Check PATREON for written guides: www.patreon.com/nizargg Early game Monk build: ruclips.net/video/uQj1fdmoa9U/видео.html Mid to late game it's time to start multiclassing to bring the monk to a whole another level. For those that want to support the channel and also get the written version of this guide and all other guides, check out PATREON: www.patreon.com/nizargg Hope you guys enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching all.
I agree. I am only level 5 monk with Astarion and this is really strong. Running shadow monk for the BA hide & unmbral shroud because I am doing solo play. Will probably respec to Open Hand 6/Thief 3 at level nine then last 3 in OH Monk as you show here. Excited to see how this rocks with the +10 dmg to unarmed from Astarion later on as well. His bite mechanic / happy is already really strong.
this assumes I can let go of shadow step as a bonus action at level 6 though - extreme mobility....will try both Way of Shadow and Open Hand because the resonation AOE seems great.
BUILD MONK ROGUE lvl 1 - pick any race but wood elf/half-elf is recommended - S(8),D(16)/+2,Con(16)/+1,I(8), W(14), C(12) - 1 lvl in monk lvl 2 - Monk lvl 3 - Monk - pick the Open Hand subclass lvl 4 - Monk - pick the Tavern Brawler feat lvl 5 - Monk - when you get the Gloves of Dexterity you should respect and set your Ability Scores to S(17)/+2,D(8),Con(16)/+1,I(8), W(15), C(8) lvl 6 - Monk lvl 7 - Monk lvl 8 - Monk -chose the Ability Improvement feat and pick +2 wisdom lvl 9 - Respec and go 6 Monk with 3 Rogue levels picking the Thief subclass lvl 10 - Monk lvl 11 - Monk lvl 12 - Monk - respect and set your Ability Scores to S(8)/+1(27 with elixir),D(16)/+2,Con(18),I(8), W(20), C(9) [being completly honest I didn't get how to set the Ability Scores in the way that is shown in the video,maybe I'm not considering some gear or something like that
early game items: bg3.wiki/wiki/Corellon%27s_Grace - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Hunting_Shortbow - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Bracers_of_Defence - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Haste_Helm - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Crusher%27s_Ring - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Ring_of_Protection - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Moondrop_Pendant - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Gloves_of_Dexterity - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Bloodguzzler_Garb - act one bg3.wiki/wiki/Boots_of_Genial_Striding - act one late game items: bg3.wiki/wiki/Horns_of_the_Berserker - act three bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Protection - act two bg3.wiki/wiki/Vest_of_Soul_Rejuvenation - act three bg3.wiki/wiki/Gloves_of_Soul_Catching - act three bg3.wiki/wiki/Boots_of_Uninhibited_Kushigo - act three bg3.wiki/wiki/Khalid%27s_Gift - act three bg3.wiki/wiki/Darkfire_Shortbow - act two passives: - always keep your strenght modifier at 21 by drinking Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength that is sold by Auntie Ethel before trigering her quest - takes Auntie Ethel's Hair and put it in wisdom - mirror of loss for more wisdom - buy Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength from the vendors at act three to keep your strength at 27
Thank you! I'm also struggling with how he got his wisdom to 19, especially with the later respec at 5 with the gloves of dex, but I realized I never received auntie ethel's boon. I'm in a multiplayer game and my bf took the boon for his sorc instead 😒
God bless you I just got to level 9 and did the respec & ability points change, then when I looked ahead I was completely lost on how he got those ability points. You’re a true hero
Another little trick is that Resonating Strike allows you to make unarmed attacks while wielding a melee weapon. This means that you can wield "stat sticks" like Phalar Aluve, Corellon's Grace, or defender flail without giving up unarmed attacks.
Isn’t that just Monk Weapons in general though? I know Astarion never had issues with that with Longsword as Elves have proficiency so it made Longswords a Monk Weapon. I still got the extra Unarmed attacks.
@@sidecharacter7165 1Heirborn is talking about being able to make unarmed attacks while wielding a weapon, which gives you your unarmed attack+Tavern Brawler bonuses which you don't get if you attack with a Monk Weapon
Knife of the Undermountain King and Bloodthirst will improve critical hit chances... I like Bow of the Banshee as well (but you could use Dead Shot/Sarevoks Horned Helm)
@@sidecharacter7165 they mean that you can make an unarmed attack using your action AND bonus action, as opposed to only being able to do it on your bonus action
Another simple tip to buy the Cloud Giant's elixir is that leveling counts as a long rest too, so you can respec any character to lvl 1 and try to buy the elixir for each level up.
Note that vendors won't stock CG elixirs until you're 9th level though, so the first 8 levels of the respec won't get you the option. Also note that you can pick pocket the potions to save some $
@@kalzhae I know that if you aren't level 9 and you initiate the engagement (dialog or pickpocket) that the wares are appropriate to your level. I'm not sure what happens if you engage the vendor first with another character. It could be that works, or it could be that it doesn't, or it could be that the vendor doesn't reset, I haven't tested it.
I've used this respec option to buy elixirs often. If the main character is not the appropriate level, or possibly the character initiating dialogue, as I haven't tried it with others, the stock of the vendor is leveled down. For example, if your main goes to Arron at the grove and they aren't level 2 or higher, he won't have any +1 gear. Ethel always has her potions, though.
This video is gold. I am playing on tactician mode and having this build (both early version and late) has made this play through so much more manageable. My monk practically soloed the boss under the Dancing Mermaid (didn’t want to spoil anything). Thank you and please do this with other classes if you haven’t already!
Yeah! Sometimes I feel understanding/learning a game is harder than to learn a real life profession.. Like in Hearts of Iron 4 after 3 years, I still not really understand naval combat.. So, just read and/or watch tutorials it helps tons! We will get there one day! Also I think becouse this game is so good and as I heard it has open ends we can expect for expansion(s). Atleast I hope so and I'm only 600 exp to lvl 5 in act 1 goblin camp so it the game is just starting!:))
tl;dr: It doesn't matter if you're new or a D&D veteran, this game will feed you for the next 10 years and teach you to be a better player no matter how many times you've gone through the campaign. I've been playing D&D since 3.5 Edition, way back in the early 2000's. I consider myself very well-read and experienced with 5e. Having known the basic d20 premise since I was 8, I've come to truly understand and love the game. That being said, Baldur's Gate 3 blew the gates wide open in teaching me all the stuff I never once realized. Partially because it's in a virtual format, I can physically visualize the pro/con consequences of my builds, and the math is done for me. Partially because there is virtually no penalty for respeccing my characters which allows me to theorycraft in real-time. Partially because of build videos like this which teach me aspects of the game I never considered. All of it improves my understanding of the game. As a D&D veteran, even with the 20+ years of experience I've had playing the tabletop, I will be learning from and enjoying this game for the next decade.
Man your vids are second to non from elden to diablo to now bg3. Any game you get involved in and make guides on just makes the exoerience smoother and funner for us noobs.
👏 amazing build. Your builds are literally the only one's that work for me and the way you explain how the abilities and gear work together are next level. Just started a new character so i can try out an oathbreaker paladin and I'm really hoping you'll do a guide for that. Thanks again for this 👍🏻
My current build is Open Palm Monk 9 / Wild Heart Beserker 3. Got the amulet of CON from Raphael's House of Hope so, between that and my DEX, I have 20AC without any other gear. Using the Aspect of the Bear, you gain resistance to everything, bar psychic damage while using Rage. My other gear, for anyone interested, is the robe used in this video, the DUrge cloak,, the Bhaal Assassin hood (just for looks, as I am a drow), the Helldusk gloves (from Haarlep).. I had been using the Kushigo boots, but I dropped my WIS to 10, since adding CON to AC doesn't stack with WIS (survivability from more HP and more AC), however, now that I have the amulet, I may respec to dump CON for WIS. Due to the snowballing impact of minor mistakes in Tactician Difficulty, the Raphael boss fight ended with everything bar my monk and final-form Raphael dead - a perfect 1v1 with both combatants at full HP at the start. My monk absolutely trounced Raphael. Wasn't even close. Monk is a BEAST.
with monk you tank with your ac, the only place you cant tank with it is the last fights with magic missile spamming illithids, and you can make allresistance potions for it
It starts with the presentation but your builds are top-notch... It's so good that even if you finished a play through with the build your highlighting it's still provides value via entertainment
If you want to make this build work without taking performance-enhancing consumables, take the Moderately Armored feat for shield proficiency and use the Helldusk Armor (which doesn’t require heavy armor proficiency) to get fantastic AC. This will negate your unarmored movement bonuses, but that doesn’t really matter. Get strength to a constant 24 by starting at 17 and using all permanent stat bonuses found throughout the game in conjunction with two +1s from Tavern Brawler and Moderately Armor.
Part of what makes monk so insane is the free mobility they have. Unarmored you're killing one dude then running all the way across the battlefield to kill the next one in the same turn. If you're armoring up it's possible you're still good but it takes away from what a monk "is" and that's a fast interceptor class and dodgetank.
