Monk build got reset post-update, lost with what to do now

[Ode1st]

Hey guys,

I've been playing DDO on and off for years. I played about a year ago, got my human light monk to 22 or so, stopped playing, and now my friends and I are going to play again, but I guess monks had an update, and now all my enhancements and feats are messed up. I can't really find a build anywhere for what I'm looking for: a handwraps light monk that does all the buffing/healing stuff. Scoured the forums but just found monkchers, shurikens and stealth monks, or monks that need multiple past lives (this monk of mine has none).

Can anyone point me in the direction of a build for what I'm looking for, post-update? Thanks in advance!

[Gargoyle69]

Hey guys,

I've been playing DDO on and off for years. I played about a year ago, got my human light monk to 22 or so, stopped playing, and now my friends and I are going to play again, but I guess monks had an update, and now all my enhancements and feats are messed up. I can't really find a build anywhere for what I'm looking for: a handwraps light monk that does all the buffing/healing stuff. Scoured the forums but just found monkchers, shurikens and stealth monks, or monks that need multiple past lives (this monk of mine has none).

Can anyone point me in the direction of a build for what I'm looking for, post-update? Thanks in advance!

Hi and welcome back to the game !

If you can supply a little more detail on what you have available it would help, such as, do you have any stat tomes available, do you have access to the Harper Agent tree, have you done a Lesser Reincarnation at any point (so that you have 32 build points rather than the starting 28 points), what epic destinies do you have unlocked etc.

In the meantime, here's a simple, easy to use human light monk with emphasis on healing and dps. It doesn't rely on having any stat tomes, and I've given both 28 & 32 pt build options.

The only thing it relies on is having the Harper tree, for Know the Angles which can provide a boost to your damage and tactical feats like stunning fist. If you don't have it however, just put the additional points into the other monk trees, probably Ninja and pick up 3 ranks of Sneak Attack.

1st Life Monk
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Human


Stats
               28pt     32pt     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength         8        8       4: DEX
Dexterity       16       16       8: DEX
Constitution    14       14      12: DEX
Intelligence    14       14      16: DEX
Wisdom          14       16      20: DEX
Charisma         8        8      24: DEX
                                 28: DEX

Skills
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Concent   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Spot      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Balance   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Jump      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Hide      4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Move Si   4  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  23
Heal      1½ ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  ½  11
Tumble    1                                                            1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
         28  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7


Feats

 1        : Dodge
 1 Human  : Stunning Fist
 1 Monk   : Two Weapon Fighting
 2 Monk   : Combat Expertise
 3        : Mobility
 3 Monk   : Path of Harmonious Balance
 6        : Whirlwind Attack
 6 Monk   : Spring Attack
 9        : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12        : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15        : Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18        : Precision
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Improved Martial Arts
26 Destiny: Tactician
27 Epic   : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic   : Epic Reflexes
30 Legend : Scion of: Astral Plane


Enhancements (80 AP)

Shintao (44 AP)
    • Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent Fist, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection
         1. Difficulty at the Beginning, Deft Strikes III, Ki Shout
         2. The Receptive Earth, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Conditioning III
         3. Restoring the Balance, Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Constitution
         4. Lifting the Veil, Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense I, Constitution
         5. Empty Hand Mastery, Kukan-Do, Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, Rise of the Phoenix

Henshin Mystic (11 AP)
    • Riddle of Fire, Ki Bolt, Sounding Staff
         1. Mystic Training III, Way of the: Patient Tortoise
         2. Contemplation III

Ninja Spy (11 AP)
    • Basic Ninja Training, Advanced Ninja Training, Shadow Veil
         1. Stealthy III, Acrobatic III
         2. Agility II

Harper Agent (9 AP)
    • Agent of Good I
         1. Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness III
         2. Know the Angles III

Human (5 AP)
    • Damage Boost, Dexterity
         1. Improved Recovery

For Epic Destiny, it will depend on what you have unlocked, I would imagine you probably chose Grandmaster of Flowers when you first hit 20 and have levelled up in that. If so, stick with it until you hit Level 3 in it, and then swap over to Legendary Dreadnought, and twist in A Dance of Flowers.

For gear, if you don't already have them, you can get a very nice set with Eveningstar Commendations, start with the Villagers 3-piece set, then PDK gloves & hat, Clerics ring & necklace and Druid's boots. If you like running challenges, the mithral cloak of the bear or wolf would go well too. For wraps, Adamantine Knuckles are a good start, or Grave Wrappings. If you're happy to farm for a while, try for Scraps of Enlightenment, they're a rare drop, but worth it IMHO.

