DRK Macros

[Sephiren]

Maybe im playing wrong but sometimes If i have a big pull ill put reprisal on another target seeing as theres no point putting it on a target thats dieing fairly quick...... That could be a reason not to..

Not quite...If you have a big pull you will most likely focus on AoE Enmity, and in the case you`re targeting a mob that is dying fairly quick you`ll just change target...That really depends on what kind of play you like.

[SpookyGhost]

Darkness

/ac "Shadowskin" <me>
/ac "Shadow Wall" <me>

Just so you can free more slot and use all mitigation you have. 1 press for Shadowskin and the second press for Shadow Wall when you get that momment "Oh crap"

Also I`m considering to making one using DA with SE for when I turn DS on, since SE rotation keeps my MP good and I would do some more DMG while replenishing HP.

What happens when you want to use Shadow Wall but not Shadowskin?

[DWolfwood]

I have a pull macro. I find it's essential so that people know we're starting and can get their huton and whatever the heck they want up.

That said, I can justify having a voke macro, but I come from a school of players that had more raid awareness and I kind of expect players to be on that level still. Tank swaps are generally part of a strategy and come at specific times, so they shouldn't be a surprise. The same kind of holds true for Living Dead. The sound it makes is *very* distinguishable, and my healers immediately know it when they hear it. Like I said, I can justify the use of macros for these abilities, but I don't think they're necessary.

Aside from that, I'll make macros for fights to show PUGs how certain mechanics should be done for the group, like purple AoEs in Ravana EX. I used to use a lot of macros in FFXI and 1.0, but they were different games. This game's controls are much more streamlined, and as a tank I simply haven't had the need for them yet.

[Borascythe]

I've been combining convalescence, foresight and awareness together in a macro. I realize this is probably not ideal, but I am running out of comfortable key and mouse bind locations...

[Derio]

Provoke and Living Dead. Anything else is just going overboard.

[Sephiren]

What happens when you want to use Shadow Wall but not Shadowskin?

I never had that situation, but in my oppinion if you need that 10% more then it means you need really precise mitigation, and in that case I'd not suggest using macros...

Good point tho.

[Adrasteia]

It's generally a better idea to space the use of your cooldowns so that there's as little overlap as possible. Blowing Shadow Wall and Shadowskin at the same time on one pack means you have neither for the next, which can make things much hairier for your healer.

[Kiteless]

I've been combining convalescence, foresight and awareness together in a macro. I realize this is probably not ideal, but I am running out of comfortable key and mouse bind locations...

While it's not recommended to combine most skills into macros in the first place, you should definitely never combine more than 2 at once. Most of the time, you can fit two oGCD animations in during a single GCD (there are some weird ones, especially older skills, that take a bit longer, but for the most part, this is the case). But if you end up combining three skill animations, along with the fact that the game won't queue up macros, meaning you have to deal with a delay regardless, you end up losing more GCD output than you should.

[Falgern]

Gotta love these people saying "Hurr durr, macro's make you bad bro!"

No... no they dont...

For instance, I have Reprisal attached to every combo skill on my bar (Hard Slash, Spinning Slash, Power Slash, Syphon Strike, Souleater) This allows me to use reprisal immediately every time its up without wasting a slot on my bar for it. Since its off GCD and doesn't break combo's there is literally no reason for every DRK to not do this.

I also have Dark Arts attached to both Dark Mind and Dark Dance, since neither of these skills should really ever be used without the Dark Arts augment.

Macroing spells together makes them unable to queue up, meaning you're losing potential DPS.

Using Dark Dance and Dark Mind without Dark Arts happens a lot
Also, what if you're late on a tank buster, really need that dark mind off now, and 15% will be enough to keep you alive. No wait, Dark arts -> Slapped/possibly dead -> Dark Mind

Macros make you less effective than pressing the buttons on your own. The extra delay on macro abilities gets noticeable very quick in higher content.

Also, you generally want to try to time your reprisal somewhat right to get it off to cover for heavy aoe or tank busters, you're essentially wasting reprisal by using macros.

[Dante_V]

I've tanked some pretty crucial content in this game and have never used a single macro and play on a controller. My personal opinion is that it's inefficient beyond notifications ie provoke, hallowed ground, or mechanics. It also limits your ability To certain degrees.

As far as starting tanking with dark knight I would recommend leveling a pally first honestly and at least getting the hang of it before moving onto dark knight. Dark knight while not like pally is a bit intricate and deliberate in its play style and I think trying to learn tanking in the game and dark knight as a class at the same time may be a bit crucial, but that doesn't mean it cant be done. Either way you will want some gladiator and marauder cross class skills if you plan on doing anything besides dungeons.