Monks... overated?

[99problems]

Seems like quite a few people like the monk class in BGII, so i decided to make one and to be honest i was a little dissapointed with him. All his abiltys are pretty cool but what i didnt like is the fact that his thaco really isnt very good at all (think he uses same thaco as preist!!) Would like to hear your opionons on the monk class (good or bad.)

[Cam_H]

99 Problems,

Welcome to Ironworks!

I've been solo-ing a monk through SoA and am about one-third of the way through ToB, and must confess that (a.) I have been thoroughly disappointed with the strike rate of getting a quivering palm attack to stick, and (b.) fearful of anything that can level drain ... less so admittedly once you start getting to the 'upper teens'.

With that said, Ilbratha's Mirror Image + Gauntlets of Crushing + Stunning Blows + Magic Resistance at high levels + High attacks per round really compound to one scary little individual.

I'd suggest that you should play 'conservatively' early, and build up levels with easy quests. Use stealth (script: Thief4 iirc) to bypass the pain and get to the gain, and use Potions of Clarity and 'what not' to avoid those occasional mind-based problems.

It is one of those kits that start weak-ish and finish strong.

[JrKASperov]

Monks are absolute dervishes of destruction later on.

I had one solo, the beginning was mucho hard, but when I got magic resistance there I went... Ended up with 100% MR and -10 AC, but as Cam stated, level drain is scary, there is no protection for you.

[krunchyfrogg]

Cam H, how do you deal with the level draining undead? I was soloing one myself, and after realizing that I had no way to protect myself I ended up giving up.

[Armen]

for level drain i think my solo monk just got by on good AC, stealth, superb melee skills, restore scolls and temples - it's not like you need the money for anything else once you've bought the ninja-to

i too abandoned my monk solo - you could just point him at most fights in the end and do nothing until he needed a new victim . . .

[Cam_H]

krunchyfrogg,

Yep, as Armen's indicated, just use restoration scrolls or temples where available.

I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I used a Protection from Undead scroll before I met up with Haz downstairs in the Graveyard area.

[SixOfSpades]

What deters me from the Monk is that they're all the same: With weapons and armor out of the equation, and other Monk-appropriate gear very limited, you could just tell me how much EXP you have and I'll tell you where you are in the game, what your combat stats are, and what you're wearing.

[Raistlin Majere]

So true, Six. I somewhat enjoyed my first run through with the monk, but I won't ever be playing it again. I've tried to, but always gave up somewhere in Irenicus's dungeon

[Lord]

As Cam said, they start off weak and finish extremely strong. I used to have Korgan fight most of my battles while my Monk would stay off on the side, occasionally throwing in a few hits. After a while, however, my monk became just as strong, if not stronger, than Korgan.