Advice wanted:2nd life monk

[wolfdy]

Hello, im currently farming tokens to reincarnate my 1st character that reached lvl 20 and as a Premium player (I got all the quest packs + 1 exp from steam) im thinking about buying 1-2 mounth vip to Rush 100 favor in every server and to cap a new character so i can start my 3rd life without the need of Vip to do elite/reaper from the start. Im a big fan of monks in pnp and read a lot about builds and etc (specialy from strimtoms youtube videos). that beeing sayed i have a few questions that the more experience of you can give me tips about

*** Im running everything SOLO for now ***

1- Should i buy 1 or 2 months to cap + run every quest for favor on the 2nd life? i think i capped my 1st at 90 hours or something, i have 70 on steam and i also played a while before that. But i had to do a loot of Normal>Hard>Elite (that doenst give as much xp cuz i dont get some bonuses straight away) and i also didnt had the Great heroic tome until lvl 11

2- Henshin got my eye, but should i got shintao instead? and why? Is single target that more important? cuz i usualy get giant mob packs on elite

3- I have falconry, should i roll Wis instead of Dex?

4-I'll not play this character on endgame, i'll get to 20, grab tokens and start 3rd life. Should i go full monk? Maybe Rogue 1 for traps (Acrobatic thief for Henshin) Monk 18 and "Something" 1? if so, what "something" should be?

5- Since i barely have any tomes (only a +1 dex), should i first try to get a +2 str one from favor before jumping in reincarnation? cuz i'll need 17 Str or Dex (Henshin or shintao) + Cons + some int of i run rogue. With 34 points i was able to reach 16/12/14/12/16/8 with my 34-points build, i'll need to put 1 point into Str for the last Twohanded fight feat, other than that go full wisdom (swap dex with str for shintao)

6- Race? Assimar if wisdom based? Drow/Elf/Halfing if dex? I have all the f2p races + Drow and warforged, i'll also have acess to all vip free races (like assimar)

7- Im thinking about doing every quest i can on this 2nd for favor rewards, i'll prob try to run r1 whenever possible and elite when not, or should i avoid r1 entirely? I intend to run quests by lvl, i have no problem with doing r1 1-4 lvls above the intend lvl for r1, cuz again, favor's the focus.

8- My current life's a Human Sorcerer, inquisitive caught my eye, but since it has almost no aoe whatsoever i think i'll struggle soloing. Is monk a good pick for a "new player"? I read a lot about the game and watched many of strimtoms recent content, and monk seems good cuz Good saves, self heal, aoe, Dodge.

9- Is there any items i should get before reincarnating that will help me when playing the monk? the only one i heard of is the https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Elemental_Bloom if going for Henshin

Tyvm in advance to anyone who replies

[Discpsycho]

Hello, im currently farming tokens to reincarnate my 1st character that reached lvl 20 and as a Premium player (I got all the quest packs + 1 exp from steam) im thinking about buying 1-2 mounth vip to Rush 100 favor in every server and to cap a new character so i can start my 3rd life without the need of Vip to do elite/reaper from the start. Im a big fan of monks in pnp and read a lot about builds and etc (specialy from strimtoms youtube videos). that beeing sayed i have a few questions that the more experience of you can give me tips about

*** Im running everything SOLO for now ***

1- Should i buy 1 or 2 months to cap + run every quest for favor on the 2nd life? i think i capped my 1st at 90 hours or something, i have 70 on steam and i also played a while before that. But i had to do a loot of Normal>Hard>Elite (that doenst give as much xp cuz i dont get some bonuses straight away) and i also didnt had the Great heroic tome until lvl 11

2- Henshin got my eye, but should i got shintao instead? and why? Is single target that more important? cuz i usualy get giant mob packs on elite

3- I have falconry, should i roll Wis instead of Dex?

