What does Job Affinity do in Stranger of Paradise? Answered

Periodically throughout your playthrough of Stranger of Paradise, you will occasionally pick up pieces of gear that has something called Affinity on it. Combined with Job tree unlocks for Affinity, these numbers add up to your overall Job Affinity, which is more or less how proficient you are at that particular Job. However, there are set benefits for raising the number as high as you can, so here’s what Job Affinity does in Stranger of Paradise.

If you head to Battle Settings and tap the Square button, you will see a list of your currently equipped Jobs and their Affinity levels. Each tier of Affinity grants you passive benefits, usually in the form of bonus stats that are beneficial to that Job. For example, having 30% Affinity for Mage unlocks Mage’s Wisdom II, which boosts my Intellect and Spirit by two points.

You can see the entire list of Affinity bonuses for any Job you’ve got equipped — for example, at a staggering 400% Mage Affinity, you unlock the ability to use any and all weapon abilities for the Mace, including ones you may not normally have available. This allows cross-Job customization, so if you really like a weapon type, you can hone it on the specific Affinity that uses that type. You can raise your Affinity for certain Jobs by advancing down their Job Tree and equipping pieces of gear that boost the particular Affinity in question.