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DRK Guide







Welcome to the FFXIAH.com guide for Dark Knight! This provides an FAQ as reference for new players, returning players and veterans, including general information about one of my most loved jobs. Click on any of the buttons in Banner above to jump straight to the section you wish to view.

Info is credited from FFXIAH forums, BlueGartr/BGWiki, and plenty of players offering advice. If I've missed anything, or if there's something that needs to be corrected or should be added, feel free to point it out. If i'm offline, let me know by PMing me or notification through any of my IMs. I'm also on Guildwork by the same name. It will help make this guide better! I am also accepting Collaborators to help make additions and edits where they are needed.

(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿) Version 2 is now under construction! (as of 12/09/16) (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)





A Dark Knight sets out on one prime objective: through the dark arts, they unleash their grim fury upon their foes to the bitter end. They are the disciples of Zeid, the brooding Bastokan champion responsible for the Shadow Lord's defeat in the Crystal War. Every day he finds adventurers with the potential to harness these Dark Arts and keep the vicious circle of life & death in motion. The anger that writhes within drives them to fell their enemies, but the price of the sorrow that comes with death weighs heavily on their shoulders. They become the chivalric destroyers with nothing left to lose. If you like being a destructor while carrying some dark magic on the side, Dark Knight is for you.

A Dark Knight's Capabilities

Melee Damage: Basic stuff, just swing your weapon around and hit something. But! What matters is hitting your target hard, accurately, and as quickly as possible. You also have two main weapons to choose from: Scythe (A*+ Skill ranking) and Great Sword (A* Skill ranking). You also be factoring values like "Occasionally Attacks X" and Multi-Attack traits (Double Attack, Triple Attack, Quadruple Attack), and Store TP into your TP sets.
- Scythes have the highest Damage and Delay ratings among all the weapons in the game, meaning you will deal harder "white" damage. They're slightly slower to hit with, but you will accumulate more TP in the process & use weapon skills sooner. This makes a great option for Skillchain utility & Dark Magic effectiveness.
- Great Sword is a whole different beast. You will be dealing more white damage and less TP due to their lower delay, offering more DoT as well as raw damage in the process.

Weapon Skills: Whether you like to think outside the box, or just slice-and-dice your way through enemies, it's recommended to use both types of Weapon Skills to your advantage. Whichever is your favorite is a matter of personal preference.
- Scythes While in possession of having the highest damage and delay ratings of any weapon in the game, are less about raw damage and more about utility. Your Key Weapons Skills will be Cross Reaper, Entropy, Catastrophe (for Apocalypse users), & Insurgency (for Liberator users).
- Great Swords are practically built for raw, full-on damage. Sickle Moon, Spinning Slash and Ground Strike were used in a variety of places in EXP and Endgame, allowing DRK to gain some fair amount of respect for certain Endgame Events. Your Key weapon skills will consist of the following: Resolution, Torcleaver, Scourge (for Ragnarok users), and Shockwave (for EXP/CP burning/Crowd Control).

Dark Magic: Your most proficient spell category, in tandem with the job's theme. While Black Mages have equal skill in this category, Dark Knights have the widest selection. However, casting mid-battle will cut your overall damage down, so this must be used situationally. Typically, the most useful spells for melee-heavy battles will be Stun, Endark/Endark II, Absorb- TP. Drain/Drain II can be helpful in emergencies, and Dread Spikes for extra protection. For pure debuffing, you have your Absorb Spells to work with. You will want to build a decent Dark Magic Skill+ set, as many of these spells' potencies rely on your Dark Magic skill. A Fast Cast set will help you cast your spells faster, because the sooner you finish casting, the better.

Tanking/Soloing: Tanking will require some more advanced work, involving just about all of your gear. Dark Knight is a Glass Cannon, and your fragility will result in taking more damage in comparison to Paladins, Rune Fencers and Blue Mages. Depending on your subjob of choice, it will either make all the difference, or it will give you some difficulty. Gear sets that stack on a combination of Haste, Physical Damage Taken-%, Magic Damage Taken-%, or Damage Taken-% (which factors both PDT and MDT), will reduce the amount of damage you take. It's recommended that you have the Relic Weapon, Apocalypse, for maintaining your HP. Otherwise, you'll need a decent healer to make sure you don't soak up too much MP.

Depending on how you plan to play Dark Knight, it's all a matter of preference. However, a dedicated Dark Knight will use anything they have in their arsenal, and you'll have to know which weapons and magic are appropriate for the job.



/SAM: Using this subjob will often help make your 7/6-hits become 6/5-hits with Store TP trait, depending on your current build and your weapon of choice. Some Tanking ability is also provided with Seigan+Third Eye. Hasso is to back you up for when Last Resort disappears, and provides some Extra STR and Accuracy that wouldn't hurt to use. Use this Subjob for more Skillchain utility.

/WAR: The total zergfest Support Job. Berserk, Warcry, Aggressor, and Double Attack (10%) adds top-of-the-line offensive utility for any DD, including Dark Knight. This is the subjob to go to for any kind of zerg. Just make sure you don't get yourself killed.

/DNC: This is one of your best options for soloing. It opens your library of self-healing ability with Waltzes, as well as Sambas- Drain Samba for some extra HP drain, or Haste Samba for some self-hasting capability when no one is around to haste you.

/NIN: Utsusemi and Dual Wield come specifically with this subjob, though it doesn't offer much else. Tonko and Monomi are handy for when you need to save gil on Silent Oils/Prism Powders.

/THF: This used to be well-implemented for stacking Sneak Attack (and now Trick Attack as well) with your Weapon Skills on HNMs in RotZ/CoP content. If you plan on farming a thing or two, keep this on hand just in case. Flee can help you get a move-on with quests, retreat from a sticky solo situation, and...well, what's not to like about zipping through the wilderness at twice the movement speed? However, if you have THF99 with decent gear already... "Chaaange...job! Kupopopooo!" (no offense, of course.)

/RDM: Consider this for Fast Cast if you're thinking of exploiting your Dark magic while soloing some way using Scythe. While it doesn't offer as much offensive utility, you'll get Cures, an extra bit of MP, plus refresh, for tanking with Dread Spikes. Using the Weapon Skill Entropy refills your MP for you, so convert won't be necessary.

/DRG: This was once a situational sub, for its ability to deal some extra damage and TP with Jumps, but in learning that /SAM and /WAR provide better overall TP damage over the amount of time you wait on jumps to recharge, this subjob's efficiency dwindles.

