Master of the Sovereign Fist - Revolutionary PvE Monk guide

Welcome all to the revolutionary monk guide. In here I will provide some facts as well as my opinions on the monk class

Introduction
Monks are a physical based Dps class with a side of burst. they expel their giant weapon by planting it to the ground and attack with their holy fists of justice. monks use light armor and their class weapon is a totem, but axes are more preferred.

Pros: Monks can handle themselves very well solo wise. they do need a good amount of funding outside of Ancients and other endgame dungeons but a +10 magic sealed is enough for all the regular dungeons up to 70. they do a great deal in the mobbing department, being able to suck their enemies in or forcefully pull them up close and personal for a beat down by the holy fist. they also have the best evasive capabilities in the game, once possible to be able to achieve 100% evasion very easily but that is a thing of the past. even without that once reliable boon, we have enough skills that provide super armor in case something goes wrong. Also, our attacks are mostly comprised of multi-hit skills, which in turn mean we can proc effects really quickly in mobs of 2 or higher. we very well may be the best at it out of any class when combined with a certain skill.

Cons
As stated earlier, most of our skills are multi-hit so we don't always do well when it comes to certain OV or Ancient mobs who counter with special skills when they get hit too much. Also, remember what i said about needing decent funding for end-game? yea, it really, really shows how bad a monk's damage is in endgame dungeons if you don't put up the money. there is also a bit of a learning curve towards monks and it is highly recommended to use a gamepad for a more fluent gameplay, most preferably a logitech dual action gamepad or a ps2/3 controller but its up to you really

Skills

Lucky Straight Punch ( 5 + cancel, max)
this skill is alright. three hits, last one has a high chance to do a critical hit and it can extend your x-string combo. it has a lingering problem late game towards super armored enemies where you wont get all the hits in before you go through them meaning its only good if you start with the skill instead of putting it in the middle of a combo. if you like it enough, go ahead and max it.

Smasher (5 for pre-req + cancel)
basic grab skill. grab and enemy, and the push through a distance before you toss them, attacking other enemies in the way. this skill isn't much for damage so leave it at 5 for the reason stated above

Second uppercut (0, 1 for pre-req)
do a dash attack and you'll perform this if you press attack again. rarely used outside of pvp and ducking upper is faster to use but get at least one for juggling utility in case they come up and at least one level is needed for twister of judgement

Will Driver (Max)
this skill drives your weapon to the ground, and then emits an aura that provides stat bonuses. it increases STR by 25 per level and Hit rate and Physical Crit by 1% every other level. at max it gives 250 STR and 5% hit rate and physical crit. every level also increases the aura px. get the ex and be the best of the best for you and your physical party

Technical Mastery (max) - increases move speed and allows you to use ducking skills while swaying and vice versa and gives added range to basic attack, Sidewind, and exquisite Combination

Combat Mastery (max) - Lucky Straight, Ducking Body Blow, Chopping Hammer, and Heavenly Combination receives Super Armor and increased critical rate. extra hits to exquisite, ducking straight punch, and ducking uppercut

Ducking Straight Punch (1, Max)
one of the three ducking skills. this skill is pure burst and does good damage and is worth maxing. getting the ex is your decision but atm it only increases it by 6% instead of 12% and that won’t change for at least a year.

Ducking Body Blow (1, Max)
this skill is also pure burst but it comes with a handy stun chance. also comes with a long hitstun upon impact. even though its lower than ducking straight at max even with the ex skill, this skill is a definite max otherwise for the utility. you may choose to not get the ex skill since there are more choices to choose from.

Ducking Uppercut (1)
this skill launches an enemy into the air, helpless to the forthcoming beating. this skill is not worth maxing, though. only one level is enough for the utility

Ducking Dash
welp, you cant do any ducking skills without this one. don’t get this, quit your monk

Divine Crusher (0, -1)
do not give this skill a second thought. its so bad it even got nerfed. neople dont want you to use this atrocity

Quick Parry (Max)
this skill is somewhat of a godsend. when you perform certain skills, your evasion will increase for a short duration. at max, the duration is one second and there is no cooldown time so you can cycle skill after skill to effectively "force" evasion upon enemy attacks. being able to utilize this skill will make you a very good monk but you will have to put some effort in evasion stacking to make good use of it consistently

Sidewind (3 for pre-req)
this skill will punch an enemy from a distance. the damage is mediocre, but if you have your masteries maxed (as you should) you’ll perform a second hit with this skill which will pull enemies toward you. it doesn't work well on super armored enemies, but it has good utility otherwise

Exquisite combo (Max + cancel)
this skill is your bread and butter. great damage, 3 big hits with 3 small hits from combat mastery which gives it good procing capabilities, and the ex just makes it stronger and faster

Sway ( Max + cancel)
can't be ducking without swaying. just like your ducking moves, you can use sway as well once you level technical mastery high enough. you need this skill

Chopping Hammer (1, 5)
previously sway exclusive, you can use this skill during ducking or sway depending on your technical mastery level. this skill also launches your enemy into the air, but it launches it pretty high so its not really great at max. the main problem though is that you wont be able to use this skill to its full potential 60+ since the launch provides damage and you cant launch super armored enemies which makes the investment half-worthy. not recommended higher than 5 if you plan on getting the awakening

Sacred counter (1)
this skill is pure evasion utility since it's one of the skills quick parry works with. you have to get hit (even if the attack misses, which makes it great since they'll most likely miss) and you'll counter attack with somewhat decent damage. problem is, if you force the attack thanks to technical mastery (which you'll be doing alot), the damage is reduced by 40% (multiplicative) which is why it's left at one for utility

Machinegun Jab (Max)
this skill provides good suction and great damage, as well as great procing abilities. this skill is a must max in my book. the cancel is optional.

Twister of Judgement (0,1, max + ex)
this skill is nothing without the ex. the ex skill gives you a chance to spawn two twisters at once with a pretty high chance. the skill is fixed damage and its cast-and-forget and it has proved itself useful in certain dungeons, mainly reshpon. If you have enough piercing and phys atk though I wouldn’t max it. If you do plan on maxing it you must get the ex skill. it has small uses at level 1 like forcing anti-cubes to go off

Heavenly Combination (5, max)
This skill is essentially two strong hooks into a stronger right straight. It does some really good damage at max and has a slight gathering utility on non-superarmored mobs

Shadow Clone (5, max)
This is what makes us the kings of procs. The damage from this skill comes from your PHYSCIAL ATTACK AND STRENGTH, NOT FROM THE PERCENTAGE OF ANY OF THE SKILLS YOU USE WHILE THIS IS UP. It also provides a nice amount of hitstun. This skill shines greatly from a highly reinforced weapon and I recommend maxing it but if you want you can leave it at 5 for the next skill on the list.

Double Shadow (max) -
This skill is a must. It provides an extra shadow whenever you use shadow clone and it does half the damage that your first shadow does. I know the tool tip says 50%, but its multiplicative of shadow clone’s skill value meaning the higher you level shadow clone the stronger your second shadow will be.

Hurricane ‘n Roll (1, max)
This skill is pretty damn strong. You’re in super armor throughout the skill and you have a zooming aura that pulls enemies in. Top it off with shadow clone and the hitstun will prevent most things from getting a chance to hit you. It does some really good damage at max but you can leave it at 1 for its useful utility of pulling enemies.



Dry out (2)
There will be a small icon on the corner of your screen. When the bar fills up, you will be able to cancel one skill into another (ducking dash and sway, hurricane and roll, and awakening doesn’t work with this) with the second skill doing 10% more damage and costing less mp (level 2 makes it 15% and it doesn’t go any higher). The mp reduction does and the cooldown is decreased per level. You don’t really need this skill higher than 2 but it is a decent sp sink if things come to that point.

Big Bang Punch (0, 1, max)
This is an all or nothing skill. You essentially do four strong punches You also need good timing because if you press x or the skill right before each punch lands, it does more damage. Personally, I don’t see this skill being useful if left at one because it feels more like a waste of sp than anything if it’s not maxed. It can ignore statuses but the pre-reqs feel like an sp sink if you’re using it solely for that reason


Megaton Jab (0,1,max)
This skill is decent. The punches don’t suction and it’s hitstun per punch isn’t that great but the damage is decent. The last hit makes an enemy go red and then explodes in one second which can hit other mobs. A good way to get a ton of damage from the explosion is to use this skill in a group of mobs and then machinegun jab them right after wards so they’ll still be together and then the exploding damage will do a massive amount in total.

