AoE Monk

[Mhalak]

I'm sure this has been kicked around, but i haven't seen it yet.

Has anyone played with a Monk build including cleave, great cleave and whirlwind attack?

[Sani_Medicor]

That's the route I'm taking. I won't get the first one till 9 though. I would have to swap out too many feats to go back and get one of them at 6. lol

[Mhalak]

Human Lawful Good Monk

STR 13 -> 13
DEX 15 -> 19*
CON 12 -> 12
INT 13 -> 13
WIS 16 -> 21**
CHA 8 -> 8

*Dexterity raised 2 Racial enhancements, raised level 4 & 12
**Wisdom raised 3 Class enhancements, raised level 8 & 16

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Cleave
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack

Level 2 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Mobility

Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Combat Expertise

Level 6 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Weapon Finesse

Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack

Level 12 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Whirlwind Attack

Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness

Any thoughts? I realize this doesn't solve the issue Monks are having with DPS, but in a crowd has some potential to dish out some damage.

/edited for clarity

[paintedman]

It does a spinning kick, that you can do while jumping towards a bunch of mobs. Can't tell if you generate more ki if you hit more mobs. If I get to great cleave before anyone else does I'll give you an update on that too. So far though I like it, its an attack I can use with stunning blow and my negative ki attack. However it does mess up my attack chain a bit.

-paint

[jkm]

you get ki for each one hit in the arc for cleave and great cleave. i did notice that my damage is lower, so i need to test it as to whether it is full damage or not.

[Mhalak]

The debate for me now really revolves around either keeping my current character (who would end with cleave, great cleave and healing Dragonmarks) or starting over to gain CE and Whirlwind, but lose DMs...

I've never really had a character with whirlwind, so i'm not sure if it stacks well with cleave/great cleave or if the cooldown timers make it unnecessary to have all 3.

any thoughts?

[Aeneas]

In my eyes this route is a great deal sexier than an intimimonk for grabbing a large mob in one go. You'd only have initial aggro, so standing and tanking and taking a few slaps on 20 rolls wouldn't be as much of an issue like it is for a shield blocking intimitank that can absorb large whacks when he needs. Your buddies could slowly pick off individuals from your first whirlwind/great cleave and you'd still be able to keep 2 or 3 mobs for yourself without having to chase them around.

[Mhalak]

Your buddies could slowly pick off individuals from your first whirlwind/great cleave and you'd still be able to keep 2 or 3 mobs for yourself without having to chase them around.

That's the idea behind it. The bonus of having Whirlwind is also having CE. To me, this might be what makes this build even stronger for my personal playstyle - I won't have the healing dragonmarks, but having an additional +5 (or +3 if using defensive stance) in theory should make a pretty significant difference for AoE, High AC builds.

Has anyone had Cleave, Great Cleave and Whirlwind on the same character? I'm just wondering about the logistics & cooldowns of 3 AoE attacks.

What would really make this build (or any tank-type build) better is a /assist option

/edited for spelling

[Mhalak]

Anyone had a chance to play a monk with Whirlwind Attack yet?

[djsonar919]

I'm sure this has been kicked around, but i haven't seen it yet.

Has anyone played with a Monk build including cleave, great cleave and whirlwind attack?

Cleave+Staff+ Fire Stance= Awesome Ki Generation. I swear by it!

[spyderwolf]

That's the idea behind it. The bonus of having Whirlwind is also having CE. To me, this might be what makes this build even stronger for my personal playstyle - I won't have the healing dragonmarks, but having an additional +5 (or +3 if using defensive stance) in theory should make a pretty significant difference for AoE, High AC builds.

Has anyone had Cleave, Great Cleave and Whirlwind on the same character? I'm just wondering about the logistics & cooldowns of 3 AoE attacks.

What would really make this build (or any tank-type build) better is a /assist option

/edited for spelling

cleave is a 15 seconds timmer, great cleave is a 10 second timer, and whirlwind is a 15 seconds timer. up until at least mod 4 they all had seperate timers. i dropped them well before mod 5 so not positive if they still do. i do know cleave and great cleave have seperate timers still so assuming whilwind still has its own.

