Dark Knight Tank Gear and Best in Slot — Endwalker 6.4

This section will lay out specific best-in-slot gear configurations for Dark Knight. These builds are current as of patch 6.4 and include sets for max-level content as well as suggestions for older ultimate-difficulty encounters.

Both the 2.45 and 2.50 sets are viable and have near-identical performance, but the 2.50 set is generally recommended for ease of play and a slightly higher damage ceiling. The 2.45 set requires a bit more attention to keep offensive cooldowns rolling exactly as they become available.

These specific GCD speeds are chosen because they align well with 60- and 120-second cooldowns and should minimize rotational drift. For more detail on how Dark Knight utilizes each stat, visit the melding and stat priority page linked below.

Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by acquiring the current raid tier's gear. A guide for the content can be found links below.

These gearsets are for general use at level 90.

This set is the recommended setup for both performance and user-friendliness, and can be utilized well by all other tanks.

General substat priority is gollowed with the exception of one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination. This substitution is shown in the headpiece, but can be done on any other slots that won't overcap on Determination as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu.

This set is recommended for those already comfortable with playing at 2.45 GCD or who wish to keep compatibility with a faster set on other tank jobs.

This set follows the general substat priority with three Skill Speed melds used to achieve the desired speed. These melds are shown in the neck and the raid ring in order to require as little adjustment from the 2.50 set as possible, but can be done on any slot that would otherwise meld Direct Hit.

These sets are for those needing to maximize their damage output in order to clear the savage tier on the first or second week.

For those wishing to run 2.50. Buying both the tome boots and the wrist for savage release requires capping tomes on the week of normal mode release.

Both the crafted boots and wrist have natural Skill Speed rolls on them, so avoiding both is necessary to hit 2.50. If you lack tomes, the normal raid drops for those slots are acceptable alternatives. Exceptions to the general meld priority are to Direct Hit IX meld replaced with one Determination IX and one Tenacity IX, shown here in the head, and one Direct Hit X replaced with Determination, shown here in the hands. As always, the location of these substitutions are flexible, provided that you avoid overcapping on a given substat.

For those wishing to run 2.45. Damage output is near-identical to the 2.50 set, and comfort should be the primary concern when choosing between them. Buying both the tome wrist and earrings requires at least some farming of tomes on the week of normal mode release.

This set follows the general stat priority except for one Direct Hit X replaced with Determination and two Direct Hit IX replaced with Skill Speed, shown here in the head, and one Direct Hit IX replaced with Determination, shown here in the neck. As always, the location of these substitutions are flexible, provided that you avoid overcapping on a given substat.

These sets are specifically for The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) with an ilvl sync of 635. Because much higher ilvl gear is required to cap out both substats on syncing down, these sets are currently unmodified patch 6.2 savage sets; they are subject to change with the eventual release of customizable relic weapons and ilvl 635 dungeon gear.

This set is highly recommended for maximum damage output, ease of use, and excellent alignment with various mechanics in the encounter.

General substat priority is followed with the exception of two Direct Hit melds replaced with Determination and one Critical Hit meld replaced with Direct Hit (or one each of Direct Hit and Critical Hit replaced with Determination). These substitutions are shown on the weapon and earring, respectively, but can be done on any other slots that won't overcap on the chosen substat as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu.

Using Baked Eggplant as your food will provide slightly more max HP but will not result in any additional damage output due to stat tiering. Characters of Seeker of the Sun, Midlander, or Sea Wolf clans can replace the Abyssos Ring with un-augmented Lunar Envoy's or augmented Rinascita with two Direct Hit melds and ignore the substitution of one Critical Hit for Direct Hit for slightly higher damage output and slightly lower HP.

This set has slightly lower damage potential and does not align as cleanly with mechanics, and is recommended only if you are already accustomed to playing at 2.45.

General substat priority is followed with the exception of two Direct Hit melds replaced with Skill Speed and one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination. These substitutions are shown on the weapon and second ring, respectively, but can be done on any other slots that won't overcap on the chosen substat as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu.

Using Baba Ghanoush as your food will provide slightly more max HP plus a tiny bit more Critical Hit rate and damage. As with the 2.50 set, Characters of Seeker of the Sun, Midlander, or Sea Wolf clans can replace the Abyssos Ring with un-augmented Lunar Envoy's or augmented Rinascita with two Direct Hit melds and ignore the substitution of one Critical Hit for Direct Hit for slightly higher damage output and slightly lower HP.

These sets are specifically for the Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate) with an ilvl sync of 605. With the release of higher ilvl gear that can sync down well, plus the Lapis Manalis dungeon as a source of ilvl 605 gear, slightly stronger sets have become available for this encounter. These new sets represent a marginal increase in power, and old sets will be listed for ease of acquisition.

2.45 is the recommended GCD for DSR as it aligns nicely with each phase. This set represents the current theoretical maximum for gear with patch 6.4 and may not be as easy to obtain as the older sets. Use an Asphodelos Claymore or ilvl 615 or 630 relic if you have not cleared the fight yet; the relic is theoretically stronger by a negligible amount.

General meld priority is followed with the exception of one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination and one Direct Hit replaced with Skill Speed. These are shown on the weapon, but can be done on any other slot that won't overcap on the given substats as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu.

