Curse

jimmyboveto · Sep 17, 2007, 09:50 PM // 21:50

Ok, lately I have been trying to hone my monking skills in RA and TA. I have manage to get a few glad points here and there, but I have been having a lot of troubles with thumpers or hammer wars. So far I have been playing a ZB shield bash build, and that has been about it...(atleast sins don't prove to be too much of a problem) Usually, one thumper alone isn't too much. However, when it is paired with another melee profession, it gets to be overwhelming, especially when that other professions is an assasin. I'll put guardian onto myself, and activate shield bash. However, shield bash often activates on the war instead of the assassin, leaving the sin to destroy me while i'm knocked down. Also, by that time il usually have expose defenses.

Thus, it would be an immense help to me if someone could spair some suggestions.

Thankyou,

Jimmy

Teh [prefession]-zorz · Sep 18, 2007, 01:14 AM // 01:14

Frenzy Defence, being observant and using guardian BEFORE they get to you.

Master Ketsu · Sep 18, 2007, 04:23 AM // 04:23

No frenzied defense. Very bad against teams with anti block measures. Even Shroud of distress Mo/A is better then FD. To make things worse, even if you do cover up Frenzied with protective spirit, you still get owned by mesmers ( 200 damage from shatter ftl ). Frenzied defense may seem like its working, but if your going for 10 wins your bound to run into a team with a counter to it, and the counters to frenzied defense all tend to = Monk from 100% to 0% health very fast.

Generally the best way to deal with them is to remember that [skill]reversal of fortune[/skill] is your best friend. It gives you time to cast a larger heal like ZB to complete the heal. Also, [skill]Shield of absorption[/skill] helps just as much as blocking. its good against both sins and warriors.

Another thing you need to be aware of for RA ( this applies to TA as well, but moreso RA ) is that 1 Good damage dealer >= 3 crap damage dealers. And their are alot of crap damage dealers out their. Dont underestimate people. Just because the last game was 4 damage dealers and you won doesnt mean you will have an easy time when you see 2 monks and 2 damage classes. Pre-prot against all classes. Assume the players your going against are good despite the fact that most RA'rs are scrubs, because it only takes 1 good player to spike down an unprepared monk.

Divine Slaya · Sep 18, 2007, 06:38 AM // 06:38

I have to agree that running frenzied defense isn't a good idea especially with the amount of those deadly art assasins running around. As far as running shield bash, I feel it doesn't offer enough defense if run on a bar with no other defensive skills. I would consider running guardian on your bar.

bungusmaximus · Sep 18, 2007, 06:48 AM // 06:48

Mo/W wih [skill]disciplined stance[/skill] might also work, for defense and for removing dazed from [skill]bestial mauling[/skill].

Nice side effect is tactick, if you spec 9 in tactics you can pack a tactics shield which protects you even better from critters.

Frenzied defense sucks, I once rolled a thumper with [skill]wild blow[/skill] and I never had more fun ^^

Paddatoochie · Sep 18, 2007, 06:49 AM // 06:49

Return is a skills I like for defense against melee proffesions, as long as you have someone standing a while a way, you can tele to them, away from the hammer warrior about to spike you, and the sin that just teleported on you.

Drinky · Sep 18, 2007, 07:39 AM // 07:39

Mo/A

Smoke Powder Defense, Return chaining > hammer wars

Aera · Sep 18, 2007, 10:22 AM // 10:22

We usually run a Mo/R with [skill]Natural Stride[/skill]. You can just kite away from the thumpers and block at the same time.

Now, you should always have some form of anti melee in your team, regardless of what your monkbar is. Like an Ineptitude mesmer, curse necro, Cripshot ranger, Cripslash warrior linebacking, etc.

You WILL die a lot if you run without antimelee.

Oh, and a gheyass Warmongers rit with Weapon of Remedy won't save your ass.

moko · Sep 18, 2007, 10:37 AM // 10:37

Shield bash alone is not viable enough for RA. bring disciplined as well.

i personally am pretty much the only person left that still runs Natural Stride, because i really like the speedboost, it makes pre kiting a lot easier.

LifesRestorer · Sep 18, 2007, 02:42 PM // 14:42

i bring shield bash and disciplined speccing 9 in tactics. that extra 8 armour ontop of the +18 you should be getting from the shield anyway really goes a long way.

against thumpers, try and count their hits. remember that hammer bash is a cost of 6 adren, so try to count around 4-6 hits before activating shield bash.
if you are unable to correctly predict the amount of hits taken by a thumper, press disciplined stance the moment he presses hammer bash to reduce the chance of being dazed.

