Concentration ?

[Anklenibbler]

ok from what i have seen everyone pretty much makes sure to take 20 skillups in this.

is there a benefit from taking enhancements/wearing an item to get it higher?

anyone done any research on what an optimum amount is? *as in skillup and item to X then just keep using skillups and dont think about it anymore*

[Quijonsith]

I make it a point to carry the highest +concentration item I can wear and keep my concentration skill maxed. This affects your minimum ki, meaning the lowest your ki will degrade to if you're not spending it. It's also how much you start with after every rest. Now that I've gotten it over 30 I can start every dungeon with aligning the heavens just before the casters start buffing the group.

[Anklenibbler]

thx much, what i was looking for

[Greydeath]

Concentration is useful, but it does not need to be maxed - just typically not any more important Monk skills.

Between Capstone, Items, Enhancements & CON it is possible to have zero (0) ranks in Conc...

[hu-flung-pu]

Concentration is useful, but it does not need to be maxed - just typically not any more important Monk skills.

Between Capstone, Items, Enhancements & CON it is possible to have zero (0) ranks in Conc...

Holy Mother, Mary an' Joseph! And an Erin go Braugh for good measure. You brought out the Irish Catholic in me, I'm not Irish, or Catholic!

Ki is a monks lifeblood, the more of it you have, the more cool "ish" you can do in the class and more often. Not ONLY that, but the higher your concentration, the slower your Ki degrades. Meaning, you don't have to meditate before a big fight to get the finishers off in time.

That's like telling a caster "You don't need spell points, you've got wands".

[Quijonsith]

Not ONLY that, but the higher your concentration, the slower your Ki degrades.

That I didn't realize, though now that you mention it I have noticed my Ki degenerating slower and wondered why. I thought it was just from leveling.

[swansor]

Concentration is useful, but it does not need to be maxed - just typically not any more important Monk skills.

Between Capstone, Items, Enhancements & CON it is possible to have zero (0) ranks in Conc...

Say what? Sure it's possible. It's also possible for a cleric to to not once cast a heal/buff spell. But ***? Why bother playing a monk if your not going to do the nifty special stuff?

Seriously, if that is how your playing a monk why not just go WF/FvS with max dr and max str? If your just looking to attack seems like a better mix to me.

[Halock]

Aside from your passive amount of ki that you can hold, ki degrades on a multiplier of your conc.

At up to double concentration, you lose 1 per tick, at triple conc you lose 2 per tick, and so on and so forth.

A 20 pure monk with capstone, will also be able to passively store up to double concentration score, average is probably around 40 (average) wihtout trying to hard, so not losing ki below 80 is great, and losing 1 per tick up to 120 is even cooler.

This and oremi's are a large part of why ki is almsot a non issue at higher levels.

[Uska]

The more KI the better


more concentration=more KI

[smilinJ]

my monk was the first character I made and the first that I got to lvl 20. I honestly admit I was a complete noob when it came to "builds" and such and as a result I underestimated the importance conce so that at lvl 10ish when I left my chosen path I totally stopped putting points into it. at lvl 20 with monk serenity i had mid 20s conc and couldnt do anything with my ki without smacking up some mobs or meditating first. a guildy told me he had 29 points spent in conc so i decided to do a lesser reincarnate to redo skill points. but I was still only able to put 1 point in conc each lvl. neither my prementioned friend nor I understand why so I decided to ask here. Are there any race restrictions or ability score minimums required to spend more then one point per lvl in conc?.. sorry for the paragraph and life story but the monk is my fave and i really want to get him right

Quaichane Kane ~~20 monk of Ghallanda~~
Azterath Leaflicker ~~15 ranger/2 rogue of Ghallanda~~

edit -- btw i should get Brownie Points for finding a related topic to post in instead of making another junk thread .. hehe jk --

[Timjc86]

ok from what i have seen everyone pretty much makes sure to take 20 skillups in this.

is there a benefit from taking enhancements/wearing an item to get it higher?

anyone done any research on what an optimum amount is? *as in skillup and item to X then just keep using skillups and dont think about it anymore*

I would keep concentration maximized as a skill.

