Curse

xxhell · Dec 08, 2005, 08:17 PM // 20:17

lol so i have never sceene anyone EVER use a smiting monk.. are they just not useable? i know when i made my first char a w/mo smiting is what got me through but once i got farther in the game smiting was useless.. anyone got a link to a useable smiter? pve that is because i dont play pvp(well i do but i only have 2 chars for that my nuker and my healing/prota monk)

Rc The Mad · Dec 09, 2005, 06:02 AM // 06:02

Are you talking about solo farming? If so, look at the three or four topics surrounding this one. I think each one of them has something to do with solo farming, or UW farming after the AoE nerf. Use search.

kvndoom · Dec 09, 2005, 08:35 AM // 08:35

I think he means in a party atmosphere. If so, I hate to tell you, but nobody ever looks for a smiting or protection monk for a PUG. I've NEVER seen it, and I've been playing since May. If you're a Monk, they expect you to heal. I would love just once to be an offensive weapon in a mission instead of having to watch the red bars.

What's funny is that in the desert missions, people will add any monk they see to their join requests. Even when I have my monk decked out for 55HP farming (the tattoos should be a dead giveaway), I still get whispers and join requests. I should join and tell them I'm only a smiter (which is a lie, but they don't have to know) and see what they do. If they tell me to change to healer, I'd refuse and see if they kicked me. Heh, heh.

chippxero · Dec 09, 2005, 08:48 AM // 08:48

Protection and healing monks are wanted and if you tell a group you are smiting chances are you will be dropped.

I've always hated this about the monk class as i have always felt that i can't take smiting as people will expect me to heal anyway.

Unfortunatly most smiting skills have a huge recharge time which sucks as it's not even as if they do heaps of damage apart from close range AoEs.

cjtdaffs · Dec 09, 2005, 09:22 AM // 09:22

Perhaps this attitude is changing ,ive just done desert missions ,iron mines and thunderhead keep with my smiting mo/wa and i got picked for teams no problem. I told group i was smiting , not healing as soon as i joined group and didnt get kicked once.
It probably helps i play lateish as in my experience you get a lesser percentage of poor players late at night. Anyone with a bit of knowledge of the game knows smiters are very useful against the heavily armoured stuff.I think its mostly new players or people that have never used smiting skills themselves that refuse to have a smiter in the party.

chippxero · Dec 09, 2005, 09:45 AM // 09:45

I found early on i could do smiting and healing as the smiting recharge gives to the time to heal when needed.

But around kryta to the shiverpeaks it seems to be people jsut want healers and if they are a knowledgable group a protector.

I agree with the late night playing on the euro-english servers, it's far easier to get a good group even though there are only about 20 people in the districts.

I do find that there arn't many other monks about and unless i have played a mission with someone i would rather trust my healing than someone elses, which is silly because i'd love to go smiting in the later levels.

Vexed Arcanist · Dec 09, 2005, 02:38 PM // 14:38

The problem with PvE smiting is:

It isn't as effective as a Healer or Protector and it isn't as effective as an Elementalist. So the question remains: What is the point?

Long ago I played a smite monk, with a friend who had a smite monk. One of us typically had to go with healing or protection, so I ended up playing a Zealot's Fire protectioner or healer.

If you want to get in a group as a smite monk you best be prepared to lead the group. Start one, get the healer/protectors you need, then no one can say squat.

michaelp68 · Dec 09, 2005, 02:41 PM // 14:41

I finished the game, pve, beginning to end purely as a smiting monk (not solo smiter for farming).

The right build of smiting skills does a pretty solid amount of damage.

I play as a Mo/Me, so I also have a couple Domination skills that I regularly use, as well, to compliment the smiting build.

Whenever I entered a pug, I always told people immediately that I smite and do not heal. I was only kicked a couple times. If a pug asked me to heal, I politely told them no, I smite. Then the pug would typically try for another monk to heal. Most often, before joining a group, I would whisper that I smite and do not heal, and then I'd ask whether there was still interest. It was not usually a problem, although it was an occasional issue, understandably, especially when they needed a healer and didn't have any other slots left or if they they weren't good enough to understand the potential benefit of a good offensive spellcaster build.

Playing as a smiter is tons of fun. The offense is great, and I haven't seen many truly offensive solid smiting monk builds, so it's something different, too.

Now, for fun, I bought a 2nd set of armor with a new set of runes, so I can have the option of playing as a healer in the event it's needed by my guild.

I say that if you're interested, go for it. Smiting is very fun and effective.

michaelp68 · Dec 09, 2005, 02:45 PM // 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexed Arcanist

The problem with PvE smiting is:

It isn't as effective as a Healer or Protector and it isn't as effective as an Elementalist. So the question remains: What is the point?

