Rockan Robin, pure monk build and philosophy

[DigitalMus]

im thinking about buying the monk from the DDO store, because he seems fun, i do have 32 points build but not half-elf, would i be able to do this build with any of the f2p races?

[Anthios888]

im thinking about buying the monk from the DDO store, because he seems fun, i do have 32 points build but not half-elf, would i be able to do this build with any of the f2p races?

Yes - it was originally a halfling build. H-orc, dwarf, and human are also good choices.

[DigitalMus]

oh cool, but if i take halfing i can at max go

15
15
15
8
14
8

so i think i go human, no to next question... which feat should i take instead of Cleric Dillteante ...
or would you advise otherwise?

[Anthios888]

oh cool, but if i take halfing i can at max go

15
15
15
8
14
8

so i think i go human, no to next question... which feat should i take instead of Cleric Dillteante ...
or would you advise otherwise?

Here's a nice dark monk finesse human 32 point build. It'll have a lot of innate defenses, lower damage numbers, but be easier to gear up. I fit in mobility and spring attack with your extra feats. And you'll be an incredible instakiller and stunner.

I'd recommend air and earth stance. Mostly air, but earth for a tough fight where you don't want to die.

Halfling is also great for this kind of thing.

STR 12+1 tome to qualify for power attack
DEX 16
CON 15
WIS 16 + all 6 levels

1 dodge
1 mobility
1 two weapon fighting
2 weapon finesse
3 spring attack
6 stunning fist
6 toughness
9 improved two weapon fighting
12 power attack ( a little late, but you'll make it )
15 greater two weapon fighting
18 improved critical: bludgeoning
21 vorpal strikes
24 improved martial arts

[DigitalMus]

under the decription of weapon finesse it doesn't mention handwraps, but it does say unarmed, is that the same as handwraps?

[Kielbasa]

Here's a nice dark monk finesse human 32 point build. It'll have a lot of innate defenses, lower damage numbers, but be easier to gear up. I fit in mobility and spring attack with your extra feats. And you'll be an incredible instakiller and stunner.

I'd recommend air and earth stance. Mostly air, but earth for a tough fight where you don't want to die.

Halfling is also great for this kind of thing.

STR 12+1 tome to qualify for power attack
DEX 16
CON 15
WIS 16 + all 6 levels

1 dodge
1 mobility
1 two weapon fighting
2 weapon finesse
3 spring attack
6 power attack
6 toughness
9 improved two weapon fighting
12 power attack ( a little late, but you'll make it )
15 greater two weapon fighting
18 improved critical: bludgeoning
21 vorpal strikes
24 improved martial arts

Stunning Fist seems to be absent.

[Anthios888]

Stunning Fist seems to be absent.

And power attack is listed twice! Edited

[DigitalMus]

hmm at level 3, i have 2 things to say...

1st i can choose 2 feats so i guess Path of Inevitable Dominion and Spring Attack?

2nd, i need +4 Base Attack Bonus to take Spring Attack, which i don't have, so should i just take stunning fist or toughtness and then take spring attack at level 6?

edit: and i also need a dex +1 tome to get improved weapon fighting? edit2: or should i take the first numan adaptability into dex?

[PolarisNC]

hmm at level 3, i have 2 things to say...

1st i can choose 2 feats so i guess Path of Inevitable Dominion and Spring Attack?

2nd, i need +4 Base Attack Bonus to take Spring Attack, which i don't have, so should i just take stunning fist or toughtness and then take spring attack at level 6?

edit: and i also need a dex +1 tome to get improved weapon fighting? edit2: or should i take the first numan adaptability into dex?

Taking Human Adaptability in DEX won't qualify you for improved TWF. The DEX tome is the way to go.

[Stoner81]

Greetings just wanted to stop in a say thanks for all the information contained here! I started my monk build last month using Rockan as the basis for it and I am experimenting with it and generally really enjoying it (wow monk attacks are stupidly rapid ), my toon is only level 5 so far but really enjoying it!

Anyway thanks for all the information is really has helped a lot!

Stoner81.

[BelVic]

I used to play monk for few months. It was fun until epic elite quests. Now I need to grind some more equipment for him. Just wondering how did you calculate wisdom to get so high DC ? The highest I was getting is 54 WIS which is +22 wis modifier. So my DC for QP was 42 before improved sunder and other debuffs. It was working ok on EH but not on EE. And I had to skip Touch of Death in order to get +3 wis on enhancement while trying to have Void Strike IV as well.


