Dark Knight feels pretty overwhelming.

[Phoenicia]

DRK was the first thing I picked up in Heavensward. The class is basically a reskinned PLD (look cooldown structure) with added flavor of WAR (look combo rotation usage). The class isn't as complex or overwhelming as people make it. It is also nicely paced for people to pick up the mechanics as they go learning the class.

At 30, you get Grit and Darkside giving you your actual tank stance and the damage buff for the MP drain vs upkeep niche.

Until 45, you basically are a PLD with a damaging flash and a semi-life-stealing Soul Eater.

After 45, you get Dark Arts and you can finally spend your MP for something useful, this is when your options start to branch, but you will mostly spend Dark Arts on either Dark Passenger in AoE or Soul Eater on single target. Dark Mind and Dark Dance are of no noticeable value yet. Blood Price becomes really valuable but all you have to do is pop it off cooldown.

At 50 you gain living dead and Delirium and your basic rotation is completed by having all 3 basic combos.

At 54 you get Plunge, making you the only tank with a charge attack and, if timed well, the most frequently used anti-knock-back tool.

At 56 you get Abyssal Drain, the better AoE version of Unleash and can be couple with Dark Arts for self-healing.

At 60 you get another Dark Arts spender, Carve and Spit. Your decisions change slightly by dropping DA from 1 Soul Eater in favor of pumping up C&S and you use Delirium instead. I personally like to use C&S for MP in AOE pulls because it literally gives me an additional Abyssal Drain. Your decision making hasn't changed much except should I pump 350 more potency of get MP back.

At 60, Dark Mind becomes relevant since magic damage tank busters are heavy one you start doing Bismark Ex and Alexander. But if by this point you have trouble doing anything outside of Siphon Strike combos then you have bigger problems.

Dark Dance also becomes relevant since it helps with speed running. DA DP + DA DD and you have a massive dodge chance in an AoE pull. Dark Dance sucks for mitigating physical tank busters and should not be counted on for such cases. Popping it to force a parry for reprisal and the chance of parrying the physical buster is a smart idea, nonetheless.
EDIT: For all that's holy, do NOT Dark Arts Dark Dance on bosses, you cannot dodge boss attacks.

Your basic CD rotation is the same as PLD but instead of completely relying on the big CDs you couple in small ones (Dark Dance or Dark Mind) to enhance the effect.

EDIT: If you look at the class at its basic level, it is simple. The class is as simple as PLD if you just want to function at the basic level (hold aggro and pop CD to mitigate damage). The class's "complexity" becomes apparent if you start trying to maximize the damage you deal while performing the basic function of holding aggro and reducing incoming damage.

You forgot about Salted Earth at 52. Also, I don't find Blood Price to be useful for single targets, but I could be wrong.

I did not add skills that do not change the mechanical core play or the decision making. Salted Earth should be used off CD for added damage. I also skipped 58 Soul Survivor for the same reason.

Blood Price is useful in every situation you're taking damage. You do not use as much MP on single target as you do in AoE so the MP you get in ST, while far less than in big pulls, is still relevant to the MP you spend.

[Delily]

You forgot about Salted Earth at 52. Also, I don't find Blood Price to be useful for single targets, but I could be wrong.

Also, Dark Arts with Dark Dance isn't too bad against physical bosses, since it helps to increase the chance of Reprisal.

[Phoenicia]

Also, Dark Arts with Dark Dance isn't too bad against physical bosses, since it helps to increase the chance of Reprisal.

No, do NOT Dark Arts Dark Dance on a physical boss, EVER! Dark Arts adds dodge chance to DD, not additional parry. But I also said in my post that popping DD before physical busters to force a reprisal and increased chance of parry on the buster is a smart idea.

Or for the HP drain to come with Grit - like Souleater. I think some consistency between those 2 abilities' self-healing would be nice.

I'm all for 50% or 25% drain rate moved to the base of the skill without dark arts.

[Delily]

No, do NOT Dark Arts Dark Dance on a physical boss, EVER! Dark Arts adds dodge chance to DD, not additional parry. But I also said in my post that popping DD before physical busters to force a reprisal and increased chance of parry on the buster is a smart idea.



I'm all for 50% or 25% drain rate moved to the base of the skill without dark arts.

Thanks for the correction, for some reason, I thought DA boosted the chance to parry.

[Madepossible]

Thanks for the correction, for some reason, I thought DA boosted the chance to parry.

Dark Dance adds a 20% evasion if you combine DA + DD. Having DA + DD is actually good, I for one actually main a dark knight unlike phoenicia. I think that it works prettyy well. Just make sure you don't have bloodprice up when you do Dark Arts + Dark Dance.

[Phoenicia]

Dark Dance adds a 20% evasion if you combine DA + DD. Having DA + DD is actually good, I for one actually main a dark knight unlike phoenicia. I think that it works prettyy well. Just make sure you don't have bloodprice up when you do Dark Arts + Dark Dance.

1. If you mean by "unlike Phoenicia" that I don't main DRK, you're vastly mistaken. DRK is 1 of my 2 60s. Also I do not need to main a job to know how it works.

2. I never said DA + DD is bad in absolute values. I just said you should not use it on bosses when you CANNOT dodge their attacks. You're just wasting MP and potential potency added by other skills by doing that. DADD works well when you can dodge. Outside of that it doesn't. Read my post carefully and you will see I encourage using DD for incoming damage too.

Have a nice day.

[Delily]

Blood Price is useful in every situation you're taking damage. You do not use as much MP on single target as you do in AoE so the MP you get in ST, while far less than in big pulls, is still relevant to the MP you spend.

It only lasts 15 seconds though. Against a single slow target, I doubt the mp gain will keep up with DA + DP usage.