5 Reasons Why You Should Play Dark Knight/DRK

[@bocatt9202]

I just finished the 70 job quest for DRK and it felt so right unlocking TBN. Gaining a new, powerful ability with narrative weight and justification gives those good good RPG vibes.

[@emmacatte]

ah yes, a video about the objective, subjective and absolute best class in every final fantasy game to exist. No, I'm not biased. btw your glam is on point once again

[@soaringbladesgobrrr]

I’m a dark knight lover too! Ever since Cecil from FF4. I wish we got more of them in the FF games. Have you checked out Stranger of Paradise yet? You can make Dark Knight super strong in that game with the right gear.

[@morriganrenfield8240]

@@soaringbladesgobrrr i couldn’t figure out dark knight in SOP unfortunately. Constantly losing health while attacking is just such a hard thing to overcome

[@soaringbladesgobrrr]

@@morriganrenfield8240 yea it’s confusing at first since the game doesn’t tell you what to do for it, but basically you’re supposed to activate the blood weapon ability so you heal yourself when you attack the enemies. It’s an ability under the marauder tree. So it takes a little extra effort since you have to remember to keep that ability active, but the extra damage is great.

[@NerfsDJ]

As a DRK main this warms my cold edgy hart :')

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

I am glad to hear that

[@shulkdrk3705]

Ye 🖤

[@jammedtuba7820]

Preach

[@kaycarr08]

What are those boots are on your dark knight?

[@Dooood89]

​@@kaycarr08what is this while Set? Can you please Tell me? The glowing chest, the cool helmet and maybe the Rest If you know please

[@P_OmSa]

They should change Living Shadow so that it appears instantly, via plunge cut, when called in-combat, and leave the summon animation for when you're not in combat mode, starting the countdown when you pull. That way you'd get the best of both worlds: the cool animation and the instantaneous effect. And yes, Frey's actions should reflect your own attacks in some way. Right now, Living Shadow is basically a DoT skill that takes 7 seconds to activate.

[@Zurui1150]

Since I always loved playing Greatswords in games like Monster Hunter and Dark Souls I picked up DRK when I came to Ishgard and it never let me go again. The job quests are one of my favorite story, DRK itself is fast and fun to play and it finally managed to bring the fun of tanking to me.

[@stumpernek]

same

[@leonardosuarezsanchez3645]

Despi talking about DRK with the mandatory DMC music on the back Yep perfection incarnated Was missing this

[@sonartech7721]

That was a BADASS INTRO. Holy hell!! Didn’t expect to open the vid and go straight into head banging. AWESOME!!

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

Thank you ❤️

[@Kyuuren13]

I love all tanks equally, I once started as MRD and then picked up DRK as my third tank to play after Gunbreaker, I heavily enjoyed it in shadowbringers. I did see major flaws with Dark Knight during 6.0 and I'm glad they did some changes and started playing Dark Knight a little bit more in raids and dungeons. The job can still be a bit sketchy in dungeons but no means learning when to mitigate properly without the sustain that Paladin and Warrior gets can be quite fun. Good job on the video!

[@TheZman289]

At this point, I would love each of us to come together and just gush about DRK. I love the job so much.

[@Incaru]

You remind me why I listen to bury the light everytime I play DRK

[@olkapolka99]

Just started drk and loving it!!!! My first tank ever... how did i go so long without trying it! Awesome

[@spiralfox6096]

I literally just started playing Dark Knight like an hour before this video lmao

[@Last_Man_Alivv]

That "Together!" made me think of all the times me and another DRK used TBN on each other

[@JamzP14]

Really, the easiest way to improve TBN is to have a lower level ability that works similarly. With TBN just being an upgrade. My opinion would be to just make it only a shield. TBN upgrades the shield to be able to use the offensive oGCDs for free. That way new DRKs can focus on using the shield when needed and TBN adds in the level of wanting to make sure it pops.

