The Monk Temple

[Traison]

uh... lolwut?

That is simply not true. Sphairai adds ridiculous amounts of Skill Speed, whereas Hellish Claws offer better stats if you want to actually deal damage. Their only downside is lack of accuracy, which you can make up for by swapping around your other gear.

If you take the stat weight of Accuracy, you'll find before cap its most likely tied with if not just a bit better or worse than Strength. The point is though, the weapon with higher average "Score" is the better weapon. So is the weapon with more subpar secondary stats or the weapon with higher top tier Accuracy. Also just because it has Skill Speed isn't as effective as Det or Crit, doesn't mean its useless or worth 0 actual weight. All in all if you total up the stat weights for both weapons you will easily find that the Sphairai is better when under cap. Please keep in mind that this is when just comparing the two weapons. In a full set situation either item can come out on top based on available gear choices. (also I am not saying I know what the weight of accuracy is, no one does atm to my knowledge. However in all the MMOs i've played, these mandatory cap stats always have huge weights.)

[TheGlow]

I have a 50 paladin since release and was initially wanting to go Monk until I decided to try a tank instead.
I'm kool with the idea of the positional attacks as I typically play Rogue and used to always being behind or moving a lot.
Any tips for lvling up, namely optimal crossclass skills and skills worth using/avoiding?
I just got lnc to 15,and pug to 16 so I plan to go to town this evening.

[Naryoril]

when are you guys applying ToD? Also in gl3 is it a good idea to do DK-TwS-Demo, (BS-TS-SP) x2 as a rotation??

i usually apply ToD right after demolish (if it isn't up)

no, it's not a good idea, because every 3rd of your rotations won't have the Dragonkick and Twin Snakes buff, assuming you don't have absolutely crazy skillspeed. Especially if you use any other skill in between, such as ToD.

[NeonC]

when are you guys applying ToD? Also in gl3 is it a good idea to do DK-TwS-Demo, (BS-TS-SP) x2 as a rotation??

[mercenarri]

Anyone have any Titan Extreme tips as a monk? I usually have solid DPS but for that fight my DPS falls dramatically.

I start off with a shoulder tackle and ToD, and I use the typical flank and rear rotations depending on whether Titan landslides or if the group needs to stack behind. The issue I have is keeping up GL3 after he jumps.

[Subucnimorning]

Make sure not to lose GL3 on bomb phases, you can actually hit bombs to keep it up if getting back to melee isn't possible. I have the same issue when he jumps, even going back in and hitting him immediately as he lands I still lose GL3 by about 0.2 seconds or so, not much you can do on that. What are you normally parsing on Titan?

[bokchoykn]

I've been parsing about 265-285 DPS on Titan, depending on luck and how many times I get Gaoled. I dunno how good this actually is, as MNK isn't my best class. It is i90 though. With best luck (no Gaols, bombs at the end of Heart), I've been able to surpass 290 and keeping GL3 from start to finish.

Keeping GL after the first jump has a little bit do with luck. You need to make an educated guess on when Titan will jump, which depends on the rest of your DPS. I've been trying to time my Snap Punch right at the end of whatever animation he's doing before he jumps, to some degree of success.

Be really careful about using your second ToD. Only use it between your Raptor and Coeurl attack, and only if you know with 100% certainty that he won't jump before the Coeurl attack. In fact, I'd go as far as to say: Don't bother applying a second ToD until the second phase.

The time between his second jump into Heart Phase is almost always too long to keep your GL. You'll need to use Perfect Balance here to keep your stacks. It's always better to use PB to KEEP your stacks as opposed to REBUILDING your stacks. If you get Gaoled here (1/4 chance), you're gonna lose your stacks. I think it's always worth the gamble to PB during the transition into Heart Phase.

At the end of the Heart Phase, if you're lucky, bombs will drop and you can hit them to carry your GL into the final phase. If your DPS is too good, you won't get bombs and you'll lose PB.

You should be able to keep GL up pretty easily during the final phase, barring a Gaol. Remember to get an extra hit or two on the adjacent bomb after Titan's jump, if it's safe. Otherwise, GL might fall off as Titan lands from his jump.

[Arkista]

Ok I have a question. I've been stuck at ilvl86 MNK for months (missing allagan legs/waist) and the gear just doesn't want to drop for me. Should I just deal with the Crit hit loss and get Relic legs/Waist? I think I could swap out a ring for the Vortex ring to get some Crit hit back and then go back to using Melee boots over allagan but I like the Det on them. And I could use a HQ food I suppose.

I would lose 39 Crit but I would gain 13 STR. If I got Melee legs/waist. But if I got Vortex ring and swapped back to Melee feet I would gain 31 Crit hit back but then I would lose 23 Det. Would 13 STR make up for losing 9 Crit and 23 Det?

Also I'm not a numbers person and don't know the Values and Caps on anything but Accuracy.

[Kadas]

Claws offer 7 less acc, 23 less skill speed, for a +26 determination. You can easily make up for the lost acc elsewhere, so you're left with -23 skill speed, +26 determination. There is a very clear winner here, and skill speed is not it.

[Traison]

Claws offer 7 less acc, 23 less skill speed, for a +26 determination. You can easily make up for the lost acc elsewhere, so you're left with -23 skill speed, +26 determination. There is a very clear winner here, and skill speed is not it.

First I gotta say, assuming from your use of "7 less Acc," might you be talking about regular Sphairai and not the Zenith? Cause if so then yes the Hellish Claws beat them every single time no contest, even under Acc cap. If not, it is a 11 Acc difference.
I'm using these stat weights. I don't have a number for accuracy so I am going to plug a random number in at 0.8 since it sounds like a reasonable weight before cap (Even though it is probably much higher.)

WD 7.841
STR 1
ACC 0.8
DTR 0.224
CRT 0.172
SS 0.154

Sphairai Zenith:
WD = 46*7.841 = 360.686
STR = 31*1 = 31
ACC = 37*0.8 = 29.6
SS = 26*0.154 = 4.004
Total: 424.982

Hellish Claws:
WD = 46*7.841 = 360.686
STR = 31*1 = 31
ACC = 26*.8 = 20.8
DTR = 26*0.224 = 5.824
Total: 418.31

So under Acc cap, point per point, Sphairai is better weighted. When you start considering other factors such as gear and food, then it might not be better, however compared to the Claws, it is better.