Worth building for Void Strike?

[Antheal]

Is it worth building a Monk with balanced Str, Dex, Con & Wis to take advantage of the Void Strike moves?

Is a Monk that uses nothing but Void Strike attacks going to be viable while levelling, and in Epics?

[Calebro]

Is it worth building a Monk with balanced Str, Dex, Con & Wis to take advantage of the Void Strike moves?

Is a Monk that uses nothing but Void Strike attacks going to be viable while levelling, and in Epics?

The question isn't whether it's worth it. The answer to that is Yes.
The question isn't whether it's viable. The answer to that is also Yes.
The real question is whether you can fit the AP for them in or not.

Monks are already AP starved, largely in part due to the removal of the first tier stances. When they changed it to offer the first tiers for free, the rest of their enhancements' prereqs were not altered to take that into account, which means many monks must spend AP on things that they don't want just to simply open up the things they do want.
Racial lines make it even harder, because they usually aren't available in the earlier levels when you have the AP to spend, and only open up later when you have too many enhancements to buy and too few AP to buy them.

Bottom line:
The Void line is totally worth it.... IF you can find a way to fit it in without losing too much that you wanted.

[Blackwolfe]

I have a capped dark stun monkey str/wis halfling build (yes i know halflings need to die.)

I have built for void 4 and love it. It’s my go to move after an attempted stun. The short cool down on it makes it so viable in epics. Paired with the ultimate windstance for speed and double/triple strike chances all with a chance to proc a 20 and erase from existence any non-red named epic mob makes void 4 fun to have.

Now, I do not like rapid firing though my many ki strikes and mainly try stun fist, void 4 and TOD and then maybe void 3,2,1.

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to hit a devil or orthon in epic devil assault and on the first hit they turn pink and disappear. I get all giddy inside and yeah out a profanity. I honestly do, ask anyone in AOK about it, honestly.

Now void 4 does take a little planning to make sure that you are capable of taking it when you can, so plan ahead and you should be good to go.

[FrozenNova]

Yeah. It is the AP trouble. Especially on a halfling with full sneak damage. Good luck getting two+ grandmasters, void strike, and guile 4.

[BOgre]

This is how I fit it in on my Shintao:

Enhancement: Monk Serenity
Enhancement: Halfling Dexterity I
Enhancement: Halfling Dexterity II
Enhancement: Halfling Cunning I
Enhancement: Halfling Guile I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise II
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: Void Strike I
Enhancement: Void Strike II
Enhancement: Void Strike III
Enhancement: Void Strike IV
Enhancement: Adept of Wind
Enhancement: Grandmaster of Storms
Enhancement: Master of Thunder
Enhancement: Adept of Rock
Enhancement: Master of Stone
Enhancement: Adept of Flame
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires
Enhancement: Adept of Rain
Enhancement: Master of the Sea
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Improved Concentration I
Enhancement: Improved Concentration II
Enhancement: Improved Jump I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I

[Calebro]

And just to point it out.
It's easier to fit it in on a Shintao.
It's **** near impossible to fit it in on a Ninja, which is a shame because it's a better thematic fit for a Ninja, and with the exception of ToD all the rest of their dark path strikes pretty much blow.

The fact that Blackwolfe fit it in on his is quite impressive.
What did you sacrifice to get it?

edit:
To highlight that point, the following build only has one GM stance, and it has a whopping THREE AP left to spend as it's built right now.
That three AP will be spent of HV3, or Fists of Iron and the first tier of Amp, or Unbalancing Strike and an Amp, or Fists of Iron & Unbalancing Strike and one left for garbage.
AP are extremely tight here.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.9.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Half-Elf Male
(20 Monk) 
Hit Points: 292
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 15
Reflex: 16
Will: 16

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    24
Dexterity            16                    18
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence         10                    12
Wisdom               15                    18
Charisma              8                    10

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 Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Half-Elf Dilettante) Half-Elf Dilettante: Rogue
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Monk
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Rogue
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting

Level 2 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Stunning Fist

Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Inevitable Dominion: Fists of Darkness

Level 6 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Disciple of the Fist
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack

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

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

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

Level 18 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Sneak of Shadows

Level 20 (Monk)
Enhancement: Monk Serenity class virtual prereq
Enhancement: Improved Rogue Dilettante II racial virtual prereq
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Strength I melee stat boost
Enhancement: Human Versatility II damage boost
Enhancement: Static Charge ToD prereq
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise II Ninja prereq
Enhancement: Touch of Death virtual prereq
Enhancement: Porous Soul  ToD prereq
Enhancement: All-Consuming Flame  ToD prereq
Enhancement: Monk Ninja Spy II PrE enhancement
Enhancement: Void Strike IV the point
Enhancement: Winter's Touch  ToD prereq
Enhancement: Master of Thunder void4 prereq
Enhancement: Master of Stone void4 prereq
Enhancement: Grandmaster of the Sun void4 prereq
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires void4 prereq
Enhancement: Master of the Sea void4 prereq
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II non-idiot prereq
Enhancement: Improved Jump II Ninja prereq
Enhancement: Improved Tumble II ninja prereq
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I stun booster

[Dark-Star]

100% worth it, not really great until level 19 and Void 4, then it's amazing.

[Antheal]

Would having Void Strike IV mean losing out on Rise of the Phoenix, and its 4 pre-reqs, then?

Ouch. That's a tough compromise...

[Blackwolfe]

And just to point it out.
It's easier to fit it in on a Shintao.
It's **** near impossible to fit it in on a Ninja, which is a shame because it's a better thematic fit for a Ninja, and with the exception of ToD all the rest of their dark path strikes pretty much blow.

The fact that Blackwolfe fit it in on his is quite impressive.
What did you sacrifice to get it?

With my monk's play style I really did not give up much to get it. (I am really too tired tonight to look it up....if I remember tomorrow I’ll pull out his sheet and post his stats/feats/enhancements)

My goal, being a dark monk currently, is to have Void 4 and TOD and everything else is just extra. I'm absolutely certain that he is not built optimally but he works for me.

When I did not have Void 4 and had all the bells and whistles for extra dps, I found that the added bonus was not that much. Also having/using all those extra ki strikes made playing him a pain. I decided to go with the simple method. Concentrate on 3 main things (Stun Fist, TOD and Void 4) and just to have fun.

I will say that his dps did increase exponentially when i got the epic charged gauntlets and then paired them with the greater bold trinket. On every 20 there is a chance of 10d6 from the trinket and then 20d6 from the gauntlets of electric damage going off (don’t quote me on actual numbers, but should be correct) Add to the fact that I am almost always in the ultimate wind stance with its attack speed bonus and double strike chances...every swing of my fists has a chance to proc 30d6 damage and that happens a hell of a a lot.

In conclusion, monks are really fun to play. You can go crazy and have a ton of special attacks and combos, or you can go simplistic and specialize in a few attacks and still have fun.

Stay thirsty my friends

[Calebro]

Would having Void Strike IV mean losing out on Rise of the Phoenix, and its 4 pre-reqs, then?

Ouch. That's a tough compromise...

Actually, RotP is a waste of AP. All of the prereqs are available in potion form, and you can craft Raise Dead clickies or UMD scrolls or farm a couple Rings of the Ancerstors.
If going for Shintao, Healing Amp is the better option.
You get all the benefits of RotP via gear and pots, and add 30% Amp from AP.

[Blackwolfe]

Would having Void Strike IV mean losing out on Rise of the Phoenix, and its 4 pre-reqs, then?

Ouch. That's a tough compromise...

Even when I was a light monk, I never could rationalize getting rise of the phoenix.

It has too many prerequisites and all it does is a raise dead.

Get a clickie/clickes and spend all those APs on something better.

just my 2cps though.


Stay thirsty my friends

[Calebro]

Same build from my post above, light path instead of dark. Luck of Heroes at 3rd instead of dodge (cleave of you like, for the faster after-boost attack).
One AP left after grabbing vitals, probably to be used for Fists of Iron.

Enhancement: Monk Serenity must have
Enhancement: Improved Rogue Dilettaante II must have
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Strength I must have
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I filler to progress planner
Enhancement: Human Versatility II that's as much as I could fit
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise II more HP & Concentration
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery III prereq
Enhancement: Shintao Monk III PrE
Enhancement: Void Strike IV the goal
Enhancement: Grandmaster of Storms prereq
Enhancement: Master of Stone prereq
Enhancement: Master of Bonfires prereq
Enhancement: Master of the Sea prereq
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II more HP
Enhancement: Improved Concentration II filler top progress planner
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I stun boost