That should get you started. Feel free to post any questions.

Enjoy and Good Luck ! :-)

[CThruTheEgo]

Here's a couple of alternatives. Both are wis based for DCs. Wis based is the way to go on an unarmed build in my opinion because so many of their special attacks are DC based. The first one ignores harper in favor or more monk stuff. The second takes know the angles from harper for uber DCs. Both builds do require a +1 int tome by level 3 for combat expertise and a +1 dex tome by level 9 for improved two weapon fighting. Adjust starting stats accordingly if you don't have these.

The only important skills are concentration, heal, and UMD. Other than those, take whatever you prefer. I like jump on a str dumped build and balance is a good defensive choice.

Whirlwind attack is awesome and well worth the five feat investment. I intend to run in wind stance, so I don't take blinding speed because the attack speed bonuses do not stack. But if you plan to run in something other than wind stance, then take blinding speed at level 27 and push improved martial arts back to level 30, dropping epic damage reduction.

Now the builds, first without harper:

Pure Human Unarmed Shintao
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Human


Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt. . .32pt. . .34pt. . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .----. . .----. . .----. . .---- . . ---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8. . . .+7. . . .4: WIS
Dexterity . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 16. . . .+7. . . .8: WIS
Constitution. . 12 . . . 15 . . . 14 . . . 14. . . .+7. . . 12: WIS
Intelligence. . 12 . . . 12 . . . 13 . . . 12. . . .+7. . . 16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 17 . . . 18. . . .+7. . . 20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8. . . .+7. . . 24: WIS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28: WIS

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Concent . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Balance . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Jump. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Swim. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Tumble. . . . . . . . . . . 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 4. 22
Heal. . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .11
UMD . . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .11
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .24. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8


Feats

.1. . . . : Stunning Fist
.1 Human. : Dodge
.1 Monk . : Two Weapon Fighting
.2 Monk . : Mobility
.3. . . . : Combat Expertise
.3 Monk . : Path of Harmonious Balance
.6. . . . : Whirlwind Attack
.6 Monk . : Spring Attack
.9. . . . : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15. . . . : Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18. . . . : Precision
21 Epic . : Vorpal Strikes
24 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic . : Improved Martial Arts
28 Destiny: Tactician
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic . : Epic Damage Reduction
30 Legend : Scion of: Astral Plane


Enhancements (80 AP)

Shintao (42 AP)

• Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent Fist, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection
  1. Restoring the Balance, Deft Strikes III
  2. Difficulty at the Beginning, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Fists of Iron, Conditioning I
  3. The Receptive Earth, Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
  4. Lifting the Veil, Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense I, Wisdom
  5. Empty Hand Mastery, Kukan-Do, Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, Rise of the Phoenix

Henshin Mystic (23 AP)

• Riddle of Fire, Ki Bolt, Sounding Staff, Incinerating Wave
  1. Mystic Training III, Way of the: Patient Tortoise
  2. Knock on the Sky, Contemplation III
  3. Lighting the Candle III, Embrace the Void II, Wisdom
  4. Focus

Ninja Spy (12 AP)

• Basic Ninja Training, Advanced Ninja Training, Shadow Veil
  1. Sneak Attack Training, Acrobatic II
  2. Sneak Attack Training, Melee/Ranged Power Boost III

Human (3 AP)

• Damage Boost
  1. Improved Recovery

Destiny (24 AP)

Grandmaster of Flowers

1. Lily Petal, Enlightenment III, Dance of Flowers III
2. Running with Wind III, Hail of Blows
3. Orchid Blossom
4. Piercing Clarity II, Perfection of Mind III
5. Drifting Lotus, Dancing with Flames III
6. Scattering of Petals, Everything is Nothing

Twists of Fate (31 fate points)

1. Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)
2. Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
3. Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)
4. Legendary Tactics (Tier 1 Dreadnought)
5. Extra Action Boost (Tier 1 Dreadnought)

Now with harper:

Pure Human Unarmed Shintao
Monk 20
Lawful Neutral Human


Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt. . .32pt. . .34pt. . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .----. . .----. . .----. . .---- . . ---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8. . . .+7. . . .4: WIS
Dexterity . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 16. . . .+7. . . .8: WIS
Constitution. . 12 . . . 15 . . . 14 . . . 14. . . .+7. . . 12: WIS
Intelligence. . 12 . . . 12 . . . 13 . . . 12. . . .+7. . . 16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 16 . . . 16 . . . 17 . . . 18. . . .+7. . . 20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8 . . . .8. . . .+7. . . 24: WIS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28: WIS

