Dark Knight (Final Fantasy XI)



In Final Fantasy XI, the Dark Knight is one of the advanced jobs available for players to unlock upon obtaining level 30. The quest for Dark Knight involves traveling to Bastok and then walking to Palborough Mines. Inside the mines, which are controlled by Quadavs, the player must find a boat and take an underground river to see Zeid, the most notable and famous Galka Dark Knight and champion of Bastok.

Zied grants the player a Great Sword with which he must slay 100 mobs, it is only after performing this time consuming and tedious quest that a character earns the right to play as a Dark Knight. In Final Fantasy XI, Dark Knights hold the best weapon rating in Scythe, are excellent wielders of Great Swords and formidable users of Great Axes and single handed axes.

Dark Knights are granted access to a unique line of Absorb spells. They temporarily siphon, or take away an ability from an enemy and add it to their own. These absorbed abilities consist of all the 7 major stats present in the game; Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Agility, Mind, Intelligence and Charisma. Recently, they also gained the ability to Absorb an enemies TP. Although limited to only 1st and 2nd tier Black Mage spells, Dark Knights are given access to vital spells like Drain and Aspir.

Dark Knights excel at heavy physical damage, although by no means the best in the game at this, when combined with debilitating magical attacks to hamper and weaken an enemy, Dark Knights make formidable Damage Dealers within a party. Though they can wear heavy armor, Dark Knight's are generally quick to die if attacked while utilizing Job Abilities such as Last Resort or Soul Eater which sacrifices defense for a greater boost to attack.

Dark Knight Abilities
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Job Abilities

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Job Traits

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Spell List
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Combat Skill Ratings

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Magic Skill Ratings

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Strengths

 * Dark Knights bring unique set of status ailments they can inflict on enemies with "Absorb" spells.
 * Dark Knights can potentially gain TP very quickly while depriving enemies of their own.
 * Dark Knights make great use of their early access to the spell Stun and are used often times in burning circle battles.

Weaknesses

 * Dark Knight abilities generate a large amount of enmity.
 * Dark Knights, despite wearing heavier armor, tend to end up with low defense through use of abilities and are KOed easily.
 * High end Dark Knight weapon skills with scythe miss more often than most weapon skills.
 * Low Mp pool to work with requiring a Dark Knight to heal between EXP party fights often.
 * There is a stigma associated with Dark Knights that may lead to longer waiting periods in receiving party invites.

Thief
Thief is a very popular subjob for Dark Knights to assist in increasing spike damage. Using sneak attack and trick attack allows a Dark Knight to drastically increase weapon skill damage. It is often used in combination with Last Resort and on occassion, though typically not successfully, with Soul Eater.

Warrior
Warrior is the most popular and widely accepted subjob for Dark Knights for increasing damage over time. Berserk allows them to increase damage with each hit. Physical statistics from warrior also provides a slight advantage particularly in terms of Strength.

Samurai
Samurai has recently been given a boost due to a version update that added the ability Hasso and Seigan. In particular, Hasso provides a haste, strength, and accuracy bonus while using two handed weapons. Since most Dark Knights use either a great sword or a scythe, this is an attractive feature for Samurai as a subjob.

Ninja
At high levels, some Dark Knights will use axes in TP burn parties. Using two axes, a Dark Knight can do reasonably good damage and has blink through utsusemi.