Go Back   The Unofficial GuildWars Site > Strategy Forums > Monk
User Name
Password

Please do not abuse other members in any way. Please do not post links or information about hacking/warez/cheats/item or gold farming or adverts.
Please read the rules of these forums as we rarely warn before banning.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-04-2008, 22:24   #1
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
List of Monk Builds That Don't Suck

Welcome to a list of Monk builds that Don't Suck, Version 1.0!

The purpose of this guide is simple. Provide a list of common builds so that people have some sort of a starting point to work from on their way to becoming good. You may find a lot of these builds are similar, or lack originality, and you would be right. If you consider 'cookie cutter' or 'wiki build' to be insults and things to be avoided, you'd probably be better off hitting the back button now. However, if you wish to become a better player through use of the best skills currently available to the class, you're in luck!

These builds are by no means set in stone. Skill updates happen frequently, so make sure to check the edit dates on the posts to see how recent the builds are. As nerfs and buffs occur, I'll try to maintain this guide to reflect the current monk meta.

This guide is best viewed using free/open source software, such as Firefox web browser. Experience speeds of up to 2 times faster than Internet Explorer, while using half the memory. Try Firefox today!

This guide was last given a significant content update on April 9th, 2008.


Table of contents:
1. PvE
2. GvG
3. RA/TA
4. HA

Last edited by shawn; 07-04-2008 at 22:45.
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 22:24   #2
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
1. PvE
Alright, first and foremost, almost everything will work in PvE. You know it, and I know it, so let's just get that out there and over with right up front. Unfortunately, while the smite build you've been using ever since you first hit Lions Arch might work, it also has a high chance of sucking pretty badly too. And this is where the list comes in, to give you a nudge in the right direction.
Most of these builds use [[gole] as their energy management, and go easy on the pve skills. This is partly for easy adaptation for heroes, and partly because monk pve skills suck except for a place here and there in very narrow niches. Plus [[gole] is ridiculously good.

You may also notice a lack of hard resses. This may come as a shock, as the mentality that monks MUST have hard resses has been drilled into pve monks by pugs since Prophecies. In this day and age, this is simply no longer the case. It's more efficient for you to bring another skill to enable you to keep your team up for longer. It will also force you to improve your ability as a monk, as you won't have that crutch for failure to lean upon.
If, despite all this, you find it too hard to let go of your hard res, for a insignificant fee you can always purchase Scrolls of Resurrection from Eye of the North, which act as an AoE [[Rebirth] (and has the added benefit of not draining your energy, or disabling your teammates skills).
That said, let's get to the builds.
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Prot=10+1 Div=8+1][Patient Spirit][Dismiss condition][Word of Healing][guardian][Protective Spirit][Cure Hex][Aegis][Glyph of lesser energy][/build]
Variant: [[Signet of rejuv@14] or [[seed of life@8] instead of [[guardian@11].
Party variant: [[Heal party@14] instead of [[Aegis@11].
Hex removal variant: [[veil] instead of [[cure hex@14].
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Heal=10+1 Div=8+1][rof][guardian][rc][gift of health][Protective Spirit][veil][Aegis][Glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
This build lacks party wide defense/healing, but if under pressure the combination of Divine Spirit + Glimmer allows you to heal ~1500 hp just from Glimmer spam alone.
[build prof=Mo/A name="Glimmer of Light" Heal=12+1+1 Prot=8+1 Div=10+1 shadow=3][Patient Spirit][guardian][Dismiss condition][glimmer of light][Protective Spirit][deny hexes][divine spirit][dark escape][/build]
Variant: [[Selfless Spirit] and [[veil] instead of [[divine spirit@11] and [[deny].
Ultra hex removal: [[Divine healing] instead of [[Dark Escape], for three hexes removed with [[deny].
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Zealous Benediction" Prot=12+1+1 Div=12+1][rof][guardian][dismiss][zealous b][Protective Spirit][veil][Aegis][Glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Healer's Boon" Hea=12+1+1 Div=12+1 Prot=3+1][Patient Spirit][Dwayna's Kiss][dismiss][heal other][Cure Hex][Heal Party][Healer's Boon][Glyph of lesser energy][/build]
Ursan team variant: [[Healing Seed@14] and [[Seed of Life] instead of [[dismiss@4] and [[Heal other@14].
Hex removal variant: [[Holy Veil] instead of [[Cure Hex@14].
----------------------------------------
Self explanatory:
[build prof=Mo/R name="PvE monk" Heal=14 beast=12][ursan][summon mursaat][comfort animal][charm animal][no skill][no skill][no skill][no skill][/build]
(No harsh replies now, the above was a joke. ..Everyone knows you don't take Comfort Animal.)
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 22:26   #3
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
2. GvG
Your backline in gvg should take into consideration what type of build your team is running, and what the meta is like at the moment. For example, as most teams have a Rit/Assassin flag runner which provides party healing, you probably won't want or need the Healer's Boon/Heal Party monk.
Here are some recently run backlines from top teams:
----------------------------------------
Dark Alley [pre][dR][/pre]:
[build prof=Mo/E name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Divine=10+1 Prot=8+1][rof][dismiss][woh][infuse][spirit bond][veil][aegis][gole][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Shield of Deflection" Prot=12+1+1 Divine=12+1][rof][dismiss][shield of deflection][prot spirit][aura of stability][veil][aegis][glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
Rebel Rising [rawr]:
[build prof=Mo/E name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Divine=10+1 Prot=8+1][patient spirit][guardian][woh][infuse][prot spirit][signet of rejuvenation][veil][gole][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Divine=12+1][guardian][rof][restore condition][spirit bond][aura of stability][veil][aegis][glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
Stealing Society [StS]:
[build prof=Mo/E name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Divine=10+1 Prot=8+1][guardian][dismiss][woh][infuse][prot spirit][veil][aegis][gole][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Divine=12+1][shield of absorption][rof][restore condition][spirit bond][aura of stability][veil][aegis][glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------

