Dark Knight Guide

Behold the power!

The Dark Knight. Some call it the most powerful job in the game. Some call it lolDRK. This guide is to hopefully put you on track to be the former and help kill the reputation of being the latter.

Suggested Weaponry

Most of the time, scythe should be your weapon of choice. Scythe is your A+ skill; your A- skill, Great Sword, tends to have far worse DOT(damage over time) than scythe for the majority of your DRK career. In general, however, if you don't mind leveling Scythe outside of your EXP parties (or have it preleveled for whatever reason), then I suggest using Great Axe until 49. There are some fantastic great axes out there (Horror Voulge comes to mind), and Sturmwind is a far better Weapon Skill than anything Scythe brings to the table until Guillotine. Under no circumstances should you ever dual wield on DRK (OK, maybe if you have a Ridill).

Important Attributes

When gearing up for DRK, choosing the correct stats is of paramount importance. Here's a quick rundown of what to look for:

• Accuracy should be the first thing you worry about. In general, you should shoot for +35 or higher accuracy. Take into account the fact that 1 DEX now equals .75 Accuracy for two-handed weapons. However, even though Accuracy is of paramount concern, do not sacrifice massive amounts of other stats for it: Two accuracy is not better than 5 attack. Do not overkill Accuracy; there is a limit to effectiveness on it and beyond that point it is useless. If you have a 95% hit rate you probably are wasting some vital slots where you could be improving your Attack or gaining Haste.

• Your next concern is Haste. Though early on in your DRK career there is very little to no haste gear, Haste becomes vital to your success as soon as you have it available. Basically, if you can get a decent haste piece for a slot, use it. Period. It is necessary for your TP gain and spell recasts. You will get far overshadowed in damage output without haste gear, so don't neglect it. One thing to remember is that haste is unique among stats in that the more you get, the better it is. While 10% haste is merely a 11.1% increase in damage, 50% haste doubles your damage, and 75% haste quadruples your damage. Learn it, love it, and embrace the brokenness of haste.

• Your next important stat is Attack. Throughout our DRK careers we can get some pieces with massive attack bonuses. Even as early as level 25, our Republic Subligars can give us +5 attack, which is massive for that level. Attack is a stat you will rarely hit the effectiveness cap on, unlike Accuracy, so pile it on. Just don't sacrifice necessary accuracy or haste for it while TP building. Remember that 1 STR = .75 attack as well for two handed weapons (which you are of course using!)

• For primary attributes, only STR and DEX are of real concern. The rest are pretty useless, honestly, aside from MND having a very minor effect on Guillotine damage. For your WS gear, STR is your #2 concern after Accuracy.

• You don't need a lot of extra HP or MP gear. By the time you get useful spells, you should have enough MP to cast them. HP gear isn't useful for general DRK use. The huge exception to this rule is Souleater. If you make a gear set for Souleater use, piling on the HP+ can help increase your damage a great deal.

Races

In all honesty, all races work fine for DRK. Though some might say that Galka or Elvaan are by far the best, I disagree. It doesn't make a huge difference, and all deficiencies can be overcome. All you need to know is, while leveling it, you need to make up for weaknesses. Galka and Elvaan can make up for a lack of MP with RSE until more MP is sufficient. Tarutaru has a bit of a problem with STR, but it's no seriously big deal that can't be overcome by good gear. Mithra and Hume don't really need anything specific. Just adapt the job to your race, and you should be fine.

Subjobs

Standard Use Subs:

• WAR - Your basic DoT pray-I-don't-die subjob. If you follow this guide, your damage output with WAR sub might be a bit too much and might just get you mauled even more than you otherwise would; but damn, it's fun being a double attacking fiend. Berserk is a godsend that will increase your already high Attack through the roof. You will have great damage output and great WS damage with this Sub, just no significant extra damage mitigation ability. It is definitely by far your best choice until level 50 since Berserk is better than the very little other subjobs provide until then.