@@NeoIsrafil 1. You still have access to dashes and jumps to clear enormous distance if it’s absolutely necessary. Most of the time, though, you shouldn’t even feel the difference if you’re already used to using other melee classes with standard move speeds. 2. That extra movement REALLY doesn’t even matter if you make some very common story-based decisions during Act 2 and 3. Some people might not pick this for personal preference reasons, though, and that’s perfectly valid. 3. At the end of the day, this is simply a different way to play Monk. Both mechanically and aesthetically, it’s a completely distinct setup. I’m not out here trying to invalidate the awesomeness that is unarmored Monk. I’m just taking it in a different direction that I find to be very satisfying and powerful.
Khalid's Gift seems like a really strange choice of amulet. If youre looking for hit point increase, the amulet of vitality from house of hope is just a better choice. The upgraded sentient amulet allows an upcasted aoe shatter and a ki restoration per long rest.
@@trashbxyscr333m6 yes, but only up to 21 and without another +1 somewhere that +1 is meaningless since modifiers only increment with +2. Since we're getting +2 from the mirror of loss (22 wis), that +1 doesn't apply anyway.
You only get one amulet of vitality, though, so if someone else on your team has it then you need to find an alternative. That said, I agree that Khalid's Gift probably isn't the best since IIRC it is applied _after_ the Ethel/Mirror/ASI boosts, so if you already have 21+ WIS from those it won't increase stats any further.
What made me realize how cracked monks were was when Prince Orpheus crew rolled up and demolished my 100hp barbarian before she could rage as before i would bonus action jump in then rage next turn That humbled me real quick
@@sidecharacter7165 My monk is also carrying the Titan String bow which adds strength modifier AND dexterity modifier AND 2d6 sneak attack damage AND elemental arrow damage (strength is added to that also) just for those damage reflection type enemies. They don't even see me before they die.
One punch: 1d8 (base) + 16 (Tavern Brawler) + 5 (Boots) + 1d4 + 5 (Manifestation) + 1d10 (Gloves) = 29 min dmg. On +21 attack rolls. Finished a Durge playthough with this. Terrorised Baldur’s Gate with my fist. 90% of other monk builds posted here claim to know how to build monk, yet dont mention the elixir. They definitely dont know the game clearly. You definitely do.
3:55 I'm trying out strength monk, and since I'm focusing on single target damage, it's part of why I'd want to go 8 monk 4 rogue, especially to get that sweet sweet 3rd feat. You'll usually have another character that will deal with crowd control. (IE warlock with hunger of hadar)
@@izukukageyama7552 Fair but I find myself planning stuff with my casters to do AOE, the ki explosions are pretty strong though but I usually end up killing a target before I even got the ki on em.
Great video. I always struggle with what i need to build at the endgame. Especially with BiS gear for each class. Dling an endgame build for all your previous early game build vidoes would be a godsend
Couldn't agree more. It always struck me as strange that people go 8-4 just for the extra feat. You gain so much at 9 monk, like the 1d8 damage upgrade on your fists that the game doesn't do a great job of telling you about.
A feat isnt so bad, A d6 vs d8 damage sounds like a lot but its just an average of one extra damage which a skill point improvement also does. Personally I was doing a lonewolf so there were very helpful feats to have like mobile or even tough. Not that its only thing you're getting at 9 monk, but both sides definitely have their merits
@@metamud8686 With monk its either dexterity or strength, Preferably strength if youre using tavern brawler. Though of course you get extra bonuses like armor class, initiative, or saving throws. If you're at the point where you're using elixers of strength and you dont need it in strength/dex there's equipment that makes your damage scale with wisdom so you could consider that. (Boots of uninhibited kushigo) Just depends on your situation though! Both sides like I said have there merits but feats have a lot of versatility.
If you are not abusing the cloud hill giant elixir than the +2 str ASI is better the improved fist dmg die, since it's +2 attack and damage due to tavern brawler. Ki resonance is a joke tbh, popping a scroll as an action (in bg3 anyone can do that, unlike in tabletop) is far better if you want to AOE as a monk. Also, stunning strike beats the abysmal aoe. If you do plan on using the elixir however, 9/3 is the way to go.
Late game monk with Elixir of blood and wholeness of body +haste cast on it by my sorlock was absolutely hilarious. I melted the red dragon at the end so fast.
Ight. After part 1 & this part 2 you got that sub lol Monk is terrifying. I normally love Rogue above even the game itself, be it BG3 or DnD. I always wanna play that type in every game lol, but monk in BG3 is so swoll it's insane.
Thanks so mutch for your video. I start my journey in bolder gates with your build dual staff sorcerer. I alredy see alot of builds and i can tell you thanks for your hard work teaching noobs like my. You explained the things so well❤❤❤❤
A reason I think to go 4 Rogue, 8 Monk, is for that additional Feat. If you've got AoE covered by other characters and you just need someone that is capable of going ham on a massive boss, you may get more mileage out of the additional feat than you would out of the AoE Ki Resonation. First, the Ki Resonation does far less damage than your regular attacks and sealed if you don't wanna hurt innocents nearby. The damage can low ball quite a bit and be resisted for even less. It's great if you're going solo, I'd say a waste of an action if you're not. Leave the AoE to those that specialize in wide area combat, and make the monk as close to a pure annihilation machine as possible. So to me, it becomes a depend. 9 Monk, 3 Thief if you're going solo. 8 Monk, 4 Thief if you're not.
Yeh, this do be the optimal open hand monk stat spread. Nothing's going to get my Tav off of Shadow Monk abusing the Shar Spear of Evening, but if I could dupe more equipment, this monk would be right next to them
Yeah, I don't have the spear of evening yet, but Shadow Monk is so mobile with shadow step not sure I can move to open hand (solo run). Still MONKS rock either way.
I'd rather sacrifice some stats and level strength normally, to replace the strength elixir with Elixir of Bloodlust. Yet another full action after killing a target will give you much more overall damage output than a damage bonus from stats.
I accidentally stumbled into a muted version of this build on my first playthrough recreating a dnd campaign character that I play and going illithid makes the resonant explosion a crowd clear. Especially if you use black hole first to group everybody
I came back to this vid to comment, I ran this once solo and it did amazing, I’m running it a second time trying to optimize it myself and I’ve come to a troubling decision. If I replace the +1 WIS from Ethel’s hair with +1 WIS from Khalid’s Gift, and then use Ethel’s hair for +1 DEX and another +1 from a reclass feat, I can reclass the build to reach 18 CON, 27 STR, 22 WIS, 18 DEX by the end of the build. The part I’m struggling with is the reclass. My first solution is dipping 4 lvls into rogue, giving me resilient +1 DEX but no ki resonation, less movement and -1d2 to attack roll. My 2nd is monk12, which would mean one less attack at level 12 (whereas I would be theif subclass, +1 bonus action). I’m so stuck on this it’s getting frustrating, I’d just love to have the most broken stats but I’d be missing out on either monk benefits or rogue benefits that extremely limit my attack and movement speed. Could any bg3 experts or this author please help I feel I’ve thought of everything.
Something to consider here: - Darkfire is not that great because it's once per long rest and you don't have advantage on con saving throw. Just have some sorc to put Haste on you. - As such, it's better to use the Hellrider Longbow for +3 Initiative. Some enemies have pretty high initiative, and you cannot reliably move before them with a +3 from Dex only. - Astarion, despite having lower movement than a Wood elf/half elf, more than makes it up with his +1 attack roll AND 1d10 necrotic damage. In fact, if you want to min-max any multi-attack character, Astarion will always be the best choice. - Currently, the Horns of Berserker is bugged (giving extra damage even with full health). Once it's fixed, Mask of soul perception might be a better choice. - As someone mentioned before, you should use a stat stick (or even 2 if they are light weapons). Phalar Aluve, Rhapsody, Corellon, Knife of Undermountain King... are all great options
@@jameskelsea6048 that's an option as well, though I don't think that it beats running up and just smack your enemies with bare hands. With wood elf, movement transmutation stone, unarmored movement and longstrider, you can move 24m per turn and have no problem catching up to any foe.
@@zat256away absolutely. Just good as ranged option for enemies that reflect damage on melee or otherwise don't want to get to close too. You have high strength anyway as monk for tavern brawler. Really makes monk a beast in both melee and ranged.
I did this exact thing on my first play-through. I was absolutely wrecking everything late game. I saw my friend getting his ass kicked fighting Ansur because the massive AoE attack party-wiped him multiple times. I didn't even see that attack because I killed him in 2 turns with my Monk practically single-handedly..
