Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin – Profession Tips for Duelists

The Duelist may be one of your starting jobs alongside the Swordsman, but that doesn’t mean he’s a lout. Of the eight basic jobs, the duelist is the best option for fans of fast-paced combat. The Pugilist comes a close second, but the Duelist’s stronger focus on dodging makes him a great choice for those who love to hop in and hop off. Our guide will help you get a better understanding of how to use the job effectively.

Keep in mind that this information is based on the existing demo, which transfers saved data to the final version. While the demo locks the last nine jobs, it’s possible that the official version may have more skills or levels for current jobs. We will update this guide accordingly if anything changes to the Duelist.

Understand the Duelist

The Duelist’s primary profession is Weakness. It deals guaranteed critical damage regardless of your position in relation to the enemy. This is important to note, as all critical hits deal additional damage to the Fracture Gauge.

Why is it so important to scale down the fraction gauge? Once an enemy’s gauge is depleted, you can instantly kill them with Soul Smash. This process also replenishes magic, in addition to increasing your maximum magic. This allows you to continue using combo skills, which are key to expanding combos.

Stranger of Paradise has a mechanic called Chain Cancel that allows you to switch jobs faster than usual. This occurs when changing jobs either during a combo ability or right at the end. Aside from increasing your combo potential, chain cancels are also effective at bridging the gap. Many abilities knock enemies back, with chain break being the best way to track such actions.

We recommend setting Weak Point to the combo you’re attacking in while holding the left stick to the right or left. This allows you to track slipping alongside enemies seamlessly with guaranteed critical hits. Weakness is also the default job ability, which triggers when you don’t combo.

Finally, don’t be afraid to abuse evasive maneuvers. Unlike other jobs, the duelist is invincible when dodging. There are even two nodes you can unlock from the job tree that increase the invincibility window while bypassing. There’s no stamina meter tied to dodging, so don’t be afraid to use it if you’re not entirely sure.

Recommended job pairings

For those less familiar with Stranger of Paradise’s combat mechanics, we recommend using one of the Mage classes in combination with the Duelist. Whether it’s the normal mage or the black mage, the ability to cast spells from afar is helpful when dealing with particularly precarious enemy compositions. Many enemies are weak to different types of magic.

Casting the highest spell of the associated element from a distance will quickly take down a whole group of enemies. Of course, this will require some trial and error. You have to make sure you have enough magic to cast the spells. You’ll also have to make guesses as to what elements certain enemies might be weak to. However, once you’ve found those weaknesses, magic-focused jobs are a great addition to the duelist.

If you consider yourself an action games connoisseur, we recommend pairing the Duelist with a high-damage job like the Marauder or Berserker. Both jobs use the axe, but the berserker is also capable of using greatswords.

The ax, with its insane stopping power, is an excellent addition to the duelist’s frenetic combat. Both regular attacks and combo abilities can charge up for extra damage, making the player less prone to stagger. These charged attacks also deal additional damage to the Fracture Gauge, which combined with the Duelist’s critical hits, can quickly deal with enemies provided you don’t let your magic run too low.