Sarge - what do you like about your Monk? Would you change anything? Would you - if available back then - place the AP in weapons like they can now - or do you think the wraps are a better alternative? Light or Dark - Light gives the healing and spell point buffs and more resistances Dark (as a quick guess) +25% more damage. Finishing moves - are they as good now in upper level as in lower level - are they keeping pace with your progression or are wraps (or weapons if available) looking like a better alternative?
DDOCast pod cast has a section from Alex Haddox called inside the Monastery - all about Monks and it really has me thinking.
Reading the build forums and there is a huge amount of builds and discussion on what race, what path, what weapon (armed or unarmed)
Just may take the plunge and try one - but they sure look like complicated animals.
I like the self-sufficiency and versatility of the light-path which is what I've always done with this character. The different stances provide great situational benefits, as does the ability to add different effects to strikes. There is a lot of button pushing and I imagine it's more like playing a caster from that perspective than a melee character. Once I established a system however, it became much easier. I put most of my strikes on a single hotbar so that can be active, and I can activate a strike by pushing a number 1-0. I also remapped a couple of keys so that "R", "T" and one of my mouse thumb buttons are "Fists of Iron" (+1 Crit multiplier), "Void Strike", and "Abundant Step" respectively. With that setup, I can reach most everything I need for a fight while still pressing the attack.
Seems like most Monk players are going dark path now as you have the potential to do tremendous amounts of damage and can use the Touch of Death rings. I didn't care for the dark strikes however, and felt like I could be more of an asset to a party on the light path (-25% SP costs, +2 to attacks, healing, etc). You can switch paths by resetting your APs however, so I may experiment with the dark side at some point.
Putting A LOT of thought in to re-specking to Dark path - when I hit level 9 a light Monk can get Rise of the Phoenix (Raise Dead) at the cost of 8 ap / a dark Monk gets Touch of Death (500 HP Damage blow)
500 Freaking HP blow that if lands does the damage (I see it being re-specked by Turbine sooner than later) it took my Ranger to get to level 18 to get slaying arrows that do 500 HP of damage, the Dark Monk gets it a lvl 9!!!! F - T - W !
I'm thinking that the in your face damage style might be better over all for my play style - I notice that the "buffs" the light Monk brings never go over 60 seconds....
I think the re-speck will only entail going to the trainer and resenting all the enhancements - will look when game is back up.
You're exactly right that you can respec from light to dark at the trainer. Dark path is definitely more damage oriented while the light path is more team oriented. The buffs only last 60 seconds, but as long as I am hitting stuff I have no problem keeping them rolling. In the bigger fights, I can have multiple buffs going at the same time, especially when using the fire stance.
Yah I notice that too.... as long as I'm hitting I'm buffing... some times under utalized by team ..... if I don't like I'l re-re-spec to Light again..
I have not figured out how to complete finishing moves on the dark side.... light you had the red square that changed to the correct finisher for the combo... not so on dark.... But who the hell cares!!!!!!!!!! when you have Touch of Death....
Fire stance to gather Ki, as you need 50 Ki to trigger, but it has NOT missed yet.
^ ^ ^ Yah that's level 9.... Dduck had to go to 18 for a 500 hp kill.
Another cool thing is shadow walk you go ethereal and invisible.... click sneak mode and NINJA there ass with ToD from behind.
Respecced to Dark Side and Touch of Death is truly amazing. Haven't missed with it yet. I was having major lag issues in Gianthold which killed me twice, but otherwise the dark side is looking good 😀
Bubbaspanky wrote:I'm sorry me and my nearly level 19 cleric are unfamiliar with 500pt hits... 300HP hits....
We have to generate Ki to be able to use a one time punch - the balance is your BB is ~30 Seconds and as long as we kite then through it and then turn around and go through again you keep hitting them......
Unless ppl Paralyze or just stand in the middle of the BB which then is only a one time hit.... but you can't fix stupid can ya?
Opposite that you have to have spell points - all we have to do is fight someone or if in a special stance fight or get hit to re-generate Ki....
ToD - double strike - main hand and hit percent for off hand.... I just hit for 1,500 (500, 500, 500)
LoL too bad it was on a Black Wolf in Searing Heights.... there must have been guts everywhere.
Did some digging and Turbine says you have a 74% chance of producing ToD on a double strike main hand if you have improved two weapon fighting feat and an 18% chance to proc off that for the off hand.....
