Dark Knight: Guide by Raenryong/Logic of Equipment

=Introduction=

DDing is not a simple task. Many equipment pieces, and the stats on them, are incredibly situational, and whereas anyone can make a mediocre DD, it is useful to know game mechanics and use logic to decide your equipment choices. We will talk about the logic behind gearing for certain tasks.

THIS WILL BE CONTINUED SOON.

=TP Phase=

Preface
At maximum potential, it is often said that; Haste > Accuracy > Attack > STR ... However this is not necessarily true. Haste, while very powerful, is useless without the Accuracy to support it, and STR is not as useless as people make it out to be, even for TP phase, for example. Let us consider each stat in turn.

Haste
Increases DoT dramatically; faster hits without a reduction to TP gained per hit, allowing for quicker attacks (greater melee DoT) and more WSs. This is what is known as an INCREASING RETURN stat: the more Haste you stack, the better it gets proportionately!

Accuracy
Increases DoT by allowing you to connect more hits (greater melee DoT) and hence produce more WSs (due to more TP gained). This is what is known as a DECREASING RETURN stat: the more Accuracy you stack, the worse it gets proportionately! That's not to say don't use accuracy, but don't neglect other stats for it.

Attack
Increases melee DoT by possibly increasing pDif (damage multiplier) -- a very good stat if you can get it in large quantities, smaller quantities often will do little. It does not amplify the rate at which you gain TP though, making it secondary to Haste and Accuracy in terms of increasing overall damage. This is what is known as a DECREASING RETURN stat: the more Attack you stack, the worse it gets proportionately! Again, don't neglect it, but don't sacrifice other stats for it. Deciding between this and accuracy is challenging sometimes. Attack becomes better proportionately as STR becomes better.

STR
Increases melee DoT by possibly increasing "base damage" (also may increase pDif if there is enough). It does not amplify the rate at which you gain TP though, making it secondary to Haste and Accuracy in terms of increasing overall damage. Contrary to popular belief, STR is not always secondary to Attack regardless. Having a good amount of STR is essential for creating heavy damage, though 2handed weapons benefit more tangibly from Attack; nevertheless, don't take 5 Attack over 3 STR or something. This is what is known as a STATIC RETURN stat -- but with a plateau. You will get proportionately equal returns as you add STR, until you hit the fSTR cap where your returns will sharply decrease. STR becomes better proportionately as Attack becomes better.

Double Attack/Triple Attack
Haste is better than adding these unless there is a large amount of these stats, because hitting faster gives you more hits for Double Attack or Triple Attack to proc on, so in the end you have the same impact but Haste also helps you when a Double Attack or Triple Attack does not proc. Accuracy does the same but to a slightly lesser degree, making it slightly superior to all but large values of this (Brutal Earring for instance). These stats however can be better than anything but a large value of STR/Attack.

Delay Reduction
Delay reduction, such as that found on Sword Strap or Suppanomimi is not as potent as Haste since it actually reduces TP/hit, reducing WS frequency and hence potentially reducing your overall damage. It is for this reason I do not recommend Sword Strap for Dark Knight, where less number of hits to 100% TP is especially important.

Store TP
This is useful if it takes you one less hit to 100% TP, useless otherwise.

Other Considerations
Meat or Sushi? Whereas Haste is better than Accuracy for overall damage, if X amount of acc will allow you to eat meat, it's a huge damage boost compared to sushi; worth losing some Haste for. For this reason, it is best to consider substituting slots which cannot get a lot of Haste; Ring slots can only get a measly 1%, so it is wise to bulk up on accuracy here (Rajas Ring is still an incredibly good ring here though). Other slots which cannot have Haste added include the ammo slot (Fire Bomblet), the Neck slot and others. Chaos Gauntlets +1 are incredibly nice because they have an insane amount of accuracy where you would only lose 2~4% Haste from that slot; an incredibly good compromise!

Conclusion
Building for a DD is not a simple task. There are many considerations, and this may vary by mob. However, here are some guidelines; To conclude, experiment, and don't be afraid to try different builds!
 * Build for meat if you don't have to compromise your gear too much
 * There is no such thing as too much Haste if your other stats don't lack because of it
 * Use an accuracy ring, not a STR one (Rajas Ring is an exception)
 * Gear is situational! Carry different builds for different areas if possible
 * Gear to reach an "x hit" build if you don't have to sacrifice too much for it: the less number of hits to 100% TP without it impacting your accuracy/haste too much is better