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

You need to relax, that is out of control. First off, nobody said unintentional sc don't occur. Secondly, things get harder to read with typo's from being upset. I don't think anyone really knows where you are going with all this.

Says the guy with no aeonics..

Fogetting also that torcleavers tp return will be reduced and require an additional swing to gain back for next ws

Not really, I know myself and a few others look into builds based off tp return of single hit ws.

You get 250 return off a single ws?

No, you get less, but increase your sTP in tp phase to accommodate for it if you decide to go the Torc route.

edit, not to mention if you focus on getting 25% tp on any return it seems more like you are aiming for ws +3 (4 hit), not ws +4 (5 hit)

Yup, that extra swing

I fail to see how there is an extra swing. If you are aiming for ws+3hit on greatsword you likely are killing your own dps with lack of multi-attack since you are putting way too much sTP in your build for ws+3 (unless there is something I am missing about suddenly getting 25% per swing on rag). Even reso spammers use the ws+4hit build. Adjusting for torc isn't much different, you need 17 in torc (ody legs/body and nepenthe +1 grip) and 58 sTP in gear. You won't see an adjustment until you begin to use the AF+2/3 body.

To get 25% tp per hit on a 431 delay weapon you need 90 sTP in gear as /sam, 105 sTP if not /sam

Just checked my gear, the highest possible I can achieve is +91 sTP, but the cost is a 25% tp hit build means I only get 18% DA comes with no buff 1183 acc though.

I am sure with better augments/telos etc I could land a better set, but 25% tp hit, just isn't worth it on Rag. (Alternatively I can swap lissome neck for asperity gain 1% DA but lose the acc of lissome)

Either way, I don't think there is going to be a 25% tp hit build that is worth it on Rag for a while.

I pull over 300 tp return with reso in end game set ups due to the highly buffed situations, I completely fail to see how I'm gimping my damage here so please enlighten me



Nothing will compete with reso as a ws in a group set up like that, you are here to deal damage.. that's your job, it doesn't matter if your opinion is to use torcleaver and deal less, its like asking a whm to heal and not heal.

This is annoying as hell trying to give advice here, I went out my way to prove DRK has something special and gained a lot of subs and followers doing so, but you seem hell bent on proving DRK's are all fools. No other thread spams 40+ pages repeating the same advice over and over

Looks like everyone is getting poop'd on by that WAR in that vid :x

You are pulling 300+ with cor rolls, I assume with a group like that the cor has barataria ring as well. Doesn't show the cor roll, but in most endgame groups with cor, they either hit lucky or 11, that is MASSIVE sTP. 11 with ring is like 65 sTP (maybe more, can't remember, edit: just check 84sTP on an 11 roll with ring, 66 on lucky with ring), you can go naked /sam and hit 4hit+ws like that. Go to apex and tell me without cor how much tp per hit and ws you get.

Your analogy of asking a whm to heal or not to heal is not even remotely close to accurate. Honestly it seems like you came in this thread to throw a fit for some reason. Whatever it is, I hope it has ended, most of us value your opinion but there is no reason to be getting upset the way you are presenting yourself.

If you really want me to nitpick that video and the dps I can, but it really isn't worth the drama.

Ok if that doesn't make you guys laugh. Lol idk about you guys But I'm cracking up over here. Nice tension breaker. It was getting super serious. I love hearing everyone's point of view. I know I personally love hearing what both blood and Thorva got to say.

Keeps me on my toes and keeps me wanting to do better. =)

Got me there. If only there had been previous periods of time in XIs history where an alliance was buffed to hell and back and let loose on an single target.

Great logic, buddy.

I really value Blood's opinion, he has done a lot of great things, I am really trying to avoid drama/tension.

All I know is torc is far easier to gear in lower/mid range drk gear. Torc in most cases will out preform reso for a lot of people, once you have higher end gear/groups reso will pull ahead.

I know..... I favor reso currently....
I feel I am an endgame geared drk, I certain have hit the dps numbers for it, but I don't like leaving the questions unanswered for the low/mid tier drks. That and my curiosity of a perfect torc has me wondering, as I don't think we have seen one yet.

However with ws spamming, especially with the bluwagon, the sc properties of torc are better than the sc properties of reso.

Furthermore, you can spam torc at 100% tp and get solid numbers where as in my experience it seems you need to hold to 175 for reso with moonshade, 200 without.

And finally, which is the most important of them all, torc gets a monstrous gain from ws dmg, especially when drk can break 50% wsdmg. Turns that 20k torc (easily obtained) into a 30k torc with light/dark sc. Turns that 30k torc into 45k.

What I really want to see is an AG Calad drk with 50%+ wsdmg and 250+ vit going haywire with torc.

Assuming reso still somehow makes you the better DD even with all the wsdmg and sc power of torc, I still highly doubt if someone was to only watch the total ally parse, I bet they couldn't tell the difference This is to mean they can't see sc dmg, they only know total dps, not just 1 person or 1 person with sc.

I don't think calling *** out is going too far. This isn't pre-adoulin where skill chain damage was negligible at best.