/RUN: Rune Fencer has some interesting tanking tools to play with, if you're willing to experiment with it. Runes can exploit an enemy's elemental weaknesses and bolster against its elemental strengths. Wards can enhance resistance against elemental damage and debuffs, and Effusions can offer some damage-dealing potential to manage hate. You can even boost your accuracy and evasion somewhat with Swordplay. However, you will have a maximum of two runes active at a time, and most of RUN's game-changing spells & abilities are only available from level 50 to level 99.

/MNK: Specifically an Abyssea-based build for low-man tanking and developed by Gradd, this build relies on Counterstance as your means of Tanking- instead of Utsusemi or Seigan/Third Eye. HP Boost increases your chance of survival, and Boost is a nice tool for your Weapon Skill when you need the damage increase.



Job Abilities

Lv.1 - Blood Weapon [Recast: 1:00:00, Duration: 00:00:30]
This ability is taken from the Blood equipment set of previous Final Fantasy games, notably from the recurring Blood Sword and Blood Lance weapons. For 30 seconds, every melee hit will drain your target's HP. For emergency purposes such as going into Red HP when your healer's down, this is often unreliable- you run the risk of being pummeled into the ground as well due to your weapon's delay holding this ability back. This example doesn't render the ability useless, though. It makes a perfect icing on the cake for zergs when you're expecting to take damage. Unfortunately though, it doesn't work on undead. Because how do you kill that which has no life?!

Lv.5 - Arcane Circle
Nice to have on hand when you're fighting Arcana, and like the other "Circle" abilities, your party members will gain arcana killer, and a +15% resistance/damage bonus against Arcana. Helps if you do events like Sky, where many Arcana-type enemies wander about, and it'll work even on Khimaira-type or Caturae-Type enemies.

Lv.15 - Last Resort [Recast: 00:05:00, Duration: 00:03:00] (Recast Merits can push it down to 00:04:10)
The bread and butter of a Dark Knight's attack potential. The base effect will increase your total attack will be increased by 15%, and your defense will decrease by 15% as well. 5/5 Last Resort Effect Merits will increase the effect of this ability by an additional 10% on both sides. This Job Ability is especially important to keep on at all times, due to the Desperate Blows trait, a meritable job trait that will give you +25% job ability haste. At that point, you can watch your damage potential fly through the roof. In the past, the duration was previously 30 seconds, which made Dark Knight very limited in its damage potential. Thankfully, raising the duration to 3 minutes was perhaps the smartest thing Square Enix ever did for this job.

Lv.20 - Weapon Bash [Recast: 00:03:00]
Your first "Stun" ability. Since it's an instant ability, it's very effective for stunning dangerous TP moves, and has a near-100% chance of doing so. It'll even go through shadows, so do not hesitate to use this JA when things are rough.

Lv.30 - Souleater [Recast: 00:06:00, Duration: 00:01:00]
Souleater is very potent for dealing extra damage that stacks on top of TP Damage & Weapon Skills, for the price of 10% of your current HP. It even gives an Accuracy+25 bonus, helping you land more hits per round. However, only a select few NMs will end up resisting Souleater, due to zergs using Souleater+Blood Weapon in the past using Kraken Clubs. It pissed off SE pretty good, too. And it'll especially piss off the target with the increased damage you'll be doing!

Lv.55 - Consume Mana [Recast: 00:00:00, Duration: 00:01:00 ]
A Job Ability that will make use of your spare MP for your next attack. It will add 1 base damage to the attack for every 10mp consumed, so if you have a decent MP pool and you're not doing anything with your magic, go nuts. If you have Entropy as a Merited Weapon Skill, you can easily recover your MP after using this ability.

Lv.78 - Nether Void [Recast: 00:05:00, Duration: 00:01:00/until Dark Magic spell is casted]
A nifty tool to have on hand for Absorb-Spells and Drains/Aspirs. This JA Increases the potency of the next Absorb or Drain Dark Magic by 50%, so stacking this with any of your Absorb Spells (except for Absorb-TP) makes your debuffing abilities a little more potent.

Lv.87 - Arcane Crest [Recast: 00:05:00, Duration: 00:03:00]
Like Arcane Circle, but instead it's a direct debuff towards Arcana-type monsters- It Lowers accuracy, evasion, magic accuracy, magic evasion and TP gain for arcana, all in one job ability.

Lv.95 - Scarlet Delirium [Recast: 00:03:00, Duration: 00:03:00]
This job ability will absorb the amount of damage taken and turn it into attack/magic attack, and the boost lasts for 90 seconds. The catch to this job ability is that it only absorbs one hit of damage taken. It's best reserved for AoE/high-damage TP moves that mobs will occasionally fire off.

Lv.96 - Soul Enslavement [Recast: 01:00:00, Duration: 00:00:30]
This beastly 1-Hour ability will drain any TP accumulated by the target, making it an ideal ability to use for Zerging. Depending on your weapon, you'll drain between 45-55 per hit. Enjoy your Weapon Skill frenzy!

Job Traits

Attack Bonus - Increases Attack/Ranged Attack.
Lv10 - Tier 1 (+10) / Lv30 - Tier 2 (+22)
Lv50 - Tier 3 (+35) / Lv70 - Tier 4 (+48)
Lv76 - Tier 5 (+60) / Lv83 - Tier 6 (+72)
Lv91 - Tier 7 (+84) / Lv99 - Tier 8 (+96)

Critical Attack Bonus - Increases Critical Attack Damage.
Lv.85 - Tier 1 (+5%) / Lv.99 - Tier 2 (+8%)

Smite - Increases Power of Physical Attacks when using a Two-Handed Weapon (or Hand-to-Hand).
Lv15 - Tier 1 (+9.7%) / Lv35 - Tier 2 (+14.8%)
Lv.55 - Tier 3 (+19.9%) / Lv75 - Tier 4 (+25.0%)
Lv.95 - Tier 5 (++29.6%)

Desperate Blows - Reduces delay for two-handed weapons while under the effect of Last Resort.
Lv15 - Tier 1 (-5%) / Lv30 - Tier 2 (-10%)
Lv45 - Tier 3 (-15%)

Stalwart Soul - Reduces HP consumption with Souleater active. It's great for... *sunshades* ...fleshing it out.
Lv45 - Tier 1 (-20%) / Lv75 - Tier 2 (-40%) / Lv90 - Tier 3 (-50%)

Occult Acumen - Grants TP based on MP consumed while dealing damage with Dark/Elemental Magic.
Lv45 - Tier 1 (+2.5% MP) / Lv58 - Tier 2 (+5% MP) / Lv71 - Tier 3 (+7.5% MP)
Lv84 - Tier 4 (+10% MP) / Lv97 - Tier 5 (+12.5% MP)

Resist Paralyze - Self-Explanatory, lol
Lv20 - Tier 1 / Lv40 - Tier 2
Lv60 - Tier 3 / Lv75 - Tier 4

Tactical Parry - Gives TP when an attack is Parried
Lv88 - Tier 1 (2TP/parry)
Lv98 - TIer 2 (3TP/parry)

Arcana Killer - Occasionally Intimidates Arcana-type monsters
Lv25 - Tier 1

Muted Soul (Merit) - Reduces Enmity when using Souleater. 1 Merit = -10 Enmity

Magic

Casting spells requires precise timing and situational awareness to make the most out of them. Here's your repertoire:

Dark Magic (A-)
Drain/Drain II/Drain III*
Bio/Bio II
Aspir/Aspir II
Endark/Endark II*
Dread Spikes
Stun/Absorb-TP
Absorb-STR/Absorb-DEX/Absorb-ACC
Absorb-AGI/Absorb-VIT/Absorb-Attri
Absorb-INT/Absorb-MND/Absorb-CHR
Tractor

*Earned as Gifts from Job Points.

