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

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Hmm. If I spent about 14m gil, I could have 50% DT, 1450 Defense (with Protect V), and 2700 HP in a full on survival set, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it.

What do you guys think?

How much acc do you have, and what are you looking to buy?

Grats! As much as I still love my apoc. The Rag Won't disappoint.

Currently, my unbuffed heavy DT set has 1100/1160 accuracy with Caladbolg/Ragnarok.

My heaviest DT set is:

Weapon/Utu/-/Staunch
Sulevia +1/Loricate +1/Cessance/Telos
Sulevia +1/Sulevia +1/Defending/Patricius
Ankou (DA/DEX)/Tempus/Sulevia +2/Sulevia +2

To make a pure "oh crap I need to survive" set, I could buy two Moonbeam Rings and a Moonbeam Cape, and then throw on two Odnowa earrings (which I already have) as well, giving me 650 total extra HP (at the cost of 1% DT until next Sulevia upgrade), but that'd cost me about 14m for those three items.

Ya for pure DT set your not getting much better acc than that sadly outside of the obvious HQ and such, so you got to just live with wiffing.... In terms of if its worth 14m mil to you ... idk thats a personal choice. I have a set very similar to yours that I use to turtle up, actually its 100% defensive based (shadow mantle etc).

When I actually need to deal dmg though I use a Hybrid that hovers around 35% DT given acc needs. 1100/1150/1200 with calad. I Suggest this route for 2 reason. Your pure DT set, let it be that, turtle up and be a rock. Then let your hybrid be a gap, something you can greatly reduce DT (1/3 is good) and still deal dmg.

Will you not be better off using gracile grip/+1 and Ragnarok than Calad/Utu in your Hybrid and DT sets?

Ragnarok vs Caladbolg depends on the mob, and if I'm expecting to sit in DT a lot (vs just swapping it in for short periods), but I'm not sure why one would ever use Gracile over Utu.

Been messing around with absorb spells outside on Mandragoras in Ceizak, using Ragnarok and Liberator. Had magic accuracy for other slots.

w/ Rag = 3 min duration with +22 stats.
w/ Lib = 3 mins with +33 stats
w/ Lib + Pavor Gauntlets = 3 mins +36 stats
w/ Lib + Pavor + Chuparossa = 3 mins 40 (?) +39 stats
w/ Lib + Pavor/Chupa/Black Legs = 4 mins (?) + 39 stats

Please bear in mind I don't test these things often, but it baffled me when I looked at Liberator's wiki page and saw that it says "Does not stack" with other Absorb enhancing equipment like Black Cuisses.

It seems .. at least for the 119 version, you can use other equipment to enhance it. No idea if this was confirmed .. tried looking around for discussions but couldn't see anything about it.

Also Black Cuisses states it gives +10 seconds to Absorbs, but I tried it with both Rag and Lib (minus Chupa) and it came out at 20 seconds each time. Same thing for Chupa, except it was giving me 40.

Can anyone confirm that all forms of Absorb equipment stack with Liberators 50% potency? And can anyone confirm the values for Chupa Mantle and Black Cuisses? I don't want to be creating false information if this was confirmed elsewhere.

As a side note, Pavor Gauntlets only gives a minimal increase to stats for a severe loss in magic accuracy. Given that you only do Absorbs to weaken a stronger opponent, magic accuracy is vital for that slot. Even more so if you plan to increase absorb duration in the leg slot with Black/Onyx Legs.

By not stacking, they probably mean the effects don't multiply.

Umm .. well that was the point of me trying it out. In the past, back when Liberator was only 75 and gave not very much to Absorb spells .. it was found that Black Cuisses (and the rest of the Black/Onyx set I'm assuming) did not enhance the duration of Absorbs when used in combination with the Mythic. It made Lib less desirable to build when it was found.

The Black Set has never given extra potency; only duration

Now .. all these years later, weapons got changed, and one thing about Liberator is .. absorb spells duration are being increased by Black gear when used with it. Which means .. yes, it does stack now. The chances are no one's tested these gears when Lib hit 119 so it was assumed they still don't stack together. From testing last night and trying it over and over again .. they do stack together. You get the +50 potency and the duration. Liberator does not enhance duration as it gives +50 potency and nothing else.

