Final Fantasy XI
Monk Guide v 0.8
Last Updated: 03/17/04
Copyright (c) 2004 Andrew Bertino (neonoven)
abertino@nc.rr.com
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Table of Contents |
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I. Copyright Information
II. Version History
III. Introduction
IV. Creating a Monk
V. Being a Monk
VI. Job Abilities & Job Traits
VII. Available Equipment (Incomplete)
VIII. Weapon Skills & Skillchains
IX. Main Job & Support Job (Incomplete)
X. Acknowledgements and Credits
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I. Copyright Information |
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I know most people don't read these, but it needs to be done. I hate having
to write this just as much as you do having to read this. I wish this wasn't
needed, but we have people out there today who would just steal anything just
to call it their own. Anyway, enough said about that, on with the legal stuff.
This document is under copyright (c) 2004 Andrew Bertino. This FAQ is for
private and personal use only and in no way should be reproduced. You have
permission to download and print this document, but for non-commercial use only.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Final Fantasy and
Vana'diel are registered trademarks of Square-Enix Co., Ltd.
This FAQ is only to be posted on the following sites:
If you wish to post this FAQ on your website please contact me via e-mail at
abertino@nc.rr.com
Ok, it was short and I'm sure I missed something there and I'll probably be
sued, but hey who isn't getting sued these days? Now on to the FAQ!
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II. Version History |
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Version 0.1
01/06/04
I began starting the FAQ and I setup the table of contents. I also finished the
copyright information, introduction and I began this version history section.
Version 0.2
01/07/04
I have finished the Creating a Monk section and have begun working on the Being
a Monk section and I should have the up and running shortly.
Version 0.4
01/08/04
I have finished the Being a Monk section and have started working on some of
the other sections. This shouldn't take me too much longer to do and you should
see more information soon.
Version 0.6
01/09/04
I have finished the Job Ability & Job Traits section and have started working
on the bigger part of this FAQ known as the Available Equipment section.
Version 0.7
01/13/04
I decided to skip the Available Equipment section for now and work on the Weapon
Skill and Skillchains section. The weapon skills part is completed, but the
the skillchains will take more time as it is a very confusing process. I will
probably finish Main and Support Job before Equipment as well. I also fixed a
few things up and added some new things sent to me by email.
Version 0.8
03/17/04
I haven't updated in quite a while as I have been busy and have been continually
looking for a new job. I have added some new tips and corrected some errors. I
have also decided to skip finishing the skillchain section for now that way I can
give myself more time to get it right. So, I decided to move on to the Equipment
List. I have started the weapons for now and I will have the whole Equipment List
completed by the next update.
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III. Introduction |
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I was kind of bored one evening and I was somewhat disinterested in my other two
characters, so I decided to create a third character for myself. With my previous
characters in Bastok and Windurst, I decided I would have one character in each
beginning city. So, I chose San d'Oria as my initial city for this new character.
Since San d'Oria is home to the Elvaans I decided I would follow my pattern of
using the home race of the initial city and I created an Elvaan. Now my Elvaan
needed a job. Which one was I to choose? I've already played as a Warrior,
Red Mage, Thief, and I have tested all the other jobs numerous times. I had
previously tested the Monk job and both mages, but I never really got in depth.
So, it was a decision between those three jobs. I thought for a moment and I
decided that since I have been a Red Mage before I have hypothetically used
both White and Black Mage jobs to a certain extent, so I chose Monk as the job
for my new Elvaan Lavien. So, I was content with my decision as a Monk and I was
eager to find more information about Monks. So, I browsed several websites and
found some information about Monks, but to my curiosity there was no dedicated
FAQ on the job of Monk. So, that is the humble beginnings of this FAQ. Let's
just say I'm filling in the void of missing character guides. I saw it unjust
to leave the Monk job out the loop. I mean there were guides all over the place
for being a Thief or Red Mage, so I felt the Monk job deserved a little attention
too. Anyway, now that I'm done preaching on the importance of job equality
let’s move on to the actual useful part of this FAQ!
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IV. Creating a Monk |
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So, you have decided to create a character that will be using the Monk job. What
is a Monk you ask? Monk is a job that Final Fantasy has been using since its
origins. Since the beginning, this job has never altered and has always been the
same. Monks are brutal fighters who use their fists to punish their enemies. They
have extremely high HP compared to all other jobs and are superior in Strength
and Vitality. They are quite useful in parties as they can deal major damage,
especially while in lower-leveled parties. Monks wear light armor instead of
heavy armor and they commonly equip claws or knuckles. You can leave your Monk
with bare-fists, but it's highly recommended that you use claws or knuckles.
Now since you know a little bit about Monks you can read on and determine how
to create your Monk.
Before you rush through the character creation section and just choose any race
you should understand what races work best with being a Monk. As I'm sure your
probably aware of, there are 5 different races in Final Fantasy XI. The races are
as follows: Humes, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, and Galka. So, five different races
to choose from, but which race best fits with the job of a Monk? There are a
few factors in determining which race is the best to choose. First off there are
certain races that indeed are better at being Monks, but in no way should you
feel obligated to follow the best race. If you want a 2 foot Tarutaru to punch
the crap out of stuff, feel free to do so. Really when it comes to character
creation it all really depends on what you want. You can make your character
whatever you wish, just remember the sole purpose of the game is to have fun.
