Well I hope to make Master Wu's Trance Sticks last into the 40s or 50s. I expect this weapon to kick some major butt once I hit lv35 and can proc.

Just have that "FD off aggro" macro ready =P

AC has diminishing returns at some point, especially in a group where you are getting AC buffs. I solo 95% of the time and I can say 100% without a doubt that AC makes a difference and +str, +mr is barely noticeable. You have to have pretty high MR to resist consistently. I simply don't fight casters, they are a pain in the ass.

I've experimented with AC a few months ago. I picked a blue con mob out and let him damage me while nakid, half my armor, and full armor. Timed how long it took to go from 50% health to under 20%. The biggest return was nakid to half, but there was still a noticeable improvement putting on the full outfit. If you have done the same and have had different results, then maybe I'll do it again just to prove my first experiment wasn't a fluke. Maybe I'll do it again and post my results here.

How useful would FBSS be on a Monk?

It increases the rate you do damage. Very useful, almost as useful as the weapons you swing.

Well I changed my equipment a little bit. Instead of Wu's cloak and sash, now I have a FBSS and a Hierophant's cloak. How am I doing now equipment-wise?

In order of priority:

1. Haste (by far the most important - nothing has a greater impact on dps)
2. HP/AC/Resists (situationally interchangeagle)
3. Raw attack (not many items give this - gobbie earing/epic and spells)
4. Str (this has more of an impact on dps that people think)
5. Sta (especially if pulling/tanking - hardest to raise)
6. Dex (for proc'ing)
7. Agi (maginal AC return - and not the same as worn AC)

Weight penalty (the amount of AC you lose per stone over weight) gets much hasher as you level. Don't be too concerned < level 20. (loot whatever you can). The limiit goes up when you reach certain milestones (55, 60). The client on P99 is bugged, so don't believe what it says, but use it as a guideline. For example, at 60 the client doesn't show any AC loss until I hit 25 stones, this is not correct. The sever actually does the AC calculations and lowers it once you get over 22 stones. There is a general concensus that AC doesn't work as well on P99 as live, however I firmly believe this is overstated. I see a noticable difference in tanking when I am over limit.

The wu's quivering is definately the best bang for the buck at lower lvls. I would say focus on ratio only in lower levels. Take procs into consideration, but they are inconsistent. As you get higher lvl, the damage bonnus on main hand will require you to consider using a faster weapon in mainhand over ratio. Offhand is always about ratio. T-staff is pretty golden and a lot of fun, but expensive. It will be your "go to" weapon later, especially for raids. Also keep in mind the damage cap on lower levels. An IFS in the hands of a lvl 10 is a waste.

Two one-handers have a lot more push than a 2hb. Keep this in mind for casters.

I think Bruman said only good piecesmof Shiver are the arms and feet. I would also say that the hands are awesome until epic and you need the wrists too. We have crappy choices for wrists (especially Iksar) and you will need the resists.

Learn to sneak pull and body agro.

EVADE MACRO
/pause 5, /attack off
/do ability x (x being the FD ability)
/do ability y (y being the sneak ability - more effective on mobs over level 35)
/stand
/attack on

Keep in mind that the /pause, even though it is in the beginning of the line, actually happens at the end. You can throw in a disarm ability if you want to raise it. Just leave out the /attack on. I highly recommend using the half-second pause. I also think adding the sneak in will VASTLY increase the chances of full memory wipe and not just the instant agro loss from FDing. The biggest thing about this macro is while it will work when you have agro, you should actually be mashing it all through the fight BEFORE you get agro. I don't see enough monks doing this.

That's all for now. Enjoy the class. IMHO it's the most fun in EQ!

Granted, I never solo. I'm always in a group, so my concerns are just what matters most when splitting / pulling. MR is king in that regards, as root / stun is what will kill you more than anything.

As for your experiment, it'd really depend on the gear itself. If any of it was hp/sta gear, then of course it'd take longer to kill you. What you need to check as a true test is how much a mob hits you for as your AC level changes.

Kinda surprised noone has done it yet hehe. Or maybe they have, and just haven't been public with the results.

I started to do this yesterday. Went Nakid, and added up all the slash hits from a freeport guard. Then I did it with all my armor. To be honest, the first 30 hits, nakid I actually took less damage. I was quite shocked. But it's a small subset, when I have more time, I'll try to get a large set of results to confirm. So you may be right on AC. I'll eat crow, I've done it before =).

Yeah, people have said that AC is largely irrelevent on this server, but nobody is providing any numbers to support or refute it.