Drain/Drain II/Drain III & Aspir/Aspir II are your go-to spells if you need a quick boost in HP/MP recovery. Drain II is especially important for when you want to buff your Maximum HP, because Nether Void increases its potency to a degree where you want to combo them when necessary. Combine Nether Void with Dark Seal for less-resisted Drain II/III.

Absorb spells were updated several updates ago to have their casting times decreased, allowing for the player to possess a larger incentive to utilize them more often.
Endark's attack increase is based on your Dark Magic skill (Starting D=(Dark magic skill/20)*2.5+12.5, every 20 points in skill adds 2.5 to starting value rounded down). Cast this at any opportunity you can get to boost your damage output.

Dread Spikes will protect you from incoming damage by converting damage dealt from the enemy into absorbing its HP. It's a useful defensive measure, whether if you're off-tanking, soloing, or just putting the cards on your table in case you snag enmity.

Absorb-TP requires some timing to use well. You want to anticipate for when the enemy is about to fire off its TP Moves. If you don't cast it before the enemy uses its TP moves, it will not absorb much or any TP at all.

Stun: It stuns the enemy. Just swap in your Dark Magic set for it. Because it fires off incredibly fast. Like the AO-63 your Russian relative's uncle keeps in the basement as an heirloom to his service with the Spetznaz.

Elemental Magic (B+)
Stone/Stone II/Stone III
Water/Water II/Water III
Aero/Aero II/Aero III
Fire/Fire II/Fire III
Blizzard/Blizzard II/Blizzard III
Thunder/Thunder II/Thunder III

I won't be sugar-coating this when I say that you won't be nuking like a Black Magic with these spells, given the lack of magic attack bonus gear and traits to support it. The least you can do with them, situationally, is by using them to gain TP by means of Occult Acumen.

Enfeebling (C)
Poison/Poison II/Poisonga
Sleep/Sleep II
Bind/Break

If you want to be taking advantage of Sleeps, Bind and Break for soloing and add control, I would suggest either obtaining an enfeebling set for less resists or putting in merits (especially if you have enfeebling merits carried over from RDM). Poison, if it lands, can be stacked with Bio II if the mob needs to be DoT-Debuffed.


Merit Points & Merit Groups

Group 1:
Last Resort Recast 5/5
Last Resort Effect 5/5
Weapon Bash Recast 0/5
Souleater Recast 0/5
Arcane Circle Recast 0/5

- Last Resort Recast and Last Resort Effect will help improve the overall damage you do with Last Resort up, so it is imperative that you increase these two options to full. Souleater Recast will not do much for you, as it lasts for only a minute compared to Last Resort's 3-minute duration. While Weapon Bash is certainly useful, 3 minutes is fair to leave it at. Arcane Circle Recast is simply not worth meriting for overall usage.

Group 2:
Desperate Blows Effect 5/5
Diabolic Eye 4/5 or 0/5*
Dark Seal 1/5 or 5/5*
Muted Soul 0/5

- Desperate Blows Effect is a MUST! 1 Merit point equals an additional 2% Delay Reduction. All five points add up to an additional 10%, which brings your total delay reduction to -25% when using a two-handed weapon. It will give you a HUGE advantage in Melee Damage, and in the speed in which you deal it. Stack it with Haste, Marches and Embrava for maximum performance.
- Diabolic Eye is great to have when you're having trouble landing consistent hits on your target- For -15% of your health, you will get +20 Accuracy, and +5 to any further merit points you upgrade the Ability with. Simply put, 5/5 will put you at +40 Melee Accuracy.
-Dark Seal is a nifty tool for when your Dark Magic is resisting, or if you want a spell to land for sure. It functions pretty much like Elemental Seal for Dark Magic, so depending on how you play, taking an extra point out of Diabolic Eye for Dark Seal isn't a bad idea at all.
-Muted Soul, However, is unimportant to merit. At any point when you use Souleater, the distribution of enmity being shared between DDs and Tanks will make this trait pointless.

*Consider the option of 0/5 Diabolic Eye and 5/5 Dark Seal if you can cap or nearly cap your physical accuracy. This will not only apply a fast-cast effect to your non-absorb Dark Magic, but the lack of an ability with a -15% Health Penalty is welcome.

Capacity Points & Job Points

Capacity Points and Job Points are a relatively new group of parameters you can increase specifically for your job. You gain Capacity Points to earn Job Points, which you can spend to increase the Categories you are offered to increase. You will be able to increase each parameter up to a maximum of twenty times.

Job Point Categories
Category Description Effect
Blood Weapon Effect Increases the amount of HP absorbed under the effects of Blood Weapon. Increases the amount of HP absorbed by 2 percent.
Soul Enslavement Effect Increases the amount of TP absorbed under the effects of Soul Enslavement. Increase amount of TP absorbed by 1 percent.
Arcane Circle Effect Reduces the amount of damage taken from arcana under the effects of Arcane Circle. Reduces damage taken by 1.
Last Resort Effect Increases physical attack under the effects of Last Resort. Increases physical attack by 2.
Souleater Duration Increases the effect duration of Souleater. Increase effect duration by 1 second.
Weapon Bash Effect Increases damage dealt with Weapon Bash. Increase damage dealt by 10.
Nether Void Effect Increase the amount absorbed by dark magic spells under the effects of Nether Void. Increases amount by 2%. Increases number of statuses absorbed by Absorb-Attri by 1 per 10 points.
Arcane Crest Duration Increases effect duration of Arcane Crest. Increase effect duration by 1 second.
Scarlet Delirium Duration Increases effect duration of Scarlet Delirium. Increases effect duration by 1 second.
Endark effect Increases add. dark damage & phys. attack under the effects of Endark. Hidden Bonus: Increases phys. accuracy. Increases damage, physical attack & physical accuracy by 1.


