These are the top Monk abilities in Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster, ranked based on usefulness, synergy, JP efficiency, and power.
The Monk is a powerhouse physical job that combines raw melee damage with utility, healing, and revival—all without requiring MP or equipment. Monk is often considered the best overall melee DPS unit because of it’s ability and stat growth. You can heal, revive allies, do AOE damage, and even have a ranged attack. However, it maybe confusing on which abilities to take, prioritize, and save up for. And that’s what we hope to answer in this guide, what are the best abilities for the Monk Job and why.
Below are the top 10 Monk abilities, complete with their type, JP cost, use case, and synergy recommendations.
Related FFT Guides:
Best Monk Abilities Rank – Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster
Shockwave, Aurablast, and Chakra are the best Monk abilities in Final Fantasy Tactics. Shockwave produces a line of damage that can hit multiple targets even through elevation. Aurablast is a powerful single target attack that has range so you never miss a chance to hit an enemy during your turn. Lastly, Chakra is a powerful heal that not only restores HP but MP and it can be used to heal yourself or others.
Here are the top 10 Monk abilities, considering Action, Reaction, Support, and Movement abilities, ranked by overall utility and impact:
- Shockwave: best damage ability that travels in a straight line hitting mulitple targets
- Aurablast: ranged damage single target but hits very hard
- Chakra: healing and restoring MP to you or others
- Revive: revives a KO’d allied
- First Strike: reaction ability that can outright kill someone attacking you first
- Lifefont: helps restore HP while moving
- Doom Fist: inflicts death which is great when you can’t hit an enemy easily
- Purification: removes most status effects
- Pummel: single target strike doing good amage
- Cyclone: strikes enemies around you good for starter AOE tool
10. Cyclone
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 200
- Description: Deals physical damage to all adjacent tiles around the user.
- Why it’s good: Area-of-effect melee attack that can punish enemy swarms or chokepoints.
- Best used with: Frontline tanks or Monks positioned to hit multiple foes at once.
Cyclone is an area-of-effect (AoE) attack that targets all adjacent tiles. Its main purpose is to hit multiple enemies at once. The damage is not as high as the Monk’s single-target abilities, but it earns its place on the list for its utility in clearing out clusters of low-HP enemies. Moreover, it makes a great action to take when your Monk is surrounded by enemies and it’s better to hit two.
9. Pummel
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 200
- Description: Hits with multiple physical damage to a single adjacent target.
- Why it’s good: High potential damage, though slightly unpredictable. Pairs well with Counter or First Strike.
- Best used with: High Brave Monks or melee-focused units as a risky but rewarding attack.
Pummel is a powerful single-target physical attack that strikes many times in a short time. It’s an excellent damage-dealing ability against a single enemy, often leading to a quick KO. The major downside to Pummel is the damage is lower than Shockwave and it doesn’t have any range. However, it’s a decent single-target damage ability for the Monk.
8. Purification
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 120
- Description: Cures several status effects from allies (e.g., Poison, Silence, Blind).
- Why it’s good: Reliable, MP-free status removal—especially useful early and mid-game.
- Best used with: Teams lacking a White Mage or when facing status-heavy enemies.
Purification is a action that removes negative status effects from a single target (yourself or ally). While similar in function to the White Mage’s “Esuna,” its advantage is that it costs no MP and is immediately available to the Monk. This makes it a great utility tool to have on hand for a Monk who is primarily focused on combat but needs a way to cleanse status effects without relying on a separate healer.
7. Doom Fist
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 100
- Description: Inflicts “Death” status, which nullifies magical effects and damage on the target.
- Why it’s good: Shuts down mages completely, making them useless. Great utility when facing Black Mages or Summoners.
- Best used with: Anti-magic party setups or magic-light teams.
Doom Fist is an attack that inflict “Death” on an enemy. Death happens after a few turns with a countdown timer over the individual target. This is useful when you cannot hit a target due to high evasion, status effect, or they have protect on them. While a niche ability, there are some fights physical damage dealers have zero way to kill a target and this is where Doom Fist saves your team.
6. Lifefont
- Type: Movement Ability
- JP Cost: 500
- Description: Restores HP when the unit ends their turn on any panel.
- Why it’s good: Passive healing every turn helps in long battles or drawn-out story fights.
- Best used with: Tanky frontliners, especially Monks, Lancers, or Geomancers.
Lifefont is a movement ability that restores a small amount of HP to the Monk whenever they take a step. While it seems insignificant, it’s an excellent ability for self-sustain. For a Monk who is constantly moving around the battlefield to attack enemies, this passive healing can add up over time, keeping them in the fight without needing to rely on a healer. It works especially well for a unit that needs to be mobile and self-sufficient.
However, Lifefont isn’t as good as Move +2 or +3 and or Teleport. It’s helpful to pickup on a spellcaster with Auto-Potion if they always want to be at full health.
5. First Strike
- Type: Reaction Ability
- JP Cost: 400
- Description: Strikes first when targeted by a physical attack.
- Why it’s good: Pre-emptive strikes can KO enemies before they land a hit. Especially brutal with high damage builds.
- Best used with: Monks, Dragoons, or other high-damage melee units.
