Help regarding a future DRK.

[kingceltic]

Hello all, i just registered today and its a pleasure to meet you all.

Anyways, i have been playing FFXI for about a month or so, my current Char is a lvl 18 WAR/ lvl 9 MNK Galka. I plan to be a future DRK, and as i read a large amount of opinions, and facts regarding the DRK class especially WS, Weapons, Magic Skills, Magic level wise etc etc.

I feel i need an experienced point of view of either from a successful DRK or merely any players who have partied with a successful DRK. I am going to list my current character, and i would appreciate your thoughts and opinions.

lvl 18 WAR subbing lvl 9 MNK (MNK is originally lvl 13 - Plan to train it to lvl 18 to lvl up WAR to lvl 37 successfully for the DRK Job).

lvl 18 WAR/ lvl 9 MNK
My GSword lvl 42 (Hard Slash, Power Slash)
My Gaxe lvl 47 (Shield Break, Iron Tempest)
Evasion lvl 50 ---
Guarding and Parrying rising thanks to my MNK subjob.

Unforutunetely my Scythe skill is lvl 5, plan on lvling it up once i get my DRK.

I have a great deal of experience with a BLM, so i have understand the interruption rate, and how to cast and when to cast for i guess you could say training for my DRK

Also do i really have to lvl up my Elemental Magic with my DRK, i was planning on just giving my DRK Enfeebling and Dark Magic, instead of Aero and Stone etc etc.?

Now i would appreciate your opinions or any future references i should plan on doing now to be a successful DRK. I have been getting some easy gil farming and selling Silk Threads for 60K.

Thanks in advance.:thumbsup:

[Jei]

I don't think elemental magics are essential. But they are there, you might as well learn all the spells you can. Using them or not is another thing. Some Drks do MB at lower level, just for fun I suppose.

Learn how to set up an efficient group, and learn to love being leader. You'll need them.

[M_X]

Congratulations on realizing you're WAR and playing as one (no sarcasm intended. This is a good sign of a well informed player). Just remember to keep G.Axe capped and work on G.Sword if/when it's okay with your party. Don't worry about Scythe until you are a DRK.

You might want to take some time to lvl up THF too. WARs great for damage over time, THF for high WS damage. Starting around 30, you can do alot more for your party by having both lvled.

Regarding your magic questions. You can try to keep your elemental and enfeebling magic capped. They can only help. Especially enfeebling for Bind and Sleep. Sadly, our elemental spells do so little damage that they aren't worth the MP to cast them.

Also, the gain rate with elemental/enfeebling is very slow. And the time you spend casting does not work well with scythe's delay. So it's not uncommon to have these skills royaly underlvled.

For your Dark magic, it will start out slow and low; You'll only have Drain and Aspir. However, once you make your way into the 30s you'll get the Absorbs and will cast 1~3 a fight. This will cause your dark skill to raise and fast.

[Standablaze]

Keep leveling your Great Axe. Don't worry about Great Sword too much but do not go into a party as a war with a scythe! Theres nothing techinically wrong with it, but at those levels I would say the Great Axe is the most damaging weapon in the game... Sturmwind is a lot better than the pissy scythe weapon skills (untill you get vorpal scythe at 50ish).

It makes me cringe to see a WAR using a scythe and claiming its for their DRK later on; worry about that when the time comes, your scythe will cap fast.

[wolfjorg]

THF meh, lv 74 DRK and THF is only 20. /p THF is only good for SATA. Just keep Great Sword and Scythe capped. Subs for DRK are Thf , Sam, War, and sometimes whm Nin only good for axe burn pts

Welcome to Dark Knight.

[Malacite]

You might as well try to keep everything capped if you can. Yes, DRK's elemental spells won't do much on their own, but if your skill is capped you can add a nice bit of damage by magic bursting. (DRK has the 2nd highest Elemental Skill in the game, B+ I think)

Definately have THF and WAR levelled as well. I personally don't find that THF really shines until post 60 when you can Fuidama to do crazy spike dmg and plant the hate all on the tank. SATA Spinning Slash = Best light chain closer.

Also, you never know when that capped enfeebling skill just might save you and/or the party's life from certain death :D

[kingceltic]

Ok guys thanks for the helpful tips, its much appreciated.:thumbsup: Thx wolfjorg for the warm welcoming.

hmmm out of curiosity will i be using any other weapon skills in the game, or should i only capp my Gsword and Gaxe for now? As a DRK i understand i should at least have my Gsword and Scythe at its maximum potential but what about Sword, Axe, and even my Gaxe, will they be neccessary even after being a DRK. Eventually or sometime should i have a sword/axe with a shield, or just strictly stick with Gsword, and Scythe? Malacite mentioned that i should might as well get everything capped....i have no problem spending some time balancing out all my weapons together but i just want to know if its neccessary up to a point where i could benefit my party with say a sword/axe with a shield.

lol so many questions, sorry....

