Curse

labsenpai · Nov 30, 2005, 08:50 PM // 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoDiamonds

I'd actually prefer you ping your life. At least that's merely informing, rather than demanding or requesting something.

As a monk, you'll be surprised how few will ping health. Its because of a dirty little secret called Hit Point Abuse. Players with this affliction overload on Runes and enchantments, believing that "skill steroids" are the road to success. Nevermind the fact that their lvl 20 character can be killed instantly by the enemy's first volley. Diagnosis is difficult, since a "full" health bar can mean any number.

If you are tired of DP and need counseling, call the Clinic of Dwayna for an intervention.

LifeInfusion · Dec 01, 2005, 03:31 AM // 03:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lews

All of my characters are except one are monks. I like being a monk.

Beta was ALOT harder. Remember the Wilds on the 2nd or 3rd to last BWE? Eek, that was impossible with all level 20's.

In Beta I don't recall ever having a monk on my team. I guess that is why I had an E/Mo healer.

coolsti · Dec 01, 2005, 11:49 AM // 11:49

I'm playing 4 characters now, and a Monk is one of them. And I can understand why it is so difficult to find Monks as human players. Because the class is just less interesting to play. In most cases, a Monk needs to set all its skills to heal/prot/divine and needs to spend all its energy and time focusing on a team member with a healing or protection spell. Leaving no time for smiting, no time for using any secondary skills, e.g. my Monk is necro as secondary but I never seem to be able to take any necro skills with me.

Last night I went to FOW as monk because my group of friends lacked a monk. We were 8 people so no one wanted to drop out to find another monk, so I played monk. I played ranger the night before. Comparison? For me last night was completely boring! And my friends who also have Monk characters say basically the same. They rather play another character than Monk.

This is definitely a problem with this game. As long as this is the situation, there will never be enough human monk players. The obvious solution is to take henchy monks, which we do, but unfortunately this cannot be done for UW and FOW.

Plague · Dec 01, 2005, 02:26 PM // 14:26

I made a monk just so I could be picked at any time I desired. It worked. I'm done with the game now, though, aside from the Titan quests, which I'm limited in doing by the number of random people I can find doing them.

I feel like GW is very improperly balanced, with any kill being fairly fast until you get a healer. Any game with the ability to heal back damage or prevent it will focus on that, unless it's balanced to be a support function.

Example: In an old Dynamix/Sierra game called Starsiege made in '99, shields were the main focus. It's an old mech game, except instead of pure armor, everything was based on shielding, with armor being paper-thin. So, unless you're using up all your device slots to power up and restore your shielding, you will lose 1 on 1, which isn't an exaggeration.

Monks are basically living shields. Why in the world they were made the way they were, doing almost absolutely nothing but healing back damage, I do not know. I imagine it's just a product of A.Net's unimaginativeness again. The game probably would have been more properly balanced for PvP if monks used primarily, less effective protection spells, and if Divine Favor did not focus on healing, but could also work with smiting damage. Really, if you just removed healing totally and made it impossible to heal back damage, just prevent it, it would be at least a little better.

Ellix Cantero · Dec 01, 2005, 04:20 PM // 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaaaagh

I understand the posters point on monks being overly needed, but what REALLY makes me sick is seeing "group looking for second monk." Second monk? What the heck are you talking about a second monk.... With exception of the last mission, a second monk is never required.

That's not as bad as seeing a monk in the desert refusing to stay with a group unless they get at least one more monk. Having played monk a ton in pvp and finally taking a primary through pve, I can honestly say they're incompetent if they need another monk to back them up in that portion of the game. A single monk is enough for any party for any part of pve (though I can understand having two for the RoF missions). My monk's party was almost flawless on the DNK quest (imo the most challenging pve currently in the game) with me as the only monk.

Iere · Dec 01, 2005, 05:32 PM // 17:32

Monks should not be expected to heal eight people. It's stressful, hard to find that many good people in a PUG, and there will ALWAYS be something that goes wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I've been on so many missions where the other monk has dropped and/or contributes nothing but the occasional Heal Party (is there actually a valid use for that spell?) and I've got to bear the whole burden. But it's really, REALLY nice when I ain't the only monk.

