Strimtom's Falcon Striker - R10 Monk build

[Strimtom]

Hello, and welcome to my monk build! I have been running some R10s with this character and while I am still working towards the gear.

Why did I swap from ranger? A few reasons...

1. Not enough people have Mass Frog for Baba, so I wanted to fulfill that role.
2. Always wanted to play some fist monk and it seemed like a good time.
3. Better single target damage, and right now I am the only person in my guild who applies vulnerability due to people on racial TRs.

Video of the build and explanation

The build!

Aasimar Wis Monk
Monk 20
Lawful Good Aasimar


Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . 32pt. . .34pt . . 36pt. . .Tome. . .Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .---- . . ----. . .---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . +6 . . . 4: WIS
Dexterity . . . 10. . . .10 . . . 12. . . .14 . . . +6 . . . 8: WIS
Constitution. . 14. . . .16 . . . 16. . . .16 . . . +6 . . .12: WIS
Intelligence. . 12. . . .12 . . . 12. . . .12 . . . +6 . . .16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 20. . . .20 . . . 20. . . .20 . . . +6 . . .20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . +6 . . .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
Spot. . . 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. . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 3. 21
Tumble. . . .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .19
Haggle. . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. 11½
UMD . . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .11
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .20. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8


Feats

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

.1 Aasimar: Bond of the Fallen

.3 Monk . : Path of Harmonious Balance


Enhancements (79+6 of 80+6 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. Lifting the Veil, Smite Tainted Creature, Iron Skin III, Conditioning III
  3. Restoring the Balance, 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

Falconry (27 AP)

• White Falcon, Wisdom, Well Rounded
  1. Practiced Accuracy II, Hunter's Knowledge, Out in Nature II
  2. Killer Instinct I, Diving Strike I, Sprint Boost I
  3. Killer Instinct II, Strike for the Eyes: Strike I, Conditioning, Eyes of the Eagle
  4. Deadly Instinct III, No Mercy III, Expose Weakness

Aasimar (16 AP)

• Stronger Bonds, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds II, Wisdom, Stronger Bonds III
  1. Fight the Wicked, Improved Recovery
  2. Fight the Wicked
  3. Fight the Wicked, Blessings I, Improved Recovery
  4. Divine Form

Leveling Guide

1. Aas0 Stronger Bonds; Aas1 Fight the Wicked; Aas1 Improved Recovery; Fal0 White Falcon; Fal1 Practiced Accuracy I, II; Fal1 Hunter's Knowledge
2. Fal1 Out in Nature I; Fal2 Killer Instinct I; Fal2 Diving Strike I
3. Fal0 Wisdom; Fal3 Killer Instinct II
4. Shi0 Bastion of Purity; Shi1 Deft Strikes I, II, III
5. Shi1 Difficulty at the Beginning; Shi0 Protection from Tainted Creatures; Shi2 Iron Skin I, II
6. Shi2 Iron Skin III; Shi2 Lifting the Veil; Shi0 Iron Hand
7. Shi3 Dismissing Strike; Shi3 Wisdom; Shi3 Restoring the Balance
8. Shi2 Smite Tainted Creature; Shi3 Jade Strike
9. Shi4 Tomb of Jade; Shi4 Wisdom
10. Shi4 The Receptive Earth; Shi4 Instinctive Defense I; Shi2 Conditioning I, II
11. Shi2 Conditioning III; Fal0 Well Rounded; Aas0 Wisdom; Aas0 Stronger Bonds II
12. Aas0 Wisdom; Shi0 Argent Fist; Shi5 Empty Hand Mastery
13. Shi5 Kukan-Do; Shi5 Violence Begets Violence
14. Shi5 Meditation of War; Shi5 Rise of the Phoenix
15. Aas2 Fight the Wicked; Aas3 Fight the Wicked; Aas3 Improved Recovery
16. Aas0 Stronger Bonds III; Aas3 Blessings I; Aas4 Divine Form
17. Fal3 Eyes of the Eagle; Fal3 Strike for the Eyes: Strike I; Fal3 Conditioning
18. Fal2 Sprint Boost I; Fal1 Out in Nature II; Fal4 Deadly Instinct I, II
19. Fal4 Deadly Instinct III; Fal4 No Mercy I, II, III
20. Fal4 Expose Weakness; Shi0 Touch the Void Dragon; Shi0 To Seek Perfection

Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought

1. Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III, Constitution
2. Imp. Combat Expertise, Damage Boost III
3. Haste Boost III
4. (none)
5. Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
6. Master's Blitz, Pulverizer

Twists of Fate (26 fate points)

1. Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)
2. Balanced Attacks (Tier 3 Primal)
3. Dance of Flowers (Tier 1 Flowers)
4. Dragonhide (Tier 1 Draconic)

The gear!