As a Galka DRK what specific stats should i focus on, i do know Galkas have the best HP, and Vitality i believe...is there anything specific equipment i should use to balance out my DRK abilities, i do know some INT would be nice for my Magic support. What are your thoughts?

Ok from you are telling me, i understand a DRK/WAR is useful till lvl 60+ where i should have by than at least my WAR and THF lvl 37 to balance at the end when i am finally a lvl 75 DRK (FAR FAR from today but hey it wouldnt hurt to do what i could do now instead of later). Also are there any other class tht would benefit a DRKs career, i guess you could say something to do after you have your DRK75/WAR37/THF37?Alot of people reccomended my sub be a NIN because both Duel Wield, and most parties will expect me to tank...what are your thoughts?

As for my WAR, and MNK i am up to date with both classes in equipment, and how to increase each ones downfall.I am on the path of lvling my MNK to lvl 18, switch jobs and take the WAR class all the way to 37, while have MNK at its maximum benefit. I guess from there i will lvl up my THF. :thumbsup:

So now i have to focus on lvling up my THF and WAR to 37. THF is really a class i dont really like merely because i find it boring but if it will benefit in my DRKs career im going for it, do you have any helpful tips on how to lvl a THF the proper way? I dont know, or even experienced anything with a THF class before. For example, as i mentioned a little above, after my WAR achieves lvl 37 should i do THF/WAR till THF achieves lvl 37?

lol again i apologize for all the questions, i just want to understand what im getting into and not try to fix my mistakes after i dug myself in a hole. I want to know everything about my job, its downsides and upsides.

Thx in advance.:)

[Standablaze]

You should focus on Great Sword and Scythe, but having sword, axe and great axe is useful. Great Axe is a devestating weapon.

As for being a Galka DRK, it doesnt matter, focus on +Accurany and +DEX religiously. untill you are in the 70s, THEN you can switch to str gear. DRKs have a very hard time hitting and Galkas arent exactly gifted in dex. You probably wont use so much magic you run out fast.. if you do, bring melon drinks, 1k each untill you get the chance to be refreshed by CORs BRDs and RDMs. Race doesn't matter, I do as much damage as an Elvaan DRK and I take as much damage as a Galka DRK, the only thing that differs hugely is the MP and HP pool.. Tarus will have more MP obviously, but since I'm a hume, I balance out nicely. You won't need a lot of MP for DRK untill you hit the 40s, where you get refreshed constantly and the ABSORB spells.

Most parties wont expect you to tank. Dark Knight is not a tanking class and shouldn't even be considered for tanking. You will probably be asked to first provoke when you hit 30 and there is a thief in your party, but this is only for a few seconds (youll not take much damage) and its basically so the THF can SATA onto the tank for a lot of hate.

Dont worry so much, you will learn as you progress.

[Malacite]

Levelling up your other weapons such as both axe types may very well come in handy in certain situations, but keep in mind the utter pain in the ass it is to lv multiple 2-handed weapons. And it only gets worse the higher up you get >.> (took me a nearly an hour if not more during an xp party after I dinged 64 WAR to get my GAX capped again)

I'd say focus on stats in this particular order;

Acc > Attack > STR > INT/MND/MP (INT and MND should only be taken into account as possible equipment swaps for weaponskills. INT for Greatsword, MND for Scythe, and only if you can't find +STR for that particular slot)

While expensive, try to get a hold of as much accuracy up gear as you can, and eat attack food (rice dumplings will last you from 10 - 50 easily). You want to be able to land those slow, powerful swings, but you also want to make sure the mob cons low def.

As for how much casting you'll be doing, especially with Galka's extremely low HP pool (this is what makes capping your magic skills as DRK so damn hard if you haven't levelled BLM or RDM) you'll want to save your MP for absorbs, stun, drain aspir and a magic burst here and there.

[Aeni]

THF meh, lv 74 DRK and THF is only 20. /p THF is only good for SATA. Just keep Great Sword and Scythe capped. Subs for DRK are Thf , Sam, War, and sometimes whm Nin only good for axe burn pts

Welcome to Dark Knight.

