The Definitive Dark Knight Guide

[Xenosan]

But shouldn't the mp you gain from non DA cns be counted as that cns's contribution to damage?

C&S unbuffed rewards half the MP needed for a Dark Arts. C&S has a 60 second cooldown. It'll take 2 C&Ss (1 or 2min) for the MP return to provide a 'free' Dark Arts that you otherwise wouldn't have had access to - and you're sacrificing 700 potency to get it.

Still though - you're a tank, so EHP > DPS if appropriate. If you're in a scenario where you're taking high inc damage and you feel a self-heal is more important than a DPS boost - then yeah obey that priority instead and just vanilla C&S - which will move DA'd SE's availability up 1 syphon combo.

edit: And yeah I agree in AoE/Multi target situations C&S can be better strictly for the MP because it gives a 'free' Dark Passenger with each use.

Passenger is 30s CD, C&S 60s CD. Every other Passenger is free.

[Gardes]

C&S unbuffed rewards half the MP needed for a Dark Arts. C&S has a 60 second cooldown. It'll take 2 C&Ss (1 or 2min) for the MP return to provide a 'free' Dark Arts that you otherwise wouldn't have had access to - and you're sacrificing 700 potency to get it.

Still though - you're a tank, so EHP > DPS if appropriate. If you're in a scenario where you're taking high inc damage and you feel a self-heal is more important than a DPS boost - then yeah obey that priority instead and just vanilla C&S - which will move DA'd SE's availability up 1 syphon combo

Hmm, over 2 cns, you get 2x150 and 1DA. Assuming you dont use that mp on another DA cns and use it on SE instead, you get (2x150) + 160 = 460 potency gain for near 0 mp vs 2 x (150+300) = 900 potency gain for 3600 mp. I want to say DA cns is the way to go but my cheapass nickel and diming brain keeps sending conflicting signals lol..

It's like seeing a meal being sold for 5 dollars and another meal twice the size of the 1st one being sold for 20 while knowing the bigger size meal is the one that would sate me and I'm only allowed to purchase one meal.

[Allyrion]

C&S unbuffed rewards half the MP needed for a Dark Arts. C&S has a 60 second cooldown. It'll take 2 C&Ss (1 or 2min) for the MP return to provide a 'free' Dark Arts that you otherwise wouldn't have had access to - and you're sacrificing 700 potency to get it.

Assuming you use your Dark Arts on SE instead of just not using Dark Arts at all, you won't just be losing 700 potency.
You'd be losing the difference of SE's and C&S's gains, which is 210. Multiply by that by 2 to make up DA's cost.

So you'd lose 420 potency for your free Dark Arts (and SE's self healing), rather than 700.