4-I'll not play this character on endgame, i'll get to 20, grab tokens and start 3rd life. Should i go full monk? Maybe Rogue 1 for traps (Acrobatic thief for Henshin) Monk 18 and "Something" 1? if so, what "something" should be?

5- Since i barely have any tomes (only a +1 dex), should i first try to get a +2 str one from favor before jumping in reincarnation? cuz i'll need 17 Str or Dex (Henshin or shintao) + Cons + some int of i run rogue. With 34 points i was able to reach 16/12/14/12/16/8 with my 34-points build, i'll need to put 1 point into Str for the last Twohanded fight feat, other than that go full wisdom (swap dex with str for shintao)

6- Race? Assimar if wisdom based? Drow/Elf/Halfing if dex? I have all the f2p races + Drow and warforged, i'll also have acess to all vip free races (like assimar)

7- Im thinking about doing every quest i can on this 2nd for favor rewards, i'll prob try to run r1 whenever possible and elite when not, or should i avoid r1 entirely? I intend to run quests by lvl, i have no problem with doing r1 1-4 lvls above the intend lvl for r1, cuz again, favor's the focus.

8- My current life's a Human Sorcerer, inquisitive caught my eye, but since it has almost no aoe whatsoever i think i'll struggle soloing. Is monk a good pick for a "new player"? I read a lot about the game and watched many of strimtoms recent content, and monk seems good cuz Good saves, self heal, aoe, Dodge.

9- Is there any items i should get before reincarnating that will help me when playing the monk? the only one i heard of is the https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Elemental_Bloom if going for Henshin

Tyvm in advance to anyone who replies

Disclaimer: all of my info comes from having done a pure henshin monk life ~4 months ago. This is all colored by my personal experience as a non-min-maxed player who also values staying alive. If you're looking for leet top-tier dps, take what I say with a grain of salt

1. Running every quest for favor is quite a slog and with the second-life XP increase (+50%) you'll find yourself level-capping before you can finish level-appropriate quests. I've been doing some 5k favor lives recently with the third-life-plus XP increase (+100%), and even questing strategically I still find myself getting close to that cap. That being said, buying a month or two of VIP is a huge QoL difference if you feel ready to do / solo / lead elites and reapers.

2. THF is really nice in heroics. I've done a henshin life more recently than a shintao life (~2 years ago for the latter) and preferred henshin

3. Yep. Having a single stat for hit, damage and DCs is incredible. I didn't spec into Deadly Instinct until late epics, but you'll at least want hit/damage

4. If you're going to 20, go 18 Monk / 1 Rogue / 1 FvS. Rogue 1 gets +15% attack speed with qstaves, which Henshin only gets at capstone, and 1 FvS lets you get Divine Will for 4 points, which is much earlier than you could get Deadly Instinct

5. On a 34-point build, a +2 Str tome saves you 5 build points. If you're *not* planning on trapping, you can min-max a bit more if you take a Wis tome. If you are planning on trapping, those extra build points are effectively 2-3 more skills

6. Aasimar is a solid choice, and healing hands is wonderful in early heroics before your Healing Ki and/or Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light. Second-best, IMO, is human for the feat and skill point

7. If your healing can keep up with it and you've got a handy source of ghost touch for reapers, absolutely do R1! Slightly better XP, free reaper XP, and you'll probably have more folks join any groups you put up

8. Monk is as complex as you make it. There are a lot of crazy finishing moves for SP reduction / concealment / stun immunity / whatever, but 98% of the time you're fine just whacking things. You can be a 30-button monk or a 8-button monk, but going much below 8 loses some pizzazz

9. For Henshin, that's absolutely enough. I used Nicked Quarterstaff until 8, but honestly a vorpal quarterstaff or something with a good damage proc is fine. The Sharn "Part of the Family" set or Ravenloft "Silent Avenger" set will help quite a bit, but you can live without them if need be

[wolfdy]

Disclaimer: all of my info comes from having done a pure henshin monk life ~4 months ago. This is all colored by my personal experience as a non-min-maxed player who also values staying alive. If you're looking for leet top-tier dps, take what I say with a grain of salt

1. Running every quest for favor is quite a slog and with the second-life XP increase (+50%) you'll find yourself level-capping before you can finish level-appropriate quests. I've been doing some 5k favor lives recently with the third-life-plus XP increase (+100%), and even questing strategically I still find myself getting close to that cap. That being said, buying a month or two of VIP is a huge QoL difference if you feel ready to do / solo / lead elites and reapers.

