General Basics of NIN/DRK Tanking/Kiting

[ringthree]

I use:
main: E staff
head: turban
body: arhats +1
earrings: eris
rings: BBQ + mermaid
pants: haidate
waist: swift
back: high breath mantle
neck: harmonia
feet: fuma
hands: dusk

see above for the spells.
I have 120 MP with this setup. With refresh + ballad 2 I never have issues with MP

I focus on haste > emnity > -dmg > hp

You can use SE and LR for huge hate spikes, but generally they are not needed, especially if you are dual tanking.

better?

I use a Loquacious Earring instead of a second Eris, for a little boost to my Elvaan MP and the placebo Fast Cast. I just didn't need that much more enmity in general while /DRK. In fact, I generally prioritize enmity less over the other considerations.

[ringthree]

really don't need nin/drk for anything in sky less you plan on solo tanking a god.

But why not do it?

NIN/WAR fails so fucking hard for hate it's not funny, might as well take NIN/DRKs and zerg the crap out of gods for quick, easy fights.

Because in Sky you generally have two tanks, and a lot of SATA. /WAR has defender and DEF bonus for when Byakko triple attacks three times in a row. I completely agree with Demetrius's reasoning on this.

[Sidanoir]

Also, max MP doesn't really matter at all. I'm always getting bullshitted over my whopping like 79-120 MP on NIN/DRK, but the reality is the max MP doesn't make much of a difference. Just refresh alone will give you MP faster than you lose it to maintain hate most of the time.

Wow a tank that actually understands.....it really annoys me people that are all max MP emo , the OMG Galka PLD suck people......when it only matters for you first Cure IV if your a PLD...then your regening at same rate everyone else is..


Anyways NIN/DRK....for something like Tiamat I usually spam absorbs in air..since back when I actually tanked Tiamat, i didnt have a barfira setup and took lots of damage in air (220ish a hit with mermans type stuff) so needed more hate and can't get interrupted in air!

But I agree with ruke, Sleep, Bind, Stun is a good setup all fast casts/recasts all nice hate...

I tend to not cast spells obviously unless I have the shadows to protect me (unless its stun) in other words casting sleep at 1 shadow = stupid..but I see some NIN/DRKs do that >.> then they get hit and lose hate GJ!

If hate isn't currently on you though and your lacking on hate...absorbs, stun, sleep, bind all good stuff to cast and will net you a nice amount of hate...obviously NIN debuffs are decent too (Hojo/Kurayami..)

Again Ruke hit another key point..you need to share hate with your co-tank in most situations....so you can't overdo it....hate whoring usually leads to a dead tank

A couple fights as NIN/DRK if your a good player and you will pick it up fast....there are a whole bunch of ways to do it and you just gotta find one which works for you.

[Bakthi]

So...and forgive me if I sound completely retarded, but my NIN is 63 and my DRK is 10...for something like Ouryu, where Stun obviously isn't going to actually land, do you just cast it anyway for hate? What about Sleep, since you (well maybe not you, but I) might want to sleep it at some point? If you "lose" spells on mobs because of not wanting to build up resistance to them or those spells being useless, which are the best ones to use instead? It sounds like people are saying the absorb spells generate less hate than Stun, Sleep, and Kurayami.

[Sidanoir]

So...and forgive me if I sound completely retarded, but my NIN is 63 and my DRK is 10...for something like Ouryu, where Stun obviously isn't going to actually land, do you just cast it anyway for hate? What about Sleep, since you (well maybe not you, but I) might want to sleep it at some point? If you "lose" spells on mobs because of not wanting to build up resistance to them or those spells being useless, which are the best ones to use instead? It sounds like people are saying the absorb spells generate less hate than Stun, Sleep, and Kurayami.

Id say in terms of hate..... stun and sleep are best......stun probably edges out sleep its close though...bind/blind etc. other enfeebles aren't as much hate as an absorb spell imho....absorbs are only 2seconds now so not a bad choice......

I am kind of speaking out of my ass a bit here cause I never tested persay but....
Stun > sleep > absorbs > other enfeebles for hate
This is just eyeballing it and feel....and mind you i have not nin/drk for a long time....so take it with a grain of salt

And yes you should cast stun for hate anyway, although in my experience it seems like resisted spells give less hate i dont think thats the case in actuallity....

[Amastacia]

really don't need nin/drk for anything in sky less you plan on solo tanking a god.

But why not do it?

NIN/WAR fails so fucking hard for hate it's not funny, might as well take NIN/DRKs and zerg the crap out of gods for quick, easy fights.

Because in Sky you generally have two tanks, and a lot of SATA. /WAR has defender and DEF bonus for when Byakko triple attacks three times in a row. I completely agree with Demetrius's reasoning on this.

That still isn't a reason not to. It's a justification for why /WAR is okay, not for why you shouldn't /DRK.

If you're soley killing guardian gods, not doing Kirin and not farming triggers, give me one concrete advantage to /WAR over /DRK.

While I love watching sky gods chase BLMs around and 1-shot them as much as anyone, it's a lot more fun to have quick, clean kills where no one besides the tanks take a single point of damage except through annoying-to-stun AoEs like Diagas from Byakko, regardless of how much SATA support is present (we've had nights with as few as 1 THF and 1 SAM/THF for SATA-capable melees).

