The letter I wrote...

Here is a letter I wrote to sony after the changes. Let me know if it sounds fair enough to you or what I should change. Thanks.





Dear SonyEQ people,



Hello, I play Akimatsu, 60 monk on Tarew Marr server. I am writing to you to explain my complaints about the current monk nerf. I dont really understand why you would need to mess with a class that seemed to so much enjoy the class as much as monks do. You have steadily been increasing power of all classes as of late. For example Paladins, most paladins I know are happy with their class as a whole now. They have a few bugs, but so do many others. I feel most classes are generally happy, with the exception of a few.



Warriors: Warriors complained about monks tanking as well or better, I say thats not true. From a high end perspective (my guild does VT/Emp on a regular basis) we never use monks as MT (Main Tanks). And as RT (Rampage Tanks) we almost exclusively use Paladins. With the exception of someone losing agro that is our normal set-up. SO I dont see warriors real complaint. I do see that they could use a few small upgrades though, why not give warriors a 5% permenant defensive above all classes? That would mean they would on average take 5% less all the time then other classes. I dont see that as over-powering by any means. That would most definately secure their place as MT and at the same time quiet their complaints. Oh, and make taunt a skill... not an all or nothing thing.. like when you click taunt, if you roll a 65 on a skill check it adds 2x that number to you hate list for any given mob. I dont claim to know exactly how taunt works, but I assume you get the idea.



Paladins: They seem happy, no need to change really.



Shadow Knights: This is a tough one, I feel they may need to have somehting added for Raid lvl abilities, but they seem fine on grouping. Pretty much a small utility class, with some damage added in. Maybe lower down HT timer or something? Its not as if a 60 SKs HT is anywhere near as powerful as a rogues BS or a wizards nuke, or even a clerics CH. And that is one of their class defining abilities.



Rangers: I think rangers are fine, the ability they have to do insane DPS on mobs with archery is fitting IMO. Maybe work when a mob is cornered so that wouldnt messup archery. But overall I think 1-60 a ranger is fine. Very fun class overall and very well rounded with what you have done.



Rogues: Fine as is, master of situational damage, and useful in all aspects of game. Just make sure you up BS minimum 61-65.



Monks: They WERE fine as is, but because of a hand-ful of complaints were nerfed. You mentioned with the addition of high ac/high HP combined with nice mitagation/avoidance it became to powerful. Well instead of nerfing them, in PoP you could have added more lower monk only ac items with different effects, such as more damage (we are a damage class) or just some nice new abilities as you do with others. You were on the right track with AtenHaRa monk legs. Follow that path w/o the nerf and you set monks at a lower ac bracket all the while leaving them as decent hp/ac/damage class but not overall to much in your eyes I would imagine.



I think thats it for melee, caster classes are fine as is, I like the mod-rod nerf FYI. Gives mages something besides being rod-makers. I feel all the other classes are well defined and have a sense of placement in raiding and xping groups.



I really hope you retract this monk nerf. I feel you would lose alot of business from othwerwise happy players. Its not that monks look bad on others getting anything new, we had a niche we filled and were happy. Hell I am all for others getting upgraded. I am here to do a job in my guild and with others being able to fill theirs that much better then GOOD!



Well thanks for listening, I hope you understand how us monks feel and we can work something out.








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[SkyKungfu]

Nice written Aki. Unfortunately VI obviously cares NOTHING bout our coments. Almost 7000 posts here, no real statement beside the yada yada from Ab ages ago.



Sky


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Vi most likely doesnt even read these boards. From reading many different sources, I have come to 2 conclusions.



1: The monk nerf wasnt necesarily needed. Monks tanking big things? BS reason. What constitutes as a tank? Someone with high enough hp to survive the CH chain and can hold aggro constantly. Saying that monk equipment needs nerfing, not us. No reason to make the lower people suffer.... but then comes point 2.



2: VI nerfed us to reduce the number of monks in the game. Monks were fun and we werent affraid to say it. It eventually got to the point where everyone i knew had a monk. Everyone. We cant have too many of one class because it fucks up the game.



Someone prove me wrong and tell me why. If you make sense i'll change my hypothesis,


<a href=http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=139385>Sionistic Triplefist</a>

58 Monk

Veeshan
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I am not going to disagree outright with number 2 - but VI gets paid regardless of whether you are playing a Monk or a dR00d.



I cannot see the financial advantage to reducing the number of monks - I am guessing that a number of twinky monks are played on second and third accounts that can now be removed, resulting in a potential net loss of income for VI.


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when i said reducing monks, i ment appealing them to other classes, sorry for the confusion


<a href=http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=139385>Sionistic Triplefist</a>

58 Monk

Veeshan
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I keep hearing this common misconception that there were Monks running around everywhere... this is false.



There aren't just more Warriors that Monks, there's getting close to twice the number of Warriors to Monks... Monks are simply a lot more visible.



Don't take my word for it, do the /who for yourself. Actually stop and count the number of classes on a raid etc.



The game is not flooded with Monks. Very far from it. A lizard or human in leather simply stands out an awful lot more visually.


<hr />
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Xarnak "Death to all fanatics" Clawfist (http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=266873), Iksar Monk of Xev.
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Dubious member of Hawkestone (http://pub72.ezboard.com/bhawkestone).
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"I stare, it stares back.

I long to know its feelings.

It demurs. Lunch, then."


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From my observation i usually see a 3monk:1warr ratio. But of course this could be just coincidence.


<a href=http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=139385>Sionistic Triplefist</a>

58 Monk

Veeshan
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[Fopoodzo]

If they are set on nerfing monk mitigation (which they seem to be) then they need to proportionally increase monk damage output, to rebalance us between rogues and warriors in offence and defence.


