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Intro:
This is my guide to playing with a 55 Monk. Being a 55 Monk is very easy, and offers many rewards. The concept of the 55 Monk is something of pure genious. It revolves around a few key skills that make you nearly invincible to just about anything. Through damage mitigation, health regeneration, and energy conservation, your 55 Monk can solo just about any region in Tyria.
How a 55 Monk Works:
Protective Spirit is the basis upon which the 55 build is founded. A 55 Monk has only 55 HP, and Protective Spirit prevents any damage to you from being more than 10% of your max HP. This means that all damage done to you will be either 5 or less (10% of 55 is 5.5, and that is rounded down to 5). Regardless of how amazingly powerful an enemy is, it can only do 5 damage to you at a time. Though 5 damage isn't a lot, 11 hits and you are still dead. The trick to surviving is health regenerating spells, like Mending a Healing Breeze. These spells give you a great deal of health regeneration, that counters the damage done to you. Other spells help you gain a great deal of energy during combat so you can keep up protective spirit and healing breeze. Because enemies can't deal damage to you at a rate faster than you can recover from it, and because you will never run out of energy as long as monsters are attacking you, you are said to be 'invincible'. Watch out, though, as Necros and Mesmers can strip these enchantments from you, rendering you vulnerable. At 55 HP without Protective Spirit on, you are almost guarenteed dead in 1 hit.
Equipment:
The great thing about 55 monks is that they can wear just about anything. I recommend using the tattoos, as they provide quite a bit of extra energy that can really come in handy. Armor is absolutely irrelivent, so go with whatever is cheapest or looks coolest. Also, get a Zealot's Scalp Design to add 1 to your Smiting Prayers. Finally, get one of each Superior Rune, plus one duplicate Superior Rune, and place them all on your armor. This will reduce your health to 105 with all 5 pieces of armor equiped.
Next you need the -50 HP offhand item. There is a Grim Cesta offered as a rewards for the Cities of Ascalon quest. Equipping this item will further reduce your HP to 55. Below are the stats on the item. Note that you won't be given the +6 energy, because it requires Blood Magic, something you won't have. You will, however, get the benefits of the +3 while enchanted mod. You also get 5 emergency energy if your HP should drop below 40% (22 HP), and 3 more energy if you get hexed. Some of this energy can really come in handy if things start going wrong.
Grim Cesta:
Energy +6 (req. 5 Blood Magic)
Health -50
Energy +3 (while enchanted)
Energy +3 (while hexed)
Energy +5 (while Health is below 40%)
Finally, you'll need a good weapon. Any weapon with a +20% enchantment mod is wonderful, as this would extend the life of protective spirit, shield of judgement and healing breeze, all of which are key to this build. Right now, I can only find instances of the enchantments on swords and axes, but I'm searching for a nice wand type item that might have it.
Attributes:
Dividing up your attributes is a bit tricky. Note that with all of the Superior Runes, you'll have +3 automatically in each stat. You also get a +1 in Smiting from your scalp design. Firstly, place 6 points into Divine favor to bring it up to 9. Then place 10 in healing prayers, lifting it to 13. Add 8 in Protection to get it to 11. Finally, add the remaining points into Smiting. You should get it to 15.
Divine Favor: 9
Healing: 13
Protection: 11
Smiting: 15
Skills:
The following is a list of skills that are key to this build. All of these skills will be listed with the effects of having the attributes at the levels mentioned in the previous section.
1. Protective Spirit
2. Healing Breeze
3. Shield of Judgement (E)
4. Blessed Signet
5. Mending
6. Blessed Aura
7. Essence Bond
8. Balthazar's Spirit
Protective Spirit
E: 10
T: 1/4
R: 5
For 18 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% max Health due to damage from a single attack or Spell.
Protective Spirit is the key to this build. With only 55 HP, the max damage you can recieve while under Protective Spirit is 5. Keep this up at all times, otherwise just about any attack will kill you instantly. With a 20% Enchanting Mod and the 25% from Blessed Aura (talked about later), Protective Spirit will last a lot longer. Protective Sirit takes absolute priority over all other spells. Make sure not to have this interrupted or disabled, as this can end up getting you killed.
Healing Breeze
E: 10
T: 1/4
R: 5
For 10 seconds, target ally gains health regeneration of 8.
Healing Breeze is your primary means of regaining Health at a very rapid rate. With Healing Breeze in effect, you will regain your health faster than enimies can take it away. The added enchanting length also helps a lot. Cast this often, but don't get too worried if you go without it for a bit, as Mending can cover you.
Shield of Judgement (Elite)
E: 15
T: 1
R: 45
For 20 seconds, anyone striking target ally with an attack is knocked down and suffers 50 damage.
This is your main damage dealer. Simply cast this, and monsters will end up killing themselves on you. Not only does this last for 20 seconds (even more with enchant mod and Blessed Aura), but it also knocks down foes attacking you, reducing the amount of damage you take. The only drawback is the high recharge time. This can be capped from Myd Springclaw in Mineral Springs (North of Granite Citadel).
Mending
E: 10
T: 2
R: -- (-1 Energy Regen)
While you maintain this "Enchantment", target ally gains Health regeneration of +4.
Mending Serves as an eternal +4 Health Regenerator. By maintaining this enchantment, you can relax more about damage being done to you. Don't rely on Mending alone to regenerate, though. Mending can cover the minor stuff, and Healing Breeze can cover the more major damage.
Blessed Aura
E: 10
T: 2
R: 2 (-1 Energy Regen)
While you maintain this enchantment, Monk enchantments you cast last 25% longer than normal.
Blessed Aura isn't a must have, but it is very useful in that it extends the life of your enchantments a lot. Because of Blessed Aura, you'll find that you don't have to recast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze as often, and it really helps to have Signet of Judgement last as long as it can.
Essence Bond
E: 10
T: 2
R: -- (-1 Energy Regen)
While you maintain this "Enchantment", whenever target ally takes physical or elemental damage, you gain 1 Energy.
Because Maintaining all of these enchantments and constantly recasting spells, your energy supply will get depleted very fast. To make up for it, we have Essence Bond. Anytime you take damage, you gain one energy. When you have 3 or 4 enemies attacking you at a time, the energy flows in at a very nice rate.
Balthazar's Spirit
E: 10
T: 2
R: -- (-1 Energy Regen)
While you maintain this enchantment, target ally gains adrenaline (4) and energy after taking damage.
Balthazar's Spirit, like Essence Bond, is a wonderful way to regain energy. Coupled with Essence Bond, you'll be getting 2 energy back anytime you take damage. You also get Adrenaline with this.
Other Skills Worth Mentioning:
Above are the Primary Skills focusing only on the Monk Class. Below are some absolutely wonderful spells from all of the classes, as well as some other Monk spells that are fairly decent with this build, but didn't make the cut. Note that if 'E' is replaced with 'A' I am referring to a skill that requires Adrenaline rather than Energy.
Bonetti's Defense (Warrior, Tactics)
A: 8
T: -
R: -
For 5...10 seconds, you have a 75% chance to "Block" incoming melee attacks and arrows. You gain 5 Energy for each successful melee attack blocked. Bonetti's Defense ends if you use a skill.
Bonetti's Defense is a godly skill for this build. If you are a Mo/W, you must have this. This not only reduces the damage you take, but it also gives you a ton of energy. It has no cast time, no recharge, and requires no energy. As long as you have Balthazar's Spirit up, you constantly gain 4 Adrenaline every time you take a hit. Just 2 hits and you have enough Adrenaline to pay for this skill. I recommend replacing Essence Bond with this. Put a few points into Tactics to make this skill last longer (take the points from Divine Favor).
Glyph of Concentration (Elementalist, No Attribute)
E: 5
T: 1
R: 2
For 15 seconds, your next Spell cannot be interrupted, and ignores the effects of being Dazed.
If you are having trouble with being interrupted all the time, consider using this skill. This skill will prevent you from getting interrupted while casting a critical Protective Spirit or Healing Breeze. It can save your life.
Spell Breaker (Monk, Divine Favor) (Elite)
E: 15
T: 1
R: 45
For 5...15 seconds, enemy spells targeted against target ally fail. (12 seconds with Divine Favor at 9)
Spell Breaker is primarily used in the Underworld when going up against dying nightmares. Dying Nightmares use Rend Enchantments, which remove all of the enchantments critical to this build. Spell Breaker prevents this. Note that with Spell Breaker, you can no longer have Shield of Judgement, therefore you can no longer do damage. Spell Breaker should only be used when you are paired with an SS Necro.
Watchful Spirit (Monk, Divine Favor)
E: 15
T: 1
R: 10 (-1 Energy Regen)
While you maintain this enchantment, target ally gains health regeneration of 2. That ally is healed for 30...150 health when Watchful Spirit ends. (120 health with Divine Favor at 9)
Watchful Spirit is basically another, cheaper form of Mending. You always get the +2 Health Regen, regardless of attribute points in Divine Favor. It is a nice supplement to Mending, and can be removed for a quick heal in emergencies.
Using Your Skills:
Now that you have the list of skills you can use, you need to know how to use them. When you first begin, start by casting Mending, Blessed Aura, Essence Bond, and Balthazar's Spirit. Maintain all 4 of these enchantments at all time. They will leave you with absolutely no energy regeneration. To get your energy back, cast Blessed Signet. One cast will restore 12 Energy. Wait for recharge and cast again. Do this until you have full energy. (You can forego this process if you are with an SS Necro that has Blood Ritual).
Before aggroing a mob, cast Protective Spirit. Run into the mob and get everything to aggro you. Don't worry about your health while aggroing, as mending can keep you alive. Once you have the aggro, stop moving and recast Protective Spirit then cast Healing Breeze. Wait for your energy to go up, then cast Shield of Judgement. From there, just wait. Enemies will attack you and get knocked down and damaged by Shield of Judgement. Keep recasting Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze, but don't use up too much energy. You'll be getting it at a slower rate because of the knockdowns. Use Blessed Signet if you need it. If Shield of Judgement doesn't kill them all, wait until it's recharged and cast it again. Always keep up Protective Spirit, and keep up healing breeze if you need it. Repeat this process untill all monsters are dead.
In between battles, recover your energy with blessed signet. Be very careful about using your energy. Make sure you always have 10 energy so you can cast protective spirit, and always make sure you have enough time left to recast two protective spirits before your original one wears off, just in case you get interrupted. ALWAYS have protective spirit on. This cannot be stressed enough. Be pro-active in casting it, too, just in case. If you have any more questions, just ask.
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