Dragoon (job)

The Dragoon (竜騎士 Ryuukishi lit. Dragon Knight), also localized as Dragon Knight or Lancer, is a Job that has appeared in almost every Final Fantasy title to date.

Profile
Dragoons are special knights that only equip spears and some kinds of swords to attack. Their stats are weighted physically, and they can equip heavy armor that is modified to look like a dragon. Their special ability is to Jump, which allows them to do an aerial attack which does more damage than a normal attack. The drawback to this attack is that it takes longer due to the Dragoon having to Jump and then fall on his or her opponent. The advantage to this, however, is that Dragoons do not take damage while airborne (at the expense of not being able to be healed). Some dragoons can have the Jump ability upgraded to Double Jump, which allows them to strike for double damage without any extra time in the air. Another ability, called Lancet, sometimes called Lance or DragonSword, allows Dragoons to absorb HP and MP from their opponents.

Many dragoons in the series possess the surname "Highwind", though it is not universal. To date, Alexander Highwind Tycoon has been the only "Highwind" to have not been a Dragoon, though he is still associated with Dragons.

Final Fantasy II
In their first appearance, Dragoons are not a Job but a group of spear-wielding riders of dragons known as wyverns. The Emperor killed off most of the race out of fear, leaving only Ricard Highwind and his adopted son, Kain.

Final Fantasy III
This is the first time Dragoons were a Job class, and the first time they can use their Jump attack. The class is gained from the Water Crystal.

Final Fantasy IV
Kain Highwind is a Dragoon, as was his father. Baron is also mentioned to have a company of Dragoons in their army, which Kain leads.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Kain's dark side has the Dragoon Job in this game, while Kain, under the alias "Hooded Man" is not specified as having a Job. After Kain defeats his dark side, he becomes a Holy Dragoon, a Paladin-like variation of the normal Dragoon that can use White Magic.

Final Fantasy V
Dragoons are a Job obtained when the Earth Crystal shatters. This is the first time Lancet is a skill used by Dragoons, though its known as Lance in this game.

Final Fantasy VI
Edgar Roni Figaro and Mog are classified as a Machinist and a Dancer respectively. However, both can equip Lances, and via the Dragoon Boots Relic can Jump, though any character can equip the Dragoon Boots.

Final Fantasy VII
Cid Highwind, as with all characters in the game, is not given an official Job. However, he equips spears and has several Jump attacks as Limit Breaks, and also has a Limit Break called Dragon that drains HP and MP from enemies. In earlier development stages, his Job was listed as "Pilot (Dragoon)".

Final Fantasy VIII
Ward Zabac uses a Harpoon as a weapon and is able to use a Jump attack as his Limit Break.

Final Fantasy IX
The Dragoon job appears in Final Fantasy IX as one of the main character's class. Freya Crescent is identified as a Dragon Knight and so she is recognized for being able to leap great distances with Jump. She is able to equip Spears and specific armor. Sir Fratley, Freya's lost love is also identified as a legendary Burmecian Dragon Knight, always carrying his spear and demonstrating great fighting abilities. A Dragon Knight thus may be an exclusive soldier type to the Burmecians.

Final Fantasy X
Though the game has no official Job system, Kimahri acts as a Dragoon in several ways: he uses Lancet as his special ability, equips spears, and has Jump as his initial Ronso Rage.

Final Fantasy XI
Dragoons are an advanced Job class which can summon wyverns. They have very high Accuracy, but a poor armor selection.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Llyud serves the party much like a Dragoon, wielding spears and using aerial attacks. Curiously, he also functions a little like a Paladin, with some healing abilities, but these abilities are powered with HP, much like a Dark Knight. Some enemy Aegyl are Dragon Knights, who can Jump and use several ranged Breath attacks, or Dragoons, which can Jump attack constantly and only appear in Midlight's Deep.

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII does not have a Job system, however Oerba Yun Fang uses several trademark Dragoon spears, can summon Bahamut as her Eidolon, and her full ATB skill, named Highwind after numerous playable Dragoons from earlier titles, allows her to perform a powerful jump attack. There is also an enemy solder called the PSICOM Dragoon, though its Japanese name clearly refers to the historical mounted infantry units rather than the Dragon Knights of the Final Fantasy series.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII
In Final Fantasy Versus XIII's Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier trailer, a female dragoon appears as an antagonist in the Niflheim invasion forces, though her name has yet to be revealed. In the trailer, she was seen diving from a military airship and attacking Noctis with a massive, mechanized lance before preparing to engage him in battle. In follow-up interviews in Dengeki PS and Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura indicated that she was a contemporary intepretation of a dragoon, and a member of a special forces unit within the invading army that uses unique equipment and abilities based on the various Final Fantasy jobs.

