Monk tactics

The monk is a glass cannon class. This means that you are not supposed to take the damage of the party, use diplomacy and other skills to try and get mobs to go to your tank.

Note that, your overall DPS will be higher when you are not using weapons (starting at 1d6 and increaseing rapidly to 2d10 at lvl 20), however this is not necessarily true at low levels when a set of two nice kama's can out DPS your fists. Either way, I would advise taking two-weapon fighting line feats as these affect both kama's and unarmed attacks, and as a monk you cannot use shields.

Weapon finesse also does affect both kama's and unarmed. Use your shurikens only when necessary as your fists will do a lot more DPS than your ninja stars.

While leveling up, if you are planning on trying to solo the game then work on your constitution with enhancements like the path of the tortoise, if you are not planning on soloing then you will want to increase your Ki generation through things like the path of the badger.

For an added boost in DPS do not forget about your elemental attacks and combo finishing moves - all of which can be found on the article.

As stated above, your fists are going to be more powerfull vs most enemies depending on the handwraps you are using. The only obvious exception of this is various damage reductions (ie. adamantine for iron golems, good for ghostly skeletons and such), but your fists will be able to bypass some of them as you leveling up as a monk.

While grouped you should stay behind the tanks and trap spotters. Always let your tanks get agro before entering combat, and once your are in combat let all hell loose on your enemies, blow your Ki on your combos and don't forget your finishing moves.

As for meditation, save it for the start of boss fights and let the party know you will need a few minutes before starting the fight. Another nice use for meditation is for a free rez when the cleric/favored soul dies. At lvl 9 you can unlock Rise of the Phoenix which for 50 Ki and 50 health is a instant ressurection. So once your meditate leads you to 55 Ki you can then quickly resurrect someone if say shrine is along way off or you are the only one left standing.

Another great tactic to use for high dex/str monks is a combination of: Path of the Crane and consuming Fire Stance. Crane gives Ki on criticals and consuming Fire Stance gives Ki on hit so you will be able to effectively spam attacks like Pos>Pos>Pos finishing move Healing Ki, for free healing very often. Running this as a lvl 11 light path Elven monk right now, and it is very effective. You do not have to hit the opponent to start a combo, it works with or without, once you gain base Ki of 30 you can trigger and save a combo for anytime.

Very nice items to have as a Monk.


 * Anything that give Deathblock unactivated (ie. Deathblock Robes) - find them and save them (Items like this don't have to be activated and cannot be dispeeled, Beholders or anything that uses insta-kill).


 * Robe of Winter - 30 DR vs fire at all times, cannot be dispelled (for those pesky fire elementals)


 * Voice of the Master - Trinket. +1 good luck bonus to saves and skills, +5%xp ,Delera's Tomb end reward


 * Mantle of the Worldshaper - Cloak. +1hp/min, +5% xp, Ruins of Threnal end reward.  +5% does not stack with other xp items (ie. xp potions or each other)


 * Fortification - a must, you are a glass cannon. Usually found on robes or belts.
 * Light Fortification - level 1~
 * Moderate Fortification - robes (level 4~), belts and rings (level 7~)
 * Heavy Fortification - robes (level 8~), necklace (Nightforge Gorget, level 9), helm (Minos Legens, level 11), belts and rings (level 11~)


 * Seeker + X items - gives bonus to both your chance to confirm critical hits, and critical damage.


 * Clickies - remember this if you have a finishing move activated then using one will cancel it out just like doors, chests.


 * Owl's Wisdom, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Blur and Displacement.
 * Blur can be replaced with Air>Pos>Air finisher but only lasts 1min, but effects all around you.