Job Point Gifts
Job Point Gifts are rewards granted after spending a requisite amount of Job Points. They are additive to your current stats, and additional magic can even be unlocked (Endark II, Drain III).
Code
Gift			Description								Total Job Points Spent
Physical Defense Bonus	Increases physical defense by 4.						5
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 5%.					5
Physical Attack Bonus	Increases physical and ranged attack by 15.					10
Physical Evasion Bonus	Increases physical evasion by 3.						20
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 7%.					25
Physical Accuracy Bonus	Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 3.					30
Magic Evasion Bonus	Increases magic evasion by 6.							45
Superior 1		Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 1 (Su1).			50
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 9%.					55
Magic Accuracy Bonus	Increases magic accuracy by 6.							60
Dark Magic Skill Bonus	Increases dark magic skill by 5.						80
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 11%.					95
New Spell		Grants a new magic spell. Endark II Adds darkness damage to your attacks.	100
Superior 2		Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 2 (Su2).			100
Critical Damage Bonus	Increases critical damage dealt by 2%.						125
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 13%.					145
Weapon Skill Dmg. Bonus	Increases weapon skill damage by 2%.						150
Physical Defense Bonus	Increases physical defense by 6.						180
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 15%.					205
Physical Attack Bonus	Increases physical and ranged attack by 23.					210
Physical Evasion Bonus	Increases physical evasion by 5.						245
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 17%.					275
Physical Accuracy Bonus	Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 5.					280
Magic Evasion Bonus	Increases magic evasion by 9.							320
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 19%.					355
Magic Accuracy Bonus	Increases magic accuracy by 9.							360
Dark Magic Skill Bonus	Increases dark magic skill by 8.						405
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 21%.					445
Critical Damage Bonus	Increases critical damage dealt by 2%.						450	
WeaponSkill Dmg. Bonus	Increases weapon skill damage by 2%.						500
Superior 3		Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 3 (Su3).			500
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 23%.					545
New Spell		Drain III: Steals enemy's HP. May also increase Max HP. Ineffective vs undead.	550
Physical Defense Bonus	Increases physical defense by 8.						605
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 25%.					655
Physical Attack Bonus	Increases physical and ranged attack by 30.					660
Physical Evasion Bonus	Increases physical evasion by 6.						720
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 27%.					775
Physical Accuracy Bonus	Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 6.					780
Magic Evasion Bonus	Increases magic evasion bonus by 6.						845
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 29%.					905
Magic Accuracy Bonus	Increases magic accuracy bonus by 12.						910
Dark Magic Skill Bonus	Increases dark magic skill by 10.						980
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 31%.					1045
Crit. Dmg. Dealt Bonus	Increases critical damage dealt by 2%.						1050
WeaponSkill Dmg. Bonus	Increases weapon skill damage by 2%.						1125
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 33%.					1195
Dread Spikes Effect	Increases the amount of HP that Dread Spikes steals by 20%.			1200
Physical Defense Bonus	Increases physical defense by 10.						1280
Capacity Point Bonus	Increases acquired capacity points by 35%.					1355
Physical Attack Bonus	Increases physical and ranged attack by 38.					1360
Physical Evasion Bonus	Increases physical evasion by 8.						1445
Physical Accuracy Bonus	Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 8.					1530
Magic Evasion Bonus	Increases magic evasion by 15.							1620
Magic Accuracy Bonus	Increases magic accuracy by 15.							1710
Dark Magic Skill Bonus	Increases dark magic skill by 13.						1805
Critical Damage Bonus	Increases critical damage dealt by 2%.						1900
WeaponSkill Dmg. Bonus	Increases weapon skill damage by 2%.						2000
★Master!		Grants "Master Soulstealer." Decreases recast time of 1-hour abil. by 15 min.	2100


credits to Stani for this segment below

The trademark characteristic of Dark Knight is that with Desperate Blows merits, Last Resort will add 25% (likely around 253/1024) Haste in the Job Ability (JA) category. This is hugely important because with that much JA haste, and a few magic haste buffs from your support, you will be able to cap your delay reduction with less than 26% in gear haste. This means that you will be able to:

* Pile on more sTP to lower your x-hit
* Stack more multi-attack to boost your swings per round
* Swap in more Accuracy or Attack gear
* Be one of the more effective DDs in a Hybrid TP+Damage Taken- set
* Wear whatever else you wanted to, but couldn't because you had to wear Haste pieces.

How much gear haste you need to wear to cap delay reduction with LR/DB will depend on the magic haste buffs you're getting. Generally speaking, it will take a combination of Haste, March(es), and/or Embrava to cap your delay reduction with less than 26% gear haste. With LR and capped magic haste, you'll be able to wear as little as 12% gear haste while maintaining capped delay reduction. Keep in mind that when LR wears off, DB becomes inactive and you'll have to switch back to wearing the full 26% gear haste.

That's the general idea, now on to the specific amounts of gear haste that are to be worn with various magic haste amounts:
Code
Gear Haste required (x/1024, explained below)
		Magic Haste recieved (x/1024)	
				Magic Haste description

256+		0		None
256+		150		Haste
256+		214-294		Haste, Advancing March +0-5
256+		264-310		Haste, Victory March +1-4
240		326		Haste, Victory March +5
256		310		Haste, both Marches +0
224		342		Haste, both Marches +1
192		374		Haste, both Marches +2
160		406		Haste, both Marches +3
128		438		Haste, both Marches +4
118		448		Haste, both Marches +5
176		390		Haste, Marcato Victory March +0, Advancing March +0
128		438		Haste, Marcato Victory March +1, Advancing March +1
118		448		Haste, Marcato Victory March +2-4, Advancing March +2-4
182		384		Marcato Victory March +3, Advancing March +3
134		432		Marcato Victory March +4, Advancing March +4
118		448		Marcato Victory March +5, Advancing March +5
118		448		Haste, Soul Voice Marches +0-5
246		320		Soul Voice Marches +0
214		352		Soul Voice Marches +1
182		384		Soul Voice Marches +2
150		416		Soul Voice Marches +3
118		320		Soul Voice Marches +4-5
224		342		Haste, Soul Voice Victory March +0
192		374		Haste, Soul Voice Victory March +1
160		406		Haste, Soul Voice Victory March +2
128		438		Haste, Soul Voice Victory March +3
118		448		Haste, Soul Voice Victory March +4-5
206		360		Haste, 420 skill Embrava (the minimum with Light Arts up)
166		400		Haste, 500 skill Embrava (capped potency)
118		448		Haste, any Embrava, any Victory March


The gear haste values were left in x/1024 because the exact haste value for different pieces of equipment can varry by how much haste it provides. Pieces with 1-4% haste are 10/1024 haste per 1% listed. This means that you get a little less than what you might think, 10/1024 is actually .9765% haste. On pieces with 5% or more haste, however, Square has taken to adding an extra 1/1024, to keep the haste contribution on the x/1024 scale closer to the percent listed. 50/1024 = .488, 51/1025 = .498.

Because of this, if you were to put on 10 pieces of 2% haste, you'd be at 200/1024 haste, but if you put on 4 pieces of 5% haste, you'd be at 204/1024. Keep this in mind if you're shooting for a target ending in 2 or 4/1024 haste, you may be able to hit that target without overshooting.

Luckily, most of those 40 or so haste situations are unlikely and only included for completeness' sake. The four sets that I would recommend to anyone looking to get the most out of Last Resort would be:

1) Uncapped delay reduction: 26% gear haste. No marches or embrava, this is your standard TP set. You might gain from wearing 5*5% pieces for 255/256 gear haste here, but 26% is fine too.
2) Marches: 16% gear haste if you ever expect Marches +3, 13% if you can gurantee Marches +4 (BRD AF3 hands and Langleik or Gjallarhorn95), 12% if you can gurantee Marches +5 (BRD AF3 hands and Gjallarhorn99). x/1024 not a factor here, listed %s are fine.
3) Embrava+Haste: 21% gear haste if there's a chance that the SCH is a naked alt or someone who just doesn't care, 17% if it's capped potency. I'd go with 21 to accept all levels of Embrava, and move on with life. You can get away with 4*5% haste pieces = 204/206 gear haste here.
4) Capped magic haste: 12% gear haste, listed % values are fine. Go nuts.
*) Keep in mind that Apocalypse AM haste is counted as gear haste(75-119 II)/job ability haste(119 III).

(click "armor" on the image to skip to the armor section)

Weapons - Scythe

RMEA Weapons

Apocalypse
By far one of the most popular Relic Weapons DRKs can wield, and a decent starting point for building your DRK to use for High Endgame. Catastrophe, which drains the target of its HP, helps a Dark Knight do a variety of things they normally wouldn't: It makes soloing much easier. It benefits your Drain II/III's Max HP Effect, whether you Magic Burst or not. They can tank with some support in low-man situations and save the WHM some MP. It gives you an advantage in fights where the enemy spams Dispel magic or Dispel attacks. It can also help get you out of a tight spot when the battle starts getting ugly. Its Aftermath will give you +10% Gear Haste, which can allow you to swap into gear with extra melee stats in place of Haste Gear for TPing with. In mentioning this, I must add that it is imperative for you to have an Aftermath Build to immediately swap into. Otherwise, when your aftermath is active, the surplus haste pieces in your Non-Aftermath TP sets will act as paperweight. At level 90, Catastrophe will get a boost of 25% more damage, & at level 95, the hidden effect of 2x Damage on TP swing rises from the original 8% of earlier levels to 20%. If you're prepared to take this weapon to the realm of iLevel 119 III with Afterglow, the Aftermath changes from Gear Haste to 10% Job Ability Haste**, with a scaled duration that increases with TP. While reasons for an Apocalypse to be used in low-man situations can be scarce, it depends on what you're using it for. Whether you prefer a Ragnarok, Liberator, Caladbolg or Anguta, this is still a great weapon for Hardcore DRKs to have on hand.

** Apocalypse Aftermath (iLv. 119 III) Tier Progression:
Aftermath Lv. 1: 1000+ TP = 60+ seconds
Aftermath Lv. 2: 2000+ TP = 120+ seconds
Aftermath Lv. 3: 3000+ TP = 180+ seconds

Liberator
An incredible piece of work, especially for the Dark Knights who use their absorb spells often. This is perfect for absorbing crazy huge amounts of stats, with some reports of absorbing up to +69 of a stat! Absorb spells are now instant, providing more incentive to take advantage of those Absorb Spells with this weapon. By the time you upgrade your Liberator to level 99, Your Absorb Spell potency is increased by 50%, Insurgency damage rises by +30% followed by an Aftermath of increased Attack & Accuracy, and OA2-3 is the grand icing on the cake. All this in one Scythe truly makes both sides of Dark Knight wet their pants. Especially when upgraded to iLevel 119.** Tier 1 grants additional Skill+ stats, Tier 2 grants Afterglow (Attack+15/Ranged Attack+15 to your party members), and Tier 3 grants an increase to Skill+ stats.

Aftermath Lv.1: floor(TP÷50 + 10) = Accuracy+30~49 , 1.5 minutes
Aftermath Lv.2: floor(TP×0.06 - 80) = Attack+40~99 , 2 minutes
Aftermath Lv.3: Occ. Att. twice (40%) or thrice (20%), 3 minutes
(note: "floor," in layman's terms, just means to drop the decimals after a certain point, generally rounding down to the nearest whole number)

Anguta
The most recent addition to Dark Knight's Ultimate Weapon Repertoire, the Anguta is DRK's Aeonic Weapon, which is obtained through the Aeonic Weapon Quest. Aeonics are a new type of weapon introduced with FFXI's Swan Song Expansion, "Rhapsodies of Vana'Diel." Aeonics have an entirely unique skillchain mechanic called "Ultimate Skillchain," which allows you to combine two or more Light or Darkness skillchains to create a so-called "Level 4 SC:" "Radiance" & "Umbra." Because of this mechanic, the Anguta stands out like none other- Store TP+10 and TP Bonus+500 makes this behemoth of a weapon reliable for creating powerful and more frequent Skillchains. On top of that, it comes included with Entropy at full potency, So you don't have to put any merit points into Entropy when using this weapon. An excellent addition for the Scythe enthusiast.

Redemption
The Redemption, ironically, has the aesthetic of a hockey stick made out of a Colibri Beak dressed in bacterial growth. Sounds hilarious when you look at it that way, doesn't it? The weapon skill Quietus, a single-hit skill which deals Triple Damage that ignores defense (defense ignored varies with TP), it has two modifiers which are 60% WSC: STR & MND. It's debatable whether or not Quietus can keep up with the likes of Entropy, Torcleaver and Resolution. It can also be debated that TP damage during the O.D.D. Aftermath could make up for the slightly lower than average WS mods that are included in Quietus, but it's unlikely with much better options. If you're the type who is willing to experiment with it, however, then be my guest. If you just want Quietus itself as a weapon skill, you can just aim for the bare minimum by building a Umiliati, then talk to Kupofried in Walk of Echoes to start your quest to obtain the WS.