Warriors have 7 adrenaline to charge for Dev and 10 for backbreaker. -3 adrenaline from enraging you should be able to predict them alot easier.
Warriors are slightly easier to predict because their stances are not up permanently. watch for frenzy, and watch for flail.

If you are still having problems, i have a detailed guide to the way i play monk in RA/TA and how to deal with certain things. It can be found Here at post 258.

Hope i was of some help, good luck monking

Orange Milk · Sep 18, 2007, 04:09 PM // 16:09

Natural Stride FTW

Nothing more frustrating than running an RaO and having your speed boost annuled by a Monks Running skill.

Kitting > Blocking

Thumpers do tend to carry Irristable blow too ya know.

Try the Smoke Powder, I mean Thumpers don't carry a condition remover, some Wammos do, but bad wammos don't do any Dmg anyway so who cares.

TheOneMephisto · Sep 18, 2007, 08:32 PM // 20:32

Shield bashing hammer bash absolutely cripples thumpers. Try for it at every opportunity. It's even possible to bash it on reflex.

Div · Sep 18, 2007, 10:30 PM // 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mokone

Shield bash alone is not viable enough for RA. bring disciplined as well.

i personally am pretty much the only person left that still runs Natural Stride, because i really like the speedboost, it makes pre kiting a lot easier.

If I still played this game, I'd use NS in my MR build...but GW is not really worth playing much anymore outside of a few GvG's here and there.

Riotgear · Sep 19, 2007, 04:52 AM // 04:52

Getting trained by a thumper in RA is another one of those "what are your teammates doing?" problems. Thumpers are tight on skill slots so their defensive ability is limited.

Disciplined Stance + Shield Bash works great against KDers because you can save yourself when knocked down and Shield Bash can put a huge dent in their output. It also conveniently screws Assassins over hard. Just count the hits, soon as it hits 6, shield bash.

Teh [prefession]-zorz · Sep 19, 2007, 11:57 AM // 11:57

dark escape + return > disciplined stance + shield bash

imo D.E is more versital (gg spelling xD)

bashar pvp · Sep 19, 2007, 02:35 PM // 14:35

A monk with dark escape+return = a lot of fun imo, i love bringing those skills. And they are good with just 6 in shadow arts.

Lord Natural · Sep 19, 2007, 03:49 PM // 15:49

I prefer Mo/E myself, so here's what I usually do. Keep prot spirit and guardian on yourself, then kite like crazy. A shield with +10 vs blunt works wonders as well. I'm sure I'm in the minority on this, but for arenas I prefer using ar +10 vs physical armor over survivor's. Ele damage is pretty much a joke in arenas, considering PS or SB, so other than conjure, almost all melee will be coming at you with physical. Being spiked faster than you can catch should not be an issue in arenas, so the main point of survivor's is lost. So if you punch the numbers together, that's 88 ar vs your typical hammer warrior, and 78 vs pierce/slash.

Not a fan of natural stride on a monk. Useless if they have a hexer, and versatility should be key. I prefer glyph Mo/E for the energy reserve to keep PS up 100% of the time, but most people are into Mo/W. It's just a matter of personal preference. If your team is bad enough that they have no ability to hinder melee, then you will lose eventually no matter what your build is.

kvndoom · Sep 19, 2007, 04:35 PM // 16:35

I play Resto Rit instead of monk when I feel like healing fools in RA (not too often lately), and Blind Was Mingson stays on my bar. No defense vs physicals is greater than blind in RA, and you can cast Mingson before battle and have it ready to recast once the teams are close and skirmish begins. Battlefield awareness is so important. Even as a healer you should Tab through the opposing team once in radar range to see what's coming. In RA you know it's monk-stomp time, and should be expecting it and be prepared for it. You know they're coming after you first, without exception and without fail. If I anticipate more than one melee, I'll wait till they both get close to me before I drop the ashpot, then recast it immediately, and drop it again as soon as they recover from the blindness. This buys a ton of time to focus on healing my team instead of myself. In the end, that's the mindset you have to have when making a build- having enough survivability to focus more on keeping your teammates alive than keeping yourself alive.

I love seeing "cheap ass blinding noob" in local chat after beating a team with an assassin. The irony of an assassin calling someone cheap is side-splitting.

LifesRestorer · Sep 19, 2007, 06:40 PM // 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvndoom

I love seeing "cheap ass blinding noob" in local chat after beating a team with an assassin. The irony of an assassin calling someone cheap is side-splitting.

best yet are the melee characters that say 'noob stop running i own you 1v1' when you kite them

bungusmaximus · Sep 20, 2007, 06:51 AM // 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifesRestorer

best yet are the melee characters that say 'noob stop running i own you 1v1' when you kite them

That people have the time to type insults at eachother in an arena battle dazzles me tbh. people like that deserve to loose.