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Concent . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Balance . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Jump. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Swim. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Tumble. . . . . . . . . . . 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 4. 22
Heal. . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .11
UMD . . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .11
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .24. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8


Feats

.1. . . . : Stunning Fist
.1 Human. : Dodge
.1 Monk . : Two Weapon Fighting
.2 Monk . : Mobility
.3. . . . : Combat Expertise
.3 Monk . : Path of Harmonious Balance
.6. . . . : Whirlwind Attack
.6 Monk . : Spring Attack
.9. . . . : Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12. . . . : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
15. . . . : Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18. . . . : Precision
21 Epic . : Vorpal Strikes
24 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic . : Improved Martial Arts
28 Destiny: Tactician
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic . : Epic Damage Reduction
30 Legend : Scion of: Ethereal Plane


Enhancements (80 AP)

Shintao (42 AP)

• Bastion of Purity, Protection from Tainted Creatures, Iron Hand, Argent Fist, Touch the Void Dragon, To Seek Perfection
  1. Difficulty at the Beginning, Deft Strikes III
  2. Restoring the Balance, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Fists of Iron, Conditioning I
  3. Lifting the Veil, Jade Strike, Dismissing Strike, Wisdom
  4. The Receptive Earth, Tomb of Jade, Instinctive Defense I, Wisdom
  5. Empty Hand Mastery, Kukan-Do, Violence Begets Violence, Meditation of War, Rise of the Phoenix

Henshin Mystic (16 AP)

• Riddle of Fire, Ki Bolt, Sounding Staff
  1. Mystic Training III, Way of the: Patient Tortoise
  2. Knock on the Sky, Contemplation III
  3. Lighting the Candle III

Ninja Spy (11 AP)

• Basic Ninja Training, Advanced Ninja Training, Shadow Veil
  1. Sneak Attack Training, Acrobatic III
  2. Melee/Ranged Power Boost III

Harper Agent (8 AP)

• Agent of Good I
  1. Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness II
  2. Know the Angles III

Human (3 AP)

• Damage Boost
  1. Improved Recovery

Destiny (24 AP)

Grandmaster of Flowers

1. Lily Petal, Enlightenment III, Dance of Flowers III
2. Running with Wind III, Hail of Blows
3. Orchid Blossom
4. Piercing Clarity II, Perfection of Mind III
5. Drifting Lotus, Dancing with Flames III
6. Scattering of Petals, Everything is Nothing

Twists of Fate (31 fate points)

1. Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)
2. Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
3. Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)
4. Legendary Tactics (Tier 1 Dreadnought)
5. Extra Action Boost (Tier 1 Dreadnought)

[Gargoyle69]

Wis based is the way to go on an unarmed build in my opinion because so many of their special attacks are DC based.

To the OP: CThru is 100% correct when he says this, however be aware that it is a more advanced playstyle. I would call the build I posted a Beginner's build and CThru's are more intermediate/advanced builds.

I wasn't sure where you were at or how comfortable you were with the more complex side of playing monks, so I went with a very simple build that would be easy to pick up and understand and (re)familiarise you with playing a monk.

If you've already got a good idea of how to play them from when you played before (and can remember!), and would like something to stretch you a bit more, then go for a Wis build such as CThru's.

Hope that helps !

[Ode1st]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. Dunno why I didn't think to screenshot my stats and build before, but here they are. For some reason I couldn't get images to show up in this thread, so just linked to Imgur:

Character sheet (32 pt build): http://imgur.com/4kqIRJj
Epic destiny thus far: http://imgur.com/yMzRwva
Epic destiny map thing: http://imgur.com/84yoBqA

Not sure how to open up the Harper thing. I think I have to re-sub for that? I can't remember!

[Gargoyle69]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. Dunno why I didn't think to screenshot my stats and build before, but here they are. For some reason I couldn't get images to show up in this thread, so just linked to Imgur:

Character sheet (32 pt build): http://imgur.com/4kqIRJj
Epic destiny thus far: http://imgur.com/yMzRwva
Epic destiny map thing: http://imgur.com/84yoBqA

Not sure how to open up the Harper thing. I think I have to re-sub for that? I can't remember!

Ok, great, you have a 32 pt build, so that will give you stronger stats.

I also notice in that pic that you are Lawful Good, so be aware that if you equip items such as Grave Wrappings you will incur a neg level so probably avoid those.

You have nearly maxed Grandmaster, so I would max it out and then switch over to Legendary Dreadnought, that will help with selecting Epic Destiny feats. Maxing Grandmaster will let you pick up Tactician at L26, but you will need to max all 3 martial ones (so Shadowdancer as well as LD) in order to pick up Dire Charge at L29. You won't be able to get PTWF at L28 as that requires a Primal ED, so you might want to take Elusive Target instead.

