Before enetering DRK should I...

[kingceltic]

Hmmmm thus far just want to know what to do, and what not to do. My WAR is lvl 21, and as soon as i hit 30 i plan on getting the DRK Advanced Job.Correct me if i am wrong..

Alondite

WAR21/THF10 (lvled to 11 now)

WAR

Sword Skill 31
Axe Skill 28
Great Sword Skill 61 (Capped Thanks to Giants in Quifim)
Evasion 60 (Capped)
Parrying 21

THF

Dagger Skill 23
Shield Skill 13 (Not seen in most THFs but gives me a chance to lvl up Shield)


Before entering my DRK carreer should i lvl up my BLM Magic skills..i do have experience with BLM so i understand the concept of magic casting and when to do it, but should i lvl up my magic skill? I planned on taking my BLM to lvl 10 where my Enfeebling is usually lvl 21, and my Elemental lvl is 21, and my Dark is usually lvl 5 - 10. Should i do this just so i could focus on my Scythe skills for my DRK at least till around lvl 10 - 12. My magic should be capped at least till lvl 5 i believe.

With my WAR im strictly skilling up Great Sword, until i get my DRK where ill skill up on mainly Scythe. Axe and sword will skill up on my own time.

Thanks in advance for the help.:thumbsup:

[nazlfrag]

You'll be fine just skilling up your dark magic skill on drk, elemental and enfeebling magics are not so important. The mages you party with should cover these areas. While soloing you can skill these up, but there's not much call for them in party situations. Your weapon skills will be fine with your plan. I'm only a newbie drk myself, so take this advice with a grain of salt ^^

[spiffaliffa]

Well great sword is Good For DRK but Sythe is more powerful and is a lot cheaper

I Just did the quest im a lvl 6 /3 WAR

[Ellipses]

Greatsword, Scythe, and Greataxe are all situational. There are levels where one is better than the others, and there are levels where it's all about the skillchain. In general, pre-capping skills isn't something to worry about. If the skills don't cap on their own as you level the job, it means either it's not an important skill for that job or it's important, but rarely used in XP, so you'll need to join skill-up parties throughout your career anyway.

If you really feel like taking the time to level your DRK weapons on WAR, it's not detrimental, but it's not necessary, either. But if you don't have BLM or RDM leveled, it's really not worth leveling just to get magic skill ups.

[Grizzlebeard]

Before entering DRK...

...you should go out for a nice meal, a few drinks, some slow music, and turn the lights down low...

I'm sorry, I can resist everything but temptation. :P

[Kazuma]

Greatsword, Scythe, and Greataxe are all situational. There are levels where one is better than the others, and there are levels where it's all about the skillchain. In general, pre-capping skills isn't something to worry about. If the skills don't cap on their own as you level the job, it means either it's not an important skill for that job or it's important, but rarely used in XP, so you'll need to join skill-up parties throughout your career anyway.

If you really feel like taking the time to level your DRK weapons on WAR, it's not detrimental, but it's not necessary, either. But if you don't have BLM or RDM leveled, it's really not worth leveling just to get magic skill ups.


Woah Greataxe?? Unless you mean for fun runs, then levelling Greataxe isin't something that needs to be done. At most, Dark Knights get a B- in the axe area, so it's pretty much best off that you level those whenever you have time to kill/bored. It's best to level both Greatsword, and Scythe as you level. Levelling one, and not the other will only make for a larger headache in the end. As for prelevelling, I don't reccommend it at all.

