Who Is the FFXIV Knight in Black - Is It Golbez?

The eagerly anticipated Final Fantasy XIV 6.1 patch has arrived, bringing a couple of new characters into the fold. As expected, some of these are little more than shrouded faces we likely won't know much about for a while yet, with the Knight in Black being one such figure. So who is the mysterious FFXIV Knight in Black? Current money is on it being franchise-favourite Golbez, but the theory is wafer-thin right now.

Read on the find equally thin guesses as to who the game's latest mystery hero or villain could be. We'll obviously be updating this little primer with everything we learn about the potential new big bad going forward, but with just how little we know thus far, the tone could very well change. Spoilers ahead, of course.

As for the more definite Final Fantasy XIV content, check out our FFXIV 6.1 quest locations guide to unlock every major bit of battle content it introduced. And if you're just in it for new mounts, our FFXIV Resplendent Feather and FFXIV Troll mount guides can help. For word on the next patch, our FFXIV 6.2 roundup is live.

Who Is the FFXIV Knight in Black?

We won't go into the finest of details with the patch being brand-new, but for theory hunters looking for any shred of information, here's what the internet thinks at the moment.

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The Final Fantasy IV Link Continues

The running theory for most is that the FFXIV Knight in Black is non-other than Golbez - the main antagonist of Final Fantasy IV.

Though there's no saying he'll be the exact same character as the one we saw causing havoc with the moon all those years ago. Still, with how much of Endwalker we attributed to the legacy Final Fantasy IV plotline, assuming we'd be done with it by the end of the expansion's launch period is, in hindsight, a naive thought.

Again, there's no real way to confirm that the FFXIV Knight in Black is Golbez, but it's fun to ride on the links people are putting together. With Haedylean, Zodiark, and the overarching story of the Ancients more or less done with now, our attention is turning back to the history of the post-sundered star.

Setting Up the Post-Hydaelyn Future

The patch kicks off with the revelation that the Allagan invasion of Myracidia wasn't the cakewalk we assumed it to be, with the decensdants of the Ancients turning to the Void when the people of Myracidia turned to familiar Primal summoning tactics.

During the rediscovery of an open Void fissure Radz-at-Han's guardian dragon once planned to use to rescue his sister who Iron-maned her way in during that infamous war, something looks to have slipped through the crack. And with rumblings of the Thrones of the Elements relating to the Four Fiends seen in games like Final Fantasy IV, the links suddenly don't seem quite so farfetched.

The Vague Links

We'll just have to wait until we see one of these fiends in the flesh. The Myracidians utilized Sephirot, Sophia, and Zurvan in their fight to defend the region, and given we've seen that they were more or less captured by the Allagans and entombed in Azys Lla, maybe we're close to seeing what creatures the people plucked from the Void to take them on.

The recent addition of the Archfiends gearsets are themselves a reference to the Archfiends Golbez was given by the entity that corrupted the previously normal boy.

If we consider the post-Endwalker story to be an analogue to the Final Fantasy IV: The After Years game in which Golbez returned as "the mysterious Man in Black," to atone for his sins, there's another link chaining the antagonist to the Knight in Black.

With Golbez initially ensnared by Zemus in Final Fantasy IV and given his more famous name, the similarities are enough to suggest that our own Zenos is still pulling some strings after the primary Endwalker storyline - though that could be a well-placed red herring.

When Will the Knight in Black Be Revealed?

Though there's no way to say for certain, the FFXIV Knight in Black could be revealed as early as 6.2, but it could take until 6.5. With the future of the MMO itself still shrouded in mystery and no real tangible story links to the 7.0 patch there to speak of, the great Knight in Black reveal could be saved for the 6.5 cliffhanger that would lead straight into the game's next expansion.

As more patches surface in the year ahead, the identity of the FFXIV Knight in Black is sure to begin slipping through the cracks. We'll add more as we learn more, but until then, check out what else FFXIV 6.1 has to offer - including the return of the FFXIV Garo event for those looking for the sharpest gear and mounts around.