From first page of the thread :

10 base + 10 (20 monk/2) + 27 wis modifier = 47 DC in Water (Before sunder and Touch of Despair)

[Zeronic]

I like the look of this build. But I never played monk before. Therefore I am looking for tactics. What skills do you use while leveling up? Or rotation? Or whatever you call it.
Right now (lvl7), I just walk around attacking and using stunning fist whenever. I do nothing with fist of darkness or void strike, or any elemental strike atm.
Any tips?

[Miyamoto_Musashi]

Hi, I was wondering if there any changes to the build since the U19 changes.
Thanks for a great build

[whereispowderedsilve]

No idea if rocka even plays anymore Maybe someone/a friend of Rocka's can stop by & clue us in? The build was epic! :P! ! Cheers!

[Brolik]

Rockan Philosophy:

Monks changed rapidly over the last couple of years since their release. Initially they were super suck and basically only worth having around for the cool factor. Most were 97-pound weaklings. This build help popularized an alternative method, which was a wisdom-focused striker who can achieve the most reliable stuns and debuffs possible. Having played many monk builds both for leveling and TRing, Rockan Robin has adjusted to meet the changing game but still remains a specialty/tactics monk build that sometimes plays more as a tactical fighter than a monk-barbarian.

The following have made monks one of the premier melee classes in ddo:

• Uber alchemical handwraps
• Everything is Nothing is totally overpowered
• Other methods of mob incapacitation (wounding of puncturing, mass hold) were nerfed down to equal the rest of killing styles
• Tons of great monk gear, including easy-to-obtain starter items like brawling gloves, frozen tunic, sun-soul set, Grave Wrappings, Calomel handwraps
• Tower of Despair launched dual bursting rings, applying to any handwraps you choose
• The advent of metalline/cold iron handwraps for bypassing important damage reduction
• Improved evasion and DR/10 along with good saves
• The expansion of monk finishers, enhancement lines, and PrEs
• Epic difficulty, which rewards stunning, instakills and survivability
• Quivering Palm instakills!
• High fortification raid bosses that can and should be debuffed
• More self-healing availability through half elf and healing amplification

Now, one of the things that I feel has been left out of all of the monk discussion is gear trade-offs. There is a time and place for armor class, and a wisdom build has great AC potential. However, monks are often played as untouchable AC builds that win out against mobs through attrition. However, every point of armor class beyond a certain level is coming at a significant DPS (damage per second) loss. The longer the fight, the more the whole party will need to spend its mana resources, negating whatever was saved from having a weak offense. A monk should figure out where his AC is needed and useful and skip it the rest of the time.

On the other end of the spectrum is the strength-based monk that fits in every DPS item. These are evasion barbarians with half the HP. Great offense -- really the top of the pack -- but this can be a very difficult character to play. For my personal purposes, it's not quite worth being a mana sponge. There's a few downsides to the monkbarb idea: A few points of damage per swing and beefier HP comes at the expense of weakened stuns, charms, dances, and armor class. Don’t gimp your DPS, but be willing to lose just a little for the big gains that high WIS gives you.

A long time ago, I threw away the idea of either purely AC gear or purely DPS setup in favor of a balance and tactics. I want to mow through monsters stunning and quivering palm. As an endgame raider, I will always care about my single-target boss DPS, but I know that the party depends not only on DPS but on the big-picture things: ability to dispach trash mobs quickly, debuff raid bosses, stay alive, and throw scrolls when needed.

Presenting Rockan Robin, the balanced punchy new age monk!

Half-elf Monk Base Ability Scores (32 point build):

• STR: 15
• DEX: 15
• CON: 15
• INT: 8
• WIS: 15
• CHA: 8

[28 point: 14 STR, 14 DEX, 14 CON, 8 INT, 16 WIS, 8 CHA]

[34 point: 15 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON, 8 INT, 16 WIS, 8 CHA]

[36 point: 16 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON, 8 INT, 16 WIS, 8 CHA]

Alignment:

I am Lawful Neutral – allows usage of Litany of the Dead without a negative level penalty (Raid item trinket, +1 to all stats, +1 hit/damage). Neutral is generally a good alignment. Remember that all monks can use pure good handwraps without penalty. Those who would prefer to be good aligned have access to Devotion (holy handwraps in Delera’s graveyard) and Rings of the Ancestors (level 11 raise dead clickie rings from Shrieking Mines). You can now unlock litany of the dead using seals of the Abbot, so you won't get a penalty if you want to use this item and be another alignment.

Skill Points



The idea behind getting some use magic device is so you can give yourself basic buffs like Shield and whatnot, and bypass the race restrictions on items. If you've got access to gear, you can get to the point where you can use a greater variety of scrolls.

Alternately, for an assassin approach (stealth+quivering palm), dump Balance and Use Magic Device for Hide and Move silently.

