Curse

saphir · Feb 07, 2006, 02:29 PM // 14:29

So you think you can PUG heal monk..

Well, this has been festering inside my mind for quite a while and I thought this would be a good intro to what typical decisions monks have to make when partying w/ your generic any old pick up groups out there. Especially w/ all the monk threads flying about. enough w/ the bashing i say! let's see how well you can monk!

I've created a little quiz for wanna-be monk, non-monks and veteran monks alike to test their pug monking skills (specifically healing). It may look rather long.. but really, it's only 20 questions =)

I've focused specifically on the more challenging and harder areas of UW/FOW and Tombs UW as monking everywhere else is comparatively easy. Please note that although I made the answers so that one is usually better than the rest, there are no absolutes in monking. What may be the best answer for me may not be the best for another monk. In fact, I hope to learn more monking tips and insights myself! Hopefully this will create an interesting discussion about monking techniques as there isn't really a guide to monking, you just sort of learned on the fly. I was scared to monk in UW for the longest time before I finally went w/ some friends hehe.

Anyway, I usually run as a heal monk, so this quiz is built around that assumption. I don't have much experience as a prot monk and none as a bond monk.

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My monk is usually set up as mo/w in FOW/UW w/ :
prot spirit, word of healing (WoH), orison, healing breeze, healing seed, rebirth, essence bond, sprint

in TOMBS UW as mo/r:
prot spirit, WoH, orison, breeze, seed, rebirth, heal party, dodge

attribs: 16 heal/9 prot/11 div
weapon set 1: gordac's 10/10 rod, 20/20 healing focus
weapon set 2: gordac's 10/10 rod, +15 energy/-1 regen focus (backup for emergencies)
tattoo fow armor set, w/ sup heal, minor vigor, remaining monk runes minor

With the above, 99% of the time i never have energy problems, and never need a battery necro. The only time i'm ever short on energy is after I rebirth and a player goes charging off immediately.
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So, test out your PUG heal monking skills! and remember, most of these decisions have to be made in a split second. There's no time to be diddling around in these areas as a monk, as you'll have to take into account: decision time + party member selection time + getting into range time (if the player is out of heal range) + actual casting time
That's just the overhead on top of knowing where each player is, by which mob they might be under attack or focused on by, where mob aggro is and what your own position is relative to aggro (your own lvl of danger), and your own hp and energy managment.

I will post my answers w/ explanations to this quiz soon =)
Also all situtations created below are pretty much ones I have experienced over and over and over as a pug heal monk

================================ THE UNDERWORLD ==============================

1. Here it is! Welcome to UW! The first thing to pop up above everyone's head seems to be "DON'T TALK!"
Well, you consider yourself a pretty savvy monk and you've managed to deprogram the vicious training you received while in presearing to blindly click on any green exclamation point without bothering to read any of the oh-so exciting text.
So after you've sorted yourselves out, you guys are doing well. The single lone tank is holding his own against 3 Bladed Aatxes, you've got prot spirit, healing seed and essence bond on him, and the nukers are happily nuking away. The tank may be mostly damage and nonstance, but with prot spirit on him, that shouldn't be much of a problem even if you're pretty busy spamming heals on him. At least you only have to concentrate your heals on one tank. You notice the tank uses "eviscerate" and "defy pain". The Blades are at about 20% hp and under degen, you've got about half energy and decide to wait for the tank to hit around 40-50% hp before throwing WoH on him to take advantage of the <50%hp healing bonus. Bam! Next thing you know, the tank is dead, 2 angry Aatxes are head toward you and the casters are scattering like ants. What most likely happened?

a. Obviously the other monk wasn't doing his or her job. Damn, you didn't realize you'd have to be the only healer in this pug group. Maybe you should have checked if that monk was a 55 build... you squint your eyes, is that a bone cesta in their offhand..?

b. Ouch, those Bladed Aatxes hit HARD! You must have been off in your countdown for prot spirit and it ran out. Poor tank was helpless against those 400 dmg hits.

c. Those blasted Dying Nightmares again! Probably rended all your enchants and whatever bonds the other monk may have put on him as well. Thus one Aatxe hit taking him from 1/2 hp to 0.

d. Damn "defy pain"! You hate that skill as a monk in hard hitting mob areas. Do they have 600 hp? 300 hp? You have no clue.

e. Damn "eviscerate"! A regular attack in combination w/ the Aatxe riposte skill definitely did that tank in.

2. How do you end up in these groups you wonder?? Yet it happens. Two warriors and one of them happens to be those scaredy cat warriors. Every time he gets hit by an Aaxte, it's "run back to mommy, past the casters to activate his healing sig or troll ungent". This time it's healing signet. And you just wasted a 10 energy Prot spirit and 15 energy Healing seed on this guy! You tell him to stay up there and stop running, but he doesn't listen.
So while you wait for both skills to recharge, you can only spam WoH and orison on the other warrior. As an added bonus, the cowardly warrior has managed to pull along one of the 2 Aatxes and gotten the same ele killed again. What is your best strategy for this type of group?

a. Concentrate your heals on this warrior. If anything goes wrong, he's likely to live the longest and therefore can work as your backup tank. You need him alive.

b. Focus your heals and prots on the other warrior. This cowardly warrior is most likely to get your party killed and should be left to die whenever possible.

c. Screw this party. It's time to know when to cut your losses, and the less you see of this supposed "tank" the better. Map back to TOA.

d. Concentrate your heals and prots on the other warrior. Only cast spare prots and breezes on this warrior when no one else is in immediate need of attention. His running away is his own prot anyway.

e. Don't bother with this warrior. Focus on keeping the other warrior alive and protecting the casters that are endangered by this cowardly warrior.

3. Wow, you've actually got as far as the smites this time. So you've ended up in a team with 2 w/mo's and an aggro oblivious bunch of casters. The wars won't stop hitting the smites, the ranger is using tigers fury + barrage on the smites, and the eles and other monk wand happily away between casting. All your cries about SOJ and not attacking are ignored, and 2 groups of smites are running lose in your party, whacking on the other monk, and chasing a high DP ele around. The good news is that no Coldfires have been aggro'd .. yet.

The eles w/ 1/2 hp can't stop running long enough to cast, the warriors are helpless against ROF spamming smites. And the other monk just died before you could finish casting Word of Healing on him. Ranger has barraged himself to death. You still have the stronger warrior-who actually has some drok level armor, essence bonded for energy. What is your best plan of action?

a. Run far, far away and let everyone die. You can come back again another day. The problem might be those coldfires that the now dead ele aggro'd in his attempt to escape the smites. However, coldfires are starting to look more appealing than the 2 smites chasing you.

b. Spam your heals on the echo nuking eles, those are your damage dealers and you better keep them alive if you hope to win this battle!

c. Spam healing seed/prot spirit on both warriors and hope the ele and necro can handle themselves. Those warriors are the only ones keeping the remaining wave of smites (1 war has 3 aggro'd, the other 2) from overwhelming your little ecto farming party.

d. Spam healing seed and prot spirit on the warrior you've essence bonded, letting the others in your party die. You will do anything in order to maintain proper and easy aggro, and once the rest of the party is dead, you can return all smite aggro to your bonded warrior. Now if only he would stop attacking and getting knocked on his fat paladin asss.

e. Rebirth that dead monk. Everyone knows that the more heals you have going, the better. And another living monk can certainly help you heal the party.

4. Everyone in your group lays dead around you except for you and the warrior who's tanking 5 smites. You've got him essence bonded so there are no energy problems but you're spamming WoH, Prot Spirit, Breeze, and Orison non-stop just to keep the nonstance warrior alive. The dead monk is out of your aggro/rebirth range. Can you bring the party back, and what is the best approach?

a. This is a hopeless battle, run away and let the warrior die. Come back and rebirth another day I say.

b. Move until the warrior is at the tip of your heal range. Spam heals until Healing Seed has recharged, then spam seed, prot spirit and breeze before starting to rebirth an in-range ele or necro, whichever one has a permanent res. Switch to the +15/-1 energy offhand after rebirth and spam heal the dying warrior.

c. Throw healing seed and breeze on the warrior, then sprint 2 aggro circle distances to the monk to rebirth him. Run back to the warrior to heal him from smites.

d. Rebirthing should never be done in battle by a monk, tell the warrior to use his res sig or rebirth skill on the ele in range.

e. You're a monk, no one should die under your watch, but you can't rebirth and risk losing all your energy. Call a target and with your wand/staff and the warrior's sword you guys can take out each smite one by one.

5. You are under attack by 2 loose smites. What should you do?

a. Be a man, you can take it! Cast prot spirit on yourself, then repeatedly touch yourself w/ healing touch or breeze.

b. You can heal others better than you can yourself. Sprint away from the smites, and hope some lucky ele collects aggro instead. Cast prot spirit and healing breeze on that lucky ele.

c. You know casters always run, it's better to tank yourself with prot spirit and breeze so the nukers have a stationary target to hit. It's too bad you didn't bring bonetti's defense though.

d. Wtf! These smites should be attacking the hardy warrior! Lead the stubborn smites to the warrior, then strafe behind him and sprint away laughing as the smites get lost and aggro on the tank. suckers!

e. Trust the other monk to do his/her job to keep you healed and protected. Just keep spamming heals and keep that tank and those damage dealing eles alive.

6. Your tanking warrior is at 1/2 health and taking on a group of terrorwebs. You had just put breeze on him, and you notice that one of the terrorwebs is spitting little green balls at one of the necros standing next to your other monk and an ele. Meteor showers have started raining down around your warrior. The necro is at 90% health, monk and ele are at 100%. What is your next advisable plan of action?

a. Throw prot spirit on that warrior to keep the meteor showers from doing him in. Then cast WoH to put him back at 90-100% hp.

b. Throw WoH on the warrior to heal him up, then breeze should be recharged and can be cast on the 90% hp necro.

c. Throw Prot spirit on the necro, followed by orison to get the warrior back to ~75% hp. Keep WoH ready to heal the monk when he takes the AOE damage from the incoming fireball.

d. Cast Aegis, all party members will have 50% chance to block attacks. Save the warrior from meteors and the necro the spitting web in one fell swoop. An ounce of prevention is worth 10 heals.

7. Aggro nightmare! You're only in the inital chamber of UW, and already your team has managed to aggro a Bladed Aatxe to the back lines. Your 2 tanks are at 90% and 75% health, each tanking their own Aatxe. The trapping ranger just got hit by one of the front line Aatxes while attempting to dust trap his asss. Thank god you had the presence of mind to put prot spirit on him a second earlier. Eyes wide in panic, the ranger is now frantically running towards the nukers with aforementioned Aatxe in tow, and warrior chasing after Aatxe. The unbonded SS necro just got nailed by the original loose Aatxe, loosing about 400hp putting him at around 10% hp. He is now scooting backwards to escape, but the bond monk seems to be in the Necro's way. What do you do?

a. Throw Prot spirit on the Necro to keep him from taking anymore damage, followed by WoH.

b. Throw WoH on the Necro first, then followed by Prot Spirit. Hope the bond monk has the presence of mind to run.

c. OMG! All hell has just broken loose! Run for it, and hide between the 2 ghosts near the base of the stairs. You can safely res from there once everyone is dead.

d. Do nothing, but get the hell out of danger. That necro is as good as dead anyway. Try to ascertain who the loose Aatxe is going to take a swipe at next after killing the necro, and throw prot spirit on them. If you can't tell, throw prot spirit on the bond Monk just in case.

e. Self preservation first. A dead monk is a useless monk. Put prot spirit on yourself, then cast WoH on the necro if he's still alive.

8. Someone's done it again. You can never seem to get past the hardest part of UW - makng it past the first reaper without someone grabbing the quest "unwanted guests". You know who it was this time though, as the clueless warrior just ran off calling "I'm attacking Vengeful Aatxe!"
Now the invunerable beasts have found you, the tasty monk morsel of the party. First swipe - 41 damage. Ouch! What can you do to save the day?

a. Run! Those damn things are invunerable and invincible! Hope they go attack the reaper instead and show the warrior for the dunce he is.

b. Run? you kidding? They hit you with a 400 dmg Protector's Strike when you run from them. Cast prot spirit, then breeze, then sprint for your life.

c. Game over. These vengefuls aggro on the reaper and it's time to go home. Might as well take escort souls, then map out after calling these noobs the noobs they are.

d. Over? Never!! Everyone knows that once you kill the keepers the vengefuls will die. Tell everyone to go kill the keeper of souls and the terrorwebs down the corridor.

e. Over? Not yet, but likely. Cast Prot spirit and healing seed on any living wars and tell them to tank the vengefuls while you organize a party to kill the keepers.

==================================== FISSURE OF WOE ==============================

Well, UW was a complete nightmare you decide. Maybe you'll take it easy and go as a heal monk for FOW instead? You've heard about this book trick that makes aggro management a breeze, life should be peachy in FOW.

9. It's your first battle in FOW vs some Shadow mobs. It's not too hard, the casters know when to stay out of trouble, although they have a tendency to group together, and the warriors have Shadow aggro and are on the enemy monks. Suddenly, everyone's health has started dropping at the same time, and in the same sized increments. What is the likely cause of this?

a. Your party has just been repeatedly fireballed, and their standing too closely together has made them a perfect target for AOE's like firestorm.

b. Several people have Spiteful Spirit on them and are blithely stancing and attacking, completely clueless that they are killing their own teammates at their sides.

c. The other monk must be using heal party, as it heals everyone for the same amount at the same time. That is why the health bars are moving in unison.

d. You must be in a party of necro primaries and secondaries and they are all using the same life sacrificing skills.

e. This is a common bug w/ the party window for monks. Hit "p" to close and reopen your party window and the issue should be fixed.

10. You are clearing that second group near Balthazar's Ghost, the one consisting of shadow eles and mesmers. One of the warriors has aggro'd the loose 2 ele patrol and has managed to run completely out of your aggro circle. 2 more shadow eles, a mes and a few shadow wars stand between you and getting in range of healing that warrior who is getting pummelled by fireballs. "WTF Monks! HEAL ME!" are his distant cries for help. His HP is at 20%, it is likely you can get to him with time to spare using Sprint. However your other monk just got spiked by a fireball to 20% hp and you notice a Shadow warrior has started chasing you. The best course of action for your party to pull through alive would be:

a. Throw WoH on the other monk, then prot spirit to protect him from any other damage spikes. Sprint from the shadow warrior to lose aggro, just in time to orison or breeze the warrior if he's still alive.

b. Prot spirit yourself to minimize damage from the Shadow Warrior, then cast WoH on the other monk if he's still in trouble.

c. Throw WoH on the other monk, then prot spirit yourself in case you get spiked. Sprint thru enemey lines to lose shadow warrior aggro, and start spamming heals on the dying warrior. Cast breeze and orion on yourself to heal up from the inevitable fireballs, infernos and firestorms you collected in your act of bravery.

d. Monks should never run through enemy lines. Throw WoH on the monk, and prot spirit on yourself. Let the warrior die and let that be a lesson to him. Save the your energy for allies within your heal range.

e. Lucky you! you've loaded heal party. Stay back and spam heal party, saving both the warrior, monk and yourself while not putting yourself in danger. Congrats, treat yourself to an obsidian shard!

