[fiveeauxfour]

Combat

The Monk is a pure melee class, meaning they are at the front line, mixing it up, and not casting spells in any form.

The Monks first role (many would say primary role) is what is referred to as “pulling.” When a creature is encountered, it often is in the company of friends, and it is preferred to fight the creatures in as low numbers as possible, being less dangerous and also more efficient. The Monk excels in breaking a group of creatures apart, using the skill Feign Death, which he can learn at level 17. More on this skill, and pulling, later.

Combat itself is pretty straightforward. Pick a target, and switch on attack. Use your special attack of choice, and then hit it again every time it refreshes (Monks get special attacks at level 1, 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30). Each new attack is more powerful than the last, but they cannot be used in conjunction with one another. Under some circumstances, you may wish to use the level 27 skill Disarm to attempt to remove the targets weapon, and you may also want to use the level 18 skill Instill Doubt to cause the creature to flee from you in fear.

Note: One thing definitely worth mentioning here is two of the starting skills.


1) Dual Wield
Monks start with the ability to use both hands at the same time in combat (the only class that does), however, they also start off with a candle to light the way. If you hold this candle in one of your hands (or any non-weapon item), then you will not attack with that hand, reducing your combat effectiveness


2) Dodge
The first of the defensive skills is available at level 1. However, you do not start the game trained in this skill like you do all the other level 1 skills. Before you can use and learn Dodge, you must visit your guildhall and be trained in the basics


Special Information

Disciplines
Once a Monk reaches level 51, he has access to special skills called disciplines which are level dependant and have long (some longer than others) recycle time.

It is also worth mentioning that the starting timers listed below for the disciplines seem to lower by one minute as you increase in levels. For example, at level 51 Stone Stance resets in 12 minutes, but at 60 it resets in 1 minute.


~Level 51: Stone Stance~
When using this discipline, the Monk will take roughly 1/10th damage from most physical attacks. This discipline lasts for 12 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 12 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.
While this is how Verant described the discipline, in actuality it seems to only cut 1/3rd off the damage dealt.

~Level 52: Thunder Kick~
When this discipline is activated, the next successful flying kick will do additional damage. The base reuse time for this discipline is 9 minutes, and will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 53: Whirlwind~
When using this discipline, the Monk will automatically riposte every attack landed on him by the opponent he is facing. This discipline lasts for 9 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 60 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 54: Voiddance~
When using this discipline, the Monk cannot be hit in melee combat. This discipline lasts for 8 seconds and has a base reuse time of 60 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 56: Innerflame~
When using this discipline, all hits landed by the Monk will be for at least four times the base weapon’s/hand’s damage. This discipline lasts for 12 seconds and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 57: 100 Fist~
When using this discipline, the Monk will be hasted (e.g. will hit much faster). This haste stacks with every other haste in the game, including haste items and spells. This discipline lasts for 15 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 59: Silent Fist~
When this discipline is activated, the next successful Dragon Punch (Tail Rake for Iksar) will do additional damage and have a chance of stunning the target. The base reuse time for this discipline is 9 minutes and will decrease as the Monk gains additional levels.

~Level 59: Ashen Hand~
When this discipline is activated, the next Eagle Strike will do a surprising amount of damage, and under certain circumstances may have a chance to kill the target outright. The base reuse time for this discipline is 72 minutes.


Skill Information

Bind Wounds - Level 1, skill cap = (level +1) * 5
The ability to heal damage received using bandages. This seems expensive at first, as bandages cost quite a lot of money, but at upper levels it is an invaluable skill. From level 1 to 50, the Monk can heal himself or another player but cannot raise anyone above 50% health using this skill. Each bandage will heal (skill level / 4) hit points. At level 51, he can heal up to 70%, and each bandage will heal 80 HPs.


Mend - Level 1, skill cap = (level +1) * 5
Once every 6 minutes, the Monk can attempt to instantly heal himself of 25% of his total hit points using this skill. Success is based upon the level of your skill, and once it reaches skill 101 (at level 20), it will never fail. At lower levels (1-19) it is possible to critically fail the skill, causing you to LOSE 25% health. Though this will not kill you, stopping you at 5 HPs if it would have otherwise caused your death.


Safe Fall– Level 3, skill cap = (level +1) *5
Safe fall is the ability to reduce the damage a Monk takes from falling. While the rogue and bard classes have this skill, they are limited to 100.


Sneak – Level 8, skill cap = (level +1) * 5
Sneak is the ability to move quietly, not alerting your enemies to your presence as long as you can stay out of its line of sight. One side effect of this skill is that you can use it to trade with merchants who would normally refuse to deal with you.


Feign Death – Level 17, skill cap = (level +1) * 5
The ability to pretend you have died and fool creatures into no longer attacking you. This is useful as an escape tactic and to avoid otherwise certain death, but the main use for this skill is in pulling creatures.

Feign Death, a skill Monks learn at 17th level, is quite arguably one of the best, if not the best, skills in the game. With this skill Monks can learn a technique called the "Feign Pull." This technique allows the Monk to split creature spawns up and bring them back one at a time to his group to fight. This allows for more efficient battles and easier pulling later after the spawn spot has been "spaced" properly.


I will be explaining the details of this technique as best I can so that my brother & sister Monks may learn from my knowledge. It should also be noted that the necromancer and shadow knight also get Feign Death but as a spell and not a skill. The same technique can be used by either of them, but I would advise against it as spells have a casting time, can fizzle, can be interrupted, and can also fail just as our skill can.


I would also like to say that the Feign Pull is also an art form. Not everyone can do it, and not everyone can do it well. It takes skill, timing, judgement, strategy, and patience. As with all things, it also takes lots of practice. While the principle of the technique will be the same everywhere you use it, there will be little things you will have to learn in each zone. Not every creature reacts the same way. All areas will not offer the same tactical advantages and NPC creature pathing will not always be the same.