wiz/monk/rogue build, uncertainties, very poor player needs help

[Endricane]

I bet that title has you begging the question "how are you a terrible player?". I'm not, really, but I can't decide on a solid build because I want to be good at everything (perfectionist, yay), still good at end-game for most things, and can usually be useful without being squishy/a handful.

So, I just bought the monk class (hoping it was money well-spent) and am wondering, what is a good build for monk/rogue/wizard, assuming I want 9 levels of monk, enough wizard levels to get most of the useful damage/buff spells, and the remaining levels into rogue? Is this even possible or am I dreaming of a faraway land called "the looney bin"? Please don't insult or flame me, I'm not a good DDO player simply because I don't stick with any single build (except for a level 14 wizard that I have no quests for, and isn't up to par with most wizards his level). I'm just trying to find a build I would love to solo with right on up to 20, and still contribute to parties in a way.


After telling me what levels should go where (I'm thinking 9 levels of wizard and 2 of rogue), what should my stats be? I have drow unlocked but for roleplaying purposes I think I'd rather be human, and I only have the 28 point build unlocked. So, here's my dilemma:

9/9/2 monk/wiz/rogue, or some other rogue/wiz level ratio?
What stats for a 28 point build?
Is being a human simply for roleplaying (can't afford more races presently) really going to make this build suck? If so what race SHOULD I be? How good for this build would warforged be if I had that race?

Sorry if I come off as a noob who wants the best of all 2599184 worlds, I'm just trying to think of stuff and haven't settled in a build, and quite frankly I need outside opinions now.


Thanks!

[Endricane]

I'm thinking 14/14/14/14/12/8, since I can increase DEX with rogue, INT with wiz, and WIS with monk, and the human portion can take care of whatever stats are lacking; that means that even with 28 points at creation it can be a fixer-upper, for sure. With high UMD he can also self-heal, albeit slowly. He's currently a human rogue (rogue at creation for the extra skill points). I won't complain if anyone says "you ****ed that up, reroll and do this".

[Parody]

Warforged with any arcane = awesome self healing and you get the arcane goodies like haste and firewall which are quite sweet. Sadly, haste doesn't stack with wind stance.

My only concern is when you're at the mid levels and just comparing to other builds, you may just want more wizard levels rather than dipping into monk. For example, a lvl 1 rogue/wiz 8 is very versatile due to being able to handle traps, and could nuke, party buff, CC, etc at that level very well. Where as a monk X/rogue 1/wiz X would, well, be watered down for both sides.

Personally, I'd do either the Beotch Slapper, which is a Ftr 12/monk 7/rogue 1 mix I saw that seemed fun if you wanted the clicky monk feel. Or just go for all monk, if you wanted to explore the damage side.

Or if you really want a buffing/fighting toon, try a clonk, cleric/monk.

Monk is a very nice and fun class, but losing out on many of the goodies, as well as the intense stats needed, I'd personally either choose the halfling pure monk for the first time, or if you can get it, a half-elf monk coming up with Update 8 + cleric dilettante = cleric scrolls + monk dps = yes please.

[Endricane]

I agree warforged are really nice; I wish I could afford them...

I know a 1/8 rogue/wiz is nice, I just got kinda sick of leveling a low level caster (as a result of attempting new builds). I've seen a wizard can do melee even with 20 levels in wizard; so why can't a wizard with many levels in monk melee?

Let me put it this way. I want my character to sneak his way close to an enemy, blast them with magic, and melee them if they're still alive, and win the fight. I like the clonk idea, though; and not just because of the name I'll give that a shot!

[lazyninja81]

After telling me what levels should go where (I'm thinking 9 levels of wizard and 2 of rogue), what should my stats be? I have drow unlocked but for roleplaying purposes I think I'd rather be human, and I only have the 28 point build unlocked. So, here's my dilemma:

9/9/2 monk/wiz/rogue, or some other rogue/wiz level ratio?
What stats for a 28 point build?
Is being a human simply for roleplaying (can't afford more races presently) really going to make this build suck? If so what race SHOULD I be? How good for this build would warforged be if I had that race?

Sorry if I come off as a noob who wants the best of all 2599184 worlds, I'm just trying to think of stuff and haven't settled in a build, and quite frankly I need outside opinions now.


Thanks!

You need to decide on what you want the primary focus of your build to be, melee or caster. Doing both on a 28 pt build without a lot of high end gear is next to impossible IMO. I've tried. If you go with only 9 levels of wiz you won't be caster focused. At high level you're spells will be mostly buffs as nothing with a saving throw will land or give full dmg.

I haven't played a monk so I can't really comment on how you should set up a melee focused monk/wiz build. I'll leave that to the experienced monk players. If you want to be able to contribute as a caster go 17 wiz/2 monk/1 rog. 2 monk will give an extra feat and evasion, 1 rog for traps and 17 levels of wiz for 9th lvl spells. For this build, max Int, 14 Con (minimum! as you stated you want to solo and don't have WF), rest in Str. I'd dump Dex, Wis and Cha. 1st level rogue, then monk or straight to wiz 7 (for firewall) before monk. Take insightful reflex feat and toughness at beginning. Personally, if this is route, I'd jst go 18 wiz/2 rog but I can understand wanting to use that new class you just purchased.

If you do want to go with the heavy monk splash, may I suggest playing a pure monk for a while to learn the class and how to extract the greatest benefits for a multiclass.

[lazyninja81]

I like the clonk idea, though; and not just because of the name I'll give that a shot!

Clonk is probably a much better idea than wonk (wiz/monk?? Is there a moniker for that yet?). Really tempted by this build too.

[ConnorMacLoad]

Ok, so I see a few things here.

**Note, I am by no means the ubersauce answer. I play just like you. I have not played this game from pre beta, and I do not have every epic piece of gear available. My input comes from a pretty casual student of the game who has a lot of the same build asperations as you do.

So, having said that. It seems you say you want one thing, but have a limit to the knowledge of what will best achieve that for you.

Going with what you want, I would have to suggest an bard warchanter splash. It will give you a TON of the versatility you seek, and is very achievable with 28pt. the one bummer there is that bard/monk is not allowed.

So, let's say that having some bad ass ninja moves is more important than your versatility. Well, the Cleric/monk builds are phenominal, and will accomplish almost everything you need to do. With the advent of U8 you can also get a rogue hireling, so that is covered. They get great offensive casting, awesome AC, self heal, and can still fit into parties. they are not the best as 28pt builds, but will work.

As for monk splashing. There is an event horrizon for monks were you really gotta just go big or stay small. Once you start going too deep in your splash with monk, you start gaining more from it, then you do from the other splashes you want to mix in. Some good break points are 1/2/3/6 and 7 IMO.

A level 9 wizard is ok, but you will get frustrated later on. Think about how well your wizard will work when it is running level 18 quests, and is only a level 9 wizard?

Another option to look into is the half elf dilletante. If they are too expensive, then no worries. Same boat I am in. But those AP's can make your build be a whole lot more versatile.

A half-elf Cleric/monk with arcane dilletante and a rogue hireling.......No real need to ever party again

[Theolin]

In general if you loose more than 3 levels of wizard you have gimped yourself to much, so most any build you see with wizard will have at least wiz 17 / something, mostly you'll see 18/2s around. Usually the 2 is rogue due to its synergy, but there are a few monks as well, and even rarer is a Ftr(weapons) or barb(running boost). There are a few 17 / x / 1's around as well, though I haven't seen any in a while.

The reason is the DCs & Spell Pen are a difficult thing to overcome at the higher levels, and to do that you need to be mostly caster.

• For spell pen it usually takes 1 and/or 2 feats & 2 and/or 3 of the enhancements
• especially if you splash
• DC / spell pen is all about gear, enhancements, & max spell level / caster Level
• Even with heighten if you can only cast 5th level spells
• Then you are gonna be about -4(DC) /-8(SP) depending on how much you splash, compared to someone who can cast lvl 9 spells

This is not to say there are not some deeper splashes out there, but they are rare and are usually gear intensive and purpose driven. (check the forums you'll see)

If you want to melee on a wiz just get lots of divine power clickies. I carry them for that one off mob that's not worth the sps especially when soloing or after the wall o fire and I want to do something.

For the first 8-10 levels you can pretty much play fighter with use of spells like masters touch, blur displacement, web, hypno, and some others ... basically, somehow make the mobs do nothing, then take them on 1 at a time. Works wonders in a group too and makes the healer happy as well.

Start with max int, good con, and then a decent strength
Something like, int 18, con 16/18, rest in str.
Also get some DR stuff & use displacement and get some DP clickies

Even so, one just cannot compete with someone who has a 50+ strength when you have a 20ish one, so gear becomes even more important, now you need all the best fighter stuff as well as all the best Wizard gear.

[Gratan]

I ran a 12monk/7wiz/1rogue what worked very well. I went with halfling and took the dragon marks for healing. I could get all traps and self heal and had firewall for damage. It was a very self sufficent toon. I also did the same toon as 12monk/7rog/1wiz which i liked better. Btw both of these are melee builds not casters. I agree with what someone said above if your going to be a caster dont lose more then 3 levels of caster.

[Endricane]

Actually, I love all this advice, but after playing a monk just now... holy cow are they strong O_O I'm thinking of going full monk just because the DPS is awesome and they're such an interesting class, even in roleplaying.

Thanks for the advice guys; might use it some time, still!

[ConnorMacLoad]

Actually, I love all this advice, but after playing a monk just now... holy cow are they strong O_O I'm thinking of going full monk just because the DPS is awesome and they're such an interesting class, even in roleplaying.

Thanks for the advice guys; might use it some time, still!

monks shine in low level stuff, but they do lose a bit later, as there is no GS option etc. they are still very effective though, just saying to not expect your dominance to go right through to the end.

a capped 20 light monk is a great build, and a super fun one to play

happy hunting

[DrNuegebauer]

Actually, I love all this advice, but after playing a monk just now... holy cow are they strong O_O I'm thinking of going full monk just because the DPS is awesome and they're such an interesting class, even in roleplaying.

Thanks for the advice guys; might use it some time, still!

Yes - go pure monk.

Take the 'stunning fist' feat and 'stunning blow' - and be a strength/wis monk.

It'll a toon that just keeps on giving!

[Endricane]

One last question, is splashing rogue into it for sneak attack good, or would I lose more DPS than if I went full monk?

[Calebro]

I ran a 12monk/7wiz/1rogue what worked very well. I went with halfling and took the dragon marks for healing. I could get all traps and self heal and had firewall for damage. It was a very self sufficent toon. I also did the same toon as 12monk/7rog/1wiz which i liked better. Btw both of these are melee builds not casters. I agree with what someone said above if your going to be a caster dont lose more then 3 levels of caster.

I did something similar as a 10 rogue / 7 wiz / 3 monk dragonmarked halfling. Was an absolute blast to play.