A monk that doesn't need to tank so much...

[Minoko]

<p>Hi everyone,</p><p>Sorry to not have searched extensively for this topic but I am wondering if there is any advice for a monk that maybe doesn't need to tank so much. I know monks are tanks but the situation I am in is that the people I group with, my guild, has a bazillion tanks. I usually play with Pallys, Zerkers, and Guardians. I rank and all and this is my main so there have been no complaints about the fact that I am not probably using the best class to benefit the group as far as utility is concerned.</p><p>I see many posts about optimizing for tanking but little for dps. I have tried other classes but monk is the funnest of them all. So far I have all 70 points spent in the brawler tree. Think it was Str, Agi, and some Int. Dont have exacts cause I'm at work. I have almost finished the monk tree and dabbled some in the TSO stuff.</p><p>I am determined to play this class for as long as I can because I enjoy it. I just want to be as useful as possible. Again, I usually end up trying to provide dps and support so any suggestions welcome for maximizing that role.</p><p>Sorry, I realize this is not the most cohesive post ever. I welcome constructive feedback.</p>

[BChizzle]

<p>An Epic matching 2.5 delay on your offhand, use one ca in between auto attacks.  Its pretty simple to dps as a monk.  AA wise chi is pretty horrible you'd be better off getting craneflock, I suggest 448 str 448 agi 44862 wis 445 int.</p>

[Blu]

<p>What you're looking for more than anything on gear in order of importance is +melee crit, +dbl attack, and +dps (somebody correct me if I'm wrong here). What you absolutely do not need to favor gear for is +haste. It helps, but it's pretty much the least boost for us since we have so much already.</p><p>One little easy-to-get gem that is sometimes overlooked for dps is the imbued mastercrafted str ring. It procs a large amount of +dps, and it's pretty much guaranteed to be on in longer fights (1.8ppm and 45 sec duration). You only need one.</p><p>Chi is better spike dps, but Crane Flock is better dps overall for group instances.</p>

[Blu]

<p><cite>BChizzle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>An Epic matching 2.5 delay on your offhand, use one ca in between auto attacks.  Its pretty simple to dps as a monk.  AA wise chi is pretty horrible you'd be better off getting craneflock, I suggest 448 str 448 agi 44862 wis 445 int.</p></blockquote><p>I'm curious why you went with 8 pts in DA over MC.</p>

[BChizzle]

<p><cite>Xerq@Crushbone wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>BChizzle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>An Epic matching 2.5 delay on your offhand, use one ca in between auto attacks.  Its pretty simple to dps as a monk.  AA wise chi is pretty horrible you'd be better off getting craneflock, I suggest 448 str 448 agi 44862 wis 445 int.</p></blockquote><p>I'm curious why you went with 8 pts in DA over MC.</p></blockquote><p>Gear, you can mix and match those 2 anyway you like.</p>

[circusgirl]

<p>Gearwise:</p><p>T2 Wilderness Warrior Shard set (3 pieces to receive +4 base CA damage set bonus, buy w/Shards from Moors of Ykesha)T3 Elemental Conqueror's set (3 pieces to receive +4 base CA damage set bonus, Ward of the Elements x2 raid)Bloodthirsty Choker (neck, Shard of Fear)Imbued Tynnonium Ring of Strength (ring, crafted by jewelers)Cloak of Eternal Darkness (cloak from Aiden in WoE, then upgraded at the docks)Signet of the Ethernauts (neck/ear, ethernauts shiny collection reward)Black Heart of Hatred-->Circle of Necrosis (earring, Shard of Hate, often pick-up-raided)Jewel of Animosity (ring, Shard of Hate)Dangling Skull Bone Chip(charm, Necrotic Asylum)gahdash's bangle (ring/wrist, Runnyeye 2)</p><p>Obviously if you raid there'll be a lot more options available to you, but I made the assumption that you would basically have the easier pickup raids, instances, and Ward of the Elements available for gear.  Some others here might have more ideas for nice non-raided dps jewelry, I'm afraid most of my information there is raid-based.</p>

[Minoko]

<p>Thanks all for the suggestions. I did respec but am finding that I am not a fan of proc aoe. It makes me nervous because if and when I do solo or small group stuff I am very tactical in what mobs I pull. It is just my playstyle. The extra aoe is nice sometimes though and I like the knockdown. I am very nervous with reduced defense though so may respec again lol. And chi has been helpful in some circumstances.</p><p>As for gear I don't have access to raid gear just yet because my guild is slowly building up to casual raid and we aren't quite there yet. I never do pick ups so I am stuck with what my friends do which is cool with me. I'm actually about halfway through my epic but we all take turns with helping each other. I am totally at a loss for the offhand weapon though after I get my epic. I bought a legendary something but it has 2.5 sec delay. Would link it but my profile is not showing some of my gear for some reason.</p><p>Shard gear. I got tier 1 but I didnt get the wilderness set. I didn't realize there were two sets I could get. I will have to get that one when I finish my upgrade to tier 2.</p><p>Can't wait till we get to raid!</p>

[Blu]

<p>The aoe proc can be turned off when it doesn't suit your circumstances, which is nice. Just keep it on your hotbar and click it off when you don't desire it.</p><p>A solo spec will be slightly different from a pure dps spec (which is what I assumed you were going for), so if you want to take a few defensive AAs that increase your avoid, feel free. Monks really need 3 AA setups IMO, but the AA mirror only allows 2.</p><p>There are a couple of offhands I'm familiar with that are relatively easy to get:</p><ul><li>Ryjesium Forged Knuckles from RoK CoA (Crypt of Agony - an easy heroic zone), rare fabled drop.</li><li>Voidbrawler's Knuckles off shard misc merchant for 20 shards. It's DR is decent, but it's main advantage is that it has a larger than average ratio, which means it will dps well with a decent melee crit chance. It's also got a lifetap proc, which helps for soloing.</li></ul><div>The monk set is still good for soloing, since it gives you more defensive stats. But you will be much better served with the wilderness set for dps purposes. Work on getting both.</div>

[Jacquette]

<p>Im sort of new at this monkey business but I love . . . LOVE this class!!  I'm working on my shard gear . . . have 3 pieces of the T2 wilderness (gathering shards as I can to get the other three) and all six of the T2 brawler specific and my T4 bracers. I don't have a lot of time to play my Monk because I typically adventure/raid with my healer so I have not been able to gather any T3 gear yet.</p><p>I've read many many threads on AA for DPS and I've tried a couple different variations but one thing I haven't seen, unless Im just looking in the wrong places, is CA order . . . Can anyone suggest a good solid Combat Art order for DPS?</p><p>ANY help will be welcome!!</p><p>Thanks</p>

[Blu]

<p><cite>Jacquette wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Im sort of new at this monkey business but I love . . . LOVE this class!!  I'm working on my shard gear . . . have 3 pieces of the T2 wilderness (gathering shards as I can to get the other three) and all six of the T2 brawler specific and my T4 bracers. I don't have a lot of time to play my Monk because I typically adventure/raid with my healer so I have not been able to gather any T3 gear yet.</p><p>I've read many many threads on AA for DPS and I've tried a couple different variations but one thing I haven't seen, unless Im just looking in the wrong places, is CA order . . . Can anyone suggest a good solid Combat Art order for DPS?</p><p>ANY help will be welcome!!</p><p>Thanks</p></blockquote><p>I don't think much of our CA order is vitally important to dps. It's probably good practice to put debuffs and dots up front, and just skip them if the mob is going to die in only a few seconds. I also like to pair Eagle Spin and Five Rings so that Five rings lands on the mob's backside. After that, I tend to alternate between knockdown/knockback/stun CAs and pure damage CAs to keep the mob not attacking as long as possible.</p><p>I'd like to add that our monk AAs that reduce recast are extremely aggravating for trying to develop a CA order. After the first CA rotation, it's like you're playing whack-a-mole. With all that we already have to pay attention to in raids and TSO content, it's annoying to also have that to contend with. I'm to the point of just putting all my CAs in the order I want in a macro, and just hitting the one button between each auto attack rather than dancing up and down the keyboard because of annoying recast timers.</p><p>Edit: But seriously, I do not <em>really</em> recommend macroing all your CAs together.</p>

[Jacquette]

<p>Thanks for the response! I already pair my Eagle Spin with Five Rings so Im doing something right . . . I'll be changing some things around based on your reply but mostly it's probably going to come down to gear for me . . . my jewelry stinks so I need to find some people to drag me around the world in search of better equipment!! (makes notes of Vinka's list above)</p><p>Thanks again!</p>

[Blu]

<p>Np, and sorry for the tirade about reuse AAs.</p><p>The only CA that I know of where order is important is Combination, which is an AA ability from the Monk tab. It's not widely used since it's damage is pitiful and it requires that 3 different types of CAs were cast just before it. With a 1 minute recast, it's usable about once per fight or less depending on group/raid. Even on long fights, if you have reuse Monk AAs, it becomes tougher to use the second time around.</p><p>We have a lot of CAs that are important to cast at the right time (Tsunami, Peel, Outward Calm), but order is not a major factor for most of them. Debuffs (we have 1, and 2 more from AA) and dots (we have 1) are always best to cast first, unless the mob reflects or something special like that, or the fight is going to be short. On a short fight, debuffs and dots don't have time to give their full effect.</p>