Advice on improving first experience of new players with Warriors and Monks

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Intro

Hello, I currently own 4 twinks who are farming Acts 2-3 and two twinks farming Act 1-2. We are talking about Normal Acts, not Acts on Cruel.

The reason I do this is because I treat this game as an Early Access and wish to identify opportunities for improving the game from the perspective of new players who enter the game blindly and have to progress the first stages of the game, which I identify as Early Act 1, before the Grim Tangle, because at that point most people are just testing the game blindly and aren't invested enough to search for guides.

I can respect that most community members care for the end game, but please understand these changes can also impact you for when you play SSF in any league and that these changes could impact you for the better.

Now with that lengthy intro out of the way, my main proposition for today involves the lack of performance during Act 1 normal of two melee weapons, Hammer and Quarterstaff.

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Suggestions for Improving Quarterstaff and Hammer

While Quarterstaff has the benefit of evolving into the best end game for Monk, Hammer not so much. Of course there have been improvements to the damage of this weapon during the late game, but the early game still feels clunky as hell when compared to spears and crossbows.

What's amuzing, is that for early game Act 1, both Quarterstaves and Hammers have something the other wants. I'm referring to both Rolling Slam and Falling Thunder here.

If Rolling Slam were to be changed into a Gem that can be used by both Quarterstaff and Hammer users, then both Monks and Warrior would have access to a easy to use tool for clearing monster packs up until the Hunting Grounds where players need to decide if they are going to level up their existing skill gems or get new ones of higher levels.

Before I explain how Rolling Slam and Falling Thunder would work as gems that can be used across multiple weapon slots, I need to explain how Falling Thunder works out for Warriors.

Falling Thunder and it's partner in crime, Killing Hand provide an alternate combo for clearing packs of monsters. These can be softened for a kill with skills like Earthquake, Rolling Slam (ironically) and later on Shockwave Totem, before diving in for execute for Slam.

This would count as an improvement because Warriors don't need to wait for that opening to use Boneshatter for the shockwaves and can focus on speed clearing.

Now for these skills to work for both weapons, their stat requirements need to be adjusted for hybrid playstyle with their respective classes.

In terms of actual numbers, a level 3 Rolling Slam has a stat requirement of 16 Str, whereas Falling Thunder has a requirement of 15 Dex and 15 Int. These need to be adjusted to something more manageable like 10 Str and 10 Dex for Rolling Slam and 16 Dex and 5 Int, so it's easier for both Warriors and Monks to qualify for leveling up those gems.

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Other change ideas involving Hammer

Other changes that need to happen within the Hammer Tree involves Shockwave Totem. This gem needs to become accessible as early as level 1, so it can draw the aggro of mobs. Earthquake can't generate aggro while it's doing it's countdown and therefore it can soften up mobs, making it redundant to the 3 skill gem combo piece for begginer Act 1 Warriors.

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Recommendation to changing Monk starter gem from Falling Thunder to something that can speed up the clear time

If the change towards Rolling Slam becomes approved then this needs to become the starter jewel for Monks, because this is the combo piece that can make a fluid playstyle in tandem with either Glacial Cascade + Frozen Locus or Falling Thunder + Killing Hands on Monk.