• SAM - Post 50 you get Hasso, an ability that gives you 10 Acc, up to 5 STR, and 10% Haste. With a haste build this will be your strongest sub, so learn to love it. SAM sub also gives you more defensive capabilities than WAR due to Seigan and Third Eye. It also will help you gain TP faster than /WAR due to Store TP, Meditate, and the haste from Hasso. Once you hit 70, it becomes a GREAT defensive sub due to Seigan, which makes Third Eye a extremely potent defense that doesn't always wear off in one hit and can occasionally counter attacks. One thing to look out for though is Hasso and Seigan's recast killing ability, they increase recast of your spells by 50%, nasty for Absorb-TP spammage.

• NIN - In situations where you need a huge defensive boost, you need the NIN sub. You sub NIN for one reason only: Utsusemi (ok, Tonko as a cheap prism powder.) It won't help your damage output directly; however, you don't have to worry about getting hate since you can actually tank with NIN sub. A NIN sub may actually lead to greater damage since you can reach your full potential without dying. Just don't Dual Wield, for the love of God, just don't. That's what WAR/NIN and NIN are for. Since NIN doesn't add anything that will help with your TP gain, proper Absorb-TP usage can help your damage output substantially.

Situational Subs:

• THF - What was once the gold standard of DRK subs is now rarely used. THF is good for hate control and massive WSes. Your DoT will be terrible and your TP rate substandard, but few things are as powerful as a Sneak Attacked Spinning Slash. Only really useful on HNMs where gaining hate is deadly (and thus can be prevented by Trick Attack) or HNMs that have high high defense that can be pierced by the forced Critical Hit from SA.

• DRG - If you have a Kraken Club, then you need DRG sub. See below for details.

• BLM - 4 ur nukes mang cuz nukes 4 teh 1337. Please note that this is utter sarcasm, do not use /BLM for anything but warp.

Job Abilities/Traits

Name	Level	Recast	Duration	Description/Commentary
Blood Weapon	1	2h	30s	Adds a draining effect to each of your hits so that every hit heals you for as much damage as that hit does (unless the enemy has resistance to drain.) It only works on normal hits and Jumps, not WSes. It's a pretty terrible 2h ability in most cases, and it should always be used with Souleater when you do use it so that you actually get some damage output increase. Also note that though it may look like it adds Drain damage, it merely makes the damage you already dealt heal you. It does NOT double your damage.
Arcane Circle	5	10m	1m	Gives your party in an area of effect Arcana Killer. It's terrible. It doesn't even generate any significant enmity. That's right, its so bad the enemies don't even CARE.
Attack Bonus	10, 30, 50, 70	Passive	Passive	Gives +10/22/35/48 attack. Don't worry about it, just appreciate it.
Last Resort	15	5m	30s	+15% Attack/-15% defense. Generates a large enmity spike on on the DRK. Proof that SE hates DRKs. There is no other explanation for normal Last Resort. It's basically a Berserk with tons of suck tossed in. Just toss it on for a WS once in a while to get a minor increase in damage. Please note that after spending many merits in Desperate Blows and using full haste gear with full haste spells/songs on you, it becomes badass (though it's still only 30 seconds.)
Arcana Killer	20	Passive	Passive	Occasionally intimidate Arcana (e.g., Bombs, Dolls, etc). Killer effects mostly suck and this is no exception. This does not mean you should tank Arcana.
Weapon Bash	20	5m	Instant	A quite useful little ability that has you smash your 2h weapon (2h weapon only, but you rarely use anything else anyways) into the enemy for pitiful damage but a high chance to stun. An almost certain chance to interrupt spells. Be careful though, it generates a high amount of enmity.
Resist Paralyze	25	Passive	Passive	Occasionally you'll resist a paralyze. It's never reliable, though.
Souleater	30	6m	1m	The trademark move of DRKdom. Souleater is a buff that makes it so that with every hit, no matter what the strength of the base hit is, 10% of your HP is added as damage with no strings attached. Ok, one little string: that 10% of your HP is subtracted with every hit. This is, by far, the most powerful ability in the DRK's arsenal, as it can turn a 150 damage scythe hit into a 300 damage scythe hit, or a 2 damage club hit into a 152 damage club hit (more on that later.) Once again, however, the enmity is huge. The enmity gains are not just from using the ability (a sizable spike that is over 2/3 of a Provoke), but the amazing damage you do practically guarantees you will pull hate -- and your HP will already be low from the ability itself. So use Souleater with utmost care. One important thing to note: the Merit Skill Muted Soul can reduce enmity gain using Souleater, making it much safer. Oh and Souleater also increases Accuracy while active so that you can make those super hits count.

