Dark Knight Dark Knight is a special job class that appears in several games in the series . Profile . The Dark Knight is characterized by wearing tight , sometimes enclosed black armor and wielding a sword steeped in wicked powers . Their physical stats , with exception of Defense , are usually high , but their other stats depend on the game they appear in . The typical Dark Knight ability is Souleater , also known as Darkness , which allows them to sacrifice their HP to perform stronger attacks . Souleater is not exclusive to the Dark Knight class , however . Dark Knights may also have abilities based on blood equipment , which allows them to absorb HP and MP from enemies . The Dark Knight is opposed by the Paladin , holy knights who protect allies and wield sacred powers . Unlike many classes , Dark Knights bear a signature weapon , the Deathbringer , which has a chance to kill certain enemies in a single blow . Appearances . " Final Fantasy II " . Leon marks the first appearance of the Dark Knight within the series . He serves as the Emperor ' s right - hand man until the Emperor ' s defeat and subsequent revival , at which point he joins the party . " Final Fantasy III " . The Magic Knight ' s appearance is nearly identical to later Dark Knights , and they were explicitly called as such in the English version of the 3D remake . They can wield dark blades , and in the NES release cast low - level White Magic . In the 3D release , they instead use the Souleater ability , trademark of the Dark Knight , which damages all enemies at the cost of some of one ' s health . " Final Fantasy IV " . Cecil Harvey is the primary protagonist , and serves as a Dark Knight until he becomes a Paladin . Baron is also mentioned to have a battalion of Dark Knights in their army , but due to the intense training many Dark Knights fail to master the dark sword and lose their minds in the process . A reflection of Cecil ' s Dark Knight is fought as a boss . The King of Baron is also a dark knight . As a Dark Knight , Cecil can use the Darkness ability to inflict damage to all enemies at the cost of some of his HP . In the 3D remake versions , Darkness doubles his attack for three turns at the cost of 10 % of his maximum HP per attack . As in " Final Fantasy IV " , Cecil ' s dark side is fought as a boss . Cecil is also seen as a Dark Knight in several flashbacks . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . The Dark Knight dressphere can be obtained in Bevelle during Chapters 2 , 3 , and 5 . The class uses skills that cause status effects , grant status immunity , and cause high damage by sacrificing HP . Their high strength is hampered by their low speed . " Final Fantasy XI " . The Dark Knight job is awarded to the player by Zeid , a Dark Knight himself . Zeid gives the player the Chaosbringer sword , and once the player uses it to kill a hundred monsters , they are given the Dark Knight job . In addition to their usual abilities , Dark Knights can also wield low - level Black Magic , but not nearly to the same extent as Red Mages and Scholars . Lightning can acquire the Dark Knight based on the Dark Knight job by completing the sidequest " To Save the Sinless " . Lightning must unravel the disturbing mystery surrounding a man named Ranulph and learn the true reason why pages from his journal are missing . The garb comes with two abilities , Darkness and Ashura . Both abilities consume Lightning ' s HP for powerful attacks . Darkness deals area damage , while Ashura focuses devastating power on a single target . The garb also contains the Soul of the Dark Knight , which slightly increases physical attack and magic resistance . " Final Fantasy XIV " . Dark Knight was introduced as a new job in " " , the first expansion . It is the third tank class and wield greatswords as their weapon of choice . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . The Dark Knight is a high - level job introduced in " The War of the Lions " . Here , Darkness is not an actual skill , but a set of skills with various effects . Goffard Gaffgarion was called Dark Knight in the original version , but this was changed to Fell Knight in the " War of the Lions " remake . Argath Thadalfus is fought as a Deathknight , a stronger variation of the Fell Knight . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . Grissom , the leader of the Redwings , has a job named " Dark Knight " , with a sprite and abilities as a Paladin and Blue Mage as secondary job . " Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles " . The Black Knight is a character clad in all black armor that fights wildly with a large black bladed spear . The story tells that he was once a great warrior and hero before going mad and losing his memories . Late in the game , it is revealed his true name is Leon Esla , a reference to the " Final Fantasy II " Dark Knight . Dark Fencer is one of the . Like traditional Dark Knights , Dark Fencers can sacrifice their life force to deal large amounts of damage using the Darkside ability . They also have an ability to allows them to do higher damage when their HP is low , called Eye for an Eye , and a stronger version of Darkside that attacks multiple targets , called Darkerside , and a kamikaze attack , called Amok , that allows them to repeatedly use Darkside until they have one point of health left . " Bravely Default " . Alternis Dim is a Dark Knight , and the holder of the Dark Knight asterisk that grants the job to the player when obtained . Dark Knight has numerous abilities revolving around dealing high damage at the cost of HP . They have several skills that let them sacrifice their HP , damage their party members , or inflict doom status on themselves in order to deal heavy damage to enemies or increase their own offense and defense . Other Dark Knight skills don ' t cost HP directly , but are only effective if the Dark Knight takes damage from enemies . Dark Knights have an affinity with the dark element , and can learn passive abilities that improve the damage of their dark - elemental attacks or make them resistant to dark - elemental attacks from enemies . They also have the ability to charm enemy demons . Dark Knight returns as an asterisk . " Final Fantasy Dimensions " . Graham is a Dark Knight hailing from Falgabard , and he gives the Dark Warriors the Dark Knight job class . Dark Knights have access to the Draw Attacks ability , as well as access to the Dark Sword ability list . Dark Sword attacks include Darkness , which deals improved physical damage for 1 MP at the cost of 25 % of the user ' s maximum HP , Onyx Wave , which deals heavy damage to all enemies at the cost of 33 % of the user ' s maximum HP , Curse , which inflicts Curse and Sap status on one enemy , Last Resort , which greatly improves the user ' s stats but inflicts them with Doom , Final Thrust , which deals damage equal to the Dark Knight ' s maximum HP and is more accurate at low HP , and Ebony Slash , which deals more damage than Darkness and costs no health , but costs 28 MP . As Dark Knights level up , they also gain access to Absorb HP , which heals the Dark Knight by 10 % of the damage they deal with a basic attack , and Backliner , which allows them to deal full damage from the back row . There is also an enemy called Dark Knight , unconnected to the job . " Final Fantasy Legends II " . Parai gets an alternate costume based on the Dark Knight job from the " Phantom Beast Great Decisive Battle ! " event . The costume can only be seen when Parai is equipped with the " Dark Knight Equipment " accessory . The accessory provides 25 % boost to attack strength and 1 , 300 HP to max health . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " ( 2008 ) . Cecil appears as both a Dark Knight and a Paladin , able to shift forms when attacking . His Dark Knight form specializes in slow but powerful sword attacks infused with dark magic . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Dark Knight returns as one of Cecil ' s forms , learning a new HP attack called Shadow Bringer . The Dark Knight is also a job that can be selected for a character in the player ' s party for Quick Battle , Friend Card s , or wireless matches . The Dark Knight job grants the character + 5 ATK at a cost of - 3 DEF , and is needed to unlock the Mystic Knight and Berserker jobs . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " ( 2015 ) . The Dark Knight appears as one of Cecil ' s forms . The Dark Knight ' s 2nd form is Cecil ' s outfit from " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " . The Dark Knight is a job available after obtaining a level five Warrior and a level ten Black Mage . The preferred weapons for the job are swords and scythes . The job specializes in both strength and intelligence abilities . " Final Fantasy Artniks " . The Dark Knight appears as a character card . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Dark Knight is a playable character who can be recruited as the First Time Reward for completing The " Palamecia " , Part 2 on Classic difficulty in the realm of the core dungeons . Dark Knight can use Combat and Darkness abilities up to rarity rank 4 . His default Soul Break is Dark Blade I , which , at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment , sacrifices HP to deal damage to one target equal to 170 % damage potency of a conventional attack at the cost of the user receiving 125 % damage potency . Dark Knight can equip the following weapon types : daggers , swords , and katanas . He can equip the following armor types : shields , hats , helms , light armor , heavy armor , and bracers . He can equip accessories . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Dark Knight appears with several cards and three different elements . Two Earth - elemental cards depict its male and female job artwork from " Final Fantasy Tactics " ; one Earth - elemental card features Arc from " Final Fantasy III " as a Dark Knight , and another features a Galka from " Final Fantasy XI " in Dark Knight attire . One Thunder - elemental card depicts Refia from " Final Fantasy III " as a Dark Knight . An Ice - elemental card shows a Mithra from " Final Fantasy XI " as a Dark Knight , and another depicts the job ' s artwork from " Final Fantasy Explorers " . " Triple Triad " . The Dark Knight from " Final Fantasy III " appears on Triple Triad cards in the version available via the " Final Fantasy Portal App " . " " . The Dark Knight has several skills that sacrifice Chocobo ' s HP to damage enemies . It is unlocked by defeating Croma Shade and Croma on the thirtieth floor of Guardian of the Light . Related jobs . Uhlan . In " Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System " , an Uhlan is a heavy physical attacker represented by the Zodiac sign Taurus . They are differentiated from Dark Knights in that they wield polearms rather than greatswords or scythes , but still use heavy armor . Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . " Lord of Vermilion " . In the arcade - based card game " Lord of Vermilion " there are two cards representing the Dark Knight job . In the sequel " Lord of Vermilion II " there is another appearance of the Dark Knight card . " Knights of the Crystals " . The Dark Knight appears on a bronze card . The optional boss Culex introduces himself as a Dark Knight of Vanda and a resident of another world that was interested in invading Mario ' s world , but Mario ' s world is uninhabitable for Culex and his kind . Before he departs and closes the portal , Culex asks for a duel with the party .