Monk Build for a Noob Like Me?

[Shavarath]

Hello there and hope everyone is doing great.

I am an old DDO player (started to play it in 2007) and also someone who stopped playing for a looong time (2016). My last epic battle in DDO was against Lolth in the Underdark expansion, so right now I am very clueless about game mechanics, the reaper difficulty, equipment, etc.

However, I am thinking about giving DDO another shot, so I would like to ask for help with a build for a monk character. I don't know if things changed that much, but in my time I could do a decent DPS and also be decent tank with a monk, and it wasm for me, the most fun class.

I have a character with 6 past lives (2 rogue, 2 monk, 1 artificer, 1 fighter), currently being a HElf rogue 2/monk 5 (my racial bonus is cleric, for the scrolls) who may or may not be salvaged for my comeback, depending on what you say here.

I am trying to bring some friends to the game, but since group play will be a little limited for us, I would be doing some content in pugs or solo, so being reliable and self-sufficient is a thing for me.

I also own a small ship, able to hold some buff stations, but since the guild is abandoned for about 8 years, I think I will only be able to hold small buffs.

That said, could you help me with a build? I want to be able to go solo in normal difficult levels and don't be useless in groups running reaper content after I relearn how to play.

Thank you very much!

[unbongwah]

Good timing as this monk guide just got updated: https://bookofsyncletica.wordpress.com/

[Shavarath]

Good timing as this monk guide just got updated: https://bookofsyncletica.wordpress.com/

Thanks, unbongwah!

I looked into it but it still lack some builds. Since I am unaware of basically all game mechanics since 2016, I will need to borrow the expertise of other people.

The guide, however, will be awesome to set up the playing style, mindset and expectations.

Thanks again!

[Discpsycho]

I have a character with 6 past lives (2 rogue, 2 monk, 1 artificer, 1 fighter), currently being a HElf rogue 2/monk 5 (my racial bonus is cleric, for the scrolls) who may or may not be salvaged for my comeback, depending on what you say here.

<snip>

That said, could you help me with a build? I want to be able to go solo in normal difficult levels and don't be useless in groups running reaper content after I relearn how to play.

Welcome back!

What are your goals with this build? Do you want go all the way to 30 and dink around there? Do you want to TR right at 20? Some builds are slightly better in heroics and worse in epics, so if you don't know, err on the side of doing a build designed to take you to 30.

2 Rogue / 5 Monk isn't a bad start at all, and there are plenty of fairly solid builds incorporating that split, but AFAIK most of them use a quarterstaff. For that character, what are your feats (THF, hopefully?) and your base stats (determine Str vs Dex to damage; Wis also an option if you have Falconry)? If you're not inclined to use a quarterstaff, you still have decent options, but you may have to get creative - eg, take T5 Kensai to remain centered with other melee weapons.

If you are happy as a staff monk/rogue, the following class splits would work well. Unless it says otherwise, I recommend T5 Henshin because you can swap your monk philosophy at 12 and pick up Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light, which is great for self-healing while solo:
- 2 Rogue / 18 Monk. Straightforward, solid, shouldn't play any different from current
- 13 Rogue / 6 Monk / 1 FvS (if you have it). More sneak attack and rogue tricks, less Monk-combo oriented, more of an auto-attack build since it doesn't have Quivering Palm. Pick up Divine Will from War Soul for better tactical attacks
- 12 Fighter / 6 Monk / 2 Rogue or 12 Fighter / 5 Monk / 3 Rogue: Tankier, T5 Kensai or Henshin, not locked in to quarterstaves, playstyle requires more buttons if you use Kensai. Many free feats for things like Spring Attack

For all of these class splits, your feats will probably include the following. Beyond these, it depends on your exact desired build split:
THF x3
Precision (if you have 13 Dex, Power Attack if not)
Adept / Grandmaster of Forms (may be free depending on number of Monk levels)
Swords to Plowshares (unless you're not using a staff)
Improved Critical
Deflect Arrows (Monk bonus feat only)


There are a bunch more options rolling in Wizard, or if you want to go TWF instead (not necessarily recommended, THF is more solo-friendly), or swap to a bow, etc.

Post an update with your thoughts and I (or better builders like unbongwah) can weigh in with a more complete build!

[TeacherSyn]

Thanks, unbongwah!

I looked into it but it still lack some builds. Since I am unaware of basically all game mechanics since 2016, I will need to borrow the expertise of other people.

The guide, however, will be awesome to set up the playing style, mindset and expectations.

Thanks again!

My apologies for the guide's incompleteness. I rushed it so that those who've wanted to play it, with the class now free, had something relevant to use.

My playstyle is admittedly not min-max, so builds as I add them will never clam they are suitable for all playstyles. They'll just emphasize the inherent powers of the class and what one can do with that alone.

