"Best" monk endgame gear layout

[Marmaduke]

Best is subjective... but... having finally gotten my epic gem shard today and thus enabling me to put into place 4 item swaps that I had had in my bank, I was wondering if people have a vastly different equipment layout once everything is said and done.

I've tossed around the idea of tossing out the Sun Soul set entirely and using Red Robe and possibly spare hand + EE twisting shade bracers... but trying to figure out how to fit in +7,+2 stats makes my head hurt. Also, I'm a huge fan of the Sun Soul bracers - Sup. Parrying, 7wis, 2 con is just awesome.

Helm: GS Smoke/HP
Necklace: Epic Grim's w/ heavy fort
Trinket: Epic Gem of Many Facets
Gloves: Epic Gloves of the Claw
Armor, Belt, Bracers: Sun Soul set
Ring1: Telvin's Touch (charisma + exc. wis)
Ring2: Epic Ring of the Stalker
Goggles: Tharnes
Cloak: Adamantine Cloak of the Bear
Boots: EH Treads

A notable flaw in the above equipment is that there's no source of insightful strength... but I feel that it's more than made up for w/ +6 damage from Claw and Sun Soul sets. There's also no +8 wis

Has anyone managed to put together a cohesive setup involving Red Robe & Epic Spare Hand?

[DrunkenBuddha]

I'm doing a similar build, except I have a Min2 helm and will use the Shintao set. Get a +8 spider-spun and upgrade through favor to still get Sun Soal set bonus.

[redspecter23]

I ran a similar setup on my monk before I started my latest round of TR's. I found it extremely hard to justify the red robe on a monk. The sun soul set is just way too good to give up. Going with the red robe does make it easier to fit in the Epic Spare Hand (sun soul belt is mainly there to fill out the set). So an alternative is to go red robe and Epic Spare Hand in place of the robe and belt for the sun soul set.

I ran Litany/cove gloves/epic charged gauntlets over the epic claw set. Dps is likely a bit lower, but Litany provides other benefits, notably +20 hp with an even con score.

I just can't see dropping the sun soul bracers for anything really except perhaps heal amp/sup parrying if you have your con/wis slotted elsewhere. Those bracers with a guild slot become much more appealing. That's assuming you drop the set for the red robe. On a pure monk, the VoN red robe is the only option. The eveningstar one is a dps loss compared to the sun soul set.

[Marmaduke]

VoN Robe over Cormyrian version? I just don't see it really - that seeker10, heavy fort, toughness, prot6... they're all so juicy and would allow for a lot of flexibility in the build. In terms of simply DPS, the flaming burst would have a slight edge over seeker10(as compared to only having seeker6)... but still.

[redspecter23]

VoN Robe over Cormyrian version? I just don't see it really - that seeker10, heavy fort, toughness, prot6... they're all so juicy and would allow for a lot of flexibility in the build. In terms of simply DPS, the flaming burst would have a slight edge over seeker10(as compared to only having seeker6)... but still.

Toughness, prot 6 (or even 7) and seeker 6 are very likely slotted elsewhere, making the Cormyrian robe essentially a very snazzy ex seeker +4 robe. Now if you just can't slot those things elsewhere it's nice consolidation, but the +2 damage (all the time) of the sun soul set easily beats out +8 damage on 19/20 only (assuming handwraps). Even if you run earth stance exclusively that's only +1.2 damage per swing on the Cormyrian red. +3.5 on the VoN red (assuming mob takes fire damage). If one were looking at dropping the sun soul set, I personally can't see going for 1.2 damage (only on crittable mobs) compared to 3.5 fire since many endgame mobs now take fire damage. Cormyrian will save you a pile of epic tokens which also might be a factor I suppose.

[Tobril]

The layout for my 12/6/2 is a bit strange but here goes:

Head: LGA DEX 6 of Melee Alacrity
Neck: Oremi
Trinket: Litany
Cloak: Epic Night L24
Belt: Epic Spare Hand (green:100% fort, colorless:empty)
Ring: (swap) Epic Stalker/Dun’Robar
Glove: PDK
Boot: GS HP Smoke
Bracer: Epic Jidz (yellow:GFL, colorless:CHA)
Armour: Spider /w +3 insight WIS
Goggle: Tharne’s


For a pure or more conventional build I’d do something
slightly different, probably adjust to incorporate the sun
soul by moving the stun DC’s to the bear cloak, HP to the
head, corrosion boots /w +2 luck, and otherwise leave
things about the same.


