Dark Knight Megathread

[crystalcat]

Separate post because character limits.

To the staff of FFXIV (assuming they read this), I hereby disclaim any and all creative right to the ideas I set out below -- use them as you see fit. (Overkill perhaps, but I play MTG, and the designers of that can't even look at player designs.)

My concepts for a DRK rework or change, using current assets and animations:

Turn Dark Arts into a Eukrasia-style 'activate it and certain skills change to other skills' thing, costing perhaps 2000 MP, in place of Edge and Flood of Shadow's MP cost. Use the current Darkside icon for Dark Arts: the 'un-Darkside' for no Dark Arts up, the 'active Darkside' for Dark Arts up.

Candidates for a Eukrasia-style 'upgrade' in current DRK would be Hard Slash and Unleash transforming into Edge of Shadow and Flood of Shadow respectively (with no 10% damage buff anymore, just a potency increase), Syphon Strike and Souleater (upgrade in potency and animation change, using one of the 'cut' animations from the other DRK combos), etc.

In terms of cut abilities' animations, perhaps Syphon Strike might become Delirium or Spinning Strike, Souleater become Power Slash or Scourge.

Cut Delirium as it stands -- the 'temporary super mode' feels far too close to WAR. Find some replacement. Perhaps either cut Blood Gauge entirely or make it 'fills when receiving damage', to make it feel properly Dark Knight-like and fit with the flavor expressed in the class's opening quest ('blood shroud').

In this 'Dark Arts' rework idea, The Blackest Night becomes either a Dark Arts upgrade to a mitigation tool or just a non-mana-linked, but longer-cooldown, skill. Actually, a concept; give DRK a short-cooldown mitigation tool like Raw Intuition, and The Blackest Night can be a Dark Arts upgrade of that -- which then also means it can get upgraded at 82 like the other short-cooldowns.

The general core of this rework idea is to give Dark Knight a mechanic to itself that's not just a rework of Warrior's mechanics -- interpret with that in mind.

General changes:

More self-sustain. More self-sustain. More self-sustain. Dark Knight should be all about draining the health of enemies and using it to fuel yourself; lean into that one hard. Where WAR heals itself with things like Equilibrium and Thrill of Battle because it's too angry to die, DRK should heal itself by drawing the vitality from enemies. Raw Intuition / Bloodwhetting is exactly the style of effect DRK should have. Maybe an oGCD that makes the next attack lifesteal, or giving Blood Weapon lifesteal.

Change Blood Weapon to a charge-based system instead of a time-based system, like Berserk was changed in Endwalker.

Fix. Living. Dead. It is the most terrible 'invuln' ability to ever exist. The only time a Dark Knight pops it is when they're anticipating imminent death, and they will likely die anyway from the healer being unable to heal them -- unless they're with a WHM who keeps Benediction earmarked for Living Dead.