DRK viable in end-game content

[Syzygian]

If SE doesn't ease up on the Savage DPS checks and/or make it so that tanks have to eat a physical tankbuster more often than Shadow Wall will be available (which may or may not actually be feasible due to Sentinel having the same CD and Sheltron being tricky to time for that), I don't see PLD replacing DRK. Even if they did do the physical damage thing, if DPS checks remain as tight as they are, I think we'd be more likely to see WAR/WAR comps than PLD/WAR (unless LB requirements dictate otherwise).

--Erim Nelhah

The problem is Squeenix has created a meta where people don't care about PLD's defensive utilities (Cover, Clemency, SS, Divine Veil, etc.). They only care about DPS. Because DRK does better DPS than PLD as an OT and nearly equal DPS to a WAR as an MT, takes magic damage like a beast, and offers less utilities but ones that synergize well with WAR (Path, Delirium, and Reprisal all stack and raidwide damage is rarely physical so Halone is altogether a lesser debuff than all of those), they've rendered PLD pretty obsolete. I doubt they are going to boost their DPS because to give a job with so much defensive utility, however unused, DPS even close to comparable to DRK, let alone WAR, would render DRK almost completely unused.

I think what's going to happen is when the next tier of Alex isn't quite as magic-focused, Squeenix is finally going to realize that they made WAR too good and people are, as you said, just going to double WAR. WAR doesn't take magic or physical damage better than either of the other two, in particular, but because they have more or less equal degrees of mitigation now and can simply stack more HP to survive any big tank-checks (something the other two tanks can't do since they rely on raw mitigation and not HP, which you cannot influence with gear), rampant, community-wide double WARing is a very real possibility if they don't change the way tanking works in this game in relation to raid utility and DPS checks. When that happens, we're likely going to see a nerf to WAR, but I honestly think it is going to be a defensive nerf, since they've already put their foots in their mouths by proclaiming WAR's DPS as part of their utility. They'll probably also give a very very slight offensive buff to DRK, just to make PLD/DRK compositions even possible (assuming there's a NIN in tow) with continued use of these insane DPS checks and just general obsession with DPS over any other mechanic of any of the jobs.