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 iconic job classes in the series.

Profile
Dragoons are powerful physical attackers who wield 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, avoid attacks while airborne, and descend a moment later to impale enemies and deal heavy damage. Some Dragoons can upgrade Jump to Double Jump for 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 use various breath abilities to either deal elemental damage or heal their allies, referring to dragons' typical ability of breathing fire.

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 are often protectors of others. The town of Deist is usually depicted as a hometown of Dragoons. Kain's Lance is a recurring ultimate weapon for Dragoons as homage to Kain Highwind, the dragoon from Final Fantasy IV often seen as the quintessential Dragoon of the series.

Many games that don't have a job system still have characters that invoke the fighting style and look of Dragoons, often also with the association with Highwind as a surname or ability name.

Final Fantasy II
In their first appearance, Dragoon was not a job, but they were a group of 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, following in the footsteps of his father, who had also commanded the Dragoons as one himself.

Kain is the only party member able to equip spears, although he can hold swords and axes too. He can use Jump if he equips a spear.

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

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Kain's dark side is a Dragoon and is temporarily playable. Kain, having taken the alias of the "Hooded Man" while he seeks his dark side, is not specified as having a job class. 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, the Dragoon can 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
Dragoon is a job obtained from the shards of the Earth Crystal. They use the Jump attack, and in its first appearance in the series, the Lancet ability, though it is called "Lance" or "DragonSword".

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 uses the Jump ability and has the Dragon skillset, which enables her to use magical attacks including Lancet, called "Lancer".

Early concept artwork reveals that two variants of the Dragoon job were perhaps planned to have a bigger role, with humans in these roles as well. These jobs appear in unused concept artwork for Final Fantasy IX, in which a male protagonist is listed as "BAHAMUT Dragoon (male)", and a female protagonist as "LEVIATHAN Dragoon (female)".

Final Fantasy XI
Dragoon is an advanced job class that can summon pet wyverns to aid players in battle. They mainly equip light to medium armor and spears, and have abilities such as Jump and Super Jump. Also, the Absolute Virtue is a Dragoon.

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.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
One of the garbs available for Lightning is 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.

Players who have reached level 30 as Lancer 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 Tactics
Dragoon is a physical job unlocked by leveling up to level 3 or 4 in the Thief job, depending on the version. They have a high Jump stat boosted by the Ignore Elevation ability, and can use the Jump skill to strike distant foes. Their spears give them a loner reach for physical attacks.

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

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

Crystal Defenders
Dragoon is a job class available for hire in the W2 and W3 stages, costing 50 gil. Though relatively slow compared to other units, they deal massive damage and can target both ground and aerial enemies.

Final Fantasy Dimensions
Barbara is a Dragoon in a tale that grants the Dragoon job to the Light Warriors. Dragoons use Breath abilities to 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.

Final Fantasy Dimensions II
Wrieg gets an alternate costume based on the Dragoon job from the "Phantom Beast Great Decisive Battle!" event. The Dragoon costume is based on Kain's sprites from Final Fantasy IV. The costume can only be seen when Wrieg is equipped with the "Dragoon Equipment" accessory. Anyone who equips the accessory will gain a 20% boost to max speed, along with 30 attack & 1,000 HP.

Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)
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. 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 available after obtaining a level 10 Warrior and a level 10 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 Record Keeper


Dragoon is playable character recruited as the First Time Reward for completing Ronka Ruins, Part 2 on Classic difficulty of the Core Dungeons. Acquiring Dragoon this way alludes to Final Fantasy V where the Ronka Ruins store the Earth Crystal which grants Bartz's party access to the job class Dragoon.

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

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Dragoon appears with several Lightning-elemental cards.

Triple Triad
Dragoon from Final Fantasy III appears on a card in the version available via Final Fantasy Portal App.

