Share Your DRK Sortie Optimization Routines Here!

Hey fellow edgelords, I'm a fresh returner who got into a pretty casual Sortie static in the last 3 weeks, doing ABCDGE daily for now.




I usually main heal but tbh since we often end up /yelling for DDs (and we often get DDs that get outdps'd by our RDM ffs), I wanna start bringing my DRK instead, but i wanna make sure i do the "homeworks" before doing so.

My DRK got Calad, Anguta, Loxotic+1, Naegling and Apoc for now as weapons, with pretty decent overall gear (still far from the absolute BiS, but good enough for 6-7+ Sortie Bosses).

The thing is, I won't have the luxury to be a random pug member who just casually joins the runs to learn and experience the content (while *** up our runs by popping wrong WSs and skillchains on the wrong bosses basically 50% of the time), or to practice various optimization routines which would improve the overall DRK performance, so I figured i'd ask in here to hopefully gather valuable knowledge and infos about DRK optimization routines (and general knowledge for DRKs within Sortie).

Yes, i know that if i spent a lot of time like a detective within this forum i'd probably find such infos scattered through a bajillion of posts, but tbh I thought that maybe by having such scattered infos n knowledge united into a single post, it could help many returners/fresh DRKs getting into Sortie properly to improve their overall performance.





That being said, these are the things that I'd like to know:




- Which Great Sword weaponskills can we use on each Boss?? (I know there's a spreadsheet mentioning various WS for each boss, but the one i found only mentions Scythe WS for some reasons)

- Would using the Skillchains addon to avoid skillchains while still using Torcleaver (like WSing right after a WS) or other strong WS be a reasonable option sometimes? In an ideal scenario i think it could work, but for this specific group I fear it wouldn't be the case (as the overall attitude towards optimizations is pretty poor).

- This group does not split up for objectives yet, in general what are your routines at the various A B C D objectives??

- Which mobs can you use as Absorbs/Drain fodder in the various sectors to maybe prebuff a bit more right before you go up to a boss?

- For the 4 step objective, can i do like Insurgency>Entropy>Cross Reaper>Quietus or would that obliterate the fomor too early? If so, what kind of weapon/setup/skillchain you do for that objective as DRK??

- Which Bosses are susceptible to which DRK spells? (likely to avoid trying to use an absorb or drain off an NM just for it to be resisted)

- What about JA use optimization, do you try to optimize Scarlet Delirium? If so, when do you usually pop it vs the various bosses? are there Arcana type mobs to take advantage of Arcane crest/circle during Sortie at all?

- Is Soul Enslavement + Asylum (when SE is about to wear off) vs F Boss the right play?

- Regarding Drain III placements, when do you usually place your drain III and do you go for MBing it everytime with chainbound from af gloves + insurgency, or do you just DS+NV it?

- I don't have Crep Cloak yet (also for what this group does, it's not needed yet) but I guess ideally a good Occult Acumen Impact set would be amazing to fit into DRK routine VS all bosses?

- Do you ever wanna Stun anything in particular vs Bosses?

- Finally what's your preferred subjob usually? /SAM or /DRG? I'd think /SAM to be the way to go, but maybe there can be a case for /DRG as well sometimes?? (i usually /DRG for dyna W3 for hate management mostly)



One last question which is not directly related to DRK, (but i've seen WARs often doing it in Sortie...) why Warcry prepull?
Unless i'm missing something, i'm pretty sure they're not gaining an extra usage of Warcry like that as fights do not last long enough, so everytime I see a WAR popping Warcry few seconds before people even engage, I can only think "what a waste".
Wouldn't technically be much better to pop Warcry few seconds after you engage? At least ppl would already have TPs to use as opposed to wasting precious Warcry uptime to run in, engage, build tp (even worse for DD in need of 3k for aftermath), and only then WS. Unless i'm missing something, it just feels wrong to use Warcry prepull like that.


Thanks in advance to those who will bring valuable knowledge to this topic!

Umm my DRK experience is limited compared to my WAR experience... but speaking from WAR perspective the reason I pop pre engaging is that in an optimized group and everyone pulling their weight, the NM is dead generally before my warcry even wears off so activating it pre fight simply allows me to go right into smash mode faster. JA activation time/delay gaining tp.

Also why unless you have a DNC main, its generally better to just have anyone /dnc to use box step once but probably more of a dps loss using it subsequent times.

COR/DNC, BRD/DNC, RDM/DNC, one use each upon engaging, boom lv 3 box step > smash mode. If your cor/brd/rdm are not subbing dnc, they should be. It's 1000x more useful in virtually every scenario over /nin.

Hypothetically speaking if DPS is not quite there, then perhaps a quick pop of warcry very shortly after engaging would give you an extra ws or two with it active perhaps. But that's situationally dependent on the level of DPS you have in your party at the time.

My opinions in-line.

One DD should sub DRG. This makes F/H much smoother in my experience. H will pop fetters with a hate change so having a dedicated tank DD helps. F you can zerg then kite at fetters if DPS isn't there which it probably isn't for a newer group.

Impact can get you 2k TP which can be helpful right before a boss. Twilight Cloak works just fine.

Personal WS:
A/E - Insurgency (used AM3 Lib)
B/F - Crossreaper until I had Fimb
C/G - Torcleavor
D/H - Torcleavor when absorbing Dark, Resolution/Fimb when absorbing Light

DPS determines when you should pop SP2 on F/H. High DPS groups you can pop it once engaged, lower you should wait until Asylum is about to wear.

Final thought is DRK isn't great for Sortie, I smashed that square peg into the round hole for months on end in Sortie. DNC,SAM,WAR,DRG just do better. (DNC+SAM really made 8/8 melee runs efficient)

Mal summed it up nicely. To add, don't worry about occult acumen shenanigans outside of aminon. Takes too long and your impact won't last for any meaningful ammount of time.

Also, drk is a great DD for Sortie. Especially if you invest in prime weapons. Don't believe others. It has more potential then war (i go both depending on who the other DD is vut alway do more dmg on drk.) and Soul Enslavement is a god send for F and H.

As stated, dont bother with drains, abs STR/VIT are all you ever want to use, generally higher returns off doing it to fodder before going to the boss, but its a time loss doing so, if you're already doing that though mayswell just drop an impact and sleep/break before going up to get a head start on TP dont do it on any of the bosses, youll get that TP before the spell even finishes.

Nor Sheol C, nor any boss except possibly Mboze, nor better than WAR or MNK for Omen bosses or SAM for Kei/Ou.

Truth be told DRK just isn't that good... it cost me a lot of gil and time to realise and accept it.

If neither DD goes WAR it is already a sub-optimal run basically. 2nd DD to the WAR is better as SAM IMO.

I'm in the same boat. Was a DRK main for years and years. But its just not great right now. Even Soul enslavement gets crushed by Yaegasumi in Sortie.

I feel like I come across as a DRK hater which couldn't be further from the truth. I've just tried to slam DRK into current content but other jobs are just better.

I like that DNC became god tier for something though.

It is absolutely possible to do double drk 9-boss in sortie, we've done it before. Square peg in a circle is a good way to put it.

i never seen any WAR,DRG, or SAM out parse my DRK,at most even parses on scorebord . My DRK abuses the prime PDL stuff in sortie and hits like a truck.

Best time to do a super drain 3 is right before E And F boss. i enter them with 6k,7k or 9999 HP, near impossible for my DRK to die after that, plus you can abuse soul eater for much added damage, especially if you have prime scythe.

Weaponskills i use for bosses:
A/E: Origin, resolution, savage blade
B/F: fimb,entropy, cross reaper,resolution (can torc at 3k if using calad) and spam reso after
C/G: torc, origin, reso for ws wall
D/H: if absorb light i use fimb, reso, cross reaper, if absorb dark i use torc, origin, reso.

I didn't see anyone say otherwise?

I didn't see anyone say otherwise?

I'm stating it as a fact in case anyone was wondering. Sit down.

100% this. I have Foenaria and Helhime too. Drk smacks with primes in sortie. Origin makes drk more or less unkillable on H and I've saved the fight being able to sit in a fetter abd take the boss down the last 5% after others start dropping. Helhime is incrediblely flexible and gives that added acc in the basement that you don't get with cald. Soul Enslavement is a god send on shutting down tp moves on F. Not to mention occult acumen shenanigans on Aminon (not saying g drk is better then dnc on aminon but it's a pretty clear cut number 2 if you have Foenaria and the ability to impact).

Again, I think this is a case of people not investing in primes who dont understand what the job can do in sortie. That may sound like a big investment but if people here don't have multiple stage 4s by now, you're probably not doing it right.

I feel like discussing Foenaria and Helheim is kind of putting the cart before the horse and doesn't really help the person posting on this thread. I assume they are doing sortie to get those weapons.

Lol, sure drk-bro.

I still think F is worse than H, and the key to both is killing them ASAP rather than surviving longer. Not taking a WAR as one of the DD if you're taking 2 heavy DD is mad dumb. What goes best with that is I still think SAM.

If we're talking optimal and not possible.

What do you mean by "higher returns"? Absorb-stat can't resist (the stat count) it can only have a reduced timer. You will get the exact same amount of STR or VIT off of the boss as you will get off of a slime or a vampire, except then the boss isn't missing those stats, a slime is.


It's also impossible for DRK to die by...having a healer. I die on bosses EXTREMELY rarely. So...the drain is just a waste of time so you can feel better about your HP. It's a safety blanket you don't need, at best.

I do it daily. It's not dumb. You're just not a good Drk or dps apparently. Recommend you make some stage 4 primes and look outside the meta box.

Not having Warcry is really dumb. Having prime weapons doesn't change this.

We kill Aita (Kite Method) in a little over 2 minutes with a single heavy DD and no WAR. So, Idk what you are on about. We use SAM but with DRK it was a little over 2:30.

I'd also like to say that this person asked about DRK in a DRK thread, beating the bone about how much SAM, DNC ect. are much better in Sortie isn't really helping them unless they can switch job and if they can, I think they have the point.


I did a bit of DRK on sortie as the single DD:

* You can impact if you coordinate with your tank but if you do it post pull its a waste and the RDM can land a better impact. If no one has impact and you have crep cloak though, do it anyway as it will most likely help everyone else.

Drain is a waste, I do kite method on H though -- Idk who would fight in the tethers if they can already kite Gartell but to each their own. B and G are the only bosses that have killed anyone in our group but rarely.

Keep Abs-Vit and Str up, really only need VIT if you are using Torcleaver which works on most fights. I never drained, but if it doesn't cost time it may allow soul eater on some fights (?).

If you are Torcleaving the A/E/D/H then be very careful to use it after another DD uses a weaponskill as an untimely distortion could slow things down. The other fights they are cool and on F you actually want to make Distortion / darkness / gravitation to proc.

If you don't want to mess up Am3 Resolution or Raetic +1 Reso spam (if you have mana) are safe options. I tried to do resolution memes but everyone in the DRK thread dunked me, and I agree with them that Torcleaver is just better on every fight unless you have an arsenal of REMAs or Primes.

Raetic +1 makes doing Obj D easier and you don't have to risk starting D w/o having Last Resort up.

Also if your group isn't splitting objectives make sure everyone is doing one. Some things:

1. Obj - A use a weak darkness, I did Cata -> Quietus then switched mobs. We have a geo so its pretty easy to weaken and kill the mobs. Don't Last resort here you can deal too much damage.

2. Obj - B everyone just spams WS on an enemey. Cor Leadens to finish or you can use Shadow of Death.

3. Obj - C you can make your burst. I did Scourge -> Scourge because it was just weak enough, but DRK has a lot of options here. I DO not recommend doing courses unless you are going for 9 bosses. The skeletons near B spawn are much friendlier and your group is heading there anyway. RDM can dispel / silence to smoothen things up.

4. Obj - D avoid pulling aggro on the WARs as they will mess you up, Raetic is your friend here, the COR/ BRD can also do this with ease with aeolian edge.

Probably don't dread spikes B/F...never tried though.

They're talking about how with other DDs you kill it in 30 seconds, which is, it turns out, shorter than 2m30s. This is why they said DRK isn't as good as other DDs.


Probably don't Dread Spikes any of them, because their auto-attacks are animations so they can't be affected by Dread Spikes.

Sure...the point about OP asking for help on DRK is still valid. Arguing about which melee is slightly better seems kind of pointless.

Sure, unless the point is "you should make a prime weapon for DRK because you'll get a lot of use out of it in Sortie"...

I think it's perfectly good feedback to tell someone in a job-related thread that their job isn't ideal for the content they're asking about. If someone went into the THF thread and was asking for gearsets for a HM Aminon, someone should probably point out to them that focusing on their THF is probably not the best idea, even if they are asking in the THF section.

I love when people say stuff like "I never lose a parse when I ___." or "I've done the most damage whenever I'm ___." Play with better players. Step out of your bubble. Plenty of examples of solid players geared well and knowledgeable going in and out-parsing DDs while playing COR or even BRD. This goes for all content, not just Sortie. There's nothing wrong with doing something off-meta. But there's a reason things are meta (most effective tactic available) and you doing the most damage in your little group of friends doesn't change that.

Rant aside - A lot of the DRK-specific tips covered above are spot on. Specifically regarding the use of extra spells (Dread Spikes) and how it's generally better to maximize use of DS / NV on Absorb spells (personally I prefer Absorb VIT even if not using Torcleaver, as it helps everyone, not just yourself as Abs-STR does for example).

It's been mentioned, but worth repeating you could just ride Torcleaver. Watch your WS timing to avoid SCs. Torcleaver won't open SCs with typically used WS from other weapons, and you're not hurting yourself TOO bad by holding TP to avoid SCing. Time it immediately after someone else WS and you won't have any problems. Worth considering based off your weapon selection you mentioned having.

Things to be concerned about with Torcleaver (opening):

Disaster (Darkness) for C/G, A/E, D/H (Water, Blizzard, Stone modes)
Upheaval (Fusion) for D/H (Fire mode)
Diarmund/Impulse Drive (Darkness) for A/E, D/H (Water, Blizzard, Stone modes). Note: I don't think many people use Impulse for D/H, but we've definitely used it on A/E.
Fudo (Light) for D/H (Fire, Wind modes) or B/F
Dagda (Darkness) for C/G, A/E, D/H (Water, Blizzard, Stone modes)

As I've said in 100 threads before this, it really pays to know your group, which primes they have, and which WS they will be using on which boss (in which modes) so you know what to watch out for. Skillchains addon / slamming WS after someone else is not fool-proof, though it can be "good enough" to get by if you can't be bothered to talk to other people.

Not a point I made and I agree that the "just use a prime ws" is a meme.

I also agree that mentioning it is cool, going on a multiple-post argument about it isn't constructive.