FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time Equipment Guide: Best Equipment Ranked

Q: What are all fourteen Lives?

The combat Lives are Paladin, Mercenary, Hunter and Magician. The gathering Lives are Miner, Woodcutter, Angler and Farmer. The crafting Lives are Cook, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Tailor, Alchemist and Artist. Farmer and Artist are the two additions over the original Fantasy Life.

Q: Do I have to pick one Life and stay with it?

No. One character holds all fourteen and you swap at will without losing progress. Each Life stores its own rank, gear and challenge list, so the practical limit is your time rather than any commitment made at the start.

Q: How do I raise a Life rank past Fledgling?

Complete the Life Challenges listed for that Life and report them to its Life Master. There are ten ranks in each Life Licence beginning at Novice, and the challenge points are what move you between them.

Q: When does Ginormosia open up?

At the end of Chapter 1, when you leave Mysteria Island on the Bone Dragon. Ginormosia is the large continent with 15 regions, 15 towers and 20 shrines, and it holds most of the game's collectibles.

Q: Can you play with friends?

Yes. Online play supports up to four players, and there is a two player local mode where a second person joins the adventure as your travel companion. Splitting gathering and combat duties between two players speeds up the island rebuild considerably.

Complete FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time equipment guide. Every equipment option ranked with stats, best builds, and how to get them.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

LEVEL-5 released FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time on May 21, 2025 after two delays from its original 2023 announcement. You move between a wrecked present day island and the same island as it stood a thousand years earlier, carrying materials and knowledge across the gap to rebuild it. Fourteen Lives split into four combat, four gathering and six crafting jobs, and one character can hold all of them at once.

Your choice of equipment defines your damage output and playstyle. This guide ranks every major option, explains what makes each one strong, and tells you which builds they pair best with.

Equipment Rankings

Equipment	Tier	Best For	Notes
Swords	S	New players and any expedition into a region ahead of your story chapter.	The Paladin weapon family, always paired with a shield.
Greatswords	A	Players who read attack patterns and want boss fights over quickly.	The Mercenary weapon family, swung two handed with long wind up and recovery.
Bows	A	Picking off aerial targets and softening a boss before your party engages.	The Hunter weapon family, built for precision at range.
Staves	B	Clearing packs of monsters while gathering, and exploiting a boss's elemental weakness.	The Magician weapon family, throwing elemental magic from distance.
Sticks	B	The opening chapter on Mysteria Island before a Life Licence is issued.	The starting weapon you carry before choosing a combat Life, and the only weapon family that is not tied to one of the four combat jobs.

S-Tier: Swords

The Paladin weapon family, always paired with a shield. Lower damage per swing than a greatsword but the block window makes it the most forgiving option in a field boss fight.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	S
Best For	New players and any expedition into a region ahead of your story chapter.
Key Mechanic	Fourteen swappable Lives
Recommended Build	Paladin

How to get it: Available from mid-game onward. See our walkthrough for the exact progression point.

Best builds using Swords: Pairs naturally with Paladin thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

A-Tier: Greatswords

The Mercenary weapon family, swung two handed with long wind up and recovery. Highest raw damage of the combat Lives and the fastest way to clear tough monsters.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	A
Best For	Players who read attack patterns and want boss fights over quickly.
Key Mechanic	Life ranks and Life Challenges
Recommended Build	Mercenary

How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.

Best builds using Greatswords: Pairs naturally with Mercenary thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

A-Tier: Bows

The Hunter weapon family, built for precision at range. Keeps you outside the reach of most field bosses at the cost of much lower survivability if anything closes in.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	A
Best For	Picking off aerial targets and softening a boss before your party engages.
Key Mechanic	Two era time travel
Recommended Build	Miner

How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.

Best builds using Bows: Pairs naturally with Miner thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

B-Tier: Staves

The Magician weapon family, throwing elemental magic from distance. Trades physical damage for coverage against groups and elemental weaknesses.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	B
Best For	Clearing packs of monsters while gathering, and exploiting a boss's elemental weakness.
Key Mechanic	Island rebuilding and terrain shaping
Recommended Build	Cook

How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.

Best builds using Staves: Pairs naturally with Cook thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

B-Tier: Sticks

The starting weapon you carry before choosing a combat Life, and the only weapon family that is not tied to one of the four combat jobs.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	B
Best For	The opening chapter on Mysteria Island before a Life Licence is issued.
Key Mechanic	Ginormosia towers and shrines
Recommended Build	Artist

How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.

Best builds using Sticks: Pairs naturally with Artist thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

Equipment Progression Path

The order you should acquire equipment as you progress:

Starting gear → Enough to clear Mysteria Island
Greatswords → Your first real upgrade, available early
Bows → Mid-game upgrade with good scaling
Swords → Best-in-slot, aim for this by late game
Upgrade to max → The power spike from max upgrades is enormous

Equipment Tips

Always upgrade your primary equipment before diversifying. One strong option beats three mediocre ones.
Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities for maximum scaling.
Light the tower in a new region before doing anything else in it. Each of the 15 Ginormosia towers reveals a large slice of the local map and then works as a fast travel anchor, which turns a region from a maze into a checklist.
Check our tier list for how equipment rankings affect overall build effectiveness.

More FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time Guides

Similar Games

If you enjoy FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time, check out these related guides:

Elden Ring Weapons Guide: rpg game with similar mechanics
Baldur's Gate 3 Weapons Guide: rpg game with similar mechanics
Cyberpunk 2077 Weapons Guide: rpg game with similar mechanics

More Game Guides

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Assassin's Creed Origins

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Baldur's Gate 3