Not only that! But Absorb spells used to only last 1 min 30 seconds without enhancements, whereas now they last 3 minutes. I noticed that .. when trying Chuparossa and Black Legs I was getting almost a full 60 seconds on top of the standard 3 mins. I've been able to sleep since then, and I think the reason why it felt under 4 mins (tried it with a stopwatch and it always clicked at least five seconds before the 60 second mark) is because ..

It's a % increase!

Black Cuisses increases the duration by 10%, not 10 seconds. 3 Minutes = 180 seconds / 10 = 18 seconds. Therefore Chupa + Black Cuisses give a combined 30% increase duration which equals 54 seconds. This makes sense and I'm going to try it again later to confirm these duration gears go by percentages.

With the original absorb duration it felt like +10 second extra duration on Black Cuisses because the old duration was 1.30 (90 seconds) which would give us 9 seconds extra if it was 10%. Either that has always been the case, or they changed the way absorb gear works when they changed Liberator.

Link to this page where it says "Does not stack" in Bold. This is the same as the 75 page so I'm guessing it was copy & pasted.

Liberator 119 page

To confirm Liberator didn't use to stack .. here's a link to the first Liberator entry on ffxiah. There is also a discussion on the BG forums back in 2009 where they discuss Lib not being able to stack with the Black/Onyx equipment .. which led to disappointment.

"If you own the Black Cuisses, the absorb spell augments do not stack."

I'm going to post screenshots of my findings later tonight.

I still can't find when SE changed Absorb spells standard duration from 90 seconds to 180 seconds. Perhaps in 2015 when they changed it so stats don't decay over time?

Managed to find myself some Black Sollerets to confirm this more. However .. I found something interesting. Since last night I have moved from Adoulin and am currently testing in South Gustaberg on Worms and Bees.

With x2 Black gear + Chupa I'm getting 4 minutes and roughly 18/19 seconds each time. If these gears do in fact go by percentages, then having four pieces equals 40% duration time ..

180 seconds / 10 = 18 seconds x 4 = 72 seconds.
3 mins + 72 seconds = 4 mins 12.

Timing it .. it's getting awfully close to 80 seconds. I was not expecting this .. so I wonder if they could be cumulative of each other?

With the standard stats on the wiki pages .. these conbined pieces are only supposed to increase Absorbs by 40 seconds. This is not the case as my Absorbs are lasting well over 4 minutes. I'll confirm this later with screenshots.

If they were percentages and not cumulative (as in they will always be 10% or 20% of 180 seconds: the base duration), they should be lasting 4 mins 12 seconds. However .. it's coming out at 4 mins 19 each time. Where did those extra seconds come from? This is what I want to find out.

Working it out assuming the percentage increases are cumulative.

1. Chupa = 36s = Duration is 180 + 36 = 216 seconds (3 min, 36)
2. Black Legs = 10% of 216 = 21.6 seconds, rounded down to 21. 216 + 21 = 237 seconds (3 min, 57)
3. Black Feet = 10% of 237 = 23.7 seconds, rounded down to 23. 237 + 23 = 260 seconds >> 4 mins, 20 seconds.

I am assuming the following facts, which I will confirm later with screenshots.

1) Lib 119 and Absorb duration do stack - No arguments.
2) Absorb duration gear do not give set seconds .. but percentages toward duration.
3) These percentages are cumulative with each other. I'm guessing that it would add the highest % first (20% Chupa), before applying the other 10% pieces individually.

Please .. anyone with a few pieces of Absorb duration gear .. go find a mob, cast a spell, and let me know what you find.

i have all the nq set but no lib, pretty strong macc/dark skill sets though, anything you want me to look at?

edit:lacking chupa/pavor too though, didnt see point in them but my interest is growing

Pavor is useless as it only gives you +3, perhaps +4 or 5 stats if you use Nether Void. It's not worth sacrificing magic accuracy for as it's important to land the spell. It does not give extra duration.

I noticed we get +20% on Ignominy Head+3, and it's funny because the description on the piece says "Absorb Effect Duration +20%" .. which confirms what I thought about Chupa and the Black Set.



Having more pieces of Absorb Duration gear makes all of them better as the % increase is cumulative. I would say at the very least .. you'll want AF+3 head and Chupa Mantle.

