Curse

Jericho · May 06, 2005, 05:46 AM // 05:46

Okay, after a number of unfortunate occurences I feel like a public service announcement is in order. Sadly, most of the people who should be reading this likely won't, but I'm going to post it anyway just for my own grim satisfaction.

Monk is a profession of tremendous responsibility. Pretty much any other class can crash, log out of a mission without warning, or fall asleep at the keyboard without essentially crippling their group - not so with the monk. Even a brief lapse in attention can mean the grisly death of the party. However, while healing is the crux of the monk's existence it's also the seat of their power: a monk will always be in demand with groups, and will bring an edge to every group he joins.

That said, these are some tips for NON-monks that (I think) will help everyone in this community to co-exist better.

Scenario: Your group needs a monk.

1. Avoid spamming the area with "WE NEED A MONK NOW" in all caps. To me, this suggests you'll be likely to spend the whole mission barking orders at everyone (also in caps) and become exceedingly frustrated when everyone does not jump at your beck and call.

2. Include vital information as to where your group is headed and what its goal is in your broadcasts. Proper spelling and punctuation makes your group galaxies more attractive to me.

3. Do not settle for a secondary class monk. Despite what others might tell you, a character without Divine Favor is not a healer.

4. Grab the healer henchman if you run out of patience. She's actually very good at healing, despite a crippling lack of a foresight.

Scenario: You're grouped with a monk.

1. Avoid telling him how to play his class. I grouped with a guy in Fort Koga once, we went up against a disorganized gaggle of w/mo's and hacked them to bits. I put healing seed on him, and since it gave the appearance that we took no damage he felt the need to say "remember to heal us monk". When I explained things to him he blinked for a moment and said "uh, keep doing that then". I know it might give your ego a little stroke to issue everyone orders like you know what you're talking about, but the vast majority of you don't seem to know the first thing about playing a monk, so please keep the sage advice to yourself.

2. If you run off alone, you will die alone, and the only fault will be yours. There are no cross-country heals in our repertoir. If you expect to be healed, stay close to us.

3. Don't be afraid to take the healer henchman as a back-up. I'm never offended when this happens, as soon as I learned to work with Alesia I discovered she could compliment my abilities quite well. Especially in groups of six or more, this is a ready solution and frankly makes my job a lot less stressful.

4. Call him by name. Monk is the only class that seems to always acquire "the monk" as a nickname. I don't appreciate it, and I don't expect anyone else does.

5. Don't touch him if he's in full tattoos. Your hands are cold.

Scenario: You all just died.

1. Resist the urge to blame everything on the monk. Sometimes things happen to groups that no one can foresee, and all the heals in the world can't save you from ultimate doom. We also sometimes make mistakes; so do you, the consequences are just rarely as dire. Immediately blaming the monk for everything makes you an unmitigated asshole of the first degree for all eternity - I will never group with you again, and I will tell my friends. You're in the group too, take some responsibility.

That said, there will be times when you do get a newb monk, but more on that later.

2. Did you bring res signet? I hope so. If not, bring it next time.

Newb Monks

Monk is a class that's easy to jump into and difficult to master. A good monk has quick reflexes and a pathological hatred of low health bars. Now, since everyone has to be a newb at some point, newb monks exist. However, while one out of every ten warriors I meet is exceedingly newbish, monk newbs are far fewer. This does not give you the right to be an asshole to them. Maybe they did just let your resurrection priest die, tell them their mistakes in the plainest terms possible and let them do it right for themselves the next time. Don't micro-manage, let them figure things out on their own. If you shout "THE MONK JUST F---ED US ALL" they will probably leave the character and never look back, and that's one less monk out there to keep you healthy.

However, when you're trying to put together a wicked tombs group and don't have time to babysit, here are a few tips I find helpful for spotting newb monks right off the bat:

1. In PvP, they are wearing full tattoos. This person is a newb, and will likely be the weakest link in your group when they need to be the strongest. Invite at your peril.

2. They spam "LFG" constantly in all caps. Anyone who has played as a monk for more than a few days knows that groups will come to them.

3. You discover they brought resurrection signet to the battle. But by this time it's too late!

I hope this helps. The next person who tries to heap the group's collective deficits onto my shoulders is going to get a holy ankh shoved right up his presumptuous ass. Thanks for reading!

ocoini · May 06, 2005, 06:26 AM // 06:26

Nice post!

I just want to add that if you spam in town in all caps ("WE NEED A MONK NOW") or similar; I will 9 out of 10 times just ignore you, and see if I find someone more sane to play with

And if in the middle of a quest or mission someones ego in the party skyrockets, I will probably just leave the group in the next town we visit.

Brett Kuntz · May 06, 2005, 07:23 AM // 07:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jericho

1. In PvP, they are wearing full tattoos. This person is a newb, and will likely be the weakest link in your group when they need to be the strongest. Invite at your peril.

