(Don't) Fear The Reaper: A Dark Knight Guide

Yeah I am not very happy with my relics at this moment. With new cap on enmity rng relic isn't needed anymore, can just spam Jishnu and not worry, apoc has been useless for years, rag has been having issues holding against other GS since senbaak came out. Yoich is only good for sam at this point. The only real relics worth it at the current time is Aegis and Horn. Rest are a time/gil sink. Why spend 70-90 mil and 2-3 weeks making relic when you can get a skirmish weapon in 30 minutes and aug it for 10 mil?

I'm still holding on to that empty promise of making scythes useful again.

Aren't we all... I would be happy if SE gave relic ws a proper ws mod instead of stagnant tp mods across the board, that would at least make Cata worthwhile, hp regen darkness ws/sc spamming cata... yeah... Even if we can't meet TC massive dmg and we cap at 8-9k cata I would probably still prefer cata as a ws over TC due to hp replenish, delve nm's would be a joke with that, not saying they aren't a joke now, but with the ability to self heal. Oh yeah.

Reso with Macbain is 17% stronger (best case scenario) then Rag but Torc gets a bigger percentage increase from the base damage due to 85% STR vs 80% VIT and less fSTR.

300 STR vs 200 VIT NM
255 WSC 26 fSTR = 281 base DMG before weapon is added
304 for Macbain (DMG+36 Atk/Acc +15 DA+6, the one I have)
224 for Ragnarok (Acc+40)

585 base DMG for Macbain
vs
505 base DMG for Ragnarok

585/505 = 1.1584, 15.84% more damage. The DA +6 adds maybe 1~2% at 0% DA, goes much less the more DA you already have.

People see that 80 base DMG difference and go bonkers without realizing that damage consists of a lot more then just that value. Que the years of Scyth DRK's complaining that NIN's, MNKs and Axe WARs were doing more damage even though DRK's weapon had nearly twice the base DMG value.

Torc on the other hand will have lower WSC and fSTR and thus Macbain will have a larger increase in overall damage. DRK also doesn't get nearly as much +Critical Hit Damage so the additional 14% crit isn't as big a deal, though less DA makes the 2.5x proc worth more. Overall Rag still has more melee DPS, especially in situations where Acc is important and your not capped attack, but Macbain tends to overcome that with better Torcs and SCs, which is what you want to use in those situations. WAR doesn't get TC and is thus limited to Reso spam or Scourge / Ukko Fury for SC. Scourge is interesting now that is has 40% STR/VIT WSC's but Ukko's Fury with a powerfully augmented Svarga or that new Devivifier would most likely be better for SC purposes. SE just needs to f*cking fix Great Axe and Scyth.

To be perfectly honest, as someone who's has WHM and frequently healed both alliance and small man events, your CATA is doing absolutely nothing for you when your in a group with a competent WHM. WHM's tend to rely on Curaga's if there is more then one DD since that 3s global recast timer prevents us casting two single target heals back to back. You replenishing your HP only means the cure that was already being cast hits for 0HP and gives the WHM back 0MP. And since you need to wait until you have 1000TP and things like Stun / Amnesia / Terror exist, the healer can't ignore your HP and just assume your going to heal yourself, they need to cast a cure anyway. It's one of those things that sounds great on paper but isn't worth much in practice.

Unless you have a sh!tty PUG WHM, in which case do whatever you need to do in order to survive.

I generally have PuG whm's, so for me cata is amazing.

Then by all means CATA away and may god have mercy on your poor soul. I hate PUG WHMs....

Lol

Ok this set has done some serious numbers and killspeed for me, I ran a yorcia delve with a sam that would bounce light sc back and forth and we absolutely annihilated the zone.


ItemSet 334388

All 4 acro are
acc/attk 15~20
double attk +3%
Crit dmg +3%

Otomi is the str/haste aug

Talking a monster +31% double attk as /sam
We still get that 4% triple attack and 4% quad attack we all love so much.