[Demetrius*]

guess it varies a bit more than i took into account. with the exception of blm who are trying to pull hate for fun, its never been much of an issue to maintain it with 2-3 /thf. may have a little above average enmity set but we don't exactly do anything out of the ordinary. I just enjoy the security of an extra 100 def or so with /war.
by all means use it if it helps, i just saw it as being a bit overkill.

[Amastacia]

guess it varies a bit more than i took into account. with the exception of blm who are trying to pull hate for fun, its never been much of an issue to maintain it with 2-3 /thf. may have a little above average enmity set but we don't exactly do anything out of the ordinary. I just enjoy the security of an extra 100 def or so with /war.
by all means use it if it helps, i just saw it as being a bit overkill.

When it comes to fighting sky gods, there are other kinds?

[Kaeko]

/DRK generally requires more support because of the need for refresh. By switching to /DRK from /WAR you lose a potential song from a BRD (more evasion or more haste) or have to bring another BRD just for refresh. WAR sub requires less support to function than a DRK sub despite being not as good in terms of hate gain. When hate gain is not an issue (as is the case when you have a good 2+ SATAs), the /DRKs advantage of hate gain really does not come into play, but it's need for extra support to function still does.

When in sky, you do a decent amount of normal mobs chain killing (statues, pots, etc.), and it is a tad annoying to take a NIN/DRK tank (for the same reasons you wouldn't take one to a merit party). If you only do NMs this may not be a big deal I guess but if you're trying for Diorites, Despot, Water, Steam, etc. it's a bit annoying.

Also correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't knockback automatically interrupt a spell cast? If it does, then NIN/DRK on Faust probably isn't the optimal tank in that situation.

Certain situations warrant certain types of tanking strats. NIN/DRK is amazing but it does have it's drawbacks. When you are in situations that downplay the strongpoints of NIN/DRK, it doesn't hurt to go back and consider going back to /WAR. If you just want to practice using it, Sky is easy enough that it really shouldn't matter I think though.

[ubermonkey]

Also correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't knockback automatically interrupt a spell cast? If it does, then NIN/DRK on Faust probably isn't the optimal tank in that situation.

Tank against a wall.

[Iskra]

i know it is necro post but it is the only nin/drk thread that i found. my question is also for noob forum and this thread is here so dont flame for that.

iam currently lvling nin, i started to buy all my tanking gear but there is one thing about the earrings that i dont know.

yet i have 1 eris+1 , i have also a cassie from my mnk/drk setup. i asked around and few nin are telling me eris+1 and cassie is perfect. others loquacious + eris+1 and some telling me that i should get eris+1x2.

i would like to know what is the best setup and why for a hume ninja.
thx

[Tricen]

It's probably just preference... But 30mp and fast cast is pretty hot... NIN/DRK can cap hate pretty fast though.

[Berdysh]

i know it is necro post but it is the only nin/drk thread that i found. my question is also for noob forum and this thread is here so dont flame for that.

iam currently lvling nin, i started to buy all my tanking gear but there is one thing about the earrings that i dont know.

yet i have 1 eris+1 , i have also a cassie from my mnk/drk setup. i asked around and few nin are telling me eris+1 and cassie is perfect. others loquacious + eris+1 and some telling me that i should get eris+1x2.

i would like to know what is the best setup and why for a hume ninja.
thx

Eris +1/Eris +1 is good, Loquacious/Eris +1 is fine as well though with Double March and Haste you'll probably be hitting max recast in your normal gear without that earring. If you only have one Bard and you're getting March/Ballad or something, then throw on the Loq. Cassie's only useful for a max HP build, but you only really wear this set for like Citadel Buster or Bahamut's flares so just go with double Merman's.

[Raineer]

The fast-cast is extremely low (1%), but anything helps. I think the 30mp might be better as nin/drk, depending on the rest of your set.

I know several nin/drk's have told me they need no +mp as long as they have refresh, your mileage may vary.

[maddadon]

nin/drk should be ALL the haste equipment possible- and then ALL of the + emnity equipment possible.

MP is not an issue. Its not an issue because you SHOULD have proper support. W/o proper support the whole thing is not nearly as cool (it falls apart really).

My Nin/Drk has no + mp equipment and I can honestly that MP has NEVER been an issue.

Proper Support = Tank party of:
Nin/Drk
Brd
Brd
Rdm/Drk
Whm
Whatever-- usually another Nin/drk

The brds will give u MP regen and haste
the rdm will give u refresh and haste- and stun during ichi recast
the whm will keep you alive
the other nin/drk will do their thing.

again- + mp equipment is not needed at all- I'd stick w/ + emnity.

[Flight_93]

Just make sure you wear dino gear when Tia flies...

[RKenshin]

NIN/DRK doesn't need that much support.

Just a good RDM is more than fine. Everything else is just bonus.

[Hakamaru]

Wow Iskra... you hurt me deeply coming here.

Your second earring doesn't matter too much. Any of the 3 you listed is fine. Although, I would say full-time cassie is a taru-only deal. I only use it because it balaces the HP in my different gear-sets. And unmeritted taru MP is still a lot of over-kill for NIN/DRK.

If you're getting double march, the Loq. earring is unnecessary for the most part and you should choose Eris. If you don't have double march, you're not capping out your recasts, so you can get some good mileage out of Loq. earring. Eris would also be a solid choice in this instance as well.

Make sure you spend some time reading Kaeko's LJ / enmity table and get used to the relative efficiencies of the various /DRK spells. That's going to make a much larger difference than splitting hairs over gear choices.