Are we not the most lackluster job in the game ?

[Phoenicia]

DRK has the highest skill cap of the tanks. In fact it plays a little like a DPS with all the off GCD abilities and careful management of Dark Arts. I like how there is no clear choice on what to DA and how it depends on situation.

Same for Carve and Spit.

It's an unforgiving job. Any form of mismanagement leads to mana starvation.

I disagree with most of what you posted.

1. The amount of off-GCDs does not make a higher skill cap job. BRD and DRG would be the highest skill cap jobs. However SE and the community would disagree and say MNK is the highest skill cap DPS job.

2. The MP management difficulty is exaggerated. Specially with the amount of MP recovery abilities the DRK has vs MP spenders (down to Darkside drain and Dark Arts). You wouldn't starve from "any form of mismanagement" at all. You make it sound that you'd run out of MP if you turn your face for a couple of seconds.

3. The moment to moment decision making is the unique trait of DRK and isn't really that complex. It's down to which skills to DA and 90% of the time you'll just pump up your DPS with DA.

4. DRK isn't that very much different from PLD when it comes to forgiveness. You anticipate big damage = you pop a CD. Which happens instantly and does not conflict with the GCD and last quite long. Forgetting to pop a CD you still have a 20% passive damage mitigation. If anything, WAR is the most unforgiving job where if caught flatfooted you take full damage. Larger HP pool means nothing if you get insta-gibbed. The bread and butter of WAR's mitigation is on GCD, has short duration and needs to be prebuilt and planned. If any tank should complain it's warriors.

[Domnall]

SNIP

We are comparing the three tanks when it comes to skillcap, not DPS classes. I have both WAR and DRK to 60 and PLD to 50. The fact you have to juggle cooldown, manage DA and mana and use oGCD abilities does not make it more complex?

Moment to moment decision does not make a job more complex? BTW not 90% of the time you DA SE. Darkmind and CnS are prime candidates, with the occasional Dark Passenge and Dark Dance.

Wars have 25% more hp so in a way that's their form of mitigation. If you gonna be insta gibbed with 25% more hp you will get instagibbed with 20% less damage. What's strange is your next post talks about them having the same eHP.

As a DRK you should be pushing out max DPS with your abilities and that is powered by mana.

WARs can take dual prey and live for final liberation. If you are unsure how, try harder.