"Dark Knight: Tanking On The Edge"

[Syzygian]

How do you handle no Grit threat? I use a PS combo at the start with Grit on then turn it off, but good dps always creep up and I'm forced to use 1-2 PS combos to keep em off of me.

I'm not going to assume you're speaking about raids, but if you are, the same principles apply to raids as to dungeon bosses and such for the most part.
1-2 Grit PS combos at the start should be more than sufficient IF you are of equal gear to your DPS and in full slaying, or 4/1 slaying/fending or a mix of that and melds. I have no idea what kind of gear these DPS are wearing relative to yours so I'd need more information to give you accurate advice.

I will say it is not the end of the world if you have to throw out an extra PS combo here and there, but I would not advise that you make it part of your rotation or habit, its strictly on an "as-needed" basis. Your DPS can get as close to you as they please and this is a good thing; it means the group as a whole is doing good DPS. "Creeping up" is fine as long as they don't actually rip off you. If they are actually in danger of passing you and not just riding the line like a good DPS should you'll need to PS unless they actually are paying attention and use an aggro dump if they've got one. Grit or not, PS is a big DPS loss - you're not just losing the 10 potency difference between it and Delirium, you're losing 884 MP, which is at LEAST 140 potency (DASE, factoring in the 884 from SyS minus the DA).

As for DAPS, I'm going to have to 100% disagree with Violet here, as DAPS is a ludicrous MP loss for only 300 potency of enmity (the difference in modifiers, which is actually 5.5x vs. 6.5x, not 5 and 6, is very small in the scope of your combo. Weaving a DA CS in your PS combo is actually more enmity for WAY better damage and MP efficiency). DAPS is for emergencies or if you have a BB-happy WAR OT that you just tank-swapped with, or I guess for hunts. Its not even as much hate as a Zerked Butcher's Block.

To put it in perspective, if your DPS are gaining on you that hard, DAPS will only delay your loss of enmity by about a single GCD. You lose 884 MP every time you use PS.

PS combo: -884MP +2570enmity

DAPS combo: -2652MP +2870enmity

PS combo x2: -1768MP +5140enmity.

^You can see from this that DAPS is extremely MP and enmity inefficient. With 2 PS combos, you can get 100% more enmity for double the MP cost, but with a DAPS, you get only about 15% more enmity for TRIPLE the MP cost. I tend to drop Grit after the first PS, and check the enmity meters, and then do an out-of-Grit PS if they still look a little shady.

What's most important here, is gear. If you are undergeared compared to your DPS you may not want to turn off Grit in the first place, but if you're confident, you can, but you may need to PS more. If you're wearing fending gear, the same applies (although this will be a non-issue in less than a week).

TLDR, two PS at the start of the fight then drop Grit. This is enough 90% of the time. If you have a NIN shadewalkering you or are overgeared, you can just do 1 PS, or just pull out of Grit altogether.

Make sure you are frontloading your DPS and dumping all of your DoTs and oGCDs at the very beginning as well. DRK has a very short burst, but it is insanely powerful.