DRK Consolidated Feedback Thread

[SyzzleSpark]

Some thoughts on these:

1A) Problem: DRK is lacking in lower-end mitigation to be used for basic incoming damage such as auto-attacks when compared to the other tanks.
1B) Solution: Add an additional effect to Blood Price where the % of damage returned as HP from Soul Eater is increased. Also Blood Price MP and Blood return could use a boost.
2B) See suggestion 3B.

I believe Souleater's HP gain return should be doubled or at least set at 150% of the damage dealt, as a baseline. When you look at things like PLD's ability to block, Clemency, WAR's passive Defiance Parry boost and Equilibrium/IB, its pretty clear that these are intended to be bonuses at the expense of DPS, while tanking, or while in tank stance. If Souleater's heal is the equivalent to these aspects of those jobs, its incredibly weak, and provides poor defensive incentive to use Grit beyond the baselines -20% DR. While I used to think attaching a % DR to Blood Price or an idea such as yours would be good for the job, I don't think its what it needs at this point. Souleater just needs its healing buffed altogether. The fact that the healing component is tied to an attack that doesn't even ignore the Grit penalty, in spite of being tied to Grit, is really stupid as well.

2A) Problem: Shadow Wall is discernibly worse than it's equivalents on the other tanks, Vengeance and Sentinel.
2B) Solution: Reduce Shadow Wall's CD from 180 seconds to 120 seconds.

This is good for the job and a good idea, but I don't even think we should stop there. Shadow Wall would still be kinda meh even at 120s and still be 100% inferior to Vengeance. I think a good solution to this would be to have DA shorten its recast time by 1-2s per cast.

3A) Problem: Dark Passenger no longer seems to be useful due to low damage and a steep resource (MP) cost.
3B) Solution: Increase recast time to 60s. Remove base MP cost. Remove Blind effect from DA version. Add the additional effect of reducing target's damage dealt by X% (5%?) for the DAed version for 15s.

I would rather its MP cost stay, but simply be lowered. They already did this ability right once (in 3.x) they should simply put it back where it was. Simplest solution is often the best.

4A) Problem: Carve & Spit needs to provide more of a decision to DA or not since the non-DA version lacks value compared to the DA version.
4B) Solution: Increase non-DAed version's potency to 140 and increase it's MP return to equal the cost of a DA.

I actually don't think this is a problem at all. DA effects should rightfully be superior in a majority of cases to their non-DA'ed versions. Carve and Spit is a goalpost mechanic. It comes up once per minute to ensure that you are managing your mana properly, and if you aren't, you suffer a considerable DPS loss by either delaying its use or using the un-DA'ed version. Buffing the non-DA'ed version raises the skill floor, which is already stupidly high on this job, and makes getting off a DA-C&S less rewarding/less of a gain, which is the precise same problem as you have outlined with Bloodspiller in #8.

5A) Problem: The Blackest Night's duration feels a bit short, especially with a slight delay in activation (hope I'm not the only one that notices this).
5B) Solution: Increase duration from 5 seconds to 6 seconds, same duration as Inner Beast.

I was a pretty brutalized victim of the DC relocation, and I frequently am saddled with 150-200 ping, and yet I rarely have the delay issue with TBN even when using it with a macro. However, the duration increase I have no argument with, it can and should happen.

6A) Problem: Sole Survivor has little to no use in boss fights.
6B) Solution: Reduce recast to 90s. Additional effect of placing the buff Soul Tap on the player, doubles the MP returned from Syphon Strike for a duration of 15s.

I find buffs that give DRK more mana a bit extraneous, because the job is already drowning in it since SB; overflow is a very real danger and preventing it is a proper mechanic of the job. I think a very simple way to give this ability value would be to have it restore 20% of your HP immediately, and give you the mana if the mob dies. This way it has value regardless of the situation.

7A) Problem: Living Dead is a way more cumbersome ability compared to it's equivalents on the other tanks, Hallowed Ground and Holmgang.
7B) Solution: First off it NEEDS better visual messaging for the activation of the Walking Dead status so that healers can easily see when this goes active and they need to react, this should at least include a much larger/noticeable visual fx on the DRK. Make self-healing count towards the needed incoming heals with maybe a buff to self-heals. Change the potential of dying if not healed to receiving a weakness/brink of death debuff for X seconds (30 seconds?).

Self healing already counts towards cleansing Walking Dead actually, its just that ours is so paltry and healers so readily burst it off of you when they notice it that you barely see any effect. Honestly this ability should just be scrapped altogether and made into something else, its annoying as hell. I used to think this ability was great, because I had a static, then I took a break from the game and I've been living the pug life ever since, and even when I sub for organized groups, its as though healers don't even know this ability exists, its insane. I've mentioned elsewhere on the forums that 90% of the buffs that people suggest to LD actually make it worse in some ways. This is no exception, as I guarantee you this idea will just give healers an excuse to ignore it further if they don't care about your DPS.

8A) Problem: As of 4.05 Bloodspiller is not enough of a gain when used.
8B) Solution: Additional effect of reducing Delerium CD by X seconds (20s?) when used without DA. Decrease potency of non-DAed Bloodspiller by 20 to 380, 455 in Grit. Increase potency of DAed Bloodspiller by 20 to 560, 670 in Grit.

Natural Bloodspillers are a significant potency gain. Its only when the blood to use them is proc'ed with TBN that the situation becomes dubious. I think the simplest solution here, and one that has been suggested many times, is to have TBN, if it pops, proc a free DA effect on your next Blood ability.

9A) Problem: Dark Mind is too reliant on the content being designed to cater to the ability.
9B) Solution: Change Dark Mind to Shadow Skin. Use the Shadow Skin icon and animation/fx from 3.X. Recast 60s. Reduces damage taken by 10%. DAed version reduces damage by 20%. Duration 15s.

Perfect, no argument here. I don't even think it would be OP at 20s duration.

10A) Problem: Delerium feels a bit underwhelming for a high level ability that costs half your gauge.
10B) Solution: Add the additional effects of providing a 1200 potency heal on use when in Grit and increase the MP gained on use by 50% (3600mp) out of Grit. Also just change the name to something that fits better like "Blood Frenzy".

Between the MP and the increased duration on BP/BW, Delirium is actually the best use of your blood gauge at all times. In fact, using it in Grit on BP even is a gain over using Bloodspiller, the only reason this is looked down upon is that you then cannot use it on BW for 2 minutes, which is of course bad. Again I think a recast reduction mechanic tied to DA would work well here, such as reducing its recast by 2-5s per DA, or perhaps extend the BW/BP buff to 10/20s respectively from 8/16s.