ear Tibians!

You probably have a lot of thoughts and questions after reading the announcement. That is perfectly fine, and as the leading product manager for the fifth vocation update, I want to take this opportunity to provide you with a more detailed insight into how the Monk was developed. Hopefully, this will address some of your questions and spark your interest.

What were our first steps?

When the idea first came up, it felt like an impossible task. Adding a new vocation to Tibia after all this time would probably be too complex and too risky. The more we talked about it, however, the more it felt actually possible as well as a natural step for the game. Why else would most bosses allow five characters to enter if not for five different vocations?

Developing a new vocation is still a challenging task and more than just creating new spells or some gear; it is about ensuring that the new vocation feels as a natural extension of Tibia's world and gameplay. It would need to stand as a fully fledged option alongside the other vocations. This includes both its power level and the introduction of it into the world of Tibia. It should appeal to all players, new or veteran, equally. It should provide a contribution to any group without being mandatory and without pushing out other vocations. 
That last line would often be repeated and become somewhat of a mantra for me when thinking about the vocation. With these ground rules in place, we started talking about the next steps.

How to decide what role to fill?

Once we committed to creating a new vocation, we needed to decide the role it should fill. The first choice, melee or ranged, was straightforward. With three ranged vocations and only one melee vocation currently in the game, we knew we wanted to introduce another melee option. After that, it gets a bit trickier. When looking at the role each vocation fills, there are some core observations to be made:

• Damage dealing is a core role of every vocation and every vocation must excel in this area to remain viable for both solo and group play.
• Tanking and healing are strong secondary roles and are filled by one vocation (Knight and Druid, respectively). However, Knights are far more common than Druids, leaving a spot for a secondary healer.
• Luring and debuffs are weaker secondary roles, and as such, the new vocation should not encroach on those roles currently filled by Paladins and Sorcerers.

How did we get from new vocation to Monk?

After having decided on its role, we turned to classic fantasy archetypes. Iconic classes like the Rogue, Bard, and Monk stood out as thematic gaps. When taking a closer look at these three, the Monk quickly became our frontrunner. Bards can be melee, but do not feel distinctly melee and come with a lot of additional challenges by traditionally being music-based. Rogues fit both the melee description and lend themselves well to not being a tank, but they do not match the secondary healer role.
The Monk, however, fits our target role pretty well. Traditionally a melee combatant with a spiritual side to them, they can both dish out punishment in close combat as well as buff allies as a paragon. This spiritual side lends itself well to a secondary role as a healer. On top of that, the Monk even allows us to use an existing skill as its primary skill - fist fighting.

Gameplay - What is new?

With the major design choices behind us, a lot of smaller decisions regarding its actual gameplay had to be made. While many ideas did not make it into the final design, here is a look at the key mechanics that will define the Monk:

Harmony

The harmony system is the primary system that makes the Monk stand out against the other vocations.

• The Monk builds harmony by using specific attack spells, storing up to five harmony at a time.
• A second group of spells consumes all harmony on use to heavily boost their power.

From a gameplay perspective, the Monk will always be able to make a small decision on how to use their harmony. It can be used for a powerful AoE heal, to punish a single target or to damage a large group of enemies.

Virtues

Starting with its promotion, the Monk will have access to three virtues, of which one will be active at all times. Each virtue provides a unique passive effect: 

• Virtue of Harmony: Boosts the power of spells that consume harmony.
• Virtue of Justice: Boosts fist fighting.
• Virtue of Sustain: Heavily boosts all healing done.

Additionally, regardless of the chosen virtue, all virtues grant Monks the passive ability to heal themselves or an ally whenever they create or consume harmony without spending additional mana.

Serene

Monks are at their most powerful when they are in the serene state, which is achieved by meeting one of two conditions:

• No group members nearby, or not being in a group.
• Fewer than six adjacent monsters.

While serene, a Monk's power is boosted considerably. From virtues having their effects doubled to autoattacks dealing considerably more damage, a Monk will only be able to compete with other vocations when being serene.
We wanted to be sure that Monks are never the best option for tanking large groups of monsters while in a group, as this is a role the knight fills. Serene is our answer to that by having Monks heavily weakened when tanking boxes in groups.

Closing thoughts

All in all, we see the addition of a new vocation as an opportunity to rekindle the sense of discovery that was always part of Tibia. A chance to learn the intricacies of a new vocation, experiment with new strategies, and adapt to new team compositions.
With all that being said, we still have a lot more to share in the coming weeks and we cannot wait to hear your thoughts and reactions on this topic.

Best,
Niadus