Monk

[DarkWanderer]

Hi guys

I've played recently in beta at my friends place, and i've taken a quick run with all classes and i must say i feel a bit  baffled - since the first time i've heard about this game i keep hearing that the classes will be well balanced - as far as i noticed monk is much more superior in terms of damage output and survivability, than other classes.  I wont compare melee characters to casters - as this would be poinless - mages should shine in dmg dealing and in cc and die easy if not played correctly - and they are just like that in PoE, but warriors/zerks and rogues looks pale comparing to monks IMHO. Monks have crazy fast  exterminating skills and thanks to them they can kill foe before he can make them some significant damage and he is actually pretty good at tanking too - i found it much easier to tank with him than with warrior which is strange, and comparing with the rogue the diffrence in survavibility is just insane - rogue is almost as easy to kill as mage - and since he is considered in this game more as "dirty fighting warrior" than a "thief" it seems a bit weird.

 

Well, but thats just my feelings from playing brief moment in beta - if i'm wrong - enlighten me and please set me at ease

[MasterPrudent]

Monks have been pretty damn good in all of the beta versions but I think they're particularly powerful in this build because of a bug associated with interrupts. Without that I think paladins and fighters have a significant edge when it comes to survivability as a result of their high base deflection and endurance to health ratio. Rogues are not intended to be able to take a lot of hits but their damage output can be very, very high. Try making a Hearth Orlan rogue and be sure to create the conditions for sneak attacks. To increase their survivability you can either use a bow or hold them back until the enemy has engaged your tanks. I haven't really messed around with barbarians but I know a few players have said they can be very useful against large groups of enemies.

 

Take all this with a grain of salt though as I'm not nearly as conversant with the mechanics as aeonsim, sensuki and others. Also the game is a work in progress and they're still tweaking the balance.

[Falkon Swiftblade]

that's good, I want to be a powerful monk with 100 hand slap attack I'm sure they suck against ranged attacks and magic though right?

[Yellow Rabbit]

Yeah, monk goes a bit stronger than others through all the BB builds. I don't see the problem here, though. One class is easier to play than the others, so what? It's not a multiplayer game with "every class must have equal strength". As long as other classes are still fun and have their uses in party, I'm okay with that.

[MasterPrudent]

Actually what I wrote is at least partially bullocks: Monks currently have the same base deflection and endurance as paladins and fighters and have a better endurance to health ratio. Having said that you probably don't want to equip them with shields and heavy armour (because you need them to get hurt so you can power their abilities) so they're likely to fall behind when it comes to minimizing the damage they take. Barbarians have better endurance and the same ratio but rubbish deflection.

 

As for defense against ranged attacks and magic? They'll deal with ranged attacks okay because of their high deflection. How well they handle magic, like all classes, depends on whether you've spent points in the attributes that govern will and reflex saves.

Edited February 10, 2015 by MasterPrudent

[MasterPrudent]

(And just to prove that I really was the wrong person to answer this question I should note that magic spells are pretty diverse and depending on the spell can target any defense, not just will (mind attacks) and reflex (aoes).)

[rjshae]

Considering that they are still balancing the beta builds, I'm not sure this concern will survive the final release.

[DarkWanderer]

Monks have been pretty damn good in all of the beta versions but I think they're particularly powerful in this build because of a bug associated with interrupts. Without that I think paladins and fighters have a significant edge when it comes to survivability as a result of their high base deflection and endurance to health ratio. Rogues are not intended to be able to take a lot of hits but their damage output can be very, very high. Try making a Hearth Orlan rogue and be sure to create the conditions for sneak attacks. 

Well, i hope that they will balance them a bit more.

 

Do rogues have such good dmg? As far as I noticed, they were good at inflicting statuses, but haven't noticed significant ammount od damage.

 

Yeah, monk goes a bit stronger than others through all the BB builds. I don't see the problem here, though. One class is easier to play than the others, so what? It's not a multiplayer game with "every class must have equal strength". As long as other classes are still fun and have their uses in party, I'm okay with that.

 

Thats not the point - the point is that developers were raving about how balanced the classes are - and since they are not it's a bit of suprise.

[Lephys]

I don't think all the numbers (like damage output, etc.) have been tuned and finalized yet. Thus, how the classes all work could be much more balanced than you think, while some wonky numbers here and there are causing the current end result to seem much more skewed.