Advanced Monk Guide: How to be a punchy boi/gril part II

Monk Advanced Guide V1.2
By Ghroel Hammerfist​

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Table of Contents​

1. Overview
   
2. Mechanics Review
3. New Mechanics
4. Terms
   
5. Class Skills
   
6. Rotations
7. Pros, Cons, Final Thoughts
8. Conclusion

Overview​

Monk is a physical melee DoW. They excel at keep up a constant string of moderate potency, fast, consistent damaging skills; great melee aoe; and, over all, great situational supporting party/raid buffs and self buffing skills. In this advanced guide, we shall be focusing on your advanced class mechanics, levels 50-80 skills, and how to do your advanced rotations.​

Mechanics Review
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Monk have two main mechanics throughout their entire leveling career; Positionals and Forms. (Skip to Class Skills if you have read the Monk Basics Guide)

Positionals, what are they? Positionals are a melee DPS mechanic where you do more damage based on where you hit the the target. Unlike other Melee DPS, whose kit usually has one or two Positionals, monks kit is nothing BUT positionals. This is important to note if you want to do the most damage possible.

How do positionals work? As stated before, positionals are melee DPS skills that do more damage based on where you hit the target. There are two types of positions; rear and flank. the Rear is self explanitory, hit the target in the back. The flank, isn't as self explanatory as many think. The flank is the side, however flanks are HUGE. Down below, I will provide visual examples of where both the rear and flanks are on a target.

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As shown above, the flank is WIDE. You have a massive amount of real estate to work with when hitting the flank. This becomes important as you consistently move throughout a fight; either dodging or trying to hit the flank in general. Don't feel pressured to move too much if you don't need.

Forms, what are they? Forms are unique to Monk. As you go through your rotation you'll swap between three forms:

First form: Opo-opo
Second Form: Raptor
Third Form: Coeurl

These forms do different things, but, mainly they allow you to perform the next part of your combo/rotation. However, based on the skill you use, your form may also grant bonus's from improving another skills potency, to a guaranteed critical strike. All these will be provided in your skill tool tips and in this guide.

New Mechanics
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Starting at level 54, you gain the ability to build Chakra. Chakra is a new mechanic that's just a bar. Outside of combat you use the skill Meditation to instantly build the bar to max so you can use the ability The Forbidden Chakra (TFB). While in combat (between levels 54-62) you must press Meditation a total of 5 times to build up another TFB. Once you hit level 62 you gain the trait Deep Meditation allowing your critical hits to unlock Chakra. Upon reaching level 74, you gain the ability Enlightened, an AoE Chakra spender that will be used regularly in your AoE rotation.

Terms
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Due to how you will be obtaining new Cooldown skills, it is prudent to understand a number of terms going forward. This section will outline key terms not just for monk but for all Classes you will hear about in FF14.

CD (Cooldown): A standard in any action rpg, this is the time period between ability uses and attacks where you are unable to perform any special actions.

GCD (Global Cooldown): This is your bread and butter rotation, it is your standard weaponskill CD time with your main skill rotation.

oGCD (off Global Cooldown): These are your big CD abilities that don't follow the normal GCD cooldowns.

Weaving: The act of using your oGCDs during your GCD cooldowns.

Double Weaving: The act of Weaving two oGCDs between one GCD.

Clipping:
1. The act of using oGCDs that prevent you from using your GCDs.
(Note: There is an internal .5 second CD for each skill use made longer based on ping. the lower your ping the closer you get to that .5s internal CD and vise versa. Clipping happens when that internal cooldown prevents you from using a GCD even if the GCD is off CD.)
2. The act of refreshing a debuff (such as a DoT) before its maximum duration is up.

Class Skills (50-80)

Actions
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Form Shift (lvl 52): Grants Formless Fist to self, allowing the execution of weaponskills requiring a certain form, without being in that form.
Duration: 15s
Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied

(Author Note: Form shift is an important skill for your opening rotation. From now on your opener will start with you using form shift to get the additional bonus of Leaden Fist from Dragon Kick)

Meditation (lvl 54): Opens a Chakra. Up to five Chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five Chakra when used outside of combat. Share a recast timer with other weaponskills.

