Drg Or Drk. Wut You Think?

you wanna see sam's ws in dyna after you do and you still have hate lvl drg. if you wanna die within 3 hits of your ws play drk

edit: i was tank in dyna windy lastnight on drg, and it wasnt because i wanted to......

I'm gonna level Dark soon I think. I'm all about large DD numbers so I expect to die a lot. Lets just say I'll keep my Markmenship capped and have a supply of bloody bolts at the ready ><

drks who die after ws dont do large dd numbers, they worthless weakened for 5min..... this isnt a bash against all drks. just the ones who dont know how to stay alive

I haven't leveled DRK enough to definitively speak on it, like some have done so. Theory doesn't always equal understanding.

However, I would like to clear up some of the common misconceptions about DRG..

The wyvern: Always underestimated. Many times I've been in a party on something other than DRG, and laughed at my good fortune that I'm outparsing the DRG on something weak to piercing. And then I'd look, and it turns out.. I was doing something like 28% of the overall damage, the DRG was doing 23%, and his wyvern was managing 8-9%..

Any self-respecting DRG knows that Deep Breathing is important for soloing, but it isn't anything to laugh at for damage, either. Merited down to 5min, with Wyrm Armet, my wyvern's cap is usually 510 on a breath on colibri. Without it, it's still about 60% of the time landing unresisted for 255, about 20% of the time landing a partial resist, which tends to be closer to 75-150, and 20% being a full resist for 5-25ish.. The lower bound is obviously not that flattering, but when I see a SAM gloating because he managed 200 more on a Penta Thrust on birds than I did, but he didn't take the wyvern into account, I can't help but chuckle.

Damage output isn't the be-all, end-all of a DD: Now I know this concept might be met with criticism.. I'm basically telling so many DDs that their e-peen won't actually win them chicks. Yes, a DRK can do some staggering numbers. Yes, in end-game, a DRK is likely to be able to outdamage a DRG with the same amoutn of effort/gil into their gear. The DRK might even manage to do fairly well in merits vs. the DRG. So, what does the DRG have going for it? Well, a good DRG knows it isn't enough to be able to do a ton of damage, but to be able to do the most damage possible and still not piss off your healer until they let you die out of exasperation.

Why? Again, the wyvern helps. A DRG's overall damage output is split. This means the DRG isn't accruing the same enmity for DoT as the DRK. Of course, sometimes, the DRG still does, but that is more often due to piercing weakness and variances in gear/knowledge of job. Then, the DRG has High Jump and Super Jump to help mitigate some of his enmity spikes. No, he can't spam the jumps constantly, so obviously, he is still capable of taking hate, but he'll do so less often, save the healer some hassle, and help the party run a bit more smoothly.

Instead of popping a cluster of moves that requires a healer to completely focus on the DRK for a time to keep him from killing himself (Often enough, before the mob dies).

At 75, the DRG can contribute in another way: Angon. As has already been mentioned, Angon has its uses in end-game for reducing def for an enemy, and benefiting everyone. The DRK has the zerg strat, if either he can afford it, or commits the time to gear for it, but in and of itself, the DRK doesn't contribute anything beyond that (and a single DRK can't zerg, so you need several of them to make use of it). One DRG can keep a 20% def down effect for 1.5min without hurting other merit options, and a second can then allow it to be kept up indefinitely.

Versatility: Well, DRK has tons. That is, of course, if you like hitting things until they kill you or you kill them. Don't forget, you can drain and absorb. But the tool that kills it hardly makes the difference. The DRG can DD, can heal a balanced party, can solo, etc..

Not that FFXI players allow diversity or trying something new, but DRG could easily change his playstyle to fit each party he goes to. He can be a kinetic healer, he can straight DD, he can say screw the party in general (I soloed from 60 to around 67 just because I was annoyed with people at the time, and it only took me a weekend plus a couple of days).

The DRK is completely reliant on the party. Sure, there's campaign, but that is available to anything. /DNC opens things up a little bit more, but a DRK/DNC is never going to be able to bring the majority of its abilities to bear well..

Gear: This is where I've always felt bad for DRG.. Drachen armor is a plate mail that has the defense of pudding, and is competely inconsistent with the rest of a DRG's gear. DRG gets locked out of things deemed to heavy for it, and then watches a Beastmaster strut by with it on (whose AF is hide and furs). There are a lot of amazing options open to DRK that are closed to DRG (Luisant, Haubergeon, Hauberk).

