Concise Tank Balance Changes

[Kabooa]

Between Scourge, Reprisal, and Low Blow's reset mechanic, DRK excelled at focus-target damage in AoE fights. Its Scourge, baseline, hit for slightly more than a Fell Cleave, and it was one of only three melee DoTs (the only others being ToD, which had to be used in specific amounts not to desync rotation, and Mutilate, which was noticeably lower value) to require no pre-combos. That was a valid and enjoyable little niche.

Mutilate
Phelbotomize
Fracture
Touch of Death
Scourge

Paladin and - Oh, look, it was just paladin who was out there, for the Melee. I mean, none of the Ranged DPS jobs had a tacked on DoT that had no real bearing on the gameplay other than a maintenance dot-

Lead Shot.

I don't think "DoT that's stronger potency per GCD than a Combo Line" was the niche here. If anything, -not- having one of these was the bigger niche. That's just the standalone DoTs independent of a Job's mechanics, -and that's nearly half the Jobs- available at Heavensward. I didn't include Black Mage, Arcanist and the derivatives, or Bard because they all directly interact with their other mechanics.

And it seems unfair to include White Mage and Astro, as without them they have 1 other offensive spell. Hell, they might be the only two jobs who should have kept all the ranks of their DoTs, just so they have a bit more variety in what they press.

And again, when it comes to gameplay, this is opinion. This is why I said we'll disagree.

OGCD attacks are one of the biggest detriments in their implementation to job diversity. You know what the difference between Circle of Scorn and Elixir Field is? Animation and potency. They are otherwise identical in consideration and use. As often as possible, as many in buff windows as possible.

There is no weight to them compared to one another. Really, you could fold Contra Sixt and Fleche into each other and the Red Mage doesn't change at all.

This is the position I'm coming from. There is no difference between Elixir Field or Circle of Scorn to me in execution or consideration. There is no difference between Fleche or Gauss Round.

You know what sort of OGCDs -do- change things up?
Quick Reload. Do you hit it the moment it comes up, or do you wait to run your other ammo out so you can force another clean shot? The RNG nature of Machinist shots makes Quick Reload a minor but important decision in its use. Forcing another clean shot outweighs 25 potency, but only if done in a certain time frame.

Leylines. Commit, baby. 2000 IQ plays. See the future. Everything about getting a full Leylines off when you had no right to -feels fantastic-.

I hate Summoner, but respect where it's due. Trance feels fantastic, but that might be the Jelly Legs Black Mage speaking.

Any gap closer. Mobility feels good. Hitting things feels good. Hitting things while mobile feels -great-. Distance control is something I hope we see more of, and the Paladin not having an ally target variant will forever be a sore point for me.

And just for the counter intuitive one as well: Bard's fantastic because of one subtle aspect. It puts you into the beat, the songs it sings. How? Every time your poison procs you instinctively know the server tick timing. I can't tell you how badly I want that on Black Mage, but it's easy to lose, and who even watches DoTs, right? Bard's entirety is built around internal melody, and even though it's just a giant walking example of "Spam this !@#%ing OGCD", that one aspect alone is enough for it to get a pass. As stated: Respect where it's due. The OGCDs are directly related to that internal tune.

These are the types of abilities I want. Stuff that actively changes your approach, in that one moment.

Reprisal? "I either hit it now or within the action window"
Low Blow? "Oh it's up, I should hit it so I don't waste a proc"
Scourge? "There's less than 5 targets and this isn't on that guy".

These are the last on my list for what I'd want for Dark Knight. Good riddance to them.