(Author Note: This skill is covered mostly in the New Mechanics section. Ultimately, you want to use this outside of combat and use TFC in combat as much as possible. While in content where you don't have Deep Meditation, you must manually charge your Chakra Gauge. Do this during down time such as when a boss changes forms. You should still use this during any downtime in a fight.)

The Forbidden Chakra (lvl 54): Delivers an attack with a potency of 340. Can only be cast while in combat and under the effect of the Fifth Chakra. The five Chakra close upon execution. Shares a cooldown with Enlightenment.

(Autho Note: This is a primary Nuke, use as much as possible. For more information, read both Meditation and New Mechanics.)

Elixir Field (lvl 56): Delivers an attack with a potency of 250 to all nearby enemies.

(Author Note: Elixir Field is a versatile skill. it is your primary AoE Cooldown but is so short that's also a part of your main rotation. With a 30 second CD, you can get 2 in before your next burst phase and use it in you burst rotation.)

Tornado Kick (lvl 60): Delivers an attack with a potency of 400.

(Author Note: This is your main nuke CD. You can use one in between burst phases. Just like Elixir Field this should be used as much as possible and as soon as it comes off CD.)

Riddle of Earth (lvl 64): Grants 3 stacks of Riddle of Earth, each stack reducing damage taken by 10% and nullifying all action direction requirements.
Duration: 10s
Maximum Charges: 3
Effect ends when time expires or upon execution of three weaponskills.

(Author Note: Riddle of Earth (RoE) is a versatile skill. It can be use defensively combined with Fists of Earth (FoE) for a large amount of damage reduction. It also can be used as a lesser True North (TN). Letting you use 3 weaponskills without worrying about the positional requirement.)

Riddle of Fire (lvl 68): Increases damage done by 25%.
Duration: 20s

(Author Note: Riddle of Fire (RoF) is one of your main burst phase CD's. Coupled with both Brotherhood and Perfect Balance (PB) you'll have all three sync up with each other in CD's as all three are 90s. Use this as much as possible in sync with the other two CD's.)

Brotherhood (lvl 70): Grants Brotherhood and Meditative Brotherhood to all nearby party members.
Radius: 15y
Brotherhood: Increases damage dealt by 5%.
Meditative Brotherhood: 20% chance you open up a Chakra when party members under this effect execute a weaponskill or cast a spell.
Duration: 15s

(Author Note: This is one of your three burst phase major CD's. it allows you to quickly spam TFB while also granting a damage buff to all party members. just be sure to be near members.)

Enlightenment (lvl 74): Delivers an attack with a potency of 220 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be cast while in combat and under the effect of the Fifth Chakra. The five Chakra close upon execution. Shares a cooldown with The Forbidden Chakra.

(Author Note: This is your other primary AoE nuke. You will need to reposition yourself to get the maximum value but you can do that while doing your primary rotation.)

Anatman (lvl 78): Extends the duration of of Twin Snakes and form to maximum and halts their expiration.
Duration: 30s
Cancels auto-attack upon execution. Effect ends upon using another action or moving (including facing a different direction). Triggers the cooldown of all weaponskills upon execution. Cannot be executed during the cooldown of other weaponskills.

(Author Note: TRASH!!! No but seriously this skill is in a bad spot right now. It has literally no use right now, yes it might be nice to keep your Twin Snakes, but you make a choice between refreshing TS vs building up your Chakra. The only time you use this is during your down time anyways so you'll just reset your rotation anyways with a quick Form Shift into Meditations.)

Six-Sided Star (lvl 80): Delivers an attack with a potency of 540.
Additional Effect: Increases movement speed
Duration: 5s
This weaponskill does not share a recast timer with any other actions. Upon execution, the recast timer for this action will be applied to all other weaponskills and magic actions.

(Author Note: This is a retreat skill. Anytime you need to leave an aoe and stay away longer than 2 GCDs, use this. Otherwise, it's a net DPS loss.)

Traits
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Deep Meditation (lvl 62): Grants an 80% chance that a Chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill.

