I currently play on FV, I have a heroic character available to use and was considering going rogue or monk. I want to be able to 2 box to level effectively, but I want to be able to actually get into groups with other people at higher levels. I have 2 accounts that I can box with my main account for leveling. One has a sham, bst and mage, the other has a wiz Dru and bard. All of these alts are between 84-96. I was really leaning towards rogue initially, but will groups actually want me at max level? Is monk/sham still a powerful combo? I could 3 box but I'd really like to only 2 box to allow room for my wife and other human players, not to mention it's easier and faster to load up and run 2 toons
Both are very good DPS at max level, but I'd say Monk is probably a little more desirable because they are more versatile. People do still want rogues in their groups, because their DPS can make all the difference between winning a mission or not. I think every time my fellowship won an RoS hero mission, it was with a rogue's help. They are kind of one-dimensional though, whereas the monk can DPS, pull, tank, limited CC, etc.
A shaman is a powerful box to have. Buffs, heals, slows, dots. Pairing that with another class, ideally that class would be able to tank. A monk can tank, although it usually requires a lot of attention to do so as a box, and even more when doing it in group gear. I'm not sure of the feasibility of rogue tanks, but I'd wager a monk can out tank a rogue. A shaman slowing the mob will absolutely help in both situations. Both are good for DPS. Rogue SoS makes them preferred for corpse runs, getting in to tricky areas, or whatever else you use SoS for. Monks can do the same with FD flopping, but it's not as effective nor graceful. Monks are going to have an edge on pulling. Rogues can pull, for sure, but monks have more tools for crowd control, splitting, and dealing with multiple mobs. I'm biased towards monks since I am one. But rogues can be fun too. There aren't too many of either class these days, since they've both been neglected for a while. Fortunately, it seems like we're on the rise, and may be a flavour of the month soon. Overall, play a class you enjoy. They'd both perform at the same level with a shaman.
I find that a great many monks use the supposed utility of the class as an excuse when they under perform on dps. The utility is rarely called for, and also they're never nearly as good at employing that utility as they think they are. But they ("they" meaning -- 19 out of 20 monks?) under perform pretty constantly on dps. There are ~3 monk mains on my entire server I trust not to just be plain worse in a group than inviting an average rogue or berserker who's not inclined to make excuses. Monk pulling is like ranger headshot. It's a nice thing for good players, but it does the opposite of make the class good.
Go Rogue. Rogue raid weapons rot daily, there are simply not enough rogues to go around. Sorry to hear 19 of 20 monks suck on Erollisi Marr. Drunkenmonkie on Tunare will teach them how to monk for the low low price of 1 krono / hour, I'm sure! Conq
The monk utility though is being able to pull, a job that is very important role. If the dps sucks for rogue, you have nothing to fall back on, and enchanters will make your paltry backstabs a joke with their pets hitting for a stable amount.
Why are you chosing rog vs mnk? Generally they aren't the easiest to build a 2box team with. If you wanted to 2box with them, I'd recommend pairing them with your beastlord that can offer a pet tank and ADPS. If you decide to three box, adding the shaman to that is a good combination. A better combination would be plateTank/sha + rog or mnk, but plateTank + rog or mnk on its own doesn't have the ADPS/utility behind it to be effective.
Damn, I didn't think of how easy it would be to get rogue loot. And I do like the idea of playing an underplayed class. I also really miss pickpocketing... Is it super douchey to PP in groups nowadays? I rolled a monk last night and bought some tbm gear and augs. When I get home tonight I'm going to test him out some, if I don't feel like he's tanky enough I might reroll rogue. I can recycle the augs for the most part
I realize they aren't the best foundation for a box group. I already box war/sham/dru, war is at 100. I also box ench/mag/wiz all in the low 90s currently. My wife mains a bst that we use to tank HAs from time to time, and she has a zerk alt that more than likely will level with whatever I roll. I want to main a melee class and berserker is the least appealing of the 3 to me. Monk- I think I might be able to tank HAs up to 100ish, and is a class I think I might want to actually play. I'm tired of playing warrior, I played warrior from release through velious and then again through PoP. Monk I've never played first hand. Rogue- I can pair with my mage if I really need an actual tank. Was hopeful that I might not even need a real tank for most things if I have my sham box, but I don't know. I haven't played a rogue since Kunark, but I enjoyed the class for the short amount of time that I have on one.
Anyone saying rogues are one dimensional obviously have no clue how to play the class. Rogues are incredible pullers and can do short duration cc as well.
Well I went ahead and rerolled as rogue. I like it so far, I haven't been able to do much pulling/splitting yet as I'm only 87 and the other lowest characters I have to box with are 92. I have practiced some in HoT on regular mobs and think I have a pretty good feel for how to use my CC abilities. I have to say, I am pretty surprised at how well I can offtank HA mobs that are yellow and red. With TBM chest clickie I have enough defensives to cycle through to keep me alive and keep pulling non stop without having to split.
