Monk Twink Guide

[DevGrousis]

Originally Posted by nicemace [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

ROTLC at level 1 if youre a boss like me.

Whats ROTLC?

I ended up w CoT tranq staff before i got greatdanes advice, and then i got the quivering staff and never looked back. Once i hit lvl 20 and the dmg cap comes off, i assume my situation might change and some higher dmg 1 handers might be better? or am i wrong, and only a 2hander will beat quivering staff?

[Spacebar]

For the next step up, I'd imagine 2h would be Peacebringer and 1h Jade Mace/Knuckle Dusters.

I'm using JM/KD's right now at 43 and they are definitely better than Wu's Quivering at that level. But one thing you should consider is that at lower levels you will have a lower chance to hit with your offhand weapon. Also, I'm betting that JM and KD's will go down in price by the time you hit 35 or 40+.

At these higher levels the main thing you should consider regarding 2h vs 1h (especially if soloing) is weight. Remember that the shown ac is not a monks actual ac sometimes. The last patch lowered the min ac for all monks to 14. Which means any weight over 14 will result in an ac penalty. And this isn't exactly shown correctly in the ac figure shown in your character window.

Basically, Wu's is heavy. So, at higher levels you might want to switch to some 1h's unless you can get an IFS (4 weight) or a 2h with a high enough damage output to justify the weight.

But it's also situational. In groups, 2h is nice if you aren't tanking because they draw less aggro and you shouldn't be getting hit so ac isn't important. If you are tanking, 1h draw more aggro and you get better ac, so.....

[DevGrousis]

Brialliant reply, Spacebar.
/end post lol

Yeah, i'd been seeing the JM/KD combo in game and was actually wondering about that. At what level do you think that combo would start to over take quivy's dps?

How effective are monks as tanks. How do they compare to conventional tanks (pal sk war), and what techniques should you know as a monk tank in order to keep agro since we dont have taunt or magic?

[Spacebar]

I'm not entirely sure, but i think the JM/KD combo always beats Wu's Quivering, especially after you start getting damage bonuses. But, it's just not a big difference at lower levels (below 30).

It's more a matter of value for money. At low levels you aren't going to get all the benefit of JM/KD and other weps are better for the money. Right now, you can likely get JM between 3k-4k and KD for 2k-3k, so you can probably get both for about 5k. Where as a Wu's Quivering can run you less than 800p sometimes.

Anyways, I'm not sure at what level the JM/KD combo becomes significantly better, but I got them at level 35 and switched from my Wu's then. I noticed a good increase in my overall dps. Also, I tend to solo a lot due to offpeak times, so the lower weight is nice.

As far as tanking, monks can do ok except for the aggro thing. If you are duoing with a shaman (which is a great idea), you will do fine holding aggro by yourself. But in a group you might need to have a caster root the mob and just get close. My chanter grouped with a monk who tanked in Seb at the king camp and he did great. I also duoed with a monk while leveling in CoM and I'd just popped rune on him and slowed things. He had JM/Adamantite Club combo and i could tash and slow at 85% and not pull aggro most of the time, which i sometimes cringe at doing even with a warrior tanking.

[aresprophet]

Wu's Quivering is a great weapon with two drawbacks: until level 10 it's a 10/28 weapon, and at 10 pounds you're sacrificing AC if you have any sort of bags or non-0.1-weight gear. HBC, Azure Sleeves, Gem Inlaid Gaunts, Kobold-Hide Boots and several bracer options come to mind. Also shuriken. It's still a great weapon and the price can't be beat. The pre-10 drawback is temporary, but a humble Bamboo Bo Stick will outperform it until then. Good to have one of those if you let your 2HB skill fall behind. IBC, otherwise a great low-level weapon, has the same weight problem. But Wu's Quivering will outdamage your JM/KD combo until damage bonuses get substantial; the point of that combo is to abuse the low-delay primary damage bonus, and that's 0 until level 27. Also, higher dual wield skill = more offhand swings.

Large Soiled Bag is your friend. Food, shurikens, and bandages weigh nothing. Runs about 1k, you can sometimes score a free one in SolB since they're lore.

Wu's armor is better than cloth, but that's about all it has going for it. Strength gear, in my experience, goes further than AC on a soloing monk. Fire emerald golden bracelets are good alternatives to Wu's for Iksar. But for shoulders, legs, feet, and waist you're pretty much limited to either Wu's or hideously expensive items (Iksar Hide Boots, FBSS, Sarnak Hide Leggings).

[Baa]

The wu's is great (and a bargain) but I find the weight to be the main drawback. I mainly duo with my shaman friend so I usually get him to act as my backpack. However when I was soloing I found that I couldn't not get my weight below 20 and this was with either the quivering staff equipped or in my EE bag.

I have just swapped over to JM/KD combo from trance/trance and it has been a significant improvement and I would say dmg output in the mid 20's is above that of wu's quivering.

The downside of using 2h I found found especially when you are fighting mobs close to your own levels is the misses / low hits can really hurt. At least when dual wielding the number of hits usually offsets that I find.

For now I have banked the quivering staff until I can afford a 100% WR bag to fit it in while grinding, plus the JM/KD combo is amazing.