Geomancer (Tactics)

(風水士, Fūsuishi?) Alternate names: Elemental User
Portrait(s)
Sprite(s)
Availability
Required jobs	Monk level 4(Level 3 Monk in the original release)
Abilities
Command abilities	Geomancy See Geomancy
Support abilities	See reaction abilities, support abilities, movement abilities
Equipment
Weapons	Swords, Axes
Armor	Hats, Clothes, Robes
Stats
Overall stats	High base attack, magick, HP and MP See stats
More information
Recurring appearance

A warrior who uses Geomancy to control powers lying dormant in the natural terrain.Description

The geomancer is a job in Final Fantasy Tactics. It is a balanced physical job but more defensive than most. Geomancer has the action ability Geomancy to bend the earth itself to attack and inflict an ailment to the targets within a certain range. Geomancer costs 2,870 JP to master.

In the War of the Lions, leveling geomancer to level 2 along with separate level requirements for archer and thief will unlock ninja; leveling to level 5 along with separate level requirements for squire, chemist, summoner, dragoon, and orator unlocks mime; while leveling it to level 5 along with dragoon will unlock dancer for females. Leveling to level 8 along with separate level requirements for knight, black mage, dragoon, ninja, and samurai, as well as getting 20 kills with the unit (defeated units must turn into chests or crystals to count), will unlock dark knight. The job level unlock requirements tend to be a little lower in the PlayStation version.

Stats

Prerequisite	Weapons	Helmet	Armor	Equip Shields?
Lv. 4 Monk PlayStation: Lv. 3 Monk	Swords, Axes	Hats	Clothes, Robes	Yes

Move Rate	Jump Rate	Speed	Phys. Eva. Rate	Base Attack	Base Magic	Base HP	Base MP
4	3	8	10%	High	High	High	High

Abilities

Geomancy

Geomancer job command. Attacks with mystical powers drawn from the earth itself.Description

Geomancy is the geomancer's command ability. Every tile in the battlefield is designated a specific type of terrain to determine which Geomancy ability will be used. If the user has not learned the Geomancy ability of the tile that they are standing on, the command Geomancy will be unavailable (but Nature's Wrath can still use it). The damage dealt by Geomancy is low, but they can inflict status effects.

The formula of the power of all Geomancy abilities are the same:

$\text{Magickal Attack} \times (\text{Physical Attack} / 2 + 1)$

The chances of statuses with each attack is 25%.

Zodiac compatibility and elemental affinity affect the resultant damage, but the faith stat is irrelevant. This makes female units slightly better Geomancy users than males because females tend to have higher magickal AT scores. The advantages of Geomancy include 100% hit-rate, no charge time, no MP cost, 1 grid further casting range than most magick spells, and a chance of inflicting a status ailment.

The Geomancy effect does not engulf its caster even if they are within the effect area. Tanglevine and Will-o'-the-Wisp are the most commonly available terrain when fighting outdoors/indoors. However, most of the others are very situational and only work on a handful of maps, such as Zeklaus Desert for Sandstorm, Ziekden Fortress for Snowstorm, or late game Mount Bervenia being the only one for Magma Surge (and movement by Lava Walking).

Despite the support ability Attack Boost being learned from geomancer class, it does not boost the power of Geomancy abilities. Instead, Magick Boost learned from black mage can slightly increase its power.

Name	Range	Effect	Speed	JP Needed
Sinkhole (Pitfall)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the soil or wasteland at one's feet. Deals damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Immobilize. Terrain: Soil, Wasteland, Road Effect: Immobilize
Torrent (Water Ball)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the canal, river, lake, ocean, or waterfall at one's feet. Deals water damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Toad. Terrain: Canal, River, Lake, Ocean, Waterfall Element: Water Effect: Toad
Tanglevine (Hell's Ivy)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the grassland, underbrush, or tanglevine at one's feet. Deals damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Stop. Terrain: Grassland, Underbrush, Tanglevine Effect: Stop
Contortion (Carve Model)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the gravel, flagstone, stone wall, earthen wall, or gravestone at one's feet. Deals damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Stone. Terrain: Gravel, Flagstone, Stone Wall, Earthen Wall, Gravestone Effect: Stone
Tremor (Local Quake)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the stone outcropping or basalt at one's feet. Deals earth damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Confusion. Terrain: Stone Outcropping, Basalt Element: Earth Effect: Confusion
Wind Slash (Kamaitachi)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the book, tree, brick, bridge, furnishings, iron plate, moss, or coffin at one's feet. Deals wind damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Disable. Terrain: Book, Tree, Brick, Bridge, Furnishings, Iron Plate, Moss, Coffin Element: Wind Effect: Disable
Will-o'-the-Wisp (Demon Fire)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the wooden floor, carpet, coffer, stairs, or wooden deck at one's feet. Deals fire damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Sleep. Terrain: Wooden Floor, Carpet, Coffer, Stairs, Wooden Deck Element: Fire Effect: Sleep
Quicksand	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the marsh, swamp, or poisonous fen at one's feet. Deals water damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Doom Terrain: Marsh, Swamp, Poisonous Fen. Element: Water Effect: Doom
Sandstorm	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the sand, stalactites, or salt flat at one's feet. Deals wind damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Blindness. Terrain: Sand, Stalactite, Salt Flat Element: Wind. Effect: Blindness
Snowstorm (Blizzard)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the snow at one's feet. Deals ice damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Silence. Terrain: Snow, Ice Element: Ice Effect: Silence
Wind Blast (Gusty Wind)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the roof or chimney at one's feet. Deals wind damage to distant units and has a chance of inflicting Slow. Terrain: Roof, Chimney Element: Wind Effect: Slow
Magma Surge (Lava Ball)	5	2	Now	150
	Manifests the power harbored by the lava or machinery at one's feet. Deals fire damage to distant units and has a chance of causing instant KO. Terrain: Lava, Machinery Element: Fire Effect: KO

