Quote:
Originally Posted by Splorf22
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Realistically though, I can't think of a good reason to play a Shadowknight over a Monk until monk AC is finally nerfed in PoP. Monks actually tank better than SKs, do way, way more damage, can hold aggro decently with the adamantite club if they choose, have a much easier epic, and can FD instantly.
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I can see why you would say that, and I'll agree that monks are totally overpowered, being comparably good tanks and with a far superior DPS. It's fair to assume that besides far superior DPS, with block, they have superior damage mitigation too.
However, I think saying they render SKs useless is going a stretch too far:
1. I believe SKs have more total HPs than monks. This is capital for CHs.
2. While Mend certainly is worth a shitload of HPs at max lvl & well geared, it hardly compares to the amounts of HPs a 60 SK full mana/under C2 can tap between vampiric embrace, vampiric curse and lifetaps, + possibly some nice proc (Zealot Incarnadine Sword, or Epic) + a rune spell; IMO.
Let's assume a SK is Ogre/Troll, not even DE or some smarter guy, and with average gear, it's safe to say he has 2000+ mana (my ogre is 58 and almost at 2000). On a rough pull, let's assume you keep 500 mana for aggro purposes (DC being 10 and SV 40, 500 is large). That means you got 1500+ mana to spend in lifetaps when shit happens. Vampiric Curse is 144 mana and will net you 189 hps, let's assume you get the time to cast it twice on a rough fight, 288 mana and so 378 HPs earned already. 1500-288 = 1212 spare mana to spend on Drain Spirit, the lvl 60 lifetap spell. That's enough to cast 6.4 times the spell, so assuming you had C2 when you started the fight, we can say you could cast up to 7. Drain Spirit heals for 226 hps. 226 x 7 = 1582 hps earned through direct lifetaps.
So we're at 1582 + 378 = 1960 HPs. That's without any procs accounted for, which will easily net you 500+ more HPs if epicce'd, and vampiric embrace of course.
Mend doesn't come anywhere close to healing that much, and is on a 6 minutes cooldown. All those tapped hitpoints are saved mana for the healer in a rough pull.
3. SKs have spells. Monks don't. From a "Is this class fun to play?" perspective, SKs are more competitive IMO.
4. Monks can't snare, rune or cast other utility spells the SK brings to the table (locate corpse, resist cold, what have you.)
So, I could be wrong and obviously since I play a SK I'm biased, but I objectively think saying there's no point to play a SK is pushing it too far. I love my SK and I think they're absolutely competitive tanks, even in raid situations - especially if warrior discs are down, although it's obviously in group content that SKs and pallies shine whereas warriors shine in raids.