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Where did the monks go?
Draco91
Member Posts: 134
Has anyone else noticed that the monk / friar / martial arts type class has become less and less common in the last few years? It was in EQ... DAoC... Horizons: Empire of Istaria, FFXI... EQII... but about the time of WoW, excepting EQII and Vangaurd, it seems to have seen a steep decline in newer P2P MMOs... I miss it ; ; I love monks (except for Guild Wars monks. Those aren't monks. Those are priests. I hate you ArenaNet.) Anyone else want to see them come back? Or have any ideas why they may have disappeared? Looks like there will be a monk-esque class in FFXIV (the Pugilist), which is great news, but it's sad that it's so rare anymore ; ; WAR didn't have it. Aion doesn't have it. TR was just the wrong setting for it, as are the other Sci-Fi MMOs that are coming into play. I'm not sure if there is one in AoC, but I don't think so... WoW doesn't have it... WHERE ARE MY MONKS?
Also, I think it would be nice to see throws or grappling arts incorporated into the monk class in a future rendition of it. Monks in the games I've mentioned seem to focus mainly on punching with a few kicks thrown in. I also like the idea of the monk as an avoidance tank the way EQII did it.
So, I guess what I want to discuss in this thread is...
1.) Do you like / miss the monk / friar / martial arts class?
2.) Do you have any guesses as to where / why it might have gone?
3.) Any ideas about how the monk class could be implented / rendered differently in future games?
Edit: As a side-note / afterthought, the bard class seems to have gone the way of the monk. The games that I listed that have / had monks, with the exception of Guild Wars and Horizons, also had bards, and yet the bard seems to be just as rare or more so than the monk now. I liked bards / similar support-focused classes too ; ; my favorite classes are disappearing...
"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional or disciplinary response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2]" (Wikipedia.org, 8-24-09)
The best way to deal with trolls:
http://www.angelfire.com/space/usenet/ [IGNORE THEM, THEY JUST WANT ATTENTION!]
Comments
imma gravedig this, brah.
First: Yes. I miss monks.
Now that that's out of the way... None of the upcoming AAA titles that everyone's excited about have announced a Monk class! Count 'em, ZERO.
Is our archetype dead for good? A call-out to other Monk players: If you can read this, please spread the word. Whine in the forums for various different games, and beg for monks!
(Actually, I'm hoping that GW2 will have traditional monks in it, since it apparently won't have any healers.)
Blade & Soul
Has a martial arts class in it, but thats all I can think off atm. FF XIV isnt for me but it has a pugilist class.
Of course they're all gone.
Do they have huge badass weapons with skulls and glowing crap all over them? No they don't. They got no weapons or wooden sticks or things.
Do they throw huge fireballs burning things to ashes, summon mighty demons or do other impressive stuff? No they don't.
Do they have impressive armor with spikes and glowing effects and all kinds of stuff? No, they run around in linen robes.
People want to be impressive heroes and not dudes looking like beggars.
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
Sad, but true. Still, there's just something so satisfying about twirling in the air and kicking your enemies in the face; there's a reason monks don't wear armor or wield huge swords. I know that YOU understand that, but you're not every MMO player. Perhaps the target audience of modern MMOs is simply interested in having the biggest sword possible...
@heimer: The problem with "pugilist"-style classes is that they're primarily fist fighters; hell, they even strap weapons to their fists. As a Monk, your entire body is a weapon. The Kung Fu Master class in Blade and Soul does look similar to the monk archetype, but Blade and Soul is a long ways off. Especially for an American release-- Expect 2012.
In EQ, one of my characters was a monk. Almost everyone that encountered him, loved him. Why? Because I roleplayed him. He felt that most of the time, the majority of words didn't need to be spoken, and so very rarely spoke. He let his actions speak for him. For example. /em places his hand gently on Gereth's shoulder to get his attention and points in the direction of the hoard of imps atop the oposite ridge.
I can't tell you how many young players I turned into roleplayers because of how I played my monk. But that is the only reason I would want to to see the monk class be incorporated more often into MMORPGs. Just throwing punches and kicks doesn't really get my blood flowing. Now, if there was more to it, like combinations, maybe some weaponry (staves, bolas, etc..) then I would play for the action sake of the class.
As to whoever said something about going to game forums and whining and begging to get the monk class added to said game, well that doesn't sound very monk like at all. How about thinking very carefully about how you are going to convince the devs to add monks in the game and then present your argument like a real monk would. With well though out calculation, precision, and in an itelligent manner that leaves no room for doubt?
A tiny mind is a tidy mind...
But they could have glowing fists of elemental fury and fly through the air and kick you in the soul.
Upcoming badass monk:
http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/monk.xml
Hahahahahahaha. You're killing me man.
A tiny mind is a tidy mind...
They're in DDO.
Honestly ? Meh. I dont miss them.
But they vanished from DnD4 too.
DnD4 PHB has Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, Warlord, Wizard.
DnD4 PHB2 has Avenger, Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Invoker, Shaman, Sorcerer, Warden.
All DnD3.x classes are back again ... except the Monk.
I heard theres a DnD4 PHB3 as well, though... no idea if it has them.
I think the main reason is best described by describing how Monks where implemented in Vaguard: Saga of Heroes. There where:
Drunken Monk - Tankish Monk
Dragon Monk - Damage Dealer Monk
Harmonious Monk - Debuffer Monk
Disciple - Healer Monk
And that about explains the problem. What the heck IS a Monk, anyway ? A guy not wearing armor and not using weapons ? Meh. Gimme a break. Thats not a useful concept ! Many MMOs are about getting better gear, and so are many singleplayer game.
Thats why, in Vanguard, they just implemented every option they could think of. They left out the DnD idea of a monk, though: the magekiller class.
Who says they don't have to wear armor? I've never seen a game with naked monks...
DDO added the Monk class a couple of years ago and its one of the coolest classes I have seen in MMOs.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd