Assets of the monks?

[Granolith]

Hey everyone.
I'm new to the game and still trying to figure out which classes I'd like to play.

I know DD3 pnp pretty well but I was wondering out it translates into the mmo.
For instance, Monks are drasticly different in here with the stances/strikes/ki management and so on.

To those who have a high level monk, how would you describe it in terms of strengths/weaknesses, survavibility and damage dealing?

What do you love/hate about him/her?

I'm a button masher and I like very active gameplays that's why I'm looking into this class.
I already have a hard hitting polvalent bard on the way and think a monk could be something much different.
I'll wait for the 32 points though because they need a lot of stats.

Thanks!

[Tinco]

Monks are the living utility belts among the melees. Dark Monks do good but not stellar damage, have useful debuffs and great defenses. Light monks have great buffs, healing support and stellar cc (again: among melees) and somewhat weaker damage potential.

They are the most mobile class in the game, especially after level 12. Their solo potential is pretty high and they are happily invited into groups on every level.

[DevHead]

Well, if you like an active toon then I highly suggest Monk; you'll have a lot to manage if you build Ki well.

And as for the rest, it depends on how you build your toon. You can build one with amazing Saves/DC and crappy DPS, or have one vice versa....or some sort of balance. I build sort of a balance toon, but her DPS and survivability are both quite good at end-game. I often solo quests and I actually to her to 20 mostly soloing, even though I now run with a guild for end game content.

If you have any specific goals we can give better advice. :)

[FuzzyDuck81]

They're fast, very mobile, have great innate resistances & immunites, can have some useful buffs (whether directly on the party or by debuffing enemies), can get a high enough AC for it to be functional in the endgame areas as well as while levelling & for light side monks especially (with Shintao) they can bypass most DR very easily.

Monk dps capabilities are a little different. With just a regular set of handwraps, they do a good baseline dps (i think vs. crit-immune stuff they come pretty high in the tables) & the highest attack speed especially when they've got the full 2wf line, but dont have as much spike dps due to the 20/x2 basic crit range & multiplier - however with the change to allow 3rd & 4th tier earth stance to grant an extra +1 crit multiplier it means they're better than dual dwarf axes (though str bonuses, kensai bonuses, other stuff etc. on barbs will still make them top instead).

I'm gonna have to start trying some ToD runs to work towards my goal of the yummy combo of 2d12 19-20x3 base damage, plus whatever strength bonus, plus a +5 force burst of bleeding handwraps with holy burst & lightning burst on the rings.

[Granolith]

You summed up very well what I had in mind.

Strong vs fortification (when most TWF toons stay home), highly resilient (best base saves and usually invest in the 3 saves stats, immunities, DR, Spell Resistance \o/, etc), high AC and self sufficent.
Then you can customize DPS/Survavibility to taste with the stats and stances.

Sounds really appealing indeed and from what I saw the combat animations look great as well.

I'll read some more on the forums and might post a build at some point.

Thanks!

[bigolbear]

important difierence between pen and paper monk and ddo monk:

ddo monk flury of blows works diferently - it is 'always on' and gives you a BAB = character lvl, rather than muliple attacks.

ddo monks benefit a lot from two weapon fighting feats - so much so id say they are realy mandatory unless you intend to fight with a staff(uncommon generaly weaker choice) you will need a base dex of 17 including any tomes and lvl up points but not items for the full twf line.

the prestiges (lightmonk - shintao and darkmonk - ninja spy) are very good, for a new player id recomend shintao as they are far easier to gear with a 'boss beater'.

stunning fist is very good in ddo.

[Granolith]

That's good news because the BAB of the monk was sort of a penalty in the pnp; eg you attack a lot but miss a lot as well.


I got a last question in relation with the stances :

Do the bonus/malus on stats stack? It looks stupid so I don't think it's the case but I prefer asking.

For instance,
Wind stance I +2DEX -2CON
Wind stance II +2DEX -2CON or +4DEX -4CON?
Wind stance III +3DEX -2CON or +7DEX -6CON?
Wind stance IV +4DEX -2CON or +11DEX -8CON?

I guess it's the first version because that sounds much more logical.

[Tinco]

First Version. -8 con would be a little funny though I have to admit ;)

Remember that each stance and each stance upgrade is their own ability. So if you get another rank of a stance, make sure to put the new one your hotbar.

[DragonTroy]

That's good news because the BAB of the monk was sort of a penalty in the pnp; eg you attack a lot but miss a lot as well.


I got a last question in relation with the stances :

Do the bonus/malus on stats stack? It looks stupid so I don't think it's the case but I prefer asking.

For instance,
Wind stance I +2DEX -2CON
Wind stance II +2DEX -2CON or +4DEX -4CON?
Wind stance III +3DEX -2CON or +7DEX -6CON?
Wind stance IV +4DEX -2CON or +11DEX -8CON?

I guess it's the first version because that sounds much more logical.



yes, they just add an extra stat into your stance


windstance IV is +4 dex, -2 con

[TorGrimorde]

I think everybody above has covered things nicely. I have a level 20 STR built light monk and he is my favaourite char.

But just for fun....they run fast and can fall off high points without taking damage :-)

[FuzzyDuck81]

important difierence between pen and paper monk and ddo monk:

ddo monk flury of blows works diferently - it is 'always on' and gives you a BAB = character lvl, rather than muliple attacks.



To clarify, this is a little weird - while centered, your effective BAB is treated as being equal to character level, BUT for the purpose of qualifying for feats its treated as 3/4, the same as a rogue or cleric.

edit: amended, thx hobgoblin :) semi braindead at work 2day...

[TPICKRELL]

If you are a button masher style player, then the monk is for you.

Monks at the high end are very gear dependent, so be prepared to grind out gear if you want to excel.

Monks are highly survivable, so are a great vehicle for learning the game, as long as you can deal with the mechanics of the stances, strikes, finishers... Because of the complexity of playing a monk well, they are often recommended for more experienced players... but my first melee toon was a monk, and although it made the learning curve steeper, it made it easier for me later on.

[Hobgoblin]

To clarify, this is a little weird - while centered, your effective BAB is treated as being equal to character level, BUT for the purpose of qualifying for feats its treated as 2/3, the same as a rogue or cleric.

ahem.

it is 3/4s not 2/3rds

hob

[Granolith]

I'm an old school mmo player so I don't fear the gameplay of the monk. I got already how it works, I only need to get used to it.

That's a good thing to know for the BAB thing. It will have a impact in the planner.

One more question: do the halfling get lower damage dices hand-to-hand like the pnp? It seems they evened it out for all races in DDO. (which is a cool thing)

[Tinco]

One more question: do the halfling get lower damage dices hand-to-hand like the pnp? It seems they evened it out for all races in DDO. (which is a cool thing)

As cruel, soulless creatures, halflings do not suffer from small weapons (weapons are unisize in ddo) or diminished unarmed damage.

[elg582]

What monks are is consistent.

Other classes may out-damage a monk against a given opponent, but no other class can maintain high damage against any opponent without completely abandoning any kind of utility or defense.

Light or Dark essentially allow you to specialize against either undead or living targets, not that you lose the ability to fight the other; light monks get extra stuns and utility to help the party, while dark monks get improved defense and a bunch of stuff that is either useless or broken. The defense is awesome, though, and when touch of death triple hits...!

I think that the most important things to realize about monks are that balance is important (beginning stat-wise) and you don't have to use everything the class gives you. Seriously, you can get overwhelmed very quickly, so find what you like, and try out the rest at your leisure.