Black gear is risky because 1) you don't want to be hit while wearing it (unless you're a Scarlet Delirium enhancer), and 2) no magic accuracy. We get nice options for magic accuracy in the feet slot, so if there are any Black pieces you could use .. I'd suggest the legs, but only if you are using Liberator to compensate for the lack of MACC.

Magic Accuracy is generally a non-concern when using Dark Seal (and when it's not, you're not going to land it better with just DRK gear swaps), though, so it's often helpful to have a full potency/duration set.

Plus, there are situations where there are weak enemies around the strong one (Escha NMs, some Unity NMs, Omen if you target a mob right before you go to boss floor), which can be used as buff batteries.

ItemSet 350694

this is what im using currently on absorbs, keeping in mind im only 600jp in on drk

apoc is AGd; cape is int20/mac30/mdmg20/fc10

you think I should use more black set on absorb-fodder for duration?
i also have the relic+1head i use for drain3 with max merits, love the duration bonus from it

I took four screenshots showing my findings on Absorb Duration times. The first on a bee, and the last three on the same worm. On each SS I put a red line under the duration time that matters.

Sorry I couldn't make the font under the buffs bigger and bolder .. you may have to zoom in. Liberator does not effect duration so you will get the same times no matter which weapon you use.

1) A standard Absorb-VIT lasting 3 minutes. It shows 2 mins in the SS because there's a second delay between the spell being applied and the effect showing on-screen.



2) For the sake of comparing Black and Chuparrosa Mantle, I only used Black Legs to show it enhances Absorb spells over 3 minutes. It adds 18 seconds by itself. This proves that Liberator's 50% potency does stack with Absorb duration equipment unlike earlier versions of the weapon.



3) Here I used Absorb-STR and Chuparrosa with no Black equipment. Again, it shows the spell lasting over 3 minutes. On its own it adds 36 seconds. Ignominy Head +3 would do the same by itself.



4) It gets better when you combine duration pieces. Here is an Absorb-ACC with Chuparrosa, Black Legs & Feet lasting 4 minutes, 20 seconds. As I don't have AF+3 I cannot test whether the game calculates +20% pieces separately before adding up the +10% pieces.



Going from what I calculated in the above post, I can make a rough estimate on how much AF+3 head, mantle, and two pieces of Black/Onyx would give us .. but only if Chupa & Head %s are cumulative.

w/ Chupa = 216 seconds.
+ (20%) AF Head +3 = 216 / 10 * 2 = 43.2
rounding down to 43 seconds means 216 + 43 = 259.

w/ 10% Black Legs = 259 / 10 = 25.9
rounding down to 25 seconds means 259 + 25 = 284
w/ 10% Black Feet = 284 / 10 = 28.4
rounding down to 28 seconds means 284 + 28 = 312 seconds

Overall we can expect an Absorb lasting over 5 minutes.

The biggest question however .. is if AF+3 head and mantle are cumulative, if not I'll likely keep the mantle and only use the head for Souleater and Dark Magic skill for Endark as Chupa enhances potency while the head does not.

You don't need that mantle as Absorbs are instant. The MACC is good but you could make up for it easy in other slots. Aside from specific Absorb boosting pieces, you should be looking for as much MACC and Dark Magic skill as possible. But don't be fooled by Dark Magic skill .. it only boosts magic accuracy and will not boost potency. Fast Cast and Impatiens do nothing for Absorbs.


Exactly, it depends what you do. Are you someone who puts on a strong, accurate Abs-VIT for everyone's benefit? Or are you going to need the Drain III HP boost more?

Does the NM resist Absorbs a lot? I've found that you can land them without Dark Seal but it takes longer and may hamper DPS. You may only get chance to do one Absorb each fight, but do you sacrifice Drain III? It's true that with Dark Seal you won't need as much MACC so you can get away with using less.

