Originally Posted by
Nairobi
Right, my main alt is a BDK (though it's been shelved for a BrM recently), so I have every desire to see them succeed. The issue isn't so much with their AM being bad, but with the fact that they have no V-scaling. Their AM system rotates around damage taken, which is related to but entirely separate from V. This may actually pan out to be BETTER in t16, given the nerfs to V and the lower overall levels we are seeing on PTR WRT dmg taken (Galakras, for example), but currently they are hamstrung by the fact that they cannot use/abuse V like other tanks to prop up their AM.
The other part of their AM does greatly resemble how a Guardian plays, being that DS is/should be used to retroactively heal up after a large attack. While being self-sufficient is a great thing, it does require you to eat the hit first in order to re-heal it. Blood shield is great at taking the edge off of large attacks, and can effectively raise your EH to ~2mil when doing tank swaps, etc. However, it also gets ticked away by bleeds, adds, and melee/other small attacks, meaning that it's not entirely reliable 100% of the time. Case in point: RaDen.
Again, DK isn't BAD, but someone has to be last, and given their lack of any real raid CD, reliance on reactive healing, high damage taken, and lack of V scaling, most folks put them in that position. Can you clear content with a DK? Yes, of course. Can you clear it with any tank? Again, yes. It's just usually easier to do it with a monk/pal than a DK.