Solo Monk question

[Sholia]

I'm trying to develop a very self-sufficient solo build and I really love the Monk mechanics, so I'm thinking of creating a multi Monk/Rogue. The Rogue splash is partially for the SA but also for the ability to open locks. I don't really care about the disabling. You see, it really grates on me to be unable to find secret doors and open up locks to get into places, which is what eventually made me give up on my solo Paladin.

My question is this: is it viable to splash a single level of Rogue for my Monk to be able to open locks? I don't know if there will be enough skill points available to do that plus everything else I need (Hide/Sneak/Tumble etc), to get a solid solo Monk that isn't hampered by locks. Honestly, if it weren't for locks and secret doors, I'd be happy with a pure Monk. But being solo, I want to be as self-sufficient as possible. It's just that the INT investment seems to be build-breakingly high, in order to pull it off.

Is this do-able, or am I just going to have to tough it out with my squishy pure Rogue if I want to get into those places on my own?

[FuzzyDuck81]

the trade-off from stats & the very effective monk capstone abilities (10/epic DR etc) just for the ability to unlock a few doors.. almost certainly not worth it

for sneak attack, you can either go ninja spy, or if you favour light path maybe make a half elf one with the rogue dilantette

[mindlessdrone1991]

The great thing about locks is that you can keep trying until you roll a 20. Get a good item, +5 tools, and with a monk's dex score, you need only put a couple points (maybe even 1) into open lock. Search the AH for a clicky with detect secret doors and you're set.

[mindlessdrone1991]

the trade-off from stats & the very effective monk capstone abilities (10/epic DR etc) just for the ability to unlock a few doors.. almost certainly not worth it

for sneak attack, you can either go ninja spy, or if you favour light path maybe make a half elf one with the rogue dilantette

Also, this. I'm assuming here that level 20 is a long way off for a new player with a solo'ing character. If you plan to get to 20 and don't want to do a reincarnate, stay pure monk.

[JeffreyGator]

secret doors are much easier to find with a detect secret doors clicky than with search. Rogues use search for traps mostly.

With a +15 item and +5 tools most locks can eventually be opened without full ranks in open locks.

I have a monk with 1 level of rogue that disables and searches and opens and has some tumble/balance etc and max concentration. I started with a 12 int and ate a +2 tome at 7.


http://my.ddo.com/character/ghallanda/thmnky/

[Jaid314]

if you're really *that* desperate to open locks, you could make a human or half-orc monk (dark path if you're that hooked on the idea of sneak attack damage) and take the dragonmark of finding. second tier of it will give you access to the knock spell. mind you, it's an incredibly crappy dragonmark, but if it's really bothering you that much, and you really want to be a monk...

[TeacherSyn]

I'm trying to develop a very self-sufficient solo build and I really love the Monk mechanics, so I'm thinking of creating a multi Monk/Rogue. The Rogue splash is partially for the SA but also for the ability to open locks. I don't really care about the disabling. You see, it really grates on me to be unable to find secret doors and open up locks to get into places, which is what eventually made me give up on my solo Paladin.

My question is this: is it viable to splash a single level of Rogue for my Monk to be able to open locks? I don't know if there will be enough skill points available to do that plus everything else I need (Hide/Sneak/Tumble etc), to get a solid solo Monk that isn't hampered by locks. Honestly, if it weren't for locks and secret doors, I'd be happy with a pure Monk. But being solo, I want to be as self-sufficient as possible. It's just that the INT investment seems to be build-breakingly high, in order to pull it off.

Is this do-able, or am I just going to have to tough it out with my squishy pure Rogue if I want to get into those places on my own?

As others have inferred here, the most effective monk is a non-multiclassed one. The Monk class is one of te few in the game where multiclassing will greatly diminish it's effectiveness to fight.

Some folks take a "splash" of two monk levels to add some durability, like with a rogue. That's not a bad thing since the rogue is a class where multiclassing is practically encouraged by many.

Classes are classes for a reason. Fighters shouldn't spell cast, and mages shouldn't melee, in general. That said, however, here's my thoughts on your self-sufficiency question.

* Skill points on a Monk should primarily go into Concentration and Balance. The rest can go into things like Hide and Move Silently, but some choose to even add to others (at least a point into Tumble is really needed). You could add more to Search for better trap and secret door detection without using a clickie. But, a clickie is so much easier to use and doesn't compromise other abilities.
* Yep, the INT investment, a stat that's useful to Monks only for a few more skill or action points in a level, is important for Open Lock. For Combat Expertise, an INT 13 is needed, so you can go that far with a monk and still hope to do well with opening locks yourself.
* Only a pure Rogue will get the DCs needed for locks in higher quests. So, even if you could make your monk self-sufficient, it goes only to a point.

My advice: Add a few more points to Search to avoid using clickies, and save up a few Turbine points for Bells of Opening, a portable Knock spell that opens most locks and chests.

The true self-sufficiency of a monk comes from the Shintao path. A "light" monk can heal himself (and others) as long as he can generate ki (that is, by fighting), as well as remove most major ailments (curses, blindness) and can even raise dead. I solo my light monk (no hirelings or other party) often where I can't take others. I also carry a Bell of Opening when I KNOW that a particular quest has a lot of chests and I want everything there. Good luck!

[Darkrok]

Stay pure. If you have 32+ point builds I'd go with a balanced build and take all 3 tiers of the dragonmark. The character won't be as powerful as it would be if you didn't burn the 3 feats on the dragonmark but at least you'll get +1 to vendor loot on all the chests you can get the group to let you charm.

[stainer]

I have a capped light path halfling dex/wis monk and soloing isn't a problem. I am not the greatest player and I can solo Sins with mine. I have UMD and feel that I am self sufficient. With the ability to get rogue hirelings, I wouldn't mutliclass just to get locks.

[Kriogen]

...
Is this do-able, or am I just going to have to tough it out with my squishy pure Rogue if I want to get into those places on my own?

a. Make squishy Rogue less squishy.

b. You could go with most levels Rogue and just splash a couple of Monk levels. I hear Rogue13/Monk7 is popular and effective.

[Darkrok]

I have a capped light path halfling dex/wis monk and soloing isn't a problem. I am not the greatest player and I can solo Sins with mine. I have UMD and feel that I am self sufficient. With the ability to get rogue hirelings, I wouldn't mutliclass just to get locks.

UMD is great too. It takes a greensteel +cha skills item, +cha item, and a +umd item to make it work but if you can get that setup you can push into the realm of no-fails on heal scrolls.

a. Make squishy Rogue less squishy.

b. You could go with most levels Rogue and just splash a couple of Monk levels. I hear Rogue13/Monk7 is popular and effective.

13/7 is a very nice build to consider as well. It works really well with quarterstaves and acrobat II though there are more than that one approach to the build.

[Sholia]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback.

I don't really like multi-classing, in any case. I really prefer pure builds, even if they aren't "the best". The only reason I was considering it with a Monk is to open those blasted locks. But the consensus seems to be that to do this requires gimping the character in a big way, so I'll just have to do without and use other, more expensive methods to get mah lootz. Not a hireling though. I find them to be so absurdly overpriced for their functionality as to be next to worthless. I tried that with my Paladin and it just wasn't worth it.

So, I'll have to figure out something else. I'll give some thought to the many suggestions provided above.

Last question though -- why is Balance so important to a Monk? I though the mechanics for standing up involved a static difficulty check of 10 + Balance Skill (I may be wrong). Why throw more points into it past 10 when they can be spent elsewhere?

[Celebras]

Question to that, as pure monk can u put skill points in open lock skill? Cause from some post it seems so, but my observations say no... just to clarify...

[Tsuarok]

Classes are classes for a reason. Fighters shouldn't spell cast, and mages shouldn't melee, in general. That said, however, here's my thoughts on your self-sufficiency question.

Multiclassing is the biggest draw of this game, people can do many many things.

* Only a pure Rogue will get the DCs needed for locks in higher quests. So, even if you could make your monk self-sufficient, it goes only to a point.

This is simply wrong. A human wizard/rouge can frequently get higher than pure rogues, and with all the + OL items, most rogue splashes can open locks with a solid skill investment.

[Aerendil]

Question to that, as pure monk can u put skill points in open lock skill? Cause from some post it seems so, but my observations say no... just to clarify...

Nope, unfortunately you can't.
There are certain skills in D&D that are considered "general", for lack of a better term. And anyone can train these up, even if they are considered "cross-class". So, for example, a Wizard can put points into Jump or Swim, even though they're not inherently a Wizard-like skill.

However, there are a few that are considered specialist skills, and can only have points put into them once you "unlock" them so to speak. A lot of Rogue skills fall under that category (open locks, disable device), but so do a few others, including tumble and perform.

For what it's worth, I'd stay pure and go light side. The ability to self-heal has helped me solo a TON of quests, although I still find I often require a cleric hireling for some of the more difficult quests or some at-level quests. If you're keen on having a cleric hireling as part of your soloing life, then you could always focus on the dark path. Even dark monks can still use the level 7 healing ability (which rocks), and have slightly better dps vs. bosses via ToD. But it's up to you.

I know on my Human monk, though, splurging to get the dimension door dragonmark has helped immensely for his soloing abilities. Certain quests he can solo that other monks couldn't, and if he's ever in hot water he can DD out, heal up, and then work his way back in. It's quite nice.

[Carpone]

12 monk/7 fighter/1 rogue: http://my.ddo.com/character/orien/vixa

Excellent soloability and very solid raid toon. When I TR my 12 monk/8 fighter, that's what I'm TRing into.

[DarkFlash]

Make a (human) light monk ---> get lvl20 ---> Buy invis clickies ---> Start soloing 9-12min epic claw of vulkoor (Who needs sneak/hide? I dont :P)