Shintao Falconer Build

[Windaar]

Was recently asked to post up the build of one of my monks. This is a 4th-life toon, all lives monk. normal standing DCs for Stunning Fist/Jade/Kukan-Do/Dire Charge is 105, boosted to a sustainable 124. Quivering Palm/Drifting Lotus/Everything is Nothing/Coordinated Strike standing DCs 79, boosted to 99 by Falconry t4 Deadly Instincts. Standing Wisdom is 84 when geared, standing in Ocean Stance. Dodge is 45/45.

Hartanna
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Aasimar Scourge


Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+7. . . .4: WIS
Dexterity . . . 15. . . .+4. . . .8: WIS
Constitution. . .9. . . .+7. . . 12: WIS
Intelligence. . 17. . . .+3. . . 16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 19. . . .+6. . . 20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .9. . . .+4. . . 24: WIS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: WIS

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Concent . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Balance . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Jump. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Hide. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Move Si . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Tumble. . . .1 .2 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .2 .21
Search. . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 11½
UMD . . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 11½
Heal. . . . . . . .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ . . .8
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .28. 8. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9


Feats

.1. . . . : Combat Expertise
.1 Monk . : Stunning Fist
.2 Monk . : Two Weapon Fighting
.3. . . . : Dodge
.6. . . . : Mobility
.6 Monk . : Spring Attack
.9. . . . : Whirlwind Attack
12. . . . : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
15. . . . : Deflect Arrows
18. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
21 Epic . : Vorpal Strikes
24 Epic . : Improved Martial Arts
26 Destiny: Tactician
27 Epic . : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Mass Frog
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic . : Precision
30 Legend : Scion of: Astral Plane

.3 Monk . : Path of Harmonious Balance


Enhancements (80+1 AP)

Shintao (41 AP) Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent Fist, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection Difficulty at the Beginning, Deft Strikes III
Lifting the Veil, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Conditioning III
Restoring the Balance, Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
The Receptive Earth, Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense II, Wisdom
Empty Hand Mastery, Kukan-Do, Meditation of War, Rise of the Phoenix
Falconry (29 AP) Falcon Rugged III, Practiced Accuracy II, Out in Nature III
Killer Instinct I, Watch the Center III
Killer Instinct II, Tear Flesh, Conditioning, Eyes of the Eagle
Deadly Instinct II, No Mercy III, Coordinated Strike, Expose Weakness
Aasimar Scourge (7 AP) Stronger Bonds, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds II, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds III
Ninja Spy (4 AP) Basic Ninja Training Stealthy III

Destiny (24 AP)

Grandmaster of Flowers Lily Petal, Enlightenment III, Dance of Flowers III
Running with Wind III, Hail of Blows
Orchid Blossom, Walking with Waves III
Standing with Stone III, Piercing Clarity II
Drifting Lotus
Scattering of Petals, Everything is Nothing
Twists of Fate (37 fate points) Wisdom (Tier 1 Crusader)
Legendary Tactics (Tier 1 Dreadnought)
Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)


I'm not sure if there is a way to easily show my gear set, or if I would have to type each piece out individually. Will just type it out for simplicity's sake.

Eyes: Visions of Precision [New Version], (will switch to LGS POM x3 if needed for self healing/unconsciousness range)
Head: Legendary Drow Sage's Cowl <Topaz of Transmutation>
Neck: Fleetfoot Necklace <Sapphire of Defence +16, Diamond of insightful Wisdom +2>
Trinket: Echo of Ravenkind <Diamond of Festive Wisdom +2>
Cloak: The Invisible Cloak of Strahd
Belt: Legendary Braided Cutcord (Reaper MRR +3)
Hands: Legendary Crumbling Gloves (Mythic +3)
Feet: Legendary Fleetfoot Greaves <Draconic Soul Gem>
Wrists: Legendary Lore-Fuelled Packbanner <Sapphire of Resistance +8>
Armor: Legendary Disciple of the Dawn (Mythic PRR/MRR +3)
Ring 1: Legendary Chieftain
Ring 2: Legendary Perfect Pinnacle <Topaz of Deathblock>

Weapon: Duality, The Moral Compass <Ruby of the Endless Night, Ruby Eye of Force> {Filigrees: Vigilance: Dexterity(Rare), Dodge/Max Dodge(Rare), Reflex(rare); The City's Beacon: Melee Power(Rare), Fortification(Rare)


Hope this helps anyone trying to figure out a decent build for a monk at cap. This one does well in mid to high reaper as part of a group, and can solo low reaper and all EE/LE quests.

