"Best" monk endgame gear layout

[Dace]

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

Farm an epic ring of the Stalker quickly and slot GFL on that, it combines nicely with your Tharnes.

[jbleargh]

Farm an epic ring of the Stalker quickly and slot GFL on that, it combines nicely with your Tharnes.

Thx for the suggestion, but you must have confused my gear setup with another post. I don't have a Tharnes.

I already got:

Exceptional Sneak Attack Bonus +5 from the Planar conflux bonus
Seeker +6, Manslayer from the Drow Googles
Ghostly from the Threads of falling shadow

Also, there are lots of rings that I would like to use...

I recently finished my bear clock to substitute the Mabar and retire the Dun'robar ring (used mainly for +5 stacking stunning fist DC), but the change made me loose 8% dodge.

So it is +1 DC and 9 PPR against 8% dodge and a place to fit another ToD ring. So... now I am also looking for places to get more dodge to compensate the loss of dun'robar and mabar cloak.

I was looking at the u17 loot thread

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=404940

There is a ring in the new Gianthold that has a +8 WIS, a green and a colorless that looks ideal as I can slot GFL and the new Globe of Imperial Blood (+1 exceptional to all stats) there.

[Taimasan]

Good to see the monk class theorycraft is still going strong. =)

[peng]

I've got a 3rd life helf wis-based dark monk.
This is his current gear setup (yes I looted a torc, yes I'm addicted to rejuv cocoon):

helmet 		+45 hp smoke gs (blurry, displace clicky)
trinket 	upgraded head of good fortune (gl +2, dodge +2, heavy fort)
goggles		tharnes (+5 sneak attack, true seeing)
necklace	torc (sp for twisted rejuv cocoon) (yes, really), shintao cord (set bonus)
armor		spider caparison (+3 ins wis, +9 armor ac, +6 resist, +1 ki, reinforced fists, toughness, +15 concentration, set bonus, +1 alchemical ac ritual)
cloak		mithral bear cloak (+6 prr, +6 prot, +5 tactics, incite +20%)
gloves		pdk gloves (+7 str, +2 ins con, 30% heal amp)
bracers		sun soul (+7 wis, +2 ins con, sup parry, set bonus)
belt		sun soul (+7 con, +2 ins wis, +15 conc, set bonus)
boots		upgraded madstone boots (+6 dex, 52 potency (boosts rejuv cocoon), madstone rage)
ring 1 		t3 epic stalker ring (+3 exc sneak attack, +6 seeker, manslayer, ghostly, empty colorless, gfl in yellow)
ring 2 		kyosho’s ring (holy burst, +1 exc str, set bonus, +1 alchemical saves ritual)

I also have the henshin mystic set and several other tod rings sitting around in my bank, and recently pulled a litany. Thinking of trying to fit that in, but not sure where I'd fit heavy fort. I could get rid of sun soul set, wear a t3 epic spare hand and a dodge cloak, and slot fort in the spare hand, but I think I'll wait for u17 for any major changes. Another possibility is changing the smoke to min2 and using blur wands.

And yes, madstone boots (potency), torc, rejuv cocoon, and x2 heal amp combine to make me a very happy monk.

[Candela90]

Doesnt madstone block monk strikes?
Im confused

[peng]

Doesnt madstone block monk strikes?
Im confused

Not anymore. Madstone rage now only blocks actual spells and scrolls. It does *not* block wands, clickies, ed abilities, or monk strikes, finishers, or stance changes.

[goodspeed]

well if you have the drow gogs then id go for the seal with the +5 and exceptional SA as well as deception on it. Because every last bit of SA is going to be forced upon anything helpless. (Anything stunned)

Glove slot is the epic claw. And then either the bracers for the set or the gem of many.

TOD ring slot i'd say probably the mystic necklace and ring for the added 1d6 fire dmg a hit.

Belt probably epic spare hand.

Cloak would be the wolf with exceptional seeker.

Head would be probably GS.

