Are Monster Sets worth it now that we have Mythics?

SilverBride · February 2023

I have never used monster sets because I don't do end game content and I never found a good way to use them without disrupting my other sets. Now that we have so many mythic items is it really worth using a monster set?

Amottica · February 2023

Yes

OBJnoob · February 2023

You can have 1 5pc set active on back bar, 1 5pc set active on front bar, a full monster set, and a mythic, AND 1 PC of Trainee all at once.

How you set it up is up to you but for example I'll use my wardens current build...
FB 2h weapon: Hrothgar
BB weapons sword and shield: rallying cry
Head: balorghs
Chest: Hrothgar
Shoulders: balorghs
Waist: rallying cry
Arms: rallying cry
Legs: Hrothgar
Feet: trainee
Necklace: Hrothgar
Ring: rallying cry
Ring: Markyn Ring of Magesty

Obviously you can't do it when using a mythic that goes in a head or shoulder slot. And you can't do it with an arena weapon either.

I think between the 3... Mythics/monsters/arena weapons... Arena weapons seem to be best in slot for a lot of PvP builds. I don't know if that is also true for PvE.

As for me I haven't done any vet arenas since they created the perfected versions of the weapons, so I don't have any. If you aren't planning on using one either then I suggest you try my set-up (but with your own gear choices of course,) because I think it's as good as you can get.

If you DO plan on using an arena weapon... Then I'm not sure. But I think mythics are better than monster sets. I feel like there's probably some disagreement on this... Perhaps there's no right answer. I just hear a lot of PvE people talking about Harpooners Wading Kilt.

endgamesmug · February 2023

I just regard monster sets as more accessible or a little less rng for getting type and weight shoulders from golden or through keys and the helm itself. With the mythic theres a whole bunch of lead rng for pieces then the formation.

OBJnoob · February 2023

Yes armor weight can be an issue when it's important to you to have a certain number of each.

Monster sets certainly help solve this problem. So does the 1 trainee piece (I keep a heavy reinforced chest, medium well fitted boots, and light impen waist in the bank for whatever I may need.)

Using at least 1 craftable set is also a solution.

Nestor · February 2023

Oddly enough, it was the second piece bonus that always gave me pause when choosing an armor set. Now, with Mythics, I can just pick the single set bonus I want. Also, I don't have to wear the Helm if I don't like the look.

deejayvee · February 2023

For me, it's all about options. I have some builds that use a monster set, some that use a mythic and just 1pc of the monster set, and a couple do the monsert set + mythic + back bar/1pc trainee thing.

Dr_Con · February 2023

It depends on your playstyle and desired content. Someone could get more mileage out of Zaan's than Oakensoul, but the opposite can be true for someone else.

XSTRONG · February 2023

I only use 1 piece of monster set with a mythic.
Last time a used a full monster set was on my pve tank like 1 year ago.

Vevvev · February 2023

I do something special where I can have a monster set, a front bar set, a back bar set, and a mythic all at once. So yes, they're very worth it if you can fit them into a build.

My build that does this so you can get a visualization of how to do it.
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=289388

Zodiarkslayer · February 2023

I see it like this:
Mythics replace an unwanted or bad Monster Set 2-piece-bonus. Or rather, Mythics are Monster sets where I can choose the 1-piece-bonus.
Either way, they supplement, not replace each other.

I find the most useful Mythics are easier to aquire than complete Monster Sets, though. Single pieces are easier to acquire. It's the Undaunted Key lottery that su... oooops. 🤭

M_Volsung · February 2023

I'll give up my Engine Guardian when it's pried from my cold dead fingers... and even then it'll be a fight.

SilverBride · February 2023

It's a lot to think about, and I thank everyone for their information.

I am pretty casual, mostly questing and sometimes I like to solo dungeons and World Bosses, but am not into end game. But at the same time I would like to be strong enough to do these things well.

I just didn't know if it would be of benefit for how I play to get a monster set.

Artim_X · February 2023

Depends on your build. Variety is the spice of life.

Necrotech_Master · February 2023

i still have a lot of characters not even using mythics, mostly because many mythics dont really appeal to me that much

most of the monster sets have a lot of fun aesthetics to me

El_Borracho · February 2023

Since they nuked the VMA staff, you can run a monster set and a mythic. So yes

nb_rich · February 2023

Mythics are very situational in my opinion and require skill to use effectively. Also with damage being lowered as a whole it feels like the extra damage monster sets can do, make it more useful now

Kappachi · February 2023

nb_rich wrote: »

Mythics are very situational in my opinion and require skill to use effectively. Also with damage being lowered as a whole it feels like the extra damage monster sets can do, make it more useful now

Oakensoul Ring is not situational, like at all. It's just outright buffs, no 2nd bar but you don't need one with that many buffs if you just intend to play casually.

incase anyone doesn't know or forgot:

BaalMelqartu · February 2023

I joined the game in late 2021 and feel that in that time, monster sets have become less and less relevant which is sad to me since it was implemented as a major feature and they are fun. Out of 5 DPS characters I use, none of them use a monster set now. Other options are just better. By other options, I mean mythics and arena weapons. I only use the monster sets on healer and tank builds now. Would love to see the monster sets buffed enough to be relevant again for dps classes so I actually have reasons to do Undaunted pledges and use keys.

Aelorin · February 2023

SilverBride wrote: »

It's a lot to think about, and I thank everyone for their information.