Warriors get at most a C+ in both Scythe and Greatsword, so even if you did, you wouldn't be able to cap it far, not to mention most parties will regard you as "y r u usin scyth/greatswrd?" In all honesty, it's better to just go ahead and become a Dark Knight, and level your skills as you go. As Dark Knight has an A+ In Scythe and an A in Greatsword, your skills will gain fast, and cap quickly. And as I said earlier, try to keep them both leveled as you go. Just inform your party at the start that you have both weapons available, and if you could adapt a skillchain for both of them. If you have both leveled, it makes you extremely versitle in parties, and you'll recieve invites a lot faster (Just make sure you put in your search that you do in fact have both stats levelled)

On magic, you probably won't be casting a whole hell of a lot in exp parties, so if you want to try and cap your magic skills earlier on, it won't hurt. I'm a Taru DRK so my INT normally makes my spells stick a lot more (Bio, Absorbs, and whatnot)

As for DOs and DONTs
1) DO NOT make "My soul is black inside blahblah" macros. If you make any of your macros emo I will hunt you down and obliterate your kneecaps. >.>

2)DO be careful when using the skill "Last Resort" at lower levels(15). It acts like a mini-voke, and with hate control being so crappy at lower levels, and your defense paper thin, it's almost like opening your arms, and welcoming a one-shot-wonder.

3)DO use Soul Eater(30) for Weapon Skills and Weapon Skills only. This CAN'T be stressed enough. Once you do your deed, cancel it. More often than not, you'll catch the mobs attention by SoulEater>WS and you don't need to jeapordize yourself anymore by lowering your HP even further.

4) DO level THF, WAR first, and when you have time, SAM, and NIN. DRK/0THF can do some amazing damage at higher levels, as can DRK/WAR. Subbing Samurai should only be done for fun and/or LS events, such as Sky and whatnot. /NIN? I do it so I can go banzai on crap and not die right away xD. Plus I hear it's good to have on TP-Burn parties higher on, but I doubt it extremely, and thats only if you have your axe leveled. (Dual wield is also a good way to get singlehanded weapons leveled quickly)


I got more information to put up but I got a PT invite, so I'll do it later

[Ellipses]

Woah Greataxe?? Unless you mean for fun runs, then levelling Greataxe isin't something that needs to be done. At most, Dark Knights get a B- in the axe area, so it's pretty much best off that you level those whenever you have time to kill/bored. It's best to level both Greatsword, and Scythe as you level. Levelling one, and not the other will only make for a larger headache in the end. As for prelevelling, I don't reccommend it at all.
/shrug

The handful of DRKs I've had in linkshells have all complained about no one realizing how good Greataxe can be at certain levels. I think they mostly meant Sturmwind levels, so that's not a terribly large range, but I wouldn't want to encourage someone to not see it as an option. (Granted most parties will neither expect it nor accept it.)

[Kazuma]

/shrug

The handful of DRKs I've had in linkshells have all complained about no one realizing how good Greataxe can be at certain levels. I think they mostly meant Sturmwind levels, so that's not a terribly large range, but I wouldn't want to encourage someone to not see it as an option. (Granted most parties will neither expect it nor accept it.)

Well, Sturmwind coupled with souleater I could understand, but I'm just letting it be known ahead of time, that most people won't want a dark knight with an axe. I've seen it happen thousands of times, where someone joins, dosen't have what the PT leader wants, drama starts, and the person is kicked. But as you said the dark knights you mentioned possibly meant it around the lower 30s. But even at that level, Hardslash is hard to beat, as it does a crapload of damage all on it's own.

[Ellipses]

Oh, I wouldn't try to tout Greataxe as the only weapon to level for DRK. Greatsword and Scythe come first, obviously. But it's a nice option to have.

There's also the issue that he's a Warrior right now with apparently no Greataxe skill whatsoever. >.>

[tdh]

DRK has a B+ rated skill in Great Axe, and it's not a bad option until about Lv.35 for DRK. It limits your Skillchain options, since Sturmwind's Skillchain options are really only Scission and Reverberation, but Sturmwind is more damaging than Slice, or Hard/Power Slash. At that Lv.35, the difference between a B+ Great Axe for DRK, and A+ Great Axe for WAR is only 5 Skill levels. I used Scythe and GS until Lv.34, then abandoned GS due to lower damage than Scythe. Took me a long time to get my GS caught up at Lv.52, but now I keep both cap'd in EXP. Both weapons have a WS that fights into the same spot in a Skillchain.