Now, if you want to be as knowledgeable as possible when choosing your race for
your Monk then you have come to the right place.
Strength and Dexterity are important stats to keep up with when playing as a Monk.
With good Strength, you can hit hard. With decent Dexterity, you can continually
pound on your opponent with effective quickness. The more Dexterity you have
the faster your fists of fury will be. With these two stats high you will be a
very decent asset to any party. Agility and Vitality are also quite useful to
have, but they are more important when soloing. In a party these stats aren't as
important as you will most likely have the luxury of being healed from a White
Mage and you will be protected by Warriors who will keep the monsters at bay.
Since Monks can never learn Magic, Intelligence and Mind are not really important.
Some races also have higher HP when chosen as a Monk.
So, with all these factors which race is indeed the best to choose when becoming a
Monk? When it comes down to it the Galkan race is number one in being Monks. They
have more HP as a Monk then any other race and they also have an edge in Strength
and Vitality. Galkans also have great Dexterity. Elvaans are a close second though.
They have higher Strength and Vitality, but have slightly less HP then the Galkans
do. Elvaans also have less Dexterity then the Galkans do therefore both Galkans and
Elvaans would make great Monks as they are equally gifted. Mithra and Humes are also
quite alike. Mithras are mostly balanced, but have a higher hit rate as a Monk then
any other race. Humes are totally balanced and have a nice mixture of attack and
defense. Finally, if you are bold and want a decent challenge then choosing a
Tarutaru as a Monk is for you. Tarutaru are quick, but lack attack and defense.
They also have the lowest HP of any race. So, when choosing a race for a Monk they
would go in this order: Galka, Elvaan, Mithra, Hume, and finally Tarutaru. Like I
said before though, just because Galkans make the best Monks, doesn't mean you have
to go out and create a Galkan Monk right away. Choose a race that best fits your
interests. If you interested in a challenge then choose a Tarutaru Monk. If you
want a slight challenge, but want it still to be easy then you should choose
maybe an Elvaan or Mithra. The decision is entirely up to you.
If you are into numbers then you can use the following table to determine which
race you think is the best to use.
If you would like to determine the attributes for another job, race or level you can
use this handy calculator by DJ Loki and 348. You can view this calculator at the
following address:
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~nhart/charstat1.html
The table below compares the growth of a Monks attributes to that of other jobs.
For example, Monks have the highest HP, so they will also have the highest HP
growth when leveling. The scales is from 0 - 5, where 0 being none and 5 being
the greatest growth. You can also use the key below to see how a Monk's
attributes compare to other jobs.
0 - None
1 - Bad
2 - Fair
3 - Average
4 - Good
5 - Great
If any information above is inaccurate feel free to notify me via email at
abertino@nc.rr.com
That is all you really need to know about it when it comes to creating a Monk.
Now that you know what races suit better for a Monk you can choose what race you
would like and you can begin playing as a Monk. If you would like to know more
about playing as a Monk continue on to the next section below.
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V. Being a Monk |
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Now that you have your race chosen and you Monk created I'm assuming you have
many questions about playing as a Monk. Being a Monk is actually fairly easy
to handle. You have no magic to really confuse things. You pretty much go around
smacking all monsters that oppose you. It is indeed a truly fun job as it is not
to difficult. If you are playing for the first time I would actually recommend
playing as a Monk because it is easier then the other jobs. This is of course my
opinion, so feel free to begin with what ever job you wish. You might also find
other jobs easier, it just depends on what you like sometimes. If you are more
interested in magic then being a White Mage might be easier to you then being
a punishing Monk.
If you do like crushing things with your fists then welcome to being a Monk. Monks
are also interesting as they commonly used hand-to-hand weapons such as their bare
fists, claws and knuckles. What makes any hand-to-hand weapon interesting is that
they literally attack twice. So, each individual attack maybe less then some other
jobs attacks, but combined they are definitely superior over most jobs. Monks for
some odd reason can also use staves, why I'm not entirely sure. I would stick with
claws or knuckles. I know in previous Final Fantasies when you use to equip things
on a Monk it would actually be worse off. In this case it is probably better that
you have either a pair of claws or knuckles equipped. The claws or knuckles usually
come with damage and accuracy bonuses, which you wouldn't get with just using your
bare hands. Using claws and knuckles are slower and they do have a longer
delay then your bare fists do. If you are using a race with lower Dexterity you
might want to use Cestis. Cestis add some accuracy, which would help balance out a
character with lower Dexterity (Thanks to Mike Schumacher for this small tip.) So,
you can try equipping different types of claws and knuckles to see what you prefer.
In the beginning of the game though you probably won't have enough money to afford a
pair of claws or knuckles right away, so you might have to test out your bare fists
first. Eventually as you gain levels though the delay with claws or knuckles
decreases, which really eliminates any need for bare fists. With every level you
obtain the faster your strikes will be.
For armor, Monks like to wear light armored clothing like kimonos and things
of that nature. The kimonos have less defense then heavy armors, but have more
defense then mage robes, so the Monks defense is in between. When choosing
armor it might be better sometimes to loose a few defense points to obtain
a piece of gear that increases your Strength, Vitality or Dexterity. Sometimes
those attribute increases mean more to you then a few defense points. Most armor
is not too expensive, but can be a bit costly. Since you aren't buying any magic
or heavy swords it all balances it self out. At times Monks can vary in armor
equipment. You will bouncing back from kimonos to light armor many of times
and each has bonuses and certain pros and cons. If you can afford it, you
might want to experiment with different combinations of armors to see what
best fits you. Remember that anything that increases, Strength, Vitality and
Dexterity are must haves.
