17,263
edits
Changes
ADVERTISEMENT
From Diablo Wiki
Monk
,→Background
But he's very devout, he's fighting the good fight; he's a holy warrior. He's very straight-ahead in what he does, there's no gray area for him and it's not that he's inflexible -- he does what he thinks is right. If he has to meditate on that for two days he'll do it because he's got to do the right thing - his fighting is his way of worshiping. That's how we approached him, which gives him a very different feel. The [[Barbarian]] has a good mythology; we gave the [[Witch Doctor]] a very rich mythology. In the game they have a very different experience as different characters, but also, possibly come into conflict with each other because of their different belief systems.
===The Female Monk===
[[File:Monk-female-con2.jpg|left|thumb|155|Heavy armor.]]
The Monk debuted at Blizzcon 2009 with just the male version in concept art or playable. There was no sign of the female monk at that point, though Blizzard always stressed that every character in the game would be playable, with identical stats and abilities, in either gender. Aside from spawning numerous, "wouldn't she be the 'nun?'" jokes, the female Monk existed only in rumor and various pieces of fan-made concept art until late January 2010, when Blizzard requested that fans create their own versions of what the character might look like, as a fun diversion before the real artwork was released.
There were no prizes offered for this feat, but fan artists enjoyed the experience, and other fans liked to see what they came up with, as well as wagering which one would most accurately reflect the official version. Blizzard was taking something of a risk with this; after all, what if some of the fan art had been wildly popular, and the official version not very well-liked by the community. (This was not out of the question; see [[Wizard#Appearance|the male Wizard controversy]], for example.)
[[File:Monk-female-con2.jpg|thumb|255|Light armor action pose.]]
The official version of the female monk finally reared her head on February 5, 2010, when concept art for the character was seen in an episode of the Jace Hall Show.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/female-monk-revealed/] High quality versions of that artwork[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/female-monk-revealed1/] were released the next week, and after some fairly intense debate,[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/female-monk-design-criticism/] the official art was widely approved.
For instance, fansite Diii.net ran two votes; one to pick the best of the fan art,[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-for-the-best-female-monk-fan-concept-art/] and then a second with the top 3 pieces of fan art against the official version. The official version won handily.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-best-female-monk-concept-art/]
==Class Design==
