DRK math for Media Tour information

[Xenosan]

Power Slash combo > SE combo > SE combo > SE combo > SE combo > SE combo, ad nauseum... Also, tanks will have access to Shirk (AKA Shadewalker) as a role skill, so the need for and therefore use of enmity combos will be further deterred.

But DRK does not ever want to Power Slash, those GCDs have a very negative impact on the kit. Not so sure Quelling Strikes on all DPS is going to help much, since people are lazy. With the tank DMG nerfs Power Slash combo will maybe need to be used more, despite being complete cancer to DRK productivity. Removing Darkside's drain helps, but regardless it is still a loss. Disappointed they did not adjust/buff PS at all, hope they will still consider it. (Like adding Siphon's MP restore to Spinning Slash at least).

A DRK fighting for enmity is very ugly, @minimum iLVL in SB (first round of lvl70 dungeons) I think DRK will have the worst of it.

[mcspamm]

But DRK does not ever want to Power Slash, those GCDs have a very negative impact on the kit.

Yeah, I get that, but I find that when MTing on DRK, a minimum of one Power Slash combo on the pull is a necessary evil, even with a NIN handy.

Not so sure Quelling Strikes on all DPS is going to help much, since people are lazy. With the tank DMG nerfs Power Slash combo will maybe need to be used more, despite being complete cancer to DRK productivity. Removing Darkside's drain helps, but regardless it is still a loss. Disappointed they did not adjust/buff PS at all, hope they will still consider it. (Like adding Siphon's MP restore to Spinning Slash at least).

A DRK fighting for enmity is very ugly, @minimum iLVL in SB (first round of lvl70 dungeons) I think DRK will have the worst of it.

Good call. I forgot to account for further tank damage (and therefore enmity) nerfs when our AP weightings are changed again.

With regards to dungeoning, the nerf to Unleash doesn't help either.

Personally, I'm going to wait to see if aggro gen and/or aggro maintenance is an issue at level 70 for 4p, 8p, and 24p content.

Hopefully the devs will be receptive to player feedback after we extensively try out the new changes.

[Falar]

I agree, my opener is always a power slash combo before dropping grit and never using it again unless someone is outgearing me, or better than me.

[LeoLupinos]

Snip

So, adding to your "Things we lost", there are:

Low Blow

100 potency and a 30% to reproc. It's a oGCD that we use with Blood weapon to gain more MP too.
The new role skill does not do any damage, does not recover MP with blood weapon, nor have any reproc mechanic either.

Reprisal

210 potency that procs with every parry. It's a oGCD that we use with Blood weapon to gain more MP too.
The new role skill does not do any damage, does not recover MP with blood weapon, and only last 5 seconds (20s before).

And far more things, like Dark Dance (30% parry that help with Low Blow reproc and 20% evasion with Dark Arts to help with big pulls), Bloodbath, Foresight, Mercy Stroke.

[Veritas-Ancora]

I feel like this is the most important thread on the tank forums right now. Thanks to all for contributing.

[Reynhart]

It is a tool to protect yourself and other party members as part of your role as tank. Far to many players playing tanks right now have forgotten that they are tanks and not dps.

That's my main concern about the otherwise very well written OP.
Why is Delirium dismissed because of DPS loss when in practice, it gives you more time to spam Abyssal Drain in pack situations, or more MP back to empower you skill with Dark Arts or cast Blackest Night multiple times in a row ?

As for BloodSpiller, I think there is a miscalculation. Sure with three of them, you're delaying a SoulEater combo, but you're not losing potency. When you look at the potencies, you're trading a full SoulEater combo (960 potency with 2 DA) for 3 BloodSpillers (1140 potency with 0 DA, 1560 with 3).

And when you compare that with Scourge, you count 12 unbuffed Bloodspiller for your 4560 vs 9 scourge for 4500. If you manage to buff several BloodSpillers, however, the potency will increase a lot, to (unlikely) 6240 potency. In the end, it depends wether or not you have the MP to buff every Bloodspiller and build enough blood gauge during those 4m30s, with 6 Blood Weapon/Blood Price (two of them buffed by Delirium) and Blackest Night.

Also, we need to keep in mind that DRK gained a flat 5% damage on Darkside compared to now.

And far more things, like Dark Dance (30% parry that help with Low Blow reproc and 20% evasion with Dark Arts to help with big pulls)

We didn't really lose Dark Dance. We just share it with PLD and WAR. Sure, we don't have the DA effect, but we have far more important skills to spend our few MP on.

[Veritas-Ancora]

I think the million dollar question is: what do DRK excel at any longer?

Not magic damage, not AoE coverage, not defense, not attack, not even parry. Am i correct in this? Do we have any advantage?

[Deathshiro]

I think the million dollar question is: what do DRK excel at any longer?

Not magic damage, not AoE coverage, not defense, not attack, not even parry. Am i correct in this? Do we have any advantage?

Indeed the million dollar question. We will probably know come the 15th. If it really IS nothing then we will be in a worse place than PLD 3.x... which I hope isn't the case.

[Mahono]

What if they give power slash a dot with increased enmity. They removed scourge (500) potency. They removed delirium (eventhough its reworked in non DA SE). DRK will be using 1-2-3 mainly but with the choices to DA SS or SE or both. A DRK basically never wants to power slash. so what if power slash gets a dot instead of the possibility to DA it. 300 combo potency + additional effect: damage over time and increased enmity, Duration: 21 sec, Potency: 40.

This would make power slash combo potency 300 + 280= 580 + increased enmity.

And this is just one of the things they could do to make DRK better imo.

[Lyth]

The power slash combo potency (223 potency/gcd) is actually pretty close to the old delirium/new SE combo potency (227 potency/gcd). When you incorporate the MP gain from SS (worth 70 potency) and the blood gain from SE (probably worth around 30 potency), you're probably looking at a difference of about 40 potency/gcd. If you add a 40 potency dot to power slash, you'd probably mostly negate the penalty of using it.

I do hope that they've done something better with the DA effect, though. going from a 5.5x multiplier to a 6.5x multiplier was worth just 300 enmity potency, and wasn't worth the cost. Even if they just increased the multiplier, they could turn it into something more useful if it meant not having to use the combo more than once.