Build Guide
Monk Group Support Guide 2.4.2 - To be used based with at least one DPS and a Pull/Charge Barb
This is a very basic primer that you can build around. I don't pretend to know 10% of what I need to know, but having spent several hours looking at builds, reading other guides and watching streams, I can tell you that the "meta" is all over the place. The pros are coordinating their builds around each other in 4 mans - and the builds are different for speed runs vs push. Heck, even the character slots are different for speeds vs push, so I am ignoring all of the tweaking and min/maxing for now. Again, this is a basic guide to work around and to build off of for the group.
This is a very basic primer that you can build around. I don't pretend to know 10% of what I need to know, but having spent several hours looking at builds, reading other guides and watching streams, I can tell you that the "meta" is all over the place. The pros are coordinating their builds around each other in 4 mans - and the builds are different for speed runs vs push. Heck, even the character slots are different for speeds vs push, so I am ignoring all of the tweaking and min/maxing for now. Again, this is a basic guide to work around and to build off of for the group.
NOTE: To keep this as short as possible I am going to try to not get into every possible variation and discuss pros/cons. I am aware that Solanium procs health globes, and Pain Enhancer gives attack speed, Ulliana's gives free exploding palms and Raiments give attack speed, etc. Again, ignoring all the noise for now . . . The goal of this guide is to survive and be able to speed clear GR 80 routinely in under 8 minutes. Once you get to that, you can tweak. Making tweaks before you are ready is not helpful when the primary reasons you can't do speed 80's are 1) death and 2) lack of group skill and coordination.
Skills discussion -
1) Crippling Wave/Concussion - provides CC and damage reduction = AUTO ATTACK - also Epiphany is up all of the time so use this skill dash to mobs as necessary - just be careful not to leave your glass cannons hanging.
2) Blinding Flash/Crippling Light - CC and dmg reduction = AUTO CAST.
3) Inner Sanctuary/Safe Haven or Intervene - AUTO CAST. Always have one down somwehere, Give the DPS something to land in and it helps them to be able to see where to go. I don't care if you are walking two screens away to the next elite. It can be the difference between life and death. Safe Haven = heal, Intervene = shield. I have no idea which is better overall, but I know Intervene gives you more mobility. So watch what you have issues with - if it's desecrator, molten, plague, electrified then you want Safe Haven. If it's explosions, grotesques, or charging bogans, then you want intervene. If it's all the above, then pick Interevene for mobility. Heal vs Shield = sustain dmg vs one shot dmg.
4) Mantra of Salvation/Agility - we will use this but keep Mantra of Healing in the back of our minds. If we have three monks, then we have more options.
5) Cyclone Strike - rune is up in the air. Implosion for max grab, Wall of Wind for CC and proc Iceblink (worn by barb), Soothing Breeze for healing. Soothing breeze is the staple, but let's keep this one again in the back of our minds. Whether we should spam skill this at all times is unknown. There is a lot of chatter about mobs becoming more resilient to CC the more you use it and it makes it much harder for the barb to harpoon mobs back into the center - or to bring them with us after we move forward. For now, we spam to stay alive and do max damage. CS is the whole reason we have spirit regeneration in the first place so let's not get away from the basics.
Passives - Cheat Death (until we get better), Resolve - 20% damage reduction, Beacon of Ytar = CDR, Seize the Initiative = attack speed, Hellfire = one of those or 6th sense or Exalted Soul or Unity
Gameplay
In order of priority
1) Never ever leave your DPS. Never.
2) If you are engaged with a large mob, and if you do move, you are inching your way toward a better spot - slowly - AFTER you tell the DPS what you are doing. Communicate with DPS and let him know what your plan is. Otherwise, just sit there and attack and spam CS and IS. If the DPS wants to move, he has to tell you. It's on him if he screws this up. All parties use terms like north, south, doorway, SE corner, or banner. Try to avoid using words like here or there.
3) Fight one pack at a time if possible. Also fight as much trash around said pack as possible. DPS needs stacks, and stacks require lots of mobs. It's literally double the damage if there are 20 mobs around us.
4) Between mobs, implode to CC. Inner Sanctuaries are also nice. Also, if the Barb is scouting ahead, it doesn't hurt to plop down an IS, then CS and kill 10 trash mobs. It takes literally 5 seconds to kill them, and it's not like we are doing anything anyway other than waiting for instructions from the Barb.
5) Skip Arcane. Nothing else to say here.
6) The Barb is the leader of the party. He tells everyone what to do and where to go. He puts a banner down when he decides on a spot to engage. The only exception to this is when the support monk and DPS say it's a no go. If they say they can't handle the mobs, then help everyone leave as quickly as possible. Barb wears Iceblink and Nems. Barb is wholly responsible and should be blamed if he spawns arcane mobs from pylons.
Final Thoughts
My first goal with this guide is to keep the Support monk alive. So we are going with Esoteric, Resolve, Near Death, Spirit Guards, Concussion, etc. Second goal is to provide the DPS thoughts on coordination given above. As a DPS Monk, the biggest concern I have is the ability of the party to stay alive while the Barb can pull in mobs. DPS monks want 20 trash mobs pulled in to every IS we lay down, and then 20 more. And then 20 more. As long as possible. More mobs = more stacks = more damage = more healing = more spirit regeneration.
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