Random thought for DRK ability in expansion

[N8Dawgg]

I will start off just by saying - I really like the idea of having a PLD and DRK pair in a group, being a defensive minded player. I know that is a big dps strain, so you will never see that in higher-end raid content. Me being me, I really would like to see DRK being a relevant OT with a PLD but still be able to pull numbers similar to WAR, and still be ok as far as dps is concerned. Please keep in mind, I have done no number crunching, this is less than a day of thought and this is straight from brain to page

I think a cool idea for an ability for DRK is something that would strictly be used as an OT. Its ability would be:

Increases damage granted by Darkside from 10% to 20%. Can only be used when Darkside is active. Cannot be used while Grit is active. Changes Dark Arts effect of spending mp to spending hp (this helps bring back the lore of a DRK using its life force to increase power) Shares a recast timer with Blood Weapon.

[N8Dawgg]

Blood Weapon currently is how a DRK restores its MP pool when not tanking. Changing Dark Arts to absorbing hp instead makes it so Siphon Strike will continue to restore mp at no cost, I would imagine at a similar rate as using Dark Arts while getting mp back with Blood Weapon active.

I also am aware that losing hp as a tank is a BIG NO-NO. Which is why again, as I would imagine, this would be strictly for OT use leaving Blood weapon to be used freely while tanking and still have a dps increase. The hp loss would simply be fixed by tossing a regen on DRK, similar to BRD paean to prevent pacification for WAR at the end of berserk.

What do you guys think? I am totally open to discuss, I am curious to see what the player base thinks of this.

[Sarcatica]

Experienced DRK already has Blood Weapon access even when tanking. You are better off hoping that your change won't get abused because full uptime 20% dmg up is no joke. DRK will become your best greedy tank because as long as Blood Price and Weapon aren't changed, DRK remains to be the best MT due to the amount of mana you can get while still tanking efficiently.

Correction: mana won't ever be an issue anymore should HP is used for DA. This will however still easily leave up having DRK tank just with less DASE when tanking huge damage, during autos will still have DRK doing all the DASE you can get. If anything, this will pretty much solidify DRK/WAR for best DPS for most contents, which has always been the case even now.

[MagiusNecros]

They'll just add a trait that boosts the damage output. If they add traits at all.

[Reynhart]

Experienced DRK already has Blood Weapon access even when tanking.

You can indeed tank without Grit to have access to Blood Weapon. But Main Tanking while spending HP to power up your attack...I'm not sure it would go very well. And since SoulEater only leech while in Grit, having DarkSide cost HP out of Grit would create a clear difference between the OT and the MT role.

Could be interesting, with the proper balance.

The problem is not that DRK/WAR is the best comp, which really depends on the content you do. It's that PLD/WAR and DRK/WAR are better than PLD/DRK and DRK/PLD because PLD and DRK don't offer much in the OT role while losing access to some MT skills.

[Sarcatica]

For the DA consuming HP, who knows if suddenly WAR becomes the designated MT. As long as WAR has access to the Eye and Path, the job remains to have guaranteed slot in any serious raid team. This closes PLD almost exclusively simply because PLD cant compete with the other 2 jobs in both MT and OT.

Currently PLD is not preferred to take that MT spot once you are on farm, DRK is simply better. That's the most ideal composition though, PLD can still clear but it taxes your WAR to tank for you in A12S more than having a DRK with you. DRK can pretty much tank all the way till the last phase unlike PLD that runs out of CDs.

There is a reason why PLD's clear rate for A12S is 10% of DRK's in FFlogs.

[Reynhart]

For the DA consuming HP, who knows if suddenly WAR becomes the designated MT. As long as WAR has access to the Eye and Path, the job remains to have guaranteed slot in any serious raid team.

You know what ? Even if such an adjustment only brings that, it's a good thing. Just to break the "DRK is a MT" consensus.

As for "PLD can't compete", it's only if you restrict your metric on personal DPS. The only reason DRK is better for A12 is thanks to the abundance of magical attacks.

[Lyth]

Let's see. According to the description, the HP expenditure occurs specifically when using Dark Arts. The abilities that use DA are: Power Slash, Souleater, Dark Passenger, Carve and Spit, Abyssal Drain, Dark Dance, and Dark Mind. For the rest of your skillset, using Darkerside is a dps gain at no additional cost over regular Darkside.

If you want to play defensively and still use it while tanking, in single target you'd probably burn as much MP as possible on DAC+S and DASE over about a 20 second window, once per minute. Once your MP was sufficiently low, you would use the rest of your skills under the new ability, without DA, until it's nearly time for the next DAC+S.

This is effectively a Berserk effect. Without pacification. On a 40 second recast. For essentially free.

The most interesting side-effect of all this is DA Abyssal Drain. The DA effect converts all of the damage done back into HP. So if you chose to spend HP on it, you could spend HP to use the skill, and then potentially gain it all back. Infinite Abyssal Drains.

I seem to have suddenly misplaced Grit on my hotbars.

[millktea]

i agree that dark needs to be fixed and that it needs to be a way better OT. war literally works how a dark knight is supposed to....

[millktea]

pretty much all attacks are magical and its the one fight that is essentially "made" for dark knight. one. other than maybe ramuh...