Sorry if this has been asked already, but 30 minutes of searching hurts the eyes!!!

[Zaym]

<DIV>Okay, again I would like to thank everyone for their time and patients here as I am sure that its been asked before, but after 30 minutes of searching and reading posts I have still not been able to find a definate answer to my questions.  So, here they are:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <OL> <LI>Is the power-pool for Monk determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Is the chance to hit with our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Is the damage bonus of our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Since Cloth (Very Light Armor) has less mitigation and more avoidance and Leather (Light Armor) has higher mitigation and less avoidance, which is better for a Tanking/Soloing Monk?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be more towards avoiding attacks (high avoidance) or withstanding the attacks (high mitigation)?</LI> <LI>Should a monk carry one weapon of each damage type (crush, slash, pierce) or two of each?</LI> <LI>Does it negatively impact the monks DPS if they wield two different damage type weapons when dual wielding?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing single targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing multiple targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking single targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking multiple targets?</LI></OL> <P>Sorry for all the questions, but as a level 33 monk I have yet to find a definate answer to these questions of mine and feel that I might not be playing my monk to the best of his abilities.  So, any help would be greatly appreciated.</P>

[Cusashorn]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zaymot wrote:<BR> <DIV>Okay, again I would like to thank everyone for their time and patients here as I am sure that its been asked before, but after 30 minutes of searching and reading posts I have still not been able to find a definate answer to my questions.  So, here they are:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <OL> <LI>Is the power-pool for Monk determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Is the chance to hit with our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Is the damage bonus of our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI?</LI> <LI>Since Cloth (Very Light Armor) has less mitigation and more avoidance and Leather (Light Armor) has higher mitigation and less avoidance, which is better for a Tanking/Soloing Monk?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be more towards avoiding attacks (high avoidance) or withstanding the attacks (high mitigation)?</LI> <LI>Should a monk carry one weapon of each damage type (crush, slash, pierce) or two of each?</LI> <LI>Does it negatively impact the monks DPS if they wield two different damage type weapons when dual wielding?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing single targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing multiple targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking single targets?</LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking multiple targets?</LI></OL> <P>Sorry for all the questions, but as a level 33 monk I have yet to find a definate answer to these questions of mine and feel that I might not be playing my monk to the best of his abilities.  So, any help would be greatly appreciated.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P> </P> <P>2. Depends on the skill of the weapon type you're using and the defense value of the mob.</P> <P>3. Strength determines damage bonus for everything in the game.</P> <P>For the record, if by "Punches and Kicks" you mean our combat abilities, then it depends on the difficulty of the monster.</P> <P>4. Any monk who intentionally prefers cloth over leather for ANY situation better [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] well know what they're doing.</P> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>6. As far as the casual gamer goes, the majority of mobs in this game arn't really resistant against any of the 3 types, so it doesn't really matter. Now if you're a raid monk, then you'll need 2 of each type because some mobs are resistant against some of them but weak against others.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>7. No. Only depends on the damage rating of the weapon and whether or not its a Legendary weapon so it can hit mobs who are immune to weapons of lesser quality.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>8. Depends on your level and mob your fighting. After level 40, you'll start getting the best of both sides. Just experiment and test out for yourself. Nothing is ever guaranteed with concrete solid proof that one way will work or another.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>9. See 8</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>10. See 8</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>11. See 8</DIV>

[Kota]

well that's a nice laundry list of questions.  you can find most of the answers you're looking for in a faQ.  monks are fighters, and fighter pwr pools are str based.  agi is a [Removed for Content] stat.  i don't know the equation, but a lot of agi equals a lil bit of avoidance.  you can read all day about how to play a monk, but the best way to learn is to go do it.  don't  assume that ppl know what they're talking about.  heck, i had countless ppl tell me to stay away from a certain bar, because the women were all ugly.  one night i went to see for myself, and those countless ppl were wrong. 

[ArcticBlue182]

i thought monks only did crushing damage, so caryying the othe types of weapons would be pointless... also use either DW or 2handed weapons. <div></div>

[ShashLigai]

wow, 30 whole minutes of searching and <EM>reading</EM> none-the-less.. its amazing what these game developers expect us to do now-a-days..