When it comes to soloing, Monks are the best basic job to do it with. Going
solo with a Monk is easier then with any other basic job. They have the highest
HP and can quickly rack up experience by pummeling easier monsters. Sometimes
they can even tear up Even matched monsters. With the right claws or knuckles
you can easily solo with a Monk till your levels are in the lower to mid teens.
That is why it is recommended you use claws or knuckles rather then your bare
fists. Don't go and get all excited though and go around killing all monsters
at will. You still have to be Cautious and make sure you know what monsters
aggro and link. Like any other job check each monster before fighting it. If the
monster has low defense and evasion then you can plow through it like a lawn
mower. If there are a lot of monsters in the area that have low defense and
evasion you might want to pound on them. They may not give you as much
experience as more difficult monsters would, but since there are so many in the
area you can remove them quicker and possibly get more experience. Good monsters
to attack quickly like that are rabbits, worms, or bees. You can easily take out
Goblins, Orcs, or Quadavs, but sometimes it might take you longer to defeat them
as they have higher defense. It is really all up to you though. Fight around and
see for yourself what is best to fight. Maybe gain up your TP on small easier
monsters then unleash you wrath on bigger monsters. Monks do have weaknesses as
do all jobs. When choosing to fight certain monsters while soloing, be extremely
careful of what status ailments the monster might be able to cast. Some monsters
can cast Vitality or Attack down which really hinders your Monks capabilities.
Also be aware for any poison using monsters as I have died first hand many
of times from poison. Some poisons just seem to really wipe out Monks quickly.
I had a poison on me one time that took away 5 HP per effect and it never
went away. I died rather quickly and knew never to fight that monster again till
I was a higher level. Like I said, you can sometimes defeat Even matched monsters
with decent ease, but if that monster can cast any bad status ailments it's
Even match rating is more like a tough rating when you are a Monk. So, those are
some important factors to know also when choosing your monsters.
Monks can usually find parties without any real problems. Monks are great melee
attackers, which are great for groups who can't seem to find another Warrior. If
you are in a group that has two Warriors present you can really tear the monsters
apart while the Warriors use Provoke and take all the damage. Warriors have
Provoke and a higher defense so they are better suited for tanking. Monks can be
used to tank, but it’s not usually recommended as they do not have as high a
defense rating as Warriors do. You can tank if you need to though since you have
higher HP then anyone else. So, this really makes partying easier as you
really don't have to think that much. You don't have to worry about pulling
monsters and being in danger of grabbing linked monsters. You just wait patiently
till the monster comes and then you just pound it to death. Eventually when you
get a support job you might get other abilities to use, which could be very
useful when in parties.
Monks are really great in many ways especially at earlier levels. At higher levels
though being a Monk can be a bit difficult. At higher levels you might think
since you have high HP and great vitality that you can romp on any monster this
side of Jeuno, but that's not always the case. Also at higher levels it might
be harder to find parties since higher-level parties begin to have higher level
jobs such as Ranger, Dark Knight, and Paladins, which are more useful to parties
then a Monk. Monks can get boring as well when you start getting into higher
levels as you are always doing the same thing. No matter at what level, you are
always pounding away at monsters and that’s about all you ever do. You never get
neat magic to try or super special skills to try, you just fight with your
fists. If you are interested in special things like that then maybe you should
stay away from being a Monk or switch to a different job for a while. Don't
always just fight either. Stop at times and craft and sell things at your bazaar.
You can also do missions and quests to keep yourself of interest. If you are
fighting constantly I guarantee you will get sick of Monk rather quickly as you
would any class for that matter.
That's really about it for now on Being a Monk. If I think of anything else
I will put it up with rapid haste.
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VI. Job Abilities & Job Traits |
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The Monk actually obtains a nice variety of abilities and traits. Some abilities
are used for attack purposes and some are used for character enhancements. The
traits focus mainly on increasing the speed and accuracy of your hand-to-hand
attacks. There are also a few traits that increase your HP slightly. So, the
Monk has a decent balance when it comes to traits and abilities. When used
properly these abilities can be rather effective. I cannot neglect to mention
that the Monk has possibly the best 2-hour out of any of the basic jobs. These
abilities and traits make the Monk an even more interesting basic job.
Below is the list of all abilities and traits that the Monk job can learn and
at what level they are obtained. All abilities have an interval or a cool down
time. This means that after you have used the ability once, it might take a certain
amount of time before you are allowed to use that ability again. That is why you
have to choose the right times to use your abilities, because some of them have
rather long cool down times. Knowing these cool down times can help you determine
what ability to use at what time. This gives you the advantage over the opponent.
So, before using any abilities be absolutely sure that this will give you
the advantage as you might need this ability later and won't be able to cast it
due to it's cool down time. After you have cast the ability some of them will
only last a certain period of time. Usually the duration of these abilities are
rather short, so that is another thing to ponder about when casting abilities.
The traits of a Monk are pretty much the same thing over and over again and are
honestly nothing special.
With that said on to the list of abilities and traits!
