Dark (element)

Dark (闇, Yami?), also known as Shadow and Darkness, is a recurring element in the Final Fantasy series. It is usually a counterpart of the Holy element and is a strong element against enemies affiliated with said element. It is usually associated with death, evil, and/or celestial objects (like stars and meteors), but this is not always the case. The Dark element being often associated with celestial objects may allude to western traditions that portrayed comets as signs of ill omen and the dissatisfaction of the gods.

Recurring themes

Equipment

Dark swords used by classes such as Dark Knights are often imbued with the element, such as the Deathbringer from Final Fantasy IV. Dark armor is also commonly worn by this class. Some weapons with this element are imbued with the Death spell, often killing enemies with one hit. Different types of monsters are weak to this element in Final Fantasy IV.

Spells

Spells affiliated with the Dark element are not very common, except in Vana'diel, as well as the Ivalice universe, where the arcane magicks Dark, Darkra, Darkga, and Darkja are commonly seen. A notable Dark spell outside of Vana'diel and Ivalice is Shadow Flare. In Final Fantasy IX, Vivi can cast the Shadow-elemental Doomsday. Some skills with the Dark element usually involve a sacrifice of HP, such as Darkness.

Summons

• Final Fantasy IX: Ark
• Final Fantasy XI: Dark Spirit, Diabolos, Fenrir
• Final Fantasy XII: Zalera, Zodiark
• Final Fantasy Tactics: Lich

Appearances

Final Fantasy IV

Dark was known as Darkness in the SNES version. In the SNES version, equipping an armor resistant to the Holy element makes them weak against Dark and vice versa. This only applies to armor, since it doesn't affect monsters. The Advance version removes this behavior.

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Shadowblade	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Dark Sword	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Deathbringer	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Lustrous Shield	Shield	Halves Dark damage (3D only).
Crystal Shield	Shield	Halves Dark damage (3D only).
Darkness	Ability	Character enters "Darkness" status for three turns, increasing the strength of the attacks, making them dark-elemental, and consumes HP whenever the character attacks (3D remake only).
Crystal	Item	The Crystal counts as a Dark-elemental attack, it works by triggering a Dark-elemental counterattack script that triggers Zeromus to shift form and make him vulnerable to attacks.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Though the Dark element exists and can be defended against with the appropriate equipment (as well as some monsters having a natural resistance to it), the only such spell used in the final game is the Dark Knight's Darkness ability. The Dark-affiliated equipment from the previous game exists in the coding and can be equipped by Dark Kain, though they cannot be accessed without hacking.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

The dark element is present in the analysis screen of the demo, seen when the player presses to show help for icons. It does not appear to be actually used in the demo, however, and is removed from the final version of the game. However, the final boss uses what looks like the dark element, performing Shadow Flare.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Shadow Flare	Enemy Attack	Inflicts extreme Dark damage to one _target.
Darkness	Materia	Inflicts damage to all nearby _target at the cost of a certain amount of Zack's current HP.

Final Fantasy IX

Main article: Shadow (Final Fantasy IX)

Final Fantasy XI

Spells

• Absorb-ACC
• Absorb-AGI
• Absorb-CHR
• Absorb-DEX
• Absorb-INT
• Absorb-MND
• Absorb-TP
• Absorb-VIT
• Animus Augeo
• Aspir
• Aspir II
• Bio
• Bio II
• Bioga
• Blind
• Blind II
• Blindga
• Blood Drain
• Blood Saber
• Death Ray
• Digest
• Dispel
• Dispelga
• Drain
• Drain II
• Dread Spikes
• Endark
• Enervation
• Eyes On Me
• Geist Wall
• Jettatura
• Klimaform
• Kurayami: Ichi
• Kurayami: Ni
• Light Carol
• Light Threnody
• Magic Barrier
• MP Drainkiss
• Noctohelix
• Osmosis
• Sandspray
• Sleep
• Sleep II
• Sleepga
• Sleepga II
• Soporific
• Stun
• Voidstorm
• Yurin: Ichi

Summons

• Dark Spirit
• Odin
• Diabolos
• Fenrir

Blood Pacts

• Howling Moon
• Lunar Bay
• Nether Blast
• Nightmare
• Night Terror
• Ruinous Omen
• Somnolence

weapon skills

• Blade: Ei
• Omniscience
• Sanguine Blade
• Starburst
• Sunburst

Final Fantasy XII

Main article: Dark (Final Fantasy XII element)

Dark element is opposed to Holy and is unaffected by weather and terrain. In the original version, all ninja swords are Dark-elemental. In the Zodiac versions, they have different elements. The Dark-elemental Esper is Zodiark.

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Dark	Arcane Magick	Minor dark-elemental damage to one _target.
Darkra	Arcane Magick	Moderate dark-elemental damage to all _targets in range.
Darkga	Arcane Magick	Major dark-elemental damage to all _targets in range.
Zodiark	Esper	Dark-elemental Esper.
Banish Ray	Esper Attack	Dark-based physical damage to one _target.
Darkja	Enemy Attack	Major dark-elemental damage to all _targets in range. 50% chance of KO and Blind.
Darkness	Enemy Attack	Physical dark-elemental damage to all _targets in range.
Maser Eye	Enemy Attack	Physical dark-elemental damage to all _targets in range.
Ashura	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Iga Blade	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Kagenui	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Koga Blade	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Orochi	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Sakura-saezuri	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically. (Original version)
Yagyu Darkblade	Weapon	Inflicts dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Zeus Mace	Weapon	Increases the damage of dark-elemental attacks.
Demon Shield	Shield	Absorbs dark-elemental damage.
Black Mask	Helmet	Absorbs dark-elemental damage.
Bone Helm	Helmet	Halves dark-elemental damage, weak to holy-elemental attacks.
Black Robes	Armor	Increases the damage of dark-elemental attacks.
Bone Mail	Armor	Halves dark-elemental damage, weak to holy-elemental attacks.
Dark Shot	Ammo	Dark-elemental ammunition.
Dark Mote	Item, Enemy Attack	Minor Dark elemental damage to all _targets in range.
Eksir Berries	Item	Moderate dark-elemental damage to one _target. Dispels buffs and debuffs.
Argyle Armlet	Accessory	Immune to Blind. Halves dark-elemental damage. (Zodiac versions)
Manufacted Nethicite	Accessory	Halves all elemental damage.
Gendarme	Shield	Absorbs all elements

Final Fantasy XIV

Umbral (霊, Rei?, lit. Spirit) appeared as an elemental attribute during the initial release of the original Final Fantasy XIV. After the release of patch 1.20, the Umbral element, along with the Astral element, was removed from the game.

Both Umbral and Astral do not appear as gameplay elements in the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV, but are referred to as important elements during the game's narrative. During the events of the Shadowbringers expansion, the Darkness element is the parallel to Umbral on the world of the First.

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Scourge	Thaumaturgy Spell	Deals umbral damage to and reduces umbral magic defense of enemies within area of effect.
Scourge II	Thaumaturgy Spell	Deals umbral damage to and reduces umbral magic defense of enemies within area of effect.
Damnation	Weaponskill	Haunt an enemy with visions of the hells, dealing umbral damage. Grants the caster MP in proportion to the damage dealt.
Bio	Thaumaturgy Spell	Deals umbral damage over time and reduces the attack power of enemies within area of effect.
Stygian Spikes	Thaumaturgy Spell	Grants umbral spikes to party members within area of effect, causing them to steal MP from attacking enemies.
Absorb ACC	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's accuracy to you.
Absorb ATK	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's attack to you.
Absorb DEF	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's defense to you.
Absorb EVA	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's evasion to you.
Siphon MP	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's MP to you.
Drain	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's HP to you.
Siphon TP	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's TP to you.
Sleep	Conjury Spell	Induces slumber among enemies within area of effect.
Bio II	Thaumaturgy Spell	Deals umbral damage over time and reduces the attack power of enemies within area of effect.
Blind	Thaumaturgy Spell	Reduces the accuracy of enemies within area of effect.
Shadowsear	Weaponskill	Deals Umbral damage and increases your magic potency in proportion to the difference in HP between you and the _target.
Stygian Spikes II	Thaumaturgy Spell	Armors party members within area of effect wit umbral spikes, granting the ability to absorb MP from attacking enemies.
Tractor	Conjury Spell	Pulls the body of a KO'd _target toward the caster.
Syphon MP II	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of the _target's MP to you.
Drain II	Thaumaturgy Spell	Transfers a portion of HP from enemies within area of effect to you.

Final Fantasy XV

Dark is an enemy-only element used by daemons. The most notable effect is that a portion of it is dealt directly to character's maximum HP, making it dangerous in dungeons and prolonged encounters. The player can protect against it with certain accessories and the King's Knight Tee attire.

Final Fantasy Tactics

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Duskblade	Fell Sword	Absorb HP from one _target.
Shadowblade	Fell Sword	Absorb MP from one _target.
Unholy Sacrifice	Darkness	Sacrifice own HP to deal extensive damage to all units in range.
Lich	Summon	Dark-elemental magick damage.
Unholy Darkness	Magicks	Dark-elemental magick damage.
Dark Whisper	Monster Attack	Dark-elemental magick damage. Hits 6 times on random tiles in effect radius.
Chaosbringer	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage to one _target and inflicts Blind.
Deathbringer	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage to one _target and inflicts Doom.
Arondight	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage to one _target and inflicts Stop.
Balmung	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage to one _target and inflicts Stop.
Valhalla	Weapon	Dark-elemental damage to one _target and inflicts KO.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Diabolique	Weapon	Nullifies Dark elemental damage.
Heretic Rod	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Hades Bow	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Max's Oathbow	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Ebon Blade	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Death Claws	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Apocalypse	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Black Quena	Weapon	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Dark Fiddle	Weapon	Nullifies Silence.
Eye Soul	Weapon	Nullifies Doom.
Bone Plate	Cloth	Absorbs Dark elemental damage.
Reaper Cloak	Robe	Absorbs Dark elemental damage.
LV? S-Flare	Blue Magic	Inflicts Dark elemental damage to all units with the same level.
Evil Gaze	Spirit Magic	Dark damage and may inflict Confuse

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Game Element	Type	Effect
Apocalypse	Knightsword	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Black Quena	Instrument	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Bone Plate	Light Armor	Absorbs Dark elemental damage.
Darkness	Ability	Sacrifice 10% of HP to inflict Dark elemental damage.
Dark	Dark Magick	Inflicts Dark elemental damage to the _target.
Dark Fist	Martial Arts	Dark-elemental physical attack in a two-square line. Reduces caster's HP by 25% of damage dealt.
Darkra	Dark Magick	Inflicts Dark elemental damage to the _target.
Darkga	Dark Magick	Inflicts Dark elemental damage to the _target.
Death Claws	Knuckles	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Diabolique	Rapier	Dark-elemental weapon that halves Dark damage taken.
Ebon Blade	Blade	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Ensanguined Shield	Shield	Dark-elemental shield, but causes weakness to fire.
Épée-prisme	Rapier	Weapon that halves Dark-elemental damage taken.
Evil Gaze	Elemental Magick	Inflicts Confusion and deals Dark damage.
Final Eclipse	Scion	Zodiark blasts the field with dark magic, dealing fixed 999 damage to everyone.
Hades Bow	Greatbow	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Heretic Rod	Rod	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Lifebreak	Sacred Blade	Deals Dark damage in an inverse proportion to the user's HP.
Lifethread Blade	Flair	Dark-elemental physical attack that inflicts Doom.
Lv. 3 Dark	Arcane Magick	Dark-elemental magick attack that _targets all units whose level is a multiple of 3.
Lv. ? Shadowflare	Arcane Magick	Inflicts Dark elemental damage to all _targets with the same level.
Max's Oathbow	Greatbow	Inflicts Dark elemental damage.
Minerva Bustier	Light Armor	Immune to Dark elemental damage. Female units only.
Mist Storm	Geomancy	Dark-elemental magick attack that reduces HP and MP of units in an area.
Reaper's Robe	Robe	Absorbs Dark elemental damage.
Ring of Precepts	Accessory	Allows the summoning of Zodiark.
Shadow Shade Tome	Lore	Dark-elemental damage against all units.
Shadowy Blow	Maw	Deals Dark damage in a line and inflicts Blind.
Silence Touch	Ghostly Touch	Deals Dark damage and inflicts Silence.
Sleep Touch	Ghostly Touch	Deals Dark and inflicts Sleep.
Sword of Darkness	Astutia	HP-draining Dark physical attack.
Zanmato	Katana	Weapon that halves Dark damage taken.

Vagrant Story

Dark and Light are an opposed pair.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

Dark
Game Element	Type	Effect
Dark	Black Magic	Deals minor dark-elemental damage.
Darkra	Black Magic	Deals moderate dark-elemental damage.
Darkaga	Black Magic	Deals major dark-elemental damage.
Strong Dark	Joint Attack	Deals minor dark-elemental damage.
Strong Darkra	Joint Attack	Deals moderate dark-elemental damage.
Strong Darkaga	Joint Attack	Deals major dark-elemental damage.
Amazing Dark	Joint Attack	Deals minor dark-elemental damage.
Amazing Darkra	Joint Attack	Deals moderate dark-elemental damage.
Amazing Darkaga	Joint Attack	Deals major dark-elemental damage.
Prodigious Dark	Joint Attack	Deals minor dark-elemental damage.
Prodigious Darkra	Joint Attack	Deals moderate dark-elemental damage.
Prodigious Darkaga	Joint Attack	Deals major dark-elemental damage.
Elemental	Job Ability	Deals minor Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Dark and Light-elemental damage to random enemies.
Sigh of Darkness	Smelt Result	Deals dark-elemental damage.
Whirlpool of Chaos	Smelt Result	Deals dark-elemental damage.
Bladeblitz	Enemy Ability	Minor dark-elemental damage attack.
Dark Blast	Enemy Ability	Minor dark-elemental damage attack.
Dark Breath	Enemy Ability	Minor dark-elemental damage attack.
World of Dark	Enemy Ability	Moderate dark-elemental damage attack, 50% of inflicting silence or curse.
Darkness Blade	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Darkbringer	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Blacksword	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically and can inflict sudden death.
Darkness Axe	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Black Book	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Darkness Staff	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Evil Lance	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Darkening Harp	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically.
Cursed Blade	Weapon	Deals dark-elemental damage when attacking physically and can inflict blindness.
Darksteel Shield	Shield	Nullifies dark-elemental based attacks.
Dusk Gauntlet	Accessory	Adds dark-elemental damage to weapon attacks.
Dark Cape	Accessory	Nullifies dark-elemental based attacks.
Dark Sigh	Item	Deals minor dark-elemental damage.