Similar to my build. Monk is simply OP, hard to make a bad build out of it. For me, what is needed is 6 monk/3 rogue. Then you can add anything you like on top of it. Fighter 3/champion for improved crits and action surge. Monk 7 fighter 2 rogue 3 for evasion and action surge. Monk 6 fighter 2 rogue 4 for a feat and action surge. Monk 9 rogue 3 for a feat, evasion and a couple of others monk boons. Even gloomstalker can be a valid option. However you go from there, it's a success. I actually did 14 attacks in a single round for the lolz. (if anyone wondering, haste + wholeness of body + helmet of grit + action surge)
Hmm 8 Monk 4 Rogue is better imo. Dump strength and con: 8str 16dex 8con 10int 17wisdom 14char (char if you're main talker) +1 Wisdom From Hag's Hair. + 2 Dex from Mirror of Loss Tavern Brawler at 4 monk. ASI at 4 rogue (+2 Wisdom). ASI at 8 Monk (+2 Dex) Cloud potion for 27 str, and con ammy for 23 con. Final stats: 27str 20dex 23con 10int 20wis 14char. 22/23 AC. +5 initiative
This build is even more broken with Illithid, especially with the one that if you manage to put enemies HP down to your amount of illithid powers, it executes them with AOE dmg.
Actually, you can get elixirs of cloud giant's strength as early as you can get to Derryth in the Underdark. She (and Blorg) both sell the thumb you need to craft it yourself. Not every time, but if we're talking min-maxing, you're going to be pickpocketing them for as long as you need anyways.
I’ve been following this build since I made my monk. It’s great If you could just clarify the stats in the description for each level, it’s very confusing because you’re stats are sometimes in strength sometimes in dex, and because we have the gloves of dex it’s hard to follow, then at some points you have 12 charisma and sometimes 8
I prefer the monk+barb combo. With the wildheart because, with the bear aspect, you are basically inmortal, for real, reduce all damage to half, and rage also gives you a bit of a bonus damage, which is always pretty nice.
Tbh, abuse min max to then have: 27 str (potion), 20 dex through feats and skills/stats, 24 con via greater health amulet and auntie ethels boon, 8 int, 18 wis via stats and mirror, and 16 cha via skills/stats. this seems alot more benefitial to me tbh.
After some experimentation, I'm in the 4\8 camp. Reason is (1) Resonating Blast AE range is huge that ends up hitting your party members....not a fan. (2) There's only 1 hag hair, can't base every build around that. Without the hag hair, max damage unarmed strikes is the same with 3\9 or 4\8. However, minimum damage is higher with 4\8 if you take the Ability Improvement feat +2 Wisdom, which also gives you +1 AC and +1 wis saving throw. You can still duel wield swords\daggers and use Stunning Strike Unarmed.
While 9monk/3thief is great, 9monk/3bear barbarian is really slept on. Sure you get less damage from losing on a bonus action, but you gain amazing survivability by bei g able to resist almost all damage types in the game
Kinda like the Helldusk helmet and Cloak of Cunning Brume combo better tbh. Immune to crits and get Advantage on all attacks whenever you want for a Bonus Action. Always make Astarion 3 Rogue and 9 Monk as an Ascended Vampire for the extra 1d10 Necrotic.Especially good if Shadowheart gets the spear for following Shar as that would be a bonus for another party member too or just always have darkness or fog cloud set up.(Party build there but it means always Advantage for the Monk)
Hello, nice video and thank you for the information. But I have to add one more point, it's not a big buff, but I saw that you don't have any weapon equipment, soooooo you can buy Corellon's Grace in Ackt1. It's really not much, but it gives you +1 to your unarmed attacks and +2 armor saving throws when not wearing armor.
The reason why people don't go 9 monk is because they already have better AOE options from other casters in their team. I like to go 4 Rouge for Alert. The ability to go first in battle is extremely potent. Especially so for monks who can immediately take out or stun a key enemy at the start of the fight. The aoe is nice but isn't all that impactful
I personally like 2 Fighter, 6 Monk, 4 Rogue. I rate Action Surge from 2 fighter a lot higher than he seems to, I don't know why you would ever turn your nose up at getting another action as a monk. Monks are much better when you focus on their strengths instead of trying to plug up holes in their game like AOE.
@@Kramerica962 Action Surge is powerful, but you only get it once per short rest. Yes, resting is extremely easy in BG3, but some people might not want to rest after every single combat encounter (either due to roleplaying reasons or if they have a time-sensitive quest that they don't want to progress quite yet).
Great video! I'm in my first play-through and I chose a Forest Gnome for Speak with Animals and the saving throws of Gnome Cunning. It was slow at first, but the monk improves movement quickly and now (at level 7) she flies around the battle field kicking ALL THE ASS! The wholeness of Body replacing ki and giving added bonus actions is already crazy fun- adding yet another bonus action for 2 normal attacks and 2 bonus action attacks or 6 TB punches with Potion on Hill Giant STR going on is just deadly. The thought of adding another flurry of blows to the mix is mind-blowing. I do have a question about re-speccing: Does it matter if you start with monk or rogue when doing the re-spec? I know Rogues ares kill monkeys, but wasn't sure if you get more skills choosing them first as opposed to adding the Thief levels after 6 monk, or if it doesn't matter how you get there.
Going to try this on my monk. Just entered Act 3 as a 6 Open Hand Monk/3 Battlemaster Figher and it's been *OK*, based it on advice for tabletop multiclassing.
Makes me so happy to see the Gloves of Soul Catching on here, and it's even funnier because these are the nerfed versions of the gloves. In the normal tabletop game these things are even more powerful (so much so that a DM in one of the games I play in said they'd just outright ban it. Must be a Monk hater)
i did paladin on my first playthrough and I hated missing most of my attacks in the early to mid-game so much i almost quit the game then it just started to destroy bosses approaching third to final act. Monk is just much more consistent and still outputs so much damage that it has made encounters much shorter than when i did them on my warlock paladin
You won't catch me doing this build without Risky Ring. I'm going all in. Advantage on all attack rolls at the cost of disadvantage on my saving throws? Brother, I don't need to worry about saving throws if I have already single-handedly murdered or stunned everyone around me.
After I used this build, I LITERALLY cannot use another longer than act 1. It just isn't any fun. I wish we could have something like eldrich blast along with everything a monk has but now I'm being greedy. Lol tysvm!
I enjoyed this video. It was linked to me by a friend also playing BG3. You have an interesting build here, but I beg to differ. Hope you don't mind if I spend a few pixels explaining why. Monk8/Wizard4 here, and I am mobile as can be. First off, I do recommend the 4 level rule, as the Feat bonuses to Dex, Con, and Int make the character both tougher in the field and better at certain skill checks. He (my Monk/Mage main) 's also an adequate trapmonkey as I dump points into Int. Hitting at a distance. Arrows miss-and my tank (whether Lazee or a Paladinized Wyll) misses every ranged shot-but Magic Missile hits every time. Mobility. In my experience, every non tank melee type who lacks Misty Step has limits in combat as the game distributes enemies to spoil your AOEs and to leave certain henchmen (and often your main) awkwardly placed when battle begins. Further, when it comes to close combat types, a character's movement rate determines its battle utility; in that vein I find that Karlach is a better tank than Lazee ever was. Healz. I recast Wyll as a Paladin. A Paladin's healing is more dependable than Shad's and less limited for amount healed per spell or effect. Party Dynamics. A Barbarian tank, a Monkoid offtank/DPS, a Pally healer, and Mister Mxyzptlk as the long range heavy hitter as Gale is a headache wrapped in an empty wallet (Fireball and Magic Missile . . . my party mage uses all his high level slots for counterspell) is the way I rolled in my first run, but I am currently experimenting with an all Monk splashed party just to ditch armor and increase speed. You get a lot with a splash of monk; so much, in fact, that I had a long inner battle to decide to give up those four levels of Monk to add that 4 level Wizard splash. Future. Consider: a single level of paladin gives any character a very good in-combat heal. If healing a combat dispersed party is a rough road for you, consider that 1 level Pally splash (at least for both tank and offtank). Combine that Paladin heal meme with a monk's superior movement speed and you get a character capable of solo ops. My current run has my main a Pally/Monk/Wiz mix-WIz for that lovely Magic Missile+Misty Step pair, pally for that beautiful low level heal, and monk because-well, yeah. It's a monk. Why all the focus on Monk? I didn't practice karate for fifty years so I could play a Bard in BG3, you know. ;-). Though I could . . . I write and perform a lot of good music. That raises a fun point. IRL, I spent my adult offwork time writing poetry and songs, performing in bars and clubs and community events, while practicing Shorin Ryu and what I call Dancing Sword for exercise. A Monk/Bard mix is a close match with my game ideals-not because of Bard's superfluous class skills*, but because of life resonances building a stronger ingame bond with my "toon". This way, while I'm living in BG3's fantasy world, I'm approaching a personal lifestyle ideal that mirrors my real life existence. * Bard is probably the least useful class in all of D&D. They-game designers and players alike- just can't get it right and I think I know why. Bards and Skalds had real roles in society-they weren't living plot devices. A gaming company has to re-invent those roles in its digital society or Bards are like sore thumbs-highly visible, but useless.
Thank you for these videos Nizar, I enjoy your content. One thing I'd like to clarify is what happens to all the benefit of unarmoured movement if you start wearing armour? Do we just not care about this past level six?
