Dark Knight is not fun to play

[Agner]

it still remains the only tank that's remotely fun and rewarding to play defensively, notably in dungeons as it still favors skill expression there.

I've always jived with DRK's defensive kit more than the others since it came out, especially since TBN's addition. It definitely feels more fun to stack a defensive with TBN and counter while bursting down a crowd, or negating/lowering damage that might kill someone via TBN/Obl, but to me it just kind of feels like being allowed the pleasure of munching on slightly seasoned bread crumbs while the other tanks only get to eat glue.

That said, they've barely expanded on the fun aspect of those things since the rework. I've definitely felt for a long while that DRK's weakness isn't necessarily the defensive kit, it's 100% the offensive playstyle with a few other meh-to-bad spots tacked in. On to my main point I guess.

Dark Knight feels bad to play.

I'm ready to acknowledge that I have an absurdly heavy bias as a HW/StB DRK enjoyer, but my primary issue is the following:

They hollowed out the job's mechanics and barely replaced it with anything.

I commonly see people say elsewhere that the job is fun because it has MP/Gauge management alongside many off-globals, but I genuinely believe that calling it management is a stretch. The higher rate of both MP and gauge gain have been shot in the foot come ShB, and it has only gotten worse since. Sure, dark arts was an illusion of choice, but at least it was a semi-functional illusion. Doing this borderline same-y oGCD burst phase for 3 expansions straight into only souleater with an occasional bloodspiller, sometimes salted earth/S&D just feels... super unengaging.

The result is more or less a job that is not only a shell of what it was, but with random things sprinkled into it that barely have any connection to each other. MP/Gauge is now just a case where you always know what you're going to be doing without the slightest leverage into doing anything else. I'm not even asking for DRK to be what it was before, but for it to be something at all.

This was likely a bit ranty for most, and the job probably simply isn't for me anymore. But I'm definitely of the mind that it was more fun to be consistently doing things with a slight uptick in actions instead of bursting then barely doing anything. I won't say the 2m meta alone destroyed the job for me, but there's been a definite lacking in the attempts to make it anywhere near enjoyable until you burst—then it's all over in just a moment. I'd like to see the dev team do anything with it, even if it ends up still not being for me. At the very least, I could really acknowledge it isn't instead of being shoved a shell with random goodies at the end of the day.

[WeakestZenosEnjoyer]

They hollowed out the job's mechanics and barely replaced it with anything.

I commonly see people say elsewhere that the job is fun because it has MP/Gauge management alongside many off-globals, but I genuinely believe that calling it management is a stretch. The higher rate of both MP and gauge gain have been shot in the foot come ShB, and it has only gotten worse since. Sure, dark arts was an illusion of choice, but at least it was a semi-functional illusion. Doing this borderline same-y oGCD burst phase for 3 expansions straight into only souleater with an occasional bloodspiller, sometimes salted earth/S&D just feels... super unengaging.

I'm (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) glad (Edge of Shadows) they (Edge of Shadows) removed (Edge of Shadows) Dark Arts (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) DRK doesn't spam the same oGCD

[Ramiee]

I'm (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) glad (Edge of Shadows) they (Edge of Shadows) removed (Edge of Shadows) Dark Arts (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) DRK doesn't spam the same oGCD

I'm gonna go stare at the dark arts animation gif again and then bash my head against the wall remembering how sge basically has it now.

[Reinhardt_Azureheim]

I'm (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) glad (Edge of Shadows) they (Edge of Shadows) removed (Edge of Shadows) Dark Arts (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) DRK doesn't spam the same oGCD

You ran out of MP after 3-4 Edge of Shadows ago, quit being silly

[Emitans]

This is the worst Dark Knight has ever been. Who decided "Endwalker DRK with less MP" would be an improvement?

[Zairava]

This is the worst Dark Knight has ever been. Who decided "Endwalker DRK with less MP" would be an improvement?

The same people who thought it was a good idea to strip DRK of any and all identity and playstyle that people liked instead of just reducing the Dark Arts APM

[Valence]

They hollowed out the job's mechanics and barely replaced it with anything.

Seems to be a recurring theme all across the board isn't it.

You ran out of MP after 3-4 Edge of Shadows ago, quit being silly

They used Blood Weapon. The old one.

[Agner]

Seems to be a recurring theme all across the board isn't it.

...Yeah, you got me there. I haven't been keeping up with other job changes this expansion as much as I used to (granted, we're not deep in), so I also can't tell if it's a case of it feeling bad purely because it's the job I play most or if it really is this bad for everyone else. Buuut that's something I'll just have to look at myself.

I'm (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) glad (Edge of Shadows) they (Edge of Shadows) removed (Edge of Shadows) Dark Arts (Edge of Shadows) so (Edge of Shadows) DRK doesn't spam the same oGCD

I've been waiting in earnest for someone to make this joke again someday, thank you. I don't really hate Edge/Flood at its core, but it feels like they really had the opportunity to do something more interesting with it and were like "lol nah."

In any case, I think the current version of DRK is kind of falling apart at the seams. A redo is probably inevitable. I just hope they'll put more time and thought into making it mechanically interesting next time. As it stands now, the offensive kit just feels like an ARR tank with extra off globals.

[AlucaDragonheart]

This is the worst Dark Knight has ever been.

You're right about that.. it's the worst it's ever been in the entire Final Fantasy series.

[Maxilor]

"Just play WAR bro. Why aren't you playing WAR?"

I was actually planning on giving DRK a serious chance when I got to HW this time around but threads like this and others just make me depressed.

Is WAR really the only Tank in a good spot right now?