Spells

First things first, I'm not going to list the elemental spells. They are useless. We get the 2nd highest elemental magic skill but ONLY TIER 2 NUKES and NO MAGIC ATTACK BONUS. Just don't use them. They're also a large chunk of the spells so I save a lot of work, go me!

Name	Level	MP cost	Cast time	Recast time	Description/Commentary
Poison/II	6/46	5/38	1s/1s	5s/5s	Just DoT, useful when you just want DoT -- though maybe better left to RDMs and BLMs so as not to waste your MP. Poison I can be a useful spell to pull with though.
Drain	10	21	3s	1m	Seems useless at first but later on it becomes the most MP efficient nuke in the game, let alone the awesome healing power also inherent in the spell! 21 mp for damage/healing that gets up to 300. Also remember that drain will not work at all on undead and will rarely work on dark based monsters such as Demons.
Bio/II	17/40	15/36	1.5s/1.5s	5s/5s	More DoT, but now with additional Attack Down action and 100% accuracy rate! Still, usually RDM or BLM will cast this, and in most cases you'd rather have Dia on the mob (which can't coexist with Bio.) So you should rarely cast this.
Bind	20	8	2s	40s	Binds an enemy in place. Your 3rd best spell for running away from enemies.
Aspir	20	10	3s	1m	Steal an enemy's MP. It seems useless when you first get it but later on it becomes vital to your success. This is because it grows with your Dark Magic skill; while you might only get 20 MP returns early on, later on you get 100 or higher. Quite useful and one of the best ways to keep your MP up when you can't rest (which is most of the time.)
Poisonga	26	44	2s	10s	Great for pissing off your party after a Sleepga and great for aggroing a bunch of mobs!
Sleep/II	30/56	19/29	2.5s/3s	30s/30s	Your 2nd best and best spells for running away, and the best reason to level your Enfeebling Magic. Though in parties there will usually be a better sleeper, more sleepers are always better since a sleeper being 1/2 second late can be the difference between life and death. Also, nothing is as useful for solo stuff as sleeping mobs for emergencies.
Tractor	32	26	3s	10s	Sure you can't raise the dead, but dragging them around is equally (or more) fun!
Absorb-Stats	31-43	33	2s	60s	Not especially useful. If you want major epeen WSes toss an Abs-STR before you use the WS, but you don't really need it. Abs-CHR is nice for making people wonder what's wrong with you.
Absorb-TP	45	33	2s	1m	Awesome spell. The Absorb that's worth casting. At first it will seem like it's kinda crappy with inconsistent TP drains, but as you learn to time it better, you will get higher yields. It's definitely a hard spell to use, but it is 100% worth it. Just remember: Mobs gain TP from every hit they take at a rate of [TP gained by attacker + 3]. Every hit. So timing this approximately 10-20 seconds (depending on how many melees are whacking the mob) after the mob WSes is optimal for most party setups.
Drain II	62	37	3s	3m	Just like Drain, but more powerful and the amount of HP drained exceeds your maximum HP. Great for use before Souleater since you get higher HP than otherwise possible.
Dread Spikes	71	78	3s	3m	An extremely nice recent addition to DRK. Dread Spikes gives you a spikes effect that drains HP from your enemies when you are hit. The good part is it drains the exact amount of damage dealt to you, so it is a nice amount of damage and makes you take none. The bad part is it wears off after it heals up to half of what your maximum HP was on casting (otherwise it has a 1m duration.) Still, even with that and an annoying 3m recast, it's damn useful as a defensive spell when you can use it.

