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If you didn’t know Final Fantasy and its Jobs and someone mentioned that a character’s craft is called Dark Knight, what would your first impression be? Probably something like a cliche villain bathed in darkness who wants to snatch away all the light in the world and rule the seven kingdoms with his tainted power.
Well, apparently, Square also had a similar notion at first. Luckily, that changed. Nowadays, Dark Knights are warriors who tap into the darkness for strength, but not necessarily for evil. You know that phrase “the weapon is just a tool?” Well, change the weapon to darkness, and there you have it.
Dark Knights became a staple in Final Fantasy but saw their fame rise back from the dead with the franchise’s MMOs. Since Final Fantasy IV, we haven’t had a character dedicated to this Final Fantasy Job, and Cecil even had the nerve to resign. Are you a fan of knights clad in black armor wielding greatswords? Then this Dark Knight Final Fantasy Guide is for you.
Traits of a Dark Knight
At first glance, Dark Knight may seem like a Job reserved for antiheroes or antagonists. And well, there’s some truth in that since most of those who govern the dark arts aren’t necessarily keen to do good deeds or advocate for lawful justice.
However, that doesn’t mean they are expressively evil. Truth be told, there are more antagonistic Dragoons than Dark Knights, which I particularly find pretty mean. But as with every Final Fantasy, the antagonist doesn’t mean villainous. It just means their morals contrast with that of our protagonist.
Here are some notable characteristics of this iconic and controversial Job:
- Japanese Name: 暗黒騎士, Ankoku Kishi, where Ankoku stands for Darkness and Kishi for Knight.
- Main Weapon: Sword and Greatsword.
- Armor: Black-dyed heavy armor. More black, more power.
- Common Abilities: Darkness, Soul Eater, Blood Weapon.
- Role: Melee DPS or Tank.
- Notable Dark Knights: Cecil Harvey, Gaffgarion (formerly), Sidurgu Orl, and Barnabas Tharmr.
Dark Knight in Each Final Fantasy Game
The Dark Knight first appeared on Final Fantasy II, earned some of their peculiar skills on Final Fantasy IV, and from then on, went on a hiatus, appearing briefly in spinoffs like Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Dimensions, returning for the 3D remake of Final Fantasy III in place of Warmage and finally falling into the people’s grace by turning into a Job in the MMORPGs Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV.
Most of the Dark Knight’s abilities involve expending their own HP to damage enemies. Other skills drain foes of their HP and MP, so the Dark Knight can recycle their own abilities until everyone is dead, including themselves. They wield greatswords with heavy armor but have a pitiful speed.
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy II didn’t contain a Job system, and all characters could specialize in whatever weapon or magic they wished. However, Leon was considered a dark knight of the Empire for a time. Although this was more of a title designed for the imperial forces rather than an occupation carrying special powers.
This could hint at how Square Enix, SquareSoft then, was already thinking of expanding the series’ mythology. Because Final Fantasy II also introduced Dragoon and several other elements that became recurrent in the franchise, like Chocobos and Cid.
Final Fantasy III
In the original Final Fantasy III release, there was a Job called Warmage which wielded greatswords and could cast low-level white magic. With the game’s several re-releases, Warmage was altered to Dark Knight and reflected the Job’s iconic abilities while losing dominance over white magics.
It’s obtained after finding the Water Crystal. In the 3D version, Dark Knights can cast Souleater, sacrificing a portion of their HP to attack all enemies. On the Pixel Remaster version, their ability is called Bladeblitz and attacks all enemies without the HP cost.
Final Fantasy IV
The most famous Dark Knight in the entire franchise, if not in the RPG genre. The protagonist, Cecil Harvey, initiates the game as a Dark Knight. Clad in the iconic full-plated black armor, he’s taciturn, uneasy, and struggling with his own demons, as most Dark Knights are portrayed. It’s said that Baron’s army was to be composed of a squad of dark knights, but most give in to their dark powers due and lose their sanity.
The narrative of Final Fantasy IV considers Dark Knight to be an element of evil. The game assumes Cecil enters the path of a hero when he frees himself from the bonds of this nocturnal power and becomes a paladin, the light of justice.
Early Final Fantasy still featured a good versus evil dichotomy, given that the Dark Knight was introduced in Final Fantasy II as an enemy. However, when the franchise started to explore a moral gray area, apart from flat enemy characters, the Dark Knight became a staple job.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Chronologically, Final Fantasy Tactics came before the mainline I will be citing in this article. It made sense to me to add it before them. So, in Final Fantasy Tactics, we have two instances of Dark Knights. First, it’s the fan-favorite (is it?) Gaffgarion’s unique Job where he employs absurdly strong ranged-melee attacks that steal HP or MP while chunking massive damage. It’s utterly broken, just not so much as Orlandeu.
