Drg vs MNK

[Strigos]

Hello,

New player here and i am trying to decide what to lvl a drg or a mnk...which of this 2 is more noob friendly ?
From what i understood in other forums, dps in this game has way more to do than just mindlessly mash buttons, and if i miss one skill my dps goes way down.
So far i got Drg to 37 and i got around 5 skills that i keep using ( a dot, a dmg buff and 3 for a combo)
Any info would be appreciated

[Greyfrost]

Hello, Dragoon is more positional friendly, in case you're wondering what these are, it's those skills with extra damage when you're positioned at the flank/rear of target.

And in the end-game (Heavensward), Dragoon follows a set rotation of a combo while MNK is a bit more versatile on this while still minding their positionals.

Dragoon buffs Crit rate and piercing damage for the party. (DRG, BRD, MCH)

Monk buffs its own damage and brings extra healing power to the party.

All in all, I would recommend trying DRG and if positional is a lot more fun and challenge for you, then MNK is the way to go.

[Dameron]

snip

I agree with most of this, but I do want to point out that Dragoon becomes progressively more difficult to play as the content becomes more unforgiving in the higher levels and difficulty modes.

Aside from having to learn when to use or save your Geirskogul to keep up your Blood of the Dragon buff, you will have to be careful with timing your Jumps. The reason why Dragoons are so notorious for dying in boss fights is because they cannot move while executing Jumps, which makes it very easy to take damage from an unanticipated AoE effect. This means that in order to stay alive and optimize your DPS as a Dragoon, you have to study your bosses up front to know when you can or cannot Jump.

[Mhaeric]

I agree with most of this, but I do want to point out that Dragoon becomes progressively more difficult to play as the content becomes more unforgiving in the higher levels and difficulty modes.

The other thing with DRG as you level is that the optimal combo changes depending on what level you're at, so it requires more attention to what is most potent at the time. With MNK, on the other hand, it's pretty much the same the whole way up, only adding new skills into your rotation as you get them without having to completely redo your rotation. This is due to the way that DRG combos are set in stone, whereas MNK ones are more flexible. E.g. from level 1 to 7 a DRG's best combo is True Thrust (150)-->Vorpal Thrust (200), but from 8-25 it changes to be just spamming Impulse Drive (180) without using the other two skills at all since that nets more potency over 2 gcd's than the original combo. Once you hit level 26 though it goes back to True Thrust (150)-->Vorpal Thrust (200)-->Full Thrust (360) without using Impulse Drive at all, due to the addtion of the third skill in the first combo. At as you continue to higher levels there's a few additional situations like this where you end up deleting and inserting skills into your rotation to get the most out of it.

[SpeckledBurd]

Essentially

Both
Require being in melee range.
Have a momentum buff that requires continuous execution of your combos to maintain (Greased Lightning and Blood of the Dragon)

Dragoon:
Simpler, more rigid rotation with a greater number of total buttons than Monk but a shorter order overall
Combos can break by hitting the incorrect GCD
Instantly gains Momentum buff using a oGCD on a short cooldown
Cannot regain lost momentum buff by doing their rotation
High number of oGCDs that need to be used between GCDs for maximum damage
Slower GCD
4/10 standard GCDs have positional requirements, missing all positionals impacts damage less than on Monk

Monk
"Rotation" is a priority system, giving freedom to refresh self buffs as needed. In an ideal scenario the order uses less buttons than Dragoon but is longer
Combos cannot be broken by hitting the incorrect GCD in most scenarios
Requires a minimum of 3 GCDs to restore momentum buff with an oGCD on a long cool down
Can build momentum buff back to full strength directly over 9 GCDs
Relatively few oGCDs that must be used between GCDs
6/8 standard GCDs have positional requirements, missing all positionals causes a significant damage loss
15% Faster GCD than Dragoon via Greased Lightning

Also both of these things are probably going to change in a month with Stormblood, so unless you're putting in an enormous amount of time play time per day they will likely have completely changed by the time you get to 60.

[RopeDrink]

I give the exact same answer to any thread asking this (or similar) question(s).

Just pick whatever you regard as more aesthetically pleasing. Those who wish for a more mechanical insight could just watch a video of a 60 of each class in action to get an overall (visual) idea of how they play. From there, pick which one you believe suits you. It is ALWAYS the best option, given the fact that even if 20,000 people gave their individual advice/experience, YOU alone are the one who will play them - and nobody knows you better than you do. In addition, MMORPG's are constantly balancing and changing over their course, and the meta adapts, so banking on how it plays during X time doesn't mean it'll be the same down the road, so it's usually not wise to take this sort of choice-method unless you're already experienced with the game and looking to push to the end for very specific reasons.

Whenever I boot up a game like this for the first time, I will have a general idea of what I want to play just by checking out the looks and reading up on some of the abilities. If I'm at a cross-roads, a video or two will usually tip the balance. I never, ever, ask other people to give insight into what I should play, because even if you go with your own gut, or someone else's words, you may end up not liking it - and it is always better when this is as a result of your own decision rather than someone else's.

I've played Dragoon beyond 40 and currently have a level 60 Monk. I enjoy both, except I'm a Healer main with a tank as off-main, so I rarely play either one any more.

[Valenth]

I give the exact same answer to any thread asking this (or similar) question(s).

Just pick whatever you regard as more aesthetically pleasing...

^ this is also the advise I would give when chosing between MNK and DRG. They both have fun combat, but I personally just like the armor, spear/lance/polearms and the combat animations more. I also just like DRG mobility a bit better (My backflip has saved me plenty of times, or it just looks plain cool to dodge AoE's with) and prefer the slightly more burst styled combat of DRG.

[winsock]

MNK is more difficult to start, but is easier at end game.
Early dragoon rotation is mostly keeping up the HT buff and spamming ID, until lvl 26. Mind numbingly easy.

[SmallHobbit]

Dragoon is more positional friendly

i think positional on DRG even more worst like on monk since its totally random.
monk is like one position stay for 2-3 hits at least and for DRG may need change every bloody skills which much more annoying.

regards hobbit

[Okamimaru]

I got mnk to 50 and quit... for purely aesthetic reasons.... I then started drg, put him in the south seas talisman and eastern journey bottoms and shoes and gave him the eastern round pole.... so my drg looks and feels more like mnk than actual mnk ever did to me