11. "Destroy them!" bellows Balthazar's Ghost as he comes running in from behind your party. A daunting task and an uphill battle. Barraged arrows rain down on you and the casters as 2 hulking Abysmals are charging down at your aggro happy Fire nuker. Fortunately the fire nuker decided it was a good idea to run when his Meteor Shower was interrupted by an Abysmal knockdown that took 1/3 of his hp. Unfortunately, there are now 4 Shadow Rangers firing from uphill, and one of them has you in it's targets. The other monk is getting repeatedly sniped by arrows, and you think that necro seems to have 2 too many sup runes as each barrage knocks down about 1/4 of his hp. You notice the other monk just cast Prot Spirit on himself. What is your best course of action?

a. Get as far back as possible. That ele was hopeless anyway. Throw Prot spirit on the lead tank, and start spamming WoH and breeze to keep the other monk alive.

b. Stupid ele he may be, you're not going to let him die that easily. Prot spirit the ele, WoH the monk followed by breeze. Orison the Necro and hope he has the presence of mind to run away.

c. The fools! You yell at the casters to hide behind the building from the barrage arrows. Prot spirit the ele, breeze the monk, WoH the necro and Seed the lead tank in that order.

d. Uh oh. You know if Balthazar gets owned, it's all over for everyone. Throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on the Ghost as a preventative measure. Then WoH the monk.

e. Save yourself first. Prot spirit yourself, then breeze. WoH the monk. Orison the necro or ele, whoever is still alive.

f. Kite, kite, kite! You are like a leaf in the wind! You are the wind! No need to heal yourself! Prot/breeze the monk, seed the tank. WoH the ele.

12. Aggro nightmare again! when will that second warrior ever learn that it's not good to stand halfway between the lead aggro warrior, and the rest of the casters. As a result, crazy, slash happy Skeletal Beserkers w/ those non-dropping Chaos Axes are chasing your nukers and monks around. The ele you refer to as the "chicken sht ele" has run off in a straight line w/ 1 berserker and is completely off your radar at 10% hp. The 2 wars (both at about 70% hp) are happily swinging away at the skeletal bonds and mesmers ("monks & mesmers first!" they scream). Unfortunately the 2 remaining Skeletal Beserkers have chosen your lucky and fleeing battery necro to beat up on who is at 50% hp and taking about 15% damage with each hit. An ele has just been lightning touched by one of the skeletal hands putting his health at about 20%. Meteor showers are raining down on empty dust, and the other monk has begun to spam he's low on energy. You still have about half your energy, but you've got a warrior essence bonded. How can you best contribute to this mess?

a. Spam your energy. Better get that battery necro to fill you up before he dies!

b. Keep the warriors healed w/ breeze/seed and WoH and let the ele die - the nukes are useless when the mobs are running around anyway. It's most important to kill off the enemy healers and mesmers first. You don't need the battery necro because you'll gain energy from the ess bond on the warrior.

c. Cut your bond on the warrior. Throw Prot Spirit on the ele to keep him from getting spiked again, then WoH - you need the ele damage. Then tell the necro to run while you cast breeze on him.

d. Cut your bond on the warrior. Throw WoH on the ele and Prot Spirit on the Necro. Tell the necro to stand still and tank, then cast Healing Seed on him if he listens. Breeze the better warrior to keep him up.

e. Throw Prot Spirit and breeze on the other monk. Better keep him alive if you come under attack so he can heal you.

13. Man! Unbelievable, but you've finally made it to the book quest without your party carelessly pulling aggro on 2 patrols at once. Your two warriors are up front tanking the big, bad undead lich. An ele lies dead behind enemy lines where he tried to run when he got in trouble on aggro. As you spot a patrol consisting of the second undead liche and company coming around the corner from your right flank, you belatedly realize that the dead ele had managed to set off their patrolling behavior. Your 2 wars are at 50% and 80% hp, both diseased and blinded. One has seed on him. 2 Shadow rangers are slowly picking off the casters and your trap ranger, all of whom you have been continually spamming 5 energy heals on. The other monk is endlessly spamming Reversal of Fortune and Mend Ailment, but the party window isn't looking good. Your energy is at 50% (~23) and steadily declining. Your wisest course of action is:

a. Run! No good will come of this. If the warriors fail to notice all the pinging and arrow drawing on the map, too bad. It's time to cut your losses.

b. Play decoy. Prot spirit and breeze yourself before running off in the direction of the patrol. Aggro the liche and friends then take them on wild goose chase around the plains before finally sprinting back to your party. By this time your party should have taken out the other mobs and you can safely engage the new patrol.

c. Uh oh, you're definitely going to need more firepower. Sprint past the 1st undead lich to rebirth the dead ele. Heal him up so he can start adding his nukes to the damage.

d. Tell the second warrior to engage the incoming patrol. You throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on that warrior and tell the other monk to take care of the first warrior. You whip out your +15/-1 focus and get ready to spam heals, this is what you were made for!

e. Let the ranger die, he's doing no good at all. You don't need any mesmers or necros when it comes down to it. So concentrate your energy on the ele, prot spirit and WoH him, then throw a breeze on the warriors.

14. Well, you've finally managed to convince a party to do the wailing lord quest and clear out some of those ghostlies. You just know they're itching to drop you sapphires and gold storm bows! Your team is scared and one warrior mentions he's never been there before, but you assure them it'll be alright. Besides, you've got 2 monks to back you up. But one of them is a bond monk, so he hangs back out of range of Nature's Renewal.

Your party decides to pull the Spirit Shepards before taking out the worms. Two of the Spirit Shepards charge the lead warrior, but one has broken loose and continues onward in that bizarre lumbering gait towards an ele who has just started rising into the air, casting her meteor shower. This aggro happy ele has already died twice following the first quest, and right behind her in a tight little group, also starting their spells is the other ele and a necro.

a. Oh boy! You love it when the casters pack in tight like that. Their death is imminent when the chain lighting hits, so your best move is to breeze the lead warrior for now, move far away from those dead casters and get ready to throw WoH on whoever the surviving ele or necro is.

b. You know the first skill charging Spirit Shepards use is often lighting touch so you throw a prot spirit on the high dp ele. Then a breeze or WoH on the lead warrior. You then conserve your energy and remaining skills for the inevitable Chain lighting spikes.

c. The ele has been nothing but grief right from the start, it would serve her right to die again right now. Prot spirit the other ele as a preventative measure and then move in and start wanding that Edge of Extinction spirit. If the ele is going to die, you'll be damned if she takes you along with her!

d. As the warrior has 2 Spirit Shepards on him versus the 1 heading towards the ele, you throw prot spirit on the warrior as you know lightning touch will penetrate armor. Then breeze him up, getting ready to cast WoH on which ever caster is going to need it.

e. Monks first, always! And you never know where lightning might strike twice, so you prot spirit yourself first, then breeze the high dp ele, followed by healing seed on the lead warrior.

================= TOMB UW / NEW UW / PLACE WHERE YOU GET CRAPPY NEW GREENS =========

Well, FOW was definitely easier than UW, it would almost be boring if it weren't for those warriors who only cared about the enemy monks and let the backline casters get shredded. At least you got an obsidian shard out of the ordeal. But now you're ready for a challenge again, and you've heard the new tombs UW is the place all the cool monks are hanging out. You don't even have to be any good to get into a group, you can't wait to try out your seasoned healing skills here!