Shintao would be stronger in some situations, especially as
the Oremi set does not appear to stack with the old red.
(I haven’t tried recently, if oremi+red stacks now then sweet)

The new red is not particularly useful for a wrap based monk
as its properties are available elsewhere and seeker doesn’t
benefit 20 x2 weapons as much as say, a step up on the dice chart.

[Purgatorii]

I'd personally swap the Epic Ring of the Stalker for a ToD ring with Holy Burst and slot Drow Smoke Goggles instead of Tharnes. The sneak attack bonus from Tharne's is nice but slotting Manslayer on your goggles opens you up to the extra damage and DR/good breaking on your ToD ring, and if you end up in a situation where you need True Seeing you could always toss on Tharnes or Lenses of the Woodsman temporarily.

As far as boots go Madstone are always nice if you're not scroll healing (otherwise it's too much of a pain in the ass having to switch into Defensive Stance every 3 seconds because your boots keep proccing), but Treads are also a good choice, as is slotting your Greensteel there.

just my 2 plat

[Uska]

I'd personally swap the Epic Ring of the Stalker for a ToD ring with Holy Burst and slot Drow Smoke Goggles instead of Tharnes. The sneak attack bonus from Tharne's is nice but slotting Manslayer on your goggles opens you up to the extra damage and DR/good breaking on your ToD ring, and if you end up in a situation where you need True Seeing you could always toss on Tharnes or Lenses of the Woodsman temporarily.

As far as boots go Madstone are always nice if you're not scroll healing (otherwise it's too much of a pain in the ass having to switch into Defensive Stance every 3 seconds because your boots keep proccing), but Treads are also a good choice, as is slotting your Greensteel there.

just my 2 plat

I am trying to go with the smoke goggles for my monk and to get the shinato set but ToD seems rarely ran anymore but neither is the sub to try for thanes anyways. and for true sight I can get that from GMF if I need to really

[Dace]

I am trying to go with the smoke goggles for my monk and to get the shinato set but ToD seems rarely ran anymore but neither is the sub to try for thanes anyways. and for true sight I can get that from GMF if I need to really

This strikes me as a good gearset to use for trash (stunning on gravewraps):

Helmet 		6 Con Skills, +45 HP, +5 Protection, Heavy Fortification
Trinket 		Litany of the Dead
Goggles		Tharnes Goggles (5/8 Sneak attack +TS)
Necklace	Shintao Cord +6 Con, +15 Concentration
Armour		Spider Caparison: WIS OR DEX 3/8, +9 AB, +6 res, +1 Ki, reinforced fists,toughness +15 con
Cloak		Epic Cloak of Night - Invisibility Guard, Ghostly, Deathblock, Nightmare Guard, Dodge Bonus +3, DR 10/Good
Gloves		Gloves of the Claw Strength +6, stacking 5 intim, 30% heal amp
Bracers		Bracers of the Claw, +2 insightful con, heavy fortification
Belt	Spare Hand (Tier 3)-Riposte, Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, Staggering Blow, Disable Device +15, Open Lock +15, Use Magic Device +3, Doublestrike 3% [GOOD LUCK][Colorless:CHARISMA +6]
Boots		Madstone Boots
Ring1 		Ring of the Stalker [COLORLESS:CHARISMA +6][[YELLOW: GREATER FALSE LIFE]
Ring2 		Kyosho’s Ring Wisdom 6, exceptional strength +1 [SHOCKING/HOLY BURST]
Quiver		Quiver of Alacrity

For bosses your going to change your wraps, but the basic setup is solid.

