some noob monk questions

[phil500]

i have a monk 1 favored soul 2. has taken twf.

what do the 4 stances do? for example, how much DR does the mountain stance actually add? also, does one of the stances make me run faster? how much does sun stance add to str and take from wisdom?

i find using the ki powers pointless since they just interrupt my attack rate. am i doing something wrong?

why do i do so much better with +1 handwraps than with a longsword and a rapier?

[Chukasil]

i have a monk 1 favored soul 2. has taken twf.

what do the 4 stances do? for example, how much DR does the mountain stance actually add? also, does one of the stances make me run faster? how much does sun stance add to str and take from wisdom?

i find using the ki powers pointless since they just interrupt my attack rate. am i doing something wrong?

why do i do so much better with +1 handwraps than with a longsword and a rapier?

Open your char screen (key c) and see what happens with your numbers when you change stances. And if you scroll over the stances they will tell you what they do. As far as I know none of them increase run speed. That is a benefit from lvling as a monk

The two most commonly used stances are:
Wind Stance- more attacks, less dmg per attack
Sun Stance- more str, slower attack rate than wind stance but more damage per attack

As to why your handwraps do more damage than rapiers and ls:
You can't use stances while using those weapons- only handwraps and kama
The way the damage is calculated you get less str benefit from the off hand weapon where there is no penalty for handwraps and kamas
Your natural attack rate is faster with monk weapons, ie handwraps and kamas

If I'm not correct in any point please feel free to correct me as I'm still learning the monk ways.


Side note: In Mod 5 update later this year you will be able to spec your monk so that he/she can use short swords and still get all the benefits of stances and ki strikes.

Oh on ki strikes:
I personally use light while fighting for the extra hp (+1 heals) off the mobs and setting up for the clw finisher (i took light obviously)
The other two I use: ... all this is irrelevant because you only have one lvl of monk and I only use x-light-x and light-light-light finishers.
But I don't see any drop when in attack rate while using fire or air while attacking, but could be wrong.

[phil500]

I personally use light while fighting for the extra hp (+1 heals) off the mobs and setting up for the clw finisher (i took light obviously)

But I don't see any drop when in attack rate while using fire or air while attacking, but could be wrong.

what is "light"? is that something you choose after level 1? what is a finisher?

also on the ki strikes- if im just spamming regular attacks i get a bunch in a row, but when i mix in ki strikes i only get 1.

[Uska]

you can be a light side monk or dark a choice you make at lvl 3 monk light side can get heals, buffs things like remove curse,blindness, lesser restore raise dead. dark side can get debuffs and a big 500pt damage attack I prefer light side myself.

[Sahtep]

Hello,

I guess this should help:
How to start a monk.
Afterwards more information can be gathered here:
About monks
Official monk desciption

Aaaand a bit behind the scene information and discussion
Rough monk guide

Away from this: lesser wind stance increases your running speed a little bit.

Light vs dark
Remember Star Wars? Its a little bit like this. Do you want to be a nice guy or a bad boy

Okay. Just a few things to clearify important things:

Monks are meant for fighting without weapons.
This means they get nice boni when they don't use weapons. Accept for typical monk weapons, which count as bare hand. This includes Kama and Quarterstaff. Also they can use Handwraps - which seems to be logical.

Monks follow "Pathes"
You could devide a monk in three different kind of "Pathes". You can pick one out of them (well, thats not entirely right, at least for the elements but... well, you can read about this in the other guide)
- Elementary Path: Choose between Fire, Earth, Wind and Water. You can also take more then one, but as always it has its drawbacks.
- Light vs Darkness: Choose if you want to support your allies or encumber your enemies.
- Choose an animal path: Clever Monkey? Elegant Crane? Faithfull Hound? Patient Tortoise? Tenacious Badger? Each of this brings boni.

Sound complicated, but is not:
Elemental pathes
Elemental pathes lead to stances, attacks and finishers. Attacks are doing some kind of damage according to the element. They are also needed to "load" the finisher (see below)
Stances are toggles which bring different boni and mali according to the element, as alreade pointed from Chukasil.

Darkness vs Light
These also comes with attacks and finishers. Light finisher usually support you and your allies. They can heal, or increase damage or buff res.
Darkness on the other side damages your opponent or debuffs them.

Animal pathes
These are more or less passiv. The bring different boni and are bound to a stat. The monkey for example gives a bonus to dex, the tortoise to const etc. (there more to it than just a stat boni, check them in the compendium "Way of...")


Finishers
Ever played Diablo II? Remember the assassin? Each element comes with finishers and the dark and light side also adds some. These finishers have to be loaded. For example burst some fire from your hands to deal some hot area damage you first have to use three times the fire attack in a row. Then you can use the fire finisher which creates a cone of fire from your hands.
Another example. If you use three times the "light" attack (which deals pure force damage and adds an aura to the damaged enemy which allowes everyone to heal when attacking this enemy) you can use the light finisher, which heals you and your allies, according to your monk level.
These attack chains are like a code with three slots. There are also finishers which can be activated by different attack combos. At example Fire-Light-Fire activates a finisher which gives nearby allies a +2 morale bonus to attack, saves, and skills for 60 seconds.
This sounds complicated to handle and to be honest, it needs a littlebit of organisation to get the right combo.
BTW: You don't need a slot for every finisher. You have a general finisher icon which shows the current activated finisher (remember, they are coded by attack combos).

Last Point: KI
You didn't ask, but KI is the energy you use to power your attacks. Each elemental or light/dark attack needs KI. Every finisher needs KI. Mostly you generate KI by attacking with standard attacks. Each time you hit an opponent you get 1 KI, 3 for a crit.
<EDIT>BTW: If you use lesser fire stance, you regenerate more KI when hitting an opponent... See where this is going? </EDIT>

Okay, HTH for a short introduction. A monk can be a little bit overwhelming first, but if you read a few guides and if you have no problems with rerolling later, a monk can be really fun to play.