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Old Mar 07, 2007, 07:03 AM // 07:03   #1
mmmmmmmm pie.
 
Tsunami Rain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Guild: Favorable Winds [Gust]
Profession: Mo/
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Default Tsunami Rain's Ultimate Monk Farming Guide

--edit--
This guide is out of date and should only be used in reference with my current guide: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10151948
^plese use that guide as that is up to date. please do not comment in this thread anymore but rather leave comments in that thread.
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Tsunami Rain’s Ultimate Monk Farming Guide
[Last Updated: 4/11/07]

Table of Contents

---- The Legal Stuff and Introduction ----
I. Disclaimer
II. Dedication / Shout-outs / Special Thanks
III. Introduction
IV. Why Monk? Why Farm?
V. Commitment and Dedication
---- Creating and Progressing Your Monk (Pre-Farming) ----
VI. Questions and Answers
VII. What You Will Need To Accomplish My Guide
VIiI. The Creation Screen
IX. Progressing Your Monk
X. Items, Armor, Weapons, Etc.
XI. Skills
XII. Mentor
---- Farming: The First Step ----
XIII. Knowing Your Limitations
XIV. Index of Farming Builds
XV. Easy 55 Farming Builds
---- Farming: Branching Out ----
XVI. Expanding Your Knowledge
XVII. Profit Over Time
XVIII. Index of Farming Builds
XIX. Farming Builds
---- Farming: The Unknown ----
XX. The Search / The Drive
XXI. The Successful Farmer
XXII. The Market
XXIII. List of Skill Bars
---- Conclusion ----
XXIV. A Note to All Who Have Read My Guide
XXV. Last Words of Encouragement
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Section One
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I. Disclaimer
This guide was created by Tsunami Rain on February 27. 2007. This guide is not to be replicated, posted, or sold anywhere without the author’s consent. I hereby grant Guildwars Guru full access to my guide to do as they please as I deem them trustworthy and just (being a current moderator of the Guildwars Guru forum myself). This guide may not be sold or traded for any monetary profit in real life and in game. The builds featured in this guide are up to date as of February 27, 2007 and are credited to their respectful authors.
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II. Dedication / Shout-outs / Special Thanks
--Dedication--
This guide is dedicated to the Guildwars farming community. Let the farming commence and prosper.

--Shout-out and Special Thankss--
-My guildies and alliance-mates of the Scars Meadows [SMS] Alliance who make my time on Guildwars just so much more enjoyable
-The mod team and community at GuildwarsGuru.com for being so awesome
-The people of #GuildwarsGuru on IRC who hear me whine, complain, and put up with my endless amount of questions
-Racthoh Demini, Cerb, Sno, Manic Smile (the list goes on) who have helped shape my outlook on monks on Guildwars
-All of the people who PM’ed me in-game to get off my lazy-*** and finish this guide
-My real life friends who bought Guildwars with me only to abandon me to play a popular pay-to-play MMO made by a popular game company that shall not be named and then taunted me for over a year to the point that last weekend I bought the game, paid for a month, and the expansion and played for a week only to realize that it’s basically a ****** (<-I know you’re wondering what that is. Hint: what rhymes with kitty?) excuse for game that is basically…/rant *goes on to next dedication*
-To everyone who helped contribute to this guide
-To all of the people who play that popular pay-to-play MMO made by that popular game company that also play Guildwars and are reading this section (sorry hehe).
-To Desbreko, Levi Garett, Dies Like Fish, and Brother Gilburt for submitting builds and comments
-To Knoll for being the best Guild Hall Cleaner (better than Dirrtiest IMO)
-To Psi for putting up with yesterday's UW mishap
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III. Introduction
I will not tell you that if you follow this guide you will become a great monk or a great farmer. In fact, I will say right now that I am probably not the most talented or well-qualified individual to create this guide. However, I will say that my past two guides have done well and have helped built up a strong number of successful 55 monks. This guide (unlike my last two) will focus more on the monk itself as a farming tool rather than a set build. This guide will contain not only 55’able locations but various builds that span all three currently existing chapters of Guildwars. Again, I will say this: I may not be the greatest, most famous, most well-qualified person to write this guide, but I’ll do it and I’ll explain why later in the guide.

-A little about myself (my Guildwars history)-
After boring myself to death with a D2x spree, I was searching for a new game to play. I found out about Guildwars and how Arenanet had some loose ties with Blizzard. I eventually bookmarked the site (sad that there was no free beta trial yet) and left it in my favorites folder for awhile. After my whole counter-strike craze I found out that Guildwars was in open-beta and immediately went down to the store to preorder myself a copy and obtain a beta-key. I loved the game. I never really found a guild during the beta events and ended up creating my own guild (which wasn’t all too great).when the official release came out. I played through most of prophecies by myself (my real life friends quit out on me for World of Warcraft) and really didn’t find a guild until logging on to Guildwars Guru. Guildwars Guru. That was the turning point. I learned about the 55 monk during the whole griffon farming stage (back when runes coasted a fortune) and started farming. A couple weeks later the whole “zomg griffon nerf kthxbai” thing happened. It was from that chaos that I told myself that there had to be more to the 55 monk than just griffon farming and ecto farming. I made a post sharing many potential 55 spots in prophecies and it caught on and the whole griffon nerf madness seemed to have subsided a bit. By now, Cerb’s amazing 55 guide was very popular among the farming community. However, as the weeks past and more and more questions about 55ing erupted, I decided to make a post-griffon 55 update guide. It was this guide that I (if you do know about me) am known for (that and probably having a number of you find me in droks then dragging me outside for a demo). I continued to add to the guide until I was satisfied. To make a long story shorter (because I could go on forever) I became a moderator at Guildwars Guru, joined a Hawaii-only guild, put out another 55 farming guide when factions came out, joined the SMS alliance, created my own guild (and failed again), rejoined the SMS alliance as a member of SMS (which I am currently a member of) and here I am writing this guide for you. *phew*

In any case, I hope you enjoy my guide.
-Tsunami Rain

PS: Check out my other two guides (both are outdated and discontinued)
55 Monk Guide
55 Monk Guides: Factions
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IV. Why Monk? Why Farm?
--Why Monk—
Everyone needs a monk. Weather you are doing missions, gvg’ing, etc. you will find that the monk is an essential part of Guildwars. As the primary healing class, Monks are widely needed and relied on and can be considered the back-bone of the Guildwars party as it holds everything up. The monk is not only good for healing but for damage as well. As seen in solo-farming builds, the monk can maintain itself while dealing significant damage. With the added bonus of being able to run from location to location using sub-class warrior or ranger skills (coupled with the tanking ability of the 55 monk) the monk can easily run various routes in Guildwars. In conclusion, the monk is a good character to have on hand (even if your main character isn’t a monk) just in case.

--Why Farm—
There are many reasons for farming. To me, I find it enjoyable and at times challenging. There is also the fact that you can make money either grinding mobs or farming for the items that they drop. There is also chest farming (which I will get to later) that is always fun and exciting (not to mention a good way to level up your title tracks). Most farm for the money. The amount of platinum per hour (p/h) can range widely based on efficiency, where you farm, and just pure luck. Of course knowing how to farm is just the first part in making money. Knowing how to efficiently sell the items that you farm is a skill in itself (more on that later).
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V. Commitment and Dedication
Now that you have read the first section of my guide it’s time to tell you to quit while you’re ahead. I don’t mean to be rude but if you are not truly committed to playing the role of a monk or not dedicated enough to spend hours learning how to properly monk before learning how to farm with a monk; stop reading and close the page. Monking requires patience, understanding, and a lot of trial and error. So again, quit while you’re ahead if you’re not going to be committed. If you feel that you have the right attitude, continue reading.
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Section Two
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VI. Questions and Answers

Below is a list of questions (and answers) to a few of the more popular monk farming questions

Q: What is a 55 monk?
A: A smiting monk that has dropped his/her life down to 55 hp via 5 superior runes and a -50 offhand.

Q: 5 superior runes?? Isn't that expensive?
A: Yes, making a 55 monk requires a large cash fund but can be easily made back within a few hours (not counting practice of course).

Q: I only have GW:F and/or GW:NF. Can I still make a 55 monk?
A: Yes you can, however, Shield of Judgment cannot be captured in GW:F. Since many of the core 55 monk skills reside in Prophecies, I wouldn't suggest making one.

Q: Can’t I substitute Spiteful Spirit for Shield of Judgement?
A: Yes you can. However, Spiteful Spirit cannot be captured in GW:F or GW:NF.

Q: What do you do with a 55 monk?
A: The most popular answers would be: Farming and Running.

Q: What is this -50 offhand you speak of?
A:
Found in the Cities of Ascalon Quest

Q: I can't find the person who gives you the Cities of Ascalon quest.
A: Symon the Scribe can be found in Ascalon City and will give you the quest after you have completed the missions: The Great Northern Wall and Counting the Fallen.

Q: I have the Cities of Ascalon quest, however, the -50 cesta isn’t the reward item. What happened?
A: There’s a 50/50 chance that you will get the -50 cesta now. If you can’t get one through the Cities of Ascalon quest, I suggest you buy one. see here for more help

Q: Wait... There are only 4 Superior Runes for the monk. Wheres the 5th that you speak of?
A: For your 5th rune, you just use any superior monk rune that is available (the -75 hp stacks but the +skills don't. therefore, just get the cheapest).

Q: Why do you use divine healing scalp
A: It's personal preference. It also helps for builds that dont require smiting skills (such as 2 man uw farming).

Q: Where do I get my set of tat armor?
A: Some may say Lions Arch but really any armor will do (tats just give more energy)

Q: What weapon do you use for your 55 monk?
A: Most people agree that the Fiery Flame Spitter of Enchanting is the monk weapon of choice but you can also buy a Totem Axe.

