Monk vs bard

[atxken]

Is there anything the monk does better than a bard. To me all of the bard buffs are better. Not sure about dps wise monks might be a little better. Monks can get better ac.
Mainly considering pure classes, for simplicity sake

[FauxSho]

Um...

Hitting stuff bare-handed?

I'm not really seeing the reason for the comparison. I mean, sure, you could describe both Bards and Monks as "support DPS," but the playstyle is completely different.

Neither is "better." If you've already made up your mind that you like the Bard better, then I think it's an easy choice for you to pick one to play, more power to you.

[truetrue4]

I notice monk has nice support like aligning to the heaven for -25% sp cost and walk of the fire for +2 to attack roll, skills, and (saves?). Their ki can be pretty unlimited as long as they hit the enemies or lvl 20 capstone for ki regen.

Bards have limited amount of bard songs but still lot for level 20.

Honestly, I like bards for their bard songs.

[Hjarki]

Is there anything the monk does better than a bard. To me all of the bard buffs are better. Not sure about dps wise monks might be a little better. Monks can get better ac.
Mainly considering pure classes, for simplicity sake

Monks do significantly more melee dps than Bards do and are much more durable.

[hydra_ex]

Bards increase party damage, and can substitute for an arcane in most 6-mans.
Monks do other stuff (such as stun immune), deal more straight up damage than bards, and are more durable.

[Freeman]

Honestly, that's like asking if barbarians do anything better than clerics. The answer is yes, but something tells me we haven't gotten to the heart of what you are really trying to ask.

[Anderei]

Is there anything the banana does better than an apple. To me all of the apples tastes are better. Not sure about the peeling wise bananas might be a little better. Apples can get better cakes.
Mainly considering pure fruits, for simplicity sake

[Bacab]

here is a better question...

When was the last time you saw a Raid LFM that said "All we need is a MNK and we are set" or "A caster a Healer and a MNK and we are ready"?

...crickets...

When was the lat time you saw a Raid LFM that said "All we need is a BRD and we are set" or "A caster a Healer and a BRD and we are set"?

thats right...daily. BRD brings a lot DPS (for everyone) and the ability to wand/scroll heal (please don't wand heal in a raid if you are asked to heal)

Now I will not debate who wins in a fight or who solos better...the answer is MNK hands down.

But as far as who is more useful...9 times outta 10 its a BRD over a MNK.

[Kriogen]

Is there anything the banana does better than an apple. To me all of the apples tastes are better. Not sure about the peeling wise bananas might be a little better. Apples can get better cakes.
Mainly considering pure fruits, for simplicity sake

The best is Kiwi12/Apple6/Banana2 with chocolate dressing PrE.

[victorey84]

here is a better question...

When was the last time you saw a Raid LFM that said "All we need is a MNK and we are set" or "A caster a Healer and a MNK and we are ready"?

...crickets...

When was the lat time you saw a Raid LFM that said "All we need is a BRD and we are set" or "A caster a Healer and a BRD and we are set"?

thats right...daily. BRD brings a lot DPS (for everyone) and the ability to wand/scroll heal (please don't wand heal in a raid if you are asked to heal)

Now I will not debate who wins in a fight or who solos better...the answer is MNK hands down.

But as far as who is more useful...9 times outta 10 its a BRD over a MNK.

I like bards, I really do. I plan to start one up sometime soon myself. However, just because people are more aware of what bards bring to a group than monks, doesn't mean monks don't have anything to contribute.

Granted, bards' main contribution helps everyone in the group, whereas monks' main contribution is arguably DPS. But monks' non-DPS contribution can bring a lot to a group that is aware of it. Aligning the Heavens is 25% SP savings, and supposedly stacks with spellsinger's buff, the downside being its short duration. Also, monks can contribute with CC due to stuns.

Finally, from what I read, you may see groups for one raid waiting on a monk just for their anti-stun buff.

So, what was the point of that comparison? Personally, like oranges and apples both.

[Anderei]

The best is Kiwi12/Apple6/Banana2 with chocolate dressing PrE.

Wouldn't Kiwi13/Apple6/Banana1 give you more? I mean what do you gain from the second Banana? While at the 13th Kiwi you get an improved taste, actually I'd replace even the 1 Banana with a strawberry, since you get the tropic skill from the Kiwi at 6 already. Only mind to start with the strawberry.

[Taimasan]

here is a better question...

When was the last time you saw a Raid LFM that said "All we need is a MNK and we are set" or "A caster a Healer and a MNK and we are ready"?

Tower of Despair raid looking for a light path monk.

[Impatiens]

Monks and Bards are completely different play styles. You can't really say one is better than the other. It's apples to oranges. Bards obviously have some very nice buffs and can even main heal for some quests. Light path Monks also have some very good buffs, Dark path monks have some situationally nice things to buff damage types for the party, but only on mobs that can be cursed and they also do some nice dps. Light path monks do decent dps as well, but with the 500 damage ki strike from Dark path Dark pulls ahead in that department. Bards are nearly always wanted by a group, it's true, but they usually only want one so if the group already has a bard you are probably out of luck. Many groups will take more than one monk though because another beater is never a bad thing. As others have said, you really can't compare the classes. It isn't like comparing a FVS and a Cleric or a Sorc and a Wiz, it's more like comparing a Barb and a Cleric. They are just too different to say.

[Rav'n]

The best is Kiwi12/Apple6/Banana2 with chocolate dressing PrE.

Are you calling our brothers Down Under fruity???

[sinedist]

While both are support classes, you can think of the difference like this:

Where a very well played bard is 75% Buffing & Healing and 25% DPS, a very well played (light) monk is 85% DPS and 15% Buffing & Healing.

It depends on what you want to do.

[Arvess]

Monks have evasion and good saves which makes them good for navigating trapped dungeons and dealing with flame strike and fireball tossing baddies. The abundant step allows them to get to places you otherwise couldn't.

[Irinis]

Wouldn't Kiwi13/Apple6/Banana1 give you more? I mean what do you gain from the second Banana? While at the 13th Kiwi you get an improved taste, actually I'd replace even the 1 Banana with a strawberry, since you get the tropic skill from the Kiwi at 6 already. Only mind to start with the strawberry.

Pshaw... Kiwi13/Mango6/Strawberry1 with ice cream PrE!

[Ninetoes]

Pshaw... Kiwi13/Mango6/Strawberry1 with ice cream PrE!

Uh, Hello?

18Grape/1Blueberry/1Raspberry. It's called the "Fruitsploiter", I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. The level in blueberry gives you flavor synergy with the main casting stat of Raspberry (AWS, or Awesome). The 18 levels in Grape give you all the dual-eating feats for free, as well as Fruitvasion.