With the right dark magic set/skill you are talking over 150 endark with endark II. That is straight bonus to your attack as well.

150 extra attack (granted it diminishes)
150 extra dmg per swing (again diminishes)
ws + 5 hit
Capped haste, 480 delay.

Obviously you can swap the DA ring out for pretty much anything of your choice here. This set is just stacking DA which is a blast, If you have the last resort enhance feet you can swap out the DA ring for a d-ring and negate 20% of the 25% + dmg taken.

Don't wanna go full -10% dt? Use a Patiricus ring for -5% pdt and +7 acc.

Feel like you are lacking attk? Pick up a cho'j ring and gain an extra +14 attk.

I personally like the option to swap that 2nd ring for whatever may be needed at the time. Kinda nice to have an open slot.

While you aren't entirely wrong to suggest swapping in D-ring and Fallen's Sollerets +1 to increase your survivability during Last Resort. I should like to correct a simple error you made with what you mentioned about it being +25% Damage taken, when it's actually -25% DEF.

The feet simply reduce this penalty by 10% (So -5% without Merited LR Effect, -15% with 5/5, etc.) but only while worn, although you can swap in and out and the effect readjusts accordingly.

So while D-Ring will give you a straight -10% DT, depending on your target's Attack value you might actually prevent far more than you think by adding back your lost 10% DEF while preserving Last Resort.

Just figured I'd let that be known to prevent any misconceptions about the job ability.

Oh good call. Something I completely over looked there.

That great sword looks damn fine :O

How much have the WS sets changed from the ones you posted on page 52? Anything at all? Mostly talking Reso set.

I would be interested to see how things have changed. Also I am wondering how other DRK are managing Woh Gates JP parties. I was thinking /dnc for the worms/bunnies because /sam is lame, especially without an amazing WHM. I already have Endark II, but it still seems like I have a much easier time getting JP on THF or COR/dnc.

On a side note, I did start writing a DRK guide .. but I don't know if I will ever finish it (It was going to be a guide for new & old players). There is so much information to work through, also no one wants to assist me with it. DRK just isn't played enough (by everyone) so a guide won't be as well received as others. Also I could never do anything like the BST or GEO guide, they are pieces of art. I just feel like I could never live up to those expectations, and finding the time is difficult.

WS sets were updated as well, only change for reso was the legs if I remember correctly.


If you don't have a half decent whm, (which even a bad pick up group whm should be able to cure a drk for cap points pat) then if you have Apoc go /sam, if you don't use /rdm. Self haste and refresh are far more useful than burning tp to cure yourself. Drk will do plenty fine with cure 4, drain, drain 2, dread spikes, stun, weapon bash.

Since coming back i was working on getting thf to a basic set for today. Mostly skirmish2 armor and what not. I picked up some armor there for drk to. Now im looking into upgrading drk to a half decent set for now as well before trying to work on any real content.

Any suggestions?
ItemSet 306451

the ziel charm and the attackers mantle were added back when delve first came out and i needed the acc+. I still have my old athelings mantle. And i dont even remember what neck piece i had anymore. Gone to long since then.

I haven't touched DRK in a little while, but just from looking, Yetshila/+1 for ammo will be a small increase. Ganesha's Mala if you can bribe the SE drop gods into giving you that for neck, windbuffet/+1 for belt, back should probably be Bleating which is hella easy if you can drag two other people to it. Tojil ring instead of Tyrant's, Bloodrain strap instead of pole. That's just from what I remember, and getting another opinion would be a good idea :P

If your going for ACC pieces for all slots, here is a list for most. You should be able to obtain these listed items while using your current gear.