But back to the Great Axe issue, keeping it cap'd isn't really a requirement. It's situational, but those situations disappear past Lv.40 really.

[Ziero]

Gaxe is better then scythe and Gsword for a long time to come on Drk. In the lower lvls Gaxe's first WS is better then both Slice and Hard slash and the B ranking makes little to no difference. The only real exception to this is the Death Bringer, which is absurdly overpowered for it's lvl, otherwise Gaxes outperform both Gsword and especially scythe. In the 20s you get the neck chopper which has the same acc bonus as the Braveheart and similar dmg/delay as the cruel scythe in addition to shield break. At 23 you get sturmwind which is stronger then both Power Slash and any of the Drk WS at 100 tp. And at 30 you can sub thf and use an Axe belt, which would negate an skill lvl difference between A and b completely at that lvl.

The difference between A and B skills at lvl 20 is 3 points, the difference at 30 is 4 points. And at lvls where good thfs used C, D and E ranked weapons, using a B ranked weapon for superior WS and DoT isn't that bad.

If you want to be the Best Drk you can be, lvl Gaxe, Scythe and Gsword. War has A+ in Gaxe and B in scythe and Gsword so it won't be too hard. That and never sub thf pre 30 and only sub thf post 30 if you're using Sturmwind to close Fragmentation.

As for what mage jobs you should lvl, the only one worth lvling is Whm because Drk/Whm is great at soloing. I was able to take on T mobs without trouble in the dunes with Drk/Whm. Other then drain most of your Drk spells are usless.

[kingceltic]

Well from what people have mentioned, in the long run Gaxe past 40 will be useless due to the fact Gsword and Scythe will surpass Gaxe in every possible way. I dont prefer Gaxe also because the delay is pretty long, and as an Elvaan i want most of my hits to land. Of course i do have some Acc+ and DEX Rings but Gaxe is pretty slow. Up to this point im a quarter of the way into my DRK Carreer. I guess i always could lvl up my Scythe and Gaxe as i lvl up my DRK.

[Murphie]

If you're worried about your ACC with GAXE, just wait until you level Scythe. :worry:

[Raydeus]

Up to lvl 60 the skill difference between G. Axe and Scythe/G. Sword is really small so there isn't really much difference between their acc.

(@lvl 60 G. Axe caps at 196 skill and Scythe/G. Sword cap @ 203)


After that the gap really becomes much higher, that's when you'll really notice the skill difference between weapons.


At lvl 75:

Scythe 276
G. Sword 269
G. Axe 256


Edit > Up to lvl 30ish Marksmanship is a great way to do some nice extra dmg too, and Bloody bolts will help a lot for those times when you catch some aggro.

[tdh]

Well from what people have mentioned, in the long run Gaxe past 40 will be useless due to the fact Gsword and Scythe will surpass Gaxe in every possible way. I dont prefer Gaxe also because the delay is pretty long, and as an Elvaan i want most of my hits to land. Of course i do have some Acc+ and DEX Rings but Gaxe is pretty slow. Up to this point im a quarter of the way into my DRK Carreer. I guess i always could lvl up my Scythe and Gaxe as i lvl up my DRK.At Lv.40 both Scythe and Great Sword will be a better option for DRK than Great Axe. Better DPS, higher damage, and increased Accuracy. Great Sword will be low damager, but much lower delay, so you should be able to keep up with DoT.

Keep in mind the delay comment is pretty silly. The only other weapon in the game that has a higher delay than 85% of Scythes would be Guns. Majority of Scythes have a delay of 528, and only ever few levels you'll find a Great Axe with a delay of 504 or something along those lines. So delay and Acc will be your biggest enemies from Lv.30 on out.

[queenuma]

A skilled dark knight should be able to always use a great axe. As Raydeus the skill difference between GS (A-) and GA (B+) is barely noticable.

