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/Getting started in Guild Wars Factions.''

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. As non-combat casters, monks are usually well away from the thick of battle.

Being a monk
Playing a monk can be a rewarding experience, or an extremely frustrating trial. 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.

Healing Monk
The Healing Monk combines inexpensive healing spells with high divine favor to provide fast, repetitive heals to the party.

Attributes for Healing Monks
Healing Monks usually focus on two attribute lines: Healing Prayers and Divine Favor. Several Healing Prayer spells provide the basic setup of the Healing Monk, while Divine Favor is mainly choosen for the additional bonus health it gives the character. Some Healing Monks choose a third attribute line, mainly one from a secondary profession that provides skills to regain energy.

Suggested Strategies for Healing Monks
Attempt to keep allies within your casting range, and foes outside your aggro circle, be the backline. 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 low.

Protection Monk
The Protection Monk combines protection spells that prevent damage with skills that keep the party free of conditions. Unlike the Healing Monk, Protection Monks dont wait till after the damage is done to heal the character, instead the spells are pre-applied to the team mates to prevent the damage from happening.

Attributes for Protection Monks
Protections Monks will mainly rely on Protection Prayers with some Divine Favor bonus, since protection spells themself do not offer any healing. As with Healing Monks, a third attribute line might be used for energy reasons.

Suggested Strategies for Spam Protecters
Attempt to keep allies within your casting range, and foes outside your aggro circle. Watch out for party members taking damage and use your protection skills. Unlike the Healing Monk, do not wait till they have taken considerable damage, cast your spells right at the first sign of trouble.

Bonder Monk
The passive protection monk, or "Bonder Monk", uses maintained enchantments to provide continual protection. A speciality, the Bonder Monk does not actually cast spells during combat. Instead, Bonders cast maintained protection enchantment on party members before the battle starts and concentrate on keeping those enchantments up.

Interesting Skills for Bonder monks
All Bonding Monks use a fairly standard set of skills from the Protection Prayers line, combined with the skill Balthazar's Spirit (but without any attribute points in Smiting Prayers) and the skill Blessed Signet from Divine Favor. Additional attribute points are used for secondary profession line Inspiration Magic, which provides a few skills that help to speed up Blessed Signet.

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