Dark Knight where is my Identiy

[Aluja89]

My gut feeling is that cast times are pretty antithetical to a tank both in that they prevent dodges, parries, blocks, and oGCD caps (presently essential in active mitigation) over their duration and greatly fetter one's ability to position oneself and therefore enemies attacking you.

I could also levy about a few thousand word's worth of fairly conclusive reasoning to the same effect based on historical norms and player surveys regarding tanking from across a few different MMOs, but I suspect you'll find that without significant gamewide changes, at least a slight majority of players would have a similar instinct.

It's also worth noting that Guts does not have cast times. By all means, give us some real sword weight and some VFX-based excuse for if/when that weight is suddenly absent (Scourge, Bloodspiller, etc.), but cast times are not necessary for imparting a unique aesthetic or pace to DRK.

I think you misunderstood the Guts reference, Delirium being the same thing as Guts' full Berserk Armor and I know Guts doesn't cast magic. I'm just combining elements since it's obviously based on Berserk(it'd also be a good time to be a bit more obvious with the reference).

This was just my attempt at giving it a flavor so it feels distinct from the others but I'm not understanding how it'd be antithetical? The things you mentioned barely matter and they'd still work but if you're talking about practicality then I can point a finger to GNB. Tiny sword without a guard, I'm just telling myself its using a aether shell to coat itself with a protective shield.

I also never have a issue dodging mechanics when I'm playing a caster so I don't see why it'd be an issue, either way it'd be adjusted cast timers not as long as actual casters.

I'm just starving for some tank identity.

[Shurrikhan]

The things you mentioned barely matter and they'd still work but if you're talking about practicality then I can point a finger to GNB.

Unfettered freedom to move and use oGCDs "barely matter"? To a tank?

GNB has no casts. It has only abilities and weaponskills.

Paladin has spells but no cast times, as of ShB.

So where would that finger point in this regard?

I also never have a issue dodging mechanics when I'm playing a caster so I don't see why it'd be an issue

I'm referring to literal dodge chance, hence it's pairing alongside block and parry, neither of which are actively performable on DRK (heck, the latter isn't actively performable at all, as of Raw Intuition's change).

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Perhaps this is a difference in nomenclature. When I hear "caster" I think a job with at least a significant presence of and concerns surrounding cast-times, just as in your later use of the term. So when I hear that you want to turn DRK into a "melee caster" with "cast timers" that is what I think of, and it does not then sound fit to me to be a tank, at least in the present context of the game (whereby, unlike in WoW or the like, there are no mobile casts and one cannot use any other skills simultaneously with casting, and casting forfeits all RNG-based mitigation).