Which Velious Armor Set for a Monk?
 

The Kael armor set (which drops in WToV) has higher AC. The Skyshrine armor set (which drops in HoT) has lower AC but higher stats, HP, and saves.

It seems like, in general, HP and saves matter more since I shouldn't be taking hits, but if things go poorly (eg, a warrior goes down, and I'm holding aggro until order can be restored), AC might matter more. But I'm also not experienced in high end raiding and gearing for a monk.

Which is better?

Thanks!

A good monk will have swap gear. For every situtation. Along with clickys.

Overall, I agree. I definitely keep resist gear to swap in, have lots of clickies, etc. However, given limited time and resources, I don't expect I'll be able to get both armor sets soon. Also, if my premise was correct (that maybe AC is better in emergencies), then swapping armor sets wouldn't help because by the time I can fully swap out, I might have lost half my health.

If you have specific situations in mind where one armor set would be better than the other, though, I would love to hear them!

Didn't monk. So really have good info besides always plan for the worst and be ready to quick swap before you engage. And even then you are only a meat shield for the clerics to get out.

Consider where your stats will be with buffs. Maniacal Strength gives 68 strength, Focus of Spirit gives 67, and they stack (if you receive Strength first); so that's 135. So you only need 120 with gear to max it buffed. Maybe the Kael stuff will give enough.

Then again, it would be nice and convenient to only need Focus. Is 188 str unbuffed a realistic goal? I've never built a monk before.

Also, how important is it to get str from 240 to 255 buffed (for instance)? Will you or your guildmates notice the additional DPS? I think playing well, paying attention, having your consumables/clickies ready, managing your buffs, jumping around the corner for AEs on mobs where that's necessary, etc are going to have more of an impact. You can never have so much gear that you can play lazily.

Stats have very little meaning in Everquest, the difference between 200 Str and 255 Str is nearly undetectable.

AC on the other hand matters. You should always go for the highest AC option available to you with whatever HP to AC trade off you consider acceptable. Most of the Skyshrine and Kael sets are not upgrades over very cheap AC gear you can buy for your Monk at level 1. Either Arm is a slight upgrade over Azure Sleeves, you need 1 bracer (not necessarily to weak although for Iksar you may well do) for the Pouch effect.

The rest is garbage.

skyshrine legs are very good before raid gear and will have eternal value for the clicky

bracers from any set have eternal value for the clicky

skyshrine arms are the best arms in the game aside from spirit-wracked cord

there is no reason to get thurgadin/kael pieces unless you simply want the bracers or legs in your bag for the clicky

The Skyshrine legs are just too low on base AC to be good despite the HP. The Kael legs have more value and their lower weight does give them an edge over Oiled Greaves despite the loss of AC.

The Skyshrine Arms are really not better than Kael, which has Ac4 more for a loss of Hp10 and Sta3. So at most 22hp for 6AC worn. Of course the Skyshrine are considerably easier to faction for.

I imagine magic resist and HP are pretty important for monks; I imagine resisting roots and blinds and shrugging off nukes during inc is rather helpful.

You should expect to mitigate with the best of them with sufficient AC though.

Is p1999 in the softcap of 289 worn system? If so, what exactly are the post cap 'minimal returns'?

hp and resists are king for a monk sorry m8 ur actually just wrong