Need tips/suggestions for Monk build...

Seeing as all threads I've found about monk builds and stats are two years old or more, we really need more relevant info since the monk class has been updated since then.

 

I'm totally green when it comes to monks but I usually play DPS characters. Wouldn't hurt with some survivability on this one either.

 

I've read that you should keep str/int even, though. And I've seen around 3 different stat setups. 33/33/32 STR|INT|AGI is one of them.

I've got an ML12 Monk and I've gone pure VIT and haven't regretted it. Not sure about PvP but given the lack of a decent AOE you're always going to be tank/lure at ML so with that in mind VIT all way.

 

Just my two cents.

I've got an ML12 Monk and I've gone pure VIT and haven't regretted it. Not sure about PvP but given the lack of a decent AOE you're always going to be tank/lure at ML so with that in mind VIT all way.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Hmm. Might switch agi for vit instead when I start to put points in other stats than str/int, then.

 

Was following this guide otherwise: http://webjunkiesblo...d-guide-in.html

It's weird that guide was posted after April 23rd and is still wrong in so many ways. Anyways yeah it's not up to date. Our stat and skill system has changed:
Stats: You get a total of 250 from leveling up, and another 100 can be purchased after you reach master level. The stat cap of "50" will also be removed after the Master Level test.
Skills: After you reach Master Level, you'll get increased stat caps on several skills, and the opportunity to buy another 20 skill points.
 

While I'm no expert on Monks, I at least know this:
Monks rarely get the chance to be "DPS" build due to the high amount of mob grinding and poor AOE abilities. People recruit Monks for their abilities to tank. It's very hard to convince people to let you fill the DPS role unless you're partied with a veteran who just needs bodies for EXP boost. In that case, VIT is easily one of the best stats to invest in to play your role well. However, depending on your level, I do not recommend resetting, as the difference is negligible, and instead just start investing in VIT.

Even if you decide to become a DPS build, I would still recommend VIT at least for leveling, simply for the versatility it provides:
-It'll let you fit comfortably in parties if you decide to help lure
-If you're finding it hard to get into parties, it gives you reasonable  bulk to at least solo level
-The Crit you get from AGI and Attack Power from STR/INT are so negligible, you'll barely notice it. On the other hand, the lack of HP and Defense from VIT is quite noticeable

Though all-in-all, stat builds don't really matter in RO2, so don't bother stressing over it. It ends up being a small, small factor in your overall stats (roughly 5%). Just equipping level appropriate gears will make most Stat Builds negligible, unfortunately.

It's weird that guide was posted after April 23rd and is still wrong in so many ways. Anyways yeah it's not up to date. Our stat and skill system has changed:
Stats: You get a total of 250 from leveling up, and another 100 can be purchased after you reach master level. The stat cap of "50" will also be removed after the Master Level test.
Skills: After you reach Master Level, you'll get increased stat caps on several skills, and the opportunity to buy another 20 skill points.
 

While I'm no expert on Monks, I at least know this:
Monks rarely get the chance to be "DPS" build due to the high amount of mob grinding and poor AOE abilities. People recruit Monks for their abilities to tank. It's very hard to convince people to let you fill the DPS role unless you're partied with a veteran who just needs bodies for EXP boost. In that case, VIT is easily one of the best stats to invest in to play your role well. However, depending on your level, I do not recommend resetting, as the difference is negligible, and instead just start investing in VIT.

Even if you decide to become a DPS build, I would still recommend VIT at least for leveling, simply for the versatility it provides:
-It'll let you fit comfortably in parties if you decide to help lure
-If you're finding it hard to get into parties, it gives you reasonable  bulk to at least solo level
-The Crit you get from AGI and Attack Power from STR/INT are so negligible, you'll barely notice it. On the other hand, the lack of HP and Defense from VIT is quite noticeable

Though all-in-all, stat builds don't really matter in RO2, so don't bother stressing over it. It ends up being a small, small factor in your overall stats (roughly 5%). Just equipping level appropriate gears will make most Stat Builds negligible, unfortunately.

 

Actually, vit does sound like a good way to go. I've never played a tank role before so it'll be something new to try.

 

And I'm level...28 I think. I put 15 into str and 15 into int so far. So no, not worth it to reset stats. I have two costume pieces with a +50 str and a +50 int rune so that should give me a boost in those stats, anyway. Then I could go for agi runes but put the rest of the stat points into vit. That sound good? Or should I just go pure vit in the rune slots aswell?

Edited by 2017130531154704207, 29 July 2015 - 11:12 PM.

there are no vit runes over +10 so i would say no, keep the runes for str int or agi

there are no vit runes over +10 so i would say no, keep the runes for str int or agi

The lack of VIT runes higher than +10 is not a proper reason to use the other runes. That's a rookie mistake so don't be misled. Don't let those seemingly big numbers deceive you.
 

 

 

Then I could go for agi runes but put the rest of the stat points into vit. That sound good? Or should I just go pure vit in the rune slots aswell?

Either option is fine, but consider the following:

As a new character, you're better off just slotting cheap +5 runes into your gear as you level up rather than slotting expensive +25/50 runes. You'll be switching gear often and you do not want to waste your money removing runes or discarding runed gear and re-runing new gears.  In this case, +5 VIT runes have the more impact hands down. One might argue "you can always resell the gear", but think about how small the population of monks is and how easy it is to grind, you don't need fully runed gear for that nonsense and nobody else will need it either - low demand.

If you happen to have a fair amount of money - enough to fully slot your gears with +50 - then that's definitely not a priority to spend on. You can buy a +10 Immediate Weapon Refine for the cost of 1-2 runes if you're in Odin. After that, you'll want to get to +20. The impact of refining your weapon to +20 is much greater than any damage the +50 STR/INT/AGI runes can give you. Side tip: Monks don't need to refine their armor, they have naturally high defense already.

Even if by the time you've refined your weapon and can afford to slot all your gears, VIT still has its purposes. STR/INT/AGI won't be helping you tank the vast amounts of damage you'll be receiving as a lurer, but VIT will. AGI + dodge can be arguably be a good tank stat but that's more for 1v1 tanking, and if you want to be helpful in a party, you'll want to have a reliable stat (HP) rather than a chance based one (Dodge).

The only time I would even consider investing in +50 runes as a Monk is when you reach at least ML30 and have done everything else to improve your gear and character. STR is better than INT for Monks (higher hit rate bonus), though you need to be completely runed out to notice a difference. I personally don't like STR but it's usable for an aggressive PVP build or if you're not the main tank in a raid (Monk tends to have the lowest threat all all 4 tanks). As I said, AGI (dodge) will be useful as a defensive mechanism on top of your already high DEF in 1v1 situations once you have higher level gears. But still, many can count on the reliability and flexibility of VIT runes in these situations too, so you wouldn't have to switch unless you're extremely focused on a specific playstyle. Side tip: Remember to always put +50 runes into your costumes first.

Keep in mind though, this is mostly advice for Master Level and the long term. Below level 50, don't bother with runes or refines at all.

Edited by Arbalist, 30 July 2015 - 09:03 PM.

Hi! Looking for a skill build in roguard since ro2base somewhat wiped the created builds.

The lack of VIT runes higher than +10 is not a proper reason to use the other runes. That's a rookie mistake so don't be misled. Don't let those seemingly big numbers deceive you.
 

 

You have "only 10-12 runeslots on gears and the max vit you can get is 12X10=120 vit with runes for a total of 1440 HP

instead if you use 12 STR bind rune +50 you have 600 str = 1200 AT and +1200 HIT about 120 more normal damage

and a lot more HIT rate.

 

Apparently seems that the +10 vit runes win and instead they don't because they are too rare and hard to get respect to the bind runes and

any finisher skill multiplied for the above 120 raw damage can outcome the 1440 more HP easily.

you can use your stats points to add VIT, 350 more vit is a bit less than 3 times the amount you can get with +10 runes (4200 HP)

instead using them points in STR would be a complete waste since it would give you only 70 more damage points.

