U7 WF TR Light Monk -- Fire Stance Build

[Resilian]

Once U7 hits I plan to LR my monk from Dark to Light. This is my proposed setup.

NOTE: Currently level 15, and will be LRing so feat order isn't a concern.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
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Zaeken Aelthura
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Warforged Male
(20 Monk) 
Hit Points: 369
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 16
Will: 17

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(34 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    23
Dexterity            15                    17
Constitution         16                    20
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               14                    18
Charisma              6                     6

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7

                 Feat/Enhancement
                  Modified Skills
Skills             (Level 20)
Balance                 25
Bluff                   -2
Concentration           45
Diplomacy               -2
Disable Device          n/a
Haggle                  -2
Heal                     4
Hide                     3
Intimidate              -2
Jump                    29
Listen                   4
Move Silently            3
Open Lock                n/a
Perform                 n/a
Repair                  -1
Search                  -1
Spot                     4
Swim                     6
Tumble                   4
Use Magic Device        n/a

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Monk
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Stunning Fist
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting


Level 2 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness


Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Disciple of the Fist
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light


Level 4 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 5 (Monk)


Level 6 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Luck of Heroes
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack


Level 7 (Monk)


Level 8 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting


Level 10 (Monk)


Level 11 (Monk)


Level 12 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 13 (Monk)


Level 14 (Monk)


Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 17 (Monk)


Level 18 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 19 (Monk)


Level 20 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR
Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise II
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise III
Enhancement: Fists of Iron
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery II
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery III
Enhancement: Shintao Monk I
Enhancement: Shintao Monk II
Enhancement: Shintao Monk III
Enhancement: Adept of Rock
Enhancement: Grandmaster of Mountains
Enhancement: Master of Stone
Enhancement: Adept of Flame
Enhancement: Grandmaster of the Sun
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Monk Concentration I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom II
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III
Enhancement: Warforged Tactics I
Enhancement: Warforged Tactics II

Gear Setup (Goal to shoot for, not my current setup):
Main DPS Wraps: +4 Vicious Handwraps of GEOB <--big reason I plan to go Light..these w/ Shintao 3 + ToD set seems like some nice DPS to beef up light a bit. Healing Curse will negate vicious damage outside of raid heals
Head: Min 2 GS Helm
Armor: 30% Healing Amp DT w/ Radiance Guard
Goggles: Epic Goggles of Time-Sensing [ Greater False Life in Yellow ]
Neck: Shintao Neck
Wrist: Epic Jidz-Tet'ka [ Resistance +4 in Yellow ]
Hands: Epic Spectral Gloves [ Protection +4 in Yellow, +1 Exceptional Dex in Colorless ]
Back: Epic Cape of the Roc [ Blindness Immunity in Yellow ]
Feet: Striding 30% / Anchoring
Waist: Epic Belt of the Mroranon [ Fear Immunity in Yellow ]
Trinket: Litany of the Dead
Ring1: Earth Savant Ring (6 Cha 1Con Ring) w/ Shocking Burst
Ring2: Kyosho's Ring w/ Holy Burst


Stats after gear (unbuffed):
STR 16 +5 lvls +7 item +2 tome +3 exceptional +1 Litany +4 fire stance = 38
DEX 15 +2tome +7 item +1 exceptional +1 litany = 26
CON 16 +2 tome +6 item +2 WF con +1 litany +1 exceptional = 28
INT 8
WIS 14 +2 tome +6 item +2 Monk wis +3 exceptional +1 litany -2 fire stance = 26
CHA 6 +6item = 12

Hit Points:
160 - Pure Monk lvl20
180 - 28 Con
20 - Heroic Durability
10 - Draconic Vitality
22 - Toughness feat #1
22 - Toughness feat #2
20 - Epic Belt Toughness
30 - Racial Toughness 3
30 - Greater False Life (Yellow Slot)
45 - GS HP Helm
+15 - Tortoise 3
------------------
554 HP unbuffed..goes up from there w/ pots and raid buffs.

DCs:
Stunning Fist: 10+10monk +8wis +10wraps +2tactic = 40
Kukan-Do: 10 +20monk +10wrap +2tactic = 42
Shining Star: 10 +20 monk +1cha +2tactic?= 31 (33 w/tactic if this works here)

The gear setup is going to take a lot of grinding, but shouldn't be terrible. Nothing to do at 20 but plat farm and epics anyways. :P

C&C highly appreciated because I know I'm still new and I also may have missed some things.

[Srozbun]

Monk levels do not affect stunning blow. Your DC would be 36, not 46.

[Hokonoso]

first get some +2 tomes (dex/wis) and lower dex by 1, raise wis by 1, giving you 1 more dc on everything and losing nothing from dex...

[Resilian]

Monk levels do not affect stunning blow. Your DC would be 36, not 46.

Oh oops I didn't realize, haha. Well considering this is a more rounded build and not 100% focused on STR I guess dropping SB for Toughness would probably be a smarter option. SF+Kukan should do fine.

first get some +2 tomes (dex/wis) and lower dex by 1, raise wis by 1, giving you 1 more dc on everything and losing nothing from dex...

Ya I guess in the long run that makes more sense. Right now I don't have the +2 tomes, but I could probably get them fairly quickly. I'll change the build in OP to reflect this.

[Propane]

Don't you need a 17 DEX for the last parts of the TWF chain? 15 + 2 will get you there...

[Resilian]

Don't you need a 17 DEX for the last parts of the TWF chain? 15 + 2 will get you there...

Ya I tweaked the build for this.

For Void 4..this is pretty much what I'd end up doing:

Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise II
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery II
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery III
Enhancement: Shintao Monk I
Enhancement: Shintao Monk II
Enhancement: Shintao Monk III
Enhancement: Void Strike I
Enhancement: Void Strike II
Enhancement: Void Strike III
Enhancement: Void Strike IV
Enhancement: Adept of Wind
Enhancement: Master of Thunder
Enhancement: Adept of Rock
Enhancement: Grandmaster of Mountains
Enhancement: Master of Stone
Enhancement: Adept of Flame
Enhancement: Grandmaster of the Sun
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires
Enhancement: Adept of Rain
Enhancement: Master of the Sea
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Monk Concentration I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II
Enhancement: Warforged Tactics I
Enhancement: Warforged Tactics II


The trade off is Void 1-4, Master of each stance at a loss of:

Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise III
Enhancement: Fists of Iron
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom II
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III

Is that worth doing? Are the Void Strikes really that good?

[maestro973]

The trade off is Void 1-4, Master of each stance at a loss of:

Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise III
Enhancement: Fists of Iron
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom II
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III

Is that worth doing? Are the Void Strikes really that good?

In looking at what you're sacrificing...I say yes!

Tortoise gives you very little for the AP you spend, and even then, at cap 10-20 HP shouldn't make or break you on a monk. (Same concept applies to your CON bonuses and racial toughness). Fists of Iron is nice to see the big numbers, but mostly only useful in auto-stun situations, so to be perfectly honest, you can get by just fine without it.

[Resilian]

In looking at what you're sacrificing...I say yes!

Tortoise gives you very little for the AP you spend, and even then, at cap 10-20 HP shouldn't make or break you on a monk. (Same concept applies to your CON bonuses and racial toughness). Fists of Iron is nice to see the big numbers, but mostly only useful in auto-stun situations, so to be perfectly honest, you can get by just fine without it.

Ok fair enough, but my next question is..I kinda need that extra Wis enhancement to even out my wisdom once everything is said and done..should i just hold out for a +3 wis tome or should i sacrifice something else in exchange for monk wis 2?

[maestro973]

The first thing is you need concentration 2 in order to get shintao. So if you're set on getting the monk capstone you'll need to drop something else.

I'd probably get rid of tortoise completely. Right now you only get 10 HP and 2 concentration for that 3 AP spent. You could always keep it while leveling up, then get rid of it once your HP start to become more respectable at later levels.

Edit: I just read the release notes for U7 and concentration was no longer listed as a pre-req. Can anyone confirm this or was it just left out?

[Darkrok]

Is that worth doing? Are the Void Strikes really that good?

I know some people swear by Void IV. Under the new rules, with everything we'll have to spend AP on, with Wisdom being more and more important, I'd probably pass on it. I have it on my monk right now and the only use it really ever gets is for an extra dps strike to use on non-crit enemies. I'll bust out void IV&III on portals. Most epics I'm better off going earthIV/III/fist of iron/earthx3 finisher since I'm getting auto-crits. Sure, the void IV could kill it outright but all that extra crit damage will kill it faster 95% of the time.

I've tried using stun/quivering palm/void IV as my only ki moves just to experiment. QP and Void IV are expensive ki-wise so I usually stay about neutral when I do that. I've found that just using earth moves only kills things faster on average.

Again, others may have had different experiences with it. For me I'll be dropping it when U7 brings Shintao III.

[Crinos]

I know some people swear by Void IV. Under the new rules, with everything we'll have to spend AP on, with Wisdom being more and more important, I'd probably pass on it. I have it on my monk right now and the only use it really ever gets is for an extra dps strike to use on non-crit enemies. I'll bust out void IV&III on portals. Most epics I'm better off going earthIV/III/fist of iron/earthx3 finisher since I'm getting auto-crits. Sure, the void IV could kill it outright but all that extra crit damage will kill it faster 95% of the time.

I've tried using stun/quivering palm/void IV as my only ki moves just to experiment. QP and Void IV are expensive ki-wise so I usually stay about neutral when I do that. I've found that just using earth moves only kills things faster on average.

Again, others may have had different experiences with it. For me I'll be dropping it when U7 brings Shintao III.

My experiences with void IV are similar.

Admittedly I haven't stuck with it for long as I only spec'd to try it out then got rid of it again.

Basically, I found that it was great when a natural 20 void IV went off, but that this was way too rare an event and totally outside my control. Not a surprising finding probably, but with all the Void IV love around I felt I should give it a try.

It's a lot of AP investment for something that seems to be so unpredictable.

I'm interested to hear other people's opinions on it though as it does seem to be popular.

[Resilian]

Glad that you all chimed in. I think that I will continue without Void 4. That said you made me rethink my animal path. Tortoise 3 will give me a total of 15 HP..is that worth the AP cost over say Monkey 3 where I get more saves? Not entirely sure on this one.

Also..another thing I realized. A friend of mine in game plays a **** ton more than me and has multiple 20s. He has yet to make an epic. He just joined a guild that runs epics a lot more, but that said he is still not even @1 epic yet. I have 5 pieces in my set including socketed slots. Pretty long grind for this, and the build is reliant on the gear. So I came up with a gear set for pre-epics.

Head: Min 2 GS Helm* / Minos Legens**
Armor: Quorforged Docent* / 30% Healing Amp DT w/ Radiance Guard**
Goggles: Tharnes Goggles
Neck: Shintao Neck
Wrist: Regular Jidz-Tet'ka
Hands: Regular Spectral Gloves
Back: GS Haste+HP Cloak
Feet: Striding 30% / Anchoring
Waist: Knost's Belt
Trinket: Litany of the Dead / Bloodstone
Ring1: Encrusted Ring
Ring2: Kyosho's Ring

With this setup my stats dramatically change. I lose about +3 Str, +3 Wis, +1 Con, + 1 Dex..another 1 to all stats til I get an Litany.

This effectively changes my Stunning Fist DC from a 40 to a 38. How feasible is this for epic content? Are the gear choices appropriate Pre-Epic?