Monk Questions

[macgyver]

I think the new UCS is a blast! Lots of fun, although I understand some prople saying that it could take a while to kill things. I'm gonna take a big leap and try monk as my new returnee class; although, I understand that this class should really be more suited for advanced players. Still, first time for everything!

Questions.

It looks like I should use a held weapon and handwraps etc. for the enchants from both items, but is this wise? I've noticed not many people doing this? And which held weapon should I use? Cestus?

Which race is best suited for monks up to level 100? Was thinking about human or giantman.

what kind of gear should I eventually aim for?

How does the class compare to other classes? I've heard some negative things about monks reading through this forum and the play.net forums.

More questions as I think of them!

[Androidpk]

I think the new UCS is a blast! Lots of fun, although I understand some prople saying that it could take a while to kill things. I'm gonna take a big leap and try monk as my new returnee class; although, I understand that this class should really be more suited for advanced players. Still, first time for everything!

Questions.

It looks like I should use a held weapon and handwraps etc. for the enchants from both items, but is this wise? I've noticed not many people doing this? And which held weapon should I use? Cestus?

Which race is best suited for monks up to level 100? Was thinking about human or giantman.

what kind of gear should I eventually aim for?

How does the class compare to other classes? I've heard some negative things about monks reading through this forum and the play.net forums.

More questions as I think of them!


Barring a high end brawling weapon I would forego holding something in your hand while brawling as it will lower your multiplier modifier which is the most important factor in UAC.

Race is subjective. My monk is a giantman and I couldn't be happier.

High enchant robes (with crit padding) and high enchant gloves and boots. I'm not completely sold on wraps with crit weighting, I'd rather have flares but this could be a personal opinion.

Monks are the least played class and seemingly the least favorite. Their vulnerability to spells is rough but they have an incredible amount of versatility. Rogues and rangers are better at UAC when ambushing from hiding but with open UAC I think monks are better. My current setup foregoes the brawling though and I swing a 2h axe and use stance of the mongoose.

[macgyver]

Barring a high end brawling weapon I would forego holding something in your hand while brawling as it will lower your multiplier modifier which is the most important factor in UAC.

Race is subjective. My monk is a giantman and I couldn't be happier.

High enchant robes (with crit padding) and high enchant gloves and boots. I'm not completely sold on wraps with crit weighting, I'd rather have flares but this could be a personal opinion.

Monks are the least played class and seemingly the least favorite. Their vulnerability to spells is rough but they have an incredible amount of versatility. Rogues and rangers are better at UAC when ambushing from hiding but with open UAC I think monks are better. My current setup foregoes the brawling though and I swing a 2h axe and use stance of the mongoose.

That's too bad. I wonder why they aren't so popular since UCS is a lot of fun. The whole lack of TD must be really rough. What training plan do you have in mind? I'm gonna go for a brawler, probably a short race due to RP,.. will my inability to aim headshots be a game breaker?

[Harkel]

I'm a lvl 46 Dark Elf, and don't aim fully as of yet and I have no problem as of yet. Not worrying about the aiming because I don't think the benefits of aiming right now outweigh the negatives of not having up to 120 (which I'm slowly working on right now).

[Alashir]

I'm going full on mutant mode and teching straight to 120 and 1020 before I grab either cm or moc. My DS is off the charts with triple dodge but I'm getting warded even as a halfling with blues at 20.

Hoping to pull it off around 35

[macgyver]

I'm a lvl 46 Dark Elf, and don't aim fully as of yet and I have no problem as of yet. Not worrying about the aiming because I don't think the benefits of aiming right now outweigh the negatives of not having up to 120 (which I'm slowly working on right now).

I see your end game strategy. But, what I've been noticing is that two spells which potentially look like the most powerful in the minor mental list is unfinished; namely, Telekinesis and Mindwipe. I think mindwipe will ultimately be used to fix Monk's TD problem, just going the other way, that is, lowering the CS of the enemy caster by lowering the caster's level. I see telekinesis potentially becoming one of the most powerful offensive spells in the game. Mainly, being able to hurl objects on the ground while staying hidden, after all why would your hiding place be revealed if you're throwing the object with your mind?

[Maerit]

I see your end game strategy. But, what I've been noticing is that two spells which potentially look like the most powerful in the minor mental list is unfinished; namely, Telekinesis and Mindwipe. I think mindwipe will ultimately be used to fix Monk's TD problem, just going the other way, that is, lowering the CS of the enemy caster by lowering the caster's level. I see telekinesis potentially becoming one of the most powerful offensive spells in the game. Mainly, being able to hurl objects on the ground while staying hidden, after all why would your hiding place be revealed if you're throwing the object with your mind?

