Guild Wars Guru

Need help with PvE Protection Monk

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B
Bloodied Blade
Desert Nomad
• #1
I'm trying a boon/prot build for PvE...kinda new to protection monk but I didn't want to use healing, here's my current build.

Lvl 14 Mo/W

9 Protection
8 Divine Favor
Rest in tactics

Reversal of Fortune
Guardian
Shielding Hands
Protective Spirit
Aegis/Mend Condition (hexers don't bother me much, I can generally keep people alive long enough for the hex to wear off, and if it's a phantom pain, I just mend the Deep Wound off of them)
Bonnetti's Defense
Divine Boon
Rez Signet/Hard Rez

What protection skills should I be running/what should I be doing?

I'm not sure if boon/prot is pretty much a pvp only thing or if it's good for pve too...

Can I also get a reccomendation for an elite? I was considering either Spell Breaker, Unyielding Aura, or Mark of Protection (if I don't need my other skills/last resort).

Any reccomendations?

Also: Where can I find the max 20/20 Collector's Protection Monk Staff? I know where the Divine Favor one is, but I can't find the protection one.

Thanks!
B
Bloodied Blade
Desert Nomad
• #2
Also, does anyone have a price quote on (if there isn't a collector's prot staff):
A Wroth's Rod + Icon
A Kephket's Refuge Staff (price is probably sky high because of who drops it)
k
koneko
Site Contributor
• #3
Change to Mo/Me or Mo/N as soon as you can for Inspiration or Blood spells to recover energy. Bonnetti's Defense for energy recovery isn't such a good idea for a Monk. The idea behind running Boon is to heal (with some slight emphasis on protecting) - think about boosting Divine Favor more than Protection.

I don't like Shielding Hands...the recharge time is awful. If you boost Divine Favor enough, you can take Signet of Devotion - no-cost heal. Contemplation of Purity if you're bringing Mend Condition (self-condition/hex removal) if you can fit it in.

I use this sometimes:
RoF
Guardian
Contemplation of Purity
Mend Condition
(Mesmer energy-management skill)
Divine Boon
Rebirth
(Mesmer energy-management skill)

I don't recall there being a 20/20 collector's Protection staff...Kephket's goes for around 10-15k, maybe less now. Wroth's Rod/Icon are dirt cheap since they're so common. (The Soulstone might be a better idea for an offhand, since you'll likely always be enchanted from Boon. And +1 in Divine Favor can only help to heal even more.)
B
Bloodied Blade
Desert Nomad
• #4
Thanks for the info there!

I'll try to either get Wroth's/Soulstone when I can...

I don't really farm, so it may take me a while (I can usually just enlist a fire elly and another monk to farm a mission in a few seconds, it's pretty cool to watch).

As soon as I'd posted the thread I realized that I probably already knew what energy management skills I would be bringing (namely OoB or MoR).

Where can you generally get Wroth's + Soulstone? (I'm thinking droks or one of the later places)
k
koneko
Site Contributor
• #5
Offering of Blood is somewhat "riskier" to use due to it's 20% sacrifice (now). Energy Drain is another alternative to using Mantra of Recall if you choose to go /Me secondary and functions similarly to OoB (one-button push for instant energy, unlike MoR and the twenty-second yadda-yadda-blah. Using Kephket's with the 20% enchanting mod hurts in combination with MoR though...) Inspired Hex. Drain Enchantment. The whole Inspiration line of magic is filled with goodies.

You might be able to pick up Wroth's Holy Rod and The Soulstone for cheap if you spam a bit in Droknar's Forge or Deldrimor War Camp. Otherwise, the monsters that the items drop from are found in Grenth's Footprint (Wroth Yakslapper) and Sorrow's Furnace (Gardock Soulstone). It's usually easier just to buy them though...again, just my personal opinion on a weapon set. Others may (more likely, will) disagree.

Edit: Another note. Don't try to "top off" your party members since you'll just be wasting energy. Throw RoF/Guardian (+boon) on allies when they're around 60-70% health, Signet of Devotion (if you choose to take this) when they're around 80-90%.
H
Hygie
Ascalonian Squire
• #6
dont use Divine boon without a good energy management(elite spell like offering of blood or mantra of recall or Energy drain).
prefer to spam lot of spell and activate bonus of divine favor.
You should understand protection spell power depends only enemy(number or/and power). at low lvl, enemy are too weak comparing to power of healing spell(which is more versatile than protection spells, like against degeneration).
k
koneko
Site Contributor
• #7
Quote: Originally Posted by Hygie
dont use Divine boon without a good energy management(elite spell like offering of blood or mantra of recall or Energy drain).
prefer to spam lot of spell and activate bonus of divine favor.
You should understand protection spell power depends only enemy(number or/and power). at low lvl, enemy are too weak comparing to power of healing spell(which is more versatile than protection spells, like against degeneration). Good job, all you did was repeat what was already said about energy management. Go you. Have a cookie.