I'll likely add in some multiclass variants with Rogue or Kensei, and there are two other universal trees that really shine. The folks who've offered to help here already will be able to provide the best information for maximizing damage using 1 or 2 additional classes.

The guide is (and will always be) a guide that's primarily to get someone started with little to no experience as a Monk, and to understand its differences so you can go off on your own to build more potent ones--not that I think anything I've played to L30 are weak in the slightest. DDO allows a lot of variations, but without knowing the basics, it may less fun or harder to play a Monk than it should be.

That said, the guide is all about game mechanics. It should help there.

Good luck, and I hope you find something useful with the guide. I've never liked "canned" builds so my builds may be more general than what you desire.

[Shavarath]

Hi, Discpsycho. Thank you for your reply.

Welcome back!

What are your goals with this build? Do you want go all the way to 30 and dink around there? Do you want to TR right at 20? Some builds are slightly better in heroics and worse in epics, so if you don't know, err on the side of doing a build designed to take you to 30.

Well, this char is in this state since 2016, when I left DDO. At the time, I was aiming to build a self-suficient char able to do some traps and go through hard/elite content in a party with 2 people, maybe a Hireling, so I wanted to be able to heal and do some traps.

At that time, I was able to go through elite content 1 lvl below mine with no major issues, right now I am a bit surprised on how the game changed, so I don't know if this char is relevant anymore. But I will take your suggestions in account, because if I can save that char it will be awesome...

I really liked to split any class with some levels of rogue, for extra skill points and better trap handling, but as I said, things changed so much that I don't know if it is still worth it.

Anyway, thanks again for the help =)

[Shavarath]

My apologies for the guide's incompleteness. I rushed it so that those who've wanted to play it, with the class now free, had something relevant to use.

(...)

Good luck, and I hope you find something useful with the guide. I've never liked "canned" builds so my builds may be more general than what you desire.

Hey, TeacherSyn! How are you?

My bad if it sounded I was complaining, nothing like that. I am very happy to have your guide because with it I can start to understand how monks are played nowadays, what do do and what don't, and set the expectations for the class.

As an example, I was playing a "dark monk" with shortswords, after reading some content of your guide, I am planning to go back to shintao, so I can re-learn the basics of the class - I am still struggling with some finishers, so it will be better to treat DDO as a new game right now, with the learning curve and so on.

The Book of Syncletica if a great resource, I am happy that you took the time to write it. Thank you very much for that.

[TeacherSyn]

Hey, TeacherSyn! How are you?

My bad if it sounded I was complaining, nothing like that. I am very happy to have your guide because with it I can start to understand how monks are played nowadays, what do do and what don't, and set the expectations for the class.

As an example, I was playing a "dark monk" with shortswords, after reading some content of your guide, I am planning to go back to shintao, so I can re-learn the basics of the class - I am still struggling with some finishers, so it will be better to treat DDO as a new game right now, with the learning curve and so on.

The Book of Syncletica if a great resource, I am happy that you took the time to write it. Thank you very much for that.

You're very welcome.

Universal trees are now surprisingly powerful for even a low level Ninja Spy with shortswords.

This build will be added to my guide later, but perhaps you should see about a stock Ninja Spy but add points into Feydark Illusionist?
This gives you very potent (even through Heroic endgame) Force-based shortswords which are naturally Ghost Touch, plow through (ignoring) a lot of material DR types, and by level 10 have Phantasmal Killer as a bonus? You can also add Blur and Shield as permanent to the already good defenses of Dodge and Incorporeality (through Shadow Veil) to the character, as well as nasty crowd controlling Greater Color Spray and a nice Distract puller to sneak past unaware mobs.

Shintao remains pretty one-trick pony. But...I am thinking how Shintao + Fighter with Kensei (unarmed) with perhaps a little Mystic imbuements might get some love.

[AshtonEsson]

Salut, bienvenue. Ce guide est un guide du débutant, j'ai commencé avec lui

[NemesisAlien]

DOnt built monk, now there is a pajamas pali, handwraps, called sacred defender, its the monk 2.0 now.

[Fisto_Mk_I]

DOnt built monk, now there is a pajamas pali, handwraps, called sacred defender, its the monk 2.0 now.

Shuri-Monk still best ranged DD, so...

[NemesisAlien]

Shuri-Monk still best ranged DD, so...

Pity it ony works on the later half of the life, would be nice if it works on the earlier half of the life.

[MichelleOtter]

Thanks, unbongwah!

I looked into it but it still lack some builds. Since I am unaware of basically all game mechanics since 2016, I will need to borrow the expertise of other people.

The guide, however, will be awesome to set up the playing style, mindset and expectations.

Thanks again!

I completely agree with you. The tutorial is great for building a game strategy.