Category H: Nerfing the Monk Directly

The monk is too powerful? Then nerf him directly! DMF too powerful? Then don't let them have two!

1) Nerf one or more of the monk's base stats

Summary: Many say that the best way to deal with someone who abuses their power is to tear them down! Let's look at some stats that can decrease. A decrease in AP regeneration will make HG seem much more unnattractive; however, this will simply increase the number of builds with Exorcist's Fast Casting at a high level. A decrease in Intelligence will have little effect since his skills aren't about the numbers. A decrease to the Monk's MDef would probably be the most hurtful to SMF teams (who also usually carry a healer), since heals would no longer be able to prop him up. To hurt DMF (which usually carry 0 healers) the most, a decrease in Vit, Def, and Dex would be ideal; by lowering his survivability without lowering his ability to receive heals, DMF teams would require a healer to keep the monk alive. A dead mercenary is, of course, a useless one.

Pros:

• Monks role in FL would change from a standard support mercenary to a more extreme support mercenary

Cons:

• No matter how he is nerfed, nerfing the base stats also affects SMF
• Decreasing his stats could simply increase the necessity of the Exorcist, Shaman, and/or Oracle to support the monk, without decreasing the need for a monk, which does little for increasing formation variety

Suggestion Rating: D

2) Mana Trap-Like Skill

Summary: When physical damage was king, Brutal and Seth's Will were extremely popular. Mana Trap developed as their counter, diminishing their existence. When a player uses Brutal or Seth's Will on mercenaries already affected by Mana Trap, the mercenaries are debuffed with Schizophrenia, which drains small amounts of HP and massive amounts of MP each turn. A similar skill could be developed to stop Holy Guard, just like Mana Trap diminished use of Brutal and Seth's. If the skill is given to an already popular mercenary, there won't be much fuss when trying to find room to learn the skill.

Pros:

• Players will be significantly discouraged from using HG, only using it in excess before the Mana Trap skill is placed

Cons:

• Still affects SMF (though not to the same degree)
• Requires a substantial amount of formations to have the skill in order for it to have an effect on top level PvP

Suggestion Rating: B

3) Directly punish player for having two monks or more

Summary: An improvement over Suggestion 1) in this category, this suggestion directly addresses DMF (or more), without affecting SMF. One way to punish a player for having two monks or more is by decreasing the health or base stats of both of the monks. Optionally, if one of the monks dies, the punishment could disappear.

Pros:

• Directly deals with double monk; doesn't affect SMF

Cons:

• Strange precedent is set; overtly punishing a specific combination of mercenaries

Suggestion Rating: B, short-term; C, long-term

4) C-Grade Mercenary

Summary: Many have clamored for this suggestion; it is perhaps the simplest way to get rid of DMF. However, we must consider the effects of getting rid of DMF's existence for good, especially in such an abrupt way. This solution is both bold and lazy, both necessary (for the short-term) and damaging (for the long-term).

Pros:

• Immediately solves the double monk problem; doesn't affect SMF
• The Monk will no longer be the only D-class mercenary with a recruiting quest line, and the only D-class mercenary without a corresponding main

Cons:

• Potentially hurtful to formation variety in the long-term by completely eradicating the possibility of DMF (and triple, etc.)
• Players who have two monks will no longer have a use for their second monk
• Horrendous precedent is set of going to what some may call the extreme (changing a mercenary grade) to fix a specific combination of mercenaries

Suggestion Rating: A, short-term, for those who'd like to see immediate greater formation variety; D, short-term, for those who have welcomed double monk; potentially D, long-term

While a C-Grade Monk , it's clear there are many more sophisticated solutions than changing monk's grade to C.

No matter which path they follow, the developers are going to have to make some daring decisions if they want to minimize the prevalence of double monk in division 1 builds.

How can each of these suggestions be improved further? Additionally, what other ideas do you have that have not been previously mentioned? Be sure to check out Parts 1 through 3 and discuss in the comment section below!