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Bochser: Best race for the MONK
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vn_Bochser It's time for another one of my long drawn out posts on which race is the best. This time we have the martial arts fightin' Monk. Most important stats in order of importance (Is that redundant?) The reason PIE and INT is not listed is because while the Monk does learn Psionic spells he is still a top notch Fighter class, so his physical skills would be the most important. SPD and DEX because you want your Monk to attack as often as possible, not only will this give him more chance to score a critical hit but as your Martial Arts skill rises so does the damage he does, so STR can wait a bit. STR would be third because you want your monk to do more damage per hit, and after you start racking up those number of attacks per round your monk will be dealing some major damage. SEN is mainly on here just because it helps with initative, it's a good idea to have your critical strike classes go first so if they get a critical it's at the beginning of the round, rather than when the monster is almost dead anyways. VIT because your Monk is going to be on the front line and will need more health. We can hold off on VIT a bit because of the Monks natural Damage Resistance. I've decided to take other peoples input so I've changed how I arrive at my recommendations and added a new list. Stats needed for a Monk: INT 50 PIE 50 DEX 50 SPD 55 SEN 55 Human 25 9/7 Stats after bonus points applied: Level at which stats would max out: Human 13 15 29 30 48 All stats taken into consideration the Lizardman would max out all of the important stats first. All Stats: Lizard, Dwarf, Gnome, Hobbit, Dracon, Human, Rawulf, Mook, Elf, Felpur, Faerie. All except VIT: Elf, Hobbit, Faerie, Human, Felpurr, Gnome, Rawulf, Mook,
Dwarf, All except VIT and SEN: Human, Felpurr, Elf, Hobbit, Faerie, Dwarf, Dracon, Mook, Gnome, Rawulf, Lizard. That would mean if you plan on getting all 5 stats maxed out someday the Lizardman would be your best bet. However the Human, Elf and Felpurr max out the first 4 stats before anyone else, it's just the VIT that kills them and helps the Lizardman. For the first time in history the Hobbit did not come out as number one on any of the charts, and actually shows up in the middle on two of them. (Mutters something about darn Hobbits...) Another way of looking at which is the best race would be to see how many total points the race starts with in these stats. Total starting starts (SPD, DEX, STR, SEN, VIT and bonus points): So, once again, the Hobbit finds a way to sneak in there at the top. Also note that the Lizardman is now near the bottom of the list, while the Felpurr takes second and Human third. If you plan on playing for the long haul and want your stats max, then go with the Lizardman. However, since it takes him so long just to get the first 4 stats to a decent level compared to the other races you might want to go with something else. Taking into account the Monks mental stats doesn't help narrow the field, since the Monk starts with 50 in both INT and PIE, the only races that would start with more than 50 in each would be the Faerie with 55 INT and Rawulf with 55 PIE. The Rawulf dims in comparison against the Human, Elf and Felpurr. The Faerie, however, isn't too bad, if you can handle the low STR and low carrying capacity. If the 5 INT or PIE is really that important though then one of these is for you. The Human, Elf and Felpurr all max their first 4 stats by level 30, the soonest of all the races. However the Elf and Felpurr have a slight headstart on when they max their SPD and DEX. On the other hand the Human starts with 10 more VIT than both the Elf and Felpurr. My personal recommendation for the 'power gamer' would be the Human for a Monk. While the Felpurr and Elf max out their SPD and DEX before the Human, the Human starts with slightly more STR and 10 more VIT, which is important since you'll be for the most part neglecating VIT. Like I said previously they all end up maxing their first 4 stats by level 30 so it all depends on how they perform in the beginning, and the Human outclasses them all. DarkSpydah hmmm, I might put senses up a bit higher, as they help with the Criticals. Not sure if the help is worth sacraficing one of the other attribs, but something to think about. Btw, I just got word that the move to a new server (for spydah.com that is) is almost complete, so mayhap by monday we can start to see some of all this stuff I have been promising will appear. Which leads me to ask you if you use any particular formulas for these numbers or just sit down and add 'em up, as I will be including a system to check these kinds of things by race/class such as when would this attrib max if I put 2 points in it every level, etc. vn_Bochser >>hmmm, I might put senses up a bit higher, as they help with the Criticals. Not sure if the help is worth sacraficing one of the other attribs, but something to think about. << Senses actually just helps the Critical Strike skill raise faster, at least that's what I've noticed. I don't see any noticable difference in the amount of criticals I get with a high sense stat compared with a low sense stat, but I do notice the skill goes up faster through practice with a high senses. Either way, SEN is pretty high for a Monk to start with at 55 >>Which leads me to ask you if you use any particular formulas for these numbers or just sit down and add 'em up, as I will be including a system to check these kinds of things by race/ class such as when would this attrib max if I put 2 points in it every level, etc. << I just sit down and add'em up I have nothing else better to do at work so I do these to pass the time. I'll see if I can't come up with a formula to make it easier. Krag_Gorn Bochser: You may be interested to know that the Strat Guide differs wildly with some of your recommendations . So far you've recommended (with some give-and-take with respect to one stat or another): Fighter - Hobbit/Lizard/Mook The Guide suggests: Fighter - Dracon/Lizard/Dwarf Clearly some are personal preference, but I find it interesting your analysis for the Monk had the Rawulf nowhere The Guide seems to base its' views on initial race strengths and doesn't consider long-term building. Any thoughts? TennesseeErnieFord Re: strategy guide's rec Re: Bochser's recs Therefore Lizardman, Dracon, Mook have an extra advantage as they don't need to spend any points on Strength to start with. (2) Senses matter a lot, both in terms of getting crits and improving the crit skill through practice. (3) I would therefore recommend Dex or Speed, then Senses, then Speed or Dex--but I think either method will produce a solid character at all points during the game. (4) I would also agree that the Monk will be a good-enough Psionic w/o upping any of the magic stats (INT, PIE) (although it's worth throwing in a few skill points to psionics). Nice work, Bochser. Keep 'em coming. Krag_Gorn So TEF would I be right in thinking that you're not overly impressed with the strat guide (just a feint notion I got from your opening comments)? They included 5 suggested parties and not one had a bishop, they seemed to include everything else at least once. vn_Bochser >>Clearly some are personal preference, but I find it interesting your analysis for the Monk had the Rawulf nowhere<< Actually I did suggest a Rawulf Monk if you wanted that extra 5 PIE they
start with <<(2) Senses matter a lot, both in terms of getting crits and improving the crit skill through practice.<< I personally haven't noticed much of a difference in the amount of critical strikes you get with high SEN compared to low SEN. I do notice however that it does help raise your critical strike skill through practice. Even if SEN does help your chances of getting a critcal though I still prefer to not rely on criticals, because no matter what it'll always be a random figure. Instead I prefer to make my characters a natural killing machine by getting more attacks per round and doing more damage per attack. That way, taking away all randomness, they'll still make a darn good front line fighter. Criticals should be a nice added bonus, they shouldn't be the number one determining factor in making your character (This is my personal opinion by the way.) The exception to this rule would be the throwing crit Ninja. And even still, Monks start with 55 SEN, which is a pretty good starting figure either way >>Nice work, Bochser. Keep 'em coming.<< Thank ya very much! =) |
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