Curse

Necrohexel · Jul 31, 2005, 01:22 PM // 13:22

Hi, i've just started a prot monk recently but ive found that it has some energy problems while using him.
I like to use divine boon because it really suports the healing monks making things easier for them but it also screws up my mana a bit.

My current build is this:
Reversal of Fortune
Protective Spirit
Aegis
Guardian
Mend Ailment
Shield of Regeneration/Spellbreaker
Shielding Hands
Divine Boon

Im thinking of perhaps taking out aegis. I know everyone is very fond of it but for 15 mana i really dont think its that necessary if u use guardian. In tombs or arena usually no more then 2 party members are being whacked at the same time so i guess guardian does the same job with less energy cost and also helps keeping ur enchantments like boon safe from those encht removers.
So taking out aegis will free up so mana but still i wanted a suport skill to get my energy up again. For this i was thinking of Channeling altho ive never used it so i dont know how much energy u can get. Or perhaps energy drain but that would take an elite slot so im not sure about this and would apreciate some thoughts on what u have used efficiently to get that energy back up again. So basically im aiming to try something around this:

Boon
Shielding Hands
Reversal of Fortune
Protective Spirit
Guardian
Mend Ailment
Shield of Regen/Spellbreaker
Channeling/Energy Drain/Peace and Harmony(not my favourite)/something else

ratatass · Jul 31, 2005, 01:39 PM // 13:39

[size=2]Blessed Signet[/size]
[size=2]Reversal of Fortune[/size]
[size=2]Guardian/Aegis/Ether Feast/Mend Ailment[/size]
[size=2]Energy Drain (E)[/size]
[size=2]Mantra of Inscriptions[/size]
[size=2]Divine Boon[/size]
[size=2]Life Bond[/size]

Try that for a while. See how that works. You can then spam Reversal. Make sure you energy drain the eles cause they usally have some to spare...

Give it a shot.

Ratatass

__Aria__ · Jul 31, 2005, 01:45 PM // 13:45

I think u should try "offering of blood" instead "energy drain".
with offering u dont need a target, recharge time is 15 secs and the sacrifice is outhealed by only the divine favor bonus.

ICURADik · Jul 31, 2005, 05:57 PM // 17:57

Energy drain is one of the only forms of offense a monk like this will have. I prefer it over Offering.

__Aria__ · Jul 31, 2005, 06:32 PM // 18:32

Thats true, but lets compare:

offering of blood: 5 en cost,1/4 of sec cast time,15 secs recharge and 10% sacrifice, no need for a target ( u can keep doing ur job.. ).

energy drain: 5 en cost,1 sec of cast time,20 secs recharge, needs a target.

I dunno, I think that "offering of blood" efficiency owns "energy drain" offense...

Points of view of course.

ICURADik · Jul 31, 2005, 06:43 PM // 18:43

Lets compare some different numbers...
Offering of Blood: Your team gains an 11 energy advantage over the other team every 15 seconds. .73 energy a second.
Energy Drain: Your team gains a 27 energy advantage over the other team every 20 seconds. 1.35 energy a second.

Energy Drain looks superior to me... Considering many teams will focus entire characters on draining the opponets energy, it seems like using Energy Drain in place of Offering will not only make your job easier by reducing the damage that is done to you team, but it can also increase the speed at which you kill the other team when draining their monk, and give you more overall flexibility in build choice since you no longer need a debil ranger, or "fear me" warrior. I have come upon many teams that use Offering, and it is quite fun to use their monks as an energy battery.

Edit: The only reason for Offering's popularity is because it is in a premade. You can literally ask any person in the game, no matter how much experience they have to play an Offering Monk, and they can do it sucessfully. As the game moves on I think you will find more and more monks using Energy Drain.

Syno Nym · Jul 31, 2005, 06:53 PM // 18:53

Don't forget that Energy drain requires your target to have... Energy. Draining a monk ? Damn you're crazy, these guys are always oom past the first minute. Draining an air ele is a better way to replenish your energy and to lower the ennemy damage.

