Are handwraps just worse than other options?
- Thread starter Purr
- Start date
Ying
5000+ hours played
Monk handwraps is a solid build if you take the Swords to Plowshares feat and go Shintao T5 and the capstone.
I dont Like gimps
Well-known member
Quick Past life? --->Qstaff
staying at cap? ---->Hwraps
Being good at cap? ---> Shuri but u will go suicidal to level one
being good at cap with Hwraps? --->RC
staying at cap? ---->Hwraps
Being good at cap? ---> Shuri but u will go suicidal to level one
being good at cap with Hwraps? --->RC
Purr
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What's RC?
Terranigma
Well-known member
RC is likely a shorthand for the Iconic Shifter: RazorClaw
Svirfneblin
Well-known member
It is a Cola, and a good one at that albeit sweet and harder to find.
Uska
Founder
Bjond
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Saekee has the critical question. It's not about profile, it's about your goal. Raid-parked is vastly different than L20 Heroic TR. Want monk PL? DL? Heard all the stories about razorclaw and want to go full beast mode?
- Monk PL? Q-Staff is the best sub-cap melee (include 3 Rogue asap for acrobatics & trip)
- Razorclaw monster? Kensei 17x4 beats DL 18x5, but DL has trance + imbues + helpless , while Full Barbie has Visage!
- Capped monk? Level as INQ, park as Shuriken. Never EVER level as a thrower.
Basically, as far as scalar multipliers go, handwraps ends up far ahead of others, especially because it's a pure scalar unlike profile, which only scales your weapon (not sneaks or imbues or other procs).
BTW, you might need maximum PLs to make RC beat Haxen. My RC builds currently end up ~6% weaker than the 15x5 profiled Swash+DL. IMHO, this would shift to RC if I had more AP via Racial PLs for extra scaled damage. Building for wraps is also MUCH harder than MH+OH -- one less slot for set gear. Oh, and if you're not comparing to 15x5 profile, RC wraps wins. Even 16x5 looses to RC's crazy scalar.
I haven't run numbers on monk handwrap. It will have lower profile than RC + DL|Kensei, but it also has access to more sneak and +W. That might more than offset the profile issue; 18x3 is only 29/35 to 18x5 (17% down). If you want to try a fist monk just for the fun of it, the DPS is still VERY good -- probably as good or better than any 16x4 weapon build. Include WWA in your build in this case. It's good DPS, but it's even better fun; fist monk has (had?) the silliest WWA animation.
Is this still true after the Razorclaw fix/nerf that happened recently?
Also, does DL trance work while the RC is shifted? Or do you have to pick one or the other?
Catmosphere
Well-known member
Racial Completionist
Bjond
Well-known member
All of my commentary is from builds I was paper-checking in the past couple days. 'Claw hasn't changed on paper. It only changed in game (the ultra-hasted attack bug was fixed).
THAT was a great question. You have to choose.
I just tested this in game and shift will cancel existing STR-Trance and STR-Trance can't be used while shifted. You can use the CHA-Trance with Shift||Rage, though. Unless you have enough extra AP buy something else and a decent second stat to drive it, your trance during rage will be rather pathetic compared to what a prime-stat trance would be.
Skaldic Rage does work with STR-Trance, but it does not count as a rage for triggering other rage effects like Bloodfeast and does not benefit from rage-enhancing features in any tree; ie. it's got "rage" in it's name, but it's not a rage. It's STR bonus is typed as rage, though, and won't stack with real rage or shift rage STR.
BTW, I didn't check barbarian for razorclaw, but it should be similar in DPS. Pure barbie can pickup Visage, which can delete entire packs -- great for questing, but your raid boss DPS will be lower than the 18/1/1 versions.
razorclaw in this case
Uska
Founder
this I like my new qstaff monk.but my Handwrap monk is better
only run handwraps builds currently on Drow which is nice. up to 16 imbue dice and criting non reaper for about 30k with the extra 1000 coming from poison damage. new uags from M.D. will bring me up 19 dice. really do not know what a solid crit is non wraps seems not nerfed to me
mojomuscle
mojomuscle
From various comments in this post and others it seems that handwraps are fine at cap and in epic while qstaff is solid for heroic leveling. I just want to know if handwraps is that much of a slow grind in heroics that it should be avoided. Or is it fine in heroics but just not as good and fast as qstaff provided you have some past lives under your belt?
Possibly also comes down to the gear you have at cap. I have a raid QStaff but nothing at all for handwraps even in Epic. I will probably go QStaff as I also have Elemental Bloom.
If I was spending months rather than weeks at cap I would assume I would pick up good handwraps so wouldnt be as concerned about existing gear.
Id also consider levelling a thrower build given Im in a static group so wouldnt be as concerned with lower DPS, while knowing Id be completely survivable.
In heriocs it is all about speed go wind stance minor wrap upgrade in augment slots, come October grind the negative energy damage clicky to boost your damage for non-undead. should be fine get the salt marsh ring if your running reaper for ethereal.