Final Fantasy VI
Though the game does not use a job system, the Dragoon Boots relic grants characters the Jump ability, which deals double damage when combined with spears and can be enhanced further with the Dragon Horn relic. As Edgar and Mog are the only native users of spears, they can be identified as Dragoons, though this is not as prominent as their abilities as a Machinist or Dancer, respectively. Additionally, most other characters can equip spears when using the Merit Award relic.

Final Fantasy VII
Though the game does not have a job system, Cid 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 uses a Harpoon as a weapon and a Jump attack as his Limit Break, both signature skills of Dragoons.

Final Fantasy X
While there is no job system, 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 and Blue Magic equivalent. His initial Overdrive is Jump.

Final Fantasy XIII
Fang wields spears that double as sansetsukon (three-part staves) in combat, and her full ATB skill is a jump attack called Highwind. Her ultimate weapon is Kain's Lance and her Eidolon is the dragon Bahamut, which she rides in a cutscene and during Gestalt Mode.

Final Fantasy XV
A female dragoon named Aranea Highwind acts as an antagonist with the Niflheim invasion forces, diving from a military airship and attacking Noctis with a massive, mechanized lance. In interviews in Dengeki PS and Famitsu, the game's original director, 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. As a party member, Aranea will perform link-strikes with Noctis that invoke the style of the Dragoons' iconic jump attack.

When Noctis wields a lance for a weapon, he can airstep (fight while in midair), and when directly above a target, descend upon them like Dragoons and their trademark Jump ability.

Final Fantasy Type-0
Though there is no job system, 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 and includes Carla Ayatsugi as a student and Machina Kunagiri as a former student. The class moogle for Class Second represents the Dragoon job class.

Nightblade
Nightblade is an enemy job class in Final Fantasy Tactics used 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 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 the Zodiac versions of Final Fantasy XII, the job class Uhlan is the closest to Dragoons, as noted by Hiroyuki Ito, the game's director. The Uhlan uses spears and heavy armor, but cannot use the Jump ability, so the director researched a different name related to spears. The job was 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 they cannot use 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".

Valkyrie
The Valkyrie is a job in Bravely Default and Bravely Second: End Layer 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 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 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 the Lord of Arcana sequel, Lord of Apocalypse, seemingly impaled by numerous spears.

Kingdom Hearts II
The Nobodies allude to the Dragoon job, and their battle stance mirrors Kain Highwind's iconic pose from the. In battle, they fight with halberds and strong Jump attacks, which can be learned and used by Sora as a reaction command. The member who controls the Dragoon Nobodies is, who also exhibits some traditional aspects of the Dragoon class himself, such as wielding spears as his signature weapons and specializing in aerial combat.

Legend of Dragoon
A PlayStation 1 game centralized around all main characters being Dragoons.

Puzzle & Dragons
The Dragoon appears in Puzzle & Dragons as part of the Crystal Defenders collaboration.

Samurai Rising
Dragoon is one of the jobs in the upcoming mobile action RPG.

Knights of the Crystals
The Dragoon appears on a gold card.

Samurai Rising
The Dragoon appears as a job.

Merchandise
A re-imagined Dragoon Play Arts Kai action figure includes accessory a lance, a sword, a sheath, a clawed sheath clasp, exchangeable hands and a figure display stand.

Etymology
The job's Japanese name is Dragon Knight. Dragon knights are commonly found in Japanese editions of western fantasy novels as a translation for terms such as "dragon knight" or "dragon rider," referring 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 been localized as Lancer and Dragon Knight, though Dragoon has become the generally accepted term.

Trivia

 * In games that have real life calendar, most dragoons' birthdays are in February: Nine, Cid Highwind, and Ward Zabac.
 * Though the first Dragoon appeared in Final Fantasy II, it was not until Final Fantasy III that Dragoons were given their iconic Jump ability and wielded spears as their primary weapon, as Ricard Highwind originally wielded swords. Later releases of Final Fantasy II give Ricard equal proficiency with spears, have him joined with a spear equipped, and provide spears as his ultimate weapons.