2. THF is really nice in heroics. I've done a henshin life more recently than a shintao life (~2 years ago for the latter) and preferred henshin

3. Yep. Having a single stat for hit, damage and DCs is incredible. I didn't spec into Deadly Instinct until late epics, but you'll at least want hit/damage

4. If you're going to 20, go 18 Monk / 1 Rogue / 1 FvS. Rogue 1 gets +15% attack speed with qstaves, which Henshin only gets at capstone, and 1 FvS lets you get Divine Will for 4 points, which is much earlier than you could get Deadly Instinct

5. On a 34-point build, a +2 Str tome saves you 5 build points. If you're *not* planning on trapping, you can min-max a bit more if you take a Wis tome. If you are planning on trapping, those extra build points are effectively 2-3 more skills

6. Aasimar is a solid choice, and healing hands is wonderful in early heroics before your Healing Ki and/or Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light. Second-best, IMO, is human for the feat and skill point

7. If your healing can keep up with it and you've got a handy source of ghost touch for reapers, absolutely do R1! Slightly better XP, free reaper XP, and you'll probably have more folks join any groups you put up

8. Monk is as complex as you make it. There are a lot of crazy finishing moves for SP reduction / concealment / stun immunity / whatever, but 98% of the time you're fine just whacking things. You can be a 30-button monk or a 8-button monk, but going much below 8 loses some pizzazz

9. For Henshin, that's absolutely enough. I used Nicked Quarterstaff until 8, but honestly a vorpal quarterstaff or something with a good damage proc is fine. The Sharn "Part of the Family" set or Ravenloft "Silent Avenger" set will help quite a bit, but you can live without them if need be

Tyvm dude, thats the exactly the kind of feedack i wanted

1- Thats good to know =D

2- Great, i'll prob go Henshin then, i love THF

3- Also good to know

4- I dont have favored soul yet and checked the other divine buffs from cleric and paladin and they're Charisma only, does the one from Fvs stack with the one from Falconry? Cuz i made a build that went for Deadly instinct

5- i'll try some builds com DDObuilder and see if there are tomes avaible on my server, cuz my build seems to stat intense right now

6- Great=D

7- Yeah, guild also sayed "just do groups, even if you're a new player ppl wont mind"

8- Nice

9- Thanks

i'll prob farm some other things like tome (with favor or AH) before HRing then, but i dont think i can get Fvs for now, i'll prob splash some figter 1 for attack speed Action boost

[Discpsycho]

4- I dont have favored soul yet and checked the other divine buffs from cleric and paladin and they're Charisma only, does the one from Fvs stack with the one from Falconry? Cuz i made a build that went for Deadly instinct

Divine Will and Deadly Instinct give the same bonus type. Main difference is that DI uses (bird-rechargeable) charges and DW uses SP. If you're happy with the falconry version, great!

5- i'll try some builds com DDObuilder and see if there are tomes avaible on my server, cuz my build seems to stat intense right now

What's your feat list like? You could probably drop Precision for Power Attack (+10 damage is reasonably comparable to 25% fort bypass in heroics), which means you can dump Dex and free up a few more points

7- Yeah, guild also sayed "just do groups, even if you're a new player ppl wont mind"

One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the healing from "Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light". Between strikethrough and doublestrike, you'll typically proc the heal 4+ times on groups, which any melee players you group with will really appreciate.

