Dark Knight Megathread

[Absurdity]

Dark Knight has always been interconnected with the concept of a magic using knight. The original in FF3 was literally called "Magic Swordsman".

A concept that has been completely lost over the years. Sure you still "cast" magic, but where is that interconnectivity? It's just an amalgamation of fire-and-forget cooldowns with no connection to each other.
But that's really the case for tanks in general.

When "press this button for big numbers, X seconds cooldown" and "congratulations, you remembered to press this cooldown, your reward for rubbing two braincells together are these skills that do big numbers for free" became the devs idea of peak design we should've known they completely lost the plot.

And the worst part, as soon as the trailer with new flashy effects comes out all the streamers and content creators, even those that brought up the exact same complaints we have, make their best impression of a pogchamp face and gush all over the additions that are all flash and zero substance.

[ThorneDynasty]

We were speaking more thematically than the gameplay of it.

[noumen0nn]

I will admit to being new blood when it comes to DRK, I mained it while going through MSQ back in ShB and got into savage and ultimate with it throughout EW. All things considered I was pretty happy with EW DRK. It definitely could another plate or two to spin, but MP management/holding dark arts for 2mins, blood management for fights with downtime, and the super busy burst window were all nice things to have.

Now we're losing the sole reason blood management exists, and losing a significant number of weaves under burst. What is the plan here? Who exactly is this job supposed to appeal to now?

The more I learn about how DRK worked before ShB, the more I regret not discovering this game earlier.

[Lyth]

I think it depends on what iterations you've played. In Heavensward, DRK was generally viewed as fast paced (job APM was on par with NIN) and challenging (widely viewed as the most difficult tank, and one of the more challenging jobs in general). During the transition into Stormblood, the newly introduced role action system resulted in the DRK losing a lot of actions that it had previously. The job was deliberately set at a disadvantage in both DPS (DRK was behind by about 500 dps on some fights) and utility (no job-specific raidwide mitigation at a time where Veil and Shake gave significant bonuses to LB generation) from the onset in order to move from a predominantly DRK/WAR meta to a PLD/WAR meta. And the developers responded to complaints about MP management and job difficulty that had come up during Heavensward by removing the drain from Darkside. This in turn had a knock-on effect to Dark Arts, leading to DA being weaved on most GCDs. Interestingly, the general perspectives at the time were that Stormblood was a simplified version of Heavensward DRK, with less buttons, less damage, less burst, and less utility. It was simultaneously viewed as low skill and ineffective.

It's kind of hilarious, because this entire forum was up in arms against the changes made to DRK during the transition into Stormblood. Someone who was just starting the game during Stormblood and who wasn't aware of the raid related disadvantages would probably look back fondly on it, however. In a few years I suppose we'll see mention of the 'good old days' of Shadowbringers.

[Oizen]

Well I mean if you look at it through that Lense Dark Knight was the best tank of Endwalker, being the go to pick for 2 of the 3 tiers, completely fine in the 3rd tier, and the best tank in both ultis.
And I'll be honest I think a lot of the issues people cite about dark knight aren't even issues with the job directly, but rather the game as a whole.

[Lyth]

It's much more than just raid effectiveness. It's the combination of being able to invest effort into a job aesthetic that you enjoy, have a clear skill/performance differential that rewards time investment, and a sense of value for playing well.

In Heavensward, DRK was never most dominant pick (that goes to WAR, which was mandatory in every comp). If you wanted to play DRK, you did need to know how to play PLD as well for certain fights. But there was a clear skill differential, it was viewed as not just the most challenging tank but one of the most challenging jobs overall, and you were valued for being able to play it well. I don't think that you could have asked for anything more.

[mallleable]

DRK should keep Plunge, but treat it like an actual attack like it's a DRG jump attack.

[Oizen]

DRK should keep Plunge, but treat it like an actual attack like it's a DRG jump attack.

That be an elegant solution for people who miss the animation, especially if it was just a 30s GCD that was meant to be used for damage in a burst window.
But I'm going to be honest, I want a no damage gap closer as a whole and I like this change.

[GoatOfWar]

That be an elegant solution for people who miss the animation, especially if it was just a 30s GCD that was meant to be used for damage in a burst window.
But I'm going to be honest, I want a no damage gap closer as a whole and I like this change.

Removing the potency makes a gap closer completely thoughtless, you don't even have to plan them out in the few fights that knock you back or has bosses move.
No, it will just always be available. I don't like that. They could have given us a new dps OGCD to fill up the gap but they didn't. They did give Warrior a bunch of new OGCD's though.
With all of these changes, like blood gauge removed from LS, 123 consolidated into 1 button, blood weapon and delirium merged, and Plunge removed, it looks like Warrior will finally not be the most braindead job in the game anymore, it will be Dark knight.

I probably won't be playing tank for the next 3 years.

[Oizen]

123 consolidated into 1 button

this is not happening