Non-RMEA Weapons

Cronus
You can obtain this Job-Specific iLevel119 Weapon from Oboro, by trading him a Cehuetzi Claw, Ivory Sickle, Orichalcum Scythe, and 150 Plutons, Beitetsu, or Riftborn Boulders. You must fulfill at least one of these requirements before being able to obtain your Cronus. Once you trade Oboro one RME Weapon upgrade item, you can trade the rest of the 299 items to Oboro, and the Cronus will be augmented with DMG+10, Accuracy+70, and Weapon Skill Damage +10%.

Dacnomania
Wow, look at the Souleater stats on this Scythe. While this isn't exactly a weapon to replicate Kraken Club zerging with, this Scythe will push Souleater's HP consumption by 35%, which will stack with the current Souleater HP consumption cap of 10%. That's 45% HP consumption. That's as many as 45 Souleaters. It also comes with Drain & Aspir Potency +20, making this an incredibly useful weapon for Drain III. Be ready to also have Blood Weapon on hand, and perhaps some cure bombing to follow if you wish to take advantage of this beast. It's recommended to fit any additional accuracy into your build when using this, because this weapon doesn't provide any extra accuracy- It does give Attack+45 & Critical Hit Rate +5% to make up for it, though. Dropped from Warder of Courage in Escha - Ru'Aun.

Obschine
A decent scythe to cover the bare minimum of necessities, it can be augmented (randomly, ugh) to any combination of stats you desire from speaking with Oseem in Norg. Trade him Pellucid/Fern/Taupe Stones to determine your augments. Any sort of combination that includes ACC/ATT/WSD/STAT+ will work just fine. Drops from Gajasimha, a T2 NM in Reisenjima.


Weapons - Great Sword


Relic/Empyrean

Ragnarok
Simply put, this will be the only Great Sword you will ever need for content that demands high amounts of accuracy. If you are prepared to make the commitment, it should be your long-term goal to push it into the realm of iLevel 119 with Afterglow III. It will give you Tiger Blood and Adonis DNA as you wield it! Scourge, the weapon skill it comes included with, will boost your Critical Hit Rate by 5%. In a recent overhaul of weapon skills, Scourge's modifiers have been changed from MND & CHR (40% wSC) to STR & VIT (40%) On top of that, "Enhances Critical Hit Rate" will further boost your Critical Hit Rate.** By the time you reach iLv. 119-AG3, Scourge's Aftermath gets two boosts: Critical Hit Rate+10% (a 5% increase), and Accuracy+15, and this will make Scourge worthwhile to use, pumping your Critical Hit Rate to a mindblowing total of +24% Crit Hit Rate. Just like Apocalypse, you'll want to utilize Scourge into your WS Rotation for the Aftermath, especially when accounting for Multi-Step Skillchains (which will be explained in Endgame Strategies). The Relic Afterglow will grant you Accuracy/Ranged Accuracy +15 to your party members.

DISCLAIMER: I'm going to be frank- yes, you will be expected to compete with Ragnarok WARs. They will defeat you, a Ragnarok DRK, on the Parsers. However, you should never, and I mean never, be intimidated by this prospect. You'll often get told, "Rag WAR wins the game, why go DRK?" That's not the point. The truth is this: WARs and DRKs utilize their DPS in different situations, due to how they use their Job Abilities and Skill sets. Ragnarok for DRK is generally made for high-level content where you absolutely need the boost in accuracy and crit damage to support your overall damage output. Ragnarok WARs are usually taken to content that can easily be zerged in one shot, and can totally annihilate the target without fail. When a Ragnarok WAR isn't available, or in a situation where Ragnarok Zerging is either not required or doable, a Ragnarok DRK can win the DPS charts with little effort. At first glance, DRK seems to have lost the title of King Zerg- but with a Ragnarok in hand against high-level content, a DRK can still spill blood in their own name.

** "Enhances Critical Hit Rate" Tier Progression:
Tier 1 - Critical Hit Rate +5% / Tier 2 - Critical Hit Rate +7%
Tier 3 - Critical Hit Rate +10% / Tier 4 - Critical Hit Rate +12%
Tier 5 - Critical Hit Rate +14%

Caladbolg
Out of Dark Knight's selection of Empyrean Weapons, you can never go wrong with building a Caladbolg. The Delay:430 will say "TP Damage Machine" when you activate the Aftermath effect of "Occasionally attack for Double Damage," when using its unique weaponskill- Torcleaver. Torcleaver is a one-hit attack with an 80% VIT modifier that deals Triple Damage, and in situations where you can use low accuracy, the Caladbolg's damage output becomes extremely competitive with Ragnarok. Like Spinning Slash & Ground Strike, One-Hit Weapon Skills often carry an Accuracy Bonus, so stacking for Attack will largely benefit this WS. However, in cases where you're finding yourself missing with Torcleaver, it may help to raise your accuracy with either food or gear, at least until you can find your sweet spot for Accuracy and high WS damage. If you're not actively participating in Ambuscade, your only roadblock might be obtaining Heavy Metal Plates, which have an unreliable droprate, and you'll be required to gather 1500 of them to upgrade it to level 95. 60 Riftdross are required to push Caladbolg to level 99, and Riftdross is now more accessible to obtain than it was during Voidwatch's heyday. When fully upgraded to iLevel 119, the OdDD aftermath turns into "Occasionally Attacks for Triple Damage**," dramatically increasing your overall damage output. For Empyrean Weapons, the Afterglow effect grants you +5% Critical Hit Rate to your party members.

** "Occasionally Attacks for Triple Damage" Aftermath Tier Progression:
Aftermath Lv.1: 30% Triple Damage, 60 second AM Duration
Aftermath Lv.2: 40% Triple Damage, 120 second AM Duration
Aftermath Lv.3: 50% Triple Damage, 180 second AM Duration


Non-RMEA Weapons

zulfiqar
Augmentable (randomly, ugh) with Pellucid/Fern/Taupe Stones, you can build a heavyweight out of this Greatsword, especially if you're looking at a Torcleaver build, with the proper stats (recommended: DMG+/ACC/ATT/WSD/STAT+) and enough grinding. Drops from Sarsoak, a T2 NM in Reisenjima.

montante +1
An extremely ideal choice for the DRK who wants to maintain their x-hit. The Store TP+11 will allow you to mix-and-match your builds to fit in whatever stat you may lack, even if it is STP itself. Depending on your Unity Ranking, it comes included with Triple Attack 3~5%, so if you're confident in your unity leader, you'll get the extra benefit of Triple Attack procs. Beware, however: Sarama, the Unity NM this weapon is obtained from, is not to be taken lightly. When you defeat Sarama, you will be given a Sarama Chest for a chance to obtain it. Even the NQ Montante can hold you over for until lady luck grants you the +1 version.