With the release of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Gaffgarion was promoted to Fell Knight, a slightly more potent variant of the Dark Knight, which became a Job for our characters. The Dark Knight has a few skills visually and effectively similar to what Gaffgarion can do, but with a different name. It’s one of the hardest to unlock, requiring 5 other Jobs at a high level and a secret prerequisite of killing 20 enemies. But the grinding pays off handsomely.
Final Fantasy X-2
Who knew that the Dark Knight would be a dressphere for the Gullwings, hey? Lore-wise, it’s irrelevant. It’s a missable dressphere because you find it disposable in a treasure chest in the Bevelle Underground. It can’t get lower than this.
However, it’s very appealing to see the women clad in heavy, a little over-the-top, black armor wielding a stunning greatsword. Their abilities respect the DK theme, burning their own HP to inflict damage on enemies. Plus, they can cast Arcana school magic, inflicting several ailments with debuff magics.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
The odd game Lightning Returns, the second direct sequel to the mainline Final Fantasy XIII, features a system called Garbs, which acts like Jobs. Lightning can change her Garbs during battle and use new skills on the fly.
There is no denying that Lightning looks incredibly badass wearing Dark Knight armor, and that is reason enough for you to hunt this Garb down. The sidequest which rewards this Garb is called “To Save The Sinless.” It comes with two native abilities, Darkness and Ashura, both of which eat up HP for damage, as customary. Sometimes I wonder if the Dark Knight is not secretly a masochist.
Final Fantasy XI
After Final Fantasy IV, the Dark Knight went into a deep slumber. It finally awoke in 2002 as an advanced Job in 2002 in the MMO Final Fantasy XI. From then on, it featured in several new installments remakes/remasters, such as Final Fantasy III, FFT: The War of the Lions, as a dressphere for the FFX-2, and a Garb in Lightning Returns, which I mentioned some paragraphs ago.
On that note, Final Fantasy XI was primarily responsible for salvaging this Job and reintroducing his popularity to the franchise as a stereotype to be used for the greater good and not as a behaviorally villainous person.
On Final Fantasy XI, you’re the hero who can employ dark arts to do heroic deeds. That means Dark Knights aren’t inherently evil, right? Right! Maybe that’s one reason, speculatively speaking, why the Job returned to the franchise in a new positive light.
Final Fantasy XIV
With the release of Heavensward came three new Jobs: Astrologian, Machinist, and Dark Knight. The Dark Knight was an enigma at its release. After all, our character was dubbed the Warrior of Light. It sounded controversial. But as my grandfather taught me, wherever there is a problem, also lies an opportunity. I don’t know if it was his words exactly, but anyway.
It would take a lot of roundabouts and lame excuses to justify why our light-bathed hero would ever consider claiming the Soul Crystal of darkness, so loopholes were expected. Luckily, the writer tasked with creating the Dark Knight storyline was overdosing with creativity and inspiring storytelling.
This made this Job questline one of the game’s finest and allowed Natsuko Ishikawa to write Shadowbringers’ main story, which turned out to be excellent.
On that note, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the franchise’s most popular and successful games, so I deem it essential to give its Dark Knight version a little more spotlight than the others. For example, how can our Warrior of Light take on the greatsword and protect the weak and oppressed while scaring the hell out of their enemies? This Dark Knight method seems quite similar to another one with the same moniker.
How to Become a Dark Knight in Final Fantasy XIV
You cannot start out as a Dark Knight in the game, nor become one until finishing A Realm Reborn’s entire Main Quest. That’s because the Job giver for the darkness-drenched tank is on The Foundation, a main hub in the Heavensward expansion. Unfortunately, it is one of three Jobs that require you to complete the entire base game before applying to it.
So, the first requirement is completing the entirety of A Realm Reborn, including the post-game content that ends with the MSQ “Before the Dawn.” After landing in the icy regions of Ishgard, you’ll arrive in the Foundation zone, a towering stone-clad city. You need to find and talk to Ishgard Citizen in The Pillars (X:13.2 Y:8.8). The Dark Knight doesn’t require a specific class to unlock. Any at level 50 will do.
He will give you the “Our End” quest. The only goal is to talk to another NPC named Fray, who will provide you with the Dark Knight’s Soul Crystal and a basic gear set. Fray, will give you the subsequent Dark Knight sidequests after every five levels, teaching new Dark Knight actions and introducing the best-in-game Job storyline.
Dark Knight Actions Level 1-30
|
Name |
Level |
Cooldown (seconds) |
Effect |
|
Hard Slash |
1 |
2.5 |
Delivers an attack with a potency of 170. |
|
Syphon Strike |
2 |
2.5 |
Delivers an attack with a potency of 120. Combo Action: Hard Slash Combo Potency: 260 Combo Bonus: Restores MP |
|
Unleash |
6 |
2.5 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 120 to all nearby enemies. |
|
Grit |
10 |
2 |
Significantly increases enmity generation. Effect ends upon reuse. |
|
Release Grit |
10 |
1 |
Cancels the effect of Grit. |
|
Unmend |
15 |
2.5 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 150. Additional Effect: Increased enmity Additional Effect: Reduces the recast time of Plunge by 5 seconds |
|
Souleater |
26 |
2.5 |
Delivers an attack with a potency of 120. Combo Action: Syphon Strike Combo Potency: 340 Combo Bonus: Restores own HP Cure Potency: 300 Combo Bonus: Increases Blood Gauge by 20 |
|
Flood of Darkness |
30 (Job Quest) |
1 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Additional Effect: Grants Darkside, increasing damage dealt by 10% Duration: 30s Extends Darkside duration by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Shares a recast timer with Edge of Darkness. |
Dark Knight Actions Level 31-60
|
Name |
Level |
Cooldown (seconds) |
Effect |
|
Blood Weapon |
35 (Job Quest) |
60 |
Grants 5 stacks of Blood Weapon, each stack increasing Blood Gauge by 10 and restoring MP upon landing weaponskills or spells. Duration: 15s Effect does not stack when hitting multiple targets with a single attack. |
|
Shadow Wall |
38 |
120 |
Reduces damage taken by 30%. Duration: 15s |
|
Stalwart Soul |
40 |
2.5 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 100 to all nearby enemies. Combo Action: Unleash Combo Potency: 140 Combo Bonus: Restores MP Combo Bonus: Increases Blood Gauge by 20 |
|
Edge of Darkness |
40 (Job Quest) |
1 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 300. Additional Effect: Grants Darkside, increasing damage dealt by 10% Duration: 30s Extends Darkside duration by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Shares a recast timer with Flood of Darkness. |
|
Dark Mind |
45 |
60 |
Reduces magic vulnerability by 20%. Duration: 10s |
|
Living Dead |
50 (Job Quest) |
300 |
Grants the effect of Living Dead. When HP is reduced to 0 while under the effect of Living Dead, instead of becoming KO’d, your status will change to Walking Dead. Living Dead Duration: 10s Additional Effect: Restores HP with each weaponskill successfully delivered or spell cast Cure Potency: 1500 While under the effect of Walking Dead, most attacks will not lower your HP below 1. If, before the Walking Dead timer runs out, an amount of HP totaling your maximum HP is restored, the effect will change to Undead Rebirth. If this amount is not restored, you will be KO’d. Walking Dead Duration: 10s While under the effect of Undead Rebirth, most attacks will not lower your HP below 1. Undead Rebirth Duration: Time remaining on Walking Dead |
|
Salted Earth |
52 (Job Quest) |
90 |
Creates a patch of salted earth at your feet, dealing unaspected damage with a potency of 50 to any enemies who enter. Duration: 15s ※Action changes to Salt and Darkness upon execution. |
|
Plunge |
54 (Job Quest) |
30 |
Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 150. Maximum Charges: 2 Cannot be executed while bound. |
|
Abyssal Drain |
56 (Job Quest) |
60 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 240 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Restores own HP Cure Potency: 200 Additional Effect: Restores MP Shares a recast timer with Carve and Spit. |
|
Carve and Spit |
60 (Job Quest) |
60 |
Delivers a threefold attack with a potency of 510. Additional Effect: Restores MP Shares a recast timer with Abyssal Drain. |
Dark Knight Actions Level 61-90
|
Name |
Level |
Cooldown (seconds) |
Effect |
|
Bloodspiller |
62 |
2.5 |
Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. Blood Gauge Cost: 50 |
|
Quietus |
64 |
2.5 |
Delivers an attack with a potency of 200 to all nearby enemies. Blood Gauge Cost: 50 |
|
Delirium |
68 |
60 |
Grants 3 stacks of Delirium, each stack allowing the execution of Quietus or Bloodspiller without Blackblood cost, restoring MP when landing either weaponskill. Duration: 15s |
|
The Blackest Night |
70 (Job Quest) |
15 |
Creates a barrier around self or target party member that absorbs damage totaling 25% of target’s maximum HP. Duration: 7s Grants Dark Arts when barrier is completely absorbed. Dark Arts Effect: Consume Dark Arts instead of MP to execute Edge of Shadow or Flood of Shadow |
|
Flood of Shadow |
74 |
1 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 160 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Additional Effect: Grants Darkside, increasing damage dealt by 10% Duration: 30s Extends Darkside duration by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Shares a recast timer with Edge of Shadow. |
|
Edge of Shadow |
74 |
