FS and Monks

[Kylric]

I'm enjoying both at the lower levels...

Just a quick opinion question, are both good at higher levels for soloing as well? Yes, I will group as well, but mostly going solo.

thanks for opinions.

[t0r012]

For a FvS the answer is an unequivocal , yes. Awesome solo period.

For a monk it depends on the build and your definition of solo.
If you "solo" with a hireling then yeah you can solo just about anything you want pretty easily.
If you are a purest like myself and don't consider hires solo then you need to build for self survivability.
I have a high healing amp light monk that can solo just about anything on her first life. High amp + fist of light (3-6 hp per swing ) + healing ki finisher (appox 100 hp per "cast") + lesser vampirism wraps (2-3 hp per swing , depends on stance/gear/ship buff status) is a ton of incoming pretty much limitless healing.
Added to stuns , dr breaking , all the other shintao goodies , monk saves a/improved evasion. Means darn near unkillable.
So long as you can keep punching things.

[Uska]

For a FvS the answer is an unequivocal , yes. Awesome solo period.

For a monk it depends on the build and your definition of solo.
If you "solo" with a hireling then yeah you can solo just about anything you want pretty easily.
If you are a purest like myself and don't consider hires solo then you need to build for self survivability.
I have a high healing amp light monk that can solo just about anything on her first life. High amp + fist of light (3-6 hp per swing ) + healing ki finisher (appox 100 hp per "cast") + lesser vampirism wraps (2-3 hp per swing , depends on stance/gear/ship buff status) is a ton of incoming pretty much limitless healing.
Added to stuns , dr breaking , all the other shintao goodies , monk saves a/improved evasion. Means darn near unkillable.
So long as you can keep punching things.

I can solo much more easily on my monk than any other class I play and I do mean solo I don't drag some gimp hireling with me they are stupid and die to often

[jbleargh]

Both are good for soloing (meaning without a hireling).

A caster FVS will get things done faster. Gather a bunch of mobs, throw a Blade Barrier and kite till they are dead. Dungeon alert is not a problem when you have wings.

Monks must be a bit more careful and avoid being overwhelmed. You may need to pull mobs, sneak, etc. Brute force in general is not a good idea.

The other big difference for soloing is improved evasion. A monk with decent reflex saves can ignore most traps (even in elite).

Monks are also harder to build. It is easier to get high AC and Dodge, but stats are tight.

I've got a first life 32 pt build lvl 20 human FVS and my main is a 3rd life half-elf light monk (cleric dilly) farming Epic Destinies XP (finally unlocked Fury of the Wild yesterday).

The 32pt FVS is somewhat finished... Additional lifes would give me better DCs and a little more SP, but nothing game changing, IMHO.

The 36 pt build monk still needs to find a +3 dex tome to unlock ultimate wind stance.

That said, if want to solo... IMHO, the best class in heroic lvls and epic hard is still the PM wizard. Instakills, charm, invisibility and death aura FTW.

If you have the patience to deal with hirelings, a full ******** DPS barbarian is also fun to solo.

Cogito ergo doleo

[HastyPudding]

FVS are excellent soloers; buff yourself up, pop down some blade barriers and go to town, then heal up when necessary. Traps might be an issue, but FVS tend to have very high saves, anyway, so it shouldn't be TOO much trouble on elite. Higher level elites might be difficult, but doable. For red alerts, you have your wings, but those are at level 17, and red alerts can be taken care of by your excellent kiting and blade barriers.

For monks, it depends on your PrE. Ninja Spies have excellent damage, but when it comes to survivability, Shintao takes the cake. Slap on some vampirism handwraps, use your healing curse and finisher, spam your stuns, and you're good to go. Elite traps and casters should be no issue to a well-geared monk, and higher level quests make take a little longer than a FVS, but you'll still come out on top because avoiding traps is much easier. Red alerts are something else; you can easily avoid damage or blaze past mobs by using the monk's amazing movement speed, but if you have a red alert as a solo monk you're doing something wrong, as monks are not good when surrounded or slowed.