Puppetmaster (Final Fantasy XI)

Puppetmasters are entertainers from the far East on Vana'diel. They use their puppets to entertain audiences, but they are also effective in combat. This is a playable advanced job in Final Fantasy XI since the addition of Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Puppets are summonable by the Puppetmaster just like a Dragoon summons his wyvern. The puppet joins the puppetmaster in battle, but unlike any other pet in Final Fantasy, the puppet can actually be equipped with a new head or chasis as well a dozen special upgrades.

Puppetmasters are accompanied by an Automaton, which, according to the story of Final Fantasy XI, is a recent invention of a prominent engineer of the Eastern Empire, a Galka named Ghatsad. Traditionally, the entertainers of the past had used marionettes to entertain crowds. These new creations are built and maintained by their puppetmaster owners and function without the use of any strings or other attachment. Instead a puppetmaster actually has a remote which he can use to control his pet.

From some of the descriptions of Puppetmasters released by Square-Enix, there are some very vague connections between Puppetmasters and a recurring job in the Final Fantasy series; Mime. Square-Enix originally intended to introduce a Necromancer job class, but after deciding that it would unbalance the game, they created Puppetmaster instead.

Becoming a Puppetmaster
'No Strings Attached. '

Talk to Shamarhaan, an Elvaan in Bastok Markets next to the fountain. He will tell you to talk to one of his students, Iruki-Waraki in Aht Urhgan.

Go to Aht Urhgan Whitegate, and find Iruki-Waraki at K-9. He tells you to bring him an Automaton. From there, go to the Automaton Shop in the same zone at I-7. Ghastad, the Galka who owns the shop and builder of Automatons, he will tell you about old relic Automations and where to find them. You need to travel to Arrapago Reef. Go to the Northern Port, and ride the boat to Nashmau, or take the Runic Portal to Azouph Isle, and run through Caedarva Mire to I-6 and zone into Arrapago Reef.

Once in Arrapagp Reef, go to H-10, and aboard the first ship you come across there should be a Skeleton, and a Lamia, as well as an ???. When it's safe, touch the ??? to get the relic head and frame. Then return them to Ghastad at the Automaton shop, and let him work on it. Wait until the next Game-Day, and then talk to him again. Then, go back to Iruki-Waraki, and choose a name for your new Automaton.

Puppetmaster Abilities
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Job Abilities

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Job Traits

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Combat Skill Ratings
Automaton Skills rank accordingly. Valoredge A- in Melee. Sharpshooter A- in Ranged. Stormwaker A- in Magic. With Soulsoother/Spiritreaver head, A+ in magic. Harlequin B- in Magic, Melee, and Ranged.

Strengths

 * Good Puppetmasters can almost compete with heavy damage dealing classes like Dragoon and Samurai with the combined power of both their automaton as well as their own ability to fight.
 * Automatons can be configured to do a variety of different abilities and fill multiple roles. This allows Puppetmasters to take on the roles of Healers, Mages, and barely passable damage dealers.

Weaknesses

 * The main source of the Puppetmaster's damage - the Automaton - generally has low defense and is very easy for monsters to kill in few hits. Along with the very long 20 minute recast time to summon a puppet, it sometimes makes it difficult to keep the Puppetmaster's damage at it's peak until abilities like Role Reversal and Ventriloquy are merited.
 * Puppetmasters' main melee skill is C Hand-to-hand, which scales terribly compared to other melee jobs' A or B skill weapons. In effect, the master's melee accuracy and damage begin to fall further and further behind other damage-dealing jobs as they progress, especially at higher levels.


 * Takes time, money, practice, and patience to become a decent Puppetmaster. Requires complete knowledge of the function of each attachment and Automaton AI to master - particularly as the development team tends to alter both with little to no recognition to the player base of doing so.
 * Due to the difficult learning curve of the job, there are many sub-par puppetmasters, leading to slow invites and forced solo-play.

Warrior
One of the best choices for any Puppetmaster while inside a party. Offers Provoke, allowing a Puppetmaster with a healing Automaton to back up tank. Offers Attack Bonus, Double Attack, and Berserk for increased damage of the Puppetmaster.

Monk
A good alternate choice to WAR. Gives the Puppetmaster higher level Martial Arts traits, Boost to raise their Damage and help keep hate off their Automaton while solo, as well as Counter, Dodge, Focus, and Chakra.

White Mage
With a Healing Automaton, a Puppetmaster is able to main heal, but not as good as a White Mage, and can free up Red Mages and Summoners to back up heal. Aside from this, White Mage offers little for a Puppetmaster inside and outside of parties.

Ninja
A very good sub job for a solo Puppetmaster. Utsusemi will eat damage, allowing the Automaton to take on a DD roll. Not advisable for parties, since it grants little that will be useful for a party.

Dragoon
Another good, yet over-looked support job for Puppetmaster. A dragoon subjob offers Attack Bonus at earlier levels, and Jump can be a nice addition to a puppetmaster's damage. There are also many pieces of gear that add Haste and Attack+ that make this an acceptable support job for a Solo or Party puppetmaster.

Dancer
A superb subjob for soloing. It gives your cures and offensive abillitys to weaken your opponent and gives you the option to have your automaton on a DD frame to utilize their damage for the fastest kills. Its personaly my number 1 choice for a soloing subjob.