You'll have the easiest time running Fists of Light until level 12, then swap philosophy feats for SCEWL.

[wolfdy]

Divine Will and Deadly Instinct give the same bonus type. Main difference is that DI uses (bird-rechargeable) charges and DW uses SP. If you're happy with the falconry version, great!

Yeah i'll prob do that to save me from farming Fvs for now

What's your feat list like? You could probably drop Precision for Power Attack (+10 damage is reasonably comparable to 25% fort bypass in heroics), which means you can dump Dex and free up a few more points

i'll post the build i worked on below

One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the healing from "Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light". Between strikethrough and doublestrike, you'll typically proc the heal 4+ times on groups, which any melee players you group with will really appreciate.

You'll have the easiest time running Fists of Light until level 12, then swap philosophy feats for SCEWL.

Yeah, i heard about that from strimtom, run light until 12 then doing the quest for the free swap

[wolfdy]

Character name:
Classes: 18 Monk, 10 Epic, 2 Rogue
Race: Aasimar · · · · · · ·Alignment: Lawful Neutral

· · ·Start Tome Final
Str:· · 16· · 0 · ·17 · · ·HP:· · · · 379 · · ·AC:· · 33
Dex:· · 12· · 1 · ·13 · · ·PRR: · · · ·23
Con:· · 14· · 0 · ·14 · · ·MRR: · · · · 6 · · ·+Healing Amp:· · 15
Int:· · 14· · 0 · ·14 · · ·Dodge: · ·9/26 · · ·-Healing Amp:· · ·0
Wis:· · 17· · 0 · ·29 · · ·Fort:· · · ·0% · · ·Repair Amp:· · · ·0
Cha:· · ·8· · 0 · · 8 · · ·SR:· · · · ·28 · · ·BAB: · · · · · · 14
DR:
Immunities: Disease, Natural Poison, Spawn effects of Undead

Heroic Past Lives
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Past Life: Sorcerer


Class and Feat Selection
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Level Class · · · · · ·Feats
1 · · Rogue(1)· · · · ·Standard: Dodge
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Aasimar Bond: Aasimar: Fallen Bond
2 · · Monk(1) · · · · ·Monk Bonus: Two Handed Fighting
3 · · Monk(2) · · · · ·Standard: Cleave
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Monk Bonus: Power Attack
4 · · Monk(3) · · · · ·Monk Philosophy: Path of Inevitable Dominion: Fists of Darkness
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Strength: +1 Level up
5 · · Monk(4) · · · · ·
6 · · Rogue(2)· · · · ·Standard: Great Cleave
7 · · Monk(5) · · · · ·
8 · · Monk(6) · · · · ·Monk Bonus: Swords to Plowshares
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Wisdom: +1 Level up
9 · · Monk(7) · · · · ·Standard: Improved Two Handed Fighting
10· · Monk(8) · · · · ·
11· · Monk(9) · · · · ·
12· · Monk(10)· · · · ·Standard: Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Wisdom: +1 Level up
13· · Monk(11)· · · · ·
14· · Monk(12)· · · · ·
15· · Monk(13)· · · · ·Standard: Weapon Focus: Bludgeoning Weapons
16· · Monk(14)· · · · ·Wisdom: +1 Level up
17· · Monk(15)· · · · ·
18· · Monk(16)· · · · ·Standard: Greater Two Handed Fighting
19· · Monk(17)· · · · ·
20· · Monk(18)· · · · ·Wisdom: +1 Level up

