If You Were A Class/Job Designer...

[Sousoulsu]

DRK:

Expanding on Dark Arts
Dark Arts is a core mechanic for DRK, but too few abilities are affected by it; and none are really affected by it in interesting ways.

This is less of a new mechanic / redesign, and more of a collection of interconnected ideas to help make the decisions you make with Dark Arts more interesting; as well as to add an iconic DRK ability

-Dark Arts Delirium: Raises potency to 400 (equal to current Dark Arts Souleater)
-Dark Arts Souleater: Increases life-siphon effect to 200%; as well as granting 100% of damage dealt as a shadowy barrier (absorption shield); regardless of whether or not you are in Grit.
-Dark Arts Unleash: Causes affected targets to be unable to crit for 12s.
-Dark Arts Salted Earth: All targets who take damage from Salted Earth are also immobilized for 3s; which does not break upon taking damage (keep targets in position).

Aside from adding/changing Dark Arts effects; I'd like to see a few Dark Arts effects being different, rather strictly better than their non-DA effects:

-Dark Arts Shadowskin: Reduces duration to 10s, but increases damage reduction to 30%.
-Dark Arts Shadow Wall: Increases damage reduction to 40%; but increases cooldown-time to 240s (up from 180s).
-Dark Arts Dark Dance: Removes 30% Parry and 20% Evasion; but grants you 50% Evasion which only functions with Magic.
Dark Dance: 30% Parry, 20% Evasion by default.
-Dark Arts Dark Mind: Instead of reducing Magic Vulnerability; causes all Magic damage you take to recover your MP.

New Ability: Darkness
-Can not have Grit active
-Requires Darkside

-Press this ability to begin a 10s cast; and press the ability again to stop the cast and execute the ability
-Damage done is based on how long you let the cast go through
-You also take 20% of the damage you deal with this ability.
-In addition to taking 20% of the ability's base damage; the abiltiy also drains all but 10% of your MP; and uses this MP drained to increase the damage done by this ability.
-Damage taken is reduced by 60% if you are under the effects of Shadow Barrier (Dark Arts Souleater); regardless of the Barrier's strength.

Alternative method to cleansing Walking Dead:
-If you use Dark Arts Souleater with Walking Dead active, the amount of life siphoned and damage absorbed is increased to 300% and 150% respectively; and cleanses Walking Dead.

Reasoning
DRK is an overall well-designed class, but its Dark Arts mechanic isnt as interesting as it could be. The variability with its cooldowns using Dark Arts to augment their duration, strength, and cooldown would make the choice between using Dark Arts and not using it not as clear-cut.

As it is, you do not want to use Dark Dance or Dark Mind at all unless it's Dark Arts; which is not very interesting.
With the change to Dark Dance, you would essentially be choosing between 30% parry and 20% evasion; to converting the cooldown to a Magic-reduction cooldown.

The use of Darkness would be to deal higher damage during extended periods where you do not need to do damage, and Blood Weapon is down. It is essentially a "Filler" in your DPS rotation once Scourge is up, The enemy is affected by Delirium, and you've expended the effects of Blood Weapon.
You should deal 1.2x more damage by using Darkness than you would do by just spamming a potency combo.
This would relegate Dark Arts Delerium to a potency combo in Grit.

A lot of these are rather sweeping changes. I am not a meowthematician; but just take from these ideas the idea behind them, not the exact implementation. 'w'