Curse

Desert Rose · Dec 30, 2009, 07:22 PM // 19:22

If I play monk in PvE my build nearly always looks like this:

Healing Prayers 12 +1 +1
Protections Prayers 9 +1 (10 +1 for Guardian)
Divine Favor x +1

1. Patient Spirit
2. Word of Healing
3. Shield of Absorption / Guardian
4. Protective Spirit
5. Selfless Spirit / Seed of Life
6. Aegis
7. Cure Hex
8. Dismiss Condition / Signet of Rejuvenation

It's very PUG-friendly because you cover spot healing, hex and condition remove, protection against big and small packets of damage and group protection yourself.
Depending on the area switch SoA and/or Selfless Spirit with Guardian/SoL; if your midline already covers condition remove switch Dismiss with the Signet.
Generel equipment; small runes, either survivor's or blessed insignias, protection enchantment staff, healing 40/40-set, shield set, high energy set.

End · Dec 30, 2009, 09:31 PM // 21:31

1)Best Build for one person dosen't equal best build for another person

such as I consider hb to be better then UA because of the fast cast and can save your ass sometimes...
others prefer UA as it has a quick res and opens up a spot that may have been occupied by a res to open it for another skill...
It's a matter of preference and what your doing...

2) Depends on who your with...is there another source for healing? are you running mostly physicals? what's in your group...

You say pugs...so for all I know another monk could be running Restore Condition (hey you were the one who said pug)...in that case I wouldn't bring dismiss and would hope that the other monk could handle it

3) Depends on where your at...

If I know for a fact that the area I am going into is going to be spamming hexes right and left and thats the major source of damage I just might bring an extra hex removal rather then some prot that will do nothing against most of the damage in the area...

4) something along the general lines of OwYT04nBXajoBcT7u6jAZIuCNCA

if running UA I ditch the res and grab a skill based on the area...usually I run with a monk hero with sufficient hex removal though so its not necessary on my bar (see item 1)
if running with a second human monk I like to drop the ele secondary and we can both bring Arcane Mimicry have one with HB and one with UA screw reses on both

some epic number there...

5)...Pugs...

reaper with no name · Dec 31, 2009, 08:37 AM // 08:37

There is no "best build".

Monks are unique in that they can (and often have to) be generalists, whereas most professions lean towards specialization in order to attain optimization. This opens up a wide variety of build options for them as backliners (to say nothing of 600/Smite).

That said, I wouldn't recommend the archetypical WoH hybrid, because it really can't be called a "best" build by any stretch of the imagination when ER healers are out there kicking it down the stairs and stealing it's lunch money.

UA is a more promising elite because it offers something ER does not. Generally, things along these lines are "better" in that they play to the monk's strengths (rather than their weaknesses). Though I suppose a WoH hybrid with condition/hex removal and/or party heals could also qualify (since ER doesn't do those well).

MaaKotka · Dec 31, 2009, 12:38 PM // 12:38

Like many have said there is no best build.

One general guideline is that bring only 2 or 3 single target heals where usually 2 is enough. If you bring more, it is same as if you had empty skill slots there.

WoH, UA and HB are most versatile elites and you should pick one of them unless you need something really specified skill like Restore Condition.

You said HM so bring Protective Spirit or Spirit Bond unless you have ER healer with you. I prefer SB because PS needs huge damage packets to be more effective than SB.

Then there is Aegis. I'd say it is one of the best skill that monk can have so bring it.

Rest of the bar can be filled with small prots (guardian, shield of absorbtion, shielding hands), party heals, energy management, pve skills or condition/hex removal.

Don't take res unless it is UA.

These are things that came up to my mind. If you need more advice read monk guides.

Kenzo Skunk · Dec 31, 2009, 06:25 PM // 18:25

Reversal of fortune is a nice one too.

Xenomortis · Dec 31, 2009, 06:33 PM // 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaaKotka

You said HM so bring Protective Spirit or Spirit Bond unless you have ER healer with you. I prefer SB because PS needs huge damage packets to be more effective than SB.

In HM PvE the big damage packets that make PS good are frequently shoved in your face.
Spirit Bond is nice when facing the smaller packets of damage.

SB has an annoying clause that causes it to end early, it already has a short duration and you may need it longer than 8 seconds on one person.

MaaKotka · Dec 31, 2009, 07:39 PM // 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xenomortis

In HM PvE the big damage packets that make PS good are frequently shoved in your face.
Spirit Bond is nice when facing the smaller packets of damage.

SB has an annoying clause that causes it to end early, it already has a short duration and you may need it longer than 8 seconds on one person.

I don't want this thread to become SB vs PS thread, but let me explain why I prefer SB most of the time. That being said PS can be a real life saver sometimes and it still is a good skill.

When you prot someone with PS and if he takes lots of big packets of damage he is still going to die after 10 hits unless he is protted more or healed. So you need to spend 10e for PS and 5-15e to heal and/or prot more.

If you had protted him with spirit bond instead you have spent 10e and after 10 hits he is still full or near full hp and you can then prot him more if needed. Assuming that you have 12/10/8 attribute split where 10 is prot prayers and you have +1 rune for prot SB is going to heal 84hp for each trigger. So your target needs to take more that 84 damage/packet to even get any damage and around 140 damage/packet from every 10 hit for PS to be as effective as SB in same situation. Id say most of the hits even in HM are under 140 and in that case SB protects better than PS.

But what if someone is getting pounded hard and many times. Then you throw SB and follow it with SoA (which is one of the best small prots). You can achieve same with PS followed with SoA but again you need to heal damage which gets past PS and again end up using more energy than with SB.

If your target is getting hitted less than 60 most of the time then you should probably throw small prot there instead of PS or SB.

That is why I think SB is usually better than PS but both are good choices and you usually can manage taking which ever you like.

Edit: You can also prot someone who is on low health with SB and he can survive where with PS he is probably going to die.

The Riven · Dec 31, 2009, 09:12 PM // 21:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaaKotka

I don't want this thread to become SB vs PS thread,

Nor do i, though there are a few things you should never start a post with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaaKotka

When you prot someone with PS and if he takes lots of big packets of damage he is still going to die after 10 hits unless he is protted more or healed. So you need to spend 10e for PS and 5-15e to heal and/or prot more.

Not necessarily, most teams will bring other forms of dmg mitigation, plus PS lasts twice as long, a 20 second buff should be long enough even in the most horrendous situations.

glacialphoenix · Jan 03, 2010, 08:43 AM // 08:43

Quote:

let's say you can't rely much on the other monk, or maybe even want to be solo monk in 6-man team (ok not sure how viable this is in HM).

More than viable. Perfectly doable, and hey, it keeps you from getting bored.

My personal opinion is that if you can't trust the other monk or if you're going it solo, hybrid is probably preferable. (I like WoH hybrid, although UA has its purposes. Nevertheless, regardless of which one you're bringing, it's a good idea to bring both heals and prots.) If you assume that the other monk is failing, then he isn't holding up his end of the deal, meaning you need to be able to both heal and prot (at the least) in order to keep your party from wiping.

And frankly, if the other monk is failing, then you're better off solo-monking, because at least you don't have to carry dead weight.