At Lv.40 both Scythe and Great Sword will be a better option for DRK than Great Axe. Better DPS, higher damage, and increased Accuracy. Great Sword will be low damager, but much lower delay, so you should be able to keep up with DoT.

I'm sorry tdh but I disagree. Great Axe can be a drk's most damaging weapon until at least level 50. Horror Voulge (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/6687), Eisentaenzer (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/388) and Gigant Axe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/389)* being 3 fantastic GAs that can be used from 40-50. Compare to that an Ice Brand (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/507), Royal Swordsman's Blade (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/508) and Faussar (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/2303) in the same level range and GA outclasses GS easily. Mutilator (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/5344), Raven Scythe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/418) and Falcastra (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/410) are all great scythes in the level range but are let down by the crappy ws scythe have at those levels (49 til we get Vorpal).

Sturmwind is a ridiciously powerful ws and the GA break ws can make a huge difference to party performance, although generally unappreciated.

I recommend keeping all three capped and taking one of each to xp parties therefore keeping your options open.

*If you are using Gigant then you will need to macro in int+ gear to compensate during your spell casts.

[tdh]

I'm sorry tdh but I disagree. Great Axe can be a drk's most damaging weapon until at least level 50. Horror Voulge (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/6687), Eisentaenzer (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/388) and Gigant Axe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/389)* being 3 fantastic GAs that can be used from 40-50. Compare to that an Ice Brand (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/507), Royal Swordsman's Blade (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/508) and Faussar (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/2303) in the same level range and GA outclasses GS easily. Mutilator (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/5344), Raven Scythe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/418) and Falcastra (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/410) are all great scythes in the level range but are let down by the crappy ws scythe have at those levels (49 til we get Vorpal).

Sturmwind is a ridiciously powerful ws and the GA break ws can make a huge difference to party performance, although generally unappreciated.

I recommend keeping all three capped and taking one of each to xp parties therefore keeping your options open.

*If you are using Gigant then you will need to macro in int+ gear to compensate during your spell casts.Now I won't deny that Sturmwind is MUCH better than any Scythe or Great Sword WS with WAR sub. Hell, I'd go as so far as to say that Sturmwind is better than Vorpal Scythe, just horrible skillchain options. But at Lv.40 the gap between skills increases, and it's a 6 point spread. Elvaan DRKs already have a hard enough time with accuracy, and that spread will show. (I've noticed this with skill ups, and meanwhile the Great Axe Skill + belt is nice, Life Belt would better serve you with a Scythe or Great Sword.)

Personally, from a party stand point, I would much rather have DRK using a Great Sword to open/close Distortion for various jobs than a DRK doing more damage with Sturmwind. I do love the Break WS's, the only problem is they don't do much damage themselves, and don't offer many options in a Skillchain either.

When I build a party, I build it around a Skillchain. I try to find the proper melees to do the best Skillchain I can put together so the mages can MB away. Past Lv.35 really, you're not going to be a situation where you're not Skillchaining, so that's why I said up to Lv.37, Lv.40 at the latest.

Great Sword Vs. Great Axe is no real comparison, but Scythe is another issue. Lv.49 Gigant Axe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/389) Vs. Barb. Scythe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/419) I'm going to go with that Barb. Scythe every time, skillchain or not.

[Mhurron]

Other then drain most of your Drk spells are usless.Ignoring the G.Axe vs G.Sword vs Scythe, I just want to say DRK's should use their absorb spells more often. People spend millions of gil to raise a stat by one or two points, DRK's can lower the mobs for free yet almost never do.

[queenuma]

Great Sword Vs. Great Axe is no real comparison, but Scythe is another issue. Lv.49 Gigant Axe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/389) Vs. Barb. Scythe (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/419) I'm going to go with that Barb. Scythe every time, skillchain or not.

