As well as bringing the old actions that people love so much back. While make DRK something in between the other 3 tanks without too much overlap with them.
What I'm about to suggest is simple yet static rotation play style with dot management but isn't clunky.
It could be a middle ground between New player who prefer simplification and Old player who longing for the old animation to return.
It isn't going to be much of a rework but considered how little time we have left I believe it is appropriate. I have a feeling that maybe the dev team has already began working with the change/rework and this idea wouldn't get notice but that is ok. I just want to say that some wish of the new and old player could be fulfilled.
The current Delirium,Bloodspiller and Quietus can be replace with something else.
- We can replace Syphon Slash animation withOld Delirium animation in heavensward. But I can understand if it don't happen.
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- We can bring [D]ark [A]rt back as a simple ogc that result in more gcd or more potency.
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DA=Cost 3000 mp. Duration 10s. Recast=2s. Can only be executed while in combat.
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Action that Dark Art have effect on=Soul Eater,Unleash,Stalwart Soul,Dark Passenger and Carve and Spit
Delirium+Soul Eater+Dark Art= Grant=Empowered. Action changed to power slash. Duration 10s [Landing Soul Eater after Delirium while under effect of Dark Art will result in Soul Eater temporary changed to Power Slash]
Power Slash=Deliver an attack with 600 potency to a single target. Empowered Fade upon execution.![]()
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Currently DRK is the only tank that suffered from having a spells as a standard AOE combo but that is ok, We can turn that to a unique feature.
DA+Unleash, Stalwart Soul = Increase potency by 100 and grant acumen, acumen effect : reduce spell recast time by 20% duration 10s. [Maximum duration can't be extended. It will cap at 10s to prevent DA spam]
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Dark Passenger = Independent Free GCD, Type = Weaponskill, Deliver and attack with a potency of 300 to all enemies in a straight line [10x10y] before you. Restore 300 mp. Recast time : 30s. Share a recast time with Carve and Spit. Effect does not stack when hitting multiple targets with a single attack.![]()
Carve and Spit = Independent Free GCD, Type = Weaponskill, Deliver and attack with a potency of 500 to a single target.
Restore 300 mp. Recast time : 30s. Share a recast time with Dark Passenger.
DA+Dark Passenger = Increase Potency by 250. DA+Enhanced Dark Passenger=Increase Potency by 300
DA+Carve and Spit = Grant Dark Edge. Duration 10s. Action Change to Edge of Darkness.
Edge of Darkness= Type : Ability, Deliver an attack with 350 potency to a single target. Can only be executed while under effect of Dark Edge. Dark Edge fade upon execution. Enhanced Edge of Darkness=Increase Potency by 150 [total 500]
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Dark Art Mastery=Also grant Swirling Darkness with no time limit but fade after execution of a certain actions. Only 1 stack of Swirling Darkness could be held. Which mean it need to be spend before the next Dark Art is used.
Abyssal Drain= Type : Spell. Deliver an attack with a potency of 600 to a target and all enemies nearby it. Restore 50% of damage dealt as hp. Required Swirling Darkness like GNB's action required a Cartridge in Shadowbringers.
Scourge= Type : Weaponskill. Deliver an attack with a potency of 400 to a single target. Additional Effect : Damage Overtime. Potency 100. Duration 18s. Required Swirling Darkness like GNB's action required a Cartridge in Shadowbringers. [This make scourge something between Goring Blade and Sonic Break. It is neither a Combo Ender like GB nor a Free GCD like SB. It is stronger than GB but weaker than SB. The duration is shoter than GB and SB]![]()
View from Behind
Frontal View
From the side
Frame by Frame
From behind>https://imgur.com/a/Gk90SJK
Frontal>https://imgur.com/a/93PJJiR
Side>https://imgur.com/a/JRMyBQF
Side>https://imgur.com/a/bTPGA1P
This action also need bigger explosion like
Carnage=Type : Weaponskill. Deliver an attack to a target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 1200 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. [big sword slam with a range and radius of 3x5y.] Recast : 60s. Required Swirling Darkness like GNB's action required a Cartridge in Shadowbringers.
