Curse

Clouds Ghost · May 25, 2006, 01:52 PM // 13:52

Im haveing a problem finding a good monk build for my guys, we do pretty good in gvg but are monk support just isnt there. im not saying we are a top guild but i am saying we can hold are own.

If someone could please throw me out some good monk builds for gvg it would help alot. and also any tips for the monks would also help.

thanks for your help

JR · May 25, 2006, 03:27 PM // 15:27

Fairly solid and generic GvG backline, imo.

IMO_Word
Monk/Mesmer

Divine Favor: 10 (9+1)
Healing Prayers: 16 (12+4)
Inspiration Magic: 9
Illusion Magic: 3

- Word of Healing [Elite] (Healing Prayers)
- Orison of Healing (Healing Prayers)
- Infuse Health (Healing Prayers)
- Healing Touch (Healing Prayers)
- Mend Condition (Protection Prayers)
- Drain Enchantment (Inspiration Magic)
- Inspired Hex (Inspiration Magic)
- Distortion (Illusion Magic)

This guy is your maintenance dude. He watches for team members low on health and tops them back up. Also is your second line of spike defense, with infuse health. Playing with Word can be tricky, but once you get good at it you realise how effective it is.

Distortion is not a common choice, but I love it on a Word guy, who isn't quite as durable as a Boon Prot. It's your "oh **** adren spike key".

IMO_BoonProt
Monk/Mesmer

Divine Favor: 16 (12+4)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9+1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

- Reversal of Fortune (Protection Prayers)
- Mend Condition (Protection Prayers)
- Guardian (Protection Prayers)[/color]
- Contemplation of Purity (Divine Favor)
- Protective Spirit (Protection Prayers)
- Inspired Hex (Inspiration Magic)
- Divine Boon (Divine Favor)
- Energy Drain [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)

This guy is your fast reaction prot, trying to limit damage before it arrives, whilst being able to heal through a substantial amount of damage if neccasary. Takes a fair amount of battlefield awareness to pull off playing well, but is a solid build at any level and great to learn how to use.

Clouds Ghost · May 25, 2006, 04:06 PM // 16:06

Thanks for the Awsome Description....

but have a couple questions.

Is it commen for a monk to not carry a rez?
will the monks be able to keep themselfs alive ( cause right ow my monks go down quick)

thanks for any advise.

JR · May 25, 2006, 04:18 PM // 16:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds Ghost

Thanks for the Awsome Description....

If there is anything you think lacking in the description, let me know and i'll go a bit more in depth. I didn't want to patronize by stating what may have been obvious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds Ghost

Is it commen for a monk to not carry a rez?

Not just common; standard in PvP. Time spend ressing is time spent not watching your team, and Res spells are all fairly long casts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds Ghost

will the monks be able to keep themselfs alive ( cause right ow my monks go down quick)

If they are having problems it is likely more a problem with their positioning and kiting. They have to be aware of their surroundings at all times, stay as far back as they can whilst keeping mid-line casters in healing range and the Warriors not too far out.

An interesting article for them to read about kiting:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3041944

That article does however apply to everyone, not just specific to Monks.

Toodles · May 25, 2006, 06:34 PM // 18:34

I still stick with the OoB boon prot with sig of devotion. Prot spirit doesn't seem to be that much of a requirement these days due to spikes consisting of individual damage small enough to fit under 10% max health anyway.

I find even with that mesmer elite for hex removal prominent that hexes seem to be quite common nowadays and that smite hex and holy veil works quite nicely.

It's nice to see the E-Drain monk back though, I haven't played one since it could be used as energy denial.

JR · May 25, 2006, 06:58 PM // 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toodles

I still stick with the OoB boon prot with sig of devotion.

An OoB Monk is a little too tricky for a beginner to be playing, since it got changed to 20%. Dealing with the sacrafice adds that extra little bit of required micro.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toodles

Prot spirit doesn't seem to be that much of a requirement these days due to spikes consisting of individual damage small enough to fit under 10% max health anyway.

Which spikes exactly? A prot spirit will screw up Air Spike, Adrenaline Spike, Obsidian Flame Spike... The only one it doesn't make much of a difference to is Ranger Spike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toodles

I find even with that mesmer elite for hex removal prominent that hexes seem to be quite common nowadays and that smite hex and holy veil works quite nicely.

Holy Veil is very nice admittedly, but Inspired is hex removal AND energy management, which I really like. Having an off monk Expell Hexes is great though, such as on a Mesmer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toodles

It's nice to see the E-Drain monk back though, I haven't played one since it could be used as energy denial.

Ah, the good old EP four monk edrain build.

TheOneMephisto · May 25, 2006, 08:28 PM // 20:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

Ah, the good old EP four monk edrain build.

EP four monk edrain? Now that sounds like an interesting build. If you don't mind me asking, what were the basics of it?

Oh and for the monks, those are nice builds. Most split builds run two of the boon-prots though. Another thing, if you feel like being really fun with your monks you can take power drain on them, one of the best e-management options for monks, but also one of the hardest to use.

deadmonkey4u · May 26, 2006, 04:00 AM // 04:00

With shadow shroud played so common, I wouldnt suggest two standard boon/prots. When split just have the healer or goh boon/prot be on the defensive split.

