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May 13, 2008, 09:01 PM // 21:01
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#1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Frost Gate Guardian
Join Date: Jun 2006
Profession: Mo/
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A Beginner's PvP Monk Guide
Let me begin by saying that I'm going to try and write a guide for getting started in any sort of PvP, be it Team Arenas, HA or GvG, so this will be a bit more general. [edit] Upon review, I can see my GvG bias slipping in, so do take it with a grain of salt. You'll also notice that I have no love for the smiting monk. This is due to the fact that the majority of monks run in GvG are not of the smiting persuasion.
Table of Contents Code:
1) A Monk's Job
2) The Right Tools
a) Skills and Builds
i) General Arch Type
ii) Key Skills
iii) Common Builds
b) Equipment
3) Player Skills
a) Individual
i) Energy Management
ii) Battlefield Awareness
iii) Movement
iv) Comfort
b) Team
i) Communication
ii) Positioning
4) FAQ
================= This section exists to help define, in my opinion, what I feel a monk's job is. I think however, that this can be most easily accomplished by stating what a monk's job does not entail. No monk intending to go into PvP should be carrying a resurrection spell. There are no exceptions, simply because of two reasons. Firstly, if you spend time resurrecting a fallen teammate in battle, you are altering your team's survival chances. Leaving yourself unable to restore HP for upwards of 6 seconds is asking for a death, which could very well be your own. Also, you never have downtime to resurrect. In PvP, there is a reason why resurrection signet is the res of choice. Your job is not to keep people alive; your job is to keep people from dying. That is, you are not responsible if someone who is out of position dies because it was their responsibility to stay alive. The name of the game is keeping the team's HP from getting to 0. The more buffer they have produces a higher chance of survival; what they do with that buffer is up to them. Your job is to keep their buffer up as long as it's reasonable for you to do so. Determining what is reasonable takes into account many factors, such as your energy, your position relative to them, your relationship to the enemy team, their position in relation to the team, and their relationship to the enemy team. Relationship is to say, are they under attack, getting spiked, being trained, diversion spam etc etc. The Right Tools ================= In this section, I will provide what I feel is the most effective template for monk builds, and then I will go over some skills that I feel are important and then I will give some typical monk builds and explain how and why certain skills are included. Doing the best job you can really depends on your build and to a lesser extent your equipment. Is it appropriate? Is it efficient? All of these are questions that you should consider when trying to make a monk build. Skills and Builds ================= The Arch Type Most monk builds have to have enough skills to cover all the important jobs of a monk to be effective in combat. First, a monk should be efficient at restoring HP; this is the main job ot the monk, to maintain that buffer so your team has a better chance of survival. Second, a monk should have efficient means of dealing with both conditions and hexes. This category and the resulting skills taken usually depend on the meta game at hand. Heavy conditions call for some skills over others, and likewise; the same is true for hexes. In addition, another area that monks have to cover is energy management. While this area is a bit more build oriented, you can have skills that supplement your natural energy regeneration. For a more in depth look at energy management skills and the required player skill to use them effectively, please see section 3a. Finally, any monk build needs damage mitigation, that is to say, damage prevention. One of the most important aspects of monking is the ability to prevent damage before you have to heal it. Preventing damage is always better than having to heal damage. In my experience, all monk builds should include skills that cover the following: damage prevention, energy management, healing, and aliment handling. Exceptions happen when the rest of the team build helps to move some of these aspects to other support characters. In PvP areas like Arenas and Hero's Ascent, monk builds are usually expected to be able to cover all of these areas on their own. Key Skills The following list of skills will have the name of the skill, its description, followed by which attribute it is in, and finally the stats, in "energy/cast time/after-cast time/recharge - set" form. In the description, x..y..z is the values at 0-12-15 for that respective attribute. Some of you may be wondering, "What's the after-cast time?" Well, most spells in Guild Wars will not allow you to move after you finish casting them. For most spells it is 0.75 seconds, but on some skills they can be as high as 1 second. The after-cast is simply the time it takes for your character to return to your control after casting a spell. Remember that there are plenty of skills that are worth looking into. For a beginner, these skills are the ones that you should at least attempt to master or understand as they form a basis for you to get acquainted with monking in PvP.
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May 13, 2008, 09:02 PM // 21:02
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#2 | |||||||||
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Frost Gate Guardian
Join Date: Jun 2006
Profession: Mo/
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Common Builds
This section will list monk builds that have seen use, and will attempt to explain them. Just to note, the names are arbitrary and are just something that helps me identify the build in my own library. Many of these builds can be expanded and changed, and are only listed here for reference purposes. For more recent builds, feel free to visit this thread. I don't claim to have made these builds up! It should also be noted that all the builds utilize only minor runes, so (x+1+1) means head peice + minor rune. Equipment ================= The equipment a monk uses also plays into how effective a monk can be. Of course, there are some differences in the way monks use weapon sets. The way presented here has worked for me in the past, and continues to work for me. I encourage you to search out other people's preferred weapon sets because I am only one monk, and my way isn't always the best way. Like I said, this is what has worked for me, and so I will continue to use it. It should be noted that I prefer the higher defense over health, but +health is always an option too on these sets. For me it has always been 4 sets. 1: Shield 2: Normal 3: High 4: Convince set 1: This is the set that I try to stay in as much as possible. It consists of a spear that is +5 Armor and -5 Energy combined with a Shield that is +30 HP and - damage. The - damage will sometimes be specialized depending on the meta. That shield can change per match if needed. 2: This is what I call my "normal" set. This set gives me enough energy to comfortably work. A +5 Armor and +5 Energy Spear combined with a +12 Energy Focus that gives me half recharge time on my major attribute. This focus also has +30 HP. 3: This set third set is what I call the high set. This set utilzes a wand of the major attribute with +15 energy -1 energy regeneration and half recharge of the attribute. This is combined with a focus that gives me +15 energy -1 energy regeneration and 30hp. It should be noted that a monk should not stay in this set, but rather should swap into it, cast and swap back out. This is because the regeneration on this set is half as much as in the other sets. 4: This set is what I call a convince set. This slot varies with each build I play. If I'm playing an enchantment heavy protection monk, it might be a protection staff with +20% enchant length and half recharge mods. With a healing build, it might be a 40/40 set. As for armor, I always use a superior Vigor rune, and all minor runes. I only use Survivor armor (+health armor). I do possess 6 pieces of armor so I can fluidly change my runes around without having to replace runes. This includes 3 head pieces (one of each attribute: Healing, Protection, Divine Favor), 1 chest piece, 2 hand wraps (one healing and protection), 2 leggings (one healing and divine), and 1 pair of shoes with a vitae rune. Player Skills ================= This section of the guide talks about things that you have to master both by yourself and also in a team setting. These small things can really help to improve the quality of your game, and when told to you may seem simple enough but will take a bit to get used to. Often times, it is just a small adjustment in the way you play. Individual ================= Energy Management This is a hot topic among the community of monks. Should I use x over y? Would using x, y and z in combination be more energy efficient vs using a, b and c? These questions are always thrown up and sometimes it's tough to answer. The old boon/prot builds relied on external energy management, from skills like Mantra of Recall to Energy Drain to Inspired Hex; all these skills were selected to help the monk maintain his energy. Newer builds such as the Blessed Light Dark Escape use skills like Signet of Devotion and good skill usage to manage energy. Within those two examples lies two different types of ways to manage energy. Builds that manage energy with skills like Energy Drain and Inspired Hex are said to use active energy management. This is called active energy management because the energy is generated from one source or another. For example, if you hit Energy Drain, you will inevitably get some energy. Now contrast that with skills like Signet of Devotion and Glyph of Lesser energy. The technique of using these skills combined with good skill usage is often called passive energy management. Skills like Signet of Devotion don't generate energy, but rather save you energy. Usually when talking about energy management, monks refer to their equipment. If you don't remember, refer back up to the equipment section of the guide as you read this. As I had stated previously, my three main weapon sets are called my negative energy, normal energy, and emergency energy sets. Using these sets wisely is called energy hiding, and here, courtesy of Aiiane, is energy hiding explained: Quote:
