New player requesting advice on builds

[Shinsei]

Hello all, well technically, I'm a returning player (if you count 1 month when the game just started)
I'm planning on going vip at least for the first month or two, and I plan on playing a monk.
After playing at the unlimited beta, looking around a bit at the forums and messing about with the char generator, I decided I want to play a rather all around monk, with a lot of support and such. I've built something up with the char generator, I'd really appreciate any advice anyone could give concerning if I'm anything is better off changed some.
And also advice on gear to look out for would be great, since I'm clueless on certain named gear to search and places to find em, I just know what I'd need in general statwise and such.

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Shinsei 
Level 20 Lawful Good Human Male
(20 Monk) 
Hit Points: 282
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 12
Will: 5

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             14                    14
Dexterity            16                    22
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               14                    18
Charisma              8                     8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               7                    29
Bluff                -1                    -1
Concentration         6                    33
Diplomacy            -1                    -1
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle               -1                    -1
Heal                  2                     4
Hide                  3                     6
Intimidate           -1                     1
Jump                  6                    25
Listen                2                     4
Move Silently         3                     6
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                    -1
Spot                  5                     26
Swim                  2                     2
Tumble                4                    8
Use Magic Device     n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack
Feat: (Human Bonus) Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Disciple of Breezes
Enhancement: Disciple of Pebbles
Enhancement: Disciple of Candles
Enhancement: Disciple of Puddles


Level 2 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Weapon Finesse
Enhancement: Human Versatility I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortiose I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I


Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Path) Philosophy - Path of Harmonious Balance
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Fists of Light
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Monk Concentration I


Level 4 (Monk)
Enhancement: Human Versatility II
Enhancement: Monk Concentration II


Level 5 (Monk)
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Dexterity I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortiose II


Level 6 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Least Dragonmark of Sentinel
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Stunning Fist
Enhancement: Adept of Wind


Level 7 (Monk)
Enhancement: Human Versatility III
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom II


Level 8 (Monk)
Enhancement: Monk Concentration III


Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 10 (Monk)
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom III


Level 11 (Monk)
Enhancement: Human Versatility IV


Level 12 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Lesser Dragonmark of Sentinel
Enhancement: Master of Thunder


Level 13 (Monk)
Enhancement: Human Greater Adaptability Wisdom I


Level 14 (Monk)
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortiose III


Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortiose IV


Level 16 (Monk)
Enhancement: Monk Concentration IV


Level 17 (Monk)


Level 18 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Dragonmark of Sentinel


Level 19 (Monk)


Level 20 (Monk)
Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Extra Dragonmark Use I
Enhancement: Lifting the Veil
Enhancement: The Receptive Earth
Enhancement: Restoring the Balance
Enhancement: Rise of the Phoenix
Enhancement: Difficulty at the Beginning

I didn't really take the all enhancements right when they are available as you can see anyway, any advice would be great.

Oh, also, the grandmaster of air thingy should be added in there (Isn't in the planner yet) If I remember right I Didn't use the amount of points needed for it.

[Uska]

You say your a new player? but you have 32pt unlocked? if so you sure did grind favor fast. Also unless you are VIP you will have to buy monk so VIP is the way to go, if you later go from VIP to free you will have to pay to be able to keep playing your monk. Oh yeah I love monks

[Shinsei]

Hah...I just remembered I had this on 32 points (was fooling around with it as I said) so I came to fix it , and you already caught me

I plan to have vip at least for 1 month to unlock the chat limitations and such, and with 500 points from being in the beta i should have enough to keep monk if i don't keep paying...about 32..still hoping one could buy it or even better when you unlock you get to add...either way, fixing it now (16 wis to 14)

[Angelus_dead]

Hello all, well technically, I'm a returning player (if you count 1 month when the game just started)
I'm planning on going vip at least for the first month or two, and I plan on playing a monk.

Here's a bit of advice directly from a lead designer:

A well built, well equipped, and well played level 20 pure-class monk is an exceptionally powerful character. Weakness at any of the three seriously cripples them however, which is why they're considered (at least by us) an advanced class.

Translated, that means you should reconsider being a Monk until you're pretty sure of what you're doing. In particular, Monks (and Paladins) are more dependent on having 32 point builds than most other kinds of characters are. (But Paladins at least have to worry less about getting weapons)

However, Eladrin was thinking about power in comparison to other powerful characters doing powerful things. If your ambitions are more modest and you just want to solo around face-punching ogres, then a monk character can be simple and easy. (Halfling, air stance, path of harmonious balance, unbalancing strike, guile). Just don't be too upset if you join a party and contribute less to combat than the other guys.

