Dark Knight Megathread

[Kalaam]

Im seeing a few request to remove MP cost from TBN lately and i have to say that's not easy to do, first of all bcs TBN is tied to the Dark arts proc wich have a gauge tied to it (useless gauge all being said) so thats means rework the whole proc mechanic or delete it but at the same time they can't bcs thet need to keep Dark arts name somehow on the jobs bcs is a signature skill on the job identity across the various FF games at the same time they will delete the literally only mechanic the job has and rework it means they have to actually put some brain cells on design the job even for that thing and i doubt they are going to get in to that at all, in other word it's a corner im pretty sure they aren't willing to work on it.

For self healing bring back Sole survivor, during his duration (10s) DRK get a heal of idk, 100p per GCD hit and heal the job with a cure of 700p when sole survivor fades off, 100p x5 + 700p when the effect fades off 1200p selfhealing every 60s aviable when you want, meh idk why i even think on it when i know it's never going to happen, boring evening don't mind me.

Make Dark Art an action that lights up the gauge to remind you that it's ok.
You know like for Living Shadow that gets a full on gauge too. And boom, you can make TBN 25s CD with another type of effect, like giving 50 Blood. Or spreading its remaining shield to party members if it doesn't break I dunno

[ArthurATDayne]

The Devs certainly don't have it easy and neither do DRK players.

So say TBN gets nerfed to 25s CD 7s Duration, now our Mitigation uptime & Potential Dark Arts procs are severely reduced like cutdown in Half and we create new problems:

Original TBN 15s CD 7s Duration is 28s Potential Uptime within 1 Minute while a nerfed TBN 25s CD is 14s Potential Uptime within 1 Minute

From 70-80 (because we get TBN at 70) when TBN is on CD for 25s...

Personal All Purpose All Damage Type Mitigation options are just 2 Skills Rampart 90s CD 20% Reduced Damage & Shadow Wall 120s CD 30% Reduced Damage

Personal Magic Damage Only Mitigation option is Dark Mind 60s 20% Reduced Magic Damage :/

Party & Personal Magic Damage Only Mitigation option is Dark Missionary 90s CD 10% Reduced Magic Damage that DRK also fall back on

Loss of potentially half the Dark Arts Procs from 2 25s CD TBN usage within a minute instead of original 4 15s CD is partially compensated by additional Edge/Flood of Shadow if TBN no longer costs mana.

So now what are we going to do about BOTH Mitigation and/or HP Sustain AND loss of Dark Arts Procs? Merely More Blood or Mana for Damage while ignoring the other obvious problem? What about Mitigation and/or HP Sustain?

Because of how TBN works by putting up a 25% Max HP Shield and thus Preventing Damage Taken Outright, The Devs seemed to chose DRK's On Demand HP Heal to Reduce compared to PLD/WAR/GNB so it's an intentional DRK Weakness that, to them, is balanced against TBN.

As much as I joke about Devs I do like how they seem to at least look at the whole kit sometimes so there's some method to the madness.

If anyone is calling for TBN's CD to get nerfed to 25s, I'm demanding at least an additional 15-20% high uptime Mitigation Button of some sort, like a Max HP Bubble or All Damage Types Reduced, or something baked into TBN as a Trait i.e. After TBN expires or pops, Apply a 15% Reduced Damage Taken buff for 10s and/or Heal Over Time to smooth out damage taken either by directly reducing/preventing/healing through it. Must be available at level 70 at the latest.

Or a straight up No Conditions Attached 1000 to 1200 Potency On Demand Heal as part of the deal. Must be available at level 70 at the latest.

And adjustments to either Mana Sustain or Cost of Edge/Flood skills so we can cast an additional 1 or 2 per Minute.

[baklava151]

Happy 1000 posts

My random shower thought today was about Salt and Darkness, what do you all think about making it a 5 sec CD but costing 10 Blood to use and doing 150 potency per hit? I don't know if I'd add it to current EW DRK since it'll only make the opener even more bloated, but in a vacuum I think would be more interesting than the current S&D

[shao32]

Make Dark Art an action that lights up the gauge to remind you that it's ok.
You know like for Living Shadow that gets a full on gauge too. And boom, you can make TBN 25s CD with another type of effect, like giving 50 Blood. Or spreading its remaining shield to party members if it doesn't break I dunno

That would make the proc a clear dps gain wich is not a bad thing per se but considering how useless is the whole Darkside mechanic having that extra edge means very little outside of having more fluff for the shake of having more fluff saddly.

leaving that apart TBN shouln't ever grant any resource if it's free bcs it would make it being used on ecast instead of when you need it bcs damage, in any case grant a small heal or a micro regen of 5s, something defensive not ofensive to avoid that.

Something something from the Dark Knight Job Quest about Love making all the suffering and pain bearable and fueling the willingness to fight against the injustice of it all. Something something about Light born out of the Darkness.

