Dragoon (job)



The Dragoon, also localized as Dragon Knight or Lancer, is a recurring Job in the Final Fantasy series. First appearing in Final Fantasy II, they have become one of the most famous and iconic job classes of the series.

Profile
Dragoons are powerful physical attackers that wield various types of spears and lances. They wear special armor meant to invoke the imagery of dragons, including helmets shaped like a dragon's head, spikes, and wing and scale designs. Dragoons are sometimes more directly tied to dragons, such as owning them as pets or otherwise befriending them.

The trademark ability of Dragoons is Jump, which allows them to leap into the air, avoiding attacks while airborne, and descending later to impale enemies and deal heavy damage. Some Dragoons can upgrade Jump to Double Jump, which does increased damage. Another recurring Dragoon ability is Lancet, sometimes called Dragon Sword, which allows them to attack an opponent and drain their HP and MP to heal themselves. Sometimes Dragoons will be able to use various types of Breath abilities to either deal elemental damage or heal their allies.

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. Dragoons have a theme of being protectors and/or taking action to protect others in many of the titles where they appear.

The town of Deist is usually depicted as a hometown of Dragoons.

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

Final Fantasy III
In their first appearance as a Job class, the Dragoon class has Jump as its special ability. The class is gained from the Water Crystal.

Final Fantasy IV
Kain Highwind is a Dragoon and the leader of a company of Dragoons in the service of Baron. His father, years ago, also commanded the Dragoons as one himself.

As a Dragoon, Kain is the only one who is able to equip spears, although he can hold swords and axes too. He also has access to the ability Jump which is only usable if he has a spear equipped.

Two dragoon NPCs can be seen and talked to in Baron Castle. In the 3D remake, their 3D model is similar to Kain's, only less detailed. In all other versions, they use the same sprite as other soldiers, though they still refer to themselves as dragoons.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Kain's dark side has the Dragoon Job in this game and is temporarily playable during some sequences. Kain, having taken the alias of the "Hooded Man" while he seeks his dark side, is not specified as having a job. After Kain defeats his dark side he is transformed into a Holy Dragoon, a Paladin-like enhancement of the normal Dragoon class with improved stats and the ability to cast White Magic.

Due to the class being exclusive to Dark Kain it also features the ability to equip many dark related weapons and armor used by Cecil's Dark Knight job in the previous game. However most of these items cannot be obtained in the final game without the use of hacking.

Final Fantasy V
Dragoons are a Job obtained from shards of the Earth Crystal. They use the Jump attack, and in its first appearance in the series can use the Lancet ability, though it is called "Lance" or "DragonSword".

Final Fantasy VII
Though the game does not have a Job system, Cid Highwind bears many traits of a Dragoon. He equips spears and lances and can use Jump attacks as his Limit Breaks, including the "Dragon" attack 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, both signature skills of Dragoons.

Final Fantasy IX
Freya Crescent is identified as a Dragon Knight and wields spears. Her lost lover, Sir Fratley, is a legendary Burmecian Dragon Knight. Freya is able to use the Jump ability and has the Dragon skillset, which enables her to use magical attacks including Lancet, which is called "Lancer" in this game.

Early concept artworks for Final Fantasy IX reveal that Dragoons were perhaps planned to have a bigger role in the game, with humans in dragoon roles as well.

Final Fantasy X
The game does not use an official Job system, but Kimahri acts as a combination of a Dragoon and a Blue Mage. He equips spears, and his special ability is Lancet, which drains HP and MP from enemies and allows Kimahri to learn new Ronso Rages, his Overdrive. His initial Overdrive is Jump.

Final Fantasy XI
Dragoons are an advanced Job class that can summon pet wyverns to aid them in battle. They mainly equip light to medium armor and spears, and have abilities such as Jump and Super Jump to aid them in defeating their enemies. Also, the Absolute Virtue is a dragoon from this game.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Some enemy aegyl are Dragon Knights, who can Jump and use several ranged Breath attacks; or Dragoons, who can Jump attack constantly and only appear in Midlight's Deep.

Llyud can also use the Jump and Lancet abilities among numerous others.

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 "Highwind" allows her to perform a powerful Jump attack. An enemy named PSICOM Dragoon appears, but is more based on the historical infantry unit the Job Class is named for rather than the Job itself.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
One of the garbs available for Lightning is called Dragoon. Its locked ability is Lancet.

Final Fantasy XIV
Dragoons are a specialization within the Lancer class, focusing in increasing its proficiency with critical hits and AoE damage, as well as adding the iconic jump ability.

Characters who have reached Level 30 as Lancer and Level 15 in Marauder may obtain the Soul of the Dragoon soul crystal by completing the "Eye of The Dragon" quest, and learn additional job abilities by finishing new quests that become available every five levels.

