Are monks useless or am I missing something?

Remove all ads!

I have just started a new game with a monk, he has 18 in Str, Dex, Con and Wis, I haven't bothered with int (not a mage) or chr (ring of human influence) and he is still in Irenicus' Dungeon and he is almost useless, I think he is better with his long sword (-1 AC) than hand-to-hand (as monks are supposed to be), is there something wrong here, or have I made him wrong or something?
He does pathetic damage (if he hits at all) and Minsc is cleaning house, whats going on?
He is ALMOST level 8.

 

I REALLY want to say something here but I wont.

- Other than 'patience...' and 'your expectations of an 8th lvl Monk...are unreal'.

 

Hmm, Just telling you about my status, flame me if you want, don't really care. So its a time thing, i'll give it a go, all I wanted to know are things like "will he ever be good" "will he ever be 1337" and "why will he be good" and finally "why will he be 1337"

 

My monk rocked through the entire game, so I don't know what you did or whatever.

 

Patience grasshopper...
To conquer your enemies, your enemies must first conquer you.
If you first fear your abilities, then your abilities will most surely be feared.

blah blah blah

When I played a monk it was the first time through and everything was new and exciting. You're right Yogurt in saying that monks are pretty much sissy boys (or girls) at lower levels, but hell it takes some time and meditation before you can transend! When I finshed I had an AC of -10 with no armour (of course) and I think I had like 4 attacks per round. With 1-20 damage +3 fists, I could make Lennox Lewis and Bruce Lee look like speed bags! I never did get those gauntlets of crushing that I read about, and with those I would have been just plain unfair. (Damn I wish I would have taken that boat ride back!) With exceptional speed and magic resistance I was an enemy mage's worst nightmare, and not to mention I could find alot of traps. (Only problem was that I was so damn fast that I usually ran over the trap before I detected it, but then my resistance would save me) My only gripe: I think my monk was either celebite (sp?) or just too damn ugly cause I just couldn't fan the flames of Jaheira's desire!

 

I've never really seen why the monk is soo good. I dont think 2 fists can beat a dual wielding kensai. Only my thoughts

 

Actually the monk is really, really overpowered and the kensai doesn't stand a chance unless dualed to a mage.

 

I went straight thief. Is there any way i can redeem my character or should i just start over? He dual wields, 18 str 18 dex 18 constitution, but he still dies relatively fast and while he does a lot more damage now than he used to, im just wondering if someone has had a bad experience with a straght thief.

 

Well it's great to see others 'clarify' a few things revolving around the MONK class character. Also (not being rude) ANY character at low levels is pretty weak. However once your MONK hits 12th to 15th level and has a Girdle of Strength (or Gauntlets) you will become a 'believer'. The beta patch eliminates some of the MONK's power but needless to say when you 'LEARN' how to play the MONK correctly at lvl 12 and above then he can devastate an opponent in 1-2 rounds. And that is without using any *special* attacks. By the way, my post wasn't meant to 'Flame' anyone, but to perhaps help you in developing a more 'realistic' view about any low level character -including the MONK.

I even had to restart my MONK by the time I was at Nalia's Keep because I finally LEARNED how to play my MONK correctly. It was worth the restart for me!

 

He is now almost level 9, I am going to do the slavers quest before the De'Arnise keep quest, so after that I should be level 10, dunno where to go after that.

Druid Grove perhaps.

I am going to do a load of quests so I become a pretty high level before I start Chap 3

[edit] I never saw the need for a straight theif becausue of the number of theifs in the game inc, Jan and Yoshimo etc.[/edit]



[This message has been edited by Septic Yogurt (edited November 28, 2000).]

 

I like my monk, even though he's still low level (level 9). 5 attacks a round? Yes, please.

Btw, why 18 constitution on a thief or a monk? Only warriors get hit point bonuses past 16 CON.

[This message has been edited by Thaumas (edited November 29, 2000).]

 

Extra HP aren't the only benefit from a high constitution. You don't get tired as fast, you are more likely to survive resurrection, more immune to disease. Maybe there are more benefits, I don't know.

 

Pretty minor, I would say. With 16 CON, you have a 98% chance to survive a resurrection, and it's 100% at 17. More tired? Not that big a difference, they all seem to get tired at roughly the same time. Disease? I think I got diseased twice in the whole game.

And btw, why care about the main character's resurrection chances? If he's dead, it's reload time .

[This message has been edited by Thaumas (edited November 29, 2000).]

 

When I restarted my MONK I did all of the minor city quests before journeying 'abroad' to Nalia's Keep. They add up the XP VERY fast.

Slave/Sewer/Lilacor Quest
Teddy Bear/Graveyard Quest
Korgan Graveyard/Hunt old party down Quest
Return dying man to Harper Hold Quest
Xan/Montaran Quest
Jaheria Curse Quest
Sir Charles Art for Helm Quest
Paladin in Graveyard Quest
Buried Man in Graveyard Quest
Aerie Tent/Circus Quest
Viconia Rescue
Anomen investigate sisters death Quest
Keldorn's trampin wife Quest
Amongst a few others...

Hope those help get your MONK more XP.


[This message has been edited by Draco Vlasavius (edited November 29, 2000).]

 

Hmm, i may do some really minor ones before I go because Nalia is in my party and will start to whine after about a week.

The slaver stronghold quest is pretty hard this time around for some strange reason.

And Thaumos: my monk can drink more with I highr CON than yours.

 

Ah, drinking, yes. I forgot about that important part of the game .

 

damn. didnt know about that 16 con thing. son of a -

 

One thing to note though, a monk can't be diseased, so a high Con won't matter. I personally think magic users are the best, (my personal opinion so nobody better get mad) but I have to say that monks are probably my 3rd favorite because they are so damn awesome and well rounded at high level.

 

Whoa, my monk is level 9 and I just made him quaff a Potion of Fire Giant Strength, and he killed Ogre Berzerkers in 1 hit, and lord (insert name of bloke who curses jaehera here) in 2 hits.

 

Possible Spoiler** When you have to give up an ability score to that demon at Candlekeep during a dream sequence in Chapt. 4, you can drop a point of Con if it's a 17 or above on a monk! That way, you won't drop anything critical to you! So that 18 con isn't a total loss.