This set has similar theoretical output to the 2.45 set, but tends to miss GCDs at the end of uptime phases. It is not the main recommended set as a result, but the difference in practice is still quite small. As with the 2.45 set, this represents the theoretical maximum with gear that is more difficult or tedious to obtain for a small boost in performance. The same options for the weapon apply here as well; use an Asphodelos Claymore or Hildebrand relic if you have not yet cleared the fight according to whichever is easier to obtain, or the relic if you have access to both.

General meld priority is followed with the exception of one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination. This is shown on the weapon, but it can be done on any other slot that won't overcap on Determination as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu.

This is the recommended set for DSR and aligns nicely with each phase.

General meld priority is followed with the exception of one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination. This is shown on the weapon, but it can be done on any other slot that won't overcap on Determination as a result, indicated by red text in the melding menu. If you have cleared the Dragonsong's Reprise already and have a weapon from the fight, use it with Direct Hit melded in the third slot.

You may opt to use an Augmented Classical Ring of Fending instead of its un-augmented version with one Critical Hit and one Skill Speed meld. This gives a tiny bit more HP with a negligible hit to DPS.

You can also replace the Classical Ring with an Augmented Radiant's Ring of Fending, and the helm with an Asphodelos Circlet of Fending. Meld one Critical Hit and one Skill Speed materia in the ring and two Critical Hit materia in the helm. One Direct Hit meld must also be replaced with Skill Speed elsewhere. This option adds slightly more HP at the cost of about 0.2% DPS output.

This set has similar theoretical output to the 2.45 set, but tends to miss GCDs at the end of uptime phases. It is not the main recommended set as a result, but the difference in practice is still quite small.

Stat priority is followed except for one Direct Hit meld replaced with Determination and one Critcal Hit meld with Direct Hit, shown here on the weapon and head. Alternatively, simply replace one Critical Hit with Determination in the feet.

These sets are specifically for the Epic of Alexander (Ultimate). The DPS requirement for the encounter is much easier to meet currently than on release due to potency and system changes, so simply using synced CRIT+DET gear with enough CRIT+SkS pieces to reach your desired GCD speed is perfectly adequate. The last- and second-to-last steps of the Bozjan resistance relic offer customizable substats and can be significant boosts to your damage. Allot no more than 184 points into each substat for optimum efficiency.

TEA syncs to ilvl 475, and synced gear must be item level 595 or higher for maximum value on both substats. You can check your stats under an item level 475 sync by queuing into Eden's Verse: Furor (Savage) with the Unrestricted Party and Minimum IL options enabled.

The weapon, hands, feet, earring, neck, and wrist listed must be exact, but the other pieces are just examples; any gear above the optimal sync threshold with the same substats will perform identically.

These sets are specifically for The Weapon's Refrain (Ultimate), abbreviated by the community as UWU. The DPS requirement for the encounter is much easier to meet currently than on release due to potency and system changes, so simply using synced CRIT+DET gear with enough CRIT+SkS pieces to reach your desired GCD speed is perfectly adequate. The last- and second-to-last steps of the Bozjan resistance relic offer customizable substats and can be significant boosts to your damage. Allot no more than 136 points into each substat for optimum efficiency.

UWU syncs to ilvl375, and synced gear must be item level 500 or higher for maximum value on both substats. You can check your stats under an item level 375 sync by queuing into Alphascape V2.0 (Savage) with the Unrestricted Party and Minimum IL options enabled.

This set is intended for compatibility with the UCoB set and does not require re-allocating stats on the relic to switch between them. Other than the gloves, the exact pieces used are just examples; any gear above the optimal sync threshold with the same substats can be substituted at no loss. Replacing the gloves with a synced CRIT+DET piece as well is a negligible DPS loss.

If you do not have a Bozjan resistance relic weapon, simply use any weapon with CRIT+DET on it. Additionally replace the chest or pants with a synced CRIT+SKS piece if you wish to run a 2.45 GCD rather than 2.50.

These sets are specifically for The Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate), abbreviated by the community as UCOB. The DPS requirement for the encounter is much easier to meet currently than on release due to potency and system changes, so simply using synced CRIT+DET gear with enough CRIT+SkS pieces to reach your desired GCD speed is perfectly adequate. The last- and second-to-last steps of the Bozjan resistance relic offer customizable substats and can be significant boosts to your damage. Allot no more than 127 points into each substat for optimum efficiency.

UCOB syncs to item level 345, and synced gear must be item level 470 or higher for maximum value on both substats. You can check your stats under an item level 375 sync by queuing into Sigmascape V2.0 (Savage) with the Unrestricted Party and Minimum IL options enabled.

This set is intended for compatibility with the UWU set and does not require re-allocating stats on the relic to switch between them. Other than the gloves, the exact pieces used are just examples; any gear above the optimal sync threshold with the same substats can be substituted at no loss. Replacing the gloves with a synced CRIT+DET piece as well is a negligible DPS loss.

If you do not have a Bozjan resistance relic weapon, simply use any weapon with CRIT+DET on it. Additionally replace the chest or pants if you wish to run a 2.45 GCD rather than 2.50.