I was so freaking stunned I shut down and missed the screen shot..... FRAK!
I hit for a -60 -500 -60 -500 last night on a Troll in Gianthold. Not quite as drastic, but very cool nonetheless.
If I could only generate enough Ki in Air stance to use it.....
I need to reset my enhancements again as I f*d up a couple of choices and didn't have enough points to take the Ninja Master line.
I wish the light Monk had a badass buff or strike like ToD...I think that the "Smite Evil" of the Shintao was supposed to be that, but it just doesn't hit like ToD. It costs less Ki, but I think it hit for me like a half dozen times in a few days of trying.
Atomm wrote:Me and my 40 point crits will be in the corner......
Damn it! How the hell do I get a Paladin up to those numbers ever?!?!?!?!
Then again, it's not like I get to spend any time playing any more.....
Way I figure I'll be close with my Monk when you're back at it next month (all kidding aside) so we can tear it up together - work on flagging so you can catch the Shroud bug we all move on from there.
I need to completely respec my Paladin. I'm in the worst position I can be in. Elf Paladin 28 Pt Build.
I've been reading Build guides trying to make sense of it all. It looks like the best thing I can do is to get him to a 32 pt build, then redo my Dex to allow me to get TWF using Scimitars. The next question becomes, do I drop my level of Fighter for Rogue or do I go Pure.
Apparently, if I did this right, I could be hitting for over 1K on two hits using clicky buffs.
I'll figure something out and maybe next week I can join you guys for FNF.
I don't think I've ever seen a decent Pal multiclass. If you do Multiclass always ALWAYS take your non-primary class FIRST never later than 4th level
Scimitars are good for crit range but remember the TWF feat has been nerfed in U5... though I notice little less hitting, the up side it is naturally assumed if the main had NAt20's the off had will too..... so ther is a plus to the minus.
THF pal's all seem to grind for the pairs in higher content (Levics I think) shield and bracers or Shield and necklace) you saw a post a while ago from me the undead hunter set belt and ring Durrzo has (belt only) but that is a true Pal set also from Amarath (lvl 19 area)
When your ready (and if you want help) we can do some real digggin and get you all lined out (one of my fav things to do is research in game)
Atomm wrote:I need to completely respec my Paladin. I'm in the worst position I can be in. Elf Paladin 28 Pt Build.
I've been reading Build guides trying to make sense of it all. It looks like the best thing I can do is to get him to a 32 pt build, then redo my Dex to allow me to get TWF using Scimitars. The next question becomes, do I drop my level of Fighter for Rogue or do I go Pure.
Apparently, if I did this right, I could be hitting for over 1K on two hits using clicky buffs.
I'll figure something out and maybe next week I can join you guys for FNF.
Not sure if your interested but here is a very informative link on Paladins and all aspects of them Race, TWF, THF, to cross class or stay pure, build advice, build lists... he's done an awesome j ob.
Yea, that's the thread I went through to try to figure out what to do.
None of the builds quite line up to what I have. It's due to the fact that it's exactly the class/race/pt build they say not to get.
I need to find a good build for a THF/Elf/Paladin. I think I may be able to modify what they have, but I still need to figure a few things out on my own. Also, I'm not much of a clicky player, so it's going to be a switch from what I'm use to.
The real thing I need to understand is what I need to do to reset everything. I know how to reset the stuff at the trainer, but I'm not sure I understand the whole Fred thing. Then there is the question of keep my 1 level of Fighter or ditch him and go pure Paladin. The last question is what I need to make my base stats if I get the 32 pt build upgrade. Which I'm not even sure I understand what to do there either.
Yep, I'm a moron......
Any assistance you can offer Duck would be great. At the least, I would like to square this guy away so I can start to enjoy FNF's again.
Pay to get the 32 pt build. Which thing do I need to buy? Before I do this, I need a definitive answer on starting stats. I know I need a 17 Dex for Greater TWF, but does that count Tomes?
Respec enhancements. That's the one at the trainer, right?
Can I respec Skill points? It looks like I need UMD instead of Intimidate. That also opens up Rogue vs Fighter.
Respec Feats. I know it's Fred, but I'm not sure what all I need to give him. I've only used my free one, so that shouldn't be bad.
Decide what to do with the level of Fighter. Everyone is all over the place about pure vs 18/2, then it's up in the air about Fighter/Rogue/Monk.
If you decide to reincarnate, it resets all of your feats and enhancements. You should take care of any feat exchanges then instead of paying Fred to do it.