Reaction abilities

Name	Description	Trigger	JP Needed
Nature's Wrath (Counter Flood)	Upon receiving a physical attack or geomancy skill, counterattacks with a geomancy skill, including those that the unit has yet to learn.	Physical Attack, Geomancy	300

Support abilities

Name	Description	JP Needed
Attack Boost (Attack UP)	Increases the unit's physical attack power. Attack Boost raises physical attack damage by 33%.	400

Movement abilities

With Ignore Terrain, moving through clear water does not decrease movement range. It does not eliminate penalty when moving through swamps during a storm, or protect against the poison effect of Poisonous Fens. Lava Walking only has an effect on Mount Bervenia.

Name	Description	JP Needed
Ignore Terrain (Any Ground)	Move unimpeded through watery terrain.	220
Lava Walking (Move on Lava)	Walk across and even stop on the surface of lava.	150

Terrain tiles

Terrain plays an important role in for geomancer's abilities. The player can learn the type of terrain and its required Geomancy ability of the particular terrain when pressing after cancelling from the unit's command menu. In The Ivalice Chronicles, the terrain type is listed in the action menu directly adjacent to the Geomancy skill action command, as a quality of life improvement.

The only place to find the terrain "Road" is on the map called Main Street of Lesalia. Since the map cannot be accessed normally, the tile has effectively been dummied out. Standing on the Road tile and selecting Geomancy will attack with the Sinkhole ability. The "Ice" tile is dummied out completely, and is not found on any map.

Name	Description	Geomancy	Walkable
Soil (Natural Surface)	Ordinary earth.	Sinkhole	Yes
Sand (Sand area)	Fine sand, dry to the touch.	Sandstorm	Yes
Stalactite	Nature's work, wrought over millennia.	Sandstorm	Yes
Grassland	Short grasses rise from the soil.	Tanglevine	Yes
Underbrush (Thicket)	A dense growth of thick grasses.	Tanglevine	Yes
Snow	A world of silvered wonder.	Snowstorm	Yes
Stone Outcropping (Rocky cliff)	An exposed length of rough stone.	Tremor	Yes
Gravel	Countless stones cover the ground.	Contortion	Yes
Wasteland	Desolate, windswept earth.	Sinkhole	Yes
Marsh (Swamp)	A sodden bog.	Quicksand	Yes
Swamp (Marsh)	Still waters cover the ground.	Quicksand	Yes
Poisonous Fen (Poisoned marsh)	A stagnant pool of noisome water.	Quicksand	Yes
Basalt (Lava rocks)	Rock composed of cooled lava.	Tremor	Yes
Ice	Fast-frozen ice.	Snowstorm	Yes
Canal (Waterway)	A man-made channel of water.	Torrent	Yes
River	The water runs swift and clear.	Torrent	Yes
Lake	No waves mar the lake's still surface.	Torrent	Yes
Ocean (Sea)	An expanse of boundless blue.	Torrent	Yes
Lava	An inferno of unrelenting heat.	Magma Surge	Yes
Road	A man-made thoroughfare.	Sinkhole	Yes
Wooden Floor	A simple wooden floor.	Will-o'-the-Wisp	Yes
Flagstone (Stone floor)	A floor of carefully shaped stones.	Contortion	Yes
Roof	At its steepest, a treacherous place.	Wind Blast	Yes
Stone Wall	A wall of square-cut stones.	Contortion	Yes
Sky	Vertiginous void.	None	No
Darkness	No ray of light penetrates the blackness.	None	No
Salt Flat (Salt)	The bed of an ancient lake.	Sandstorm	Yes
Book	Knowledge untold rests within.	Wind Slash	Yes
Barrier (Obstacle)	Prevents passage.	None	No
Carpet (Rug)	A carpet woven of thick wool.	Will-o'-the-Wisp	Yes
Tree	A tree much like any other.	Wind Slash	No
Coffer (Box)	A sturdy container formed of joined planks.	Will-o'-the-Wisp	Yes
Brick	A building material surpassing stone in its hardness.	Wind Slash	Yes
Chimney	No smoke rises from the lifeless structure.	Wind Blast	Yes
Earthen Wall (Mud wall)	A wall of earth and mortar more fragile than it appears.	Contortion	Yes
Bridge	A narrow path where advance and retreat are difficult. Potentially dangerous in battle.	Wind Slash	Yes
Reeds (Water plant)	The plants float gently on the water's face	None	No
Stairs	Provides access to other floors.	Will-o'-the-Wisp	Yes
Furnishings (Furniture)	Ordinary trappings of a room.	Wind Slash	Yes
Tanglevine (Vines / Ivy)	A living weave of infinite complexity.	Tanglevine	Yes
Wooden Deck (Deck)	The boat's outermost deck.	Will-o'-the-Wisp	Yes
Machinery (Machine)	Curious sounds rise from within.	Magma Surge	Yes
Iron Plate	This plate appears extremely thick.	Wind Slash	Yes
Moss	Glows with a fey light.	Wind Slash	Yes
Gravestone (Tombstone)	Silent memorial to the dead.	Contortion	Yes
Waterfall	A tremendous curtain of water.	Torrent	Yes
Coffin	The dead are best left undisturbed.	Wind Slash	Yes
Cross Section	The cross section of a wall, pillar, or the like.	None	No

