Dark Knight (Stranger of Paradise)

The Dark Knight is an Expert Job in Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, available after unlocking the corresponding nodes in the Warrior, Black Mage, and Berserker Job Trees.
It is a taxing job that possesses the highest damage output of the Expert Jobs. Unlike most jobs that give the player a buff with little drawback, this job gives the Dark Knight a very high damaging buff that depletes its HP and MP with each strike by sacrificing HP for higher attack power. To somewhat alleviate this, the Dark Knight possesses passive abilities that can decrease damage dealt when near death, increases HP, and eliminate MP usage of Souleater.
==Gameplay==
===Job Action===
Dark Knight is a high-risk/high-reward job that possesses the highest damage output of the Expert Jobs. Unlike most jobs that give the player a buff with little drawback, this job gives the Dark Knight a very high damaging buff that depletes its HP and MP with each strike through the "Souleater" job action. It is recommended players use any of the HP mitigation tools from other jobs such as the Marauder's Blood Weapon, Red Mage's Magic Regen, or the White Mage's Regen spell. 
===Equipment ===
Dark Knight is one of the most versatile in terms of usable weapons, being able to equip swords, greatswords, lances, katanas, axes, knuckles and staves. Its combo ability effects favor the two-handed weapons most of all for more damage and max break damage.
===Stats===
 Job Stat Rating and Growth by Level
Stat 	Rating	Lvl 1	Lvl 30	Lvl 55	Lvl 80	Lvl 99	Lvl 120	Lvl 135	Lvl 150	Lvl 175+
HP 	B 	1412 	1848 	2011 	2135 	2237 	2368 	2462 	2556 	2639
Strength 	S 	23 	34 	34 	34 	34 	34 	34 	34 	34
Agility 	E 	17 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26
Stamina 	C 	19 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30
Intellect	C 	19 	32 	32 	32 	32 	32 	32 	32 	32
Spirit 	E 	17 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26 	26
Luck 	C 	19 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30 	30
The Dark Knight receives the most growth in the Strength stat, increasing physical damage and physical break damage dealt.
===Job Tree===
These abilities can be bought by using Job Points which are accumulated by earning EXP and leveling up the Job:
Ability 	Icon	Type 	Job Points	MP Cost	Required Ability to Unlock 	Description
 	 	Job Action 	— 	1~ 	— 	Consumes HP to deal additional dark damage when attacking. This damage bonus is proportional to the amount of HP consumed. You can toggle this effect on and off with [Ability].*MP gradually depletes while active.[Any Link]Can be set to any link ability slot.
Dark Knight Affinity +10% 	 	Passive 	1 	— 	Souleater 	Increases dark knight job affinity.
Ever Stronger 	 	Combo Ability Effects	2 	— 	Dark Knight Affinity +10% 	[Weapon Type: Greatsword][1st Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Increases physical damage dealt.
 	 	Passive 	4 	— 	Ever Stronger 	Decreases souleater's MP consumption to 0 when near death.
Blade Energy 	 	Combo Ability Effects	5 	— 	Souleater Mastery 	[Weapon Type: Katana][1st Link][Attack]>[Ability][Senshin Stance 1st Link]Enhances abilities set to During Senshin Stance: [Ability].Increases physical damage dealt.
 	 	Greatsword Combo 	3 	100 	Ever Stronger 	[Attack Type: Slash][Stat Bonus: Strength/Stamina]Perform a slashing attack in an area in front of you.[Link 1 Ability]Can be set to [Attack]>[Ability].
Brutal Axe 	 	Combo Ability Effects	4 	— 	Heavy Blow 	[Weapon Type: Axe][1st Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Increases physical damage dealt.
Dark Knight Affinity +15% 	 	Passive 	5 	— 	Brutal Axe 	Increases dark knight job affinity.
Near Death: Damage Dealt +4.6%	 	Passive 	7 	— 	Dark Knight Affinity +15% 	Increases physical damage dealt when near death.
Ability Damage +3.1% 	 	Passive 	5 	— 	Brutal Axe 	Increases ability damage dealt.
