The most striking advantage about monks--their blinding speed--seems to me to be isolating on a server that emphasizes group play: to take full advantage of it, the monk must forego the company of other classes.
That's thematic in a way, but to be honest, it is also very useful in group content the higher level you get, as well as seeking out RP and minimising time spent between areas where people are RPing. The monk basically teleports to where the casters are and just kills them with 5+ APR (first strike, cleave, AoO, flurry, haste all being full AB). It also means they can flee very safely without needing to ever dodge an AoO, which, for some classes who have to decide whether to wait for the right moment to walk out of combat or risk the AoO, is pretty nice. This class can gather every herb in a map and still reach the destination before the rest of the group. They can run between hubs without danger at a fraction of the time other classes can, so if one is empty, they can move on to find RP in the next. They can run someone back to be resurrected faster, so that's less time waiting for the rest of the group in the dungeon. It all compounds. It is a massive convenience at worst and at best it's a great boost that has a lot of synergy with the rest of not only your kit, but your team too.
That sounds good in theory, but we also play in an environment prone to lag, crashes, and other bugs. A class relying on precision and timing is more likely to fall victim to these hazards.
Do you play a high level monk? Going by what I've observed, at least, they tend to be (as one would expect for the class) loners who have to work harder than most to find groups and a place to fit--which is the greatest challenge IMO on the server. Compare, for example, the versatility and adaptability of a bard.
I don't know that the class needs buffing, especially this change. But to me the most objective measure of whether a class is "in a good place" is how many players are choosing to play the class. I've never seen a big clamor for monks, and instead have seen many new players choose the class early on with great enthusiasm and then abandon the PC in frustration. (Most everyone seems to concede that in the early stages monk life is difficult.)
To veer even farther from Ken's slight suggestion, my own preference is that Devs continue to focus on fixing what we have and enhancing the general experience of the server with changes that impact the greatest number of PCs. If something is egregiously wrong with a class, then maybe that deserves attention. Most classes, however, I know too little about to speak to.
Only one or two of those things I mentioned really require precision of any kind, anyway, and I don't think there's much precision in waiting for your number to be up then clicking on a caster from across the room and just watching it die. You don't even need Knockdown chains to win. For reference, the characters I play require me to be up in the enemy's face to deal damage but also leave combat to heal others. I have to click on the ground more than I have to click on enemies both on my melee and my ranged character, or I'll trigger a series of instant death AoOs, or run into melee combat with a longbow out, or waste a spell... etc. and that is what real positioning precision looks like.
Neither of these characters are anywhere close to optimal and they are hybridized in a way that provides party utility over personal specialisation. Pures wipe me out mechanically, rendering my characters superfluous to any task at hand. I'd like to think besides their unique support roles in a party, they end up in groups for other reasons. If there's a Monk that people like being around, he'll end up in a group too.
Just so happens Monks need support--as do Barbarians, Fighters, anyone really, when things get challenging, needs a mix of Divine and Arcane support, crafted gear, and good loot. My support characters play fairly often with Monks, and I love watching them zoom around and tie enemies up. They benefit more from it than any other class because of the number of APR they throw out. I've seen them churn enemies like nothing else and tank like maniacs. A Monk only 2 levels above me once punched my 14 CON character as a joke and half my HP disappeared because 2 attacks triggered simultaneously, and neither were critical hits. I want more Monks in my parties, they've always been more than sufficient contributors, who require no more support than anyone else (simply a different kind of support--different spell choices, etc.) but make great use of what they're given, and their characters are generally eccentric in a way that is intriguing to me.
That said, if they do have a particularly weak early game, sure, they could get some help there. But I have not observed them having an especially weak early game, in fact, I have watched them get by decently well, usually as their only backup as a healer, buffer, flank, or tank. I think there are some things that could be changed about them, but what? A d10 hit die? They have a lot of utility as is, they make great sneaks, crafters of all types... they might not be Bards but my experience playing with Monks has generally been positive, so I don't really know what they need, but I'm coming from the perspective of someone who thinks PvP is always going to be unbalanced, even in terms of two people swinging at each other in the Mist Camp, letting the dice decide their fate. But in so many categories listed above, they excel or they do fine like anyone else. Perhaps I'm biased because I exclusively play party support and I make sure my Monks are getting their uniques, which I learned from running with them often. These characters are long time NWN players, though, and that kind of enlightenment is particularly important, as this class needs to be built and played a certain way.
