Quote Originally Posted by ninninin View Post
And it isn't just XI. Tactics which have iconic DRK came out 5 years before XI and that make it over 2 decades
Unfortunately, Gaffgarion doesn't meet the criteria to be iconic. Memorable, sure. Iconic, no.

The point about bringing up FFXI DRK is that there are still people actively playing it as a job that received job updates within the last few years. Sure, people replay FFT, but except in remake versions the Dark Knight class there isn't even playable, though you do get its skills via Thunder God Cid.

DRK's only real identity is that it is a knight that wears dark armor and is usually associated with death and offense. Drains get tacked onto it sometime, because they are perceived as being in a similar vein. Related to darkness.

When DRK in XIV came out, it was associated with offense, being the only tank able to full time its tank stance and its DPS stance simultaneously 100% of the time. This was a great identity to have, in my opinion, as it brought the derpy casual tanks up in effectiveness if they took to maining DRK.

Under the right circumstances with good RNG it could even out damage WAR, and with Sole Survivor it had an ability that fed off of the death of its enemies. It also had great AOE drain capability with Dark Arts + Abyssal Drain. Really an optimal tank for dungeons, as its AOEs being all MP based let it sprint without having to manage TP, so it could sprint between every pull.

What Warrior does is not drain. Its skills heal it for the damage inflicted(in the past under bloodbath, in the now under NF). While it looks like a drain, it's more akin to showering in the enemy's blood and getting high off of it. The original Inner Beast healed 3x the amount of damage dealt. Its other skills like Thrill and Equilibrium are just self generated heals. Its job story is that you're a beast, and it's represented by having nearly bottomless wellspring of vitality.

DRK's story is that you're a knight willing to tap into the darkness within to use it as a source of strength to deliver justice for those in need. It's shown to be able to animate corpses, and to split someone's soul. Has a lot of tie ins with death. It's delivering everything and more that every previous incarnation of DRK has delivered. There's just a lot less focus on attachment to evil. I think you're obsessing over the wrong thing, and this is a WAR thread anyway, so you should probably make another DRK thread if you want to ramble on about your ideal DRK imaginings.