Ensign · May 26, 2006, 08:11 AM // 08:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOneMephisto

EP four monk edrain? Now that sounds like an interesting build. If you don't mind me asking, what were the basics of it?

Um, four monks with Energy Drain? That skill was sufficiently overpowered back then that it made any character with it a reasonably effective mesmer - combine with Drain Enchantment to cover all bases. Monks of course were the primary targets of all of this focused edenial, so running more of them to avoid shutdown was natural - that they had EDrain themselves allowed the build to maintain a solid offense despite the four monk backline.

The build was ubiquitous and created frightfully boring, Energy Drain attrition battles. The worse team got rocked by Energy Drain more than they rocked people with it and that was that. Between decent teams, you usually had defensive stalemates that didn't start to be resolved until VoD.

Peace,
-CxE

Byron · May 26, 2006, 08:12 AM // 08:12

I know training some new monks in my new guild is hard, since even experienced pvpers don't fully understand the energy management and reactions necessary to be a good GvG monk.

I hate to say this, because normally I'm a trial-by-fire type of guy. But, if your troubles continue, I'd consider running 3 monks or 2 monks and two e/mos.

It seems the easiest type of 3-monk backline for beginners is 2 boon, 1 healing light. We put our most green monks in the boon prot role, where their teeth were cut very effectively, and kept our most experienced monk (unfortunately, me) in the healing light role. With this our power was handicapped, but at least we stayed alive.

Having 2 e/mos means two prodigy-fueled heal parties, which solves the problem of many small-time heals. Personally, I like 2 heal parties in 8v8 no matter what the build is.

So, in JR- precedent:

IMO_healing light (3-monk backline)

11+1+3 healing prayers
10+1 divine favor
10+1 inspiration magic
1 domination magic

Healing light (healing prayers)
Orison of healing (healing prayers)
Heal other (healing prayers)
Infuse health (healing prayers)
Heal party (healing prayers)
Drain enchantment (inspiration magic)
Inspired hex (inspiration magic)
Hex breaker (domination magic)

Clusmas · May 27, 2006, 04:31 AM // 04:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds Ghost

Im haveing a problem finding a good monk build for my guys, we do pretty good in gvg but are monk support just isnt there. im not saying we are a top guild but i am saying we can hold are own.

If someone could please throw me out some good monk builds for gvg it would help alot. and also any tips for the monks would also help.

thanks for your help

If your monks are dropping fast it's often not their fault at all, it's the rest of the team overlooking some decent counter-pressure.

Especially with 2 monk backlines, you've got to punish foes that target your monks. I like using a water ele for the main part of this job.

All too often do inexperienced teams let their opponent run rife in their backline.

Sacho · May 30, 2006, 03:47 AM // 03:47

I find that many teams look into observer, seeing two monk backlines, and think 2 monks are sufficient for all your healing/protection. A 2 monk backline takes an experienced team to work with, you need extra condition/hex removal/healing! on your other characters, not to mention that there should be sufficient anti-warrior skills to prevent them from pressuring your monks.

IMO, starting with a 3 monk backline is better, and working from there("exporting" the monk's duties to the other characters as they learn)

JR · May 30, 2006, 09:11 AM // 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sacho

IMO, starting with a 3 monk backline is better, and working from there("exporting" the monk's duties to the other characters as they learn)

I disagree.

Start with a two monk backline, and put together a build with decent utility characters. Three monk builds in this metagame are a bit of a speciality, and you need to really know what you are doing to pull them off. I would just get used to playing with two monks to begin with.

Sacho · May 30, 2006, 02:21 PM // 14:21

That may be true - but in my experience, starting gvg teams are much better than doing pressure damage than handling it - this was especially true for our guild that ran 2 monks for the first matches, until we gave up and decided to go 3 monks. Since support characters aren't common in arenas, and that's where most of our experience came from, nobody was playing their support character as well as they played a damage dealer - thus the damage dealers overbearing the monks.

I would agree it's better to start with a 2 monk backline as they could adapt from their first mistakes, but you have to get your support characters to try out their chars and feel comfortable with what they're supposed to do.

Aiiane · May 30, 2006, 10:15 PM // 22:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOneMephisto

EP four monk edrain? Now that sounds like an interesting build. If you don't mind me asking, what were the basics of it?

Oh and for the monks, those are nice builds. Most split builds run two of the boon-prots though. Another thing, if you feel like being really fun with your monks you can take power drain on them, one of the best e-management options for monks, but also one of the hardest to use.

Energy Drain used to be a 1-for-1 drain - the target lost all 16 (at a typical 10 inspiration) energy that you gained. Now the target loses X energy and you gain 2*X, which makes it a bit less powerful in the edenial role.

Greedy Gus · May 31, 2006, 12:45 AM // 00:45

Energy as a resource was actually "destroyed" every time the old energy drain was used: ~16 gets relocated, but it cost 5 to cast. Now when you cast an e-drain, maybe the target loses 8 and it costs you 5 to cast, but you gain 16, so there is a net gain. You're still pumping energy into the battle. I believe this is one of the main reasons that an attrition battle of competiting energy drain chars is not possible anymore.

Ensign · May 31, 2006, 07:05 AM // 07:05

Three monk backlines are obsolete. If you want a heavy defense, run two monks with a dedicated defensive ritualist. It's simply more robust than anything you're going to do with three monks.

Peace,
-CxE