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Dark Knight Guide by Riverking
Introduction
Hello! My IGN is Riverking, and I’m a Dark Knight main on Horizon XI. I’ve taken Dark Knight into all parts of endgame, serving as both a tank and a damage dealer (DD).
Dark Knight is an incredibly versatile heavy DD, capable of far more than most people realize. A skilled Dark Knight can contribute the following to your team:
- Heavy DD – ignoring everything else below, you’ll still deal excellent damage with proper gear.
- Crowd Control – Dark Knight can contribute multiple forms of crowd control:
- Sleeps and Binds – I frequently use Sleep in Dynamis if needed, and I’ve successfully landed Bind on Byakko many times. Well-placed crowd control can prevent full party wipes.
- Stuns – With access to two stuns, Dark Knight has powerful tools to interrupt enemy abilities, stun is one of the strongest tools in the game.
- Tanking Ability – I’ve tanked in HNMs, HENMs, Sea, and Sky content.
- Debuff with Absorbs – Situational but can be very useful in the right scenario.
If you’re looking for more insights into Dark Knight, check out the fantastic guide by Falaras, which was made for Eden. However, I wanted to create a guide tailored to Horizon XI, as we are still in the pre-ToAU era and have unique Era+ changes.
Thank you for reading! If you notice any errors or have feedback, feel free to reach out to me on Discord: .riverking
Horizon Changes 
- Moderate changes toArtifact Armor.
- Minor change to the relic weapon Apocalypse.
- Significant changes to the relic weapon Ragnarok.
- Arcane Circle has a damage bonus against arcana for all parties members as well as providing protection against magic aggro. The recast of this ability has also been doubled to 10 minutes.
- Arcane Circle Recast merits now decrease its recast time by 20 seconds per merit, instead of 10.
- Desperate Blows was a merit ability in era.
- Desperate Blows was a merit ability in era and wasn't available until the Treasures of Aht Urhgan era.
- Souleater now has a recast time of 5 minutes, instead of 6.
- Souleater Recast merits now decreases its recast by 10 seconds per merit, instead of 12.
- Last Resort's duration has been doubled from 30 to 60 seconds.
Abilities
Blood Weapon
Level: 1 Recast: 2:00:00 Duration: 30s
A Dark Knight's Two Hour Ability. When activated it will drain HP equal to the damage dealt to the target. Does not work on undead.
Useful in a Zerging situation in conjunction with Souleater. Without a multihit weapon like BZagh, Ridill, MKris, or KClub it is actually fairly weak. However, it has saved my life before in a pinch. It has also completely let me down too.
Arcane Circle
Level: 5 Recast: 10:00 Duration: 3:00
Grants a 15% bonus to resistance, defense, and attack against Arcana to party members within area of effect.
Grants +15 Arcana Killer to you and each of your party members.
On Horizon, Arcane Circle will also provide protection against magic aggro during it's duration. For example, you can use Arcane Circle and your WHM can cast Protectra on your party while right next to an elemental and you will not get aggro.
Enhances "Arcane Circle" effect found on Chaos Sollerets and Chaos Sollerets +1 will add 50s to the duration of Arcane Circle.
Last Resort and Desperate Blows
Level: 15 Recast: 5:00 Duration: 1:00
When active, increases attack by roughly 15% and decreases defense by the same amount.
Generates 1300 Cumulative Enmity which means that it can easily pull aggro from the tank onto you. Use this ability on cooldown but use it before you attack the enemy to prevent you gaining all that enmity.
Desperate Blows is a group 2 merit from the ToAU expansion. It has been Era+'d into our trait pool as a direct buff to DRK. This trait reduces the delay for two-handed weapons while Last Resort is active. This is considered "job ability" haste and will grant 15% JA Haste to you.
Enhances "Last Resort" effect found on Abyss Sollerets and Abyss Sollerets +1 decreases the defense penalty by 10%. Due to the fact that you have to keep them equipped to retain this effect - I do not recommend using them outside of an Enfeebling Set.
Weapon Bash
Level: 20 Recast: 5:00 Duration: Instant
Instant stun that is 100% accurate(unless the target is immune to stun) on a 5 minute recast. Stuns are incredibly valuable so be sure to look out for opportunties to use this ability. The duration on this stun is longer than the Stun spell.
Use it selfishly when you inevitably pull hate. Use it to stun -ga spells. Use it to stun dangerous monster TP moves. If you're bad at recognizing situations when you need it just use it.
"Weapon Bash" +10 found on Chaos Gauntlets and Chaos Gauntlets +1 simply increases the damage of Weapon Bash by 10. Might as well use it but not that great.
Note: This requires a two-handed weapon. So if you are /NIN with axes or in a zerg using a one-handed weapon. You will not beable to use Weapon Bash.
Souleater
Level: 30 Recast: 5:00 Duration: 30s
Consumed 10% of your HP per hit and converts that amount directly into damage.
While active it also grants the user 25 accuracy.
Will activate on Weapon Skills, including multi-hit ones. Meaning Guillotine will convert 40% of your current HP into extra damage. It will use your initial HP for all of these conversions. For example, if you have 1000 HP, and you use Souleater+Guillotine, you will be dropped to 600 HP and your Guillotine will do 400 extra damage.
Generates 1300 Cumulative Enmity which means that it can easily pull aggro from the tank onto you.
Enhances "Souleater" effect is found on Chaos Burgeonet, Chaos Burgeonet +1, and Gloom Breastplate. This increases the HP consumed by 2% for a total of 12%. One of these items is required to be stay equipped during Souleater's duration to gain this effect. Once you get Haste in your helm slot, it's not worth using the Burgeonets outside of weaponskills. The Gloom Breastplate is preferred once you have Haste in your helm slot.
This is the ability that gives Dark Knight the reputation that it has and every Dark Knight uses their Souleater differently. I've noticed three archetypes of Souleater usage.
The Souleater Enthusiast
This Dark Knight will use Souleater on cooldown. They play a high-risk high-reward game each time they use Souleater and they love it. Healers on the other hand hate this DRK and in their defense it is very taxing on their MP pools.
With coordination and a willing team this DRK can speed things up. Otherwise, they might slow things down.
The Weaponskiller
This Dark Knight will use Souleater directly before their Weapon Skill. They will likely keep it on until they pull hate then immediately turn it off. They may even wait until the enemy is low HP so that there is virtually no threat to them.
This is a safe way to use Souleater without your party hating you too much. You're losing some potential on the ability but in an uncoordinated setting this is likely preferred by many players.
The Scaredy Cat
This Dark Knight will never use Souleater. They don't even have it macro'd in because they're too scared to use it given Dark Knights reputation to die all the time.
Don't be this Dark Knight. Communicate with your team and work your way into using it for weapon skills. You'll get more comfortable using Souleater the more you use it.
Spells
Hasso and Seigan
You will likely always be in Hasso or Seigan while doing end game content due to /SAM. These abilities will increase cast times and recast times by 50% which is a massive penalty. If you're in a situation where your group is expecting you to stun or sleep something, then I would make sure that you are removing Hasso or Seigan before casting your spell. With the duration and recast of Hasso or Seigan you can easily put it back on again post-cast.
Drain
Level: 10 Recast: 1:00 MP: 21
Drains HP from the enemy and gives it to you. In my current Drain set I hit for 300 so a decent nuke and it helps the healers out. Magic burst on Compression, Gravitation, or Darkness for even more damage and healing.
Undead are immune to Drain.
Bind
Level: 20 Recast: 0:40 MP: 8
Binds the enemy in place. Use it to help out when something links. I've bound things in EXP and Merit parties. I've bound things in battlefields like 9-2 Sandy missions. I've even bound BYAKKO before.
Just throw it out there when your party needs it.
Also used to tank - I will get into that later.
Aspir
Level: 20 Recast: 1:00 MP: 10
Drains MP from the enemy and gives it to you. Just like with Black Mage - you can use this to help sustain your MP pool when fighting aspir-able enemies. You're not getting a refresh from the RDM most of the time so without a Parade Gorget you'll be tapped.
Undead are immune to Aspir. See the Aspir page for a list of Aspirable Enemies.
Also used to tank - I will get into that later.
Sleep and Sleep II
Level: 30/56 Recast: 0:30/0:30 MP: 19/29
Just like with Bind, this can be used to take pressure off of your party in a big way. Having an extra sleep can save lives.
Also used to tank - I will get into that later.
Stun
Level: 37 Recast: 0:45 MP: 25
I've said it multiple times so far. Stun is an amazing tool to have in your kit. With a quick cast time, this can stop powerful -ga spells in it's tracks and save your party from wiping.
Stun has a lot of magic accuracy added to it. This makes it very hard for enemies to fully resist its effect. Similar to how elemental magic has many resist states(1/2, 1/4, 1/8) the duration on stun will act similarly and be longer or shorter depending on how well it was resisted.
It is recommended that you cast stun in your Haste gear to lower its recast time.
Also used to tank - I will get into that later.
Absorb-STR (And DEX, VIT, AGI, INT, MND, CHR)
Level: 43 Recast: 1:00 MP: 33
Absorb spells will take a large amount of whatever stat it is and give it directly to you. This amount will decrease over time.
STR is useful to set up for stronger weaponskills
DEX is useful to give yourself more accuracy
AGI is useful to lower the enemies evasion
VIT is useful to lower the enemies defense
INT is useful to help BLM damage
MND is useful because Guillotine scales off it
CHR exists? idk
THAT BEING SAID I only absorb when I have nothing to hit. Getting more auto attacks off and TP for WS is more important.
Elemental Magic
Look. I know it's cool we can cast Fire II and what not - but 99.99% of the time it is a complete waste of time to cast these spells.
If you're fighting something like Shadow Lord and he's currently immune to physical damage and drain is on cooldown, then sure - go ahead and cast some nukes to help push damage. Otherwise, don't cast these spells.
Sub Jobs
Samurai
The Samurai subjob is the most commonly used for Dark Knight, and for good reason. Here’s a quick breakdown of why it’s so impactful:
1. Hasso provides +5 STR, +10 Accuracy, and +10% Job Ability Haste. While there’s a penalty for using it (explained in the Spells section), the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
2. Meditate generates 600 TP every three minutes. Need I say more?
3. Zanshin can proc after a miss and will swing again. Effectively increasing your overall accuracy.
4. Store TP is crucial for achieving your desired X-Hit build. You gain +15 Store TP from this trait.
5. Third Eye Grants a free "shadow" every 60 seconds, which is invaluable for mitigating damage when you pull hate. Technically not a shadow, you can't anticipate spells. But it's great for any single target physical hit.
6. Seigan Works in conjunction with Third Eye. It allows a chance that Third Eye won't be consumed when hit, and it can also trigger a counterattack, providing a free hit. (Which is blunt damage btw. Looking at you SE Apollyon Slimes)
Note: Hasso and Seigan function like stances. They have a short recast time and long duration, allowing for 100% uptime. However, they share a recast timer, meaning you must choose between an offensive stance (Hasso) and a defensive stance (Seigan).
For any Dark Knight using a two-handed weapon, Samurai is the clear choice for subjob.
Ninja
I'm not going to go into detail about why Utsusemi is so good in this section. Ninja is our subjob of choice when we need a strong defensive layer in our gameplay.
Ninja is often used in merit parties to help continue chains. We value the defense that Ninja gives us over the DPS for Samurai so we can extend the EXP chain.
Ninja is also used for tanking.
Thief
Only used on incredibly evasion bosses like HNMs and Skygods. This allows you to guarantee that your weapon skill connects with Sneak Attack. Then you can assist the tanks enmity with Trick Attack.
Thief has it's uses for sure. Thief becomes less useful when you are more geared.
Warrior
Useful when leveling until 50 when you unlock Hasso from /SAM
Ranger
If you don't need provoke, Ranger can actually be a low level subjob due to the Accuracy Bonus trait it gets at 10. I'd only use it from 20-30 if you do want to use it.
Dragoon
Only used in a zerg and at low level as it provides accuracy and more haste with the Wyvern Earring.
Merits
| Merit | Effect | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Souleater Recast | Reduces the recast of Souleater by 10 seconds per upgrade.
If you're a Souleater enthusiast or tanking on DRK, this is excellent for accessing spike enmity more often. |
5/5 or 0/5 – Choose between this or Last Resort Effect |
| Last Resort Recast | Reduces the recast of Last Resort by 10 seconds per upgrade.
This is highly recommended for all Dark Knights, especially with the addition of Desperate Blows. |
5/5 |
| Last Resort Effect | Increases the Attack Bonus and Defense Down effect of Last Resort by 2% per upgrade.
Fully merited, it provides an additional +10% Attack. |
5/5 or 0/5 – Choose between this or Souleater Recast |
| Arcane Circle Recast and Weapon Bash Recast | Minimal usefulness. Not recommended. | 0/5 |
1. Scythe Skill:
Increases your Scythe Skill by +16 when fully capped. This is essential for maximizing your damage. Skill level directly translate into accuracy and attack.
2. Critical Hit Rate:
Increases your critical hit rate by +5% when fully capped. Critical hits are a major factor in boosting your overall damage output.
3. Strength:
Strength is one of the most impactful attributes in the game due to it being involved in so many formulas. Maxing out your STR merits will improve your damage.
4. Max HP:
More HP means more damage for your Souleater ability, and it also helps you survive longer in fights. If you plan on tanking, then do this before STR.
5. Dark Skill:
Boosting your Dark Magic skill increases the potency of Drains and enhances the accuracy of Absorb spells.
The remaining points can be allocated however you prefer.
Weapon skills
A note on multi-hit weapon skills like Guillotine and Cross Reaper or when Double Attack or Triple Attack procs on your weapon skill:
In weapon skills where multiple hits occur, only the first hit uses the full fTP value, while all additional hits have an fTP of 1.0. For weapon skills where damage varies with TP, only the first hit's fTP increases as TP rises.
This means that Guillotine's total fTP is approximately 3.875 assuming all hits connect.
| Weapon Skill | Description | Modifiers | fTP | Other | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guillotine | Bread and Butter - use this if you're not opening or closing Darkness. Accuracy is very important for Guillotine. It's also very attack-starved, so eating +ATT food will help a bunch when you have good accuracy gear. | 25% STR & 25% MND | 0.875/0.875/0.875 | 4 Hits Silences (60s/90s/120s duration) |
Induration |
| Cross Reaper | Used to Open and Close Darkness. | 30% STR & 30% MND | 2.00/2.25/2.50 | 2 Hits | Distortion |
| Spiral Hell | Used to Open and Close Darkness. Era+'d into Gravitation instead of Distortion. | 50% STR & 50% INT | 1.375/1.875/3.625 | Gravitation & Compression
| |
| Catastrophe | Requires Apocalypse. Heals you for a portion of damage dealt. 10% Haste Aftermath. | 40% STR & 40% INT | 2.75/2.75/2.75 | Darkness & Gravitation |
| Weapon Skill | Description | Modifiers | fTP | Other | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shockwave | This is an AoE weapon skill. Why do I list it here? Because it puts enemies to sleep. It's great for farming. I used it in mission fights when my static didn't have an AoE sleep option, and it works decently. Try it out - it's not perfect, but it's pretty cool. | 30% STR & 30% MND | 1.00/1.00/1.00 | AoE Sleep 60s/120s/180s Sleep Duration |
Reverberation |
| Spinning Slash | Generally used when you are /THF in combination with SATA. Used to Open and Close Light. | 30% STR & 30% INT | 2.50/3.00/3.50 | 1.5 Attack Modifier | Fragmentation |
| Ground Strike | Generally used when you are /THF in combination with SATA. Used to Open and Close Light or to Open Darkness. Note: This can OPEN Darkness but it cannot CLOSE Darkness. This is because Distortion is Property B. When you attempt to close Darkness when Gravitation is resonating, the Fragmentation in Property A will take priority, and you will chain Fragmentation instead. |
50% STR & 50% INT | 1.50/1.75/3.00 | 1.75 Attack Modifier | Fragmentation & Distortion |
| Scourge | Requires Ragnarok. Deals critical damage. Chance to crit varies with TP. 10% Critical Hit Aftermath. | 40% STR & 40% INT | 3.00/3.00/3.00 | Critical hit Aftermath: 10% | Light & Fusion |
Weapons and X-Hit
What is X-Hit?
X-Hit refers to the number of attacks needed to generate 1000 TP, which allows you to perform a weapon skill. Optimizing your X-Hit build significantly boosts your overall DPS.
How do we reduce our X-Hit?
For scythes, the goal is to achieve a 6-hit build. We accomplish this by stacking Store TP, and this is where /SAM shines, providing +15 Store TP as a base.
For great swords, the goal is typically a 7-hit build, though some swords can reach a 6-hit. However, you should be careful not to sacrifice too many other stats to achieve it.
The maximum Store TP you can stack is +28, achieved by combining /SAM, Rajas Ring, Atilla's Earring, Brutal Earring, and eating Carbonara.
| Weapon Delay | Store TP | X-Hit | Store TP needed on gear (/SAM) |
| 528 | +16 | 6 | +1 |
| 513 | +20 | 6 | +5 |
| 480 | +10 | 6/7 | +28/+0 |
| 466 | +16 | 7 | +1 |
| 444 | +26 | 7 | +11 |
Use this calculator to find the Store TP you need.
| Weapon | Details |
|---|---|
 |
Every 13th swing of this scythe is a guaranteed critical hit if it doesn't miss the enemy. Missed swings still count but WS swings are ignored. The scythe has a 'memory', zoning or unequipping it doesn't reset the count. This effectively results in Critical Hit Rate +7.69% for standard melee attacks. |
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I just checked the Auction House and nobody has even made this scythe on Horizon. Or if they have, they haven't put it on the Auction House. Tredecim Scythe is valued much higher due to the hidden effect working. |
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I would not buy this scythe as Tredecim Scythe is valued much higher due to the hidden effect working. You might see a very old and hard-to-read graph that says Death Scythe +1 is better than Tredecim Scythe. Don't fall for it. |
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I don't have an Apocalypse, so I cannot write from experience. That being said - it has bonkers 103 weapon damage, can still easily 6-hit, comes with +20 Accuracy, and can blind your enemy, which helps the tanks. Not to mention Catastrophe which grants you a 10% equipment haste aftermath, which allows you to change your TP sets to fit in more attack/STR/accuracy as the equipment haste cap is 25%. Oh, and Catastrophe heals you. |
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Balin's Sword is a cheap and decent option until you can get Subduer. High damage, decent delay, free 7-hit with /SAM, and extra STR for Spinning Slash. Pretty good! |
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We prefer the Subduer for the same reason we like the Tredecim Scythe. Critical hits are just that good. You need Carbonara to reach 7-hit with Subduer. |
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Ragnarok has been buffed significantly on Horizon. If you decide to build a Ragnarok instead of an Apocalypse, then you probably like critical hits. We easily 7-hit on the Ragnarok, have a +5% Critical Hit Rate, 93 base damage, and +20 Accuracy. This is Subduer++ just looking at the weapon alone. |
Gear Sets
Accuracy and Alternate Gear
A note on the gear in the sections below and accuracy. The items in my FFXIAH links are the crème de la crème, the very best. Below many sections, you will find alternatives as I know many of these items are unrealistic for most players. Hell, I don't even have many of those items yet. Armada Hauberk in most cases can just be replaced by Haubergeon for example.
You will find Dark Knight more enjoyable if you at the very least reach accuracy cap for whatever you are fighting. Sometimes that elusive cap can be hard to find as it just depends on what you're fighting. You can use the Deeps addon to find your hitrate. I'll provide some guidelines that I've noticed from my gameplay so far.
- 375-390 accuracy is needed for some merit camps and dynamis.
- 400-415 accuracy is needed for the other merit camps and parts of dynamis.
- 500+ is needed for Sky bosses.
Utilize food like sushi to raise your accuracy to the required level. The `/checkparam <me>` command will allow you to see your current accuracy.
TP Sets
It is generally recommended to have three different TP sets. I will separate them into a Low, Medium, and High Accuracy sets. You can obviously mix and match these items as you see fit. Just try to reach 95% accuracy whenever possible.
In a general sense, your stat priorities for TP should be the following
Stat Priorities: Store TP (Until 6 Hit ) > Haste > Accuracy > Attack > Strength.
Reminder that we have 0.70 DEX Accuracy Scaling with two-handed weapons on HorizonXI.
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The goal of a low accuracy set is to maximize Haste, Attack, and STR without hurting your accuracy too much. This set has 391 accuracy while fully merited with Hasso and Elvaan DEX. 21% Equipment Haste |
|---|
| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Weapon | Triton's Scythe | Orichalcum Scythe | Death Scythe +1 |
| Ammo | Tiphia Sting | RSE Sachet | Happy Egg |
| Head | Optical Hat | Black Sallet | Celata |
| Neck | Peacock Charm | Royal Guard's Collar | |
| Ear1&2 | Attila's Earring | Assault Earring | Hollow Earring |
| Diabolos's Earring | Merman's Earring | Coral Earring | |
| Body | Adaman Hauberk | Hauberk | Haubergeon |
| Hands | Homam Manopolas | Dusk Gloves | Adaman Mufflers |
| Ring1&2 | Toreador's Ring | Sniper's Ring +1 | Sniper's Ring |
| Woodsman Ring | Jaeger Ring | Venerer Ring | |
| Back | Amemet Mantle +1 | Psilos Mantle | Amemet Mantle |
| Waist | Speed Belt | Swift Belt | Quick Belt |
| Legs | Adaman Breeches | Black Cuisses | Dusk Trousers |
| Feet | Dusk Ledelsens +1 | Dusk Ledelsens | Adaman Sollerets |
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The goal of a medium accuracy set is to maximize Haste and Accuracy without hurting your Haste, STR, and Attack too much. This set has 409 accuracy while fully merited with Hasso and Elvaan DEX. 20% Equipment Haste |
|---|
| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Weapon | Triton's Scythe | Orichalcum Scythe | Death Scythe +1 |
| Ammo | Tiphia Sting | RSE Sachet | Happy Egg |
| Head | Optical Hat | Celata | |
| Neck | Peacock Charm | Royal Guard's Collar | |
| Ear1&2 | Attila's Earring | Hollow Earring | |
| Diabolos's Earring | Assault Earring | ||
| Body | Adaman Hauberk | Hauberk +1 | Haubergeon +1 |
| Hands | Armada Mufflers | Adaman Mufflers | Dusk Gloves+1 |
| Ring1&2 | Rajas Ring | Sniper's Ring +1 | Sniper's Ring |
| Woodsman Ring | Jaeger Ring | Venerer Ring | |
| Back | Forager's Mantle | Amemet Mantle +1 | Amemet Mantle |
| Waist | Speed Belt | Swift Belt | Quick Belt |
| Legs | Adaman Breeches | Black Cuisses | Dusk Trousers |
| Feet | Dusk Ledelsens +1 | Dusk Ledelsens | Adaman Sollerets |
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The goal of a high accuracy set is to just maximize accuracy at all costs. This is used for when your melee damage is not important and getting TP on evasive bosses to set up your Black Mages for a magic burst is the strategy. If there are other enemies to TP on, you can always swap into your Low Accuracy set, get TP, then switch to this for when you're ready to set up the skill chain. This set has 444 accuracy while fully merited with Hasso and Elvaan DEX. 5% Equipment Haste |
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Guillotine Set
Guillotine is a fickle beast. It does not have an attack bonus like other favorable weapon skills. Every weapon skill in the game has a +100 to accuracy for the first hit. The three remaining hits of guillotine do not benefit from this. Additionally, while it scales with STR and MND it only scales at 25%.
For comparison, let's look at Warrior's Steel Cyclone which has better scaling, accuracy and attack bonuses.
| Guillotine(per hit) | Steel Cyclone | |
| Scaling | 25% STR/25% MND | 50% STR/50% VIT |
| Attack Modifier | 1.00/1.00/1.00/1.00 | 1.5 |
| Accuracy Bonus | +100/ 0 / 0 / 0 | +100 |
| fTP (1000% TP) | 0.875/1.00/1.00/1.00 | 1.5 |
Why do I bring up Steel Cyclone? Because people are going to look at it and wonder why the hell doesn't my Guillotine hit that hard. For Steel Cyclone to be good, they mostly just need to pump STR and VIT and call it a day. They've got the first hit accuracy bonus and a 1.5 modifer to their attack making pDIF easier to cap out. Plus, they use Martial Bhuj meaning +1000 TP to the weaponskill. Our Spinning Slash works similarly which is why it's good if you can't meet the accuracy or attack requires of Guillotine.
Guillotine on the other hand needs enough attack to cap pDIF, enough accuracy to not completely whiff your attacks, and then we can worry about stacking STR. We do have a higher fTP at 3.875 assuming all four hits connect.
Another big reason why we love Guillotine is because it's multi-hit meaning we can get four Souleater hits from it.
If you want more information on Guillotine stat priority then read this Guide.
TL;DR
Accuracy until Cap > Attack/STR until pDIF Cap > STR > Attack post cap
Note on Hecatomb vs Onyx
Both armor sets are excellent for a WS set. Experiment with both and find what you like.
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The goal of a low accuracy set it to cap pDIF with +Attack then pump as much +STR as possible without killing your accuracy. This set has 389 accuracy while fully merited with Hasso and Elvaan DEX. Make sure you are swapping in an "Enhancing Souleater" piece if Souleater is active. +61 STR |
|---|
| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Weapon | Triton's Scythe | Orichalcum Scythe | Death Scythe +1 |
| Ammo | Tiphia Sting | RSE Sachet | |
| Head | Ace's Helm | Optical Hat | Black Sallet |
| Neck | Justice Torque | Peacock Charm | Royal Guard's Collar |
| Ear1&2 | Attila's Earring | Assault Earring | Hollow Earring |
| Diabolos's Earring | Merman's Earring | Triumph Earring | |
| Body | Adaman Hauberk | Hauberk/+1 | Haubergeon/+1 |
| Hands | Onyx/Black Gadlings | Chaos Gauntlets +1 | Hecatomb Mittens/+1 |
| Ring1&2 | Toreador's Ring | Sniper's Ring +1 | Sniper's Ring |
| Ruby Ring | Flame Ring | Woodsman Ring | |
| Back | Amemet Mantle +1 | Psilos Mantle | Amemet Mantle |
| Waist | Life Belt | ||
| Legs | Hecatomb Subligar | Dusk Trousers | R.K. Breeches |
| Feet | Black Sollerets | Hecatomb Leggings/+1 | Chaos Sollerets +1 |
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The goal of a medium accuracy is increase your accuracy without hurting your STR and ATT too much. This set has 417 accuracy while fully merited with Hasso and Elvaan DEX. Make sure you are swapping in an "Enhancing Souleater" piece if Souleater is active. +50 STR |
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Spinning Slash Set
Spinning Slash is the superior weapon skill when your attack and accuracy are low relative to your opponent. This makes it an excellent weapon skill for under geared or fresh 75 Dark Knights.
