I emailed VI !

email VI ! - SEND THIS EXACT MESSAGE - SO VERANT WILL "GET IT"



eqmail@soe.sony.com

Dear EQ Team,



* * * * I have thoroughly enjoyed playing EQ for some time. Unfortunately, because of the October 16 monk nerf, I have no choice but to cancel my account.



* * * * I am hopeful that the EQ Team will promptly repeal this nerf, and restore monk defense to its pre-Oct 16 level. When that happens I will purchase PoP expansion and re-activate my account.

* * * * If the nerf stands, I am finished with EQ.



Sincerely,





POST ON THIS THREAD AFTER SENDING YOUR EMAIL!


- Irwin Fletcher

6'4'' - 6'9'' with the fro</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub35.ezboard.com/ufletchlives.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Fletch Lives</A> at: 10/20/02 5:16:36 pm

email sent !!






- Irwin Fletcher

6'4'' - 6'9'' with the fro</p>

Yeah I e-mailed too... Mine was a bit different though...



Greetings,



I'm sure by now you've received the numerous rants, flames, threats of quitting, and general angry responses to your "balancing" of the monk class. I must wonder if through all of this though, you've read your own statements and realize how contradictory your statement of the reasoning behind the balancing is, when held up to what the character displays. Now I'm willing to admit that there have been rules, and abilities in effect for awhile that were not intended to be, and must be changed to rebalance the game. The monk's ability to accept damage does not however seem to be a massive game altering ability. Please allow me to point out an inconsistency or two in your letter to the public regarding the change to the monk class.



"Monks in EverQuest were originally intended to be a class with excellent offensive potential, both with and without equipment. This ability came at the expense of having only passable defensive abilities..."

- The EverQuest Development Team "Development Update, Game Balance"



This example sites a vision of monkliness that the character as a whole does not support. Let's look at the reasons why the character does not support this claim.

Monks have an AC bonus/level, which comes at the penalty of having to be below a certain weight. Why is this an AC bonus, and not an attack, or damage bonus?

Monks' defense currently caps at 252. Monks' dodge caps at 230. Monks' riposte caps at 225. Monks' block caps at 230. Why do monks have all of these defensive skills at such a high level if they are meant to have "only passable defensive abilities".

I don't know if the reader(s) of this is(are) into martial arts movies, but Monks have always seemed, to me anyway, to be the masters of the mind and body, as in Shaolin Monks. Monks are hard to hit due to their hyperawareness of their surroundings. Through years of study they learn to anticipate their opponents moves and act, rather than react, seemingly before their foe strikes. They are also so in tune with their bodies that they can heal wounds by controlling muscles and the cells themselves, to repair the damage that they have received with merely a thought (Mend). They can also slow their breathing and heart rate to such a low level as to appear to be dead (Feign Death).



Now I can completely understand that a monk would not be able to take the same amount of damage a person in a full suit of plate would, and what damage they would take would not be pared down to as minor a wound because leather armor will not stop as much of the force from a blow as a solid piece of steel, however in balancing the monk class, they have been weakened to a point that they are unable to as effectively do the job that they are accustomed to.



In Everquest, most monks' primary job on a raid is as "puller", or the person who brings creatures to the raid to be killed. This is because using Feign Death they can effectively assure that the minimum possible number of creatures will follow them back. With the damage mitigation balancing the monks ability to do this has been reduced. Monks must be able to withstand enough damage to make it back to the raid with the creature they have separated from it's friends. Now, this is not as possible. I do not however believe in stating a problem without proposing a solution.



My proposed solution is to make the monk more effective at avoiding blows and better able to get to the raid or group. These will most likely have little bearing on their actual ability to go "toe to toe" with a creature, but will be effective at "pulling". I propose that a monk's evasion abilities, i.e. Dodge, Block, Riposte, have their skill caps raises to the maximum of 255. While this may make them better able to avoid most things, it will not overbalance their ability to stand face to face with a foe. I would also propose that monks have an innate ability at level some point in their level progression, most appropriately between the levels of 25 and 50, that is very similar to the racial abilities of Ogres and Trolls. The monk, after experience with leading creatures back to their doom, a monk would have developed almost a 6th sense when being attacked from behind. Using his awareness, and knowledge of his own body, I monk would be able to roll with a blow to avoid being stunned by a hit. This ability, in game, would enable a monk to pull back to his group or raid without having to stand and take punishment that he is obviously not meant to.



Right now, troll and ogre shadowknights have an advantage over every monk when pulling for quite a few reasons. They have a much larger pool of hitpoints, they wear plate armor which entitles them to a higher mitigation of damage, they are not stunned when facing a creature, which means for short pulls, they walk backwards and never get stunned, and their spell Death Peace has a recycle time of 0. They can fail to Feign, stand up, and without fear of being stunned to interrupt the 1 second casting of the spell, cast again immediately, all the time mitigating the damage they receive that is lowering their much higher hitpoints.



Monks have no ability to pick locks, to summon items, or to transport people. A monks defining role is pulling. With the damage mitigation balancing a monk's ability to pull has been drastically reduced, and a role which, with Death peace, they were already competing with Shadowknights to fill, they have been put at a decisive disadvantage. While the reduction of the mitigation makes sense, it cries out for more tuning to truly balance the class with all other melee classes.



I appeal not to your wallet by threatening to cancel my account because I will most likely continue to play regardless of the changes. I do not try to convince your conscience by crying on your shoulder. I appeal only to your sense of game balance and fairness, as I feel these changes would make the monk a more desired class without taking from another class.


</p>

Well said Milassis. Sadly, as VI is crunching for a new PoP release, no one will take the time to read all of that and see the light.


Labbats Brew

Iksar Grandmaster

me (http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=112159)
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