Skills
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Skill Points· · ·40 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 10· 6 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 ·6· 6 ·6
Skill Name· · · ·01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20· Total Buffed
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Balance · · · · · 4 · · · · · · ·2· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 6.0 · 20.0
Bluff · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · ·9.0
Concentration · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 12.0
Diplomacy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · ·9.0
Disable Device· · 4 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· ·23.0 · 35.0
Haggle· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 13.0
Heal· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 21.0
Hide· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 11.0
Intimidate· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · ·9.0
Jump· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 16.0
Listen· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 27.0
Move Silently · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 11.0
Open Lock · · · · 4 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· ·23.0 · 34.0
Perform · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · ·9.0
Repair· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 12.0
Search· · · · · · 4 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· 1 ·1· ·23.0 · 35.0
Spell Craft · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 12.0
Spot· · · · · · · 4 · · · · · · ·5· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 9.0 · 36.0
Swim· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 13.0
Tumble· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · 14.0
Use Magic Device· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 0.0 · ·9.0
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Available Points 20 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0· 0 ·0
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Enhancements: 80 APs
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Aasimar - Points spent: 6
1 Core ·(1) Stronger Bonds I
2 Core ·(2) Ability I: +1 Wisdom
3 Core ·(1) Stronger Bonds II
4 Core ·(2) Ability II: +1 Wisdom
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Henshin Mystic - Points spent: 40
1 Core ·(1) Riddle of Fire
2 Tier1 (1) Elemental Words I: All-Consuming Flame
3 Tier1 (2) Henshin Staff Training I
4 Tier1 (2) Animal Forms: Way of the Clever Monkey
5 Core ·(1) Ki Bolt
6 Tier2 (2) Henshin Staff Training II
7 Tier2 (1) Elemental Words II: Porous Soul
8 Tier2 (1) Quick Strike
9 Tier2 (1) Quick Strike
10 Tier2 (1) Quick Strike
11 Core ·(1) Sounding Staff
12 Tier3 (2) Ability I: +1 Wisdom
13 Tier3 (1) Embrace the Void
14 Tier3 (2) Henshin Staff Training III
15 Tier3 (1) Elemental Words III: Static Charge
16 Tier4 (2) Focus
17 Tier4 (2) Ability II: +1 Wisdom
18 Core ·(1) Incinerating Wave
19 Tier4 (2) Henshin Staff Training IV
20 Tier4 (1) Elemental Words IV: Winter's Touch
21 Tier2 (2) Elemental Ki Strikes: Unbalancing Strike
22 Core ·(1) Cauldron Of Flame
23 Tier5 (2) Void Strike
24 Tier5 (2) Henshin Staff Training V
25 Tier5 (2) Staff Specialization
26 Tier5 (2) Balance in Dawn: Henshin Mystic: Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light
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Falconry - Points spent: 31
1 Core ·(1) Summon Falcon: Summon White Falcon
2 Tier1 (1) Out in Nature
3 Tier1 (1) Out in Nature
4 Tier1 (1) Out in Nature
5 Tier1 (1) Rugged
6 Tier2 (1) Diving Attack: Diving Strike
7 Tier2 (2) Killer Instinct I
8 Core ·(2) Ability I: Wisdom
9 Tier3 (2) Killer Instinct II
10 Core ·(1) Well Rounded I
11 Tier3 (1) Strike for the Eyes: Strike for the Eyes
12 Tier3 (2) Conditioning
13 Tier3 (2) Eyes of the Eagle
14 Tier2 (1) Watch the Center
15 Tier2 (1) Watch the Center
16 Tier4 (1) Deadly Instinct
17 Tier4 (1) Deadly Instinct
18 Tier4 (1) Deadly Instinct
19 Core ·(2) Ability II: Wisdom
20 Tier4 (1) Coordinated Strikes: Coordinated Cleave
21 Tier4 (1) Expose Weakness
22 Tier4 (1) No Mercy
23 Tier4 (1) No Mercy
24 Tier4 (1) No Mercy
25 Core ·(1) Well Rounded II
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Thief-Acrobat - Points spent: 4
1 Core ·(1) Staff Control
2 Tier1 (1) Thief Acrobatics
3 Tier1 (1) Thief Acrobatics
4 Tier1 (1) Thief Acrobatics
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