[Paisheng]

very solid and very close to my build.

I prefer having 16 con and only 10 intelligence on initial build.

Not sure why you put points into haggle ....a few more pp in the bank seems lackluster as there is plenty of items to sell on auction to make much more pp.
I put points into balance and into search instead.

But it is enjoyable build and contributes to high reaper (but not as happily and well as before the third dps monk nerf *grrrr still feeling the pain of that one*)

[Kodwraith]

Hmm this is basically also Kodraith except 5 less racial AP, I didn't take blinding speed at 27 and I didn't take Mass Frog. Looks like it's time to lTR.

Garstone's? Was this just for the Mist's set bonus? I completely missed that the new trinket has +ins wis on it so we can ditch the underperforming goggles slot.

Edit: by 5 less racial AP I mean Kodraith has 5 less. I still need to bang out my next two doublestrike lives.

[DrawingGuy]

I agree with Paisheng regarding skill points - haggle is not that important. Balance helps guarantee you always succeed those checks, Search for finding secret doors is useful, and maxing Hide allows for flexibility to go Ethereal or Astral. Also jump should be able to be maxed (40) with just a clicky or pot, and tumble should get maxed (36) with just your DEX and epic points. After Concentration, UMD, Hide, Spot, Search, and 1 point into Tumble, I'd look towards these other skills:

1 point Perform - this is simply to qualify for certain perform checks, and items can cover the rest
Diplomacy - There are multiple quest checks for this. The power to drop aggro to the tank on demand is also extremely useful.
Intimidate - Unfortunately Ki Shout is currently broken, and again mob control is useful.
Move Silently - You're already invested into Hide for Ethereal, and this is the other part to it. Sneaking to do cards in Strahd ftw!
Swim - Yes, I'd invest into Swim before Haggle or Jump. You shouldn't have enough points to invest into this, but Swim means you can last much longer without needing an underwater item, and swim/fly that much faster.


This is also my current preferred setup:

Goggles: The Masque
Helmet: Legendary Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Trinket of Freewill - Insightful WIS 9, MRR 52, Spell Resist 46, Mind Control Immunity
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Legendary Flightfoot Greaves
Bracers: Lorefueled Packbanner
Ring 1: Slave Lords Crafted - CON 17, Accuracy 28, Vertigo 20, Qual WIS 4
Ring 2: Legendary Perfect Pinnacle
Armor: Legendary Disciple of the Dawn

There are a few reasons for gear differences:

Cloak: The Ghostly I consider far outweighs the procs. Ghost-touch is imperative on Reaper difficulties, and you don't want to waste a weapon slot on this if possible. Plus 10% incorporeal helps survival.
Ring/Goggles/Boots: The Masque is actually a quite strong pair of goggles on a monk. 7 insightful deadly, 128 unconsciousness range, and soundproof are all extremely useful - you'd be surprised how often that uncon range can save you. Ring and Boots is more debatable. Flightfoot Greaves cover a lot of convenience (Speed and FOM) along with a Reflex bonus. Shadow's Footsteps can cover a Dodge gap if needed. There are also good options if you roll a second Adherent ring.

The item that can easily hold people over farming for a Trinket of Freewill is a Cannith Crafted. 15 Dodge, 61 HAMP, 7 Ins WIS covers a lot of things. I have the past lives and reaper points I can cap dodge without a dodge item, but not all do. HAMP is the tough cookie to chew with the Freewill setup... but I just see it as using CC for soloing and Freewill when you have others to heal you. Monk + Aasimar hamp still make outside heals effective.

