not be able to start the quest. I recommend going as a Black Mage, Red Mage, Summoner, or Blue Mage since it will hasten the process. Also, bring 12 sheets of Vellum, easily bought at the Auction House.

When making the trip down memory lane to the Crystal War, go to the Norvallen Front map and then to The Eldieme Necropolis. Talk to Erlene in the J-8 map location and start the quest “A Little Knowledge.” She will ask for 12 sheets of Vellum, which you’ll have since you followed my instructions diligently. Then, she will ask you to produce an arcane tap and talk to her. This means using one of the one-hour cooldown Jobs abilities mentioned above.

Black Mage, Blue Mage, Red Mage, and Summoner should use Manafont, Azure Lore, Chainspell, or Astral Flow, respectively. Talk to Erlene while the ability’s effect is active, and she will give you a Grimoire, allowing you to assume the mantle of a Scholar.

Scholar Lore in Final Fantasy XIV

During the Fifth Astral Age, preceding the Great Flood, there was the War of the Magi. The Black Mages of Mhach, the White Mages of Amdapor, and the mages of Nymian clashed for reasons as yet unknown – but probably driven by the Ascians.

I hope this event will be explored in future expansions since it encompasses a big chunk of FFXIV’s world lore. I bet Square Enix will add this storyline alongside the Voidmage job release, which may or may not be a personal delusion. If it isn’t, you heard it here first.

The Black Mages employed their destructive arsenal and an army of void monsters to control the warfield; the White Mages developed light spells and created golems to counter the Black Mages; the Nymian mages were at a disadvantage when it came to spellpower and had to get creative.

To combat his opponents, Nym took his scarce mages and had them study war strategy to maximize the output of their army frontline warriors.

Nym’s scholars developed the art of controlling faeries so that these creatures would assist them in healing work while they focused on tactics and warfare strategy. This is why the Scholar has a pet that passively heals party allies, and many of their abilities generate offensive buffs. Still, in the end, the War of the Magi triggered the Great Flood and sent the world of Hydaelyn into the Sixth Umbral Era.

How to Unlock Scholar in Final Fantasy XIV

Scholar is one of the first Jobs released together with the game, so it’s an upgraded version of a class. To become a Scholar, you need to be an Arcanist at level 30 and finish the Main Scenario Quest, “Sylph Management.” The fastest and most practical way is to start your journey as an Arcanist or, if you started with another class, travel to Limsa Lominsa and become one.

Upon reaching level 30 with the Arcanist, talk to Murie in Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (4.5, 11.2) and accept the “Forgotten but Not Gone” quest. You will need to go on a short adventure with Alka Zolka, located in Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks (11.1,6.2). You will receive the Soul of the Scholar item as a reward. Equipping it will change your Job to the academic one.

Scholar Actions Level 1-30

Nowadays, healers in Final Fantasy XIV are separated into two categories: Barrier and Pure healers. Scholar falls into the former, alongside Sage. While White Mages and Astrologians are Pure healers. Barriers healers are perfect for mitigating damage, while Pure healers are for fast-topping missing health. In an 8-members raid party, it’s efficient to have one Barrier Healer and one Pure healer.

Scholar’s toolkit is composed of numerous spells that recover HP and grant shields to their allies. To top it off, their summons passively restores the party, allowing Scholar to focus on DPS if the battle is chill.

Against bosses, the Scholar has several buffs that help the party, such as increasing the critical hit rate on the enemy or the speed of all allies. This last ability is usually my lifesaver, allowing me to escape from bosses’ AoE when my reaction speed fails me.

Scholar Actions Level 31-60

Scholar Actions Level 61-90

Scholar Traits

Scholar Gauges

Like every other Job in Final Fantasy XIV, Scholar also brings fancy gauges to the play. The studious possess two of them, the Aetherflow Gauge and the Faerie Gauge.

Aetherflow Gauge functions as a resource to cast some instant Scholar abilities. By using the spell Aetherflow, the Scholar gains three stacks of its gauge, which is necessary to cast Energy Drain, Lustrate, Sacred Soil, Indomitability, and Excogitation. Besides these spells’ common effects, they also increase the Faerie Gauge by 10.

The Faerie Gauge accumulates fae aether, necessary to use Aetherpact, where the Scholar’s faerie is linked to a party member, gradually restoring its health while the Faerie Gauge depletes over time.

At level 80, the Scholar learns Summon Seraph. When cast, it calls a beautiful Seraph to fight in place of the faeries. A timer appears above the Faerie Gauge, and some summon skills changes to adapt to the Seraph. When the timer ends, the faerie returns.

FAQs

Study the Art of War to Learn to Heal

Before Final Fantasy XIV, Scholars were magical DPS classes that studied their enemies and looked for the most efficient means to eliminate them. In Final Fantasy XI, their skillset began to add some White Magic, allowing the Job to practice the art of support. However, in Final Fantasy XIV, the Scholar abandoned their war days to practice love drills.

Although they still boast a few spells from the school of Black Magic, Scholar has become synonymous with healer in the Final Fantasy franchise, and I imagine it will remain that way, thanks to FFXIV.

We already have too many colorful spellslingers out there, and Square still hasn’t come up with new offense magic to hand out. I hope Scholars from now on start to get the recognition they deserve in the franchise and maintain their study up-to-date, so they are on par with their fellow healers.