15. It's only the first group and already these horrible Graspings are crawling out of the ground and chasing the other monk and your n/me MM necro around! Both the monk and necro and monk lose about 2/3 hp with each attack and it's all you can do to recharge quickly enough to stick another WoH on the caster closest to death at that time. The 2 resolve nukers are in the process of casting their spells when your party gets hit with a "cry of frustration" followed by an "energy surge" knocking off 1/3 to 1/2 health of all the casters. With only a split second to make your decision, what is your best choice?

a. You're way too close to the other casting players. Start retreating now, and orison yourself. Then spam WoH, breeze and orison as fast as you can on the players w/ the highest hp and thus most likely to survive.

b. Save the monks! Because you are the most important asset to the party. Throw everything you've got on the other monk to keep him alive, WoH, then prot spirit, orison, breeze and hope he can manage to get away from the grasping before you run out of energy.

c. Everyone needs healing, so cast Heal Party. Then cast WoH on the monk and breeze and prot spirit the necro.

d. Oh yah, did we forget the warrior? That monk will have to save himself, and the necro is probably dead anyway. Run past the chaos to the warrior and throw prot spirit, WoH and breeze on him to keep him going a bit longer. Then Heal Party.

e. You're going to be in big trouble without the other monk in this situation, so WoH the monk. Prot spirit the n/me until you can get back to healing him. Heal the monk again, then Heal Party if there's any energy left.

16. You're stuffed full of energy, thanks to the over-zealous battery necro. The solo tank has just pulled aggro on a group of 3 dreamriders and 3 terrorwebs. You've got 1 other non-SpellBreaker heal monk, 1 ranger and 5 other casters to take care of. What is your best strategy to this situation?

a. With that battery necro by your side and BIP on you all the time, you can cast with no worries. Throw Prot spirit on the warrior to shield from those meteor showers, followed by healing seed and breeze to keep him up. WoH to get that sacrifice happy battery back up to full hp.

b. Good thing you decided to bring Spellbreaker instead of WoH! Shield the warrior with SB and let that aggro happy tank charge right in! Prepare to spam heals on the casters around you.

c. Now you know why you brought mending! With so many fireballs and burning degen flying around, it's perfect! You stick mending on the warrior, mending on the battery and mending on yourself just in case. Then get ready for some to toss around healing breezes for additional regen. Add prot spirit for yourself, and you have no fear against Fireball or Meteor Shower!

d. Since no one has Spellbreaker, you hang back and get ready to alternate spamming WoH and Orison on the warrior as he takes hits from the mob. You hold back from using prot spirit, healing seed or breeze until the dream riders are dead.

e. Better not get too close to this mess. You hang back 1 1/2 circles of aggro away from the warrior and get ready to start spamming Heal Party.

17. That dreamrider seems to have made you his biitch and you can't get a freaking heal spell out. Interrupted at every turn, then chained "cry's of frustration" from the Scythes. It's pissing the hell out of you, what are you doing wrong?

a. Those pesky mesmers, you should have brought Mantra of Resolve like the clever eles did. They never get interrupted do they!

b. There's nothing you can do, the mesmers pick on you just because you're a monk, just like in pvp. You can only keep casting and hope to get at least 1 heal out every so often.

c. You're way too close to the action. Move in, cast your heal, get out. Be constantly on the move. These mesmers have short attention spans, and generally it's out of site, out of mind. Use sprint or dodge if they are exceptionally persistent.

d. Now you realize why everyone's always looking for that SB monk. Spellbreaker would protect you and let you spam all those heals that your party depends on.

e. Why can't that fricking warrior learn to aggro? Since when does "aggro" equate "run in, then run back to casters so all the mobs will be in range and the eles won't have to move to nuke and the monks can plaster you w/ bandaids??"

18. Finally some proper aggro! You've made it to the last stage of tombs uw, and you can almost smell your Victo's Bulwark awaiting you. The warrior has a huge mob (the entire chamber in fact) locked about her, a wall of minions is temporarily keeping the graspings at bay, and you are packed with the rest of the casters in the long narrow stairway. The party has just been hit by a chain of energy surges and everyone is at 1/2 hp or less. Then another siege wurm attack lands, knocking the tank to 1/8 hp. Unfortunately you had just finished casting WoH on the other monk so it's still recharging and that monk's heal party was just interrupted. What is your best option?

a. It's time to back off. The tank may die, but the minions should hold the line. Concentrate your heals on getting that minion master back up to full health! Then retreat!

b. You can't do much for the warrior but throw an orison and a breeze on her. Since the other monk can't recast heal party soon, you cast Heal Party to heal up the casters.

c. The casters are weak and can't take much more damage but the warrior can hold out for a bit longer. Cast Heal Party after which time WoH should be recharged in time to be thrown on the tank.

d. Throw Prot spirit on the tank to try to minimize anymore damage plus get a heal bonus from div favor, in which time WoH should be recharged to heal up the tank. Then cast Heal Party.

e. Keep the monks up! Prot spirit the other monk, then breeze yourself. Then Heal party. If the tank dies, she'll make an excellent bone horror.

19. You've ended up in a ranger barrage/pet group as their only heal monk. 4 of the 5 rangers are r/mo, you groan inwardly. The minion master is an n/mo and you've got an n/me orders necro. Both necros are constantly sacrificing their health, especially the orders necro. After a short afk by a ranger, most of the minions have died, thus landing you in the current situation. The graspings are once again on the loose, chasing their favorite barrager (an r/mo) madly around. It's almost funny to see, the fleeing ranger chased by 2 graspings chased by another ranger trying to apply throw dirt. Each hit takes 60-80% of the ranger's hp and you just finish throwing WoH on him when the entire party is hit with successive Cry's of Frustration. Fortunately, your orders necro is out of range, but at 20% hp. You suspect the MM has just used Verata's Sacrifice, and is at 40% hp sitting in the middle of the enemy / minion mix no less. And the r/mo just got knocked down to 25% hp again. What is your best tactic?

a. Since the necros can control when they sacrifice their health, prioritize your healing on the r/mo ranger. Being r/mo, enchants won't stick long, so spam everything you've got on him, WoH, prot spirit, breeze, orison, seed, until the other rangers have managed to kill the rogue graspings.

b. You need that orders necro for damage! WoH the necro, then breeze so he can keep sacrificing hp to keep the additional orders damage up. Then prot spirit the MM necro followed by an orison. The ranger will have to fend for himself.

c. If that MM goes down, the minions will go probably eat you alive. WoH the MM, then breeze so he can still sacrifice his health. Orison yourself to get yourself back up to health.

d. Heal Party is the key. Save everyone at once, then apply WoH where needed.

e. The last thing you want is those graspings headed towards you. But just in case, prot spirit and breeze yourself, then back up slowly, never taking your eyes off the mob. There's enough rangers that one or two dead ones aren't going to matter.

