Is TBN a bad skill?

[Quor]

This isn't a surprising take from Xenosys Vex. I've raided with him before, and I used to watch his guide vids. He's very DPS centered on tank. That's his whole jam. He was a WAR main for a long time, and in FCoB he totally overlotted the tomestone and took it instead of the DPS in his group, on their first clear of Phoenix. He's that much into believing in tanks doing a lot of DPS, as much DPS as possible. In Heavensward he was notorious for telling his healers, "I wasn't topped." when he died from either popping a CD late or not just manning up and going into Defiance to Equilibrium himself(healer dead or stunned or something). Someone even made that bike meme about him, the one where the rider thrusts the pipe into their own spoke, and then blames their crash on someone else. Obviously he's a very good player, and operates well in a hardcore raid environment where blame flies back and forth, and while nobody is super duper consistent at clearing, they're hella good at DPSing and rotations and just need to one run where they're clean to win. His opinions are really only ever reflective of that type of group and environment though, not of the game at large.

So, of course he doesn't like The Blackest Night. Nevermind the fact that it lets you have all sorts of fun. Like in Eden 1 Savage I used it so that melee DPS could double up their gravity puddles, positioning wasn't a bear, and it always triggered my consolation Edge/Flood. It's a shame they toned down Savage boss auto attack damage. In the 3rd and 4th tiers of Savage in Stormblood for each tier, you could usually have your TBK break from the boss's autos alone, in one or two, depending on the boss. You just had to time it right. Easier to do as the off tank back then too.

Also people say it's "DPS neutral." Only when accounting for the DRK's personal DPS. As long as it saves your healers a GCD, that GCD goes to damage, and that GCD is pretty much at the strength of the Edge you lose if you screw the pooch. Raid DPS wise, it's an indirect gain, when used properly, and a bigger gain if you can use it so that DPS may bypass disengaging/keep uptime. Plus, if its use saves someone from death, this is rare, but if it does... that loss prevention can make or break a clear.

Well said.

"Muh dps" is basically the NPC meme of FF14. As I've said before and I'm sure I'll say many more times in the future, dps only matters after the tanks and healers have performed their primary roles. Nobody is clearing with a healer who just nukes or a tank who doesn't mitigate or position properly. Yes, dps is important, but it is not and never will be the most important thing. Mechanics are more important, and fulfilling your primary role is more important when playing a tank or healer.

As for Xeno, as many others have said he has a particular point of view on the game that is highly limited in scope. Like others have said, I've used TBN to save lives and healer GCD's like no one's business, and I guarantee the Glare and Broil 2 that we gained outdid any potential loss of damage that might have occurred cause I couldn't Edge once.