The Definitive Dark Knight Guide

[Sweetgrass]

Hello, i made a bis for drk with all the stuff and with food:

That is far too much Skill Speed

http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/VZIY
This is the current tank BiS, some people look to use Slaying accessories, but I can't personally recommend them.

[Greven]

Any news for a DRK 4.0 updated opener/rotation, MP priority or else?

[Sarcatica]

Any news for a DRK 4.0 updated opener/rotation, MP priority or else?

With the change for DA's effect on most skills, 1st priority is on CnS as always.

For AoE pulls, ideally you just want to start using Abyssal Drain until OOM then recover via Syphon Strike in Grit but using Unleash to let them stick to you is better if you happen to group with impatient healer giving your regen or DPS focusing different targets right at start. Priority on DA is still CnS for this, though it is better to use it for mana if you do huge pulls (6+ above) and Abyssal Drain away. Quietus should be used if you have 3> enemies up, else you should use Bloodspiller. Delirium is normally is normally after you open up with Blood Price on big pulls to keep getting mana while spamming Abyssal Drain. ALWAYS have at least 40-50% mana before you pull next set of mobs to ensure you can hold aggro and keep spamming AoEs.

For single target, just make sure that you don't cap your mana and gauge while still using DA+CnS. Also good if you can recognize if the fight is gonna end very soon that you want to empty out your mana ASAP.

Opener on boss fights: nothing much changes, just the regular PS combo(s) into dropping Grit for more damage, top up aggro accordingly, use Grit as an emergency 'CD' if you will but you lose a GCD which is not ideal. Most people don't consider this but Plunge and CnS still give mana back with Blood Weapon and should ideally be used there. Plunge however has more use in fights where you need to avoid aoes and still want to hit boss the soonest, granted you need to know the exact timing on this. You ideally also want to have full gauge before any boss fights if possible so that you can dump DA+Bloodspiller twice.

The Blackest Night is really great for dungeons and I still hear horror my mates have seen so far when they see DRKs tanking, it's normally better to use the CD early if you are doing huge pulling due to how often it can be up. I usually pull at least 2 sets of mobs (5-8) and still surviving due to Blackest Night. Just now I ran a DREX with solo queue and this healer still did 1.1k DPS (screenshot attached) while I was using 4 i270 slayings. The dragoon's number was pretty low that I even outdpsed him as a tank in dungeon which shouldn't happen normally, else would have been a much shorter DREX. Granted this is done in a JP datacenter, so in NA/EU you would have better luck if you go with people you know.



EDIT: the necro is real btw

[Giubba]

Must admit that at the moment i'm feeling really...insecure when tanking.
I've still to understand the proper rotation and how the skill changed but the most annoying thing is that we soak damage so much now that i'm even more under pressure to losing aggro.
On top of that we switched from years of keeping aggro with relative ease with a situation where losing aggro especially in big group is really easy

[Greven]

Ok, thank you, that's more or less what I already do! Good to know, plus a few changes due to the hot fix.

@Giubba: I don't feel any problem now, with more time you'll get your security back and whenever you feel unsure spam a bit more enmity skills!

[Vallamaria]

Any news for a DRK 4.0 updated opener/rotation, MP priority or else?

Was it really necessary to necro such an old thread? I mean couldn't you have just made a new thread asking your question... Honestly I'll never understand the reason why people such as you waste a bunch of time digging up an old thread from a year or two ago. When it would have been so much quicker and simpler to just create a new thread. I mean it's not like all the people in the old arse thread you're digging up are still going to be around to notice and respond.

[Greven]

Was it really necessary to necro such an old thread? I mean couldn't you have just made a new thread asking your question... Honestly I'll never understand the reason why people such as you waste a bunch of time digging up an old thread from a year or two ago. When it would have been so much quicker and simpler to just create a new thread. I mean it's not like all the people in the old arse thread you're digging up are still going to be around to notice and respond.

Actually I don't see the problem, this is a DRK thread why making new one probably creating multiple clones when there are thread like this already and maybe some the people here are still around. I think it's keeps everything more organised like this instead of opening a new thread everytime for the same questions other people have

[DWolfwood]

Was it really necessary to necro such an old thread? I mean couldn't you have just made a new thread asking your question...

This is not a bad practice. On the contrary, why make a new thread when one exists on it already. That's truly pointless.

Old threads still contain relevant information.