Winning Strategy 	 	Combo Ability Effects	6 	— 	Ability Damage +3.1% 	[Weapon Type: Greatsword][2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
Energy Spear 	 	Combo Ability Effects	5 	— 	Brutal Axe 	[Weapon Type: Lance][1st Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Increases physical damage dealt.
All Break Damage -7.7% 	 	Passive 	7 	— 	Energy Spear 	Decreases break damage taken.
Reckoning 	 	Combo Ability Effects	1 	— 	Souleater 	[Weapon Type: Katana][2nd Link][Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability][Senshin Stance 2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to During Senshin Stance:[Ability]>[Ability]>[Ability].Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
All Break Damage -3.1% 	 	Passive 	2 	— 	Reckoning 	Decreases break damage taken.
 	 	Greatsword Combo 	3 	100 	All Break Damage -3.1% 	[Attack Type: Slash][Stat Bonus: Strength]Slash upwards then follow with a sweeping forward swing that attacks a wide area.[Link 2 Ability]Can be set to [Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability].
 	 	Command 	3 	200 	Reckoning 	Steal HP from surrounding enemies.
Near Death: Damage Dealt +4.0%	 	Passive 	5 	— 	Drain 	Increases physical damage dealt when near death.
Ruinous Tactic 	 	Combo Ability Effects	6 	— 	Near Death: Damage Dealt +4.0%	[Weapon Type: Axe][2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
 	 	Axe Combo 	6 	100 	Near Death: Damage Dealt +4.0%	[Attack Type: Strike][Stat Bonus: Strength]Throw your axe to hit enemies at long distance. Hold [Ability] to increase the attack's power.[Link 2 Ability]Can be set to [Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability].
Dark Knight Affinity +25% 	 	Passive 	8 	— 	Tomahawk 	Increases dark knight job affinity.
Run Through 	 	Combo Ability Effects	9 	— 	Dark Knight Affinity +25% 	[Weapon Type: Lance][2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability]Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
Ability Damage +3.1% 	 	Passive 	10 	— 	Dark Knight Affinity +25% 	Increases ability damage dealt.
New Class: 	 	Class Unlock 	— 	— 	All Dark Knight Tree abilities	Unlocks the Evocation Class for Dark Knight, Warmage. Only available in the Trials of the Dragon King DLC
New Class: 	 	Class Unlock 	— 	— 	All Dark Knight Tree abilities	Unlocks the Ultima Class for Dark Knight, Abyss Knight. Only available in the Trials of the Dragon King DLC
=== Class Trees===
Introduced in the Trials of the Dragon King DLC, These classes are unlocked after visiting Bahamut's Cave and completing the "A Token of Courage and Strength" conversation with Bahamut and the abilities thereof can be bought by using Rat Tails which are accumulated by completing missions on the Bahamut difficulty onward and purchasing them from the Bahamut Exchange Shop via Dragon Treasures:
======Warmage======
Ability 	Icon	Type 	Rat Tails	Required Ability to Unlock 	Description
 	 	Job Action 	— 	All Dark Knight tree abilities 	Souleater+[Class Change Effect: Evocation]While active, temporarily increases additional damage dealt and reduces HP consumed when at max HP.[Any Link]Can be set to any link ability slot.
Break +80 	 	Passive 	2 	Dark Arts 	Increases break by 80.
HP +212 	 	Passive 	6 	Break +80 	Increases HP by 212.
Strength +8 	 	Passive 	8 	HP +212 	Increases strength.
Dark Knight Master Points +3 	 	Passive 	13 	Strength +8 	Increases dark knight master points acquired.
Status Ailment Resistance +18.0% 	 	Passive 	8 	HP +212 	Increases resistance to status ailments.
Intellect +7 	 	Passive 	10 	Status Ailment Resistance +18.0% 	Increases intellect.
Staff of Virtue 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Intellect +7 	[Weapon Type: Staff][1st Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability].Increases physical damage dealt.
Strength +4 	 	Passive 	2 	Dark Arts 	Increases strength.
Break +160 	 	Passive 	6 	Strength +4 	Increases break by 160.
Luck +6 	 	Passive 	8 	Break +160 	Increases luck.