[@chrispreczewski]

I was meant to be the Warrior of Darkness... ... so long PLD

[@nerobiblios4086]

I'm a DRK main for better or for worse. Ride or die, DRK will always be the Job that keeps me playing FFXIV.

[@colemcgrath644]

I can smell the Xeno’s reaction coming

[@garrettallen69]

Oblation is my only real complaint as a Dark Knight main. Devs should just make it a higher feature added to TBN or add something to make it make it stand out more as an ability. Maybe they can add like a minor regen HP over time with its ability when TBN's shield successfully breaks while ability is in effect. That would kill 2 birds with one stone.

[@kumomeme7852]

add additional sustain skill for drk? devs hate that foremost 😂

[@lyconxero457]

I'm REALLY happy with the Dark Knight changes they made in 6.1, but I do still think that TBN needs a bit more love. What's crazy to me is that Arcane Crest is essentially what I wanted TBN to become but they gave it to Reaper instead (which I'm not complaining about as I main Reaper now but dayum). My recommendation for the skill is to raise the cooldown to 25 seconds like all the other tank cooldowns, remove the MP cost, and make it so that when the shield is fully broken you get the mitigation from that new ability that they added which could then be removed. This serves the dual purpose of cutting down on button bloat as well as still giving Dark Knights a reason to hope that their shield is fully absorbed. Past that, I would make it so that blood weapon not only restores MP and HP as well to give Dark Knights just a tad bit more self-sustain.

[@honestbenny]

Agree why the fk Dark Mind and Missionary are still magic damage ffs....

[@XernuhtZwei]

DRK just carried me through 3.0 and I'm already in love with it more than PAL or GNB. That said, I would be totally down for some minor skill shuffling to get TBN at Lv. 60 maybe? Maybe shove Carve And Spit down to Lv. 58, too?

[@joshstill5509]

Omg...Yoshi sipping on wine watching Xeno. That made the video for me😂

[@TheJoke2Far]

Yooooo what's that helmet?

[@Dooood89]

Whats the whole Set?

[@Faroundandfoundout]

am Xbox and I’ve been playing the beta and I just now finally got there. Dark Knight is so fun.

[@peger]

The power of Edgeines is strong in this one ^^

[@Eggjakey]

Yoo this is definitively the first intro I’ve ever re watched for anything, someone please give me the song name

[@someoneelse7287]

Bury the Light from DMC 5

[@Eggjakey]

@@someoneelse7287 thank you for this blessing

[@someoneelse7287]

@@Eggjakey I gotchu fam. Enjoy

[@1985Seraphim]

This class reminds me of Guts from Berserk👍Next class that I shall play is confirmed 🤟🤟

[@zoruasnivy]

It was inspired by Berserk 🙂

[@kutlumzrak2689]

Odenta Kai, my choice of DRK glam weapon as well.

[@Mitch-kj3hd]

my 1st tank ever and my main job ever since... the TBN is an addictive stuf the edginess just a bonus that make us a Cool Junky 😎

[@mariomario7379]

The sustain is the only issue I have with them. I know they have TBN but a regen would be nice. They glam better than any other tank, I just wish they weren't as squishy. I do understand though that DRK has always been about damage and HP sacrifice, but I can still dream.

[@skyfall103]

They kinda hit that mark with the pvp kit. I have no clue what it looked like before but i quite like what they did with drk with the pvp rework

[@mariomario7379]

@@skyfall103 I noticed that! I wish that could be integrated in pve.

[@FrostyFin]

Reaper is the red DRK Dark Knight is the blue DRK Edgy healer when?

[@NightshadeTS]

Arguably AST.

[@Padrino_Tommy]

Ascian Job Ascian Job Ascian Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@sleeperboi8701]

​@@NightshadeTSBc it wears black?? No...

[@MrBuurt]

by far the best looking gear in game thats all you ever have to know about drk :D I could never get into healers or magic dps classes because 98% of their armor look so bad in comparison to tanks or melee

[@Acradius]

Hey, this was a really good job overview. Are you planning on doing one for Scholar? Also I want a giant pizza cutter weapon for Dark Knights, because it's all edge.