Gear Suggestions

Throughout your DRK career you will have piles and piles of gear. This section should help you choose what those piles should be made of. I'm not going to list all the gear, just the gear that is worth noticing. There is a lot of 'filler gear' that's worn with, say, +1 DEX that isn't worth mentioning. This is not that gear. Gear that should be your ultimate goal for level 75 will be bolded. You should always carry around a basic TP and WS set (though I won't list all that gear here), and by 75 you should also carry around a Dark Magic set.

If I am missing something, please fill it in.

Weapons Early weapons should be the best weapons you can find of whatever type/s you choose. One weapon worth pointing out is the Horror Voulge, it's quite a good weapon for its level. 49 - Barbarian's Scythe - Good damage/delay but has the amazing Attack+25/Acc-5. This thing is a BEAST, and it is the reason I suggest switching from Great Axes at 49. Sushi is probably a good idea while using this scythe, but with really great Acc equipment you can eat meat for truly awe-inspiring damage. I suggest using this until 58, when Vassago's Scythe comes along. 65 - Darksteel Scythe - Ok, it's nothing special, but it's probably your best weapon in your 60s (unless you score a Blackjack at 69, but nobody expects that of you.) Oh well. 73 - Perdu Sickle - This scythe is tied with Tredecim for best non-relic scythe in my opinion. It has latent effect: DMG 93, Acc+5, Atk+14 with the latent active when you have under 100 tp (including WSes.) The major barrier to getting it is getting those damned assaults done though, you need assault rank 7, Chief Sergeant. 74 - Tredecim Scythe - A truly unique weapon. It may look terrible on first glance, but there are great secrets hidden in that blank text box. The Tredecim Scythe actually guarantees a critical hit on every 13th hit. This doesn't count WS hits but is still a great ability that will increase your damage output quite well. 75 - Bahamut's Zaghnal - Terrible for normal use but useful for Souleater + tricks. I'll explain later. 72 - Subduer - Yes, the latent is annoying to break (must accrue 500 WS Points with Subduer equipped), but after you do so this Great Sword is the best you can get without camping HNM. 75 - Algol - The best great sword. It's pure awesome. It's got +3 Atk (yawn) additional effect: fire (meh) and triple attack+3% (OMGGG.) You want it... or you would, if it wasn't for the fact that it's a great sword. 63 - Kraken Club - Actually worth the money. See: Bahamut's Zaghnal's Description. 50 - Mercurial Kris - The poor man's Kraken Club. 51 - Dark Staff - +10% Magic Accuracy and Potency for Dark Magic, hMP+10 - Basic staff needed for any job with MP. It's cheap, and you need it. 75 - Apocalypse - YEAH, RIGHT.	Headgear 60 - Chaos Burgeonet - STR4, Enhances Souleater - Souleater Enhancement is good. You like this helmet. Upgrade to the +1 if you want for an alternative to Hct. Cap in case you don't do Fafnir. 70 - Optical Hat - Acc+10 is your best bet for TP gaining on high evasion mobs unless you get Ace's Helm. 73 - Hecatomb Cap - STR+11, DEX+5 - Awesome WS equipment, you want it. 74 - Ace's Helm - Acc+7, Haste+4%, and STR+4 all in one butt ugly package. Your best TP gaining helmet. 75 - Walahra Turban - Haste+5% - Your best TP headgear until you get the Ace's Helm. 75 - Ares's Mask - Acc+12, Atk+12 - A far superior O-Hat. For those high evasion/high defense mobs, this is your best bet. Its cost, however, is very prohibitive.
