Warforged TR Monk Help

[Paxsmickey]

My main toon is a Warforged, and I'd like to eventually unlock Completionist on him, but I want to remain Warforged through each life (WF guild). My first life was Cleric, my second is Wizard (level 12 at the moment), and I don't know what I want to do for my third life. I have yet to play much with epic destinies, and I might do some of that with the wizard life (Archmage conjuror w/ a minor in evocations), but I would like to get a few ideas for future lives. I posted a Paladin with trap skills earlier, but lately I've been leaning more towards a monk life as many of the interesting build ideas I've had involve the monk PL feat. I have not played a monk yet, and I need some help with a monk build.

I heard that warforged made nice monks, even with the penalty to wisdom, but that was before the nerf to immunities, and I suspect that was some of the allure of WF Monks. I'd like to be self sufficient, and Light monks seem to be more my playing style. I would like a monk build that would be fun, survivable, able to contribute well to a party, and make the epic destinies fun and interesting.

I looked over the epic feats, and really like Improved Martial Arts and Vorpal Strikes feats, but Vorpal strikes requires 23 wisdom, and WF get a penalty to wisdom. I have +4 tomes in all stats, and a greater xp Tome.

Here is what I came up with, but I haven't played a monk past level 5 before, so it could use some help.


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.14.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Shoelace
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Warforged Male
(20 Monk)
Hit Points: 369
Spell Points: 0
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 16
Will: 20

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(36 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 16 20
Dexterity 15 19
Constitution 17 22
Intelligence 8 12
Wisdom 14 26
Charisma 6 10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Strength used at level 3
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 3
+1 Tome of Constitution used at level 3
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+1 Tome of Wisdom used at level 3
+1 Tome of Charisma used at level 3
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 11
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 11
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 11
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 11
+4 Tome of Wisdom used at level 11
+3 Tome of Charisma used at level 11
+4 Tome of Strength used at level 15
+4 Tome of Dexterity used at level 15
+4 Tome of Constitution used at level 15
+4 Tome of Intelligence used at level 15
+4 Tome of Charisma used at level 15

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 6 27
Bluff -2 0
Concentration 7 40
Diplomacy -2 0
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle -2 0
Heal 2 8
Hide 2 4
Intimidate -2 0
Jump 3 23
Listen 2 8
Move Silently 2 4
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform n/a n/a
Repair -1 1
Search -1 1
Spot 2 8
Swim 3 5
Tumble 3 5
Use Magic Device -0.5 11

Level 1 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1.5)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Two Weapon Fighting


Level 2 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness


Level 3 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Cleave
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light


Level 4 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 5 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 6 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Stunning Fist


Level 7 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 8 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)


Level 9 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting


Level 10 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 11 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 12 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 13 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 14 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 15 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 17 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 18 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 19 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 20 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+3)
Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Lifting the Veil
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: The Receptive Earth
Enhancement: Eagle Claw Attack
Enhancement: Restoring the Balance
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery II
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery III
Enhancement: Rise of the Phoenix
Enhancement: Shintao Monk I
Enhancement: Shintao Monk II
Enhancement: Shintao Monk III
Enhancement: Void Strike I
Enhancement: Difficulty at the Beginning
Enhancement: Adept of Wind
Enhancement: Master of Thunder
Enhancement: Adept of Rock
Enhancement: Master of Stone
Enhancement: Adept of Flame
Enhancement: Grandmaster of the Sun
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires
Enhancement: Adept of Rain
Enhancement: Master of the Sea
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III




Any help would be very appreciated,
-PaxsMickey

[ArcaneArcher52689]

My main toon is a Warforged, and I'd like to eventually unlock Completionist on him, but I want to remain Warforged through each life (WF guild). My first life was Cleric, my second is Wizard (level 12 at the moment), and I don't know what I want to do for my third life. I have yet to play much with epic destinies, and I might do some of that with the wizard life (Archmage conjuror w/ a minor in evocations), but I would like to get a few ideas for future lives. I posted a Paladin with trap skills earlier, but lately I've been leaning more towards a monk life as many of the interesting build ideas I've had involve the monk PL feat. I have not played a monk yet, and I need some help with a monk build.

I heard that warforged made nice monks, even with the penalty to wisdom, but that was before the nerf to immunities, and I suspect that was some of the allure of WF Monks. I'd like to be self sufficient, and Light monks seem to be more my playing style. I would like a monk build that would be fun, survivable, able to contribute well to a party, and make the epic destinies fun and interesting.

I looked over the epic feats, and really like Improved Martial Arts and Vorpal Strikes feats, but Vorpal strikes requires 23 wisdom, and WF get a penalty to wisdom. I have +4 tomes in all stats, and a greater xp Tome.

Here is what I came up with, but I haven't played a monk past level 5 before, so it could use some help.


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.14.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Shoelace
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Warforged Male
(20 Monk)
Hit Points: 369
Spell Points: 0
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 16
Will: 20

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(36 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 16 20
Dexterity 15 19
Constitution 17 22
Intelligence 8 12
Wisdom 14 26
Charisma 6 10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Strength used at level 3
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 3
+1 Tome of Constitution used at level 3
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+1 Tome of Wisdom used at level 3
+1 Tome of Charisma used at level 3
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 11
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 11
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 11
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 11
+4 Tome of Wisdom used at level 11
+3 Tome of Charisma used at level 11
+4 Tome of Strength used at level 15
+4 Tome of Dexterity used at level 15
+4 Tome of Constitution used at level 15
+4 Tome of Intelligence used at level 15
+4 Tome of Charisma used at level 15

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 6 27
Bluff -2 0
Concentration 7 40
Diplomacy -2 0
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle -2 0
Heal 2 8
Hide 2 4
Intimidate -2 0
Jump 3 23
Listen 2 8
Move Silently 2 4
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform n/a n/a
Repair -1 1
Search -1 1
Spot 2 8
Swim 3 5
Tumble 3 5
Use Magic Device -0.5 11

Level 1 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1.5)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Two Weapon Fighting


Level 2 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness


Level 3 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Cleave
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light


Level 4 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 5 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 6 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Stunning Fist


Level 7 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 8 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)


Level 9 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting


Level 10 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 11 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 12 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 13 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 14 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 15 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 17 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 18 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 19 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 20 (Monk)
Ability Raise: WIS
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+3)
Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Lifting the Veil
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: The Receptive Earth
Enhancement: Eagle Claw Attack
Enhancement: Restoring the Balance
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery II
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery III
Enhancement: Rise of the Phoenix
Enhancement: Shintao Monk I
Enhancement: Shintao Monk II
Enhancement: Shintao Monk III
Enhancement: Void Strike I
Enhancement: Difficulty at the Beginning
Enhancement: Adept of Wind
Enhancement: Master of Thunder
Enhancement: Adept of Rock
Enhancement: Master of Stone
Enhancement: Adept of Flame
Enhancement: Grandmaster of the Sun
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires
Enhancement: Adept of Rain
Enhancement: Master of the Sea
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III




Any help would be very appreciated,
-PaxsMickey
Everything looks pretty good.
2 things, one minor
the minor one is i would take toughness at lvl 1 and PA at 2, just because PA really doesn't do much for you at early levels, and hitpoints can.
The other thing is that at lvl 6, i would take dodge instead of great cleave. The reason being that from lvl 9-18, dark monks really reign supreme in most content. Also, this lets you feat swap between light/dark, which can be great. For example, for any undead quests, you want to be light based (Wiz king/necro), for Attack on storm reach and gianthold, dark path is superior (Touch of death will land anywhere between 250 and 2000 on mobs)

[Paxsmickey]

Ok, now here's a slight twist, what if I brought Wis to 13, Str to 15, and Con to 16 to raise int to 14 and take 1 level of rogue for traps? if I use my level 24 ability stat for wis I should still hit 23, and can have traps skills, max umd, and other goodies.

Thoughts?
-PaxsMickey

[ArcaneArcher52689]

monks don't disable traps, they run through them. Unless you get extremely unlucky, a monk should be able to avoid all at level normal traps, and most hard. Elite requires more gear to do successfully (mainly cause traps one shot you), but you should still be able to evade most of them, especially if you're 1 or 2 lvls higher than the quest. You also lose out on capstone, and monks have one that's pretty worthwhile , +2 wis, and +concentration, and the feat for dr 10/epic. I just don't believe it's worth it.
so, you'd give up:
3 wis
.5 die step
3 armor (centered)
1 BAB
dr 10/epic

[Kinerd]

It will be harder to be self-sufficient as a WF light monk because of the positive energy penalty. I would encourage you to abandon self-sufficiency and go dark side, not because this is a great idea in itself but because it will prepare you to some degree for your pure melee lives.

If you do decide to stick with light side, I would say get Healer's Friend 3 for sure. No sense making your battle even more uphill than it has to be, and it's only 3 AP these days.

Rather than GCleave/2nd Toughness, I would grab Improved Sunder and Dodge. Your overall defense is on the low side, and the Dodge chain is your only real option.

Even if you plan to spend a lot of time in Fire stance, spending AP on it is generally low-return. Your 9 AP only gets you +2 Strength, that's not a good deal.

[Paxsmickey]

I took healer's friend 2 on the character builder because it hasn't upgraded yet, so the first tier is 2 ap, the second 4. In game I would take all 3 healer's friend enhancements (for a total of 6 ap).

I spoke with a guildie and he confirmed that I should definitely stay pure monk. He said with all the artificer and Rogue builds I shouldn't have much difficulty finding a trapper when questing, and pure does look very good for epic levels. Worst case scenario I splash 1 level of rogue and then LR+1 to go pure once I cap.

As far as the melee lives go I intend to keep a level of self healing through out.
My fighter life will probably be 12/7/1 fighter/monk/rogue for double stuns.
Paladin is already self sufficient.
my barbarian life would be 19/1 barb/arti for traps and wands (hate barb, so I would TR once I hit 20)
Ranger I would splash a rogue level for traps and UMD (if melee) or 1 arti 1 monk for an AA
Bard and Rogue both have UMD

Thanks for the input, but I think I'll go with pure light monk. I'd rather not swap between light and dark, and will probably probably save dark for a second life or a 13/6/1 rogue/monk/druid

I could still use some suggestions for enhancements and the last feat though.
-what should I use my level 18 feat for? (the second toughness)
-Is the void strike worth it?
-Should I be a master of earth/wind/fire/water?
-I was thinking of sitting in fire stance so Grandmaster of fire is a must, but what about the others?
-Is the Grandmaster of wind better for the faster attack rate and double strikes? (keep in mind I'm going wis based)
-Are the special elemental strikes worth it? (eagle claw, fist of iron, unbalancing strike?)
-Ten thousand stars would be nice for a ranged build, but is it worth it for those times I need to kill some ranged units?

Thanks again,
-PaxsMickey

[Sonos]

I was a WF fanatic and wanted to do my Monk life on my completionist bound toon as a WF, so I did Paladin life first for 5% HAmp(not a lot but helpful), then someone convinced me to go Helf and use heal scrolls... I never looked back. With the nerf to some WF immunities there is not a huge reason to go WF anymore. I do, however, ALWAYS go WF for arcane for Recon(the one human sorc life I was not real real happy with).

[Truga]

I made a similar build on my monk life. Monk AC, dodge and light moves make for enough survivability, but you will need a healer in harder content.

Also heal amp isn't a problem. Don't listen to fleshies. Craft a blood docent and you're at 90% positive energy before any monk enhancements/guild buff or other gear. Cure serious pots should work for you all the way into the vale at least.