[@Mechaxk]

I have DRK at 35 and really want to play it, but I don't really like being an important part of the team. I've pretty much exclusively played DPS, where I just have to press buttons in order and dodge the odd mechanic. The most I've needed to do as a DPS is rez a healer as SMN one time. I also have SCH at 82 since SMN is my main, but I don't use that either for similar reasons.

[@animegx45]

The lower level parties and even bosses are fairly chill for when you level it up, so unless you sprint around spamming your aoe on every corner of the dungeon, it's actually pretty hard to die or get others killed. By the time you face an actual challenge, you already know what you're doing.

[@7RicolmE7]

Sounds like someone that doesn't want to have responsibilities...

[@apukami3643]

It was my main until a month ago. I really liked it so much. But I decided to walk the way of the Samurai and now that's my main. Dark Knight for the most part I feel like it's kinda complete by lv70 now and the content I use him most.

[@zeyke5008]

I love drk. But I'm a little bitter that tbn is damage neutral and not damage positive

[@aarongeorge4885]

Note. Living Dead is a Benediction effect during Walking Dead in trash pulls. Communicate (or hope) with your healer so they understand that this is effect is ONLY in Walking Dead… not before or after it.

[@adamarz9248]

For TBN, and "tank vibes" I think is very subjective. I dont really care too much as long as I pass the buster check. Just want to focus on other things and move along, so I dont think TBN is a plus when compared to the others.

[@Lymm1336]

I'm sorry in advance, but I'd like to share some thoughts on the current iteration of Dark Knight too - I guess I'm emotionally damaged as Dark Knight player and as Tank player in general :'D So, I started playing FFXIV before Shadowbringers was around. First and foremost my goal in the game was to become a Dark Knight - and I totally agree that having to play up to Heavensward in order to be able to play Dark Knight and then needing to level again to keep going is really tormenting :'D But I loved playing as a Dark Knight since then... up until Shadowbringers at least. While it has become way easier since then, I still miss the sheer amount of flexibility it had by then. This flexibility is basically down to the management of two resources which give you more control over when to use certain skills - but only to some extend as you should keep some MP for TBN and some blood gauge for Living Shadow. I think therefore Warrior and Paladin offer even more flexibility in total. Living Shadow is a topic of its own... I can live with the style of that, but the shadow being not controlable in any way is still bugging me a bit. I would have liked a mechanic like the Ninja's shadow clone (flat Potency increase for X attacks in the time window) more in that regard. In terms of fast pacing I also kinda miss the old effect of Blood Weapon: not only generating blood gauge and MP but also reducing your global cooldown quite significantly. Now, for me personally the Gunbreaker fits the role of the fast pacing tank a bit better, having a (smaller) burst window more frequently than the Dark Knight. The busy opener of the Dark Knight on the other hand leads to quite some downtime where you can not do all that much outside your 1-2-3 combo, once you depleted all your MP and oGCDs. But TBN is still what bugs me the most. On paper this skill is, once you get it on Level 70, ridiculously powerfull compared to what the other tanks have to offer at that point. And it still is in Shadowbringer. In Endwalker though, it is not that great anymore in comparison. Up to that point I would argue that TBN is an defensive option, that does offer some additional flexibility. But from that moment on, I feel more like TBN is a necessity and when I look at it that way, yeah I think the MP cost is not an investment anymore but a decrement that can lead to some goofy moments. I threw my TBN on a Paladin or Gunbreaker more than one occasion on which they used their invuln. I mean, it's not that much of a loss to really be mad about - but having a skill that doesn't really offer more than the competition does but also has a risk or downside to it feels rather unrewarding/punishing to me at least. That all being said, the Dark Knight is doing really fine on raids and trials. In addition to the reasons Desperius has given us in this video, I'd like to give another reason to play Dark Knight: The Job interface of the Dark Knight is simply the best tank interface there currently is and I am not even kidding with that point. It does not only look very cool in my opinion, but in addition to your job gauge you also have an indicator for the remaining time of dark side, the remaining time of living shadow and if you have a stack of dark arts. A Paladin in comparison can only keep track of his time windows and stacks on the buff/debuff panel which can be confusing sometimes, like when you do have several party buffs active for example.