As said above Hundred Fists is probably the best 2-Hour ability out
of any of the basic jobs. When cast, Hundred Fists will increase your attack
speed allowing you to attack almost constantly. This ability can get you out of
almost any sticky situation. Release this ability and you will put a quick
beat down on any enemy or enemies who are tiring to defeat you. Be extremely wise
when using this ability though as it has a 2-hour cool down time. We are not
talking 2 hours in Vana'diel time, we are actually talking about 2 real human
hours. So, when using this ability, be totally, positively sure you need to use
this. When you are being attacked by a whole horde of Goblins and are getting
whipped, feel free to unleash this wrath upon them. Hopefully your fast fists
of fury can save you from your doom. If you are almost done for the day or know
you are about to quit for a duration longer then 2 hours and are near a level
but don't have time to get it, you might want to use this ability. Find a nice
big spot where tougher monsters hoard and just unleash it and go around smacking
every monster in vision. This maybe able to give you the needed experience for
your next level that way you can log out feeling all excited. As above, make
sure before using this ability that you are definitely going to log out. If you
are unsure it is probably better that you didn't. You never know when any of
your friends might want you in their party. As all 2-hours, I can't say this
enough, just use it wisely.
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Boost |
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Level Obtained: 5
Interval: 15 Seconds
Duration: 3 Minutes
Description:
Boost is a handy little ability that can be used pretty much before every fight.
When cast it gives you a boost of attack, but only for the first strike. If you
have cast Boost and then attacked an enemy it will instantly wear off after
the first blow. If you use Boost and don't attack any monsters before 3 minutes
it will also wear off. Since, this ability has a really low cool down time, you
can use it almost before any battle. It is a good ability when used to quickly
beat down weaker opponents and it is also a good ability when used to help take
down the bigger monsters. It works quite well when you have enough TP to initiate
a weapon skill. You can start off the battle with a Boosted attack and then
unleash your weapon skill giving you the initial upper hand. If during battle
those 15 seconds has passed feel free to again use Boost. I don't recommend using
it during battles though as it takes a bit of time to use it and that time could
be better used attacking your enemy.
Boost Tip # 1 - (Thanks to Koki Kira for bringing this to my attention.)
Boost also has another interesting feature available. Boost is stackable meaning
that you can use it more then once at a time before it wears off. So, if you have
used it once, you can wait another 15 seconds and use it again to increase your
attack even more. If you want to take on a tougher opponent this would
be a good tactic to use. You could use Boost a few times to stack its power that
way when you strike the first blow it will be extremely powerful. You can continue
using Boost almost till your attack stat is nearly double. If you have the
patience to wait you can really increase your attack before taking on your
opponents, which is a nice advantage to have. So, that is yet another useful
thing out of the ability of Boost. Thanks again for Koki for bringing that forth.
Boost Tip # 2 - (Thanks to Harry Voyager for this tip.)
Here is another tip for Boost. Monks are at a disadvantage when they fight shelled
creatures like Clippers, because sometimes their fists cannot penetrate there harder
outer shells. So, if you used Boost many times in battle you might be able to get
enough of a boost to do great damage to the clipper even though it has a hard shell.
You may lose attack rate because of using boost, but it is better then hitting zeros.
So, you may not hit the Clipper as much, but when you do, it will actually do good
damage. Thanks again to Harry Voyager for the tip.
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Dodge |
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Level Obtained: 15
Interval: 5 Minutes
Duration: 2 Minutes
Description:
Dodge is somewhat similar to Boost, but you can't cast it before every battle as
it has a longer cool down time. Dodge increases your evasion rate for a short
period of time. This can be of use in many ways. If you are engaged with a opponent
and feel you might have a slight chance of losing but not a large enough chance
to release Hundred Fists then you might want to use Dodge instead. This ability
might allow you dodge just enough attacks to where you can walk away with your
dignity and your 2-hour ability intact. By the time you have healed yourself
the ability could have possibly cooled down. You could also use this ability
against a more difficult opponent. If you are wanting to challenge a tougher
enemy you might want to cast Dodge. This way you can challenge that tougher
opponent and not get too badly bruised. This could also work well in combination
with your TP. If you have enough TP to use a weapon skill you could use this
ability and take on a tougher opponent as well. With a weapon skill used you
should take a decent amount of HP out of your opponent and since you have a
higher evasion rate you could probably safely defeat your tougher opponent with
out fear of being badly hurt or incapacitated. Don't over do it though. Don't
think that this ability will Dodge all attacks. Don't go looking for Incredibly
Tough monsters thinking it can't hit you with Dodge on. You will find out first
hand that it can hit you and hit you pretty badly.
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Focus |
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Level Obtained: 25
Interval: 5 Minutes
Duration: 2 Minutes
Description:
Focus is pretty much the same thing as Dodge, except it increases your accuracy
rather then your evasion. It has the exact same cool down time and the same
duration. Focus can be used pretty much in the same manner that Dodge can.
You could use it to take on tougher opponents or use it in a small jam. It would
work quite with full TP as well. Since Focus is quite similar to Dodge, it's
probably just easier for you to read the description of Dodge, rather then me
reiterating what I've already said.
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Chakra |
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Level Obtained: 35
Interval: 5 Minutes
Duration: N/A
Description:
Chakra has been a Monk ability from the very humble origins of Final Fantasy.
