How did i missed this gem for so long? Anyway, monk does need more work than a simple fix so i’ll just do as the others and point out an interesting rework direction.
Monk does lack an identity and having it to be the combo class in Cleric can work perfectly if done to be inclusive on the gameplay and use more combination options as well. Personally i think Monk could make use of something as simple as operating with different animation speed.
Hand Knife/Iron Skin/Golden Bell Shield/God Finger Flick - Removed. Those skills have quite some potential on their own but won’t fit as well in a more combo oriented playstyle. Hand Knife in particular could work but may disrupt the visual flow which can impact how satisfying the class can be to play as.
Double Punch - 1 lvl - Adds an additional attack line with 100% PAtk factor. If the first attack deals critical damage so will be the second hit, else it will have critical rate calculated again. Could be given as a free skill as many other 1 point skills should.
Palm Strike - 15 lvl - Applies a debuff that has all strike damage to ignore a % of PDef. The next monk skill used within 3s after Palm Strike will have the animation shorted to factor attack speed and additional critical rate.
"Hidden Fist" - 15 lvl - Strikes while blocking incoming damage. Block chance is increased and applied during the skill animation regardless of weapon setup. Cannot be knocked back and knocked down during the animation.
"Punish" - 15 lvl - Long attack streak (7~8 hits) that uses two handed blunt in conjunction with punches to deal damage, when used after Palm Strike or “Tri-Fang Strike” it will have the animation speed to be hasted/slowed further by each additional hit.
"Tri-Fang Strike" - 10 lvl - Hits 3 times swiftly. The next monk skill used within 3s after “Tri-Fang Strike” will have animation time doubled and have extra efficiency on both damage and effect (+50~100%).
Energy Blast - 10 lvl - Channeling time shortened and fixed at 4s, deals additional damage based on user SPR. Isn’t affected by Palm Strike and “Tri-Fang” Strike post use effects.
One Inch Punch - 5 lvl - Apply strike damage debuff as well. Could receive an attribute to apply a fastening regeneration buff to allies with additional healing based on PAtk.
The main dynamic with this kind of setup is to play with strategy, luck and rotations, two speed control effects can be enough to provide the combo aspect in a simple way without the need of a huge array of special conditions to be triggered in order to use additional effects. Speeding up the animation in itself is a huge benefit for a fast paced gameplay and having a small bonus in critical rate is the extra incentive needed, in addition it makes Double Punch more effective as the skill downtime also increases. On the other side increasing skill execution time can be riskier as it puts the user on a commitment position that can be wasted completely if the user gets controlled or if the enemy walks away of it, additional damage is a fitting reward for this gamble specially when it can use SP more efficiently.
I’m skeptical of IMC pulling out a rework that will be as simple as this but i don’t mind as long as they nail the class feel and give it a proper identity.
