Thread: How should Monk 4.0 have been done?

1. What makes a Monk a Monk?
Fast hits revolving around doing consistent more than high damage between 2-3 combos and keeping GL. The burst of the monk currently is an addition not a defining feature since it's a 10% base pot damage increase (B4B) with a 30% crit increase (IR) so the overall damage climb isn't high and it mainly far more about keeping the consistency of the damage and weaving oGCD that benefit from that increase (HF and FC). It's a high risk high reward self-contained dps that doesn't require help to do damage.

2. What did you most enjoy about Monk gameplay?
Doing a high amount of damage as quickly as possible. I'm more of a speed than power player. This is how I've played in most RPGs and MMOs. I find it's skills to be easily focused and while I'm different than most (I Boot-TS-Demo/DK-TS-SP) and always move between positionals, never staying in one place. It's a challenge I enjoy to keep my damage as high as possible from staying on the move around enemies.

3. In what way were 3.x designs an improvement over 2.x. Which design ideas should have been extended in 4.x?
The addition of form shift, chakra, and tornado kick took a bit for me to get used to but it was relatively easy to pick up once I practiced the optimal rotation and figured out ways to build chakra between combos. Even then, the chakra system didn't take away anything, only added to the rotations we already had. TK was a high-cost move and easily ignored as well but honestly, having a "Well S**t" button made losing GL between phases or pulls not as bad. If anything should have been built on it was TK's pot and risk and trying to find ways to make MNK's TP last longer. If anything Purification costing 5 chakra is dumb for 300TP. It should either be 500TP or only 3 chakra. And extending Chakra isn't a bad idea, it's just misguided in making it proc based. MNK doesn't need a proc based system if it's built on consistency. Instead build chakra through battle similar to the WAR and fell cleave.

4. What significant issues did Monk still face in 3.x? To what degree, or under what conditions, were they acceptable?
Monk's damage was too low to not have any group synergy or raid utility. What's being talked about with SAM now is what MNK should have been in 3.0. There's no way that balance wise adding to said damage would have done much and to me ultimately was made the monk suffer was the ultility balance of the monk was extra healing. No fight can make it so that's a necessity or MNK is needed and balance is thrown way off. It's the similar issue to One-Ilm Punch having a relatively strong effect but useless since it doesn't work on any boss or raid (The only one I've seen it work on is the Damage Up from Stone Vigil HM's final boss). Fist stances being imbalanced is an issue but not a gamebreaking one. Even if you were to change Fists of Wind to 5-10% increased attack/movement speed it wouldn't compare to the flat pure damage of Fists of Fire's 5% and on top of exascerbating the TP problems that the monk already has.

5. How could these issues have been solved, if necessary?
TK pot increased to 500-640, or applying a 5 sec physical damage vuln to the target with it's current pot. There has to be a trade-off where when you use TK there's some kind of return. Losing GL3 is too high a risk for that low of damage. Brotherhood is a good addition, just needs work. The concept is good but misguided. MNK is self-contained and Brotherhood fights with that. Why make the MNK still have no real synergy with no class and then make it dependent on groups for extra (or because of the pot changes, needed) damage. It weakens the MNK to force utility and even then it doesn't make you any stronger just the group. So why not, change that to an ability not too much different. Brotherhood does the 5% increase for physical damage (or everyone but I'd stick with physical) but instead of chakra building it's a GL+ effect that gives you a secondary stack of GL for those 15s that increases attack speed by 10% and lowers TP costs by 10%. 120s cooldown.