Generally there is a huge misconception with the amount of damage the Barb Scythe puts out. Loosing 5 acc basically negates a Woodsman/Sniper's ring. Most players simply look at the attack +25 stat. A Falcastra (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/410) has a much lower delay, reasonable damage and the added benefits of dex+4. The dps between these two weapons is extremely close 8.64 and 8.5 respectivly. The Falcastra can easily last until 53 when you get the much more powerful Bone Scythe.

If you are going to use a Barb Scythe at least wait until level 50 when you have Royal Knight's Mufflers (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/1408) and make sure you're using a Life Belt (http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/2582) with a good pair of acc rings.

[spiffaliffa]

What is all this about great axe ....... i doint think that great axe would be the ultimate best thing to use it dosent probbably do ass much as sythe and GS and plus on the fact that Sythe is the DRKs greatest wepon they hit more and are a bit cheaper and if u so happen to have lvl GS and sytrhe as warrior good for u ( i did dident know what wepons to use at the time ) To the further point Great axe ..... Pointless

[Ellipses]

What is all this about great axe ....... i doint think that great axe would be the ultimate best thing to use it dosent probbably do ass much as sythe and GS and plus on the fact that Sythe is the DRKs greatest wepon they hit more and are a bit cheaper and if u so happen to have lvl GS and sytrhe as warrior good for u ( i did dident know what wepons to use at the time ) To the further point Great axe ..... Pointless
Um... If the "ultimate best thing to use" is the only acceptable weapon, why are both Greatsword and Scythe options? Because in some situations and level ranges, one is better than the other. In some situations and level ranges, Greataxe is better for DRK than either Greatsword or Scythe, just like H2H or sword is better for THF before Viper Bite.

Will not having Greataxe leveled get a DRK kicked from a party? Not very likely. Will having Greataxe leveled and available at the stages where it's better than Greatsword or Scythe make that DRK more memorable (in a good way)? Hell yes. But hey, DRKs get swamped with invites already, right?

[Aeni]

I'll just repost what I posted before...

If you can, keep all options available.

[10-29]

DRK/WAR
Scythe - Does not have any good WS, but the dps cannot be beat.
GAxe - Sturmwind is destructive even without Sneak Attack.
GSword - Powerslash on last resort is simply awesome. Stay away from Hard Slash tho.

DRK/NIN
Axe - Raging Axe ftw. Quite destructive with Last Resort
Sword - Not a good dps solution, even when dual wielded, but Fast Blade & Burning Blade is nice.

DRK/THF - No thanks.

DRK/??? - Consult your party members first.

[30-49]

DRK/WAR
You're wanted to be a SATA partner for the THF in the party. Don't whine. Do it. Scythe is still your top dps weapon, but look to Gsword for Freeze Bite and Power Slash for distortion possibilities. Until then, you're going to cry either way. Sturmwind doesn't do shit at these levels anymore and leave the breaking to a true main WAR with Gaxe.

DRK/THF
GSword - SA Hardslash owns.
GAxe - SA Sturmwind owns harder.

DRK/NIN
Honestly, don't. You just will suck harder than Ms. Felicity's first BJ of the day.

DRK/??? - More than likely you won't be ask to sub anything ... weird.

[49-59]

DRK/WAR
You're now a real dps monster with a scythe. Not quite like a main WAR, but you're now able to proc double attacks in your fighting. This helps with TP gain, but not really nice when you get too much hate. Best to have a main THF in party.

DRK/THF
GAxe - Honestly, Sturmwind is getting old and so is your dps. Other than keeping skill capped, there's no real good reason to keep this.
GSword - Crescent Moon rocks for Distortion, but without TA until 60, you're not going to be appreciated ripping hate off of the tank like this. You need to end Crescent Moon on a SC, cause the damage actually sucks if opening.
Scythe - Vorpal Scythe to open things up. Try to keep SA on it, because it tends to miss a lot.

DRK/??? - Novelty only and with understanding players. Usually casual drug users.

[60-64]

DRK/WAR - You get Guillotine. Guillotine gets you. Literally. Expect to die 1~5 times an exp outing if you're not careful and don't manage hate properly. Guaranteed way of dying: stacking all JAs with this crazy ws.

