According to the numbers at VG Players there are currently 10,866 Monks level 10 or higher.  There are 65 Monks that have achieved level 48 and up.

That is less than 1% (0.59%) that have actually endured the class enough to make it to 50.

Is that due to the Monk being the step child at Sigil -OR- the grind being more than anticipated?

I endured the pain of the monk for 3 months before finally saying screw it.  It had nothing to do with the grind.  It had everything to do with Sigil not being able to deliver even close to what the description of the monk is or any of its forms.  Each patch makes the monk worse and worse with the exception of one patch that barely brought us back to where we were.

I have rolled 6 alts and each of them smoked the monk in early levels.  Currently I am playing a necro and is now almost lvl 23.  Ive never had so much fun.

This topic contains TRUTH.

It's really sickening how poorly this game is being handled and I daresay it's worse than SWG was after launch.

If you're telling me there is not at least ONE specific developer in charge of EACH class and it's associated problems, then something is VERY wrong.

It's CLEARLY evident there is no developer playing a monk, because the changes that have been made thusfar appear to be made by someone who has no grasp of the class or how it performs at the various stages of the game.

Quinn can relay all the information we post that he wants, but unless a developer sits down and plays our class to see where the different pieces of the puzzle fit. we're always going to suck.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, it's a matter of demographics. We're the minority in both players and income to Sigil, so therefore we're of low priority.

Sorry that my tone degrades considerably with each post I make, but I'm so beyond sick of the horseSNARF this class has been dealing with since launch and the shady dodgyness of the devs, including Talisker who apparently just wants to "spread the love."

Sigil can not honestly expect Monks to be complacent with the calibur and quality of the attention the worst class in the game has received since the launch of the game. When you're paying 4 months for a premium service, I don't care how overworked or understaffed Sigil is, that is not the concern of the paying customer.

It's a waste of time and a waste of money, and like I said before, it's sickening.

Same crap went on in SWG, look how that game ended up.

  Maybe worst of all is the feeling that playing a VG monk gives me.  I feel like a hanger-on, an experience leach, a group member that everyone is allowing to be there for the ride.  Not sure of the exact way to put it, but you get the point.  The majority of my time is spent duoing with my wife who plays a cleric.  She can kill anything we can kill together.  If I'm not logged in yet, or travelling to our quest of the moment, she just starts or continues on her own.  This doesn't exactly yield a contributing feeling for me, although she downplays it as much as possible.
 
Every group we have joined since the game started has been because we have a cleric.  I realize that will always be the majority, but 100%?!

  Yesterday we were asked to help a duo in our area attempt a 3 dot purple named.  They were 30 while we are 28.  I chased it around while one of the 30's kited it.  I saw 2 hits by me in the entire fight.  (I'm sure I missed a few but not many)  They were both BF's for damage of 14 each.  I felt so damn heroic!!!!!
 
  I have no interest in other classes, I have 0 alts.  I loved being an EQ monk.  But I only play the adventuring sphere anymore because my wife enjoys it.  Otherwise, I'd do nothing but grind crafting WO's and dip.

  VG looks, feels, and in many ways plays exactly how I want my fantasy rpg to be.  But RL beats you into the ground enough as it is.  Playing a fantasy game is not supposed to do the same. 

Hello all,

I have been reading posts on this site since about the beginning of February but haven't made many posts myself.  Recently, I made 40th lvl and I'm relatively close to 41.  Through those 40 lvls I have seen my fair share of uselessness in group situations just as you have.  For instance, my duo partner is a 40 psi.  We kite pretty much anything we can find outdoors.  Now, he tells me it goes MUCH faster with me beating on mobs from behind, but I know (as said above) he can kill anything solo that we have killed together.

Just the other day we invited a 42 ranger to group with us just east of Ahgram where the 4dot minotaurs are.  When we first saw him he was kiting the named mino around and doing more than fine.  I watched the life of the named go down in chunks.  Not that I'm big on class envy or anything but it made me a little sad to see another light melee do so well against such a tough mob and my class is still for the most part incapable of soloing anything worth while.  Now i'm not saying we should be able to solo anything of the sort considering 4 dots have unbelievable hps and hit for 1100ish.  We are not supposed to solo that kind of power.  However,  I do believe we should at the very least be able to solo 3 dots of equal level and that doesn't happen very often.  I have way too much trouble trying to solo any of the 3 dots in the arena for coins.  Yet I can watch many other classes do just that with no problems.

I know my argument was largely about solo ability.  The point is your solo talents remain in tact during group situations.  This means my inability to defeat 3 dot mobs consistently in solo will show through lower dps and utility in groups.

Guess I said all that just to say I agree that we are a broken class who is currently getting no dev attention to fix things.  The nerf bat gets swung at our heads often    and has caused many in our communtiy to start alts.  (self included)

The thing that hurts the most is much like EQ our class has so much potential to be great but the fact we are frontal dps and not situational dps imo scares the hell out of the devs.  Those are my thoughts on our situation.  Hit me back if you agree say you're stupid if you don't.   

Vanguard is the last game I am going to play right from release, If I have learned anything from all these developers is that they Never Ever Ever Ever release a finished polished game. I'll be back in 6 months when perhaps monks are actually a viable class.  unfortunaly for myself,  I'm not content with just playing another class,  I'll go back to playin my monk in Eq

Very well said, Vinjin.

A sad parallel;

Horizons - Glorious plans, everyones dream MMO, So terribly implemented it became sad beyond words.

Vanguard - Glorious plans, everyones dream MMO, So terribly implemented it is sad beyond words. BUT really pretty graphics.

Welcome to the niche world, 10k subscribers here we go...

The only thing HZ had that VG doesn't, is the promised but never delivered "Super Secret Sauce Release Build(tm)"