Oh man I'm so excited to see Pt 2 of this build. I have been loving my monk playthrough using your build so far. Thank you for your hard work and consistently top-tier videos!
in my first playthrough i discovered all the gear that gave + to unamred, so when i played witha friend i made a monk, and o boy was i impressed, so was my mate
on the tabletop, one infamously counterintuitive rules interaction is that monk fists don't actually count as having the finesse trait and thus don't work with sneak attack, even though being able to choose between your str or dex modifier is the definition of a finesse weapon. I take it from the existence of this build that this is no longer the case in BG3?
The BG3 version of Tavern brawler + monk with those hands that ignore resistance and immunity is just so bat shit crazy when i'm in act 3. Is it made of metal doesn't matter just punch it, Is the vampire immune to non magical doesn't matter just punch it, does a devil have 666 hp doesn't matter just punch it.
Maybe replace the Cloak of Protection with the Cloak of Displacement? And since Open Hand monk gets the Manifestations of Mind, Body, and Spirit for the Radiant, Necrotic, or Psychic damage.
to answer the question in the thumbnail; Is there anything stronger than this?. Yes. Radiating orb abusing light cleric. stacking up to 20- to attack rolls on enemies by simply moving close to them, effectively never taking damage and being able to do ever fight with using 1 spell slot per battle.
Hey Nizard ! Coming from ER, really glad to see you've gone into BG3. Currently on the monk run playing with my girlfriend and it's a lot of fun, thanks :D When will we get to see your take on bard ?
Blade Warlock 5/Sword Bard 7, go with dueling, take duelist rapier endgame. Cast pact weapon, use charisma for rolls and damage, and attack 3 times in a round (4 with duelist rapier), just as a fighter. You get profiency in most skills and can cast a lot of spells. You also get access to Eldritch Blast, which is most often better than a bow anyway.
It's already broken from get go honestly I thought at first that elixir of hill giant strength is really necessary but my early game monk went hard on strength then wore the 18 dex gloves instead I chug the red elixir of happiness 😂 I just keep going everytime I kill something it's like 4 hits per turn. Honestly why crushers ring... Foot speed is completely irrelevant for tb classes just chuck something like a greatsword or something you'll still deal more damage than pure bow builds well unless their using arrows.
I think Sentiment Amulet would be better then Khalid's Gift because of the Ki Restoration ability it gives you. Just putting that out there. Also, who's excited for the modding tools coming in September?
Was waiting for this to come out. I came to the same conclusion with regard to multiclassing, but not the same with stats. I respecced into 17 Str, 16 Dex, 8 Con, 8 Int, 15 Wis, 8 Cha. 24 Str (+1 tavern brawler, +2 potion, +2 mirror, +1 ASI, +1 hags hair), 18 Dex (graceful cloth), 23 Con (amulet of greater health), 16 Wis (+1 ASI). Was still very powerful. Ended up keeping the haste helm rather than the one he has, and Thunderskin Cloak (which didn’t seem too great tbh). The truth is that there a lot of enemies like Ansur, Raphael, Steel Watcher Titan, that can’t really be killed in one turn by this monk, so make sure others in your party can also get into the combat quickly, otherwise it’s just a pile on.
At lv 11, a fighter with elixir of bloodlust and haste makes 9 attacks +one bonus attack if you have great weapon master. Monks and thieves don't profit that mich from more action points
They do since a monk can spread manifestation around more quickly there causing the aoe damage that was mentioned in the early parts of the video. Also the monk with this build gets a similar bonus to damage as the fighter since it gets to add strength twice and wisdom to damage
@@thecursed01you can do 2 attacks for each action and bonus action (flurry - 1 ki point). so actions 1 (base) + 1 (haste) + 1 (action surge) bonus actions 1 (base) + 1 (thief) + 1 wholeness of body + 1 helmet of grit total (3 + 4) actions x 2 attacks from each one
Idk if this is a thing or something is just wrong with my game but the Horns of the Berserker are bugged for me. Or at least the Blood Thirst ability because even though Karlach (my monk) wasn't full health all the way through the Steel Watch Foundry the +2 Necrotic damage was never added to Karlach's punches.
I like graceful cloth better for lone wolf chest piece because it gives 2 dex and 1 to dex saving throws, for a total of +2 to dex saving throws and +1 to armor class, and you also get advantage on dexterity ability checks so you can use hide and sneak around in combat, not to mention pick the locks on anything you cant smash with your fist and disarm traps. Plus you wont get caught up in vines and hit with spells as easily. Sadly the half damage from falling doesnt stack with the monk passive. However it's less damage without the reaction and you lose out on 1 armor class so I like to keep around soul rejuvenation for situations with a lot of weak melee mobs. People don't realize how good the Graceful Cloth is because it doesnt say that it gives advantage on dexterity ability checks in the description, it just says "you gain Cat's Grace" (which is the buff that gives you advantage
Question when you respec at lvl9 and lvl6 monk/ lvl3 Rogue, are you supposed to have your Stat points for Strn 8 pour most of your points into WIS, DEX, CON? I fucked up getting the Gloves of dexterity.
I don't understand how this build fits into the one you developed in the previous video since it depended on getting the gloves of dexterity, which you get rid of in this one.
Ya I dealt 238 damage in one round with an endgame build. Although I'm pretty sure I could optimize it even further, maybe I'll do an Astarion playthrough next
On my monk I used that ring that makes it impossible for you to be blinded/paralyze/stunned or maybe those were 2 separate rings. Let me tell you it made my monk p much untouchable in the house of grief fight
Check PATREON for written guides: www.patreon.com/nizargg
Early game Monk build: ruclips.net/video/uQj1fdmoa9U/видео.html
Mid to late game it's time to start multiclassing to bring the monk to a whole another level.
For those that want to support the channel and also get the written version of this guide and all other guides, check out PATREON: www.patreon.com/nizargg
Hope you guys enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching all.
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
I agree. I am only level 5 monk with Astarion and this is really strong. Running shadow monk for the BA hide & unmbral shroud because I am doing solo play. Will probably respec to Open Hand 6/Thief 3 at level nine then last 3 in OH Monk as you show here. Excited to see how this rocks with the +10 dmg to unarmed from Astarion later on as well. His bite mechanic / happy is already really strong.
this assumes I can let go of shadow step as a bonus action at level 6 though - extreme mobility....will try both Way of Shadow and Open Hand because the resonation AOE seems great.
Great video but could you ease up on the god damn flashbang every transition?
@@graog123lol yes almost got a seizure episode while watching.
BUILD MONK ROGUE
lvl 1 - pick any race but wood elf/half-elf is recommended
- S(8),D(16)/+2,Con(16)/+1,I(8), W(14), C(12)
- 1 lvl in monk
lvl 2 - Monk
lvl 3 - Monk
- pick the Open Hand subclass
lvl 4 - Monk
- pick the Tavern Brawler feat
lvl 5 - Monk
- when you get the Gloves of Dexterity you should respect and set your Ability Scores to S(17)/+2,D(8),Con(16)/+1,I(8), W(15), C(8)
lvl 6 - Monk
lvl 7 - Monk
lvl 8 - Monk
-chose the Ability Improvement feat and pick +2 wisdom
lvl 9 - Respec and go 6 Monk with 3 Rogue levels picking the Thief subclass
lvl 10 - Monk
lvl 11 - Monk
lvl 12 - Monk
- respect and set your Ability Scores to S(8)/+1(27 with elixir),D(16)/+2,Con(18),I(8), W(20), C(9) [being completly honest I didn't get how to set the Ability Scores in the way that is shown in the video,maybe I'm not considering some gear or something like that
early game items:
bg3.wiki/wiki/Corellon%27s_Grace - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Hunting_Shortbow - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Bracers_of_Defence - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Haste_Helm - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Crusher%27s_Ring - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Ring_of_Protection - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Moondrop_Pendant - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Gloves_of_Dexterity - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Bloodguzzler_Garb - act one
bg3.wiki/wiki/Boots_of_Genial_Striding - act one
late game items:
bg3.wiki/wiki/Horns_of_the_Berserker - act three
bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Protection - act two
bg3.wiki/wiki/Vest_of_Soul_Rejuvenation - act three
bg3.wiki/wiki/Gloves_of_Soul_Catching - act three
bg3.wiki/wiki/Boots_of_Uninhibited_Kushigo - act three
bg3.wiki/wiki/Khalid%27s_Gift - act three
bg3.wiki/wiki/Darkfire_Shortbow - act two
passives:
- always keep your strenght modifier at 21 by drinking Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength that is sold by Auntie Ethel before trigering her quest
- takes Auntie Ethel's Hair and put it in wisdom
- mirror of loss for more wisdom
- buy Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength from the vendors at act three to keep your strength at 27
Many thanks friend!!
great job!