Final Fantasy Type-0
Final Fantasy Type-0 does not have a job system, but one of the twelve playable characters, Nine, makes use of spears, and can perform the job's iconic Jump ability.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Dragoons are physical Job that are unlocked by getting a Level 3 or 4 Thief, depending on which version you have. They have a high Jump stat boosted by the Ignore Elevation ability.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
This Job is available to Bangaa after mastering two Warrior skills. Along with Jump and Lancet they have Breath attacks.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Only again a Bangaa exclusive Job, Dragoons are unlocked by completing Kyrra, Dragoon and then can only be used after mastering two Warrior A-Abilities. They are especially effective against Dragonkind.

Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi
Barbara is a Dragoon.

Crystal Defenders
Dragoons are job classes available for hire in the W2 and W3 stages, for 50 Gil. Though relatively slow compared to other units, they deal massive amounts of damage and can target both ground and aerial enemies.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
The Dragoon Job Card discards all cards from the selection area for a new set. The first card drawn in the new hand is also a Dragoon, allowing the player to freely cycle their hand as long as they wish. However, boss and Chaos cards cannot be discarded as usual, and the Red Mage card does not allow discarding either.

Nightblade
Nightblade (ナイトブレード Naitobureido) is an enemy Job class in Final Fantasy Tactics used solely by Isilud Tengille of the Knights Templar. It combines attributes of both the Knight and Dragoon Jobs.

Holy Dragoon
In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Kain eventually defeats his dark side and transforms into a Holy Dragoon (聖竜騎士 Seiryuukishi lit. Holy Dragon Knight). This variation of the typical Dragoon is similar to the Paladin class: Kain's armor becomes a lighter blue variation of his normal Dragoon armor, and he gains the ability to cast White Magic. Kain's Holy Dragoon form also appears as his EX Burst in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, where it grants him the Lancet ability.

Lancer
The Lancer (槍術士 Soujutsushi) is a Discipline of War in Final Fantasy XIV, specializing in the use of polearms and javelins; though it appears they lack the ability to Jump, they retain the Lancet ability in the form of Life Surge. Unlike previous uses of the term "Lancer" as a localization for "Dragon Knight", here it is a literal translation of a different class - in this case, a practitioner of sōjutsu, the "art of the spear".

Bahamut Dragoon and Leviathan Dragoon
These two Jobs appear in unused concept artwork for Final Fantasy IX, in which the male protagonist is listed as, "BAHAMUT Dragoon (male)" and the female protagonist as, "LEVIATHAN Dragoon (female)".

Lord of Vermilion
Grendel, the "Dragon Warrior of Chaos," is a summonable monster and the final boss of Lord of Vermilion, designed by guest illustrator Tetsuya Nomura. He is named after Grendel, a descendant of the biblical Cain from the epic poem Beowulf, likely a nod to Kain Highwind.

Lord of Arcana
Grendel reappears as one of the boss monsters in Lord of Arcana, as the "Dragon Knight of the Terror Tempest." Described as a legendary dragonkin and wyrm hunter, he was cursed and sealed beneath a city of stone by the gods, who feared his valor. He wears draconic armor and has several draconic features, includings wings, claws, and a tail.

Kingdom Hearts II
The Dragoon Nobodies are a direct reference to the Dragoon job, and their battle stance mirrors Kain Highwind's iconic pose from the logo of Final Fantasy IV. In battle, they fight with halberds and strong Jump attacks, which can be learned and used by Sora as a reaction command.

Etymology
"Dragoon" is the traditional name for a special soldier type in classical European warfare. Unlike Final Fantasy, the original Dragoons did not fight with lances, that being the job of "Lancers" - a completely different soldier class. Dragoons were infantry that rode on horseback, but fought on foot. Originally they fought with a musket called the "Dragon", giving them the name "Dragoon". The Dragoons' arsenal expanded to include guns, sabres, and axes. During the Napoleonic Wars they became medium cavalry and reached the height of their popularity. After the Napoleonic Wars,in order to make better use of the number of men the European military had, the Dragoons were trained to use lances and Lancers ceased to exist. However, thanks to the advances of modern warfare, Dragoons eventually lost their niche on the battlefield, and modern Dragoon units exist only in ceremonial purposes.

The Job's Japanese name, Dragon Knight (竜騎士, Ryuukishi), is commonly found in Japanese editions of Western fantasy novels as a translation for terms such as "Dragon Knight" or "Dragon Rider", referring typically to knights and warriors who ride on dragons. The term was likely originally localized as "Dragoon" due to the game's Job name length restrictions, and to avoid confusion with the Dark Knight class, which was localized as "D.Knight", though it may have also been confused with the Japanese term for the Dragoon (竜騎兵, Ryuukihei, lit. "Dragon Cavalry"). Through the course of the series, it has also been localized as Lancer and Dragon Knight, though Dragoon has become the generally accepted term.