Turning DRK into a tank was a huge mistake.

[Mhikail]

How are you WHM's/SCH's handling DRK's?
[Do not look at my Job. This my sisters account.]

I'm literally on E with these guys on these mobs as an AST.
Please stop doing full pulls dammit! I dunno if it's them or the slow DPS, or the mobs hitting too hard or their HP is too much.
I actually can DPS a bit here and there but I'm constantly healing DRK's like nuts.
It's like they are a Weaker WAR and PLD mix...It's not good. I just did Bray and I used every cooldown to be alive and almost died..twice with a SCH healing his ass off and I'm up to date on gear with VIT acc's.
Think I'ma hang my sword up and focus the other two. Can't see my healer bro's struggling like hell....DRK's are fun to use, but I just don't like them as a tank...at all.
Everytime I see a DRK in NR or Fract:

Hell commence!

[Delily]

Tanking as DRK is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of the game for me.

[File2ish]

How are you WHM's/SCH's handling DRK's?

No issue on WHM as of yet. On AST though... WHM has the benefit of divine seal, which affects regen and makes it a cakewalk to heal and DPS even if they don't use defensive cooldowns. AST's only luxury to help with the heals is Bole, which is unreliable to get when you need it. Or Ewer if you constantly have to spam Benefic II. Honestly i've noticed a lot more PLDs and WARs who don't use cooldowns on AST and it's bugging me.

[Taaku]

How are you WHM's/SCH's handling DRK's?

i main AST, (not sure if your question was directed at all healers or just those two, lots of people only list those two out of habit lol)

while lving . i'd get mostly DRK's who i'd have to spam benefic II to keep up... but doing ex roulettes, i have a DRK friend who's a breeze to heal. I can even dps a little bit.

basically the way i look at DRK is that there are really good ones. and reeally bad ones, Nothing in-between. (that I've seen)

The only place where Dark Knight was a DPS was XI, and from everything I've heard that was more because of players rather then what it was actually created to be by the devs (Same with Ninja which WAS a DPS class...at the start.) Pretty much every other Dark Knight in the FF games could be considered Tanky, its just not nearly as noticable since they are single-player games, where pretty much everything devolves to DPS/DPS who can take hits/Healer.

I don't recall this being the case in FFXI . DRK has many skills that sacrifice HP and DEF at the cost of more dmg, it however has no defensive skills (and has low ranks in Evasion/parry)

You might be getting mixed up with Samurai. which may have been the Tank job of the first Expansion (its AF gear had VIT,HP , and a trait that relied on the Samurai getting attacked) it also has high parry rate, and a "perfect dodge"-like skill.

[Gramul]

Have you done the job quests? The DRK's story is very much in line with HW's theme.

Not yet. Planning to do some other jobs after I finish the main story. And in between leveling my Hand/Land classes.

[Kiteless]

Oh look, this thread again.

DRK tanks are fine. Stop stating that all pies are bad when you had a bite in a bad pie.

All can be explained with pie.

Mm...pie.

But what happens if the oven's broken?

[QiLymePye]

Hmmmm....knowing SE, DRK is supposed to be a hybrid DPS/tank class......lol. I couldn't help it. But no, really, I never really lvled a tank class, so I'm wondering if the mistake was making the DRK (and other HW Jobs) start out a lvl 30? I ask because normally in this game, you started the class at lvl 1 where you learned to use and incorporate skills as you lvl. even nin. I think if they would have started the jobs a lvl 1 and allowed people to get used to them, then they would have flowed better.

[Ditto]

Hmmmm....knowing SE, DRK is supposed to be a hybrid DPS/tank class......lol. I couldn't help it. But no, really, I never really lvled a tank class, so I'm wondering if the mistake was making the DRK (and other HW Jobs) start out a lvl 30? I ask because normally in this game, you started the class at lvl 1 where you learned to use and incorporate skills as you lvl. even nin. I think if they would have started the jobs a lvl 1 and allowed people to get used to them, then they would have flowed better.

War is much, much closer to a Hybrid DPS/Tank class than Drk is. SE's goal seemed to just be a hybrid full tank with a supposed 'edge' in magic tanking, which didn't quite work out.

And personally, I feel Drk should have started at level 15. The minimum level to enter the first dungeon. But that aside, I cant really see that as being a mistake. People adapt to new jobs differently, and the path from 30 - 60 is more than enough for you to learn how the job works. If someone cannot pick up their job even after that, then that job just isn't for them.

[Scruffyx]

It was a major oversight by a development team to make a traditional DPS class as a tank.

In your opinion..

[XxSliphxX]

OP is correct though. There are SOOOOOOOO many terrible DRK out there it's insane. You literally do have to babysit them or they die instantly. And don't try telling them it's otherwise on no! It's your fault for not healing good/fast enough. It's gotten to the point where i just ask the group to kick me if DRK wants to pretend he can dps/tank because I don't feel like wasting my time with that I have other shit to do.