Long ago I played a smite monk, with a friend who had a smite monk. One of us typically had to go with healing or protection, so I ended up playing a Zealot's Fire protectioner or healer.

If you want to get in a group as a smite monk you best be prepared to lead the group. Start one, get the healer/protectors you need, then no one can say squat.

You're right that the easiest way to get into a pug as a smite monk is to start the group yourself. Very true. But I disagree about the comparison with the elementalist. I well-built and well-played smiting monk is comparably effective, especially with the recent aoe nerf. At least that's what I've seen in comparing what I'd contribute to a pve group compared with what a typical ele in a group contributed.

DeanBB · Dec 09, 2005, 03:22 PM // 15:22

Smiting was somewhat affected by the monster AI/AoE change as well as Zealots Fire and Balthazars Aura both make them run now and those were the best spells to use for smiting.

I would love taking my monk out smiting with my son playing a warrior. Let the enemies mob him and put BA on him then start with Mend Ailment and Reversal of Fortune with ZF running. Look at all the pretty yellow numbers floating up, weeeee! Now it is a bother as they run, casuing him to give chase and the smites to miss.

The best place for someone who wants to run a "not normal"/"not popular" build (smiters, el/ra archer, fiery beastmaster, whatever) is in a guild, where you are accepted because they know that even if you are trying something out of the ordinary you are still adding value to the team. I've run many a weird build with our guild on missions and quests or just out to collect items or cap skills.

When it is really needed I do the healing though.

Vexed Arcanist · Dec 09, 2005, 04:20 PM // 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelp68

You're right that the easiest way to get into a pug as a smite monk is to start the group yourself. Very true. But I disagree about the comparison with the elementalist. I well-built and well-played smiting monk is comparably effective, especially with the recent aoe nerf. At least that's what I've seen in comparing what I'd contribute to a pve group compared with what a typical ele in a group contributed.

The recent AoE nerf is the exact reason the smiter was crippled well below an Elementalist. Does that mean or did I mean one should not play a Smite Monk? No, it was just the truth. I have nothing against smite monks, I played one through the game. I use her to solo if I want a smiter for solo, I use her to heal or protect in PvP. I finished the game with 3 different monks. However, having played them I can honestly and truthfully say their damage is subpar to an Elementalist. If you don't care about damage and just want a smite monk, go for it.

I would recommend Smite/Protection. This way you can rely on someone to heal you, you can in a pinch heal someone else while still being able to function as a smiter. Do NOT take to many ways to heal/protect or you will end up spending too much time doing that and not smiting.

Zhou Feng · Dec 12, 2005, 04:15 AM // 04:15

Smiting goes through armor. Unfourtanetly its only good for PvP since the AoE nerf. And even then the smiter monk has to be real good at what he does. I believe the smiting line is for offense casters. You know a line you use for some other profession. For example a mo/me hardly uses illusion and domination except for maybe some skills like distortion or sympathetic visage but most monks invest in inspiration instead. Same thing with smiting its not really for a monk to invest in it because monks are really for healing and protecting most of the time. I play a monk all the time and I hardly go in as smiter if ever. Might do it if I get bored of heal heal heal and prot prot prot

michaelp68 · Dec 12, 2005, 10:05 PM // 22:05

I have to disagree. In PvE, I do a pretty significant amount of damage with smiting and domination skills. The nerf has no effect on my build since I don't use any aoe skills, although I believe I used to use one aoe skill at lower levels.

Vexed Arcanist · Dec 12, 2005, 10:15 PM // 22:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelp68

I have to disagree. In PvE, I do a pretty significant amount of damage with smiting and domination skills. The nerf has no effect on my build since I don't use any aoe skills, although I believe I used to use one aoe skill at lower levels.

Unless you are fighting undead the single target smite skills are pretty low damage comparitively. You are combining them with mesmer dom skills, obviously you might achieve an improved damage output.

michaelp68 · Dec 12, 2005, 10:22 PM // 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexed Arcanist

Unless you are fighting undead the single target smite skills are pretty low damage comparitively. You are combining them with mesmer dom skills, obviously you might achieve an improved damage output.

Of course you're correct about the undead. The double damage is fantastic.

Putting the undead aside, I'm not so sure that the damage output is low comparatively. But perhaps you're right. What do you consider low ouput?

DeanBB · Dec 12, 2005, 11:12 PM // 23:12

I think all the direct smite spells ignore armor so compared to a blood necro the damage output is similar. Yes elementalists can deal more raw damage but almost all of their spells have armor reducing the damage.

They are also spells that never miss and can be cast thru objects, as opposed to spells like fireball.

Unfortunately most have a long recharge time, like 10 seconds or more.