Regardless of which characters you select in Trials of Mana, those characters are going to undergo a lot of growth over the course of the story. There's inevitably going to be a point where you're going to want to switch classes. While the proper term the game uses is "switch," it's actually more of a class upgrade, as characters will learn greater magic abilities and stronger combos. But how does one go about switching classes?
How to switch classes - Trials of Mana
Over the course of the story, you're going to run into a Mana Stone. Beyond being one of the primary drivers of the narrative, the Mana Stones are also what players will use to switch classes. If you're at a Mana Stone location, you'll need to meet a few requirements before you're able to upgrade.
To switch to a character's second class, they will need to be at Level 18.
To switch to a character's third class, they will need to be at Level 38 and they will need to have a special class item. To get the class item, find ??? Seeds in various locations around the world and plant them in any flower pot.
Your selected class will affect which spells your character learns, which new Class Strike they'll pick up, and their play style going forward. Once you're presented with your two choices, the game will offer more details on which class is which. But for quick reference, here's each character and their new classes.
Angela (Starting class: Magician)
Sorceress (2nd class - Light): Angela can learn elemental magic and also carry higher defensive stats.
Mysticist (2nd class - Dark): Angela will become proficient with darker magics while focusing on her Intellect stat.
Archmage (3rd class - Light): Angela learns the strongest elemental attacks. She'll also learn a non-elemental spell called Glitter Dust.
Grand Diviner (3rd class - Light): Angela can create duplicates of herself with the Doppelganger spell.
Magus (3rd class - Dark): Angela can take out multiple enemies with a variety of area-of-effect spells, including a new one called Ancient Curse.
Rune Seer (3rd class - Dark): Angela will focus on inflicting status effects, though she'll also learn powerful spells that can destroy enemies immediately.
Duran (Starting class: Warrior)
Knight (2nd class - Light): Duran will protect allies with healing magic, while also using shields and other weapons to protect himself.
Gladiator (2nd class - Dark): Duran will trade in his shield for a higher attack stat and the ability to use area-of-effect elemental spells.
Liege (3rd class - Light): Duran becomes a balanced fighter who can keep allies standing with healing magic.
Paladin (3rd class - Light): Duran focuses on defense while boosting his allies' attack power with light-based saber magic.
Duelist (3rd class - Dark): Duran focuses on attack while boosting his allies' attack power with dark saber magic.
Edelfrei (3rd class - Dark): Duran focuses on attack, but can also use elemental magic to boost his own power or the power of his allies.
Charlotte (Starting class: Cleric)
Priestess (2nd class - Light): Charlotte increases her Spirit stat to increase her healing power while also using elemental saber magic to assist allies.
Enchantress (2nd class - Dark): Charlotte can act as a healer while also learning attack magic that can weaken enemies.
High Cleric (3rd class - Light): Charlotte learns the top healing magic spells in the game.
Sage (3rd class - Light): Charlotte assists the party by removing negative status effects while also boosting them with saber magic.
Necromancer (3rd class - Dark): Charlotte summons undead monsters to assist the party while using the Dark Curse spell to lower enemy stats.
Warlock (3rd class - Dark): Charlotte can use magic to weaken her enemies while using Fetid Breath to obliterate them.
Kevin (Starting class: Grappler)
Monk (2nd class - Light): Kevin carries balanced stats and learns both healing magic and fighting skills.
Brawler (2nd class - Dark): Kevin focuses on attack and overwhelms opponents with pure power and weaponry.
Divine Fist (3rd class - Light): Kevin can strike quickly and powerfully while also learning healing magic.
Warrior Monk (3rd class - Light): Kevin can strike his enemies and also absorb magic from them while carrying balanced stats.
Fatal Fist (3rd class - Dark): Kevin focuses on absolute power while also learning a powerful area-of-effect skill called Seiryu Strike.
Enlightened (3rd class - Dark): Kevin can strike his enemies and absorb HP from them while carrying a high attack stat and moon saber magic.
Hawkeye (Starting class: Thief)
Ranger (2nd class - Light): Hawkeye can use magic that inflicts enemies with status effects and also use traps.
Ninja (2nd class - Dark): Hawkeye can use debuffing magic to weaken enemies.
Nomad (3rd class - Light): Hawkeye learns support magic to keep his allies fighting.
Rogue (3rd class - Light): Hawkeye will learn more powerful trap magic that can strike enemies at any range.
Ninja Master (3rd class - Dark): Hawkeye learns advanced ninja strikes and powerful area-of-effect magic.
Nightblade (3rd class - Dark): Hawkeye can learn strong debuffing magic that silences enemies and can also nullify their attacks entirely.
Riesz (Starting class: Amazon)
Valkyrie (2nd class - Light): Riesz can learn support magic and buff up allies.
Rune Maiden (2nd class - Dark): Riesz can learn debuffing magic and weaken enemies.
Vanadis (3rd class - Light): Riesz increases her Stamina stat while also learning summoning magic, like Freya.
Starlancer (3rd class - Light): Riesz carries balanced stats while also using magic spells to buff up allies and increase their stamina.
Dragon Master (3rd class - Dark): Riesz can debuff enemies while also summoning the dragon Jormungandr to inflict great damage and occasionally poison foes.
Fenrir Knight (3rd class - Dark): Riesz learns the game's top debuffing spells and can decrease their stats entirely.
You'll only have so much time to access the Mana Stones to switch your class before the story no longer allows you to. At that point, you can return to the Sanctuary of Mana anytime whenever you're ready to switch.
A special fourth class is also available for each character, but you won't unlock that until after you complete the game for the first time. Once you finish up, begin the post-game content and you'll learn the requirements for finding your character's fourth and final class.
That's how players can switch classes in Trials of Mana. Be sure to keep it on Shacknews as we continue with our coverage of Trials of Mana.