Usually Chakra is given to you at an earlier level, but in XI it is given at a
later level, but it is just as useful. Chakra is an ability that will increase
your HP when used. It doesn't fully heal your character, but it does restore a
decent amount of HP. It's cool down time can be a little shorter, but it's not
too bad. Chakra would be good in dire situations, as would most of the other Monk
abilities. If you were close to defeating the enemy and were low on HP and you
were afraid of possibly being defeated, you might want to use Chakra to ensure
you have enough HP to defeat your opponent. As all other abilities, use Chakra
wisely as it does have a decently long cool down time. Chakra is probably only
used in more life threatening situations, but I guess you could use it
occasionally if you needed a quick restore before a battle or something of that
nature.
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Chi Blast |
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Level Obtained: 41
Interval: 3 Minutes
Duration: N/A
Description:
Chi Blast is a direct attacking ability. It doesn't raise any statistics like
Focus or Boost, its sole purpose is to cause damage in one single use. It's cool
down time is quite short, which makes this ability somewhat useful. Chi Blast can
be used pretty much in the same ways that Focus and Dodge are. You could use Chi
Blast to give you an early advantage over a more difficult foe, or you could
finish off your enemy with this blast. It could be used in threatening situations
just like the previous abilities. If you are close to finishing the enemy and
are low on HP, don't hesitate to use this ability. Since it only has a 3-minute
cool down you won't feel as guilty if you use it. It's cool down time can be
restored during a simple duration of healing, so feel free to use this ability
at will.
Counterstance is similar to the Warriors Berserk where when used it decreases
your defense, but allows you a better chance of counter attacking. I could
see advantages to this ability. It's cool down time is short and it does
have a longer duration the most other abilities. You could use this to wipe
out a small group of easier foes. You may loose more HP this way, but you
will probably kill the enemy foe faster as you are counter attacking more.
So, in some ways I can see its advantages, but in others it just seems utterly
pointless to me. I guess I could see using it against an enemy who has weaker
attacks, but other than that It just doesn't make much sense to me.
Counterstance Tip - (Thanks to Marcus Abreu for this tip)
I stated above that I really didn't see a purpose of Counterstance, but Marcus
has made me see the light. I was thinking of Counterstance in more of a solo
light and never really thought of it in a party light. With soloing perhaps
Counterstance isn't useful, but in parties it indeed is. Counterstance can be
a good killing method while you are in a party, especially a party with a decent
white mage. You can use Counterstance in a party and it becomes highly effective.
Although your defense may be weakened, you will have the white mage around who can
properly cure your wounds. That way with Counterstance on you can really pound away
and not be afraid of getting too bloodied up. It may work even better if you have
Warrior as your Sub-job and can use Provoke. If you can Provoke and keep the aggro
on, you can continue to attack and counter attack on the monster the whole time
while the white mage keeps your HP up. Thanks again to Marcus for enlightening me
with this information.
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Martial Arts |
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Level Obtained: 1
Description:
Martial Arts is the first trait that your Monk has. Its purpose is to increase
the speed of your hand-to-hand attacks. So, if you are playing as a Monk from the
beginning you will never have the absence of this trait. If you were to use
hand-to-hand in a different job you would feel that your attacks would be
slower as you would not have this trait available. Martial Arts is the first of
many traits, which increase the speed of you fists.
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Counter |
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Level Obtained: 10
Description:
Counter is yet another long time friend of the Monk job. Counter has been used
in many different ways throughout Final Fantasy history. Most commonly though
it was given to a character that was a Monk. Counter is what it sounds like. If
you have this trait while fighting an enemy you may occasionally notice that
when the monster hits you, you might sometimes hit the monster back in retaliation,
hint the name of the trait. Also if you do a Counter attack the damage that the
monster does to you is canceled out. (Thanks to Jinryuu Yuushi for the small addition.)
Counter is a real easy trait to understand so I will not go into any further detail.
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Max HP Boost |
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Level Obtained: 15
Description:
Max HP Boost is the first trait of its kind. You will get another one down
the road in your training as a Monk. The trait is what it sounds like. It
increases your max HP and that is all it really does.
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Martial Arts |
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Level Obtained: 15
Description:
Exactly the same as the first Martial arts. This one just increases the speed of
your hand-to-hand attacks even more.
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Martial Arts |
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Level Obtained: 30
Description:
Just like its counterparts. Its sole purpose is to make sure you have the
fastest fists around.
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Max HP Boost |
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Level Obtained: 35
Description:
This is exactly the same as the first one. It just increases your HP even more.
If you haven't noticed the traits of a Monk are nothing to write home about.
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Martial Arts |
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Level Obtained: 45
Description:
Gee, I have seem to forgotten what this trait does again. Maybe I can refresh
my memory by reading about the other three martial arts traits above me. Once,
again the same thing as before, faster more efficient fists.
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VII. Available Equipment |
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I have already described what kinds of equipment are available for the Monk. If
you would like to read that, scroll up to the Being a Monk section and read the
first two paragraphs. Below is simply the list of all armor and weapons that the Monk
can equip.
I know there is a lot more Equipment that I am missing and I will try to track some
of them down and get their stats and put them in the list. If you know of any please
e-mail me at abertino@nc.rr.com. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
For the bonuses, if you need it, you can use the key below.
