Daggers are the fastest weapons in the game – which makes them a highly valuable weapon choice.
They also have the lowest charge time.
In FF12, the Shikari class is the main dagger-user (with some exceptions). Your White Mage can make use of the Orichalcum Dirk as well as the Platinum Dagger, which we’ll go over in this list too.
Rest assured, we’ll be discussing every dagger (including the fabled Ultimate Dagger) in the entire game, and ranking them to count down to the best options for your crew.
12. Dagger
This is the most basic dagger, as evidenced by its name.
It has very low power and has no special effects. So it’s a typical first entry for the weapon group.
The Dagger has attack power of 14 and evade 5, which is a common evade value for most other daggers.
You won’t have to work hard to acquire this either – as it’s given to you for free as a starting weapon for Vaan and Penelo.
License needed: Daggers 1 How to get:
– Purchased in Rabanastre, Giza Plains, and Barheim Passage, for 390 gil
– Found in the Gizas South Bank area of Giza Plains – The Dry
– 25% drop chance from Seeq Thief
11. Mage Masher
The Mage Masher is a notable first upgrade weapon.
It has been seen in other Final Fantasy games periodically, so you may recognize the name.
This dagger has attack power 18 – but also has a special ability.
There’s a 15% chance on hit to inflict Silence on your enemies.
Silence can be incredibly useful in early dungeons if you can get lucky enough. Granted the Mage Masher’s damage isn’t anything to get excited about, but it’s still decent early on.
License needed: Daggers 2 How to get:
– Purchased in Rabanastre and Nalbina Fortress (after Barheim Passage) and in Barheim Passage itself, for 640 gil
– Found in Op Sector 37 area of Barheim Passage
10. Assassin’s Dagger
You may have noticed that the daggers so far have had some interesting abilities tied to them.
The Assassin’s Dagger is no exception to that.
This weapon has a huge upgrade in attack power, sitting at 31.
And as its name suggests, it has a small 5% chance to KO your enemies as well on hit.
This weapon is almost a necessary upgrade for the Shikari due to the damage alone.
If you start getting lucky with the KO ability as well, then there will be no stopping you.
License needed: Daggers 2 How to get:
– Purchased in Rabanastre (after Lhusu Mines), Bhujerba, and Dreadnought Leviathan, for 1,920 gil
– Found in the Site 2 area of Lhusu Mines
9. Chopper
The Chopper is another decent damage upgrade with a great special ability.
Actually, this can be a great option to take you into mid-game.
The Chopper has an attack power of 40. It also has a 10% chance to inflict Sap on your enemies.
With the speed of a dagger, you’ll have a lot of chances to Sap.
Also keep in mind your Gambit choices for switching between enemies to Sap them all.
License needed: Daggers 3 How to get:
– Purchased in Rabanastre (after Belias), Nam-Yensa Sandsea, Tomb of Raithwall, Jahara, and Balfonheim Port, for 3,200 gil
– Found in the Simoon Bluff area of Nam-Yensa Sandsea and The Switchback of Ozmone Plain
8. Main Gauche
The Main Gauche is a controversial weapon for determining its placement in this list.
It’s certainly a small damage upgrade, although it drops your combo rate.
It has an attack power of 46 – but only a 5% combo rate, compared to the 12% of most other daggers.
It does, however, have a massive evade at 50 compared to the 5 of other daggers.
This strange combination of stats make it an interesting option that you may want to swap out, depending on the circumstances.
License needed: Daggers 3 How to get:
– Purchased in Jahara and Mt Bur-Omisace for 4,230 gil
– Found in the Tracks of the Beast area of Giza Plains and Halls of Ardent Darkness of Zertinan Caverns
7. Gladius
Keeping with the trend for most daggers, there are a lot of interesting effects tied to this one.
The Gladius is a mid-game dagger that comes with a huge damage upgrade.
It has an increased attack power of 56 – and it also has a Wind elemental effect.
Depending on where you acquire this weapon, the Wind effect can be a huge benefit to your party.
Luckily it’s easy enough to buy this dagger outright, too.