Body Armor 59 - Haubergeon/+1 - Acc+10, Atk+10, STR+5, DEX+5 - Your baseline body armor. Truly a necessity, get it or else. Unless you get a great endgame body armor, you will be wearing this for a long, long time. Hauberk is a ton better in ways that you don't really care about, so the upgrade is up to you. 70 - Vampire Cloak - Eh, I just use it once in a while for the Regen/Refresh. It's worth mentioning, but far from a trademark piece of gear. 70 - Plastron - At first glance you may think this body piece is extremely useful - well, unfortunately, it isn't. It's a situational piece that offers full-time Refresh, which can be effective in some cases, but never use this for TPing and don't use it for WSing unless you're subbing THF, as it lacks accuracy. 73 - Adaman Hauberk - Acc+15, Atk+15, STR+10, DEX+10 - One of the best body pieces in the game for all jobs that can wear it. Good luck getting it though. 75 - Askar Korazin - STR+5, Atk+12, Double Attack+2%, Store TP+5 - Better than your Haubergeon for low evasion mobs, but not one of the truly great bodypieces. 75 - Homam Corazza - I'm just listing this to say DON'T BOTHER. Haubergeon is better, seriously. Let a THF or DRG or something get it. 75 - Ares's Cuirass - STR+12, Atk+24, Adds Refresh Effect. Your other great endgame body piece. Whether it's better than Adaman Hauberk depends on what you are doing, but it is still quite a great piece of equipment.	Back Armor 61 - Amemet Mantle/+1 - STR+1/2, Atk+10/15 If you can afford it, this is one +1 that is worth the extra. 70 - Abyss Cape - Acc+7, WS Acc+7, Magic Acc+7. Amazing Acc piece and the MAcc is also great. Highly recommended. 73 - Forager's Mantle - STR+3, Atk+15 - Your upgrade of the Amemet/+1, and the back armor you will probably wear most of the time.
Offhand 55 - Sword Strap - Two-handed weapon delay -3% - Due to the negative affect that this grip has on your TP gain (delay reduction reduces TP gained per hit), Pole Grip and Claymore Grip are better for everyday use. In other words, you really shouldn't be using this unless you are doing the megahaste strategy. See below for details on that strategy. 60 - Pole Grip - Double Attack+2 - The best grip currently available, period. 65 - Claymore Grip - Critical Hit Rate+3% - The second best grip currently available, semicolon.	Neckwear 21 - Spike Necklace - STR+3, DEX+3 - You're a gimp if you don't get it, seriously. 33 - Peacock Charm - Acc+10 - Your permanent Acc piece if you can afford it. One size fits all jobs. 60 - Chivalrous Chain - Acc+5, STR+3, Store TP+1 - Your basic Acc gear if you lack the peacock charm. 65 - Dark Torque - Dark Magic Skill+7 - Your dark magic skill neckpiece. You need this if you plan on casting spells. If you don't plan on casting spells, then go level a different job. 73 - Justice Torque - STR+5, Scythe Skill+7 - The best neckpiece for all around scything, you shouldn't need convincing here, it speaks for itself. 73 - Prudence Torque - INT+5, Great Sword Skill+7 - Where Justice Torque excels for Scythe, this does the same for Great Sword. INT is a small modifier for Spinning Slash and Ground Strike, and +7 Great Sword Skill equates to 7 accuracy and 7 attack, making it better than any other neck piece for Dark Knights who wield Great Sword. It's not especially high priority, it is but nice to have.
Handgear 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 - Gigas Series Bracelets - STR+3 to 11, DEX-2 to 6 - Great WS bracelets, you should always carry a pair that's appropriate for your income and level. 72 - Dusk Gloves - Atk+5, Haste+3%, Molasses Movement - If you can't get Homam, these are more than sufficient. Still, Homam are better. 73 - Crimson Finger Gauntlets - Dark Magic Skill+10 - Great for all your dark magic needs. 74 - Chaos Gauntlets +1 - Your best Guillotine hands, bar none. And Guillotine is your best WS. So these are great hands. 