Mo/D BLight

Veil of Thorns costs too much energy (IMO) for it's duration. If you wanted to burn 10 energy, just run Stoneflesh aura, but who would do that?!

There is no doubt that in PvE, Mo/D wins the battle, but I think that PvP-wise, it is a matter of opinion.
D is going to win the DPS pressure fight, but A is going to win the Spike. I also think that the choice depends on the rest of your build.

Boon monks may get a little better of a synergy from D than A. Dismiss conditions also synergizes well with D secondary. D also has the added advantage of about 70 Max health, which can save one from a spike. The random heal is also nice since... 140 for 5 is pretty darn efficient.

Assassin secondary wins with evasion. Whereas the D secondary is going to get hit more, the A secondary is going to move faster or teleport away. The A is also probably slighty more energy efficient. Also, they are much better against spikes with thier Half Damage buff than the D with thier 70 Health.

I think it's a matter of opinion. I've seen alot of guilds move into builds with Harrier's Grasp characters (such as the ranger for example). I believe that a good ranger can keep conditions spread and keep warriors cripped (for the most part), making the A somewhat less effective. Then again, A secondary is tried and true. The choice is yours!

Also, never ever ever ever ever ever replace RoF with anything! You shouldn't even consider it! RoF is one of the most powerful heals in the game, and it is also one of the only ways a BL has to catch a spike. I usually run a bar that looks like this:
Blessed Light, RoF, Gift, Sig of Devo, PS, Dismiss Conditions, Vital, Conviction
Given the current metagame, it's probably safe to replace either PS or SB with SoA, but I would be somewhat hesitant with this.

On a side note, does anyone know if the reduction is applied before or after PS?

The reduction of SoA is applied after PS. My 105 hp monk gets first 5, then zero damage from attacks.

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i think sunoke was just answering kaida's question there sir.

i was looking at alternate defensive builds for monks a bit ago, one of the things i saw in dervish was Armor of Sanctity. could work in some sort of mass condition build, but otherwise not really worth it.

i havn't really tested Vital Boon or Conviction on a monk yet, but they seem like they would fit nicely, although they probably don't have all the flexability of /A.

dark escape reduces ALL damage.

return, aside from being a great way to avoid a spike, is just GREAT when you need a fast way to get past a bodyblock or just hop around quickly for whatever reason.

dervish secondary could be useful at replacing the dark escape portion of the defense, but return is just so great. Especially in RA, on any map that has any sort of raised/lowered portion it's amazing.

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I had a similar idea going Mo/D, using Veil of Thorns instead of Vital boon. Haven't really tried it yet in pvp or pve, but I'm guessing I'd drop prot spirit/spirit bond for a rez.

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The problem with the build u suggested, is that you are trying to design a monk that is able to have a high rate of self surviability.

like the Mo/A

now keepin in mind that u have absolutely no energy management, the possibilities for any sort of long term engagement of the enemy goes down.

vs the Mo/A at LEAST yo uhave sig of devotion, which if used correctly, can be semi-decent e management with a monks un-hindered energy regen

the problem you have, is you are creating a monk build with conviction, which for this to work, you need to have an enchant on you (doesnt work bad with vital boon though i guess) and u need to be taken dmg.

and if you are taken damage, without a snare, teleport, or speed boost on your bar you have no singular way to mitigate dmg other then thru conviction

which will lead to you having to use your monk skills to heal yourself

however when using Return / Dark Escape

using those two skills alone will greatly reduce the amount of the heals that YOU would need to cast on YOURSELF


if you dont go a Monk with energy management, i.e elite form, you have to answer the following questions:

1. would i be open to warrior training?
in your case, if the warriors/ anything high dps, attacks your midline, or since this is pve builds, attacks your heros, it is going to drain your energy, with no way to regain it back

2. in a long term battle, or anything that requires you constantly monk for extended periods of time, say for .... 10 minutes with you being spiked every 2 minutes, how does your survivability look?

it looks grim, because conviction requires you to be attacked to be effective, which means lower energy on your part, with no way to get away and no way to regain that energy


edit: i just seen u have sig of devo, sorry for saying u didnt, but the case for the two utility skills still stand

tried various stuff today, Aura of Thorns, Vital Boon, Conviction and Fleeting Stability

those are the skills from earth prayers you can take into consideration. havnt found a nice combo; but i cant say i really like it.

though, i looked at Wind Prayers..

Lyssas's Haste & Psious Restoration look like a good option to me.

ill test some more, but i think ill stay to /A

though, i havnt been using them with Blight (sucks for Arenas) - been using ZB with them.

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