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Monks Are Not Tanks And Shouldn’t Be
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<blockquote data-quote="VenerableBede" data-source="post: 9062726" data-attributes="member: 7032917"><p>I think most people agree that the monk is a class that’s trying to do too much with too little, but one mistake that many people make in trying to improve the monk is making it tankier, trying to get the class to match up with fighter or barbarian. That’s not what the monk was ever intended to be—the monk is a skirmisher and striker, intended to move in, deal big damage, then run away. (Emphasize intended because it does need tweaking to fit this role better.)</p><p></p><p>Forget about AC and HP with the monk, for the most part. Speed and damage should be all that matter. A monk’s best defense is offense and mobility—killing enemies before the monk takes much damage, and getting well out of the range of attacks.</p><p></p><p>The monk’s increase to movement speed evidences this, as well as abilities like deflecting projectiles (for protection from ranged attacks). What the monk is lacking (that Step of the Wind tries and fails to fix because the monk’s discipline point pool is stretched too thin) is increased ability to disengage. There’s a reason so many people take Mobility for monks—the class is designed to excel by moving fast, hitting a lot, then running away and not being the target of opportunity attacks.</p><p></p><p>In my opinion, the “best” monk fixes would be as follows:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Any added or tweaked defensive abilities should focus on mobility or deflecting ranged attacks, not AC or HP</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The monk by level 2 or 3 should not be able to be targeted by opportunity attacks from enemies it attacks with an unarmed strike or a simple weapon—the key part of Mobility that makes the monk really work</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Extra attack (a third attack) at 11th level, and at some point Flurry of Blows no longer costing discipline</li> </ol><p>With these changes the monk can successfully fulfill its intended role, with less reliance on (the gutted) Stunning Strike. (Also allowing the monk to set save DCs for grappling/knocking prone with unarmed strikes using Dexterity or Wisdom would be helpful, but I’m just throwing that in as a bonus idea.)</p><p></p><p>This is not intended to be a comprehensive overhaul, but hopefully me pointing out stuff that’s obvious to most.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="VenerableBede, post: 9062726, member: 7032917"] I think most people agree that the monk is a class that’s trying to do too much with too little, but one mistake that many people make in trying to improve the monk is making it tankier, trying to get the class to match up with fighter or barbarian. That’s not what the monk was ever intended to be—the monk is a skirmisher and striker, intended to move in, deal big damage, then run away. (Emphasize intended because it does need tweaking to fit this role better.) Forget about AC and HP with the monk, for the most part. Speed and damage should be all that matter. A monk’s best defense is offense and mobility—killing enemies before the monk takes much damage, and getting well out of the range of attacks. The monk’s increase to movement speed evidences this, as well as abilities like deflecting projectiles (for protection from ranged attacks). What the monk is lacking (that Step of the Wind tries and fails to fix because the monk’s discipline point pool is stretched too thin) is increased ability to disengage. There’s a reason so many people take Mobility for monks—the class is designed to excel by moving fast, hitting a lot, then running away and not being the target of opportunity attacks. In my opinion, the “best” monk fixes would be as follows: [LIST=1] [*]Any added or tweaked defensive abilities should focus on mobility or deflecting ranged attacks, not AC or HP [*]The monk by level 2 or 3 should not be able to be targeted by opportunity attacks from enemies it attacks with an unarmed strike or a simple weapon—the key part of Mobility that makes the monk really work [*]Extra attack (a third attack) at 11th level, and at some point Flurry of Blows no longer costing discipline [/LIST] With these changes the monk can successfully fulfill its intended role, with less reliance on (the gutted) Stunning Strike. (Also allowing the monk to set save DCs for grappling/knocking prone with unarmed strikes using Dexterity or Wisdom would be helpful, but I’m just throwing that in as a bonus idea.) This is not intended to be a comprehensive overhaul, but hopefully me pointing out stuff that’s obvious to most. [/QUOTE]
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