Curse

Cologne · Jan 24, 2006, 11:34 AM // 11:34

Okay, I was playing around in TA and CA for about 2 weeks, when I eventually stopped. I was playing as Healer monk, Boon Protections, Fi-Boon Healer, and I've tried every tactic of energy management there is (mantra of recall is my favorite, just because it is

) and yet, still, I've encountered the same problem OVER and OVER again.

Monks are spiked first. <--- Monks are spiked first.

I know there is logic behind it, don't get my wrong, I go after that monk first when I face a team with one, but still. Playing as a monk is not the best thing to do in CA / TA. As a matter of fact, it is the hardest position to play. Don't you dare say Mesmers are... They may have low armor stats and not very good defense vs. warriors armor-wise, but are they attacked first and foremost? BY EVERYONE? No.

So, why do Monks even bother? I mean, sure, if I'm bored I'll make up a quick Healer Monk w/ mantra of recall for CA / TA, but think about this:
[*]You waste all your energy on youself while the rest of your team is suffering conditions like madmen.[*]It doesn't get any more annoying than Life Tranfer... [*]At least 1 warrior is chasing you around the map all match long.[*]Mesmer is your greatest enemy, and yet, she seems to stay alive until your dead.[*]You may as well give up if you have Dazed on you... that means there's a nice ranger waiting for you to cast mend ailment.[*]So many people call you a noob that if they put that much energy into helping world hunger, we wouldn't have that problem.[*]and lastly, don't expect any help from anyone else, they're busy not-killing that mesmer.

So, unless someone has a godly build that is anti-mesmer, anti-ranger, anti-warrior, and can still heal decently, by all means post it. If not, well, I already quit TA / CA long ago...

Racthoh · Jan 24, 2006, 12:06 PM // 12:06

Contemplation of Purity solves almost every problem I encounter. If you don't play with CoP, learn to love and cherish it.

devilru · Jan 24, 2006, 12:08 PM // 12:08

Just be a Boon Prot Monk with Contemplation of Purity, drops lifetransfer like a breeze.
To counter ranger and elementalist spikes, use protective spirit to lessen the damage then guardian to evade those nasty interrupts. Always be side-stepping to avoid arrows.
The only warrior that gets to me is probably one with gale or shock, if it's just one warrior chasing you it's no problem but if he has good support such as those interrupt spam rangers with kindle arrows then you're in trouble.
Build I use:
Mo/N

Attributes:
10 Blood
11 Protection
15 Divine Favor

Skills:
Contemplation of Purity
Reversal of Fortune
Mend ailment
Guardian
Protective Spirit
Divine Boon
Offering of Blood [E]
Res Signet

ange1 · Jan 24, 2006, 12:18 PM // 12:18

well if u lived, all the warriors on other team would cuss at you =D

kais · Jan 24, 2006, 12:50 PM // 12:50

I have seen many bonders in CA/TA. is it a good build to use? cuz i tried it( im not sure my build was the 1 they used though) and found that with all those enchantments you did have much energy to spend( even with blessed signed ). maybe i was doing something wrong. i think i was using something like this:

mo/n

life bond
blessed signet
healing touch
mend ailment
protective spirit
rehearsal of fortune
holy veil
res sig

i dont know why i was using healing touch but i think i thought it was a good self heal. maybe my attributes were too spread out... i dont remember the numbers for my attributes.
i d be grateful if some1 had some advice to give me

Racthoh · Jan 24, 2006, 12:58 PM // 12:58

If I was playing bonder in 4v4, it would have to be TA with another monk. If you die, having to put the bonds back up is far too difficult a task.

Vermilion Okeanos · Jan 24, 2006, 01:04 PM // 13:04

bonder is a pure luck kind of thing in CA (hopfully not TA).

it will take some bad luck to meet someone that is well equipped with enchantment removal.

HOWEVER, you can't bond yourself. Yep, run for your life asap.

"(insert caller name): (monk name) is using Blessed Signet."

