Dark Knight

2024-05-30T07:22:15Z

August99us: Edit to possibly misleading intro text saying drk is unlockable at level 30, clarifying that it unlocks at 50 and starts at 30.

{{otheruses|the [[Heavensward]] tank [[job]]|the [[Big Fishing|Big Fish]]|Dark Knight (Seafood)}}
[[File:Dark Knight concept art.jpg|250px|right]] {{MH2|Introduction}} {{Quotation|[https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/jobguide/darkknight FinalFantasyXIV.com Dark Knight]|The pious [[Ishgard]]ian clergy guide the flock, and the devout knights protect the weak. Yet even the holiest of men succumb to the darkest of temptations. None dare to administer justice to these sacrosanct elite residing outside the reach of the law. Who, then, defends the feeble from the transgressions of those meant to guide and protect them? A valiant few take up arms to defend the downtrodden, and not even the holy priests and knights can escape their judgment. Pariahs in their own land, they are known by many as “dark knights.” These sentinels bear no shields declaring their allegiance. Instead, their greatswords act as beacons to guide the meek through darkness.}}

{{Dark Knight|big=y}} '''Dark Knight''' ('''DRK''') is a [[job]] introduced with the ''[[Heavensward]]'' expansion and unlockable at level 50. The [[class]] starts at level 30 when unlocked. It is one of four [[Tank]] jobs and does not have a base class.
{{TOC limit|3}}
== General information ==

=== Guild ===
The job trainer for Dark Knight is initially [[Fray]] and later [[Sidurgu]], who is located in [[Foundation]] (X:13.3, Y:12.2). This job starts at level 30.

=== Unlock ===
Dark Knight is a [[job]] introduced in [[Heavensward]], featuring a dark-themed [[tank]] wielding a [[greatsword]]. It has a few requirements in order to be unlocked:
* '''Prerequisite:''' The player must have completed all of the [[Seventh Astral Era Quests]] up to {{questlink|main|Before the Dawn}} in order to unlock the city of [[Ishgard]].
* '''Quest''': Speak to the [[Ishgardian Citizen]] in [[The Pillars]] (x13.2,y8.8) to obtain the quest {{questlink|feature|A Dark Spectacle}}.

=== Equipment ===
The dark knight is a [[disciple of war]] and wears [[armor]] and [[accessories]] "of Fending." They use [[greatsword]]s as weapons.
{| {{STDT|sortable pve align-left}}
!style="width:150px;"|Weapon
!style="width:150px;"|Armor
!style="width:150px;"|Accessories
|-
|[[Dark Knight's Arm]]s
|[[:Category:Dark Knight headwear|Head]] [[:Category:Dark Knight chestwear|Body]] [[:Category:Dark Knight handwear|Hands]] [[:Category:Dark Knight legwear|Legs]] [[:Category:Dark Knight footwear|Feet]]
|[[:Category:Dark Knight bracelets|Bracelets]] [[:Category:Dark Knight earrings|Earrings]] [[:Category:Dark Knight necklace|Necklace]] [[:Category:Dark Knight ring|Ring]]
|}

== [[List of dark knight quests|Quests]] ==
===Dark Knight Job Quests===
{{:List of dark knight quests}}
===Tank Role Quests (Shadowbringers)===
{{#lsth:Tank Role Quests|Shadowbringers}}
===Tank Role Quests (Endwalker)===
{{#lsth:Tank Role Quests|Endwalker}}

== [[List of dark knight actions|Actions]] ==
{{:List of dark knight actions}}

== [[List of dark knight traits|Traits]] ==
{{:List of dark knight traits}}

==Combos==
Performing actions in a certain order increases potency and applies combo bonuses.

[[file:Hard Slash.png|40px|link=Hard Slash]] => [[file:Syphon Strike.png|40px|link=Syphon Strike]] => [[file:Souleater.png|40px|link=Souleater]] = Recovers HP and MP while increasing the [[Blood Gauge]].

[[file:Unleash.png|40px|link=Unleash]] => [[file:Stalwart Soul.png|40px|link=Stalwart Soul]] = Hits multiple enemies while also restoring MP and increasing the Blood Gauge.

== Job mechanics ==
{{:Blood & Darkside Gauge}}

==Achievements==
This job is associated with the following achievements:

{| {{STDT| mech1 sortable align-left}}
{{achievement table header}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? I}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? II}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? III}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? IV}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? V}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? VI}}
{{achievement table row|Are You Afraid of the Dark? VII}}
{{achievement table row|A Tankless Job I (Dark Knight)}}
{{achievement table row|A Tankless Job II (Dark Knight)}}
{{achievement table row|But Somebody's Gotta Do It (Dark Knight)}}
{{achievement table row|Tank You, Dark Knight I}}
{{achievement table row|Tank You, Dark Knight II}}
{{achievement table row|Tank You, Dark Knight III}}
{{achievement table row|Tank You, Dark Knight IV}}
{{achievement table row|Tank You, Dark Knight V}}
|}

