In Gravity Corp's MMORPG Ragnarok Online, Acolytes can choose their second job as a Monk. The monk is a physical/melee class that can, although rarely, provide secondary support in the absence of a priest (for the buffs blessing and agi up)". It is most noted for an ability called "Asura Strike" (sometimes called Guillotine Fist, or Extremity Fist); an attack some consider the most powerful ability in the game, which may result in damage exceeding possible character health. With the right weapon and appropriately built stats, Asura Strike can do massive amounts of damage in a single hit. Their roles in PvE is either to be the main source of damage to a boss monster, or to let to boss and his minions hit him while other players provide the damage. In War of the Emperium (WoE), they are mostly used for ground control, staying in the backlines and taking out enemy characters that get too close.
Five types—called "builds"—of the Monk character class are the Combo Monk, Spirit Monk, Dasher Monk, Asura Monk, and Diamond Monk. Each class requires certain stats combined with specific skills in order to reach their effectiveness.
- Combo Monk: Usually the fastest attacker of the five types. The Combo Monk utilizes the "Raging Trifecta Blow," "Raging Quadruple Blow," and "Raging Thrust" abilities to string together multiple attacks. A fast leveling build, although it lacks somewhat in player versus player situations due to lack of burst damage skills and accuracy.
- Spirit Monk: Uses Spirit Spheres to power its skills. The Spirit Monk is often feared by higher defense builds, as the skill "Occult Impaction" does more damage to more resistant targets. Versatile, and also capable of killing most players with "Asura Strike," though not generally nearing the damage of a monk dedicated to the skill.
- Dasher Monk: Makes use of the skill "Snap" (sometimes called Dash Like a Bullet) to get around the battlefield quickly. Considered a hybrid between combo and spirit, but is often difficult to play, owing to the widely spread skill tree required to receive the "Snap" skill.
- Asura Monk: Asura monks utilize the Asura Strike skill to deal massive amounts of damage in one blow. In PvP, the idea is take out a target in one blow (thus preventing the from regaining his hp either via potions or heals from allies). The damage of the skill is based on the users attack, and remaining amount of SP. The skill instantly uses up all remaining SP, and prevents regeneration for five minutes after use. SP can be regained afterwards either by using SP regenerating consumables (such as blue potions, or strawberries), or by the aid a of an allied professor via the skill Soul Exhale. Properly geared and buffed Asura Monks can deal upwards of 200,000 to 300,000 damage, which is very useful for boss battles. Generally, these monks have high STR and DEX, depending on whether they were meant for PvP or PvE, and moderate amounts for INT.
- Diamond Monk: Taken from the Japanese name for the "Mental Strength" skill, the Diamond Monk is built to withstand massive amounts of both physical and magical damage. The skill is not interruptible, and reduces all incoming damage by 90%. The reduction further stacks with the users MDEF and DEF, as well as the priest skill Assumptio, making a Mental Strength champ undeniably the best tank in the PvE world. It is used almost exclusively to take damage while other players attack, as while the Mental Strength state, all of the user's active skills are disabled. The hardest type of monk to create, owing to its lack of offensive capabilities. Leveling such a monk usually requires the help of allies, in a method known as leeching.
Read more about this topic: Monk (character Class)