[Coccinea_Maga]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> ArcticBlue182 wrote:<BR>i thought monks only did crushing damage, so caryying the othe types of weapons would be pointless...<BR><BR>also use either DW or 2handed weapons.<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>No, monks can do crushing, slashing and piercing damage.  All brawler fist-type weapons work off our crushing <U><EM>skill</EM></U> but katar/cestii will inflict slashing damage, while cestus inflict piercing.</DIV>

[Cuz]

<FONT color=#ff0000></FONT><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Zaymot wrote:<BR> <DIV>Okay, again I would like to thank everyone for their time and patients here as I am sure that its been asked before, but after 30 minutes of searching and reading posts I have still not been able to find a definate answer to my questions.  So, here they are:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <OL> <LI>Is the power-pool for Monk determined by STR or AGI? <FONT color=#ff0000>STR</FONT></LI> <LI>Is the chance to hit with our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI? <FONT color=#ff0000>Your weapon skill, so Crushing in your case.</FONT></LI> <LI>Is the damage bonus of our punches and kicks determined by STR or AGI? <FONT color=#ff0000>Your attack damage is based on STR, your proc damage can be modified by INT I beleive.</FONT></LI> <LI>Since Cloth (Very Light Armor) has less mitigation and more avoidance and Leather (Light Armor) has higher mitigation and less avoidance, which is better for a Tanking/Soloing Monk? <FONT color=#ff0000>LA for everthing.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk be more towards avoiding attacks (high avoidance) or withstanding the attacks (high mitigation)? <FONT color=#ff0000>By default you are an evasion tank. However, I'm of the understanding that stats give bonuses on a bell curve. Which means that evetually the bonus you're getting for agility gets to be minimal, so switching some AGI stuff to STA might not be a bad plan.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk carry one weapon of each damage type (crush, slash, pierce) or two of each? <FONT color=#ff0000>The more the better, just depends on your pocket book.</FONT></LI> <LI>Does it negatively impact the monks DPS if they wield two different damage type weapons when dual wielding? <FONT color=#ff0000>Not unless the mod is resistant to one of them.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing single targets? <FONT color=#ff0000>I go offense.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when soloing multiple targets? <FONT color=#ff0000>Depends on mobs I guess. Sometimes I like going in offense stance to kill the mage/healer then switch to d-stance. Not sure if actually helps though. I think it's just me trying to be too much of a smarty pants and seeing what I want.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking single targets? <FONT color=#ff0000>Depends on how much healing power I get, the level of the mob I'm tanking, and how quick the mob dies. Don't forget that your taunt stance requires you to actualy land hits.</FONT></LI> <LI>Should a monk be all out offense or all out defense when tanking multiple targets? <FONT color=#ff0000>Same as #10.</FONT></LI></OL> <P>Sorry for all the questions, but as a level 33 monk I have yet to find a definate answer to these questions of mine and feel that I might not be playing my monk to the best of his abilities.  So, any help would be greatly appreciated.</P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><FONT color=#ff0000>The opinions of a monk that is only a dozen of levels higher than you, so take it with a grain of salt.<BR></FONT>

[Jessyme]

<DIV>Regarding weapons, the usual recommendation is to get dual wield crushing weapons (like batons) and dual wield slashing weapons (like Cestii) as mobs may resist crushing or slashing, but not both. Dual wield tends to be favored over 1 handed weapons because they will do more damage then a one hander generally.   Dual wield are favored over two handed weapons because of the better stats one will generally get having dual wield weapons.  Also dual wield had their damage increased in a patch not too long ago.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Strength is the stat that increases your power pool and helps increase your damage.  Stamina increases your hitpoints.  Agility is not the most useful stat right now as it requires a lot of agility to make a difference.  For a very nice detailed breakdown of what stats do exactly, see this post:</DIV> <DIV><A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=6&message.id=24258" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=6&message.id=24258</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Armor:  You should generally be in light armor unless your role is pure DPS and you are really not intending to take any hits.  I know that there are some DPS monks who really like the mana regen robes for when they are DPSing.  However the rest of their gear is light armor, only the robe with the regen is very light armor.  As a general rule, light armor is the way to go.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Regarding stances, as many folks have pointed out, it really depends on the mob and your role. If I am soloing I tend to be in offensive stance most of the time.   If I am DPS in a group, I will be in offensive stance.  If I am main tank I will be in defensive stance unless the mobs are weak mobs or I have really excellent healing in the group.    I have just gotten my first mixed stance, Spider Stance, and I am still working out when to use it, so no recommendations there. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Quijana</DIV> <DIV>Lost Coast Privateers, Nektulos</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>