Looking for a newbie Monk guide

[Feuerhammer]

I recently made a ninja spy halfling monk (still level 1, and planning to follow the path for simplicity)

Although I've been playing other classes for the past few months, namely a ranger and a barbarian, I know almost nothing about monks. I haven't yet figured out how to raise my Ki past half, and hitting any breakable seems to lower it quickly. My stats in order are 13, 16, 12, 14, 12, 8, my to hit mod is -1. Are monks like wizards in that they start of slowly and then get more powerful as the levels go up?

To my understanding, the stats I'll need are str for dmg, dex for ac, and wis for saves. Int, and cha are optional aren't they?

Should I bother with dragonmarks, and if so, which feats are best to give up?

Finally, I see people discussing having multiple hotbars up. How can I display more than one at a time?

Thanks,

Noseeyum

[Arkat]

Go here:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=214991

[Impatiens]

I'd encourage you to do some more research and not follow the preset path. From what I understand the preset paths aren't very good, though I have not personally tried them.

As far as stats, strength for damage Dex and Wis for AC, Dex for reflex saves, Wis for DC to abilities, Con for hit points, most halfling builds go with high Wis and Dex and take weapon Finesse to up their plus hit. The extra sneak attack damage from halfling guile helps make up for the lower strength. Int and Charisma are not needed, though if you have spare points bumping int up a little for more skill points is not a bad thing. If you decide to take UMD (which is nice to have for shield wands) it's nice to have Charisma at 10 at least so it's not a negative modifier, but again not necessary. Only worry about bumping up int and charisma if you have 32 points to spend or higher. They are mostly not worth it.

The most important feats to have are the TWF line, after that things are more open. If you want halfling dragonmarks (which are very nice) I would go TWF, ITWF, GTWF, Dragonmarks x3, Toughness, Power Attack, Weapon Finesse (if your dex is much higher than strength), Imp Critical Bludgeoning. I left out Stunning Fist. It's nice, but not amazing especially at higher levels. If you get weighted of 5% wraps you will stun things often enough even without having stunning fist.

Building ki takes time, especially at lower levels when you aren't hitting things as fast. Having a higher concentration makes the amount of ki you can hold without it depleting higher and makes it deplete at a slower rate. Thus, concentration is one of the most important skills to put points in.

On the left side of your main hotbar you'll see a little arrow. Click on that to show more bars.

[TPICKRELL]

I recently made a ninja spy halfling monk (still level 1, and planning to follow the path for simplicity)

I'd be very careful following the pre-built paths, this one may be better, but my past experiences with them was not good.

Although I've been playing other classes for the past few months, namely a ranger and a barbarian, I know almost nothing about monks. I haven't yet figured out how to raise my Ki past half, and hitting any breakable seems to lower it quickly. My stats in order are 13, 16, 12, 14, 12, 8, my to hit mod is -1. Are monks like wizards in that they start of slowly and then get more powerful as the levels go up?

KI does not drop from breaking boxes and such. You hold an amount of ki primarily based on your concentration skill that is the amount you can hold on an on-going basis. When you are over that amount, your ki drops automatically towards that amount as time passes. The more you are above that amount of ki, the faster it drops.

Yes, monks gain power as they move up in levels. KI is hard to come by at lower levels, and your uses for the ki are limited. Once you get to choose a path (level 3) things start to pick up. Also, the stances and associated strikes are critical. Make sure you max out your wind stance.

To my understanding, the stats I'll need are str for dmg, dex for ac, and wis for saves. Int, and cha are optional aren't they?

Yes... add the obvious CON for HPs to the first list though.

Finally, I see people discussing having multiple hotbars up. How can I display more than one at a time?

On your hotbar, there is a little arrow at the left hand edge. Click that arrow to open up another hot bar. The second hotbar (and subsequent ones) have one arror to close that bar, and a second arrow that looks sort of like a box that rotates the hot bar in case you want it to be displayed top to bottom instead of left to right.

[Feuerhammer]

Thanks all for the great advice. I figured out the hotbar thing first because it was bothering me the most. Ki seems to go up as I hit (which wasn't often before I got the + to hit gear from Korthos).

I went with the preset path because they were very useful for both the ranger, and the barb. As the monk doesn't seem to be as clear cut as the typical classes, whoever said to do more research was likely spot on.

Thanks for the link as well.

Now I just need to get her a few levels so I can see what difference proper gear will make.

[eddie_storm]

not sure why your to hit is so low. Just to test I created a lvl 1 ninja spy and naked I have a +3 to hit. Maybe you are looking at the number while moving? While moving I have a -1 to hit