Curse

-KF · Sep 08, 2007, 02:01 AM // 02:01

I'm new to guild wars, been playing for just over a week. I'm liking it but I suppose as with any large online community, there are a variety of people who are all going to have different agendas.

That being said, begin rant:

I decided to start my first character as monk, eventually I plan to get a few people I know playing and set up a guild for us. For now however I'm just playing the game trying to learn the ropes. I'm not a particularly skilled player nor do I claim to know lots about how the game should be played. I do however know of one skill in particular that is very important, which is known to be lacking in many younger people. PATIENCE. In reference to my particular situation I'll give some examples. When you are in a mission think about the person healing you. A monk as with all characters has a limited amount of energy, he can not heal a party of 8 nonstop without stopping to regen energy. So if you rush from one group of enimies to the next without stopping to let him regen his energy, it makes it extremely difficult to keep you alive. Stop and wait after every group of enemies so that the monk can regen his energy, and thus keep you alive. Further more, when you rush ahead and get to far away to fight more monsters it presents a couple of problems. First if you are to far away, the monk cant heal you, second if you leave enemies in the back, you leave the softer ranged characters to die. It is much easier for a monk to keep a tank alive from the back. If a tank runs to far ahead he dies because there is no one to heal him, and the ranged characters in his party die because there is no one to protect them. So in summation, be patient, take one group of enemies at a time, then give time for the party(especially the ones keeping you alive) to regen some energy. Stay with the group, and make sure all the monsters in the immediate area are dead before you move on and start on a new group. These seem like fairly simple concepts but yet they don't always appear to be so common.
I'm done now, and if anyone would like to offer helpful tips for a new monk they are welcome.

phallanxian · Sep 08, 2007, 02:18 AM // 02:18

The big problem is most of the people who play in that manner are 12 year old w/mo's and don't read fan forums or wiki to realise they have no clue.

I have little experience playing monk i'm sure others will be able to offer better advice but try and specalise in either healing or protection. protection if often favoured because it is better to stop damage that try and fill the red bars.

GL and if you find pugs too much trouble you can count on hero's and hencehmen

BladeDVD · Sep 08, 2007, 02:22 AM // 02:22

Not sure if you know how to ping your status to the rest of the group, but it might help.

Hold down the CTRL key and then click on your energy bar. That should put a message in team chat saying you have 8 of 45 energy or something like that.

Most people understand that if you have no energy then you can't heal (most, not all ;-)), and that is a quick, easy way to let them know.

You might want to warn any melee class characters to be careful of how far they go from the group before you start the quest/mission. And then don't heal them if they go too far in. If they complain tell them you won't jeopardize the rest of the party to keep him alive.

I don't think most people play multiple classes and, as a result, don't really understand how what they do can affect them.

As for beginning monks...concentrate on using 5e spells, don't try to keep the health bars topped off, protection is better than healing because it's easier to prevent damage than to heal up after it, but having both on your bar is fine.

Have fun and try to find a fun, helpful guild. Makes things a lot more fun and less frustrating.

TheHaxor · Sep 08, 2007, 02:25 AM // 02:25

bring energy management

Phaern Majes · Sep 08, 2007, 02:29 AM // 02:29

Also, you may already be doing so, but if not, try taking a secondary that gives you some energy management options. Trust me I understand you can't constantly heal, but I think part of your problem may be that, people have come to except a certain speed to completing missions. By all means they shouldn't rush you and as I said you may already be doing this. Just something to consider if you aren't already doing it.

bhavv · Sep 08, 2007, 02:31 AM // 02:31

Theres a couple of simple solutions to your monking problems:

1) After each mob, Ctrl-click your energy bar. This will show your party members how much energy you have left, and hopefully they should wait. If not, simply type 'Wait for regen'.

2) Look into some energy management spells. Popular ones are Glyph of Lesser energy if your running expensive skills, then theres plenty to choose from the mesmers line of inspiration. Channeling will give you a decent energy return if there are enemies near you, which tbh, there will be plenty of anyway. If your good at interupting, you might want to try Power Drain which gives the best energy return of any spell, its only drawback being its long recharge, and if you miss with the interupt, no energy.

