Rockan Robin, pure monk build and philosophy

[koili]

What rank of void strike should I take? Is it useful?

[Visucius]

Has anyone twisted this build to fit into the ninja monk pre? I want to use a similiar setup only dark path ninja but not sure how much tweaking it would require...

[Anthios888]

Has anyone twisted this build to fit into the ninja monk pre? I want to use a similiar setup only dark path ninja but not sure how much tweaking it would require...

Rockan Robin is currently a ninja spy build on Ghallanda. The PrE fits in easily simply by changing enhancements to get the requirements for Ninja Spy and Touch of Death.

Both paths are excellent, but I went with ninja spy because I am a player who is focused on adding DPS to parties. I like that my high wisdom score will be able to take advantage of many of the ninja spy special punches (like reducing enemy fortification), and I also like the 25% concealment self-buff.

With my additional past life feats, the Shintao Monk had a greater feat cost. Still, light path (with or without PrEs) is as viable as ever, and can contribute a lot in terms of healing, dps, and buffs. I expect that Shintao Monk III along with other proposed light monk changes will level the playing field even further.

The lessened healing probably means that ninja spy has to back out more if you don't have a cleric (or ensure that it kills the monster before the monk dies). The good thing about a build like this with a high leveling AC is that you generally don't take too much damage either way.

[Arel]

You may also want to take a look at the Warforged variant that Shattered.likeness, Anthios, and I pounded out. It hasn't been consolidated yet, but if you read through the latter half of the posts you should get an idea of where it ended up.

Thanks for the help by the way, Anthios. I lesser'ed this (yesterday?) afternoon, and will make a report once I get a bit more playtime and my gear straightened out (switched from a STR build, so equipment's a bit off). Once I re-acquire my better/best gear from my past life (this build in fact!), I expect that my damage against non-undead should really take off. Darn non-stunable mobs

[Gorlok]

Would you mind giving us a run-down on the Enhancements for Ninja Spy? I'm not sure what to give up for Jump and Tumble. Thanks! I look forward to playing this build.

[Anthios888]

Would you mind giving us a run-down on the Enhancements for Ninja Spy? I'm not sure what to give up for Jump and Tumble. Thanks! I look forward to playing this build.

Edit: See OP, as it will be the thread I update to reflect game changes.

[Gorlok]

Here's a basic outline. APs are much tighter on this path, but if there is something you particularly wanted (say, void 4), you could drop some things to pick it up.

Thanks, mate!

[kilove]

Anthios, I love your build and want to thank you very much for it. I'm having a blast playing this build.

One question I have for you and everyone else, is how useful is dumping points into UMD? I'm not finding many uses for it and was wondering if there was some other purpose to have it i.e. certain gear that I don't know about...

As it stands, I have 8.5 ranks in it and at that level, I can hardly use lvl 1 heal wands...

[Anthios888]

Anthios, I love your build and want to thank you very much for it. I'm having a blast playing this build.

One question I have for you and everyone else, is how useful is dumping points into UMD? I'm not finding many uses for it and was wondering if there was some other purpose to have it i.e. certain gear that I don't know about...

As it stands, I have 8.5 ranks in it and at that level, I can hardly use lvl 1 heal wands...

At higher levels, with gear, you can get enough to easily use shield (level 5 and 10) wands, as well as having the convenience of teleporting around. Until you get some UMD-boosting gear, your UMD will be pretty much worthless.

I use shield wands quite often when I want 4 extra AC.

There's no reason you can't dump it if it's not worth it to you, but for me, 4 extra AC when I want it is better than the alternative skills I could be raising.

[Anthios888]

Updated -- attempting to consolidate the answers to the frequently asked questions into the original post. Also changed to reflect my own preference for Ninja Spy over Shintao monk. Please let me know if I removed anything I shouldn't have!

[steloro]

i want to make a question...but the wisom based monk can hit in epic or miss a lot with power attack?
ty for your aswer

[Anthios888]

i want to make a question...but the wisom based monk can hit in epic or miss a lot with power attack?
ty for your aswer

To-hit is fine, but most especially when I am getting sneak attacks. Once I have something stunned, I don't even have to think about it.

It's not the highest to-hit character you could come up with, but with numbers in the 40s before other bonuses are applied, it's not actually far behind the dex builds.

[steloro]

ty!

[ArtosKincaid]

The update is awesome. Thanks for this great primer on how to build an effective wisdom based monk!

I'll be using this eventually to build my halfling punch monster when I have a little more free time.

[Wickedfae]

I wanted to post a thank you to you for posting up this build. I'm new to this game and it really helped give me an idea of not only what I should look for but what is expected. The consumables listed helped me even out what my current character (level 15 rogue) carries with her as well.

I plan to use this build and take a peek at some others in your build list. So...thank you for taking time to put these together and make them available to others.

[stainer]

Anthios888,

I wanted to thank you again for this build. This was my first capped character, and by far my favorite character. I have others that do more damage, but not that are as fun to play. I am not fully optimized yet, but I wanted to show what can be possible with a little effort.


Of course, some of this is short term, but the 34 wis/dex is my base + yugo pots. I am not a power player by any means. I have solo'd a lot of content with this character, including battlefield slayer rares, sins on norm and wrath of flame on hard. This character is my cash cow too!

I am lucky though. I pulled a met of evil outside bane handwrap soon after hitting 20. Paired with my ToD rings, it is pretty potent.

Oh, and Khyber is better.

Thanks for this build,

stainer

[demetrio2009]

Anthios888,

I wanted to thank you again for this build. This was my first capped character, and by far my favorite character. I have others that do more damage, but not that are as fun to play. I am not fully optimized yet, but I wanted to show what can be possible with a little effort.


Of course, some of this is short term, but the 34 wis/dex is my base + yugo pots. I am not a power player by any means. I have solo'd a lot of content with this character, including battlefield slayer rares, sins on norm and wrath of flame on hard. This character is my cash cow too!

I am lucky though. I pulled a met of evil outside bane handwrap soon after hitting 20. Paired with my ToD rings, it is pretty potent.

Oh, and Khyber is better.

Thanks for this build,

stainer

how have u taken 34 in everything?

[stainer]

how have u taken 34 in everything?

Those aren't my normal stats. I have been double madstoned, raged, +2 yugo pots in str, con, dex, and wis, the titans grip clickie for +6 psionic bonus in str and a +45 hp shroud cloak. My dex and wis are 32 normally, con 22 and str 20.

http://my.ddo.com/character/khyber/dreamler/

[CountHenri]

Rolled up one of these and he's a lot of fun - a tiny incoporeal punching machine of Doom!

One question : for the animal path why Crane? Tortoise for the extra concentration/HP or Monkey for the Resists seems better but I may be missing something...

Thanks for this build - it got me to finally play one even though I bought the class ages ago

[Anthios888]

Rolled up one of these and he's a lot of fun - a tiny incoporeal punching machine of Doom!

One question : for the animal path why Crane? Tortoise for the extra concentration/HP or Monkey for the Resists seems better but I may be missing something...

Thanks for this build - it got me to finally play one even though I bought the class ages ago

I decided to change to crane path instead of tortoise (hp) or hound (flanking to-hit) because it generates a lot of extra ki. Because this is a focused stunning build, ki on-crit allows you to build ki much more quickly in order to keep the punches going. This is more noticeable past level 9 when you get Touch of Death or level 15 when you get Quivering Palm. The goal is to manage your ki so you can keep all 3 of these on timer at all times.