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Class Showcase: Farmer
They were still known as Farmers in Japan. Anyways, Farmers specialize in field support, making your journey through the Labyrinth easier, while not being able to do much in battle.
If you want to know how to utilize this class effectively, here's what you need to do. Make a team of 5 Farmers and use them as your Farmbot team. And then throw them out for Ninja/Farmers once you unlock subclassing. Oh wait, you want to know how to use them in your main party? Well, I'll just say that's a very bad idea because Farmers are designed to be dead weight in combat. Their main purpose are to be field supports, while lacking heavily in damage and in battle support. They come with absolutely no damage skills, and their stat spread is really terrible, so they can't really fill a lot of roles effectively, even with subclassing. You're better off going with another class for your main party.
The reason I don't really recommend using a Farmer in your main party is mainly because field skills tend to not really be worth it in the Etrian Odyssey series. Yes they can be helpful, but they're not vital to have. Investing in them takes up valuable skill points, and you don't need them to get through the Labyrinth. Battles are a big part of the series, and field skills don't really help much with those. The only field skill that I would say is genuinely worth it is Monarch March, and another class has access to that. Still, if you insist on using a Farmer in your main party, it's doable. Almost anything works as long as you have a solid game plan.
Equipment:
Weapons: Farmer only weapons, Daggers, and Books.
Armor: Light Armor, Clothes, Gloves, Boots, Helmets, and Accessories.
Farmers are a bit different than in what they can equip. They have a couple of weapons that they, and only they are capable of equipping. Those weapons do not have an action speed bonus or penalty attached to them (+0). The weapons are as follows:
Stats
Level 1
HP: 36
TP: 15
STR: 3
VIT: 5
AGI: 6
LUC: 12
TEC: 3
Level 35
HP: 169
TP: 97
STR: 15
VIT: 23
AGI: 25
LUC: 41
TEC: 17
Level 70
HP: 305
TP: 181
STR: 28
VIT: 42
AGI: 45
LUC: 71
TEC: 31
Level 99
HP: 390
TP: 233
STR: 36
VIT: 54
AGI: 57
LUC: 89
TEC: 39
Farmers have the worst STR and TEC stats in the game, so they're pretty terrible physical and elemental attackers. Their low TEC stat also makes it so that they can't really take hits from elemental attacks. Their VIT and AGI are fairly decent, though nothing too special. On the other hand, they have the highest LUC stat in the game. Now that doesn't mean that they're the best at inflicting ailments, as the Wildling is still the best class for that job. Their LUC stat may be lower, but their TEC is high enough to offset that small difference. The Farmer's high LUC does enable them to deal critical hits most often out of all of the classes, which is useless thanks to their low STR stat. But what their high LUC really does for them is increase their evasion. Combine with their decent AGI, Farmers are actually the best at evading attacks out of all the classes. They're even better at it than the Ninja, if you don't take their skills into account. But other than that, they don't really have much going for them.
Earth's Bounty
Skill Type: Class Skill
Maximum Level: 10
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: N/A
This Class Skill passively increases the amount of exp the entire party gets from a battle as long as the Farmer is alive at the end of it. Increasing the skill level increases the exp gain. Stacks additively with other Farmers with this skill.
1: 10% exp boost.
2: 12% exp boost.
3: 14% exp boost.
4: 16% exp boost.
5: 18% exp boost.
6: 20% exp boost.
7: 22% exp boost.
8: 24% exp boost.
9: 27% exp boost.
10: 30% exp boost.
If you're using a Farmbot team, don't bother having any of your Farmers invest in this, as you don't want them engaging in combat at all. It doesn't even work with Combat Study if you're making use of that. If you're actually using a Farmer in your main party, this is pretty much a must have skill. Farmers really don't contribute much in battle, so you're essentially fighting with a 4-man party if you're making use of one. This skill essentially gives everyone what a 4-man party would be getting in exp (25%) and increases everyone's exp gain to 26% at max level in a 5-man party. While Earth's Bounty does stack with other Farmers who have this skill (which increases the exp gain to 250% if you're using a team of 5 Farmers), why would you be using more than 1 Farmer in your main party!?