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Just posted this to eqmail@soe.sony.com, they have to hear all that we have to say, because we're paying money to play the class they have now changed, so all of you who are badly angry about this crappy patch just send them an email too.



" Over the last day, we've received a great deal of feedback and concern over the proposed Slay Undead change. We've put a lot of thought into the issue, and decided to hold off making any changes to Slay Undead for the foreseeable future.



Slay Undead will continue to work in exactly the same way, and deal the same damage it does on live servers currently, and remain at that balance through level 65. Damage caused by Slay Undead won't increase post-60, though Paladin melee damage in general will continue to rise as you level up. There will be no defense penalty imposed while using this skill.



We'd like to apologize for any undue frustration this has caused you, and we appreciate the feedback that was sent in. This change was well-intentioned, but we realized we were focusing too much on the potential of the top 5% of Paladins, and while the solution was reasonable for that sub-group, it wasn't appropriate to apply across the board.



Thanks for your patience,



Rich Waters

Lead Designer, EverQuest "



So all feedbacks and concerns over the monk's defense change are not important for you ?

All the monk community are clearly AGAINST all the changes you made but you didn't hear us yet ?

The monk's defense change was intended to replace the warrior and all the plate classes accros us no ?

You wanted the ubber monk not being able to tank better than a warrior anymore no ?

DIDN'T YOU HEAR THAT THIS RUMOR IS A TOTAL BULLSHIT ??? A WARRIOR WITH THE SAME LEVEL EQUIPMENT AS THE MONK HAS ALWAYS TANKED BETTER THAN A MONK !!!

Didn't you hear that the patch had (instead) a severe effect on the 99% monks (non ubber) ?

Didn't you hear that now our class is now less and less usefull and so we're not balanced anymore ?

Didn't you hear that too many monks can't pull in hot areas anymore ?

Didn't you hear that if you decided to just place us as a damage dealer there is a class named Rogues who can now take damage better than us and also doing far better damage than us ? ( you think that this is balanced ???)



I'm sorry Absor but but to come and post in monk's forums that you are sorry and you will accept all the flames is not what we wanted to hear from Verant : MAKING AND PURPOSE NEW THINGS AND SKILLS TO REMOVE THEM AFTER IS NOT THE ISSUE !!! When will you understand ? Don't you have respect for customers ???

You have screwed too many of us with this TOTAL BULLSHIT patch and you have deleted our faith in Verant.

Can you give us back our time and our money we paid to play this class if we are not enjoying more playing it ? I can't think so... "






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Heres one:







Dear Sir/Madam,



After three and half years you have nerfed the ability of the monk class to solo and exp-tank efficiently and thus totally redefined its role. The class which pays a weight penalty and experience penalty and has the smallest equipment range of any class now has been totally ripped to shreds and left pathetically weak compared to the hybrids.



Hybrids have their spells and focus items, Flowing Thought items and superb AAXP abilities (compared to pure melee who have the worst), they also melee at the same level as pure melee characters. Including bow damage rangers now both outdamage and out-tank monks, whilst also being able to solo better, buff and cast a range of other spells. Shadowknights are superior to monks in every single way except damage, they are better soloer, duellers, tanks, pullers and have more utility in general and far better AAXP abilities.



Unlike the warrior and the rogue, monks are not a highly specialised class. Being above average in damage and tanking was basically how they were balanced against the two other pure melees that are both the absolute best in their spheres of specialisation. Now monks are just backstabless rogues or sub-par ranger clones with no spells.



This change was put in due to the whining of a small minority of player that had an agenda to get monks nerfed due to their own jealousy that with the absolute best gear the tanking of their class was approached by monks. Even then their complaints were based on exaggeration and plain lies. A warrior with the best gear possible will out-damage and averagely equipped monk, and thus a monk with the best gear possible should feasibly be able to out-tank an averagely equipped warrior in some situations.



Monk tanking, like paladin damage to undead, was circumstantial. It was usable for solo and when tanking in mid to low end dungeons (even then a plate class with taunt, bash, higher hps and generally better resists would be a better tank). However against casters or big hitters, a monk cannot cut it compared to a plate class. Even in the mid end dungeon I regularly played in there were certain mobs that we would always need a plate class to kill.. and other mobs I was sufficient a tank to help kill. Now I have no real place other than 2nd rate damage dealer in those groups, despite the fact that I spent months getting better gear since hitting 60.



Please reverse the monk defence change.



Yours,



In the wilds of Antonica, the forest Tanuki (http://www.odanuki.com/Gallery/article.htm) were renowned for their sneaky ways.



Kawai Tanuki ("")
Celestial Grandmaster of Excelsior

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Congratulation!!...AD 2111: All Bases of Cats were destroyed. It seems to be peaceful. But it is incorrect. Cats is still alive. ZIG-01 must fight against Cats again
and down with them completely . Good luck!!
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</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub35.ezboard.com/ukawaitanuki.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Kawai Tanuki</A> at: 10/20/02 12:36:14 pm

[Fopoodzo]

<blockquote>Quote:<hr> Unlike the warrior and the rogue, monks are not a highly specialised class. Being above average in damage and tanking was basically how they were balanced against the two other pure melees that are both the absolute best in their spheres of specialisation. Now monks are just backstabless rogues or sub-par ranger clones with no spells. <hr></blockquote>





Yup, they have to realise that if they nerf defence (which they have) they are going to have to increase offence to keep the balance, otherwise they are effectively doublely nerfing monks and making them a sub-par in almost every way class. (i.e. every class does something significantly better in 99% of situations)


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