To access Harper you either need to a) VIP Sub, b) Purchase it separately from the Store, or c) Achieve 310 Favour with the Harpers (quest givers in and around Eveningstar).

[Ode1st]

Thanks again -- which build listed above could my character follow given its current build? I sort of can't tell.

[Gargoyle69]

Thanks again -- which build listed above could my character follow given its current build? I sort of can't tell.

Do you have access to a Lesser Heart at all ?

[Ode1st]

I don't, but I have like 4.3k of whatever TP are called now.

[Gargoyle69]

I don't, but I have like 4.3k of whatever TP are called now.

Well, if you want to buy one, they're only 895 points to buy (they're called DP now instead of TP). That will let you relevel from 1 so you can build to whichever one you like.

As to which one, it depends, how comfortable are you with monk's complexity ? Do you like lots of options & buttons to press and buffs & debuffs to keep track of ? Or would you like to just have a few buttons that you can hit 99% of the time ?

If you're just getting back into the game and don't necessarily remember a lot of how to play and how monks work, I'd suggest going with my simple Dex build. If you remember all that stuff well and are itching to take it to the next level, go with CThru's first Wis based build.

Alternatively, if you want to post details of your current build, including which feats you have (you can even talk to Fred in House Jorasco if you want to know which ones you picked at which levels), starting stats (you can hover your mouse over the stats to see what you started with), and so on, we can assess it for you ?

Cheers.

[CThruTheEgo]

To the OP: CThru is 100% correct when he says this, however be aware that it is a more advanced playstyle. I would call the build I posted a Beginner's build and CThru's are more intermediate/advanced builds.

I wasn't sure where you were at or how comfortable you were with the more complex side of playing monks, so I went with a very simple build that would be easy to pick up and understand and (re)familiarise you with playing a monk.

If you've already got a good idea of how to play them from when you played before (and can remember!), and would like something to stretch you a bit more, then go for a Wis build such as CThru's.

Hope that helps !

I can understand why you would say this, but I'd have to disagree. Unarmed monks are complicated to play no matter what you do. They have more active attack buttons to press than any other class/build by far. This is actually the thing that kept me from playing a monk for years. How to organize it all and what to focus on most was just overwhelming.

I eventually learned that you don't need to use every active attack. You simply choose a few to cycle through and leave it at that. I'm currently playing the non-harper version I posted above and I keep attacks I don't use on another hotbar so I can move them to my main hotbar as needed (e.g. dismissing strike when playing devil/demon content).

There are really only 5 active attacks with wis based DCs in the shintao tree, the jade strike line and dismissing strike. Adding another 5 active attacks isn't going to make playing an unarmed monk any more overwhelming than they already are. And these attacks are where the unarmed monk really shines, in my opinion, because they are the monk's potential for crowd control. If you don't take these enhancements, then you're going to be spending your AP on some mediocre enhancements in order to reach 40 for the capstone. Personally, if I'm taking these, then I want to use them. And if I'm going to use them, then I want them to work, which means going wis based.

An argument can certainly be made for running in legendary dreadnaught over grandmaster of flowers for max dps. I wanted to go with grandmaster of flowers just to experience all that the monk has to offer. Even if I were going to run in dreadnaught, however, I'd still go wis based for the shintao enhancements mentioned above and because dreadnaught doesn't offer any more synergy with dex based than it does with wis based. If running in grandmaster of flowers, there are also only 5 active attacks from there. As with the shintao attacks, hotkey only those you want to use often.

I'm currently level 14, so I haven't made it to epic levels yet, but so far my main hotbar is setup like this:

finisher * fists of light * stunning fist * whirlwind attack * jade strike * tomb of jade * kukan-do * abundant step * smite tainted creature * earth 3

I spam fists of light, stunning fist, whirlwind attack, and jade strike. Tomb of jade I usually save for reapers or tough champs. Kukan-do I use to stun far away mobs who may pose a threat (e.g. casters, champs that haven't reached the group yet, especially champ archers). I pretty much ignore smite tainted creature and earth 3, only using them for some added dps when beating down a boss. I generally don't use abundant step when grouping because it's smarter to stick together in reaper and monks are fast enough as it is. I may use it to catch up if I've fallen behind for some reason. Or I'll use it when solo-zerging.

The elemental 2 and 3 attacks I keep on a separate hotbar and manually click on them to get the party buff finishers on occasion (fire light fire if a trapper is having trouble getting traps, water light water before buffs or a big fight, air light air before a big fight, earth light earth pretty much never at this point in the game). I may also click through the elemental attacks during a boss beatdown for a bit of added dps. I don't even keep the elemental 1 attacks on a hotbar. Once I get grandmaster of forms, I'll drop the elemental 2 attacks and only have 3 and 4 on a hotbar.

