Thread: DRK QOL changes for 5.4

greetings fellow DRK players and anyone else interested,

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. as of 5.3, WAR got a nice set of QOL changes that the job has needed for a very long time, and I for one am glad that the job will now be smoother to play... but DRK got nothing, and why is that?

We as DRK players have been too busy either trying to change the job back to older forms, or too busy complaining about how the current iteration has been robbed of its identity. it's time we took a stand together and follow in WAR mains example to come to a common consensus. its time we took the power into our hands.

I firmly believe that 5.35 or 5.4 would be the best time to implement these changes due to the mass influx of new players coming in to try Heavensward, and since those players will more than likely want to play DRK due to its marketing and popularity, now is the time to fine tune DRKs kit so that those new players can have a better leveling experience than we did, and so that the current DRK playerbase can have a better time with the current build going forward.

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>Blood Weapon- moved to lv 30. rework to make it work like Bunshin
should be reworked to function like NIN's Bunshin, where it gives us 5 stacks of "Blood Weapon" that grant 600mp/10 blood per weaponskill or spell used, lasts 12 seconds to allow 5 spells for AOE usage similar to requiescat. should be moved to lv 30 to help players build and spend at the same time. it makes no sense to introduce an expensive mana spender without giving DRK its iconic mana building tool to go along side it. unlocked alongside Flood of darkness from lv 30 job quest.

>Flood/edge of Darkness - lv 30 for flood, edge moved to lv 35
Flood of Darkness should have its potency nerfed slightly, maybe by 50, to compensate for Stalwart being moved to lv 40. would be a healthy change going forwards for synced content and does not affect balance at lv 80 due to lv 74 trait.

>Stalwart soul- moved to lv 40
this skill is a much needed tool for DRKs mana generation, and is also one of the only ways that DRK can do more AOE damage, thus allowing us to rely less on single target Souleater for sustain during large pulls. it makes no sense that the other 3 tanks get their aoe combo at this level and DRK has to wait until lv 72 for it. trait at lv 66 allows it to generate the 20 blood to go with quietus.

>Dark Missionary- moved to lv 58
Introduce this a lot earlier to allow new DRKs to learn to mitigate raidwide AOEs and provide party utility.
should have a 180 sec cooldown at lv 58, with a trait at lv 68 to make it 90sec, so it does not become too strong in HW and promotes smart usage for ultimate content.

>Living Dead
should receive a 30% healing received buff during both Living and Walking Dead, to help for when usage cannot be planned, or if WHM is not present. will also give some agency back to DRK players to help cleanse their own debuff.

>Salted Earth
allow this to generate blood once more at lv 62, but cap it at 50 blood so that it cannot become too strong during mass pulls. ideally can generate an extra quietus/bloodspiller when needed

>Abyssal Drain
give it 2 charges! it's terribly weak in single target, so wouldn't affect anything all too much, but can also be used in dungeons during mass pulls, and would help lessen the strain on healers during Living Dead or other high healing moments.

>Carve and Spit
this skill is unlocked at lv 60, and has a high potency, but only restores 600mp? The skill would feel better to use if it had its potency nerfed, but had its cooldown reduced to 30 seconds, because a lv 60 skill restoring 600mp every minute isn't a whole lot, and doesn't feel that impactful as a source of mana generation for the builder and spender class.

>Delirium
this should allow both bloodspiller and quietus to generate at least 600mp per swing, for a total of 3000mp. the current 200mp per bloodspiller does not generate enough mana to break up the monotony of 1-2-3 spam after burst windows.

>Quietus/Bloodspiller
possibly nerf their potencies slightly to make up for the extra blood from Salted/Stalwart. would help keep the jobs damage in line for STB and SHB content.

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Despite the mixed feelings we all have, I believe we can come together to agree on a set of changes that would be healthy for the job going forward, so I figured I would try to take the initiative and propose a few that I believe can be easily implemented by 5.4 (or maybe 5.35 if we are lucky :P)

I am once again asking my fellow DRK players, lets come together and decide on some healthy changes moving forwards, instead of sitting here brooding over what we lost and cannot get back until 6.0. I have strong faith in my fellow DRK players to come to an agreement, the same way WAR mains were able to do so.

Originally Posted by currentlemon

Thank you for doing this. The problem that I saw with DRK mains is that they never came together and provided QoL changes to the current DRK build after the expansion came out. Most would either get into arguments of what DRK should be or ramble all day what reworks work best for the job.

After 5.3, we need to come together and ask SE for some QoL changes like what the WAR mains did. At least for now until the later patches come out. Don't get me wrong, DRK definitely needs something, but we gotta start small first. A few changes like what you suggested is a start.

You can try searching the whole tank forum for other a threads since 5.0

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...elirium-rework

It isn't that DRK never came together and provided QoL changes but it's that at some point it always get foiled , hindered , derailed by other tank especially WAR. "In the name of balance blah blah blah" and now WAR get everything they want except being numba one in term of dps among the tanks. We'll see how 5.3 change fflog.


Also..