Typos are a phone thing, not rage thing. Ultimately, I don't care if Dark Knights chooses to use a marginally stronger weaponskill with terrible skill chains properties.

I just wasn't going to not give others the chance to make an informed decision.

Extremely good points. I think for your run of the mill average drk it is just flat out easier to get a torc build. Blood said it earlier Reso needs top tier gear to have great performance. That is very much correct. I know for me personally, I am far from top tier. My torcs and reso hit damn near that same. So depending on what I am doing and the strategy will really depend on what ws i use. If I can close light, damn right I will. But for me it's all situational.

I can agree with your points, trust me I fight for all points of view in the forums. As for the typo/aggression thing, I am just cautious as we have had some issues in the past, myself included.


Again, this goes back to me saying I fight for all players, not just the top end ones. I am missing utu grip and hq body for BiS reso gear, I am really close to perfect reso. However, I know I lack in torc gear and I can get pretty close on my torc<=>reso ws.

so my reso set is missing 3 items from being "perfect", HQ body (2 str 2 dex 10 acc 20 att 2 DA), af+3 legs (use HQ argosy atm), and Niq ring (1 str 3 QA). My torc set is missing a few more items than that, ammo (6 wsd), af+3 body (I use +2 atm for a week longer then will +3, 5 wsd), Niq ring (2 Vit 3 QA).

my Torc set atm has +37 WSD and +226 Vit, I can improve 25 vit from mostly just augs. Once I have the last few semi easy things to get it will be at +48 wsd +233 vit, and with Caladbolg it will be at +48 wsd and +283 (potential +301 with beter augs) vit.

I literally am 11 wsd, and 75 VIT under what optimal would be for torc and I already have torc pulling better numbers than reso at 100~175tp AND MY RESO GEAR IS TOP NOTCH :D

I dont claim to be the best player, but I do well and know I have personally seen better dps since I swaped to Torc over reso for the majority of things. I also understand when and when not to use each ws. I feel that if you just reso spam you lose out on a lot of potential sc dmg which often will be higher than the ws itself.

I'll admit, even I chuckled.

Not to drag things on, but I saw at least a dozen skill chains going off in Blood's video.

Okay, i think I know how to settle this, if only temporarily. And if I sound like I'm captain obvious...well, I have no excuse. >_>;

My observation is, and this should be kept in mind, that both Reso and Torc can rival each other in WS damage in accordance to the situation they're being applied to. This is not to say that these situations are end-all-be-all (because damage varies depending on your target), but it highlights where their strengths are. Self-Skillchains for big numbers, low endgame, little to no buffs? Torcleaver. High attack buffs, overall DPS with a 5-Hit build, high STR in your WS set? Resolution. ***like that, right?

Resolution @ 5/5 merits is 85% STR, and Torcleaver is 80% VIT. However, despite Reso's 5% higher modifiers, it suffers a 15% attack penalty, and Torcleaver triples its base WS Damage. One of the main differences in how much damage they deal is their fTP values. I'm trying not to sound patronizing as I bust out some basic mathy parts here, but it's something I should probably mention as a reminder to how their TP Modifiers add into the mix. Here are Resolution and Torcleaver's fTP values at face value, increasing in 1000 TP per tier:

WS @ 1000 TP / 2000 TP / 3000 TP:
Resolution: 0.71875 / 1.5 / 2.25
Torcleaver: 4.75 / 7.5 / 10

Let's add in Fotia Belt and Gorget into the mix. Each piece is +0.1 to fTP (25/256).

with Fotia Gorget + Belt (+0.2 fTP):
Resolution: 0.91875 / 1.7 / 2.45
Torcleaver: 4.95 / 7.7 / 10.2

At face value, Torcleaver's fTP values are higher, especially before and after the extra fTP is added. However, Resolution, like many other multi-hit WS, has its fTP transferred to all five hits, which means the WS's base fTP value is applied to each hit. This is what happens when all of Resolution's hits land, using fTP x 5. and feel free to correct me, lest i make a fool of myself:

WS @ 1000 TP / 2000 TP / 3000 TP:
Resolution: 3.79375* / 7.7 / 11.25
Torcleaver: 4.75 / 7.5 / 10
* 3.8 fTP rounded upwards

Adding Fotia into to fTP values:

with Fotia Gorget + Belt (+0.2 fTP):
Resolution: 4.59375* / 8.5 / 12.25
Torcleaver: 4.95 / 7.7 / 10.2
* 4.6 fTP rounded upwards

If you're seeing your Torcleaver damage slightly edging out your Resolution damage, it's mainly because Torcleaver still has the higher fTP at 1000 TP. Mathematically speaking, Torcleaver should do slightly higher on average at 1000 TP. However, if we hold TP at 2000 TP, Resolution with massive attack buffs cleans out Torcleaver's damage.

