There are many requests from the players such as haste, 30s burst instead of 60s burst,better Dark Mind,Better TBN,Torcleaver need more damage,address the bloating of ogcd attackss, or fix the problem that other player can prevent you from enter the WD when using LD which I think there are a solutions.
BUT YOU NEED TO REWORK DRK FROM THE EARLIER LEVEL INSTEAD OF APPLY THE BAND AID AT THE HIGHER LEVEL CAP EVERYTIME THAT YOU RELEASE THE NEW EXPANSION.
You can fix DRK lack of extra mitigation at earlier level and fulfill the request to have a haste effect as well as reinstall one of the the loss indentity of DRK by these adjustment.
1.New Weaponskill that grant "Haste"
Remove Darkside buff and Create new weaponskill that grant haste effect
[You can use Scourge animation if you want to answer the request of people who want the animation back]
LV.2 [Scourge, Soul Scourge,Whatever you want to name it]
Delivers an attack to all enemies in a Cone* before you with a potency of 250 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Recast 30s. Grant [Haste] : Reduce a *shared recast time*[Global cooldown not an independent recast time of any action] of Weaponskill and Spell by 20%. Duration 10s.
Additional Effect : Restore 600 MP
*Imagine Scourge +aoe of Moulinet/Enhanced Moulinet of Red Mage*
[The player grew tired of a warrior style damage buff, the player want to feel faster and they want other weaponskill to use at earlier level and they also like scourge animation,plus some people asked for it to be 30s. Here is one of the solutions.
With 10s of 20% recast time reduction effect, DRK could land 5 GCDs instead of 4 GCDs in 10s window and this new weaponskill that grant haste effect will take the place of the extra gcd the player can fit in. The dps increased would be 250/125 potency from this weaponskill.
2.Weaker version of TBN at earlier level.
Reduce MP generation of DRK to 10000MP per minute and introduce a weaker version of TBN at earlier level.
Example :
LV.30 Shadow Skin
Creates a barrier [self target only] that absorbs damage totaling 15[or20]% of your maximum HP.
Duration: 7s. Recast Time: 15s. Cost 5000 MP.
Increase [Dark or Whatever you want to name it] Gauge by 50 when barrier is completely absorbed.[Max Cap 100]
LV.30 Flood&Edge of Darkness
Cost no MP but consume 25 Gauge that increased from consume Shadow Skin's barrier instead.
[With 3 expansions ahead it is a matter of time before these 2 actions have to be merged to make a room for the new actions. Unless the job designer want to leave them separate forever I recommended to use this opportunity to do it now, regardless it is recomened to make both actions acquired at lv30 to make this mechanic complete and FEEL GOOD earlier. Having to use flood of darkness on boss till lv.45 feel really awkward]
In 60s. DRK could Landed 8 Syphon Strike [+4800MP]. Restore natural-in battle MP regeneration [200 MPx20 time if I remember correctly [+4000MP in total]] Landed 2 new weaponskill that grant haste [+1200] that would be enough to met the required 10000MP.
3.
Remove Blood Weapon or rework and move it to level 68 to replace delirium. [Since Job Action pruning is bound to happen when a new and newer expansions are released. The Developer can create a new content[could be eureka-like or deep dungeon]that reward the player with the new function that allow people to glamour some of the animation of their job action with the old action that got removed]
4.Dark Dance+Dark Mind
Merge Dark Dance and Dark Mind
With the removal of Dark Dance. Physical damage reduction have became DRK's achilles's heel before reaching LV.70 to acquire TBN, and it is such a long way because it is 2 expansions of dungeons leveling and more than a whole expansion of msq between DRK's first and the final job quest.
There is no need to blame Dark Mind's inability to mitigate the physical damage for this because they used to exist as a pair till GNB robbed it's counterpart in shadowbringer.
DRK need this signature action back. It is linked to DRK's wierd battle stance that everybody talked about which is the Ochs Stance in reality.
https://www.thearma.org/essays/StancesIntro.htm
https://i.imgur.com/5ylOdaj.jpeg
If DRK deserved to have a parry mitigation action such as Dark Dance taken away from them and to be grant to the GNB instead then there is no longer a LORE reason for DRK to keep this weird stance unless you want GNB and DRK to swap the battle stance
Here is the solution
Replace Dark Mind with this
LV.45 [One Mind or whatever you want to name it]
Parry incoming physical attacks [100% Parry chance] and Reduce Magic Damage taken by 15%. Duration 15s. recast 60s.
And change GNB's Camouflage's effect from
"Increases parry rate by 50% while reducing damage taken by 10%."
to
"Reducing damage taken by 20%."
Instead.
5. Living Dead adjustment
Remove Walking Dead effect of Living Dead and make some adjustment
Example:
LV.50 Living Dead
Enter Living Dead Status, Reduce HP to 1 and prevent an attack from lower your HP below 1.
While you are in this status, Your hp can not be restore. Duration 9s.
Additional Effect : Grant Undead Rebirth effect when the Living Dead effect expired.
Undead Rebirth Efffect :
Renders you impervious to most attacks and Restore HP equaling to the amount of healing received during Living Dead effect duration. Duration 1s.
*The amount of hp restored can not exceed the current maximum HP*
Now Living Dead won't have a massive amount of heal attached to it nor it would required this amount of healing resource to cleanse and other player especially the healer could kept heal the DRK without interrupting and prevent the action from triggering the effect. No healing wasted, no malfunction of the Living Dead and no longer unnecessary fight among DRK and healer [that sometime lead to a slandering that lead to someone get a ban] in dungeon ever.
6.Replace Salted with Abyssal Drain and reduce AD's recast time
FOR NOW. remove Salted Earth and reduce Abyssal Drain's recast time from 60s to 30s as well as move it from Lv.56 to Lv.52 Instead.
Salted Earth is an excellent pvp skill but in it current state of pve it is poor dot pool action.
No way that a boss would always stay in the pool and I greatly dislike the elitist mindset that it should be kept to show who could kept landing 90s recast 300 potency dot pool constantly. If it is a dot that the player could maintain like SAM's Higanbana it would at least make sense but a fire and forget dot pool is hardly a suitable bar to separate good player and the bad one. Not because they are lazy but it just isn't interesting/attractive enough nor convincing enough. Give Salted Earth the increased damage taken debuff like in pvp isn't the answer either because it will make DRK's hold everything till Salted Earth came off cooldown become a meta and DRK player would stuck with the big burst and boring style again. Not to mention how it would allow a DRK, a Tank to have a raid buff.
Abyssal Drain would be a great help to acquired earlier at the beginning of Heavenward Leveling. Reducing the recast time also help greatly with the sustain issue of DRK.
7.Move Scarlet Delirium combo down from LV 96 to 56
Reduce the potency and allow Scarlet Delirium Combo to be acquired at level 56 instead of 96
If the Job designer has follow the DRK megathread you would saw the player request for another combo but it wouldn't help if you introduced those weaponskill combo at lv90+ and leave souleater combo being the only combo that the player have to repeat 5/6 of the time till they reach the middle of dawntrail.
The solution is move them down to Heavenward and reduce their potency.
Example :
Lv.56
Scarlet Delirium : Delivers an attack with a potency of 350. Cost 25 Gauge[same with Edge/flood of Darkness]
Additional Effect : Restore 200 MP. Recast 30s [recast can not be reduced by haste, only the global cooldown does]
Comeuppance : Delivers an attack with a potency of 500. [No Cost]
Additional Effect : Restore 200 MP. Recast 2.5s [can only be executed after landing Scarlet Delirium]
Torcleaver : Delivers and attack with a potency of 650. [No Cost]
Additional Effect : Restore 200 Mp. Recast 2.5s.[can only be executed after landing Comeuppance]
8.Change Carve and Spit's effect
Reduce Carve and Spit potency and replace MP restore effect with "Increase next weaponskill's potency by 50%" as well as make it no longer shared a recast time with Abyssal Drain
Example
Lv.60
Delivers an attack with a potency of 300.
Additional Effect: Increases potency of next weaponskill by 50%.
Duration: 10s. Recast Time : 60s.
9.Move Impalement down from Lv 96 to Lv 62
Remove Bloodspiller and allow Impalement to be acquired at level 62 instead. Also you could change Impalement from weaponskill to attack ability for easier damage increase calculation and mp restoration [because scarlet delirium combo is 3 gcd they perfectly fit to take the soul eater combo slot but unleash and stalwart soul are just a 2 spells combo. Adding a single aoe attack ability would be easier than have 3 Impalement as weaponskill or have 1 Impalement as a 30s alternate combo finisher of unleash]
Example:
LV.62
Impalement [Ability]
Delivers an attack with a potency of 245 to all nearby enemies.
Additional Effect : Restore 600 MP.
Cost : 25 Gauge [same with Dark/Flood of Darkness and Scarlet delirium]
Recast : 30s.
10.Replace Bloodspiller with some Dark Spell
Instead of some inferior fell cleave like bloodspiller. The job designer could introduce some dark spell instead.
Example :
LV.64.[Abyss,Dark Art or whatever you want to name it] Gauge Unlock. [Max Cap 100]
Increase A Gauge upon landing either Soul Eater by 25,Stalwart Soul, Scourge ,Scarlet Delirium,Comeuppance,Torcleaver or Abyssal Drain by 20. [you can fill the gauge to 150 on single target every 30s]
Lv.64 [Abyssal Rift or whatever you want to name it]
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 500. [Type : Spell] Range : 25y. Radius 0y.\
Additional Effect : Restore 200 MP*. Cost 50 A Gauge. Recast 2.5s.
*[Every 30s you could generate 5000mp
1 Scarlet Delirium Combo =600 MP
2 Soul Eater Combos =1200 MP
1 Scourge =600 MP
3 of LV64 Spells =600 MP
10 times of natural MP regeneration=2000 MP.
5000 In total]
11. Move Dark Missionary Down from Lv.76 to 66
Lv.66
There is a request that Dark Missionary should be moved down from Lv.76 and since this rework plan would limit TBN usage to 2 times per minute I think it could be alright to move Dark Missionary down as requested
12. Create new B Gauge ability
Lv.68
[Blood,Sanguine,Delirium or whatever you want to name it] Gauge unlock
Allows for [?] Gauge accumulation upon the landing of certain actions. [Souleater,Stalwart Soul,Scourge,Torcleaver,Impalement,abyssal drain by 20]
[Sanguine Blade,Blood Weapon,Delirium,or whatever you want to name it] Type : Ability.
Grants 3 stacks of [?]Buff, each stack increasing Damage Dealt by [around 10 or 15]% upon landing weaponskills or spells and increase the range of weaponskill to 5y.
Duration: 15s. Cost 50 B Gauge. Effect does not stack when hitting multiple targets with a single attack.
13.Upgrade the weaker version of TBN to TBN
LV.70
Shadow Skin Mastery [Trait]
Upgrade Shadow Skin to The Blackest Night
The Blackest Night
Creates a barrier around self or target party member that absorbs damage totaling 25% of target's maximum HP.
Duration: 7s
Increase D Gauge[Lv.30] by 50 when barrier is completely absorbed.
Additional Effect : Increase B Gauge[Lv.68] by 20 when barrier is completely absorbed.
Duration: 7s. Recast Time: 15s. Cost 5000 MP.
14. Stronger Spell
Lv.72
Dark Seal. [Trait]
Allow Torcleaver and Impalement to grant Dark Seal effect, Upgrading Abyssal Rift to Dark Flare
Duration 15s.
Dark Flare =Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 1000 for the first enemy, and [60]% less for all remaining enemies. Dark Seal Effect Fade upon execution.
Additional Effect : Grant [Fulmination, or whatever you want to name it] effect
Upgrade Edge of Darkness and Flood of Darkness to Edge of Shadow and Flood of Shadow.
Duration : 10s.
Additional Effect : Restore 200 MP
Edge/Flood of Shadow
[Potency is the same with the current Edge/Flood of Shadow]
Can only be executed while under the effect of [Fulmination]effect. [Fulmination] effect fade upon execution.
*This action can not be assign to a hot bar*
15.Reduce Living Shadow's potency and recast time
Living Shadow
There is too much damage potency packed in this rather long recast ability and it doesn't make the player feel like they deliver it but rather exist as just a beholder after press the button. Meanwhile some people would like to keep it because it remind them of a curtain job quest.
A Solution would be to keep this action but reduce the potency and recast time.
Example
Lv.80 Living Shadow
Conjure a simulacrum of your darkside to fight alongside you.
Simulacrum Attack Potency: 100
Duration: 20s. Recast 60s. [No Cost, of course]
[Additional Effect : Increase B Gauge by 10]
16.Make Oblation an upgrade of TBN
Oblation
I'm pretty sure the Job designer would already saw the request to upgrade The Blackest Night if they read the megathread so this is when the upgrade of TBN should happen.
Example
LV.82 Oblation[Trait]
Grant Oath of Darkness and Oblation effect when execute The Blackest Night
Oath of Darkness effect : Restore HP when HP fall below 50% or effect expired. Cure potency 1200. Duration 15s
Additional Effect Grant Oblation Effect upon execution. Duration 4s.
Actions changes to Oblation during Oblation effect. Effect immediately fade when all barrier is consume.
Oblation :
[Break/Consume] TBN effect fade upon execution.
Grant Advocate effect : Increase Oath of Darkness Healing potency by another 1200. Can only be executed while in combat.
[Oblation mean something that is offering as a sacrifice, so to be able to sacrifice a mitigation for more healing would make sense]
17. Increase Potency of Scarlet Delirium combo
Lv.96
Melee mastery II or III
Increase the potency of Scarlet Delirium,Comeuppance and Torcleaver [by50-100]
18. Allow Disesteem to Dis esteem.
Disesteem & Living Shadow
There are the player that can't stand the existence of the Living Shadow but there are some that don't want it to be remove. So what is the compromise here?
Maybe you can make Living Shadow grant many "Scorn" stack and each stack will be consume when the Simulacrum excuting the attack. However if the Player use "Disesteem" while they have a stack Scorn buff it will consume all remaining stack to increase the potency of Disesteem and immediately make Simulacrum fade. The potency may have to be reduce and may not 1:1 transfer because Simulacrums attack potency is higher than DRK's potency and that Simulacrum can't take all raid buff effect but DRK could from what I have been told. ...
Yep, why not let people who hate Living Shadow to use Disesteem as a "Begone boring dot" button and let people who adore the Simulacrum to keep it land an attack.