Brave Heart
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 5
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: Sympathy Pain – Level 5
This passive allows the Farmer to recover some TP at the end of the turn as long as their HP is full. Increasing the level increases the amount of TP recovered.
1: Restores 1 TP.
2: Restores 2 TP.
3: Restores 3 TP.
4: Restores 4 TP.
5: Restores 5 TP.
This can be handy to alleviate the TP costs of skills. And unlike Royal Veil, this is actually pretty easy to maintain since Farmers have a low HP pool, which makes them unlikely to be targeted by enemies. And Farmers have the best evasion in the game, so they might avoid some attacks that come their way. With that said, Amritas become available in the 2nd Stratum, and they're pretty easy to farm for, so investing in this may be a bit questionable depending on how you like to go about things.
Persistance
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 10
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: Play Possum – Level 5, Strange Seeds – Level 3
Once per battle, the Farmer has a chance to automatically revive if they're dead. Increasing the skill level increases the chance for the skill to activate. The Farmer will always revive at 20 HP, no matter how high the skill level is.
1: 16% activation rate.
2: 18% activation rate.
3: 20% activation rate.
4: 22% activation rate.
5: 24% activation rate.
6: 27% activation rate.
7: 30% activation rate.
8: 33% activation rate.
9: 36% activation rate.
10: 40% activation rate.
Whether you take this or not is up to you, but it could be handy if you're having issues with your Farmer being taken out constantly. But ideally, you don't want them dying often.
Waste Not
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 5
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: N/A
Increases the drop rate of items acquired from battle. Higher levels increase the drop rate. Stacks additively with other characters with Waste Not.
1: Increases drop rate by 1%.
2: Increases drop rate by 2%.
3: Increases drop rate by 3%.
4: Increases drop rate by 4%.
5: Increases drop rate by 5%.
For those of you that have played EO2, remember how broken Scavenge was? Yeah, it pretty much got nerfed big time (It increased the drop rate by 41% at max level in that game.) While it stacks additively with other party members who have this skill, the drop rate would only be increased by 25%, and you would either have a team of 5 Farmers, 5 party members who have a Farmer subclass, or some combination of the two in the party and that would heavily hamper your party's effectiveness. Not to mention that this skill is completely outclassed by Formaldehydes and Lucky Hammer, which guarantees drops when used at the right times. Take it if you want, but I don't think it's really worth it compared to other options.
Keen Nose
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 10
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: Harvestry – Level 3
When gathering skills at an item point, this skill gives the Farmer a chance to find a rare item through common gathering periods. Stacks additively with other characters with this skill.
1: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 1%.
2: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 2%.
3: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 3%.
4: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 4%.
5: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 5%.
6: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 6%.
7: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 7%.
8: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 8%.
9: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 9%.
10: Increases the chance of finding rare items by 10%.
So while gathering materials at an Item Point, sometimes a prompt pops up asking you if you want to risk getting a rare item at the chance of getting into a battle. This skill lets you gather rare items outside of those times. When someone in the party knows this skill while gathering, the game checks to see if you get a rare item first, and then goes on to see which of the common items you'll get if that check fails. I wouldn't recommend getting this on a Farmer in your main party, but for a Farmbot team? Well I would recommend that 2 or 3 of them max out this skill. Ironically, if all 5 Farmers max out this skill, it'll be hard to gather the common materials from an Item Point. Still, this skill can let your Farmbot team safely ignore any rare gather period prompts and avoid getting into any fights altogether.
Camp Mastery
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 10
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: Sword Mastery – Level 1
This skill enables Tents to cure Petrification and revive dead party members, as well as increasing the amount of HP and TP recovered at campsites. The amount of HP and TP recovered increases with higher skill levels. Stacks additively with other characters with Camp Mastery.
1: Increases HP recovery by 40 and TP recovery by 10.
2: Increases HP recovery by 80 and TP recovery by 20.
3: Increases HP recovery by 120 and TP recovery by 30.
4: Increases HP recovery by 160 and TP recovery by 40.
5: Increases HP recovery by 200 and TP recovery by 50.
6: Increases HP recovery by 240 and TP recovery by 60.
7: Increases HP recovery by 280 and TP recovery by 70.
8: Increases HP recovery by 320 and TP recovery by 80.
9: Increases HP recovery by 360 and TP recovery by 90.
10: Increases HP recovery by 500 and TP recovery by 125.
Not something that you would take on a Farmbot team, but for a Farmer in the main party, it could make campsites more effective and make tents somewhat worth it past the 1st Stratum. Even at level 1, it can prevent you from ending Labyrinth trips prematurely because someone died or got Petrified.
Lullaby (Animation)
Skill Type: Active
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: Head
Stats Used: LUC, TEC
Target Type: AOE
Action Speed: +0
Prerequisites: N/A
The Farmer sings a lullaby, in an attempt to put all enemies to Sleep. Unfortunately, they're also put to Sleep in the process. Higher levels increases the infliction rate. The Farmer will always be put to Sleep upon casting, even if they are immune to the ailment.
1: 15% infliction rate. Costs 2 TP.
2: 20% infliction rate. Costs 3 TP.
3: 25% infliction rate. Costs 4 TP.
4: 30% infliction rate. Costs 5 TP.
5: 35% infliction rate. Costs 6 TP.
6: 40% infliction rate. Costs 7 TP.
7: 45% infliction rate. Costs 8 TP.
8: 50% infliction rate. Costs 9 TP.
9: 55% infliction rate. Costs 10 TP.
10: 60% infliction rate. Costs 10 TP.
So this is one of the few ways Farmers can actually contribute to a fight. It's actually the strongest Sleep inducing skill in the game since it has the highest infliction rate. Unfortunately, it can't be cast continuously outside of waking up the Farmer constantly, or using Regroup Tactic. If you need something for your Farmer to do in battle, this is probably their best skill to do that with. Just be aware that this may cause a sticky situation by putting your Farmer out of commission on a turn that they need to do something else.
Play Possum
Skill Type: Active
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: Head
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: Self
Action Speed: +6
Prerequisites: Lullaby – Level 1
The Farmer plays dead in an attempt to get the enemy to ignore them, and makes them less likely to be targeted for 4 turns. Increasing the level increases the maximum aggro value. The minimum aggro value for all skill levels is -3 and cannot be raised. Only works on single (also includes attacks that deal splash damage) and random target skills. Does not work on row target, multi-target, or AOE attacks.
1: Maximum aggro value of -5. Costs 3 TP.
2: Maximum aggro value of -6. Costs 3 TP.
3: Maximum aggro value of -7. Costs 4 TP.
4: Maximum aggro value of -8. Costs 4 TP.
5: Maximum aggro value of -9. Costs 5 TP.
6: Maximum aggro value of -10. Costs 5 TP.
7: Maximum aggro value of -12. Costs 6 TP.
8: Maximum aggro value of -14. Costs 6 TP.
9: Maximum aggro value of -16. Costs 7 TP.
10: Maximum aggro value of -20. Costs 7 TP.
I wouldn't consider investing in this skill to be a good usage of skill points. Farmers are already less likely to be targeted due to their low HP pool. And in cases where the enemy decides to target them, this skill may not be enough to deter them. Besides, depending on the role you give them, there could be better things that they could be doing in a fight.
Strange Seeds
Skill Type: Active
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: Arm
Stats Used: LUC, TEC
Target Type: AOE
Action Speed: End of the turn
Prerequisites: Lullaby – Level 3
At the start of the turn, the Farmer scatters seeds around the enemies. At the end of the turn, the seeds will sprout, applying random binds to each enemy. Increasing the skill level increases the infliction rate. Randomly selects 0 to 3 binds to be applied to each enemy.