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VIII. Weapon Skills & Skillchains |
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When using the Monk you have three weapons to choose from. You have of course
your fists or claws, which are Hand-to-Hand. Monks for some odd reason can also
use Staves and some Clubs. Below is each possible Weapon Skill for each available
weapon type that the Monk can use. Take note that some weapon skills are stronger
depending on how much TP you have when the skill is used. So, take that into
consideration before using some weapon skills.
Also, below is some of the possible skillchains for each of the weapons types.
Now, I may have missed a few skillchains as understanding skillchains can
sometimes be confusing. So, if there are any ones missing out feel free to email
me and let me know.
Combo is the first of the Hand-to-Hand weapon skills available. Combo
is a triple attack that is useful and decently powerful weapon skill. It is
really good in the early stages of your Monk training as it does decent damage
to higher leveled opponents. This skill does vary depending on how much TP you
have when it is used. So, if you wanted to take on a rather difficult monster
you would want to first fight off easier monsters to raise your TP. When your
TP has maxed out or is high enough for your standards you could then unleash its
fury on that higher opponent. I usually use my use my weapon skills after I make
my first strike. So, this could be used in combination with some Monk abilities.
If you were to use Boost before the battle you could go into the battle and get
a decent hit right off the bat and then instantly pound the monster again with a
nicely used Combo. Weapon skills, like abilities, should be used wisely as you
may run into a sticky situation where you could use the skill to avoid being
defeated.
Shoulder Tackle is the second weapon skill in the hand-to-hand class and it is
pretty much useless. I mean its purpose is to simply stun the monster. The
higher the TP you have the better chance you have of stunning the monster. I
really can't see a purpose to this weapon skill, especially since Combo actually
does real damage. I could only see using it in a party with no mage or to stun a
monster for your enjoyment. I mean if you have enough TP to use this skill you
might as well use Combo to kill the monster rather then use this to stun it,
but that's my opinion. I did find one use for it though. When fighting goblins
they occasionally begin to use Bomb Toss. If you time your Shoulder Tackle just
right you can stun the goblin before they can use Bomb Toss, which can save you
a lot of HP.
Shoulder Tackle Epiphany - (Thanks to Stephen Durant for bringing this forth.)
I have had a change of heart when it comes to the weapon skill Shoulder Tackle.
I honestly have never used this weapon skill or any of the others before for
that matter (besides Combo), so I was really talking out of ignorance. I
apologize for my ignorance, but I am a changed man. I have had an epiphany!
Shoulder Tackle does indeed do damage! It doesn't just stun the opponent, it
also damages them. Of course I believe the damage is not as strong as Combo as
with Shoulder Tackle I'm sure you loose a little damage due to it's stunning
capabilities. So, you can actually use Shoulder Tackle to cause damage and
hopefully you didn't listen to my lies. I would like to once again thanks
Stephen for making me see the error of my ways. Anyway, go Shoulder Tackle!
Shoulder Tackle Tip - (Thanks to McKeown for letting me know about this.)
Another use for Shoulder Tackle as been brought forth. Apparently it can be used
quite well in certain situations. Let's say that some of your friends have
significantly lower levels then you do. What you would do is, find a more difficult
monster for them putting into consideration their low levels and begin to attack
it with your fists. Keep attacking it until you have it weakened it considerably
and then use Shoulder Tackle on that monster. This should stun that foe for a
short period of time. In that time period you can disengage from the monster and
allow your friends to defeat the weakened and stunned monster so they could
get some experience from it without having to get beat up too badly. Make sure
though that you are not in their party at all, because if you are, you will mess
up the experience that they will receive. So by doing this you can help your
friends catch up with you quicker and you will have happy friends. Thanks again
to McKeown for the tip.
------------------
One Inch Punch |
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Skill Level Obtained: 75
Description:
This weapon skill is a Monk only weapon skill. You can use this if your main job
or sub-job is a Monk and your hand-to-hand has reached skill level 75. No other
job can obtain this skill when using hand-to-hand weapons. Unlike Shoulder Tackle,
One Inch Punch is actually useful as it actually attacks. It also does more then
just attacks, it ignores some of the opponent’s defense while doing it. Like most
the other skills, the more TP you have when you use this skill determines how
much of an ignore there is. So, if you have 300% TP it will ignore the opponents
defense by far more then it would if you only had 100%. So, with this skill
ignoring the opponent’s defense it can do some pretty good damage. Like almost
everything else, use this skill wisely. By now I'm sure you have gotten the idea
and are sick of me saying be careful with all your abilities and skills. With that
said I will just move on to the next weapon skill.
Backhand Blow is available to every job that can use hand-to-hand weapons. When
you reach level 100 on your hand-to-hand skill you will obtain this attacking
skill. Backhand Blow is an attack that does critical hit like damage. Like most
of the weapon skills, the more TP you have the better off you are. As for when
to use it, it is pretty much the same as Combo and any other attacking ability
or weapon skill.
With a powerful name like Raging Fists how can you go wrong? Like One Inch Punch,
Raging Fists is a Monk only weapon skill. Raging Fists is a stronger version of
Combo. Combo is only a 3-hit attack as Raging Fists is an all out 5-hit attack,
which can ruin just about any monsters day. Once again I'm repeating myself
by saying that the more TP you have the more this will hurt that pretty little
monster. With full TP this weapon skill can do some massive damage inflicting
serious pain on that poor opponent.
