Upgraded Statistics by Material Grade Used
| Materials Used | Level | Strength | Magic | Maximum HP | Material Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1 | 89 | 91 | 1,336 | - |
| Grade 3 | 15 | 271 | 239 | 3,318 | 24,800 gil |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 544 | 451 | 6,271 | 144,400 gil |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 817 | 663 | 9,223 | 328,400 gil |
Related
The afro of this former airship pilot has taken on a distinctly chocobo stink of late.
Sazh is an interesting Commando because of his two pistols. Each shot does less damage than other Commandos, but he gets twice as many, and they seem to build chains slightly faster as well. His Random: Instant Chain Ability also seems more likely to go off. (As you can see, I have a lot of certainty about these things...) Sazh's biggest advantage is his Blitz attack, which hits many times over a very wide area. However, he lacks some of the basic attack enhancing Abilities, such as Ravage and Blindside, and is the only one of the four Characters with Commando as a primary Role that lacks the Launch ability. Against any enemy where Launch is vital, such as Behemoths, this basically means Sazh can't be your lone Commando.
Sazh never gets access to Raise, but don't let that fool you into thinking he's a bad Medic. He doesn't get Curaja (that's reserved for Vanille and Hope), but he does get Curasa, making him an effective healer through endgame fights. That said, he won't get Curasa until Crystarium stage 9, and it's quite expensive.
Sazh is a very effective Saboteur, gaining access to every single-target debuff in the game. In fact, he's one of only two Characters that can inflict every possible status ailment (the other being Hope). Because he relies on single-target debuffs, he's not very effective against groups, but then, Saboteurs are generally most important against singular, powerful enemies anyway.
Sazh is all about defense as a Sentinel. That may seem to go without saying, but he doesn't get any evasion Abilities, and while he does get Vendetta he does not get Entrench or the Counter auto Ability. He also doesn't get Mediguard, so if Sazh is your defender, you'll need to keep an eye on his HP. He does have the second-highest HP total in the game, though, and is the only non-primary Sentinel with Challenge.
It takes him a while to get there, but Sazh is the most complete Synergist in the game. He and Hope have very nearly the same set of Abilities, though Sazh gets Vigilance instead of Veil. However, Sazh will first gain access to offensive buffs like Bravery, Faith, and En-spells, making him the offensive Synergist for the first nine chapters of the game.