Valiant warriors who protect allies low on HP.
Description
The Knight is a job in Final Fantasy V, obtained after the Wind Crystal shatters. As the first available heavy armor job, it focuses on dealing damage with swords and knight swords (being one of the only three jobs that can do so[note 1]), as well as providing some protective abilities by taking damage for the party. Knight fills a strong niche early in the game where few options are available for heavy armor, and mastering it provides several useful abilities.
Knight has strong physical stats, having the third-highest Stamina and being among the highest for Strength. It mostly learns abilities that allow one to equip heavy armor and swords, though it also learns protective abilities that allow the job to defend other party members. Mastering the job provides both strong physical stat increases and useful abilities. However, its abilities almost entirely benefit physical attackers and none of its stats are top range, meaning that Knight is useful to master for physical attackers but not crucial for everyone.
Mastering the Knight on all characters in the now defunct mobile and Steam versions earns the achievement "Master of Attack & Defense".
Characteristics[]
Party members equipping the Knight job are clad in armor. The men wear red (reminiscent of the knight job class from the original Final Fantasy), the women wear blue, and Krile wears pink. They wear armored headbands, blue for all but Krile, whose headband is pink (blue in the defunct iOS and Steam versions).
Gameplay[]
Stats[]
| Stat | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Strength | +23 |
| Agility | +1 |
| Stamina | +20 |
| Magic | -14 |
The Knight has the third highest Stamina, being beaten out by the Berserker and Monk. It also has among the highest Strength modifiers, higher than other high armor jobs.[note 1] Beyond these stats, Knight's Agility modifier is negligible, and it has a Magic penalty, meaning Knights should avoid equipping magic abilities. Knights benefiting from heavy armor means they can equip armor that will give them strong Defense on top of their high HP.
Mastering Knight will provide a good Strength and Stamina modifier. However, on both counts, Monk provides higher modifiers, as well as providing abilities that can benefit more party members. As such, players should not prioritize mastering Knight for any specific stats.
Equipping the Knights' Equip Swords ability will grant the Knight's +23 Strength modifier to any job, unless they already have a higher value. The Two-Handed ability will provide a +13 Strength modifier if they do not have a higher value.
Equipment[]
Knights benefit from having access to powerful equipment. In their weapons, being one of the very few jobs that can wield knight swords,[note 1] they have access to some of the most powerful weapons in the game. Though less rare, swords are also stronger physical weapons than many jobs have access to, particularly earlier in the game. Knights are also the first job that can equip heavy armor, giving them the ability to wear strong protective equipment.
Knights having access to powerful equipment early on gives them an edge over other jobs in this regard. The main drawback is that they require more of a gil investment, at a time when Monk can deal more damage with no weapon at all. This means that the benefits of Knight's access to equipment do not come into play until later in the game.
The ultimate one-handed sword in most versions is Enhancer, found in Istory Falls. It is surpassed by the Ultima Weapon that drops from the new superboss Neo Shinryu in the Game Boy Advance version and the defunct iOS and Steam versions based on it. The ultimate knight sword in most versions is Ragnarok, acquired from defeating the superboss Shinryu, only surpassed by the Apocalypse found in the Sealed Temple in the GBA and the versions based on this port. Brave Blade is another notable knight sword, as it may have the best Attack value if the player never flees a battle during their playthrough. It is found in Moore, but the player can only get one of the other: Brave Blade or Chicken Knife.
The Knight's best equipment in most versions is the Genji equipment (Genji Helm/Armor/Shield/Gloves) stolen from Gilgamesh. Some of this equipment is surpassed by equipment found in the post-game bonus dungeon in GBA and the defunct iOS and Steam versions.
The Knight is one of the few jobs capable of equipping the Mythril Gloves, Genji Gloves, Gauntlets, and Titan's Gloves accessories.
- Knives
- Swords
- Knight swords
- Helmets
- Bronze Helm
- Iron Helm
- Mythril Helm
- Golden Helm
- Diamond Helm
- Crystal Helm
- Grand Helm
- Genji Helm
- Thornlet
- Heavy armor
- Light armor
- Shields
- Generic accessories
- Leather Shoes
- Silver Specs
- Reflect Ring
- Hermes Sandals
- Elven Mantle
- Flame Ring
- Coral Ring
- Angel Ring
- Protect Ring
- Cursed Ring
- Hyper Wrist
- Chaos Orb
- Crystal Orb
- Sorceror's Mantle
- Command-specific
accessories
- Gauntlets
Abilities[]
| Ability | Job level | AP required | Type | Innate | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | 1 | 10 | Support | Yes | Take hits for allies who cannot protect themselves. |
| Guard | 2 | 30 | Command | Yes | Completely absorb a direct physical attack. |
| Two-Handed | 3 | 50 | Support | No | Use both hands when wielding swords, katanas, or axes to inflict twice the damage. |
| Equip Shields | 4 | 100 | Support | Yes | Gain the ability to equip shields. |
| Equip Armor | 5 | 150 | Support | Yes | Gain the ability to wear armor. |
| Equip Swords | 6 | 350 | Support | Yes | Gain the ability to wield swords. |
Bartz assuming a defensive stance with Guard (top) and defending a weakened ally with the Cover support ability (bottom).
The Knight's main ability, Guard, is a more powerful version of Defend; it entirely safeguards the user against physical attacks until their next turn. Their innate support ability, Cover, makes the Knight take all physical damage for critical allies. Both can be combined, as while using Guard, the Knight takes no damage even when covering for allies. Cover can also be combined well with Counter learned from Monks; combining the three allows Knight to not only be strong defensively but also counterattack when doing so.
The Knight's Two-Handed ability allows the user to wield one weapon with both hands to deal double damage when using it. Although the user cannot equip a shield, the additional damage provided by doing so can be greatly beneficial in a variety of circumstances early on. This makes Two-Handed a valuable ability to learn early.
Later abilities learned by Knight all relate to the ability to equip heavy armor and swords. Equip Swords will grant Knight's +23 Strength modifier if the job does not already have a higher modifier.
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Gladiator job, available in the Game Boy Advance port and the defunct iOS and Steam releases, can also equip knight swords along with Knight and Freelancer, making it a third job that can equip it. Gladiator also has a slightly higher Strength modifier than Knight. In versions without Gladiator, only Knight and Freelancer can equip knight swords, and Knight has the highest strength modifier of any heavy armor job.
Etymology[]
A knight is a mounted soldier in armor who served his sovereign or lord in the Middle Ages. The word comes from Old English cniht ("boy" or "servant"), a cognate of the German word Knecht ("servant, bondsman, vassal"). In most European languages (with the notable exception of English), the word for "knight" comes from "horse", thus implying that a knight is a "noble horseman" or a "horse-mounted nobleman". The English noun cavalier, an archaic term for a mounted soldier, traces its roots to Latin, and is closer in meaning to the "horseman" of Romance languages.