DRK's Sustainability and suggestions

[SummerScorcher]

Alright, I made a thread a couple of days back regarding Abyssal Drain's potency compared to other sustain CD's and Sole Survivor being removed.


Now, a while back I also made a thread about a similar suggestion, but I thought I'd bring it back to the front just in case- and since they brought back Mythril Tempest for Warrior I don't see it being super impossible. Call me persistent, but I really don't want to see DRK with for some reason less sustain than the other tanks again.

Tar Pit was a cooldown back in Heavensward PVP that did okay damage, but absorbed a ton of HP. It looked/sounded awesome and felt pretty powerful to use back then. I'd like to see Tar Pit return to DRK at Lv. 58 as their sustain cooldown. All tanks have their 1200 potency healing skills, once again except DRK (Abyssal Drain exists yes, but in single target it's nothing compared to the other healing CDs and in AoE you need at least 6 targets to get it on the same level.)
You could also argue that DRK always has Souleater now, but WAR has Storm's Path and GNB has Brutal Shell which do essentially the same thing.

Anyways, I've made a quick Mspaint skill tooltip with the rough details (Numbers are of course changeable to whatever):

The general idea is that it's a DRK themed Equilibrium / Clemency / Aurora, it's 1200 potency of healing in whatever scenario you use it. In single target you'd get a straight 1200 potency HP absorb, 2 targets 600 potency each, 4 targets 300 potency each and so on.
It'd be free with a Dark Arts proc, and since it's less potency than Flood/Edge of Shadow, it wouldn't change your rotation at all- but it does give you that extra bit of decision making wether you want health or damage.


So yeah, I think I covered everything, the animation and sound effects are already in the game and it doesn't mess with it's DPS rotation. I'm curious what you guys' thoughts are and how you feel DRK's sustainability is with the info we have now. I know there's a couple more issues with the new DRK, but I think it's sustainability compared to other tanks is one of them.

[ADVSS]

I like the idea of giving DRK more sustainability, but after looking at several discussion threads and seeing whats going on with the tanks, something most of them all lost was just this - and Im almost certain the reason is to build more co dependancy on healers and their healing. And if they dont want to heal then, 1 22 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 22 spam for all of them. At least thats what Ive noticed. Its a sad affair, but it looks like the direction the game is heading. Id expect nothing more than second wind for the tanks in 6.0 going forward.

[Renato]

Blood Weapon - Restores HP per attack and increases Skill Speed. 60 second recast.

Abyssal Drain - Stays the way it is for ShB.

Quietus - Completely drains Blood Gauge to restore HP according to the amount of Blood Points built up. (The more BP, the more HP restored) 2.50 Recast.

I feel like if those three things were changed in combination with Soul Eater not requiring Grit to restore HP, DRK would be in a good spot as far as a self-sustain goes. Quietus seems like it's useless in ShB removing the MP regen effect. Removing another DPS skill which DRK seems to have a lot of in ShB doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference.

[Jeeqbit]

All tank's self-sustain is pretty much unchanged, besides WAR which may be able to use Nascent Flash on themselves while using Decimate, instead of Steel Cyclone doing that.

Souleater's cure potency is 300 and does not require Grit.

Abyssal Drain can be used once every 60 seconds. I don't combine this with Dark Arts more than once every 60 seconds anyway, usually when the healer is struggling or still catching up to me.

Souleater+Abyssal Drain on a boss is 500 combined cure potency.

Maybe the simulacrum's Abyssal Drain heals us?

Quietus combined with Blood Weapon or Delirium restores MP. Quietus is the highest potency AoE action, so it's difficult to see how it's useless.

[Seraphor]

I'd rather have Blood Weapon absorb HP instead of MP as a sustain option, rather than a huge single heal.
Especially now that Blood Weapon and Delerium are virtually identical besides Deleriums addition effect.

[SummerScorcher]

All tank's self-sustain is pretty much unchanged, besides WAR which may be able to use Nascent Flash on themselves while using Decimate, instead of Steel Cyclone doing that.

Souleater's cure potency is 300 and does not require Grit.

Abyssal Drain can be used once every 60 seconds. I don't combine this with Dark Arts more than once every 60 seconds anyway, usually when the healer is struggling or still catching up to me.

Souleater+Abyssal Drain on a boss is 500 combined cure potency.

Maybe the simulacrum's Abyssal Drain heals us?

Quietus combined with Blood Weapon or Delirium restores MP. Quietus is the highest potency AoE action, so it's difficult to see how it's useless.

DRK lost Sole Survivor and spammable AD, but gained very little to compensate. You can't DA Souleater anymore for bigger heals either. Did they lose this additional healing to introduce Souleater healing out of grit? That wouldn't make sense since the other tanks excluding PLD have their own version of SE (~300 potency heal every 3 GCDs) and STILL have a big heal skill as well.

Souleater + AD may be 500 combined cure potency, but Storm's path + Equilibrium is 1450 combined cure potency. Same for GNB and Brutal shell + Aurora. And unfortunately judging from the Media Tour videos, Living Shadow's Abyssal does not actually cure you. That might be changed at release but even then it's only 200 pot every 2 minutes- it doesn't compare to what the others have.

[Duskane]

AD 500 potency heal
blood spiller and Quietis now cut 5 seconds off AD CD

[Jeeqbit]

Currently, Souleater seems to recover a random amount of the damage dealt (anywhere from 1-100% of 288 or 422 with DA?).

RNG will even it out to an average potency of 144 or 211 with DA.

The cure potency in 5.0 is a flat 300, which is a buff compared to these two averages.

It's obviously got the least of the self heals but that's always been the case, because using DA+Abyssal Drain twice is sacrificing your entire ability to AoE for a period of time.

In practice, have I struggled with self-sustain on DRK beyond being forced into Grit to do it? No, because the combination of cooldowns, stuns, souleater, very rarely DA+abyssal, resolve any problems. Since in 5.0 Souleater's heal is buffed and Abyssal's heal doesn't drain MP, my self-sustain should be way better.

I mostly use DRK in pre-70 content, so at 70 there is The Blackest Night too which absorbs damage totalling 25% of maximum HP. Technically that is self-sustain and could help you survive when combined with Souleater and Abyssal.

[SummerScorcher]

It's obviously got the least of the self heals but that's always been the case, because using DA+Abyssal Drain twice is sacrificing your entire ability to AoE for a period of time.

This is true, but why does it have to be? Why does DRK get shafted on this front compared to the other tanks? It's fun to be able to finish bosses or carry on while waiting for a healer in a dungeon, or even to solo content. Both PLD and WAR got to keep their sustain skills going into ShB but for some reason it had to go on DRK. It just feels tacky.

[kidalutz]

Blood Weapon - Restores HP per attack and increases Skill Speed. 60 second recast.

Abyssal Drain - Stays the way it is for ShB.

Quietus - Completely drains Blood Gauge to restore HP according to the amount of Blood Points built up. (The more BP, the more HP restored) 2.50 Recast.

I feel like if those three things were changed in combination with Soul Eater not requiring Grit to restore HP, DRK would be in a good spot as far as a self-sustain goes. Quietus seems like it's useless in ShB removing the MP regen effect. Removing another DPS skill which DRK seems to have a lot of in ShB doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference.

except...theres no point in ever taking off tank stance now no damage cut for using it.