Q: Where do I get a -20 Ankh?
A: Talk to Namar in Ascalon City (presear) then go to where Devona is in the town of Ashford. Before you reach Devona you will come across Miller Upton. He will say the bee's are a distraction and will not talk to you untill you take the bees across the bridge. Pick up the honeycomb, gather the three groups of bees and bring it across the bridge then go talk to Miller Upton again.

Q: I have GW:F and/or GW:NF, how can I get Shield of Judgement?
A: Shield of Judgement is a Guild Wars: Prophecies (aka original Guildwars) only skill. You can’t get it in GW:F or GW:NF.

Q: Has your monk changed any bit since your last guide?
A: Not much has changed since my 55 Factions guide, however, I find myself mostly farming only when I need to now days.

Q: How can I get a hold of you if I’m having trouble?
A: Contact me in game @ Tsunami Rain or PM me on this forum or leave a question here in this thread.

VII. What You Will Need To Accomplish My Guide
Time. A lot of time. This guide will contain information about creating your monk and how to effectively play your monk. There is a lot to learn before I start talking about farming. Here is a list of things you will need to accomplish before even thinking about farming with your monk (we’ll go over the minute details later):

1. Guildwars: Prophecies, Guildwars: Factions, Guildwars: Nightfall
2. A level 20 Monk (200/200 stats)
3. ALL sub-classes unlocked
4. Skill points...lots of them
5. Beaten all three chapters with your monk
6. Obtained all noted skills (more on this later)
7. Have a stable fallback plan that can make you money

I could go on but these are most of the basic things that should be accomplished before starting your monk. Now I have been approached with comments saying that a lot of this isn't nessessary to farm and they're right. This is my guide (get your own ) and I believe that following these principles will help further yourself in monking and farming alike. Although my guide seems strict, in the end you will find yourself much better off. Challenging yourself is key to growth is one thing that I believe in. Also, I cannot put enough emphasis on having a fully completed level 20 monk before starting to farm.
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VIII. The Creation Screen
Now I’m not going to tell you how your monk should look or what color clothes it should wear. The only thing I am concerned about is what chapter you start out with. Start out in Prophecies and continue reading. (note: your secondary should be mesmer as it is easier to monk prophecies with a mesmer secondary plus you can pick up skills/elites)
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IX. Progressing Your Monk
Here’s the run down of what you should do in each chapter (start with prophecies->nightfall->factions):

Prophecies – Beat it with a group of people that have played the game before and know that they can beat it with ease. This is to start you off monking with less stress. Do not get ran or power leveled (play the game the normal way). When you hit Lions Arch, get a run to Temple of the Ages then down to Sanctum Cay (I’ll spare you since you have 2 chapters more to complete). After beating Sanctum Cay ascend, get all your stat points, unlock all of your sub-classes, grab some maxed armor and FIGHT your way through the southern shiverpeaks collecting all of the essential elites that you can before beating the game @ hells precipice. Don’t have to do LDD (last day dawns) or the defend ______ missions.

Nightfall – Have your monk travel to Elona and beat the game with PUG’s (Pick up groups) as much as possible. Pick up groups are groups that you find in outposts and consist of people that you do not know. PUG’s are notorious for having “junk” players, morons, etc. The reason I am telling you to PUG nightfall is because it is THE most difficult of the three chapters. If you can PUG nightfall you can PUG any group anywhere with your monk. While beating nightfall you should make sure you pick up elites along the way. By the end of nightfall, your monk should be well established and you should be completely familiar with any monking terms and builds.

Factions – Have your monk travel to Cantha and beat the game with heroes and henchies only (beat shiro at the end with a real group though). DO NOT use a hero monk. Collect elites and skills as you go and if possible, play through both the kurzick and luxon missions.

(Skills, items, and other things that you will need to pick up are gone over in detail later in the guide)

After completing the three chapters you should have enough money to buy the missing skills and capture sigs for elites that you need. You should also have enough money to buy extra sets of armor for farming (including the runes needed).

If not, find a running build that works for you and start running people. OR use the money you have now and start merchanting (buying low and selling high).

If you have already beaten the three chapters I suggest you still make sure you have captured the skills nessesary.

Now I'm not saying that this is all nessessary but I'm HIGHLY reccomending it. Furthering your monk and having access to all the areas of the game is very helpful especially if you are going to pioneer in farming and be the one searching for spots rather than feeding off of them.
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X. Items, Armor, Weapons, Etc.
Below is a list of the different things you will need to buy/pick up while beating the three campaigns so that you can farm:

-Prophecies-
>-20hp ankh (Quest given by Namar in Presearing or buy a better one from another player)
>-50hp cesta (Quest given by Symon the Scribe: Cities of Ascalon [Although he won’t show it, it is a quest reward for completing it] or buy it from another player)
>Fiery Flame Spitter also buy a 20% enchanting mod to add to it.
>Totem Axe buy it for a few plat.

