Curse

Cammy · Oct 29, 2007, 09:07 PM // 21:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spazzer

Bind a key to cancel action, and there's no excuse in the world not to use it. Like I said, start a thread.

LOL!

Yes, yes bind a key to cancel it and you'll end up cancelling it more often than using it. So therefore it's a useless skill taking up a precious slot on your bar. The only time you use Sig of Devo is to power Deny Hexes. And even then, Divine Spirit does the job better. GGs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racthoh

Signet of Devotion was decent on a boon prot bar because you were running 16 divine favor anyway and there wasn't much else at the time that was any good. Personally I've always found it to be a decent tool to teach a player to get their eyes off the red bars and watch the field. The two second usage is plenty of time to examine where everyone is positioned, and if need be, cancel SoD and pre-prot.

You shouldn't be relying on a skill to force you to watch the playing field. If you absolutely have to use a 2 second cast to tear your eyes away from the party-view menu, use Aegis instead.

Amalek · Oct 29, 2007, 09:45 PM // 21:45

If you don't have a key bound to cancel action, you're bad.
Also, sig of devo is bad.

the_jos · Oct 29, 2007, 10:12 PM // 22:12

Quote:

Anywho, the thrust of my comment was that we shouldn't be telling Mr. Just-Started-Monking-Want-Advice that "prot >>> heal" and he should be using this or that prot bar or even this or that hybrid bar when he's very, very far away from the point when that becomes true.

Sorry, I disagree with that.
It's not (only) about the best build, it's about learning how to play the monk profession as efficient as possible.
In the end, that means knowing when to use a healer bar and when to use a prot bar (and which bars) given the environment (including team setup).
You are hardly ever the single monk in a team (8-person area) and given heroes/hench are used, in some situations protection is better on the human and in others healing.

There is a simple reason why people are surgesting prot or hybrid bars.
That's because they are working in about every lvl20 - 8 party size area.
Being South Shiverpeaks + Fire Islands in Tyria, mainland Cantha (remember, those bosses there hurt a lot) and a large part of mainland Elona.
Are they the best builds available?
When played in a decent team, I'd say yes.
When we vanquish HM with 2 prot/hybrid monks in a team or do HM missions (both no healer), that would mean NM would be a breeze in the park (and it is most of the time)

Energy efficient?
Does not matter when played in a decent team on NM.
But most builds are, since they need to be in HM.

Things could change when people start to play monk in a PUG.
I can easily leave a partymember with almost no health, knowing he's no target and has no degen. But it can be scary for a PUG and a monk could get a comment or rant.
Since aggro control is also not always good, people could get more damage than really needed.
Builds are not optimal, so there is also a possible source for extra damage.
Add some AoE degen for fun and you have a real party.

Just to take the stress of the PUG it's better to heal in the lower NM areas and use a prot + healer combo on the 'higher' NM areas. Or even hybrid + healer.
This has little to do with the monk build, and a lot with the mindset of some PUG players.

LightningHell · Oct 29, 2007, 11:54 PM // 23:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cammy

You shouldn't be relying on a skill to force you to watch the playing field. If you absolutely have to use a 2 second cast to tear your eyes away from the party-view menu, use Aegis instead.

Generally, watching the playing field is much more effective than staring holes at the party bars, as you can anticipate attacks, note down positioning, etc, etc.

Burst Cancel · Oct 30, 2007, 02:47 AM // 02:47

I spend a bit more time glancing at party window in PvE then in PvP, since 1) your party members don't have numbers next to their names (I use 1-8 to target allies), 2) nearby enemy names aren't highlighted, and 3) there are sometimes too many ****ing enemies doing too many ****ing things. That said, staring at the party window always means you're missing something else.

LightningHell · Oct 30, 2007, 09:16 AM // 09:16

Maybe I should've clarified to "just staring holes at the party bars", as the party monitor is indeed a valuable resource.

Age · Oct 30, 2007, 10:01 PM // 22:01

Do lots of research and read up on your role and try coming up with builds that work for you and I mostly have my eye on the radar much better that way.