20. Finally a part of a good group, you've just breezed through the entire tombs area in a little over an hour, and in a 6 person party no less. But due to the fewer number of casters, the Darknesses have decided that you're going to be their favorite little monk. You're at 2/3 energy and you see you've got Mind Wrack, Sympathetic Visage, Diversion, Ignorance and Adventurer's Insight on you. Thank god you don't have Backfire as well. The ele hasn't stopped spamming "I have Backfire on me!" since you started engaging the bosses, but too bad for him you didn't bring hex removal. The necro is getting pounded by the hard hitting Darkness melee attacks, each taking off about 1/5 of her hp leaving her at about 1/3 hp. And you notice both terrorwebs are facing towards the backfired ele. Which of the following is NOT a good idea?

a. Gotta save that necro before she's turned into pulp! Throw WoH on her, then prot spirit the ele from the incoming fireball or meteor shower.

b. Save that ele first, he's going to be creamed by the webs. Prot spirit him then breeze on him due to the incoming degen.

c. Prot spirit the Necro to minimize the damage, followed by Woh to heal her up. Then breeze the ele and wait for prot spirit to recharge.

d. Use Sprint/Dodge to lose any aggro on you, then throw WoH on the necro and prot spirit the ele.

e. Do nothing. Just watch and laugh for the next 4 seconds as the other monk frantically tries to save both the necro and ele by himself.

================================================== ================

Congratulations, all your hard work as a monk has paid off and one of the kind The Darknesses has dropped your 120th Raven Staff. Time to start a collection! Too bad that "wtf, heal me monk!" Monk in your party managed to snag Victo's Bulwark and 2 ectos as well. Better luck next time!

Caged Fury · Feb 07, 2006, 02:51 PM // 14:51

saphir, you've forgotten to remove the answer from question 6.

saphir · Feb 07, 2006, 03:22 PM // 15:22

haha stupid me =)

just proof read and cleaned everything up. thx!

beanerman_99 · Feb 07, 2006, 04:12 PM // 16:12

wow. This must have taken you quite a while to write up. I have always wanted to try a monk and now I know why I haven't...I would have no clue what to do in the higher areas of the game! IMHO monks are the hardest class to play. If you do your job well the team just thinks your doing what you are supposed to do and offers no thanks whatsoever. If you screw up once, you get razzed horribly for letting everyone die. Monks got it pretty rough in my opinion.

I would like to see the "answers" to these questions. I think this would be a great learning tool for those of us who would like to be a monk but not sure what to do in pressing situations.

thanks

darkMishkin · Feb 07, 2006, 04:30 PM // 16:30

Nice work.

To the guy above me: I'm not sure there is a right answer to a lot of these, but hey, that's what being a monk is all about; adaptation and quick-thinking under pressure.

The Real Roy Keane · Feb 07, 2006, 04:44 PM // 16:44

Nice thread man,essentially a mini guide in diguise if you read it right. I have an easy answer for 1-8 though: make 55 monk and save yourself a lot of hassle^^.

Caged Fury · Feb 07, 2006, 04:57 PM // 16:57

Now I've read it in full, just want to say excellent piece of work - very amusing and entertaining. I've never been to these places, but since I'm a new monk player I thought I'll give the quiz a go. Here are my answers:

1. d
Damn "defy pain"! You hate that skill as a monk in hard hitting mob areas. Do they have 600 hp? 300 hp? You have no clue.

2. e
Don't bother with this warrior. Focus on keeping the other warrior alive and protecting the casters that are endangered by this cowardly warrior.

3. d
Spam healing seed and prot spirit on the warrior you've essence bonded, letting the others in your party die. You will do anything in order to maintain proper and easy aggro, and once the rest of the party is dead, you can return all smite aggro to your bonded warrior. Now if only he would stop attacking and getting knocked on his fat paladin asss.

4. d
Rebirthing should never be done in battle by a monk, tell the warrior to use his res sig or rebirth skill on the ele in range.

5. e
Trust the other monk to do his/her job to keep you healed and protected. Just keep spamming heals and keep that tank and those damage dealing eles alive.

6. (Not going to answer this because I read the answer). Little green balls, I'll remember to look out for that.

7. b
Throw WoH on the Necro first, then followed by Prot Spirit. Hope the bond monk has the presence of mind to run.

8. e
Over? Not yet, but likely. Cast Prot spirit and healing seed on any living wars and tell them to tank the vengefuls while you organize a party to kill the keepers.

FISSURE OF WOE

9. a
Your party has just been repeatedly fireballed, and their standing too closely together has made them a perfect target for AOE's like firestorm.

10. d
Monks should never run through enemy lines. Throw WoH on the monk, and prot spirit on yourself. Let the warrior die and let that be a lesson to him. Save the your energy for allies within your heal range.

11. d
Uh oh. You know if Balthazar gets owned, it's all over for everyone. Throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on the Ghost as a preventative measure. Then WoH the monk.

12. b
Keep the warriors healed w/ breeze/seed and WoH and let the ele die - the nukes are useless when the mobs are running around anyway. It's most important to kill off the enemy healers and mesmers first. You don't need the battery necro because you'll gain energy from the ess bond on the warrior.

13. d
Tell the second warrior to engage the incoming patrol. You throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on that warrior and tell the other monk to take care of the first warrior. You whip out your +15/-1 focus and get ready to spam heals, this is what you were made for!

14. e
Monks first, always! And you never know where lightning might strike twice, so you prot spirit yourself first, then breeze the high dp ele, followed by healing seed on the lead warrior.

TOMB UW / NEW UW / PLACE WHERE YOU GET CRAPPY NEW GREENS

15. a
You're way too close to the other casting players. Start retreating now, and orison yourself. Then spam WoH, breeze and orison as fast as you can on the players w/ the highest hp and thus most likely to survive.

16. d
Since no one has Spellbreaker, you hang back and get ready to alternate spamming WoH and Orison on the warrior as he takes hits from the mob. You hold back from using prot spirit, healing seed or breeze until the dream riders are dead.

17. d
Now you realize why everyone's always looking for that SB monk. Spellbreaker would protect you and let you spam all those heals that your party depends on.

18. a
It's time to back off. The tank may die, but the minions should hold the line. Concentrate your heals on getting that minion master back up to full health! Then retreat!

19. c
If that MM goes down, the minions will go probably eat you alive. WoH the MM, then breeze so he can still sacrifice his health. Orison yourself to get yourself back up to health.

20. e
Do nothing. Just watch and laugh for the next 4 seconds as the other monk frantically tries to save both the necro and ele by himself.

Hopefully I've got some right, otherwise I'm a bad monk and will be looking forward to spamming...

"[email protected] monk lfp for UW/Fow"

MSecorsky · Feb 07, 2006, 04:58 PM // 16:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphir

So you think you can PUG heal monk..

================= TOMB UW / NEW UW / PLACE WHERE YOU GET CRAPPY NEW GREENS =========

Well, FOW was definitely easier than UW, it would almost be boring if it weren't for those warriors who only cared about the enemy monks and let the backline casters get shredded. At least you got an obsidian shard out of the ordeal. But now you're ready for a challenge again, and you've heard the new tombs UW is the place all the cool monks are hanging out. You don't even have to be any good to get into a group, you can't wait to try out your seasoned healing skills here!

15. It's only the first group and already these horrible Graspings are crawling out of the ground and chasing the other monk and your n/me MM necro around! Both the monk and necro and monk lose about 2/3 hp with each attack and it's all you can do to recharge quickly enough to stick another WoH on the caster closest to death at that time. The 2 resolve nukers are in the process of casting their spells when your party gets hit with a "cry of frustration" followed by an "energy surge" knocking off 1/3 to 1/2 health of all the casters. With only a split second to make your decision, what is your best choice?

a. You're way too close to the other casting players. Start retreating now, and orison yourself. Then spam WoH, breeze and orison as fast as you can on the players w/ the highest hp and thus most likely to survive.

b. Save the monks! Because you are the most important asset to the party. Throw everything you've got on the other monk to keep him alive, WoH, then prot spirit, orison, breeze and hope he can manage to get away from the grasping before you run out of energy.

c. Everyone needs healing, so cast Heal Party. Then cast WoH on the monk and breeze and prot spirit the necro.

d. Oh yah, did we forget the warrior? That monk will have to save himself, and the necro is probably dead anyway. Run past the chaos to the warrior and throw prot spirit, WoH and breeze on him to keep him going a bit longer. Then Heal Party.

e. You're going to be in big trouble without the other monk in this situation, so WoH the monk. Prot spirit the n/me until you can get back to healing him. Heal the monk again, then Heal Party if there's any energy left.

