A Dark Arts spell being cast.
Call upon evil forces to perform Dark Arts.
Description
Dark Arts (あんこく, Ankoku?, lit. Darkness) is the name of the Necromancer job's ability in the Advance and iOS/Android versions of Final Fantasy V.
Mechanics[]
Dark Arts is more powerful than the Black Magic and Summon skillsets, and can be further boosted due to the equipment choices the Necromancer has (rods for Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Poison, and Air Knife for Wind). The Necromancer is similar to the Blue Mage, in that to learn any Dark Arts, the Necromancer has to learn it from opponents; the Necromancer must deal the finishing blow to a specific enemy to learn a Dark Art spell. Dark Arts is disabled if the user is silenced.
The Dark Arts are divided into five levels with increasing MP cost. These abilities are among the most devastating in the game, since they deal respectable damage, often with an elemental affinity and an added status effect.
Any job equipped with Dark Arts Level 1 will gain their character's base Freelancer Magic +13 if their default stat is lower. For each additional Dark Arts level up to level 5, the Magic bonus is increased by 4 per level, for a maximum of +29 Magic at Dark Arts Level 5.
Thus, the base Magic stat for a character with Dark Arts equipped is as follows:
- Dark Arts Level 1 = Base Freelancer Magic +13
- Dark Arts Level 2 = Base Freelancer Magic +17
- Dark Arts Level 3 = Base Freelancer Magic +21
- Dark Arts Level 4 = Base Freelancer Magic +25
- Dark Arts Level 5 = Base Freelancer Magic +29
After leveling up the Necromancer job, a character can have the DarkArts ability equipped on any other job and use any DarkArts spell whose associated level has been attained by the Necromancer. Therefore, to be able to use all DarkArts spells as a non-Necromancer, a character must level their Necromancer job up to level 5. DarkArts is the primary ability for Necromancers, who can use all DarkArts spells without the need to attain a spell's associated level first.
The DarkArts ability requires 30 AP for level 1, 45 for level 2, 60 for level 3, 100 for level 4 and 200 for level 5.
List of Dark Arts[]
| Ability | Effect | Learned from | Lv.Level | MPMP cost | Pwr.Spell power | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drain Touch | Absorbs HP, non-reflectable | Mindflayer, The Damned | 1 | 15 | 80 | 
|
| Dark Haze | Deals non-elemental damage to all enemies, inflicts Old and Confuse | Lemure, Exoray | 1 | 18 | 190 | 
|
| Deep Freeze | Deals Ice-elemental damage to one enemy, inflicts Stop | Assassin, Dark Elemental | 2 | 38 | 190 | 
|
| Evil Mist | Deals Poison-elemental damage and inflicts Poison to all enemies | Zombie Dragon, Unknown | 2 | 38 | 190 | 
|
| Meltdown | Deals Fire-elemental damage and inflicts Sap on all enemies with a searing heat | Liquid Flame, Claret Dragon | 3 | 38 | 190 | 
|
| Hellwind | Attacks all enemies with cursed winds, dealing Wind-elemental damage and inflicting Petrify | Objet d'Art, Stingray | 3 | 38 | 190 | 
|
| Chaos Drive | Deals Lightning-elemental damage and causes Paralysis to all enemies | Mini Satana | 4 | 38 | 190 | 
|
| Curse | Causes various status ailments | Ironclad | 4 | 42 | 0 | 
|
| Dark Flare | Damages all enemies with a burst of dark energy. Ignores targets' magic defenses. | Exdeath's Soul, Tonberry | 5 | 52 | 200 | 
|
| Doomsday | Forbidden Dark Art, deals incredible damage to all enemies. Non-reflectable | Hades | 5 | 66 | 254 | 
|
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Dark arts may refer to black magic or maleficium.