Also use the monk signets that heal. If your laying prot, put signet of devotion into your bar for a free heal every 5 seconds. Its drawback is its 2s cast time, but it will allow you to regen a bit of energy in between heals. If your playing healer, signet of rejuvenation is a fantastic heal, it can heal up to 150 ish when the condition is met for no energy.

Also, dont spam high energy skills like heal other, heal party, or protective spirit, only use thes when they are absolutely required. Keep cheap spells on your bar like Dwaynas kiss + Words of Comfort for some low cost heals, and for better efficincy try to meet the conditions those heals have.

Also for elites, Light of Deliverance is by far the most energy - efficient healing elite, the amount it heals across your party is unmatched by any other spell, and it only costs 5 energy. If your playing protection, Zealous Benediction gives a nice energy return when cast on someone below 50% health.

Ok, im aware you may not have all these skills yet, but at least it gives you an idea of which skills to look out for you as you progress through the game.

Happy Monking

Griff Mon · Sep 08, 2007, 02:37 AM // 02:37

You can't really understand a monk until you play one for a while. The best you can hope for is that they will listen to you when you explain what the problem is. Unfortunately, a lot of players are just a**holes who have no clue as to how to stay in range or don't know what energy management is, etc. Then they blame you when they die. And have a hissy fit if you don't rez them right away. Best thing to do with a bad group that blames you for their own obvious problems is to leave.

Redfeather1975 · Sep 08, 2007, 02:42 AM // 02:42

Hee hee.
This brings back memories of EQ2 pugs.
Me as healer after fight "OOP guys"
Tank aggroes another mob.
Tank yells "Heal me for crying out loud!!!!""WTF?!?"
/me sits down
"Still OOP buddy"
These are the same players that leave as soon as they ding.
DING!
"Ohhhh, I'm so tired guys, gotta go." lol

Government Flu · Sep 08, 2007, 02:54 AM // 02:54

I believe your biggest problem was that you're the only monk in a party of 8. Generally, decent groups will aim for two monks or a monk backed by a support healer such as a Ritualist. Use greater discretion when picking your groups. With two healers, your party should be able to steamroll through many of the games obstacles, as long as someone is organizing the assaults or at the very least as long as the majority of the players have decent builds for the situation.

Furthermore, sometimes patience is not an option. This is especially true of Factions, where getting Masters on a mission involves beating a preset timer. Obviously if a group wants to get masters, they can't wait for you to regenerate energy.

I know a new game can be frustrating but perhaps before ranting you should explore all of your options and configurations. As another player suggested, energy management could be a good idea if you constantly find yourself low on energy. Being a secondary mesmer, for instance, allows you to use the Channeling skill, which is a popular choice for PvE Monks.

korcan · Sep 08, 2007, 02:57 AM // 02:57

tis the harsh reality of pugs.

pugs r.i.p.

Stolen Souls · Sep 08, 2007, 03:00 AM // 03:00

Hero/Hench ftw. No whiners, no rushers, no self-proclaimed group leaders. Nobody to insult or question your builds, nobody to blame you when they screw up and die.

But yeah, in a full player group:

-don't be the only monk. Being the only monk in an 8-player PUG is asking for a headache. Insist they get a second, or have someone bring a hero
-as Crom went into detail about below, PLAN before you start. Don't jump right in because that one guy is saying "Cmon go go I only have x minutes till bed/supper go go go!!!!" ESPECIALLY if the one trying to rush you is a warrior. Bad sign right there, lol.
-bring energy management, keep the 10e+ cost spells to a minimum (Heal Party spam FTL)
-don't "overheal"
-ping your energy when it starts to run low
-laugh at the wammo that runs ahead and dies regardless of your warning

Redfeather1975 · Sep 08, 2007, 03:03 AM // 03:03

I think it has partly to do with adrenaline junkies.
One of my friends was an adrenaline junky.
Only worried about adrenaline and didn't want it to run out.
Never thought that others had to rely on energy only.

Crom The Pale · Sep 08, 2007, 03:11 AM // 03:11

One of the biggest problems in GW is the lack of team or party planning before a mission or quest.

A pug group is formed with the right proffesions then imediately starts the mission assuming everyone knows their roles.

Take the time to find out if your War's are running on all adrenaline builds, this is often what drives them to press forward once they get there adren built up.

Make sure you know what is concidered a priority target for the entire party, if the mob has a monk boss at the back the war may feel that is where he should be. Make sure you have a plan, say a ranger or a nuker with interupts, so that the tank can deal with secondary targets.

Talk about what skills everyone in the party is bringing, see if someone has a build that compliments yours or works against it. This could be a Blood Ritual Necro to help the monks regain energy.

Spending 5-10 minutes talking about a mission will guarentee you beat the mission in the first try rather than attempting it over and over again.

The Herbalizer · Sep 08, 2007, 03:20 AM // 03:20

wow some paragraphs in op would be nice as its kinda painful to read

Kern Wolf · Sep 08, 2007, 03:51 AM // 03:51

To the OP:
The second character I rolled in GW was a monk/mesmer. I generally make it a practice to get god with a character before I try grouping with people, because with a monk, I wanted to make sure my skills were up to the job, and that no one was going to blame me first for a failed mission.

My suggestion: you can go through at least half the game with henches (or more). I made it to the desert (Ascension missions) before grouping with people. I must have tried a dozen or so variations of builds (I went primarily as a healer, with a mesmer skill or two for hex reversal), before I found a build i was very comfortable running--one that didn't leave me dry of energy after each encounter, and let me do a decent job of keeping teammates alive.

I also suggest that you insist that the group take a second monk. Early on, you can be the only monk in a group, but when the groups go from 6 people to 8, and the missions get tougher, it's really unrealistic for people to expect a lone monk to heal everyone. PUGs are generally an impatient bunch (though you will come across a pretty good PUG every now and then--they more an exception now).

If you have team members that insist on rushing so far ahead that it puts you in danger of dying while trying to heal him, then follow this simple rule: let him die a horrible death. Chances are, that's a bad player, one you can hope will drop out, so you and the rest of the team can complete your mission.

Most people do realize and appreciate what a good monk can do. Just make sure your skills are up to it, your group has SOME type of strategy going into whatever mission you're doing---and don't forget to have fun.

Also, remember--as a monk, you're going to get more than your share of invites to groups. If a group is really making you feel like crap, and you know you're doing a good job, drop out. You'll get another invite in 2 minutes or less...

dark_prince2023 · Sep 08, 2007, 04:11 AM // 04:11

Just wanted to point out one flaw in your rant (not trying to be mean I know its very difficult playing as a monk tried it once will never do it again) but there is not set tank in GW like there is in other games I've seen a monk tank very well and I've seen a Assassin tank almost as good heck I've seen a Monk beat a Warier in one on one hand to hand combat. It wasn't pretty and didn't last long. So forget what you know about MMO's that will kind of help in the long run and there are a lot of people on this site that can help you set up a Monk to meet any need just look at the build forum and modify to your liking. oohhh one more thing a monk is like a QB when the mission falls they usually blam the monk or the Wammo lol I get blammed alot and alot of the time they are right of course I don't know my job as well as most I don't play that often I have a life sort of. I just play to escape and kill time. Just have fun and I'll see you around sometime maybe.

Vanquisher · Sep 08, 2007, 04:16 AM // 04:16

I'm pretty sure that it's if you know how to use your energy efficiently you can rip through PvE pretty easily in the way you describe as being bad.

Darkobra · Sep 08, 2007, 04:18 AM // 04:18

If there's a necromancer in your group, tell them to bring this: [skill]Blood Ritual[/skill] Any good necromancer should bring it, as even at 3 blood magic, a monk appreciates it.

Vanquisher · Sep 08, 2007, 04:30 AM // 04:30

Wasted skill slot. Just take like Glpyh Lesser or Ether Signet or Power Drain.

Chicken Ftw · Sep 08, 2007, 04:37 AM // 04:37

Maintain awareness of what's happening at all times. Bad monks only watch red bars, decent monks have faster reaction times because they can see things about to happen before they actually do. In PvE it's not so much a big deal, but every advantage helps.