Tatoo's are noob? They give the most energy which is deathly imposrtant. I've played both phys armour and tatoos, and believe me, a tatoo healing monk is far superior to a armoured one with 11 less energy.

Raz Lemkin · May 06, 2005, 07:28 AM // 07:28

Excellent post Jericho. I'm just getting to post-noob monk status (lvl 9) and I'm starting to get a bit annoyed with some groups, especially warriors who think the best tactic is simply to go gun-ho for the healers at the back, bringing out the extra hordes and give me too much healing work to do, esp when the group splits up into 2-3 fronts due to being ganged by 12-14 enemies. I don't believe healers work well in this situation, especially if they use area heal. U run out of mana because it takes too long to finish the fight.

Ideally I think warriors should try to stay close to the monk, especially if they've put a Live Vicariously enchantment on them, and are using Area Heal. This way the monk can take a little extra damage when he gets rushed (hate having to run away cause no one in my team seems to notice that it'll take 3 seconds for the warrior to waste my ass).

BTW, is healing seed found later in the game? Haven't seen it yet.

I'm a Mo\Ne...think I should start again, as I do want to be considered an adequete healer? Can't stand those low health bars, but raising dead is handy for turning the tide, esp when I get rushed.

Pharalon · May 06, 2005, 07:38 AM // 07:38

Quote:

3. Do not settle for a secondary class monk. Despite what others might tell you, a character without Divine Favor is not a healer.

As someone who often runs a Me/Mo support character, I'd take offense at that

. Elmos are more than adequate healers in PvE as well.

Quote:

1. In PvP, they are wearing full tattoos. This person is a newb, and will likely be the weakest link in your group when they need to be the strongest. Invite at your peril.

You should probably be a wearing a couple of tatoos in PvP. Feet and hands most likely, maybe legs as well, but not chest. The hit ratios on those parts are low enough to make the tradeoff worthwhile.

Besides that, an excellent post, which a lot of assholes should take not of. I've never had my ignore list grow as quickly as when I'm playing a monk

DarkParrot · May 06, 2005, 10:32 AM // 10:32

Everyone in a party should keep an eye on the monk at all times. If something starts to attack your party's monk go and assist them. When the monk is under attack it will be harder to effectively heal the group. Most of the time others will figure since the monk is in the rear they will be protected, not always so. Take care of your monk and they will take care of you.

Synthos · May 06, 2005, 10:45 AM // 10:45

Oh yeah i face this all the time, My charecter im playing now is a level 19 monk. My biggest problem is when people rush against allot of mesmers because i can groupheal for like 4 or 5 good blasts before im out of energy, So people think that "Hey were not dieing! Lets keep rushing" and they dont realise that the reason there not dying is because of my group heal to combat the negative health degen.

I dont know what your talking about with the tatus, They give you more energy. What i did was use The anti melee chest vest and gloves and tatus for legs.
Here she is..

What do you think keeps you alive? Sure as hell isnt your armor.
Energy

Nothing looks more like a monk then one in the traditional cloth ones.

Tormunda · May 06, 2005, 11:22 AM // 11:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkParrot

Everyone in a party should keep an eye on the monk at all times. If something starts to attack your party's monk go and assist them. When the monk is under attack it will be harder to effectively heal the group. Most of the time others will figure since the monk is in the rear they will be protected, not always so. Take care of your monk and they will take care of you.

As a Pure monk I always call target on anyone who is in my face that I need removing.
Any party member can then select my target in a second and rain down some hell that will remove my problem very fast.
If your a party that needs to keep an eye on your monk, get them to call target. (Clt-Space or Ctr-Double Click)

Deagol · May 06, 2005, 11:38 AM // 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synthos

I dont know what your talking about with the tatus

It was a joke. "Your hands are cold."

Manderlock · May 06, 2005, 11:40 AM // 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deagol

It was a joke. "Your hands are cold."

Hes talking about the newbie monk part.

Alexiel · May 06, 2005, 02:20 PM // 14:20

Brilliant post, I hope everyone reads it.

True, being a Monk, especially primary, means you're never needing to look for a group. However, this isn't always good. You can get some real bastards snatch you up.

I take my monking very seriously. When someone dies I take it hard. When I get blamed afterwards, it doesn't help. Since then, I stopped playing a monk for a long time.

I like being useful in the party so I returned to it during the last BWE and I liked it again. Recently I found it less fun (though that might be due to low level again and hence lack of effective healing).

My biggest peeve is being attacked. I generally play 7/8 skills as healing skills of some sort. When I get attacked, I'm a sitting duck. I'm a support player.

"You should have ressed me" or "healed me" are words that are the bane of my existence. When all I can do is heal myself because everyone else is busy and I'm getting beaten to death. Healing myself severely limits my ability to heal everyone else and not just because of skill recharge and mana use. Oddly enough, I'm somewhat distracted.

People fleeing from my range (or rushing off to battle something miles away) so I have to run back and forth (sometimes into the fray) is inefficient, impractical and really annoying. I'm entirely with you on that point as well.

I'm sure everyone else knows those feelings above, but I wanted to add my congratulations on a grand and pointed post and I agree with all points (except perhaps the newbie tattoos, I prefer not to judge).

Manderlock · May 06, 2005, 02:25 PM // 14:25

I will not scream at a monk to "HEAL ME HEAL ME" However if i notice my health continue to drop, I will ctrl click my helth bar a couple times. Just to let them know im about to die.

Bellack · May 06, 2005, 02:31 PM // 14:31

Help me not be a newb:

Quote:

3. You discover they brought resurrection signet to the battle. But by this time it's too late!

I assume this is due to the fact that you have a better rez skill or is this because your party shouldn't be dying. This is the only one I didn't understand (I don't have the rez skill yet so the signet is all I have to do it with).

Elurian · May 06, 2005, 02:38 PM // 14:38

The res skill needs to be one of the first skills you go after (or at least thats what I was) stayed in post searing asc until lvl 12 almost because I was doing every quest trying to find it :x but I did find it and I would advise finding before doing much else.... very well stated post I agree with everything and would like to add if you are an E/* please... please.... PLEASE DO NOT run head long into a group of 5 hydras thinking I can keep you up... when they are hitting you for more than my heal other can heal it is only expected that you die.... quickly.... let the wars tank please.

jdwoody · May 06, 2005, 02:50 PM // 14:50

Quote:

2. If you run off alone, you will die alone, and the only fault will be yours. There are no cross-country heals in our repertoir. If you expect to be healed, stay close to us.

I've never found a limit to heal party, though it's not alot of healing and it has a fairly long recharge.

Great post though I would add when the monk says, "Please wait I need to recharge" please abide...

Kershent · May 06, 2005, 03:02 PM // 15:02

Secondaries CAN be good healers. Just last night I did a mission as a Mes/Monk, and at the beginning they asked if I could heal. I shifted some Att. points to Healing prayers, got out a few extra healing spells, and carried the team through the mission as good as any primary monk. Could a primary monk have done better? Probably. But did I get the job done? Definitely.

Bellack · May 06, 2005, 03:09 PM // 15:09

Ok I wasn't sure if there was some zen reason why people wouldn't use it. I'm only 9 right now but I'll keep my eyes peeled for the actual skill.

OvertheHill · May 06, 2005, 03:56 PM // 15:56

E/Mo healing specialists can be very good healers if they put almost all of their points in energy and healing. E/Mo healers have lots of energy to heal with. E/Mo healing specialists also have the advantage of not being the most obvious target to hit.

Jericho · May 06, 2005, 04:45 PM // 16:45

Ok, I should explain what I meant about the tattoos. Tattoos are great for energy and I use them all the time... in PvE. Fighting computer controlled monsters that won't try to take you down at all costs is different from a team of hard-boiled Koreans who will kamikaze the naked guy until their last breath. In PvP, you need every ounce of protection you can muster. Energy is good too and so I (and others) often use tattoos on the feet and hands and such, but I was talking about full tattoos, which just seems like holding up a "come and get me" sign at the other team.

I've been able to make do in tombs with only the energy that full censor's armor affords me, so it is possible if you manage your heals properly, and that extra protection has saved my life many a time. It helps to carry a second weapon set with a +15 energy -1 energy generation off-hand item that you can switch to in emergencies: free energy boost to shoot off a big heal on the priest, and you can switch back for the energy regen when things calm down a little.

Quote:

I've never found a limit to heal party, though it's not alot of healing and it has a fairly long recharge.

This actually hadn't occured to me but it looks lke you're totally right.

Quote:

I assume this is due to the fact that you have a better rez skill or is this because your party shouldn't be dying. This is the only one I didn't understand (I don't have the rez skill yet so the signet is all I have to do it with).

Okay yes, I was mostly referring to post-Ascalon with that. No one will blame you for not having resurrect in pre-searing, but I would recommend finding Grazden (he's near the charred remains of Ashford) as soon as you can and doing his quest for resurrect.

Glad everyone appreciated it

catharsis · May 06, 2005, 08:17 PM // 20:17

Aww.. Everybody go hug a monk. Chronic underappreciation hurts!

Warriors - You are targeted LAST in PVP. Monks are targeted first in PVP. Ergo: Watch your monk. Keep Sprint in your skill bar, and if he's in trouble.. RUN. You had better not be far in the first place.. Or, instead of sprint, try using Cripple-type skills and slow everybody attacking the monk down a tad so he can run. Nobody else can protect the monk like you, because nobody else has the same tanking ability.