Long time gone, building new monk

[eyeofthecrow]

I finally purchased 32pt build and vet status recently, and wanted to reroll my halfling monk.

So, first question is: Staff monk. Works with THF feats, right? Is it worth using, as opposed to unarmed?

Second: Last I asked the forums (quite a while ago), Light side monk wasn't really worth it past level 9 or so. Is that still the case? Was it ever? :P I like the light monk, in general, so I'd rather use that if it's not going to screw me.

So, halfling dex based 32pt staff using light monk.


Off topic question that's not worth starting a thread for: Have there been improvements to how ranged combat works/feat support for ranged combat? I've still yet to play a ranged ranger to any high level, even though that's pretty much the main thing I've been wanting to play since the game launched. If there are already threads explaining this, feel free to just tell me where they are. I didn't find any, but there's a lot of forum, and I only have so much time every day for foruming. :P

Thanks for any advice, folks!

[stoerm]

To my understanding unarmed DPS is going to be far better, due to unarmed strike bonuses and attack speed. Light monks also get DR on their fists as they gain levels. More on the subject.

For ranged combat, at least point blank shot was buffed a while back.

P.S. The wiki talks about weapons finesse. My guesstimate on the subject is even dex/wis builds with power attack active are not going to benefit from a finesse feat. Since update 17 it's hard to miss as long as you are proficient with your weapon.

[eyeofthecrow]

That's too bad. I'd really like to do cool things with a staff. :/

I'd even be willing to play an elf instead of a halfling...

bummer.

Of course, I could probably accept it if it's a small enough difference that I won't be nerfed. If it's a matter of "staff sucks, unarmed is good" that's one thing, but if it's "staff is good, and unarmed is better" then I can live with using a staff, probably.

hrm...

[Kilbar]

That's too bad. I'd really like to do cool things with a staff. :/

I'd even be willing to play an elf instead of a halfling...

bummer.

Of course, I could probably accept it if it's a small enough difference that I won't be nerfed. If it's a matter of "staff sucks, unarmed is good" that's one thing, but if it's "staff is good, and unarmed is better" then I can live with using a staff, probably.

hrm...

Have a look around at the various named staves. You might be able to acquire the ones you need to keep your Monk deadly despite unarmed being the "optimal" way to go.

[stoerm]

Don't despair, qstaff builds are totally viable and fun. Have a look through the Big F'n Stick thread. It appears to me most synergy comes from the rogue acrobat PRE, so the listed builds are mostly rogue with some monk splashes.

[TeacherSyn]

I agree with others in considering a staff build. The main disadvantages to staff fighting I can see are

• Lower DPS than unarmed
• Bludgeoning damage, same as unarmed
• Requires you to take Stunning Blow and boost STR for stunning (Stunning Fist is unarmed only)
• Requires additional Two Handed Fighting feats (if you're going to also fight unarmed, you should have at least one Two Weapon Fighting feat added)

All of those disadvantages, I think, can be turned into advantages well. You can find a Metalline or Adamantine q-staff pretty readily, so your DR bypassing issues will be low.

You needn't use Weapon Finesse. In fact, you'll gain a lot more damage with more STR points than in a typical unarmed build.

And as others said, there are a lot of great staffs out there that can deal some very serious smack. By end game, a staff-armed Monk with Legendary Dreadnought in Epic should be a sight to behold.

[unbongwah]

So, first question is: Staff monk. Works with THF feats, right? Is it worth using, as opposed to unarmed?

First off, last I checked, glancing blows are bugged with staves & THF feats do nothing. Second, a pure monk is better off sticking with wraps. If you really want to use a staff, look into Acrobat builds, such as the Big Eff'n Stick or my Three Ring Circus thread. The idea is to take advantage of the +15% atk speed bonus w/Acrobat II and lots of sneak atk.

Second: Last I asked the forums (quite a while ago), Light side monk wasn't really worth it past level 9 or so. Is that still the case? Was it ever? :P I like the light monk, in general, so I'd rather use that if it's not going to screw me.

Shintao is worthwhile on a pure monk, IMHO; for a MCed monk build, I think Ninja I adds more (Shadow Fade + 1d6 SA).