Soiled Egg Roll · Jul 31, 2005, 06:55 PM // 18:55

Energy Drain does come with a risk, though. If you happen to energy drain someone with no energy, your healing will be affected negatively. Also, in a minute of healing you'll gain +44 energy(with 10 blood) with Offering and +33(with 10 inspiration) with Energy Drain. Plus, if you're healing, taking a break from it to find a target that you know will have energy may cost you.

You're role is to limit damage, however. With energy drain, you have another tool to do that with. Use it on spellcasters, and their ability to do damage will be decreased substantially.

In my opinion, protection monks should use Energy drain and Healing should use Offering(for reasons stated in and above this post)

ZD_kusanagi · Jul 31, 2005, 07:03 PM // 19:03

but you have to also realize that with energy drain(its not hard to tab through the enemy and pick a suitable target to drain) you will also be giving your mesmers an easier time. draining 17 energy can REALLY damage an ele or mesmer for a good 10-20 seconds. on the other hand, whats more aggrevating for your own monks than their prot monk taking a hefty amount of damage. since he's also going to get targeted, i just see it as a bit odd that you would want to hurt yourself even MORE. plus, energy drain is 15 second cool down time. you can make this build go really god in a ranger group with quickening zephyr etc.. or an off hand 20/20 recharge or casting speed, there are lots of way to make this more effective than offering of blood.

knives · Jul 31, 2005, 07:18 PM // 19:18

Aegis is used to cover enchants, and if it helps block some attacks, then so be it. (Though it wont help at all if they drop a NR)

Boon prot monks would run out of energy fast unless you run a maintained enchant build.

OoB would not help a prot monk because they can not sufficiently heal themselves for the loss amount in times of dire need. Energy drain is more efficient in this situation.

Spellbreaker is not needed as it lasts a short duration, but has a long recharge time. Besides, if they try to target you and can't all they do is move on to another monk.

Prot spirit + reversal spam is what I would do. Never liked shielding hands. I think dwaynas kiss could prove useful in situations. Don't know if you can/want to run a 12-10-8 build with some leftover pts in healing prayers + minor rune to replace shielding hands. Ailment over condition.

Necrohexel · Jul 31, 2005, 07:27 PM // 19:27

Well i do like energy drain best but the point is it takes ur elite slot away and offering doesn't. They both seem prety good to me so the question is, does the advantage of stealing instead of just gaining energy worth the elite slot? And what about channeling, dont u think that can be a viable skill aswell for protectors?

Gedscho · Jul 31, 2005, 07:28 PM // 19:28

nobody complainin about the no-rezz?
well, i guess, then its okay

rii · Jul 31, 2005, 07:36 PM // 19:36

I was running prot for a while, and i noticed that the biggest drain on my energies was spamming reversal. I was playing in arena, so basically i was in place of a healer, so granted maybe i was a little overactive with the use, but ive asked around and it seems to be about right. Guardian is the second worst, maintaining is three pips gone :/. Prot spirit, shielding hands, mend ailment, etc, and if you want take reversal, but try and keep it under control if that is your problem.

Offering of blood and energy drain are the obvious choices. as a prot, i suggest drain since in a way it is a form of protection (reducing the capabilities of the foe?) Whatsmore, prots dont have such a busy schedule as healers, so you often have the time to pick out the nice targets.

After that, id take out boon. There was a fad (might still be around) for only having one healer, and two prot with boon, but I think in reality its more effective (nowadays at least with renewal around) to drop it and leave healing to the healers.

Drain Enchantment is also good, along with inspired hex. Inspired hex moreso, the effects are the same as energy tap, but they provide defensive bonuses and have faster casting time. Whatsmore, they dont require the target to have energy, it just comes from.... somewhere.

Channeling is also an amazing skill, so with no boon, energy drain, and this you should be well on the way to trouble free reversal spamming.

