Non-twinked newb Monk - armor or no?

[Kyosho]

So I've got a human monk to about level 6, and I keep struggling with whether to wear armor or not. The problem is that I want to loot my kills, and earn money, but looting ends up putting me over the weight limit pretty much instantly. I'm just wondering, whether, for now, if I should just forget about the weight limit and wear leather armor? If I do, at what point does that make me less effective?

I probably should have chosen a different class for one of my first characters, so I wouldn't have to worry about money. But I really like playing monks..

[Estu]

Farm spider silk and craft yourself a set of cured silk - it'll give you some AC with very little weight. Then work from there to get upgrades. Don't wear leather IMO. Cloth then silk, then cheap upgrades in EC. Loot-wise, only keep platinum and gold - destroy silver. Loot gems and research components as well - they start dropping at around level 12 or 16. What you basically miss out on is silver, copper, and vendor weapons/armor trash (e.g. bronze weapons/armor, rawhide, fine steel) - not really huge cash cows. You'll make a decent amount of money from gems and research materials, and each of them only weigh 0.1 each. Pick up some low-weight bags too - large bags come to mind (6 large slots, 1 weight each) or maybe even some wrist pouches (4 tiny (or maybe small?) slots, something like 0.4 weight each).

[mcappy]

Farm spider silk and craft yourself a set of cured silk - it'll give you some AC with very little weight. Then work from there to get upgrades. Don't wear leather IMO. Cloth then silk, then cheap upgrades in EC. Loot-wise, only keep platinum and gold - destroy silver. Loot gems and research components as well - they start dropping at around level 12 or 16. What you basically miss out on is silver, copper, and vendor weapons/armor trash (e.g. bronze weapons/armor, rawhide, fine steel) - not really huge cash cows. You'll make a decent amount of money from gems and research materials, and each of them only weigh 0.1 each. Pick up some low-weight bags too - large bags come to mind (6 large slots, 1 weight each) or maybe even some wrist pouches (4 tiny (or maybe small?) slots, something like 0.4 weight each).

I'd add that if you plan on tailoring, you can make bags at very low skill that are slightly lighter than regular bags and give you 10% weight reduction. Low quality pelts and the small number of spiderling silks required are very easy to come by, especially starting in Freeport.


Tailored Large Bag
One Low Quality Bear Skin and one Silk Cord
Weight - 0.8, Slots - 6, Holds - Large, Weight Reduction - 10%, Trivial - 41

Tailored Large Belt Pouch
One Low Quality Cat Skin and one Silk Cord
Weight - 0.6, Slots - 6, Holds - Medium, Weight Reduction - 10%, Trivial - 37

Tailored Small Bag
One Low Quality Wolf Pelt and one Silk Cord
Weight - 0.4, Slots - 4, Holds - Medium, Weight Reduction - 10%, Trivial - 3