Takoba
A Decent Great Sword for any sort of accuracy issues you may face. It also has DMG:309, which is rather high. If you happen to snatch this out of pure coincidence for your DRK from Schah, a T4 H.E.L.M. NM in Reisenjima, you can consider this as a sidegrade for when you're working towards a Montante+1 or Zulfiqar.



Armor Sets

Reforged AF-Relic-Empyrean Armor

[ Ignominy ]
ItemSet 348101

Mandatory: Body+3, Head+3, Legs+3, Feet+3
reasoning:
Body+3 qualifies as an amazing WS piece, and our best-in-slot for Enfeebling magic. Head+3 is a decent piece to look to for Dark Magic, if you're getting resists on higher-level mobs (especially before Pixie Earring+1), and Souleater+6 will demand you to drop every piece of zerging armor you gathered during the Kraken Club era. Legs+3 will become one of your best options for WS legs, and it's competitive with Argosy+1. Feet+3 are your best option for Magic Accuracy to use with Absorb/Drain spells, especially if you're hitting resists with Ratri sollerets +1 or its NQ equivalent. Increases Arcane Circle duration by 50% and potency by 2%, making Arcana easier to deal with.

Nice to Have: Hands+3
reasoning:
Hands+3 will provide a great option for single-hit WS such as Torcleaver.

Unimportant: None
reasoning:
Everything has a purpose.


[ Fallen ]
ItemSet 348102

Mandatory: Head, Hands
reasoning:
Head for Dark Magic precast set & Dark Seal augment. Hands for Dark Magic Skill +14, Drain & Aspir Potency, and Diabolic Eye Augment.

Nice to Have: Feet, Body, Legs
reasoning:
Head will not only reduce Dark Magic casting times, but the augment to Dark Seal will increase the duration of Dark Magic by 10% per Dark Seal Merit (this includes Absorbs and Dread Spikes). Two perks for having these feet are reducing the defense penalty of Last Resort by 10% if you're ever concerned about being squishy, and the Desperate Blows augment giving you a total of +15 Subtle Blow with 5/5 Desperate Blows merits (+3 per merit level). Having the body upgraded is just for boredom's sake, because the Blood Weapon Augment remains the same from Relic+2 Body. Legs for Dark Magic set if you need some INT for your build or don't have Heathen+1 or eschite cuisses yet.

Unimportant: Nothing
reasoning:
Everything has a purpose.

[ Heathen ]
ItemSet 348103

Mandatory: Body, Hands, Legs
reasoning:
Body increases Dread Spikes potency by 18%, making it very useful for damage mitigation measures. Hands have Absorb-TP Effect +20%, not much else needs to be said. Legs with Nether Void+35, making it an excellent piece for boosting your Dark Magic. Dark Magic Skill +20 for when you need a tad more accuracy to your Dark Magic.

Nice to Have: none
reasoning:
see below

Unimportant: Head, Feet
reasoning:
Stronger stats can be found elsewhere for both pieces.


Gear for New/Returning Players, Low-End Setups
This section is really just based on opinion, in the case any new DRKs or returning pre-Abyssea DRKs need to build themselves from the ground up. Much of the gear is accessible through Sparks by doing Records of Eminence, and other pieces you may need to hunt for in other content.

Greatsword Starter
ItemSet 344201 ItemSet 344202 ItemSet 344204

Scythe Starter
ItemSet 279825 ItemSet 349209 ItemSet 279830


Low Tier - For the Rookies
ItemSet 344209 ItemSet 344223 ItemSet 333764 ItemSet 316759

• +6 sTP on any Acro Piece. Everything else should prioritize DA, Crit Damage, ACC/ATT.

By the way...
a tip for your moonshade earring, because so many other DDs make the same mistake:



You're getting Regain in other places such as COR Buffs, Temp Items, etc., so the 1TP/tic is absolutely pointless. I can't stress this enough. Your WS damage AND overall damage would be better off with the ATT+4 & TPBonus+25 augments, because TP Bonus will enhance the potency of your weapon skill. Want higher WS damage? Then get the TP Bonus Augments.
And don't try to argue that 1/tic Regen/Refresh is useless in this regard, because TP is infinite and you'll just sound like an idiot in your argument ahsdghs@&#^&)FVYDSF@dsfas4243 I'm not kidding, someone actually tried to tell me this >8C



Mid-Tier, Welcome to Escha & Ambuscade
ItemSet 344210 ItemSet 344211 ItemSet 344212


• Store TP+3 with Ginsen, Acro is for x-hit. This assumes your first cape is STR+20 ACC/ATT+20 DA+10%.
• Eschite Body/Hands/Feet Path D.
• Despair Helm/BodyPath D, Despair Hands/Legs Path B.

Higher-Tier, Climbing those Tors

ItemSet 344971


[ (more sets to come) ]

Top-Tier, Rising Dark Star

Ragnarok

Caladbolg

Apocalypse
ItemSet 341518 ItemSet 342116 ItemSet 343981 ItemSet 343982 ItemSet 342958


• DRK TP: Accuracy/Store TP on Valorous. DEX+20 - Accuracy/Attack+20 - Double Attack+10% on Ankou's Mantle. Provides 5-hit & hefty DA+% with 1205 accuracy before food or buffs.
• DRK TP ACC: High Accuracy Build with 1295 before food or buffs. Carmine path B, Emicho Path B.
• Cross Reaper: STR+20 - Accuracy/Attack+20 - WSD+10% on Ankou's Mantle.
• Catastrophe: STR+20 - Accuracy/Attack+20 - WSD+10% on Ankou's Mantle. STR - WSD on Odyssean Helm and Gauntlets.
• Hybrid/"DTDD": Amm Greaves maximum augment. DT-50%, 1105 ACC, Capped Gear Haste.

Liberator
ItemSet 294870


• Insurgency: STR+20 - Accuracy/Attack+20 - Double Attack+10% on Ankou's Mantle.

Anguta
ItemSet 279589

[ (more sets to come) ]

Norwegian Blackened Death Metal-Tier

extreme accuracy
ItemSet 344240 ItemSet 350164

• Can be used with any 119 or 119-III RMEA weapon.

weaponskills
ItemSet 315833 ItemSet 348903


• Resolution: Argosy +1 Body/Legs/Feet Path A, Head/Hands D.
• Torcleaver: Odyssean Head/Hands/Feet with VIT, ACC/ATT, WSD.(WSD is 48% max including Augments).