75 - Homam Manopolas - Haste+3%, Acc+4 - Your best TP hands.	Waist Equipment 50 - Swift Belt - Haste+4%, Acc+3, Atk-5 - Probably your best TP belt since you probably won't get a speed/velocious belt. Annoying to get due to a lame drop rate, but well worth it if you aren't loaded. 55 - Speed/Velocious Belt - Haste+6% - If you get this, you rock. Though it does not automatically make you an amazing DRK, it helps. 60 - Potent Belt - STR+3, Acc+8 - A nice belt for your Guillotines, with good STR and Acc. 71 - Warwolf Belt - STR+5, DEX+5 - Your highest STR belt, nuff said.
Ranged/Ammo Slot 63 - Bomb Core - Attack+12 in a slot you don't usually use? Is there a reason to say no? 70 - Fire Bomblet - Acc+6, Atk+6 - Even better than bomb core, but also more expensive.	Earrings 35 - Dark Earring - Dark Magic Skill+3 - Yeah, you want it, but no, you don't need it. Multiple levels - Attack earrings - Your generic earrings, you poor slob. 72 - Ethereal Earring - Atk+5, Damage -> mp 3% - A fun toy, but not a necessity. 72 - Abyssal Earring - Scythe Skill+5, Dark Magic Skill+5 INT +2- The sign of a REAL DRK. Wear this with pride and laugh at all those Suppanomi wearing sheep! 75 - Brutal Earring - Double Attack+5% - Whether for WS or TP, this is the best earring out there.
Rings Most levels - STR rings - Use for WSes. 30 - Rajas Ring - A little slice of goodness gained upon completion of CoP. It should be one of your fulltime rings. 30 - Divisor Ring - Latent: Acc+6, Atk+3. Latent active when level is a multiple of 5. This is one of the best TPing rings in the game... but don't get your hopes up. It is appraised from a ??? ring from the assault Azure Experiments. The ??? ring is one of 3 possible ??? items from the assault. Then you have about a 1/25 chance of getting the divisor ring from an appraised ??? ring. Then you have to fight with 2-5 other people to actually get it from the treasure pool. 40 - Sniper's/+1/Woodsman Rings - Your basic TP rings. 50 - Ulthalam's Ring - Acc+4, Atk+4, Assault: STR+4, DEX+4, Regen - Nice replacement for a Sniper and there's nothing better for assault/salvage. 57 - Toreador's Ring - HP+10 Accuracy +7. An extremely sexy ring with everything a growing DRK needs for TPing and abusing Souleater. Don't worry about getting it though, though it is great, it is hard to get and not really worth all that effort. 75 - Mars's Ring - Acc+8, Atk+8 - AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH. No. (lolEbon Panels! -Ashira)	Leg Armor 71 - Black/Onyx Cuisses - STR+4/5, Atk+14/16 - Your WS leg armor. 72 - Abyss Flanchard - MND+5, Dark Magic Skill+5, MDB+5 - One of the few pieces of DRK AF2 which are actually useful. Macro this on for Drain/Aspir/Bio II if you have it - don't use it for Guillotine, though, unless you have absolutely no other choice. 75 - Homam Cosciales - Acc+3, Haste+3%, Fast Cast+3% - The best TPing leg armor. 75 - Ares's Flanchard - STR+6, DEX+6, Double Attack+2% - Your best WS leg armor by a smidgen over black cuisses; too bad its so damn hard to get.
Footwear 72 - Dusk Ledelsens/+1 - Atk+4/5, Haste+2%/3%, HP+25/27, Decreased Movement Speed. Inferior to Homam Gambieras but if you have the money but not the Limbus, they're more than good enough. 73 - Hecatomb Leggings/+1 - STR+6, DEX+3 - In my opinion, the NQ is not quite as good as Chs Sollerets+1 for guillo, but it's close. You aren't wrong for using either one. Hct Leggings +1 however ARE better than Chs Sollerets+1. 74 - Chs. Sollerets +1 - STR+5, MND+5 - Your Guillotine feet, not too expensive and, as long as you have CoP done, not too hard to get. 75 - Homam Gambieras - Acc+6, Haste+3%, HP/MP+31 - Your TP feet, nothing comes close except Dusk Ledelsens+1, those are far too expensive.

