User:MisterPepe/MonkWeaponSwaps

Disclaimer
As with many things to do with monks, there are different ways of doing these, but, in general, these are the sorts of guidelines you should follow.

This is something I wrote a little while back, and I thought that it might be useful to some people, so I decided to upload it. However, since it was written for a Forum site, it is not in the Neutral POV that the wiki requires, and I'm still not sure if a guide that is really just based on what I've found to be useful and the logic behind each choice is an acceptable concept for a wiki article at all, since it's my opinion. There is no "you must use this" for monks, but there are some things that are a really good idea.

Also, there are many more options for the "Effiency Set," I put the ones that are most commonly used (especially when using Sheild of Absorption or Shielding Hands). I also have versions written out for getting the most out of just about all of the more important Monk spells (GoH, etc.), but it seemed like it would just make this article even more confusing.

In the end, how you choose to set up your character is up to you. However, I do suggest that you read this article and make an informed decision after you have done so.

Also, it's incredibly difficult to wikify a forum post =\

A Shield on a Monk?
First of all, shields are a monk's best friend.

Why a shield on a monk?

Pretty simple, actually - even if you don't meet the requirement, you gain +8 armor from it, which means a 10% reduction in damage from all sources. On many shields, you also have a +10AL mod vs. a particular kind of damage (I usually use Slashing, though it changes based on what I'm facing), which means an additional 12-15% reduction. So, just with that happy little shield right there, you've cut your largest source of damage by ~22%.

That's pretty sexy.

And, best part is, through the miracle of weapon swapping, you don't even lose out on that lovely +energy mod from your off-hand item. You get the best of both worlds - +Armor to help keep yourself alive, and the +energy to keep your team alive.

This is where things get interesting.

Since you only have four slots to fill up with weapon sets, how can we make the best use of those?

Let's start with the set with the shield, while we're on the topic.

The Defensive Set
As far as one-handed weapons go, it's much better to go with a sword/axe/spear than a wand, due to the better mods that you can put on a martial weapon. The main one I'm referring to is the +5 energy/always mod for the martial weapons, vs. the +5energy/while above 50% hp from the wand.

Conditional ftl.

Also, in general, when setting up armor sets, it's wise to go with +hp (survivor) mods, using Vitae and Vigor runes whenever possible. So, it makes sense to try and get a fair bit of extra HP out of your weapon if you can, right?

So, our "defensive" set ends up looking something like this:

Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Shield, +30 HP, +10AL vs. X damage type.

Yes, that last part is a pain, isn't it? I have a bag full of shields on my PvP monk - one for Slashing, Blunt, Piercing, Fire, Lightning, Ice, and Earth damage.

Unless you're fighting something in particular where you know you'll be facing a lot of that kind of damage (i.e. Fire vs. Searing Flames, Lightning vs. Air spike, Piercing vs. Ranger spike), you should probably stick to the Slashing shield, since that's the most common sort of melee damage. That also makes this easier =\

With this set, you should have about 640 hp and 35 energy.

Now, I did mention getting that extra energy from the focus item, so let's do a general version of that one next.

The Main/Effiency Set
Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Survival of the Fittest," +5 AL vs. Physical.

We still get a +armor bonus from the set, keep our always-fun 640 hp, and get an extra 12 energy to play with. Should bring you up to 47 energy.

Of course, there's another way to set this up, that's based more on getting the most out of your skills than that extra bit of survivability:

Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, Enchantments last 20% longer.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Forget me not," 20% chance of halved skill recharge on spells of the item's attribute.

This setup usually makes sense for monks that use a lot of Protection Prayers enchantment spells (Shield of Absorption is the best example). You lose out on a +30 hp mod, so you're at 610 hp, but still have the 47 energy and get a little extra kick out of each cast of an enchantment.

Energy Denial
Okay, so what if you're being attacked by a mesmer, that's using energy-denial spells to try and burn through your pool?

We let them.

The best way to deal with energy denial is to hide as much of your energy as possible by switching to a set with less energy available. When you switch back up to your main or defensive set, you'll get all that energy back.

So, let's set it up:

Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "Brawn over Brains", +15% damage, -5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Shield, +30 HP, +10AL vs. X damage type.

Of course, we don't care about the +15% damage mod; however, we DO care about the -5 energy - that change from a +5 to a -5 just hid an extra 10 energy for later.

So, instead of the pool of your main set, with 47 energy, this set ends up having only 25. That means that switching back to your main set will give you 22 energy, even if a mesmer burned through your entire pool here.

And, you still get the benefits of your super-sexy shield. If you're being e-denialed, you're probably also being pressured in general, so that extra damage reduction helps out a lot.

If you'd rather hide more energy, rather than getting the armor bonus from your shield, I recommend using an item such as the Frozen Fan or Forgotten Fan - both of these items hide an extra 2 energy (giving you 23 energy on this set, hiding 24 energy from the main set), while still giving +30 health and +5 armor.

The Maximum Set
But, what if I don't have enough energy? I need something extra to fall back on, in case I burn through my main set from trying to heal under pressure.

That's where weapon set four comes in:

Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Live for Today," +15 energy, -1 energy regeneration.

In this set, at the expense of a pip of regen, we get an extra 15 energy. Even better, that -1 pip doesn't really matter to us - if you're trying to regen energy, you should be in a different set, since that will speed things up.

As far as this set goes, think of it this way: your energy pool is not 35, or 47, or whatever you currently have available - your energy pool is the full 62 energy you could get from this fourth set.

Of course, this can also be done with a wand with the "Live for Today" Inscription, gaining an additional ten energy (resulting in a maximum energy of 72, with two pips of regeneration). I personally prefer to use the 62 energy set (if pressured to use up that energy, it takes less time for me to regen enough to be able to cast on my efficiency set again). Effiency is the key - you have to be able to get the most possible out of each spellcast.

Why weapon swapping?
Rather than switching around in case of emergency or even staying on a set, switching around allows for more effiency, so you get more out of each cast and each second of the game. Shields help with defense, the main set helps with effiency on enchantments, the negative set helps against e-denial, and we still have our maximum energy pool of 62.

Simply put, each weapon set gives a pretty useful benefit. Weapon swapping and setting it up correctly simply allows us to take advantage of all of them.

Quick Reference
Set 1: Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Shield, +30 HP, +10AL vs. X damage type.

Set 2: Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Survival of the Fittest," +5 AL vs. Physical.

OR

Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, Enchantments last 20% longer.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Forget me not," 20% chance of halved skill recharge on spells of the item's attribute.

Set 3: Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "Brawn over Brains", +15% damage, -5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Shield, +30 HP, +10AL vs. X damage type.

Set 4: Main Hand: Martial Weapon, Inscription: "I have the power!", +5 energy, +30 hp.

Off-hand: Focus item, +12 energy, +30 hp, Inscription: "Live for Today," +15 energy, -1 energy regeneration.

Notes on Secondaries
If you're playing as a Mo/W a lot (it's a good idea for most Infuse Health monks, just so you don't get knocked down at a critical time, thanks to Balanced Stance), that shield becomes even more useful. By going Mo/W for Balanced Stance, you also get access to one of my favorite skills, Shield Bash. Basically, the next time a warrior or dervish tries to use an ability on you, you block it and hit them in the face with your shield, knocking them on the ground and disabling the skill, allowing you to kite away, laughing like a madman.

Also, if playing Mo/W, you get the extra option of meeting the requirement on your shield. This is not a good idea if the shield is the standard req. 9 tactics, but on a req 7 shield (7 tactics is an important breakpoint for balanced stance), it makes sense to get that extra +8 armor by meeting the requirement.

Req 8 is a tossup - you do have to take an extra point out of Divine Favor or something, and I don't really like doing that, so I found one of those incredibly rare req. 7 shields. BTW, they're bloody rare and expensive, so don't go looking for one unless all you want to do is Monk.