Monking is quite possibly the most stressful profession. Not only are you under a lot of strain because you can't afford to make a mistake, but you've also got to keep an eye on almost every window on the screen. There's a reason my father watches me play my monk, shakes his head, and goes "how can you watch all that stuff?" ESPECIALLY when I'm the only one who knows the mission and thus has to point out stuff to my group, which happens far too many times.

But I'm very cynical about many of my fellow monks. I play healer most of the time just so that I don't end up healing while I'm supposed to be protecting, because the healer can't do his or her job. I find it's easier to get a good prot monk than a good healer. D:

hidden_agenda · Dec 01, 2005, 11:09 PM // 23:09

just a quick anecdotal view ...

after taking a 4 months long hiatus of playing my monk, i took her out for a spin last night. i first practiced for a bit. then, once i am certain that i can play her reasonably well, i went to the Ring of Fire mission (where i had stopped playing the monk months ago).

it was easy to get into a group, but i was the only healer there. we managed to complete the mission, despite numerous deaths. however (and here is the rub) -- i was EXHAUSTED afterwards...

compare to playing my warrior, mesmer, necro, and elementalist, the healing monk is, by far, the most stressful. not only did i have to keep an eye on all my teammates at the same time, i needed to keep track of myself (monster AI got better, they definitely target the monks EVEN MORE than before), and i had to remember to manage my energy.

now, this could certainly just be me, as i know that there are other people out there who can multi-task far better than me. but after a night of fitful sleep due to neck pain and back-ache, i can say for sure that playing a monk is darn stressful... and i really do appreciate the monks that played with my other characters...

the stress, couple that with the frequent abuse monks receive from people, it is no wonder that there aren't that many monks around...

Joe L. · Dec 01, 2005, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gedscho

when i play a monk i always say thank you to a tank that knows how to keep aggro off the squishies.

Definitely, I never realized the diff. between a good tank, and a bad one until I started a monk. My previous char is a R, and I am always at a distance, using dodge skills in a jam, so I never realized how difficult a bad tank could make things

TwinRaven · Dec 02, 2005, 05:32 AM // 05:32

I've never played a monk until the one I created last weekend...I've gone through 2 rangers and 2 necros....my first ranger was retired for a stronger build: my new Mo/Ra! Actually, It's a spoof build. I get so sick of people taking an hour forming a group and never picking the ranger/mesmer/necros...so I created a monk, guaranteed a blind invite by the unwary....My beastie/smiting monk tanks from a distance and does double damage on the undead...made especially for Gates of Kryta mission runs. "what? you're not a healer?" and I say, "You invited me, I accepted..." *kicked*....then I run noobs through the mission for tips...all good fun

coolsti · Dec 02, 2005, 11:42 AM // 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellix Cantero

That's not as bad as seeing a monk in the desert refusing to stay with a group unless they get at least one more monk. Having played monk a ton in pvp and finally taking a primary through pve, I can honestly say they're incompetent if they need another monk to back them up in that portion of the game. A single monk is enough for any party for any part of pve (though I can understand having two for the RoF missions). My monk's party was almost flawless on the DNK quest (imo the most challenging pve currently in the game) with me as the only monk.

Whether a monk needs a second monk in the party depends on how the party plays, doesn't it? I agree that only one monk per party should be necessary. Better yet, there could be two monks but enough slack in the healing/protection duties of the monks to allow each of them to partially enjoy smiting or something from their secondary professions. For example, my monk is a necro as secondary. Wouldn't it be great if I could use some curses to "prevent damage" to my party?

I don't think it is the case that many monks NEED a second monk in the party because they are not competent. I think it is because many parties play in too much a chaotic hack/slash mode without regard for their health bars. This makes monking very frustrating and very boring. So who then wants to be a monk?

Twin Ravens post is of course funny but true: Monk gets a blind invite. Party starts quest or mission. Party finds out that the Monk is a smiter. Party gets angry at monk. Why? Did the party ask after the invite whether the monk was a healer? Indeed, I think I will try this neat little trick tonight and see what happens. Equip myself with only two healing spells and a lot of necro curses and see what happens.

Benandorf · Dec 02, 2005, 06:17 PM // 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantras

^^ Hah!!! That's funny. No. What you get is this, "STFU N00B monk can't even heal me and trying to give me advice."

Now that isn't true! I am a warrior primarily, and when I die, I don't scream profanities at monks, and then leave, and any advice is always welcome, as I know there are alot better people out there then me, and I am glad to learn stuff from them. So please, don't generalize all tanks/rangers/mages/people into one group.

Jas · Dec 30, 2005, 05:13 AM // 05:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mountain Man

Finding a monk requires clever advertising. Two of my most successful appeals:

"Want to give your healing skills a good workout? Join us!"

We had a monk in less than 10 seconds. Another pitch:

"Group in desperate need of a monk because we suck!"

Immediately got whispers from two monks!

Heeh!

Somebody has finally noticed the way to attract us monkies

I have a nice collection of monks (mostly heal) and I am NOT joining blind invites unless I really need the mish done. But something like that would catch my eye, make me smile and give me a reason to try it out.

VGJustice · Dec 30, 2005, 06:13 AM // 06:13

I remember once seeing a group spammin for "2 Healers, 1 Prot". Now, if I was in any PvP area, it wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. I'd just be all "GL with that, mate"

But, sadly, no. This was in PvE. In an area with a max party size of 6. I suddenly realized that I was in said group, packed my bow, and took off running, never to look back. If you need THAT much healing, there's something SERIOUSLY wrong.

Sister Spice · Dec 30, 2005, 01:26 PM // 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jas

Heeh!

Somebody has finally noticed the way to attract us monkies

I have a nice collection of monks (mostly heal) and I am NOT joining blind invites unless I really need the mish done. But something like that would catch my eye, make me smile and give me a reason to try it out.

Absolutely. Humour and niceness is key.
I started off as a Heal monk, moved onto Prot monk, and now run a fairly competent Bond Monk. I don't accept blind invites. I use humorous recruiting messages, and myself look for people posting humorous LFG messages.
As rule I try to do the team recruiting myself - even if I am not the leader (I often team up with friends who lead while I take charge of recruiting )

Often if someone isn't the precise build the party is looking for, if they are literate and witty I will take them in preference to someone playing a more popular build. It's usually a strong sign that they will work well as a team player.

In my experience most PVE runs and missions can be done with less than a full group, which means if you're making a full group you have some margin for error - it's not essential that everyone is uber powerful. However, if you've taken a bunch of people who don't work together, or moody people who drop at the first problem, then you're far less likely to succeed. Getting team players is much more important to me than fitting specific character build slots.

Monking is pretty dull visually - I almost never know my way round missions - even when I've done them a few times, simply because I spend my whole time in missions watching the health bars. At least it gives me an opportunity be humble as I openly admit I am no good leading the mission as I have no clue where I am going

Re thanking ...
When I was a heal monk I fell in love with necro batteries - and would actively compliment them (and swoon at their feet)
I don't need them with my bond monk as it sustains it's own energy - but I still like Necro support characters as their attitudes are often good - so I actively compliment them and tell them they don't need to give me energy unless I spam low energy (which is only likely if I have messed up or if others run off and lose their bonds)

I teamed up with a Warrior in FOW - he did an excellent, thoughtful job of leading -always checked people were ready, waited for regens etc - I gave him lots of compliments about that - and we now regularly buddy up. I also notice that when I am monking with him (just the two of us in Lornars pass) he actively compliments me even when *I* know Im not being that good (he's excellent)

I do compliment people more generally - 'good work, nice team work, *whew*,' etc - will try to notice more specific stuff now - though it IS hard when I am glued to the health bars.

Sister Spice