Are Dark Knights really that bad right now?

[DaulBan]

And as for other examples of jobs being severely punished for dying once; MNK(see Greased Lightning), DRG(see Blood of the Dragon), NIN(see Huton), BLM(see Elemental gauge), SMN(see Pets), SCH(see Pets), AST(see Cards).

DRK loses both the blood they had and the MP they had. This is wholly moment-to-moment, but it's probably very comparable to a poorly timed PLD death where you could miss an entire Req window due to not having MP song up (and even if it is up, which you can't know for sure, you can still just have to reset your rotation).

As for the jobs you mentioned, MNK recovery isn't bad, DRG depends on when you die (more eyes more pain), NIN depends on Ninki and TA (timing dependent, mostly). It sucks for SCH and AST probably second harshest because they're healers with slightly poor MP economy (compared to WHM at least), with SCH losing its tether gauge.

But SMN has the biggest chance of missing out. Dying during or right before bahamut costs you 3 aetherflows worth of wind-up, which is usually a full third to a quarter of the fight.

[DRKoftheAzure]

DRK loses both the blood they had and the MP they had. This is wholly moment-to-moment, but it's probably very comparable to a poorly timed PLD death where you could miss an entire Req window due to not having MP song up (and even if it is up, which you can't know for sure, you can still just have to reset your rotation).

Except PLD can still receive MP Refresh effects from other party members, hence why it wasn't mentioned.

As for the jobs you mentioned, MNK recovery isn't bad.

Oh yeah, Riddle of Wind... and Perfect Balance... I forgot about those... forget what I said about MNK then...