My conclusion: Thorva was onto something when he noticed his WS damage was slightly higher when using at ~175% TP (1750-ish). Bloodlusty does have a point, as well: Resolution's TP Returns will result in more WS rounds on average if you're not self-SCing with double Torcleaver.

ya I have seen much better result from torc at 1k , that math easily clears up why. I personally will continue to use torc spam for majority of things, and reso when I cant sc, or in 18 man WOC spam fest type events hehe.

The fact I sit at 50% wsd is a big deal, and something not factored into fTP obviously. Also I am only aitting around 260~ base +str in reso at best gear, with a caladbolg however I will be over 300 VIT.

There should be no difference in your xhit while using torc or reso, or your gearing wrong. That argument really becomes a moot point imo.

Both have uses lets not fight its just not worth the hurt feelings :D

But 75 acc behind using a ragnarok. Again this is nice for low end content but mythics and emps fall behind due to the lost accuracy. I'm still building them both though :P

Teles wasn't random, you need distortion for the mechnaics hence why we were using sam and thf in the mix with the resos

I agree the only thing I dislike is the -75 acc. That will hurt on stuff I could use that 75 acc for, but honestly those are few enough now I am not to sad, plus I will use rag for those acc needs. It nice having more than 1 weapon for different situations.

I have 2 levels of acc now (used to use more but nowadays I dont need). These numbers are with rag obviously and NO am active, nor party buffs, nothing but base stats+endark+food.

My "Normal" set at 1183 with 5hit 48 DA, just from augments and HQ gear I got around 50 increase in acc im missing- which I plan to get after I finish Caladbolg. Take rag out and add those augments I will be at 1170, lets say augments dont pan out it will be 1150. With sushi + endark + vorseals I am going to be just shy of 1400. Obviously this isnt enough acc for certain NM's, but on those you can plan for probably 4 song honor march brd, cor (maybe even cor mule for 4 rolls), and geo. I can assure you on all T3 and lower I will be capped, and even on most helm I will be dang close. However my High-Acc set fixes most issues.

A highAc set at 1256 5hit and 39 DA. This set however has tons of work to do, and can easily get +40 acc with out affecting DA or xhit. Lets just call it 1290. So you would still be at 1230 with calad, or better to put it, 1230+endark+sushi = 1350 acc base before vorseals which should push you to around 1500.

How many times are you needing 1500 acc before geo/cor/brd buffs? There is probably only a few helm fights that could come to mind (schah mostly).

With Omen being the focus now 1400~ is about as much as you would ever need there and only on Bosses (thf boss gin requires more but you would use Reso anyhow to avoid sc, thus making rag better obviously here). I know I run always with a Honor March brd so for me at first set having 1270~ acc will normally be close to enough to cap.

There is a time and place for both rag/calad reso/torc. A wise drk will use the accordingly. calad however is a great goal for a drk to have, and IMO a better goal that getting HQ argosy body, Iosken belt +1, Chirich Rings + 1 etc. Everyone has their priorities but to me boosting easily 75% of the content I use drk on will be a big deal.

Looking forward to completing all remas also :)

Why are people arguing about two of our strongest ws's? They are both excellent and if you're serious then over time you will gear yourself to get the most out of both of them. Dismissing ws's because you can't utilise them properly is very weak sauce-ish btw (same goes for SJ's I might add) and it only serves to limit you as a player.

I personally want to know what's better than the status quo and keep finding ways to improve, and to do that players will have to use unconventional means and not be stuck spamming reso all day long because someone they saw on a forum or in a video told them to. This game is constantly changing and the variables just keep growing, what you believe is gold today may be copper tomorrow. So don't rest on your laurels otherwise you will fall behind faster than you think and so will the poor saps that followed you.

Quick message to Bloodlusty. You're ruining your dps in that vid by using temps mid-fight. It's fine if it's a terror screen before Kouryu pops but beyond that it's going to kill your dps (and your chances of winning) if you're using temps like you did mid-WoC. Kind of defeats the reso spam > everything argument don't you think? As a similar geared DRK spamming torc would have outparsed you with the amount of time spent temping.

Agreed not the best video as I often forget temps, need to use better for sure

I usually use them around the time I see the last few buffs going up and hope whoever is popping does it fast which usually works out. Then there is the odd time someone forgets a tribs but that's normally me anyway.

I like the video, I don't use any screen capture software myself but it seems like a good way to critique yourself. I'd be interested to hear what you think is holding you back from being closer to the top of the parse and what you could do to change that without having to change job lol. You were doing pretty well at the start of teles but then the wars, thf and sam stormed ahead around the 50% mark.

I was talking about the Kirin/Kouryu video you linked above.

Have some math, feel free to correct anything wrong:Torcleaver with Caladbolg, Odyssean Head/Legs/Hands (WSDMG+5, VIT+10 on each), Sulevia+1 Feet, AF+3 Body. Fotia Neck/Belt, Ishvara, Monshade, Knobkierre, Karieyh, Niqmaddu and Ankou.

Resolution with Ragnarok, Argosy+1 Head/Body/Hands/Feet, AF+3 Legs, Niqmaddu, Petrov, Brutal, Moonshade, Fotia Neck/Belt, Amar Cluster, and Ankou.

Utu Grip accounted for.