[@Riku-Leela]

As a SMN main I feel you... We can be sad together...

[@andyramirez4293]

im currently working on my anima weapon just so i commit to Dark Knight from my GNB main lol

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

The DRK Anima is just *Chefskiss

[@rivenoak]

@@DesperiusFFXIV Cronus only or the earlier steps too ? :D

[@MrBuurt]

@@DesperiusFFXIV i just would weish that it always would glow because on the back without the effects it looks like a lvl 30 leveling weapon

[@jessepinkman6113]

@@rivenoak the earlier steps are good too, but Cronus Lux is arguably the best DRK weapon in the game

[@demetriuswilliams4271]

Thanks for the new glamour idea 😛

[@thehurriblank1228]

Spinal music from Killer Instinct is a like.

[@Burstylez]

After latest changes i started playing my old DRK instead of new crappy SAM. Damn its soo good now

[@KilluminatiPlusUltra]

Great video to watch before work

[@gh1374]

I played DRK from Heavensward...in Endwalker, switched to WAR. WAR atm is still the best tank, even with the new DRK LD changes.

[@Just_Rob.]

Top tier intro

[@idropthepen1744]

DRK 4 life tho xD But I really wish that TBN would cost only 2000 or 1500 mp bc than I would press it more often for autohits (for example) and experiment more with it to get more rewarding dmg out of it. But let's see what the future will bring us : )

[@-Cetus-]

I wish DRK had 2 traits as it leveled, magic mastery and magic mastery 2, each reducing MP cost of abilities by 500 so you go from 3 uneven casts to 4 even casts, then 5. Give that and TBN at level 30, along with separating Abyssal Drain from Carve and Spit and giving it by level 50 with an MP cost, and DRK would be amazing.

[@michaelyun2407]

I am in the process of leveling all the tanks (working on DRK currently). I would say when doing dungeons DRK.does need some planning on pulls vs WAR or PLD heck even GNB) is the fact as a DRK you don't have any good self healing abilities. As a WAR I literally don't die in dungeons. I could pick myself up from 10%hp to 'full without the healer help. Not so much wtih DRK.

[@KingTUMMAN]

I don't mind the Meta Pick on 2nd Reason, what I'm afraid is, will it increasing Toxicity toward DRK ? Since Meta Player lean toward this class they will expect that other DRK should be up on par to them or something If normal DRK that pick the class just for their love underperform in any shape or form, they'll have a stigma to the class it's the same as Lifeline, Wraith or something like that on APEX, I thinks you get the point Great Vid tho, DRK all the way and will not change my main anytime soon, unless I got a group of friend and I can swap to some DPS like MNK xD

[@slimfastsubaru2043]

Eh Noone in normal/ex content is gonna care about your performance and in savage if you've got like 86-88k hp with food(looking at hp is an easy way to tell ilvl) they aren't gonna compare you to a bis drk that has over 90k. Ultimates are different tho. You are expected to be up to par.

[@MrSquigeon]

DRK was my favourite since HW, but over the years they've stripped it down and removed it's best self heal for dungeons. Aesthetically still my favourite but WAR is just so much better now. In Duty Finder content, WAR is the best of the 4 by miles. In DF you never know what you are getting so having the self healing of WAR is hugely important, maybe even more so than mitigation. Then Shake it Off and Nascent Flash is there to assist the party when Healers are struggling or down. I know PLD also has good heals but from memory their heals aren't linked to their DMG in the way WAR heals through dealing DMG DRK feels horrible once the healers die or are struggling, and you feel helpless about your HP dropping. Then GNB feels similar to DRK, you just feel helpless once the healers start to struggle or due