1 |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 460. Additional Effect: Grants Darkside, increasing damage dealt by 10% Duration: 30s Extends Darkside duration by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Shares a recast timer with Flood of Shadow. |
|
Dark Missionary |
76 |
90 |
Reduces magic damage taken by self and nearby party members by 10%. Duration: 15s |
|
Living Shadow |
80 |
120 |
Conjure a simulacrum of your darkside to fight alongside you. Simulacrum Attack Potency: 350 Duration: 20s Blood Gauge Cost: 50 Additional Effect: Simulacrum is able to execute Shadowbringer, delivering an attack to all enemies in a straight line before it with a potency of 500 for the first enemy, and 25% less for all remaining enemies. |
|
Oblation |
82 |
60 |
Reduces damage taken by a party member or self by 10%. Duration: 10s Maximum Charges: 2 |
|
Salt and Darkness |
86 |
20 |
All enemies standing in the corrupted patch of Salted Earth take additional unaspected damage with a potency of 500 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. |
|
Shadowbringer |
90 |
60 |
Deals unaspected damage to all enemies in a straight line before you with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Maximum Charges: 2 Can only be executed while under the effect of Darkside. |
Dark Knight Traits
|
Name |
Level |
Effect |
|
Tank Mastery |
1 |
Reduces damage taken by 20%. Furthermore, grants a bonus to maximum HP based on your vitality attribute, and a bonus to damage dealt based on your strength attribute. |
|
Blackblood |
62 |
Allows for Blood Gauge accumulation upon the landing of certain actions. |
|
Enhanced Blackblood |
66 |
Allows for Blood Gauge accumulation upon the landing of any weaponskill or spell while under the effect of Blood Weapon. |
|
Darkside Mastery |
74 |
Upgrades Flood of Darkness and Edge of Darkness to Flood of Shadow and Edge of Shadow respectively. |
|
Enhanced Plunge |
78 |
Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Plunge. Maximum Charges: 2 |
|
Enhanced Unmend |
84 |
Reduces recast time of Plunge by 5 seconds when executing Unmend on most targets. |
|
Melee Mastery |
84 |
Increases the potency of Hard Slash to 170, Syphon Strike to 120, and Souleater to 120. |
|
Enhanced Living Shadow |
88 |
Increases the potency of attacks dealt by your simulacrum to 350. |
|
Enhanced Living Shadow II |
90 |
Upgrades Flood of Shadow executed by your simulacrum to Shadowbringer, which delivers an attack to all enemies in a straight line before it with a potency of 500 for the first enemy, and 25% less for all remaining enemies. |
FAQs
Question: How to unlock Dark Knight in FFXIV?
Answer: Dark Knight is part of the Heavensward expansion. Since FFXIV free trial encompasses it, you do not need to purchase the game if you want to sample the Job.
However, it’s necessary to finish all the base game content, A Realm Reborn, up until the MSQ “Before the Dawn,” before you can access the Foundation, a main hub of Heavensward where the NPC Ishgard Citizen is located, in The Pillars (X:13.2 Y:8.8), which starts the sidequest to become a Dark Knight.
Question: What Does Dark Knight do in FFXIV?
Answer: Dark Knight is known for his life-stealing attacks, so he can do some recovering on their own even if the healer isn’t doing a good nurse Job or prefers to focus on DPS. In the old days, it was one of the most sustainable solo Jobs.
Nowadays, all tanks are kind of a mashup of each other. Warrior, for example, also has many means of self-healing. With each patch, I feel that each Tank is losing its identity and will eventually only boil down to its appearance and skills visual effects.
Question: Is Dark Knight good in FFXIV?
Answer: That is a tricky question. Since FFXIV is an MMORPG and a live-service game, with every major patch or expansion, all Jobs receive a technical overhaul. This means while some receive buffs, others receive nerfs. This rollercoaster of updates can inflate the power of one Job or drastically reduce that of another.
In Endwalker, for example, Paladins are still struggling to catch up with the DPS of other Tanks, but they offset this by providing slightly more utility skills. On the other hand, it means that you can play whichever Job you want and not worry about which is the strongest, since all can fulfill their role efficiently.
No Need to Fear the Dark
Dark Knights were born as a controversial Job in the Final Fantasy franchise, usually portrayed by villains or protagonists with identity issues. After a spell in repose, however, Square decided to bring the Job back. Despite his nickname and predilection for the dark arts, Dark Knights lean a bit more towards the side of justice than unruliness. They just have a little problem following the rules to the letter.
Final Fantasy is a chameleon franchise, and we never know what the next mainline theme is in store. Dark Knights are usually featured in medieval fantasy themes, as evidenced by their presence in Final Fantasy XVI.
However, I confess that seeing a contemporary Dark Knight adaptation would be interesting, as was done with Cid Highwind and Aranea in the role of modern Dragoons. Who knows, maybe Final Fantasy XVII will introduce us to a new facet of this beloved and dark Job.