[fiveeauxfour]

Feign Tips:

-Always turn off your auto attack before you Feign.

-Wait for an enemy caster’s spell to hit you before you Feign.

-Use walls and line-of-sight to help split up multiple casters.

-Teach your healer / buffer / bard when it's ok to cast on you. Lots of times a Song, Heal, or Buff cast on you right as or after you feign can cause all the creatures on you to go after the caster of the spell.

-Make sure YOU are the only one pulling. Two pullers not working together can cause lots of trouble.

-Know what your group can handle. Sometimes it's ok to bring more than one back.

-Make sure you know everyone's mana status, especially Healers.

-Make sure your Healers know if you have Mend recycled or not. You will have to use it sometimes on a pull that's not going well.



Instill Doubt – Level 18, skill cap (level +1) * 5

1. What is it?

Instill Doubt (or "ID" for short) is a skill usable by all 3 classes with access to rogue skills (Monk, Rogue and Bard). It was accidentally missed off the Monk trainers when EQ underwent commercial release, and that fact was not discovered for many months until one Monk received the skill by accident when a GM used a special command to restore his character. This Monk questioned the fact that he suddenly got the skill, and Verant finally admitted that all Monks should have received it and added it to our trainers.

When the skill is used, you attempt to intimidate your target into running away by performing a Martial Arts 'kata' to demonstrate your power to it.

2. When do I get it?

Once you reach level 18, you can learn the skill by training at any of the Monk trainers in Freeport, Qeynos, Rathe Mtns. or South Karana.

3. How do I raise it?

Instill Doubt is the hardest of all Monk skills to raise. When you put your first training point into the skill at level 18, that will grant you 18 skill in the ability. It is generally accepted that the skill goes up much slower between 18-40, and that increasing the skill to 40 using training points will save many weeks of frustration trying to build up the skill manually. Having a total of 23 skill points available at level 18 will allow you to buy the skill up to 40.

The skill can be raised by practicing it while having anything targeted (except yourself). NPCs, PCs, Pets, Corpses, Boats... If you can target it, you can raise ID on it. The skill will only raise on a successful skill check. You do not need to be in range of your target for skill to get an increase. You will get a message that the target is out of range, but there is still a chance of a skill gain.

So practice, practice, practice. When making those long runs across the Karanas, target a guard and ID as you run. When travelling across the sea, practice on the boat. When waiting between pulls at a camp, practice on your group-mates. Mash that ID button at each and every opportunity, and it will slowly, slowly creep upwards.

4. How do I use it?

The secret to successful use of ID is knowing that it counts as a special attack, even though it does not gray out, nor is it grayed out by a special attack.

If your special attack button is grayed out when the ID 'kicks' at the end of its animation, the result is an automatic failure of the skill. Also, if your special is available, and then your ID succeeds, your special attack will not work for a period of time equal to one kick. If you activate the special in this time it will fail to work.

A summary of the requirements for a successful ID:

a. Your 'special attack' button is not grayed out when ID 'kicks'.

b. The skill-check for ID succeeds.

c. A further skill-check on ID is done to attack the target. This is done as a 'kick' using the skill of ID rather than your kick skill. This kick must connect.

d. If the target can only be hurt by magical means, you must be wearing magical boots.

e. The target must not resist the fear spell.

That’s a lot of ‘ifs’ isn’t it? Well don't give up on the skill just yet. "a" can be dealt with using a little trick I will detail below. "b" and "c" will improve as the skill improves. "d" can be forgotten about after a small investment in footwear, but unfortunately there is little you can do about "e", except to have magic-resist debuffs cast at the target.

Timing ID and your specials:

1.With both buttons available, press the 'Instill Doubt' button.

2.When ID 'kicks,' and you get the message indicating it succeeded or failed, immediately press the button for your special attack.

3.When ID pops back up, hit it immediately.

4.When your special pops back up, do not press it immediately, instead wait for ID to 'kick,' then press it.

5.Repeat from 3.

This guarantees that ID gets a chance to succeed every time.

If you successfully fear your target, run after it, whacking it in the back, doing free damage while it is unable to hurt you in return. Keep using ID with the above timing because if you succeed on another ID while it is still running from the first, it will extend the fear spell.

5. When do I use it?

Because ID causes your target to run away from you, there are many circumstances when it should not be used. A common nickname for Instill Doubt is 'Instill Train,' because when used in a dungeon, the results are almost invariably lethal for the Monk and his group, as the feared creature runs for his life, aggravating every other creature it runs near to attack the Monk, causing horrific trains.

For this reason ID should only be used in outdoor zones, and even then, only when you know that the pathing will not cause the target to run near allies.




Conclusion

The Monk is a wonderful class to play, offering many skills and abilities to a group, other than just his damage output. None of the melee classes are particularly suited to playing solo. However, of them all, the Monk is the best soloer, as he can do full damage from any position (rogue needs to be behind to backstab to get near the Monks damage output), plus has good healing ability (high Bind Wounds skill and Mend).

Monks are hard to play at the low to mid levels before the skills are learned that define the class, but once those skills are learned, they become very powerful and highly desirable in groups at high level.