Monks more viable as tank or as melee dps?

[polterer]

Hello everybody!

 

I'm really torn in deciding what to play with release just one day away. I love the monk class and have always tried playing one in other rpgs, but I'm kinda overwhelmed in my options for PoE.

 

I like the idea of a fire godlike monk with Turning Wheel, but I have no idea if this is even feasible or if this would be better for Tanking or Melee DPS. Does Fire Godlike even add something to the monk? Should I concentrate on DPS OR Tank or is there something in between?

Since I tend to powergame a lot, I'm really afraid to mess up my build :D 

 

If anyone has any input, I would deeply appreciate it!

[Arctic]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY7oUREjniY xD

 

There you have sensuki making fun things with a fire godlike monk

Edited March 25, 2015 by Arctic

[gkathellar]

Fire godlike really seems like it should add something to a Turning Wheel monk, but my own experience suggests that it usually doesn't. Battle-forged just doesn't come up unless you're taking damage faster than you should be, at which point you drop a heal and lose the benefits of Battle-forged. Even in Sensuki's video, I didn't see his Endurance ever drops below 50%, meaning Battle-forged never came into play. I won't say the ability is categorically useless for monks, but I personally haven't seen them get much mileage out of it.

 

But yes, Turning Wheel is sick!

 

In general, a tanking monk will want heavy armor and a shield, which may not sound very monk-like, but it does work out pretty well. I've never tried to run an unarmed/lightly armored DPS monk, but I've seen people claim that they're solid.