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Hi there, forum.
I'm going to start posting in-depth threads about my concerns with Monk class design. It's my favorite class, and while I consider that PF2's basic structure has a lot of potential, there are several issues I have that I think are tethering down the class from developing as a fully-fledged option.
While I initially wrote down my reactions to the class in this thread, I wanted to fully delve into each concern to see if the Paizo team can shine some light on their stances on each issue. I'll try to make a post on Monk class design once every week to avoid flooding the board.
Without further ado, I'll dig into this.
We've begun character creation for Doomsday Dawn, and two things about Monks became clear:
- Monks are extremely fragile early on. Even an 18 DEX Monk (which isn't going to be the baseline for all Monks) has a 15% chance to be crit by a Goblin Commando, one of the early enemies of the Playtest. Having high TAC is nice for sure, but the fact that early on, Monks are hurting for AC so much warps their value for the stat altogether.
- Monks have a significant incentive to pick up the shield cantrip through Ancestry feats or Arcane/Divine/Occult multiclassing. Due to having only one specialized reaction to boost defences, two feats deep into Crane Style, Monks are encouraged to nab the cantrip to obtain a quick on-demand boost to AC while also having an option for a reaction. Given that there's otherwise no good choices for defensive reactions, this seems like the overwhelmingly optimal course of action.
It's clear how both issues are related, but it's also noticeable how easy it would be to patch this in the Monk's favor: just give Monks a baseline, 1st level ability to on-demand increase their AC as a reaction.
This would require a rework of Crane Flutter, certainly, as the baseline defensive reaction would likely overlap with Crane Flutter's functionality... but I also believe Crane Flutter is problematic as it encourages NOT spending the turn in Crane Stance as much as ending the turn in it. Every other stance motivates you to use it to gain access to special actions – Crane Style/Flutter motivate you to do other things and then hop back into Crane Style to use the reaction.
Adding a baseline defensive reaction for Monks at 1st level would reduce the attractiveness of shield, reduce early game fragility, and spur a redesign for Crane Style/Flutter to be a better stance to use proactively.
Thanks for reading!
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Monks have a significant incentive to pick up the shield cantrip through Ancestry feats or Arcane/Divine/Occult multiclassing. Due to having only one specialized reaction to boost defences, two feats deep into Crane Style, Monks are encouraged to nab the cantrip to obtain a quick on-demand boost to AC while also having an option for a reaction. Given that there's otherwise no good choices for defensive reactions, this seems like the overwhelmingly optimal course of action.[/list] It's clear how both issues are related, but it's also noticeable how easy it would be to patch this in the Monk's favor: just give Monks a baseline, 1st level ability to on-demand increase their AC as a reaction.
You seem to talk about it as if the shield cantrip is only using a reaction, which is kind of strange... And please remember that if you ever use the shield cantrip and then use shield block, you cannot cast the spell again for the next 10 minutes.
That aside, it seems to me that you're just asking for the monks to have access to the Rogue class feat "Nimble Dodge", and that could make sense.
But between the expert proficiency in unarmored defenses and the +1 to AC from the crane stance, they seem to be on par with most of the classes using light armor.
And by the way you cannot hop back into Crane Style in the middle of your round since it has the open trait.
You seem to talk about it as if the shield cantrip is only using a reaction, which is kind of strange... And please remember that if you ever use the shield cantrip and then use shield block, you cannot cast the spell again for the next 10 minutes.That aside, it seems to me that you're just asking for the monks to have access to the Rogue class feat "Nimble Dodge", and that would make sense.
The 10 minutes recast timer is non-trivial but one Shield Block is enough protection against a critical hit throughout each encounter, assuming there's a 10 minute spacing.
The action cost to cast shield is not particularly steep – between increases to speed and Flurry of Blows, you have pretty good action economy.
There's a point to be said for straight up going for Crane Stance instead or wielding a Bo Staff for the Parry modifier, but the cantrip is easily attainable early on through Ancestry Feats, and otherwise opens up the way for powerful options through Multiclass Devotion feats.
Glad to see we're sort of in the same page on the conclusion, even if we don't see eye to eye in the rationale though!