Going the pure dmg route I would say ud probably want the red dragon scale for the extra fire dmg.

And that would leave the bracers/boot slot open to whatever. Should be about the best settup id think. Would net the slots, the utility and all that. Though ive no idea whats in store with GH so could be a change up with that. Depending on how the good fortune head looks and so on.

[UKFanNumOne]

well if you have the drow gogs then id go for the seal with the +5 and exceptional SA as well as deception on it. Because every last bit of SA is going to be forced upon anything helpless. (Anything stunned)

Glove slot is the epic claw. And then either the bracers for the set or the gem of many.

TOD ring slot i'd say probably the mystic necklace and ring for the added 1d6 fire dmg a hit.

Belt probably epic spare hand.

Cloak would be the wolf with exceptional seeker.

Head would be probably GS.

Going the pure dmg route I would say ud probably want the red dragon scale for the extra fire dmg.

And that would leave the bracers/boot slot open to whatever. Should be about the best settup id think. Would net the slots, the utility and all that. Though ive no idea whats in store with GH so could be a change up with that. Depending on how the good fortune head looks and so on.

Does the robe's fire damage stack with the TOD set?

[Tobril]

Does the robe's fire damage stack with the TOD set?

Last time I tried it did not.

/sadpanda

[goodspeed]

I went for

Head. GS heavy fort
neck. Mystic tod
Trinket. Gem of many.
Cloak. wolf
Belt. Spare hand.
Ring1. Tod mystic (1d6 fire) with holy burst.
Gloves eclaw.
feet cannith crafted large slot.
ring2. SA and improved deception seal
Bracers 20% amp of superior.
vest. Spider spun.
goggles. drow smoke.

Theirs a couple of slots that are interchangable depending on future outcomes. However as far as ring slots go, I feel both on a monk are the best. Especially the SA seal.

[Marmaduke]

Unbalancing strike >>> improved deception. Don't think like a barb.

[ARIES]

I know it's not the best setup, but it's what i'm looking forward to getting in the near future, have a few u17 items already put into my list for later on... might change it up sooner or later.

Epic Helm Of Frost
Shintao cord
Litany, Planar Focus
Gs HP goggles.
Epic Envenomed cloak.
Cormyrian red.
Arkats Cord (u17)
Seal of house dun'robar (insightful str +5 exc CM), Kyoshos ring.
Claw Gloves. Backstabbers Gloves (u17)
Epic Boots of Corrosion.
Bracers Of the Sun Soul,Bracers of The Claw. Steady handed Armbands (u17)

[DarkForte]

My plan for u17:

eClaw
+3 wis yellow conflux
T3 spare hand
GS smoke boots
Drow SA cloak
Oremi set/wis 8 ring
Dream Visor
Black dragon robes - Slot +35 hp
Black dragon helm

T3 antipode

[goodspeed]

lol I just realized I had replied to a thread I already replied to. Also I came to a thought that if you wanted to give up the amp for dmg, the epic brawlers would probably be best holding the spiked dmg. Though for that 1-4 dmg per hit your giving up 30% amp. Does provide a nice slot for GFL though.

I have to take a look at the new stuff coming with gh though. I'm thinking some of it's stuff will replace a couple slots. Just not the ring slots unless their is some badass ring with hella SA and everything going on.

[K_0tiC]

Unbalancing strike >>> improved deception. Don't think like a barb.

This is the most absurd thing I have read about monks so far in this thread. That paired with ring of the stalker being better then a avithoul ring.

Unbalancing strike means you just wasted an opportunity to: press a tod/lotus/earth strike/void strike you name it dps strike instead of going for a possibly saved against monk move which also costs you ki & ap vs a proc that happens constantly and for free from a avithoul ring so the combination of drow smoke seeker 6 + 5damage a swing + instant kill under 1k + sneak attack 8 & imp deception is far superior. Ghostly does not stack with incorpral from ninja spy II so is not even factored in.