Enhanced Tackle (lvl 66): Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Shoulder Tackle.
Maximum Charges: 2

Enhanced Fists of Fire (lvl 72): Improves Fists of Fire's damage increase to 10%

Deep Meditation II (lvl 74): Grants a 100% chance that a Chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill.

Enhanced Greased Lightning III (lvl 76): Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 20%

Rotations​

Rotation Overview: Your base rotation changes six times with your burst/nuke phase rotation being stagnant. This is where Monks complexity comes into play. Monk is all about making sure both your Demolish and your Twin Snake timers are kept. Any timer down time is a net DPS loss. Coupling this with our constant need to move due to positionals all while dodging causes some tricky maneuvers. In this section, I shall give visuals for your changing rotations. These have changed from the Monk Basics Guide but not by much.

Part I: Opener
while out of combat

Part II: Intermediary Part I


Part III: Intermediary Part II


Part IV: Intermediary Part III



Part V: Closer Part I


Part VI: Closer Part II


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Why is this the rotation breakdown? This enables you to keep up both Twin Snakes and Demolish while, simultaneously, using Snap Punch as much as possible in your rotation. The only change is that you get Leaden Fist at the start.​

Burst/Nuke (Single Weave) Phase Rotation​

Prepull

Burst/Nuke (Double Weave) Phase Rotation

Prepull

Use when ever possible
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Why is this your Nuke Rotation? This maximizes the amount of Dragon Kick/Bootshines while also using both Tornado Kick and Elixir Field while GCDs are on CD. with 761-914 SkS you will have 1.96s GCDs which is required for 11 GCDs in your RoF window. By having both the SkS and doing this rotation, all your oGCDs will be in relative sync with one another throughout the fight.

Why the two rotations? These two utilize both Single Weave and Double Weave rotations. Even if you have low ping, you may want to stick with Single Weave just because it's easier and more reliable than the Double Weave rotation with less chance of Clipping.

AoE (Single Weave) Rotation (Moderate/High Ping)


Aoe (Double Weave) Rotation (Low Ping)



Use when ever possible
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Why is this the AoE rotation? This rotation allows you to get your Twin Snakes ASAP into both your three oGCDs, allowing you to send out more Enlightened as soon as possible.

Why the two different rotations? Due to how Clipping works, These two rotations help you weave your oGCDs. With low enough ping, you can double weave without clipping though you may still want to do the Single Weave rotation still if you find yourself clipping too often.

Pros, Cons, Final Thoughts​

Pros: Monks are a highly mobile, active, dodgy class due to having zero animation lock. Couple their evasiveness with consistent DPS that doesn't fall off as long as you keep up your rotations; unlike other classes that have high burst damage, and you have a melee powerhouse. Their AoE is one of the best and the most consistent for melee DPS. As you level beyond 50 you will gain large nuke capabilities in both AoE and Single Target. With Brotherhoods 5% party damage, monks become a welcomed addition to any Raid/Static.

Cons: Monks have a higher dependency on tanks positioning bosses in fights than other classes. Due to us always needing to hit the back for Bootshine's critical strike, you may find yourself often asking tanks to move bosses just so you can do your DPS rotation. Also, because of Monk's complexities, it can be quite difficult to keep up your rotation when in high stress situations. Because of this, it can be incredibly hard to bounce back if you aren't familiar with the base rotation. Finally, monk leveling isn't intuitive when it comes to skills. Starting with your 1-50 grind, just getting your basic rotation won't end till you hit level 50. Chakra starts off as an unintuitive mechanic before getting Deep Meditation. Coupled with Anatman being a dead skill at the moment, Monk can have a few awkward skills.

Conclusion​

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Monk is an extremely fun class to play if you like to add a little complex spice to your melee game play. Monk has been a solid DPS since base 2.0 and has been a constant strong Melee DPS since. Their high mobility coupled with their positional game play makes for some fun little "dancing" as I like to call when fighting bosses. With that, concludes the Advanced Guide. If you have any questions or anything to add to the guide please email me at ghroelff14@gmail.com

Changelog:
v1.0: First post
v1.1: Made corrections to the nuke phase and aoe phase rotations
v1.2: Added terms section, added the single weave and double weave rotations​