Monk PvE, build help!

[Andemius]

Hey all, I'm looking to complete War in Krtya on my monk. As is, I've not done much PvE (without people) as a caster recently, and I'm out of practice.

I'm looking for a strong Monk/Any build which will compliment discord/mesmers (I know discord is outdated, but it's easy to set up and not bad for general pve).

I was thinking of using RoJ, but foes move out of it far too quickly, and it's not got a great damage output anyway. I've currently got some mashup Sword build, using SoH Whirlwind and signets.

So, any thoughts? (Yes I have looked at PvX, no, it doesn't have anything useful)

[Brightsides]

I have yet to do WiK, but i usually run an RoJ bar with arcane echo, caustignation signet and some other fulffy stuff. I usually bring two other RoJ heroes in addition to myself and three discord necros. It works well, as i dont have access to more than 2 mesmer heroes, and only 1 atm.

Ive wanted to try binding RoJ and forcing the heroes to use it on a mob that ive dropped some snare on. but I havent.

ive gotten so tired of healing heroes constantly or RoJing that I try anything and everything, from fire magic, to SoS rit, to dagger spam.

Alternatively, you could use Shield of Deflection and then make a dagger/sword/axe/scythe bar around it for gimmicky comedic value. I thought that was quite fun.

[Captain Bulldozer]

If your goal is to be doing plenty of damage, the monk is pretty limited. Bringing RoJ is one of your best in class options. That being said, its pretty effective to go Mo/Rt and be a spirit spammer. You won't be as strong as a rit spammer, but you'll still be able to pump out a fair amount of damage.

If, on the other hand, you want to play in a support role, you have some pretty good, often overlooked options. Investing heavily in protection prayers you can find quite a few useful builds... for example you could cast and maintain life barrier on every one of your heroes for some serious damage reduction. Alternatively, you could bring OP skills like prot spirit and Aegis and use them to great effect, especially in the WiK content. You could revive the HB heal party monk if you prefer red-barring. Bring a few PvE only skills (you move like a dwarf, ebon vanguard assassin, etc.) to add whatever you feel is missing.

Good hunting.

[Andemius]

SoDeflection is an interesting thought.

I don't really wanna be a defensive caster in a party full of heroes, cos that's bound to end badly.

I was thinking around a complimentary Mo/Me builds such as ESurge, thoughts on that?

[KotCR]

Originally Posted by Brightsides

from fire magic, to SoS rit, to dagger spam.

Alternatively, you could use Shield of Deflection and then make a dagger/sword/axe/scythe bar around it for gimmicky comedic value. I thought that was quite fun.

It is in RA. I've soloed entire teams on my Warrior in RA by perma-Shield of Deflectioning. Good times lol.

@Andemius
Ray of Judgement works fine, on heroes you micro it, but if you are playing it yourself that's even less of an issue.

You've just got to use it with a snare, or, optimally, use it in tank 'n' spank tactics with corner-blocking and whatnot. Then you'll be amazed at it's destructive power.

Earthen Shackles from Earth Magic has perfect synergy with it, and will work at low ranks of Earth Magic too (5 attrib is even enough to last a full RoJ), but there's a multitude of options in the Mesmer lines too.

[Sammich]

If you're looking to deal damage as a monk, then RoJ is probably your best option. Add arcane echo and you can utilize the "double dream beam" as a friend of mine says. If you're having problems with scatter, then you could put a bunch of water magic snares (i.e. rust, shard storm, ice spikes, etc) on a hero, or on a mesmer put a bunch of spells that slow movement speed - Imagined Burden, Kitah's Burden, and Crippling Anguish, for example. Of course, this is all assuming you want to deal damage. As a monk you could always just go heal/prot.

As for the Mo/Me option, there wouldn't be a huge problem with that. But keep in mind you cannot utilize the Fast Casting attribute, as a primary mesmer could. Some of the casting times can be pretty long (Backfire, for instance), so you'd have to stick to spells with short cast times (which isn't a big problem, just really a tiny nuisance) in order to ensure you're not out of the fight for long periods of time while casting spells.

So if I were you I'd stick with mainly monk spells - RoJ for damage, and of course if you decide to go the heal/prot route than any decent build will work - instead of going Mo/Me for E-Surge. It wouldn't necessarily be bad, but you wouldn't be able to use the skills to their full potential. Whatever you decide is up to you, and if it works, great. The best teacher is experience, so go out and try it.

Hope this helped
-Sammich

[Premium Unleaded]

If you're going to run discord heroes, then you might as well just go with an AP bar.

[Relyk]

^There's an AP bar on pvxwiki, maybe you didn't look hard enough?

[Brightsides]

You could even try a Word of Censure centric build, assuming you could find a way to keep your energy up. Or maybe a scythe + judges insight, add an IAS and maybe strength of honor?

[Andemius]

Originally Posted by Relyk

^There's an AP bar on pvxwiki, maybe you didn't look hard enough?

AP is not a good bar if you don't have the PvE skills...

As it is, I'm having to make do with RoJ. Daggers seemed to run out of energy too soon.

[Premium Unleaded]

2/3 of the pve skills on a standard AP template bar literally takes all of a few mins to obtain.

[KotCR]

Use Zealous Daggers, perhaps with Golden Phoenix Strike or whatever it's called...that one dagger skill that gives you +energy if you use it when enchanted (which presumably you will be, as you'll be under Strength of Honour).