Spinning Attack is a nice final weapon skill for any job to obtain. After hard
fought training you are rewarded with a pretty good skill at your disposal, but
use its power wisely. Spinning Attack is what it sounds like in which it attacks
in a spinning motion causing a radius of injury. Depending on TP, the larger the
the radius of the attack will be. Since spinning attack delivers an area attack
it does have possible negatives, but these negatives can also be positives if
used correctly. If you are fighting one opponent and your TP reaches and you
release this skill make sure there are no other opponents in a real close area
of you. Most of the time this won't happen as if a monster is that close it
is probably aggroed or is linking, but I have been in battles were passive
monsters like to walk in the middle of the battlefield. If you use Spinning
Attack with two monsters in the vicinity of the attack it could be bad as that
other monster, which you had no intentions of bothering, may join the fray.
Now this can be used to your advantage. If you are or soloing or are in a party
and another monster links or aggroes while you are fighting one opponent, you can
use this skill and hurt both opponents hoping to give you the edge to beat out
both monsters. So, this skill involves a more tactical approach then the others
do.
The following are the weapon skills for the Club. Monks can equip and battle
with Clubs and also gain their weapon skills. I do not recommend this, but it
is possible. I would have to say that I have never seen a Monk wearing anything
other then claws or knuckles. So for why a Monk can equip Clubs is beyond me.
Since they can though, I have posted information on each weapon skill for your
use. I will not go into as greater detail with these as I did with hand-to-hand
skills as these are not as commonly used. There are a few Club weapon skills
that a Monk can't use and I have left those out. So, below are Club weapon
skills that only a Monk can use.
Shining Strike is the first available weapon skill when using a Club. Like all
initial weapon skills it is easy to obtain and it deals a decent amount of
damage early on in character training. Shining Strike is an elemental attack
dealing light damage. It is useful in the beginning phases of training as it
will take a decent chunk out of earlier opponents. Like most other weapon skills,
the amount of damage given varies depending on how high your TP is when it is
used. Shining Strike is nothing special and really doesn't need much more of
a description then I have already given it. If you were to compare Shining
Strike to the hand-to-hands first weapon skill of Combo, it would lose badly.
Brainshaker is the second of the weapon skills that a Monk can learn from using
a Club. When using a Club there is a weapon skill before this, but since you are
training as a Monk you do not obtain the weapon skill called Seraph Strike. Now,
if you were to go to a mage and use a Club till you reach skill level 40, you
would obtain Seraph Strike. Anyway, back to describing Brainshaker. Brainshaker
is similar to the hand-to-hands Shoulder Tackle as it is somewhat useless. It
pretty much just stuns the target. If you want to know more, just scroll above
and read about Shoulder Tackle as they are practically the same thing.
------------------
Starlight |
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Skill Level Obtained: 100
Description:
For a Monk, this weapon skill is the ultimate worst and the most pointless of
them all. This is exactly why I don't recommend using Clubs as a Monks main
weapon. Starlight is a weapon skill that’s purpose is to restore MP. Well, the
Monk alone doesn't ever obtain any MP so this skill is utterly useless. You
can obtain MP for a Monk via equipment or a mage sub-job. With equipment you would
get a few MP points, but once again you couldn't cast any spells so it would be
useless. Now for the only good thing about this skill. If you are a Monk with
a sub-job of either a White, Black or Red mage then this might have some slight
purpose. Since you have a sub-job as a mage you will have some magic and some MP,
so you could use this skill to actually restore the very little MP you will have.
Overall, just stay away from Clubs if you can, unless of course you are seeking
a really good challenge.
This is the last weapon skill obtained for any one who decided to use a Club.
Like before there was one weapon skill in between Starlight and this one, but
since you are a Monk you do not obtain that weapon skill. You do obtain this one
and it is nothing of grave importance. Skullbreaker when used will knock down
an opponents Intelligence. The more TP you have you the more the loss will be.
This is just really useless when you think about it. I mean you can use it to
weaken a magical monsters intelligence to weaken there spells, but since you
have the TP you might as well use Shining Strike and actually do damage to the
opponent. As a Monk your attack is far more vital to use then this is. So, unless
you are in a party that has all kinds of attack power, I just don't see a point
in using this. I mean for a mage this might be rather useful, but for a Monk
it’s just pointless as pretty much all Club skills are.
Unlike Clubs, weapon skills for Staves do actually serve a useful purpose. Most
of the Clubs skills did not do any damage. The Staves weapon skills can do damage,
but they are nowhere near the kind of damage that hand-to-hand ones can do. So
once again, like a broken record, I really advise you to stay with hand-to-hand
weapons. Now on to the Staves weapon skills!
------------------
Heavy Swing |
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Skill Level Obtained: 10
Description:
This is the first Staff weapon skill available. It is a really easy one to
describe as it is just another attack basically. The attack of course varies
with the amount of TP you have when it is used, but overall it is just a more
damaging attack. Its strength is no way near Combo's strength, but it is not
bad if you actually decided to use Staves.
------------------
Rock Crusher |
------------------
Skill Level Obtained: 40
Description:
Rock Crusher is what it sounds like. It is an attack that does earth elemental
damage to an opponent. It is a decently damaging weapon skill, especially if
it is used on a monster that is weak to earth elemental attacks. Once again, the
damage depends on the amount of TP. So, before using this skill you may want
to look around to see if there are any monsters around that are weak to earth
attacks. The monsters elemental weaknesses aren't found by simply checking the
monster before attack. To obtain that information you could ask around or look
online. If you find one, you can use the weapon skill to give you a slight
advantage over the opponent.