Some other variations follow:

----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/W name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Divine=9+1 Prot=8+1 Tactics=5][patient][dismiss][woh][infuse][prot spirit][signet of rejuvenation][holy veil][disciplined stance][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Divine=12+1][guardian][rof][restore condition][spirit bond][aura of stability][veil][aegis][glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Shield of Deflection" Prot=12+1+1 Div=12+1][rof][dismiss][shield of deflection][spirit bond][aura of stability][holy veil][aegis][gole][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Healer's Boon" Hea=12+1+1 Prot=6+1 Div=11+1][Patient Spirit][Dismiss Condition][Heal Other][Protective Spirit][Cure Hex][heal party][healer's boon][Glyph of lesser energy][/build]
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/E name="Word of Healing" Heal=12+1+1 Divine=10+1 Prot=8+1][draw conditions][guardian][woh][infuse][prot spirit][veil][aegis][gole][/build]
[build prof=Mo/E name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Divine=12+1][shield of absorption][guardian][restore condition][spirit bond][aura of stability][veil][aegis][glyph of lesser energy][/build]

Last edited by Seef II; 09-04-2008 at 06:38. Reason: added content by request
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 22:26   #4
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
3. RA/TA
In TA, your build depends largely on what your team is running. If you have a second monk with [[Aura of Stability] then you probably won't want to take [[Balanced Stance]. If you have a Weapon of Remedy rit, you may not need [[Draw Conditions], and so forth. Unfortunately in RA you don't get this sort of coordination, so you should go in with a generalized build. For this section I've gone with a general 'RA' type build, which you can tweak to fit into a TA build.

[build prof=Mo/W name="WoH Balanced" Heal=11+1+1 Prot=10+1 Divine=8+1 tactics=8][patient spirit][guardian][dismiss][woh][spirit bond][shield of absorption][holy veil][balanced stance][/build]
Defensive variant: [[Disciplined Stance@8] instead of [[balanced stance@8].
Prot variant: [[Protective Spirit@11] instead of [[Spirit Bond@11].
Condition removal variant: [[Draw Conditions@11] (or [[mend condition@11]) and [[mending touch@11] instead of [[Dismiss condition@11] and [[Shield of absorption@11].
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/A name="WoH Return" Heal=12+1+1 Prot=10+1 Div=8+1 Shadow=2][patient spirit][guardian][dismiss][woh][spirit bond][shield of absorption][holy veil][return][/build]
Defensive variant: [[Dark Escape@3] instead of [[Return@3].
Prot/Condition removal variants: Same as the WoH Mo/W.
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/A name="Zealous Benediction" prot=12+1+1 Div=12+1 Shadow=3][rof][guardian][dismiss][zealous benediction][spirit bond][shield of absorption][holy veil][return][/build]
Defensive variant: Same as the WoH Mo/A.
Prot/Condition removal variants: Same as the WoH Mo/W.
Can also be run as Mo/W with more points into Tactics.
----------------------------------------
The following is best run with a support character, as it's low on self healing spells:
[build prof=Mo/A name="Shield of Deflection" prot=12+1+1 heal=9+1 Div=9+1 Shadow=3][rof][gift of health][dismiss][shield of deflection][spirit bond][shield of absorption][holy veil][return][/build]
Defensive variant: Same as the WoH Mo/A.
Prot/Condition removal variants: Same as the WoH Mo/W.
Can also be run as Mo/W with more points into Tactics.

Last edited by Seef II; 10-04-2008 at 08:18. Reason: content added
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 22:27   #5
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
2. HA
[build prof=Mo/Me name="Healer's Boon" Heal=12+1+1 Div=11+1 prot=2+1 inspiration=6][draw conditions][orison of healing][dwayna's kiss][infuse health][heal party][holy veil][healer's boon][channeling][/build]
HB variant 1: [[Spotless Mind@14] or [[Cure Hex@14] instead of [[Holy Veil].
HB variant 2: [[Patient Spirit@14] instead of [[Orison of Healing@14].
3monk backline variant 1: [[Heal Other@14] instead of [[Infuse Health@14].
3monk backline variant 2: [[Healing Seed@14] instead of [[Draw Conditions@3] or [[Infuse Health@14].
----------------------------------------
[build prof=Mo/Me name="Restore Condition" Prot=12+1+1 Div=11+1 inspiration=6][rof][restore condition][guardian][spirit bond][shield of absorption][aura of stability][holy veil][channeling][/build]
----------------------------------------
The Word of Healing or Glimmer of Light monk below is usually used in a three monk backline, along with the above two builds.
[build prof=Mo/Me name="Word of Healing" heal=10+1+1 prot=10+1 Div=9+1 inspiration=7][shield of absorption][patient spirit][dismiss][woh][spirit bond][aura of stability][holy veil][channeling][/build]
[build prof=Mo/Me name="Glimmer of Light" heal=10+1+1 prot=10+1 Div=9+1 inspiration=7][shield of absorption][patient spirit][dismiss][glimmer][spirit bond][aura of stability][holy veil][channeling][/build]
Variant 1: [[Guardian@11] instead of [[Shield of absorption@11].
Variant 2: [[Infuse Health@12] instead of [[Aura of Stability@11] or [[Spirit Bond@11].

Last edited by shawn; 07-04-2008 at 22:47.
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 23:28   #6
Age
GWOnline.Net Member
 
Age's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,878
There is more than using Mo/E in PvE or you can just go Monk only.I am currently having discussion about resses on Monk in both PvE and RA/TA.This on another board.Lytha post good builds for PvE.
Age is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 23:48   #7
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
I'm not so much worried about the builds at the moment as I am the layout, and how to post them without hitting the image limit. I'll probably have to separate them like;
[build prof=Mo/E name="RC GvG" Hea=8+1 Prot=12+1+1 Div=10+1][[Reversal of Fortune] - [[restore condition] - [[gift of health] - [[spirit bond] - [[guardian] - [[holy veil] - [[aegis] - [[gole][/build]

That way I can still put attribute/rune info in, and have the template saving link.
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2008, 01:17   #8
Akirai Annuvil
GWOnline.Net Member
 
Akirai Annuvil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 9,308
I like this thread.
Akirai Annuvil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2008, 03:18   #9
Proletarian
GWOnline.Net Member
 
Proletarian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 115
I think definitely a sticky candidate, maybe one of the mods can do magic and put all the posts together, unless you haven't finished posting. This might stop people like me making unnecessary posts begging for help with builds.
Proletarian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2008, 04:02   #10
shawn
GWOnline.Net Member
 
shawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 5,356
Blog Entries: 15
Can't put the posts together at the moment, as it would exceed the image limit, although if I convert them all to the text based form shown in my post above, I could fit ~50 builds in a post, which should be plenty.
shawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:10.


 
Advert
Official News
02/05/2010 02:57 PM
Making it as an MMO Blogger
02/05/2010 02:57 PM
Community: Gamers Giving Back to Haiti
02/04/2010 08:02 PM
The Canthan New Year is Nearly Here!
01/29/2010 02:57 PM
Community: Fansite News
01/28/2010 06:58 PM
New Update: PvP Changes and GvG Updates
Game Updates
02/01/2010 01:11 PM
Update - Monday, February 1, 2010
New Posts
GuildWars Bloggers Wanted
Canthan New Year 2010
Where's Nicholas?
Winters day ReRun vs Canthan N...
Connection Errors
Canthan new year 2010:The year...
The end of wintersday redux (n...

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.