Scholar is a recurring job.
Scholar (
Scholars are classic black mages, versed in Fire, Ice and Lightning spells and being offense-oriented, being the only job of the initial eight to learn AoE spells of the above three elements naturally. Each of the aforementioned spells come in two variants: one-hit spells (Fireball, Icewind and Lightning Bolt, each costing 8 SP) and two-hit spells (Fire Storm, Blizzard and Lightning Blast, each costing 22 SP).
Scholars wield Staves as weapons, which tend to enhance Elem. Atk. over Phys. Atk. (though there are some exceptions, like the War Hammer and Morning Star); this complements their magic-oriented playstyle. Scholars have access to only two supportive skills, Analyze and their Divine Skill, Alephan's Enlightenment, the former of which diminishes in usefulness the more weaknesses are revealed. As a result, Scholars are very powerful when fighting foes weak to Staves, Fire, Ice or Lightning, but struggle against foes weak to none of the above.
Skills[]
| Skill | SP | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireball | 8 | 
|
Deal fire damage to all foes. |
| Icewind | 8 | 
|
Deal ice damage to all foes. |
| Lightning Bolt | 8 | 
|
Deal lightning damage to all foes. |
| Analyze | 1 | Reveal the HP and one weakness of a single foe. | |
| Fire Storm | 22 |
|
Deal fire damage to all foes twice. |
| Blizzard | 22 |
|
Deal ice damage to all foes twice. |
| Lightning Blast | 22 |
|
Deal lightning damage to all foes twice. |
| Alephan's Enlightenment | 30 | [Divine Skill] For 3 turns, spells cast by a single chosen ally that usually target all foes will instead be focused on a single foe at increased intensity. |
Support Skills[]
| No. of Skills Unlocked | Total JP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 130 | Evasive Maneuvers | Reduces the rate of random encounters. (Equipping this skill with multiple characters will have no added effect.) |
| 5 | 630 | Elemental Augmentation | Augments the equipping character's elemental attack strength by 50. |
| 6 | 1,630 | Percipience | Prevents the party from being surprised by foes. (Equipping this skill with multiple characters will have no added effect.) |
| 7 | 4,630 | Vim and Vigor | The equipping character will regenerate HP each turn. |
Shrine Location[]
- Main article: Shrine of the Sage
The Shrine of the Sage may be found in Western Noblecourt Flats near the tent to the southeast.
Strategies[]
The Scholar secondary job is unlocked at the Shrine of the Sage. With its focus on AoE Fire, Ice and Lightning spells, the Scholar job is recommended for magic-oriented characters.
Primrose is one of the best choices for the Scholar job. She's tied with Ophilia for the second-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists after Cyrus (whose primary job is already Scholar), and her primary Dancer job already coming with Daggers and Dark magic means she has six different means of coverage. Primrose's primary Dancer job has Peacock Strut among its skills to apply the 
Increased Elemental Attack buff, whose duration can be increased by boosts and the Dancer job's first support skill, The Show Goes On. Primrose can also be equipped with Heathcote's Dagger to increase the power of the Scholar job's Fire spells. However, since Primrose's primary Dancer job comes with mostly supportive skills, it can be difficult to fully optimize Scholar Primrose's role as a support unit, though Peacock Strut complements the Scholar job's playstyle well.
Ophilia is tied with Primrose for the second-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists, and the Scholar job's Fire, Ice and Lightning spells complement her primary Cleric job's Light spells. The Cleric job's second support skill, Inner Strength, further complements Ophilia's SP-reliant playstyle. However, since Ophilia is your token white mage, it can be difficult to fully optimize Scholar Ophilia's role as a support unit, and she gains no additional weapons because both the Cleric and Scholar jobs wield only Staves.
Tressa can be effective as a Scholar if you plan on giving her an offensive role, because she has balanced stats and her primary Merchant job has Rest among its skills to replenish her HP and—more importantly—SP, and also removes ailments, which helps manage the Scholar job's SP-reliant playstyle. Tressa has the third-highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists after Ophilia/Primrose (tied) and Cyrus, making her an effective magic attacker. Scholar Tressa also gains access to Staves and Fire, Ice and Lighting magic in addition to her primary job's Polearms, Bows and Wind spells, giving her seven different means of coverage. However, because the Merchant skill Donate BP can only be used on other allies, Scholar Tressa may want to conserve her own BP; though this can be circumvented by having another character with the Merchant secondary job donate BP to her, Alfyn's Concoct, etc..
- Therion can have a niche Scholar role if he is equipped with Heathcote's Dagger and Harald's Sword. Both weapons increase the power of the user's Fire spells and stack, and since Therion's primary Thief job wields Daggers and Swords, he can be equipped with both the aforementioned weapons to greatly increase the power of the Scholar job's Fire spells (and Wildfire). However, the aforementioned weapons cannot be obtained until after completing Therion and Olberic's routes respectively, and until they are it is not recommended to run Scholar Therion.
- As far as support skills go, besides the staple Saving Grace, recommended support skills for Scholars include: Persistence (for self-casting Alephan's Enlightenment), Inner Strength (early-game), Elemental Augmentation (early-game), SP Saver, Surpassing Power (late-game), Second Wind, Eagle Eye (early-game), BP Eater, Stronger Strikes, Elemental Aid, Augmented Elements and Elemental Edge.
- As far as weapons go, the Absolute Zero Staff is a good weapon for Scholars because it increases the power of the user's Ice spells.
Notable Scholars[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the world of Octopath Traveler, magic is a skill that anyone can learn by putting in the work.[1]
- Although some professional scholars wear a full set of robes, others - including Cyrus - simply wear their robe like a cloak.[2]
- According to Barham, scholars highly prize expensive wyvern scales as a reagent.
References[]
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