Dark Knight in all slaying accessories... please no..

[GeekMatt]

Vitality over what you need for a buster allows for more party mistakes. This is not exclusively -your- mistakes, or the healers, but the dps.

Dps messes up. Healer goes to heal them--you wernt topped off, boss hits you again--now lower than what you would like to be. A healer has to decide who to heal, and might let the dps to die because you are in danger, or who knows the reason.

Keep in mind im not advocating stacking vitality, but that vitality beyond the 'amount needed to survive' only works well in statics where people seldom 'mess up'. So determine vitality based off your group performance.

^this. Man it's nice to have a buffer when healing--especially with DRKs, as-is they aren't like PLD, they get bursted down crazily fast. And they aren't like WAR, they don't quite bounce back so well/don't have the HP buffer naturally. When crap hits the fan and the healers are trying to keep everyone up and I watch you dip down to ~200 HP before the healer catches you, I'm just really greatful for those Fending pieces. On the other hand if we actually had a DPS check or you overgeared the content considerably, then DPS is boss.

But yes, tank CD usage is super important, and if you're not offering the healer a Fending-buffer through out the fight, you really better be on top of them all of the time or thank the healer for the carry. As a PLD I have natural mitigation from my shield and enough buffs to cycle them through out a run while still buffing heavily for tank busters, but I've still been down to a couple hundred HP when party mishaps happen. I have 2 sets of accessories, Fending for uncertainties and DPS for overgeared content or DPS checks--not for content where you and/or the healer is new or min ilvl.