D&D 5E [poll] Monk Satisfaction Survey

[Sacrosanct]

Once a year or so, I think it would be interesting to get a pulse on the satisfaction of the various classes. The game's been out for a few years now, and that's plenty of time to get a good experience on how each plays out.

For the purpose of this poll, I am keeping the answers to a minimum intentionally. When you have too many options, it's harder to really evaluate the results. And for the purposes of this, a general feeling is more than adequate.

This time? We talk about the monk.

Long term goal: Have a survey of each class, then compiled results to be easily referenced for future discussions that may want said information.

Previous polls here (voting still open, so #'s may change):

Barbarian: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?571787-poll-Barbarian-Satisfaction-Survey
Bard: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?572038-Poll-Bard-Satisfaction-Survey
Cleric: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?572311-Poll-Cleric-Satisfaction-Survey
Druid: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?572570-poll-Druid-Satisfaction-Survey
Fighter: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?572847-Poll-How-Satisfied-Are-You-With-the-Fighter-Class

 

[Sacrosanct]

I played a shadow monk up to level 8 (when he died in a hail of poisoned arrows). I really enjoyed it, overall. Sometimes I think people get caught up in DPR, and I was never dealing damage close to the fighter or barbarian. However, I was ALL OVER the map. Extreme mobility. Not only did I play the traditional thief role fairly effectively, but the ability to move anywhere and then stun the opponent was excellent in keeping monsters from fleeing.

Also, shadowstep is extremely valuable (especially when fighting vampire spawn or any other creature that grapples), and makes up for other areas I feel might be a bit weaker.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied, but I would make a couple tweaks to the elemental monk in regards to ki and powers available.

 

[Mercule]

I like the Monk. It was the first class I wanted to play, after reading the PHB. Unfortunately, I pretty much exclusively DM and the only time I've been on the other side of the screen, I was a late add and the party already had a Monk. So, I played a Lore Bard (would have preferred Valor, but they were Fighter-heavy).

 

[Gadget]

The monk, from what I've seen, seems cool and flavorful; as long as you are not expecting a dpr king. The exception seems to be the wo4e monk. I think the designers were stretching a little bit there (let's have a cool Avatar-ish character class, how about monk) that really doesn't deliver on its flavor promise.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[cooperjer]

I haven't played a monk, but I've seen two played by others. The first was a Way of the Four Elements monk in my home game. I added house rules to make the sub class more fun to play for the player and the group. The second is a Open Hand monk in an AL game I played in. The player enjoyed playing the subclass and saw the opportunities associated with the class. I voted "Mostly satisfied, a few minor tweaks is all I need/want" because of the changes I feel are necessary for the Way of the Four Elements.

 

[Sacrosanct]

With every poll now, there is always someone who votes that they are completely dissatisfied and no amount of tweaking would fix the class (every poll, even the older ones, got hit with this yesterday at about the same time). I'm extremely curious to know why, but no one who voted that way has ever explained it. I've seen people explain why they are dissatisfied and would need major tweaks to get what they want, but no one has explained why the class is totally broken and unable to be fixed.

Admittedly part of me has thought about making votes public to see if it's the same person(s), but I don't think that would be fair since I didn't start that way.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I've always like the class, even in editions where they were called ''weak'', so I'm a little biased, but I voted completely satisfied. In the weeks to come, I'll hand over my LMoP campaign to one of my player to use a a starter point for OotA because I'll lack preparation time whit a newborn at home, so I'll be a player instead and I'll be running a Bugbear Shadow Monk. I like how the class represent many archetypes, with both grace and brute force equally represented. I feel like this is one of the more ''complete'' class where every features makes sense and the archetype enhance both flavor and mechanics of the core class.

 

[Mercule]

[MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION], I started looking at these threads late, so my votes lagged. I added a late "burn it down" to the Barbarian and commented in that thread. I also changed my vote in Cleric (to "major tweaks") after I realized I could. I actually went looking for the option after my rant. I may have voted "major tweaks" for Druid, too, but think I commented. I'll take full credit for the late votes, but not for doing it silently. FWIW, I think those three are the only classes I have major issues with. I have minor issues with Sorcerer and Wizard, but not at the same level.

Sorry for breaking your polls.

 

[Sacrosanct]

[MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION], I started looking at these threads late, so my votes lagged. I added a late "burn it down" to the Barbarian and commented in that thread. I also changed my vote in Cleric (to "major tweaks") after I realized I could. I actually went looking for the option after my rant. I may have voted "major tweaks" for Druid, too, but think I commented. I'll take full credit for the late votes, but not for doing it silently. FWIW, I think those three are the only classes I have major issues with. I have minor issues with Sorcerer and Wizard, but not at the same level.

Sorry for breaking your polls.

You're not breaking the polls, if your answers are honest answers. And I'm not talking about those folk who are dissatisfied with major tweaks being needed. I was more referring to those who think the class is broken and can't be fixed (the second to last option). I would be very curious as to know why. Maybe because I believe most every class could be fixed, so in my mind I have a hard time seeing how a class they put out is so broken that it would have to be completely redone differently. Curiosity, that's all.