New Monk Seeking Opinions

[Jodah]

Hello all, I just started playing last night and I decided to go Elvaan monk. I told a friend of mine that I wanted to be a melee damage dealer that could take a few hits and he said that I should be a monk. I was wondering what some of you out there thought. Are monks a good thing to take all the way to the end game? What is the best sub-job for a monk that isn't interested in magic? Is there anoter viable class that can dish out melee damage, but take a little bit of a beating as well?

[Zeth]

Sub job wise, monks don't have that many options really, thief or warrior, for exp partys. Personally I don't think that thief sub is really worth it until level 65+, and I think most people will agree that warrior is still a better 'all-round' sub after that too. Also, if you do want a damage dealer that can also take some hits, then monks are definately the best.

The only negative that I can think of to let you know, is party invites can get rather fin at times. Since there are a good selection of damage dealers in the game, parties have alot to choose from. So my advice is, make sure you keep your equipment up to date, put any useful information about yourself in your party seach comment, and always be willing to start your own parties.

[Kilk]

Well when you get 42-60(Or what ever the highest lvl AF armor is)Monk AF armor is one of the best (So im told). Monk can get expensive like the Ochioto's Kote(could be spelt wrong)but they will last you in to the 60's or to end game. I have no expirence with them but everyone that i know that has them tell me they are so useful. So its worth the 550k...Im almost lvl 27 and i havent had more fun with any other job.

[Naota1369]

just ask MeleeFighterFF we PWN EVERYONE

[Rising Tornado]

I play an Elvaan Monk,
And I can certainly say that It is the most enjoyable job for me.
Its not that I am a brutish, violent person who is only interested in laying the smackdown on things (though it is somewhat of an ejoyable feeling to know that I do ^^).
I simply enjoy the class of monk and the style they have.


Subjobs: your question was adequately answered, and there isnt much more I can add.

Warrior is the most common/popular subjob, for good reason.
It is as if it were a tailor-made combination, they way they two jobs compliment one another, especially MNK/WAR.

True enough, Theif also makes a useful subjob, but its best benefits arent seen until after level 60 or so (on monk).

There are other subjob options that are viable, if you are willing to endure the scorn of most other monks, and if you are determined to fully explore their possibilities,
but I'll point out that generally speaking mage jobs do not mix well with melee jobs; any advantage you might think to get by subbing white mage (healing) or red mage (enfeebling your enemies),or whatever, will be far overshadowed by the things you lose.

As a MNK/WAR, you will have the most hit points of any class in the game; this is one of the things that allows you to "take a few hits".
As monks, however, we are limited in the kinds of armor we can equip for defense, and after 25 or so, we begin to really drop behind warriors and paladins and even samurai in terms of defense.

Monks wear softer gear in the intrests of mobility; cloth armor which simply doesn't equal the kind of defense that a warriors heavy duty armor can provide.


Other classes that can dish out the damage and still take it in return are, of course, Warriors. They specialize in dealing heavy damage with equally heavy axes (a bit barbaric, if you like that style) and wear equally heavy armor.

Dark Knights are also known for being able to deal heavy damage, but unlike Warriors, they do not have as good defense (Darn Knights are not meant to tank) and they do use magic.

Paladins are heavy armor specialists, renown for being great tanks, whith arguably the best defense in the game, but theyr damage output does not match that of monks, warriors, or dark knights.

Rangers are also known for dealing very heavy damage in later levels, but they are very soft targets, much like black mages. They do not take hits well.


Whether or not it is a job woth taking to the end-game will end up being a choice only you can make.
I know a number of level 75 monks. They clearly felt it was worth it and enjoyable enough to go all the way with the job.


It is possibe that the biggest difficulty you will face is what Zeth said about trouble finding parties at certain level ranges in the game.
This doesnt seem to be much of a problem before 30, but I have heard many monks lament that between the 50s to 60s, party invities can be very rare and it is frustrating to sit around seeking for hours with no luck.

Personally, I have never had to experience this.
Prior to level 25, I never had any trouble finding parties. In the worst case scenario, I simply built my own. (those were always the best anyway).
After 25, I have been leveling with a set group of linkshell friends, so I don't have to worry about getting invited to a party when I want to level.


One of the reasons why monks get overlookd is that some people believe that the other "damage dealer" jobs available are "better" because they are "advanced jobs" (like dark knights or rangers).

Please always remember that the jobs which are only available to unlock after you reach 30 are NOT "advanced".
This is a term that was invented by the Brady strategy guide (a truly awful book).
In their own publication, the manual that comes with the game, Square Enix only calls them "Extra Jobs".
Standard jobs and Extra jobs. They never suggested the extra jobs were 'advanced' in any way.


The second reason you may have trouble getting into parties is because many people are simply ignorant of a monks real potential, and perhaps they have had their opinion about the job biased by playing with monks who do not do their job well.
One of the biggest crimes in this regard is not having the most current equipment.
It is the monks who's gear is 5-10 levels behind who give the rest of us a bad name.


Lastly, one of the big reasons why monks get passed over between say 40-60 is that many parties are looking to inflict a particular kind of damage on their enemies through the use of skillchains.

Skillchains are what happens when party members coordinate the use of their own particular special weapon skills in a certain order, so that an additional damaging effect is achieved.

There are different kinds of skillchains, which cause different special effects, depending on which special individual weapon skills are used, and in which order.

At these levels, the most popular skillchain is a Distortion skillchain.
To achieve this effect, certain kinds of weapon skills musth be combined by the party members (in order), and at that level, we monks do not have a weapon skill which lends itself to a place in the Distortion Skillchain.

Since parties will mostly want to create Distortion type Skillchains at that level (because its a powerful skillchain), and monks cannot participate to help pull it off, they will often be overlooked and replaced with dark knights.

Around level 60 is when this changes (if I remember correctly... not there yet myself) when monks get a new weapon skill which works great in Distortion Skillchains, and then (if you are a good monk with current equipment) parties will have no good reason to pass you over.
(note i say "no good reason... but you're likely to still run into ignorant people all over)

I'm not sure what else to offer at this point, other than to say that an Elvaan monk can be lots of fun, and don't pay much attention to the people who whine abut Elvaan having poor accuracy. If you're a samurai, or an ranger, its a bigger deal, but as a monk, its not so bad.
(There will come a time in your monk career where accuracy becomesa quite a big deal, but it is common to all monks at that level range, it wont be beacuse you're elvaan)

In parting, I'll just offer a link to what I think is the best Monk FAQ out there. Its certainly the best one I've read.
Its very long, but well worth the read.

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.h...813153&num=142

Lastly, I apologize for any horendous typos which make me look like a fool; its 4:00am and I really don't feel inclined to proofread right now XD