Goated comment
Thank you! I'm also struggling with how he got his wisdom to 19, especially with the later respec at 5 with the gloves of dex, but I realized I never received auntie ethel's boon. I'm in a multiplayer game and my bf took the boon for his sorc instead 😒
God bless you I just got to level 9 and did the respec & ability points change, then when I looked ahead I was completely lost on how he got those ability points. You’re a true hero
Level 1:
-Abilities: 8/16/15/8/17/8 (later Auntie Ethel Wisdom Buff, CON from TB)
Level 2
Level 3:
-Subclass: Open Hand
Level 4:
-Feat: Tavern Brawler, Con
-Drop Staff
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8:
-Feat: Ability Improvement into Wisdom
Level 9:
-Respec: 6 Monk, 3 Rogue Thief
Level 10:
- Monk
Level 11:
- Monk
Level 12:
- Monk
GEAR
Staff: Corellon's Grace
Bow: Hunting Shortbow, Darkfire Shortbow
Gloves: Bracers of Defense
Helm: Haste Helm, Horns of the Berserker
Potion: Elixir of Hill Giant Strength
Ring: Crusher RIng, Ring of Protection, Callous Glow Ring
Amulet: Khalid's Gift
Gloves: Gloves of Dexterity, Gloves of Soul Catching
Chest: Bloodguzzler Garb, Vest of Soul Rejuvenation
Boots: Boots of Genial Striding, Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo
Cloak: Cloak of Protection
Thanks for this! I went back and watched part 1 again and I'm still not sure what "CON from TB" means?
@@NarniaSydel You can choose to increase strength or constitution when you pick the feat "Tavern Brawler".
Another little trick is that Resonating Strike allows you to make unarmed attacks while wielding a melee weapon. This means that you can wield "stat sticks" like Phalar Aluve, Corellon's Grace, or defender flail without giving up unarmed attacks.
Isn’t that just Monk Weapons in general though? I know Astarion never had issues with that with Longsword as Elves have proficiency so it made Longswords a Monk Weapon. I still got the extra Unarmed attacks.
@@sidecharacter7165 1Heirborn is talking about being able to make unarmed attacks while wielding a weapon, which gives you your unarmed attack+Tavern Brawler bonuses which you don't get if you attack with a Monk Weapon
Knife of the Undermountain King and Bloodthirst will improve critical hit chances... I like Bow of the Banshee as well (but you could use Dead Shot/Sarevoks Horned Helm)
@@sidecharacter7165 they mean that you can make an unarmed attack using your action AND bonus action, as opposed to only being able to do it on your bonus action
This confuses me a bit, forgive me. So you’re saying in order to get those bonuses we, in general cant have a weapon equipped?
Another simple tip to buy the Cloud Giant's elixir is that leveling counts as a long rest too, so you can respec any character to lvl 1 and try to buy the elixir for each level up.
Note that vendors won't stock CG elixirs until you're 9th level though, so the first 8 levels of the respec won't get you the option. Also note that you can pick pocket the potions to save some $
@@garyco766they won't stock it even of others members are 9+ ?
@@kalzhae I know that if you aren't level 9 and you initiate the engagement (dialog or pickpocket) that the wares are appropriate to your level. I'm not sure what happens if you engage the vendor first with another character. It could be that works, or it could be that it doesn't, or it could be that the vendor doesn't reset, I haven't tested it.
I've used this respec option to buy elixirs often. If the main character is not the appropriate level, or possibly the character initiating dialogue, as I haven't tried it with others, the stock of the vendor is leveled down. For example, if your main goes to Arron at the grove and they aren't level 2 or higher, he won't have any +1 gear. Ethel always has her potions, though.
This video is gold. I am playing on tactician mode and having this build (both early version and late) has made this play through so much more manageable. My monk practically soloed the boss under the Dancing Mermaid (didn’t want to spoil anything). Thank you and please do this with other classes if you haven’t already!
As a casual player, I would enjoy this game 10x more if I had your understanding of all the factors that go into a good build
Yeah! Sometimes I feel understanding/learning a game is harder than to learn a real life profession.. Like in Hearts of Iron 4 after 3 years, I still not really understand naval combat.. So, just read and/or watch tutorials it helps tons! We will get there one day! Also I think becouse this game is so good and as I heard it has open ends we can expect for expansion(s). Atleast I hope so and I'm only 600 exp to lvl 5 in act 1 goblin camp so it the game is just starting!:))
As your knowledge slowly grows the game gets deeper.
Just means the game has more longevity and worth to you.
tl;dr: It doesn't matter if you're new or a D&D veteran, this game will feed you for the next 10 years and teach you to be a better player no matter how many times you've gone through the campaign.
I've been playing D&D since 3.5 Edition, way back in the early 2000's. I consider myself very well-read and experienced with 5e. Having known the basic d20 premise since I was 8, I've come to truly understand and love the game.
That being said, Baldur's Gate 3 blew the gates wide open in teaching me all the stuff I never once realized. Partially because it's in a virtual format, I can physically visualize the pro/con consequences of my builds, and the math is done for me. Partially because there is virtually no penalty for respeccing my characters which allows me to theorycraft in real-time. Partially because of build videos like this which teach me aspects of the game I never considered. All of it improves my understanding of the game. As a D&D veteran, even with the 20+ years of experience I've had playing the tabletop, I will be learning from and enjoying this game for the next decade.
Some people have years of knowledge from d and d to easily know.
@@QrazyQuarianI've played D&D since 2nd edition in the early 90s and completely agree with you.
Man your vids are second to non from elden to diablo to now bg3. Any game you get involved in and make guides on just makes the exoerience smoother and funner for us noobs.
👏 amazing build. Your builds are literally the only one's that work for me and the way you explain how the abilities and gear work together are next level. Just started a new character so i can try out an oathbreaker paladin and I'm really hoping you'll do a guide for that. Thanks again for this 👍🏻
The editing in this video goes hard ngl, massive kudos
My current build is Open Palm Monk 9 / Wild Heart Beserker 3. Got the amulet of CON from Raphael's House of Hope so, between that and my DEX, I have 20AC without any other gear. Using the Aspect of the Bear, you gain resistance to everything, bar psychic damage while using Rage.
My other gear, for anyone interested, is the robe used in this video, the DUrge cloak,, the Bhaal Assassin hood (just for looks, as I am a drow), the Helldusk gloves (from Haarlep).. I had been using the Kushigo boots, but I dropped my WIS to 10, since adding CON to AC doesn't stack with WIS (survivability from more HP and more AC), however, now that I have the amulet, I may respec to dump CON for WIS.
Due to the snowballing impact of minor mistakes in Tactician Difficulty, the Raphael boss fight ended with everything bar my monk and final-form Raphael dead - a perfect 1v1 with both combatants at full HP at the start. My monk absolutely trounced Raphael. Wasn't even close.
Monk is a BEAST.
I like this idea. I have been doing the 3 Thief dip, but this sounds like a lot of fun - more punching less hiding LOL
It's so much fun! I knew it was a powerful build, but I'll admit I didn't expect it to be just so tanky, let alone deal so much damage!
with monk you tank with your ac, the only place you cant tank with it is the last fights with magic missile spamming illithids, and you can make allresistance potions for it
It starts with the presentation but your builds are top-notch... It's so good that even if you finished a play through with the build your highlighting it's still provides value via entertainment
You have awesome builds and I really enjoy the content! You do a great job of breaking down the builds you provide. Earned yourself a new subscriber.
If you want to make this build work without taking performance-enhancing consumables, take the Moderately Armored feat for shield proficiency and use the Helldusk Armor (which doesn’t require heavy armor proficiency) to get fantastic AC. This will negate your unarmored movement bonuses, but that doesn’t really matter. Get strength to a constant 24 by starting at 17 and using all permanent stat bonuses found throughout the game in conjunction with two +1s from Tavern Brawler and Moderately Armor.
Part of what makes monk so insane is the free mobility they have. Unarmored you're killing one dude then running all the way across the battlefield to kill the next one in the same turn. If you're armoring up it's possible you're still good but it takes away from what a monk "is" and that's a fast interceptor class and dodgetank.
@@NeoIsrafil
1. You still have access to dashes and jumps to clear enormous distance if it’s absolutely necessary. Most of the time, though, you shouldn’t even feel the difference if you’re already used to using other melee classes with standard move speeds.
2. That extra movement REALLY doesn’t even matter if you make some very common story-based decisions during Act 2 and 3. Some people might not pick this for personal preference reasons, though, and that’s perfectly valid.
3. At the end of the day, this is simply a different way to play Monk. Both mechanically and aesthetically, it’s a completely distinct setup. I’m not out here trying to invalidate the awesomeness that is unarmored Monk. I’m just taking it in a different direction that I find to be very satisfying and powerful.
Khalid's Gift seems like a really strange choice of amulet. If youre looking for hit point increase, the amulet of vitality from house of hope is just a better choice. The upgraded sentient amulet allows an upcasted aoe shatter and a ki restoration per long rest.
its +1 wis
@@trashbxyscr333m6 yes, but only up to 21 and without another +1 somewhere that +1 is meaningless since modifiers only increment with +2. Since we're getting +2 from the mirror of loss (22 wis), that +1 doesn't apply anyway.
untie ethels gift@@mcbinary
Yeah plus you can respect out of CON and put points in another stat like your WIS or CHA for conversation purposes.
You only get one amulet of vitality, though, so if someone else on your team has it then you need to find an alternative. That said, I agree that Khalid's Gift probably isn't the best since IIRC it is applied _after_ the Ethel/Mirror/ASI boosts, so if you already have 21+ WIS from those it won't increase stats any further.
Finally, a game that respect Monks....long overdue.
Been a monk ever since, on any game way back.
What made me realize how cracked monks were was when Prince Orpheus crew rolled up and demolished my 100hp barbarian before she could rage as before i would bonus action jump in then rage next turn
That humbled me real quick
Just use Armor of Agathys as a Waelock and watch them melt, lol.
@@sidecharacter7165 My monk is also carrying the Titan String bow which adds strength modifier AND dexterity modifier AND 2d6 sneak attack damage AND elemental arrow damage (strength is added to that also) just for those damage reflection type enemies. They don't even see me before they die.
I forgot wyvern or purple toxin for 1d8 as well
One punch: 1d8 (base) + 16 (Tavern Brawler) + 5 (Boots) + 1d4 + 5 (Manifestation) + 1d10 (Gloves) = 29 min dmg. On +21 attack rolls. Finished a Durge playthough with this. Terrorised Baldur’s Gate with my fist.
90% of other monk builds posted here claim to know how to build monk, yet dont mention the elixir. They definitely dont know the game clearly. You definitely do.
you can add WIS again with the boots of Kushigo
@@alexwtf80it’s already added.
3:55 I'm trying out strength monk, and since I'm focusing on single target damage, it's part of why I'd want to go 8 monk 4 rogue, especially to get that sweet sweet 3rd feat. You'll usually have another character that will deal with crowd control. (IE warlock with hunger of hadar)
Just use hill/cloud giant potions and you’ll get the best of both worlds
tbh, the level 9 monk stuff is way too good to ignore
@@izukukageyama7552 Fair but I find myself planning stuff with my casters to do AOE, the ki explosions are pretty strong though but I usually end up killing a target before I even got the ki on em.
What feat should i use
Great video. I always struggle with what i need to build at the endgame. Especially with BiS gear for each class. Dling an endgame build for all your previous early game build vidoes would be a godsend
Couldn't agree more. It always struck me as strange that people go 8-4 just for the extra feat. You gain so much at 9 monk, like the 1d8 damage upgrade on your fists that the game doesn't do a great job of telling you about.
A feat isnt so bad, A d6 vs d8 damage sounds like a lot but its just an average of one extra damage which a skill point improvement also does. Personally I was doing a lonewolf so there were very helpful feats to have like mobile or even tough.
Not that its only thing you're getting at 9 monk, but both sides definitely have their merits
@@Pheeon which 'skill point improvement' grants you +1 damage?
@@metamud8686 With monk its either dexterity or strength, Preferably strength if youre using tavern brawler.
Though of course you get extra bonuses like armor class, initiative, or saving throws.
If you're at the point where you're using elixers of strength and you dont need it in strength/dex there's equipment that makes your damage scale with wisdom so you could consider that. (Boots of uninhibited kushigo)
Just depends on your situation though! Both sides like I said have there merits but feats have a lot of versatility.
If you are not abusing the cloud hill giant elixir than the +2 str ASI is better the improved fist dmg die, since it's +2 attack and damage due to tavern brawler. Ki resonance is a joke tbh, popping a scroll as an action (in bg3 anyone can do that, unlike in tabletop) is far better if you want to AOE as a monk. Also, stunning strike beats the abysmal aoe. If you do plan on using the elixir however, 9/3 is the way to go.
Awesome, I was actually using your early Op Monk build, so guess this is perfect video!
Late game monk with Elixir of blood and wholeness of body +haste cast on it by my sorlock was absolutely hilarious. I melted the red dragon at the end so fast.
I didn’t dump strength-instead, I dumped constitution and used the necklace that gives you a pre-set CON score.
Ight. After part 1 & this part 2 you got that sub lol
Monk is terrifying. I normally love Rogue above even the game itself, be it BG3 or DnD. I always wanna play that type in every game lol, but monk in BG3 is so swoll it's insane.
Thanks so mutch for your video. I start my journey in bolder gates with your build dual staff sorcerer. I alredy see alot of builds and i can tell you thanks for your hard work teaching noobs like my. You explained the things so well❤❤❤❤
I’ve been loving your Baldur’s Gate 3! I’d love to see your take on a Wild Magic Barbarian, including the best party composition
A reason I think to go 4 Rogue, 8 Monk, is for that additional Feat. If you've got AoE covered by other characters and you just need someone that is capable of going ham on a massive boss, you may get more mileage out of the additional feat than you would out of the AoE Ki Resonation. First, the Ki Resonation does far less damage than your regular attacks and sealed if you don't wanna hurt innocents nearby. The damage can low ball quite a bit and be resisted for even less. It's great if you're going solo, I'd say a waste of an action if you're not. Leave the AoE to those that specialize in wide area combat, and make the monk as close to a pure annihilation machine as possible.
So to me, it becomes a depend. 9 Monk, 3 Thief if you're going solo. 8 Monk, 4 Thief if you're not.
I'm doing this aswell what feat should i use
This
Yeh, this do be the optimal open hand monk stat spread. Nothing's going to get my Tav off of Shadow Monk abusing the Shar Spear of Evening, but if I could dupe more equipment, this monk would be right next to them
Yeah, I don't have the spear of evening yet, but Shadow Monk is so mobile with shadow step not sure I can move to open hand (solo run). Still MONKS rock either way.
I'd rather sacrifice some stats and level strength normally, to replace the strength elixir with Elixir of Bloodlust. Yet another full action after killing a target will give you much more overall damage output than a damage bonus from stats.
I accidentally stumbled into a muted version of this build on my first playthrough recreating a dnd campaign character that I play and going illithid makes the resonant explosion a crowd clear. Especially if you use black hole first to group everybody
I came back to this vid to comment, I ran this once solo and it did amazing, I’m running it a second time trying to optimize it myself and I’ve come to a troubling decision. If I replace the +1 WIS from Ethel’s hair with +1 WIS from Khalid’s Gift, and then use Ethel’s hair for +1 DEX and another +1 from a reclass feat, I can reclass the build to reach 18 CON, 27 STR, 22 WIS, 18 DEX by the end of the build. The part I’m struggling with is the reclass. My first solution is dipping 4 lvls into rogue, giving me resilient +1 DEX but no ki resonation, less movement and -1d2 to attack roll. My 2nd is monk12, which would mean one less attack at level 12 (whereas I would be theif subclass, +1 bonus action). I’m so stuck on this it’s getting frustrating, I’d just love to have the most broken stats but I’d be missing out on either monk benefits or rogue benefits that extremely limit my attack and movement speed. Could any bg3 experts or this author please help I feel I’ve thought of everything.
Something to consider here:
- Darkfire is not that great because it's once per long rest and you don't have advantage on con saving throw. Just have some sorc to put Haste on you.
- As such, it's better to use the Hellrider Longbow for +3 Initiative. Some enemies have pretty high initiative, and you cannot reliably move before them with a +3 from Dex only.
- Astarion, despite having lower movement than a Wood elf/half elf, more than makes it up with his +1 attack roll AND 1d10 necrotic damage. In fact, if you want to min-max any multi-attack character, Astarion will always be the best choice.
- Currently, the Horns of Berserker is bugged (giving extra damage even with full health). Once it's fixed, Mask of soul perception might be a better choice.
- As someone mentioned before, you should use a stat stick (or even 2 if they are light weapons). Phalar Aluve, Rhapsody, Corellon, Knife of Undermountain King... are all great options
Titan String Bow is silly strong with elemental arrows and strength adder, especially with sneak attack critical hit.
@@jameskelsea6048 that's an option as well, though I don't think that it beats running up and just smack your enemies with bare hands. With wood elf, movement transmutation stone, unarmored movement and longstrider, you can move 24m per turn and have no problem catching up to any foe.
@@zat256away absolutely. Just good as ranged option for enemies that reflect damage on melee or otherwise don't want to get to close too. You have high strength anyway as monk for tavern brawler. Really makes monk a beast in both melee and ranged.
Awesome stuff, you sir are are doing the Lords work 🤩🤩
I did this exact thing on my first play-through. I was absolutely wrecking everything late game. I saw my friend getting his ass kicked fighting Ansur because the massive AoE attack party-wiped him multiple times. I didn't even see that attack because I killed him in 2 turns with my Monk practically single-handedly..
Similar to my build. Monk is simply OP, hard to make a bad build out of it.
