Re-newb questions: Monks and appearance change

[The_Other_Ted]

Just returned to the game after a few years. Last time I played, Monk/Rogue multiclasses were all the rage - but now, not so much, it seems. I was thinking of re-creating a concept I made for a tabletop DnD game, but wanted to know if it would even be viable anymore. Best translation here would be a Thief-Acrobat with at least a splash of Monk (or more than a splash, to stay true to the concept), but it's looking like a flat-out TA would be the better way to go. Is that true?

Also, on a completely unrelated note, is there any way to change your character's appearance after character creation? Aside from armor cosmetics, that is.

[Saekee]

Just returned to the game after a few years. Last time I played, Monk/Rogue multiclasses were all the rage - but now, not so much, it seems. I was thinking of re-creating a concept I made for a tabletop DnD game, but wanted to know if it would even be viable anymore. Best translation here would be a Thief-Acrobat with at least a splash of Monk (or more than a splash, to stay true to the concept), but it's looking like a flat-out TA would be the better way to go. Is that true?

Also, on a completely unrelated note, is there any way to change your character's appearance after character creation? Aside from armor cosmetics, that is.
There is no way to change the appearance although there might be some pay thing from the store. If you do an epic reincarnation, you get to change their appearance, if that gives you hope. Please note that if they are half-elf or PDK, there is no saving them anyway.

You can indeed multiclass with monk and rogue. The devs killed faster sneaking stacking with no explanation so some of the appeal of the combination vanished. You can splash monk to get the forms feats and then use them to deeply push the dodge cap way up in ocean stance. The problem still arises when you get hit.

Qstaffs got a buff with the new strikethrough mechanics so look into those for some ideas for race and other splits. Even if something is not absolutely mathematically optimal, it does not matter if you are having fun.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

The only available changes I know of are hair colour, name, alignment.
And clothing/armor, of course.


You'd have to check the in-game store for that, though.


(And that's why my character creation usually takes half an hour or even more : Because the look just cannot be reversed ... The only things that can be changed are mechanics (stats through TR), but the look ? Nope. Cynically put, this shows how much this game is a mechanics driven / math game to me.)

[Enkidu]

Monk/rogue work fine, just be aware the AC boost monks get in PnP doesn't help much in DDO so focus on the other parts for defense (Dodge, Ghostly, blur, DR, PRR, MRR). Qstaff mechanics just got a nice boost, but they have terrible durability and you need to repair them after every quest, so some annoying trade offs there.

[Matuse]

An epic reincarnation will let you change your appearance.

Maybe a lesser reincarnation too? I've never done one. It would be a real waste of a heart just to modify your appearance a bit. Hearts are not cheap.

[The_Other_Ted]

Thanks all for the input - valuable and much appreciated. One more follow up question: My current TA is chaotic neutral, so I'd have to switch to Lawful if I were to multiclass into Monk. Once I MC in, would it be possible to change my alignment back to CN and still gain Monk levels?

[Nebless]

On the off chance you're planning on using a quarterstaff with your Thief-Acrobat .....

I tried out that class and never got any quarter-staff drops better than what you get from Jeet's. All my other classes got drops in Korthos that were very much better than any of the starter weapons, with the exception of quarter-staff's. No matter who got them, zilch!

Now I know you don't have to use them, it's just what I pictured a Thief-Acrobat using.

[Matuse]

Thanks all for the input - valuable and much appreciated. One more follow up question: My current TA is chaotic neutral, so I'd have to switch to Lawful if I were to multiclass into Monk. Once I MC in, would it be possible to change my alignment back to CN and still gain Monk levels?

You cannot change to a non-lawful alignment if you have monk levels. Why would you want to?

[The_Other_Ted]

You cannot change to a non-lawful alignment if you have monk levels. Why would you want to?
RP reasons. Which I guess doesn't "really" matter here - even my lawful DDO characters have tended to act chaotically...

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

On the off chance you're planning on using a quarterstaff with your Thief-Acrobat .....

I tried out that class and never got any quarter-staff drops better than what you get from Jeet's. All my other classes got drops in Korthos that were very much better than any of the starter weapons, with the exception of quarter-staff's. No matter who got them, zilch!

Now I know you don't have to use them, it's just what I pictured a Thief-Acrobat using.

As starters, yes. That's true. And be careful what you choose to get from Celimas.

Quarterstaffs have always been neglected a bit, it seems to me.

[Bjond]

Thief-Acrobat with at least a splash of Monk (or more than a splash, to stay true to the concept), but it's looking like a flat-out TA would be the better way to go.

I've seen two stick built characters that were VERY strong groupies, both pure: one monk and one rogue. So, they're far from common. Paladin is the current munchkin-bait. I'd say by far most Paladins I've seen were much worse than either monk or rogue, but neither monk nor rogue were as strong as the strongest Paladin I've seen.

I suspect you'll end up with a character that is quite viable even if you multi-class. My biggest worry about stick builds is item decay. I asked the rogue about it and he did say it was a problem. He was off to repair about every other quest when doing short Sharn quests. It didn't seem to be as bad as the old "carry a golf-bag of sticks to get through a single quest" story lurking around the web.

Only two ways for a pure build to reduce decay: Falconry (https://ddowiki.com/page/Falconry_enhancements) and Adamantine Ritual (https://ddowiki.com/page/Stone_of_Change_-_Recipes#Alchemical_Adamantine_Rituals).

[unbongwah]

Best translation here would be a Thief-Acrobat with at least a splash of Monk (or more than a splash, to stay true to the concept), but it's looking like a flat-out TA would be the better way to go. Is that true?
Update 45 replaced glancing blows with Strikethrough (https://ddowiki.com/page/Strikethrough) and increased the damage mod from THF feats (default 1.5x -> 3x with GTHF) which improved DPS for all 2H builds. Acrobat capstone got a nice addition: "After tumbling, for 6 seconds gain +50% strikethrough chance." Along with the +5% attack speed which has been there a long time, pure rogue is pretty strong for a staff build. Pure Henshin is also pretty good now.

One more follow up question: My current TA is chaotic neutral, so I'd have to switch to Lawful if I were to multiclass into Monk. Once I MC in, would it be possible to change my alignment back to CN and still gain Monk levels?
No: you can't take monk levels if you're non-lawful and you can't use a non-lawful alignment change if you have any monk levels.