It should be noted that active energy management skills such as Energy Drain and Energy Tap benefit the most if you use them on spirits or pets, as they will usually have more energy than players. Battlefield Awareness Battlefield awareness ties in directly with helping you save energy, which in the long run means you'll be more prepared for curve balls the enemy throws at you. What constitutes battlefield awareness? A number of things, including but not limited to: watching the battlefield, keeping an eye on enemy warriors, enemy mesmers, being able to recognize skill animations, etc. Also, watching the battlefield means not staring at the health bars in the party window. Watching the field allows you to do two things. First, it allows you to watch what the enemy is doing. Second, it allows you to use your protection spells pro-actively, as opposed to reactively.This is what is called pre-prot'ing and it has the potential to save you a lot of energy. Another upside to not getting tunnel vision is that you can now see what your team is doing as well. You can see things like the diversion animation and start removing the hex well before it is called. Watching the field is what separates the men from the boys. One very excellent way to practice this is to go into Random Arenas with a GvG monk build and start playing with the party window turned off forcing you to look at the field. (This tip was courtesy of JR- from GWG). Another important part of battlefield awareness is being ready to handle all the threats that might pounce on you. As it stands, the defensive shield set can be your best friend if you stay in it as much as possible. This is because 1) you have the extra AL because of the shield, and 2) your energy remains low in case you are knocked down and can't swap. This becomes more of an issue if they are also using skills like Energy Surge and Energy Burn to spike/pressure you. Movement Movement is a term that I use to refer things I do to keep myself alive. Things like pre-kiting enemy warriors, knowing when to hide behind walls, or how to dodge slow, high arch projectiles all fall into this category. If you master pre-prot'ing then pre-kiting should not be an issue, and that is one of the main ideas being having good movement. What is pre-kiting? Simply, if you see a warrior coming towards you? Run away from him, it'll buy you some time to pre-prot yourself, or they might be spiking you. Pre-kiting a spike can save some damage and give your partner monk more time to react and save your life. This ties into kiting as well. You might have already guessed, but kiting is the act of running from a source of damage in a small area so that the damage has to move, thus stopping the damage flow. For warriors, kiting side to side or in a small circle can be really effective. This allows you to stay in an optimal range to throw out heals, while preventing damage on you. Be careful about Bull's Strike as a monk, if a warrior has been chasing you for some time, chances are he will have Bull's Strike queued up. Sometimes it can be effective to kite him a bit, then stop to let him hit you once before you start to kite again. Against a caster spike, there are also a number of kite options, depending on the type of spike you may have different options. On a bit of a tangent, I'm sure that people are aware that you can move in Guild Wars using the WASD movement scheme. As far as I know and have been told, mouse movement is superior to WASD because the mouse movement is handled on the server side, while WASD movement is localized first and then sent to the server. And as such, I would like to encouarge people to get comfortable with using click to move. Comfort One thing that is often understated is that a monk must be comfortable with what they are doing. In particular, a monk's input setup and heads up display should be customized to what they like best. I personally think that it is worthwhile for any monk using keyboard or mouse movement to get a key map that is comfortable for them. And as such, I will list my key binds and link to a screen shot of my HUD. Again, this is what has worked for me in the past and continues to work for me. Feel free to make your own key binds as this is about what makes you play your best. Skills: Code:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 q 2 3 4 5 6 t g Mouse4 = cancel action Mouse5 = Vent And I use ESDFWR (ESDF with strafe) when I'm snared. Here's a screen shot of my screen layout: It is important for every monk to be comfortable with their key maps and screen layouts. Key maps are especially important. If you feel like it's a stretch to hit a skill, remap that skill's button to someplace easier to get to. Team ================= Communication Communication can make or break any battle. From monks to warriors, communication is one of the key elements of any form of PvP. It is important for monks to know how to communicate and what to communicate. The general rule here is, if you think it's important or will help your team better respond to a threat, say it. Things like "I'm moving into my emergency set!" are important. It should be worth it to note that advance warning will always be better. For example, if I feel that I need to go into my energy set soon to keep the team up, I will tell them ahead of time. Notice one of the enemy team's elementalist run off with a flag and did not hear it called? Make it known in your team's voice chat. Even as a monk, relaying this kind of information can help your team organize and respond well. Between the two monks in a GvG build, some communication is useful. Got a hex to remove? Don't want to double up on hex removals, so call it: "Off 4." Things like these can help to save energy and avoid over-healing. Also arrange before hand with your monk partner how multiple hexes, conditions, and/or dropping bars is/are handled. Maybe one of you goes from bottom up, and the other top down. Simple things like this can make both of the monk's play become top class. Positioning Positioning refers where