Have there been improvements to how ranged combat works/feat support for ranged combat? I've still yet to play a ranged ranger to any high level, even though that's pretty much the main thing I've been wanting to play since the game launched.

In terms of sustained ranged DPS, I would say your two best options are a pure artificer or a "monkcher" (an Arcane Archer w/at least 6 monk lvls for 10K Stars, which works w/bows if you have Zen Archery feat). There are various flavor alternatives (like my own Bardcher & Triple A), but the main problem with playing an archer in DDO is the relatively slow fire rate of bows; Manyshot and 10K Stars are the two main options for boosting burst ranged DPS.

[eyeofthecrow]

thanks for all the responses folks.

So, basically, nothing's changed, except that artificers add another way to be an archer. That's too bad, I was really hoping they would have given archery some kind of boost by now.

Can anyone confirm that glancing blows and THF feats are STILL bugged?

I mean...I've been gone for quite a while, I honestly just assumed they were fixed by now. That wasn't even on my radar.

[TasMagar]

Light monks can be very very powerfull now .It is worth it to build one .You can have dps and tanking mode with difrent destinies. In Ghallanda there are some really good players playing light monks.

About Qstaff monks here are my suggestions :

- If you go pure then use wraps . Keep a staff or 2 just for flavor.
- If you really want a staff master , then you should multiclass for more advantages.
- 12monk (stances)/ 7 druid /1 rogue is an option, because druid has Shillelagh.
- 13 rogue ( acrobat pre) /6monk ( dark monk for concealment) / 1 druid is another option.

[eyeofthecrow]

fair enough, on all points. I've no access to druid, unfortunately. Any sense in a primarily monk with some rogue staff user? Something like a 14/6 monk/rogue, or thereabouts? I much prefer the monk abilities, in general.

idk, I may just have to drop this guy, and rebuild my halfling light monk (unarmed) as a 32 pt (with some fixes from what I've learned from leveling him, of course)

[eyeofthecrow]

or I could rebuild my bard. I tried to do a human thf bard build a while back, but the parts just weren't there yet. These days I should be able to do him justice. Maybe a bard/artificer...

[TeacherSyn]

fair enough, on all points. I've no access to druid, unfortunately. Any sense in a primarily monk with some rogue staff user? Something like a 14/6 monk/rogue, or thereabouts? I much prefer the monk abilities, in general.

idk, I may just have to drop this guy, and rebuild my halfling light monk (unarmed) as a 32 pt (with some fixes from what I've learned from leveling him, of course)

Sounds like you're more fixated on what to build and less on what is fun to play.

Work out the play part first. Building is part of play. If you get too wrapped up in the details, it's not fun anymore.

There are many variations, but sometimes you need freedom from choice. "Pure" Monks in either philosophy have many benefits and are very fun. Until you know what Monks can do without multiclassing, I'd leave them on the back burner and consider something else to do. Multiclassing is still advanced stuff, which is why you seem so confused.

[eyeofthecrow]

Sounds like you're more fixated on what to build and less on what is fun to play.

Work out the play part first. Building is part of play. If you get too wrapped up in the details, it's not fun anymore.

There are many variations, but sometimes you need freedom from choice. "Pure" Monks in either philosophy have many benefits and are very fun. Until you know what Monks can do without multiclassing, I'd leave them on the back burner and consider something else to do. Multiclassing is still advanced stuff, which is why you seem so confused.

Multiclassing isn't that advanced. It's just a matter of what things work well in DDO. Staff monks need to be multiclassed with rogue in order to really be good, and monk/rogues are generally dark monks. I could make a light monk/rogue acrobat, or a pure light staff monk, but it's gonna fall behind.

And the "play part" is exactly what I'm concentrating on. Because I want to play a staff weilding light monk. I prefer the light monk playstyle, and want to go staff rather than unarmed. If there were spears and polearms in DDO, and monks could use them, I'd use those, but staff is as close as I'll get, so that's what I want to do. I've already got a pure light unarmed monk.

I'm not confused. I have questions, because the system has many moving parts, and I'd hoped that more things would have been fixed by now that apparently haven't been.

I appreciate your apparent intentions, but please refrain from talking to me like I'm a 5 year old, in future.