I hate it when I meet a team of 2 bonders, and most of the time there won't be sufficient enchantment removal at that point.

kais · Jan 24, 2006, 01:39 PM // 13:39

thx ill keep that in mind. ill just keep playing with my mo/n healer with OoB

Lorien of Mandos · Jan 24, 2006, 01:47 PM // 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by kais

I have seen many bonders in CA/TA. is it a good build to use? cuz i tried it( im not sure my build was the 1 they used though) and found that with all those enchantments you did have much energy to spend( even with blessed signed ). maybe i was doing something wrong. i think i was using something like this:

mo/n

life bond
blessed signet
healing touch
mend ailment
protective spirit
rehearsal of fortune
holy veil
res sig

i dont know why i was using healing touch but i think i thought it was a good self heal. maybe my attributes were too spread out... i dont remember the numbers for my attributes.
i d be grateful if some1 had some advice to give me

close - here's a bonder build I usually do well with (consistent runs of 10+ wins) in random arena

16 prot (12+3+1), 13 Divine Favor (12+1), rest can go to smiting though its not needed

Insightful 20/20 prot staff of shelter or defense or enchanting

1. life bond
2. blessed signet
3. balthazar's spirit (you gain energy whenever you take damage - works with damage that is directed to you from life bond

)
4. Shield of Deflection (SO many warriors in random arenas)
5. Reversal of fortune
6. mend ailment
7. holy veil
8. rez sig

sit back and laugh as the warrior trying to kill actually gives you enough energy to spam RoF and SoD on yourself over and over! Tell your team to target necros first and foremost (after monks) as this build won't last long against heavy hexes and degen.

Siliconwafer · Jan 24, 2006, 01:56 PM // 13:56

If you like MoR on a booned Mo/Me, take Hex Breaker and/or distortion. They're both stances, but HB can keep hexes (especially expensive necro hexes) off you indefinitely, and I've been in matches where I've just used distortion + guardian + MoR and kited for the whole match.

Try this:
Illusion: 4
DF: 14/15
Inspiration: 9/10
Prot: What's left, I guess.

Reversal of Fortune
Guardian
Mend Ailment
Protective Spirit
Divine Boon
Hex Breaker (Stance)//Distortion(Stance)
Mantra of Recall
Contemplation of Purity

I prefer distortion; if you kite properly you won't lose that much energy. I tend to use it when I've stopped to cast guardian, distortion will run out and guardian will take over, allowing you to run around some more. CoP off the expensive hexes, use distortion so your MoR won't get interrupted, cast guardian, off you go again.

There's a good case for hex breaker to be used, though. Almost nobody in CA/TA will be running cheap, spam hexes to overwhelm you. They just tend to be one or two powerful ones with a cover, which means that you acan probably catch both hexes with HB. Hey, you could take them both and ditch CoP; you won't be needing it if nobody can hit you or get a hex on you.
(yes, stances don't stack. Getting creative is the only solution, I guess.)

EDIT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by kais

I have seen many bonders in CA/TA. is it a good build to use? cuz i tried it( im not sure my build was the 1 they used though) and found that with all those enchantments you did have much energy to spend( even with blessed signed ). maybe i was doing something wrong. i think i was using something like this:

mo/n

life bond
blessed signet
healing touch
mend ailment
protective spirit
rehearsal of fortune
holy veil
res sig

You could try using the /N secondary to put an elite in there

, OoB maybe? Failing that, mantra of inscriptions + blessed sig should generate all the energy you need.

I was never too fond of bonders, bonds only deal with physical damage. But of course, arenas are full on warriors and rangers.

FrogDevourer · Jan 24, 2006, 01:58 PM // 13:58

Playing a pvp monk can indeed be stressful, especially if you're not comfortable with your build, and if you don't like pressure. In random teams and PuGs, you shouldn't expect too much from your team mates (whatever your profession anyway). As a monk (and especially as a 'not yet über' monk), you should be ready to die now and then while the rest of your team chews up the opposing team. If you die in seconds, there's something wrong with your monking (bad build, lack of practice, bad kiting...) so you can practice and solve the problem with time. However keep in mind that the best monks will have a hard time saving a team that is unable to kill the enemy, or to disrupt incoming damage.

So the best advice would be:
- find another role if your really dislike playing a pvp monk. Play something you're having fun with, whatever the arena or the level of competitive play you prefer.
- if you really want to continue as a monk, just grab a reliable build designed by an experienced player (not just random builds posted by average players), and learn to use it correctly, you'll improve with time. Once you're comfortable with the build, you can make your own tweaks, but don't do that until you understand the ins and outs of the build.
- try to find good team mates who are willing to accept your mistakes, or simply ignore bad comments. If you can't stand the heat, switch off the local/team channel until your monking improves or until you find a decent team.

Sorcha · Jan 24, 2006, 02:06 PM // 14:06

I've always had great fun playing my boon protector in PvP. Yeah sure in the random teams sometimes you die when placed in a team that isn't very experienced. But for the majority of the time I live and the team does well. I always say that it doesn't really matter in PvP if the monk dies as long as your team mates res quickly. You'll then find that everyone has switched target to the mesmer and will for the most part be blissfully unaware of you frantically healing your team. It's definitely a fun challenge.

