Effective monk guide

''Note: This article is intended to provide guidance for experienced characters playing new monks or experience monks looking for additional options. If this is your first time playing Guild Wars, please see Getting started in Guild Wars Prophecies.''

A Monk's Place
Monks are the lifeblood of all parties, healing wounds or preventing damage. Monks are primarily support characters, acting to enable the rest of the party.

Specialty Skills
Monks have one type of skill unique to the monk profession:
 * Maintained Enchantments are enchantment spells that have no set duration, but require .333 energy per second, or one pip or energy degeneration, in upkeep costs. Note: Assassins have two maintained enchantments, but they only function as controlled shadow step skills

Being a monk
Playing a monk can be a rewarding experience, or an extremely frustrating trial. As non-combat casters, monks are usually well away from the thick of battle. Having few direct damage skills, monks are dependent on the rest of the party for damage and defense, but the healing and protection they provide can provide the sliver of difference between victory and death.

Monks, unlike most other professions, are expected to fit into a narrow set of primary support categories. There are 4 predominate monk roles.

Spam Heal Monk
The Spam healing monk combines inexpensive healing spells with high divine favor to provide fast, repetitive heals of between 100-150 health.

Interesting Skills for Spam Healers

 * Healing Prayers
 * Orison of Healing, Healing Whisper, Dwayna's Kiss, and Word of Healing are ideal low cost healing spells
 * Divine Favor
 * Signet of Devotion is a zero energy healing spell that can provide a bridge while energy regenerates
 * Divine Spirit is a good way to extend the otherwise small energy pool available to monks without sacrificing energy regeneration.

Suggested Strategies for Spam Healers
Attempt to keep allies within your casting range, and foes outside your aggro circle. Watch the health meters of your party, and cast healing spells when a party members health meter begins to approach 75%. It may be helpful to select party members with the mouse, and queue skills with the keyboard. If partied with a necromancer who has Blood Ritual or Blood is Power, call when your energy is approximately 10-15. If partied with a boon healer, it may be preferable to ignore party members below 40% health.

Boon Heal Monk
A Boon healer, or Deep healer, uses Divine Boon and larger healing spells to provide very large spike heals up to 300 health, while on the other hand sacrificing more energy.

Interesting Skills for Boon Healers

 * Healing Prayers
 * Jamei's Gaze and Heal Other are excellent high yield healing spells. However, they drain your energy pretty quickly.
 * Orison of Healing, Healing Whisper, Dwayna's Kiss, and Word of Healing are used to provide "smaller" heals when a spam healer is not available. These should be your primary healing utilities.
 * Divine Favor
 * Peace and Harmony to counter the upkeep of Divine Boon
 * Divine Intervention to prevent death while healing skills are recycling.
 * Be wary when using Signets. They do not benefit from Divine Boon and are usually not strong enough for your purposes.
 * Other energy management skills

Suggested Strategies for Boon Healers
Attempt to keep allies within your casting range, and foes outside your aggro circle. Watch the health meters of your party, and cast healing spells when a party members health meter begins to approach 40%. Because of the large cost and huge spike heals, it is not wise to cast healing spells on party members who are above 60% health. Coordinate with other healing party members to ensure there is no overlap of responsibilities.

As an additional guideline, consider having at least one healing spell which casts in fewer than 1 second. While the difference in casting time might not seem much (0.25s usually), it adds up when you consider lag and latency.

The use of Infuse Health
Infuse Health is by far the most powerful healing spell in Guild Wars. However, it comes at a cost, that is 50% life sacrifice of your current health. Paired with Divine Boon, it can heal up and over 400 points if the caster is well-equipped. You can either use it as a backup skill or as a main skill. Having it as a backup in tense situations requires no special preparation other than making sure your internet connection is fine.

When primarily using this skill, you have to maintain a high health pool. Do not bring any superior runes, they will decrease overall effectiveness. Carry a weapon with health bonus such as a +45hp (while enchanted) focus or a +60hp staff. Also, bring Healing Touch and Contemplation of Purity. These two will be your self-heals. Use Healing Touch to regain health when not being targetet or if the situation does not require you at full health as quickly. Use Contemplation of Purity for a near-instant refill of your health at the expense of energy.

Spam Protect Monk
The spam protection monk combines inexpensive protection spells with high Divine Favor to counter damage and provide small heals.

Interesting Skills for Spam Protectors

 * Protection Prayers
 * Reversal of Fortune, Shielding Hands, Guardian, and Life Sheath are ideal fast protection skills.
 * Longer enchantments such as Protective Spirit and Aegis can provide extra protection in critical situations or as preventive measure.
 * Condition removers such as Restore Condition and Mend Ailment are a great addition to any team facing both PvP and PvE challenges.
 * Divine Favor
 * Divine Boon can be used to increase direct healing. This variant is called a Boonprot monk, and is very popular in PvP Arenas. Note that this variant requires either a Necromancer refilling your energy constantly or your own energy management skills.

Suggested Strategies for Spam Protecters
Attempt to keep allies within your casting range, and foes outside your aggro circle. Watch the health meters of your party and cast protective spells on any members taking damage.

Bonder monk
The passive protect monk, or "bonder monk", uses maintained enchantments to provide continual protection.

Interesting Skills for Bonder monks

 * Protection Prayers
 * Life Bond and Life Barrier are the pivotal skills for this build.
 * Life Attunement and Vital Blessing can relieve pressure on healing monks.
 * Divine Favor
 * Blessed Signet is a pivotal skill for bonder monks, allowing them to maintain more then 4 enchantments.
 * Other Skills
 * Essence Bond can be used to reclaim some energy when cast on tanks.
 * Balthazar's Spirit can be paired with Life Bond for energy gain when any party member takes damage.
 * Mesmer skills Mantra of Inscriptions, Mantra of Signets and Keystone Signet can be used to increase the casting frequency of Blessed Signet and thus generate a higher Energy yield.

Suggested Strategies for Bonder Monks
Cast your chosen bonds and stay well clear of combat. Cast Blessed Signet as quickly as posibly to prevent your energy from reaching zero. Watch your maintained bonds and the party status window for striped enchantments and replace them as soon as posible.

Other monk roles

 * Smiting monks, though rare, can be extremely destructive in areas populated by Undead creatures.
 * Invincimonk, or 55 tank monk, uses protective spirit, low health, and powerful regeneration spells.

Runes and Armor
Here is an example armor set for a flexible Monk that allows the Monk to change roles, skills and attribute bonuses at will:
 * One matched set of monk body armor, preferably Judge's Armor, Wanderer's Armor, or Disciple's Armor
 * Hand wrappings of Minor Protection Prayers
 * Sandals of Minor Smiting Prayers
 * Vestments of Superior Divine Favor
 * Leggings of Major or Superior Vigor
 * One matched set of Ascetic's Armor, for additional health and energy in critical situations
 * Hand wrappings of Minor Protection Prayers
 * Sandals of Minor Smiting Prayers
 * Vestments of Minor Divine Favor
 * Leggings of Major or Superior Vigor
 * Three Scalp Designs
 * Zealot's Scalp Design of Superior Smiting Prayers
 * Servant's Scalp Design of Superior Healing Prayers
 * Defender's Scalp Design of Superior Protection Prayers
 * Optionally, a "55 outfit" or invincimonk armor. 55 armor should have the lowest possible armor rating. Ascetic's Armor from Shing Jea Monastery is ideal. A full 5-piece set is usually used, but only the following three pieces are required if the above armor sets are available:
 * Hand wrappings of Superior Protection Prayers
 * Sandals of Superior Smiting Prayers
 * Leggings of Superior Healing Prayers