 

After all this do you still think it's the big number that deceived me?

You can buy a +10 Immediate Weapon Refine for the cost of 1-2 runes if you're in Odin.

 

Keep in mind though, this is mostly advice for Master Level and the long term. Below level 50, don't bother with runes or refines at all.

 

Playing on Odin, yes. I have two equipment pieces with 1 +50 runes in each. One with STR and one with INT. And I know to insert +50 runes into costumes first.

Shin, are you even reading this thread lol?
- He was at level 28. That means he needs to grind. That means he needs to tank.
- First off, I would never recommend buying +10 runes as a new player, that's nonsense. Using +7 Vit suffices.
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Since ML20 is the only time anyone should feasibly even consider using +50 runes (if at all), we'll go off Osiris set. A monk at that level with the lowest runes, F&F title, and not even counting hones or cards would have:
2905.61 base + 12 * (1377*1.10) * 1.35 = 27443.75 HP

Including accessories, there are 17 Runes available to him. At the bare minimum with Collectors buff (10% Vit) and Steel Body (35% HP) he will gain the following using just +7 runes:
12 * (17 * 7) * 1.10 * 1.35 = 2120.58 HP
If we include really easy to get basic bonuses of Collectors, Guild Bonus, and VIP then:
12 * (17 * 7) * 1.15 * 1.55 = 2545.41 HP

A nice 7.7% to 9.3% HP increase. In a party, being able to take one more hit, being able to survive 1 extra second will give your healer enough time to bring you to full again.

Best part, the cost is only 17 * 700z = 11,900z spent on runes.
-------
Meanwhile if we go full +50 Str, Collector (+10% Str and Int), and Steel Body (-10% Attack) you'll get:
17 * 50 * 1.1 * 2 * 0.9 = 1683 Attack Power. This translates to only 1683 * 0.095 = 159.9 PSE, or about 160.

What's 160 PSE good for against DWF mobs (75% Defense) where he'll be grinding?
- Lightning Crush 6/6: 160 * 2.8 * 0.25 = 112 more damage
- Raging Blow 10/10: 160 * 3.5 * 0.25 = 140 more damage
- Heavy Tackle 5/5: 160 * 6.15 * 0.25 = 246 more damage
- Guillotine Fist 10/10: 1160 * 16.8 * 0.25 = 487.2 more damage
...on mobs with 97k HP

What's the cost of getting full +50 Str runes? 17 * 7.500z = 127,500z. Ten times the cost for a miniscule impact.

Meanwhile, that money can be better spent on getting a +10 Weapon (~15,000z) or even a +20 Weapon (Ranging from 30,000z to 60,000z in the Auction house) which contributes the equivalent of 138 and 434 PSE respectively. That's 2.71 times more damage for a fraction of the cost.
-------
So yes, you are being deceived by the big numbers.. Tell me, how do you justify the decision of wasting his money? Do you have some runes that you're trying to sell?
 

Edited by Arbalist, 31 July 2015 - 11:58 AM.

Shin, are you even reading this thread lol?
- He was at level 28. That means he needs to grind. That means he needs to tank.
- First off, I would never recommend buying +10 runes as a new player, that's nonsense. Using +7 Vit suffices.
-------
Since ML20 is the only time anyone should feasibly even consider using +50 runes (if at all), we'll go off Osiris set. A monk at that level with the lowest runes, F&F title, and not even counting hones or cards would have:
2905.61 base + 12 * (1377*1.10) * 1.35 = 27443.75 HP

Including accessories, there are 17 Runes available to him. At the bare minimum with Collectors buff (10% Vit) and Steel Body (35% HP) he will gain the following using just +7 runes:
12 * (17 * 7) * 1.10 * 1.35 = 2120.58 HP
If we include really easy to get basic bonuses of Collectors, Guild Bonus, and VIP then:
12 * (17 * 7) * 1.15 * 1.55 = 2545.41 HP

A nice 7.7% to 9.3% HP increase. In a party, being able to take one more hit, being able to survive 1 extra second will give your healer enough time to bring you to full again.