Or maybe it's the Copium Dark Knight players all having a puff of. We can hope and cope.

Copium for sure, while im practicaly have absolutely no trust at all on Yoshi and his team on DRK im stupid enough to keep fighting for it bcs my inside refuse to give up.

[Kalaam]

We really need a way to make use of DarkSide as a ressource. The ressource management of DRK was always the fun part.
If we had to be careful about having enough manage to use edge/flood to prolong DarkSide all the while spending it as much as possible on some skills (dark art enhancements or others) it'd be great I think.
I mean, maybe Living Shadow should cost DarkSide instead of Blood (even makes more sense lorewise). So we'd basically have to try and keep darkside between 31 and 60s when Living Shadow comes off CD, takes 30s out of it, etc etc. Meaning we'd have to keep enough mana saved for it, between spending other abilities.

[ArthurATDayne]

We really need a way to make use of DarkSide as a ressource. The ressource management of DRK was always the fun part.
If we had to be careful about having enough manage to use edge/flood to prolong DarkSide all the while spending it as much as possible on some skills (dark art enhancements or others) it'd be great I think.
I mean, maybe Living Shadow should cost DarkSide instead of Blood (even makes more sense lorewise). So we'd basically have to try and keep darkside between 31 and 60s when Living Shadow comes off CD, takes 30s out of it, etc etc. Meaning we'd have to keep enough mana saved for it, between spending other abilities.

I like this, now we're talking serious DRK business. I rather it use the Darkside Timer as well because it kind of fits thematically, something about using up our Time as resource and also...

Living Shadow using 50 Blood AND 120s CD is Clunky because it's competing with Bloodspiller & Quietus which DRK players tend to reflexively spam as needed whenever there's enough Blood to spend outside of Delirium.

So sometimes or all the time, whenever Living Shadow is ready to use, the DRK player ends up hitting a Bloodspiller/Quietus by reflex before the brain registers that it's optimal to use Living Shadow now.

Oops, time to get another 50 blood for Living Shadow, maybe I'll remember to use it next mob or boss? It feels a bit jarring not to spam Bloodspiller/Quietus when I can just so I can Stop to use Living Shadow, like I'm stopping my flow of combat so I can summon it, he takes his sweet ass time posing and flexing before moving slowly to the targets to fight.

100% support Living Shadow using 30s of Darkside Timer. He's a professional time waster already.

[Lyth]

Well no. If you press Bloodspiller on reflex when Living Shadow is up, then you're supposed to be punished for it. If you want the game to reward you and make you feel good about yourself even if you make bad decisions, then you play a job like PLD or WAR. I'm all for addressing inequities, but I'd like DRK to have a bit of a skill ceiling to it.

[Reinhardt_Azureheim]

Im being honest with all of you, TBN tied to damage and refunding itself if broken along the 15s CD giving me more opportunities to mitigate with it is what keeps me from losing my final braincell.

I also find it interesting that a fair amount of you scream in agony over DRK being a WAR clone and absolutely hate homogenization (which I agree), yet in the same breath in wake of the Endwalker mitigation upgrades you call for turning TBN just becoming DRK's Holy Sheltron on a 25s CD without cost, which is peak hypocrisy if you ask me

[Kalaam]

Im being honest with all of you, TBN tied to damage and refunding itself if broken along the 15s CD giving me more opportunities to mitigate with it is what keeps me from losing my final braincell.

I also find it interesting that a fair amount of you scream in agony over DRK being a WAR clone and absolutely hate homogenization (which I agree), yet in the same breath in wake of the Endwalker mitigation upgrades you call for turning TBN just becoming DRK's Holy Sheltron on a 25s CD without cost, which is peak hypocrisy if you ask me

It's not hypocrisy in that case. It's giving even tools.
TBN could be upgraded a number of ways and still be unique, juste like others short mitigations are unique in their own way. Fight balances are based on tanks having short, flexible mitigation tools to use. If one tank doesn't have one, or a stricly inferior one, it won't be able to perform as well. It'll make it "difficult" but not in a good way. It's difficult because your job is weaker, not because it is more complex and lead to more satisfying payoff.

[shao32]

At least from the JP forums DRK is the only job that haven't been fitted on the reward using your mitigation tools on a precise moment for maximum benefic doctrine Wich is true, all tanks now get really big benefics on the first seconds of Shelltron, Heart of comondrum, ECT except DRK who just sit there with TBN being TBN punishing you for using it bad and being like it should when you do it right at contrary to the other tanks.
On the other hand homogenization on the mitigations kits it's absurd and that's true, apart that TBN is the only trick that DRK have and the job basically sustain his broken identity on that shield, making TBN being like the other 3 is just literally the final nail on the coffing considering it have half of that final nail already on the coffing with the inmense buffs on the other tanks short CDs.

TBN doesn't need his MP cost removed the job is already so braindead at it is but I won't deny TBN it's a poor excuse of complexity.