Spamming RoF and Guardian while under the influence of Boon leads to a lack of energy.

The rest of your post just made my head hurt.
B
Bloodied Blade
Desert Nomad
• #8
Well, I have a Wroth's Rod and a Kephket's staff now...

For my elite, I'm considering running Mantra of Recall (it shouldn't take me too long to ascend with the right skills/items) because it just appeals more to me.

I've read that Mantra of Recall is an enchantment...does this mean that high inspiration magic would be good with Mantra + Contemplation of Purity would work if I needed energy in a pinch (i.e. have MoR on and use CoP to end it early if needed)? Or would it be better to just keep it on at all times so I have an energy gain every 20 seconds?

In regards to The Soulstone focus:

Does it give +1 to Divine Favor (20% chance while using Divine Favor skills)
or
+1 to Divine Favor Attribute
...

If it's the first one, then is it possible to use an item combo like Wroth's Rod + The Soulstone to get my Divine Boon to lvl 17 and then switch back to Kephket's so that my Protection spells are better? Or do I have to keep Wroth's Rod + The Soulstone equipped to gain the bonus?

My friend is taking me to get MoR as soon as I'm ascended (I boon/prot him and he kills the griffon for me)...

Is it safe to run 2 superior runes on a boon/prot (12 Divine Boon, 12 Protection, 2 sup runes for both= 15 and 15 + headpiece).

For headgear: Should I use a +1 to divine favor or a +1 to protection prayers?

Thanks!
y
younghogget
Ascalonian Squire
• #9
Hey guys, first time post in here. So forgive me if i am wrong.

Personally, I do not suggest you to use the boon protect build if ur lvl 14 because you do not yet have the sufficient attribute point to put into too many categories. If you use your current build, you will find your self struggling with energy management when your allies are ganged up with a group of enemy. Remember, the protector's job is to lessen the damage taken by your team members, so that the healer monk will have an easy job healing them. You cant heal them as sufficient as full healer. I suggest you to stay full heal if you are lvl 14.
B
Bloodied Blade
Desert Nomad
• #10
I've actually found that I can keep a team of 8 alive through a mission without any problems as long as they don't do something stupid (like running down the wrong turn *away* from the team and ignoring me telling them to come back).

One of the main reasons that I run Aegis (even though it only lasts a little while) is so that I can sit back for a while and take a break... I'm considering carrying mend condition since party members are starting to suffer from more than just 1 condition (boon + divine favor + x number of conditions remaining would heal for a lot).

The point of a boon/prot is not to spam heals like a madman, but rather prevent the damage from occurring, and if it occurs, to be able to get rid of it quickly.

I'm not sure if other boon/prot monks do this, but it's just something that I've gotten into the habit of:

Warrior A is designated as the meatshield (I throw the whole shebang on him and he's hit for 0s and doesn't die from even a wurm seige)

Elementalists B C and D proceed to annhiliate the mob

Minion Master E proceeds to make a small army

Mesmer F continues to handle caster mobs and bosses

Through all of this there is either another monk (boon/prot or heal) helping me out or a ranger to get rid of ranged mobs (non-caster).
muelon
muelon
Ascalonian Squire
• #11
Dont even bother.
You do not have the energy management skills to run devine well.
You must also have a superior dev fav rune to get your dev fav up to 16.

Also boon protect was designed to be used in gvg because there is so much hexing going on. It was not designed for pve.

Hey, My monk is set on boon protect cause i gvg/pvp 95% of the time.
Sometimes I help my guildies in PVE, and am too lazy to change my skill set.
It does not work very well. Find my self running around alot spamming RofFand hunting for energy from energy drain.

There are way better ways to heal in pve.
Katari
Katari
Wilds Pathfinder
• #12
Quote: Originally Posted by muelon
Dont even bother.
You do not have the energy management skills to run devine well.
You must also have a superior dev fav rune to get your dev fav up to 16.

Also boon protect was designed to be used in gvg because there is so much hexing going on. It was not designed for pve.

Hey, My monk is set on boon protect cause i gvg/pvp 95% of the time.
Sometimes I help my guildies in PVE, and am too lazy to change my skill set.
It does not work very well. Find my self running around alot spamming RofFand hunting for energy from energy drain.

There are way better ways to heal in pve. Boon/Prot works just fine in PvE, provided you have some elite energy managment skill to power it. I wouldn't run it while trying to 5-man farm (Or B/P), but then I wouldn't typicaly run a warrior with nothing but stances either. I don't think I would have a boon/prot be the only monk on a team of 8, but when paired with a healer boon/prot works just fine.

The reason I'd give not to run it at 14 is that you shouldn't have any elites at that point, let alone MoR, OoB, or ED. I personaly prefer MoR in PvE situations, and you need to asscend to cap that skill. A boon/prot monk can do allright at 14 DF but at level 14 you simply lack the skills.

Lastly, I'd like to mention that a PvP boon prot should differ slightly from a PvE version. The PvE boon/prot can survive with less hex removal, without CoP, with Rebirth someone where on the bar, etc... My PvE boon/prot build is:

RoF
Mend Condition
Sig of Devotion
MoR
Ageis
Guardian or Pront Spirit or hex removal
Boon
Rebirth

10 Inspiration
9 or 11 Prot
14 or 16 Divine Favor (Always 16 while casting boon)
holden
holden
Wilds Pathfinder
• #13
Quote: Originally Posted by muelon

Also boon protect was designed to be used in gvg because there is so much hexing going on. It was not designed for pve.


There are way better ways to heal in pve.
what?


divine-16
prot-10 or 11
blood/inspiration-9


offering of blood/energy drain
divine boon
protective spirit
mend condition
mend ailment
guardian
reversal of fortune
rebirth

i used this in pve. i had no energy problems unless the rest of the team didn't follow targets. it's prot though. it's not a healer build. i ran it in a two monk group along side a pure healer. it makes his life very easy.

most monks that call themselves healers bring breeze or seed or some shit and call that healing. i've seen a few throwing fireballs around.....
i could never trust the healers to do their job and boon prot was great for the team to fall back on. bonding is a better way to go protection but you have to be able to trust the other monk.
C
Celain
Ascalonian Squire
• #14
Uh, holden, that's not a boon prot build, it's just a straight up prot build. Boon prot carries divine boon to boost their healing.
holden
holden
Wilds Pathfinder
• #15
Quote: Originally Posted by Celain
Uh, holden, that's not a boon prot build, it's just a straight up prot build. Boon prot carries divine boon to boost their healing.
sorry lol.

edited
Age
Age
Hall Hero
• #16
You can use bonetti's in PvE or even Watch Yourself it doesn't really matter instead of Boon use Balthazar's Spirit.You could also do this in PvP.
Fungus Amongus
Fungus Amongus
Wilds Pathfinder
• #17
PvE is typically easy enough to not worry about energy management. I took my second monk through almost the entire storyline running Boon/Prot. Just keep Divine Favor high and each spellcast will heal nearly as well as most healing spells.

Tips:
1. Bring at least 2 fast recharge 5 energy skills. (Reversal Of Fortune and Mend Ailment come to mind. These will be your quick heals.
2. Infuse Health is better than you think. (Fast/Big heal)
3. As long as people have life, they are not dead. Yes, people will complain about you not healing when they are at half health. Tell them not to worry. Just make sure your party members don't lose that crucial last hit point.
4. Watch the battlefield. If a party member was losing health, and is at half health no longer taking damage, they do not need a heal. (See point 3)

Aegis is better in 8 man groups. For 15 energy to offer chance to block for probably only 2 or 3 of your party members at any given time is expensive. Substitute it with a hex removal.

Prot Spirit isn't worth it until higher levels too. Chances are your teammates won't be taking damage equal to 10% of their health anyway. So the 10 energy isn't really preventing much damage.

There's not much to choose from as a Prot Monk until later in the game due to the lack of skills to choose from. Try high Divine Favor, Some Healing and the rest in Prot. Let the fast 5 energy skills be your "Boon heals."

By the way, it is not neccessary to keep Boon on permanantly. It is only 5 energy to cast. Knowing when to click it off for energy and recast (for a minor self heal also) will make a world of difference.

Energy management, pfft, just cast when needed and your life will be a walk in the park. <---that statement only refers to my experience in PvE