My god, Square *head in hands* - RE: monk

[Rockette]

You just made the awful Anatman opener permanent. Instead of timing a server tick now we just stand there for 3 seconds waiting for a GL stack. It's still optimal over a PB opener.

Has anyone there actually played this class before?

I didn't think you could make the opener even worse than it was but here we are.

[Ramura_Sono]

It's Monk. Did you actually think they'd put any thought into it?

[Oxdarock]

You just made the awful Anatman opener permanent. Instead of timing a server tick now we just stand there for 3 seconds waiting for a GL stack. It's still optimal over a PB opener.

Has anyone there actually played this class before?

I didn't think you could make the opener even worse than it was but here we are.

As the guy who made the 5.0 TK guide with the actual PB opener, words can't describe how sad I am right now. I'm also now thoroughly convinced that SE doesn't know what they're doing, at least when it comes to monk. Or they might have wanted to nerf monk really bad, but didn't want people to get made over potency decrease, even though I would have gladly taken that over this. My god...

I'll still try out Anatman when the patch drops, but I'm pretty sure this puts the nail in the coffin of even remotely using TK in the rotation outside of boss disconnects, as well as making monk weaker overall since it's now impossible to fit in 6 Opo-Opo moves in PB.

My god SE...

[Oxdarock]

Actually, chatting with someone made me realize that SE probably did this to lower the skill ceiling, since optimal play involves using Anatman on the server tick during the opener and PB windows, which people would track through third party programs and isn't accessible to console players. But it was still manageable with Six-Sided Star (which is also bar useless now), so wtf?!

[Rockette]

Actually, chatting with someone made me realize that SE probably did this to lower the skill ceiling, since optimal play involves using Anatman on the server tick during the opener and PB windows, which people would track through third party programs and isn't accessible to console players. But it was still manageable with Six-Sided Star (which is also bar useless now), so wtf?!

I don't think so. I think they would be trying to fix the "need to have several act plugins to optimally pull on server tick" situation to pull off the opener - and I did expect them to move on this.

But I also thought that maybe they'd put some thought into it.

[Oxdarock]

I don't think so. I think they would be trying to fix the "need to have several act plugins to optimally pull on server tick" situation to pull off the opener - and I did expect them to move on this.

But I also thought that maybe they'd put some thought into it.

But they could have just gave the move an instant GL stack and kept the rest of it the same! Would have had the same effect!

Then again, I don't know what the programming is like on their side, so this might have been the only alternative to fix that "need to have several plugins etc" problem. I have an idea of what the new Anatman opener will look like, but man...

[ForteNightshade]

Monk is probably the best example of it needing to be mandatory the dev team actually plays it at a semi-decent level before being allowed to claim the job is ready for release.

Seriously. They seem to have no idea what they're even doing with it anymore.

[Rockette]

But they could have just gave the move an instant GL stack and kept the rest of it the same! Would have had the same effect!

Then again, I don't know what the programming is like on their side, so this might have been the only alternative to fix that "need to have several plugins etc" problem. I have an idea of what the new Anatman opener will look like, but man...

See, I think they're scared to do this as well in case they accidentally put in another Tornado kick rotation which they didn't want either.

They spoke so much about Monk needing a job progression and said Greased 4 would be it but man. It really isn't. Then all these tacked on thoughtless skills that have nothing to do with the rotation and are these weird, boss jump only buttons. SSS and TK could have just been the same button. They could have added on a 4th combo like goon or given it a gage that is more than just one gcd like sam/nin. They've been so stubborn about the same 6 button rotation since 2.0 and I honestly don't understand it.

Anatman is a disaster.

[SpeckledBurd]

Monk is probably the best example of it needing to be mandatory the dev team actually plays it at a semi-decent level before being allowed to claim the job is ready for release.

Seriously. They seem to have no idea what they're even doing with it anymore.

For real. All the talk they had about how they were proud of it before release just gets funnier and funnier in retrospect. As it is now it doesn't seem like the developer intention for Anatman is for it to have basically no functionality outside of extreme edge cases which is something we've complained about regarding skill design since Heavensward.

It's inane. I don't know what they're doing and at this point I doubt they know either. I also wouldn't be surprised if Monk didn't see any changes for the rest of the expansion, for the devs to promise that they're taking feedback again only for them to turn around and give us more GL upkeep skills and Useless Fist Stance traits in 6.0.

They spoke so much about Monk needing a job progression and said Greased 4 would be it but man. It really isn't. Then all these tacked on thoughtless skills that have nothing to do with the rotation and are these weird, boss jump only buttons. SSS and TK could have just been the same button. They could have added on a 4th combo like goon or given it a gage that is more than just one gcd like sam/nin. They've been so stubborn about the same 6 button rotation since 2.0 and I honestly don't understand it.

I agree, though I don't necessarily think Monk needs a 4th Form combo. I'd like to see them expand on Formless skills that we weave into the rotation in order have timers align a little better. Now that we have a permanent additional 10% haste, our timer durations have been ever so slightly off and having something to delay a tick on Demolish like Fracture did in Heavensward would be a godsend.

I think the big thing Monk needs however is a skill that rewards us for upkeeping Greased Lighting/Refreshing it. This is the kind of change Dragoon and Black Mage have gotten from expansion to expansion that have been so well received that Monk hasn't. Dragoon Jumps and keeps BotD up and it gets Super Geirskoguls and Star divers, Black Mage gets Fouls and Xenoglossies for keeping Enochian. Monk needs something (Maybe Tornado Kick?) that we earn a use of by refreshing your stacks or upkeeping GL3/4 for a period of time.

[eagledorf]

...the scary thing is this might be intentional. I mean, their nerf to Scholar was that you need to sit around like 5 seconds after summoning Seraph to use the barrier skill...