[@xXKerzoneXx]

To clarify on this. PLD has self-healing ontop of it's Magic Damage phase. It's not as 1 to 100 as WAR is, but it'll keep you healthy. Big agree on everything else tho. Even tho GNB has slightly more healing options than DRK (2 stacks of Aurora, and Heart of Corundum 900 potency heal), they still feel kinda squish if the healer isn't playing. Been playing alot of DRK lately tho and the healing during Walking Dead *is* helping somewhat but I can still feel my healers having heart problems beyond the veil of the internet because of how fast my HP drops in comparison to the other tanks. xD

[@sephiroth8124]

I always really appreciate your videos because you convey all the passion you have for this game. I only started playing for 7 days and I had two goals: to learn how to tank (and in fact I have a warrior) and to try the dark knight. I grew up reading Kentaro Miura's Berserk and when I learned that the Dark Knight had paid homage to it, I was thrilled. Just a question what is this Hairstyle called 03:52 and where can I get it?

[@pyro5159]

Devil may cry theme qt the end lol

[@f2pbtw998]

I’ve wanted to lvl this class for so long.

[@SeitenTaisei_05]

What's the name of that helmet? Looks so cool

[@Zana_Akabila]

What's the glam setup you have going on at the start of the third reason? I wanna add it to my collection of glam setups for next tier so I can look cool while I slap the boss with my giant sword.

[@MaouNobunaga]

is that a DRG Helmet mod on a DRK?

[@robertburtchell6824]

I love all the tanks, and as much as I love the drk, I feel the animations and sounds to be the weakest. Gnb cartridge rounds feels explosive when I use them, warrior inner release feels and sounds like I’m a berserker, but drk just feel like a limp noodle. Paladin… well it’s in the middle. This is all my opinion though.

[@Yusbarrett1]

I can't go back to WAR, yes my healers would love that, but the rotation now feels so... slow compared to DRK. I even feel bored when playing WAR.

[@NaturalEntertainer85]

Nice, I need to try it some more as DRK. I like GNB the best because every slice they make feels very poppy/explosive/impactful, whereas I remember the DRK swings feeling a bit slow and smushy when I tried. And PLD while awesome armor, feels absolutely terribly weak/jingly sounding attacks and spells, vs the explosive feel of GNB. But of course all are cool in their own way, haven't tried WAR yet but want to

[@sleepysato]

location of the dark knight quest >.>

[@omega73115]

TBN is perfect as is and doesn't need a change. A bit more self heal when it comes to mob pulls would be nice, but other than that I think the jobs in basically a perfect spot for me! Well, maybe make dark mind not magic only, a personal cooldown for raid wides is weird lol.

[@roxas53]

Omgosh bro got the dmc glams

[@Damien_Bathory]

I love and hate this Job, half the healers struggle to keep it alive, and sadly people hate it when you play it too. That being said, if you are looking to get into Tanking, go with PLD or Gunbreaker for starters and then get into this. For Healing WHM is meta anything else is just heresy. (Joke) Seriously though, dont start as a DRK, it will sour the Tanking experience as a tank Sprout.

[@Stefo717]

Where were the eels? 😂 best intro 😂

[@Reaper-J129]

I mained this job until endwalker. Played reaper a bit but I imeadiatly started missing my tanky as fuck darkknight

[@Splizacular]

Hard disagree on the living shadow mimicking you. It's just a dot either way and at least if it does it's own thing it feels like a separate entity and its independence fits the lore better. Any time we have seen these shades and shadows in the job quests they were very independent entities

[@TheShadowfan9000]

I just... can't get over how simple it feels to play and how lackluster in game feel it is. Nothing it does has good "oomph" to it and the only use for its MP are 3 buttons and 2 of them are the same thing, just an AOE and single target variant. It simply just doesn't feel rewarding to play both mechanically and visually...