THF is {too weak} Unfortunately, many end game LS requires you to have it so that you can dump hate on a tank. Which is kind of pointless, because a lot of stuff in Sky are totally resistant to melee and BLMs can just rip hate off that tank even with SATA just by staring at mobs like Kirin.

[kingceltic]

hmmm quick question, i have taken some time into lvling up my Elemental and Enfeebling Magic, so basically soloing my BLM class as we speak...now when i become a DRK will all my magic skill lvls be there. For example, my BLM is lvl 6 with a Elemental and Enfeebling lvl 10 a piece, now if i suddenly became a DRK now, as a DRK class will his magic be the same as my BLM since i did lvl it up?

[Mhurron]

hmmm quick question, i have taken some time into lvling up my Elemental and Enfeebling Magic, so basically soloing my BLM class as we speak...now when i become a DRK will all my magic skill lvls be there. For example, my BLM is lvl 6 with a Elemental and Enfeebling lvl 10 a piece, now if i suddenly became a DRK now, as a DRK class will his magic be the same as my BLM since i did lvl it up?Sort of.

Example: Dark Magic RDM and BLM
RDM Dark Skill cap at 75 = 200
BLM Dark Skill cap at 60 = 203

My BLM is at lvl 60 with capped Dark Skill, my RDM will have it capped all the way to 75, but at level 70 it is capped at 190. So the skill will only go as high as the cap for that level, but at the next level it again will be capped the moment I level up.

That your skill stays with you when you change jobs is a benefit to leveling several jobs.

[Icemage]

hmmm quick question, i have taken some time into lvling up my Elemental and Enfeebling Magic, so basically soloing my BLM class as we speak...now when i become a DRK will all my magic skill lvls be there. For example, my BLM is lvl 6 with a Elemental and Enfeebling lvl 10 a piece, now if i suddenly became a DRK now, as a DRK class will his magic be the same as my BLM since i did lvl it up?

Your skills get capped at either the highest level you know it on any job, or the maximum cap for your current job combination, whichever is lower.

For instance, I have something like 210 Evasion when playing Red Mage, but my White Mage job is limited to 200 Evasion at level 75, so I only have 200 Evasion when I'm playing White Mage.

---

By the by, I wouldn't really worry about your Elemental Skill at all as a DRK. It's totally not necessary in any situation, since your low skill level in Elemental Magic pretty much guarantees that your nuking spells will be resisted the vast majority of the time, and unlike pure mage jobs, you can't swap in an Elemental Staff even at higher levels to improve your spell power and accuracy (since you'd lose all your TP).

Enfeebling Magic might be worthwhile to keep capped if you can, if for no other reason than being able to toss out an emergency Sleep or Sleep II. Dark Magic is really going to be the magic skill that will see the most use eventually, but it'll go up on its own just fine just by regular casting of Stun.


Icemage

[kingceltic]

appreciate the help guys.:thumbsup:

Not to be cheap, especially at my lvl but i want to buy Drain for my Black Mage, if i buy Drain will my DRK have that spell as well as the others, or do i have to buy drain again, as well as my other spells?

[Mhurron]

appreciate the help guys.:thumbsup:

Not to be cheap, especially at my lvl but i want to buy Drain for my Black Mage, if i buy Drain will my DRK have that spell as well as the others, or do i have to buy drain again, as well as my other spells?Your spells stay with you too. You learned it, not your job.

Drain is questable, you might want to do that instead of buy it as it can be expensive.

[Aeni]

Your spells stay with you too. You learned it, not your job.

Drain is questable, you might want to do that instead of buy it as it can be expensive.

Aspir as well. People buy these scrolls for no reason. They can be quested with enough fame.

Off topic rant/
People complain that time is a factor, but how else did you think these people were going to get their SMN avatars if they didn't have enough fame in the first place? Drives me crazy when people give me this reasoning to buy gil.
/endrant.

[Malacite]

just a short FYI, DRK has the 2nd highest Elemental Magic skill in the game (yes, it's higher than RDM's skill rating) the real problem is that the final spell for DRK is Thunder 2 at 75 I believe.

Still, keep it capped and you can toss in a MB here and there.

[tdh]

just a short FYI, DRK has the 2nd highest Elemental Magic skill in the game (yes, it's higher than RDM's skill rating) the real problem is that the final spell for DRK is Thunder 2 at 75 I believe.

