Is the Monk for me?

[phaseout]

Hello all I am back after a few years away from the game. I solo alot and Duo occasionally with a friend. I was really interested in playing a Monk but I have read some negative things about them although the Class description lists them as very good soloers. Have they been made better recently or are they still tough to play.

Also I read that its not worth it to make them without having access to a 32 point build. Should I even bother or should I just make a cleric to get the favor up and then make a monk.

Thank you

[Denssor]

Hello all I am back after a few years away from the game. I solo alot and Duo occasionally with a friend. I was really interested in playing a Monk but I have read some negative things about them although the Class description lists them as very good soloers. Have they been made better recently or are they still tough to play.

Also I read that its not worth it to make them without having access to a 32 point build. Should I even bother or should I just make a cleric to get the favor up and then make a monk.

Thank you

Welcome Back!

32 point build will help, but isn't necessary. Some people might say the 32 point is the only way to go, but at end game you won't even be able to tell the two apart unless both players tell you thier stats.

If you build and play your monk right, you should be able to solo/duo just about any quest at an appropiate level. I have never tried to solo any of the Vale quest with my monk, but I know he can solo the Vale (explorer area), and the GH quest without any problems (besides the times I roll a 1...).

And as far as those "negitive" comments, most of them come from players who never even played a monk before or it's about DPS and just another reason why monks need GS handwraps.

[arcsonist]

by far I think one of the hardest classes to make because you need to distribute your points and tailor it to your play style so 32 points does help in the lower levels so you can access stance and feats. good solo class for healing, ac and saves good dps if built well gs handwraps would be great so you can have access to tier 3 speacial attacks instead of using lousy kamas and quaterstaffs. When I frist tried the class I rerolled twice before I decided on the final product.

[twoton]

monks are a great solo and duo class. Most peoples problem with monk dps is based on 2 raid bosses and since you solo and duo mostly you wont have to worry about these guys.

the important thing is you build a monk with GTWF in mind, also I believe a str based monk in windstance is best for dpsing foes down. Some of the most important stats for a monk are str, dex, wis, con. anything else is a waste. Any decent built monk doesnt need CE for ac their wis ac makes up for it and then some.

[Shaamis]

Point distribution, and FUN are going to be the keys to your monk's success.

If you dont mind the DPS barb/rogue/ranger getting all of the kill count glory, that's a good sign you'll enjoy your monk.

You have to decide the path your taking with your monk (str or dex, high or low wis, kama, HtH, or big stick, twf or other, etc,) and you almost have to pre-plan your stats for 20th level if you want your monk to be the way you want.

Finally if you arent having FUN playing your monk, you'll probably re-roll before 9th level which is really when monks begin to get good.

Good Luck

[phaseout]

Thanks for all the info guys. I think i'm going to give the Monk a shot. Just need to decide between elf and Human. Out of curiosity how difficult is it to respec later on if I make a mistake?

Also, does anyone have any good solo/duo build suggestions or able to link a good place to get Monk builds.

Thank you

[Sweyn]

Monks are extremly great at lower levels at soloing. (I can't say for higher lvl's as my monk is only lvl 7) But with a very high reflex save, 47 ac, not bad to hit, i'm pretty much immune to everything except stuff like scorching ray and stuff your can't block or save. So far monk is really fun. A lot of people don;t like monks because their dps isn't up to par with a ranger or barbarian.

[Garth_of_Sarlona]

From my experience, monks are also more inclined towards twitch gamers. You need to be 'pushing a lot of buttons' to make best use of your monk.

My rule of thumb is - if you're playing a STR based melee class already, and you're not already making full use of the free feats you get (I'm talking Trip and Sunder, hitting them every time they cycle) then you might not enjoy the button-mashing based combat of playing a Monk to full potential.

Your mileage may vary. I love playing my monk, but there's a lot of very Bad monks out there that sometimes can give the class a bad rep.

Garth