The Definitive Dark Knight Guide

[Kaidam]

Hi guys, just came back to FF14 after nearly 2 years of not playing.

Just a few dumb questions, I'm getting the impression that as DK, the default tanking stance is Darkside instead of Grit with the mechanics of dark arts tied to Darkside.

If that is the case, when exactly do you switch to grit stance?

Also, is it a must to use Dark Arts everytime it's up? And what is the go to skill to use Dark Arts on for single target tanking vs mob tanking?

Thanks in advance. I planned to switch to DK from PLD once I finish the main scenario quest.

[Falgern]

...

Grit is the only stance, Darkside is just a buff with no time limit. Stay in Grit and keep Darkside on as much as you can, it should be 100% or near 100%.


You should not use dark arts everytime it's up.

For single target you generally use dark arts for Carve & Spit, Souleater and Dark Mind. Depending what you need. I generally use dark arts every 2-3 Syphon Strikes.

AOE, just use unleash, if there are a lot and you are taking heavy damage i would do dark arts + dark passenger but this hurts your MP a lot. Only use if you pull one group too many
Abyssal drain looks cool but the MP cost doesn't make it that much better than Unleash, there is only one pull I use dark arts on abyssal drain, and it's mostly to see big healing numbers.
No real point in using dark arts for aoe. Just use weaponskills between every few unleashes. Don't use too much MP.

[Kaidam]

Thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated. Can't wait to try DK out. Now just need to clear 50 more quests...