PS. A more specific tip: To ensure adequate DPS, only Halfling monks should consider Weapon Finesse. All other Monk races should have enough strength to power their attack rolls. And even Halflings should look at getting a good strength.

PPS. Sentinel marks is a pretty weak feat choice. Look at Power Attack, Improved Crit, Dodge.

[Uska]

Hah...I just remembered I had this on 32 points (was fooling around with it as I said) so I came to fix it , and you already caught me

I plan to have vip at least for 1 month to unlock the chat limitations and such, and with 500 points from being in the beta i should have enough to keep monk if i don't keep paying...about 32..still hoping one could buy it or even better when you unlock you get to add...either way, fixing it now (16 wis to 14)

yeah you should have enough points to keep the monk and its only slightly worse at 28pt then 32.

[Uska]

Here's a bit of advice directly from a lead designer:

Translated, that means you should reconsider being a Monk until you're pretty sure of what you're doing. In particular, Monks (and Paladins) are more dependent on having 32 point builds than most other kinds of characters are. (But Paladins at least have to worry less about getting weapons)

However, Eladrin was thinking about power in comparison to other powerful characters doing powerful things. If your ambitions are more modest and you just want to solo around face-punching ogres, then a monk character can be simple and easy. (Halfling, air stance, path of harmonious balance, unbalancing strike, guile). Just don't be too upset if you join a party and contribute less to combat than the other guys.

Could always shoot for a drow monk I love mine has good ac good hp and dps getting better all the time.

[Angelus_dead]

Could always shoot for a drow monk I love mine has good ac good hp and dps getting better all the time.

It's a little better than 28 point elf, I guess... but the Drow's advantage is in Intelligence and Charisma, exactly the stats that Monks care least about.

I greatly recommend Halfling, primarily for the DPS. But they have more hp and AC than a Drow too.

[Shinsei]

Here's a bit of advice directly from a lead designer:

Translated, that means you should reconsider being a Monk until you're pretty sure of what you're doing. In particular, Monks (and Paladins) are more dependent on having 32 point builds than most other kinds of characters are. (But Paladins at least have to worry less about getting weapons)

However, Eladrin was thinking about power in comparison to other powerful characters doing powerful things. If your ambitions are more modest and you just want to solo around face-punching ogres, then a monk character can be simple and easy. (Halfling, air stance, path of harmonious balance, unbalancing strike, guile). Just don't be too upset if you join a party and contribute less to combat than the other guys.

I've always loved monks in actual pnp and the very reason I stopped playing the game in the first place was to "wait for monk", I didn't come back earlier due to disagreeing with the whole way favor works in the game, but that is a discussion for another day i guess.

Anyway, if there will be an option to buy 32 points char in the store, I'll probably go for it, if not, I'll go for monk anyway since it's what I want to play most.

I've looked around the forums and saw the halfling monk build thingy, But I don't want to simply go dpsing, as I stated above, which is why I went for human, and why I chose other various support options such as the dragonmark feats and the entire set of debuff enhancements.
It seems from what I saw most people claim monk is gimped dps wise, I saw the way monk was implemented into ddo more as a jack of all trades, ace of none. A monk can dps, can tank, can heal, buff, debuff and even help with some crowd control with stuns and (apparently) making enemies dance later on. So that was more of what I had in mind.


PS:
It's 12:30 pm here in Israel, most of you guys are in America, and I already got two people replying, sleep dudes! sleep

[BlackRage]

yeah you should have enough points to keep the monk and its only slightly worse at 28pt then 32.

... Monks are a major beneficiary of 32points - do not doubt it, 28points is significantly worse...

[BlackRage]

It seems from what I saw most people claim monk is gimped dps wise, I saw the way monk was implemented into ddo more as a jack of all trades, ace of none. A monk can dps, can tank, can heal, buff, debuff and even help with some crowd control with stuns and (apparently) making enemies dance later on. So that was more of what I had in mind.

Fair enough - but even then going Halfling gets access to the Halfling Dragonmarks of Healing which are FAR better than the Human marks...

[Shinsei]

It's a little better than 28 point elf, I guess... but the Drow's advantage is in Intelligence and Charisma, exactly the stats that Monks care least about.

I greatly recommend Halfling, primarily for the DPS. But they have more hp and AC than a Drow too.

Noticed the same about drow, charisma doesn't help, and intelligence is compared to a human's skills bonus to monk, int is good for nothing else, so for someone that unlocked 32 I'm guessing human > drow any day?

As for halfling, I noticed that power attack seems like a "must take" feat for monks, and as a halfling it's a pain starting with enough strength, I don't really know how easy it would be getting a +1 tome as I have no clue of how the game works in these things. So at about what level would be probably get a +1 STR tome so a halfling can get power attack and will it be alright without it up until then?

Also, I really liked human versatility as it fit what I had in mind for monks, while the halfling enhancements for a monk will be more dps focused from what I noticed, the sneak attack thing, and even those are ignored against some enemies (although I don't really know how many undead and constructs are out there at end game and mid game).

Thanks for all the advice btw guys, Hopefully I'll feel more like I know what I'm doing soon, hah.

[Angelus_dead]

I've looked around the forums and saw the halfling monk build thingy, But I don't want to simply go dpsing, as I stated above, which is why I went for human, and why I chose other various support options such as the dragonmark feats and the entire set of debuff enhancements.

Ok sorry, but dragonmarks and debuff enhancements won't let you "support". Both Dragonmark of Sentinel and monk healing enhancements are mostly wastes of effort. You probably think it would be really cool to have a Monk raising the dead... but the reality is that many characters can Raise Dead very easily, and every character can carry a soulstone to a rez shrine, which is usually someplace nearby.

Monk debuffing is also quite weak, although I don't really see any of that in your character build.

If you want to be helpful to other members of your group, then use Fist of Light to cast Healing Ki, Aligning the Heavens, and Walk of the Sun.

[Shinsei]

Fair enough - but even then going Halfling gets access to the Halfling Dragonmarks of Healing which are FAR better than the Human marks...

Really much better? The sentinel marks seemed quite good to me as well, the other 2 options didn't.
The way it felt to me is like the healing or the buffs from sentinel can both work well, human since monk has some healing ability as it is, and due to the other reasons as well.

[Angelus_dead]

So at about what level would be probably get a +1 STR tome so a halfling can get power attack and will it be alright without it up until then?

It's fine to hold off Power Attack for a long while, and in fact it's likely to be a mistake to use it before level 6. With a VIP account you can exchange some of your monthly points for a +1 tome.

[Shinsei]

Ok sorry, but dragonmarks and debuff enhancements won't let you "support". Both Dragonmark of Sentinel and monk healing enhancements are mostly wastes of effort. You probably think it would be really cool to have a Monk raising the dead... but the reality is that many characters can Raise Dead very easily, and every character can carry a soulstone to a rez shrine, which is usually someplace nearby.

Monk debuffing is also quite weak, although I don't really see any of that in your character build.

If you want to be helpful to other members of your group, then use Fist of Light to cast Healing Ki, Aligning the Heavens, and Walk of the Sun.

Umm...yea it does look like they aren't there <_<
Guess I didn't take em at the end, I'm so messy

Although seeing what you said I guess I'll give the idea of taking them up anyway, thanks.

btw, what about the other two element+positive buffs, not worth using?

[Shinsei]

It's fine to hold off Power Attack for a long while, and in fact it's likely to be a mistake to use it before level 6. With a VIP account you can exchange some of your monthly points for a +1 tome.

Noted on power attack level, about the tome, what are my chances to get it normally? Or how expensive are they to get from players/auction house and such usually?

[Shinsei]

and another question that comes to mind...

should I take halfling, what skill do I give up? cause from the look of it (to me at least) it would mean I should take 10 int as a halfling, no?

or i guess a better question would be, how to build my stats as a halfling, although if int is at 8 I'm guessing the same way i did it now is fine (12 str, 18 dex).

If int should be 10 as a non human, what then?

[BlackRage]

Really much better? The sentinel marks seemed quite good to me as well, the other 2 options didn't.
The way it felt to me is like the healing or the buffs from sentinel can both work well, human since monk has some healing ability as it is, and due to the other reasons as well.

_REALLY_
They are so much better you will struggle to find another build that uses Human marks; Halfling marks on the other hand are used all over.

If you want to use your marks for 'support', there is nothing better than curing...

[BlackRage]

and another question that comes to mind...

should I take halfling, what skill do I give up? cause from the look of it (to me at least) it would mean I should take 10 int as a halfling, no?

or i guess a better question would be, how to build my stats as a halfling, although if int is at 8 I'm guessing the same way i did it now is fine (12 str, 18 dex).

If int should be 10 as a non human, what then?

Spot would be my suggestion - although useful, you can get by without it.

If you go DEX based, then Balance would the other option - it will be fairly high already and without penalties due to armor should suffice.


10INT would be nice, but 12STR/18DEX is more important.