Final Fantasy XV
A female dragoon has been seen in trailers, acting as an antagonist with the Niflheim invasion forces. She has been seen diving from a military airship and attacking Noctis with a massive, mechanized lance. In interviews in Dengeki PS and Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura indicated that she was a contemporary interpretation 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 a member of Class Zero, Nine, makes use of spears, and can perform the job's iconic Jump ability. Class Second is a class specific to studying dragoon abilities. Carla Ayatsugi is a student of Class Second and Machina Kunagiri is a former student of Class Second.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Dragoons are physical Job that are unlocked by obtaining Level 3 or 4 in the Thief Job, depending on the version of the game. They have a high Jump stat boosted by the Ignore Elevation ability, and can use the Jump skill to strike distant foes.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
This Job is available to bangaa after mastering two Warrior skills. They have the highest jump stat in the entire game, allowing them to overcome many heights. Along with Jump and Lancet, they also have Breath attacks.

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

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

Final Fantasy Dimensions
Barbara appears as a Dragoon in Final Fantasy Dimensions, in a tale which grants the Dragoon job to the Light Warriors. Dragoons can use various Breath abilities to either deal elemental damage or heal allies. They retain the job's iconic Jump and Lancet abilities, but these are learned later in the job's level.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
The Dragoon Job Card, available to be selected in the Duel Colosseum 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.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Kain Highwind represents the Dragoon job in Dissidia 012. The Dragoon job card reappears in the new Labyrinth mode, and discards all cards except doors and goals. 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.

Dragoon is also a job that can be selected for a character in the player's Party for Quick Battle, Friend Cards, or wireless matches. The Dragoon job grants the character the Jump Boost ability and 10% HP Drain, and is needed to unlock the Samurai job.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
The Dragoon is a job in Final Fantasy: Airborne Brigade available after obtaining a level ten Warrior and a level ten Thief. The preferred weapons for the job are spears and swords. The job specializes in both strength and agility abilities. This job is involved in the requirements to unlock the Samurai job.

Final Fantasy Artniks
The Dragoon appears as a character card.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
The Dragoon is a character available to the party, he uses the Jump ability during battle. Unlocks at level 33.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
The Chocobo unlocks the Dragoon class by restoring Meja's memories. In this class, the Chocobo can jump to damage enemies a short distance away, and he also possesses elemental spear skills to allow him to harry his foes.

Nightblade
Nightblade 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. This variation of the typical Dragoon is similar to the Paladin class. Kain dons a blue draconic suit of armor, and he gains the ability to cast White Magic. Kain's Holy Dragoon form also appears as his EX Mode in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Uhlan
In Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System, the Job class Uhlan is the closest to Dragoons, as noted by Hiroyuki Itō, the game's director. The Uhlan uses spears as weapons and equips Heavy Armor. The job, however, can not use the Jump ability so the director researched a different name that is related to spears. The job was ultimately named Uhlan, after Polish soldiers who wield spears.

Lancer
The Lancer 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)".

Valkyrie
The Valkyrie is a job in Bravely Default that specializes in spears and has access to the Jump, High Jump, and Super Jump commands.

Lord of Vermilion series
Grendel, the "Dragon Warrior of Chaos", is a summonable monster and the final boss of Lord of Vermilion, designed by guest illustrator Tetsuya Nomura. Described as a legendary drakeman and a dragon slayer, 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, including wings, claws, and a tail.

In Lord of Vermilion Re:2 he reappears with an altered design as the "Wailing Dragon Emperor". 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 series
Grendel appears as one of the boss monsters in Lord of Arcana, as the "Dragon Knight of the Terror Tempest". He is described as a dragon knight that roams forgotten battlefields, spreading chaos with his blade. One of his abilities is called Dragoon Jump. Two alternate forms of this monster, Grendel Banjax and Grendel Annihilate, also make appearances.

Grendel is featured in the logo for Lord of Arcana's sequel, Lord of Apocalypse, seemingly impaled by numerous spears.

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. The Organization XIII member who controls the Dragoon Nobodies is Xaldin, who also exhibits some traditional aspects of the Dragoon class himself, such as wielding spears as his signature weapons and specializing in aerial combat.

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, 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. Through the course of the series, it has also been localized as Lancer and Dragon Knight, though Dragoon has become the generally accepted term.

Trivia

 * In games which have real life calender, most dragoons' birthdays happen in February: Nine, Cid Highwind, and Ward Zabac.
 * In the multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) game League of Legends, a champion by the name of Jarvan IV seems based on the Dragoons of Final Fantasy. He battles with a lance, wears armor evoking the armor of Kain Highwind, and his ultimate involves him leaping onto an enemy with enough force to create a crater in the ground for a few seconds.

Dragoon Dragontino Dragone (classe)