Stamina +6 	 	Passive 	10 	Luck +6 	Increases stamina.
Commandment 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Stamina +6 	[Weapon Type: Greatsword][Enhanced Guard Attack Link]Enhances abilities set to [Hold Attack]>[Block]>[Attack]>[Ability].Restores HP based on physical damage dealt.
Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	 	Passive 	10 	Luck +6 	Increases magic vulnerability resistances.
Dark Knight Master Points +3 	 	Passive 	15 	Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	Increases dark knight master points acquired.
Entangling Staff 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	[Weapon Type: Staff][2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability].Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
======Abyss Knight======
Ability 	Icon	Type 	Rat Tails	Required Ability to Unlock 	Description
 	 	Job Action 	— 	All Dark Knight tree abilities 	Souleater+[Class Change Effect: Ultima]Refills your break gauge when attacking an enemy vulnerable to darkness.[Any Link]Can be set to any link ability slot.
Break +80 	 	Passive 	2 	Nightfall 	Increases break by 80.
HP +212 	 	Passive 	6 	Break +80 	Increases HP by 212.
Strength +8 	 	Passive 	8 	HP +212 	Increases strength.
Dark Knight Master Points +3 	 	Passive 	13 	Strength +8 	Increases dark knight master points acquired.
Status Ailment Resistance +18.0% 	 	Passive 	8 	HP +212 	Increases resistance to status ailments.
Intellect +7 	 	Passive 	10 	Status Ailment Resistance +18.0% 	Increases intellect.
Staff of Virtue 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Intellect +7 	[Weapon Type: Staff][1st Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Ability].Increases physical damage dealt.
Strength +4 	 	Passive 	2 	Nightfall 	Increases strength.
Break +160 	 	Passive 	6 	Strength +4 	Increases break by 160.
Luck +6 	 	Passive 	8 	Break +160 	Increases luck.
Stamina +6 	 	Passive 	10 	Luck +6 	Increases stamina.
Shielding Axe 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Stamina +6 	[Weapon Type: Axe][3rd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability].Decreases damage taken while the ability is active.
Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	 	Passive 	10 	Luck +6 	Increases magic vulnerability resistances.
Dark Knight Master Points +3 	 	Passive 	15 	Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	Increases dark knight master points acquired.
Entangling Staff 	 	Combo Ability Effects	16 	Elemental Vulnerability Resistance +40.0%	[Weapon Type: Staff][2nd Link]Enhances abilities set to [Attack]>[Attack]>[Ability].Greatly reduces the enemy's max break gauge on impact.
===Job Affinity bonuses===
Most weapons and items of clothing have a certain percentage of Job Affinity for a certain job. By combining them together and raising this percentage, the character may not only gain extra EXP to that Job, but also unlock abilities and bonuses to their stats. The bonuses for the Dark Knight Job Affinity are:
Name 	Job Ability Percentages	Description
Dark Knight's Wisdom I 	20% 	Increases the corresponding stat(s).Strength+1
Dark Knight's Wisdom II 	30% 	Increases the corresponding stat(s).Strength+1Intellect+1
Adrenaline Bonus I 	50% 	Increases damage dealt when near death by 5.4%.
Dark Knight's Wisdom III	80% 	Increases the corresponding stat(s).HP+25Strength+3Intellect+1
Adrenaline Bonus II 	120% 	Increases damage dealt when near death by 9.0%.
Dark Knight's Wisdom IV 	160% 	Increases the corresponding stat(s).HP+50Strength+4Intellect+2
 	250% 	Increases damage dealt when being targeted by an enemy.
 	400% 	All effects that trigger when near death are active at all times.
 	600% 	Recovers HP based on the amount of MP gained by normal attacks.Also enhances the effects of Dark Knight's Wisdom.
Dark Knight's Essence 	800% 	Enhances the effects of Dark Knight's Wisdom, and also boosts stats based on your affinity.
==Gallery==
SOP Souleater.gif|Souleater
SOP Drain.gif|Drain
SOP Heavy Blow.gif|Heavy Blow
SOP Overrun.gif|Overrun
SOP Tomahawk.gif|Tomahawk
==Etymology==
Category:Jobs in Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin