Unlike all the previous Final Fantasy games, the fourth installment does not allow the player to customize the characters' abilities and classes. Each character belongs to a specific, clearly defined class: dragoon, white mage, black mage, summoner, ninja, etc. Each of these classes has distinct special abilities or magic spells. New abilities are learned automatically when a character reaches a pre-determined level. Characters join and leave the party as dictated by the game's plot events. The active party includes up to five combatants.