Burakus Lightwing · Jan 24, 2006, 02:08 PM // 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racthoh

Contemplation of Purity solves almost every problem I encounter. If you don't play with CoP, learn to love and cherish it.

Playing one of those annoying people that does try to target the Monk 1st every time, I will say this...CoP is a pain to beat!! Would have to agree that CoP makes it very difficult to kill off that monk. I had one bleeding, poisoned and degening...all cured with one press of a button. Annoying for me, good for the monk.

Siliconwafer · Jan 24, 2006, 02:15 PM // 14:15

From what you've written, it seems that you'll really improve with time if you stick with monking and explain to yourself why you lost each round-bad teammates, kiting too little, kiting too much, etc. It's really a profession where there's constant improvement to be had.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cologne

You may as well give up if you have Dazed on you... that means there's a nice ranger waiting for you to cast mend ailment.

For example. The best way to deal with dazed is to cast rof or cop. Just wait until the daze wears off naturally, because a mend won't work under the circumstances. Or, you could try distortion, which will (75% of the time) get you through casting mend. Oh, and as always, keep moving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cologne

It doesn't get any more annoying than Life Tranfer...

See a necro? Precast holy veil on yourself. If the necro is taking their time to hex you, or doesn't hex you, you can take it off yourself. If they do hex you, you can remove it instantly and get the drop on them, so to speak.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cologne

At least 1 warrior is chasing you around the map all match long.

Just run the poor sod around. Have prot spirit on you, and mend+rof a cripple. Running warriors around lowers their damage so much. Of course, having to heal three others is a complication, but that's what practice is for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cologne

So many people call you a noob that if they put that much energy into helping world hunger, we wouldn't have that problem. and lastly, don't expect any help from anyone else, they're busy not-killing that mesmer.

That's Arenas for you. Don't let it get you down, I'm sure there's someone who appreciates the fact that they even got a monk on their team.

kais · Jan 24, 2006, 02:39 PM // 14:39

thx for the advice lorien of mandos and siliconwafer

ill try all that.
siliconwafer: yea i could use Oob but i figured i could maybe put another elite( even tho i didnt :P ) since i already use a heal mo with Oob

honnaja · Jan 24, 2006, 03:56 PM // 15:56

What a nice thread: no-one's having a go at anyone. Makes a refreshing change

I haven't really tried monking in pvp yet: I want to be confident with other monk builds first. I'm happy with healing in pve, and I liked my pre-nerf build that cleared out N.Kryta Prov. I feel I'm a pretty decent 'reactive protection' monk (prot. spells but not bonds/enchants), and bonding in 5-man Sorrow's team worked surprisingly well. I need to try bonding in UW/FoW and a solo-UW build, then once I feel okay with those I'll get around to trying pvp... I'd have tried it in gvg but I'm not in a guild so.. heh

Keep trying. Just try different things, study your skills and try things you think might work. If there's a particular thing that gets on your nerves, try and find something to counter-act it. Read builds on the various GW websites, try them, tweak them.. If you think you're not a bad monk and don't mind testing new ideas, then chances are you'll be good in pvp with practice.

JR · Jan 24, 2006, 06:01 PM // 18:01

If you run a boon prot build, which is probably the most versatile and durable monk build for arena, you should be the hardest person on your team to kill. Learning to kite, learning how to precast holy veil and drop it quickly to remove key hexes, learning how to utilize energy management.. (OoB > MoR imo... but that's a different thread.) All adds up to a very very steep learning curve when playing monk for the first time.

The First Attacker · Jan 24, 2006, 06:50 PM // 18:50

Well if you are taking all this damage count it lucky your team isnt. Also note while they are killing your monk, you can be killing theres, thus a ni`e balance on the rest of your team.

Numa Pompilius · Jan 24, 2006, 07:09 PM // 19:09

An hour ago I tried a prot monk in CA, and lost every match. Not because I died, but because everyone else did, even though I was spamming Shield of Regeneration & RoF & Healing Breeze on them - I had all the energy in the world thanks to Balthazars Spirit.
Actually in one match I stopped protecting myself when I realized my team was dead, the other team couldn't kill me, and I'd spent my rez signet. Got a "noob" for thanks.

ump · Jan 24, 2006, 07:27 PM // 19:27

I love playing monk in CA. The reason is because almost every team that I join in instantly becomes a great team and it's not too hard to get long win streaks with the most being flawless for a good chunk of faction. It's a fun challenge going to flawless victories. I play boon protection and it's great. Since you are always the target, things like Guardian and Contemplation of Purity are great survival skills. You have to know how to stay alive first and that means strategic running and healing/protecting while your teammates kill people. It's humorous to have warriors chase you around wasting time while your teammates finish off their teammates.