[TeacherSyn]

Multiclassing isn't that advanced. It's just a matter of what things work well in DDO. Staff monks need to be multiclassed with rogue in order to really be good, and monk/rogues are generally dark monks. I could make a light monk/rogue acrobat, or a pure light staff monk, but it's gonna fall behind.

And the "play part" is exactly what I'm concentrating on. Because I want to play a staff weilding light monk. I prefer the light monk playstyle, and want to go staff rather than unarmed. If there were spears and polearms in DDO, and monks could use them, I'd use those, but staff is as close as I'll get, so that's what I want to do. I've already got a pure light unarmed monk.

I'm not confused. I have questions, because the system has many moving parts, and I'd hoped that more things would have been fixed by now that apparently haven't been.

I appreciate your apparent intentions, but please refrain from talking to me like I'm a 5 year old, in future.

I apologize if my reply seemed condescending. But you're the one who asked the question and created the thread to do it. If you didn't need the advice, it's simple not to ask for any. It's one thing to accept or reject advice--that's cool. No one is an "expert" and there is obviously something specific you want to do. It's another thing to shoot the messenger. Have a cold beverage and relax--I'm not commenting to wreck your day.

By your own words, multiclassing has many parts and therefore IS complicated. Yet, it yields great reward for those who know what they're doing. I'll be the first to say I don't have the chops for it but see and witness many who do. A few get bogged down in the details of doing it--and your questions fit that to a tee or you wouldn't have asked. In any case, do what you like, reroll and respec if it doesn't work, and good hunting.

[eyeofthecrow]

Asking questions doesn't obligate me to sit quietly and not challenge anything that's said.
The idea that it somehow does is both absurd and somewhat disturbing.

[eyeofthecrow]

aaaanyway.

Can anyone confirm whether or not thf feats and glancing blows are functioning correctly in game?

[eyeofthecrow]

I've decided to just say screw it and make a ranger/monk that does both unarmed combat and zen archery. mostly str and wis. prolly light side because I prefer the way it plays. Thinking about adding a couple levels of rogue, but not sure if it would be a waste...

[xenobias]

I have run a multi monk/ranger on my monk's second life-didn't really use the archery that much so on third life left the zen archery alone and feated another toughness there. I was running a h/elf and took the rogue dilly for the sneak att.

I am also curious about staves. So on my current life (4th) I tr'd to a fighter/rogue/druid. I chose 1 level of druid for shillelagh and ram's might. 6 levels of rogue for tier 1 acrobat and the rest fighter for cleaves and crits. Not to mention the + to damage from 3 monk lives.

This build is str based so I changed my h/elf to an h/ogre. The ogre has thf enhancements plus massive strength.

Will have the rogue haste boost and may also take a couple of fighter haste boost if I can.

I am only level 6 - 1 fighter/1 druid/4 rogue and don't know yet if this will be viable but I did get my hands on an arlyn's staff and have critted trash for over 220 already. Greater cleave will routinely hit in the mid to upper 100's plus the additional sneak damage.

There is some drawbacks to this build. the druid can't use metal armor so you need to switch out to use the spells. The dog is uselessly cute. H/ogre's are treated as ogres so you get alot of hits with Hold 'monster'. My will saves suck right now. Shilly spell works only on wood (which I knew). Precision knocks out power attack and visa versa (I didn't know that). I swapped precision for cleave (lvl 3)

we will see how it turns out, At the very least I'll have a fighter past life.

BTW I have not put any points in disable, or lock. I can use those points better elsewhere.

Can't wait to get my hands on the 'Big Piece Of Oak' from villagers in eveningstar!

Peace

[eyeofthecrow]

Interesting. I wasn't enjoying the character I made, so killed her again and remade her as a rogue/monk with a staff and archery. It's working well right now, except that I need to boost her concentration a good bit.


I also have found that my human bard/fighter/barb really could have waited to take either fighter of barb. :P I'm getting frustrated with the spells I'm having to wait for. I'm just one or two short of what I think of as the mid game "core spells" for bards. Other than that, he's working about great thus far.

None of them are as fun as my artificer, though. I thought about dipping in another class (a few different ideas) but I think I may just keep him pure arti.