Top end, sure, it begins to even out. Many have brought up Hecatomb for both DRK and DRG, and that makes sense. I would, however, consider Hecatomb Harness the second best body for DRG, with Zahak's Mail being the top WS piece (As it influences Penta Thrust damage directly, and crit rate for Drakesbane, and the 2 str lost might knock the fStr down a notch, but the 10 dex is definitely going to improve your crit rate, not to mention the actual crit rate on it). Yes, Hecatomb's 10 acc is a huge boost in the direction of DRG's multi-hit, but the dex will make up some of the difference, and it really becomes a question of "Can I sacrifice the acc for the damage, crit, etc." which is dependent on the rest of you gear.

Otherwise, DRG has about the same difficulty as DRK in a number of ways to get perfect gear. In my opinion, in which gil has been easier to come by than specific items, as I can farm, BCNM, sell myself, etc. to make gil to buy something, DRK has a benefit in having a better variety of AH-available items than DRG. DRG, however, for those who are the diy type, has a number of viable pieces available through NMs and events that aren't terribly difficult to acquire.

In the end, though.. This is a terribly long post giving my opinion of preference of DRG over DRK. Even when I haven't been able to beat every DD in the party, and my e-peen hasn't been indulged, I've still had fun with DRG. It was my first 75, and it's always been great to be able to solo the majority of things needed for other jobs, instead of pester friends for help.

Truthfully, though, I haven't experienced DRK, so I'd be a bit of a jackass to say what fun it might or might not have been..

They're both viable jobs, they're both DDs.. Don't listen to all of the bs of the "lolxxx" .. FFXI is full of a bunch of closed-minded people who thinks that actually makes some kind of a point. I tried to give you an honest accounting of DRG, which was my preference. Others have stated their preference of DRK, so simply compare, and choose for yourself.

AGI ws = no thanks.

also you can 6-hit with vfork, brutal, rajas, chiv and ecphoria (or white tathlum and PCC). thats my plan anyhow. this will free up your body piece to the situation. you could also sub in tourny lance for vfork if youre broke or use carbonara if its not colib.

as another option you could camp a gae bolg to even out the simplicity of drk / drg 6 hit ease.

(on topic) if youre just leveling it for fun and not using for endgame like you said then drg all the way.
Dragoon is all around the better job for MOST situations. ACC bonus, piercing weapon, wyvern and jumps all contribute to greater DPS. Hate dumps and lack of +enmity to skills make you pull far less hate. This in turn saves the healers/tank mp and/or hate garnishing abilities which, which is equivalent to less down time and larger exp/hour.
Dragoon also far eclipses Dark Knight in soloing. The adventures i've had with Ember will be my fondest memories of this game. Even without Wyrm Armet there is always the possibility of Saurian Helm. 400 hp for 7 mp at dia/footkick speed = win.
In all fairness however, Dark Knight does have its strengths. It will actually be my next 75 job because for the events i do there is alot of zerging. Even if you dont do endgame there are MANY situations the Dark Knight's unique skills eclipse other jobs. CoP missions (Tenzen fight esp), Some notorious monsters, dynamis lord etc are some that quickly spring to mind.

I would say if you find yourself needing bursts of damage that will take things down swiftly, before the mob can kill you or injure you enough to impair the exp rate of the party, then choose dark knight. If you want to do pretty much anything else in game choose Dragoon.

well on the bright side my eihenjar(sp?) ls said that my bst gets priority over all for ebody from odin ^.~ i love it

loldrk/sam is awesome to play as.

I vote drk, granted i did have to campaign 67-75 but meh, drk is awesome.

If you do decide on DRG, please, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, don't full time AF. Yes, the gear selection is pretty crappy for DRG, but I promise you'll find something better for every slot over AF gear. ;D

Also to the ppl who go lol<job> you're just silly;)

/vote DRG :D

but...who desnt want to pimp out in purple?

lvl drk with 6 hit setup and nothing stupid like askar body and you will do a lot more dmg than you would on drg

I lvled DRG and DRK, DRG moreso for Maat's cap purposes and DRK since I have the endgame gear for it already and let me tell you DRG >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DRK in fun factor. I was prob one of the biggest people on Fairy who'd make jokes about DRG etcetc. but playing it myself really made it fun and they do good damage in Toau area. Invites don't take long either, because people know you do good dmg (not as good as RNG sadly). DRK on the other hand... well let's say I campaigned my way from 65 to 73 so far. I'm not a fan of scythe/gaxe/gsword, PT invites are very few. Also, there's just so many more abilities you can use on DRG! :D Whenever I popped Souleater on DRK (which was really rarely) I had to apologize to the healer several times, cuz I just felt so bad for sponging so badly. Heck, I even brought a PL out every now and then just to cure myself cuz it annoyed me so much.

Anyways, I'm planning on taking DRG to 75 now, since it was so much fun for me, not just to 66 as I had planned to at first :D Hope this helped a little bit

DRG cause its better VS Colibris, aka better for merits :P And DRG is cool, while DRK is emo. o.O

idc about in town <.< but if I see a flying grape taru in my pt /boot
;D

Yeah being 75 DRK and 64 DRG. I gotta say that (and I lvled DRK a year or so ago before lvl sync) DRK will still be kinda hard to get pts for. They CAN be very strong if they have pimp gear. But you gotta take the chance when you invite them. :P DRG, pretty much even 30+ you can fight in Eastern Ronfaure [S] and already make a colibri party. I had a 4/6 jp pt there and went from 38 to 43 (lvl synced) in about 2 hours. Getting even up to 12k/hr towards the end. DRG is much cheaper since it doesn't have that much gear. Most of my gil has gone towards my weapons. And since I had some standard DD gear from DRK and SAM, all I pretty much had to buy was Scorpion Harness.

Idk if that answered it. But if you're not looking to use DRK endgame/zerging, I'd say go DRG.



shh shhh quiet that little face of yours. you don't have to be emo now. DRKs are great aren't they ;P

Drks are pretty LOL if you ask me.

well. its pretty much overwhelming lol.
drg wins ^_^. now to just finish my sam /sub from 23 -> 37. then start the long haul. thx for the advice everyone ^.~

I like being a loldrg :/ I have been messing around on on DRK though for a bit and I quite like it actually (Although it is only level 5 or 6, I cant remember)

(yeah I categorize myself into loldrg as my gear isn't the best right now.)

I WILL ALWAYS BE A LOLDRK!!! Even though I'm a thorough-bred MNK!

Umm, how does that have anything to do with this topic? Some people should get back to work and quit wasting company time (like I am :)) and keep from trolling/flaming innocent posts.

WTF all I do is give my opinion to help someone make a decision and this guy critisized my gear on an entirely different job.

BTW what is wrong with my gear? I just got Amir last week SO FORGIVE ME FOR WANTING TO EQUIP IT FFS!!!!! I happen to think it is one of the coolest looking pieces of gear. Maybe I wear it for asthetics and not purpose. I don't have time to spend 12 hours a day playing to so I mainly play solo, and dual boxing alot with two accounts. Therefore I've yet to acquire any salvage gear and what not, no sea access, so I work hard for my gil and spend it how I see fit. It's my character and I can decide to gear it and play anyway I choose, and I usually have great success with my gear.

I mean anyone can get great gear if you know the right people to help, I've just yet to join that kind of LS. So congrats on all your stupid uber gear that other people had to help you get in the first place Let's see your Uber gear you have if you were to play solo a majority of the time.

BTW the Hachiman+1 (which I just purchased for 1.1m last week if you look at my ah history) is for when I get byakkos I will still maintain a 6 hit WS. It's my freaking TP setup. Why don't you wait to critisize my gear until after you've seen my +70 STR (w/o food) WS setup.

I do appreciate the critisizm even though it sounds like I'm deathly defending myself (which I should). Now I know how Korpg and Malekith feel with everyones critisizm for them. It makes no difference, it's all how you play the job and not being a *** to people. JUST FREAKING LET IT GO ALREADY...

dammit you beat me to it xD

DRK4LYF

i vote SAM

Holy necrobumber...

All these threats were dead for a reason, if the OP wanted more info they would have posted asking for it

I mean 175 days, he has probably leveled the job and have it fully merited by now.

theres another with over 270 days lol

"Sandraa scores a critical hit!
The Forum takes 175 days of necro-bump damage."

^ lol I checked the OPs jobs in preparation of some witty wtfnecrobump joke, but neither job is near 75 yet ._.

But really though, either job is very powerful in endgame if applied right.

It really depends on what you intent to do with the job. If you plan on using it on colibri for merits then go Drg. If you intent on being used for more situations in endgame level Drk because of zerging and stun. Im not saying Drg isn't usefull, as a matter of fact Drg are great for Einherjar but with the right zerg setup Drk out damages anyone.

I lol'd

This man speaks the truth, back in the days of lore before the words lolpup came to be...

in all seriousness, DRK can do anything DRG can and more, higher damage, better WS, not to mention magic that can tear a drg to pieces in pvp before it can get close.