Well, this is where my monks hangs, so I'll take a shot at these only.

First off, with the enchant strippers running around in here, I've had the best success without any enchants whatsoever. If I recall, skill bar for pure heal is Orison, Dwayna's, Word, Heal other, Heal party, Bane signet, Smite hex and Restore life, with points in Divine, Healing and some in smite. For those who think Dwayna's a lousy heal spell... cast it when your tank has a few hexes on him. I've seen it heal for over 200 combines with divine, not bad for 5 energy and 3 sec recharge. I also have a healing rod that's faster casting of healing spells 19%, faster skill recharge (all) 9%. I'm fond of it.

In this case, I spread out form the rest of the casters a bit so as to avoid CoF AoE and flip through the first four spells like a madman. I tend to prioritize the other monk, warrior and necro if I'm even thinking of who's who in the health bar list... normally for me it's red lines needing attention regardless of who's who. Heal Party takes too long to cast in this situation, and if everyone's under attack then someone over-aggroed and you're in trouble enough. Someone or two might die, but keep in mind that Dp fades quickly and if enough people survive to clean up the aggro'd you're ok.

People may not think this ideal, but I've taken full parties to finish as the only monk.

Quote:

16. You're stuffed full of energy, thanks to the over-zealous battery necro. The solo tank has just pulled aggro on a group of 3 dreamriders and 3 terrorwebs. You've got 1 other non-SpellBreaker heal monk, 1 ranger and 5 other casters to take care of. What is your best strategy to this situation?

a. With that battery necro by your side and BIP on you all the time, you can cast with no worries. Throw Prot spirit on the warrior to shield from those meteor showers, followed by healing seed and breeze to keep him up. WoH to get that sacrifice happy battery back up to full hp.

b. Good thing you decided to bring Spellbreaker instead of WoH! Shield the warrior with SB and let that aggro happy tank charge right in! Prepare to spam heals on the casters around you.

c. Now you know why you brought mending! With so many fireballs and burning degen flying around, it's perfect! You stick mending on the warrior, mending on the battery and mending on yourself just in case. Then get ready for some to toss around healing breezes for additional regen. Add prot spirit for yourself, and you have no fear against Fireball or Meteor Shower!

d. Since no one has Spellbreaker, you hang back and get ready to alternate spamming WoH and Orison on the warrior as he takes hits from the mob. You hold back from using prot spirit, healing seed or breeze until the dream riders are dead.

e. Better not get too close to this mess. You hang back 1 1/2 circles of aggro away from the warrior and get ready to start spamming Heal Party.

If I have SB, the tank has it upon entry and the melodious chirps of failed spells are dancing through my ears while the eles rain death from above on the aggroed group. If I didn't... the other monk did. Same situation. Regardless, if the warrior owns aggro, he gets full attention, no enchants, and will not die.

Quote:

17. That dreamrider seems to have made you his biitch and you can't get a freaking heal spell out. Interrupted at every turn, then chained "cry's of frustration" from the Scythes. It's pissing the hell out of you, what are you doing wrong?

a. Those pesky mesmers, you should have brought Mantra of Resolve like the clever eles did. They never get interrupted do they!

b. There's nothing you can do, the mesmers pick on you just because you're a monk, just like in pvp. You can only keep casting and hope to get at least 1 heal out every so often.

c. You're way too close to the action. Move in, cast your heal, get out. Be constantly on the move. These mesmers have short attention spans, and generally it's out of site, out of mind. Use sprint or dodge if they are exceptionally persistent.

d. Now you realize why everyone's always looking for that SB monk. Spellbreaker would protect you and let you spam all those heals that your party depends on.

e. Why can't that fricking warrior learn to aggro? Since when does "aggro" equate "run in, then run back to casters so all the mobs will be in range and the eles won't have to move to nuke and the monks can plaster you w/ bandaids??"

Relax. They have recharge times too. The 5 energy quick casts will quickly burn out the enemies CoF; you will be able to heal. Don't panic, don't leave your warrior behind. Pausing a sec before casting again tends to get them to switch targets and gets you on track again.

Quote:

18. Finally some proper aggro! You've made it to the last stage of tombs uw, and you can almost smell your Victo's Bulwark awaiting you. The warrior has a huge mob (the entire chamber in fact) locked about her, a wall of minions is temporarily keeping the graspings at bay, and you are packed with the rest of the casters in the long narrow stairway. The party has just been hit by a chain of energy surges and everyone is at 1/2 hp or less. Then another siege wurm attack lands, knocking the tank to 1/8 hp. Unfortunately you had just finished casting WoH on the other monk so it's still recharging and that monk's heal party was just interrupted. What is your best option?

a. It's time to back off. The tank may die, but the minions should hold the line. Concentrate your heals on getting that minion master back up to full health! Then retreat!

b. You can't do much for the warrior but throw an orison and a breeze on her. Since the other monk can't recast heal party soon, you cast Heal Party to heal up the casters.

c. The casters are weak and can't take much more damage but the warrior can hold out for a bit longer. Cast Heal Party after which time WoH should be recharged in time to be thrown on the tank.

d. Throw Prot spirit on the tank to try to minimize anymore damage plus get a heal bonus from div favor, in which time WoH should be recharged to heal up the tank. Then cast Heal Party.

e. Keep the monks up! Prot spirit the other monk, then breeze yourself. Then Heal party. If the tank dies, she'll make an excellent bone horror.

This is why I have Heal Other as well. Flip that on the tank, WoH is ready again. Bring him up, Heal Party, individual focus with 5 energy heals by need, eye stays on the tank. Also might go Orison/Heal Other/WoH on the tank first.

Quote:

19. You've ended up in a ranger barrage/pet group as their only heal monk. 4 of the 5 rangers are r/mo, you groan inwardly. The minion master is an n/mo and you've got an n/me orders necro. Both necros are constantly sacrificing their health, especially the orders necro. After a short afk by a ranger, most of the minions have died, thus landing you in the current situation. The graspings are once again on the loose, chasing their favorite barrager (an r/mo) madly around. It's almost funny to see, the fleeing ranger chased by 2 graspings chased by another ranger trying to apply throw dirt. Each hit takes 60-80% of the ranger's hp and you just finish throwing WoH on him when the entire party is hit with successive Cry's of Frustration. Fortunately, your orders necro is out of range, but at 20% hp. You suspect the MM has just used Verata's Sacrifice, and is at 40% hp sitting in the middle of the enemy / minion mix no less. And the r/mo just got knocked down to 25% hp again. What is your best tactic?

a. Since the necros can control when they sacrifice their health, prioritize your healing on the r/mo ranger. Being r/mo, enchants won't stick long, so spam everything you've got on him, WoH, prot spirit, breeze, orison, seed, until the other rangers have managed to kill the rogue graspings.

b. You need that orders necro for damage! WoH the necro, then breeze so he can keep sacrificing hp to keep the additional orders damage up. Then prot spirit the MM necro followed by an orison. The ranger will have to fend for himself.

c. If that MM goes down, the minions will go probably eat you alive. WoH the MM, then breeze so he can still sacrifice his health. Orison yourself to get yourself back up to health.

d. Heal Party is the key. Save everyone at once, then apply WoH where needed.

e. The last thing you want is those graspings headed towards you. But just in case, prot spirit and breeze yourself, then back up slowly, never taking your eyes off the mob. There's enough rangers that one or two dead ones aren't going to matter.