Now anyone that has a clue about monks and dps should be helf and either be using rogue or cleric dilly which opens up ts scroll use, if you are desperate get a staff of the seer or 2, ask a party member to hit you with the spell and if all else fails get some druid goggles with ts seeker 6 attack +3 just to cover that 1/1000000 times it might be an issue and just lose manslayer for that small amount of time.

As for gear layouts I run two monks and totally different from each other both have alot of swap possiblities also.

My pure 20 wisdom based (all level ups into wis vorpal strikes+improved martial arts) running in earth 4 or water 4 is setup with main running around gear of:
Smoke helm 45hp
Drow smoke/druid turn in seeker 6 ts attack +3
Wis 3 sunsoul robes
Claw gloves
Claw bracers
ring 1 shintao ring with hb
ring 2 avithoul ring with 7dex/upgraded abbot ring for 30% threat (if tanking required)/tod ring with 20% amp and tod ring with shocking burst
Cape of the roc (exceptional str1+insghtful str2) yellow slot (gfl) or when I use wisdom8 necklace envenomed cloak with gfl slotted since I lose con6 off of shintao
Upgraded Madstone boots
shintao neck/wisdom 8 natural armor 6 med guild slot 15hp slotted
Litany
spare hand slotted with luck2 and exceptional wis 1

My 12/7/1 (running overwhelming crit blunt & imp martial arts) wears:
eveningstar red robe seeker 10 hf toughness prot 6
time sensing goggles resistance 4 & excep str 1 slotted
Smoke boots 45hp
Cloak of night level 24/cloak of wolf
Spare hand with luck 2 dex 6 slotted
Oremis necklace +1ki and set bonus
Oremis ring with hb
Avithoul ring with wisdom 7/20% amp tod ring/shocking burst tod ring
jidz with gfl and cha 6 slotted
Litany
pdk gloves

Now since I miss out on the +1 dice step if I run without jidz in earth or wraps with reinforced fists the difference works out to being +1damage litany +1damage extra str evening out from litany +1 damage str evening out from pdk 7str over 6 on claw gloves and 1d6 from reinforced fists (so 6.5avg damage) +1dc from even wisdom +25hp from even con vs wearing gem + claw gloves and jidz. Seems like a better all round gain on a toon that needs boosts all over not just to wisdom.
Time sensing was my only option to get resisantance and exceptional 1 str insightful 2wis in so worth giving up manslayer goggles for since the seeker 6 was redundant.

[Marmaduke]

Improved deception is a crutch for classes without access to unbalancing strike. You not only make your red-named mob susceptible to SA 100% of the time, but you can micro manage the direction that he faces to the point that you (and your group with proper positioning) never take any damage. Try that with the random nature of a proc. Then try unbalancing strike and get back to me.

And are you seriously using the "I can fire TOD & EarthIV instead of unbalancing strike" excuse? I can keep all my attacks on CD and still have ample time to insert unbalancing strike into an attack chain - and it's rare indeed that it doesn't go the full 60 seconds.

I'll stand by my earlier statement that Tharne's + Ring of the Stalker is superior to Drow Smoke + Avithoul's.

[K_0tiC]

Improved deception is a crutch for classes without access to unbalancing strike. You not only make your red-named mob susceptible to SA 100% of the time, but you can micro manage the direction that he faces to the point that you (and your group with proper positioning) never take any damage. Try that with the random nature of a proc. Then try unbalancing strike and get back to me.

And are you seriously using the "I can fire TOD & EarthIV instead of unbalancing strike" excuse? I can keep all my attacks on CD and still have ample time to insert unbalancing strike into an attack chain - and it's rare indeed that it doesn't go the full 60 seconds.

I'll stand by my earlier statement that Tharne's + Ring of the Stalker is superior to Drow Smoke + Avithoul's.

So your unbalancing strike lands 100% and never gets saved against? Is this in the fairyland ddo you have created in your mind? I don't see where you have time for it in a rotation of all your most strongest strikes, Earth3, earth2, earth1/fist of iron/dark finsher/earth finisher/tod/void/anything3 you have grandmaster in/lily petals/orchid blossom/drifting lotus thats 12+ strikes most have a cooldown of 3seconds max of 15seconds that means all of them could be kept on timer now show me where you can fit in unbalancing strike.

Now if you wanted to make your red named 100% sneak attackable you would be using a tank or high threat toon to take agro, in a small party situation you have all the members of the group that have deception on weapons or items stand on each other and the mob will face the otherway and give them all the sneaks they desire with rogues being able to toss in bluffs/shadowdancer tier5 free proc at will.

Unbalancing Strike: You have learned several joint strikes. You can attack these weak points of your opponent, throwing them off balance for a short period of time. This reduces their armor class by 2, applies a -10 penalty to their Balance skill, and renders them vulnerable to sneak attacks. A successful Reflex save negates this effect. (DC 10 + Half Monk Level + Wisdom mod + Trip modifiers) The target receives periodic saves to attempt to break free of this effect

So every 3-6 seconds you have to hit that strike and to make it most effective you need to slot in a vertigo item. So now in 15seconds you could of hit a strike with a minimum of 2d10 every 3 seconds instead of unbalancing and do 22-55 extra dps per 15seconds. Even larger if we look at hitting an extra tod every 15seconds 250-1500, or earth 3 earth 2 earth 1 earth finisher every 4seconds.

[Marmaduke]

I'm not going to go any further with this theorycrafting BS. Have you even tried unbalancing strike on an endgame monk in EE? Because my gut's telling me you haven't. It's incredibly useful and deserves more consideration beyond MOAAAR DPS talk out of one's ass.

edit: As an aside, given that both combat mastery and vertigo work with it, strike is also one of the few monk abilities to have retained some of its usefullness with Turbine's continuing stupidity in making mobs with ever-increasing saving throws. EN & EH content is so simplistic as to not warrant the use of monk finishers (dance, nauseate, hold, etc); whereas EE content's saving throws are so ridiculously high (and getting even higher with eGH) that there's practically no chance in hell of getting finishers to work even on a wisdom-based monk. Turbine needs to bring back the strategy in playing a monk and make it less about pewpew. I used to enjoy soloing the old epics on my dark monk, specifically because it was a challenge but mobs saving throws weren't prohibitive.

[K_0tiC]

I'm not going to go any further with this theorycrafting BS. Have you even tried unbalancing strike on an endgame monk in EE? Because my gut's telling me you haven't. It's incredibly useful and deserves more consideration beyond MOAAAR DPS talk out of one's ass.

edit: As an aside, given that both combat mastery and vertigo work with it, strike is also one of the few monk abilities to have retained some of its usefullness with Turbine's continuing stupidity in making mobs with ever-increasing saving throws. EN & EH content is so simplistic as to not warrant the use of monk finishers (dance, nauseate, hold, etc); whereas EE content's saving throws are so ridiculously high (and getting even higher with eGH) that there's practically no chance in hell of getting finishers to work even on a wisdom-based monk. Turbine needs to bring back the strategy in playing a monk and make it less about pewpew. I used to enjoy soloing the old epics on my dark monk, specifically because it was a challenge but mobs saving throws weren't prohibitive.

Maybe you should browse some of my toons in my sig or review some of my other posts on the forums. If your still not sure after that if I have tested unbalancing strike and if I play EE end game or not feel free to come visit me on thelanis and I will teach you how to play a monk properly ok? I honestly dont see how doing more dps is worse then doing less dps to land a strike and wear extra gear to boost said strike when you made a passing comment regarding the use of avithoul rings vs stalker ring.

So in conclusion 3 items more ap and ki investment vs two for the same effect with less dps coming from the 3 items I know what I would rather do. Everyone else feel free to judge for yourselves.

[Marmaduke]

3 items? what are you talking about? Anyway, done. We can each insult one another on how to play a monk all night long.