[ (more sets to come) ]


ItemSet 280578 ItemSet 342269

• Full DT: Max Augment Amm Greaves; DEX+20 ACC/ATT+20 DA+10% on Ankou's Mantle.
• Idle:

Dark Magic Drain/Aspir Absorbs Dread Spikes Fast Cast
ItemSet 280853 ItemSet 283287 ItemSet 282930 ItemSet 344218 ItemSet 280855


• Dark Magic: Niht Mantle assumes Dark Magic +10 / Drain & Aspir Potency +10~25. ignominy burgeonet +1 can serve as a decent placeholder if your bank isn't ready for Pixie+1. Carmine +1 is the standard, but NQ can work just as easily. Swap out Archon Ring with Diabolos's ring if you have the capability to do so.

• Drain/Aspir: Odyssean Feet assumes maxed Drain & Aspir Potency Augment. If you don't have access to Erra Pendant, consider incanter's torque until then.

• Absorbs: Same deal as your Dark Magic set, but use Chuparossa Mantle instead of Niht Mantle. Consider fallen's burgeonet +1 for longer durations.

• Dread Spikes: Amm Greaves max augment. Gorney with HP+60 Augment. Make sure HP is topped off when using Odnowa x2. Consider gold moogle belt for HP+3% if you grabbed one from event, and fallen's burgeonet +1 for longer durations. Llwyd's clogs are a better feet option once you reach 3125 Max HP.

• Fast Cast: 78% Fast Cast with max DM augments. If FC Cap is vital for you, consider Item Not Found! in place of Prolix Ring.


For older content pre-SoA, please click here


Omen

- coming soon!

Ambuscade

- under construction

Escha/Reisenjima

- under construction

Sinister Reign

- under construction

Alluvion Skirmish

- under construction

Vagary

- under construction

Delve

If you're in the market for Naakual Crafting Ingredients, some iLvl.119 gear, and hot loads of Mweya Plasm to speed up the process, then Delve is the event for you! For now, I'll be covering boss strategies in the Delve Fractures, since they are some of the most extremely hard bosses in the game.

Ceizak Battlegrounds:

Muyingwa (Fracture Boss):

Morimar Basalt Fields:

Tojil (Fracture Boss):
  • Blistering Roar is first used right at full health. It will use it again each 25% HP threshold- second time at 75%, third at 50%, and fourth at 25%. It will also gain a Flame Cloak effect, which enables him to use a specific set of TP Abilities: Pyroclastic Surge, Batholithic Shell, and Incinerating Lahar.

  • You can dispel the Flame Cloak Aura by dealing elemental damage through one of the elements of level 2 skillchain properties: Wind/Thunder @ 100%, Dark/Earth @ 75%, Light/Fire @ 50%, Water/Ice @ 25%. Try setting up light/darkness skillchains that will help your mages deal more damage through magic bursts.

  • Incinerating Lahar has the potential to totally wipe out your party, as it deals a severe amount of AoE damage to your party or alliance. If you have decent Dark Magic accuracy, be on the lookout for Incinerating Lahar and help your mages by casting Stun when Tojil is about to use it. Volcanic Stasis is another ability to watch out for- it will Terrorize your entire group long enough for him to go through a buff cycle. However, if your mages are on point with stuns, you may not need to worry about it as much as Incinerating Lahar.

  • Tojil also has certain points in time where he becomes resistant to certain types of physical damage. Between 100%~75% HP, He will take half damage, but non-elemental damage such as Formless Strikes will deal 100% damage to him. Since you don't have anything like Formless Strikes in your repertoire, you'll want to have Endark up to help you make up for the cut on damage dealt. By 74%-50% HP, he will take increased piercing damage. Keep up your attacks as usual. By 49%~25%, he will take increased Slashing damage- this is your time to shine. Make use of this vulnerability by popping everything you've got from Blood Weapon/Soul Enslavement/Souleater/etc to slice and dice your way through towards the 25% mark. After that, he will take increased Blunt damage from less than 24% to the end of the fight- A perfect time for your group's MNK(s) to finish him off.

(Remember when learning to take down Tojil used to take up to at least a week? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.)

Foret de Hennetiel:

Daquwaka (Fracture Boss):

Marjami Ravine:

Cailimh (Fracture Boss):

Yorcia Weald:

Wopket (Fracture Boss):

Kamihr Drifts:

Utkux (Fracture Boss):

Dynamis
Dark Knight in Dynamis is best paired with a THF when low-man farming, both subbing /DNC for Job Ability-based Staggers. Usually this will involve spamming Steps and Tier 1 Flourishes together, since they have the lowest recast timers of all the jobs in the game. Alternatively, if you're soloing, you can chance it by setting up some Trust NPCs to fight with you, but you may end up with a lower currency count by the end of the run. Instead, make use of your Trusts when taking down Time Extension NMs.

For WS Staggering, if you have a low-damage multi-hit weapon, use low-tier WS that won't take a chunk off the target. AoE WS such as Spinning Scythe/Shockwave may have a chance to stagger any WS-Weakness Target. If you're going against a more formidable NM in Dynamis, trying to proc with your high-damage WS will perhaps do the trick just as well.

Magic Staggers are mostly not recommended, as they require an entire library of magic to use in order to stagger a target with magic.

Dynamis Lord & Arch-Dynamis Lord

Dynamis Lord this day and age will be a cinch, but Arch-Dynamis will require some finesse. Here's a battle strategy of how the fight works:

<100%HP: Will use a combination of Oblivion Smash, Tera Slash, Violent Rupture, Dynamic Implosion, Transfusion, Mana Storm, and/or Dynamic Assault.
~50%HP: Shadow Clone, immediately disengages you. /assist the group's designated assist in engaging the target. This is a 50/50 chance at targeting the real ADL, so be on guard if your assist ends up getting the clone.
<49%HP: With either the Clone or ADL engaged, best go full throttle here
<15%HP: Stunners (including yourself if needed) watch for his Terror attack, not getting this stunned will flat-out kill your chances of a victory.


General Help:
FFXICalc: for Calculating ACC, Store TP, Haste, Skillchains and Such

Damage and DPS Calculation:
Motenten's DPS Spreadsheets for TP and WS Comparison (Perfectly usable with a Google Account using Google Docs to copy your own, edit, and save into GDrive)

Formulae & Mechanics:
Calcuating Weapon Skill Damage
TP Bonus

OAX/MultiAttack Calculation:
Sylow's OAX/Multi-Attack Guide
OAX/Multi-Attack spreadsheet for easy calculation.

Gearswap:
Fenrir.Pertalee said: »
-- DRK LUA.
http://pastebin.com/2XKEUUA9

-- Global File with Augment Gear
http://pastebin.com/qrcug0Cb

Gear Credits:
Quetzacoatl, Thorva, Ruaumoko, Bloodlusty, Ganno.

(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)
Author: Quetzacoatl
Date Created: 2013-05-28 15:14:20
Date Last Modified: 2017-05-18 03:44:05
Updates: 119
Bytes: 62883