But you won't have the CS to land the spell on the majority of your targets. No monk can 1x in spells until post-cap without giving up the more important side of the profession, and you'd lose the most important ability a "square" has - DFRedux if you go a full 1x in spells.

Focus on using non-CS based spells. 1207 is a single-target e-wave that is level based, and not CS based. It will disable most casters for you, and you can jab them in the neck when you're higher level to provide a short-duration silence effect.

A solid training plan is to 1x spells to 1220, then switch to 2x CMAN and get your Minor Spirit from friend clerics and empaths. You're going to want MSTRIKE as a monk, or your kill time will be probably 50-40% slower than any other physical profession.

[macgyver]

But you won't have the CS to land the spell on the majority of your targets. No monk can 1x in spells until post-cap without giving up the more important side of the profession, and you'd lose the most important ability a "square" has - DFRedux if you go a full 1x in spells.

Focus on using non-CS based spells. 1207 is a single-target e-wave that is level based, and not CS based. It will disable most casters for you, and you can jab them in the neck when you're higher level to provide a short-duration silence effect.

A solid training plan is to 1x spells to 1220, then switch to 2x CMAN and get your Minor Spirit from friend clerics and empaths. You're going to want MSTRIKE as a monk, or your kill time will be probably 50-40% slower than any other physical profession.

This seems like sound advice. What about UAF? As a weaker smaller race I'll have a 10~15 point gap in UAF versus the more burly races; will this become a problem eventually?

[Versin]

Also get 24 ranks of ambush and explode heads.

[kcostell]

This seems like sound advice. What about UAF? As a weaker smaller race I'll have a 10~15 point gap in UAF versus the more burly races; will this become a problem eventually?

The way Unarmed Combat works, the gap in UAF will make less and less of a difference the higher level you get. It's similar to reasons enchantment doesn't matter as much for UAC compared with other forms of combat, as discussed in this thread (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?103442-UAC-considerations-enchant-vs-flares-vs-weighting)

[macgyver]

The way Unarmed Combat works, the gap in UAF will make less and less of a difference the higher level you get. It's similar to reasons enchantment doesn't matter as much for UAC compared with other forms of combat, as discussed in this thread (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?103442-UAC-considerations-enchant-vs-flares-vs-weighting)

Interesting, I wonder why then people play larger races for monk especially giantmand and doubly so for elves, what with the negatives to TD. Is aiming for the head that important? Heard vertigo is spammable with each encounter.

[Androidpk]

Sure you can min/max to the extreme but this game can be very forgiving. One person in particular played a warrior that hunted using only scrolls.. IIRC he got pretty far too, past 50 I think. No matter what race you go with you'll absolutely be able to reach cap, especially these days with so many enhancive items readily available. The same thing goes for training. My best suggestion is to adjust your training to how you enjoy playing the game and go from there.

[macgyver]

Sure you can min/max to the extreme but this game can be very forgiving. One person in particular played a warrior that hunted using only scrolls.. IIRC he got pretty far too, past 50 I think. No matter what race you go with you'll absolutely be able to reach cap, especially these days with so many enhancive items readily available. The same thing goes for training. My best suggestion is to adjust your training to how you enjoy playing the game and go from there.

You're absolutely right but I realized it's been so long ago that I've played that this game might as well be my first time. I'm at the phase when I kicked that kobold's guts inside out I get a warm tingly feeling and sense of accomplishment as a player. Yeah, I'm practically fresh. And the nostalgia let me tell yah! Feel like calling up the old crew and playing some D&D; talk about why we're all better off without girlfriends and then laugh nervously about it.

So, I'm not really at that been to cap, got my sword of doom, bought the t-shirt phase like many of you long time continuous players may have been many times over. Therefore, I need a win streak from here to cap to continue the warm emotions as long as I can, dying 100 times a level and yelling at the screen may actually kill those feelings real fast.

[Jeril]

UAF is also a mix of STR and AGL bonus, short races have a negative in the former but a positive in the later. I want to say elves and HK come out on top but that is only a plus like 8 above the average of 25.

I only got my monk up to 17/18 before I got distracted with other alts but I was having fun going 2x cman. A lot of people push for spells early but you need to get up to 1216 for the first big DS boost then 1220 for the other. You aren't going to be able to 1x spells and 3x dodge. Self spelled I faced some DS issues for a bit but around 15 or so they cleared up and that was with 3x dodge and .5 TWC. Without outside help going 1x spells you'd have slightly less DS until you picked up the above mentioned 1216. I think the 2x cman route is more fun but it is all up to you.

