Noob: How to use monk special moves?

[darkniteyogi]

Hello, i got a level 9 Dark monk

I usually use the Wind strike that does 2d6 damage and uses 6 Ki with the Dark strike that does 1d20 damage (1-50 on critical) and uses 10 Ki.

I also use the 25% Displacement of the Ninja Spy 1.

Stunning Fist - At 15 Ki, usually too high. And whenever I do use it, it doesn't seem to work or be effective. I read somewhere that they don't work with red name bosses, which are one of the only times that i would need them. Because they havn't been working, i use them less and less, so I can't tell for sure.

Finishing moves - They don't seem strong enough. They don't deal damage.

Different elemental paths: Is it possible to use i.e. water and air strikes in wind stance? Or am i only allowed to use wind strike?

Void strike - Whats the use of 1-4 force damage ?

[jamkriz]

You can use any of the strikes while in any stance...Just drag them to your hot bar. You can even use different levels of the same strike. Eg. If you have wind strike I and Wind Strike II, then you can drag both to your hotbar and fire them off. They are on different cooldowns as well so you can get them out faster if you have enough ki.

Void Line only starts getting useful additional effects from Void II to Void IV. Only reason to take Void I and stop is if you plan on using it in a combo (Void-Dark-Void) or (Void-Light-Void).

[rexservorum]

Stunning Fist - At 15 Ki, usually too high. And whenever I do use it, it doesn't seem to work or be effective. I read somewhere that they don't work with red name bosses, which are one of the only times that i would need them. Because they havn't been working, i use them less and less, so I can't tell for sure.

Mine haven't worked that well either until I have been able to stack on some good Wisdom and an item "of Stunning." It is also around this time (12 and up, roughly) that mob HP starts to rise to the point where they don't just die in two seconds, and then it's pretty useful to be able to immobilize and auto-crit them.

Different elemental paths: Is it possible to use i.e. water and air strikes in wind stance? Or am i only allowed to use wind strike?

Yes, you can use any elemental strike in any stance.

Void strike - Whats the use of 1-4 force damage ?

Not much except that almost nothing is immune to Force-type damage. The biggest appeal of Void Strike is that, at later tiers, a Void Strike that you roll a 20 on will add a neato special effect. At Void Strike 4, it will "erase the enemy from existence" which doesn't count as a death effect and therefore works in epics.

Incidentally, you said that you are level 9. Have you picked up Touch of Death yet? I have a feeling that you will be happier with your Dark monk once you've given it a try.

[darkniteyogi]

thanks alot!

do u guys have favorite combos/finishing moves?

Good to hear that stunning fist does become more useful in higher levels. I thought there was something wrong with my playing style. Good to know i do have ok wisdom.

When i got to level 9, i traded in my old enhancements for ninja spy to have enough for Touch of death. So far, i've only used it a couple of times.. The time I used it on a boss felt good though! I can tell its going to be really useful.

My max Ki without degenerating is 17 currently. Does wisdom affect this?

[rexservorum]

By an amazing coincidence I happened to see this on the front page again, so I can answer those questions too.

Favorite finishers: my monk is light-side so I mainly use the element-light-element buffs or the lightx3 group cure. When I want a little more damage, I like to use the firex3 cone of flame. Not super effective, but entertaining. For you, the water-neg-water (paralysis) or air-neg-air (blinding) could be useful. However, I'm not sure if they work on red-named enemies. Fire-neg-fire (auto-crit, but makes you vulnerable to crits for 3 seconds) would be nice except that the wiki claims it does not work except for the bad part of making you vulnerable.

Wisdom and ki: Wisdom adds to your max ki and determines the amount you get back by using Meditation. It is your Concentration skill which determines your resting ki and degeneration. This page explains all the ki mechanics:

http://ddowiki.com/page/Ki

If I were playing a Dark monk I'd probably save up my ki for Touch of Death and use that on average trash mobs, reserving the curse combos for bosses (provided that they work on bosses - can anyone confirm?).

[darkniteyogi]

thanks again.
just hit level 10. Ohh, concentration. I believe i read that before i made my monk then forgot what exactly it was for. I should put more points in concentration then. I distribute my points between balance, concentration, and jump, with a couple in move silently.. i best be putting 2 in concentration each level. atleast its not too late for this character.

[t0r012]

thanks again.
just hit level 10. Ohh, concentration. I believe i read that before i made my monk then forgot what exactly it was for. I should put more points in concentration then. I distribute my points between balance, concentration, and jump, with a couple in move silently.. i best be putting 2 in concentration each level. atleast its not too late for this character.

max your concentration ASAP.
concentration is what determines how much ki you can hold at any one time. not your max ki but your "standing" ki. if your concentration score is 30 when you get up from a shrine you will have 30 ki. as your ki drains from you after combat it will stop at 30.