First Strike is a reaction ability that allows the Monk to strike an enemy before they can complete their action. This is an incredibly powerful ability for interrupting enemy attacks, spells, or charge times. It can completely negate a powerful enemy ability or prevent a healer from casting a crucial spell, effectively giving you a free turn while disrupting the enemy’s strategy. It’s a key defensive and offensive tool for any Monk.
The downside to Fire Strike is it’s relevant for physical damage users and usually in melee range. Therefore, you won’t have any counter to ranged Archers and spellcasters and thus it’s not the best overall reaction. Auto-Potion or Evasion are two that are slighlty better because they can be used against any aggressor.
4. Revive
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 320
- Description: Revives a fallen ally with 20% HP.
- Why it’s good: Instant resurrection with high reliability when used by a high-Brave unit. No charge time or MP cost.
- Best used with: Any frontliner build; amazing on secondary skillsets like a Knight or Ninja with Punch Art.
Revive is a life-saving ability that has a chance to bring a KO’d unit back to life. While it’s not as reliable as the White Mage’s “Raise” spell (it’s percentage-based), its major advantage is that it costs no MP. This makes it an excellent failsafe for when your main healer is out of MP or has been KO’d themselves. It’s an ability that you hope to never need, but are incredibly grateful to have when you do.
The downside to Revive is you need to be one unit away. However, you can use your Monk abilities as your secondary and gain healing and revive to support your team when needed.
3. Chakra
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 200
- Description: Restores HP and MP to the Monk and all adjacent allies.
- Why it’s good: Powerful AoE healing that doesn’t rely on items or MP. Helps keep mages fueled and frontliners alive.
- Best used with: Units grouped together, especially magic users like Summoners or Time Mages.
Chakra is an action ability that restores both HP and MP to a target (including the caster). As a self-healing and self-sustaining ability, this is invaluable. It costs no MP to use, making it a perfect tool for a Monk to heal themselves after taking damage or to restore MP to a magic-user who is running low. Its ability to restore both HP and MP in one action makes it one of the most versatile and useful abilities in the Monk’s toolkit.
Similar to Revive, you can learn this on a spellcaster just to restore MP without using Ether. Moreover, Monks can stand near a friendly spellcaster and use Chakra to give them some MP. Chakra should be your first priority because self-healing is such a powerful tool for any melee unit in Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster.
2. Aurablast
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 400
- Description: Deals ranged physical damage to a single target up to 3 tiles away.
- Why it’s good: More focused than Shockwave and ideal for sniping specific targets. Also bypasses vertical height.
- Best used with: Mobile units who benefit from flexible positioning and high PA.
Aurablast is a powerful single target damage attack from up to 3 tiles away. What’s nice about Aurablast is you can hit enemies at different angles rather than a straight line like Shockwave. The damage is high and the chance to hit is usually as high or higher than a melee attack. Therefore, Aurablast becomes a reliable turn one tool to always attack an enemy.
1. Shockwave
- Type: Action Ability
- JP Cost: 300
- Description: Deals physical damage in a straight line up to 4 tiles, ignoring height.
- Why it’s good: One of the few ranged physical attacks that scales with PA and Brave. It lets Monks hit safely from a distance without losing damage.
- Best used with: High Brave, PA-stacked characters (like Monks, Ninjas, or Knights).
Shockwave is a ranged attack that creates a “wave” of energy that strikes enemies in a line. It’s a highly versatile and powerful ability because it deals damage from a distance, allowing a Monk to contribute to a fight without having to be in the thick of it. The key advantage of Shockwave over other abilities is that it’s a projectile that travels across the map, hitting enemies in its path. It can be used to hit enemies behind other units or to snipe a low-HP target from across the battlefield, making it the most impactful and flexible ability in the Monk’s arsenal.
To learn shockwave, expect to spend a lot of JP. However, it’s worth it as the best ability for the Monk in Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster.
How to Prioritize JP Spending on Monk
Here’s a recommended Monk JP path for the most efficient progression:
- Chakra (200 JP) – Start here to gain healing and MP restoration.
- Revive (320 JP) – Essential for survivability and support.
- Shockwave (300 JP) – Boosts your reach with a strong ranged attack.
- Aurablast (400 JP) – Another powerful ranged strike with high flexibility.
- First Strike (400 JP) – For those looking to play aggressively and punish melee attackers.
- Lifefont (500 JP) – Passive sustain if you’re keeping Monk as a primary class.
- Situational: Pick up Purification and Doom Fist if you find yourself needing utility or anti-magic tools.
- Save Pummel, Cyclone, and other damage options for later if you’re focused on support early on. You can always return to flesh out the kit once core survivability is in place.
Monk Abilities Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best abilities for the Monk in FFT?
The most impactful are Revive, Chakra, Shockwave, and Aurablast. They provide a perfect blend of healing, utility, and strong offense—no MP required.
Which Monk abilities should I unlock first?
Chakra and Revive should be your top priorities for their survivability and utility. Follow those up with Shockwave or Aurablast to improve your damage output.
Are Monk abilities still good in the late game?
Absolutely. Monk abilities scale well with physical stats and high Brave, making them relevant all the way into Chapter 4. They also work well as secondary skillsets on bulky melee units.
Should I spend JP on every Monk ability?
No. You can skip weaker early-game skills like Wave Fist or Spin Fist if you’re already investing in stronger versions like Aurablast and Cyclone. Focus your JP on high-impact, scaling abilities.