[Inspire]

cleave is a 15 seconds timmer, great cleave is a 10 second timer, and whirlwind is a 15 seconds timer. up until at least mod 4 they all had seperate timers. i dropped them well before mod 5 so not positive if they still do. i do know cleave and great cleave have seperate timers still so assuming whilwind still has its own.

Cleave Is A 5 Second Timer.
All On Different Timers Still.

[moorewr]

Thanks for the build idea! I was planning to make a Spring Attack build anyway, and this just sealed the deal for me.

Stats are really tight, with the requirement to get to 13 INT for CE, but they came out well enough - the opposite of a min/max monk. What are your recommendations for stances to go with this style?

I was thinking about the feats to get to whirlwind.. here's one idea:

1 Mobility, Monk bonus: Dodge
2 Power Attack
3 Cleave
6 Combat Expertise, Monk Bonus: Spring Attack
9 Whirlwind
12 Great Cleave

"Because something that costs so many feats has to be worth it, right?"

[Mhalak]

As far as stances, I usually let my situation dictate what i use. Fire is usually on, but if i need AC/save bonus or if I have enough Ki, i switch to water stance.

One thing i noticed to agree with some of those who posted above, cleave/great cleave with Fire stance and a Quarterstaff is VERY fast Ki generation... throw in a haste and you have more than you can possibly use.

[Aeneas]

Dude, quickdraw; start with your QS cleave, great cleave stunning blow, switch to fists use that ki you just made and stunning fist. Rinse, repeat, goodnight nurse. Do it. Do it.

[Tanka]

Human Lawful Good Monk

STR 13 -> 13
DEX 15 -> 19*
CON 12 -> 12
INT 13 -> 13
WIS 16 -> 21**
CHA 8 -> 8

*Dexterity raised 2 Racial enhancements, raised level 4 & 12
**Wisdom raised 3 Class enhancements, raised level 8 & 16

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Cleave
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack

Level 2 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Mobility

Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Combat Expertise

Level 6 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Weapon Finesse

Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack

Level 12 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Whirlwind Attack

Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness

Any thoughts? I realize this doesn't solve the issue Monks are having with DPS, but in a crowd has some potential to dish out some damage.

/edited for clarity

As a Human, you can only raise Dex once via Enhancements. The second Adaptability Enhancement must be an entirely different attribute.

[Mhalak]

As a Human, you can only raise Dex once via Enhancements. The second Adaptability Enhancement must be an entirely different attribute.

excellent point. probably makes sense to drop it in wisdom or strength instead.

thanks for the catch Tanka!

[moorewr]

Best comment on my baby AoE build (which is about to hit level 5), by a skeptic about drawing all that aggro was "Looks like a quick way to take a dirt nap!"

Tee hee.

So far it's been a lot of fun.. I took my baby monk on a 4-7th level elite/hard Tangleroot run, and I did pretty well.. staying mobile is huge.. wait for the dorf barb to get their attention leap in and cleave, and jump'n'tumble while the other melees get the aggro back. I think I was not a particular drain on the cleric.. one thing that was cool is I'd leap in right after a sonic burst and get some nice numbers floating above the mobs..

I haven't been buying my diplomacy up.. that I do suggest as an antidote to low-level squishiness.

[Mhalak]

at lower levels it was slightly harder to manage aggro.

as my monk has leveled and his AC has scaled i've had very few issues - he doesn't get hit very much at all on even level normal / hard quests.

pick up a robe with invulnerability and something with fortification on it and you're good to go.

[moorewr]

at lower levels it was slightly harder to manage aggro.

as my monk has leveled and his AC has scaled i've had very few issues - he doesn't get hit very much at all on even level normal / hard quests.

pick up a robe with invulnerability and something with fortification on it and you're good to go.

You bet on the invulnerability. Meanwhile, I pulled a ML:4 Fearsome Outfit and have been wearing that...

Also, it seems like the one got-to-have item for any lowbie monk is a mage armor clickie. Iny my case.. if I click my mage armor and drink a barkskin pot, my self-buffed AC in wind stance is 27.