Sadly, there isn’t any Piety on ’em! Welcome to our Dark Knight Best-in-slot gear guide! We discuss here gearing options for BOTH DPS CENTRIC DRK’s and PARRY/EHP CENTRIC DRK’s. So no matter which camp of tanking you follow, or whatever your group needs – you can see both options right here!
Navigation: Dark Knight BiS
DRK BiS | Discussion | Esoterics Buy Order
Heavensward Dark Knight Best-in-Slot
TANK BiS DISCLAIMER: I don’t buy into the whole ALL TANKS SHOULD DPS or ALL TANKS SHOULD HAVE MAX EHP! It all depends on your group, level & speed of progression, and personal preference. As such, I will list both options. (Related Read: Parry vs DPS)
For the sake of “interchangeable filler slots”, Chaos <-> Gordian serve as natural replacements to each other (May or may not be discussed within guide, but take that as an ‘unspoken truth’).
SINCE MELDED RIGHT SIDE IS SO STRONG FOR TANKS, tank gear should be thought as two separate entities: Leftside (armor) and right side (accessories). There’s a million ways to setup the right side, but the left is pretty much set in stone given your goals. (Purely ignoring the top accessories and using melded is A GREAT CHOICE / OPTION)
Dark Knight Accessories: Choices & Melding
Considering crafted right as BiS for tanks is 100% legit…
| Equip on | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 | Slot 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citrine Choker of Slaying | VIT IV | VIT IV | VIT IV | CRIT III | VIT III+ |
| Chrysolite Earrings of Fending | STR IV | STR IV | STR IV | STR IV | STR III |
| Chrysolite Bracelets of Fending | STR IV | STR IV | STR IV | STR IV | STR III |
| Chrysolite Ring of Slaying | VIT IV | VIT IV | VIT IV | FREE | VIT III+ |
| Chrysolite Ring of Slaying | VIT IV | VIT IV | VIT IV | FREE | VIT III+ |
For the (FREE) Slot, you can put ACC, DET or SS (rings).
Here’s how it works. Melded accessories will always have the highest overall power level. However, they will never be as tanky as a Fending accessory, and never be as strong as a Slaying one. The melding strategy above makes it so you can wear crafted from A1S to A4S no problemo.
DRK BiS Discussion, Notes & Options
DPS DRK Set
Going for PURE SLAYING right side is a bit greedy, but definitely possible with a competent team. So we identify the suckiest accessories to replace with crafted.
- Fabled Ring of Slaying: It has accuracy… so it has that goin’ for it. Personally, I wouldn’t waste eso on these.
- Fabled Wristband of Slaying… SS/DET. Again, I wouldn’t buy these and just go for crafted.
The A3S legs are a KEY PART of this set, and hopefully you’ll get em! The Chaos counterpart is a poor filler – I wouldn’t waste eso on it.
Tanking / Parry DRK Set
Legs & Head – interchangeable: In the tanking list above we use Chaos Head and Chaos Leg. Keep in mind that this can be changed for Gordian Head, Gordian Leg. So if you’re lucky enough to get one of the gordian pieces early, just shoot for the gordian counterpart as well. A small but worthwhile to note value point, thay may save you over 1k ESO.
Chaos Cuirass is a MASSIVE increase in HP, Armor, MRes, Parry… basically a huge part of your defensive game. Tanks who choose to Gobtwine the chests over weapon are very common, and you should be one of them!!!
3.0 Dark Knight Esoterics Buy Order
“What should I purchase first with Esoterics for my DRK!?” Well, here you go!
DPS Dark Knight
- Weapon: The Deathbringer should be bought FIRST for DPS DRK’s. No question.
- Chaos Helm: Might as well, plus save A3 pages for Legs!
- Chaos Boots
- Fabled Belt
- Fabled Necklace, Ring (Any Order)
- EVERYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL, and NON-BiS
- Chest can be bought if you want to help your raid group. It’s quite the upgrade still.
With very few pieces needed, this set is powerful and easy to obtain.
On belt: If you have the Illuminati Gobcoat, buy it sooner than you would have.
PARRY / EHP Dark Knight
- Chest: Get these first and Gobtwine it if you can!
- Legs: Hmm.. (If you have the A3S legs – you can push this waaaaay down or optional)
- Weapon: You can buy this at any point during 1-3.
- Fabled Necklace, Ring (Any Order)
- EVERYTHING ELSE IS OPTIONAL, and NON-BiS
Navigation: Dark Knight BiS
DRK BiS | Discussion | Esoterics Buy Order
I hope you don’t break your back in search of your Dark Knight gear!