Violent Combination (max)
This skill starts off like heavenly combination, but there two straights and then a final straight punch that does 5 hits. This skill does a lot of total damage and has a decent hitbox which is important because this skill cant push super armored mobs and you’ll go right through them. The damage makes up for it and more often than not you’ll be able to get all the hits in

General Skills
too lazy to post the ones that don't even matter so i'll post the two that actually do

Quick rebound (max) - every class needs this. lets you become invulnerable for a small period of time once you fall down and immediately press and hold the jump button

Physical Critical Hit ( 0, max) - increases your physical critical hit by 10% at max. provides an average of 5% more overall damage and its generally not a bad skill to have. if you lack the points though it wouldn't hurt much to leave this at 0


General Priest Skills

Slow Heal (0, max + ex) - Selects 1 Party Member within the skill's range and restores his HP at a very slow speed. its a decent way to heal but in turn you sacrifice damage so its all up to how good of an investment you think it is since you can essentially save pots maxing this skill. the ex is pretty much needed to make the most of it though

Strike (max) - Increases the Physical Attack Strength, Strength, and Hit Rate of a selected ally the higher the caster's Vitality, the bigger the Physical Attack Strength Boost. this skill is really good the higher vitality you have. having over 700 vitality can increase your phys atk by around 300 which is pretty damn impressive

Cure (0, Max) - Cancels negative abnormal status effects cast on Party Member's within the skill's range. i highly recommend this skill for endgame, especially outers. it provides such a useful utility that cannot be ignored

Giant Weapon Launcher (0) - Uses a Giant Weapon to launch an enemy high into the air. Creates a Super Armor decision upon the skill's activation. Cannot be used while the Will Driver is in effect. completely pointless skill once you become a monk

Phoenix Hammer (0) - The priest performs a high jump then comes crashing down with his giant weapon, creating a shockwave that inflicts damage and knocks down surrounding enemies. this is also just about pointless when u become a monk

Rising Emblem (1) - Draws a pentagram before the Priest, launching all enemies within it into the air. it has no utility besides being light damage which is really important because this is the only means of inflicting a second element, which is needed for fighting Delezie

Furious Grab (0, max) - Summons a demonic hand that inflicts damage on enemies that collide into it. The demonic hand strikes enemies when stretching out and grabbing them. Enemies are immobilized upon being grabbed at a set rate. thanks to conversion, this skill could have some viable use but since it uses a cast bar and its fixed damage, its really preference and nothing more

painful rapture (0) - uses hp to gain mp. dont use it because you dont need it

General Ex Passives

slow heal upgrade - increases heal rate while also giving you an vit and spirit boost. if you maxed slow heal, you pretty much need this

cure upgrade - chance to resist status for a duration when using cure but i hardly find this to be useful in any case

lucky straight punch upgrade - increases damage

Phoenix Hammer upgrade - increases damage and lets you move along the y-axis. useless for monks

rising emblem upgrade - increases damage and launch strength. pretty much useless

furious grab upgrade - increases damage and has a vacuum effect

giant weapon launcher upgrade - increases damage. once again useless for monks

smasher upgrade - adds more hits, reduces damage, and increases the manual throw bonus. i wouldn't bother with this skill

second uppercut upgrade - increases damage. again, nothing special

Monk Ex Passives


due to so many passives and so little TP, almost all passive choices are preference but i will note the ones that are must max and what are to be completely ignored

Will Driver ex - increases the px and and stat bonuses by 12% each level. this passive has to be maxed no questions asked.

Exquisite Combo ex - increases damage and attack speed

Ducking Straight Punch ex - increases damage. do note that the damage increase is only 6% so it's barely worth the TP

Ducking Body blow ex - increases the damage and stun duration

Twister ex - increases the chance of summoning two twisters. this passive must be maxed if you plan on maxing twister

Ducking upper cut ex - increases damage. useless

Machine-gun jab ex - increases the amount of hits and damage of the extra hits

Divine Crusher Ex - increases damage. Increases damage against downed enemies. why does this crap even exist

Sacred Counter ex - increases damage and increases damage reduction. i dont see the point in this ex skill

Chopping hammer ex - Increases Damage

Sidewind Ex - increases damage. increases x-axis range. no point in this passive so ignore it

Heavenly Combination ex - increases damage

Hurricane and Roll ex - increases damage, range, and suction speed

Quest Points

only listing the ones that are recommended

Strength - max this. i dont think i need to tell you why

Vitality - you can either max this out or use it as a QP dump. it helps alot with your defense, max hp, hp regen, and strike and slow heal



Physical Critical Hit - another must max


Hit Rate - with maxed will driver + ex, strike, and some cheap hit rate emblems, you dont really need this skill to reach 20% hit rate. 

Evasion - this is alot more helpful to us than to most classes. i personally would max it but if you think it cost too much QP to max you could possibly consider it as a QP dump

HP regen - its actually not bad and its pretty cheap and works well in despair but its not for everyone

MP regen - considering the amount of mp regen u gain and how cheap it cost there is no reason not to get this

- Elemental Attack - 5% increase in non piercing damage. its definitely worth the investment




Skill Builds

my current build
Monk - Planner

Twister Build
Monk - Planner

Awakening Build
Monk - Planner heavenly can be changed with twister, though some slight adjustments will need to be made

Awakening Build with Twister
Monk - Planner

Despair Build (will gladly take input on certain skill choices to make this as optimal as it can be)
Monk - Planner

EndGame

Armor

http://www.dfosource.com/forum/1735606-post6.html 
for chron and ava choices

Black Plague Armor - not a bad choice as it gives an immense strength boost as well as some decent effects. in dday, a new effect that lowers enemies' elemental resistances gets added and the 5 set effect proc gets buffed to 85 to all stats so thats something to consider for the future

Weapons
since we are a percent class, keep in mind that most weapons are only considered endgame if they are 65+. anything 60 and below must be a unique/epic with a really good effect and at the least +12 to be considered endgame worthy. because of that, i wont go over anything lower than 65

Totems

The Great General - lv 65. increases your strength by 80 and physical critical hit rate by 15% when attacking. also adds 20 durability if you consider that a selling point. very basic unique with a decent effect

Totem of liberty - lv 65. attack with a 2% chance of inflicting the same damage one more time. 10% more damage against undead enemies and attack with a 2% chance of decreasing the shadow resistance of an enemy by 9. this totem is geared towards shadow damage, but it doesn't even inflict it. the proc it is isn't absolutely amazing by any means either but it is a pretty good totem for ghost train and thats pretty much the only place it will ever be useful in

Shadow Totem - lv 65. inflicts fire damage. cast shadow clone to increase your phys att by 20% for 24 seconds while decreasing your movement speed by 7%. shadow clone duration + 4 seconds. now this is a totem that is definitely worthy for endgame. though the phys att increase doesn't affect piercing, it comes with an elemental affinity and increases the duration of a great buff

Chronicle totem - lv 65,70 (soon only 70) i would get one for future use for when chron weapons will have higher stats than 65 pinks. dont reinforce it until that day as well

Magic sealed Pilier in order to consider a magic sealed totem endgame worthy, it must be lv 70 and come equipped with either:
Smash
Deathblow
Armor breaker (keep in mind that armor breaker at lv 70 will become useless in a year, so dont waste too much in rolling this ability for now.)
addtional damage against demons (as a secondary effect, the primary being any of the ones mentioned)
Fire,water,Shadow,Light (as a primary or secondary effect)
as well as being +12

Axes

Basis Master lv 65. the effects dont do a damn thing for monks and this is only worthy because of its high base phys attack

Spirited Axe of Lion Lv65. enemy blowing chance +30 as well as attack with a 3% chance to cast lion's axe spark. not a bad axe and is a much better choice than a basis master

Fire Edged Axe Lv 65. this axe is only endgame worthy solely for the fact that it has an elemental affinity on it.

Lumberjack's grey axe Lv 65. attack with a 8 percent chance to increase your phys att and phys critical rate by 30% for 20 seconds. like the shadow totem, the physical attack increase is not affected by piercing but this axe is by far one of the best in the business

Chronicle axe - lv 65,70 (soon only 70) i would get one for future use for when chron weapons will have higher stats than 65 pinks. dont reinforce it until that day as well. though there a quite a problem in wanting a chron axe, you can only get it for the phys attack and nothing else so in this special case i wouldn't even recommend it

Magic Sealed Great Crescent Lv 70. in order to consider a magic sealed Axe endgame worthy, it must be lv 70 and come equipped with either:
Smash
Deathblow
Armor breaker (keep in mind that armor breaker at lv 70 will become useless in a year, so dont waste too much in rolling this ability for now.)
addtional damage against demons (as a secondary effect, the primary being any of the ones mentioned)
Fire,water,Shadow,Light (as a primary or secondary effect)
as well as being +11

Accessories/ Auxiliaries

Bracelets

Heartneck Mask Lv 58. attack with a 15% chance to decrease enemy resistance by 6 for 10 seconds. not bad if you're stacking an element

Yellow Dragon Motif Bracelet Lv70. obtained from Mutu. +7% more damage added to human enemies. really good bracelet since most endgame mobs are human

Charmant Armlet lv 55. gives a 24 Strength aura. not bad considering the limited bracelet choices

or any chronicle bracelet of your choice

Rings

Halgi's Bone Ring Lv 40. inflict 50% more damage with physical counterattacks. its a burst class ring but monks can make it useful

Krazy Ivan's explosives Lv58. fire damage + 18 at max iirc. best fire damage ring

burning wave ring Lv.60. fire damage +12 i believe at max. if you cant afford to get a ivan ring or fire spirit ring, might as well get this

Locky's Bone ringlv 65. like halgi, except 30% counterattack damage

black ring: stun Lv 68. i personally dont find this to be all that great since we dont stun as often to make the best use of this ring, but in the future this will be a great ring when stacked with a fbrawler's junk spin assist since it will always stun (108 second cooldown in ancients and outers so its your choice if the investment is worth it)

spirit rings Lv 50. elemental damage +16 at max with a 20% chance to summon a tier one summon when hit. decent ring and the summon is pretty useful but can also be a pain in the ass in some places

Kuro Ring Lv65. like halgi, except 40% counterattack damage. you're better off farming for this ring instead of wasting it on a halgi/locky

banishing finger Lv 55. inflicts 30% more damage to demons. amazing ring for resh and black earth

Necklaces

pel los glory lv 55. attack with a 5 percent chance to increase your str by 11% for 20 seconds. you can proc this twice and have the buff stack for 10 seconds but in dday it gets nerfed so that its a 11% increase in str for 30 seconds so make a wise choice if u want this

Necklace of deadly screams Lv 58. physical, magical damage + 8%. doesn't affect your x string, only skills. its also affected by piercing so thats decent and it doesn't cost much to farm for this necklace

soul chaser Lv 55 boost attack strength by 20% for 60 seconds per spirit crystal used. not affected by piercing but its still considered the best necklace in the game

Sub equip

Blue dragon cape Lv 70. when equipped, gives camoflague and 15% increased critical rate and 10% critical damage increase for 15 seconds with a 30 second cooldown. pretty decent sub equip

Moien's slaughter gloves Lv 60. gives around 60 phys attack. really decent glove to have

Tedia Massacre Lv 65. gives around 70 phys attack. even better glove to have

Saint's Aura Lv60 - gives well over 100 phys attack. best attack glove in the game for now

Magic Stone

harmony stone of destruction Lv 65 attack with a 5% chance to increase your strength by 100 while decreasing your int by 100 for 20 seconds. not bad if you cant afford an elemental tear

evil spirited flame stone Lv 65. 10-12 fire damage max as well as inflict 10% more damage to demons. really decent stone and is actually better than a selist tear with a highly upgraded weapon. of course, that only applies to when your fighting demons

Any unique elemental stone Lv 65. 30 elemental damage max which is a 15% increase to non-piercing damage. cant ignore that unless you have...

any epic elemental magic stone Lv 65 45 elemental damage max which is a 22.5% increase in non-piercing damage. the best of the best magic stone for single elemental stacking that we have currently