1: 20% infliction rate. Costs 3 TP.
2: 24% infliction rate. Costs 4 TP.
3: 28% infliction rate. Costs 4 TP.
4: 32% infliction rate. Costs 5 TP.
5: 36% infliction rate. Costs 5 TP.
6: 40% infliction rate. Costs 6 TP.
7: 44% infliction rate. Costs 6 TP.
8: 48% infliction rate. Costs 7 TP.
9: 52% infliction rate. Costs 7 TP.
10: 60% infliction rate. Costs 8 TP.
This skill is awful. While binds can be useful, you need to know which binds to use to lock down an enemy, and Strange Seeds just applies random ones. Even if the binding is successful, it could do something like apply arm binds to an enemy who primarily uses elemental attacks. Or you could get unlucky and the seeds won't apply any binds at all. Unfortunately, it's one of the few ways the Farmer can actually contribute to a fight outside of a subclass. So whether you take this or not is up to you.
Rotten Egg (Animation)
Skill Type: Active
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: Arm
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: AOE
Action Speed: +3
Prerequisites: Lullaby – Level 3
The Farmer tosses a rotten egg at all enemies, lowering their offense for 4 turns. If the targets are inflicted with an ailment, their offense is decreased even further. Higher skill levels increase the damage reduction. Affects all damage types, including Almighty. The bonus effect isn't applied if the target only has binds.
1: Reduces damage by 5%. 20% if the target has an ailment. Costs 5 TP.
2: Reduces damage by 5%. 23% if the target has an ailment. Costs 5 TP.
3: Reduces damage by 6%. 26% if the target has an ailment. Costs 6 TP.
4: Reduces damage by 6%. 29% if the target has an ailment. Costs 6 TP.
5: Reduces damage by 6%. 32% if the target has an ailment. Costs 7 TP.
6: Reduces damage by 7%. 35% if the target has an ailment. Costs 7 TP.
7: Reduces damage by 7%. 38% if the target has an ailment. Costs 8 TP.
8: Reduces damage by 8%. 42% if the target has an ailment. Costs 8 TP.
9: Reduces damage by 8%. 46% if the target has an ailment. Costs 9 TP.
10: Reduces damage by 10%. 50% if the target has an ailment. Costs 9 TP.
Well, here's the last of the Farmer's in battle support skills. It's basically the defensive version of Wolf Howl. The damage reduction is pathetic if you aren't making use of ailments. If you are using ailments, it could utterly cripple an enemy's offense, especially since it works on all damage types. It's a powerful, but a very situational debuff due to how ailments aren't so good in this game.
Sympathy Pain
Skill Type: Active
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: Arm
Stats Used: LUC, TEC
Target Type: Single
Action Speed: +3
Prerequisites: Rotton Egg – Level 3
If the Farmer is inflicted with an ailment, this skill gives them a chance to transfer that ailment to an enemy, and dispels it from the Farmer. Increasing the skill level increases the infliction rate. The ailment is not dispelled if the skill fails to inflict the ailment. Poison and Plague damage are also transferred if the Farmer inflicts those ailments. Does not work with binds.
1: 60% infliction rate. Costs 3 TP.
2: 63% infliction rate. Costs 3 TP.
3: 66% infliction rate. Costs 4 TP.
4: 70% infliction rate. Costs 4 TP.
5: 74% infliction rate. Costs 5 TP.
6: 78% infliction rate. Costs 6 TP.
7: 82% infliction rate. Costs 7 TP.
8: 86% infliction rate. Costs 8 TP.
9: 90% infliction rate. Costs 9 TP.
10: 999% infliction rate. Costs 10 TP.
That last number is not a typo. The infliction rate is genuinely that high. So it can be useful for locking down certain enemy types and giving them a taste of their own medicine as long as they aren't completely immune to the ailment. However, since the Farmer has to use this skill to inflict the ailment, this means that they can't transfer Paralysis (if the effect activates on their turn), Sleep, Confusion, or Petrification. So it's kind of a worse version of Suikyou in that regard. Still, it can be useful as a self-dispel in some cases.
Slap Awake
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: Single
Action Speed: +6
Prerequisites: Camp Mastery – Level 5
This skill enables the Farmer to slap any dead party members back to life outside of battle. Increasing the skill level increases the amount of HP recovered upon revival. Cannot be used in battle.
1: Restores 1 HP. Costs 5 TP.
2: Restores 30 HP. Costs 5 TP.
3: Restores 60 HP. Costs 5 TP.
4: Restores 100 HP. Costs 5 TP.
5: Restores 140 HP. Costs 5 TP.
6: Restores 180 HP. Costs 5 TP.
7: Restores 220 HP. Costs 5 TP.
8: Restores 260 HP. Costs 5 TP.
9: Restores 300 HP. Costs 5 TP.
10: Restores 500 HP. Costs 5 TP.
Well it's one of the few ways to revive your party members outside of using Nectars. Unfortunately, it can't be used in battle, but it's a fairly cheap skill, and can keep your party going if you happen to run out of them.
And yes, this skill has an action speed value, even though it can't be used in battle. It was probably intended for that at some point before they realized that would make the Farmer somewhat useful, and we can't have that now, can we?
Harvestry
Skill Type: Passive
Maximum Level: 5
Stats Used: N/A
Prerequisites: N/A
This passive enables the Farmer to gather from Take, Chop, and Mine Points all at once. Increasing the skill level increases the number of gathering attempts allowed. Stacks additively with other party members with this skill, and with Take, Chop, and Mine.
1: Allows 1 Take, Chop, and Mine attempt for the day.
2: Allows 2 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts for the day.
3: Allows 3 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts for the day.
4: Allows 4 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts for the day.
5: Allows 5 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts for the day.
So you know how Take, Chop, and Mine are common skills that all classes can invest in? This skill is why those skills are nothing but a waste of skill points. Harvestry is far more efficient than investing in Take, Chop, and Mine all at once. If you leveled up those skills to 5, that would take up a total of 15 skill points. Where maxing out Harvestry would only take 5, and still have the same effect. Yes Harvestry does cap out at 5, but a Farmbot team won't need much more than that. Speaking of which, you definitely want this skill to be the first thing that all members of a Farmbot team to master. That will give you 25 gathering attempts for each different gathering point. Just ignore the Take, Chop, and Mine skills entirely. For a Farmer in the main party, well it's up to you if you want to take this skill or not. Though having a Farmer with this skill can cause your inventory to get more full sooner than most parties would.
Double Crop
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: Harvestry – Level 5
This skill enables the Farmer to gather even more materials from Item Points by restoring the number of gathering attempts allowed. Higher levels increases the number of gather attempts restored. Can only be used out in the field.
1: Restores 1 Take, Chop, and Mine attempt. Costs 10 TP.
2: Restores 2 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 15 TP.
3: Restores 3 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 20 TP.
4: Restores 4 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 25 TP.
5: Restores 5 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 30 TP.
6: Restores 6 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 35 TP.
7: Restores 7 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 40 TP.
8: Restores 8 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 45 TP.
9: Restores 9 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 50 TP.
10: Restores 10 Take, Chop, and Mine attempts. Costs 55 TP.
This is not something I would recommend that you take on a Farmer in your main party. I mean just look at that TP cost. That will run your Farmer dry just because you wanted to get more stuff from an Item Point. Take this on your Farmbot team instead. Double Crop can extend any farming trips for them, especially if you're trying to hunt for specific materials. And it's not like they're going to use their TP pool for much else.
Keen Eye
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: N/A
This skill enables you see all FOEs on the map for a certain number of steps. Leveling up the skill increases the duration.