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Goal here is to stack as much STR as possible. Spinning slash is a single hit weapon skill so it greatly benefits from the +100 accuracy bonus all weapon skills have on their first hit. Additionally, it has a 1.5 attack modifier making it much easier to cap pDIF. STR > Attack > Accuracy > INT +68 STR |
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Drain Set
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The goal of your drain set is to stack as much Dark Skill as possible. Dark Skill > Magic Accuracy > INT It shouldn't have to be said but only use the Pluto/Dark Staff when you don't care about losing TP. Note: The "Dusksoul Ring" in my FFXIAH link is a placeholder for the Overlord's Ring which is a HorizonXI custom item. |
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| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Weapon | Dark Staff | Y's Scythe | |
| Ammo | Morion Tathlum | RSE Sachet | |
| Head | Chaos Burgeonet | Ace's Helm | Homam Zuchetto |
| Neck | Prudence Torque | ||
| Ear1&2 | Phantom Earring +1 | Phantom Earring | Morion Earring +1 |
| Boroka Earring | Heims Earring | Magnetic Earring | |
| Body | Crimson Scale Mail | Blue Cotehardie +1 | Blue Cotehardie |
| Hands | Crimson Finger Gauntlets | Abyss Gauntlets+1 | Abyss Gauntlets |
| Ring1&2 | Diamond Ring | ||
| Omniscient Ring | Eremite Ring +1 | ||
| Back | Abyss Cape | Federal Army Mantle | |
| Waist | R.K Belt | Mrc. Cpt Belt | |
| Legs | Abyss Flanchard | Chaos Flanchard +1 | Chaos Flanchard |
| Feet | RSE Feet | Homam Gambieras | Dusk Ledelsens |
Stun Set
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The goal of this set is to maximize haste and fast cast. You can fill in the blanks with INT and Dark skill if you want but Stun has a large accuracy bonus. This reduces your casting time and recast of your stun. If you can, be sure to remove Hasso or Seigan before you cast stun. No sense in clicking off Hasso if it means you'll miss the stun window. Some of us have slow hands, okay? 21% Equipment Haste and 7% Fast Cast Reducing your stun recast from 45s to 27s. |
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| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Head | Horus's Helm | Patroclus's Helm | |
| Hands | Homam Manopolas / Dusk Gloves | Armada Mufflers | Adaman Mufflers |
| Waist | Speed Belt | Swift Belt | Quick Belt |
| Feet | Dusk Ledelsens +1 | Dusk Ledelsens / Armada Sollerets | Adaman Sollerets |
Enfeeble Set
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Stat Priority: |
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| Alternative 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | |
| Weapon | NQ Staff that matches | ||
| Ammo | Morion Tathlum | RSE Sachet | |
| Head | Crimson Mask | Homam Zuchetto | |
| Neck | Prudence Torque | ||
| Ear1&2 | Phantom Earring +1 | Phantom Earring | Morion Earring +1 |
| Boroka Earring | Heims Earring | Magnetic Earring | |
| Body | Crimson Scale Mail | Blue Cotehardie +1 | Blue Cotehardie |
| Hands | Abyss Gauntlets | ||
| Ring1&2 | Diamond Ring | ||
| Omniscient Ring | Eremite Ring +1 | ||
| Back | Altruistic Cape | Federal Army Mantle | |
| Waist | R.K Belt | Mrc. Cpt Belt | |
| Legs | Chaos Flanchard | ||
| Feet | Mountain Gaiters | RSE Feet | Homam Gambieras |
Physical Damage Taken Set
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This set has -49% Physical Damage Taken, +10 Parry, +45 HP(more or less depending on RSE Belt, and chance to annul physical damage.
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Magical Damage Taken Set
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This set has -25% Magical Damage Taken and chance to annul magical damage. Having one resistance in each element will give you chances to resist spells. Not much but it's something
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Fresh 75 Budget Set
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This is a useable budget set that at the very least you should be in once you hit 75 Dark Knight. I noticed that even some of the alternative gear that I listed above could be difficult to acquire for new players. All of these items are cheap, buyable with conquest, or questable items. There is no excuse to not have at least this set. Please don't use this set for long if at all. Hasso, Elvaan DEX, and NO merits: |
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Tanking
Enmity
To pull directly from the BGWiki on Enmity:
- Cumulative Enmity (CE) is generated when doing damage or using some spells and abilities to a cap of 10,000CE.
