Any point in leveling DRK over War?

Hey, Came back to the game after a looong time and found that much had changed. So I decided to stick with PLD cause it was my first and most well remembered class. Got it to 70 recently, np. I did remember leveling War and DRK to 50 and thinking that they were both fun but now I can't seem to understand War at all.

I think I remember I use to be able to cross class flash onto them and now I don't know how to open with them at all with OP alone. Don't know what rotation to use or anything for the 50 level skills now. I do remember DRK having a pretty nice aoe opener though and was wondering if I should try it out again.

I mean, ultimately I'd want to get them all to max. But as it stands I don't know how either of them work anymore after leaving for so long. Seems like DRK is seen at the red headed step child here and War is OP OP but IDK how things will be in the future so I see no point in only chasing current trends. As a PLD if it get the job done and has an easy to understand flow of rotations it's good enough for me.

If you look for numbers and the most effecient gameplay, then warrior is the way to go.

If you like 2 handed swords, then choose DRK. :P

Warrior today is easy to play and understand.
Warrior has 2 rotations, damage healing and damage boost one, you just use them whenever you need them, and keep the damage boost all the time. He is 3 damage boosting cooldown abilities, 1 neglect damage penalty on defiance, second makes you crit and dhit all the time and the third allows you to crit and dhit all the time and gives you unlimited resource to use 2 biggest hitting damage abilities.
He is not so different than pally, instead he is even easier to play than him.

the only thing DRK is superior to WAR is story, enjoy it.

DRK has the best storyline. However currently is the weakest tank in terms of damage and mitigation.

I would level WAR next and then DRK

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Originally Posted by shao32

the only thing DRK is superior to WAR is story, enjoy it.

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This is not entirely true. DRK also has some sick glamours. :D

You'd level drk over war because you want to?

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Originally Posted by Xan_Kriegor

This is not entirely true. DRK also has some sick glamours. :D

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DRK does have better artifact gear than WAR IMO.

I personally find DRK more fun to play but I know many don't xD

You can also roll DRK if u like gambling and bet for a super boost next patch

At the very least definitely level for the story. Even if you don't plan to use it I'll still say it's very worth to level for the story.

well....warrior is a dps job with blue icon, drk is a tank.....if you want to play a dps with tank utilities then war, if you want to play a tank then drk.

I main WAR but I've been polishing DRK for the challenge. There is definitely a learning curve and some intrinsic accomplishment (for me) for completing a dungeon without running completely out of MP. I'm also enjoying the different ways you can prog with WAR vs DRK in this new raid tier (especially 6) because of the heavy magic damage and I never really used Dark Mind before. Most importantly, I feel like DRK will get some serious improvements in a future patch and I want to hit the ground running if/when that does happen.

Just because a job may be the "weakest" of the three does not mean that it is unplayable or not viable for content. DRK is a interesting job that makes you think about tanking in new ways IMO.

Play a dark knight if you like the look better. Seriously! It doesn't matter. Play what you want. DRKs have cleared all the game's hardest content. If you're good, you can do whatever you want. No ones is gonna put a sign in front of the water fountain saying "Paladins and warriors only."

Everything in this thread has been pretty bang on. DRK has a far better story from what I can tell (I hate the WAR story ... every lil part of it) and I do like their options for AoE aggro.
Main problem is that I know nothing of how they're supposed to work at level 50 but I guess I can figure that out on my own in lil time.

I think I'll go with DRK for a bit, I am a betting man and I figure that things will swing into their favor soon enough anyway.

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Originally Posted by Galgarion

Play a dark knight if you like the look better. Seriously! It doesn't matter. Play what you want. DRKs have cleared all the game's hardest content. If you're good, you can do whatever you want. No ones is gonna put a sign in front of the water fountain saying "Paladins and warriors only."

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I wish that was the case but as a SAM player up until the latest update and now a DRK like i was in 3.0 people are gonna lock out classes they deem bad its all over party finder and raiding recruitment discords.

This is due to class balance and something SE should work on much better than they have up until now.

For the fun. But don't expect to get that feeling from it until level 68. Also don't expect it to be more fun than WAR unless you've something against WAR's gameplay specifically.

At 70, DRK is my favorite for dungeoning and the like, gameplay-wise, but I enjoy the blatant functionality of WAR even more if I just want to get in and get something done. I used to think that Blood Weapon - Quietus refunding itself was the coolest thing ever. But then there was IR-Decimate spam.

I love all three tanks, however I play DRK more than the others because I love their AOE options. I've had so much fun pulling massive mobs and zerging them down with quietus, Salted earth, all the things. The blackest night is also a fun skill to use to just eat things.

