The Definitive Dark Knight Guide

[Xenosan]

my lvl56 Opener for solo/OT (bolded is GCD, ital is oGCD)

Dark Arts > Blood Weapon > Plunge > Scourge > Low Blow > Dark Passenger > Hard Slash > Dark Dance > Salted Earth > Syphon Blade > Dark Arts > Souleater ****Reprisal as soon as it procs wherever within this duration, since Dark Dance buff is up, it will likely proc****

^If Reprisal proc'd and used before Blood Weapon falloff, you will be almost right back to full MP before second Dark Arts. I'd consider even opening with Dark Dance. The earlier it's up the sooner Reprisal procs. The problem though is can't put it in front of Dark Passenger or else it'll consume Dark Arts for lolevasion.

I haven't reached Carve and Split yet, can't wait to start testing it.

My MT opener is relatively similar - Blood Price instead of Blood Weapon, and depending on the engagement the rest of the rotation changes. More mobs means more Abyssal Drain / Dark Arts > Dark Passenger, Unleashed, etc. But if only 3 or less it's usually rotating Scourge and the occassional Dark Passenger / Abyssal Drain (depends on Blood Price returns).

For single target the above rotation is used, follow Souleater with Power Slash combo. I haven't decided yet whether Dark Arts > Power Slash is justified. That's 3 Dark Arts by only 1 Syphon. From my testing Dark Arts cost ~26% of base MP each, Syphon rewards ~13%. (2 Syphons == 1 Dark Arts). Blood Weapon is 3.5% of base MP returned for each attack, including AAs (Mercy Stroke counts as physical too). Blood Price yields 5.5% per hit. More testing required, but so far as I can tell, MP returns are based strictly or lvl/base stats. Stats don't change returns, neither does the amount of damage inflicted increase Blood Weapon returns, nor does receiving higher damage increase Blood Price returns.

There have been a few times where I've been shocked to see my MP recover whilst in blood price, will keep an eye for whenever that happens. Might be some secret

Openers

UNMEND > plunge > HARD SLASH > blood price > SPINNING SLASH > dark arts > POWER SLASH > salted earth > SCOURGE

I would recommend opening with Dark Arts, it has a 10 second duration so it'll last just long enough to reach Power Slash (though it may be safer to throw Dark Passenger or C&S in and use a second DA for Power Slash), native MP regen + Blood Price will be maxing MP regens.

Blood Price may be over-healing your MP pool since you haven't consumed much mp yet save for unmend (which again is why i recommend opening with Arts), that is potential waste. And frankly I don't think unmend is necessary at all. Even though it's the cheaper of our MP abilities, it's still a waste of MP that could be elsewhere in Dark Arts or better MP consuming WSs.

I only really bother with Dark Arts > Power Slash for boss fights, but it's usually after my aforementioned opener. (So 3rd Dark Arts goes to Power Slash. Recap: first > Dark Passenger, second > Souleater, third power slash). Hate has never been a problem for me even with starting with Syphon combo.

note: 2 oGCDs between GCDs is boss

[Marveth]

Great thread, hope we can update it with reliable info soon enough.
I'm a 53 DRK myself and got some suggestions but I will wait until I got some level 60 experience to make sure it's all valid.

[HidingYoshis]

Copied from my other post:

You didn't add Carve and Spit, which is your most powerful ability.

Your lack of a proper 60 opener is depressing --

You open with Salted Earth > Unmend > Plunge. That's simply inefficient.

For one, you are not able to keep the boss where it should be by opening with Unmend. By opening with Salted Earth "in front of them", you also lose ticks.

My strongest opener right now is as follows*:

Plunge > Scourge > Dark Arts > Hard Slash > Carve and Spit > Syphon Strike > Dark Arts > Soul Eater > Salted Earth.

This is insane DPS and threat, and beyond this point I haven't 100% decided on the order of which I'm using my other off GCDs.

I usually follow up with Hard Slash > Low Blow > Spinning Slash > Dark Passenger > Power Slash and this cements threat for the rest of the fight. But your opener is not only inefficient, it's trying too hard to do the Unmend > Plunge "combo" when the animations do not allow it.

[Miyuyu]

Is there any wait time between the first and second dark arts in your opener? (IE: do you have to hold Syphon Strike)

Servers are down so I can't really check myself, hadn't considered moving Dark Arts up that early. The other concern I have with using dark arts twice in one combo is mostly just mana. You'd probably put yourself in a hole faster than you need to (but with BP that might be irrelevant)

I also don't know if I agree with using a Soul Eater combo out of the gate. I run with some pretty strong DPS and not starting with a Power Slash combo means the boss is gonna be all over the world. I do agree with putting salted earth down last in the rotation (or before you even pull, really. Just depends.)