- This form of Enmity is decreased by being the target (direct or indirect) of enemy offensive actions. The primary method of decrease is taking damage, with other methods including evading an attack via Utsusemi, being enfeebled, and by being hit with certain "hate-resetting" monster techniques.
- Position on the hate list can be affected by doing things such as zoning and logging out; however, unless the hate list is cleared these will be insufficient to reset your CE.
- Volatile Enmity (VE) is generated when doing damage or using some spells and abilities to a cap of 10,000VE.
- This form of Enmity decreases over time at a rate of -60VE/second until reaching zero.
- VE is harder to measure than CE because of this decay, but there are plentiful sources of VE for jobs looking to obtain it. Nearly every job in the game has easy access to high-VE job abilities, spells, or the ever-present option of just hitting the monster.
- The Provoke job ability, for example, adds 1800 VE, for a temporary enmity spike which fades out over 30 seconds.
- Total Enmity (TE) is simply a sum of the player's Cumulative Enmity and Volatile Enmity. The cap on total enmity is 20,000 (10,000 each of CE and VE). A monster with hate will target the player on the hate list with the highest total enmity.
- In the case of identical enmity values between players, a monster will target the player that acted most recently.
These are Dark Knight's specific spells and abilities with their era CE/VE values and a ratio to how much TE you get per point of MP:
| Spell | CE Value | VE Value | TE:MP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stun | 180 | 1280 | 58:1 |
| Sleep II | 480 | 480 | 33:1 |
| Sleep | 320 | 240 | 29:1 |
| Aspir | 320 | 0 | 32:1 |
| Bind | 1 | 640 | 80:1 |
| Absorbs | 1 | 640 | 19:1 |
| Poison | 1 | 320 | 64:1 |
| Drain | DMG[1] | DMG[1] | DMG[1] |
| Souleater | 1 | 1300 | JA |
| Last Resort | 1 | 1300 | JA |
[1] DMG simply means that it depends on how much damage you deal.
As you can see - as long as a Dark Knight is given enough sources of MP via Ballad, Refresh, and/or Spring Water. A DRK can generate as much enmity as they need and use Souleater, Last Resort, and Stun to gain spike enmity.
Generally, you will follow a rotation like this in order to maintain enmity:
Stun > Sleep II > Sleep > Drain > Bind > Aspir > Poison
(Just spam these spells. You don't have to follow this rotation)
Your Absorb-Stat spells generate 640 VE and have a quick cast. Unfortunately, they are not very MP efficient only generating 19 TE per 1 MP. Use them if you need enmity quick knowing that you may need a Devotion or something afterward.
But - what good is maintaining enmity if you cannot stay alive. Enter /NIN, PDT, MDT, and resistance.
Shadows
Let's quickly talk about why shadows are as good as people say. When you get hit a few things happen. Obviously, you lose HP and that isn't good but, you also lose CE.
- Cumulative Enmity Loss
- Damage Taken: CE Loss = 1800 × Damage Taken ÷ Maximum HP
- Utsusemi Shadow Image Lost: CE Loss = 25
- Being Enfeebled (Including Resists): CE Loss = 80
Let's say you have 1400 HP and you get hit for 200 damage.
1800 × 200 ÷ 1400 = 257 CE Lost
You've now lost 200 HP and 257 CE which is almost an entire spell worth of CE.
Let's say you have shadows up and you get hit: No Damage and -25CE.
Shadows also allow you to cast uninterrupted to maintain hate.
Tanking Sets
Haste/Enmity Casting Set
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This set has +24% more Enmity and 20% equipment haste. The goal is to reduce the cooldowns of your enmity generating spells while giving them a boost in enmity where possible.
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Enmity JA Set
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This set has +50% more Enmity. The goal is to stack as much +Enmity as possible to boost our Souleater and Last Resort enmity spikes.
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Physical Damage Taken Set
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This set has -49% Physical Damage Taken, +10 Parry, +45 HP(more or less depending on RSE Belt, and chance to annul physical damage.
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Fire Resist Set
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This set has 166 Fire Resistance. Used on bosses like Tiamat. The goal is to just stack as much fire resistance as possible. I won't include an alternative section here. Just use the stat priority below and build out the best set you can.
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Ice Resist Set
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This set has 160 Ice Resistance. Used on bosses like Jorm. The goal is to just stack as much ice resistance as possible. I won't include an alternative section here. Just use the stat priority below and build out the best set you can.
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