Best part, the cost is only 17 * 700z = 11,900z spent on runes.
-------
Meanwhile if we go full +50 Str, Collector (+10% Str and Int), and Steel Body (-10% Attack) you'll get:
17 * 50 * 1.1 * 2 * 0.9 = 1683 Attack Power. This translates to only 1683 * 0.095 = 159.9 PSE, or about 160.

What's 160 PSE good for against DWF mobs (75% Defense) where he'll be grinding?
- Lightning Crush 6/6: 160 * 2.8 * 0.25 = 112 more damage
- Raging Blow 10/10: 160 * 3.5 * 0.25 = 140 more damage
- Heavy Tackle 5/5: 160 * 6.15 * 0.25 = 246 more damage
- Guillotine Fist 10/10: 1160 * 16.8 * 0.25 = 487.2 more damage
...on mobs with 97k HP

What's the cost of getting full +50 Str runes? 17 * 7.500z = 127,500z. Ten times the cost for a miniscule impact.

Meanwhile, that money can be better spent on getting a +10 Weapon (~15,000z) or even a +20 Weapon (Ranging from 30,000z to 60,000z in the Auction house) which contributes the equivalent of 138 and 434 PSE respectively. That's 2.71 times more damage for a fraction of the cost.
-------
So yes, you are being deceived by the big numbers.. Tell me, how do you justify the decision of wasting his money? Do you have some runes that you're trying to sell?

1st My tought are about endgame (ml20+) and I'm sorry if it wasn't clear.
2nd +7 VIT runes need to be bought anyway, also if you are an artisan that can craft +5 you still need to buy or find in pandoras the right elixir, instead +50 runes are craftable by anyone doing daylies that gives also exp. In the end I'm saying keep your money in the pocket and I'm not trying to sell anything.
3rd you have to consider that levelling up your hp increase so that % slowly decrease instead, since the 75% def is the cap, you will always deal that amount of damage. It's true that higher level monsters have way more HP but that increase is already covered by upper level weapons.
4th lets take a look at pvp scenario: in a game that suffer of 1 shot fest where the average amout of players hp is 50k and the average pvp damage is 200k isn't better to increase the possobility to kill instead of try to not be killed? Even more thinking that STR rune will also add hit rate? You can still add stat points to VIT (350) they will also work in colo where the runes are useless.

CONCLUSIONS
I'm suggesting to not buy +7 VIT runes *keep your money*; do not buy bind STR runes but craft them doing daylies (extra exp) and pump up your damage and most important your hit rate; use stat points to pump VIT and every level you will have +5 vit (60hp) instead of a mere +1 damage not to mention the increased survivability in colo.
Since some of the most valuable items in game are lv50 content where the damage received at high level is negligible a damage boost will allow you to save up time.

A single built cheap for pvp, pve, grind, colo and farm.

If you like being poor for months slotting your own gear with unnecessary +50's into your ML20 gear, just to throw the away when you reach ML30 and do another month of dailies, then go ahead and do so. Meanwhile, the smart player would sell those +50's and have nice investment capital to earn even more money, or buy other, more useful tools that are better than a measly 1683 Attack Power. So what if you have to buy the +7 runes? You only need to sell 2 Bind runes to get a full set of +7's. You go ahead and enjoy your tiny damage increase trying to collect +50 runes by yourself while I can go get Red Potions, Graham Potions, Secondary Titles, VIPs, Norns Blessings, Costumes, Seeds, Honing Scrubs, and Refines with all the extra money I get from not using +50s after crafting them.

I picked +7 x 17 = 119 to simulate your suggested "max of 120 VIT", but equipping +5's are actually enough, which is what I said in the beginning anyways. 

You don't actually need to have that high of a hit rate, ever since the people cried way back at the beginning of AOV, your level appropriate gear now always has enough to hit what you need to hit.

Your point about HP makes no sense. Of course the percentage gets smaller, but monsters don't attack on percentage. Raw HP is what's going to keep you alive. The higher your HP, the more easily he'll survive, the less time is wasted while grinding. Monks are not damage dealers, that 160 PSE has negligible impact in a grind. You of all people should be trying to make his grinding life easier, not trying to waste his time.

PVP? He's not even Master Level. If you aren't at least ML30, it's a waste of effort to invest in +50 bind runes. And if he happens to be the ones that don't play PVP at all, then all you've said there is irrelevant to him. In any case, the 160 PSE more damage is insignificant to the power of a CLS runes in PVP.

An even cheaper build that's good for all scenarios, with an extra 100k zeny to spend. Geez, so hard to pick.

 

Edited by Arbalist, 01 August 2015 - 10:37 AM.

Who said to put them in osiris? Oh wait you! I only said to start considering runes after ml20 since at that point doing the relative daylies is easy.
We are talking about runes (and I added stats points) so I didn't mention the other stuff since the original post talk about runes and stats points.
If you want talk about other stuff in game better than runes just say it so we can talk about the same thing.

Refining there is nothing better so yes you can sell bind runes to buy immediate refine stones, infinium, blessing and lucky powder.

Honing is really gambling but, as warrior and knights, monks can use both str and int so they have a bit less possibilities to gain useless stats

Cards can be a nice addition and cheap unless you want an osiris plus

Now avoiding the temp buffs we arrive finally at the so much discussed runes and at this point i confirm all i said until now. Once you have refined and well honed gears a little increase of vit trought runes won't chance much (way better if you use stat points), instead a little increase on the base damage can be a real timesaver during grinding and during farming. For example farming seedrunes it's easy since monsters have a low p-attack so a bigger vit is useless instead a bigger p-attack (even more since them mobs have a lower defence) is a big timesaver. After that you can chose to sell them or use them, the same for hhb (unless you want use a lv1 arcer with refined bow), guild skill books, crafting materials and whatever you think worts your time.

Who said to put them in osiris? Oh wait you! I only said to start considering runes after ml20 since at that point doing the relative daylies is easy.

 

1st My tought are about endgame (ml20+) and I'm sorry if it wasn't clear.

 

 

If you say so. We were obviously talking about leveling up since he was nowhere near endgame and for grinding purposes, +50 runes are useless for monks. Don't put them into Osiris. Simple as that. For grinding, grab cheap +5 to +7 Vit runes and move on. Simple. Even after ML 30, they won't help your grinding that much because a tank in ML30+ grinding will rarely be standing still to hit monsters and you're not expected to deal that much damage anyways. But hey, if you feel like spending your potential money on a minimal increase, go right ahead and be amazed by the lack of impact it'll have.

If you say so. We were obviously talking about leveling up since he was nowhere near endgame and for grinding purposes, +50 runes are useless for monks. Don't put them into Osiris. Simple as that. For grinding, grab cheap +5 to +7 Vit runes and move on. Simple. Even after ML 30, they won't help your grinding that much because a tank in ML30+ grinding will rarely be standing still to hit monsters and you're not expected to deal that much damage anyways. But hey, if you feel like spending your potential money on a minimal increase, go right ahead and be amazed by the lack of impact it'll have.

I guess no one of us will change idea

you posted your reasons and I posted mine

i guess it is more than enough to let him chose what he feel better for him or any other player reading this

I couldnt understand everything cause im quite new to this game, and im a Monk lvl 35, but...

It should be better for you to go FULL VIT on stats, and Agi runes? (Cause they're cheaper)

+ a nice weapon for the damage.



Also, i messed up my stats... should i reset them now with the lvl35 starter pack? or should i wait till i get to Mlvl and use the starter pack to reset them?