Niches/Specialities for DRK

[SyzzleSpark]

Came up with more ideas for the dev team in the form of 4 separate collections of buffs/fixes. One for DPS, one for Utility, one for Mitigation, and one Balanced. I posted a more over-the-top thread like this before, and decided to separate my ideas into separate “packages”.

Since DRK currently lacks a niche, these packages are designed to push DRK ahead of the other two tanks in *one* area, while mildly shoring up its flaws in the remaining departments but still leaving ample room for the other tanks to also have their niches. The balance package provides small buffs to all 3 categories in the hopes to equalize the 3 tanks without “homogenizing” too much.

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Package A: DPS focused- Reverts Dark Passenger and buffs Bloodspiller. Allows for greater burst windows by reducing both Blood gauge costs and returns. Small mitigation/sustain buffs to Sole Survivor and Dark Mind, and minor boost to utility on the former.

Dark Passenger:
-MP cost reduced to 1200
-Potency increased to 150
-Dark Arts potency increased to 250.

Sole Survivor:
-Simplified and changed into a simple 20% HP/MP restore on a 120s recast. Can be cast on a party member, restoring 10% of their maximum HP/MP/TP.

Bloodspiller:
-Potency increased to 440.
-Dark Arts Potency increased to 590.
-Ignores Grit Damage Penalty
-Restores 600 MP (1/4 of a Dark Arts)

Dark Mind:
-Duration increased to 20s
-Reduces all damage dealt.

Global:
Blood Gauge cost on Bloodspiller, Quietus, and Delirium reduced to 30.
Blood Gauge return on Blood Weapon/Blood Price/Souleater reduced to 2/3/5 respectively.
-This allows for greater burst DPS windows from the Blood Gauge while compensating by having it take longer to fill.

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Package B: Utility focused- Adds utility to Salted Earth and Sole Survivor with some minor DPS and mitigation buffs. Alters the TBN-BS interaction while out of Grit making it more beneficial to frequently shield party members while off-tanking.

Scourge:
-Reintroduced as a combo action off of Hard Slash.
-Combo Potency: 200
-Combo Bonus: Damage over time, potency: 40 duration: 30s

Salted Earth:
-New additional effect in addition to damage over time
-Party members standing within the affected area take 5% less damage and receive 5% additional healing.

Sole Survivor:
-Places a debuff on the target. If that target is KO’d in battle, 20% of your maximum HP and MP will be restored
-Recast reduced to 90s
-New additional effect: Party members absorb 30% of damage dealt to the target as HP.

Shadow Wall: Recast reduced to 150s. Duration increased to 20s.

Bloodspiller:
-Blood gauge cost reduced to 40.

The Blackest Night:
-Duration increased to 6s. Blood gauge return upon absorption increased to 60 if cast on a party member while not under the effect of Grit

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Package C: Mitigation focused- Minor adjustments to Grit, LD, TBN, and reinstates Dark Dance as a new CD that mimics the effects of 3.x Dark Dance+Reprisal, but only for the DRK. Minor buffs to utility and DPS through reduced MP cost on TBN and DP, as well as party damage reduction on DP.

The Blackest Night:
-Duration increased to 6s. MP cost reduced to 1800

Grit:
-MP cost remains, but is now oGCD with a 5s recast.

Living Dead:
-Walking Dead duration reduced to 5s, however no longer requires healing. Initial buff unchanged.

Dark Dance:
-Reintroduced as a 20% parry rate cooldown. 20s duration, 60s recast.
-Additional effect: Generates stacks of Dark Mettle upon successful parry.
-Dark Mettle effect: reduces all damage taken by 2%, up to a maximum of 10%. Duration: 20s.

Dark Passenger:
-MP cost reduced to 1200
-Potency increased to 150
-Dark Arts potency increased to 250.
-Dark Arts effect: reduces target’s STR and INT by 10% for 10s.

Souleater:
-HP restore available out of Grit
-Dark Arts+Grit effect - HP restore ignores the Grit penalty, restoring HP as though the damage was not reduced by 20%.

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Package D: Balanced- Borrows from all of the above. DPS buffs to DP and BS, Mitigation/sustain buffs to Sole Survivor/new Dark Dance, utility in Salted Earth. Slightly reduced MP cost on TBN.

Salted Earth:
-New additional effect in addition to damage over time
-Party members standing within the affected area take 5% less damage and receive 5% additional healing.

Sole Survivor:
-Simplified and changed into a simple 20% HP/MP restore on a 120s recast.

The Blackest Night:
Duration increased to 6s. MP cost reduced to 2000.

Dark Dance:
-Reintroduced as a 20% parry rate cooldown. 20s duration, 60s recast.
-Additional effect: Generates stacks of Dark Mettle upon successful parry.
-Dark Mettle effect: reduces all damage taken by 2%, up to a maximum of 10%. Duration: 20s.

Dark Passenger:
-MP cost reduced to 1200
-Potency increased to 150
-Dark Arts potency increased to 250.

Bloodspiller:
-Potency increased to 440.
-Dark Arts Potency increased to 590.
-Ignores Grit Damage Penalty
-Restores 600 MP (1/4 of a Dark Arts)

Cast a vote for A B C, or D?

[Chrono_Rising]

B has my vote

[Jukebox12]

You would have to change sent to 15 secs then

[347SPECTRE]

B or D, Can't really decide, I like both.

[DRKoftheAzure]

While some of them sound good most of them won't work if you just pick 1... you need to consider the role DRK is and ask yourself "Will this fit DRK both thematically and mechanically?" If come to no on 1 side or both then you need to reconsider how to make some the choices you offer better... so I vote none of the above...

[SummerScorcher]

I really like B the most, however, I wouldn't want to pass your idea for Dark Dance, Souleater and to return Passenger. I like to drop grit but also want to have some survivability to ease work on the healer/solo content. So dunno, I'd take B and then quickly rob A/D for their SE/DD/DP

[Nivarea]

Hey, that's some great idea. Don't know if any of these changes would work with good balance, but it's really interesting. All of them have their qualities. But concerning scourge, i think it would be better to make it chain from Syphon Strike, because making it branch out hard slash would create the same problem that PLD had in HW with Goring Blade chaing from savage blade, enemity generation which can be a problem.

I don't know which one is my favorite, but I must say I really like your idea for Dark Dance.

[Derio]

Cant really pick 1.

I know that Shadow Wall, Dark Mind, Dark Passenger all need to be addressed and its sad we have to wait until 4.2, however I hope they at least work on those 3 skills first and then work their way from there.

[Comrade_uri]

It's a shame drk can't be like AST in a way. In one stance it's a whim and in another it's a sch. It always has a place that way

[SplittingSkies]

A and B gets my vote. More so B than anything, and the Dark Dance revival and the Dark Mettle idea is very appealing.