Quick starting monk guide as of Silver Sword 2.5... - ID: 1353
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This topic was started by Wascalwywabbit on 11/03/2015, 22:19:38
Quick starting monk guide as of Silver Sword 2.5...
Strengths: The monk gains ac faster than any other class for much of the game, and has the special unarmed combat skill which at around mid game does the most damage to a single enemy IF they are in range. Also due to their low equipment needs (and options) they will generally have more item slots open than other classes, which is why they have been called "good pack mules"...
Weaknesses: Very limited range and few ways of gaining any with out severely crippling their damage dealing potential. An example exception is at the start of the game they have one of the best (and most expensive) weapon options until they gain 3+ attacks at level five (which is roughly when unarmed combat should begin). Also, like the other fighter classes of paladin, hunter and warrior, the monk class has no way of dealing group damage for most of the game (at least not yet) which is needed if you don't want to grind to absurdly high levels to get past large groups that can summon or call more into the battle -bandit's cave is the first of these... They also have the lowest hit point gain of all the fighter classes, 8+con bonus vs 16+con bonus. The ac gain rate is not enough to make up for that gap in hp for many situations, such as stun dealing enemies (stun lowers the ac if I recall) and certain magic users and traps (magic by-passes ac and uses sv values instead which the monk has no advantage unless uniquely dwarven vs your other party members).
Because of those unique combinations of strengths and weaknesses a singular monk in a party is best situated in the fourth member slot where he/she can deal their combat strength, or if stunned or otherwise impaired from safety or use in combat, your rear guard/support characters can move up, or your monk, if able, move back as needed. You lose your action including ability to move if stunned for example, so others may need to move forward to get your monk out of danger. In the rear position your monk can recover (with help if necessary) in relative safety. From there, if still in battle, you may: move forward for next round of attacks or to recover your support character, change to ranged weapon (if not already equipped; if it is, attacking then is an option), or as I have used a lot, become healing and supply support...
Filling all those free item slots the monk is likely to have with healing materials appropriate for your level and situation is a good idea to provide support to the rest of your team (and the monk themselves) if ever needed (front or rear). Also if you have bow and arrow, horn or wand users some extra of those may be useful as well, or perhaps a harmonic gem or two, flying carpets etc. In this way your monkly "mule" comes in handy for more than just collecting the junk you may want to sell (or drop if not worth keeping or selling). Obviously trade up non-consumables, or equip/eat food for stat gaining -immediately if in dangerous places or otherwise timely. You can however wait to upgrade stats and equipment in larger batches any time you're in a safe place or grind... Spreading the food around the party is often wise rather than one pig eating it all as I understand it btw...
Save your best runes for the best gloves your monk can wear that you have - because for the monk using unarmed combat it aids when attacking and not just defense that gloves are for all other classes (unless your monk has some other awesome thing to wear on their hands already *wink*). Upgrading the gloves with runes is generally best only when BOTH the gloves and the rune are improved imo - ymmv.
So that's my quick overview for playing a monk in the party based on my experience with the game so far. I hope it expedites some of the learning curve I went through with the monk class for others (and gives a couple other hints along the way for beginners).
Mario has implied in the forums a few neat tweaks to some game elements are in the pipeline so I may update when any of that hits if others don't beat me to it ;). In the mean time read some of the other informative posts by smarter and more experienced players, and have fun gaming. :)
...Wizardz' walk thrus should be more than enough for most with a bit of patience...
...If none of that helps there are more nefarious ways to gain an edge (with a monk et. al.)... Say 65000 hp, bam-done... But keep game center disabled if you need to resort to hex editing, otherwise you ruin scores for the honest, and it's just weak sauce to do that...
What gloves do you like best? I had Zen Gloves but they seemed almost a waste since by the time I found them, my monk had a THACO so low he was hitting everything automatically anyway.
Also, if you put a rune on Zen Gloves, do they affect THACO or AC? I was planning on putting a silver rune on my new monk's knuckledusters and a gold rune on something defensive, like a steel or andursteel buckler.
I'd like to give my thoughts on the best race for the Monk.
Dwarf is the obvious choice, as the to-hit bonus and SV bonus are useful. That said, Monks have gear that grants lots of to-hit bonus, which leaves the SV bonus as the only important part.