I also enjoyed their story the most, as well as their aesthetic. I will admit I'm more fond of their icons and animations over the other tanks.

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Originally Posted by Dio_Tiferet

I wish that was the case but as a SAM player up until the latest update and now a DRK like i was in 3.0 people are gonna lock out classes they deem bad its all over party finder and raiding recruitment discords.

This is due to class balance and something SE should work on much better than they have up until now.

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This will be an ongoing issue, because how do you fix this? SE balances raids against total dps across all jobs, they don't balance against each and every job itself. The game is all about DPS which tank pushes the hardest DPS the most and then comes the utility. PLD and WAR bring good DPS and good toolset that covers the group, so what do you do, if they make TBK group-wide then they have a similar ability to WAR's shake it off, then the only defining difference between them is DPS, and if they buff one tank DPS then the previous tank will get left out. PLD is in a safe spot because their kit is so good overall, which is good. But with only two tank rolls one tank is always going to get left out.

And people are sheep, so if the top raiders say we only do this with DRK and WAR then-then the rest of the players base will follow. Such is the way of the gaming community in general. My group as a WAR and a DRK and we are fine and happy with them, sure there are some adjustments since you don't have tempered will and cover, but we make it work and be careful so our BRD does not get knocked off the train if I use that as an example.

I dont expect them to balance tanks perfectly but i do expect them to listen to feedback and numbers and adjust obvious issues everyone knows instead of them just going into denial.

The entire tanking forums was in a uproar for DRK and instead they just buff WAR completely ignoring the bigger problems simply put the way they react to player feedback and statistics is disgusting and very poorly handled in terms of balance.

Unless you plan on joining a world 1st raid group, then play the one you enjoy the most. They are both completely viable for anything in the game. War is a few % points more optimal, but that gets turned into hyperbolic sky is falling here on the forums. Play what you enjoy, both tanks will get the job done and then some. As you said, theres no point in chasing the current flavor of the month. Drk used to be one of the cool kids. Pld is now. Even war used to be 2nd string. Play what you like. Buffs and nerfs will come and go. Fun is forever.

Level both why choose?

Want to play the meta? War.
Want to play for yourself? Whatever you prefer.
Want to play everything? Do it - nothing stopping you levelling both.

I levelled PLD then WAR - was focusing primarily on PLD before SB, then swapped to WAR after experimenting with PLD's new toys. WAR has since become a much more enjoyably smooth experience and has become my tank of choice. Like all games with constant changes, this may once again change in future.

In short, things can change at any time. The more you have levelled, the more you can dive right in. DRK may one day become king - you just never know.

Regarding the tank role, I would suggest you to level up all 3 to be able to fulfill all aspects of tanking.

PLD - "The Shield says: I Won't Break."
This is the best Tank Job to sustain damage from mobs.
You'll be hard to kill for them.
You won't suffer.

WAR - "The Sword says: The Best Defense Is A Good Offense."
This is the best Tank Job to damage on mobs.
You'll be killing them.
You'll make them suffer.

DRK - "The Spirit says: I shalt not recoil before mine enemies."
This is the best Tank Job to control multiple mobs.
You'll be targeted by them.
You need to suffer from them to make them suffer.


If you just want to tank for the fun of it (Casual: Roulettes/Dungeons), you can just pick up any of the tank jobs available.

If you want to tank for the challenge (Hardcore: Trial/Raids), overall, all tank jobs do around the same DPS during a Raid encounter (Debatable). Make sure your rotations are in check.

Unless you have specific end-game content in mind - go with the advice of play what you like. All three are playable and work fine for the MSQ content. Right now many people like WAR - for HW it was DRK.
In my case for Stormblood I've got DRK and PLD at 70. Today PLD is my favorite. Personally don't like WAR right now - its' sitting at 61.

For Heavensward I had DRK and WAR at 60 - DRK was favorite. PLD I didn't like and it was at lvl 35?

So due to game changes my favorite tank changed - yours probably will too. Play what feels fun.

DRK is underperforming mostly because of lack of utility, but I still find it quite fun to do the rotation... especially while out of grit where Dark Arts use is less restrictive. I can imagine if DRK was given warrior-esque DPS to compensate for having damage buttons instead of utility buttons, it would feel even more fun.

The animations are pretty beasty. Aesthetically I prefer paladin antiquated since DRK Anriquated gear always looks so slim (as it is supposed to), but they all share non-antiquated glamour anyway.

newbie here been planning to get DRK, glad to hear it still recieve love