[MrMortimur]

My burghal monk just hit level 70 and I've been loving it. The first 25 levels or so a monk can feel pretty weak since your DS sucks, you don't have redux, you can't afford everything you feel you're supposed to train.

If you take advantage of dreavenings you can muddle through the low levels to get to where a monk has some power. I pushed for 1220 at level 20 and haven't trained any spells since. (Though i've considered 103 so I don't have to always ask for a new one from the local cleric/empath) I've continued 3x pf/dodge though at some point I might sacrifice some dodge to get magical skills for the spellburst areas I'm approaching in the next 20 levels. Focused mstrike is awesome and once you can afford the 30,55,90,135 ranks of MOC you can really pummel a creature and speed up your kills.

The uaf maximums for race really aren't all that important though elves/HK do have the highest possible maximum. UAF just isn't the end all since it is the stuff that makes up the MM that is the priority, with uaf being just a small piece of that. I went with burghal to capitalize on what is already one of their strengths, not dying to physical attacks. Burghals have the best maneuver defense and with no armor penalty combined with the ease of training pf/cm/perception/dodge it is very rarely I take a physical injury. I'm always surprised when I come back from hunting with a minor now.

Also with the improvement to mstrike working with UAC, I'm glad I have one of the fast races. I have enough focused strikes now that I benefit noticeably from my high agidex at this level. Being kinda weak I run surge with 100% uptime. I currently only use burst when it is off cooldown because of stamina costs but I'm nearing the point when I can keep them both up 100% to benefit from the additional second RT reduction from burst and the free DS from the agility.

Because I never get hit at this point I run 1213 for reduced stamina costs over 1216 and I trained in telepathy instead of transformation for the same reason. I'm not sure what I'll do at cap however.

But for the low level monk, 1216+1220, small statues, and dreavenings will get you through. If you see some 5x robes or some 4x decently crit padded robes for a good price those would be your best investment. Flaring gloves, prefereably with a t1 ensorcell, would be next priority imo. The flares are fun and you'll proc gloves more often than boots. Enjoy! I myself enjoyed the flavor of monks even though it is/was slower to other characters I've played.

[macgyver]

Interesting points. Also, I'am going the defensive route with monk. I don't see monks becoming the 'one-shot' hunter like rogues so focusing on their strengths (defense) seemed prudent. From my research this leaves three basic categories; physical attacks, including as/ds based spell attacks, CMAN attacks, and warding attacks. The first two monks seem to dominate and the last I may choose halfling to strengthen my TD.

The real kicker is, after studying these builds and classes, I keep thinking to myself, why not go rogue or warrior and be as defensive and use UAC but also have the option to use other weapons, be a hide/ambush striker, wear plate for the CvA, have access to the rogue/warrior guild for a tsunami of awesome abilities or pick my own boxes etc. What? So, I can make my forearms bony?

[Androidpk]

Once you get a chain going with rolling krynch you can easily 1 hit kill.

[Gnomad]

You aren't going to be able to 1x spells and 3x dodge.Not for life, but you can definitely 1x spells and 3x dodge til 1220. That's what I did, then filled in to 1x MOC/2x CM after the fact. 5 ranks of MOC are fine for the first 20 levels.

[macgyver]

Quick question, the wiki says the monk is the only class where training for growth and training for points don't matter. So, when making a monk should I just aim for 100's at cap?

[SpiffyJr]

Quick question, the wiki says the monk is the only class where training for growth and training for points don't matter. So, when making a monk should I just aim for 100's at cap?

It says that because Monks are MTP tight whereas their prime skills are PTP. You can set for growth and do perfectly fine from 0 to 100 (more so than other classes, I'd say).

[Donquix]

also perfect self makes stats placed for growth a lot easier to deal with.

[macgyver]

Do monks get a "get out of jail" card like paladin's beseech? Do they even need one?

[sentral]

are you running slippery mind?

[Androidpk]

Do monks get a "get out of jail" card like paladin's beseech? Do they even need one?

They don't have one.

[macgyver]

They don't have one.

Strange, doesn't every class get a "uh oh I screwed up" pass?

And not planning on running slippery mind. Should I? Thinking about getting TD robes + ensorcell + halfling bonus.

[Androidpk]

Strange, doesn't every class get a "uh oh I screwed up" pass?

no, at least not on the scale of 1635