Still, keep it capped and you can toss in a MB here and there.I was just about to point this out:

Elemental Skill By Job:
BLM: A+ Lv.276 @ Lv.75
DRK: B+ Lv.256 @ Lv.75
RDM: C+ Lv.230 @ Lv.75

The main problem is that DRK doesn't get a single Magic Atk Bonus what so ever. Lowered INT also has something to do with weak damage.

I haven't had a reason to use my Elemental Magic in a really long time. But 1~3 Absorb spells at 33MP a pop on a Galka's MP? Absorb-AGI would be important, but just use Drain & and Aspir for Skill Ups until Absorb spells are available, and then there's Stun.

I used Sprouts BCNM40 (http://ffxi.somepage.com/bcnm/43) to cap my Dark Magic. After doing about 10 of those or so, it was cap'd and I had no problems getting it to cap during EXP. I have a head start with RDM75, but Dark Magic is cap'd at Lv.200. So come Lv.60 for DRK my Dark Magic will need skilling again.

[Mhurron]

I was just about to point this out:

Elemental Skill By Job:
BLM: A+ Lv.276 @ Lv.75
DRK: B+ Lv.256 @ Lv.75
RDM: C+ Lv.230 @ Lv.75

The main problem is that DRK doesn't get a single Magic Atk Bonus what so ever. Lowered INT also has something to do with weak damage.You could dump on as much INT and MAB items as you could, but Thunder II is never going to be much more then an itch to a mob compared to Thunder III or IV from a RDM or BLM. A DRK's MP pool is definitely best used for Drain, Absorb spells and Stun.

The absorb spells are really under utilized.

[tdh]

You could dump on as much INT and MAB items as you could, but Thunder II is never going to be much more then an itch to a mob compared to Thunder III or IV from a RDM or BLM. A DRK's MP pool is definitely best used for Drain, Absorb spells and Stun.

The absorb spells are really under utilized.That is correct. In comparison to a Thunder III or a Thunder IV from a RDM and BLM respectively, a DRK's Thunder II at Lv.75 isn't going to compare. However, if a DRK had 1 Magic Atk Bonus coupled with some gear that may give a few MAB+, and say INT+30 for a Light Magic Burst wouldn't be completely horrible. (We'll not debate that useless side of the stick, but still. lol) But I'd have to guess a 200~250dmg out put, provided it doesn't get resisted. I've seen WHM's MB with Banish for much less. (But in their defense I have also seen 450dmg Banish MBs as well.)

Now I won't deny that it's probably MP that could be better spent some place else, I'm merely hypothesizing that it could be decent out put with expensive gear and some MABs. Either way it's not going to make me decide to start Magic Bursting again, or carrying lots of INT gear. Hell, I gave up on carrying INT gear for Drain & Aspir!

[Aeni]

INTeresting thing to note here in this argument. A Hume DRK at 75 has the same amount of base INT as a Hume RDM (Both jobs subjob-less) according to the version 1.8 of Stats Calculator:

http://www.datasync.com/~dsmith/FFXIStats/

If that being the case, then why can't a DRK with capped Elemental out-MB a RDM that's +MND geared for enfeebling and also has capped Elemental? This I could never figure out.

(Once you add in the subjobs, WAR and BLM respectively, Hume RDMs should have about 6 pts of INT higher, but this still does not explain the differences I've seen in tests)

I'm still of the opinion each and every job class has hidden traits and stats attached to them. Call it natural or inherent abilities. For example, BLMs have some hidden spell accuracy and increased spell damage attached to them while DRKs have a natural tendance to miss (I kid, I kid) and so on.

(Maybe DRKs have horrible accuracy in both spell casting and meleeing which would explain the resists on spells)

[tdh]

Side night: Alla says that a Elvaan DRK/WAR will have STR90. This Stat Generator says the same Race & Combo only has 80 base STR.

And my ~guess~ to why a BLM couldn't out MB a RDM in a MND build with the same spell is because RDM actually has native Magic Atk Bonuses, which DRK doesn't have access to.

And since Skill only dictates resists, it really has to be the MAB. That being said, I've never tested anything. I don't know any Elvaan DRK75s to test Vs. my RDM75.

[kingceltic]

Ok kool, so if i were to take my character to Sandy, and do the Drain quest...approximetely how much fame do i need? and how do i get fame? I understand if you started in Sandy you need to be Rank 2 or higher, but as a resident of Bastok i just need a set amount of Fame to do the quest right?

[tdh]

I could be wrong, but I ~think~ you need to be Rank 3 just to get in there, or on M2-3.

