>>120565013It can work just fine if you know what you're doing, just don't expect Ailing Slash to do as much on a Dark Hunter as it would on a War Magus due to their crappy TEC, unless you reclass a War Magus into one(which will make them slow as fuck, but still able to use most of their stuff close to as effectively and survive hits easier).
You don't need both a Swordhunter AND a Hexer though, which is why most people use a whip one instead, though that's more for Ecstasy than their binds themselves, since these kinds of parties often have tons of ways to inflict binds so a DH can worry about using Snake Eyes and Ecstasy more often.
I'm not a big fan of using protectors defensively in this game, outside of things like Heal Guard and element walls, which are always useful. Shield Smites come out FAST and a Protector has the best combination of VIT and TP to make use of them both effectively and often. Also the arm bind lands often and the attack debuff is almost always going to come in handy.
You're better off sticking a Beast somewhere if you're trying to keep a party alive, though a Protector's Keep Guard and Heal Guard make a Protector good to have around with one anyhow, of course you can use stones for those if you want. One thing I really like about Keep Guard with a Beast covering the party is that since it lasts 2 turns, you can use the other turn for a shield attack while still protecting the thing. Another neat thing covering with a Beast has going for them is that it gives a consistent target adjacent to your Dark Hunter to activate Baits with, practically ensuring you'll get the maximum number of hits with one if the thing is forced to tank a full party attack.
