Hello folks!
I have done some testing when it comes to old Inna+Raiment+Shenlong. Back in the day, I think it was season 11, this combo was one of the top builds, but it fell lower and lower every season. Few patches ago I switched to frenzy barb, as it have similar feel, but stronger and without the spirit mechanics. Currently with my pretty avarage paragon and items, Barb and Monk having similar quality of gear, monk falls of 20 Grifts behind (comfortable farming 105 on barb and 85 on Inna).
With the changes, it went to 95, but it wasn’t comfortable, because the defense didn’t scaled as nicely as damage and I had to switch Paragons. I also felt that Inna generator was OK only when it had flying dragon proc. On top of that, one skill has to be solely used to keep up the Shenlong buff.
The barb has permament AS buff, no resource management mechanics and better sheet dps. On skillbar we have Frenzy, Movement skill and damage/defensive buffs.
The monk after the buff has resource management, AS buff with limited uptime, worse sheet dps. On skillbar we need Generator, Mobility Skill, Mystic Ally, Breath of Heaven … and we are left with 2 skills.
Due to the fact, that Inna and Shenlong can be used in somewhat other builds, and that raw damage changes could affect other builds builds, I’ve created a list of things that could’ve been changed more if we want to target Inna Generator: Shenlong
Remove the energy drain during damage buff when proc’d
Add (Generator) Attack Speed Per Spirit
Add (Generator) Attack Speed on Proc
Increase the Damage per Spirit
Increase the Damage during Proc
Reasoning: Either remove the spirit mechanics as none of generator builds have them and increase the raw damage, or add solid attack speed to generators to free up a skill slot and make the build more fluent overall. Inna
-6 item bonus: You take 3% less damage per Ally and deal 1200% more damage per ally.
Additionaly: Maybe the 2 piece bonus and 4 piece bonus could be switched, to make 2Inna a good idea for other builds. I also thought on Matra/Ally changes on 2pc and 4pc, but it would ramp up Inna Support even higher. The set is so unique that putting more mechanics into it could backfire or be straight OP.
I like your comparison to barb frenzy. I also feel barbs build is better because of mechanics.
When back on ptr times with 1500% per ally inna gen and inna wol were pretty even and with 7k paras a 133ish. Compared to current tr build it is way to bad. (In my personal calculations a 1500% each ally would make me able to clear 125ish lvl where i did already 133 with tr)
I like the idea of changing shenlong a lot sice it would also help rainment build. Should be some dmg reduction in there.
There were also some feedback here:
and here
and if you like to see more general stuff about monk look here
If you like what is posted there, add a comment to lift it up on top of feedback such that the probability of hearing us is lifted.
I like what you have written here Monk and what we really need but I need to disagree on perma flying dragon - it would be awesome but it would make it a staple item for all of monk builds.
I would rather directly target the problematic stuff:
No defensive ring
No defense on Inna
Low overall damage (Inna/shenlong)
Hard mechanics/low uptime mechanics that are not rewarded enough
Now if we want to monk we can Tempest Rush or Support.
Definitely love what you suggested here for Shenlong. Also i love the idea to have DR per ally. Since innna can’t use Captain set, 3% per ally is a bit low, maybe 6% DR per ally?
And maybe add DR for the 4-piece effect since it seems that is most set DR been put to.
1200% will be underperforming I feel, but still better than 950%. However, I wish it to be at least 1500% per ally.
The only real problem with generator build is the FD RNG and of course, toughness.
Shenlong drain is 100% synergistic with the mechanics of attracting and attacking mobs, and mainly with CoE.
What happens is that apparently some still don’t know how to play Shenlong.
The Shenlong drain could be removed in exchange for a new creative and fun mechanic, but I completely disagree with removing the drain just to make it a generic item for general buffs.
And yes, Uliana, Inna, still have damage lower than TR.
I find it absurd that I can no longer dispose of his resource because of the drain. Moreover, the the penalty is too great compared to the damage provided.
Only problem is Epinany is terrible for Gen Monk since u gotta drop WoThF and lose the Assimilation stacks.
After learning how to play Duo Gen and no Epiphany back in S11, I realized how smoother the playstyle.
What Gen Monk needs is an Invigorating Gemstone like mechanic built into Shenlongs first or 2pc Raiment. Seriously those few who can push GRs with Gen Monk try this out for experiment…
drop ur Stricken and put in a lvl 100 Invogorating Gemstone and see how much ur survival goes up. Now we wont pass the GR since Stricken is gone, but the bigger heals and CC immunity makes a huge difference.
Console player btw and this is the 1st time I been able post in the same section as u PC guys.
That would definatrly help out… especially new players too. I’ve actually had a couple ppl want me to teach them Gen Monk in S16 on console and all of them struggled with survival and gave up lol…
That would also make it better for Seasonal play too since most wont have high paragons and augments. The Seasons I pushed with Gen Monk I hit around 1500 paragons and full augments and still felt a little squishy at times
the problem with an item like this is now it becomes a mandatory item in every monk build, having it in any build means we would be able to drop a ton of cooldown for more damage
I would rather have a ring that epiphany has effect of every rune, and you deal 50% more damage when epiphany is active. Since most other class has damage buff with some rune of similar skill. But none of monk epiphany rune gives damage buff.
I am not a big fan of such mechanics. I do not understand why my dps will drop every few seconds. Yes I regain the spirit very quickly, but really, I do not understand why I should lose it at first place while I am punching mobs.
In my opinion the damage boost of the shenlong-buff should depend on the amount of spirit that is actively generated. The buff would still be activated when maximum spirit is reached, but the base damage bonus should start out lower and spirit that is generated beyond maximum spirit increases the damage bonus. That would give a stronger incentive to generate as much spirit as possible and also makes it easier to balance shenlongs toward generator builds without making them too strong for other builds.
and give some dmg too?