Why is DRK so squishy and how do I stop it?

[Quor]

It wasn't you it was the Scholar! Although - I do /feel/ squishy as a DRK compared to my Warrior and I'm trying to figure out why. Maybe Warriors get better mitigation spells early but later DRK catches up. I mean inner beast is 6 seconds of -30% INC damage that can be used pretty regularly. Like - a lot. So maybe that's why? No you are perfect sweet Chandra~

You kept me up on a super super big monster pull for a LONG time, the DPS was just too slow to win the Mana vs DPS race ;c That Scholar let me die like...3 times! Maybe he was just a bad SCH?

I still feel really squishy as a DRK though. My PLD is only 24 so I can't compare to GLD really. Only WAR (60) and DRK so far. DRK feels much squishier/takes more spikes in damage than WAR. Not sure why it seems that way. Perhaps I have just forgotten the late 30's feeling on my WAR but it was the exact same?

This post isn't really bashing or blaming healers - more just wondering why I feel so "light" as a DRK compared to my WAR and how can I fix it, or is it all just mental?

I'm inclined to say it's mostly mental. I have WAR as my main, and DRK is almost 52 for me, and the two have felt about the same. I say this having used WAR both before and after the Inner Beast change. DRK is about on par with WAR post-IB, and it feels slightly tankier in terms of damage mitigation than WAR did pre-IB change, but it's been a looong time since I played WAR with the old IB, so I would take this opinion with a grain of salt.

Just make sure you take and use any and all upgrades available to you. At your level (38) the HQ heavy plate combo pieces are probably your best bets (the head/chest and legs/feet suits). At 40, drop them for the HQ Mythril plate-level stuff (I think weaver makes the legs at that level though). Company gear can also serve you well to fill in gaps.

Finally, it's easy to go from a high level tank to a low level one and feel like paper, so don't get too down on yourself. It's pretty normal for everyone, like an end-game geared BLM who roulettes into Sastasha normal, where all you have is Aetherial Fire 1.

[MPNZ]

Right now at level 38 I chose: MRD: Foresight PAL: ummm....taunt? Provoke! Provoke. PAL: Convalescence

I forget the names of the abilities sometimes, I just know what they do. So I have: -20% Damage Incoming (Looks like purple honeycomb, or protect), +20% Parry only useable in Dark Side (Dark Dance I think it is?) then I have +20% Raised Defenses (Foresight), +Healing Received from healing magic (Convalescence) and I think that's it. I may have Bloodbath too.

Thinking about crafting some gear...my gear is: HQ Steel Zweihander, Calvary Helmet, Calvary Chest, Calvary Gloves, Calvary Belt, HQ Toadskin Breeches, Calvary Boots then all HQ Sphene accessories (+3 VIT, +3 PARRY)

Oh, you're definitely fine then. And, please make sure to purchase anything that's available to you from your GC or the market board as there should be some vintage equipment that you can make or buy.

[ADVSS]

Its low level. You cant do full room pulls, maybe pull smaller, but tanks in general are all squishy until they are well over geared. Pop cooldowns and rotate them, and most importantly esp for tanks like has been said it sucks cause dps can get away with it more so but you really want to be as geared as possible even in low level dungeons. DRK really shouldn't be much squishier than paladins, I mean their toolkit and tank stance are fairly identical, besides the shield block and maybe an enhanced convalesence?.

[KrenianKandos]

In the end, from what I can gather, it was possibly just the facts:

1) That set of mobs hits harder than normal
2) You were using level 32 gear at a level 38 dungeon and most dungeons actually aren't as forgiving if you don't have of the level gear
3) The healer was surprised from the damage and couldn't hit you up fast enough.

It's just things that people learn along the way about the game and how their class works. Watch when you rerun this with full gear and see how silly easy it becomes. It's just adapting and seeing where needs to be improved. Good luck!

[Seku]

In the end, from what I can gather, it was possibly just the facts:

1) That set of mobs hits harder than normal
2) You were using level 32 gear at a level 38 dungeon and most dungeons actually aren't as forgiving if you don't have of the level gear
3) The healer was surprised from the damage and couldn't hit you up fast enough.

It's just things that people learn along the way about the game and how their class works. Watch when you rerun this with full gear and see how silly easy it becomes. It's just adapting and seeing where needs to be improved. Good luck!

If he had grit up, mobs hitting harder in the area wouldn't really matter due to a full time -20% mitigation with similar defense cd rotations as PLD at this point. Alternatively PLD has to go through the same thing with no tank stance while DRK has it's passive -20%. Making DRK arguably better than PLD in mitigation at this particular point.

His gear is fine, assuming the truth was told. He'd be missing like 10-15 defense over all if he has full Calvary set in comparison to the gear drops from the sunken temple itself.

[KrenianKandos]

If he had grit up, mobs hitting harder in the area wouldn't really matter due to a full time -20% mitigation with similar defense cd rotations as PLD at this point. Alternatively PLD has to go through the same thing with no tank stance while DRK has it's passive -20%. Making DRK arguably better than PLD in mitigation at this particular point.

His gear is fine, assuming the truth was told. He'd be missing like 10-15 defense over all if he has full Calvary set in comparison to the gear drops from the sunken temple itself.

I'd be curious to compare shield blocks versus the passive -20% at that level. Say on an average, you block around 20% damage. Would that not, in essence, be equal? You're almost constantly blocking stuff, depending on type of shield you have as a PLD. So in that regard, I would think it would be awfully close and when PLD hits 40, that's when they become the better constant damage mitigator...

Now that I'm thinking about it, Qarn is the next one after Brayflox, isn't it? So yeah, the gear would be fine, in that regard....Hm. It would be lower but you could simply mitigate that with someone that pays attention to the damage influx.

Points noted. Guess the healer just dropped the ball on that one =)

[Seku]

I'd be curious to compare shield blocks versus the passive -20% at that level. Say on an average, you block around 20% damage. Would that not, in essence, be equal? You're almost constantly blocking stuff, depending on type of shield you have as a PLD. So in that regard, I would think it would be awfully close and when PLD hits 40, that's when they become the better constant damage mitigator...

No, because shield does not always block and does not proct even 50% of the time. Grit is -20% damage taken to everything and will always work expect if the damage is mechanic damage (like falling to your death in titan, hitting a flame wall in coils, hitting enrage on bosses ect.). When they (PLD) hit 40, then yes they are arguably the better mitigation tank.

I didn't have full calvary. I had HQ Toadskin pants that are for tanks because I never got calvary pants to drop

Then the defense missing would have been around 15-20 roughly. Which can make a difference, but in the situation you were in, single group pulling from the sounds of it, it's not that big of a deal.

[Krissey]

No, because shield does not always block and does not proct even 50% of the time. Grit is -20% damage taken to everything and will always work expect if the damage is mechanic damage (like falling to your death in titan, hitting a flame wall in coils, hitting enrage on bosses ect.). When they (PLD) hit 40, then yes they are arguably the better mitigation tank.


Then the defense missing would have been around 15-20 roughly. Which can make a difference, but in the situation you were in, single group pulling from the sounds of it, it's not that big of a deal.

I tell you what I think it is. I think it's because I'm used to WATCHING a Paladin. I was leveling a healer from 30-52 with the same Paladin who was really good...and I saw how their HP just didn't budge. So then I go in as a DRK and my HP just gets chunked out. So watching this paladin that just doesn't take hits, really, barely every had any panic moments for pop all CD's mega-heal this guy...and then i get on my DRK and I just see me go from 100 - 50% in two hits I'm like "Why am I so squishy...??"

[Krissey]

If he had grit up, mobs hitting harder in the area wouldn't really matter due to a full time -20% mitigation with similar defense cd rotations as PLD at this point. Alternatively PLD has to go through the same thing with no tank stance while DRK has it's passive -20%. Making DRK arguably better than PLD in mitigation at this particular point.

His gear is fine, assuming the truth was told. He'd be missing like 10-15 defense over all if he has full Calvary set in comparison to the gear drops from the sunken temple itself.

I didn't have full calvary. I had HQ Toadskin pants that are for tanks because I never got calvary pants to drop T_T

In addition - I never take Grit off but sometimes I mess up and Darkside falls off (That's the Black and Red Sword icon for +15% damage right? Drains MP? Sometimes I run out of mana and it drops off)

For what it's worth, I remember feeling the same way when I was leveling DRK, in leveling gear. I think most jobs feel a bit subpar at first compared to ones we've been using longer. Warrior is also legit overpowered with its utility, dps and self recovery all being strong. But on a purely survival / mitigation check, I think Dark Knight is fine and similar to the other tanks. If you die whilst using all the tools at your disposal then it's probably a healer problem rather than the DRK job design.

Sshhhh they'll hear you. Warrior is normal and fine. Totally cool job. Completely normal.

[Rufalus]

I do /feel/ squishy as a DRK compared to my Warrior and I'm trying to figure out why.

For what it's worth, I remember feeling the same way when I was leveling DRK, in leveling gear. I think most jobs feel a bit subpar at first compared to ones we've been using longer. Warrior is also legit overpowered with its utility, dps and self recovery all being strong. But on a purely survival / mitigation check, I think Dark Knight is fine and similar to the other tanks. If you die whilst using all the tools at your disposal then it's probably a healer problem rather than the DRK job design.