I, however, strongly recommend Human instead. The bonus stats every 5 levels will let you hit the first stat cap several levels before other races, and that's important. Monks don't get a ton of HP naturally, and they don't have CN as a primary stat. Thus, they can't get their full allotment of HP per level until after they break the initial limitation of 25 ST and DX and 18 in all other stats. It's not critical for casters, but for a front line fighter who won't be class changing until the expansion (if even then) you need that CN as soon as possible, or really sooner. Particularly if you are playing Modern mode, and don't get to save scum for good HP rolls on level up.
Other races I don't recommend. Barbarians are just strictly worse than Dwarves as Monks. Gnomes and Hobbits have low total stats, and Monks get so much innate AC that the Small racial bonus is mostly irrelevant. Elves and High Men don't bring anything to the Monk class at all.
Just my minor addendum for anybody who has considered playing a Monk but not tried it yet.
TL;DR - Dwarves are good. Humans are better. Other races are not as good.
I haven't tried different races — in my three play throughs my monk has been human. But I agree with this analysis. Because of the low HP, I always chose to up the dex each level up to make them attack sooner and have a lower AC. Then I start raising constitution. I have wondered if I shouldn't concentrate on CON earlier to increase HP.
BTW no one weighed in on the Zen Gloves, so I will answer: Runes on Zen Gloves improve AC and saves. My monk currently has Zen Gloves with an electrum rune, an enchanted gown with an electrum rune, a buckler or forgus with an electrum rune, boots of speed, and a ring of protection. Stance balanced, with AC -124 and THAC0 -88.
I haven't tried different races — in my three play throughs my monk has been human. But I agree with this analysis. Because of the low HP, I always chose to up the dex each level up to make them attack sooner and have a lower AC. Then I start raising constitution. I have wondered if I shouldn't concentrate on CON earlier to increase HP.
I strongly recommend raising CN (and for a caster, IQ) as a top priority. Low DX hampers you for now, but in the end, it doesn't matter if your character just reached 40 DX just this past level or 20 levels ago, your character is just as strong. Low CN costs you all the HP you'd have earned from leveling up with high CN, up until you finally reached 24 CN (pretty sure the HP bonus stops at 24 CN, if not I've gimped my characters). <QUOTE>[quote]
BTW no one weighed in on the Zen Gloves, so I will answer: Runes on Zen Gloves improve AC and saves. My monk currently has Zen Gloves with an electrum rune, an enchanted gown with an electrum rune, a buckler or forgus with an electrum rune, boots of speed, and a ring of protection. Stance balanced, with AC -124 and THAC0 -88.
The Ninja Suit responds to rune enchantment the exact same way.
Thanks for the guide that you share really big help.
I strongly recommend raising CN (and for a caster, IQ) as a top priority. Low DX hampers you for now, but in the end, it doesn't matter [...] Low CN costs you all the HP you'd have earned from leveling up
I get it -- low dex hurts your survivability in the short run, but that's what comrades are for. Replaying following this advice has yielded a much stronger monk -- 196 HP at Level 22.You definitely want to start your monk with CN=18 if possible.
By the way, I have found five rings of destruction, two knuckledusters, and two zen gloves, but not a single buckler. I have a gold rune and I really want to put it on an andursteel buckler. Bucklers must be one of the rarest items in the game.
Hi guys so just to clarify ... does the dwarves to-hit bonus with melee-weapons work with a monks non-weapon unarmed attacks? Or does it only work if using some kind of gloves I haven’t found yet? (Only lvl 9 so far, barely past the watch tower heading into savage crossing - I wonder when I’ll run into gloves for the monk for the first time)
I understand human may be better but at lower levels (my current level lol) the monk’s greatest weakness is swing n a miss even with the paladins to-hit boost.
Icetear may have to give the definitive answer, but I'll take a swing based on my play experience. Dwarven to-hit bonus does not stack on monk's unarmed attack because the bonus acts as a modifier on an equipped weapon. It likely doesn't qualify for the monk fist weapons, either, since fist weapons appear to modify the monk's unarmed strike, rather than act as a distinct melee weapon.
Just as an aside, early levels pre-knuckles, I gave my monk a ranged throwable (like daggers). Just 1-2. That way they had an option for range, and after the first round or two, after using their throwables, they would auto-revert to unarmed strike. Just offers slightly more utility.