Head:
Yaoyotl Helm (Dropped off Tojil Delve Boss)
Acro/Yorium Helm (Aug'd with straight ACC or ATT/ACC combo)
Stinger Helm NQ/+1 (Dropped from Unity Altepa Scorp)
Xaddi (Path A or B)
If using scythe, you can also use Heathen/Heathen +1 (Upgraded 109/119 empy)

Neck:
Iqabi necklace (Delva Mandy Yorcia)
Peacock Charm (AH/or EX version from Argus)
Agitator's collar (GK Ark Angel fight)

Earring:
Blade/Steel (Delve I NM's, seems you already have these)
Zennaroi earring (Incursion Tryl-Wuj)

Body:
Acro/Yoruim Body (Aug'd with straight ACC or ATT/ACC combo)
Mes'yohi haubergeon (Stellar Fulcrum BC)
Xaddi (Path A or B)

Hands:
Acro/Yoruim hands (Aug'd with straight ACC or ATT/ACC combo)
Xaddi (Path A/B/C, Path C is recommended)
If Greatsword can use Heathen NQ/+1 (Upgraded 109/119 empy)

Rings:
Mars's Ring (AV or Bazaars)
Patricius ring (EV Ark Angel BC)
Ramuh +1 (AH/Craft)
SOA Ring (completing SOA missions, but there is better options for this ring!)

Back:
Letalis Mantle (Meebles Sauromugue Champaign)
Grounded mantle NQ/+1 (Unity Batallia Downs Beetle)

Waist:
Dynamic Belt NQ/+1 (Craft/AH)
Olseni belt (Incursion Ignor-Mnt)
Anguinus Belt (Abyssea - Konschtat MB Peiste)

Legs:
Acro/Yoruim Legs (Aug'd with straight ACC or ATT/ACC combo)
Xaddi (Path A or B)
Heathen NQ/+1 (upgraded 109/119 empy)

Feet:
Acro/Yoruim Feet (Aug'd with straight ACC or ATT/ACC combo)
Xaddi (Path A or B)
Whirlpool greaves (Delve I Shark)

I did not include any of the new Vagary items or some of the Unity items. I am sure there is probably a bunch of other items you could do such as Mikinaak gear or Cizin with ACC aug, but I got the feeling that you already had acro/yorium.

Hope this helps!

thanks for the info. Yes, i already full acro/yorium sets. I just haven't augmented them yet. Was waiting to see with what i would use before bothering with that. - Its not that im looking for acc pieces atm, i jsut had some in my set from when delve was first introduced and ppl were alliance farming plasm. That was around the last time i remember using my drk before i had to go away for a while. And back then i needed the acc boost. I have no idea how drk acc measures up in todays events. Tho its drk... so i imagine its not spectacular'

Ahhh gotcha! Well you could go a couple routes with gear. You will need almost all of it at one point of another depending on your end game progression.

Acro/Yorium will be the fastest but most expensive to do (multiple augment fields can be a pain at times). Ultimately, you will want the acro/yorium done as they are the base for almost all new tp/acc sets.

Things like VW/Unity for necklace, rings, belt can usually be done with low man groups. This applies to AA's as well unless you do DM.

Anyone got a spread sheet or a parse for malfeasance vs ragnark? I'd just like to see what the difference in the damage is between the 2 Rather than go by he said she saids.

I have what looks like a pretty nice start on DRK gear from other jobs (including a DMG+34/DA+4% Macbain that I made for RUN that's really tempting me to try it out on DRK), and was toying with the idea of leveling my currently 50DRK to play around with it.

However, I have no other Yorium jobs and am not super pumped about taking up additional inventory if it's not really good. So... is Acro/Yorium an either-or thing? Or are there any Yorium pieces that are a must even if you have good Acro stuff.

I already have a pretty good Acro set from SAM. 4/5 pieces with DA+3%, and STP+6 legs. Acc/Atk+16~19 on all pieces. Mix of STR and crit for dusk slots (basically just kept the first decent augment I got while dusk stone prices are as they are now).

Is that enough to handle things for Alluvion Skirmish armor for DRK? Or any Yorium pieces that I'd need in addition?

It's really an either-or thing. Those acro pieces will work great! If you have the inven and want to really go all out you can do Yorium as well, but it isn't necessary. You can get some nice augments on Yorium like DT-/Regen/FC which DRK can use in a slot they might not have it otherwise.

If there is really one or two Yorium pieces I would use it would be the hands/feet. I have them for FC augs which is rather limited to DRK in those slots at a iLV.

I was interested as well, so I compared Rag against Macbain with +36 DMG +7% WSD 20 acc 20 atk, and Malfeasance, but keep in mind Malf doesn't have it's Endark boost factored in. I'd wager it's an extra 5-10 DPS at the most.

lvl 126 Serac Rabbit. Sole Sushi, LR, Hasso, Endark, Ionis, Haste II, March II, Min V, Mad I, Mad II, Chaos roll, Sam's roll, Geo Frailty with blaze of glory.

I used more accuracy gear in the Malfeasance build since it was well under acc cap for this target.(letalis + zennaroi ear) Otherwise, Malf + Macbain used acro with str/dex+7 acc atk +20 stp+5 and Rag used acro with crit.dmg+3% acc atk +20 stp+5. Both sets played to each GS's strengths.

Malf - 1487 DPS
Rag - 1623 DPS
Mac - 1657 DPS

In the very same conditions, if I change Frailty to Torpor. (capping accuracy)

Malf - 1723 DPS
Rag - 1535 DPS
Mac - 1712 DPS

Tojil with otherwise same buffs, but dropping Mad I for Min 4, and trading Chaos Roll for Fighters. Still using Frailty and sole sushi, since atk food doesn't do anything here.
(capped attack)

Rag also uses Yetshila + Duplus here, where it was using Bloodrain + Ginsen when acc was more helpful.

Malf - 2123 DPS
Rag - 1947 DPS
Mac - 2145 DPS

It seems like ragnark and malfeasance are good situationally, macbain pulls ahead on toil but only a little, so if I used malfeasance and rag, I can switch them out depending on the content I'm doing and if I need the extra accuracy or not. Thank you!

Anyone got an updated dark magic, absorb and fast cast set? I'm looking to upgrade these. Been doing some minor tweeks here and there but find myself getting resisted on higher content.

anyone can post sets for liberator and cadlabog please

Look for Taberif and Celoria, both of them posted sets with fastcast in them. I believe Taberif is on page 50, and Celoria is 52.

Does anyone have a +20/20 or have a screenshot of a +20/20 Macbain?

I say this because I've never, ever, seen one and the highest I've been able to get, after over 50 +2 stones is 15/15. I've seen single stats as high as +20, but never a combination of +20/20 with a Macbain. My Svarga on the other had easily got +20/20 with single stats as high as +25, which leads me to believe that the cap is weapon specific.

Also why would you use WSD +7% over DA +6%, Torcleaver spam only?

Not sure on those stats. I assumed they were best, and hadn't really put other options through their paces.

Not sure on 20/20 confirmed or not.

Well the +DMG seems to be, I can't get higher then +36 on mine. I'm fairly positive that +15/15 is the cap for Macbain with single stats going to +20 because I've never seen over a +20 in either acc or attack for single augment nor over the +15/15 I have now for dual, while on Svarga I've seen 21+ and 18/18's quite frequently. The leafslit augment really depends, some people might need store TP while others DA. I'm loath to put such a restrictive augment like +WSD because it's only good on the first hit of a WS which limits it to Torc or Dimi duty and does nothing for your melee damage. Also your sets were off a bit, you can get Store TP +6 or DA +3 for the leaf slot with different WS / weapons favoring either. Rag with /SAM is pretty much 6-hit with a metric sh!t ton of multi-attack, it only needs something like 32~36 store TP depending on what WS your using (Duplus for Reso, Bloodrein for Torc). Macbain can get a 5-hit pretty easily but needs a little bit more store tp, around 36~40 depending on Reso or Torc.

And for anything where damage matters, the Geo is doing Vex and Attunement not Fury / Fraility. Keeping your alive and those nasty status ailments off is a far greater DPS increase then boosting your pDiff.