DRK needs re-tuning/buffing.

[Brannigan]

I didn't put down paladin because of DPS in Heavensward. I switched because we (like many groups) didn't run with a monk, and magic AOEs early in progression murdered people hard. Reprisal + Delirium + Storm's Path was stupid overpowered and you got it on a lot of bosses. Even on those who didn't use attacks that could be parried, Delirium + Path was great. Taking DRK + WAR was actually the "super defensive" option (while also happening to have the better offense). INT Down was a little too important, and PLD/DRK was a nonviable tank composition.

That's not to say I agree with that guy you're quoting at all, though. Those roles would just make drk/war the best comp pretty much all the time since you already bring two and a half support classes to a raid.

[Derio]

I think they need to add in a lvl47 mitigation tool. Because under lvl70 is where DRK shows it's lack.

TBN is good, really good, however it is so situational to where if DRK didn't have the move it would be the weakest tank defensively. And even with it probably is

[Phileas]

I really feel like the cross role system has borked a lot of jobs...my beloved DRK included...still levelling DRK because i enjoy the aesthetic but a lot was taken away by cross role system

[Souleater13]

I am not 70 yet so i cant comment on how TBN affects the feel of DRK, nor the damage and defensive numbers but i did want to share my thoughts.

Keeping the max damage and defensive numbers separate for a moment.
I would like some tweaks that make things a little more interesting.

Dark passenger mp cost reduced to want to use the skill without decimating mp pool.

Delirium gets its original animation back, be given a potency(200?) and the blood cost and/or recast reduced a little bit while keeping it oGCD and the mp gain and timer extenders.

Quietus should make it so the next 3 weapon skills absorb HP. (50%?). When you dark arts quietus it should make it so the next 3 weapons skills have increased potency and consume a % your of HP. (a fun risk vs reward skill with the original souleater mechanic. more interesting then just another aoe...)

With quietus not being aoe shall unleash get its potency back.

If DRK really does need more defensive capabilities then how about with every dark arts consumption either a flat decrease or a chance of decrease in seconds towards shadow wall recast.

Add scourge back in as the 4th weaponskill in the power slash combo but make the dot last longer and adjust potency as necessary for that.

if more group utility is really needed then have it so sole survivor includes; when placed on a party member act like a "mini living dead" making it so most attacks wont reduce hp below 1 hp for maybe 2-3 seconds?

thanks for letting me add my ideas to the chaos lol.

**as always any numbers etc mentioned in the abilities are reference and can be adjusted for balance.

[Shinkyo]

DRK needs a DPS boost and a defensive CD filler for scratch damage.

1) Add an additional Dark Art proc to TBN when shield breaks
Without a big revamp, there's big opportunity for TBN to add more depth to our dps rotation (which is super easy) and provide the boost we need.
We should be encouraged to convert as many tbn into BS as possible for DPS and I would hate to have DRK buffed only through potency increases.

Problem is that BS is not enough of a dps increase (ouside grit) considering the risk of the shield not breaking if not timed right.
A good fix to that would be for TBN to also proc a free DA when the shield breaks.
That would be a very rewarding mechanic and wouldn't affect BS that you'd use from normal gauge build up.
The CD on TBN might have to be increased to avoid having a free DA every 15 sec.


2) Change the DA effect on Dark Mind to mitigate all damage
The Current DA+DM being worst than DM+TBN, they should change the DA effect to mitigate all damage (not only magical).
This would have very good synergy with the above change to TBN as if you proc'ed DA through TBN, you'd be able to use it on DM for free and the gauge for BS would still make it a DPS neutral/slight increase transaction.

I think those 2 changes would make the class more engaging and put DRK in a pretty good spot DPS and mitigation wise.

[Liou]

I agree with what's being said here, for the most part. I'm personally fine with the cross role system and don't at all miss any of the skills that were removed, though I do agree that some further adjustments need to be made to make up for these changes.