DRK/THF - Sickle Moon on SATA is a godsend. You're starting to get a taste of end game. Keep scythe capped though, because it comes in handy in a few levels. However, don't expect to keep up with burst and dps of a DRK/WAR. It's not going to happen here.

DRK/??? - See above.

[65]

DRK/WAR - Cross Reaper blows donkey chunks unless you're the best equipped DRK on your server. Keep to Guillotine if possible and don't be afraid of suggesting Fragmentation to the party, an oft overlooked level 2 sc.

DRK/THF - Cross Reaper is really nice, especially on SATA. You might even get lucky and get a taste of true level 3 sc'ing. BLMs will love you for this.

DRK/??? - See above.

[66-70/75]

Depending on your end game priorities, most players tend to just drop off leveling once they hit 70. There's many factors, including Genkai 5, Optical Hat (desire for one) and even ZMs (Sky Access), Promies (Tavnazian Access) and rank missions.

DRK/WAR - At this point, this is considered about as suicidal as pouring hemlock into your morning Ovaltine. If you can grin and bear the deaths and don't mind the heckling of your party compadres, go for it. Guillotine will still be your best dps, provided you have enough acc to back that shit up. Don't got acc? You're not going to like anything else ... Spinning Slash has horrible accuracy, so... DON'T. EVEN. THINK. ABOUT. IT.

DRK/THF - Spinning Slash whore. 'nuff said. Occassionally you'd want Cross Reaper, so keep both weapons capped if at all possible.

Double Post Edited:
I should expand that last entry.

DRK/??? - After level 74, many DRKs have a surprising level of freedom with subjobs and not just for endgame. Popular "other" subjobs:

NIN - Abusage of utsusemi. Mostly for TP burns and in some cases, end game events. Dual Wield is decent, but you're going to need a few pieces of accessories to help you out with this. Having a capped 1hander is very nice, but not necessary, as many DRKs still use their 2handers with this subjob.

SAM - Some areas just don't have TP mobs around. With Abs-TP, this subjob is totally not as useful anymore, but you will see this mostly in Ballista.

DRG - If you have patience, time and a lot of money and like to do damage in an alternative manner (comparing to subbing WAR) then you might have some fun with this. Exp party and some end game events. For end game matters, make sure you consult with your LS first, because there's nothing more frustrating than a leader who's expecting SATA and all you've got are jumps.

BLM/WHM/RDM - Situational. Very rarely, but there might be instances. Don't be surprised if you're ever asked if you have these jobs available. It happens.

SMN/MNK/RNG/BLU/COR/PUP/BST/BRD - Umm ... honestly, I won't recommend this and you're on your own to figure out when - if at all - there's some event that calls for this.

[kingceltic]

Appreciate the help. Going to keep all this in mind, hmmm i could still lvl up Gaxe...maybe alternatively with my Scythe when i get my DRK. As for now, Gaxe will stay lvl skill 0. Ill focus on Gsword, Sword, and Axe for now.

EDIT: I must admit, ever since i started playing this game..i have taken the time into reading everything i need to know about the DRK job, just reading every topic, people's thoughts, opinions, etc etc. 1st hand experience, or even succesful high lvl DRK on this forum who have spoken. After reading all of your comments, i realized in order to be successful, you cant be lazy in games like FFXI. In all MMORPGs im sorta of a perfectionist, i think i going to take my sword, and axe skill to lvl 40 for a good base, capp my Gsword at my current lvl and start lvling up my Gaxe from scracth and get it to par with my Gsword. I want to be the best DRK i can be, one without any flaws no matter the cost, or how many hours i need to put in to be successful. I learned greatness takes time, and players such as yourselves realize that when you know if that player really took time to be what he is now, or he is rushing into his job, therefore making him "gimpy".

Appreciate all the help, im sure the best way of learning things is through experience, but a little knowledge wont hurt.:thumbsup: