Or give it a vulnerability debuff like Trick Attack.
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I think for this to work the vulnerability debuff would need to be active along with another victim. This would help kill a normal mob while simultaneously bringing some utility against bosses. Though, this is probably what you were thinking all along. But I think set up this way, SS would be quite useful in multiple situations, unlike now.
Sure, you'd keep the current effect too.
And if it's too much, since DRK personal DPS is not that low compared to other tanks, the victim could take higher damage from the DRK, and even do less damage to the DRK. Something like +20% damage received and -20% damage dealt.
A trait to boost blood price would be a neat thing if it absorbed hp and mp.
The last thing we need is one job having a monopoly on a skill so powerful that its spot is guaranteed in any party.
Saddly, it wouldn't change anything, you'd just alternate between TA and Sole Survivor. But, as I said Sole Survivor could at least give a boost for the DRK, be it in damage dealt or taken, it would increase both its mitigation and its DPS, two things (among others) where DRK is behind PLD and WAR.
While It would be nice to have DRK compete with NIN for TA, it currently wouldnt, due to the fact when TA ends, the DRK can put up their own vuln on the enemy.
So the TA effect needs to be like the old virus, where the enemy cant be made vuln again for X amount of time. (I'd assume 50s, with 48s being more effective))
On the subject of 'mandatory buffs', the common features for these abilities are that they either affect the gameplay of everyone in the party (i.e. Trick Attack, Balance), or they affect a subset of the group with 100% uptime (i.e. Slashing Resistance Down, Piercing Resistance Down). I very strongly would like to see a move away from both these types of buffs.
I think the solution is to merge the two concepts. For example, Trick and Slashing could and should very much be replaced with a short duration vulnerability up that specifically affects melee, with an immunity debuff to prevent reapplication. You could do something similar between Balance and Embolden for casters, or between Disembowel and Hypercharge for ranged. This makes the individual effects less game-changing, and also gets rid of those "flavour" 100% uptime buffs that conveniently shoehorn certain raid comps into happening.
There's still the issue of jobs with high burst having a strict dps advantage on low-uptime fights, but it would be a step in the right direction.