Curse

Vahn Roi · Aug 08, 2006, 09:11 PM // 21:11

I decided last week that I finally want to take the next step and craft FoW armor for my monk. Anyone who is familiar with this armor knows it can be a serious investment for most.

My monk has been mostly PvE with very limited PvP experience, but I hope to change that be becoming active in GvG and HA in the near future.

What types of armor are used for PvE? What types or used for PvP? What armor combination is the most well rounded for the two and also build friendly?

Thanks for your feedback.

Effigy · Aug 08, 2006, 09:48 PM // 21:48

Aescetic's armor is most used in PvE because the extra energy is seen as being more useful than extra defense, mob AI being what it is.

In PvP, where your enemy will (presumably) be more strategic in their offense, defense becomes the clear winner. The exception to this rule is that, since not all areas of the body have an equal chance of being hit by an attack, it is viable or even preferable to wear some Aescetic's pieces. The locations most frequently hit are the chest and legs, followed by the head, arms, and feet. All head armor has a same defense, but it is best to wear high defense armor on the chest and legs while possibly wearing energy armor on the arms and feet.

Shepherd's armor is somewhat a point of contention. While I have heard of its use in some high hitpoint builds, for infusing or anti-spiking, I don't really believe that an extra 35hp is worth sacrificing additional defense or energy. I'm sure this armor has its uses, but I would certainly NOT recommend buying it as FoW armor. But it as a 1.5k or 15k variant as you deem fit, if at all.

Disciple's armor does not have any widespread use as far as I know. While it could conceivably be useful on a build that focuses on Martyr or Draw Conditions, it is usually desirable to remove said conditions as fast as possible, thus limiting the effectiveness of the added defense. Not recommended.

Acolyte's armor is gaining widespread use, particularly among Boon Prot monks; however, it is highly effective on anyone who has enchantments on them the majority of the time, wether maintained or recasted. This is one of the prime choices, assuming your rely on enchantments frequently. Keep in mind, though, that the defense bonus is conditional, since enchantment removal is common.

Judge's armor is a time-tested winner. Since warriors are essentially the most important offensive class in PvP, physical defense is always welcome. This is doubly true since the Judge's bonus is unconditional. This armor is also helpful against rangers and assassin who, while not as prevalent as warriors, are certainly potential threats. This is my preferred armor choice, although I admit Acolyte's is equally viable and actually preferred by some.

Wanderer's armor is also favored some, although I think its popularity has dwindled since the heyday of elementalist spike. While this is certainly a viable option, I feel that it provides less benefit in most situations than does Judge's or Acolyte's.

On my own monk, this is the combination I prefer:
Head - varies
Chest - Judge's
Legs - Judge's
Arms - Aescetic's
Feet - Aescetic's

Hope that helps. Enjoy your new armor, whatever type you choose.

Vahn Roi · Aug 08, 2006, 11:48 PM // 23:48

Thank you very much for your input, it's very helpful!

I'm about a third of the way in regards to ecto and shard collection, so I still have a bit of time to decide.

On another note, can anyone who has crafted Ascetic's FoW recently tell me if they fixed it so it dyes normally?

BrotherGilburt · Aug 09, 2006, 10:45 PM // 22:45

Well thats not a mistake its supposed to be like that. I don't if they have changed it or not and I can't check because I dyed my FoW armor black. Which is the only color that dyes normally.

Brother Gilburt

deathnite · Aug 10, 2006, 01:01 AM // 01:01

i have that same problem with my monk,.... unfortunatly i bought her fow armor after they updated the colors so i ended up dying mine black as well cuz all the other colors come out bad