Monk building tips

[fung]

Any one out there has some tips on monk building?

Obviously Martial arts for close combat...

but what about ranged combat? use bow and arrow or use Boomerrang shuriken? Should I invest in spells?

[armakh]

I've tried a couple different things.

Some people would say that you should bring up your staff skill for the z-bo. I personally much prefer MA. My monk is level 18 and hits for 20-40 damage usually around 10 times/round. He also always goes first, but if you have a better caster, I wouldn't use him for your haste guy.

I've tried not using any ranged and using a bo as my second weapon, and I didn't like that, although it gave me someone to use in the middle of my formation when monsters surround you. I didn't develop the magic properly on this guy, so he was kind of a disappointment at the whole ranged thing, but I think if you really work on him, the magic can be very good. Insanity and ego whip are two of my favorite spells, and monks can do them very well.

I've also tried the throwing thing, and have not really been that impressed. Sure, the boomerang shuriken is nice, but I really don't like it. I prefer casting spells, or maybe using a sling.

As far as magic, why would you not develop it? It's pretty easy to bring along without a whole whole lot of work, especially since you get identify item. Pick your ranged weapon of choice, fire off a few offensive spells early, and use him to identify. Of course, you can "powertrain" if you wish. But he can be good for insanity, ego whip, haste, summon elemental, and, of course, portal. I don't use much for any spells past level 5 with my hybrids.

Monks are some of my favorite chars, and I hope that you enjoy yours.

[Rhea]

I pump up Dex and Spd, then after they max out, Str and Sen.

For skills, I pump up Martial Arts, Stealth & Crit. Strike. Everything else depends on what you want to do with him. Snake Speed and Relfection are handy for Monks.

If you're going to use the Z. Bo, you need Wand & Staff (the Z. Bo is extended, though, which is cool). If you're not going to use the Z. Bo, polearm is also good. Then I do spells.

The Monk is not a throwing whiz like the Ninja, so I let him take a shot at it early on, but I develop his magic.

Then you can let him use spells for ranged and all you have to deal with is melee.

If I take RFS-81 and Vi (which I don't anymore) I like to use them on the flanks.

I always give Ankhs of Strength to my Monk, too, which helps with the damage dealing.

[Gimli]

I also like to flank Monks, RFS on one flank, your own on the other, with no one else in either rank. With stealth they will get passed over alot and not be attacked in many rounds. And having your flanks protected is always a plus in a formation. I like to get the front rank guys and flanks to either have stealth or be complete tank-types.

Personally I prefer to go the staff route with Monks (MA is nice too, but not as good for a flank rank character, and staves are extended range weapons). The Zatochi Bo is pretty damned amazing, and the Staff of Doom is great too, so you could end up RFS/Z Bo, your monk with the SOD and spells for ranged combat.

Stat wise it depends. The Monk could be the "haste" guy in the group, so if you are going to to that, then you need to build speed up. Really I don't like to do this with a Monk as they will be in melee alot, and they need str/dex for that. But you could go str/spd or dex/spd if the Monk was going to be the haster.

With RFS I build throw/sling and he uses a wrist wrocket, with my own monk I would just concentrate on spells for ranged combat. Basically you also want to sneak over to the swamp early and see Crock to get a Hayai Bo, and also raid the waterfall area early for the staff of doom.

[GreaterDemon]

Monks,

Are my fav or second fav character. I love MA, Fists of Fury..hehe.
I develop strength and speed first and then senses and dex. I do get about 70 sense as early as I can so my monk can search hidden items. Strength is really good as monks hit so many times extra dmg from strength adds up.

For ranged weapons use sling and then wrist rocket from Crock..excellent weapon
+3 to hit +5 Initiative 10% KO in addition to the bonus of the ammo. I use some spells but my monks end up being melee tanks. Chance to kill or KO every hit I love it.

GD

[Rhea]

My monk this game is fighting barehanded. She's long since begun doing more consistent damage per round than any other character. I'm going to stick to MA for melee, with the Z-Bo as the offhand (extended) weapon. I've developed her casting, so that she's busy with haste and offensive spells at a distance, then kicks their butts in melee.

[ 08-17-2002, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Rhea ]

[otter]

The only reason to invest in Speed with a Monk is if nobody else will be casting Haste. Dex first, for Reflextion, and Str for damage; then Sen for aim and initiative; and Vit for Stam and HP. Or, in a smaller party, 2 each in Sen, Vit and Pie, which gets you both Stam and SP. In fact, with only 2 or 3 players, there're so many levelups you can start with 2 each in Dex, Str and Vit if you want to max all three before the game gets real hectic. (With a Hobbit, if you put all you can when creating in Str, Vit, Dex, it only takes to level 20 to max Dex with 2 pts/level)
But if the Monk is your Haster, then you gotta start with Speed, which makes a Felpurr better: You can load all your Creation points into Vit, Spd and Dex; then on levelups, 3/level in Spd maxes it in only 11 levels, and Dex in 14, leaving you plenty of time to build Str, Vit and Sen. (i usually start with only 2 pts in Spd and 1 in Str when i do this, the Spd maxes in 16 that way, and Str doesn't stay so far behind)