[Vish]

This is pretty good for a scrub monk
I'm impressed amount of raid items you have
Build is kinda similar to mine
I run in grandmaster
I've gleaned you might have accuracy and doublestrike on me
But I guess it depends the mission
If you're only hitting held mobs
You can build differently
Why astral, why not ethereal?
For max dps
And where are you getting ghostly?
And how are you stacking vulnerability?
Feats are identical, I took completionist at 27
And wear the speed boots
Ap is slightly different
Gear is pretty similar
Guess mine is max wisdom dc build
So better for content
Yours is pretty supreme killer tho
I gleaned a few insights from looking it over,
But nothing I would change,
Yet

Thx strimtom
I enjoy your live streams
Keep posting them to YouTube

Oh ya,
What are your grazing hits?
What is your resting to hit mod?
That's the only real difference I see over my build
But I'm a qp build

[Strimtom]

Why astral, why not ethereal?

For the same reason I have in my ranger build, the R10 quests I tend to do in guild involved a lot of monsters immune to sneak attack through fortification. I can reduce fortification by 75% using the falcon and jade strike, and I have 32% armor penetration from molten silver gauntlets and 5% from the ship and yet I still cannot sneak attack some targets. As a result, I prefer astral for the consistancy of the application.

An example of monsters that just don't get sneak attacked are the elementals from ToEE. Took a decade to kill them on R10, but it would have been slower if they were ignoring sneak attack damage.

And where are you getting ghostly?

I... don't know? I currently can hit incorporeal, so I need to do some digging...

And how are you stacking vulnerability?

Ascendant Bond from Aasimar grants me 10 melee power, fear immunity, and vulnerbility with each hit.

What are your grazing hits?
What is your resting to hit mod?

Before I got this gear I was sitting at +132, now I an landing +151. Depending on the quest, I usually get grazing hits on anything below a 6. You need +172 do avoid grazing hits but I am not confident Monk can reach that, unlike druid/fighter/ranger/barbarian.

[Arkat]

I... don't know? I currently can hit incorporeal, so I need to do some digging...

Ruby of Ghostbane in Duality?

[DrawingGuy]

For the same reason I have in my ranger build, the R10 quests I tend to do in guild involved a lot of monsters immune to sneak attack through fortification. I can reduce fortification by 75% using the falcon and jade strike, and I have 32% armor penetration from molten silver gauntlets and 5% from the ship and yet I still cannot sneak attack some targets. As a result, I prefer astral for the consistancy of the application.

An example of monsters that just don't get sneak attacked are the elementals from ToEE. Took a decade to kill them on R10, but it would have been slower if they were ignoring sneak attack damage.

I'm a fan of Astral - it is a scion that boosts your defenses, DPS, and Quivering Palm. However Ethereal is not to be underestimated. You have a lot of Fortification bypass at your fingertips, especially with Expose Weakness, so you should be able to reliably apply SA damage against everything that is not uniquely immune to SA. This is also why I swear by the Ki Strike "Unbalancing Strike". This allows you to qualify for SA damage when you have aggro, so simply use it whenever you can't CC the target to get your SA going (particularly bosses). Filigrees have boosted Melee Power by enough that Ethereal has outpaced all other Scion options, and is a large part of why DPS is TWF or bust. Ethereal needs a nerf unless they plan on seriously boosting the other combat types, and I have no doubt that Ethereal was part of the build that made Devs think Handwrap Monks were overperforming. Unless that happens, though, any option on a TWF type (which is what Handwraps are considered), any Scion choice other than Ethereal is a serious DPS loss. Boosting QP for R10s could actually be worth that, though. Doesn't matter how much your DPS is nerfed in R10 if you just instakill.

Do note that Elementals are something that Monks are actually quite good at dealing with. Both Dismissing Strike and Quivering Palm work on them, and you have Tomb of Jade (plus the RNG of the other Jade strikes) to CC those with Deathward. It's Undead that Monks struggle - stunning fist, kokun, and Dire Charge can't CC them; QP and Dismiss can't instakill them; only Jades have a chance to CC, and the cooldowns on those are far too long to do anything real. Though this is where doing a max WIS build shines a bit: Mass Frog gives you an answer 28+.


Arkat is probably right that you have a Ghostbane slotted on your handwraps. This is, again, where I favor Shadowhail. That gives you your ghost touch along with 10% incorp, and frees up the weapon slot. There are useful augments you really don't want to give up:

- Deconstructor: Destruction procs can build up to another 15% fort bypass and -15 AC. That is the same as giving yourself and the entire party another 20-30 accuracy, and you always want someone stacking this if possible. Plus 6d6 damage to constructs is a nice proc.

