DRK - Excessive Dark Arts

[Alyx]

Why was it decided that players want to use Dark Arts before every attack? When I'm soloing, I find myself mashing the button 3-4 times per DPS rotation, or every other one.

The way Dark Arts was back in 3.0 was fine; at the end of a combo, or with Carve and Spit for the damage <-> mana tradeoff. Dark Arts and Abyssal Drain could only be used about 3 or 4 times, and Dark Passenger was on a cooldown.

At that point, usage of Dark Arts was a choice for effect. Now, it's just a button we spam for damage. Why??

[Derio]

Yea its out of control. Imo it devalues the animation

[Lannybaby]

If you don't want to use it on every dps rotation, or every other one, then don't.

[Tanathya]

If you don't want to use it on every dps rotation, or every other one, then don't.

Is this even a serious answer? Because if it is, you should be ashamed to call yourself a dark knight.

[Mithron]

Seriously, it needs reworking. At the very least remove it from Siphon Strike. I don't want to go through entire 4.0 patch cycles spamming this.

[Memoriae]

Maybe give it charges like aetherflow?

[MoarLegion]

You're mashing Dark Arts now, but when you hit 70 and have The Blackest Night, it curbs Dark Arts usage. Its still more than we were doing in HW, but it does calm down.

[MiniPrinny]

You're mashing Dark Arts now, but when you hit 70 and have The Blackest Night, it curbs Dark Arts usage. Its still more than we were doing in HW, but it does calm down.

Only it doesn't, since outside of using it for defense or using it to get an easy 50 blood for Delirium, TBN is a damage loss.

[MoarLegion]

Only it doesn't, since outside of using it for defense or using it to get an easy 50 blood for Delirium, TBN is a damage loss.

People keep saying this but I fail to understand how. You're taking 140 potency of MP and turning it into 380 potency, the MP cost of which is paid for by the time you can even use TBN again. You're only delaying 1 SS/SE combo per minute, or half a dark arts and 10 blood, so you're not delaying your mp regen by any significant amount.

Provided you always have CnS paid for, I cannot understand how turning 140 potency into 380 as often as possible is a DPS loss.

[SyzzleSpark]

People keep saying this but I fail to understand how. You're taking 140 potency of MP and turning it into 380 potency, the MP cost of which is paid for by the time you can even use TBN again. You're only delaying 1 SS/SE combo per minute, or half a dark arts and 10 blood, so you're not delaying your mp regen by any significant amount.

Provided you always have CnS paid for, I cannot understand how turning 140 potency into 380 as often as possible is a DPS loss.

You're not taking 140 potency and turning it into 380 because that 380 is on the GCD. DA is basically a 140 potency off-GCD.

Whenever you're mathing how much of a potency gain something that is on the GCD is, you have to weight it against the existing average potency per GCD.

When you spend a DA's worth of mana to get an extra BS by using TBN, you're only getting a net 240 potency (380-140). And that 240 potency is exactly 10 less than the average PPGCD. Ergo, its a loss. Yes its a small one, but its a far cry from the "spam TBN on CD to proc more Bloodspillers because its a 380 potency gain!"

Honestly someone should delete this thread. The problem with DRK isn't our DA usage, its that we're the lowest tank DPS and offer less utility than PLD.