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Dark Knight Artifact Armor

To strengthen themselves in battle, not only have these outlaw warriors mastered the ways of numerous weapons, but they have also acquired certain black magic spells to torment their enemies.

Official description

Dark Knight is one of the advanced jobs available for players to unlock upon obtaining level 30 in Final Fantasy XI.

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; 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 Magic spells, Dark Knights are given access to vital spells like Drain and Aspir.

Dark Knights excel at heavy physical damage, 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 Knights 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.

Becoming a Dark Knight[]

XI Dark Knight Artwork

The quest for Dark Knight involves traveling to Bastok and walking to Palborough Mines. Within the mines, which are controlled by Quadav, 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.

Zeid grants the player the Greatsword Chaosbringer with which he must slay 100 creatures. It is only after performing this time consuming quest that a character earns the right to play as a Dark Knight, and after killing 100 more enemies they can obtain the Greatsword Deathbringer.

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 and swords.

Abilities[]

For a more in-depth description, see the Dark Knight abilities page

Job abilities[]

Level Name
1 Blood Weapon
5 Arcane Circle
15 Last Resort
20 Weapon Bash
30 Soul Eater
55 Consume Mana
75
Merit
Dark Seal
Diabolic Eye
78 Nether Void
87 Arcane Crest
95 Scarlet Delirium
96 Soul Enslavement


Job Traits[]

Level Name
10 Attack Bonus
20 Resist Paralyze
25 Arcana Killer
30 Attack Bonus II
40 Resist Paralyze II
90 Stalwart Soul
45 Occult Acumen
50 Attack Bonus III
58 Occult Acumen II
60 Resist Paralyze III
60 Stalwart Soul II
70 Attack Bonus IV
71 Occult Acumen III
75 Stalwart Soul III
75
Merit
Desperate Blows
Muted Soul
76 Attack Bonus V
84 Occult Acumen IV
85 Critical Attack Bonus
88 Tactical Parry
90 Stalwart Soul IV
91 Attack Bonus V
95 Critical Attack Bonus II
97 Occult Acumen V
98 Tactical Parry II


Spell List[]

Level Spell
5 Stone
6 Poison
10 Drain
11 Water
15 Bio
17 Aero
20 Aspir
Bind
23 Fire
26 Poisonga
29 Blizzard
Level Spell
30 Sleep
31 Absorb-MND
32 Tractor
33 Absorb-CHR
35 Thunder
Absorb-VIT
37 Stun
Absorb-AGI
39 Absorb-INT
40 Bio II
41 Absorb-DEX
Level Spell
42 Stone II
43 Absorb-STR
45 Absorb-TP
46 Poison II
48 Water II
54 Aero II
56 Sleep II
60 Fire II
61 Absorb-ACC
62 Drain II
66 Blizzard II
Level Spell
71 Dread Spikes
72 Thunder II
76 Stone III
78 Aspir II
80 Water III
84 Aero III
85 Endark
88 Fire III
91 Absorb-Attri
92 Blizzard III
95 Break
96 Thunder III

Skill Ratings[]

Combat Skill Rank Caps by Level
1 37 45 75 99
Scythe A+ 6 123 138 301 424
Great Sword A- 6 123 138 294 417
Axe B- 5 118 132 265 388
Great Axe B- 5 118 132 265 388
Sword B- 5 118 132 265 388
Dagger C 5 114 128 250 373
Club C- 5 114 128 245 368
Marksmanship E 4 101 114 215 300
Evasion C 5 114 128 250 373
Parrying E 4 101 114 215 300
Magic Skill Rank Caps by Level
1 37 45 75 99
Dark A- 6 123 138 294 417
Elemental B+ 5 118 132 281 404
Enfeebling C 5 114 128 250 373

Gameplay[]

Dark Knight FFXI Ikeda Art

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 in Burning Circle battles.
  • Best job for Excavation Duty Assault.

Weaknesses[]

  • Dark Knight abilities generate a large amount of enmity, therefore the player has to refrain from going all-out.
  • Dark Knights, despite wearing heavier armor, tend to end up with low defense through use of abilities and are KO'd easily.
  • Due to Scythes having a very high delay, a Dark Knight needs to stack a lot of accuracy boosting equipment to make every hit count.
  • May have a difficult time to find exp parties.
  • Dark Knight Kraken Club + Soul Eater zerg strategy requires lots of money and healers.

Support Jobs[]

Thief[]

Thief is a very popular support job 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 occasion, though typically not successfully, with Soul Eater.

Warrior[]

Warrior is the most popular and widely accepted support job 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 faster attack speed, 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 support job.

Ninja[]

In many high level events such as Dynamis or Einherjar, Dark Knights gain protection from many devastating or crippling enemy TP attacks with use of Utsusemi. Due to a version update, many more Dark Knights sub Samurai.

Dancer[]

Similar to other melee-oriented jobs, Dancer is an ideal sub for soloing due to the healing abilities based on TP it provides.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Dark Knight appears on a card.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

A knight is a mounted soldier in armor who served his sovereign or lord in the Middle Ages. The word comes from Old English cniht ("boy" or "servant"), a cognate of the German word Knecht ("servant, bondsman, vassal"). In most European languages (with the notable exception of English), the word for "knight" comes from "horse", thus implying that a knight is a "noble horseman" or a "horse-mounted nobleman". The English noun cavalier, an archaic term for a mounted soldier, traces its roots to Latin, and is closer in meaning to the "horseman" of Romance languages.

In European history, dark knights, also known as black knights, were a minority group of knights who refused to serve lords or kings. Instead they either looted and raided, hunted bounties, or lived off the charity from the more humble folk, in much the same manner as a Japanese ronin. As they had no master, and thus no squire, they would paint their armor a signature black color to prevent rust and damage. Dark knights were considered by many a necessary evil, as they would protect villages and lesser people from invaders and bandits, but would also cause problems in the regions they dwelt in to sustain themselves. In some legends, black knights were reputed to be nigh-invincible in combat.

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