Hey, sounds like last night! Fastest group I ever was in too. Amazing, a good barrage group. One poor bugger seemed to be on everyone's poop-list. However, keep flipping the quick heals, save Heal Other for the most degraded health bars, and if the necro is out of range you MUST ignore him/her. Time spent running to heal is time spent while others die. The necro will either get back in range or won't. Heal Party when no one's too critical and you have the juice.

Quote:

20. Finally a part of a good group, you've just breezed through the entire tombs area in a little over an hour, and in a 6 person party no less. But due to the fewer number of casters, the Darknesses have decided that you're going to be their favorite little monk. You're at 2/3 energy and you see you've got Mind Wrack, Sympathetic Visage, Diversion, Ignorance and Adventurer's Insight on you. Thank god you don't have Backfire as well. The ele hasn't stopped spamming "I have Backfire on me!" since you started engaging the bosses, but too bad for him you didn't bring hex removal. The necro is getting pounded by the hard hitting Darkness melee attacks, each taking off about 1/5 of her hp leaving her at about 1/3 hp. And you notice both terrorwebs are facing towards the backfired ele. Which of the following is NOT a good idea?

a. Gotta save that necro before she's turned into pulp! Throw WoH on her, then prot spirit the ele from the incoming fireball or meteor shower.

b. Save that ele first, he's going to be creamed by the webs. Prot spirit him then breeze on him due to the incoming degen.

c. Prot spirit the Necro to minimize the damage, followed by Woh to heal her up. Then breeze the ele and wait for prot spirit to recharge.

d. Use Sprint/Dodge to lose any aggro on you, then throw WoH on the necro and prot spirit the ele.

e. Do nothing. Just watch and laugh for the next 4 seconds as the other monk frantically tries to save both the necro and ele by himself.

If you cast right now, you lose a spell for a long time. Keeping that in mind, and because I do indeed bring Hex Removal, I'll burn Smite Hex on the ele. He gets the divine favor points and looses backfire. Short pause, Diversion gone, go nuts healing again.

Why the heck is the necro meleeing? WoH/Heal Other, change focus.

I'm sure this will be picked apart by many. But, when people PM you and say "I remember you, you're good"... it's a nice feeling. So if you see Eggfu Young out there in the Tombs, say Hi. I'll keep ya breathing.

living too die · Feb 07, 2006, 04:58 PM // 16:58

nice

a great piece for any monk enthusiast to read

animeba · Feb 07, 2006, 05:30 PM // 17:30

I just read your FOW part of your post.
When you see rapid health loss on several members at the beginning, it is usually enemy warrior doing hundred blade on a mark of pained team member & an ally warrior attacking through SS.

When a team member runs out of range, don't chase them if there are team members that need immediate assistance/healing. It is their job to return to the monk, not the other way around.

Never rebirth in battle unless you are sure no one will die in the next 10-15secs. It would be pointless to res one team member while another dies due to lack of healing.

If another caster is getting attacked, cast protective spirit first, then heal. You should try to save him. It is better for him to be "tanking" than for him to die and have mobs force you to "tank".

There is no shame in running. If the fight is too tough, run! Return to rebirth and use candy canes to erase DP.

Energy mangement & hex removal is a must for any good monk in FOW. Having +15energy/-1energy regen offhand does not count as good energy mangement. Saphir, your FOW build could really use some improvement.

Maxiemonster · Feb 07, 2006, 06:02 PM // 18:02

Most of this is rather obvious to me actually, most problems are bout what the teammates/enemies, and not just your skills, which I love about this quiz! Most Monks don't realize a Monk is reacting on what's happening at all time, and not just healing the ones that are low on Health, and there's a very big difference.

Studio Ghibli · Feb 07, 2006, 06:42 PM // 18:42

The point of my thread was not to sound off about how awesome monks are, or how much of an awesome monk I am, but rather (1) how PUGs mistreat their monks, (2) and how PUGs need to work together, not do stupid things.

Kudos on drafting up such a lengthy quiz, though. o_o

Star Gazer · Feb 07, 2006, 06:44 PM // 18:44

isn't there already a thread (or six) exactly like this? seeing this too much makes me want to....::VOMIT:: :b

M C H A M M E R · Feb 07, 2006, 07:16 PM // 19:16

defy pain is elite...evestrigate(can't ever spell it lol) is elite too...if you claim to know all...wow...

Rilder · Feb 07, 2006, 07:28 PM // 19:28

ok here i go i hope i do ok

1.) b. Ouch, those Bladed Aatxes hit HARD! You must have been off in your countdown for prot spirit and it ran out. Poor tank was helpless against those 400 dmg hits.

2.) d. Concentrate your heals and prots on the other warrior. Only cast spare prots and breezes on this warrior when no one else is in immediate need of attention. His running away is his own prot anyway.

3.) c. Spam healing seed/prot spirit on both warriors and hope the ele and necro can handle themselves. Those warriors are the only ones keeping the remaining wave of smites (1 war has 3 aggro'd, the other 2) from overwhelming your little ecto farming party

4.) d. Rebirthing should never be done in battle by a monk, tell the warrior to use his res sig or rebirth skill on the ele in range.

5.) c. You know casters always run, it's better to tank yourself with prot spirit and breeze so the nukers have a stationary target to hit. It's too bad you didn't bring bonetti's defense though.

6.) a. Throw prot spirit on that warrior to keep the meteor showers from doing him in. Then cast WoH to put him back at 90-100% hp.

7.) b. Throw WoH on the Necro first, then followed by Prot Spirit. Hope the bond monk has the presence of mind to run.

8.) e. Over? Not yet, but likely. Cast Prot spirit and healing seed on any living wars and tell them to tank the vengefuls while you organize a party to kill the keepers.

9.) b. Several people have Spiteful Spirit on them and are blithely stancing and attacking, completely clueless that they are killing their own teammates at their sides

10.) d. Monks should never run through enemy lines. Throw WoH on the monk, and prot spirit on yourself. Let the warrior die and let that be a lesson to him. Save the your energy for allies within your heal range.

11.) d. Uh oh. You know if Balthazar gets owned, it's all over for everyone. Throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on the Ghost as a preventative measure. Then WoH the monk.

12.) b. Keep the warriors healed w/ breeze/seed and WoH and let the ele die - the nukes are useless when the mobs are running around anyway. It's most important to kill off the enemy healers and mesmers first. You don't need the battery necro because you'll gain energy from the ess bond on the warrior.

13.) d. Tell the second warrior to engage the incoming patrol. You throw prot spirit, seed and breeze on that warrior and tell the other monk to take care of the first warrior. You whip out your +15/-1 focus and get ready to spam heals, this is what you were made for!

14.) d. As the warrior has 2 Spirit Shepards on him versus the 1 heading towards the ele, you throw prot spirit on the warrior as you know lightning touch will penetrate armor. Then breeze him up, getting ready to cast WoH on which ever caster is going to need it.

15.) . You're going to be in big trouble without the other monk in this situation, so WoH the monk. Prot spirit the n/me until you can get back to healing him. Heal the monk again, then Heal Party if there's any energy left.