-Factions-
None!

-Nightfall-
None!

Armor-
>max armor scalp (divine, healing, and smiting)
>Tattoo armor (I prefer 1.5k kurzick) for 55ing + 5 Superior Runes (not superior vigor)
>Presear armor (yes keep it!) or low level armor (ex. shing jea armor)
>Regular monking armor

Others (not required but recommended)-
>20/20 Divine Staff (rare, collectors, or green)
>20/20 Smiting Staff (rare, collectors, or green)
>20/20 Protection Staff (rare, collectors, or green)
>20/20 Healing Staff (rare, collectors, or green)
>Smiting Rod (max, +5e when enchanted, divine/prot/healing req 8 or 9 and customized)
>Candy Canes (removes DP)
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XI. Skills
Get all of the monks skills that you can and every elite available that you encounter while playing through the chapters. Below are some (not all the skills you will be needing) skills/elites that you will be needing:

Monk:
[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Blessed Signet[/skill][skill]Shield Of Judgment[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Spirit Bond[/skill][skill]Spell Breaker[/skill][skill]Watchful Spirit[/skill][skill]Guardian[/skill] [skill]Healing Hands[/skill]

[skill]Shield Of Absorption[/skill][skill]Zealot's Fire[/skill][skill]Watchful Healing[/skill] [skill]Holy Veil[/skill][skill]protective bond[/skill]

Warrior:
[skill]Cyclone Axe[/skill] [skill]Balanced Stance[/skill] [skill]Bonetti's Defense[/skill] [skill]Rush[/skill] [skill]Enraging Charge[/skill]

Elementalist-
[skill]Aftershock[/skill] [skill]Armor Of Earth[/skill] [skill]Crystal Wave[/skill] [skill]Whirlwind[/skill] [skill]Sliver Armor[/skill]

Mesmer-
[skill]Mantra Of Resolve[/skill] [skill]Arcane Echo[/skill] [skill]Ancestor's Visage[/skill] [skill]Sympathetic Visage[/skill] [skill]Illusionary Weaponry[/skill]

Necromancer-
[skill]Spiteful Spirit[/skill]

Ranger-
[skill]Troll Unguent[/skill] [skill]Serpent's Quickness[/skill] [skill]Brambles[/skill] [skill]Famine[/skill]

Dervish-
[skill]Aura Of Thorns[/skill] [skill]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] [skill]Fleeting Stability[/skill]

There are more skills but like I said, just collect as you go and if you find that you are missing some skills, make sure you go back and pick them up.
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XII. Mentor
Find yourself a farming mentor. Someone knowledgeable who wouldn’t mind answering your questions and showing you your mistakes. This person can be a guildie or a friend or someone you met while in a group. It’s always good to have someone that can answer your questions. Just remember that you can always come back to Guildwars Guru to get your questions answered.

I also suggest you at least look over my 55 monk guide and my 55 monk faction guide:
55 monk guide (discontinued)
55 cantha guide (discontinued)

Although out of date, the question and answers part can be very helpful and if you aren’t too sure how to make a 55 monk and what you will need, check out my 55 monk guide as it takes an in-depth look at what you need to build it.
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Section Three
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XIII. Knowing Your Limitations
When you first start out farming its obvious that you should start out small and get used to builds. For my guide you will start out 55 farming as it is easily picked up after a few farming runs. As you get better you can branch out into other builds or farm harder stuff. But as for now, start small until you are familiar with the build.
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XIV. Index of Farming Builds

1. 55 Deadsword Farming
2. Two Man Underworld Farming
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XV. Easy 55 Farming Builds

1. 55 Deadsword Farming
Skills:
[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill] [skill]Shield Of Judgment[/skill] [skill]Healing Breeze[/skill] [skill]Mantra Of Resolve[/skill] [skill]Blessed Signet[/skill] [skill]Mending[/skill] [skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill] (or [skill]Essence Bond[/skill]) [skill]Blessed Aura[/skill]

Attributes:
9 Healing
16 Smiting
10 Protection
12 Divine
3 Inspiration

Video
-You don’t need the heroes to do the farm (it just makes it easier to run past the mobs)
-If you use the hero method send the heroes farther away (way off screen)
-Read more tips at my 55 deadsword farm post

2. 55/SS Two Man Underworld Farming

Skills:
[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill] [skill]Spell Breaker[/skill] [skill]Healing Breeze[/skill] [skill]Bonetti's Defense[/skill] [skill]Blessed Signet[/skill] [skill]Mending[/skill] [skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill] (or [skill]Essence Bond[/skill]) [skill]Blessed Aura[/skill]

Attributes:
Healing Prayers: 13
Smiting Prayers: 4
Protection Prayers: 11
Divine Prayers: 16
Tactics: 2

I will add this in because I havent updated the 55 uw section of my guild for a long time.
You may have noticed that when you come to the smite crawlers they tend to break off and start attacking the SS Necro. To avoid this you should kill in smaller groups or aggro then run back untill the smites start to turn around and lose aggro. When they lose aggro attack them with a wand to draw them back. About three smites will stay aggroed on you while the rest wander back and forth not knowing if it should attack you or go back to its spawn location giving you time to finish off the currently aggroed smites.