Feats



Enhancements (Action Points)

Ninja Spy, Void IV


Hit Points

[update 16 breakdown to follow]

Tactics DC Breakdowns

Stunning fist


Improved Sunder


Quivering Palm, Touch of Death, Touch of Despair, Curse of the Void, Unbalancing Strike


How do I figure out my armor class?


Healing Amplification

Shintao vs. Ninja Spy (ie light vs dark)

• The Ninja Spy PrE (dark-monk-only) is extremely powerful and would mesh well with a wisdom-based character, as most of the Inevitable Dominion attacks are based on wisdom DCs. The additional DPS from 3d6 sneak attack and the punch of pwnage (Touch of Death) really brings your numbers up. If you're looking for a purely damage approach, this is clearly the route to go. Shadow Fade's 25% incorporeality is a lifesaver and should remain up. Finally, you get a few tactical/debuffing attacks that I spam like crazy: dark punch (-2 saves, to-hit), dark-dark-dark (-25% fortification and vulnerability to negative energy), and void-dark-void (charm).
  
  
• Shintao Monk PrE (light-monk-only) lets you bypass all forms of monster damage reduction very easily. They also have party buffs and small heals. For a tactics person, there's a lot to love: ranged stun, banishment, and a debuff that gives bosses vulnerability to all physical damage. The real centerpiece for a new player with the Harmonious Balance path is the healing ki/fists of light attack, which you put on an enemy and it will heal any person who strikes that monster. Light monk buffs (Earth+Positive+Earth, specifically) are often demanded by groups in the Tower of Despair and Lord of Blades raids, because they are one of the easiest ways to prevent Horoth’s area stun and Lord of Blades' headchop attacks.
  
  
• The cool thing is that it is very easy to re-spec now. A lesser reincarnate or even a simple feat swap can change the same build from wis to strength or ninja spy to shintao. Explore and find what you like -- monks are awesome!

What Stance is right for me?

All of the stances have their place, and have been used to great success with this build. The best monks will playtest these for themselves and discover how they can use them to complement their playstyles and goals.

• Grandmaster of the Sun. Ultimate Sun Stance: The consuming flame focuses on an aggressive offense. Ultimate Sun Stance grants +4 Strength at a cost of -2 Wisdom. While in Ultimate Sun Stance you gain 'Hit Effect: Gain 1 ki.' and 'Critical Effect: Gain 5 ki.'
  
  Fire stance is the brute force stance. Fire stance is strong for those wishing to spamming attacks, because you will be unrivaled in ki generation. In Grandmaster of Flowers, you gain an additional +3 hit, +3 damage and .75[W] when in fire stance.
  
  Additionally, http://ddowiki.com/page/Named_item_sets]the Sun Soul Set[/url] gives you constant small heals whenever you roll a 20 on your attacks.
  
  Fire has the ability to get some of the highest healing amplification available in ddo, with Jidz-Tet’ka bracers.
  
  The disadvantage is that wisdom is this build’s key stat. For those focused on eking out every DC on quivering palm, fire stance is a step in the wrong direction. Over time, the +4 STR has eroded in value, because there are so many other bonuses to strength and to-hit.
  
  At minimum, consider Fire Stance for leveling to take advantage of Jidz-Tet’ka and to have plenty of ki for your special abilities until you get a Ki +1 item.
  
  
• Grandmaster of Mountains. +4 Constitution, a 20% boost to AC, 15 physical resistance, a +70% Insight bonus to melee threat generation, and the critical multiplier of all weapons you use is increased by 1 on rolls of a natural 19 or 20, at the cost of -2 Dexterity and -10% movement speed.
  
  If you’re a player who is going into difficult epic quests and you’re scared that you won’t be accepted, Mountain is the safest way to go. It’s naturally very powerful. You’ll get more hit points, a bunch of armor class, you’ll see big numbers (x3 critical multiplier), and 15 physical resistance (plus another 15 from your epic destiny) will reduce incoming damage. The ki strikes granted with mountain are untyped, so they work on everything. For many, this stance shores up monks’ weak points and makes them much harder to stop. After all, dead monks don’t stun.
  
  If you ever tank, this is the stance for you. Remember to change into another stance if there is another tank who needs to keep a boss’s attention because this stance gives +70% hate. For example, this is not the stance for epic elite Lord of Blades if you are not the tank.
  
  
• Grandmaster of Oceans. The eternal ocean focuses on redirection and the supernatural. Greater Ocean Stance grants +3 Wisdom, +3% dodge, +4 to all Saving Throws, and your passive ki generation when centered is increased by 1, at a cost of -2 Strength.
  
  Generally considered the weakest and most unloved stance, water is a niche for those trying to achieve the maximum effectiveness of Quivering Palm and other DC-based monk abilities.
  The extra ki generation means that you will have a higher resting ki, so you can begin fights with more ki. The saves and dodge are quite nice, as well: up to +6 dodge if you include Walking With Waves in Grandmaster of Flowers.
  Many people will tell you, “anything but Ocean,” but I believe that it has a place for tactic-focused players looking to be the best at quivering palm. It could certainly use a boost. It is the only stance that does not directly increase your damage in any way.
  
  
• Grandmaster of Storms. The relentless storm focuses on movement and speed. Ultimate Wind Stance grants +4 Dexterity, a 15% Enhancement bonus to melee and thrown attack speed, and grants a 10% chance to doublestrike with melee weapons, at the cost of -2 Constitution.
  
  Wind stance is probably the best damage per second, especially if you consider that every time you hit ki strikes like Quivering Palm, Touch of Death, or Stunning Fist, your doublestrike may double these attacks. When combined with “Running With the Wind” in Grandmaster of Flowers, the stance actually gives +13% doublestrike. If you opt for Sun-Soul Set, your doublestrike periodically rise to 16% total, before other items, buffs, or abilities. Wind stance stacks fully with items like Antipode (6% doublestrike, Caught in the Web raid loot) and abilities like Hail of Blows (3% doublestrike, Tier 2 Grandmaster of Flowers).
  
  Monks are a class that has a lot of added damage on each attack, along with the highest attack speed, so the more you hit, the more those items are multiplied.
  
  While in Ultimate Wind stance, you won’t need haste for attack speed. If you don’t like to constantly drink potions or rely on others for buffs, this is the stance of you.
  
  -2 CON sucks if you’re really worried with how people react to your hit points in your group, but the extra striking may well be worth it if you don’t mind losing 25 hit points.

Self-Healing

Rockan can heal with cure potions, cure wands (light at 1, moderate at 3, serious at 5, and critical from guild vender at 7), and heal and mass cure moderate scrolls. I love cleric dilletante because it allows me to use resurrection scrolls and heal scrolls to help my party in a pinch.

Using vampiric handwraps like Vampiric Stonedust Handwraps, Cannith Crafted handwraps or Ivy Wraps can significantly drop their need to heal yourself.

Because all stats are above 10, Rockan can easily use Silver Flame favor potions without becoming incapacitated. Silver flame potions, attainable with 400 Silver Flame faction favor, provide huge healing boosts at the cost of a short-term -10 to STR, DEX, INT, WIS, and CHA.

Endgame equipment:



New player information:

Leveling Guide

Enhancements:
I firmly believe that enhancements should be adjusted as each character levels. What is appropriate for a level 10 or a level 20 may not be available at level 2. Experiment with the animal paths – enhancements can be reset easily for a reason. Taking the stances, toughness, healing amplification, wisdom and dex, and sneak attack/cleric dilletante feats will never lead you astray. Use the enhancements to get your stats to an even number and update your enhancements if you find an item that would make you odd – this way you will always get the best for your points.



Helpful links:

• How to: Add Finishing Moves to your hot bars
• The Definitive Static Reward and Unique Loot thread
• Ron’s Character Planner

Alternate monk build reference:

• Thaarock Hound (18 fighter/2 monk Legendary Dreadnought)[/url]
• The Original Rockan (finesse halfling)
• http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=265556]Funk Puncher (Warforged STR build stunner monk)[/url]
• Rockan the Boat 12 fighter/8 monk, strength build
• The Horcrux, Robin' and Cursin' (wis/str build)
• 32 pts, vorpal strikes, and Void IV?
• Wisdom based light path stunner finesse build

Hey with tall the new updates mainly the enhancement trees I was wondering if you could repost a good monk build for me .. looking for DPS and self healing .. ive run Shinto twice now with current enhancement trees and would like to try dark monk, ninja spy. Big fan of the stunning fist and QP. I have 3 fighter past lives and will have 2 monk PL to start next build. Have +3 tomes in most(possibly all) stats. and a +4 in Con. Hopefully that is anough information to help out any with a good build idea.

[Andoris]

Hey with tall the new updates mainly the enhancement trees I was wondering if you could repost a good monk build for me .. looking for DPS and self healing .. ive run Shinto twice now with current enhancement trees and would like to try dark monk, ninja spy. Big fan of the stunning fist and QP. I have 3 fighter past lives and will have 2 monk PL to start next build. Have +3 tomes in most(possibly all) stats. and a +4 in Con. Hopefully that is anough information to help out any with a good build idea.

Unfortunately, Rocka has been busy with RL and hasn't played in about a year -- I doubt you will see a update anytime soon.