6. How could the overall experience of Monk gameplay have been improved in 4.0?
Monk overall needed a buff to GL retention, Chakra Managment, and different abilities taken away and others built upon. No pot nerfs whatsoever and no Demo nerf. With the pot buffs of DRG and NIN it's not necessary. I'd change Fists of Wind to 5% movement/attack speed but not to balance the Fists, just to have it make more sense. As for the skills and abilities. First off, Arm of the Destroyer gone. Without a pot increase to put it on par with Death Blossom or Ring of Thorns (no combo) it's not worth thinking about and increasing the pot to that gives the monk an Aoe combo that's too strong even with the drops in TP. AotD (EF), TS (HF), Rock, that's like Deathflare every 90 secs with Painflare every other GL stack. There's no fixing that. One-Ilm Punch gone as well. I'd like to trade it for Somersault but I already have ideas for GL retention. As for moves and traits kept, ToD doesn't leave. Personally I wouldn't remove Mutilate or Phebotomize either, it serves no purpose. Same with Steel Peak/Leg Sweep, no reason to remove the stun or take Leg Sweep away from DRG and also would lower to the cooldown to the DRG standard of 20s, same with Jugulate.

As for added moves and traits. Deep Meditation stays but is reworked. Deep Meditation gives +1 chakra for every reapplication of GL3. In doing so, there's no reason to use meditation during combos for that dps loss and you still build up to a big hit like WAR.

Instead of Tackle Mastery a trait, MNK gets a weaponskill replacement for fracture with a twist. Elixir Blast. An Instant GCD with a TP Cost of 90. But, a range of 10y and a pot of 70 with a 30s Dot for 15 Potency. Exilir Blast is a one-handed ranged Ki Blast that gives the monk a ranged ability along with a dot.

Riddle of Earth, relatively gone. Now this won't happen but my idea fixes a few glaring issues that's plagued monk for a long period of time. Instead of a separate Riddle of Earth, MNK will get Axe Kick moved to PvE with a few changes. Renamed to Shatter Kick, It's no longer an AoE, it does 110 pot, and does not apply pacification. It's an oGCD with that applies GL3 instantly with a 90s cooldown. This will make TK viable every 90s rotation.

Now Secret Arts, Riddle, or whatever. Now this is where Fists come into play. Whatever stance is used when Riddle is used it gives different cooldowns for 18s duration/80s(or 90s) cooldown
Riddle of Earth - Earth's Reply with the 10% defense increase but instead of a GL refresh a GL pause. On activation it pauses GL until it falls off. 30s duration. While paused MNK does not receive GL benefits. Effect ends on fall off or switching Fist stance. (does not affect Brotherhood GL stack) (Forgot to mention: This is not on hit, this is a defense cooldown since MNK like DRG loses Featherfoot, Foresight, and also Mercy Stroke)
Riddle of Wind - Wind Release, reverses the effect of GL and lowers TP cost by 10%, meaning GL3 - 30% attack speed increase and a 15% attack damage increase. (Would be used to build GL and/or chakra fast if lost or keep it.)
Riddle of Fire - Fire Impact, an increase of 15% damage but you take a Pyretic effect that ticks for 1500HP (or a low percentage like 2-3%) every weaponskill used. (B4B only it's not an "if" you take damage, you will take damage, debating of whether it should kill or not or just decrease HP)

And Brotherhood applied like earlier. Does the 5% increase for physical damage (or everyone but I'd stick with physical) but instead of chakra building, it's a GL+ effect that gives you a secondary stack of GL for those 15s that increases attack speed by 10% and lowers TP costs by 10%. 120s cooldown. Chakra changed since you have assured stacks but damage unchanged since the goal wasn't to get rid of the move but rework it into something that didn't make you dependent on others to sustain damage.

Those are just my ideas and overall what I greatly wanted to see. Essentially all the cooldowns build to a small burst and climbing damage similar to 3.0 monk but fixes the issues of TP management but sacrificing damage if need be. Essentially old Army's Paeon but you take the hit not the Bard. Some other small adjustments also, to make Riddle more accessible for this way, no cooldown or GCD for Fist swapping.

EDIT: Riddle of Earth's ability Earth's Reply isn't on hit, cause that is dumb. also wanted to say something in the case of pot nerfs and buffs. I'm only thinking about mdps but to me, there's no reason any class should suffer pot nerfs. By that I mean, lowering a class for balance is never a good idea imo. Classes to should raised to the "optimal" or "meta", not lowered to the disliked or "sub-optimal". It's the direct opposite of what some players want to see.