User:Joseph C/Sandbox

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Thoughts of a Monk

 * Please do not read this until I move it to Thoughts of a Monk as it is not finished and is still a bit of a mess!

I would recommend reading The Effective Monk Guide first and foremost - no matter what profession you play in PvE. It is a well thrashed out guide, and you can understand how we monks react and interact with other professions in the heat of a battle.

With this insight into my play-style I hope to offer help to other Monks and enlighten other professions to the hinderences or indeed helpfulness of non-monk primaries.

My Aim
My aim is to keep the whole party above 50% health, as their weapons deal more damage naturally. (most people use "health above 50%" equipment) Moreover, the party doesn't start to enter noob/panic mode if their health is kept up. Ideally party health at 85%-95%, I rarely attempt to keep the whole party at 100% as this is asking for energy denial. I believe the time otherwise wasted is better spent analyzing the foes and knowing what to expect.

My Style
I am primarily a healing monk, and therefore I react to damage received to party members and heal the most severly effected. (unless dead - see resurrection issues below) I prefer to be a healer, but will experiment with protection spells, including Boon Prot builds.

I use a unique (green) weapon, usually the Scar Eater and not a customized staff because, quite frankly, I shouldn't need the extra 20% damage if I am healing.

Staying Away

I stay away from other members where possible to prevent adjacent damage, often kiting to the best position to heal most of the party.

I try never to attack foes as I try not to attract damage my way. If I do attack, it's a single shot, followed by kiting away and back to healing others. I usually only attack on low levels when helping others out on a quest/mission, or on the final Nightfall mission.

Under Fire

If you see what you think is me doing nothing in a fight, I am definitely not doing nothing. I could be thinking or making a decision based on the next damage dished out. I could be out of energy (I usually CTRL-click my energy bar to show all party) or sometimes having server/lag issues. Just because I am standing still or kiting, remember I am still thinking of the most important things, mainly party survival. It is in my own best interest to keep you alive, after all.

If I am being targeted I will not act my usual self in order to attract attention to this fact. Other team members should be aware of the fact that their monks need protection at times. I could do one of the following: It is essential that the team is aware of their monk's position and orders as there is a valid reason for both (unless the monk is an egomaniac - which you can usually spot, as he/she will be using chat too much (in battle) and perhaps name-calling or target calling in an experienced team) A monk should rarely have to call a target because it takes away the importance of "monk preservation" when he/she really needs it by calling! (The old adage of "crying wolf" applies)
 * Shout HELP in chat
 * Call Target on the foe attacking me
 * Run through team attempting to focus foe's target on another team member

Issues

It is pointless to "shout" at me in battle First and foremost, there are certain things that you must realise about monks if you do not use this profession the most...
 * I do not read chat in battle - the compass is my guide and I am concentrating on the Party panel
 * I will not resurrect you until I am comfortable other team members will not suffer severe damage or death as a result
 * Resurrection is a huge cost! In the time I take to resurrect you, I could have healed 4 of the team (if not all of them) and then I have to use time and energy boosting your health to prevent you dying right after resurrection from a simple shot. (which is the single most annoying thing, perhaps)
 * You show your ignorance (of a monk's modus operandi) to the rest of the team
 * I will most likely leave the team and find one more experienced, and experienced players recognize this, hence they leave the monk to "do their thing" in game
 * I never watch the main screen in a fight
 * I hardly look at the chat in a fight
 * I concentrate on the compass, the party panel and my skill bar (including my own health & energy)
 * I never ever use Heal Party, as 15E is too much of a loss in higher levels - Light of Deliverance is far superior, with a better range.

It may appear strange at first, but let me explain.

If I get killed, it is usually because of one of the following:
 * The team panics and focus their fire on different targets usually spreading too far apart to heal effectively.
 * I was the target of an unseen spike.

If I am playing in an all-hench party exploring through to an outpost or another area, I will invariably kit out as a Smiting Monk, taking Tahlkora (Prot) and Dunk (heal) along. Sadly the Smiting Monk is an unwanted commodity in human parties, yet can be a very useful 2nd Monk addition. Because of this, my smiting builds tend to be either Solo or built around my Hero's skillset.

My Ideals
I find it better if any other monk in the party is a Prot. If we are both healers, we end up buffing the same person with the same spells and wasting time, energy, etc. If this is not possible then the monks should agree to split the party and concentrate on their half of the party. Usually this split is determined by position on the Party panel for ease.

To help me, and thus the whole party, bear in mind the following points:
 * Keep cool at all times, even if your health is less than 40%
 * If the monk(s) die, retreating and breaking aggro is usually the best solution against a large mob
 * Don't resort to immature name-calling
 * You will instantly lose priority points in my healing decisions
 * Only have one experienced party member call the target and focus on that one
 * If a Ranger calls, let him/her "pull" the foe toward the group to prevent accidental aggro of other groups around


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