[@EuphonicSolace]

I agree. I ended up switching to PLD for my main tank because i just got bored of DRK, you do your 3 hit combo and sprinkle in a few OGCDs here and there ad nauseum. I find building up to the Confetior combo way more satisfying, plus the self sufficiency on PLD is a huge bonus for me as well. A lot of times i'll be in a dungeon or raid and my party is dead except me but i've been able to keep the fight going for a bit longer and, 9 times out of 10, actually finish off the boss preventing a wipe

[@aphilli97]

I thought this was a troll video at first. I got all other tanks to 90 just can’t bring myself to drk. They just suck imo. But hey they are fun I just find much more fun with war and gnb. I’ll always be a axe swinger tho. Drk is cool just seems meh to me.

[@superjoran2899]

i need that helmet

[@oscarsaris3183]

Alright I need to know what the glamour is at 4:42. Anyone?

[@FirmsJoktsate]

Clark Elizabeth Williams Christopher Williams John

[@LordZombieZanetta]

I feel like the Tanks have all been well balanced as of late

[@Dooood89]

Hey can you please Tell me the Name of this Armor Set you wearing?

[@lilypaddington1797]

Wouldn't be a desperius video without invalidating his own opinion by mentioning fflogs at least once, lmao.

[@Lucyfer1102]

As a DRK main...we just choose suffering

[@relentlessnexus8884]

0:23 where is this cutscene from? I don’t remember it

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

From the Heavensward Benchmark

[@limiti5089]

DARKNESS!!!

[@chrisfitzgibbon5551]

What armour set is that? That Dark Knight set with the red gem in the middle and how do I get it?

[@Xilibrius]

They need to kill hard slash I've always hated that attack animation so much please please please upgrade the skill and give us a non crap animation bring back power slash

[@RyuNoZero]

10:46 but when they do this they would cut the story with Frey out, so I don't think that will happen.. then again they got rid of Kaiten >

[@Bravadorado]

Hi Desperius. Can you tell me what addon or mod you used to get the red and orange MP bar displayed at 1:09 ? I think it looks sick, but have no idea how to get it like you have it. Simple Tweaks doesn't seem to offer that level of color customization.

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

That is just edited in post, maybe you can find something similar with "Material UI" or something similar

[@Bravadorado]

@@DesperiusFFXIV Ah, thanks anyways. Simple Tweaks does a decent job, but it fades to white instead of fading to orange, which is a little less cool. When I first saw that MP bar in your video, I thought maybe DRK's MP bar changed color during Dark Side or something and was a little disappointed to find that not to be the case haha.

[@RiveyDestroy2]

Devils never cry or subhuman would fit drk better in the start

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

I used the first on my 5 reasons to play DRK Video in shadowbringers, so I didn't want to repeat that 😅

[@obliviondust2719]

fine I’ll do it okay? 😄

[@Mori-Jin]

Pls 5 reasons why you should play monk endwalker

[@DarkAngel-sk2eo]

Yoo what was that weaon in the intro

[@Dubhoon]

Drk is duty finder 100% uptime dps god off tank. Tank privalage to just get bonked by 70% of shit like it was nothing is the true fun

[@ThPFreitas]

That comparisson between Shake it Off and Dark Missionary is quite innacurate. Shake it off can grant you up to 21% of your Total HP as a shield, which is more than 10% of most Raid Wide AOE, also Shake it Off grants you mitigation against Physical and Magical damage. Dark Missionary is only better when there are more than one instace of Raid Wide AOE. Shake it Off is far more flexible. Also saying other tanks have slightly better defensive skills is also innacurate. Endgame dungeons is so hard to heal DRK. But I do have to agree, the job is fast paced, it's fluid and things does die faster.

[@benlee9133]

I get to Victory Pose like Cloud your argument is invalid... that said i wouldn't mind some more healing if even slightly.

[@juubi249]

What were those gloves you had on your character?

[@akirahill8091]

Armor set?

[@Coughingguy]

hey very late to this but what is the chest piece you have on at 0:41

[@billyofspades]

Does anyone know what the glamour is for chest and helmet?

