10-25-2002, 03:24 PM
I am bothered by the decrease in a monk's defensive capabilities in 3 major ways. I don't parse, I haven't played since beta and I basically have only played 3 classes; 43 ranger, 58 shaman and 60 monk. The guy behind this monky is already burnt by Verant so no flames necessary. There is no meat and bone to burn in this pile of ash.
1)If a reference level 50 to 55 shaman, paladin, ranger or cleric had a mix of KC drops, Plane of Fear or Hate drops, some Velious class specific tailored items and a few items of Velious quested armor (Thurgadin turn in) they would be fairly well equipped. Far from uber, but decently equipped. However, If a post-nerf monk was equipped with armor available in these or equivalent zones, he would be severely underequipped.
Bottom line: A monk's pre-luclin, class specific armor is now trash. It's AC and other stats were designed for the damage mitigating monk that no longer exists. To be fair, Verant should have upgraded monk specific armor to compensated for the change and diminish the impact on average, non-uber monks.
2) My equipment choices and the 100's of hours spent obtaining it was all based on researching the 3 year accumulated monkly knowlege base. HP first. 1AC is worth 7 to 10HP. DEX and AGI to max combat skills. After skills are maxed, DEX for weapons procs only. 3 AGI equal to 1AC. The lost AC due to the weight of the Tstaff is made up by the greater damage output. etc. etc.
Post nerf who knows? Should equipment AGI and AC now be weighted differently? How should I value AC and HP in equipment choices. Is AC now king until I reach the soft cap? Should new monks be created with less STA and more AGI? Is Iksar THE choice for new monks due to their natural AC advantage.
Bottom line: By being quiet about what was actually changed and to what degree, Verant has for all practical purposes invalidated a large part of the 3 year accumulated knowledge base of monks.
3) I spent maybe 200 plus hours accumulating the brother title. All my previous research and discussions indicated that CS3 would be best for my situation; Mostly large scale guild raids or solo/duoing with a shaman, but seldom doing single, full groups. So my original intent was to go with Combat Stability 3 for the last 6 points which I obtained the day before the nerf. Instead I held off spending them for a day or two, waffled and finally spent them on Combat Agility 2.
My reasoning was this: since the base value of mitigation got nerfed, then getting a 10 percent improvement above the nerfed value would be less valuable less than getting a 10 percent improvement above the new, increased avoidance.
Bottom line: Who knows how CS, CA and durability should be weighted post nerf. Verant should give us back all AA points in archetypes (55 and 59) and let us redistribute them based on the impact of the nerf once we as a group resolve how theses skills should be weighted.
So in summary, this 1060AC, 2500HP, 18AAexp, Epic monk with fungi and Tstaff in a recently HoT capable guild is very bothered with Verant's approach to balancing monks. Not only do I get beat up more and have less fun than I used to, but the 100's of hours I have spent researching and developing this character have been invalidated.
I have been touched by the hand of god. The essence of my monk has been altered. Mind and body are out of balance. He feels clumsy. My monk is no more.
-Ajack
edit for typos
</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub35.ezboard.com/bmonklybusiness43508.showUserPublicProfile?gid=aja ckhykick>ajack hykick</A> at: 10/25/02 12:51:09 pm
1)If a reference level 50 to 55 shaman, paladin, ranger or cleric had a mix of KC drops, Plane of Fear or Hate drops, some Velious class specific tailored items and a few items of Velious quested armor (Thurgadin turn in) they would be fairly well equipped. Far from uber, but decently equipped. However, If a post-nerf monk was equipped with armor available in these or equivalent zones, he would be severely underequipped.
Bottom line: A monk's pre-luclin, class specific armor is now trash. It's AC and other stats were designed for the damage mitigating monk that no longer exists. To be fair, Verant should have upgraded monk specific armor to compensated for the change and diminish the impact on average, non-uber monks.
2) My equipment choices and the 100's of hours spent obtaining it was all based on researching the 3 year accumulated monkly knowlege base. HP first. 1AC is worth 7 to 10HP. DEX and AGI to max combat skills. After skills are maxed, DEX for weapons procs only. 3 AGI equal to 1AC. The lost AC due to the weight of the Tstaff is made up by the greater damage output. etc. etc.
Post nerf who knows? Should equipment AGI and AC now be weighted differently? How should I value AC and HP in equipment choices. Is AC now king until I reach the soft cap? Should new monks be created with less STA and more AGI? Is Iksar THE choice for new monks due to their natural AC advantage.
Bottom line: By being quiet about what was actually changed and to what degree, Verant has for all practical purposes invalidated a large part of the 3 year accumulated knowledge base of monks.
3) I spent maybe 200 plus hours accumulating the brother title. All my previous research and discussions indicated that CS3 would be best for my situation; Mostly large scale guild raids or solo/duoing with a shaman, but seldom doing single, full groups. So my original intent was to go with Combat Stability 3 for the last 6 points which I obtained the day before the nerf. Instead I held off spending them for a day or two, waffled and finally spent them on Combat Agility 2.
My reasoning was this: since the base value of mitigation got nerfed, then getting a 10 percent improvement above the nerfed value would be less valuable less than getting a 10 percent improvement above the new, increased avoidance.
Bottom line: Who knows how CS, CA and durability should be weighted post nerf. Verant should give us back all AA points in archetypes (55 and 59) and let us redistribute them based on the impact of the nerf once we as a group resolve how theses skills should be weighted.
So in summary, this 1060AC, 2500HP, 18AAexp, Epic monk with fungi and Tstaff in a recently HoT capable guild is very bothered with Verant's approach to balancing monks. Not only do I get beat up more and have less fun than I used to, but the 100's of hours I have spent researching and developing this character have been invalidated.
I have been touched by the hand of god. The essence of my monk has been altered. Mind and body are out of balance. He feels clumsy. My monk is no more.
-Ajack
edit for typos
</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub35.ezboard.com/bmonklybusiness43508.showUserPublicProfile?gid=aja ckhykick>ajack hykick</A> at: 10/25/02 12:51:09 pm