So to sum up, and in the spirit of monks, the complexity is merely a creation of the overactive mind's divided attention. A calm mind is achieved through focused attention to that which immediately presents itself to one's awareness.

[Gargoyle69]

I can understand why you would say this, but I'd have to disagree. Unarmed monks are complicated to play no matter what you do. They have more active attack buttons to press than any other class/build by far. This is actually the thing that kept me from playing a monk for years. How to organize it all and what to focus on most was just overwhelming.

I eventually learned that you don't need to use every active attack. You simply choose a few to cycle through and leave it at that. I'm currently playing the non-harper version I posted above and I keep attacks I don't use on another hotbar so I can move them to my main hotbar as needed (e.g. dismissing strike when playing devil/demon content).

There are really only 5 active attacks with wis based DCs in the shintao tree, the jade strike line and dismissing strike. Adding another 5 active attacks isn't going to make playing an unarmed monk any more overwhelming than they already are. And these attacks are where the unarmed monk really shines, in my opinion, because they are the monk's potential for crowd control. If you don't take these enhancements, then you're going to be spending your AP on some mediocre enhancements in order to reach 40 for the capstone. Personally, if I'm taking these, then I want to use them. And if I'm going to use them, then I want them to work, which means going wis based.

An argument can certainly be made for running in legendary dreadnaught over grandmaster of flowers for max dps. I wanted to go with grandmaster of flowers just to experience all that the monk has to offer. Even if I were going to run in dreadnaught, however, I'd still go wis based for the shintao enhancements mentioned above and because dreadnaught doesn't offer any more synergy with dex based than it does with wis based. If running in grandmaster of flowers, there are also only 5 active attacks from there. As with the shintao attacks, hotkey only those you want to use often.

I'm currently level 14, so I haven't made it to epic levels yet, but so far my main hotbar is setup like this:

finisher * fists of light * stunning fist * whirlwind attack * jade strike * tomb of jade * kukan-do * abundant step * smite tainted creature * earth 3

I spam fists of light, stunning fist, whirlwind attack, and jade strike. Tomb of jade I usually save for reapers or tough champs. Kukan-do I use to stun far away mobs who may pose a threat (e.g. casters, champs that haven't reached the group yet, especially champ archers). I pretty much ignore smite tainted creature and earth 3, only using them for some added dps when beating down a boss. I generally don't use abundant step when grouping because it's smarter to stick together in reaper and monks are fast enough as it is. I may use it to catch up if I've fallen behind for some reason. Or I'll use it when solo-zerging.

The elemental 2 and 3 attacks I keep on a separate hotbar and manually click on them to get the party buff finishers on occasion (fire light fire if a trapper is having trouble getting traps, water light water before buffs or a big fight, air light air before a big fight, earth light earth pretty much never at this point in the game). I may also click through the elemental attacks during a boss beatdown for a bit of added dps. I don't even keep the elemental 1 attacks on a hotbar. Once I get grandmaster of forms, I'll drop the elemental 2 attacks and only have 3 and 4 on a hotbar.

So to sum up, and in the spirit of monks, the complexity is merely a creation of the overactive mind's divided attention. A calm mind is achieved through focused attention to that which immediately presents itself to one's awareness.

Fair enough. Each to their own, I guess it's probably not a "one size fits all" type of thing, some people take to playing monks like a duck to water, and others need some time and practical experience to get their heads around it.

I know a few people I've introduced to monks have been pretty bewildered by all the options and complexity available, and although I agree with you that having it doesn't mean you have to use it, for some people it creates a bigger space for them to understand which leads to overwhelm and ends up being counter-productive.

For me I'd rather present a basic option for them to grok faster, and then more advanced options for them to pull to themselves as and when they're ready, as the wonder of exploration and discovery really is both a great journey, and destination. YMMV of course.

[CThruTheEgo]

I know a few people I've introduced to monks have been pretty bewildered by all the options and complexity available, and although I agree with you that having it doesn't mean you have to use it, for some people it creates a bigger space for them to understand which leads to overwhelm and ends up being counter-productive.

I couldn't play a monk for years for this reason. Best advice anyone ever gave me about playing a monk was, don't worry about everything, just pick a few attacks and spam those. Only after I learned this was I finally able to actually play one!

I suppose if you have one of those fancy 100 button gaming mouses or something, then maybe you could really take advantage of everything a monk has to offer.