[@yoshimesho1781]

what's the name of the helm u r using i thought it's dragoon only

[@Spookycasual]

What armor set is that at the beginning 0:32

[@alkaid5572]

May i ask what is the sword at 0:34?

[@noamto]

I'm not sure I understand the level fallback negative point... you still need to level up a good chunk to get to the appropriate level to do story quests with all the new classes in StB, ShB and EW. So why is that a negative specifically with HW jobs?

[@DesperiusFFXIV]

Because unlike the others you actually fall back 20 Levels, where the others are unlocked and started on the same level

[@randomawsome]

So you can pick up the other jobs as you level, since they aren’t region locked. Hit level 50? You can become a Samurai or Red Mage if you own Stormblood. Hit 70? You can become a Sage or Reaper. However Astrologian and Dark Knight are specifically region locked in an area you have to hit level 50 to reach, period. You need to be in Heavensward, then you can get them. So it’s a unique problem to those jobs. It’s especially bad because level 30 is a very low level to have to start from, all things considered. Below level 50, skills don’t come around as fast as after, and dungeons were typically less liked. So death by a thousand cuts too.

[@noamto]

@@DesperiusFFXIV you do fall back, you just fall back 10 levels instead of 20 (and I think it's quicker to get from 30 to 50 than from 50 to 60 for example).

[@andrewan1225]

oh I hope the lv80 jobs are in Norvrandt. A) non eorzea stories Im so tired of eorzean npcs B) you have to have shb and lv80 anyway theres no reason to keep us in the Source

[@casualgamingauraous2345]

I so far love Dark Knight, although I started out as a Marauder and became a Warrior but I really love how Dark Knight feels to play in general, Gunbreaker is fun as well but I admit that I have a very monkey brain and have no clue how to play that class efficiently and Paladin while I have no clue how the best rotation works for any class I do know for Paladin that there’s essentially a Physical Phase that leads into a Damage Phase, then there’s my Main Warrior..No clue what I’m actually doing for buffs and debuffs or what the best rotation is but I just press buttons and it works..The self-healing feels amazing and I enjoy the extra ease it brings in case I need to worry about the healer. All-in-all I so far love all tanks and I personally rank Warrior>Dark Knight>Paladin>Gunbreaker for play styles that I’m comfortable with.

[@Nosidda]

I honestly don't fully understand the hate that TBN gets, because no matter how you slice the ability, it's a benefit. Even if you fail to pop the shield, it still gave you protection for a short time, it's still mitigation. The argument I've heard is that you lose DPS when it doesn't pop, because that's one less Edge or Flood you can use. To that, I say the purpose of Edge and Flood isn't necessarily to deal damage. Yes, they feel great to execute, and Edge especially deals great damage, but their primary purpose is to keep your damage buff up. In my opinion, if you're using Edge or Flood when your buff is already maxed at 60 seconds, you're just wasting you MP at that point, especially if you aren't in a DPS check. An argument can be made that by using Flood or Edge at more than 30 seconds of buff time left, you sacrificed MP efficiency for an immediate DPS gain. This is beneficial if you need to deal a ton of damage fast, like DPS checks, but in a dungeon against trash mob pulls, it's just wasting MP in my opinion, since it's not necessary to kill the mobs quickly. Your primary means of dealing bigger damage is Bloodspiller and Quietus. These deals more damage than even the leveled up variants of Edge and Flood, and cost 50 of your class gauge as opposed to MP. This is why Blood Weapon is so vital, because that along with Delirium and Carve & Split give you all the MP management you need to ensure you have plenty of MP for Edge, Flood, and TBN, but the big thing with Blood Weapon is building that gauge for your big damage skills. Anyway, point being is your reason for not liking TBN is because of DPS loss if it doesn't pop, to that I say if you are playing DRK correctly, you won't lose anything if the shield fails to pop. DRK has such good MP management now, especially with the Blood Weapon and Delirium changes, that you should be able to easily make up with the loss of Edge with Bloodspiller instead, dealing even more damage, and gaining MP back in the process without trying too hard. I mean... you are a Dark Knight. The entire point of the class is they utilize dark magical arts to gain power. You're essentially a mage knight who uses dark magic. And part of using magic is, you guessed it, managing your mana. Dark Knight can easily make up for losing an Edge or Flood with something else, and you still gained mitigation for using TBN. Could TBN be improved? Sure, it probably could be improved, but I personally wouldn't change much about it. If you really think failure to pop the shield is that much of a DPS loss, then how about lowering the MP cost a pinch? Maybe TBN as it is costs 2,000 instead of 3,000? That would make it a much bigger incentive to use it, because even if you didnt pop the shield, you didn't lose an entire Edge, but if you do pop it, you gain an Edge or Flood at 2/3 of the cost. Though that would probably lower the reward/failure aspect of TBN that everyone likes about it, so maybe not? I'm not sure, might be a terrible idea, just throwing a suggestion out there.

