The Paradigm system is introduced in Chapter 3 in the game and it marks where you can begin to select different job combinations (referred to as Roles in Final Fantasy XIII) for your characters.

In some Final Fantasy games, once a character picks a “role” or a “job”, they’re generally locked into that role and are stuck with it for the duration of the game. The Paradigm system operates very differently; it allows you to change your character’s roles in battle on the fly and in real time, allowing them to jump back and forth between roles multiple times during the course of battle.

At the start of the game, your characters will be limited to certain roles that are geared and tailored towards their skillset, with some characters having three roles and some only having two roles. For more information about all six of the roles that will be available, check out the role section using the link below:

Towards the end of the game, all of your characters will gain access to all of their Crystariums and all of the available roles in the game, but certain characters are still very tailored towards certain roles. For example, setting Hope up as a [Sentinel] is generally considered a bad idea, other than in very specific circumstances. Check out the “Best Party” section or the Characters section for more information on specialization:

You can use different configurations of Paradigms to serve different purposes in battle, from going all out on offence, to having some which are focused more on defense. You can also develop Paradigms that specialize in providing status enhancements to your party or status ailments on the enemies you’re facing. Check out the two sections below for more information: