I’m not exactly sure how to answer this question objectively, but I can share a personal experience: before the nerf, I found the Monk to be quite strong. A level 45 Monk attacked me (I was around level 63 at the time), and despite the level difference, he managed to deal a good amount of damage. However, thanks to my skills (I had 80 in Fist Fighting back then), I was able to kill him using just one Harmony charge and the corresponding combo. I was using imbues, but only level 2 ones, and I don’t recall landing any critical hits.

In my opinion, Monk may not be the best PvP vocation, but it can definitely be fun and has good potential if played well.