In reply to the no ress thing, most monk primaries dont use em, since its too long time their inactive. Often hard res is on the secondaries, often wa/mo.

knives · Jul 31, 2005, 07:37 PM // 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrohexel

Well i do like energy drain best but the point is it takes ur elite slot away and offering doesn't. They both seem prety good to me so the question is, does the advantage of stealing instead of just gaining energy worth the elite slot? And what about channeling, dont u think that can be a viable skill aswell for protectors?

Offering of Blood is elite. Channeling isn't as effective as everyone tends to spread out sooner or later. Btw: boon doesn't help your healing monks (maybe in the beginning, but otherwise no) because it screws you over, and when you cant do anything, they'll be running low too.

I agree with the inspired hex suggestion though, it really helps if they stick a backfire on you or a malaise or w/e. You can use it on any teammate too and still gain the energy from it.

ZD_kusanagi · Jul 31, 2005, 07:43 PM // 19:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by knives

Aegis is used to cover enchants, and if it helps block some attacks, then so be it. (Though it wont help at all if they drop a NR)

Boon prot monks would run out of energy fast unless you run a maintained enchant build.

OoB would not help a prot monk because they can not sufficiently heal themselves for the loss amount in times of dire need. Energy drain is more efficient in this situation.

Spellbreaker is not needed as it lasts a short duration, but has a long recharge time. Besides, if they try to target you and can't all they do is move on to another monk.

Prot spirit + reversal spam is what I would do. Never liked shielding hands. I think dwaynas kiss could prove useful in situations. Don't know if you can/want to run a 12-10-8 build with some leftover pts in healing prayers + minor rune to replace shielding hands. Ailment over condition.

why ever would you hate shielding hands. it doesn't only block melee attacks, it reduces ALL types of damage. that means balthazars spirit, zealots fire(smites) incindiary arrows, or any kind of extra damage from arrows from fire lol(nullifies the extra damage)and 17 damage off of a chain lightning can really help in the long run if your getting spiked. thats 17 off each one. assuming you have protective spirit on already, you only take about 40 damage from each hit. and about.. 20 from a lightning strike. the only problem with it is the long recharge time. but i think it makes up for that in that it only costs 5 energy and can be such a universal damage reducer.
On a second note, dwaynas kiss is becoming basically useless now. with renewal spammers now always in just about every team. you dont usaly get the added bonus from it. it's essentially a reduced orison but with the same energy cost... not worth it now.

rii · Jul 31, 2005, 07:45 PM // 19:45

It also affects iW. I almost threw up, it defies the whole points of iW. Anyway, ill finish this rant in my head -.-

knives · Jul 31, 2005, 07:47 PM // 19:47

Its just hte long recharge time that puts me off. If it was only like 10 or 15 then maybe.

Yeah I guess your right, with all the NR spam dwaynas wouldn't be as useful as orison.

__Aria__ · Jul 31, 2005, 07:57 PM // 19:57

Offering is an elite too.
Good points guys, u changed my mind lol, tho for a healing monk offering sounds better to me, because if i play prot i see i may have the time to find a target to drain, if i play healing sometime i will be too much busy to tab and find a target than wait 1 sec cast time to probably gain energy.
As for offering sacrifice is very low, i often used offering under heavy fight its not a suicide

Gabriel Fallen Monk · Aug 01, 2005, 02:31 PM // 14:31

A tip from a protection monk master (4v4 arena) balths spirit and life bond, with a good blessed signet. Nuff said.

rii · Aug 01, 2005, 02:51 PM // 14:51

^^ I run this with a mate, he does that and i go healing with boon. We then pick up some random ele spikers, and pray their comptetent. most say 2 monks is too much, but by using large offense with large defense as opposed to a mix of weaker variants we can basically go for as long as we want in the team arena flawless, unless someone (usually me) gets a weird piece of lag and i miss a heal.