IiPunch - Monk Guide

Job Abilities ►

►Hundred Fists - Level 1 | Recast: 60 Minutes | Duration : 45 Seconds

This reduces your attack speed by 75% after Martial Arts and Weapon Delay are calculated. This allows you to slightly bypass the normal delay reduction which otherwise takes Martial Arts into account while determining the cap. You will not benefit from Haste gear, but will benefit from Martial Arts gear while this is active.
Any action that is performed will "reset" Hundred Fists, causing one attack round to occur with normal delay calculations before it is resumed.

►Boost - Level 5 | Recast: 15 Seconds | Duration : 3 Minutes

Boost raises your attack by 12.5%, or 18.75% with Temple Gloves. This effect stacks with subsequent use for up to three minutes, but will wear off after any attack, Weapon Skill, or Chi Blast use. Unless you are not receiving Haste buffs, it will most likely be detrimental to use Boost. However, stacking Boost can provide for some amusing Chi Blast numbers.

►Dodge - Level 15 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : 2 Minutes

Dodge raises your evasion by 20, or 30 with Temple Gaiters. This ability is particularly useful on lower and mid-level content due to Monk's naturally high evasion skill. It is fairly simple to cap your evasion rate on nearly all older content, and get a decent evasion rate on newer things.

►Focus - Level 25 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : 2 Minutes

Focus raises your accuracy by 20, or 30 with Temple Crown. This ability is particularly useful on higher level content, especially when alternated (or combined for shorter fights) with Aggressor when subbing Warrior for higher-end fights. Effective use allows Monk to cap accuracy on most content (exceptions include higher tier Voidwatch, Legion, and certain THF mobs in Salvage II) without making any sacrifices to TP gear. This is, in part, due to the fact that large amounts of accuracy are on so many of Monk's best TP options.

►Chakra - Level 35 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : Instant

Chakra cures your HP by a small amount (and can provide a moderate Regen effect if Penance is merited) and removes Blind and Poison. The amount cured is affected by Vitality as well as a modifier which can be adjusted with gear. The formula is simply VIT * Modifer. The base modifier value is 2.0, but can be increased by 1.0 with Temple Cyclas, .6 with Melee Gloves, and .8 with Melee Gloves +2.

Notably, Temple Cyclas also allow the removal of Paralysis (hidden effect you'll swear exists: increase rate of Chakra being Paralyzed by 300%!), while Melee Gloves allows the removal of disease, and Melee Gloves +2 allows the removal of disease or plague.

►Chi Blast - Level 41 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : Instant

Chi Blast does a moderate amount of Spirit Damage to the target that cannot be resisted under normal circumstances. However, certain monsters, like Hydra (and variants) resist Spirit Damage. No TP is gained by the target from this ability.

Chi Blast damage is largely determined by MND and Boost usage. The formula is floor[ floor( MND * [Random Number Between .5 and 1] ) * ( (# of Boost * BoostIncrease%) + 1 ) ]. The BoostIncrease% term is always four times greater than the attack % granted by Boost. Therefore, it is naturally 50%; using Boost with Temple Gloves increases this to 75%. Making maximum use of Boost can yield really high Chi Blast numbers, though this is now a dated form of damage.

Instead, Chi Blast is mostly used for the merit that enhances it, Penance.

►Counterstance - Level 45 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : 5 Minutes

This ability, probably Monk's trademark, increases your Counter rate by 45% but alters your Defense calculation so that it is exceptionally low. While Counterstance is in effect, you only receive defense from the VIT calculation (VIT/2), Minne, and the Defense Bonus job trait. All other Defense bonuses, including those from gear and Protect, are not counted. The damage done from a counter is based on your stats, not your attackers. Furthermore, you can only counter while engaged and facing the mob.

Keep in mind that you cannot counter while asleep, petrified, terrorized, or stunned. You also cannot counter mob area attacks, such as those from Ironclads and Mantis mobs, nor can you counter TP moves.


Counterstance can be further enhanced through Melee Gaiters (5% Counter) or Melee Gaiters +2 (10% Counter). They do not need to remain equipped, only upon activation of the ability. This, combined with your base Counter rate (12%) and Merits (5%), allows you a potential 72% Counter rate before other gear (Note that after the accuracy check, this results in a 68% rate). It is important to have capped accuracy if you are using Counterstance - any Countered hit that "misses" means the Counter does not occur and you take the damage!

►Footwork - Level 65 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : 5 Minutes

This makes it so that your normal attack is a kick rather than punches. Note that you only kick once normally, though this is modified by multi-attack equipment. It also sets your base delay to 480 and increases base damage by 18. Your attack is also raised by 10%. Note that if you use Hundred Fists while this is in effect, you will punch instead.

Don't use this. Ever. Seriously.

►Perfect Counter - Level 79 | Recast: 1 Minute | Duration : 30 Seconds

This ability guarantees a Counter on the next counter-able attack directed at you, but will only occur if Counter does not occur or fails. Perfect Counter can miss, but you will not take damage as you would if a normal Counter missed. Furthermore, the counterattack has a 100% critical hit rate. Although this is good in a pinch, and nice to use before engaging something, job ability delay makes continuous use impractical unless you're tanking something difficult.

►Impetus - Level 86 | Recast: 5 Minutes | Duration : 3 Minutes

Attack is increased by 2 and Critical Hit Rate is increased by 1% with every successive attack landed. The value resets upon a miss, including during Counters and Weaponskills.

This is one of Monk's greatest advantages in terms of damage potential, and it allows MNK to keep up with and pull ahead of other top damage dealers. It is exceptionally important that you keep accuracy capped to maintain maximum use out of this job ability (sort of redundant, since it's always important to cap accuracy). If you are subbing Warrior (as you usually are on Monk), it is most effective to alternate the use of this and Berserk (with a 1 minute overlap) to maximize the effects of the attack boost. Unless your fight only lasts three minutes, using the two together may not allow you to fully utilize the attack bonuses.