For me, what is needed is 6 monk/3 rogue. Then you can add anything you like on top of it. Fighter 3/champion for improved crits and action surge. Monk 7 fighter 2 rogue 3 for evasion and action surge. Monk 6 fighter 2 rogue 4 for a feat and action surge. Monk 9 rogue 3 for a feat, evasion and a couple of others monk boons. Even gloomstalker can be a valid option. However you go from there, it's a success.
I actually did 14 attacks in a single round for the lolz. (if anyone wondering, haste + wholeness of body + helmet of grit + action surge)
Hmm 8 Monk 4 Rogue is better imo. Dump strength and con:
8str 16dex 8con 10int 17wisdom 14char (char if you're main talker)
+1 Wisdom From Hag's Hair. + 2 Dex from Mirror of Loss
Tavern Brawler at 4 monk. ASI at 4 rogue (+2 Wisdom). ASI at 8 Monk (+2 Dex)
Cloud potion for 27 str, and con ammy for 23 con.
Final stats: 27str 20dex 23con 10int 20wis 14char. 22/23 AC. +5 initiative
great you get 2 more wisdom but miss out on AOE
This build is even more broken with Illithid, especially with the one that if you manage to put enemies HP down to your amount of illithid powers, it executes them with AOE dmg.
Best build videos in the game man.
Actually, you can get elixirs of cloud giant's strength as early as you can get to Derryth in the Underdark. She (and Blorg) both sell the thumb you need to craft it yourself. Not every time, but if we're talking min-maxing, you're going to be pickpocketing them for as long as you need anyways.
I’ve been following this build since I made my monk. It’s great
If you could just clarify the stats in the description for each level, it’s very confusing because you’re stats are sometimes in strength sometimes in dex, and because we have the gloves of dex it’s hard to follow, then at some points you have 12 charisma and sometimes 8
I prefer the monk+barb combo. With the wildheart because, with the bear aspect, you are basically inmortal, for real, reduce all damage to half, and rage also gives you a bit of a bonus damage, which is always pretty nice.
Tbh, abuse min max to then have: 27 str (potion), 20 dex through feats and skills/stats, 24 con via greater health amulet and auntie ethels boon, 8 int, 18 wis via stats and mirror, and 16 cha via skills/stats. this seems alot more benefitial to me tbh.
Can you explain in detail, I'm interested
Yeees I was just about to make a monk for my next playthrough, thank you!
After some experimentation, I'm in the 4\8 camp. Reason is (1) Resonating Blast AE range is huge that ends up hitting your party members....not a fan. (2) There's only 1 hag hair, can't base every build around that.
Without the hag hair, max damage unarmed strikes is the same with 3\9 or 4\8. However, minimum damage is higher with 4\8 if you take the Ability Improvement feat +2 Wisdom, which also gives you +1 AC and +1 wis saving throw. You can still duel wield swords\daggers and use Stunning Strike Unarmed.
While 9monk/3thief is great, 9monk/3bear barbarian is really slept on. Sure you get less damage from losing on a bonus action, but you gain amazing survivability by bei g able to resist almost all damage types in the game
Just cast warding bond on your party with a companion from camp and you get that anyway.
Kinda like the Helldusk helmet and Cloak of Cunning Brume combo better tbh. Immune to crits and get Advantage on all attacks whenever you want for a Bonus Action. Always make Astarion 3 Rogue and 9 Monk as an Ascended Vampire for the extra 1d10 Necrotic.Especially good if Shadowheart gets the spear for following Shar as that would be a bonus for another party member too or just always have darkness or fog cloud set up.(Party build there but it means always Advantage for the Monk)
Awesome stuff!! Thank you!
Hello, nice video and thank you for the information. But I have to add one more point, it's not a big buff, but I saw that you don't have any weapon equipment, soooooo you can buy Corellon's Grace in Ackt1. It's really not much, but it gives you +1 to your unarmed attacks and +2 armor saving throws when not wearing armor.
XD din`t saw the first video first XD
The reason why people don't go 9 monk is because they already have better AOE options from other casters in their team. I like to go 4 Rouge for Alert. The ability to go first in battle is extremely potent. Especially so for monks who can immediately take out or stun a key enemy at the start of the fight.
The aoe is nice but isn't all that impactful
I personally like 2 Fighter, 6 Monk, 4 Rogue. I rate Action Surge from 2 fighter a lot higher than he seems to, I don't know why you would ever turn your nose up at getting another action as a monk. Monks are much better when you focus on their strengths instead of trying to plug up holes in their game like AOE.
@@Kramerica962 Action Surge is powerful, but you only get it once per short rest. Yes, resting is extremely easy in BG3, but some people might not want to rest after every single combat encounter (either due to roleplaying reasons or if they have a time-sensitive quest that they don't want to progress quite yet).
It would be great if you just wrote up what feats, traits and classes to take each level. Like a single page line by line.
dont sleep on monk ranger. just straight over powered. Way of the Shadow Monk + Gloomstalker Ranger
Thanks ! Monk is all time favorite build in this game
Great video! I'm in my first play-through and I chose a Forest Gnome for Speak with Animals and the saving throws of Gnome Cunning. It was slow at first, but the monk improves movement quickly and now (at level 7) she flies around the battle field kicking ALL THE ASS! The wholeness of Body replacing ki and giving added bonus actions is already crazy fun- adding yet another bonus action for 2 normal attacks and 2 bonus action attacks or 6 TB punches with Potion on Hill Giant STR going on is just deadly. The thought of adding another flurry of blows to the mix is mind-blowing. I do have a question about re-speccing: Does it matter if you start with monk or rogue when doing the re-spec? I know Rogues ares kill monkeys, but wasn't sure if you get more skills choosing them first as opposed to adding the Thief levels after 6 monk, or if it doesn't matter how you get there.
Going to try this on my monk. Just entered Act 3 as a 6 Open Hand Monk/3 Battlemaster Figher and it's been *OK*, based it on advice for tabletop multiclassing.
I take that back my friend, This Monk, Kills!! Thank you
aaaaaannnnddd HE"S BACK!!!! All the Nizar glory!
Great build. I made some changes to fight my preferences. I beat honor mode with this crazy monk build.
Makes me so happy to see the Gloves of Soul Catching on here, and it's even funnier because these are the nerfed versions of the gloves. In the normal tabletop game these things are even more powerful (so much so that a DM in one of the games I play in said they'd just outright ban it. Must be a Monk hater)
It just does not seem as strong as a Paladin, but is a lot of fun. I would love to see someone do comparison videos.
Paladin has higher single hit attack but this monk build is good as well
i did paladin on my first playthrough and I hated missing most of my attacks in the early to mid-game so much i almost quit the game then it just started to destroy bosses approaching third to final act. Monk is just much more consistent and still outputs so much damage that it has made encounters much shorter than when i did them on my warlock paladin
You won't catch me doing this build without Risky Ring. I'm going all in. Advantage on all attack rolls at the cost of disadvantage on my saving throws? Brother, I don't need to worry about saving throws if I have already single-handedly murdered or stunned everyone around me.
I went Rogue 4 monk 8 but messed up the stats and gear, nowonder I kept dying (balance player) thanks for this and all your other BG3 vids
yo yoyoyo you drop it bro thanks now i can resume my monk
After I used this build, I LITERALLY cannot use another longer than act 1. It just isn't any fun. I wish we could have something like eldrich blast along with everything a monk has but now I'm being greedy. Lol tysvm!
Oh Boy, I waited for that. 😈
You sir, have the talent to make guides fun and instructive. 'us' 🧠 says Thanks
Not every Monk needs an AOE attack in my opinion, but I am currently trying this build for my coop playthrough.
Yoooo not even joking do you have a spreadsheet or Google doc with all this information per lvl up??!! You the goat if do
I think for armor better stick with the graceful cloth (from act1.5) gives you +2 dex + advantage dex save
Doesn't stack with anything else though. So the chest is better because it gives healing and +2ac.
I really hope you do a wizard build great video
I enjoyed this video. It was linked to me by a friend also playing BG3.
You have an interesting build here, but I beg to differ. Hope you don't mind if I spend a few pixels explaining why.
Monk8/Wizard4 here, and I am mobile as can be. First off, I do recommend the 4 level rule, as the Feat bonuses to Dex, Con, and Int make the character both tougher in the field and better at certain skill checks. He (my Monk/Mage main) 's also an adequate trapmonkey as I dump points into Int.
Hitting at a distance. Arrows miss-and my tank (whether Lazee or a Paladinized Wyll) misses every ranged shot-but Magic Missile hits every time.
Mobility. In my experience, every non tank melee type who lacks Misty Step has limits in combat as the game distributes enemies to spoil your AOEs and to leave certain henchmen (and often your main) awkwardly placed when battle begins. Further, when it comes to close combat types, a character's movement rate determines its battle utility; in that vein I find that Karlach is a better tank than Lazee ever was.
Healz. I recast Wyll as a Paladin. A Paladin's healing is more dependable than Shad's and less limited for amount healed per spell or effect.
