Tag Archives: Monk

Pimp My Monk

Before I went to bed last night, I checked out the latest TTTO postings and came across this post in Ringthree’s Blog (Odin Server). It got me thinking more about what I was already thinking about — changing my gear choices around to get a better result.

It also convinced me that your gear choices are about 10% having the gear, 90% knowing how to use it correctly.

Well I’ve got a lot of the gear, and I’ve been swapping pieces around every couple runs to try out some different things. Its helping in some places, and hurting in others. What I’m going to ask for is some suggestions for 1) Relatively easy to obtain upgrades and 2) Ways to use existing items better or more efficiently. I find that making a list of things to improve benefits me more than just buying random things and putting it all together. This list format worked very well for my monk chi blast gear and thief dynamis pulling evasion gear, so I’m trying it again.

Current TP gear/what I have available in mog or on a mule:

Main: Destroyers
Head: Wally Turban/Optical Hat

    Available: Genbu’s Kabutto, AFv1+1, AFv2. None of these are real options

Neck: Chiv Chain

    I don’t have much else available, saving up for a PCC. Trying to get a Sea group together for Faith Torque

Ears: Brutal and Merman’s

    Have a second Merman’s on a mule. Should have Ethereal this weekend.

Body: I’ve been trying out a Kirin’s Osode recently

    As much as I like the Osode, something has felt a bit off since the ‘zomg I’m in an osode’ feeling wore off. I can hit higher max damage on WS though. Genome swears by the osode, Ringthree prefers the shura togi. I’m becoming curious as to how the togi performs and starting to wish I hadn’t passed on it to try to get an osode. Other than osode, I have scorp harness and the P Body from assault available.

Rings: I keep Rajas and Ulthiums on full time.

    I do have a sniper’s ring, but I like my rajas a lot. I guess I’ll have to try it and see if I like it. Worked so hard for the Rajas that I don’t want to just replace it. It is something to think about I guess.

Back: Amemet Mantle +1

    For special times I also have a Melee Cape. I don’t see the benefit a Forager’s would give me to justify the price.

Waist: Brown Belt

    Have a Life Belt available though.

Hands: AFv2

    Hoping to get AFv2+1 sometime, otherwise the only upgrade I would go for would be the kote Tiamat drops.

Legs: Byakko’s Haidate
Feet: Dune boots

WS (Asuran)

Main: Destroyers
Ranged: Shut up, I know… need me a smert garnede.
Head: Optical Hat
Neck: Chiv Chain
Earrings: Merman’s x2
Body: Osode
Rings: Rajas and Ulthiums
Waist: Brown Belt
Back: Amemet +1
Hands: AFv2
Legs: Haidate
Feet: Dune for DK, Otherwise AFv2 (dex +4 better than nothing)

I know there is room for improvement, there is not much in the way of gear swaps at all. This is just what I’m currently using, so it presents itself as a starting point.

What I’m not including is special sets — like my chi blast gear (see my page on the side) and my ‘decent enough so you don’t blink and die to Dynamis Lord’ set.

As I said in the beginning, 10% obtaining, 90% knowing how to use it all. I’ve got a decent selection of gears, I just need to use it all more effectively.

Also, I’m stuck at work for at least another hour or two. Its 7pm on a Friday. And I’m already well over my 40 hours for the week. Kill. Me. Now.

Playing around with Footwork

  As many of those who read know, I usually go as a monk to the Dynamis Lord fight.

At the last run, one of the leaders said to try footwork.

footwork2

The first one is at 300% tp, the second around 120% tp.  I’m impressed.  Especially considering that a Soul Eater-ed Dragon Kick only gets me about 650 damage (at full health).

For normal dynamis and limbus, I wouldn’t use footwork much.  The slow delay means I get 1 or maybe 2 hits in per monster.  In city dyanmis, I only get 3-5 hits per normal monster as it is, footwork would lower that too much.  But for a big WS every so often, or the start of a fight like DL (or any HNM for that matter), footwork is a nice boost in damage without soul eater.

I do agree though, stacking footwork with hundred fists would be completely broken.  Footwork kicks do more damage than a normal kick (even with dune boots) by about 40-50%.  It would be so broken it wouldn’t even be funny.

More Fun With Dynamis Lord

I really love doing Dynamis – Xarcabard for the Dynamis Lord fight.  As a Monk, its one of the few times I get to just go crazy and try to kill as fast as possible.  While my group does do Proto-Omega as a zerg fight, I usually sub warrior for survivability.

Wait, sub warrior to survive?  So what do you sub for Dynamis Lord?

Dark Knight.  Yes the zerg Red Mage’s favorite sub is also the zerg Monk’s favorite sub.  It does, however, require the full attention of a white mage (or two) per monk to work.  Souleater + Hundred Fists gets deadly FAST, especially if the boss gets a lucky tp move off.  Asuran Fists, at full HP, and if all 8 hits connect (which is somewhat rare on Dynamis Lord — 7 of 8 hits is more common for me) takes me from about 1500 to 650 HP instantly.  But, with a subbed souleater, half of that lost health is converted directly into damage (around 425).  [Disclaimer:  All numbers are rounded since my DL zerg gear is a combination of my Chi Blast and melee gear to avoid blinking and causing my white mage to lose target.  You can do the numbers yourself, the math is <total HP> * (.9^8) for what your ending HP will be if all 8 hits connect.  Gear listed at end of post].

As a result of Asuran costing me 67% of my total HP, I tend to prefer Dragon Kick on Dynamis Lord.  This works well since I wear an Osode for the initial Chi Blast, then don’t take it off.  A 300% tp Dragon Kick is a powerhouse, and doesn’t completely kill me (end with 81% of starting HP since its a 2-hit WS).  I also sometimes have to save TP if my white mage is having a little trouble keeping my health up (as was the case at the beginning of the fight last night).

This screenshot shows one of my highest Dragon Kick’s on Dynamis Lord so far, as well as part of the chat lines to show how much curing a Monk needs.

pyra_665_dk

Once that Cure V landed, I was at near full health, and 300% tp.  665 is not too bad, although about 150 of that damage was from my souleater.

Willowdream is almost always my only white mage for this.  If I haven’t mentioned it before, she’s great, and I only died once (and even then it was to an Oblivion Smash) on the Dynamis Lord fight since I’ve started doing Xarcabard for the win.

Even though I didn’t get the kill shot on Dynamis Lord (although I sure tried), this is the second time ever that I’ve seen full drops.

full_drops_again

At this rate, I might even get a shadow ring of my own!

I later had some fun with a skeleton (after the hourglass expired) and some souleater + asuran.  😀  I’m evil.

pyra_666_hp

Well, since the theme of this post is monking and dynamis, please congratulate Miz on his shinny new Melee Crown, which completes his monk AFv2 set.

Miz_mnk_head

-pyra

My Monk Dynamis Lord fight gear is:

Weapons:  Destroyers (duh)
Ranged:  Bibiki Seashell (hush you, I’m lazy)
Head:  Temple Crown +1
Neck:  Chivalrous Chain
Ear1:  Merman’s Earring
Ear2:  Brutal Earring
Body:  Kirin’s Osode
Hands:  Temple Gloves
Ring1:  Ulthalam’s Ring
Ring2:  Raja’s Ring (I know, it doesn’t work in the Ring2 slot, only the Ring1 slot, hush you)
Back:  Melee Cape
Waist:  Brown Belt (if anyone wants to get me a black belt, I’ll happily accept it)
Legs:  Byakko’s Haidate
Feet:  Suzaku’s Sune-Ate

This setup gives me the bonus to boost from AFv1 hands, as well as +38 to MND.  I also like the extra accuracy from Focus with AFv1+1 head on.  I’m sure that this could be improved.  I’ve tried a couple different setups.  Most of the things that require me to switch gear cause trouble to my white mage (although she now has /target Pyra and /ma “Spell” Pyra macros).  Since I have Soul Voiced songs on me, my accuracy isn’t going to get a whole lot better than it is already (souleater has +25 acc too, but I’m not sure if it stacks with focus, which is +30 acc since I use AFv1+1 head).  Also, we always make sure to land Angon and Feint on Dynamis Lord, which helps a LOT.

Sadly, we only have one more run at the guy until June.  No thief gloves at all this month :(.  We had 3 white mage gloves fall this week, I’m hoping for a repeat with thief gloves next run (especially since I’m currently #3 in line for the blue gloves).

6 for 6 (Finally)

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so.  At long last, Pyra is 6/6 on MNK AFv2.

gear

1890 HP without food even.  And just after Pyra hit two years old too (account was started early April 2006).

6for6

I’m actually surprised I got it, as the monk body has not wanted to drop for me for a long time.

Anyways, this is my first full set of AFv2, even though Ata has been 4/5 on white mage AFv2 since May 2006 (when it was still an odd thing to see a white mage with a Cleric’s Body and Pants).

It took three LSs to get this all.

PheonixPinion (Boots)
AmericanIdol (Hands)
KillerInstinct (Pants, Cape, Head, Body)

-pyra