(Also, honestly, Unmend --> Plunge isn't bad, and you doesn't necessarily need to "open" with plunge. A lot of times I'll unmend for snap threat and immediately scourge before going into PS combo followed by full on DPS while weaving plunge in elsewhere)

[AIex]

Copied from my other post:
My strongest opener right now is as follows*:

Plunge > Scourge > Dark Arts > Hard Slash > Carve and Spit > Syphon Strike > Dark Arts > Soul Eater > Salted Earth.

I agree with this opener for the most part! Might I suggest shifting Dark Arts at the start if you're not already in combat to regen a little bit of mp back before the pull? It would look like this:

Dark Arts [5-6 seconds for 2 mp tics]> Plunge > Scourge > Carve and Spit > Hard Slash > Low Blow (+Dark Passenger if you can avoid clipping GCD) > Syphon Strike > Dark Arts > Souleater > Salted Earth

This would get out your oGCD's on cooldown a little faster. I'd hold off on unmend and save that MP for more DA'd Soul Eater's tbh. If opener aggro is an issue with your DPS, maybe swap some fending for slaying accessories? I run full slaying to make my "main combo" (souleater) give me back more HP.

Also small pet peeve, the skill is Souleater.... Soul Eater is an anime

[HidingYoshis]

I agree with this opener for the most part! Might I suggest shifting Dark Arts at the start if you're not already in combat

After sleeping on it a bit, I do see the value in using Dark Arts before initiation, it allows me another off GCD for even better threat generation. I'm not really sure about waiting for MP ticks necessarily because I'm not sure it's an issue.

I don't like Unmend except for ranged pulling -- The animation is long, and even with good ping by the time it hits the boss and you can Plunge, it will start moving toward me, which is not optimal.

I'm running Fending until I get full Law, at which point I'll switch over to Slaying and Maiming accessories (will have one set of each strength and vitality, of course) for the extra threat generation.

As for the Souleater thing: Was on phone when typing that out, I do much of my forum going on my phone during downtime / not being at my computer.

[NaginataX]

Lots of information to take in as a new DK but worth the read.

[Giantbane]

In case anyone was wondering, here's the priority list for using your MP for damage for single targets:

1. Unmend - 150 potency/~350 mana = ~0.429 potency per mana spent
2. Dark Passenger - 150 potency/~885? mana = ~0.169 potency per mana spent (i forget exactly, it's like half of DA isn't it?)
3. DA + C&S - 350 potency/~2655? mana = ~0.132 potency per mana spent (dark arts adds 350 potency from normal C&S, and then C&S loses its normal mana regen effect. You're spending ~1770 on dark arts, and you're then losing the ~885 or so mana that you didn't regen from C&S)
4. DA + Soul eater - 120 potency/~1770 mana = ~0.068 potency per mana spent (see below)
5. DA + Dark passenger - 100 extra potency/~1770 mana = ~0.056 potency per mana spent

On DA + Soul Eater. If you're purely concerned with damage, when not using soul eater, you'll be using delirium. So going from Delirium (280 potency) to DA + SE (400 potency) only adds 120 potency. If you're stuck on the hp regen while tanking, then it's 160, which comes out to ~0.9 potency per mana spent, which doesn't change the order at all.

You'll notice unmend is the clear winner. But this is only if you can't use a normal TP based attack. So you'd only want to unmend if you were out of TP or if you weren't in melee range and unmend wasn't going to break your combo.

[Xenosan]

Dark Passenger - 150 potency/~885? mana = ~0.169 potency per mana spent (i forget exactly, it's like half of DA isn't it?)

884 MP. Funny thing, switch to PLD and check the MP cost of Stoneskin, it's also 884 iirc.

Think a quick fix for Dark Passenger. It has that base 884 cost to include I see it now

[Marxam]

The only thing I would macro is Living Dead but since conditionals aren't in this game (or atleast I don't think it is) I have to set two buttons. One warning the party I used the skill to stop healing me and another to countdown how long the healers have before I need to be topped up.

lvl 55 DRK atm and all I can say is parry might be considered bis secondary stat when you consider the procs that it triggers, Low Blow (timer reset) and Reprisal. Also put all points into STR as you have good defensive cooldowns and most are on 60 seconds timers.

1. Shadowskin = Rampart
2. Dark Dance a very weak version of Keen Flurry but also has featherfoot (20% evasion) effect with DA
3. Darkmind + DA is 30% magic defense for 10 seconds every 60 seconds
4. Shadow wall = Vengeance minus the deflection damage.