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

Well, biggest piece of advice I can give you for a start is, Empyrean aftermath does not effect weapon skills, not the first not the second, not any hits.

At some point I'll have to update the OP when SoA comes around anyway, so by then we'll all have to make some adjustments in accordance to the new potential gear that pops around.

I think I still have your skype, we can go over the specifics again if you like.

Ninja edit, set still shows Ragnarok in the OP I quoted...
And it really wouldn't matter, the only weapons that change DRK's sets with AM up are Apoc and Liberator...


What this guy said.

Itchi your embrava lr up set isnt capping haste, 6% head, 3% body and -2% on the ring which makes 7% haste out of the 12% you need to cap. If you are wanting to keep that ring in you need to use ares legs+1 or phorcys. Personally id use ares head+1, adaberk and ares legs+1 and drop the slow ring you will have 55 more attack, 7 more acc, 3DA and 2TA. Would have less str though but would only be like 4 less.

Ok il try that once i make are's and invest time towards it. For now i think il use this set which has more to offer than the other. The other set with rings was just in question of curiosity. Thx ^

lol ooh I see whats going on here. Actually that's suppose to be just TP set for what he was using. When I said "Aftermath-LR-Embrava Down" I was basically just copying the set he already had and just adding my own gear to it. I can see how you could be confused by that.

*Edited*

Weapons section edited with listing Twilight Scythe changes

Should add why the f are you wasting a inventory slot on this pos after this change....

Twilight scythe will be useful until the nerf is implemented.

Is there any good reason why they decided to nerf Twilight scythe?

There were complaints about the scythe being OP in the JP forums which they read and decided to follow through with. Don't ask why...

I wish there was a way to just make the nerf for the people that complained. hate Hate HATE!

awaiting changes to requiescat

They'll change the mod to chr.

increase attack penalty to 75% and have only half dmg bypass physical shields

Random question: Using an OAT GS and a 6-hit build what grip should I be using for general situations? I can't tell if Pole is worthwhile at that point, and with Resolution not critting I'm hesitant to go with Claymore, don't really have any other ideas.

Can build around sword strap with oat I think?

Have a 6-hit right now without it, don't think I have the gear to pile on for a 5 with right now.

The logic presented was that being able to hit through shields so effectively was never something they wanted DRK to be able to do.

While I would've preferred they didn't nuke it as hard as they did, nobody's going to convince them by using arguments like "Murasame/Formless Strikes didn't get nerfed lol" even though those both have downsides that Twilight Scythe didn't have (Formless can get dispelled and it's magical, Murasame is an absurdly rare weapon that becomes limited against total physical shields).



I'm noticing a lack of Ares+1 on the first page atm. Just haven't gotten around to it, or is it not very good for DRK?

I don't buy their explanation but whatever, it just means less Zhayolm remnant II, nothing big when you can go with a mnk.

For the Ares +1 gears I found out 2 pieces are great for rag/apoc drk : the hands and the legs. It can make you lose the 5 hit build when on /sam but seems to shorten the tp cycle so it's ending ahead under certain conditions.
If you're using Caladbolg Ares+1 body and hands seem to be a nice combo, but there's more att on phorcys mitts. I didn't run the numbers for caladbolg.

Have a question. Just got Enif Gambieras and was wondering if it would be worth putting in my TP set, which would enable me to add Bale Burgeonet +2 and keep 26% haste. This is with me going DRK/SAM, btw.

Current Set:
ItemSet 196810

Set with Enif & Bale head:
ItemSet 293262

To me, it appears that the main tradeoff is STP +10 vs. DA 3%, besides other miscellaneous stats. I am not sure how to calculate the TP return of resolution, so I am not sure what kind of STP I need to keep equipped during the TP phase.

Firstly, DRK/SAM Ragnarok Resolution with just a Brutal Earring for sTP in the WS set will return 12.7 TP on the first swing, and 1 TP for each successive hit. It is typical to build your TP set around tolerating one miss during the WS so you don't find yourself at 99 TP, so 3 followup swings and the 12.7 from the first make 15.7.

Next, to miss tolerant 7-hit a 15.7 TP return 431 delay weapon, you'll need 14 in sTP equipment, and to miss tolerant 6-hit, you'll need 39. Depending on what your Armadaberk augment is, your upper set probably reaches the miss tolerant 6-hit threshhold of 39 sTP.

Unfortunately, the lower set would only be a 6-hit when your Resolution double attacks twice, and lands all swings, which is to say rarely. I'm not exactly sure how much DPS is lost by lowering your x-hit, but it's more than you'd gain from adding 3 DA to your TP set.

I see you're also on Bismarck, feel free to shoot me a tell! I love to chat about gearing :Q.

Just a heads-up:



I want to add that set to the guide when the whole ffxi code gets fixed, but in the mean time, what would be the general opinion on this set?

Not sure on Ares' Mask +1, but with any set utilizing Ares' Flanchard +1, I have Ares' Gauntlets +1 always beating Phorcys, more so when you're using the extra acc (the 4% haste goes to waste, sadly). Ares' Mask +1 vs. Phorcys vs. Bale +2 usefulness would depend largely on acc/atk/buffs.

updated guide with a new scythe weapon! don't worry, I'm not letting the excitement of GEO catch up to my DRK duties :P

added Crobaci to weapons

Hello Quetzacoatl! Thanks for this amazing guide!

Btw, i don't see anything about merit points to spend on HP/MP, Attributes, Combat Skils, Magic Skills and Other.

Do you have any advice on whre it's better to spend them? Sorry for this exrtemely n00bish question, but i'm back on FFXI after almost 2 years of pause and i'd like to hear something from an expert like you ;)

Thanks a lot!!!

HP, STR/DEX, Great Sword. Optional additions: Scythe, Dark Magic, Critical Hit Rate+

I'm surprised in seeig Scythe as an optional addiction... can you please explain me why Great Sword is better than Scythe? I thought that it was the best for DRK since it's A+...

Btw, thx for the advices :D

I actually welcome a Phorcys Mitts equivalent (provided one other piece of Ares +1) that has the added benefit of 4% superfluous gear haste in a delay reduction capping, but less than 448 magic haste TP set (specifically, Embrava or non-GHorn99/Marcato Marches). That 4% haste adds some tolerance for less-than-ideal potency buffs, so you can use your full throttle Embrava500 set, regardless of whether or not the SCH has the full 500 Enhancing or just a lowly 420 (which is base with Light Arts+Enhancing merits). For Marches, it'd let you use your Marches +4 set (GHorn95 or Langeleik+AF3+2), even if the BRD is only using a off-the-AH Faerie Piccolo+AF3+2.