Dark Knight: Guide by Raenryong

Introduction

 * I am Raenryong of Bahamut server, and I have long loved the Dark Knight job. I have always found the idea of a "mage-warrior" hybrid class interesting, and so it was challenging choosing between Paladin and Dark Knight for my first 75 job. However, when I heard everyone talking about "loldrk" and how Dark Knights were bad DDs, I decided I was going to play it and prove to everyone its strength. A year later, I hope I have accomplished this.
 * This guide will discuss many aspects of the job; Basic topics like Subjob and weapon selection, through to more complicated topics like Dark Knight zerging.


 * This guide is in construction and will be built upon further over a period of time.

Weapons
Dark Knight, like Warrior is able to use many different kinds of weapons. Also like Warrior, many are simply not practical for general usage.

Note: All weapons are being discussed for general usage, although I may reference more specific uses (zerging notably); this will be discussed in detail later.

Scythe
Weapon Grade: A+ Notable Weaponskills: Guillotine, Spiral Hell
 * Advantages
 * A+ skill means you will require less accuracy on gear at higher levels, freeing up more slots for Haste and Attack. Two items, Abyssal Earring and Justice Torque both increase Scythe skill, allowing you to reach 304 Scythe skill.
 * Very high DMG leads to high individual hit damage
 * Scythes are generally very easily-accessible; top-end ones tend not to be difficult to get or rare/ex (the exception being the Perdu Sickle).
 * Guillotine is an excellent weaponskill for stacking with Souleater for huge damage due to its multi-hit properties.
 * Highest DoT of all Dark Knight weapons.
 * Disadvantages
 * High delay means that a missed swing is very detrimental for TP gain, moreso than missing with a lower delay weapon would be.
 * Scythe weaponskills are very poor until Guillotine, which means that from 3-59 your weaponskill damage is sorely lacking compared to other DDs.

Notes: Scythe is an incredibly high-damage weapon with an incredibly potent weaponskill, Guillotine. Spiral Hell is very potent when using the Thief subjob. Some Dark Knights favour Scythe, some favour Great Sword; each has their own advantages and disadvantages and both are very capable.

Great Sword
Weapon Grade: A- Notable Weaponskills: Spinning Slash, Ground Strike
 * Advantages
 * A- skill is very solid and allows a fair bit of substitution of accuracy gear for Haste and Attack equipment.
 * High DMG whilst still retaining a fairly low delay
 * Disadvantages
 * High delay means that a missed swing is very detrimental for TP gain, moreso than missing with a lower delay weapon would be.
 * The top-end Great Swords, Subduer and Algol are both difficult to obtain.
 * Great Sword weaponskills are fairly poor until Spinning Slash, which means that from 3-65 your weaponskill damage is lacking compared to other DDs.
 * Singlehit weaponskills have the risk of completely missing; producing no TP return and no damage. This is also true of multihit weaponskills, but far less likely.

Notes: Great Sword is a powerful weapon type for Dark Knight, although slightly lacking in accuracy compared to Scythe. Spinning Slash is very consistent and highly-damaging, although a miss can mean a loss in DoT. Ground Strike is very fearsome at 300% TP and with the Thief subjob, in fact both of the principle weaponskills of Great Sword stack with Sneak Attack fearsomely. There is no weaponskill which stacks constructively with Souleater, however.

Great Axe
Weapon Grade: B- Notable Weaponskills: Sturmwind, Steel Cyclone
 * Advantages
 * Sturmwind is an incredibly powerful weaponskill for Dark Knight pre-Guillotine levels.
 * Axe Belt is a piece of equipment which, at early levels and with Warrior as subjob, makes Great Axe have comparable skill with Scythe, while boasting greater weaponskills.
 * Rune Chopper is an incredibly potent zerging weapon.
 * Disadvantages
 * B- skill means that you will have to sacrifice some Haste and Attack for Accuracy gear, producing less DoT in the long run.
 * High delay means that a missed swing is very detrimental for TP gain, moreso than missing with a lower delay weapon would be.
 * No access to Raging Rush limits the long-term practical use of this weapon type.
 * The top-end Great Axe, Byakko's Axe is slightly difficult to obtain, though shouldn't be too hard.

Notes: The best weapon a Dark Knight can use until level 50, although it is not practical to do so since Scythe and/or Great Sword are very likely to become underlevelled. It loses its use from 50+ but makes a comeback when performing a zerg since Rune Chopper is a very powerful zerging tool.

Axe
Weapon Grade: B- Notable Weaponskills: Rampage
 * Advantages
 * Rampage is a fearsome weaponskill and available at level 57; no other weaponskill compares at this level. It is still inferior to other weaponskills like Guillotine for Dark Knight however.
 * Rampage is an excellent weaponskill for stacking with Souleater for huge damage due to its multi-hit properties.
 * Disadvantages
 * B- skill means that you will have to sacrifice some Haste and Attack for Accuracy gear, producing less DoT in the long run.
 * It is only worthwhile to Dual Wield single handed weapons, which involves using the Ninja subjob, a defensive subjob for Dark Knight, sacrificing further attack.
 * Top-end Axes are fairly expensive.
 * B- skill means that Rampage damage will be wildly inconsistent and unreliable at higher levels.

