A ROUND-UP OF MMOs that With Monk Class

Monking Around – A Look at the Monk in Popular MMOs
This week, we are looking at the different Monk classes in various MMOs. While most of the modern RPG games are shaped into more of a fantasy world, quite a few Eastern MMORPGs have introduced Wu-Xia to the MMO world, which borrows elements of Chinese Martial arts and brings a fresh new trend of super heroism to the gaming world. It’s not difficult to notice that more and more western MMOs also begin to include the Monk in their class list. We’ve chosen a few MMOs that feature a Monk class, and we’ll see what they offer!

Diablo III - Monk
Speaking of Monks in MMOs, the first one that pops up in my mind is from Diablo III. Some said its design doesn’t actually fit Diablo’s style, but I quite like the barbarian style of the Monk. Being way tough is always good! In Diablo III, many of the monk’s influences are from more traditional light and fast melee. He is indeed a holy warrior. His holy magic flows through each of his skills, combining martial arts with divine justice. It’s a class that prefers speed over toughness, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of handling the hordes of enemies that he’ll be fighting on his own! The skills and use of the combo system makes the Monk a character that will be a bit more challenging to play than the other heroes in the game, but when used correctly can unleash truly devastating damage upon the demonic hordes you will face.

Conquer Online
The Monk Class was recently introduced to this classic 2.5D F2P MMO. Compared with other Monk classes in the other MMOs, the Monk class concept art in Conquer could be the closest to the traditional Chinese Shaolin monks and its skills were designed from the real-life martial arts they practice. I think this is because the game’s developer is from China. In Conquer, the Monk is a good combination of strong close–hand combat and magical support. They are the masters of “Chi”, and are different than any other class in the fact that they fight almost barehanded. Clothed in the traditional frock and monk’s cap, prayer beads are their only physical weapon. The abilities that a monk possesses are similar to magic, in the way that they cost a set amount of energy, to use. The Monk’s skills include strikes that cause elemental damage, blessings to cure an ally’s afflictions, and the ability to prevent others from raising fallen soldiers. The Monk fulfills a different role in a party than the other professions, generally being based around healing and enhancing your party’s abilities in combat, as well as removing negative status and hexes.

Dungeons & Dragons Online
The monk in Dungeons & Dragons Online is typically portrayed as a master of the martial arts. They use an energy called “ki” to perform amazing techniques in battle. Usually fighting without weapons or armor, they can assist allies or combat enemies, but it often takes longer to master the skills than the other melee classes. Monks gain increased speed, a higher number of attacks per round, high saving throws against special attacks, and immunities unique to the class as their experience grows. Monks become increasingly difficult to hit, due to their dexterity and armor class bonuses. Monks can gain high spell resistances, making them dangerous to mages, but in some circumstances they can be overwhelmed when attacked by many enemies at once.

Guild Wars
In Guild Wars, Monks are spell casters, and so avoid engaging in physical combat. They have some direct-damage capabilities in the Smiting Prayers attribute, but the majority of monk skills are focused on keeping your team alive and healthy so that they can continue fighting. While other classes have some defensive capabilities, it usually falls to a Monk to keep everyone alive and well. There are three general types of Monks: Healing, Protecting, and Smiting. Healing monks are used primarily to restore lost hit points to oneself or your allies. Protection Monks are similar to healing monks, but they specialize in preventing damage, as opposed to restoring it. Smiting Monks are offensive based, and can deal Holy damage to their foes. Undead-type creatures take extra damage from them, as well.

Ever Quest
In the game EverQuest, the Monk class is supposed to be the best fighting class in the game, in terms of dealing out damage over time. In addition, Monks are able to resist fire better than other classes. Because they can't wear heavy armor (weight is very crucial to a monk), he takes more damage from hits, but the Monk's natural quickness allows them to avoid more hits than other fighters, and to hit the enemy more often. A Monk's weapons are his fists, as well as the magical attacks he gains as he advances in level. Monks dish out some incredible damage, since they get dual wield and double attack very early, resulting in many attacks per round. No other tank class can match them at this. They also get some useful skills, such as feign death, which is a great skill for avoiding death and pulling. This is not a great solo class, but it can be soloed with a lot of patience and above average equipment. Only Humans, Drakkin and Iksar can play as a Monk.