Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles: How Bravery and Faith works

Probably the most confusing stats in Final Fantasy Tactics are “Bravery” and “Faith.” People have been puzzled by these two since the game first came out on the PlayStation in the late 90s, and that confusion continues even in the new Ivalice Chronicles. These stats *do* have an effect, but you’ll only really need to focus on them if you’re trying to maximize each character’s potential. In a normal playthrough, you don’t necessarily have to worry about them. However, let’s take a closer look at what these two stats actually do, how they affect the game, and how you can change them!

What are Bravery and Faith?

Simply put, Bravery and Faith affect both your physical and magical abilities. These stats range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100, with Bravery influencing physical skills and Faith influencing magical ones. Let’s explore these in more detail.

Bravery

There are main areas that Bravery will impact:

Damage done with Knight Swords, Katanas, and bare-handed – Higher Bravery = more damage
Finding rare items with the “Treasure Hunter (Move-Find in earlier versions)” ability – Lower Bravery = better chance
Chance of a Reaction ability triggering – Higher Bravery = better chance
The Dances “Witch Hunt” and “Mincing Minuet (Wiznaibus in earlier versions)” – Higher Bravery = more damage

Risks of High and Low Bravery

Generally, it’s beneficial to maximize a unit’s Bravery – reaching 100 – as there aren’t many drawbacks. The main disadvantage is that it becomes more difficult to discover rare items hidden on the battlefield. Conversely, allowing a unit’s Bravery to fall into the single digits carries significant risks: the character might transform into a chicken or even desert your army completely. While transformed into a chicken, the unit recovers one Bravery point each turn until reaching 10, at which point it reverts to normal; however, if the battle concludes before this happens, the unit is lost.

How to alter your character’s Bravery

During battles, skills like the Orator’s “Praise” or Ramza’s Gallant Knight’s “Steel” will briefly boost a unit’s Bravery. A portion of these temporary increases will remain after the fight, at a ratio of 4:1 – for every 4 Bravery points gained in battle, the unit’s base Bravery increases by +1. This also works in reverse; skills such as the Orator’s “Intimidate” can decrease a unit’s Bravery.

Skills that alter Bravery:

Orator’s “Praise”: +4 Bravery
Ramza Gallant Knight’s “Steel”: +5 Bravery
Ramza’s Gallant Knight’s “Shout”: +10 (self target only) Bravery
Orator’s “Itimidate”: -20 Bravery
Mystic’s “Trepidation”: -30 Bravery
Dancer’s “Bravery Surge” Reaction: +3 Bravery (when attacked)

Faith

Faith is a bit more straightforward than Bravery and really only impacts two things:

The damage spells – this includes Magic Guns – do (both to YOU and enemies) – Higher Faith = more damage
The success rate of spells landing effects (both beneficial effects on and negative ones on enemies) – Higher Faither = more likely to succeed

Risks of High and Low Faith

The ideal Faith stat for your character depends on their intended role. If you’re building a frontline fighter who will likely be targeted by magic, a lower Faith score is generally better, as it reduces the damage they take from spells. Conversely, characters who will be casting spells themselves should have higher Faith. However, be careful – raising it too high (above 95) carries the risk of that character leaving your army to pursue their own religious beliefs.

Just so you know, getting the “Faith” status effect – the one that increases a unit’s Faith to 100 – will not make them depart from your army after a battle ends.

How to alter your character’s Faith

Similar to Bravery, various skills can raise or lower Faith at a rate of 4:1 (meaning 4 skill points translate to 1 point of base growth or loss for the unit after a battle). However, unlike Bravery, two specific status effects – “Faith” and “Atheist” – will either completely fill or reduce a unit’s Faith to zero, and they won’t cause the usual stat increases after combat.

Skills that alter Faith:

Orator’s “Preach”: +4 Faith
Mystic’s “Belief”: Causes “Faith” status (100 Faith stat)
Bard’s “Faith Surge” Reaction: +3 Faith (when attacked)
Orator’s “Enlighten”: -20 Faith
Mystic’s “Disbelief”: Causes “Atheist” status (0 Faith stat)

2025-10-02 17:30