Fran
Fran is a Viera exile and Balthier’s partner, the most worldly and experienced member of the party. Her ties to the Wood and the Mist run deep.
Fran has the highest Vitality in The Zodiac Age, making her unusually resistant to status effects and a strong fit for the Foebreaker, whose damage scales off Vitality. Her other stats sit mid-pack. The table below shows where she ranks.
Stats
The table below ranks all six party members in each stat at Level 99 in The Zodiac Age. A ranking of 1 is the highest in the party for that stat, and characters with the same value share a ranking.
| Character Stat |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| MP | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Strength | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Magick Power | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Vitality | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Speed | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
The gaps between each character’s stats are very small, and most stats can be raised to the maximum values with equipment and the License Board. Check out the Best Party section for a more detailed analysis of character stats.
Attack Animation Speed
There is a counterintuitive quirk regarding Fran that is worth mentioning. Her animation speed with a bow is the slowest in the party, costing her roughly 0.2 seconds longer per shot than any of the other characters.
The catch is that the weapon she joins your party with is a bow (the 
Shortbow), which plays directly into that weakness. If you plan to keep Fran in your party, she is far better off with a weapon she handles at normal speed rather than leaning on the archer image. Check out the weapon attack speed breakdown for the full picture.
Recommended Jobs
Fran’s leading Vitality makes her the best Foebreaker in the party.
- Foebreaker plus Archer for Vitality-scaling axes and hammers with ranged coverage.
- Foebreaker plus Red Battlemage to pair defense-breaking with a handy spell list.
Check out the Jobs and License Board sections for the full breakdown of each class.