As an alternative to the claw set (maybe its too much farming or w/e) this setup is nice:

Helmet 		Greensteel HP item w/Blurry
Trinket 		Litany of the Dead
Goggles		Cannith crafting, large HP slot blindness w/ +4 to hit. Swapout for TS/+3 to hit Lenses of the woodman.
Necklace	Shintao Cord +6 Con, +15 Concentration
Armour		Spider Caparison: WIS OR DEX +8/3, +9 AB, +6 res, +1 Ki, reinforced fists,toughness +15 con
Cloak		Epic Cloak of Night - Invisibility Guard, Ghostly, Deathblock, Nightmare Guard, Dodge Bonus +3, DR 10/Good
Gloves		Epic Brawling Gloves +7 Strength, 4/7 sneak attack [YELLOW]
Bracers		Convalescent 30% of Superior Parrying
Belt	Spare Hand - Riposte, Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, Staggering Blow, Disable Device +15, Open Lock +15, Use Magic Device +3, Doublestrike 3% [HEAVY FORTIFICATION][Colorless: INTELLIGENCE]
Boots		Madstone Boots
Ring1 		Ring of the Stalker [COLORLESS: CHARISMA][[GREATER FALSE LIFE]
Ring2 		Kyosho’s Ring Wisdom 6, exceptional strength +1 [SHOCKING/HOLY BURST]
Quiver		Quiver of Alacrity

I would only ever use the full Sunsoul set if I were making a Earth monk, as the damage reduction seems to be the only truly worthwhile bonus.

[Marmaduke]

I am trying to go with the smoke goggles for my monk and to get the shinato set but ToD seems rarely ran anymore but neither is the sub to try for thanes anyways. and for true sight I can get that from GMF if I need to really

And what if you want to run in anything besides GMoF? You would have to twist in piercing clarity instead of sense weakness (foolhardy at best). I am of the opinion that Drow Smoke Goggles are absolute rubbish if you have access to an epic stalker ring. In addition to the other benefits, you are effectively getting +13 damage with every attack against a mob for which unbalancing strike works (ie. 95% of the game). The only combo that deserves comparison is possibly Avithoul Seal + Drow Smoke Goggles, but with that combo, you'll still be on the losing side with no TS, ghostly, and the loss of slots.

This strikes me as a good gearset to use for trash (stunning on gravewraps):

Helmet 		6 Con Skills, +45 HP, +5 Protection, Heavy Fortification
Trinket 		Litany of the Dead
Goggles		Tharnes Goggles (5/8 Sneak attack +TS)
Necklace	Shintao Cord +6 Con, +15 Concentration
Armour		Spider Caparison: WIS OR DEX 3/8, +9 AB, +6 res, +1 Ki, reinforced fists,toughness +15 con
Cloak		Epic Cloak of Night - Invisibility Guard, Ghostly, Deathblock, Nightmare Guard, Dodge Bonus +3, DR 10/Good
Gloves		Gloves of the Claw Strength +6, stacking 5 intim, 30% heal amp
Bracers		Bracers of the Claw, +2 insightful con, heavy fortification
Belt	Spare Hand (Tier 3)-Riposte, Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, Staggering Blow, Disable Device +15, Open Lock +15, Use Magic Device +3, Doublestrike 3% [GOOD LUCK][Colorless:CHARISMA +6]
Boots		Madstone Boots
Ring1 		Ring of the Stalker [COLORLESS:CHARISMA +6][[YELLOW: GREATER FALSE LIFE]
Ring2 		Kyosho’s Ring Wisdom 6, exceptional strength +1 [SHOCKING/HOLY BURST]
Quiver		Quiver of Alacrity

That's indeed an interesting gear setup. I guess that's the type of layout I was tossing around in my head sans the red robe. With litany, the build's con and str stay the same, overall saves take a -2 hit, 1 point of exc.wisdom is lost, and 9PRR is lost as well. And, since +damage stays the same, it's all for the sake of 3% doublestrike. Blah. I think I'll be staying content with my current setup until Epic GH gets launched and everything gets turned upside down once again.