-Yes, I’m using a divine prayers scalp
-Make sure you have the wand!
-Please note that this is a 2 man build and you are the 55 tank
-View my 55 monking guide for more info
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Section Four
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XVI. Expanding Your Knowledge
Now that you have the basics of 55ing down, you can search the Guildwars Guru forums for more 55able areas to farm. You should now be at the point where you should be expanding your farming knowledge. The more you know about different builds the better. In this section I will show you a few different variations of the 55 monk that you can use for farming.
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XVII. Profit Over Time
Lets talk about profit over time. Basically this is the amount of platinum gained over a certain time-span (I like to go with platinum per hour (p/h)). Now depending on your skill level and what spots you farm, you can be making large bursts of money every now and then or a steady stream. I consider a steady stream of money a lot more constant and stable (and so I encourage it). However, most farming spots now days don’t give you a very steady stream of money so I suggest you find a spot where the p/h is somewhat high (at least 10p/h) only because the drop-rate of the item is good.
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XVIII. Index of Farming Builds

1. Craw Stonereap Farming
2. Ghial The Bone Dancer Farming
3. The Scar Eater Green Farming

[note: more to come in the future]
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XIX. Farming Builds

1. Craw Stonereap Farming

Skills:
[skill]Healing Touch[/skill] [skill]Remove Hex[/skill] [skill]Banish[/skill] [skill]Scourge Sacrifice[/skill] [skill]Healing Breeze[/skill] [skill]Balanced Stance[/skill] [skill]Mending Touch[/skill] (or [skill]Purge Conditions[/skill]) [skill]"Charge!"[/skill]

Attributes:
12 Healing
12 Smiting
9 Divine
9 Tactics

The hardest part of this farm run is actually just getting to Stonereap, and even that's stupidly easy once you get the hang of it. Exit Altrumm Ruins and head left up the slope just outside the gate. There'll be a long corridor that leads to Stonereap and there's one group of wardens in the way. I'm sure there are other ways to get past them besides the method I use in this build, but I find this easy enough that I don't care to experiment.

Cast Healing Breeze just before you aggro the wardens, then use Balanced Stance once you do to prevent "None Shall Pass!" from knocking you down. You'll most likely hit some Barbed Traps as you run through the group -- this is where Mending Touch (or Purge Conditions) comes in. After you trigger all of the traps use Mending Touch to remove cripple and bleeding, then use "Charge!" to sprint away from the wardens. They'll lose interest pretty fast but don't heal yourself afterwards.

Stonereap will be in another corridor off to the right of the one you're in, with a large, open gate connecting the two. Hit him with Banish and put Scourge Sacrifice on him (don't worry about taking a wand shot or two from him unless you're already at about 200 health), then back up through the gate and hide behind the wall to the left. Stonereap will continue to cast on you from there but his wand shots won't be able to hit you through the wall. Again, don't heal yourself unless you're in immediate danger of dying.

With Stonereap on the other side of the wall, hit him with Banish whenever it recharges and keep Scourge Sacrifice on him. He'll cast Suffering and Parasitic Bond on you; just let the degen do its work. When you get below 50% health he'll cast Defile Flesh on you, sacrificing 20% of his max health instead of the usual 10% -- this is why you don't want to heal unless absolutely necessary. Use Remove Hex to get rid of it but be careful not to remove Parasitic Bond instead as that will heal Stonereap. Once you get lower, to about 25% health, Stonereap will also use Lingering Curse on you for another 20% sac. Again, remove it and Defile Flesh whenever possible to keep Stonereap recasting them until he sacs himself to death.

If you get low on health use Healing Touch but be careful not to bring yourself back over 50% health. It's best to heal when you've got either Defile Flesh or Lingering Curse on you, which will reduce the amount Healing Touch heals for.

2. Ghial The Bone Dancer Farming

Skills
[skill]Healing Breeze[/skill] [skill]Protective Spirit[/skill] [skill]Glyph of Concentration[/skill] [skill]Sliver Armor[/skill] [skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill] [skill]Blessed Aura[/skill] [skill]Mending[/skill] [skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

Attributes:
13 Healing
9 Protection
9 Divine
12 Earth

So, as with all 13 HP builds, you need to get yourself killed first. Exit Senji's Corner and run straight, through the little plaza, up a ramp, and let the Jade Brotherhood ahead kill you. (Or, if you don't have SoA, bring Burning Speed to kill yourself right outside the portal.) You'll rez at the shrine outside Senji's, where you should switch to your -20 HP focus and then cast your three maintained enchants.

