Fixing Dark Knight, Properly

[Chrono_Rising]

@Crater I like your ideas, especially about stance based combos. I am even hopeful for something of an effect tree which could go along with this and following a dark enfeeblement lore, for example:

Power Slash
Spinning Slash combo bonus: Increased emnity
Siphon Strike combo bonus: Scourage dot damage applied

Soul Eater
Spinning Slash combo bonus: physical damage down 10% (to balance dark mind being magic based)
Siphon strike combo bonus: HP Restore

Basically depending on our path through the skill tree we could change the effects of our abilities by comboing in a different way. By focusing on enfeeblement and drains we can stay true to dark knight lore without having button bloat and still increasing our rotation complexity.

I also like your section on offensive buffs, but I tend to agree with others that if we offer a party dps utility that we will be unbalance with respect to the other two. I would prefer a stronger personal buff from delirium, like double damage/resource regeneration or double dark arts potencies. Sole survivor is still tricky but I think it could play a role in being even a personal refresh based on our damage.

Lastly, if you want to take away our (and I use this in the loosest possible way) safety net of living dead, I would rather see it be at least a huge defensive buff, much bigger than 50%, more like 80% to 90% damage reduction for 20 seconds. Personally, I would like to see living dead become Dark Pact: reduces HP to 1 all damage taken by dark knight becomes HP restored duration of 15 seconds.

[SplittingSkies]

Sole survivor is still tricky but I think it could play a role in being even a personal refresh based on our damage.

I believe someone on another thread had a neat idea for what Sole Survivor could be: Works the same as a MCH's Wildfire, where it compiles the damage taken on the target for the duration its up and returns a % of the damage back to us as HP. Could also work for MP, but personally i'm more drawn to the HP return idea and using Crater's ideas on top of that, we would have skills/abilities that would provide us with ample MP return anyway.

Also, I wouldn't mind having a TA effect on it instead and it doesn't even have to be 10% could be 5% or work like a BRDs Foe requiem and give 3%. But I understand the element of tank balance is important and will only treat it as a fantasy, a guy can dream right?

[Chrono_Rising]

I believe someone on another thread had a neat idea for what Sole Survivor could be: Works the same as a MCH's Wildfire, where it compiles the damage taken on the target for the duration its up and returns a % of the damage back to us as HP. Could also work for MP, but personally i'm more drawn to the HP return idea and using Crater's ideas on top of that, we would have skills/abilities that would provide us with ample MP return anyway.

Also, I wouldn't mind having a TA effect on it instead and it doesn't even have to be 10% could be 5% or work like a BRDs Foe requiem and give 3%. But I understand the element of tank balance is important and will only treat it as a fantasy, a guy can dream right?

I agree, I would love a 15 second trick attack. I want more mp for more dark arts, I am dark arts happy when I dark knight things lol. When I die, I'll wish for one more dark arts.