Passive WIS AC for monk multiclass.

[Pikaia]

Hello all! I am a newbie and I have some questions for you guys.

I have a character that is 5 Rgr /1 Rog. I am ready to level up to 7 and I am wondering about adding one class of monk.

In the DDO wiki it says that monks get a passive AC boost equal to their wisdom mod; however, they must not wear armor, shield or be heavily encumbered.

A lot of multiclass builds with monk in them (e.g. exploiter) seem to incorporate this Wis modified AC in their builds and their AC predictions for later levels. I have seen AC predictions that include the Armor bonus to AC and the Monk Wisdom bonus; which according to the rules, you can't get both at the same time. So I don't understand how these builds work.

My questions are:
What is the deal with monk passive AC Wisdom modifier?
Do you get it while wearing light/any armor?
Are these characters using some item or wearing a robe or something to use the passive Monk AC, or are they somehow getting the enhancement while wearing armor as well?

If not (no passive AC while wearing armor), what is the point of taking one level of monk? Is there some robe or outfit they use? I don't understand why this passive AC feat is included a build that uses armor.

I have also considered taking one level in Fighter. Any help would be great - thanks in advance.

[DethTrip]

Hello all!
I have a character that is 5 Rgr /1 Rog. I am ready to level up to 7 and I am wondering about adding one class of monk.

You are better off taking lvl6 ranger first for tempest. That is if you have the prereq feats. Dodge, mobility, and spring attack.

[FuzzyDuck81]

the monk level grants your wisdom modifier to AC when not wearing light/medium/heavy armour or using a shield. the Armour bonus people post in builds is usually from armoured bracers, robes (dragontouched robes are +6, so equivalent to wearing chainmail while they are actually clothing) or docents (for warforged).

There's also a "centered" bonus that monks get while using fists, quarterstaff, kamas or shurikens but with only 1 monk level you wont have to worry about it.

[Visty]

There's also a "centered" bonus that monks get while using fists, quarterstaff, kamas or shurikens but with only 1 monk level you wont have to worry about it.

this is not quite correct, the centered bonus has the same limitations as the wisdom ac, you dont need to be centered for it

[unbongwah]

If not (no passive AC while wearing armor), what is the point of taking one level of monk? Is there some robe or outfit they use?

If you look closely, you'll see the high-AC monk-splashed builds have items out the wazoo to boost their AC: e.g., on the Exploiter there are +8 AC bracers, +6 DEX, +6 WIS, etc. It all adds up. This compensates for the lack of (light) armor, which actually caps your AC due to the max DEX bonus.

So the short answer is monk-splashed high-AC builds aren't really n00b-friendly, as they're dependent on a lot of items.