Head north across the bridge over to where Orosen, Tranquil Acolyte is. When he starts running towards you throw up Protective Spirit, Healing Breeze, and Glyph of Concentration. Keep running north, towards where Ghial is, stopping to recast your enchantments when needed. Glyph of Concentration will keep any pesky mesmers from interrupting PS and Breeze. After you've cast those two they'll have wasted their interrupts, letting you recast Glyph again without fear of interruption on that. Repeat until you reach Ghial.

When you get to Ghial, put up a fresh cast of PS/Breeze/Concentration before aggroing his group, then run in and stand next to him. Recast Breeze once you're in position then cast Sliver Armor. (Do not try to cast Sliver Armor without Glyph of Concentration up. The 30 second recharge if it gets interrupted -- and it will, a lot -- is just not worth the risk.) After that, spam PS and Breeze to keep yourself alive, with Glyph of Concentration when it's available. Ghial will usually die after a single casting of Sliver Armor with 12 earth magic and a +18-20% enchanting mod.

Just before Ghial dies, cast Shield of Absorption. Because you gain experience and a 2% morale boost when he dies your maximum health will be raised back up from 13 HP. Meaning you'll be killed in about a second if you don't switch back to your -50 HP cesta. SoA gives you a few more seconds to make the switch, during which time you'll be taking zero damage from the enemies' attacks. If you don't have SoA, just make sure to switch weapon sets as soon as Ghial dies; as stated, you have about a one second window to do so.

-note: [skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill][skill]Shielding Hands[/skill][skill]Glyph of Concentration[/skill][skill]Sliver Armor[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]
This skill set can also be used for the build (works wonders imo).

3. The Scar Eater Green Farming

Skills:
[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill] [skill]Scourge Healing[/skill] [skill]Healing Breeze[/skill] [skill]Spell Breaker[/skill] [skill]Sliver Armor[/skill] [skill]Mending[/skill] [skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill] [skill]Blessed Aura[/skill]

Attributes:
9 Healing
9 Protection
9 Smiting
12 Divine
12 Earth

This build works pretty much the same as the Ghial one, just with a few tweaks. Spell Breaker isn't technically required, but prepare to get owned by Onis every now and then if you don't have it. Shadow Shroud on a 13 HP monk = gg. Also, if there's a gaki in the first group you encounter, just to the right of Scar Eater's group, rezone until it doesn't contain one. Their spirits (specifically Disenchantment and Bloodsong) will pwn you even with Spell Breaker.

So, exit Vasburg Armory and run towards where the Scar Eater is. If possible, get as close to its group as you can before dying, to see if there's an Oni spawn. You'll rez back by the portal (if you're aligned with the faction that currently controls the armory) where you should switch to your -20 HP focus and cast your maintained enchants. If needed, let your energy regen up to 20 so that you'll have enough to cast Protective Spirit and Breeze before aggroing.

Aggro the first group in front of you and let your energy build back up to full. Recast PS/Breeze, then put up Spell Breaker and aggro Scar Eater's group to the left. (If you don't precast SB you'll usually get Shadow Shroud on you by the time you notice if Onis have spawned.) Get in position next to Scar Eater, recast PS/Breeze, then cast Sliver Armor and Scourge Healing. If there are Onis attacking you Scar Eater will usually die after a single cast of Sliver Armor, but if there aren't it will almost always take two casts. Make sure to keep Scourge Healing on Scar Eater at all times.

Also like with Ghial, you have a short window of opportunity to swap to your -50 HP cesta after Scar Eater dies. Though, in this case, that window is somewhat longer due to there being fewer enemies around. And if you do end up dying you don't have nearly as far to run to go get your drops.


I just want to let you all know that the reason there are only a few builds here in my guide is to get you thinking about new builds and locations (or at least get you searching the forums for some). It would be too easy for you the reader if I just listed all of the farming spots and builds for you here to just soak in. Rather I challenge you to go out and find your own.
------------------------------------------------------
Section Five
------------------------------------------------------
XX. The Search / The Drive
By now you have experienced a lot of different farming builds and most likely understand the concepts of farming as a monk. Go out and farm. Find new builds, new locations, better builds and better locations. But always remember: keeping locations and builds to yourself will never benefit you. By sharing information freely you are giving back to the community that has helped you become what you are, getting input on your build/location, etc. And besides, without the sharing of new information, the farming community as a whole is not growing and progressing (at least that is how I see it and that is why I write these guides).
------------------------------------------------------
XXI. The Successful Farmer
As you continue farming you will find that success is not how many stacks of ectos you have or how many sets of FoW armor you own, it lies in how much fun you had getting there. You will also eventually find that it isn’t worth farming just to hoard up gold but that you should rather farm when you need to (it helps you stay modest). Always remember, give back to the community.
------------------------------------------------------
XXII. The Market
One of the key skills of being a farmer is being able to sell your items. "Playing the market" as it is called is a term given to those who buy, sell, and trade with other players. Knowing how to play the market well is a very useful skill especially when you have something that's hard to sell.

