Which priest class best for duo-ing with monk in the current environment?

[PhoenyxT]

I'm trying to decide which priest path to take with my wife's new monk.  We will duo 95% of the time together, only occasionally joining groups.  Our primary playstyle is duo-ing together without relying on other classes for assistance.  Killing things fast is always nice, but ultimately we care more about not dying and dealing with the penalties and delays of doing so.  (That said, I know that in many MMOGs, the best defense is ability to kill as fast as possible.)  From our playtime before when EQ2 first came out, I know that it's hard to avoid group encounters, and I know that monks are weaker at holding group hate, so I'm guessing that as the priest I will need to be able to deal with aggro that I attract. So with all that preamble, what do you think?  I've seen Fury vs. Warden debated hotly in all the searches that I've done, and I've seen Shaman-based classes mentioned too.  Especially with all the flak about recent changes to both Furies and Wardens, is there a clear winner for duo-ing with a Monk now? I appreciate any advice you can give. <div></div>

[ShashLigai]

Based on the info you provided below, I'd say go with Fury. Between the fury's buffs, heals and offensive abilities you should be able to duo rather nicely. As an added benefit, with a tank-healer duo, you should have no problem picking up a DPS char to assist you when you need it.

[Rrawl]

<P>I'd have to agree that fury would be my pick for what you're describing as well. I'm not saying that fury is the best healer for a monk, I'm not getting into that debate. Honestly, it's more about hwo well they know their class and play it then which class they are.</P> <P>However I can comfortably say that I believe furies have considerable dps ability for a priest, and in a duo situation like you describe, I'd agree with the previous poster that this would probably be the most entertaining combo for your situation.</P>

[x0rtrun]

/agreefury for the win<div></div>

[Cyngii]

<DIV>Fury is definitely a nice duo character.  Honestly though I would pick whatever healer fits her play style the best as any healer will be able to keep you alive.  IMO monks are pretty dang beefy right now and wouldn't say any healers have a problem keeping me up.  The only issues really (especially with a duo) would be against casting MOBs but that's it.  My typical duo is with a 2nd monk and we can do up to level 61 heroic named.  Personally i like both the druid classes and shamans (although i haven't seen a defiler in a month+).</DIV>

[dread du]

I duo a warden with my friend's bruiser (high 40s) and we can take out stuff very well, safely and fast.  I understand some differences between bruiser and monk, but i'd like to point out my biggest problem with our situation.  Burst DPS grounds my buddy(fighting a triple up, and if they get like 4 hits in a row he tends to die), and sets the mob onto me.  we then just kinda chuckle and get back to killing.  frankly, I've considered shamans as the better alternate, since they can block the damage upfront, rather than after the damage spike drops my buddy... it is amazing how fast a light armor tank can avoid all hits for the entire duration of a triple up fight... and then drop in 15 seconds the next fight. <div></div>

[Aberi]

<DIV>im lvl 52 monk and i play since lvl 1 with my doughter. she is atm a lvl 52 mystic. its a great combo to have a shm slow and heal or dps dealing with you. but atm we  have also a mage with us for great dps. so the xpies are flighing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i think mystic are the best class with a monk  same like in eq 1 before.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Abe</DIV>

[ios_]

<DIV>I ve found duoing with defiler to be effective and safe, in that case monk does most of the dps.</DIV> <DIV>Fury is also fun to duo with and faster as well.</DIV> <DIV>I believe it is more a matter of choice from ur wife<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oh btw necro is the BEST duo i ve ever done taking down yellow 3 arrow ups with me tanking<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Cyclepinsett]

<DIV>My boyfriend and I duo all the time, He plays a fury.  I enjoy the str/agi buffs and the added DPS- we started our characters out together and at level 60 we are still a good pair.<BR><BR>The only thing I would mention is that with their AOE's they tend to be aggro magnets and since we are best as single target tanks we have to work extra hard to keep aggro over a group of targets.  No biggie- just hold off on AOE's until she feels like she has aggro. </DIV>

[Quijonsith]

I play both a monk and a templar.   As a templar I've always loved brawlers as tanks because thier self haste and duel wielding makes our utility healing go off constantly.  As a monk I've had every healer class healing me.  Well played, any can do fine.  Templars have some niceities for defense.  Inquisitors bring a lil more DPS and alot of haste.  Wardens provide steady healing (and quite fast healing when well played) plus roots.  Furies have steady healing like wardens along with alot of DPS for a priest.  Defilers and Mystics bring along the ever-nice "healing scaled perfectly with damage" but it can get rather scary to go fight after fight without seeing my health move then suddenly I'm yellow if a lucky hit lands when the ward is down.  They bring some very nice debuffs aswell.  Just like I recommend to people deciding on what healer they want to play, I'd say it's all up to your partner in what style (s)he wants to play.  I'm a big fan of choosing classes based on style.  Have fun.  ^_^

[Uth]

<DIV>I play a monk (my main) and a fury alt and i can say furies rock!</DIV> <DIV>A friend of mine started a warden and i helped him out some time, mentored him and it was also a great duo.</DIV> <DIV>My wifes char is a mystic, also a nice combo, but i would prefer fury or warden/monk combo.</DIV>

[boarde]

<DIV>I'd say Fury is the best class I've duo grouped with out of any other class with my monk.  I'd go on justifying it but the others have already nailed it.  Very functional healing class for smaller groups..  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Ironfist</DIV> <DIV>Lvl 54 Monk</DIV> <DIV>Permafrost</DIV>

[Merecra]

Fury without a doubt in my experience. Tonight my wife (who plays a Fury) and I managed to duo the Emperor Fyst epic event in DFC whilst everything was still green to us ( am level 50 monk, she is 47 Fury). Things got a little hairy when we had the initial 4 heroics on us, but Fyst himself was pretty easy for a x2 mob. It took us about 10 minutes to kill him, but Furies have excellent power-management abilities (in fact my wife still had around 80% power left at the end of the fight - manastones are useful <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ).

[BruenoB]

I cannot speak about the fury / monk duo combination as I have little to no grouping / duoing experience with that combo myself.  However, I CAN speak to the effectiveness of mystic / monk duo.  My wife is currently a 55 mystic and I am a 56 monk and we have duoed nearly the entire way and will do so all the way to 60.  We can easily take most single ^^^ heroics and multiple ^^ heroics at the same time.  Her buffs are very nice for us and the wards on a monk work out very well.  I guess from reading this thread that most lean to fury / monk but I would wager mystic / monk is a close second. 

[KnowH]

<P>I've duo'd with most of the healer types.  Here are my impressions (in no particular order):</P> <P>1)  Fury - Nice buffs (more str type buffs), additional bursts of dps...</P> <P>2)  Warden - Good heals/regens, nice buffs (more agi type buffs)</P> <P>3)  Inquisitor - Good aresenal of heals, mantains mana well (I believe they regen mana as we use it)</P> <P>4) Templar - Templars tend to buff mitigation and some of their heals rely on the target using mana, which isn't really the best for monks</P> <P>5) Mystic - Well, I only ever duo'd with a mystic that was heavy into debuffs and not so much healing, so I'll refrain <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>I don't claim to know all of the ins-and-outs of these healer professions, these are just some of my observations while duoing with said class.  Overall, I think it depends on how the character is played and how you work together.  Monks take burst damage, so the healer has to keep that in mind and not burn the big heals all the time.  The ability to manage mana is critical since you're going to be duoing and will most likely encounter long fights against big mobs.  A monks ability to hold agro using auto attack with our dragon stance line kind of makes it tough for Templars, for example, who rely on us using mana.  Each class has its own specialities, so I recommend choosing your class based on what you think you'd like to play and go through the list of spells with your wife, get her feedback on what she thinks would help.</P> <P>Haha, I just re-read all that, sorry my thoughts are so disjoint.</P>

[Quijonsith]

<DIV>Templars do not rely on one using mana.  We get one spell in T6 that heals that way.  We have reactive heals that rely on the someone getting hit, a couple of utility healing spells that rely on you hitting the mob (which I find great for monks), and one utility heal that relies on the mob hitting you (note this last one is not reactive, it's a 20% chance of getting a heal instead of taking any damage if the mob hits you).  </DIV> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by Quijonsith on <span class=date_text>12-23-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:22 AM</span>

[KnowH]

<DIV>/shrug</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yeah, I don't play a templar, so you'd know better than I would.  I just recall getting beat down pretty bad when my mana was low while grouped with only a templar as a healer.  Like I said, though, it all depends on how the character is played and how well you work as a team.</DIV>

[Quijonsith]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> KnowHao wrote:<BR> <DIV>/shrug</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yeah, I don't play a templar, so you'd know better than I would.  I just recall getting beat down pretty bad when my mana was low while grouped with only a templar as a healer.  Like I said, though, it all depends on how the character is played and how well you work as a team.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Nail on the head.  All depends on how well the char is played and how well the team meshes together.

[Supernova17]

I hate healing Brawlers with my Templar. I prefer a Druid at my back when playing my Monk. That is all I have to say <span>:smileywink:</span> Descartin, 60 Templar Nevian, 56 Monk Kithicor <div></div>

[Rrawl]

<P>I've tanked for groups with only one healer of every type. I've been impressed by _the right_ players in every class and their ability to keep me in the green. Any healer played well will be able to keep up the healing end of things in a duo.</P> <P>Your typical group can be busted down to three main factors (not the only thing that works, but typical):</P> <P>1. tank to hold aggro</P> <P>2. healer to keep tank alive</P> <P>3. damage output to slay the enemy</P> <P>Since you've got 1 and 2 covered, I'd suggest Fury to maximize the 3rd element for your duo.</P> <P> </P>

[Pari]

I've been in groups with 2 healers and died, I've been in groups with 1 healer and survived. It all depends how good the healer knows his class and if he is fully there or half afk chatting with his friends while the group dies...

[Harpax]

My wife plays a fury and we've had plenty of success in the game so far.

[Sa'meria]

<DIV>I would have to agree with most here by saying furies, </DIV> <DIV>Wardens are right there with them though. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Since I started playing a deflier I would think they would do a good job too.</DIV>