I am pretty casual, mostly questing and sometimes I like to solo dungeons and World Bosses, but am not into end game. But at the same time I would like to be strong enough to do these things well.

I just didn't know if it would be of benefit for how I play to get a monster set.

Some Monster Sets are great for soloing, for example iceheart: gives an extra damage shield on crit.
Also the achievement of getting your first helm + shoulders is rather exciting. Valkyn Skoria has fallen out of grace, but is still a really cool effect to have, especially on a dragon knight.

The base dungeons are not that hard on veteran, my advice is to search for a monster set to complement your build and then go for it! I'm sure there will be people who want to help you out. If you r on PC-EU I d certainly want to help you out, just give me a call ingame then!

Also, you could make a character on test server if you play on PC and test a monster set out to see how it performs. You can get all gear and sets on a pre made character.

Veinblood1965 · February 2023

M_Volsung wrote: »

I'll give up my Engine Guardian when it's pried from my cold dead fingers... and even then it'll be a fight.

When you let go after dying can I have the helm? I need one.

DarcyMardin · February 2023

I usually only use one piece of a monster set now, for the one-piece bonus.

Caribou77 · February 2023

I like experimenting with off-meta builds, so I use both monster sets and mythics quite alot.

To answer your question: monster sets provide alot of utility and ability to fine-tune your build that mythics alone do not. And don’t forget that heavy chest piece of Trainee 😉

Jusey1 · February 2023

Kappachi wrote: »

Oakensoul Ring is not situational, like at all. It's just outright buffs, no 2nd bar but you don't need one with that many buffs if you just intend to play casually

Oakensoul is so good. If you build with it in mind, you can technically have two separate builds on the same character at the same time. My main uses it so his front bar build is a solo focus build while his back bar is a tank build focus for when I do my daily dungeons or just grinding out dungeons in general.

As for monster sets though... Base what I have seen, some of them are still worth it but others has been nerfed severely. I recently finished leveling up my new Necromancer (I deleted all my characters a while ago and just now got to my 2nd one), and since I like using off-meta build while focusing on a theme... I was using the monster set for the Lich crystals which use to do like 10k+ damage on my Necromancer from before but now is only doing 4k damage... Sure, they still spam A LOT but the damage is pathetic and makes me sad in all honesty because this is a set that I wasted a lot of transmute crystals on as I transmuted them BEFORE the set sticker book mechanic came out...

Oreyn_Bearclaw · February 2023

Certainly they have a use, but the longtime meta setup of 5/5/2 on your front bar, 5/4/2/1 on your back bar (VMA weapon) has been greatly eroded. 5/5/1/1 or 5/4/2/1 (with a different 5 piece on each bar) are more popular than they used to be.

For the vast majority of content, a one piece mythic and one piece monster for the stat bonus is slightly more useful than a two piece monster set. Most of my PVE set and forget setups use one mythic (which I change depending on content) and one piece monster. That said, if pushing score, and swapping gear between pulls, you are going to have 2 piece monster sets in some of your loadouts.

In PVP, I have used mismatched monster sets for a lot of my builds for a long time. Now that we have mythics, I usually do one of each. Most of the PVP 2 piece sets I have used over the years were utility/defense focused, not damage focused (with Balorgh being the main exception on my bomber).

Tannus15 · February 2023

Maw of the infernal on sorc is still very strong.
vMA staff with elemental blockade also helps with the terrible state of sorc cleave.

Honestly i still prefer this to a mythic setup

MindOfTheSwarm · February 2023

M_Volsung wrote: »

I'll give up my Engine Guardian when it's pried from my cold dead fingers... and even then it'll be a fight.

OP crutch set.

taugrim · November 2023

BaalMelqartu wrote: »

I joined the game in late 2021 and feel that in that time, monster sets have become less and less relevant which is sad to me since it was implemented as a major feature and they are fun.

I agree with this.

An issue with many monster sets in PVP is the delay before the damage is triggered at the spot where the target was. PVP is way too mobile that to be relevant.

Necrotech_Master · November 2023

taugrim wrote: »

BaalMelqartu wrote: »

I joined the game in late 2021 and feel that in that time, monster sets have become less and less relevant which is sad to me since it was implemented as a major feature and they are fun.

I agree with this.

An issue with many monster sets in PVP is the delay before the damage is triggered at the spot where the target was. PVP is way too mobile that to be relevant.

they have added more pvp-focused monster type sets with i think U39

the one that gives you a dmg shield when being pulled along with a passive 5% dmg reduction against players when you dont have the shield seems to be pretty good

CameraBeardThePirate · November 2023

Monster sets are absolutely still worth it. There are a lot of ways to build with both a monster set AND a mythic.

- 5pc frontbar/5pc backbar/mythic/monster/trainee
- 5pc body/arena weapon/arena weapon/monster set/mythic/2pc (trainee/druid)
- 5pc body/arena weapon/3pc single bar/monster/mythic/trainee

All of those can be very potent combinations depending on the setup. Plus, even if you decide against wearing a monster set, that doesn't entirely invalidate their existence. Monster sets are still incredibly powerful. Things like Balorgh, Maarselok, Bloodspawn, Magma (or even 1pc Magma/1pc Baron), Zaan, Engine Guardian, and Ozezan are all meta or close-to-meta sets.

IZZEFlameLash · November 2023

Some monster sets have value that exceeds Mythics. They allow me to run without mythics in PvE and PvP. Some that weren't in use before the Mythics still are in the gutters.