The Bottom Feeders: Moves You Never Use and Why.

[Februs]

DK only ever overrides and stays there because it provides 2 effects as opposed to Delirium's one effect. But if they ever made a change to make Delir and DK stack and give a 20% Int down wombo combo I'd be A ok with that.

This is kind of a side note, but how much use to you guys honestly get out of Delirium Blade?

Don't get me wrong here, I like the concept of reducing magic dmg (because after a long Pld career of getting abused by caster dmg it's nice to have some vengeance). I'm not trying to say it's bad or anything. I'm just honestly curious how often you guys get a benefit from it, because I typically go into a lot of Boss fights wondering if I even should apply the debuff because most boss attacks are physical. Using it on mobs is near useless (firstly because it's a single hit application once every ~8 seconds at the cost of enmity gen on a mob that will probably be dead in half that time), and boss use seems limited and at a trade off of dps.

Most commonly people tend to keep it up, using 2 Soul Eater combos for every 1 Delirium Blade, but if the boss uses primarily physical Dmg it would be more efficient to use 2 soul eaters for every 1 Power slash at a higher dmg potency and just ignore Delirium Blade. Not to mention that I sometimes get the "Delirium Blade- Has no effect" message, which I never understand, because I've seen it pop up on bosses that I know with certainty that I have used DB on before (sometimes within the same run. I remember having one group wipe a boss by accident. 1st run DB worked fine. 2nd Run it kept having "no effect." Was very confusing). Is it a glitch or are there certain conditions that prevent the application of DB? Because it makes me hesitant to even apply it if I'll be potentially wasting a rotation on a Debuff I won't even see a benefit out of.

[Reynhart]

it would be more efficient to use 2 soul eaters for every 1 Power slash at a higher dmg potency and just ignore Delirium Blade.

No, because the Delirium combo has more potency than the Power Slash combo. (150+250+280 vs 150+220+300)
So, basically, if you have secured your enmity, you use Delirium every time you're not using Dark Arts...unless you really need the few HP that a non-DA SoulEater can give.

[karateorangutang]

haymaker....

[Freyyy]

No, because the Delirium combo has more potency than the Power Slash combo. (150+250+280 vs 150+220+300)
So, basically, if you have secured your enmity, you use Delirium every time you're not using Dark Arts...unless you really need the few HP that a non-DA SoulEater can give.

I'll also add that using Power Slash combo is an incredible DPS loss in two ways : lowest potency combo AND doesn't give the MP that Syphon Strike gives. Power Slash should really only be used if you're in NEED of threat. Other than that, just rotate DA SE and Delirium. Delirium's debuff generally benefits more to the raid than yourself as the MT, and that's why you want to keep it up (on top of it being part of your optimal rotation anyway, since you can't spam DA SE to death). Just look at how MNKs were loved in FCoB just for Dragon Kick, before even talking about their awesome deeps.

[MagiusNecros]

For a move like Power Slash it really lacks the Power. I'd love it if the beam you shot out was a Line AoE but it isn't. It's strictly to establish initial enmity and then you move on to your other attacks. I generally find little reason to use the DA Power Slash either.

[CGMidlander]

Clemency is way too slow. In situations where I can probably use it, I usually get interrupted or the target (i.e. Myself or a party member) gets topped off by a healer anyway before my cast finishes.

It's only useful in PvP. (Except, I don't play PLD in PvP; I play WAR/WHM)

[Februs]

It's strictly to establish initial enmity and then you move on to your other attacks. I generally find little reason to use the DA Power Slash either.

I typiclally start a Boss fight with a Dark Arts Power slash... and then never have to use it again. Ever. Aggro for life at that point.

[Februs]

Clemency is way too slow. In situations where I can probably use it, I usually get interrupted or the target (i.e. Myself or a party member) gets topped off by a healer anyway before my cast finishes.

It's only useful in PvP. (Except, I don't play PLD in PvP; I play WAR/WHM)

A lot of people echo that sentiment, but I find most people who get interrupted using Clemency are using it spur of the moment rather than for planned executions. I have almost never been interrupted in a Clemency cast, but that's because I time my casts for Tank busters and Boss AoE's. Between the two, the AoE's are more difficult to time Clemency for because the boss often continues their auto attacks or there is some other form of incoming dmg, and can interrupt your cast if your timing is off, but you can still get the cast off for most of them. Tank busters are typically easy to Clemency your way through (A4 being an exception, given that the Tank Buster is actually multiple smaller hits in rapid succession). Short of canceling the cast or not casting it early enough, I have never been interrupted on a Clemency cast during a Tank Buster.

The issue with the long cast timer (which is a little long) is the heal potency. A well timed Clemency that hits right after a tank buster can outdo the potential self-heal of a War in a single burst, especially if used when under the effect of Convalescence. If you get a Crit, the healer can outright just ignore you and heal the party. I don't think they wanted Pld throwing around that kind of power at the drop of a hat. If they shortened the cast timer for Clemency, they'd probably have to reduce the potency as well to compensate for Pld's who use it in ways that it was not intended for.

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

No, the fact that you think it's useless means you're doing something wrong. And probably more than one something, at that.

I follow the meta, tank in full strength, stance dance as appropriate, and maximize my DPS. If there's something wrong with the way I play, there's something wrong with the meta.

[Rocond]

Not to mention that I sometimes get the "Delirium Blade- Has no effect" message, which I never understand, because I've seen it pop up on bosses that I know with certainty that I have used DB on before (sometimes within the same run. I remember having one group wipe a boss by accident. 1st run DB worked fine. 2nd Run it kept having "no effect." Was very confusing). Is it a glitch or are there certain conditions that prevent the application of DB? Because it makes me hesitant to even apply it if I'll be potentially wasting a rotation on a Debuff I won't even see a benefit out of.

You probably had a Monk in your party with Dragon Kick up.