A concentration item is useful, but it should not be your top priority. Grab one if you've got a free spot for it, don't worry too much otherwise. One item worth noting is the Shintao Cord (which can be paired with Kyosho's Ring for one of the best ToD set bonuses) which has +15 concentration on it, in addition to its other benefits.

I wouldn't spend enhancements on concentration unless there was nothing better to get. I think I ended up taking the first rank of concentration enhancements after they gave us the first tier stances for free - there just wasn't anything better to spend that point on.

As a dark monk, I like having at least 50 ki so I can get Touch of Death on timer ASAP.

[Sir_Chonas]

Concentration = Base Ki.

Your base Ki is the highest number at which you are no longer passively losing ki. You'll find this number out by meditating, then just standing still not punching anything for a while. You'll notice a (-#) next to your Ki amount. As the negative parenthetical number decreases to 0 you are drawing closer to your base ki.

The higher your base ki, the lower your passive degeneration rate of ki.

Therefore, unless you never use ki strikes, you want concentration to be the highest possible (all other things equal). However, you shouldn't raise your int or multiclass rogue to raise this skill because the marginal benefit of raising concentration a little is outweighed by the benefit of monk 20 with the 4 main stats high (str, con, wisdom, and dex).

[Mirra_of_the_Long_D]

smilinJ-

For max ranks in a skill you can put up to 4 skill points in a skill at first level, and at every level after that you can put only 1 point into that skill. The max ranks in a skill at any level is 4+(current level-1) (so level two is 5 max ranks, lv three is 6, etc). If you were to skip a skill at one level you could then put more than 1 point into it at the next level up, assuming it does not exceed the 4+level limit. Class and Int score determine how many skill points you have available to spend. Hope that answered your question.

[Ode1st]

Concentration is extremely important for a monk, especially a light path monk. More ki/slower degrade means faster heals, buffs, and a faster and more frequent wholeness of body.

[smilinJ]

smilinJ-

For max ranks in a skill you can put up to 4 skill points in a skill at first level, and at every level after that you can put only 1 point into that skill. The max ranks in a skill at any level is 4+(current level-1) (so level two is 5 max ranks, lv three is 6, etc). If you were to skip a skill at one level you could then put more than 1 point into it at the next level up, assuming it does not exceed the 4+level limit. Class and Int score determine how many skill points you have available to spend. Hope that answered your question.

thank you Mirra you answered my question perfectly.. so to cap it off at lvl 20 the max amount of points that can be spent in any one skill would be 23? is what i am at before mods so guessing i did ok

[Mirra_of_the_Long_D]

.. so to cap it off at lvl 20 the max amount of points that can be spent in any one skill would be 23?

That is correct. To get higher than 23 you will need to use items, enhancements, or feats.

[The_Duck]

It is very helpful to enter a dungeon and instantly be able to setoff aligning the heavens before the buffing starts without meditating (water - pos - water - finisher).

I believe you need roughly 25+ concentration base for this.

[Mattix]

I am at work now, so I cannot double-check. Isn't aligning the Heavens a finishing move? If it is, don't you have to damage a mob with the water-pos-water combo before you can use it? How can you use a finishing move right away in a quest before fighting a mob?

[shadow_419]

Nope, you can just punch at the air but it is a finisher and helps with sp usage for buffers.

[Arel]

I carry around a +10 Concentration Ring to put on just before I enter a dungeon (if I remember). This allows me to pull off an Aligning the Heavens for buffing, and still have some ki to get a FoL or Lighting strike off at the start of a battle. After AtH is 'cast' however, I switch to my Superior Potency 1 ring for the extra Healing Ki boost.... At least till I (someday) get a ToD ring