[Uska]

And what if you want to run in anything besides GMoF? You would have to twist in piercing clarity instead of sense weakness (foolhardy at best). I am of the opinion that Drow Smoke Goggles are absolute rubbish if you have access to an epic stalker ring. In addition to the other benefits, you are effectively getting +13 damage with every attack against a mob for which unbalancing strike works (ie. 95% of the game). The only combo that deserves comparison is possibly Avithoul Seal + Drow Smoke Goggles, but with that combo, you'll still be on the losing side with no TS, ghostly, and the loss of slots.



That's indeed an interesting gear setup. I guess that's the type of layout I was tossing around in my head sans the red robe. With litany, the build's con and str stay the same, overall saves take a -2 hit, 1 point of exc.wisdom is lost, and 9PRR is lost as well. And, sincEe +damage stays the same, it's all for the sake of 3% doublestrike. Blah. I think I'll be staying content with my current setup until Epic GH gets launched and everything gets turned upside down once again.

I don't like the other destinies so I will be only in GMoF except to earn my twists I like how my monk works now and she is only a 23rd lvl 1st lifer now my other character might be a different story when he gets back to monk as he has 1 ranger life 2 paladin lives and 3 monk lives so far and working on paladin life 3

I like not having to count on an item for ghost touch or ts only my tr guy has thanes and the shinato set the other monk has the shinato ring and smoke goggles I don't have time to grind for gear like some have(not putting people down I am jealous of them though)

[Dace]

Helmet 		+45 HP displacement clicky.blurry
Trinket 		Litany of the Dead
Goggles		Tharnes Goggles (5/8 Sneak attack +TS)
Necklace	Shintao Cord +6 Con, +15 Concentration
Armour		Spider Caparison: WIS OR DEX 3/8, +9 AB, +6 res, +1 Ki, reinforced fists,toughness +15 con
Cloak		Epic Cloak of Night - Invisibility Guard, Ghostly, Deathblock, Nightmare Guard, Dodge Bonus +3, DR 10/Good
Gloves		Gloves of the Claw Strength +6, stacking 5 intim, 30% heal amp
Bracers		Bracers of the Claw, +2 insightful con, heavy fortification
Belt	Spare Hand (Tier 3)-Riposte, Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, Staggering Blow, Disable Device +15, Open Lock +15, Use Magic Device +3, Doublestrike 3% [GOOD LUCK][Colorless:CHARISMA +6]
Boots		Madstone Boots
Ring1 		Ring of the Stalker [COLORLESS:][[YELLOW: GREATER FALSE LIFE]
Ring2 		Kyosho’s Ring Wisdom 6, exceptional strength +1 [SHOCKING/HOLY BURST]
Quiver		Quiver of Alacrity

Tidied up the above list, some inconsistencies. Could replace the armour with red dragonscale without too many difficulaties.

The main reason for this layout is I aim for 200% healing amp on my characters, and the 30% on the gloves is all I need to get there. The madstones seem to have changed fairly recently and I can still use clickies/FoL while madstoned, they're great to use atm.

[kanbeki]

Currently thinking
Head: minos/whatever somewhat open slot
goggles: smoke hp
bracers: sun soul
belt: sun soul
armor: spider spun
trinket: gem of many facets
gloves: claw
cloak: drow cloak
ring1: holy burst tod ring
ring2: ring of stalker/ +2str/+5 combat mastery seal
boots: treads
necklace: golden guile

Not really a final gearset but its what I'm working toward, could easily go with a min2 helmet and swap to tharnes/drow smoke goggles, Ideally looking at a seal of avithoul in ring2 slot

[Pank]

My take for an somehow easy to get gear set. 2 possibilities.

1.- Set 1
Head: GS smoke
Necklace: Shintao
Trinket: Head of Good Fortune (updated)
Googles: Tharnes/Woodsman
Armor: Spiderspun (+3 WIS)
Bracers: Convalescent of superior parrying
Ring 1: Shintao (holy burst)
Ring 2: swap - Dun'Robar +2STR/stun +10 - Any TOD with elemetal burst for bosses/Stalker
Belt: Spare hand
Cloak: Adamantine of the wolf
Gloves: PDK gloves
Boots: Treads of the Shadow (the best you can get)

2.- Set 2
Head: GS smoke
Necklace: GS protection (Deathblock, poison, deisease), Silver flame tier 3
Trinket: Head of Good Fortune (updated)
Googles: Epic time-sensing
Armor: Spiderspun (+8 WIS)
Bracers: Convalescent of superior parrying
Ring 1: Shintao (holy burst)
Ring 2: swap - Dun'Robar +2STR/stun +10 - Any TOD with elemetal burst for bosses/Stalker
Belt: Spare hand
Cloak: Adamantine of the wolf
Gloves: PDK gloves
Boots: Treads of the Shadow (the best you can get)
almost
Edit: Forgot to add handwraps: Mostly Ivy wraps for survivability (esp. for light monks) or almost any high damage lootgen (again esp. for light monks). Grave wrapings or antipode lets you swap Dun Robar ring (almost always on in trash fights) for anything you feel like.


On both sets you use the slots in the belt (and googles in 2 nd set) to adjust (+6 CHA for Kukan-do, GFL, etc.)
Not really much grind except for Kyosho ring in set 1 and epic google in set 2.
Other stuff can be traded, crafted, easily farmed.

[Dieterstrife]

some helm that I haven't bothered to farm yet. (granted I haven't farmed out most of this, tbh. Only 16)
Tharnes Goggles
Golden Guile
Epic Gem of Many Facets
Adamantine Cloak of the Bear
Spiner Spun Caparison (ins +3)
Sun soul bracers
Sun soul belt
EE Treads of Falling Shadow
Epic Gloves of the Claw
tod ring (probably actually the pally cha/cha one) with holy burst
Epic Ring of the Stalker
Air/Air/whatever Alchemical wraps/Grave wrappings/some cool lootgen/maybe antipode at some point

and as for the lack of a +8 wis item, when I get her a +5 tome that would only make my wis odd. Either way, I'll only have 40 standing

But essentially this is my Rogue/Monk stunny build speed buster thingy

[Sante]

My character Pistis Sophia is a 5th life Wis based Shintao.

Head- Minos
Neck- Shintao Cord/ Oremis
Trinket- Shard of Power(10% Melee Alacrity/Mobility)
Cloak- GS Cloak of elemental mastery
Gloves- Epic Brawling Gloves
Ring 1- Kyoshos(Acid)/Oremis(Shock)
Ring 2 Encrusted(Holy)/ Seal of D'un Robar(Stunning +10)
Boots- GS Boots of Smoke
Belt- Knosts/ Belt of the sun soul
Bracers- Epic Jidz
Goggles- Drow Smoke/ GS Goggles of positive energy/ Tharnes
Robes- Spider spun(+3 EX Wis)/Enlightened Vestments/ DT( Healing amp)
Wraps- Antipode/Epic Elite Ivys/ various situational. ( currently working on Alchemicals)

I swap out my gear constantly depending on the situation.

[goodspeed]

Hard to say. But without a doubt the gloves and trinket would have to be the eclaw set. It's just to **** all around nice. Not to mention I believe some dev was talking about changing the way the gem works to include either or of a set.

Ring slot wise, I would think the mystic one paired with the necklace for the extra 1d6 fire would do well using the ring for holy burst.

The other ring slot, I would go for probably the SA ring which gives wis or dex as a bonus to it. It nets you the 5 sa plus the exceptional SA, where as the stalker ring only includes one. The seal also gives you the deception that the golden guile holds. Of course SA is important because it should really always be going off constantly.

As for the sun soul set, I find it nice except for the fact that it requires a belt slot. The spare hand is just a very convenient peice of equipment with the combat mastery, and double strike, and reposite and staggering blow, as well as the umd for gravy, and a +1 exceptional slot with a blue slot. I mean ****!

No way id wear the sun soul vestment over the caprice though. Gotta get the favor and do without until then.

Really most of the gear (head boots, goggles, bracers, cloak,) All really depend on how you want the stat numbers to lye. Or more importantly, which vital piece of armor or jewelry you finally obtained that has the stat that you will work around. (For instance I finally was able to find a +10 stunning gor hide. And you better believe I moddled the stats around that **** thing for one of my melee alts.)

But as far as the gloves, trinket, vest, belt, and 2 rings, those to me are pretty much set in stone. The rest is whatever you make of it. Prioritizing, dmg or defense. Saves or amp.

[jbleargh]

Hi,

Helf Light wis based. This is what I got:

Head: Min2
Body: Spiderspun - Exceptional Wisdom +3 - Sunsoul set
Bracers: Sunsoul or Bracers of Twisting Shade (Epic Hard)
Belt: Sunsoul
Gloves: PDK or Nether Grasps (Epic Hard)
Cloak: Mabar/Bear cloak
Necklace: Wisdom +8 random loot
Googles: Drow Smoke Googles (Manslayer, seeker +6)
Boots: Treads of Falling Shadow (Epic Hard)
Ring1: Dun Robar - Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, insightful strenght+2
Ring2: Nyoko's Band - Holy Burst
Trinket: Prowess +8 STR, Prowess +8 CON, Prowess +3 STR, Subterfuge +3 WIS, Sustaining Symbiont
Wraps: Antipode (Set Bonus +4 hit/damage 15 PRR), Alchemichal Air, Water, Earth (+2 Alchemichal WIS)

Set Bonus: Sunsoul and Prowess - +6 hit/damage 15 PRR and Sunsoul effects



This is what I was planning for:

Air stance
Head: Min2
Body: Spiderspun - Exceptional Wisdom +3 - Sunsoul set
Bracers: Sunsoul
Belt: Sunsoul
Gloves: Cove - to slot Greater False Life
Cloak: Adamantine Cloak of the Wolf (Exceptional Seeker +5, Dodge Bonus 4%, Attack Bonus +4, Diversion 20%)
Necklace: Nyoko's Necklace
Googles: Drow Smoke Googles - need a better option
Boots: Treads of Falling Shadow (Epic Hard)
Ring1: Dun Robar - Exceptional Combat Mastery +5, insightful strenght+2
Ring2: Nyoko's Band - Holy Burst
Trinket: Planar focus Subterfuge +8 WIS
Wraps: Antipode

Set Bonus Sunset, NinjaSpy and Subterfuge: +4 hit, +2 damage, +10 sneak attack (+5 excep and +5 backstabbing), 20% less threat (I don't know if the treat reduction from the Ninja Spy Tod set stacks), True Seeing, Dodge bonus 3%


For Earth stance
Head: Min2
Body: Spiderspun - Exceptional Wisdom +3 - Sunsoul set
Bracers: Sunsoul
Belt: Sunsoul
Gloves: Cove - to slot Greater False Life
Cloak: Adamantine Cloak of the Bear - Sheltering +9, Protection +7, Exceptional Combat Mastery +6, Incite +20%
Necklace: Shintao Cord
Googles: Drow Smoke Googles (Manslayer, seeker +6)
Boots: Treads of Falling Shadow
Ring1: ??????
Ring2: Kyosho's Band - Holy Burst
Trinket: Prowess +8 CON
Wraps: Antipode

Set Bonus: Sunsoul, Shintao and Prowess - +8 hit/damage 15 PRR


My problem now is the U17 yellow slot changes... no more Greater False life in the Cove Gloves. Does anybody know any place that a monk can have a Blue slot?

[Matuse]

My problem now is the U17 yellow slot changes... no more Greater False life in the Cove Gloves. Does anybody know any place that a monk can have a Blue slot?

If you currently have GFL in your cove gloves (or any other yellow slot), it will stay there. Just don't convert the gloves to the new augment format (or unslot the GFL), and you can keep using the old epic augments forever.

[jbleargh]

If you currently have GFL in your cove gloves (or any other yellow slot), it will stay there. Just don't convert the gloves to the new augment format (or unslot the GFL), and you can keep using the old epic augments forever.

Sadly, my cove gloves are tier2 (didn't have a monk in the last cove). So my plan to upgrade and slot GFL went down the drain.

So... I am trying to build eCharged gauntlets before the update and I got a ring with GFL to fill the gap...

Looks like the new Gianthold will bring new possibilities... so not too worried about it I will be hunting for new shiny stuff anyway