GameBanshee Forums

Ok it is me again from the thread
Monk vs Kensai/Mage vs Sorcerer

Well this time the same ppl are asking me for a rematch to show how lousy the monk class is(which i highly disagree), saying that it is possible to kill the monk without any spells.

One person is going to use a pure kensai while the other a pure archer. It is gonna free attack match. Anyone can kill anyone.

Choice of items will be anything from SOA to TOB. No dupicates of items for one character. Example two ring of gaax for one character.

I hope this time i will win though i really want to show these people the monk class is great. Wonder whether i can.

Not at all sure how this is gonna work out... But I believe the Kensai will kill you pretty fast. The Archer, however, will have a disadvantage in melee, and can hardly outrun you with Boots of Speed.

archer with greaterwhirlwind can lay waste to soemone from good distance and without anyone having spells, as long as he stays away he can pick you off. but if you really want to f$%k with the archer guy, use that shield from BG2 that reflects missiles back at their origin.
don't wanna use a shield? then the cloak of displacement would be a good choice as well.
plus the archer will have the advantage of hide in shadows to play sniper with ya'll. if he loads up on arrows of detonation, you will just be surrounded by explosions. if he uses crossbows, he has paralytic bolts to use on you.
i think the archer will have a decent advantage if it is played right.

If a Monk meets a Kensai, have the Monk using quivering palm and the kensai would probably die directly.

You can't really use a 3 people all-out fight for determining class supremacy. Two will fight first, and one of them will die without ever having encountered the third guy. Then the third guy shows up and has a significant advantage over the battle-worn survivor.

As for tips... There are some items that may give you an edge if others did not think about them:

• Ilbratha (short sword that casts Mirror Image)
• Gargoyle Boots (minor Stoneskin)
• Shield of Reflection (indeed!)
• Vhailor's Helm (Simulacrum!)
• Ring of Djinni Summoning (the Djinni can cast Flame Strike)
• Book of Infinite Spells (can cast Fireball, Lightning Bolt or Wyvern Call)

I'm not sure which of these can or cannot be used by Monks...

the monk can't use that helm

Quivering Palm ? HA ! Maybe once every 10 fights. Or never at all, with the super low saves available.

Toss the Archer out of this straight away. The monk has what -35 ac against missile ? That's without items too folks. Monk can get to -20 with items, and then lets throw in boots of missile avoidance and you have -60 against missiles. What the heck is the archer going to do ? Use his proficiency at weapons ? Nope. Archer is dead. Greater Whirlwind ? Possibly. An archer has no good high level ability to choose from. Why bother to keep clicking on the special abilities button when an improved haste gives you 9 attacks per round. And it won't really matter that much about the last attack since you'll be running for most of the match.

Listen folks, Greater whirlwind is a MEDIOCRE ability for an archer. Improved haste (available from any number of items) and Power attack/Smite/Critical strike, is VASTLY better than any sissy whirlwind. Yes, the whirl is good for melee meatheads, but it's not that great for archers.


The archer does have an inherent speed advantage however. He's the fastest one out there ! Boots of Speed, Amulet of the Cheetah, Taralash all stacking, that's vastly faster than any of the other charachters.

In melee, the Kensai will rip everyone apart. Melee-MASTER. Monk is nice with d20's, but nothing you have can replicate the stun ability of Celestial Fury and the 25 str. of Crom Faeyr. Ok ok, it's not realistic at all. But I never saw duels as anything more than a power-gamers gathering.


One major weakness in this match-up is that EVERYONE has bad armor choices, except the archer. But the kensai's thac0 is so low, no armor in the world is going to save you.

Hey, here's a bit of cheese.
If you max exp your kensai and shadowkeep him back to level 1 and do this over and over, the kensai bonuses to attack and damage will stack. I tested this out. As if the +13 the first time around wasn't enough. Imagine having +39's or what-not. Heh.

so, has this battle been fought yet?? who won?

Hind in shadow, and let the archer kill the kensai for you(if the archer has faster than normal movement, that is). The bonus AC vs missile can help u defeat the archer, but I don't think u have much chance going toe to toe with a kensai.

Monk hides in shadow...

Archer hides in shadow...

Kensai just stands there...

This is obviously not the way to go about it.