1: Lasts for 5 steps. Costs 6 TP.
2: Lasts for 10 steps. Costs 6 TP.
3: Lasts for 15 steps. Costs 7 TP.
4: Lasts for 20 steps. Costs 7 TP.
5: Lasts for 25 steps. Costs 8 TP.
6: Lasts for 30 steps. Costs 8 TP.
7: Lasts for 35 steps. Costs 9 TP.
8: Lasts for 40 steps. Costs 9 TP.
9: Lasts for 50 steps. Costs 10 TP.
10: Lasts for 60 steps. Costs 10 TP.
Unlike the Zodiac's Horoscope, the range on this skill isn't limited. Still I don't really recommend investing a lot into this unless you really want to know FOE movement patterns or something. Besides, once you reveal enough of the map, this becomes redundant. Though it can come in handy if you wish to hunt for Pasarans.
To Market
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 1
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: Keen Eye – Level 1
When this skill is cast, the entire party will warp back to town. Has the same effect as an Ariadne Thread.
1: Costs 13 TP.
While this skill costs quite a bit of TP to use, it's essentially an on demand Ariadne Thread. So if you happen to forget the Ariadne Thread, you can just use this skill instead. Which will stop most scenarios of waiting for an FOE to inevitably kill you because you made a misstep and got cornered. It's a must have skill, whether you're using a Farmbot team (to save money) or a Farmer in your main party.
Rain or Shine
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 10
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: Keen Eye – Level 3
This skill nullifies the effects of damage and mud tiles for a certain amount of time. Leveling up the skill increases the duration. Has no effect on slippery or spinner tiles.
1: Lasts for 10 steps. Costs 10 TP.
2: Lasts for 15 steps. Costs 10 TP.
3: Lasts for 20 steps. Costs 11 TP.
4: Lasts for 25 steps. Costs 11 TP.
5: Lasts for 30 steps. Costs 12 TP.
6: Lasts for 35 steps. Costs 12 TP.
7: Lasts for 40 steps. Costs 13 TP.
8: Lasts for 50 steps. Costs 13 TP.
9: Lasts for 60 steps. Costs 14 TP.
10: Lasts for 70 steps. Costs 14 TP.
A handy field skill, especially since unlike the Monk's Fire Walk, it actually nullifies damage from damage tiles instead of simply reducing it, and it lets you walk through mud tiles without any trouble. While it's a handy skill, maxing it out may be overkill, and not all Strata have damage and mud tiles, meaning that this skill is useless on certain floors. Mud tiles are found in the 1st and 5th Strata, while damage tiles are found in the 3rd and 6th Strata. Outside of those situations, this skill is completely useless.
Safe Stroll
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 5
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: Keen Eye – Level 5
This skill nullifies random encounters for a certain number of steps. Increasing the level increases the duration of the skill.
1: Lasts for 15 steps. Costs 12 TP.
2: Lasts for 20 steps. Costs 12 TP.
3: Lasts for 25 steps. Costs 13 TP.
4: Lasts for 30 steps. Costs 13 TP.
5: Lasts for 40 steps. Costs 14 TP.
So remember Stalker from EO2 and how absurdly powerful it was? (It lasted for 250 steps at max level.) Boy did it get nerfed. Still, it's useful if you want to reach certain spots in the Labyrinth without getting into fights. I don't recommend taking this for your main party since no encounters will leave your party starved for exp and severely underleveled. But for a Farmbot team? Definitely have at least one person max this out, since you don't want them getting into any fights. That will let them reach Item Points far more safely.
Horseplay
Skill Type: Active, Field Skill
Maximum Level: 1
Equipment Needed: N/A
Body Part: N/A
Stats Used: N/A
Target Type: N/A
Action Speed: N/A
Prerequisites: N/A
The Farmer wastes some time, which moves the clock ahead by 1 hour.
1: Costs 2 TP.
When the skill is cast, flavor text describing what your Farmer did to pass the time will pop up, though in most cases you'll see the first bit.
Possible Flavor Text posted:
[CHR.A] stood there and
spent an hour doing nothing.
A bug on the ground caught
[CHR.A]'s attention, who
started observing it keenly.
......
After some time passed,
[CHR.A] lost interest and
stood up to resume exploring.
[CHR.A] stopped to inspect
what seemed like a ragged shoe,
then began to patch it up.
......
After an hour, [CHR.A]
replaced the fixed shoes, wearing
a wide, satisfied smile.
The scattered rocks drew
[CHR.A]'s attention, who
thought they might be useful...
......
An hour worth of investigating
showed them to be mere rocks.
[CHR.A] resumed the trek...
[CHR.A] felt a nice breeze
and stopped walking to bask in
the wind.
......
The brisk wind was nice for quite
a while, but eventually became too
chilly to stand.
[CHR.A] felt nostalgic and
started talking about past
exploits.
...
Others joined in the conversation,
shutting down all progress in the
investigation for an hour.
[CHR.A], finding it hard
to go on, emptied the pack and
started organizing the contents.
......
The others quickly followed suit,
and organizing their belongings
occupied the party for an hour.
Notes:
-This skill can replenish your gathering attempts if it causes the clock to go to 00 AM.
-Can also cause FOEs to respawn if the clock goes to 00 AM on the right day.
-Can change FOE behavior patterns if they change depending on the time of day.
-Does not count as spending a turn.
-FOEs will not move when this skill is used.
-Cannot force Pasarans to spawn.
-Cannot replenish any fish in the sea.
If you were looking at this skill and tried to find any clever uses for it, well I hate to disappoint you, but the devs pretty much made this only useful for like passing the time in order to replenish any gathering attempts. And for a Farmbot team, you're better off using Double Crop or resting at the inn to do that.
But this skill can be useful in one specific situation. If you have a Shogun in the party and they are making use of Myoujou or Magatoki (Not and. Otherwise you may as well simply switch between the two skills instead of doing what I'm about to suggest), then you can use this skill to ensure that your party can always explore at day or night without having to go back to the inn to change the clock to get the most damage out of those skills.
Subclasses:
If you're making use of a Farmbot team, just give them any subclass and call it a day. They're not gonna be making use of the subclass' skills, and just want the 5 extra skill points.
Prince/ss:
Well this could be a decent subclass for a Farmer since most of their skillset is pretty stat independent. Though in most cases, you're better of with a mainclass Prince/ss or a different class using this as a sub. Still, it's one of the few ways to ensure that a Farmer can actually contribute something to a fight.
Gladiator:
Since Farmers have the lowest STR stat in the game, they would make for terrible damage dealers. However, the Gladiator class does have a few support skills handy that the Farmer could make use of. Wolf Howl could fit well with the Farmer's toolkit, as the stronger debuff effect synergizes nicely with them. And while the Gladiator's damage skills won't deal much damage in their case, Crushing Blow and Arm Breaker inflicts their ailments a decent amount of the time thanks to the Farmer's high LUC. And Stun Attack could be a decent passive for them as well if you take that into consideration.
Hoplite:
Most of the Hoplite's skillset is also fairly stat independent, so having a Farmer sub Hoplite is another option. But Hoplites themselves are far more likely to live longer than a Farmer. Especially considering that they have the highest VIT stat in the game, and their TEC isn't too bad. Not to mention that they have the ability to wear Heavy Armor. Still, Parry and Magic Parry can lengthen a Farmer's lifespan in battle if that's an issue.
Buccaneer:
Buccaneers do have a somewhat decent skillset a Farmer could make use of, as Eagle Eye is a very useful debuff. Lights Out and Hanging can inflict Blind and Head binds fairly often thanks to the Farmer's high LUC, though they won't deal much damage thanks to their terrible STR. Lady Luck does increase the Farmer's already high critical hit rate, which could work well with Swashbuckling. And Limit Boost is a pretty decent passive to have as well.
Ninja:
If you insist on using a Farmer in your main party, then this subclass is probably the best one for them. The Ninja's skillset plays nicely with the Farmer's strengths. Farmers are the best at evading attacks, which Senpuku (and maybe Kumogakure) works nicely with. And Karuwaza gives them a nice form of TP recovery because of their high evasion. And the Farmer's stat spread actually makes it so that they're better at inflicting ailments than Ninjas. So they can make use of skills like Fukubari, Kagenui, and Suikyou. Not only that, Kubikiri can also make it so that they can instantly kill random encounters instantly and prevent your team from having to deal with them. And if that doesn't work out, they can switch to Izuna, which does the same thing but has a much higher success rate. And Farmers actually have slightly more HP and far higher VIT than Ninjas, and can actually wear Light Armor instead of being stuck with Clothes. So they can take physical hits far more easily.
However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows here. Farmers have much lower TEC, so elemental attacks will take them out very easily, whereas a Ninja can easily take a hit from those. The Farmer's low STR means that they can't make good use of the Ninja's damage skills such as Takanoha and Tagen Battou, and a Ninja mainclass can sub Gladiator to increase the damage on those skills. So that's another disadvantage for the Farmer. And since Farmers don't have access to Keburi no Sue, the TP cost of the Ninja's skills are pretty high for them. So it's a tradeoff in that skills that inflict ailments can't be used nearly as often, but have a higher success rate when used by the Farmer. Which is definitely something to keep in mind.
Monk:
Since Farmers have the worst TEC stat in the game, they make for very terrible healers. And their terrible STR makes Punch Monk not a viable option for them. Fire Walk is completely redundant when they already have Rain or Shine. But they can at least make use of Unbind and Refresh, since those skills are stat independent. And the Farmer's high LUC enables them to inflict Paralysis from Kikouken fairly often. I don't suggest going for Darkness Fist, since Curse is a pretty bad ailment.
Zodiac:
The Farmers have abysmal TEC, which makes them terrible wizards. They already have Keen Eye, which outclasses Horoscope. If you're looking for someone to spam Dark Ether, there are far better classes for that.
Wildling:
This is a class combination that would be far better the other way around. Wildlings actually are the best at inflicting ailments, and their stat spread benefits the animals more. Still, there's Primal Drums and Beast Roar to make use of, which can help out your party.
Arbalist:
The only usable skills on this subclass are Ambush, Pop Flares, and Smoke Grenade. The barrages are normally good encounter clearers, except the Farmer has the worst STR stat in the game, and lack Giant Kill. Pop Flares could be nice as an actual support skill since it boosts your party's accuracy, and Ambush is an okay field skill. Smoke Grenade would probably be the most useful one, as it will enable the Farmer to Blind all enemies.
Shogun:
The Shogun does have a decent amount of support skills, so you could use this as a subclass to make your Farmer into a decent support. Not only that, their high LUC can cause Hilt Strike to inflict Stuns often. There's also a pretty neat synergy between the Shogun's skillset and the Farmer's skillset that you can take advantage of. Kaishaku is normally a pretty risky passive to learn, and Lullaby isn't a super great skill because it always puts the Farmer to sleep when cast. But if you don't want Kaishaku to activate and kill a party member at an inopportune time, you can have a Farmer cast Lullaby in order to put themselves to Sleep, which will prevent that passive from activating. And then you can wake up the Farmer when you're ready to make use of Kaishaku.
Farmers make for good field supports, but their abilities in combat are very lacking. Without the proper subclass to give them a meaningful role in your main party, you're better off using a different class. Or you can make a party of 5 Farmers for a Farmbot team. But it's not like using one in your main party is pressing an automatic I lose button. You can use one in your main party if you really want to. And they're at least good at the role they were designed for, unlike one unlockable class in this game.