Question about handling huge trash mobs as Drk.

[Rubytoe]

After using blood price, and laying down salted earth. Should I be spamming abysal drain, or dark arts + abysal drain? Also thoughts on dark arts + Dark passenger for blind debuff? Im currently lvl 63 on my drk trying to figure out statergies on huge trash mobs. Like 8+ enemy mobs.

[Derio]

Dark arts + abysal drain with proper GCD usage. Also depending on the skill level of the group. Dont overpull if the dps is low or if the healer is undergeared especially as a DRK.

[SummerScorcher]

At lv63, I'd say you're doing well. As you level and get Quietus/Enhanced Blackblood/The Blackest Night, the trick is to use your single target weaponskills as little as you can; keep the mp flowing, Dark Arts + Abyssal Drain, DA + Quietus if you know its gonna cap your MP, and at lv70, make sure you always have mp for your next The Blackest Night- so you can repeat the cycle of Blood > MP > Blood > MP etc, etc.

As for Passenger, I generally avoid it unless I'm about to cap mp/theres at least 4 mobs. MP's better spent for Abyssal Drain. The DA blind is nice but isn't worth 50% of your MP bar.

[Rubytoe]

At lv63, I'd say you're doing well. As you level and get Quietus/Enhanced Blackblood/The Blackest Night, the trick is to use your single target weaponskills as little as you can; keep the mp flowing, Dark Arts + Abyssal Drain, DA + Quietus if you know its gonna cap your MP, and at lv70, make sure you always have mp for your next The Blackest Night- so you can repeat the cycle of Blood > MP > Blood > MP etc, etc.

As for Passenger, I generally avoid it unless I'm about to cap mp/theres at least 4 mobs. MP's better spent for Abyssal Drain. The DA blind is nice but isn't worth 50% of your MP bar.

Thanks for the insight! Man, i really do like dark passenger. I hope in the future square takes the mp cost off. I mean there isn't a cost for salted earth? So why not? Lol

[Xarius_Zache]

Dark Arts Dark Passenger is actually worth using in all AoE situations (in terms of DPS), because it is an oGCD, which makes it worth the MP cost. This post goes into what your priorities should be depending on the number of enemies: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...iciency_redux/.

[Claire_Pendragon]

EDIT: The following is incorrect, and is corrected by another poster.
Its only worth while in short burst DPS, longer lasting fights it wont be worth it.
But DRK is lacking Mitigation options quite often if they dont pull big, so DA+DP sometimes really is all you can do, to help mitigate dmg.

DA+AD on the other hand really isnt that great. You can do it, but I'd suggest only doing it when you really feel you need that HP to help the healer, and DA+DP isnt ready yet. (Which should be an impossibility.)

But there is an exception that DA+DP is a DPS increase depending on the number of enemies, and the amount of time you have to regen MP.

[ULoki]

DA + AD is a great combo to help mitigate tons of damages ONLY if there are a lot of mobs and should always be use than DA + DP. Take DP out of your hotbar. It's useless.

[Xarius_Zache]

DADP is almost always worth using in AoE situations; you have to value the fact that it's an oGCD, while AD is a GCD. It's not difficult to prove -- consider a case where you're fighting n enemies with n >= 2, and you're using 2 GCDs.

In Grit:
DADP + Hard Slash and Syphon Strike
Potency = 240n + 400
MP cost = 4800 - 2400 = 2400

AD x2
Potency = 240n
MP cost = 2640

So in Grit, you've gained 400 potency and used 240 less MP (and gained a blind effect).

Out of Grit, but with Blood Weapon up, or coming up in enough time for you to use the MP gained from it:
DADP + Hard Slash and Syphon Strike
Potency = 240n + 400
MP cost = 4800 - 1200 - 480*2 = 2640

AD x2
Potency = 240n
MP cost = 2640

So out of Grit, but with Blood Weapon up (or coming up in enough time for you to use the MP gained from it), you've gained 400 potency for the same MP, and gained a blind effect.

It's only a loss if you're out of Grit without Blood Weapon up, and enemies will die before you're able to get Blood Weapon up and use the MP gained from it, but they'll still survive long enough for you to gain 3+ casts of AD (because DADP is equal to 2 casts of AD). Note that this analysis ignores the possibility of losing Blood Price MP due to the blind effect, but there is a mitigation increase to counteract that. It also assumes that DP and AD hit the same number of enemies.

[Claire_Pendragon]

-quoted-

EDIT: What I respond with is incorrect.
For each enemy you add to the equation, the amount of DPS DP does, drops, because you spent 2 GCDs using a single target attack.
And since DRK needs to pull bigger, in order to keep CDs going longer, this is going to be an issue dependent on group size.

DA + AD is a great combo to help mitigate tons of damages ONLY if there are a lot of mobs

Incorrect, the more mobs there are, the more dmg you take.
It's equal.

The question is, is the DA for the absorb worth it for the MP cost, because thats more AoEs you can get off, and the sooner the fight ends, so u dont use up more CDs.
Which i think its fair to say its up to the individual, because its kind of apples to oranges, and cant be compared really.
(Obviously the MP spent is more effective on multiple targets, but not so much when compared to lost DPS, as the DPS loss goes up for the more targets you have.)

[Xarius_Zache]

For each enemy you add to the equation, the amount of DPS DP does, drops, because you spent 2 GCDs using a single target attack.
And since DRK needs to pull bigger, in order to keep CDs going longer, this is going to be an issue dependent on group size.

No; it's a gain regardless of how many enemies there are, as long as both DP and AD are hitting every enemy. DADP deals 240 potency to each enemy; two ADs also deal 240 potency to each enemy. The extra 400 single target potency is a pure gain over casting two ADs.