I would say the following two changes would cover most of the issues that I agree with:

1- Increase Darkside's damage buff to 30%
2- Let Dark Mind reduce 15% of all damage (30% with DA)



That would push DRK's damage on top of PLD, while giving them the damage mitigation CD they're currently lacking.


Having said that, it's always been my very personal opinion that DRK should be the highest DPS tank, given how they are the ones that spend the most effort to deal damage. WAR should be fine being in the middle ground in terms of tank DPS (assuming they're given the proper adjustments, they're supposed to be the best at on-demand personal mitigation and sustainability). I also agree that PLD having the least DPS output of the tanks wouldn't make it so undesirable, given how they are KING when it comes to utility.

Anyway, I doubt DRK will get any self heals comparable to Equilibrium or Clemency. The job seems designed around being part of a party, just take Living Dead for example. DRK was not designed to solo content (which is something I'm fine with) and if they're ever getting anything to compete with the other tanks in this regard, it'll likely take another expansion for them to do so.

[OmegaFlare]

The Blackest Night mitigates 20% dmg and allows you to pop a 650 potency atk. Depending on the fight, like in Lakshmi ex where she does a bunch of tankbusters during the first phase, your dps could go up a lot. I think the blackest night is insane and depending on how the raids are designed, DRK might be best suited for MT. How much higher is PLD dps than DRK dps on average?

Also, the damage outside of tankbusters is negligible and should never be an issue. You have to give the healers something to heal. Stacking tbn with either rampart or shadow wall makes you nearly invincible (Lakshmi's buffed pull of light takes like 5% of my hp bar). For multi-hit tankbusters like Ahk Morn, that's where Dark Mind comes in handy.

[TheCount]

Stacking tbn with either rampart or shadow wall makes you nearly invincible (Lakshmi's buffed pull of light takes like 5% of my hp bar). For multi-hit tankbusters like Ahk Morn, that's where Dark Mind comes in handy.

I'm gonna go ahead and call exaggeration and nonsense on Lakshmi ex only taking 5% of your health with her buffed tankbuster if you use TBN with rampart, for one TBN doesn't give you 'real' damage protection it just gives you a shield worth a certain amount, the only damage decrease there being the rampart in that case. Lakshmi's buffed tankbuster takes a little bit more than just 25% of your health if you only use rampart.

If it really was that good then Dark Knights would not be complaining about being unable to survive tankbusters from Lakshmi and Susano ex because they run out of mitigation to use while their TBN alone isn't enough to cut it

[Falgern]

I'm gonna go ahead and call exaggeration and nonsense on Lakshmi ex only taking 5% of your health with her buffed tankbuster if you use TBN with rampart, for one TBN doesn't give you 'real' damage protection it just gives you a shield worth a certain amount

TBN is 20% of your maximum health, meaning it is equal to rampart in terms of damage reduction if the damage you take is equal to the maximum of your health, and will reduce more damage than rampart if the damage is below your maximum health. Saying it doesn't provide "real" damage protection is just a stupid statement. It's just as good as any other cooldown in terms of reducing incoming damage. It is an absurdly strong cooldown and only really suffers when the damage is spread out in multiple hits.

If it really was that good then Dark Knights would not be complaining about being unable to survive tankbusters from Lakshmi and Susano ex because they run out of mitigation to use while their TBN alone isn't enough to cut it

Sorry what? I've tanked both of these a stupid amount of times, there is never a point where you run out of cooldowns on either of these encounters unless you're completely incapable of managing your cooldowns to any degree. TBN + Anything else is enough to survive whatever is thrown at you unless you are severely under geared for the content.

[Renthas]

Got Bardam's Mettle for leveling roulette this morning, AST healer promptly said "Please don't be a DRK." twice. After the first few pulls, they said "At least you're an appropriately geared papertank" even though I was managing my cooldowns properly.
Think that's a sign of our current pre-70 mitigation issue.