Gameplay

A geomancer retaliating with Nature's Wrath (top) and walking on lava (bottom) in battle.

The geomancer is a unique melee and magick hybrid fighter that can use different types of abilities depending on the terrain the user is on. It has balanced attributes akin to the knight, but with slightly lower physical attack in favor of magick attack and greater movement. Geomancy abilities have high range, are instant, cost no MP, and can inflict debilitating effects on their victims, but also have lower damage output than pure magick skillsets. The Geomancer is one of the only jobs with access to water damage.

The geomancer gets the most out of its skills by investing in abilities and equipment that improve its attributes. Its own Attack Boost support ability is great for it, as well as the black mage's Arcane Strength (which also benefits Nature's Wrath, Speechcraft, or Iaido).

The geomancer can equip the squire's Fundaments as a secondary job command to use Focus to slowly increase its damage output through the fight, though Shout with Ramza Beoulve or Luso Clemens is a good late-game upgrade.

Geomancy bypasses Faith/Atheist status, which also helps low faith Luso and Marach Galthena, especially when JP-farming by common Tanglevine terrain (most fights are outdoors on grassland) for low damage and possible Stop to prolong a battle.

Attack Boost also has versatility with axes (geomancer does not need the squire's Equip Axe), non-elemental guns, bows, crossbows, innate Brawler of a monk, Jump, and Holy Sword. It also allows shields to be equipped (except when wielding axes), unlike Doublehand (which only works with polearms for normal attacks), which cannot be used with any of the aforementioned equipment/abilities (and Dual Wield would only work with Brawler with either being innate, from that list). At only 400 JP, Attack Boost also costs a fraction of these other support abilities without needing time-consuming job level unlocks, such as Vehemence, which also lowers defense, or incompatibility issues for certain physical attacks.

The geomancer is outclassed by both magick and physical classes, since its damage output is lacking for both. Its Geomancy can be bit more effective when used by the samurai who boasts slightly better physical and magickal attributes. However, the samurai cannot equip a runeblade, aegis shield, and an attack- or magick attack-boosting hat, which may allow the geomancer to do more damage with its abilities than a samurai, while also being faster with a magick/speed-boosting lambent hat. The equipment available to a geomancer is a strong asset that should not be overlooked.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

Ability Cards

Sinkhole (R).

Sinkhole (R+).

Contortion (SR).

Contortion (SR+).

Magma Surge (SSR).

Wind Blast (R).

Wind Blast (R+).

Torrent (SR).

Torrent (SR+).

Legend Cards

Will-o'-the-Wisp (SR).

Will-o'-the-Wisp (SR+).

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Geomancer appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Water-elemental Backup and Forward cards.

Geomancer [1-138C] Chapter series card.

Geomancer [1-168C] Opus series card.

Geomancer [1-139C] Chapter series card.

Geomancer [1-169C] Opus series card.

Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances

Knights of the Crystals

Geomancer appears as a card in the Ivalice Special Arena has a limited-time special arena with eighteen floors.

Male card.

Female card.

Gallery

Male geomancer.

Male geomancer character card.

Female geomancer.

Female geomancer character card.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]Geomancy (Greek: γεωμαντεία, "earth divination") is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. Geomancy is derived from the roots geo- (Earth) and -mancy (prophecy). Geomancy was one of the original ways to translate Feng Shui, since it predicts things by the elements similar to astrology with the stars.

Its Japanese name, Fūsui or Fūsuishi (風水士), refers to the Chinese geomancy of feng shui. [view · edit · purge]Feng shui is the Chinese studying of the direction, geography and/or weather to calculate the individual's fortune who resides or works in that place. Bells are used in the craft as instruments to dispel negative energy and stimulate positive energy.