Disclaimer: This article contains curated tips, guides, other useful information posted on Inven KR by the users. Please note that such guides and information are not objective truths and may not reflect the latest patch or meta changes.

*Original guide from LoL Inven KR by 다뀨엘프 [DarkyuElf]

Keep in mind that this guide focuses on PvE, not necessarily PvP. This covers only the valuable pre-awakening skills that I use frequently. In fact, I use most of the skills except for a few that I really don't find useful.

You can click on [Skill motion] links to view the in-game skill animations through gif. This is to prevent smartphone users from overusing their LTE data.

Unveiled Dagger-Hidden Strike  [Skill motion]

Unveiled Dagger and Hidden Strike can be used for attack speed buff, dealing damage, and dashing forward a short distance. These are frequently used, and Unveiled Dagger can go up to Ultimate: Stinger, which can give you HP recovery per target. (The Stinger has a 25-second cooldown and is more effective if you kite several mobs.)

Air Strike  [Skill motion]

This is the raison d´être of an unawakened Dark Knight. It’s got a great mobility and damage output. The recent patch fixed the bug that made Air Strike stay in the casting position, so feel free to strike your enemy from a distance.

Pervasive Darkness  [Skill motion]

It can be cast by hitting space bar between skills. There are certain combos such as Slanted Balance-Pervasive Darkness, but they’re not so efficient. It has -10 DP effect on hit, which makes it better for mobs with higher HP or areas where you’re required to deal damage for a prolonged period. It’s not commonly used in areas where one or two hits will end the battle.

Slanted Balance  [Skill motion]

It’s good to mix in between skills with its short casting motion, 5-second cooldown, and decent damage.

Ravage Rake – Flow: Ravage Rake  [Skill motion]

This is one of the main skills of Dark Knight. It’s usually used after knocking the enemy down by Unveiled Dagger-Hidden Strike-Air Strike combo. You can control your casting direction with the mouse during the casting animation. Only 3 strikes are possible until you get Flow on the skill tree, so make sure you give points for the perk.

Repeated Annihilation  [Skill motion]

With its 100% critical hit, it is suitable for finishing enemies with a sizeable health remaining. It’s one of the main skills in the early stages, but it just becomes a skill to be mixed in between other skills after entering Mediah. The damage is reduced on cooldown, so use it after it’s off cooldown. Ultimate: Repeated Annihilation doesn’t add additional hits or damage, but it makes the skill available to use during other skill casting animations. It’s reasonable to give skill points up to lV and save the points for Ultimate later, or don’t bother putting points at all.

Enforcement – Flow: Termination  [Skill motion]

Enforcement is one of my favorite main skills. At first, the cast motion was too slow to use, but now it feels a lot snappier. I’m not sure whether it’s a undocumented change or I just got used to it. You can cancel during and after the casting delay in between skills with Enforcement. Just like Annihilation, the Ultimate lets Enforcement to be used while casting. So, give points up to IV and save the Ultimate for later when you have some SPs to spare.

Kamasylvia Slash  [Skill motion]

Kama Slash has a decent damage and EP recovery. It’s one of the main skills, and you can get a front guard effect while charging energy. It’s recommended against mobs in down or back attacks since it won’t do much damage to enemies with high health. You can clean up trash mobs just by using it. Be advised that the skill blows mobs away. There will be some mobs knocked back, some that stay in place, and some blown away—you’ll naturally understand the details as you keep using it.

Wheel of Fortune  [Skill motion]

The Wheel of Fortune is also one the main skills. Unlike Kama Slash, which only attacks the front side, WoF slashes all surrounding mobs. One unique part of this skill is that it drags mobs to the casting direction that your character is facing.
In other words, when a mob from behind is hit by the skill, it will fly or come over to the front. When you kite, mobs sometimes will be spawned from behind and start to chase you. In that case, all you have to do is to use WoF to nicely gather them up in front of you.

Corrupt Ground  [Skill motion]

Corrupt Ground can recover both HP and EP. Some use it as their main skill, but I don’t because the casting is too slow. The cooldown is 30 seconds, so I just use it whenever it comes to mind. It’s pretty good for dealing damage on down attacks.

Lunacy of Vedir  [Skill motion]

This is one of the main skills and has a pretty good damage, but the attack range is a little awkwardly short. It consumes 100% of Black Spirit’s Rage, so press Z to use when it’s full. Attack speed increases upon consuming, and all Dark Knight skill animations are reduced. A good Dark Knight player will continuously absorb the Black Spirit’s Rage and try not to leave the skill on cooldown. The skill has a slight casting delay, so using it when Black Spirit’s Rage is at suboptimal levels will hit a mob or kill it, making the gauge to go up to 100% in the middle of the casting. Thus a 100% skill will be used. That’s why it’s better to use it when it’s under 90%.

Spirit Satiation  [Skill motion]

Can recover both HP and EP. HP recovery takes quite a long time, so don’t bother using it unless it’s an emergency.
Upon absorbing 100% of Black Spirit’s Rage, Spirit Satiation will recover HP and EP faster thanks to the increased attack speed.

Closing Thoughts...

Mobility skills like Dust – Chain: Dusk / Smoky Haze are also indispensable. All other passives need to be given points, too. Don’t put points in the skills not listed above. Dust – Chain: Dust has EP recovery effect while casting, so use it frequently during travel. In my case, I rarely use Corrupt Ground, but a player named Dokki uses it more often. Considering we both get equal or comparable amounts of items in Crescent, it’s up to your playstyle.