License needed: Daggers 4 How to get:
– Purchased in Mt Bur-Omisace for 6,270 gil
– Found in the Yoma area of Dalmasca Estersand and Silverflow’s End area of Paramina Rift
– Stolen from Lindbur Wolf
6. Avenger
The Avenger is yet another controversial dagger in FFXII.
It has a chance to inflict the buff Berserk on your enemies.
And it has a huge upgrade in attack power at 66.
The 10% chance to inflict Berserk on enemies could be troublesome, though, and is something to keep in mind.
Enemies losing control isn’t the worst thing. But the increased attack power while in Berserk status could be enough to overrun the party in some cases.
Tread carefully.
License needed: Daggers 4 How to get:
– Purchased in Mosphoran Highwaste (after Judge Bergan) and Phon Coast, for 8,700 gil
– Found in the Rays of Ashen Light area of Mosphoran Highwaste and the Realm of the Elder Dream of Tchita Uplands
5. Orichalcum Dirk
The Orichalcum Dirk is a huge attack upgrade yet again.
This is a powerful dagger that can take you through to late-game, and even help you to beat the game.
It has an attack power of 79 and its special ability is to inflict Slow on enemies, at a 10% chance on hit.
Slowing enemies is a very profitable debuff you can inflict.
With the increased damage output, this dagger should make fights pretty quick.
License needed: Daggers 5 How to get:
– Purchased in Archades and Balfonheim Port, for 11,700 gil
– Found in the Highlands area of Tchita Uplands and the Hall of the Ivory Covenant of Necrohol of Nabudis
– Stolen from Feral Croc
4. Platinum Dagger
The Platinum Dagger is a small attack upgrade over the previous entry.
It also has a great special ability tied to it, which you’ll definitely want to check out (Immobilize).
But for stats, it comes with an attack power 83. And there is a 10% chance on hit to inflict Immobilize on your enemies as well, giving you the opportunity to finish them at a distance.
Keep in mind that the White Mage can unlock the license board slot for the Orichalcum Dirk and the Platinum Dagger too.
License needed: Daggers 5 How to get:
– Purchased in Balfonheim Port for 13,700 gil
– Found in the Edge of Reason area of Feywood
– Stolen from Shambling Corpse
– Reward from Great Cockatrice Escape
3. Zwill Crossblade
The Zwill Crossblade is one of the coolest-looking daggers in FF12.
It’s also a powerful upgrade, but will cost you a bit in time to acquire it.
It has an attack power of 87 and slightly higher evade of 10.
Plus it has a Wind elemental effect as well, making it a formidable weapon.
There are a number of ways to acquire this dagger, but it’s the first on the list that cannot be purchased.
License needed: Daggers 6 How to get:
– Found in the Site 11 area of Lhusu Mines and North Liavell Hills of Cerobi Steppe
– Stolen from Deathclaw
– Drops from Vampyr
– Acquired through the bazaar system as Double-bladed Knife
2. Shikari Nagasa
These top entries in our ranking are the most powerful daggers in the entire game.
They share a special license board slot as well.
So to dive in here, the Shikari Nagasa has an attack power of 90 and an evade of 10.
It surprisingly doesn’t have any special abilities tied to it, though, making it one of the few daggers without an effect.
But the increased attack power for this weapon makes it an obvious choice for your Shikari.
The Zwill Crossblade is a close contender for this slot too, due to its elemental effect (situational as it might be).
License needed: Shikari Nagasa & Mina How to get:
– Found in the Northsward area of Cerobi Steppe
– Stolen from Vagrant Soul
1. Mina
The Ultimate Dagger in all of Ivalice is, of course, the Mina.
This is not only the strongest dagger in the entire game in terms of damage output – but it also has an incredible effect tied to it.
Mina has a massive attack power of 104, and an increased evade of 25.
Plus it even has a slightly higher combo rate at 15%.
Yet the most powerful effect for this weapon is the 70% chance to KO enemies on hit.
This is an insane chance percentage to KO without much effort!
If you want this ultimate dagger for your Shikari, there’s only one place to find it, and it won’t be easy:
The Larva Eater will drop this weapon, but it will take time and patience to get them to spawn.
License needed: Shikari Nagasa & Mina How to get:
– Drops from Larva Eater at 5% drop rate