==Notable Dark Knights==
*[[Fray]]
*[[Sidurgu]]
*[[Warrior of Light|Warrior of Darkness]] (''[[Shadowbringers]]'' showcase)
*[[Durante]]

==Gallery==
<gallery heights=200px mode=packed>
File:Heavensward warrior of light1.jpg
File:Dark Knight1.jpg
File:Dark Knight2.jpg
File:Dark Knight3.jpg
File:Dark Knight concept art2.png|Concept Art
File:Dark Knight4.jpg|Dark Knight Artifact Armor in 4.0 Stormblood.
File:Dark Knight5.png|Dark Knight Artifact Armor in 5.0 Shadowbringers.
File:Dark Knight6.jpg|Dark Knight Artifact Armor in 6.0 Endwalker.
File:Dark Knight7.jpg|Dark Knight Artifact Armor in 7.0 Dawntrail.
</gallery>

==Lore==
The pious Ishgardian clergy guide the flock, and the devout knights protect the weak. Yet even the holiest of men succumb to the darkest of temptations. None dare to administer justice to these sacrosanct elite residing outside the reach of the law. Who, then, defends the feeble from the transgressions of those meant to guide and protect them? A valiant few take up arms to defend the downtrodden, and not even the holy priests and knights can escape their judgment. Pariahs in their own land, they are known by many as “dark knights.”

===History===
In the year 960 of the Sixth Astral Era, a commoner by the name of Tryphaniel the Unshod was granted knighthood for acts of valor upon the battlefield. A young man with an unwavering sense of justice, Tryphaniel’s desire to champion the cause of the lowborn was undiluted by his entrance into the privileged world of the nobility. It was this same moral fortitude that bid him trail after a clergyman after witnessing the robed figure drag a squirming child from the alleys of the Brume. The knight’s suspicions were confirmed when he entered the secluded domicile of the priest only to find him committing unspeakable acts upon the body of the abducted waif. Noticing his unexpected visitor, the clergyman attempted to explain away his vile actions as a form of “exorcism,” but the incensed Tryphaniel drew his sword without hesitation, and answered the babbled excuses with a single, fatal blow. Rather than praise his heroism, however, the knight’s peers condemned him for slaying a holy member of the church. He was forced to defend his life in a trial by combat, but though he survived, it was decreed that he would be stripped of his knighthood. Unflinching in the face of accusations that he had fallen to darkness, Tryphaniel roared that he would gladly surrender a title that required him to turn a blind eye to a child’s suffering. He cast aside his crested shield—the symbol of his station—and continued his crusade for the commonfolk with no thought or fear for what others held taboo. His righteous deeds inspired some courageous few to embrace the path of the forbidden, and thus the legacy of the dark knight was born.

===Equipment===
====Chaos Armor====
Passed down through generations of dark knights, this antique set of armor was forged of Ishgardian steel and appears sheathed in a faint nimbus of shadow. While the plates may once have shone like well-polished iron, years of blood spatter have dulled the metal’s natural gleam.
====Deathbringer====
Some two centuries ago, a troubled smith crafted this weapon as the price for a dark knight to punish a terrible injustice. The knight accepted the payment, and found a fitting name for the greatsword after baptizing its blade in the lifeblood of the guilty.
====Kumokirimaru====
This great katana was forged by a Doman artisan at the behest of Rowena’s House of Splendors. Said to resemble a weapon described in Far Eastern legend—the divine sword that cut down the monstrous spider-spirit “tsuchigumo”—the blade becomes thicker as it nears the tip, giving the weapon a top-heavy balance. In the hands of a master swordsman, however, this awkward weight can be exploited to generate swings powerful enough to cleave through a giant’s thigh. According to the weaponsmith Seika, certain improvements could further enhance the quality of this already devastating weapon.
====Dainslaif====
Crafted in the Churning Mists at a time when peace prevailed between Dravanian and man, this greatsword and the dragon-like design of its crossguard is representative of that harmonious age. Dainslais creation predates the appearance of dark knights by some centuries, and was originally commissioned for an orthodox knight of high standing. Intended for the purpose of monster slaying, the weapon’s blade was forged with sufficient resilience to endure repeated blows against thick bones and dense hide.

===Tricks of the Trade===
*[[Dark Force]]: By infusing a vast well of aether with her own inner darkness, the dark knight forms arcane barriers of impregnable midnight. The sight of liquid shadow pouring from a sky torn open by this otherwise benevolent technique is commonly described as “unsettling.”
*[[Hard Slash]]: A sweeping slash, followed by a punishing upward slice. The most fundamental attack in a dark knight's repertoire, this technique originated from a now-antiquated style of knightly combat.
*[[Unleash]]: Releasing his pain and rage upon nearby foes, the dark knight manifests an inky black circle of spikes on the ground around him. All those caught in its thorns are struck by unreasoning terror, and an irresistible need to claw away its source.
*[[Living Dead]]: This dark art allows the practitioner to continue fighting through the most heinous of injuries, and exhibit an immunity to pain usually attributed to the shambling undead. Though undeniably effective, abandoning one’s corporeal form to negative energy in this manner, however briefly, is an act fraught with mortal peril.

===Fray Myste===
*Race (Clan): [[Hyur]] ([[Midlander]])
*Gender: Male
*Age: 25
*Epithet: Fray of the Onyx Shade

An orphan of the Brume, a young Fray was set on the dark knight’s path when his future master found him plotting revenge over the body of a friend unjustly executed by Holy See officials. Proving an apt and inquisitive student, Fray approached both the book-bound and physical aspects of his training with equal eagerness. But it was the desire to aid his master and the fiery Sidurgu in their duties that truly drove the youth to excel. Alongside his volatile fellow disciple, Fray later succeeded in rescuing the maiden Rielle from an undeserved fate, but would himself fall afoul of her pursuers. Dragged before the Tribunal for trial by combat, the dark knight fought with skill and righteous rage only to fall to the dancing blade of the court’s champion. It is a testament to Fray’s devotion to life and those he left behind that his soul crystal would burn with such undying intensity.

===Sidurgu Orl===
*Race (Clan): [[Au Ra]] ([[Xaela]])
*Gender: Male
*Age: 26
*Epithet: Sidurgu of the Obsidian Heart
As a child, Sidurgu lived with his family in a frontier town of Othard, until their settlement fell under the subjugation of the invading Garlean Empire. Unable to endure the stifling regime of their conquerors, his parents bundled him into a cart along with their meager possessions, and fled into the wilderness soon after his sixth nameday. For five years they wandered, seeking a place to belong, before their journeys eventually brought them to Eorzea’s shores. Like many of their race, they found themselves drawn to the plains of Coerthas, where they hoped to adopt the nomadic ways of their ancestors, but neither fate nor the Ishgardians were kind to the Au Ra. Molded by a life of tragedy, the displaced Xaela found himself well suited to the mantle of a dark knight. Now bereft of family, master, and fellow apprentice, Sidurgu wears his stern demeanor like a suit of armor, impenetrable to all perhaps but his young charge, Rielle.

===Darkness===
Arising from the fear and wrath within the dark knight’s own soul, this shadowy flame feeds greedily upon her body's aether, its stygian fires coursing through her blade and fueling her eldritch arts. But as ever, such power comes with a price: should the dark knight lose control over this darkness, she will be consumed in a backlash of entropic energies.

===Dark Arts===
Fueled by the darkness from within, the dark knight employs these techniques to lend an arcane edge to the blows of her greatsword. Though known for their disdain for shields, the fighting style of the earliest dark knights was nevertheless built upon mundane swordplay, and it was not until several centuries later that one of their order first unlocked the secrets of the dark arts.
<ref>[[Encyclopaedia Eorzea: Volume I]], page 238-239</ref>
===Dark Knight’s Panoply===
====Abyss Cuirass====
The many overlapping plates of various shape and size that comprise this cuirass minimize gaps between pieces, while the vicious spikes serve to intimidate any foolish enough to provoke its wearer.

====Abyss Burgeonet====
The helm of a dark knight will, traditionally, conceal the entire head. The decorative horns of this particular headgear are said to symbolize the first of their order’s righteous loathing of iniquity.

====Abyss Flanchard====
A flanchard, attached to the thigh, is worn with sollerets to ensure unbroken coverage of the leg. Chainmail is typically layered underneath for additional protection.

====Form & Function====
The Dragonsong War provided impetus for Ishgard to refine its martial industries—the fields of metallurgy and smithing proving no exception. Ishgardian plate quickly became regarded as some of the finest in all Eorzea, though for centuries it would continue to fare poorly under the onslaught of fang and claw. The See’s smiths, believing that the best way to mitigate damage was to avoid it altogether, traded full-body coverage for increased mobility—a sacrifice that afforded swift attacks and uninhibited retreat, the preferred fighting style of the city-state’s dragoons. This, however, posed a dilemma for Ishgard’s order of dark knights. Seeing as their creed mandates they bear no shield, they required armor resilient enough to fend off more than the occasional glance. After generations of refinement, Ishgardian craftsmen would finally settle upon a design that, while resembling the protective armor of a dragon, features considerably thicker plate linked with flexible chainmail at the joints.
<ref>Encyclopaedia Eorzea: Volume II, page 227</ref>

== See also ==
* {{item icon|Dark Knight (Seafood)}}, a [[Big Fishing|Big Fish]]

==External links==
* [https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/jobguide/darkknight FinalFantasyXIV.com Dark Knight] on the official website.
* [https://www.thebalanceffxiv.com/jobs/tanks/dark-knight/ Comprehensive Job Guide] provided by The Balance.

==References==
<references />

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Dark Knight