Quote Originally Posted by BucklesTrespen View Post
Monk:

Form shift is now instant and has a X second cooldown and puts the Monk into Chimera form for 16 seconds:
Chimera form allows the use of any ability and grants the form based benefit of that ability.
(Basically Perfect Balance but with a single use, no more spamming form shift 1-3 times before a pull, between pulls, on jumps. Just press the button once when it is needed and use any ability.
I avoided this because it has a distinct DPS advantage in continuous uptime, but also a granular disadvantage during frequent downtime. I have, however, considered improving its ease of access in the same vein as Meditation (reducing it to exactly a half-GCD) in order to make it more competitive against that downtime option.

Spitball thought -- what if Form Shift "gave full access to" the next Form, rather than swapping to it, meaning you could still use the trio of skill you would have had access to before, and after a second press from Opo-opo or a third press from stanceless--all of them? At that point you could allow for Meditate and Form Shift to regenerate passively outside of combat as a comprehensive QoL change to either, so long as their power is equal to that of manual options (e.g. starting a half-GCD later than you would manually have access to, but causing no GCD refresh, thus making their readiness exactly equally quick).

Bootshine crits from behind always grant a Chakra.
With Speed now affecting ability damage, this would force a 2301+ SkS build in order to double the uses of Bootshine per Dragon Kick. The 50% increased change of generating a Chakra atop the further direct damage of the auto-crit from Bootshine (and possibly the 50 extra potency from True Strike) would more than offset the 29 potency (to 58) loss.

The Monk can have 7 chakra. Abilities still only use 5.
I included this in a previous build as I preferred the more traditional count, but this runs into the same dilemma one would have in balancing, say, Mage's Ballad or Yaten (Enhanced Enpi), even if mostly just during downtime or Brotherhood. By removing the cooldown on The Forbidden Chakra, the functional advantage has already been dealt with, but thinking back on this, I do quite like that Meditation would always have downtime value, and that you'd have a bit more room by which to bank Chakra for Internal Release or Riddle of Fire... I may yet revert back to this. Hmm.

Remove the god-awful wind tackles.
I understand where you're coming from, but it seems a playstyle enjoyed by many, so my only intent for now is to see it more tightly balanced, with its advantage compressed. At present, tests place it as 30% more powerful than its stated value, as if "double-dipping" into the GL bonus. With that bug corrected, its use should be curtailed to a far more optional level.

Riddle of Wind - Make it an actual ability with an actual icon and remove the second charge and just allow it to refresh or grant GL on the first shoulder tackle.
Admittedly, I'm not wholly satisfied with leaving it as simply a free secondary charge available from FoW and would much prefer it to be an ability of its own, though I'm not dead set on what that ability should do or how it should best be used. Any suggestions?

Riddle of Earth now pauses the GL timer for 16 seconds until either of the following occurs:
A) We take damage, upon which time it refreshes GL.
B) We move, upon which point the timer continues from where it paused (think of how Passage of Arms ends if the Paladin moves)
I understand though that my suggestion, whereby you can retrigger GL from the first attack taken and each attack taken for 16 seconds after so long as you remain in FoE, would not work with your suggested removal of Fists, but I feel this would be little, if any, better than what we have now. You'd be forced to hit the skill in the very last second in order to get through many of the current jump phases if movement is required near to the time GL would fade whereas at present the damage has been purposely aligned such as to allow RoE to get you through that phase, meaning that you can just hit RoE and not worry about it until needing to FS two to three times in preparation for Coeurl upon the boss's return. If movement likewise gave a second refresh, same as taking damage (though I'd adjust that, again, to "upon being attacked" as not to be countered by your own party's shields), it would would see much increased QoL.
Riddle of Fire. Remove the damage boost and speed reduction. Just have every ability used for the duration grant a chakra or something. Adjust duration to balance. God I hate that slowdown effect.
I understand where you're coming from, but there do seem to be plenty of Monks who do enjoy the minor variation it can bring. At high Skill Speeds even now it does offer some interesting twist-points in rotations during and following it.

Remove the fist stances. Give Monk a baseline +5% dmg increase from FoF rolled into traits.
Again, I get where you're coming from, but there are others who'd prefer instead to see them enhanced. In this case, though, I'd be firmly among that group.