Notes: Tempting although it may seem, do not Dual Wield on Dark Knight seriously. You do not have the skill ranks that Warrior does to make this viable.

Sword
Weapon Grade: B- Notable Weaponskills: Vorpal Blade
 * Advantages
 * If you have a Ridill, it is possible to offhand it and build TP very quickly, leading to rapid weaponskills.
 * Vorpal Blade is an excellent weaponskill for stacking with Souleater for huge damage due to its multi-hit properties.
 * Disadvantages
 * B- skill means that you will have to sacrifice some Haste and Attack for Accuracy gear, producing less DoT in the long run.
 * It is only worthwhile to Dual Wield single handed weapons, which involves using the Ninja subjob, a defensive subjob for Dark Knight, sacrificing further attack.
 * Ridill, the top-end Sword Dark Knight can use is incredibly difficult to obtain and highly sought after.
 * B- skill means that Vorpal Blade damage will be wildly inconsistent and unreliable at higher levels.

Notes: Tempting although it may seem, do not Dual Wield on Dark Knight seriously. You do not have the skill ranks that Warrior does to make this viable. Ridill can bring the power of your Dual Wielding up a notch, but the DoT will still be far inferior to using a Scythe or Great Sword.

Dagger
Weapon Grade: C Notable Weaponskills: None
 * Advantages
 * Fast attacking speed stacks well with Souleater, producing very rapid and powerful damage. Mercurial Kris is the ideal weapon for this task.
 * Disadvantages
 * C skill means that you will not be able to sacrifice Accuracy gear, producing far less DoT in the long run.
 * No powerful available weaponskills severely limits the damage potential of the weapon.
 * Mercurial Kris is very expensive, meaning that Dagger is only a viable option for a privileged few.
 * It is only worthwhile to Dual Wield single handed weapons, which involves using the Ninja subjob, a defensive subjob for Dark Knight, sacrificing further attack.

Notes: Purely a zerg tool.

Club
Weapon Grade: C- Notable Weaponskills: None
 * Advantages
 * Only useful with the fabled Kraken Club: the very weapon which characterises a Dark Knight zerg.
 * Disadvantages
 * C- skill means that you will not be able to sacrifice Accuracy gear, producing far less DoT in the long run.
 * Kraken Club is amongst the most expensive of all items, meaning that Club is only a viable weapon choice for a privileged few.
 * It is only worthwhile to Dual Wield single handed weapons, which involves using the Ninja subjob, a defensive subjob for Dark Knight, sacrificing further attack.

Notes: Purely a zerg tool.

Marksmanship
Weapon Grade: E Notable Weaponskills: None
 * Advantages
 * Acid Bolts are good to reduce enemy defence in the early levels.
 * Marksmanship can be used to pull enemies; although it is not necessary to have it skilled to do so, if you land an Acid Bolt whilst pulling, you reduce the enemy's defence and do a bit of damage where you wouldn't have normally.
 * Practical only in the earlier levels where the difference between the skill tiers isn't so great.
 * Disadvantages
 * E skill means that you will have to stack a full accuracy set and eat food which strongly compliments the weapon type. This is incredibly impractical for maintaining high damage output.
 * Items such as Bomb Core occupy the Ammo slot, meaning Marksmanship cannot be used at the same time as having one equipped, whereas the items such as Bomb Core are more beneficial.
 * Dark Knight cannot use any top-tier Marksmanship weapons.

Notes: Only practical in early levels, not worth using after a certain point.

Magic
Dark Knight is, strictly speaking, a melee with a little bit of magic on the side. It is not a melee Black Mage, strictly speaking.

We only have three natural magical skills, and only two are really useful.

Dark Magic
Magic Grade: A- Notable Spells: Drain, Aspir, Stun, Absorb-TP, Drain II, Dread Spikes
 * Advantages
 * Highest natural Dark Magic in the game, along with Black Mages, and the best Dark Magics in the game.
 * Drain is an incredibly efficient nuke in terms of damage:MP ratio.
 * Aspir is a very good way of keeping your MP high, and very inexpensive (10MP).
 * Absorb-TP, when used well can make your TP gain a lot faster.
 * Drain II is good for preparing for a zerg (higher HP = higher Souleater damage) and also to mitigate AoE damage. It's also fairly strong.
 * Dread Spikes is a powerful damage mitigation ability.
 * Stun is an essential spell and in my opinion, one of the best spells in the game. It is incredibly helpful in just about any situation.
 * A lot of equipment enhances Dark Magic skill, allowing you to boost your Dark Magic easily.
 * Dark Seal, a merit ability, enhances the next spell; handy for something like Drain II on a more resistant adversary.
 * Most spells have a low MP cost, perfect for Dark Knight's low MP pool.
 * Disadvantages
 * The damage of Dark Magic is very volatile.
 * Except from Stun, useless on undead or dark-type foes such as bats.
 * Aspir can only be used on foes with MP.
 * When casting magic, you are not swinging your weapon, generating no TP (unless of course you are casting Absorb-TP).