[@Kalletenz]

Dps loss is not the main argument I'd say it's an annoying minor problem. However the biggest problem with TBN is simply that it's really weak compared to skills like HoC bloodwhetting etc. They have actual mitigation + shield and healing whereas DRK just got an rather unflexible shield which execution potentially means sacrificing dps in some situations. In dungeons nothing matters yes, but even there TBN is the weakest tanking skill of them all. When it comes to savage and ultimate it's just universatile as hell because you can basically only use it if you know it gonna pop either it's a dps loss. I'm a drk main and I think they should either remove the mp cost or buff it by alot by adding some proper mitigation or something else that makes it really useful to use (or just both)

[@blackmagekongs2588]

People just need to git gud. Its not that hard to save 3k mp for tbn. Also just like bloodwhetting and heart of corundum, you pop tbn with your other mits for tank busters. In normal content tbn is a straight invuln, in harder raids its a guaranteed edge of shadow. People who comment about tbn being crappy dont really know how to play dark knight nor do they do harder content than normal. In raids i prefer tbn over bloodwhetting any day.

[@Kalletenz]

Tankbusters are not the only situation where you want to use skills like HoC and bloodwhetting. They are also extremely viable to use on auto attack, especially if they are hard hitting ones. TBN sucks in that regard because it either pops in an instant or it doesn't at all and you lose dps

[@Kalletenz]

@@blackmagekongs2588 I'm not saying tbn is completely useless in any circumstance but it definitely lacks in many areas and could be improved

[@blackmagekongs2588]

@@Kalletenz just for the record i wasnt mentioning you, but some of these other comments got me thinking they dont really play drk and understand how to play drk.

[@user-xo2og8kv1o]

i dont get why some ppl have so strong negative opinions about TBN. their argument is, that its situational and a dps loss if you fail. first of all, there are alot of mitigation skills that are situational, this argument is completely invalid. then there is the element of failing. everything in ff14 is scripted, you learn timings of other mitigation skills in each fight, so what stops you from learning tbn timings that guarantee a success? i think the added skill expression with tbn is great, but i can see how players who dont want to put in some extra effort, may dislike it. but calling this skill straight up garbage, like some ppl do, is just not true. if this skill didnt have a negative, it would be straight up overpowered. and if you remove the risk and also the reward, its just another standard mitigation skill. the only slightly valid argument i could think of, is that DRK doesnt have as much "standard" mitigation skills like other tanks and therefor has to rely on TBN from time to time, even tho it might not be ideal. but, oh well, then u lose a little bit of tank dps from time to time... no one cares, it doesnt matter. you could argue a slight dps loss could sometimes matter in ultimates, but u know, it doesnt. and if u still tihnk it does, just dont fail in ultimates then. everything is calculated and the coordination with other players should be there to ensure you can get your tbn off successfully.

[@bread_dawg]

dark knight literally just has 1 too many buttons for it to feel comfy for me playing on controller >_