Thanks for the gear part. With the forum upgrades a lot of those things were lost over the last year. I don't have the newest content so seeing this shows me what to aim for using an old gear set.
I know some already covered these comments, but just going down a list: - As others have noted, Whirlwind Attack had the feat requirements lightened. No longer need Combat Expertise or Spring Attack. I'd take Precision and Two Weapon Defense instead. The latter is 5 PRR and 10 MRR cap, a must for Monks IMO. - Glad to see you use a Monk Elemental Ki strike - they're powerful and useful, so I find it silly when people don't take them when they can. Unbalancing Strike is great for solo heroics as qualifying for SA damage is powerful, especially if you have past lives and gear providing bonuses. However for end game and high reapers you typically don't have aggro or can use other methods to qualify. Knock the Sky is 20% less physical damage which is huge in raids and R10s, and Fists of Iron is a great DPS move that also works in one of the top two Monk DPS combos (Earth > Earth > Earth and Fire > Dark > Fire are combos you should be spamming when possible). Using Fists of Iron with Earth IV and III to kick off a finisher as much as you can easily be a 10+% DPS increase. - Your gear is indeed very out of date. Isle of Dread is a Profane bonus set, so you typically want to fit in 5 piece IoD + Artifact from other sources. IoD also added augments that made a lot more gear flexibility. Where it gets tough is if you try to optimize your DPS and fit in Legendary Red Dragonscale (fire dot proc that can stack to 50d20) and Legendary Raptor Teeth (Relentless Fury and Enhanced Bloodrage (10mp + 8 CON + 5 damage)). Your top goal should be to fit in Artifact MP and doublestrike, with anything else being personal preference. For DPS I'd rank the artifact bonuses as MP > DS > 3d6 SA > Helpless > Fort Bypass. - Aasimar Race: Sadly they got a kick in the teeth with the over nerf on Healing Hands. This took from a top Monk choice for DCs and spot heal support to only "ok". Aasimar is still a fine choice, but what I consider to be better options: -- Tabaxi Trailblazer: +1 Ki on hit, Deflect Arrows (redundant if you dip Vistani), Spring Attack, and 30% AB move speed with near permanent uptime. Dodge bypass for crowns in the cores and SA die, and you have an all around solid tree. -- Shadar Kai: Chain attacks are OP and work with handwraps. Displace clicky. Add in an Action Boost for LD stats + SA die + 1d12 scaling Imbue die + Jaunt. There's a reason SDK is considered one of the best choices for melee. Problem is so much good stuff it's tough to choose when you're tight on AP... - Enhancements: As already pointed out, Vistani is a better dip than Ninja Spy. Haste Boost is a better boost, and if you can afford an 11ap dip can also snag 5% doublestrike and Quickdraw. I also think people underestimate bird attacks - if you invest in them, you have an unlimited range helpless tag that works on ANYTHING that can be tagged helpless, even if they are blind or trip immune. Add in a 50% fort bypass tag, that bird attacks were buffed to be near instant, and you have a very useful tool. Always want to tag your target, and as you get more advanced, you can tag other people's targets with bird attacks to give them helpless damage and/or CC while you work on your own priority target. So I suggest snagging both Assassinate bonuses and the other bird attack. You can easily afford this by dropping Killer Instinct I (as II gives BOTH attack and damage) as well as dropping speed run boost to only a single point. - Destinies: Shadowdancer is one of the most powerful 12 AP dips so typically suggest fitting that in. After that it is personal choice. GMoF Mantel is indeed a solid option - move speed + slippery surface immunity + knockdown "immunity" + access to 1[W] and 15% helpless. I agree it isn't the best of the mantel options, but it is still good and leaves you flexible on your other trees. Won't go deeper than that as there are so many options and this is where you can make the most dynamic choices to fit to your playstyle.
Thank you! Awesome Feed back. I did see the Whirlwind changes. Was just in auto pilot from old monk days there. Elemental strikes-YES. these need to be used more and you hit it right on the head. Unbalancing strike leveling and others once you are at cap. GEAR-yes my gear is outdated but I wasn't planning on staying monk for long I just wanted to give it a quick spotlight. RACE- Yes again I agree Aasimar is out, but I was doing this as a second epic life to my monk tank videos and wanted Aasimar for that build which is why I have it here. ENHANCEMENTS-Yes I agree with you guys with Vistani over Ninja, I will be doing that in my next lives. DESTINIES-Yes also think Shadowdancer needs worked in. Solid DPS boost. BUT I still don't see the GM mantle over LD. LD gives +1 W and the 15% Helpless too. IDK maybe I just don't prioritize the extra movement speed when you already get so much as a monk, but who knows maybe you guys know better on that one. But again appreciate the feedback, enjoyed reading your thoughts.
