When used in combos, some monk attacks naturally flow from one to the other. These seamless transitions are called smooth shifts. An attack following a smooth shift will generally be faster, more stable, require less mental, and more likely to result in multiple hits. Obviously this is very useful in combat. Training the Combo skill at the monestary can also improve shifting.
Here's a list of how attacks shift when strung together in a combo. The table is read starting from the first attack's row, across to the column of the second attack. For instance, Fistpunch to Openhand (oh) is smooth, but Openhand to Fistpunch (fp) is not.Shift to => | fp | bh | fk | oh | el | sk | bk | lk | drk | uc | ak | dk | spinkick |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fistpunch | smooth | smooth | - | smooth | - | - | - | - | - | smooth | - | - | - |
Backhand | smooth | - | - | smooth | - | - | - | - | - | smooth | - | - | - |
Openhand | - | - | - | - | smooth | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Elbow | smooth | - | - | - | - | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | smooth | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Uppercut | - | - | smooth | smooth | TBD | - | - | smooth | - | - | - | - | - |
Frontkick | - | - | - | - | - | - | smooth | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sidekick | - | - | smooth | - | TBD | smooth | smooth | smooth | smooth | - | - | - | smooth |
Backkick | - | - | smooth | - | TBD | smooth | - | - | - | - | - | - | smooth |
Lowkick | - | - | - | - | TBD | smooth | smooth | smooth | smooth | smooth | - | - | - |
Dropkick | - | - | - | - | TBD | - | smooth | - | - | - | TBD | TBD | - |
Airkick | - | - | - | - | TBD | - | - | - | TBD | - | - | - | - |
Doublekick | - | - | - | - | TBD | - | - | - | TBD | - | - | - | - |
Spinkick | - | - | - | - | TBD | smooth | smooth | smooth | - | - | - | - | smooth |
Sometimes a special attack will occur after a smooth shift during a combo. Greater dexterity will increase the chance. Special attacks are related to the attack that caused them.
* Smooth into Backhand = Elbow smash
* Smooth into Frontkick = Somersault kick
* Smooth into Sidekick = Reverse sidekick
* Smooth into Lowkick = Double sweep kick
Most of this info is taken from Brad's monk page. Some additions has been made by Rangifer.