Notes: This may seem initially hard to keep capped, but it will become very simple when you get Stun. Absorb-AGI and Absorb-VIT have uses if the mob lasts long enough for their effect to be noticable; personally, I cycled these up until level 65 or so on any mob that checked as IT, although there is debate as to whether it is actually worth it. The general consensus is that they are definitely not useful in a situation where the mobs die fast (which is exp parties after a certain point).

Notes on Absorb-TP: It is best to use this when the mob has a lot of TP; ie, not immediately after it uses a TP move. It is sometimes possible to Stun and very quickly Absorb-TP afterwards. It is also best to try to only Absorb-TP if your TP is below 70 to be efficient; it is largely situational.

Further information on use of Stun will be detailed later, since it is such an essential and versatile spell.

Elemental Magic
Magic Grade: B+ Notable Spells: None
 * Advantages
 * Fairly useful in the early levels for performing a magic burst.
 * Disadvantages
 * No Magic Attack Bonus means nukes are lacking in power.
 * High MP cost on nukes negate any value they could have due to the limited nature of Dark Knight's MP pool.
 * When casting magic, you are not swinging your weapon, generating no TP.

Notes: This is purely for very early game use. Dark Knight does not have the Job Abilities, Job Traits, MP pool, or the magic selection to make this a powerful force. Keeping it capped is more for the sake of a blue number than for any actual benefit.

Enfeebling Magic
Magic Grade: C Notable Spells: Sleep, Sleep II
 * Advantages
 * Keeping a mob slept is an invaluable asset.
 * Disadvantages
 * Low Enfeebling Magic skill means that your sleeps are largely unreliable.
 * When casting magic, you are not swinging your weapon, generating no TP.

Notes: The easiest way to cap this skill is to sub a job which gives you access to Dia: this is nearly unresistable and so will build your skill fast. This is more of a solo skill than anything, but it is VERY handy.

Job Abilities and Job Traits
In this section, I will detail only the job abilities and job traits native to Dark Knight. Inherited ones will be covered in the Support Jobs section. Ratings are from * (poor) to ***** (exceptional).

Blood Weapon
Notes: Normally a very ineffective two-hour ability, with a suitable Haste build and combined with Souleater, this can be the most formidable two-hour in the game. Don't rely on it to save you before then though. Notably more powerful with one-handed weapons until you can develop a proper build for it (Level 72+).
 * Obtained: Level 1
 * Enhanced by equipment: None
 * Recast: 2hrs
 * Duration: 30 seconds
 * Rating: * (with no suitable build); ***** (with suitable build)
 * Ineffective vs undead
 * Does NOT stack with weaponskills

Arcane Circle
Notes: Intimidates Arcana; Bombs, Pots, Weapons etc. Anything besides elementals which aggros to magic is a good way of remembering it. The intimidation effect can be quite handy but since this is an incredibly niche ability and even when useful doesn't do -that- much for you, I can't rate this too highly. Enhancing its duration is a nice bonus for fights like CoP Snoll Tzar, but I wouldn't say you have to carry your AF(+1) boots with you everywhere.
 * Obtained: Level 5
 * Enhanced by equipment: Chaos Sollerets, Chaos Sollerets +1; increases duration to 1:30
 * Recast: 10 minutes
 * Duration: 1 minute
 * Rating: **

Last Resort
Notes: Without Desperate Blows, Last Resort is a poor man's Berserk; increases attack by ~15% (while lowering defence by the same), lasts 1/6 of the time of Berserk AND increases your already high enmity. It is basically just a weaponskill amplifier that you must use with caution (or activate it right at the start of a battle without engaging). However, the merit trait Desperate Blows changes this; suddenly Last Resort gives 15% "faux haste" (when 3/3 merits). Now, even for general use, Last Resort puts you into a "mini-zerg" state supposing you have other haste buffs, which produces incredible DoT and weaponskill output -- a shame it still only has a 30 seconds duration! Last Resort with Desperate Blows is also insane for zerging, which will be covered later. Finally, it is up to you whether you carry around Abyss Sollerets to amplify the effect; it is not essential.
 * Obtained: Level 15
 * Enhanced by equipment: Abyss Sollerets; reduces defence loss by 10%
 * Recast: 5 minutes
 * Duration: 30 seconds
 * Rating: * (without Desperate Blows), *** (with Desperate Blows), ***** (when zerging with Desperate Blows)
 * Boosts enmity around the level of a Provoke!

Weapon Bash
Notes: Since the August 2007 update, Weapon Bash has become a potent stunning tool. It penetrates shadows which may stop other stunning methods like the spell Stun, and the stun effect lasts for a fairly long time; enough time to get Utsusemi: Ichi back up, or to buy time to your next Third Eye, depending on how you are playing. Just be mindful of the enmity gain! Finally, I would not bother with equipment which amplifies Weapon Bash damage. A ~10 damage increase or so every 5 minutes will not make a big enough difference to bother about.
 * Obtained: Level 20
 * Enhanced by equipment: There are pieces of equipment such as the Slayer's Ring which enhance the damage of this ability.
 * Recast: 5 minutes
 * Duration: Instant
 * Rating: ***
 * Boosts enmity around the level of a Provoke!