Table of Contents:
I. An Explanation / Disclaimer
II. GW:F 55 Monking Q & A
III. The GW:F 55 Monk
IV. The Anatomy of the 55 Monk
V. Helpful Tips
VI. GW:F 55ing Overview
VII. Starting Out
VIII. Various Farming Runs + Builds
IX. Conclusion
!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Explanation And A Disclaimer; Among Other Stuff
Where To Begin? Hi, I’m Tsunami Rain. You may have remembered me from my last farming guide (Updated Solo-Monk Farming Guide). In this guide I will take you through a step-by-step process in the world of 55 monk farming in GW:F. I will start with the basics and will slowly take you through to the more advanced side of farming.
I’d like to that a bunch of people for helping me throughout this past year:
Sno, Cerb – Answering my various 55 monk questions.
Thrice – Being the best alliance/farm buddy ever and for contributing to this guide.
Racthoh – For reminding me that I should use all 200 attribute points.
Manic Smile – For being the best guild leader ever and taking me on UW runs.
Dralsipre – For reminding me how poor I am when I see one of his sell/auction threads.
And many more.
Disclaimer Time!:
I am in no way guaranteeing that you will be successful after reading this post and following my guide. This guide is exactly what it is…A Guide therefore please understand that it will not cover EVERYTHING. I am not also at fault for any losses you may receive due to farming and/or mistakes. This guide was exclusively made for Guildwars Guru and may not be copied to any other site without permission. This guide may not be sold for any monetary value (this includes in-game gold).
I hope you enjoy this guide! Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page if you have any questions, comments, concerns, praises, etc. Sit back, relax, grab a drink…because chances are you’re going to be here for awhile.
!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GW:F 55 Monking Q & A
Q: What is a 55 monk?
A: A smiting monk that has dropped his/her life down to 55 hp via 5 superior runes and a -50 offhand.
Q: 5 superior runes?? Isn't that expensive?
A: Yes, making a 55 monk requires a large cash fund but can be easily made back within a few hours (not counting practice of course).
Q: I only have GW:F. Can I still make a 55 monk?
A: Yes you can, however, Shield of Judgment cannot be captured in GW:F. Since Shield of Judgment is the backbone of this build, I suggest you don’t make one.
Q: Can’t I substitute Spiteful Spirit for Shield of Judgement?
A: Yes you can. However, Spiteful Spirit cannot be captured in GW:F either.
Q: What do you do with a 55 monk?
A: The most popular answers would be: Farming and Running.
Q: What is this -50 offhand you speak of?
A:
Found in the Cities of Ascalon Quest
Q: I can't find the person who gives you the Cities of Ascalon quest.
A: Symon the Scribe can be found in Ascalon City and will give you the quest after you have completed the missions: The Great Northern Wall and Counting the Fallen.
Q: I have the Cities of Ascalon quest, however, the -50 cesta isn’t the reward item. What happened?
A: There’s a 50/50 chance that you will get the -50 cesta now. If you can’t get one through the Cities of Ascalon quest, I suggest you buy one. It only costs about 5-8k now.
Q: I've seen you in game before Tsunami. Why does every other 55 monk but you wear tattoos?
A: .....no comment. Tat's give you more energy....leave my judgement alone

Q: Wait... There are only 4 Superior Runes for the monk. Wheres the 5th that you speak of?
A: For your 5th rune, you just use any superior monk rune that is available (the -75 hp stacks but the +skills don't. therefore, just get the cheapest).
Q: Why do you use divine healing scalp
A: It's personal preference. And on a side note, I may use my divine healing scalp but I also use my Smiting Prayers scalp if I really need it. For those new to 55ing, I suggest that you buy the Smiting prayers scalp.
Q: Where do I get my set of tat armor?
A: Some may say Lions Arch others may say Droks...I say Droks.
Q: What weapon do you use for your 55 monk?
A: Some may say HoD (which is very expensive). Most people now agree that the Fiery Flame Spitter of Enchanting is the monk weapon of choice (which I agree with).
Q: Where do I get a -20 Ankh?
A: Talk to Namar in Ascalon City (presear) then go to where Devona is in the town of Ashford. Before you reach Devona you will come across Miller Upton. He will say the bee's are a distraction and will not talk to you untill you take the bees across the bridge. Pick up the honeycomb, gather the three groups of bees and bring it across the bridge then go talk to Miller Upton again.
Q: I only have GW:F, how can I get Shield of Judgement?
A: Shield of Judgement is a Guild Wars: Prophecies (aka original Guildwars) only skill. You can’t get it in GW:F.
Q: Has your monk changed any bit since your last guide?
A: Yes…A LOT. I wear 1.5k Kurzick Ascetic armor (aka GW:F Tats). I also have switched from my divine favor scalp to my superior smiting scalp and seem to be using that more now days.
Q: How can I get a hold of you if I’m having trouble?
A: Contact me in game @ Tsunami Rain or PM me on this forum or leave a question here in this thread.
!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The GW:F 55 Monk
As stated in the previous section, if you don’t have the original Guild Wars game (Prophecies campaign), you shouldn’t be making a 55 monk. SoJ (Shield of Judgement) and its counterpart SS (Spiteful Spirit) can only be captured in the Prophecies Campaign. SoJ is the main damage dealing spell of the 55 monk so it’s basically not wise to create a 55 monk without having it.
As I have stated in my last guide, TURN BACK NOW IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE WEAKSAUCE AND QUIT WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH. That said, lets take a look at what has changed since GW:F was released.
Changes:
- Increased Chance of Better Drops
WELL, it seems that things have changed for the better. *cough*.
That being said, lets continue shall we?
!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Anatomy of the 55 Monk:
There are many cookie-cutter 55 builds as they are called, but every build is based upon these skills:
Protective Spirit
Enchantment. For (Min: 5 - Max: 23) seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% max Health due to damage from a single attack or Spell.
Healing Breeze
Enchantment. For 10 seconds, target ally gains +(Min: 3 - Max: 9) Health regeneration.
Mending
Enchantment. While you maintain this Enchantment, target ally gains Health regeneration of +(Min: 1 - Max: 4).
These skills are CRITICAL for the 55 monk build.
Protective Spirit - Since you have 55 hp, if you use this skill monsters will do about 5 damage to you per hit.
Healing Breeze - If you are tanking a lot of enemies and they are starting to spike, use healing breeze as it will regenerate life WAY faster than the monsters will be hitting you
Mending - If you always keep this on, you always have life regeneration meaning that you dont have to rely solely on breeze.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT. I couldn't emphesize enough. If you run out of energy then you will surely die with the 55 build. Therefore, bringing energy management skills with you is also key to the 55 monk build.
For this I would suggest any of the following:
Balthazar's Spirit
Enchantment. While you maintain this Enchantment, target ally gains adrenaline and Energy after taking damage. (The amount of adrenaline gained increases depending on your rank in Smiting Prayers.)
Essence Bond
Enchantment. While you maintain this Enchantment, whenever target ally takes physical damage, you gain 1 Energy.
Blessed Signet
Signet. For each Enchantment you are maintaining, you gain 3 Energy, maximum (Min: 3 - Max: 24).
Bonetti's Defense
Stance. For (Min: 5 - Max: 11) seconds, you have a 75% chance to "block" incoming melee attacks and arrows. You gain 5 Energy for each successful melee attack blocked. Bonetti's Defense ends if you use a skill.
I would suggest that you use either essence bond OR balthazar's spirit and (for those new to 55 monking) bring along either bonetti's defense OR blessed signet.
As for dealing damage:
Quote: