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Monk Artifact Armor.

With their bodies that double as deadly weapons, monks attack enemies with explosive strength.

Official description

Monk is a basic job in Final Fantasy XI available to players. It is also a common job among beastmen and the job type for all mandragora. Monks excel in hand-to-hand combat; sometimes with their bare fists, but usually by equipping various knuckles and similar hand-to-hand weapons. Monks wear light armor and have very high hit point totals.

In terms of the races of Vana'diel, the Galka, and the Elvaan stand out as the preeminent monks. High strength for Elvaan make them favorable, while Galka's naturally high HP can make for some ridiculously high HP totals. Combined with high vitality, Galkas make for quite strong monks. The race least suited to being monks is probably the Tarutaru due to their low HP and weaker physical characteristics.

Becoming a Monk[]

Monk is a basic job that players can choose to level without having completed any quests. A player choosing to start as a Monk will receive a White Belt, the first in a series of 4 belts that can be earned.

Abilities[]

For a more in-depth description, see the Monk abilities page

Job abilities[]

Job Ability Level Recast Duration Description
Hundred Fists 1 1:00:00 0:00:45 Speeds up Attacks.
Boost 5 0:00:15 0:03:00 Enhances the power of your next attack.
Dodge 15 0:05:00 0:02:00 Enhances evasion.
Focus 25 0:05:00 0:02:00 Enhances accuracy.
Chakra 35 0:05:00 Cures certain status effects and restores a small amount of HP to user.
Chi Blast 41 0:03:00 Releases chi to attack an enemy.
Counterstance 45 0:05:00 0:05:00 Increases chance to counter but lowers defense.
Footwork 65 0:05:00 0:05:00 Makes kicks your primary mode of attack.
Mantra 75(Only unlocked with Merit Points) 0:10:00 0:03:00 Increases the max HP of party members within area of effect.
Formless Strikes 75(Only unlocked with Merit Points) 0:10:00 0:03:00 While in effect, melee attacks will not be considered physical damage. No effect on weapon skills.
Perfect Counter 79 0:01:00 0:00:30 Allows you to counter the next attack directed at you.
Impetus 88 0:05:00 0:03:00 Enhances attack and critical hit rate with each successive melee attack you land.
Inner Strength 98 1:00:00 0:00:30 Increases your maximum HP.

Job traits[]

Job Trait Levels Tier Description
Martial Arts 1 / 16 / 31 / 46 / 61 / 75 / 82 VII Reduces delay for Hand-to-Hand attacks.
Subtle Blow 5 / 25 / 45 / 65 / 91 V Reduces amount of TP gained by enemies when striking them.
Counter 10 / 81 II May cancel target's attack with an attack of your own.
Max HP Boost 15 / 35 / 55 / 70 / 86 / 96 VI Increases your maximum HP.
Kick Attacks 51 / 71 / 96 III Occasionally adds kick attacks.
Invigorate 75(Only unlocked with Merit Points) Varies Adds a Regen effect when using Chakra.
Penance 75(Only unlocked with Merit Points) Varies Adds an effect to Chi Blast that inhibits an enemy's TP accumulation.
Tactical Guard 77 / 87 / 97 III Grants bonus TP when guarding against an attack.
Skillchain Bonus 85 / 95 II Improves skillchain damage.

Skill ratings[]

Combat Skill Rank Caps by Level
49 99
Hand-to-Hand A+ 150 424
Club C+ 139 378
Staff B 144 398
Throwing E 124 300
Guard A- 150 417
Evasion B+ 144 404
Parrying E 124 300

Gameplay[]

Monk FFXI Ikeda Art

Monks are a very high damaging, versatile job. While they basically do only one type of damage, bludgeoning, and have a relatively low skill for a main weapon, they have access to a great deal of Speed, Strength, and Accuracy bonuses that more than make up for any lack of accuracy naturally.

Strengths[]

  • Monks do very good damage versus average and low defense creatures and extremely high damage versus Skeletons.
  • High HP total.

Weaknesses[]

  • Monks struggle against high Defense enemies such as Crabs.
  • Monks do not have a weapon skill that can create distortion until late in the game, which is a player preference-created stigma associated with the job.
  • Monks have relatively low defense.


Subjobs[]

Warrior[]

Until reaching level 70, almost all Monks found in Vana'diel will probably be using Warrior as a subjob. There are many reasons why Warrior is so highly favored, including the fact that Berserk will drastically increase damage over time and it stacks with Monk's Boost ability for extra weapon skill damage. Provoke makes them good at being a "SATA" partner or as an off-tank if things go wrong. Double Attack provides an extra increase in damage.

Ninja[]

After level 70, the Ninja subjob takes off in popularity, if only because of the advent of "Bones Parties" and other "TP-Burn" style parties where rather than having a tank, hate can bounce between party members freely, all of whom have blink through Utsusemi.

Thief[]

A few Monk players prefer a moderate drop in damage over time to do more so-called "spike damage", which refers to damage dealt in an an instant, usually because of Sneak Attack and/or Trick Attack. To facilitate this, the player must use Thief as a subjob.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]

Monk appears on cards.

Final Fantasy Portal App[]

221a Monk

Monk appears as a Triple Triad card.

Gallery[]

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