Party Dynamics. A Barbarian tank, a Monkoid offtank/DPS, a Pally healer, and Mister Mxyzptlk as the long range heavy hitter as Gale is a headache wrapped in an empty wallet (Fireball and Magic Missile . . . my party mage uses all his high level slots for counterspell) is the way I rolled in my first run, but I am currently experimenting with an all Monk splashed party just to ditch armor and increase speed. You get a lot with a splash of monk; so much, in fact, that I had a long inner battle to decide to give up those four levels of Monk to add that 4 level Wizard splash.
Future. Consider: a single level of paladin gives any character a very good in-combat heal. If healing a combat dispersed party is a rough road for you, consider that 1 level Pally splash (at least for both tank and offtank). Combine that Paladin heal meme with a monk's superior movement speed and you get a character capable of solo ops. My current run has my main a Pally/Monk/Wiz mix-WIz for that lovely Magic Missile+Misty Step pair, pally for that beautiful low level heal, and monk because-well, yeah. It's a monk.
Why all the focus on Monk? I didn't practice karate for fifty years so I could play a Bard in BG3, you know. ;-). Though I could . . . I write and perform a lot of good music.
That raises a fun point. IRL, I spent my adult offwork time writing poetry and songs, performing in bars and clubs and community events, while practicing Shorin Ryu and what I call Dancing Sword for exercise. A Monk/Bard mix is a close match with my game ideals-not because of Bard's superfluous class skills*, but because of life resonances building a stronger ingame bond with my "toon". This way, while I'm living in BG3's fantasy world, I'm approaching a personal lifestyle ideal that mirrors my real life existence.
* Bard is probably the least useful class in all of D&D. They-game designers and players alike- just can't get it right and I think I know why. Bards and Skalds had real roles in society-they weren't living plot devices. A gaming company has to re-invent those roles in its digital society or Bards are like sore thumbs-highly visible, but useless.
Thank you for these videos Nizar, I enjoy your content.
One thing I'd like to clarify is what happens to all the benefit of unarmoured movement if you start wearing armour? Do we just not care about this past level six?
Oh man I'm so excited to see Pt 2 of this build. I have been loving my monk playthrough using your build so far. Thank you for your hard work and consistently top-tier videos!
Bro this is part 2 of the build lmao.
Yes I know. That's why I said I was excited to see it lmao@@Eagle45678910
in my first playthrough i discovered all the gear that gave + to unamred, so when i played witha friend i made a monk, and o boy was i impressed, so was my mate
on the tabletop, one infamously counterintuitive rules interaction is that monk fists don't actually count as having the finesse trait and thus don't work with sneak attack, even though being able to choose between your str or dex modifier is the definition of a finesse weapon. I take it from the existence of this build that this is no longer the case in BG3?
You forgot to say OP, game-breaking and insane. It's obligatory, you know.
Id switch the amulet out for the Sentient Amulet. Free ki points and a shatter spell as a bonus
The BG3 version of Tavern brawler + monk with those hands that ignore resistance and immunity is just so bat shit crazy when i'm in act 3. Is it made of metal doesn't matter just punch it, Is the vampire immune to non magical doesn't matter just punch it, does a devil have 666 hp doesn't matter just punch it.
nice. Simple is often best....just punch it.
Tavern Brawler/Open Hand Monk is hands down the most powerful class in BG3.
Maybe replace the Cloak of Protection with the Cloak of Displacement? And since Open Hand monk gets the Manifestations of Mind, Body, and Spirit for the Radiant, Necrotic, or Psychic damage.
Used this build and smashed through everything on Tactician. Honour mode is next!
to answer the question in the thumbnail; Is there anything stronger than this?. Yes. Radiating orb abusing light cleric. stacking up to 20- to attack rolls on enemies by simply moving close to them, effectively never taking damage and being able to do ever fight with using 1 spell slot per battle.
Why not do both?
Anyone who is here starting chapter 3 equip the hell dusk armor it automatically makes you proficient in that armor allowing you to get a AC of 21
Finally nizar you r the mann
Appreciate the build, would rather get jumped by a Steel Watcher IRL than take Khalid's gift from Jaihera
Hey Nizard ! Coming from ER, really glad to see you've gone into BG3. Currently on the monk run playing with my girlfriend and it's a lot of fun, thanks :D
When will we get to see your take on bard ?
Blade Warlock 5/Sword Bard 7, go with dueling, take duelist rapier endgame. Cast pact weapon, use charisma for rolls and damage, and attack 3 times in a round (4 with duelist rapier), just as a fighter.
You get profiency in most skills and can cast a lot of spells. You also get access to Eldritch Blast, which is most often better than a bow anyway.
It's already broken from get go honestly I thought at first that elixir of hill giant strength is really necessary but my early game monk went hard on strength then wore the 18 dex gloves instead I chug the red elixir of happiness 😂
I just keep going everytime I kill something it's like 4 hits per turn.
Honestly why crushers ring... Foot speed is completely irrelevant for tb classes just chuck something like a greatsword or something you'll still deal more damage than pure bow builds well unless their using arrows.
I think Sentiment Amulet would be better then Khalid's Gift because of the Ki Restoration ability it gives you. Just putting that out there. Also, who's excited for the modding tools coming in September?
Was waiting for this to come out. I came to the same conclusion with regard to multiclassing, but not the same with stats. I respecced into 17 Str, 16 Dex, 8 Con, 8 Int, 15 Wis, 8 Cha. 24 Str (+1 tavern brawler, +2 potion, +2 mirror, +1 ASI, +1 hags hair), 18 Dex (graceful cloth), 23 Con (amulet of greater health), 16 Wis (+1 ASI). Was still very powerful. Ended up keeping the haste helm rather than the one he has, and Thunderskin Cloak (which didn’t seem too great tbh).
The truth is that there a lot of enemies like Ansur, Raphael, Steel Watcher Titan, that can’t really be killed in one turn by this monk, so make sure others in your party can also get into the combat quickly, otherwise it’s just a pile on.
At lv 11, a fighter with elixir of bloodlust and haste makes 9 attacks +one bonus attack if you have great weapon master. Monks and thieves don't profit that mich from more action points
They do since a monk can spread manifestation around more quickly there causing the aoe damage that was mentioned in the early parts of the video. Also the monk with this build gets a similar bonus to damage as the fighter since it gets to add strength twice and wisdom to damage
@@huricaneroad i didn't question the effectiveness of the build.
and I did 14 attacks with my monk...
@@alexwtf80 how?
@@thecursed01you can do 2 attacks for each action and bonus action (flurry - 1 ki point).
so
actions 1 (base) + 1 (haste) + 1 (action surge)
bonus actions 1 (base) + 1 (thief) + 1 wholeness of body + 1 helmet of grit
total (3 + 4) actions x 2 attacks from each one
Idk if this is a thing or something is just wrong with my game but the Horns of the Berserker are bugged for me. Or at least the Blood Thirst ability because even though Karlach (my monk) wasn't full health all the way through the Steel Watch Foundry the +2 Necrotic damage was never added to Karlach's punches.
1 level of barbarian and the constitution amulet gets you an AC of 22, and i just get a shit load of bloodlust potions to get more actions
Black Hole Ilithid power + Ki Resonation Blast + Cull the week Ilithid power sounds like it would be pretty sick….
I like graceful cloth better for lone wolf chest piece because it gives 2 dex and 1 to dex saving throws, for a total of +2 to dex saving throws and +1 to armor class, and you also get advantage on dexterity ability checks so you can use hide and sneak around in combat, not to mention pick the locks on anything you cant smash with your fist and disarm traps. Plus you wont get caught up in vines and hit with spells as easily. Sadly the half damage from falling doesnt stack with the monk passive. However it's less damage without the reaction and you lose out on 1 armor class so I like to keep around soul rejuvenation for situations with a lot of weak melee mobs.
People don't realize how good the Graceful Cloth is because it doesnt say that it gives advantage on dexterity ability checks in the description, it just says "you gain Cat's Grace" (which is the buff that gives you advantage
Question when you respec at lvl9 and lvl6 monk/ lvl3 Rogue, are you supposed to have your Stat points for Strn 8 pour most of your points into WIS, DEX, CON? I fucked up getting the Gloves of dexterity.
This monk build plus the barbarian/thief tavern brawler throw build plus the gloomstalker/assassin and a caster and you'll clean up.
I don't understand how this build fits into the one you developed in the previous video since it depended on getting the gloves of dexterity, which you get rid of in this one.
Ya I dealt 238 damage in one round with an endgame build. Although I'm pretty sure I could optimize it even further, maybe I'll do an Astarion playthrough next
A play a similar build but i also use throwing as my distance option witch is very fun !
On my monk I used that ring that makes it impossible for you to be blinded/paralyze/stunned or maybe those were 2 separate rings. Let me tell you it made my monk p much untouchable in the house of grief fight
I would just change the cloak to the displacement cloak for disadvantage for attacks from our enemies it is bad ass.
Would be nice to get the stats if it’s a companion rather than the main.
Right? My buddy took Hag’s hair so I’m trying to figure out where to rebalance.