Pure Monk DPS build?

[wolfy42]

Ok....I have read a few posts about monk DPS blowing etc.....that is fine...but I want to make the highest DPS monk build possibly anyway. I have two pure monks already (one bumped dex as much as possible and the other bumped wisdom). I also have a 2 monk/12 cleric (also bumped wisdom as much as possible and started with a base 10 strength).

I already started the monk as a human with the following stats:

Str 16 (10)
Dex 16 (10)
con 14 (06)
Int 08 (00)
wis 14 (06)
Cha 08 (00)

I can reroll though and will eventually anyway because this character is on the beta server to test it out first This was just my current test run (probably just run through to lvl 12 quickly to see how it starts and get ITWF.

First level I took:

TWF
Power Attack
Dodge

Currently running in wind stance...which boosts my AC and attack speed.

Adding human bonuses to strength and all level up points into strength as well.

Don't seem to be having a problem hitting and damage is fairly decent as well.

AC amazingly is not that horrible at low lvl still (running with mage armor for now mainly...but with shield clickes as well in a pinch). Lower dex will make evasion less useful long term...but my saving throws should still be decent enough to make it useful end game.

Any suggestions/idea or changes you think would help make a higher dps monk (has to be a pure monk....no multiclassing).

I could have gone with 2 more strength to start but it didn't seem worth the sacrifice. Admitingly with a +3 tome (I don't have one) I could start with a 14 dex...drop con to 12...and start with an 18 strength instead of a 16....but that seems pretty extreme...and requires something I don't currently have to be used in order to get ITWF and GTWF (all for just +1 more damage and AB).

Human versatilities damage bonus will also be nice especially in combo with Wind stances bonus attack speed. Even at my current level I have 1d8+14 damage per strike (3 attacks every 2 swings). Average damage per attack is 18....so 27 average damage per attack (and I attack faster then normal due to wind stance). I went with pure +3 handwraps right now to get the largest AB boost (to compensate for power attack).

Once I get GTWF though.....and a decent strength (16+5+6+2+3+2+2=36 without madstones) damage should increase significantly.

Anyway what else should I do to pump damage if anything?

[Samadhi]

Seems pretty good to me. There are three main beefs against monk DPS.

1) No transmuting on handwraps (sad but valid; kamas are pretty useless)

2) Poor crit range (an issue but not nearly as huge as it is often made out to be)

3) No Greensteal (mostly just a nuisance, since instead of crafting 1 awesome handwrap, you instead need a collection of high end Grtr bane's to do top notch damage).

My build is pretty similar to yours and I have no complaints on it; it definitely does higher DPS than most people believe.

The only other thing to master for max DPS is timing your special hits as you level. If you have ki left, you are doing it wrong.

[Angelus_dead]

Anyway what else should I do to pump damage if anything?

Change to a halfling or warforged.

[Tanka]

Change to a halfling or warforged.

x2

[Lithic]

Change to a halfling or warforged.

Don't go pure halfling though, you get all the necessary DPS enhancements by lvl 14. 6 levels of WF will round out your DPS with WF power attack 1 and 2.

[Garth_of_Sarlona]

Don't go pure halfling though, you get all the necessary DPS enhancements by lvl 14. 6 levels of WF will round out your DPS with WF power attack 1 and 2.

hmm



Garth

[Kiranselie]

hmm



Garth

+1 rep for Munchkin Card

[wolfy42]

Lol!

You guys rock.

Yeah I have the stance powers down...but for some reason I don't seem to be able to quick key them anymore. Works fine if I click on em with my mouse...but I used to be able to just press 1/2/1/3 to get off a quick walk on the sun combo for instance.

Now I have to use auto attack, target an enemy, and then manually click them.

Weird.

AC for low end content is still absolutely fine at this point as well. It looks like the build may only suffer AC wise for mid level content really compared to more defensive monks like my dex and wis builds. I actually have robes of invulnerability on so I don't even worry about the glancing blows at all (seems glancing blows even made by magic weapons don't pass /magic dr). AC is at 30 most of the time but can be pumped higher with potions if I need...which is plenty at this point considering how fast I kill everything.

[Garth_of_Sarlona]

Yeah I have the stance powers down...but for some reason I don't seem to be able to quick key them anymore. Works fine if I click on em with my mouse...but I used to be able to just press 1/2/1/3 to get off a quick walk on the sun combo for instance.

There seems to be an issue with using Ki attacks when using autoattack -sometimes you have to 'mash the key' to get it to work. My monkie friends from Lamannia have told me that this is much better in mod9 - pushing the button will queue it for the next available slot and it should happen every time.

However since Ki attacks are just one attack and most monk animations have two attack hooks (under gtwf), I'm also told that you do lose an attack. So, although e.g. storm strike III will do 2d6 + (crit) 1/10*2d6 = 7.7 dmg - you will lose potentially 2d8 + dmg modifier so at least 9 (likely more) from the missing attack. Therefore ki attacks simply are not worth it at the moment until that is fixed.

Garth

[Samadhi]

However since Ki attacks are just one attack and most monk animations have two attack hooks (under gtwf), I'm also told that you do lose an attack. So, although e.g. storm strike III will do 2d6 + (crit) 1/10*2d6 = 7.7 dmg - you will lose potentially 2d8 + dmg modifier so at least 9 (likely more) from the missing attack. Therefore ki attacks simply are not worth it at the moment until that is fixed.

Garth

I do not know about Llamaland, but on live servers, currently you will get two attacks with the bonus damage.

[Garth_of_Sarlona]

I do not know about Llamaland, but on live servers, currently you will get two attacks with the bonus damage.

yup you're right - I just tested it on Lamannia. Teach me to believe what I read on the DDO forums

Garth

[wolfy42]

Woot, you had me worried for a second!!

Yeah, I never had that problem with my quickkeys before...it's massivly annoying but I can live with it.

Actually it doesn't even work when I am not using auto-attack. I normally never used auto-attack unless I was fighting a boss or something...but just held down the mouse button to attack...and then hit my quick keys.

That was not working though....so I had to switch to auto-attack and mouse clicking my stance powers *sigh*

Hopefully it will be fixed in mod 9...because it certainly slows me down a bit (also keeps me from auto hitting the next enemy when one dies etc.

[bobbryan2]

Seems pretty good to me. There are three main beefs against monk DPS.

1) No transmuting on handwraps (sad but valid; kamas are pretty useless)

2) Poor crit range (an issue but not nearly as huge as it is often made out to be)

3) No Greensteal (mostly just a nuisance, since instead of crafting 1 awesome handwrap, you instead need a collection of high end Grtr bane's to do top notch damage).

My build is pretty similar to yours and I have no complaints on it; it definitely does higher DPS than most people believe.

The only other thing to master for max DPS is timing your special hits as you level. If you have ki left, you are doing it wrong.

These are problems. But they are NOT the three main beefs with monk DPS. At best, they are secondary concerns.

The biggest concerns are the monk class themself. Even if monks used greensteel khopeshes or the like... they would still be behind in DPS. Having to use lower weapons is just being kicked while they're down.

[BlackRage]

I want to make the highest DPS monk build possibly anyway.

I could have gone with 2 more strength to start but it didn't seem worth the sacrifice.

Anyway what else should I do to pump damage if anything?

Pretty much answered your own question there...

[GlassCannon]

Don't go pure halfling though, you get all the necessary DPS enhancements by lvl 14. 6 levels of WF will round out your DPS with WF power attack 1 and 2.

Take 14 levels of Halfling and 6 of Warforged. You'll be fine and dandy after that.

[wolfy42]

Pretty much answered your own question there...

True, but the point is to have the highest DPS build that works well....I could eek out 1 more damage per attack with a higher starting strength, but would need a specific item (+3 tome) eventually to make it actually do more damage...otherwise the damage would drop significantly without ITWF and GTWF (not to mention it would be awhile before I got the +3 tome so ITWF would probably not happen).

So boosting strength 2 more points would probably reduce damage of the build at least for most of it's life.

[Tanka]

Do make note: +3 tomes are going to be easier to get with M9. No confirmation on if they're unbound on Elite runs through those quests, but I wouldn't discount it.

+4s will be in the new raid, presumably as random raid loot and on 20th completions.

[BlackRage]

Do make note: +3 tomes are going to be easier to get with M9. No confirmation on if they're unbound on Elite runs through those quests, but I wouldn't discount it.

I would - not going to happen.

[BlackRage]

True, but the point is to have the highest DPS build that works well...

Well, that is not what you said initially

Min/maxing requires a level of commitment to grinding - make it happen and you will do more damage in the end.

[redspecter23]

Not sure if this idea has been given much thought yet, but have you considered taking a weapon proficiency feat for rapier, scimitar or khopesh and crafting up greensteel versions for endgame? Use your unarmed attacks for trash, etc. but switch to dual rapier for boss fights where transmuting and high crit range are much more important. I was going to roll up a test toon after mod nine hits to try it out. Not sure how much your "to hit" would suffer and if it would be worth the trade. I suppose in any raid boss fight where you'd use these weapons, you would probably have a bard around for the attack bonus.