Editing Monk and Zealot

{{Castle creatures}}{{Creature
 | AI_Value  = 485
 | Name      = Monk
 | Attack    = 12
 | Defense   = 7
 | Speed     = 5
 | Growth    = 3
 | Damage    = 10–12
 | Health    = 30
 | Shots     = 12
 | Cost      = 400
 | Special   = • [[Ranged attack]]
 | U_AI_Value= 750
 | U_name    = Zealot
 | U_defense = '''10'''
 | U_speed   = '''7'''
 | U_shots   = '''24'''
 | U_cost    = 450
 | U_special = • [[Ranged attack]]<br>• '''No [[melee penalty]]'''
}}

{{Cram|Monastery|Monk|Zealot|no_dwelling=|pad=3px 10px 3px 7px}}
'''Monks''' and '''Zealots''' are level 5 creatures of [[Castle]]. They can be recruited from [[Castle creature dwellings|Monasteries]].

''"Monks and zealots train themselves to control and project their personal energistic forces, which they deliver as ranged blasts. While monks suffer the normal penalty for ranged unit hand-to-hand attack damage (50%), the better trained zealots do not."{{-}}<sup>[[Restoration of Erathia Manual Page 86|RoE manual]]''</sup>

{{clear|left}}
== Heroes with a specialty ==
*{{H|Ingham|Cleric}} has monks as a [[Specialty#Creature_specialties|specialty]], which increases the attack and defense skills of any monks or zealots for each level attained after 5th  level and gives them a [[speed]] bonus of 1.
* {{H|Dracon|Wizard}} can upgrade Mages and Arch Mages (also [[Monk and Zealot|Monks and Zealots]]) into [[Enchanter]]s.

=={{hota}}==
* In Hota, [[AI Value]] of Monks was increased to 582.
* Shadows of Monks and Zealots' adventure map view were fixed: [[File:Monk (HotA) (adventure map).gif]] [[File:Zealot (HotA) (adventure map).gif]]

== Official Renders ==
<gallery mode="packed-hover">
Monk render.jpg
Zealot render.png
</gallery>

{{Fanopinion|
Their stats are very low for a level 5, but they are indispensable due to their ranged attack. However, it's only enough for the enemy to strike this unit a few times and it's dead (even if they have no melee penalty with upgrade), so they should be well protected if they are to still deal some damage and survive harder battles. Their stats are also almost the same as the level 4 [[Arch mage|Arch magi]], and their specialties weaker for the same cost and lower growth.

12 [[Attack]] is on the low side for level 5 unit. 7/10 [[Defense]] is the lowest in their tier. 30 [[Health]] is also lowest in their tier. 10-12 [[Damage]] is low, but acceptable for a ranged unit. [[Speed]] of 5-7 is low to average, but considering their fragility, it might not be enough to guarantee they will live long enough to do anything. They are quite underwhelming troops, as unlike [[Marksman|Marksmen]] they don't make up for their vulnerability with powerful attack.

As their damage spread is very low, [[Bless]] and [[Curse]] have almost no effect on them, changing their average damage from 11 to respectively 12 and 10. Advanced spells don't fare much better, causing Monks and Zealots to deal 13 and 9 points of damage. Spells affecting [[Attack]] might be better, like [[Precision]] or [[Weakness]].

While some spells might make a difference for them, remember that they only have 30 [[Health]] and so if they are hit by a strong stack, they are dead, buffs or no buffs. Think twice before casting powerful spells on Monks or Zealots, as if they die before making use of it, you have only wasted [[spell point]]s for no gain.

Best protective spells for these troops might very well be [[Anti-magic]] and [[Force Field]], as their low health makes prevention of taking any damage more important than its reduction.

[[Direct damage spell]]s are very effective on them, as 30 health paired with ranged damage means high kill priority. Disabling them with [[mind spell]]s is another option, as they have no immunities and other stacks may need to be dealt with first.

In [[Castle]] army, Monks and Zealots both are like improved but overcosted [[Archers]] - incredibly fragile ranged troops that aren't really compensating for their weak defenses in any way. Keep them away from melee; despite no melee penalty they are no match for their own 5th or even some of 4th level troops in equal numbers. They can be easily overwhelmed and crushed even by lower level troops, exploiting their low health and not-so-good damage. Beware of [[dragon]]s, AoE spells and multi-hex attacks.

Being fragile ranged troops, they benefit the most from [[Archery]], [[Tactics]] and [[Armorer]]. [[Orrin]] is the best hero thanks to his specialty, provided they are not dead by their turn and are able to shoot. [[Valeska]] is another decent starting hero thanks to Archery.

The addition to the game hota changes the situation of the priests, which adds a button that allows you to change the attack mode. At 7 speeds, your priests will move faster than most low-level units, which allows you to wait for your opponent to come within range depending on the situation and choose whether you want to strike in close combat without penalty or shoot from a distance. Skillful control of priests allows you to avoid enemy retaliation, even if it seems that priests have weaker damage. This works especially when you are fighting wandering creatures on the adventure map, as the AI often splits the army into many weaker troops. In addition, in the hota, Inghan, a hero with a priest specialty that gives bonuses to +1 speed is a mage and already has the mysticism ability at the start of the game, which allows him to regenerate magic mana faster. While playing this hero, if you develop magic talents, you can easily cast expert-level spells that paralyze the enemy. All these elements, with a well-thought-out strategy and the use of the attack mode change, allow you to win the map with the priest alone in the fight against the AI player.
}}<!-- end of fan opinion -->

{{creature 'see also'}}

[[Category: Creatures]]
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