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[B]lood [G]auge
Soul Eater/Stalwart Soul=Increase Blood Gauge by 10 instead of 20.
There're 2 ways to do this.
1. The easier way=Salted Earth operating the same way but require 50 BG with 15s recast time instead of 90s.
2. The more complex way :
Salted Earth=Place an area of effect that continue to deals damage to a target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 100 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Cost 50 BG. Duration 12s. Recast=12s. Targeting=Change from Ground AOE to Enemy only. [Please understand that it is very important to change the targeting mode from "ground target" to "enemy only" for smoother gameplay to ease the burden on the player]
Action is changed to Brand for the duration of the effect.
Brand [Use Sole Survivor Animation]*Caused Salted Earth to swirling and dealing instant damage to the target inside.* Marks target with the status Victim. If that target should be KO'd in battle, An attack with 300 potency to the enemies surrounding that target will be trigger. If the effect expires first, an attack with 500 potency will be inflict on that target instead. Duration 15s. Apply Annular effect on you when the effect expired. Annular Effect : Prevent the execution of Brand. Duration=120s. Show on Job hud UI.![]()
*[A multi hits, number of hits depend on the remaining duration of Salted Earth,More than 9s=4 hits,6s = 3hits,3s =2 hits,1s =1 hit. Ending the effect of Salted Earth at the same time].
With this we will have a dot that required a knowledge of the fight that could be triggered earlier if needed. Salted Earth can be triggered by Brand and Brand can also be triggered by other actions such as Carnage.
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Other Actions also need be change as well
Plung=2 Charges by default.
Grit=Additional Effect= Immune to silence. [DRK is the only tank that could suffered from silence debuff while fighting multiple targets and it needed a way to prevent that]
Darksides=Increase Damage Delts by 30%. Duration 15s. Recast 60s. [Use Blood Price animation. Instead of 10% the whole time I would prefer this to help me push through the situation that Damage is required. With 30% and 15s it could be something in the middle between Fight or Flight and No Mercy.
Blood Weapon = [Instantly increase Blood Gauge by 20 with BW Mastery] Grant 3 Stacks of Blood Weapon, Consume 1 stack and Restore 1000 MP [&10 BG with BW mastery] each time a Weaponskill is landed or a Spell is casted. Duration 10s. Effect does not stack when hitting multiple targets with a single attack.
Dark Mind=Reduce damage taken by 20%. Duration: 7s. Recast 25s. Targeting Self or Ally. Range= 30s. Additional Effect : Grants Dark Seal when used in combat [like how Astro's card only give divination seal if used in combat]. Dark Seal Effect : Dark Art consume 1 Dark Seal at a time instead of MP. Max Seals=2 Cost 3000 MP.[without something to stop natural mp regeneration and keep draining it, an action that prevent mp overcap is required to be implement earlier in the game]
Living Dead=Prevent Your hp from dropping below 20%. If your hp is already reduced to 20% any further incoming damage will be negate. Remove Walking Dead and Healing Requirement. Max Duration is 10s. Recast : 300s [You don't need to make it so when the effect fade monster only need to breath on your neck to make you faint. 1 hp is too overkill. 20% is enough to keep us in a critical condition/fatal injured]
Dark Missionary=Reduce [both magical and physical] damage taken by self and nearby party members by 10%. Additional Effect : Reduce damage delts by enemy within 15y radius by 10%. [Apply Debuff] Duration : 15s. Radius : 15y.
Conviction = Type : Trait. Grant effect of Conviction. Gradualy Restore mp. Durations 30s. [500 x 10 ticks] Can only triggered once under effect of Weakness/Verge of Death. [Currently DRK is the tank who suffered the most when KO because regain a resource such as mp is very slow compared to other tank like GNB for example, only need 2 combos of 1,2,3. Only 6 gcds to recover all resource]
The Blackest Night=Reduce Damage taken by 20%. Additional Effect : Restore hp upon landing Weaponskills or Spells. Cure Potency : 600. Duration 10s. Recast 90s. Effect does not stack when hitting multiple targets with a single attack.