With the amount of potency and duration equipment we have available, I might end up using a max MACC set for single absorbs, and a heavy potency/duration set for Dark Seal/Nether Void. Some NM have mechanics where it's beneficial to reapply Absorbs (Glassy Thinker has something like that), and the only thing which matters is landing them without Dark Seal.

returning drk with a bit of a problem on my hands. I Have 119 rag and apoc, which should I upgrade to third tier 119 (i don't have afterglow so it's 10k plutons x2.....)

the second part is about those said 20k plutons. Outside of buying any cheap ones that I can find. Can you guys give me any tips on farming them solo? I have a mule that I can geo or whm for myself if needed. Gear wise I was in a good spot when i left (pre reisenjima) so no valorous, but I do have most everything pre reisenjima.

upgrade rag AG first, then apoc. You will want both eventually but for what DRK does get rag done first. In terms of farming them, its harder solo. The only reliable way is to do HTB content on VD, which means a 6 man party for you. Its possible to trio box some but you need top end DD which your not yet. Just keep at it! I find its not to bad and you can easily get it done in 2 weeks, just farm up 6m~ a day which is like 2-3hrs of work a day.

Rag is amazing and you will love the damage on it. Apoc is more for emergency situations (like a tank going down).

I farmed gil and bought them up mostly, but if you would like to get the plutons directly you can spam Tenzen VD over and over. You'll need a good sleep set for your GEO (and /blm for elemental seal), and at least one other DD (possibly BLU so you can Mighty Guard etc.). You will need to /nin for the fight as well, thanks to Tenzen's Skillchains.

During a High-Tier battlefield campaign more players will be inclined to do Tenzen or Leviathan for gil as you get more guaranteed drops. We are due one .. it's been a while.

I'd go rag first too, I did apoc first myself for personal reasons/had it at stage2 and no rag when I left years ago;was a caladbolg drk during abysses era (when I left). It, like Aza and Kylos said, will give you a bigger bang for your buck and for what drk (dding) is supposed to do.

As for plutons, I'm pretty sure your better off focusing on farming Gil then buying off AH as opposed to doing the merit fights w/no event+no group to help do VD setting. Yea the back piece is just a multi use piece for macc/fc, I'll swap it for chupa now barring macc issues (like stated I'm not very deep into job points on drk yet, and we get a plethora or macc/dark skill from jp's). I have like 4-5 sets just for drain2/3 casting arm. I'll post those sets I have in a little bit as I'm still not 100% happy about them despite having rather strong gear in ea slot (probably just my lack of jp but open for debate)

This is what I use for my max potency/duration set. I only use this set when I have plenty of magic accuracy for the target, such as using absorbs on a nearby Zdei in Ru'aun before fighting a NM. When Dark Seal is active, I swap in Fallen's Burgeonet +1 instead of Ignominy Burgonet +3.

ItemSet 350695

This is what I use for my high magic accuracy set, when I want to land stuff on harder things, like Omen mini-bosses.

ItemSet 350696

ItemSet 349447

Drain set, swap fallen +1 head for NV/DS drain3
edit: 8dark skill+24 potentcy on cape; feet are 7 int 10 mac and I think it's 7 potentcy as well? Just know they're all max augs

Can swap in +2 feet for more macc been hoping to get strong DM drain augs on ody feet/legs but no luck (got on head instead x.x, useless since pixie+1/fallen+1 exist).

If you seriously do return, you can steal a couple of us for those figths. I'm just under half-way there on my plutons.

can i get some suggestions for a weapon until i can afterglow my rag? I do have apoc/rag normal 119 but they're probably a bit weak. Maybe a higher tier Gsword that i can farm and use for reso/tor.

btw that's something else. Reso vs Cleaver, is one the clear cut winner?

We don't talk about reso vs torc here.... they're both good, fantastic ws's.

If you can get help, I highly suggest montante from the UNM cerb
otherwise the guide is fairly current. As far as scythes go, deathbane from escha sky is ok, no acc+ on it though. The reis weapons are also possibilities if you have pops/friends or can merc. Not sure how malfeasance or dyrnwyn(spelling?) stack up

Have fun with the patch-a-thon! BLM is just a means to an end for finishing this stupid aeonic sword!

To answer your other question, the only two great swords that jump out at me are the Zulfiqar (from a T2 Reisenjima fight) and the Macbain (from alluvion, which you can get for free via a coupon from Records of Eminence). Both of which will require spinning the "augment roulette wheel" however. You could try for a Montante from the UNM Sarama as well. Not a terribly difficult fight, but your WHM needs to be on the ball with getting rid of paralysis.

IIRC, Montonte/+1 is pretty unbeatable in terms of pure damage for non-RMEA great swords, but Zulfiqar can get some pretty crazy accuracy on it, only second to AG Ragnarok.