16.) d. Since no one has Spellbreaker, you hang back and get ready to alternate spamming WoH and Orison on the warrior as he takes hits from the mob. You hold back from using prot spirit, healing seed or breeze until the dream riders are dead.

17.) c. You're way too close to the action. Move in, cast your heal, get out. Be constantly on the move. These mesmers have short attention spans, and generally it's out of site, out of mind. Use sprint or dodge if they are exceptionally persistent.

18. ) d. Throw Prot spirit on the tank to try to minimize anymore damage plus get a heal bonus from div favor, in which time WoH should be recharged to heal up the tank. Then cast Heal Party

19.) Since the necros can control when they sacrifice their health, prioritize your healing on the r/mo ranger. Being r/mo, enchants won't stick long, so spam everything you've got on him, WoH, prot spirit, breeze, orison, seed, until the other rangers have managed to kill the rogue graspings.

20.) e. Do nothing. Just watch and laugh for the next 4 seconds as the other monk frantically tries to save both the necro and ele by himself.

Note i havent been to UW/Fissure a whole lot...

Arturo02 · Feb 07, 2006, 09:10 PM // 21:10

I did first eight because I know UW. Rest not so much. And I have never played a monk before. Let's see how I do...

1 c. Those blasted Dying Nightmares again! Probably rended all your enchants and whatever bonds the other monk may have put on him as well. Thus one Aatxe hit taking him from 1/2 hp to 0.

2. e
Don't bother with this warrior. Focus on keeping the other warrior alive and protecting the casters that are endangered by this cowardly warrior.

3 e
Rebirth that dead monk. Everyone knows that the more heals you have going, the better. And another living monk can certainly help you heal the party.

4 e
You're a monk, no one should die under your watch, but you can't rebirth and risk losing all your energy. Call a target and with your wand/staff and the warrior's sword you guys can take out each smite one by one.

5 d
Wtf! These smites should be attacking the hardy warrior! Lead the stubborn smites to the warrior, then strafe behind him and sprint away laughing as the smites get lost and aggro on the tank. suckers!

6 d.
Cast Aegis, all party members will have 50% chance to block attacks. Save the warrior from meteors and the necro the spitting web in one fell swoop. An ounce of prevention is worth 10 heals.

( i did not see the answer to this one so if I am right I did not cheat.)

7 d.
Do nothing, but get the hell out of danger. That necro is as good as dead anyway. Try to ascertain who the loose Aatxe is going to take a swipe at next after killing the necro, and throw prot spirit on them. If you can't tell, throw prot spirit on the bond Monk just in case.

8 e. Over? Not yet, but likely. Cast Prot spirit and healing seed on any living wars and tell them to tank the vengefuls while you organize a party to kill the keepers.

Age · Feb 07, 2006, 10:34 PM // 22:34

Nice test although i never Monked in those areas well the FoW and the Tomps UW.It has been a awhile sicne I been to the FoW now that you have to be ascended ayway I will take the test later.I don't really have problem with healing Pugs it is the Pugs themselves who create the problems for me like rushing through everything and not taking their time.

Van Falcon · Feb 08, 2006, 12:29 AM // 00:29

I haven't done the new UW at all, and I'm not that familiar with the old UW. Still I had a go.. It's worth noting that many of the complaints I see are from some of the so called 'easy' missions so I wouldn't assume that if you're doing THK or RoF that any old PUG monk will do. Having said that, I think any monk will stuggle on the harder areas in your quiz until they start to know their way around abit. In particular I find the old UW extremely unforgiving on player error making it discouraging to say the least when your trying to get a feel for it.

My answers (without looking at anyone elses comments):
1. c
2. e
3. a
4. a
5. b
6. b
7. e
8. e
9. b
10. d
11. e
12. d
13. a
14. b
15. a
16. a
17. c
18. d
19. c
20. c

I'm pretty big on the whole run away fight another day thing, using rebirth obviously. Although only when there's not an NPC in danger. I definitely think it is always the monks duty to stay alive above all else.

Racthoh · Feb 08, 2006, 02:14 AM // 02:14

1. C. Must be C if the warrior was relying on the monks to keep him up since he didn't bring any AL boosts or stances. (Eviscerate and Defy Pain are both elite btw)

2. Why did we let both warriors take aggro, and Healing Seed is 10 energy not 15.

3. Since aggro is lost on these fools, no point in throwing a Healing Seed off if there is obviously no one target who has the focus. I would e, but you don't have a -energy set so casting a Rebirth mid-battle is just suicide. So I'll A, after reminding everyone about aggro and this was the only way they'll learn.

4. C is the closest plan of action I would take. But I would Rebirth the closest target not the monk; Ebond + lots of heals is enough, we need to start dropping these smites not more heals.

5. I need more information. Where are the other party members; are the warriors still alive and if so what are they doing? Do they have the attention of any smites or are they running around endlessly like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off? D is the best answer I can give with the given knowledge.

6. When did Aegis get on the skillbar? Aegis can block Meteor Shower???

7. Why are the aatxe hitting for 400, I think my soft target characters use different armour than yours.

8. I'll try D, but apparently this group doesn't listen. Wait, why was I close enough to get the attention of the Vengeful?

9. It's Spiteful Spirit since everyone takes the left group first and there are no Shadow Elementals in that group. Even the dumb ones do this. But, people will never call Spiteful even if you ask them. B.

10. Where is the other monk in relation to the leeroy warrior? Has anyone taken the nasty 100 point spike from Shatter Enchantment, it's a judgement call on Protective Spirit if I want to cast it. Odds are though, if the warrior is at 20% that fast he was a w/mo with Mending and was the target of Shatter Enchantment. E is suicide, 80 Heal Party doesn't combat 180 Fireballs. I hate those monks. A; How is my energy doing, I need to know before I attempt healing that warrior after the monk.

11. F, I'll use the terrain to block the arrows.

12. Which weapon set am I on when I'm at half energy? If anything is attacking the warrior keep the bond up. D, followed by "Run into the showers".

13. Why are the warriors blind? Nothing in FoW can blind outside of a Skeleton Impaler's Dust Trap and once you're standing by them they stop doing it since one of the recent patches. Did we Dust Trap the Dragon Lich who Plague Touched the condition onto the warriors? Have we popped the Impalers, are the Ether Breakers dead? Need more info. No point in throwing up enchantments once Chilblains or Shatter Enchantment are being tossed around.

14. B, the warrior had better be able to take two hits anyway.

15. Again, what the hell are my players wearing? 3 Superior Runes??? Cry + ESurge is 120 and it's taking away half their health? Anyway, C.

16. A is suicide. Seed, shatter, breeze, shatter, spirit, shatter. D

17. C

18. We have aggro on the warrior, why was Heal Party interrupted? And why can't I Seed the warrior and laugh as the minions take care of everything?

19. Why am I sticking around with people who aren't using Drok's armour apparently? Quit getting runs through every mission and play the game damn it. Heal Party isn't going to help if each hit is 60-80% of their health. We're already dead so I've quit the group.

20. We're trying to fight The Darkness when Terrorwebs are still alive? A 6 man group would know you can pull everything but The Darkness back far enough and kill them first.

Manic Smile · Feb 08, 2006, 02:28 AM // 02:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphir

Congratulations, all your hard work as a monk has paid off and one of the ind The Darknesses has dropped your 120th Raven Staff. Time to start a collection! Too bad that "wtf, heal me monk!" Monk in your party managed to snag Victo's Bulwark and 2 ectos as well. Better luck next time!

no i'm pretty sure that's his second Victo's Bulwark...he got one with victo's axe in his last run