Tips and Strategies

• Haste is really overpowered in FFXI, and DRK is the job that can get the highest attack speed increase from Haste (as long as it is using a 2h weapon). The haste caps are 25% from equipment and 43.3% from spells; however, two things can bypass these caps. The first is Hasso, which gives 10% haste and contributes to no caps. The second is a DRK exclusive Merit ability (and is otherwise a useless ability), Desperate Blows. With full gear Haste (possible with the Rune Chopper) + full magic Haste + Hasso + Desperate Blows, the total becomes 93.3% haste. This is a 15.625x increase in attack speed, which, with a 504 delay Rune Chopper, it gives you a delay of 33.47 -- which is a .56 second delay between attacks. With the hardest hitting attacks in the game, this is freaking ridiculous.

• Souleater + Blood Weapon enables you to have the highest damage output in the game when used with certain weapons, abilities, and gear. You can use the previous tip with SE+BW and become a pure beast, but not even that is the highest damage output possible. Using the haste build with Bahamut's Zaghnal is an improvement on HNM, but even still, it's not the highest. The absolute highest possible damage comes from the mighty Kraken Club. Every round of attacks with the KClub does 1-8 hits, with an equal chance of each number of hits. This ends up being an average of 4.5 attacks every round with a delay of 264. With 68.3% haste (the highest possible with a 1h weapon), this becomes a delay of 83.7 which equals a 1.39s delay between attack rounds. That is 22 attack rounds per 30 seconds with an average of 99 attacks per 30 seconds. Thanks to the power of Souleater + Blood Weapon, those attacks are all for a lot of damage. Assuming 150 damage per hit, that means that in the course of Blood Weapon's 30 seconds, you will deal an average of 14850 damage (if every hit lands). This can be increased even further with a proper Souleater build using Souleater enhancing gear and HP+ gear. Using /DRG also adds a lot of hits since Jumps count as 1 full attack round, and you can use the Wyvern Earring which gives +5% haste.

• Absorb-TP is a great ally but can actually become a hindrance if you misuse it. Do NOT use it as soon as its up. Use it when your TP is less than 60% and the mob hasn't WSed in at least 12 seconds. Wasting 2 seconds to cast this when you will get no significant return is a waste of time and MP.

• If using Last Resort or Souleater in a standard party, try to use them right before you hit the mob. If you haven't gained any enmity on a specific mob, a self-buff will not gain you any enmity.

• When using Drain, Aspir, or Drain II, try to use it during a period you can't hit the mob for whatever reason so you don't waste time in which you could be attacking.

• Never forget that you can Sleep things. You may not be the best sleeper around, but you CAN do it.

• Staying alive as DRK is a constant struggle, but there are many things you can do. If you are about to do something like a buffed up Guillotine early in a fight, you might want to cast Dread Spikes first. If Dread Spikes is down and the mob has low enough HP, stun it after the WS. The extra hate from Stun is no big deal if the enemy is going to die in a few seconds. If you are /NIN, cast Utsusemi: Ichi between battles so that your Ni cooldown is always prepared and so that you can overwrite your Ichi with a Ni; and always make sure to cancel an Utsusemi: Ni while casting an Ichi.

• Though you are not a tank, you CAN tank when subbing NIN at level 74+. Stuns, Last Resort, Souleater, Sleeps, Bind, and Absorbs are all potent hate tools and proper use of them can keep the enemy focused on you. Your problem lies in being able to take hits and inability to evade often, of course. Dread Spikes only absorbs so much and Drains are quite inconsistent, so unless you have enough haste keep casting Utsusemis, you will need the mob to have slows and/or elegies applied. With the proper setup, tanking as DRK/NIN can be quite fun and effective.