- Endless Night: Deleveling may not last long, but it is still an extremely strong proc. You attack fast enough that you can often outpace the recovery, making this the strongest proc damage wise you can get, and it can also help you land Quivering Palm.

- Good: The most important alignment bypass in the game.

- Devotion Augment: This boosts your Cocoon and FoL finishers. Improving your party support, or bringing your self-healing into a wider range of Reaper is very useful.

- Meteoric Star Ruby: A free AOE knockdown that seems to be far more effective than a DC of 20 + item level would suggest. Though too many important options that this is never worth it.

In short, if you are taking a Ghostbane augment, you are giving up something important. Try to avoid that whenever possible.

[Strimtom]

Ruby of Ghostbane in Duality?

This is correct. Forgot how much I farmed night revels!

Do note that Elementals are something that Monks are actually quite good at dealing with.

Edit: I can word this better.

The issue that I was discussing was elementals who cannot be crowd controlled, like the bosses in temple of elemental evil. They have DR 369/- and can't be made helpless since they are red name boss monster.

[Zretch]

The issue that I was discussing was elementals who cannot be crowd controlled, like the bosses in temple of elemental evil. They have DR 369/- and can't be made helpless since they are red name boss monster.

The corollary to this is that mobs can have huge DR and if they're sneak attack susceptible, the sneak attack damage always hits for full.

In Killing Time, during the Lord of Blades fight, your sneak attacks land for full damage, even when the hounds are near. I was seeing normal hits of 80 (reduced from 1,100) and sneak attack hits of 380 (no reduction). So each has its situational usefulness. I've found enough of the things that I want to kill take sneak attack damage to make the extra ~200 damage per hit (sneak attacks went from about 180 to about 380) for Ethereal on my Wis build wolf to be worth it. It's another reason why I stick with a shadowhail cloak. It gives +22 hide, which gives +7 base SA damage through the Scion feat.

Bring a rogue along with you for that elemental fight for Assassin's trick (as well as top flight single target DPS, the ability to now insta-gib pretty much anything on a 15 second cooldown, and trap bonuses and that fight should go much quicker as the SA damage bypasses that DR 369/-.

To each their own, nothing wrong with Astral, but Ethereal has some good synergies with some solid pieces of RL gear + set bonuses.

Edited because it's Friday and I'm a little spaced out.

[Robbenklopper]

...

This is also my current preferred setup:

Goggles: The Masque
Helmet: Legendary Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Fleetfoot Necklace
Trinket: Trinket of Freewill - Insightful WIS 9, MRR 52, Spell Resist 46, Mind Control Immunity
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Molten Silver Gauntlets
Boots: Legendary Flightfoot Greaves
Bracers: Lorefueled Packbanner
Ring 1: Slave Lords Crafted - CON 17, Accuracy 28, Vertigo 20, Qual WIS 4
Ring 2: Legendary Perfect Pinnacle
Armor: Legendary Disciple of the Dawn

...

Took your spreasheet for example, but just that i´m on heroic TR, currently lvl8. Took some hours to easyfarm SLC-stuff for endurance, now working on lvl10 RL gear. My question is what you recommend as fillers for heroic non-existant raid item? How far do you think will the heroic setup belong before switch?

[DrawingGuy]

Took your spreasheet for example, but just that i´m on heroic TR, currently lvl8. Took some hours to easyfarm SLC-stuff for endurance, now working on lvl10 RL gear. My question is what you recommend as fillers for heroic non-existant raid item? How far do you think will the heroic setup belong before switch?

The RL 10 robe/belt/cloak can take you to 29. The combination of each item having something useful (profane 1, ghostly, blurry, qual dex 1) along with the set bonus still being strong makes them more than worth it.

Crafted gear, on the other hand, can outstrip the heroic adherent. Though Perfect Pinnacle with Reinforced Fists, Deadly, and stance bonuses is worth also keeping to 29.

From 10 > 18. Upgrade Cannith at 15
Goggles: Cannith Crafted - WIS, True Seeing (or Accuracy if you use scrolls), Insightful WIS
Helmet: Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Cannith Crafted - CHA, CON, Insightful CON
Trinket: Cannith Crafted - Doublestrike, Dodge, Insightful Deadly (or Dodge, HAMP, Ins Deadly if you need the hamp. Ins Deadly can be replaced with Ins Stunning or Combat Mastery if you need the DCs.)
Cloak: Legendary Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Crumbling Gloves
Boots: Flightfoot Greaves
Bracers: Bracers of the Fallen Hero (the 6 STR and 3 PRR I value more than 2% double strike)
Ring 1: Cursebane Ring
Ring 2: Legendary Perfect Pinnacle
Armor: Legendary Disciple of the Dawn


From 18 > 29. Upgrade Cannith gear at 23.
Goggles: Cannith Crafted - WIS, Melee Alacrity (or Accuracy if you have access to clickies/pots/buffs. Otherwise you'll want to upgrade this at 20 as well to get full alacrity), Ins WIS
Helmet: Executioner's Helm
Necklace: Cannith Crafted - CON, Sheltering, Ins CON
Trinket: Cannith Crafted - Seeker, Deadly, Ins Deadly
Cloak: Shadowhail Cloak
Belt: Braided Cutcord
Gloves: Cannith Crafted - Doublestrike, Armor-Piercing, Ins DEX
Boots: Cannith Crafted - Dodge, Parrying, Ins Seeker (or Ins Combat Mastery if you need the tactics)
Bracers: Cannith Crafted - Resistance (Saves), Fortification, Ins Fortification
Ring 1: Cannith Crafted - Devotion, Positive Lore, Ins PRR (to boost cocoon and FOL finisher)
Ring 2: Perfect Pinnacle
Armor: Disciple of the Dawn

Note that this gear setup lacks Enhanced Ki. You can drop Perfect Pinnacle, shift the necklace to a ring, and wear Oremi's Necklace. This will also cost some Stunning - you can drop something from Trinket or Boots to regain it if needed. Luckily the Raid pass should be changing Visions of Precision to a lower level, though I still use it at 28.

Also note that it is important to have a STR augment. If you do not, you'll need to shift stuff around to fit it in, as you want a STR cushion to stop you from becoming uncentered when debuffed.

[peng]

You take imp crit at 12. Imp twf adds more dps. If you have enough doublestrike, imp crit can add a little more dps than gtwf (on a weapon with no on-hit effects), but I'd still take gtwf first. Monks have a lot of on-hit effects that can proc on off-hand, like ki attacks, stunning fist, etc. I also usually take imp martial arts before overwhelming crit, even though overwhelming is more dps vs crittable mobs, as ima is more vs non-crittables, and not far behind on crittables. Other feat options when you get into epics: precision for more fort bypass and to-hit chance, and deflect arrows, which can seriously increase your survivability and reduce chances of getting hamstrung.

I've been getting a lot of use out of a dragontouched robe (blast from the past, right?) as a swap item, with heal amp exc 20, hamp equip 40, destruction. Both hamps stack with most gear, so it's a nice healing swap, and the destruction doesn't have a cooldown, so it can stack up to 15 ac/fortification debuff in a few seconds, and a whirlwind can give all mobs around you up to 5 stacks. Stacks last 20 seconds, and swapping doesn't seem to interrupt your attack animation, so I'll often swap in for a few seconds to start a boss fight, or before whirlwind, then swap back.

At level 20, t3 epic spare hand and ring of the stalker are pretty freaking awesome, with more effects than devs put on items nowadays, and values better than crafted.

[Neurozis]

How do you deal with Incorporeal targets ? is there Ethereal on your items ?

[Tilomere]

You have such a nice layout. I'm going to borrow it! Ty for the layout.

[Sam-u-r-eye]

Clear post. Nice formatting.

Dropping PL monk for precision is more damage. Ethereal plane is more damage than the other. I don't know if it's still floating around but check out sym's gear set up. IMO it is statistically BIS. GL on your journeys!

[LawLessk]

This is a great build. Really appreciate the effort and time put into this build.

[Alled78]

Clear post. Nice formatting.

Dropping PL monk for precision is more damage. Ethereal plane is more damage than the other. I don't know if it's still floating around but check out sym's gear set up. IMO it is statistically BIS. GL on your journeys!

In my experience precision is a must have on a monk if you run many raids.
Grazing hit and miss reduction is clear without the need of a statistical analysis

Nice build I m waiting to test a similar one soon

[adrian69]

How do you deal with Incorporeal targets ? is there Ethereal on your items ?

Shadowhail cloak has ghostly on it.

[Keavere]

What if you wanted to try this build but had only 1 Racial Enhancement Point at level 1 available due to no Racial TRs but do have the Racial book point?

What would you drop enhancement wise?