is mercy stroke necessary for mnk?

[Radacci]

Damage is damage no matter how small (and Mercy Stroke is actually stronger in base potency than all of Monk's non-DoT moves, heh). Not to mention that the alternatives are garbage. Keen Flurry can repel some unavoidable damage in some fights (most notably T13), but even then Mercy Stroke isn't something you should switch out for it.

Invigorate, Blood For Blood and Mercy Stroke are the must-haves as they're what DPS is all about: damage, and the resource you need to do it.

I'm just saying it's not *necessary* you're not gonna be gimp, if you don't have it. as opposed to a WAR without provoke.

[Itseotle]

I'm just saying it's not *necessary* you're not gonna be gimp, if you don't have it. as opposed to a WAR without provoke.

I would say this is rather true for T10, 11, and really any boss fight without adds. Fights that have adds throughout the fight will give you more opportunities to use it, and to proc the HP buff off of it, because imo the power of Mercy Stroke comes from the heal proc. A 1400 hp self heal will spare you healers having to use a GCD on you, which could mean an otherwise dead tank, or missed mechanic. And ofc there is the *small* dps gain, but if your looking at it as overall dps, then your not looking at it correctly, because its not designed to be a dps boosting ability, its a finisher. A good Mercy Stroke crit is a good chunk of damage to adds, and in fights like T4,5,6,7,8,9,12,13 that have adds, the damage will add up over time.

[Aeliott]

Well, my post wasn't really aimed at anyone other than the original poster, and I was just throwing out general info on what Monks use, but if I'm now a part of this thing... :S

No, it's not going to gimp you and stop you from doing stuff, far from it, and the only ones that will if you don't have them are Provoke and maybe Invigorate. But if we're discussing cross class skills then why not mention the fact that Mercy Stroke is universally used by Monks that want to be the best they can be? No it's not necessary, but it's pretty highly recommended given how crap most of our x-class options are (Keen Flurry among them, which OP mentioned) :P

When I say it's essential, I mean in getting the highest possible dps potential out the job, which logically dps jobs should strive for. But you could certainly down any content in the game without it. OP didn't give much context, but when all skills are unlocked it's one of the best choices of a poor bunch of actions that Monks have. I only wanted to put that out there to give additional insight.

I would say this is rather true for T10, 11, and really any boss fight without adds. Fights that have adds throughout the fight will give you more opportunities to use it, and to proc the HP buff off of it, because imo the power of Mercy Stroke comes from the heal proc. A 1400 hp self heal will spare you healers having to use a GCD on you, which could mean an otherwise dead tank, or missed mechanic. And ofc there is the *small* dps gain, but if your looking at it as overall dps, then your not looking at it correctly, because its not designed to be a dps boosting ability, its a finisher. A good Mercy Stroke crit is a good chunk of damage to adds, and in fights like T4,5,6,7,8,9,12,13 that have adds, the damage will add up over time.

The heal is very situational though. When you can use Mercy Stroke you might not even need the heal, and even if you do - unless you're one of few people attacking the target it's hard to guarantee you'll get the finishing blow with it. The heal is great when it happens, but to hold back to specifically try and get it isn't very reliable - especially in Coil. By the time you get the heal, if you need it your healers are probably already throwing one your way, not to mention Second Wind is stronger. And I don't think it's right to say it's not designed to be a dps boosting ability. What's the use of a finisher when the target's death ends the fight? You can get a good 2-3 Strokes on Coil bosses if you weave it ASAP...boosting dps. On early clears of several coil turns my group has been a second or less from a guaranteed enrage wipe. Had I not used Mercy Stroke as a dps skill we would have lost. "but if your looking at it as overall dps, then your not looking at it correctly" - I disagree, a lot of the time heal isn't needed / too quirky to time, it should be looked at primarily as a dps skill. The heal is a bonus, regardless of its "finisher" style. The root class, MRD/WAR gets more use out of the heal, but they still have the same problems. In solo content and perhaps PVP the heal could be worth aiming for, but other possibilities are too situational to rely on it.