monk help

[aputamkon]

do monks benifit from skill focus concentration or other skills that provide a concentration check? of do monks just need a high concentration skill?

[Maelodic]

do monks benifit from skill focus concentration or other skills that provide a concentration check? of do monks just need a high concentration skill?

Concentration is the most important skill for a monk simply because your concentration = your resting ki pool. You will only need that skill for your ki pool.
Other notable skills are jump, balance, heal (for shintao monks), UMD.

[FranOhmsford]

Concentration is the most important skill for a monk simply because your concentration = your resting ki pool. You will only need that skill for your ki pool.
Other notable skills are jump, balance, heal (for shintao monks), UMD.

The OP is asking about the Feat.

OP Max your concentration skill at every level as a Monk.

But the Feat is a waste - the bonus would be nice yes but no way does it warrant the use of a Feat Slot!

[aputamkon]

ok so i should only worry about my concentraions skill. i do not need to worry about any feats that relate to concentration. but does any monk abilities or enhancements use it for examply the wholeness of body, does it do a concentration skill check to see how much hp u get back?

[Baktiotha]

The OP is asking about the Feat.

The feat Skill Focus: Concentration can be useful to a monk. It is +3 to your Concentration skill.

Is it a wasted use of a feat slot? That is a different question.

Obviously some people believe it is. What you must ask yourself is this, "What feat am I going to take instead?"

Everyone will have advice for you on what feats you should or should not take. And, there really is no right or wrong answer. Even if people give completely different advice it is because they have different points of view about how monk should be built and should be played.

Ignore all of them.

What is important is what do YOU think.

Now, after reading what others post you might find you agree with some or that you disagree with others, but in the end it is up to you.

And, don't be put off by talking heads swearing that their vast experience in the game means they know better than everyone else. In reality almost any build will work in the game and will be able to progress from L1 to L30.

Yes, some builds will struggle in the highest content. Don't worry if that happens. Instead learn from what you've done and rethink what you would like to do next time.

A human monk will have 8 feats between L1 and L20. They will also gain additional feats simply because they are monks. That is going to give you somewhere around 10 feats at heroic levels.

Ask yourself, "What feats should I have for what I want to do?"

Typical feats are TWF, ITWF, GTWF, IC: Bludgeoning. Typical monk feat selection is Stunning Fist. That is 5 feats that are fairly standard. After that it is really all about what does the player see as most essential for them and how they play.

I, for example, often choose Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack. I also like to do a lot of sneaking so I often take Skill Focus: Move Silently.

The point is that people will disagree with my feat choices and that's alright. I don't play their characters and they don't play mine. So it is all about YOU and not about any of us.

Your original question, which Fran correctly identifies, is if SF: Concentration works for monks. That answer is, "Yes."

Now, whether you choose to take the feat or not is up to you.

[Baktiotha]

ok so i should only worry about my concentraions skill

Concentration is affected by gear and by your CON score. As was pointed out, it affects how much Ki you have. Ki is like spell points except you use it to perform special moves or attacks. If you do not have enough Ki you cannot perform the move/attack.

Ki builds up in different ways depending on if you are in a monk stance -- and if you are, then the type of stance affects how Ki builds up. Your Concentration skill number (plus gear) determines your standing Ki *before* you use or build any.

WIS is used for the DC of most monk special attacks. It has been a while since I played a monk but it use to be that if you wanted to play a monk focusing on those special attacks you built with a high WIS.

It is popular to play a fighter/monk multiclass using the Kensai fighter enhancement. Those builds don't tend to use the monk special attacks or Stunning Fist and instead rely on dual wielding high damage weapons (and sometimes even are THF builds). They often stress STR similar to other melee builds.

Again, how you choose to build is very *you* dependent. Each of the approaches has its pluses and minuses.