The Rumor (http://ffxi.somepage.com/questdb/111)

Says you need Lv.3 Sandy fame. Which says the NPC will tell you:

Ah, <me>. That is a name I often hear. People speak well of you! Your deeds for the kingdom have earned you much honor.

I used the Black Tiger Fangs (http://ffxi.somepage.com/questdb/103) quest to get Hero fame in Windy. At the time it was pretty good gil and it didn't take me long to knock the teeth outta Tigers in various locations.

[kingceltic]

Oh ok i see, when you say Rank 3 you mean in my case i need to be Rank 3 in my residence?


Also....to be honest i dont really understand this whole fame thing, i have never done this before but i really dont wanna spend over 250k for a scroll, especially if i plan on getting 2 for both my BLMs. My 1st BLM is originated in Sandy so that i dont have to worry about getting Drain till the late lvls, but the whole point of this of course is to have Drain as early as possible so when i finally get my DRK i will have a boost in all my black magic till at least the late 30 of my DRKs career.

Anyother suggestions? Even if the cost is a little pricey i do have a decent amount of cash (250K)

Thanks in advance for all the help. :thumbsup:

[Mhurron]

Oh ok i see, when you say Rank 3 you mean in my case i need to be Rank 3 in my residence?IIRC, if you're from San d'Oria, if you have rank 2 you can enter the Chateau d'Oranges to actually accept the quest. If you're from one of the other two nations you have to be on or past Mission 2-3 and have talked to the NPC in your nations consulate, where they tell you to go into the Chateau.


Also....to be honest i dont really understand this whole fame thing,Technically for another thread; fame is raised by doing Quests, not missions. One of the fastest ways to raise fame, though sometimes quite boring, is repeatable quests. Then to find out how high your fame is, you have to talk to an NPC around who will tell you a vague statement about how well known you are.

Link about fame. http://ffxi.somepage.com/fame.php

There are much better things to spend your gil on then buying questable spells so save it, especially when it's your first character. Thing is, in order to even unlock DRK, you need to be at least lvl30 in another job, which is more then enough to get to mission 2-3 and do quests to get enough fame.

Among doing other quests in San d'Oria, I did the bat wing quest in northern San d'Oria (http://ffxi.somepage.com/questdb/127) to get my fame high enough to quest Drain. Once you get that done, you get to do the same thing in Windurst to get Aspir.

Edit: Oh hey your on Kujata, I can help you with all this.

[kingceltic]

Edit: Oh hey your on Kujata, I can help you with all this.

That would be awesome! Thank you so much..just look for an Elvaan WAR named Alondite in Bastok, or just /tell me or send a friend request. This is greatly appreciated.:)

hmmm another question, now that i have a great amount of knowledge regarding the DRK should i be in any guild lvl by any certain lvl. I was thinking about joining a Cooking and Blacksmith, or Alchemy Guild by lvl 60 of my DRKs career.

EDIT: Kingceltic got corrupted because i didnt log out of properly from the 360 but all is well, i will have this Elvaan up to speed in no time.

[Aeni]

hmmm another question, now that i have a great amount of knowledge regarding the DRK should i be in any guild lvl by any certain lvl. I was thinking about joining a Cooking and Blacksmith, or Alchemy Guild by lvl 60 of my DRKs career.

I'd go with money makers in the short term and mid term of crafting. This includes goldsmithing and smithing, where you desynth for the materials and sell them.

Alchemy is a money sink with no guaranteed returns (Most of the recipes that used to be profit are no longer unless you HQ2-3 these consistently, which no one below 2nd tier HQ can do)

You can't go wrong with cooking, but this isn't a profitable craft unless you take it very high. I'd like to call this craft (Along with fishing) self-reliance craft, since you can theoretically take care of yourself at the low to mid levels. Food at higher levels, however, can only be crafted by veteran crafters which is very expensive to get to on your first main job.

Most crafts are money and time sinks. Might want to research them via the Auction House to make sure you know what you're getting into before taking the plunge. Crafting takes a toll on finances and this is not what you'd like to see happening when leveling a job like DRK, which has high one-time costs as well as a high maintenance (Sushi isn't cheap and you're going to plow through them like nothing)

[kingceltic]

Hmmm i see what your talking about, i guess any form of crafting should be supported with alot of money, and at this point i dont have that much money to spend..i mean i do have my fair share of cash where i could afford armor, weapons, earings, and rings etc etc. for my attained lvls but from what your telling me i guess ill worry about money/crafting at a more higher level where i can just soley focus on raising the crafting skill i want.

EDIT: Thanks for all the help.