Hiya!

I tried a few classes and in the end just found the monk class to be my favourite despite the problems with bugs/stances/dps etc.. that my fellow monks have expressed concern with. The problem is, my friends have made characters within the Kojani race, so to be able to enjoy my game time with them I did the same. Here is where my problem comes.

I have an understanding of how race stats and attributes work, but at the same time, have found myself having a hard time finding a look that I like as a Kojani Human, and the only look that I really like alot is the character that is a half elf and because of this, I started levelling my monk as a half elf who is currently level 12.  I have spoken to my friends and found myself to be more confused, as some say because half elf provides 2 int/1 dex/1 vit, therefore I am losing 3 attribute points with that race as a monk doesn't really have much of a use for int and vitality. Therefore, some recommended my rerolling as a Kojani Human so I can make use of all my attributes, which I do undertand. At the same time though, others have said that is isn't a huge difference if I did choose half elf and to go with whatever race I like the look of.

I also read a guide explaining attributes/racial stats and it said that no matter what race you choose as a monk, you will be able to max 3 stats. So I thought, well if that is the case, then I can go with Half elf as monk's really only need to spec in str/dex/con. But then I was told that the info was incorrect and it wasn't possible to max 3 stats if I wen't Half elf and that I would be losing somewhere of around 150 attribute points if I did choose that race.

So having heard all this, I decided it would be more of a help if I asked my fellow monks what their opinion/advice would be and if possible, to breakdown the attributes if need be so I can see if and how many attribute points I may be losing should I continue with my half elf monk. As I said, I have researched some on attributes and racial stats, but have found myself quite confused at the moment due to being told the information is wrong, while others claim it is correct, so now I am not sure if I am going to have a huge loss or not staying as I am.

Any reply is very appreciated and I thank you in advance for any advice with this and hope to understand my choices a little better in the process.

1. It works like this:

Humans can raise each attribute to a max of 5 per level.
Humans get 14 points to spend per level.

Other races can only raise each attribute a max of 4 per level.
They get 10 points to spend.
4 of those points are already allocated for them.


2. No matter which race you pick, You'll want to put points only into Str, Dex, and Con.
Vitality is of very limited use to a monk because they have no energy to recharge. It only affects how much dull pain heals for.
Wisdom does absolutely nothing because you have no energy bar and no spells that crit.
Intelligence is of no use for a Monk because he has no spells. Everything is jin based, which goes off Strength for it's damage.
This is actually a blessing for Races who have their stats geared towards Str, Dex, and Con, but renders useless races like the Half Elf.



3. The Half Elf. Every level you automatically get +2 Int, +1 Dex, +1 Vit. Then you have 10 points to spend freely. You'll put those into Str and Dex, then Con, with a max of +4 for each. This will give you +4 Str, +5 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Vit.

A Human, in contrast, has no points allocated automatically, and gets 14 to spend. So you end up with +5 Str, +5 Dex, +4, Con.

Now, if you're wondering what the point is in not taking a human, it's this: Races that allocate +2 or +3 of a stat per level, when combined with the +4 you can spend, gives you a potential +6 or +7 of that stat.
Races that give +1 on a stat just means you can reach +5, putting you potentially on par with a Human in that given stat.

So the Half Elf ends up wasting 3 points. You end up with +4 Str, +5 Dex, +2 Con.
And the Half Elf Racial is terrible IMO.
The Half Elf also has a racial ability that all elves get, which gives them a plus to mana regeneration - Also something that a Monk has no use for.



5. Kojani, Qualithari, and Mordeb humans are all excellent choices. They all have good combat racials and allow you to get a nice stat distribution of 5 str, 5 dex, 4 con. Humans also get +10 to weapon skills, which either gives then a small damage bonus.

The Qual and Kojan racial are both going to buy you more time in combat, with one basically making you immune for 10 seconds and the other instantly healing you for a good amount.

I like swiftness of sands because it recharges faster and is evasion based to avoid any stuns that may come your way. But the Kojan one is useful for when your healer needs an emergency recharge of mana, or if a team member is going down fast and the only way to save them is with the help of it's instant heal.

The Mordebi racial I haven't used, but it sounds useful enough. It basically freezes the target into an unbreakable stasis for a set period, which can be good if you need to buy time bylocking an add out of the fight for a while.


6. The rest of the races are:
Orcs +2 con +2 Str, +2% mitigation.
Globins +3 vit, +1 int, +2% evasion.
Dark Elf +2 Int, +1 Dex, +1 Wis, +2% mana regeneration.
Raki +2 Vit, +1 Dex, +1 Int, +2% melee evasion.

In terms of efficient stat distribution, all of them are out except the orc. +6 Str, +4 dex, +4 Con



7. Many argue that in the long run race doesn't even matter, because what you gain from racial bonuses is not much compared with the boosts you're getting from your gear.
The difference between +4 Str and +5 Str at level 50 is just a base of 40 more points. So it's not something that will break you.
Based on this many recommend you pick whatever race you prefer, and consider which racial abilities you would prefer.

Personally I like to min-max stats as much as possible, and wanted to be a Kojan Human anyway.

Not sure where you start on Qalia.. however if you get to a dock area you can pretty much port to either Tanvu or to Cal' Brael(sp) then to Tanvu from there.  So it probably would not be that hard.

Gear will help you over come your stat differences.  It is not a matter of whether you have better gear than the next guy, it is a matter of what gear you choose.  Does your gear have more str than dex, or maybe more con.  I myself went with Orc.  Their racial bonus is pretty good as it gives me hp back for every hit for like 7 seconds or something.  And being harmonious, I am bound to crit within 7 seconds and can generally refill my entire hp bar.  Plus I get 6 str per level.  So I get more str than kojani, but less dex.  It is all a matter of play style and your likings.  Play what you like.

In case you didn't know; You can change the look of your character at any time after you've made it. Hit the customize button on the character screen and you can fully customize your look all over again.

Have you all actually gotten the Qalia human racial ability to work.  I hit it in emergenices and it says it's healed me 100 and then I die.

My opinion based advice is to stay with your halfelf. You did choose it as the first choice and that is often based on the feel for the character, you chose it because you liked it. I think that is more important than the minor difference in stats. You may end up not liking your Qaliatharian if you reroll.

I play a halfelf harmonious myself and will never reroll. A guildie plays a Qaliatharian harmonious monk and we are both 24. The difference between us is not that big, hardly noticeable. He is using a lot of crafted DEX gear but seems to have hit some kind of cap in DEX. I myself is using a mix of STR+CON, STR+DEX and some DEX only like the infineum robe where I chose the DEX robe unlike other monks who went for the dodge one. There is also an abundance of different jewelry with a mix of stats to choose from.

Minmaxing is not a requirement. I know people who played halfelf druids in EQ, the worst race of them all for that class. In the end they were equally competitive as the other races.