Can you upgrade an existing character to a 32 point build?
btw, I reset my enhancements today and f#%$ed it up again....lost ToD for the next 3 days (or a lot of ranking) because I forgot something and didn't have enough points when all was said and done 🙁
Characters that undergo Lesser Reincarnation retain their race, gender, alignment and their Class Selections. They are permitted to re-spend their ability points, change their feat selection, reallocate skill points, redo their spell selection, etc., or are free to select a path. Unlike True Reincarnation, characters will retain all favor and experience, but reincarnate with the same number of build points of the current incarnation. If they have the Lesser Heart +1, they can change one of their Class Selections. [edit] Greater Reincarnation
Greater Reincarnation has the same benefits as Lesser Reincarnation, and additionally will upgrade a 28 point (non-drow) character into a 32 point build character.
Thanks Sarge. That's exactly what I need. Looks like it will cover everything except the single class of Fighter. After reading up, I think I'm going to stick with the single class of fighter. It gives me an extra feat, +1 to strength and allows me to keep my kick ass tower shield in a time of need.
Ok, I'm making some progress..... Now to finalize my stats. I'm still not sure if the 17 Dex requirement works with tomes. I have a +2 on all stats already applied. If I understand correctly, I will get to keep that as well.
Tomes do count towards your base Ability scores, at least that is my experience in trying to have high enough STR,DEX, WIS, and CON for higher levels of my stances.
Using a tower shield and sword combo to fight or just to shield block / turtle up with?
You only need Tower Shield proficiency if your trying to fight with one, the negative "To hit " penalty does not matter if all your doing is shield blocking a doorway or looking for DR 11/- trying to stay alive.
All my toons carry some form or other Tower shield for turtle mode as I don't fight with it - just use it to door block and turtle for back up.
Does your monk become uncentered carrying the shield? I can see where that would be handy at times to drop into Mountain Stance and throw up a tower shield when you are taking a beating instead of hoping that I can running away, which is what I do now.
Inventory - No Hand - Yes DR - What ever it takes to live.
* Not high enough level yet to have a DR 11/- shield I think mine now is 5/ or 7/ but like you said Death block Robe of Invulnerability DR 5/- Mt stance DR 3/- Tower Shield DR 7/-
DR 15/- total at level 10 is not too shabby in a pinch.
Ok, figured out a few things. Need to have 32pt builds before I can access Greater Hearts of Wood. Waiting for my points to hit so I can buy that. Then I'll get the Hearts of Wood and go from there.
Still piecing the puzzle together, but I'm starting to understand this better.
I think your "issue" is this is your first toon right? - we've all had the chance to fidget with 2, 3, 16 different iterations to see what works and how to fix it, delete and start over - unfortunately if you just start over your level 4 max.
Is there anything we can help look up - more people looking the better answer you may get.
At this point, I think I'm narrowing down my choices. There are two issues I'm about to start researching.
1. Where do I need to put my stat points after I start leveling. IE STR, CON, WIS, CHR, etc.... I have the base defined, but I think I have 1 or 2 points to allocate from having 14 levels already.
2. Why should I make my first level my splash class? What benefit is there to that? Can I use a Greater Heart of Wood +1 to change my Paladin to Fighter as I've seen recommended.
I really don't want to do this as I need 1 more level of Paladin to make level 4 spells, but for some reason everyone recommends making your first class the other class you are going to play. I'm sure I'll find it, but if you have a quick link, I'm all for it.
Last, if I could get 7 tapestries, that would be a big help!
Regarding the level of fighter, you need to decide whether you want two levels or zero. The +1 Heart of Wood allows you to change one level only. As you took the Fighter at level 8 you would either need to use the +1 there to switch it to something else, or use it to change your Paladin level to something else.
It may be that people say to use the splash level first because some classes get bonus feats or skills to start with.
I'm sure we can find areas to go to together. Orchard slayer and maybe Flesh Makers and the other quests out there, Meridia/Vale Quests start at 12 so if I zerge my Monk today and tomorrow I can take him there or my other two....
Played with a STELLAR - PUG today in the *sigh* Sands..... with The Mayor - Literally 7 straight hours of S/R/E..... last and final run...... (say it with me now)....... 2nd Blood stone. 🤘
0 to 1299 of 1500 Gnolls 0 to 555 of 750 Scarrow. 0 to 438 of 750 Undead.