Final Fantasy Dimensions

Game Element	Type	Effect
Dark	Fusion Ability	Moderate dark-elemental damage to _targets.
Dark Star	Fusion Ability	Massive dark-elemental damage to multiple _targets.
Diablos	Summon	Dark-elemental damage to multiple _targets.
Darkness	Dark Blade	Consume 1/3 max HP for Major dark-elemental damage to single _target.
Onyx Wave	Dark Blade	Consume 1/3max HP for dark-elemental damage to multiple _targets.
Final Thrust	Dark Blade	Dark-elemental damage to single _target based on Max HP.
Ebony Slash	Dark Blade	Physical dark-elemental damage to single _target.
Bardark	Resist Element	Enchant all with dark-elemental resistance.
Endark	Boost Element	Enchant all with dark-elemental power.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius

World of Final Fantasy

Game Element	Type	Effect
Abyss	Magic	Inflict magical dark damage to a single _target.
Dark Mysteries	Ability	Inflict magical dark damage to a single _target.
Kishin	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage to a single _target.
Soul of Chaos	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage to a single _target.
Atomic Impact	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage to all _targets.
Eclipse Bite	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage to a single _target. High critical chance.
Petty Grudge	Ability	Inflict magical dark damage to a single _target. Power increases relative to accrued damage.
Everyone's Grudge	Ability	Inflict magical dark damage to all _targets. Power increases relative to accrued damage.
Drain	Ability	Use dark power to absorb HP from a single _target.
Leech	Ability	Use dark power to absorb HP from a single _target.
Syphon	Ability	Use dark power to absorb AP from a single _target.
Draining Claw	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage and absorb HP from a single _target.
Death Cutter	Ability	Inflict physical dark damage/doom to a single _target.
Dark	Ability	Inflict magical dark damage/Blindness to a single _target.
Evil Mist	Ability	Inflict magical dark damage/Poison to all _targets.
Enhanced Dark	Ability	Raises dark ability damage.
Dark Converter	Ability	Restores AP upon taking dark damage.
Dark Resistance+	Ability	Raises dark resistance by 25.
Dark Resistance++	Ability	Raises dark resistance by 50.
Channel Element: Dark	Stack Ability	Deals Dark-elemental physical damage to a single _target. Usable by Lann or Reynn in Jiant form, and a dark-themed Mirage with highest dark resistance.
Endark	Stack Ability	Deals Dark-elemental physical damage to a single _target. Usable by Lann or Reynn in Jiant form and Gleefrit with any other Mirage.
Unholy Darkness	Stack Ability	Deals Dark-elemental magical damage to a single _target. Usable by Lann or Reynn in Jiant form and Undead Princess, Undead Princess★ or Lich with any other Mirage.
Drain Mirajewel	Mirajewel	While equipped, allows Lann or Reynn to use this ability.
Syphon Mirajewel	Mirajewel	While equipped, allows Lann or Reynn to use this ability.
Abyss Mirajewel	Mirajewel	While equipped, allows Lann or Reynn to use this ability.
Dark Resistance+ Mirajewel	Mirajewel	While equipped, grants Lann or Reynn the effects of this ability.
Dark Resistance++ Mirajewel	Mirajewel	While equipped, grants Lann or Reynn the effects of this ability.
Drain Seed	Ability Seed	Allows a Mirage to use this ability when placed in a blank space in their Mirage Board.
Abyss Seed	Ability Seed	Allows a Mirage to use this ability when placed in a blank space in their Mirage Board.
Dark Resistance+ Seed	Ability Seed	Grants a Mirage the effects of this ability when placed in a blank space in their Mirage Board.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Dark is one of the eight elemental attributes, and one of two special attributes along with Shine of which the player can only control up to two cards from at any time. Dark cards depict villains of the series and have powerful abilities.