Originally Posted by shao32

It was in the pax event before SHB launch where certain streamers go invited to try the job changes, xenosys vex raised his concerns with living dead to Yoship during his interview, he get a "we will look at it" from Yoship and nothing more since then.

What Yoshida has been doing since then is upgrade WAR and completely ignore DRK.

Originally Posted by cactuarzzzz

Literal hindering

I feel like we are back in StB with this WAR hate from DRKs.

The patterns feel very familiar: WAR gets something, DRKs hate. DRKs complain about WAR. Community responds. DRK gets upset that response isn’t always echoing their feelings. DRK complains and blames “WAR mains.” Cycle continues.

I was nice with my comment within that other thread you started. Though, since I am seeing you here actually hindering a discussion with a theme that I think many of us could get behind, my comment here to isn’t going to be as nice.

DRK is in the state it is in because the community made it that way, and the community still hasn’t accepted any responsibility for making DRK the way it is. Yes, it is your fault why DRK the way it is.

This whole mess of DRK being a “WAR with darkness and magic” theme we have going on right now is the fault of the community constantly fighting between DRK and WAR. DRK players in StB kept fighting for the same spot in parties as WAR. Instead of trying to compete equally with PLD and WAR, DRKs only focused on WARs.

DRKs only compared themselves to WAR.

Look what you got now: DRK with no unique theme but a powerful shield, an invul that people don’t like, weird level ability placement, and it grows into a WAR clone. What else SE was going to think when for almost all of StB, DRKs focused their attention on WAR?

If you want to keep this WAR clone theme going and messy room of a level ability leveling scheme: keep doing what you are doing.


As for “balance”, yeah, they have to consider that. That’s why in the other thread, I stated SE only adjusted pieces of code that were small. Small changes are easier to implement when considering "balance."

Originally Posted by Xtrasweettea

I feel like we are back in StB with this WAR hate from DRKs.

The patterns feel very familiar: WAR gets something, DRKs hate. DRKs complain about WAR. Community responds. DRK gets upset that response isn’t always echoing their feelings. DRK complains and blames “WAR mains.” Cycle continues.

I was nice with my comment within that other thread you started. Though, since I am seeing you here actually hindering a discussion with a theme that I think many of us could get behind, my comment here to isn’t going to be as nice.

DRK is in the state it is in because the community made it that way, and the community still hasn’t accepted any responsibility for making DRK the way it is. Yes, it is your fault why DRK the way it is.

This whole mess of DRK being a “WAR with darkness and magic” theme we have going on right now is the fault of the community constantly fighting between DRK and WAR. DRK players in StB kept fighting for the same spot in parties as WAR. Instead of trying to compete equally with PLD and WAR, DRKs only focused on WARs.

DRKs only compared themselves to WAR.

Look what you got now: DRK with no unique theme but a powerful shield, an invul that people don’t like, weird level ability placement, and it grows into a WAR clone. What else SE was going to think when for almost all of StB, DRKs focused their attention on WAR?

If you want to keep this WAR clone theme going and messy room of a level ability leveling scheme: keep doing what you are doing.


As for “balance”, yeah, they have to consider that. That’s why in the other thread, I stated SE only adjusted pieces of code that were small. Small changes are easier to implement when considering "balance."

Show me the proof that "DRK is in the state it is in because the community made it that way"!

You believing DRK is one who start attacking WAR? I have proof that every time DRK create a thread it's always WAR that came with intention to hinder/derail us.

WAR have a habit to go to the next neighbourhood and make sure they're the top.



https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...ut-Living-Dead
"We really need to talk about living dead"
OP did not even mention WAR.

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...ad-not-removed
This thread too. OP did not even mention WAR or other tank but then guess who show up to troll?

even 2 of of my DRK changes thread that doesn't even mention WAR too
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...t-won-t-happen.
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...Knight-QOL-V.2

Originally Posted by WhyAmIHere

I remember, back in the Halcyon days of SB, when a user made a post. I think theyre name was Lyth? Who endeavored to propose a sweeping set of ideas and changes to unify DRK players to hope for changes and improvements to DRK. There were other more prolific posters as well and all of them wanted to see DRK improve.

I don't see the old guard anymore and I have yet to read up on this thread, but I just wanted to point this out.

I still see a few recurring DRK posters every now and then, but I do recommend you skip most of the thread, as it's mostly nonsensical squabbling up until the point where Lyth posted.

I just figured I would take it upon myself to do this since I am very passionate about FFXIV and want to see true change come to the job that made me 100% sure I would be playing this game until the end. DRK has been my fav job since it was released, and seeing it in its current state makes me very sad, not because of the attempt to make it more accessible, but because none of the unique gameplay elements were retained. on top of that, the current kit has potential to be decent, but it's skill placement keeps it from being fun until lv 72 when Stalwart Soul comes to round off the kits potential. (plus its animation is way too cool not to be used for 90% of the content)

My only wish from this is that the kit gets modified so that new players coming in for the Heavensward free trial will get to experience a more fun version of the job than what we had to play with for the majority of this xpac, and that in the future, we can work together to bring back some of the HW and STB gameplay identity to this potentially fun kit.