[Zites]

Very Nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=tPjCfOAQetE

[peng]

You seem to be missing greater and perfect twf.

You have 2 skills that end up at 11.5. Half skill points do nothing. It can be fun to do flips when tumbling, but I rarely put more than 1 point into it. You don't really need to max jump. A pot or clicky, along with normal skill boosts (ship buffs, good luck item/augment, gh, tome, etc) should get you to 40, which is the jump cap.

You didn't take any of the t2 elemental attacks, which can add some great utility or dps.

I generally don't put any points in instinctive defense. Freedom of movement negates holds, and petrification is relatively rare. If you do get held/petrified, slightly reducing the extra damage you would take is not likely to save you.

If not using combat expertise, you can use rage pots along with acute instincts (t2 fury) for +2 wis and some skill/save buffs.

Your point buy is... weird. With tomes, you need 17 dex for gtwf, 13 int for combat expertise, and as much wis and con as you can get. There is no need for 17 starting int, little reason to not start with 20 wis, and you should *never* start with less than 14 con (12 on a reduced con race). Maybe something more like this (you could even drop int and dex by 1 each to boost con to 16):

Str 8
Dex 14
Con 15
Int 14
Wis 20
Cha 8

[simo0208]

Was recently asked to post up the build of one of my monks. This is a 4th-life toon, all lives monk. normal standing DCs for Stunning Fist/Jade/Kukan-Do/Dire Charge is 105, boosted to a sustainable 124. Quivering Palm/Drifting Lotus/Everything is Nothing/Coordinated Strike standing DCs 79, boosted to 99 by Falconry t4 Deadly Instincts. Standing Wisdom is 84 when geared, standing in Ocean Stance. Dodge is 45/45.

Hartanna
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Aasimar Scourge


Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+7. . . .4: WIS
Dexterity . . . 15. . . .+4. . . .8: WIS
Constitution. . .9. . . .+7. . . 12: WIS
Intelligence. . 17. . . .+3. . . 16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 19. . . .+6. . . 20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .9. . . .+4. . . 24: WIS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: WIS

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Concent . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Balance . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Jump. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Hide. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Move Si . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Tumble. . . .1 .2 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .2 .21
Search. . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 11½
UMD . . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 11½
Heal. . . . . . . .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ . . .8
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .28. 8. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9


Feats

.1. . . . : Combat Expertise
.1 Monk . : Stunning Fist
.2 Monk . : Two Weapon Fighting
.3. . . . : Dodge
.6. . . . : Mobility
.6 Monk . : Spring Attack
.9. . . . : Whirlwind Attack
12. . . . : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
15. . . . : Deflect Arrows
18. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
21 Epic . : Vorpal Strikes
24 Epic . : Improved Martial Arts
26 Destiny: Tactician
27 Epic . : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Mass Frog
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic . : Precision
30 Legend : Scion of: Astral Plane

.3 Monk . : Path of Harmonious Balance


Enhancements (80+1 AP)

Shintao (41 AP) Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent Fist, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection Difficulty at the Beginning, Deft Strikes III
Lifting the Veil, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Conditioning III
Restoring the Balance, Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
The Receptive Earth, Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense II, Wisdom
Empty Hand Mastery, Kukan-Do, Meditation of War, Rise of the Phoenix
Falconry (29 AP) Falcon Rugged III, Practiced Accuracy II, Out in Nature III
Killer Instinct I, Watch the Center III
Killer Instinct II, Tear Flesh, Conditioning, Eyes of the Eagle
Deadly Instinct II, No Mercy III, Coordinated Strike, Expose Weakness
Aasimar Scourge (7 AP) Stronger Bonds, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds II, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds III
Ninja Spy (4 AP) Basic Ninja Training Stealthy III

Destiny (24 AP)

Grandmaster of Flowers Lily Petal, Enlightenment III, Dance of Flowers III
Running with Wind III, Hail of Blows
Orchid Blossom, Walking with Waves III
Standing with Stone III, Piercing Clarity II
Drifting Lotus
Scattering of Petals, Everything is Nothing
Twists of Fate (37 fate points) Wisdom (Tier 1 Crusader)
Legendary Tactics (Tier 1 Dreadnought)
Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)


I'm not sure if there is a way to easily show my gear set, or if I would have to type each piece out individually. Will just type it out for simplicity's sake.

Eyes: Visions of Precision [New Version], (will switch to LGS POM x3 if needed for self healing/unconsciousness range)
Head: Legendary Drow Sage's Cowl <Topaz of Transmutation>
Neck: Fleetfoot Necklace <Sapphire of Defence +16, Diamond of insightful Wisdom +2>
Trinket: Echo of Ravenkind <Diamond of Festive Wisdom +2>
Cloak: The Invisible Cloak of Strahd
Belt: Legendary Braided Cutcord (Reaper MRR +3)
Hands: Legendary Crumbling Gloves (Mythic +3)
Feet: Legendary Fleetfoot Greaves <Draconic Soul Gem>
Wrists: Legendary Lore-Fuelled Packbanner <Sapphire of Resistance +8>
Armor: Legendary Disciple of the Dawn (Mythic PRR/MRR +3)
Ring 1: Legendary Chieftain
Ring 2: Legendary Perfect Pinnacle <Topaz of Deathblock>

Weapon: Duality, The Moral Compass <Ruby of the Endless Night, Ruby Eye of Force> {Filigrees: Vigilance: Dexterity(Rare), Dodge/Max Dodge(Rare), Reflex(rare); The City's Beacon: Melee Power(Rare), Fortification(Rare)


Hope this helps anyone trying to figure out a decent build for a monk at cap. This one does well in mid to high reaper as part of a group, and can solo low reaper and all EE/LE quests.


Why a 17 int?

[hp1055cm]

Why a 17 int?
Probably the same reason you quoted the entire post instead of tailoring it to fit the context of your question.

[MaeveTuohy]

Some odd feat choices. Maybe I am missing something.

Why vorpal strikes instead of overwhelming critical? I don't think the vorpal part actually works, so its only for slashing damage type.

Why deflect arrows instead of, say, a monk past life for .5 W?

[Windaar]

Why a 17 int?

Mainly because there were few skills that I wanted/needed that I was unable to get use out of otherwise. I make many of my toons with some stealth abilities, so hide and move silently are needed. jump I admit could be pared down, and I probably will next time I ER. UMD is needed for scrolls, and I still have to have an item to switch to most of the time. Search is mainly because a lot of the time I solo, and I wanted to find secret doors (with a simple gear swap, I can get hidden doors in Sealed in Amber, Invitation to Dinner, and even the White Plume Mountain quests on LE and low reaper). Balance to get up faster when knocked down, as well as to sometimes avoid being tripped entirely. I also like to use the tumble skill with my personal playstyle, and so I have it higher. Heal was added once my tome kicked in, and allows me to heal myself and others a bit better with the Healing Ki burst. Healing Ki usually hits me for around 550-600, which is a lot of healing in the middle of melee. I heal about 100-300 in content as high as R3.

[Windaar]

You seem to be missing greater and perfect twf.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the extra feat slots to take them. I would have, otherwise.


You have 2 skills that end up at 11.5. Half skill points do nothing. It can be fun to do flips when tumbling, but I rarely put more than 1 point into it.

At the point where I had the half points left, I just didn't know where else to stick them, as the other skills I was training were either maxed, or it would have made no difference to add 1 extra point. For Tumble, my playing style includes using flips to avoid some attacks, as well as using tumble to pass through mobs when surrounded to keep from being overwhelmed (accomplished because I run in GMoF, or twist in Unearthly Reactions from Magister when in other destinies). I do admit that once I hit 36 Tumble with gear, I can stop adding to it, as that is when you get all the flips and rolls. I will probably be putting less in this skill next time I ER.


You don't really need to max jump. A pot or clicky, along with normal skill boosts (ship buffs, good luck item/augment, gh, tome, etc) should get you to 40, which is the jump cap.

Correct, and when I next ER, I will again be putting less in this skill. I have been wondering at times about whether or not being above 40 Jump has an effect. Not that it makes you jump higher, but - and I could be imagining this - I sometimes think that I stay at the max jump hight for just a little longer (no more than a second, but it feels like it sometimes). This could just be the graphic of an unarmed monk creating the illusion that the jump lasts longer, but I'm never sure.


You didn't take any of the t2 elemental attacks, which can add some great utility or dps.

I usually don't take them. On this particular build, I prefer the Jade line, Kukando, and the Healing Ki enhancements. I also needed a lot of AP for Falconry, as well as the 4 points for fast sneaking/regenerating ki in sneak, and the 6 points spent in Aasimar to get maxed Healing Hands (6 AP, 1 Racial AP).