Earth Crusher is closely related to the weapon skill above. It is rather similar
as it is an earth elemental attack. Where it differs though is in the range of
attack radius. Rock Crusher simply attacks one targeted monster. Earth Crusher
can attack the monster even if they are farther away. This is of course helpful,
but it can also be a killer. Be sure that there are no other monsters around when
you use this. If there are, you may aggro them and both monsters will come at you
will full force leaving you in serious trouble. Now if you are already being
attacked by two opponents this is a very good skill to use as it may give you
just enough to defeat both of them. It would weaken both of them hopefully give
you enough time to finish one off then quickly finish off the other before they
bring you down. As all the other weapon skills above, the amount of TP makes
a difference in the amount of damage it gives. Earth Crusher is limited to only
a certain few jobs. You can gain this skill as a Warrior, a Monk, White Mage,
and a Paladin.
------------------
Starburst |
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Skill Level Obtained: 100
Description:
I'm sure the Mars candy corporation is happy this name was chosen for this
weapon skill. I'm sure the first thing you thought of when you read this was
the candy. Don't be afraid to admit it, I did as well. As for a weapon skill it
is also quite juicy (sorry for the bad pun, but it had to be done). Starburst is
a weapon skill that does light or darkness elemental damage to one opponent. The
damage does increase with the more TP you have. As for it how it chooses between
light or darkness, I honestly can't say. If I would have to guess, I would have
to say that it just randomly rolls numbers and picks one. However it does it, it
makes this skill pretty sweet (another bad pun). You could not get any more skills
with the Stave and still be better off then if you did Clubs. That is how bad
Clubs really are. So, if you did decided to go with Staves instead of hand-to-hand
weapons, you got a nice taste (final pun) of what kind of weapon skills a
Staff can give.
------------------
Sunburst |
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Skill Level Obtained: 150
Description:
The person that named the weapon skills for the Staves most have been a candy
and movie lover. First you have Starburst or the candy, now you have Sunburst,
which I do recall was a cookie used in the movie "Life With Mikey."
(Thanks to Jack Robert Fink Junior for the name of the movie.)
Anyway, staying away from the movies and candy we can move onto the purpose of this.
Like Starburst, Sunburst is sweet (I'm killing them with the puns). Sunburst also
does light or elemental damage, but it is more damaging then its counterpart. Like
its counterpart it also varies with the amount of TP available. Once again, I'm not
entirely sure how it determines light or darkness, but if you know please feel free
to email me using the address posted some where on this FAQ.
This is were weapon skills can confuse even the most advance Final Fantasy
XI players. Skillchains, if you are unaware, are commonly used in parties. In
parties you usually have a nice range of weapons used. You commonly have someone
with a sword or someone with a hand-to-hand weapon or whatever. Now, with each
different weapon, comes different weapon skills. Now, if these skills can be used
in a certain order with certain timing you can create a skillchain and slam the
toughest of opponents with good damage. Usually when you join a party and you
are a melee character, like Monks are, you should ask to see what the skill
chain is that way you can either join or create a new one. Below is some of the
skillchains that you can possibly get by using either hand-to-hand, Staves, or
Clubs. You can also combine this skillchains with magic and get magic bursts, but
since you don't have to worry about magic bursts with a Monk I left those out.
Skillchain list is Coming Soon!!!
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IX. Main Job & Support Job |
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Coming soon......
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X. Acknowledgements and Credits |
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I would first like to thank Square-Enix for creating such a wonderful game to
keep me endlessly busy. I would also like to thank them for making the PC
instruction manual as I found many useful tips in that manual.
I would also like to give a HUGE thank you to BradyGames and the authors of the FFXI
strategy guide as I found many great things in the guide that helped me put this
together. I recommend picking up the Guide as it is extremely helpful and everyone
who put it together should be commended.
I would of course like to thank GameFAQs for allowing me to host my FAQ on there
great website. They work extremely hard and deserve massive respect and credit.
Also, thank you to Joe Saur for brining http://www.shadow-dragons.com to my
attention. It is a pretty interesting website with some good information. If
you are need of information on FFXI, I recommend looking there.
I have to thank Koki Kira as well, for reminding me that the Boost ability is
stackable. That is a very important fact that I missed and I would like to thank
Koki for bringing that to my attention.
Thanks to Marcus Abreu for sending me information about the ability
Counterstance and also Stephen Durant for the information on Shoulder Tackle.
I would also like to thank McKeown for the Shoulder Tackle tip.
I can't forget to thank the several people from the boards. I wish I can
remember your names to give you credit, but I couldn't find the posts. I thank
you for you information.
Of course, I can't forget to thank my agent, family, the little people, my
stunt double, my hairdresser, my producer, director, co-stars, and all those
other people. Just kidding, I guess I would like to thank my parents though for
making me.
I'm forgetting someone I know it. Oh who is it? Come on think. Think. Oh! Of
course! I forgot to thank you all for reading this FAQ.
I hope this FAQ was helpful in some way shape or form. If you have any comments,
complaints, or concerns feel free to email me at abertino@nc.rr.com