@@hellsewn5354 The other key factor regarding GMoF mantle is the flexibility with your destiny points. It takes a heavy investment into LD to get the +1W and 15% helpless preventing a proper splash into a third tree. Plus you can better afford to drop Freedom of Movement on gear and not get knocked down when thrown by giant enemies or wind eles. If you have plenty of destiny points, LD is indeed better than GMoF, but the gain isn't worth the investment cost imo, especially if that cost is taking away from a solid investment like Shadowdancer.
@@drawingguy2003 That makes sense. I hadn't considered that because I liked getting the displacement while action boosts are active from LD which is tier 4 so also requires some points being spent to get up there. But I understand what you're saying.
I like ur build videos! Keep it up . 1 new thing you should know : combat expertise is no longer prequsite for whirlwind attack , just dodge and mobility.
Nice video! It had to cover a lot of material! FYI: U56 dropped the Combat Expertise and Spring Attack requirements from Whirlwind Attack. You obviously have other reasons for taking the feats, but the path to get there is less restrictive than it was. You still need Dodge, Mobility and BaB +4 though. Also, I didn't hear anything about how Healing Ki is affected by Positive spell power. I'm sure it's just an accidental omission, but I know too many players who try to live their DDO lives claiming that Healing Ki has the drawbacks of "Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light".
I didn’t notice that at the time until it was pointed out to me. Ran monk so many times over the years, just went through the motions. I would probably trade those two feats out for precision and PL monk for some better damage. You can live without spring attack since you have abundant step.
G'day, I have not played a monk in a very long time. How easy/difficult is the heroic leveling, when using hand wraps? I tend to solo reaper runs (no friends ;) ), is solo monk viable (heroic and epics)?
I like it. You bring plenty of utility with okay damage and good helpless damage. In heroics can be a little slower because whirlwind is you’re only form of AOE but your survivability is good so I like it. Heroicly and epic no problem soloing R4 with moderate gear
should drop melee power boost and pick up haste boost instead as it would be a great dps increase, I would also opt for fists of iron over unbalancing strike as you shouldn't have aggro that often anyway but that's my preference. I would also drop LD mantle for GM for 15% run speed and spend about 13 in LD for ds and move the rest to SD for 6d6 sneak attack die as well as permanent nightshield and negative threat gen
I like a lot of what you said. Do you mean get haste boost from vistani instead? I miss haste boost on monk. I used to always pick it up out of the old LD tree before the epic destiny updates. I hear what you’re saying with fist of iron. I normally like fist of iron end game, unbalancing strike leveling. I see the value of SD but I think there is a lot of value in LD too. Displacement with action boost active, 3 stats during boost, 10% attack speed etc.
I also agree about using the GMoF mantle, it’s too good to pass up on monk. I do think, though, that displacement while haste boosting is fantastic. Maybe swap mantle to GMoF, shave down LD to 23 for displacement and 4th core, and rest in shadowdancer for sneak dice. You lose improved evasion, but if your reflex is high enough it doesn’t matter.
Yes on haste boost via vistani, there is some good about LD but to maximize on it you don’t need so many points, 6d6 sneak attack and perma nightshield are way too hard to give up imo but you can ofc build how you like :)
I already tr’d off the monk life but I have an alt that I leave on monk. I will record some gameplay with him but it looks a little different as he isn’t my completionist epic completionist etc :)
If it were me and wanting to splash monk/fighter on a first life I would probably go 12 fighter/6 monk/2 Sacred Fist (I think they are F2P). No real benefit of going 14 fighter or 8 monk so might as well splash another class. Kensai melee power build, then for the secondary tree I would dive into Falcon if you have it or Shintao if you don't. With the Sacred fist addition you can pick up another whirlwind attack and doublestrike action boost out of that tree. I would probably stick with the Wisdom as main stat. Feat wise grab the TWF feat line, whirlwind attack, and make sure to grab the monk stances at 12 & 18. Other than that grab your typical fighter feats for extra damage/stun bonuses. You'll be a bit on the squishier side but it could be fun to play. You'd have a lot of raw melee power from Kensai, decent stat boost from stance and power surge, action boost of haste and double strike. Your stun abilities should be fine from fighter feat bonuses making up not being a pure monk. And you'll have two AoE attacks with Whirlwind and the whirlwind you can get from the Sacred Fist tree.
Thanks for the gear part. With the forum upgrades a lot of those things were lost over the last year. I don't have the newest content so seeing this shows me what to aim for using an old gear set.
I know some already covered these comments, but just going down a list:
- As others have noted, Whirlwind Attack had the feat requirements lightened. No longer need Combat Expertise or Spring Attack. I'd take Precision and Two Weapon Defense instead. The latter is 5 PRR and 10 MRR cap, a must for Monks IMO.
- Glad to see you use a Monk Elemental Ki strike - they're powerful and useful, so I find it silly when people don't take them when they can. Unbalancing Strike is great for solo heroics as qualifying for SA damage is powerful, especially if you have past lives and gear providing bonuses. However for end game and high reapers you typically don't have aggro or can use other methods to qualify. Knock the Sky is 20% less physical damage which is huge in raids and R10s, and Fists of Iron is a great DPS move that also works in one of the top two Monk DPS combos (Earth > Earth > Earth and Fire > Dark > Fire are combos you should be spamming when possible). Using Fists of Iron with Earth IV and III to kick off a finisher as much as you can easily be a 10+% DPS increase.
- Your gear is indeed very out of date. Isle of Dread is a Profane bonus set, so you typically want to fit in 5 piece IoD + Artifact from other sources. IoD also added augments that made a lot more gear flexibility. Where it gets tough is if you try to optimize your DPS and fit in Legendary Red Dragonscale (fire dot proc that can stack to 50d20) and Legendary Raptor Teeth (Relentless Fury and Enhanced Bloodrage (10mp + 8 CON + 5 damage)). Your top goal should be to fit in Artifact MP and doublestrike, with anything else being personal preference. For DPS I'd rank the artifact bonuses as MP > DS > 3d6 SA > Helpless > Fort Bypass.
- Aasimar Race: Sadly they got a kick in the teeth with the over nerf on Healing Hands. This took from a top Monk choice for DCs and spot heal support to only "ok". Aasimar is still a fine choice, but what I consider to be better options:
-- Tabaxi Trailblazer: +1 Ki on hit, Deflect Arrows (redundant if you dip Vistani), Spring Attack, and 30% AB move speed with near permanent uptime. Dodge bypass for crowns in the cores and SA die, and you have an all around solid tree.
-- Shadar Kai: Chain attacks are OP and work with handwraps. Displace clicky. Add in an Action Boost for LD stats + SA die + 1d12 scaling Imbue die + Jaunt. There's a reason SDK is considered one of the best choices for melee. Problem is so much good stuff it's tough to choose when you're tight on AP...
- Enhancements: As already pointed out, Vistani is a better dip than Ninja Spy. Haste Boost is a better boost, and if you can afford an 11ap dip can also snag 5% doublestrike and Quickdraw. I also think people underestimate bird attacks - if you invest in them, you have an unlimited range helpless tag that works on ANYTHING that can be tagged helpless, even if they are blind or trip immune. Add in a 50% fort bypass tag, that bird attacks were buffed to be near instant, and you have a very useful tool. Always want to tag your target, and as you get more advanced, you can tag other people's targets with bird attacks to give them helpless damage and/or CC while you work on your own priority target. So I suggest snagging both Assassinate bonuses and the other bird attack. You can easily afford this by dropping Killer Instinct I (as II gives BOTH attack and damage) as well as dropping speed run boost to only a single point.
- Destinies: Shadowdancer is one of the most powerful 12 AP dips so typically suggest fitting that in. After that it is personal choice. GMoF Mantel is indeed a solid option - move speed + slippery surface immunity + knockdown "immunity" + access to 1[W] and 15% helpless. I agree it isn't the best of the mantel options, but it is still good and leaves you flexible on your other trees. Won't go deeper than that as there are so many options and this is where you can make the most dynamic choices to fit to your playstyle.
Thank you! Awesome Feed back.
I did see the Whirlwind changes. Was just in auto pilot from old monk days there.
Elemental strikes-YES. these need to be used more and you hit it right on the head. Unbalancing strike leveling and others once you are at cap. GEAR-yes my gear is outdated but I wasn't planning on staying monk for long I just wanted to give it a quick spotlight. RACE- Yes again I agree Aasimar is out, but I was doing this as a second epic life to my monk tank videos and wanted Aasimar for that build which is why I have it here. ENHANCEMENTS-Yes I agree with you guys with Vistani over Ninja, I will be doing that in my next lives. DESTINIES-Yes also think Shadowdancer needs worked in. Solid DPS boost. BUT I still don't see the GM mantle over LD. LD gives +1 W and the 15% Helpless too. IDK maybe I just don't prioritize the extra movement speed when you already get so much as a monk, but who knows maybe you guys know better on that one.
But again appreciate the feedback, enjoyed reading your thoughts.
@@hellsewn5354 The other key factor regarding GMoF mantle is the flexibility with your destiny points. It takes a heavy investment into LD to get the +1W and 15% helpless preventing a proper splash into a third tree. Plus you can better afford to drop Freedom of Movement on gear and not get knocked down when thrown by giant enemies or wind eles. If you have plenty of destiny points, LD is indeed better than GMoF, but the gain isn't worth the investment cost imo, especially if that cost is taking away from a solid investment like Shadowdancer.
@@drawingguy2003 That makes sense. I hadn't considered that because I liked getting the displacement while action boosts are active from LD which is tier 4 so also requires some points being spent to get up there. But I understand what you're saying.
Great advice, thanks for the detailed comments.
my favorite pure build in game. so much fun
I like ur build videos! Keep it up . 1 new thing you should know : combat expertise is no longer prequsite for whirlwind attack , just dodge and mobility.
Correct you are. I would probably change out combat expertise for precision and spring attack for past life monk
Nice video! It had to cover a lot of material!
FYI: U56 dropped the Combat Expertise and Spring Attack requirements from Whirlwind Attack. You obviously have other reasons for taking the feats, but the path to get there is less restrictive than it was. You still need Dodge, Mobility and BaB +4 though.
Also, I didn't hear anything about how Healing Ki is affected by Positive spell power. I'm sure it's just an accidental omission, but I know too many players who try to live their DDO lives claiming that Healing Ki has the drawbacks of "Shadows Cannot Exist Without Light".
I didn’t notice that at the time until it was pointed out to me. Ran monk so many times over the years, just went through the motions. I would probably trade those two feats out for precision and PL monk for some better damage. You can live without spring attack since you have abundant step.
Great build presentations, thank you.
Hey man i like your builds. Could you please make leveling guide for this build in ddo forum.
G'day, I have not played a monk in a very long time. How easy/difficult is the heroic leveling, when using hand wraps? I tend to solo reaper runs (no friends ;) ), is solo monk viable (heroic and epics)?
I like it. You bring plenty of utility with okay damage and good helpless damage. In heroics can be a little slower because whirlwind is you’re only form of AOE but your survivability is good so I like it. Heroicly and epic no problem soloing R4 with moderate gear
Could not hear your voice on the video so I went on to another video
should drop melee power boost and pick up haste boost instead as it would be a great dps increase, I would also opt for fists of iron over unbalancing strike as you shouldn't have aggro that often anyway but that's my preference. I would also drop LD mantle for GM for 15% run speed and spend about 13 in LD for ds and move the rest to SD for 6d6 sneak attack die as well as permanent nightshield and negative threat gen
I like a lot of what you said. Do you mean get haste boost from vistani instead? I miss haste boost on monk. I used to always pick it up out of the old LD tree before the epic destiny updates.
I hear what you’re saying with fist of iron. I normally like fist of iron end game, unbalancing strike leveling. I see the value of SD but I think there is a lot of value in LD too. Displacement with action boost active, 3 stats during boost, 10% attack speed etc.
I also agree about using the GMoF mantle, it’s too good to pass up on monk. I do think, though, that displacement while haste boosting is fantastic. Maybe swap mantle to GMoF, shave down LD to 23 for displacement and 4th core, and rest in shadowdancer for sneak dice. You lose improved evasion, but if your reflex is high enough it doesn’t matter.
@@aidangreene4332 you guys like that mantle for the move speed? Monk already insane move speed when 20 monk.
Yes on haste boost via vistani, there is some good about LD but to maximize on it you don’t need so many points, 6d6 sneak attack and perma nightshield are way too hard to give up imo but you can ofc build how you like :)
@@Vespherous I like the suggestion! My favorite part about DDO is the build variance but I do think next monk life I’ll try it.
can you do a video on how to play the monk right.. i don't get them at all.
I already tr’d off the monk life but I have an alt that I leave on monk. I will record some gameplay with him but it looks a little different as he isn’t my completionist epic completionist etc :)
hi, can you give me a good first life pure monk fist fighter for free to play account?
If it were me and wanting to splash monk/fighter on a first life I would probably go 12 fighter/6 monk/2 Sacred Fist (I think they are F2P). No real benefit of going 14 fighter or 8 monk so might as well splash another class. Kensai melee power build, then for the secondary tree I would dive into Falcon if you have it or Shintao if you don't. With the Sacred fist addition you can pick up another whirlwind attack and doublestrike action boost out of that tree.
I would probably stick with the Wisdom as main stat. Feat wise grab the TWF feat line, whirlwind attack, and make sure to grab the monk stances at 12 & 18. Other than that grab your typical fighter feats for extra damage/stun bonuses.
You'll be a bit on the squishier side but it could be fun to play. You'd have a lot of raw melee power from Kensai, decent stat boost from stance and power surge, action boost of haste and double strike. Your stun abilities should be fine from fighter feat bonuses making up not being a pure monk. And you'll have two AoE attacks with Whirlwind and the whirlwind you can get from the Sacred Fist tree.
Re-reading your comment if you meant for a pure monk build and just meant "fist fighter" as a style and not a class lol let me know and I can alter.
@@hellsewn5354 oh can you just give pure 20 monk build please?
@@hellsewn5354 yeah I need, starting stats, skills, feats, I am newbie
@@wowitsshit9734 do you have access to falcon tree?
nice