In the original game you barely noticed when a character came or went, you just set up another character with the skills/gambits required (maybe grind a little for license points to allow that) and carry on.
Playing through the zodiac age - I set Penelo to White Mage, just to compliment Vaan as the damage dealer at the first time they work together.
Fast forward a couple of scenes and I am stuck without her for a long time - meaning I have to tackle hunts and a few sections of story without a White Mage (and because of my selections for Balthier and Fran - basically no magic).
As this is a different dynamic to the original
1) Which characters go AWOL and for how long?
2) Are any jobs are highly recommended to have during these sequences (so another character should hold them)
41 Answer
Penelo is the only character that leaves. She joins in Rabanstre at the beginning of the game to help with a quest, leaves when you get back into town and then rejoins shortly after the Luhsu Mines.
If you assigned Penelo as your White Mage, it's recommended to stock up on potions during the Luhsu Mines because that's the only real place where you can die unless you're doing Hunts. Set up gambits to your ranged characters to heal via potions. Some melee characters can also have First Aid so make sure you pick that up too. You can always hold off on the Hunts, as you can't do any expiring Hunts at this stage in the game anyway.
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