Most farmers fall into the catagory of selling. This is where you have an item that you have obtained for "free" (usually from farming). The only restrictions you have when selling items is time. The first restriction is asking yourself, "Will this item be worth the price I sell it at for the amount of time it took me to farm it?" The second restriction is looking at the current market price. This can be done by getting a price check (or knowing how to price check based on the market) at Guildwars Guru or on MIRC at #marketwatch. After getting a price check (which is the average going price of the item) you should ask yourself how much you are willing to sell your item for. You should also take into account the demand and rarity of the item as that will also affect how long it will take you to sell it. Remember the cheaper your sell it the more likely you will sell it faster.

Most people prefer to sell their items in Lions Arch District 1 or Temple of Ages District 1 (For ecto's and shards). You can also sell your items on Guildwars Guru through the Sell section (just make sure you read the rules first!). In addition, you can also auction off your items at GuildwarsGuru through the auction system.

Another part of playing the market is buying low and selling high. Many people have struck it rich doing this (and dont even farm!). The key is knowing the market well. Buying a minipet for 5k off of a player needing money and being able to take the time to sell it for 15k can be very worth it. The main success factor in reselling items on the market is being able to make back your money (and make a profit) in a reasonable amount of time. You have to be good at striking a deal as well. I wont go too far into the details here as the concept is fairly simple once you know what you are doing. It just involves knowing the market prices and knowing how to strike up a deal.

Being able to play the market well gives you the benefit of getting in there, selling your items, then going back to farming ASAP.
------------------------------------------------------
XXIII. List of Skill Bars
Here are a few examples of skillbars that are used for various farming builds (just to give you an idea of what you can come up with). Many of these have been selected from comments made in this thread. Thank you to those who have contributed.

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Spoil Victor[/skill][skill]Life Siphon[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill][skill]Watchful Spirit[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Scourge Healing[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Zealot's Fire[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Zealot's Fire[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill][skill]Shielding Hands[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Zealot's Fire[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill][skill]Shielding Hands[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Zealot's Fire[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Mystic Regeneration[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Enchanted Haste[/skill][skill]Harrier's Haste[/skill][skill]Holy Veil[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]



------------------------------------------------------
Section Six
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XXIV. A Note To All Who Have Read My Guide
I hope you enjoyed reading my guide and I hope you have at least learned a thing or two. Again I would like to thank everyone who has made this guide possible and have inspired me to write this one last guide. That’s right. Last guide. Although I really enjoy helping you all become better farmers, I find that I am slowly losing interest in farming and am not spending as much time on Guildwars farming like I used to. Now I just seem to sit around and chat a lot (doing quests here and there with guildies). Although I will still try to answer as many questions as possible, don’t be surprised if within a year I have no idea what is going on in the farming community at all. I’ll be back for the next chapter (and the sequal) and the next and so on and so forth. This is a game I truly enjoy and won’t be quitting any time soon. And knowing me, I’ll be right back farming after taking a short break from it. Please feel free to leave questions and comments here in this thread, message me on the forums, or PM me in game if you need questions answered (I’ll try my best to answer with the best of my abilities).
------------------------------------------------------
XX V. Last Words of Encouragement
Keep farming. That is all.

-Tsunami Rain
------------------------------------------------------
List of Edits

-Added some info in random sections
-Added a GW Market 101 section
-Added a Q and A section
-Reversed the order of edits so that the most recent are on top
-Updated skills section
-Added a new skill bar section to the guide
-Added a bunch of people to the thank you section
-Edited Psi's thank you post
-Added Psi's name in the thank you section
-Added Protective Bond to the list of monk skills
-Added LeviGarrett's Ghial build
-Added Knoll's name in the thank you section
------------------------------------------------------
Things To Do:

-Add more videos <-not likely but we'll see.
-Add pictures
-Add a "fun" section (it's a secret)
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 07:18 AM // 07:18   #2
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thank you sooo much for this been waiting for ages
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 07:22 AM // 07:22   #3
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GG, I dont see my name in there....
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 09:11 AM // 09:11   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsunami Rain
-To Desbreko for submitting builds and comments
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now.
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 09:15 AM // 09:15   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsunami Rain
-My guildies and alliance-mates of the Scars Meadows [SMS] Alliance who make my time on Guildwars just so much more enjoyable
-The mod team and community at GuildwarsGuru.com for being so awesome
I love you too Tsu <3

Great guide.
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 09:41 AM // 09:41   #6
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Wow - I've never bothered before to actually get off my arse and try 55-monking but you may have just given me the push I needed. Nice work and well laid out.
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 02:19 PM // 14:19   #7
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So this is what you've been doing in your spare time huh? Not bad Tsu I only disagree with one part...
Quote:
Now I’m not going to tell you how your monk should look or what color clothes it should wear.
You have to tell me what kind of hawtness monk to make imo. And one more thing... you added Knoll's name and not mine?! -.-
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 03:18 PM // 15:18   #8
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Very Nice Guide.
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 08:03 PM // 20:03   #9
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Hey nice guide!