you are standing relative to the rest of the team. Is your team on the push? You should be slightly extended from where you normally are so you can reach your offensive quickly if needed. Is your team falling back? Be sure to be one of the first ones to start falling back. Another important consideration that goes here is, how far are you from the other monk? Can you two save each other without having to waste time running to get in range? Your position relative to your team can make or break any team maneuver, offensive or defensive. The same is true of any character class in the team. FAQ ================= I hope all the information here is of use to those that are looking to start monking in PvP. 1) Why should I listen to you? Well, you really don't have to listen to me. I think that I've acquired enough experience to be writing for an audience that is just starting to GvG. I've been in several guilds and have learned a lot from other great monks. 2) I have a question for you, how do I contact you? If you want to contact me with any questions, I would prefer that you PM me in game on Alison Jacobbs. This is my monk character and I am often on her. Failing that, feel free to leave me a PM on this forum. 3) That's not what x told me to run, what is this; a joke? As I've mentioned throughout my guide, this is just my perspective. There is indeed a whole plethora of things that can differ from what I've posted. I encourage you to post these options so that others can see the diversity that is the monk. I've written this guide for the IncGamers Unofficial Guild Wars Monk forum and also for teamlove.us monks as a reference. Please feel free to visit http://teamlove.us/ to find out more about the [kiSu] mentoring guilds. It is a great opportunity for new players to get into the world of pvp in a mature and friendly environment! Last edited by Innocent; May 13, 2008 at 09:04 PM // 21:04.. |
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May 13, 2008, 09:37 PM // 21:37
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#3 |
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Hall Hero
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California Canada/BC
Guild: STG Administrator
Profession: Mo/
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I believe holy sticky already answers this.
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May 13, 2008, 09:40 PM // 21:40
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#4 |
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Frost Gate Guardian
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Massachusttes
Guild: None right now
Profession: W/
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Wow very good guide. I dont PvP much but looks good to me.
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May 13, 2008, 09:40 PM // 21:40
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#5 |
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Emo Goth Italics
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Divine's sticky, and Tommy's thread covers alot of this, but I believe this should be stickied aswell.
Just wondering though, at the ZB build, why not just go WoH hybrid? You're speccing into Healing Prayers at the same time as Prot Prayers, and with WoH Hybrid you've not only got WoH, but Patient Spirit. Plus LoD is kinda....nerfed... Edit: Jacobbs, that's you?! Last edited by Tyla; May 14, 2008 at 01:53 AM // 01:53.. |
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May 13, 2008, 09:46 PM // 21:46
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#6 |
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Jungle Guide
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Canada...... Eh!
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Great guide, lots of stuff in there that I was unaware of.
As much as I hate being the one to point out the obvious though, shouldn't this be in the PvP section? |
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May 13, 2008, 11:09 PM // 23:09
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#7 |
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Furnace Stoker
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Guild Hall, Vent, Guesting, PvE, or the occasional HA match...
Guild: Dark Alley [dR]
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decent guide, although 25% of it is wrong.
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May 13, 2008, 11:31 PM // 23:31
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#8 |
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I like yumy food!
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Where I can eat yumy food
Guild: Dead Alley [dR]
Profession: Mo/R
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I'll let it run for a bit, and then sticky it as needed.
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May 14, 2008, 05:42 AM // 05:42
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#9 | ||
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Frost Gate Guardian
Join Date: Jun 2006
Profession: Mo/
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Quote:
Quote:
Last edited by Innocent; May 14, 2008 at 06:14 AM // 06:14.. |
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May 14, 2008, 06:41 AM // 06:41
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#10 |
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Wilds Pathfinder
Join Date: Oct 2007
Guild: [BAAA] guest me NOW
Profession: Mo/
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I like Div's Guide more, because it has the best Build in the Game. The HB Monk.
But seriously nice guide for someone who has no clue and cant be bothered to read Div's and Tommy's Massive onces 
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May 14, 2008, 07:27 AM // 07:27
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#11 |
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The 5th Celestial Boss
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Inverness, Scotland
Guild: The Cult of Scaro [WHO]
Profession: E/
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From an aesthetic point of view, it would be nice to see the GW BBCode used for the skillbars. It'll provide much more information on the skills fia the pop-up cards and lazy people can simply copy the template code.
__________________
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. |
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May 15, 2008, 01:32 AM // 01:32
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#12 |
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Lion's Arch Merchant
Join Date: Mar 2008
Profession: N/A
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I actually run bonder all of the time in RA. RoF, Dismiss, <elite of choice> hex removal, and something like Patient Spirit, Gift of Health, Disciplined Stance or return would be good choices for the fifth slot. Blessed, Life Bond, and balths on your last three slots.
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May 15, 2008, 01:55 AM // 01:55
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#13 |
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Desert Nomad
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Southern California
Guild: Charter Vanguard [CV]
Profession: Me/Rt
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For one thing, Patient Spirit isn't a protection prayers spell.
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May 15, 2008, 04:14 AM // 04:14
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#14 | |
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Furnace Stoker
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Guild Hall, Vent, Guesting, PvE, or the occasional HA match...
Guild: Dark Alley [dR]
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Quote:
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May 15, 2008, 09:49 AM // 09:49
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#15 |
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I like yumy food!
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Where I can eat yumy food
Guild: Dead Alley [dR]
Profession: Mo/R
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I think that's the biggest thing with most guides taken from a while ago. I remember before we had these new sets of guides, Ensign's "ultimate guide" was still up, with horrible bars like healing breeze monks and healing hands wammos. Maybe if the builds were updated to more recent bars used in PvP, that'd make it a lot more helpful.
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May 15, 2008, 12:25 PM // 12:25
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#16 |
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Academy Page
Join Date: May 2008
Profession: E/Me
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/approve Nice simple guide for beginners
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May 16, 2008, 03:39 AM // 03:39
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#17 |
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Unbanned
Join Date: Jan 2008
Guild: Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] -- IGN: Swirly
Profession: Mo/
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quick question, why do you call it a "convince set"?
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May 16, 2008, 06:56 PM // 18:56
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#18 | |
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Furnace Stoker
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Guild Hall, Vent, Guesting, PvE, or the occasional HA match...
Guild: Dark Alley [dR]
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Quote:
Prot Staff = 40%HCT protection spells/20%recharge all spells/20% enchanting staff 40/40 set = usually a 20% hct/20% recharge wand and focus (usually a healing set, but sometimes divine favor. Rarely a prot set) Sheild Set = +5en/+30 martial weapon and +10vsX (slash, fire, blunt, piercing, etc...) shield w/ +30 health Oh Sh*t = 15/-1 en recgarge wand and focus, usually in divine favor. (Usually screamed when under a lot of pressure and out of energy, meaning oh sh*t i better heal or were dead) also refered too occasionally as an emergency set alternative set: "Negative energy set" = 15/-5 en/+30 hp martial weapon w/ a -5en/+30 focus (thres a green one that work great for this) This set isn't used as much anymore as e-denial isn't that common, but I keep one in my char's bag in case I ever need one. If I am runnign an all prot build and don't need the 40/40 set, i will equip this set in its place. Last edited by Yichi; May 16, 2008 at 07:00 PM // 19:00.. |
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May 16, 2008, 09:27 PM // 21:27
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#19 | |
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Unbanned
Join Date: Jan 2008
Guild: Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] -- IGN: Swirly
Profession: Mo/
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Quote:
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May 16, 2008, 09:48 PM // 21:48
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#20 |
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Furnace Stoker
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Guild Hall, Vent, Guesting, PvE, or the occasional HA match...
Guild: Dark Alley [dR]
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I guess they ment to say convenience set but spelled it wrong.
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