Unlike the pious and heartful Agnes, the crystal bearer Gloria of Bravely Default 2 is far more regal as she joins the heroes of light. Despite being a princess, Gloria can pack a punch in nearly any role in the game, whether you see her as a royal Vanguard or a holy White Mage.
If you want to use Gloria to her fullest, though, there are a few outfits that she’s going to look especially great in, but only some of these are truly ideal for her base stats. If you want her to make as great a statement in battle as she does in cutscenes, these are the job classes you should train her in early.
10 White Mage
There are two primary classes that suit Gloria’s royal appearance, as well as her defensive stat build. These would be healers that support the team, and tanks that can protect your team from damage. She can build perfectly into a mixed paladin-style character early in the game, especially with the White Mage class chosen early.
White Mages are all about healing, caring not about your opponents and all about your teammates. It’s important to raise it early since the higher-level healing spells are far more powerful, and it makes a perfect subclass for nearly anything you choose to do with Gloria later in the game.
9 Vanguard
Alternately, the tank route is quite easy for Gloria to pursue with the early Vanguard role, essentially a typical knight class that’s obtained simultaneously with the White Mage job in the first section of the game. This class can deal significant ground and physical damage, but more importantly can draw in attacks to help your weaker teammates avoid getting hit.
Gloria can take on nearly any role in the game, but having her be a Vanguard with healing-centric items can let her take hits for your team and healing herself in the process. She’ll essentially be a powerful decoy while the rest of your team quickly blasts through anyone on the other side of the battlefield.
8 Berserker
If you don’t like Gloria as a healer, the other great combos for the Vanguard class are heavy offense, and Berserker manages to fit surprisingly well in this position. This is another axe-based warrior, and while it doesn’t draw in aggro like the Vanguard, it can absolutely distract your foes by hitting them harder than ever.
Berserkers also don’t have much weakness in terms of defenses compared to other physical DPS jobs, meaning you can easily maintain a defensive build if you want to use Vanguard as a subclass. You won’t be able to heal your allies as effectively as a Berserker, but nonetheless is a great off-base tank option.
7 Shieldmaster
On the more defensive end of tank options, Shieldmaster is one of the most absurd new classes in the game. Its shielding power has genuinely no match, as you can literally dive in front of your allies to block them from getting hit by foes for a limited amount of time.
Even more defensive is an attribute Gloria can learn that lets her wield two shields at once, made even more remarkable due to the great Restoration boosts this type of item sometimes brings. This means your Shieldmaster can easily double as a healer, giving some of the most stable defense in the game.
6 Arcanist
It’s just as possible that you’ll want to avoid making Gloria a beefcake, as she’s an unmistakably regal character compared to other guardians of the crystals. This means you’ll want to take a magic route, but she’s not as violent or aggressively-built to take on most of the game’s heavy offensive mage jobs.
This is where arcanist comes in, as it can do a lot more damage with far less offensive builds. Dark magic ends up being a very unique form of attack that lets you not worry about weaknesses or resistances, while some attacks can even just instantly kill random mobs. It’s essentially a simplified Black Mage, replacing its versatility with efficiency.
5 Pictomancer
One of the key ways to succeed in Bravely Default 2 is by having at least two characters fill a support role, as your team will often take a lot of damage and need constant healing and stat boosts. Many of the roles mentioned earlier involve a paladin-style build where Gloria can be a restorative tank, but it’s also possible to make her a supportive caster instead.
This is what the Pictomancer does perfectly against bosses, by lowering their defensive and offensive stats while your team builds up to large attacks. What’s great is you won’t even need to heal if you want a constant stream of decreased offensive stats for your opponent, so you can often just lower their offense until it’s minimized for you to slam in with your other teammates.
4 Bard
Alternately, if you’re against an opponent who can shake off debuffs, the more traditional Bard class is able to boost your team’s stats instead of diminishing your opponent’s abilities. Bards are especially good as a primary class, as their passive abilities let you cast free random spells and make your musical buffs last for more turns.
Since you can’t gain stats from a subclass, the ideal build for a Bard is to choose a healing subclass to help revive teammates who get downed by critical or vulnerable shots. With this combination, you’ll be able to repair against any unexpected strikes a boss might be able to throw at you.
3 Oracle
Quite similar to the Time Mage job from the original Bravely Default, Oracles are a type of support mage that focuses more on your opponent’s speed than their damage. Taking multiple turns in a row is a great way to let your other teammates build up stats and hit with Brave attacks, and Gloria is perfectly suited to take on this type of offensive support role.
Since you’ll be essentially buying time, this also lets Gloria take on all sorts of other subclasses besides her normal recommendations. Extra turns means your opponent won’t be able to attack as often, so you can absolutely get experimental with the stranger classes like Gambler or Salve-Maker to hit your opponents with more unusual attacks.
2 Spiritmaster
It’s already been mentioned that White Mage is a solid job for Gloria, but it’s undoubtedly the weaker of the game’s strict healing classes. Instead, Spiritmaster is perhaps the most ideal you can have, letting you summon spirits to heal and revive your team over time instead of infrequent explosions.
Its passive effects help these healing powers even more, so it’s a great thing for Gloria to take on alongside a support class like Pictomancer and Oracle. If you can give your team some bonus defenses or time, your Spiritmaster powers will give you tons more sustainability than any other healing spell in the game.
1 Bastion
Gloria might not be as pious as past carriers of the crystals, but the holiest class in the game is a slam-dunk for her in terms of flavor and power. Bastions provide some tank-like support at the same time as physical damage, meaning you can lower their stats while also chipping away at an opponent’s health bar.
Many of the abilities that Gloria receives as a Bastion will only boost her own defenses first, but using the Vanguard subclass means she can draw in attacks that deal nothing to her. With that ability to act as a lightning rod for attacks, you can spend the rest of her turns building an invincible shield that then can be passed to your more fragile teammates.