One suggestion on your Ghials build:

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill][skill]Shielding Hands[/skill][skill]Glyph of Concentration[/skill][skill]Sliver Armor[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

No need to die with this build. +3 Mending is all that's needed to counter Ghial's degen Hex. Just alternate SoA and SH and take 0 damage always. Be sure to always Glyph SoA and Sliver of course.

Try it out and let me know what you think?

Thanks for taking the time to write all this up!
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Old Mar 07, 2007, 11:16 PM // 23:16   #10
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The Armor of Earth skill has the icon for Kinetic Armor.
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Old Mar 08, 2007, 03:31 AM // 03:31   #11
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Hey nice job tsu. even though I don't have a 55 monk I think I will do some of this stuff on my 55 necro(yes I will try) well awesome job anyway.
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Old Mar 08, 2007, 05:29 PM // 17:29   #12
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Excellent work
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Old Mar 08, 2007, 06:59 PM // 18:59   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeviGarrett
Hey nice guide!

One suggestion on your Ghials build:

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Shield of Absorption[/skill][skill]Shielding Hands[/skill][skill]Glyph of Concentration[/skill][skill]Sliver Armor[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill]

No need to die with this build. +3 Mending is all that's needed to counter Ghial's degen Hex. Just alternate SoA and SH and take 0 damage always. Be sure to always Glyph SoA and Sliver of course.

Try it out and let me know what you think?

Thanks for taking the time to write all this up!
I just tried this and it works nicely. I was using the 13 HP build before the change to SH, so afterwards I didn't think of using it to cover the downtime on SoA.
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Old Mar 08, 2007, 08:34 PM // 20:34   #14
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How could you leave out protective bond?
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 01:15 AM // 01:15   #15
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Protective bond just isn't very viable anymore when it comes to farming.
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 01:36 AM // 01:36   #16
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Great guide man, although every time someone mentions griffon farming i cry (sounds like the golden age. And I missed it =( ). Also Prot bond would be every viable in an area with a lot of elemental damage, Ice Imps being almost perfect. Prot Bond + Mantra XYZ ftw!
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 03:34 AM // 03:34   #17
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If you have any builds you think should be added post them here and I'll possibly review it in game to see if it is worth adding.
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 04:04 AM // 04:04   #18
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55 Degen Boss Farming

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Spoil Victor[/skill][skill]Life Siphon[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill][skill]Watchful Spirit[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill]

Attributes:
Healing: 9+3+1
Divine Favor: 3+3
Protection: 9+3
Smiting: 1+3
Blood: 12

55 Naphui Quarter

[skill]Protective Spirit[/skill][skill]Healing Breeze[/skill][skill]Shield of Judgment[/skill][skill]Scourge Healing[/skill][skill]Essence Bond[/skill][skill]Balthazar's Spirit[/skill][skill]Blessed Aura[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill]

Attributes:
Healing: 7+3
Divine Favor: 8+3
Protection: 8+3
Smiting: 12+3+1

Cast Scourge Healing on Star Lights
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 05:10 PM // 17:10   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desbreko
I just tried this and it works nicely. I was using the 13 HP build before the change to SH, so afterwards I didn't think of using it to cover the downtime on SoA.
Actually I like to think of SoA covering the downtime of SH. But yeah it works fantastic!
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Old Mar 09, 2007, 07:28 PM // 19:28   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Phantom
Protective bond just isn't very viable anymore when it comes to farming.
I was running protective bond right up until the Nov AI nerf.
16 smiting, 13 healing, 13 protection, 7ish in tactics
balts spirit, essence bond, mending, prot bond, blessed sig, sig of judgement,holy strike, bonettis defense

Doesn't work anymore since everything is running around, but at it's core, prot bond can still be viable, if you are willing to be creative. The tanking capability in prot bond cannot be beat, considering at the time I was aggroing 12-16 at a time. The rit build I'm running now can barely handle 3-6 and its still about a 1 in 6 chance of getting killed with 4 and a 1 in 2 chance with 6.

Some useful skills from the ranger line:
Brambles + Shield of Judgement are a very nice combo.
Storm Chaser can be useful for speed buffs and +energy vs ele damage.
Famine, QZ, EoE, can all be useful in 2 man builds.

From the monk line:
Holy Strike + knockdown is nice
symbol of wrath and balths aura can add alot of pressure
spear of light can add pressure to attacking foes
shielding hands can be good given the faster recharge time
holy wrath / retribution


From the ele line:
Searing Flames is nice because everything burns.
liquid flame makes a good aoe
shockwave can be good too
rust for signets

From the war line:
sprint/rush can be usefull for moving to farming spot


from the mesmer line:
channeling can be quite good for energy management
empathy
backfire
ignorance for signets

from necros:
spoil victor for sure
vamp gaze goes well with SV.
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