Description
The Monks of Norrath have dedicated their combat training to learning how to turn their bodies into weapons. They shun all forms of bladed weaponry and heavy armour, favouring their fists. They only use weapons which make use of their considerable martial skills and have further abilities known as disciplines which enhance them further, though only for a limited duration. Monks have been known to use light clubs and staffs but their speed relies on travelling light, a Monks natural armour suffers when forced to carry anything beyond lightweight bags and coins. Adding additional strength to their armour and with the help of their natural agility, they can learn how to dodge, disarm and block quite proficiently.
Monks offensive hand to hand skill improves as they gain experience, learning additional abilities at pre-decided intervals. They are capable of flying kicks, special punches and even the ability to feign (or pretend) death. Their mastery of mind over body also extends to regeneration, possessing an exceptional skill in mending their wounds with nothing but careful focus. Despite all these abilities Monks cannot take a lot of damage, they will only wear very light armour, its protection which relies on their never perfect success in dodging and parrying blows. They can sustain hits fairly well, but not well enough to be the exclusive centre of an opponents attention.
Though Monks usually follow their religion quite closely, their faith has little influence on their potency. Their path requires total dedication to their teachings and the often harsh training they undertake. A great mental strength is needed to endure the pain and frustration of the trials, only the Humans and Iksar are believed to have the required composition to produce Monks. The association with their deity is from the (largely justified) belief that with faith comes much of the mental strength and dedication needed to become a Monk.
While the requirements are difficult to meet and Monks are indeed quite rare in comparison to other professions on Norrath, those who successfully complete the training can easily make a big difference in a fight. Monks are capable of dealing huge amounts of damage and protecting others long enough for those better equipped to take the incoming. With their impressive self sufficiency they can adventure alone quite effectively and remain an able companion in a party. In addition their abilities to convince enemies they are dead, heal their own wounds and fend for themselves under attack mean they can fill quite a few roles for such a melee orientated class.
Monk Races
Stats
Monks are primarily damage dealers, the amount of damage they can inflict is directly influenced by their strength. A weak Monk will do less damage than a strong Monk and as such be less effective in a fight, as fights are really the only areas Monks are needed, its important to be as effective as possible.
Monks avoid wearing heavy armour, preferring to stay light on their feet when in combat. Being exceptionally agile is a trademark of the Monk, their agility having a major effect on their ability to avoid and deflect blows. Working on increasing their agility is a sure way to last longer in a fight, making it necessary for all monks, along with their strength to also make it an individual trademark.
Tips
- Strength is an essential stat for all Monks, it should be a priority when choosing items with stat boosting enchantments.
- Raising your stamina will give you more hit points but they won't make a huge difference in a fight, its better to increase your agility at first to help you avoid taking hits in the first place.
- Raise your dexterity to increase the chance of combat effects on the relevant magical items activating.
- Travel light, when you carry a lot your armour class (AC) will actually decrease until you take the offending items out of your inventory.
- There are bags that reduce the weight of what you place inside considerably, an enchantment you may find a worthwhile investment.
Screenshots
With thanks to Gigv (Human), Morgenroete (Human), Sanosouke (Human), Twostep (Human) and Karkarus (Iksar) of the Karana server for being the Monk screenshot models!
Sites
Casters Realm
http://eq.crgaming.com/menu/monk.aspThe page linking to Casters Realm Monk information, including articles on the epic, combat skills, feign death and more.
Monkly Business
http://www.monkly-business.comMonk site with useful info on hunting zones and other Monk related content.