I generally don't put any points in instinctive defence. Freedom of movement negates holds, and petrification is relatively rare. If you do get held/petrified, slightly reducing the extra damage you would take is not likely to save you.

I took Instinctive Defence after they broke Ki Shout, which is also why it only has 2 ranks trained. it does help with helpless, mainly if I forget to use Grasp of the Earth Dragon before going up against a mob that likes to use Sound Burst or Greater Shout, or when I do get knocked down (despite GMoF saying that you are immune to knockdown while in it, plus a high balance check).


If not using combat expertise, you can use rage pots along with acute instincts (t2 fury) for +2 wis and some skill/save buffs.

I don't use Combat Expertise, I only took it because it is a pre-req for Whirlwind Attack. I don't have the extra fate points to allow me to twist in the Acute Instincts without sacrificing either Balanced Attacks (Knockdown ability that can makes foes "helpless" and procs separately from the Perfect Pinnacle while in Ocean stance) or Sense Weakness (more damage to helpless opponents). combined with Coordinated Strike from Falconry and Drifting Lotus from GMoF, as well as Jade Strike making opponents weaker to bludgeoning damage, I am dealing extra damage through helpless instead of the slight damage I would get from the Elemental Ki Strikes.


Your point buy is... weird. With tomes, you need 17 dex for gtwf, 13 int for combat expertise, and as much wis and con as you can get. There is no need for 17 starting int, little reason to not start with 20 wis, and you should *never* start with less than 14 con (12 on a reduced con race). Maybe something more like this (you could even drop int and dex by 1 each to boost con to 16):

Str 8
Dex 14
Con 15
Int 14
Wis 20
Cha 8

I'll admit I would like the 20 starting Wisdom. With my current gear on live, I have a standing 84 Wis, so the 1 point isn't as bad as it could be (though I know someone would point out that it would free up one of my twist slots, I will mention that the slot in question is the one I got upon hitting level 30, and I can only put a t1 twist in. I don't have the sp to make Cocoon viable, as I use Mass Frog often enough, and can use Healing Ki and Healing Hands to heal myself and others).

I have only been using tomes as I pull them or buy them on the AH, so the tomes I have are eclectic at best. I don't mind the lower con, so long as it is above 8 when I start. I put it to 9 because of the +7 tome, which gives me a 16 before gear, buffs, etc.

As I answered Simo0208, the 17 Int is mainly for the amount of skills I train from the start. I could possibly have taken that extra point out of Cha, but I feel like it is needed to help with UMD. Dex at 15 is a pre-req of TWF, which I take at level 2, and so I can't take a point out of it.

As stated above, while I wish I could have taken GTWF, I didn't have the feat slot for it. I also usually don't take PTWF for the same reason. Sadly, I find monks in general are slightly feat-starved. Don't get me wrong, monks are one of my favourite classes, and I actually like the challenge playing them can be. But I still wish they got maybe 1-2 more feat slots, like fighters do. The only other way would be to go Human, which would mean losing the Healing Hands that can hit me for 4k hp in a pinch (I know, way more than I have, but still nice to have).

[Windaar]

Some odd feat choices. Maybe I am missing something.

Why vorpal strikes instead of overwhelming critical? I don't think the vorpal part actually works, so its only for slashing damage type.

Why deflect arrows instead of, say, a monk past life for .5 W?

Why Vorpal Strikes:
Precisely because of the slashing damage. I wanted to be able to break DR on things that are resistant to bludgeoning, but not slashing (zombies come to mind, especially in ravenloft). I have seen the vorpal work occasionally, but as it only works if the target has <1000 hp, that doesn't happen much. If I am hitting a vorpal, my attack is 2-3k base damage, so 1k is just dead.

Why Deflect Arrows:
Because even with all the dodge, displacement, blur, etc. that you can put on a build, archers (especially champion archers) will find a way to hit, and can shred hp in seconds if a group targets the same player. I have noticed this on all my toons that are dodge, Dex, or evasion-based. Even with 45% dodge, the archers still find a way.
Simplest way to give some protection is the Deflect Arrows feat, which some enhancement trees actually give as an option (Swashbuckler, Tempest, Vanguard). This choice was purely in the interest of survival, allowing me more of a chance to get to the archer and either stun or qp before I get hit too much. I would love it if this was either given for free as a monk feat, or offered low in the enhancement trees (either Shintao or Ninja Spy. Spy would be my choice, as that is the tree most based on misdirection).