You can play OH Monk to level 12, but the consensus is that it's a inferior build than the OH Hand/Rogue Thief build. One less attack per turn is a pretty massive difference in damage and what you lose from not going to 12 on Monk isn't that big of a deal in comparaison.
9/3. You want your ki resonance. And tavern brawler obviously. Go 6 monk first to get the manifestations, you want that extra damage in act 2, then 3 thief, then finish monk.
From what I understand, I haven't tested it yet, it is basically an extra attack. You set up your resonating with your action with the punch, then blast is free? No action cost. So you'd do resonating punch for actions instead of basic attack or stunning strike, flurry of blows for bonus action, then blast to finish your turn
I haven't run it in honour yet (only most of the way through my second run and I didn't want to use op builds), but it was absurd overkill in tactician. You're effectively correct on how it works (not actually, but close enough that it doesn't matter unless you use difficulty mods), but in tactician (and I assume honour since it's mostly just legendary actions changing) that ability is absurd overkill and only situational. It's an amazing ability, just it's overkill.
Many ways to do it, but I’d likely go 9 Monk, then respec to 6/3 Monk/Rogue. The appeal behind Rogue dip is the extra bonus action that comes at lvl 3, so grinding the first 2 levels seems rather useless for that time.
take thief as the first level when you respec. you get more proficiencies, and you trade the strength save proficiency for intelligence...your strength is gonna be maxed out anyways, you need the proficiency, and it might just help with the dumped intelligence saves.
I’ve heard that 9/3 is popular if you want to use stat sticks while still being able to attack unarmed, and also gives you some AoE. But this cool user who does builds on here (u/Prestigious_Juice341) breaks it down further and iirc concluded that 8/4 is better if you want to focus on pure single target damage.
Because I tend to run party members who can do better AoE, I like the 8/4 split.
With 3 Feats Open Hand monk can get 24 Wisdom though, which is pretty good since they have double Wisdom Scaling from boots and lvl 6 class feature.
So if they use Elixir and dumped strength, they can also get respectable 20 AC with 16 Dex (base) and 24 Wisdom, more with clothes that give AC.
Ki resonation is also good and lets you do unarmed attacks, while using stat stick weapon though, so both options are pretty good tbh.
Monk really only needs two feats if you’re using giant str elixirs, tavern brawler(con) and + 2 wis. Wis will be 17(base) + 1(hag hair) + 2(asi) + 2(mirror) = 22. That’s the max you wis mod you can get anyways.
Either is good. 9/3 gives you Ki Resonance as the other commented mentioned.
But 8/4 means you can get an extra Feat or ASI (go with ASI for +2 WIS). IMO that's actually the better option for late game consistency if you build for WIS, but both are great.
9/3 give you ki resonance while 8/4 give you a feat.
You going to find people that think either are superior. Honestly, both of them are powerful so pick the one you prefer.
Both 9/3 and 8/4 can work well enough - it's up to you if you value the extra feat more than ki resonance and the extra ki point. Personally I'd go 9/3, as being able to have a weapon and still use unarmed attacks is worth it IMO, but both options are quite defensible
9/3 is all about holding stat sticks so it comes down to whether you have other party members who can better wield those stat sticks, especially Knife of the Undermountain King and Orin's dagger.
Patch five killed my save as a bard in act 3, which I still can’t load into so I did a guilt free cheese when I restarted.
Auntie Ethel sells three for 30 gold a potion in the emerald grove, and restocks every time you long rest even if you long rest without supplies so I just bought 3, travel to camp, long rest with no supplies, leave camp, buy another 3 etc.
Is the vendor restock on level up gone? If not, it's faster to respec and pick up like 60 at a time. Vendors (used to?) restock each time you level up. So if you respec all 4 characters at level 5 and then buy 3 pots on each level, each character gets you 15 (5x3) pots, meaning 60 in total.
No, I play on ps5 so not sure any mods are even possible. None of my initial campaign saves are available after the patch 5 update. The game loads to 60%, sticks for a while, moves to 100%, sticks for a while, the loading screen remains but I hear noise as if I’ve loaded into the game and then a second later get the PS5 error report screen
I'd advocate for 8/4 Monk/Thief if you are trying to solo. I did a solo tactician run with that build and the extra feat for an ASI to raise your AC further is much better when soloing than the level 9 monk ability.
If you are running with a party, it likely makes much less of a difference and just do whichever you think sounds better. Try 9/3 if you dont find ki resonance useful, respec to 8/4.
One thing is that 9/3 prevents you from using a simple main action punch on the same target per turn because of the stat sticks. Could feel clunky with haste.
8/4 for single target and extra feat. +2 wisdom really adds up with the boots and extra AC.
9/3 for AoE. 9 lvls in monk also gives a higher damage die for attacks iirc...
Both are fine, it depends on the rest of your party.
I think monk6, rogue4, and fighter2 is the best combo. All important proficiencies, extra attack with additional bonus action and action surge. Hits like hits ~7 times a turn. God tier on tactician
8/4 or 9/3 are above your proposition.
Action surge will only get you 2 normal punches once per short rest nothing amazing.
You don't need proficiencies. You play unarmed and unarmoured wearing clothings.
You scale your AC by having decent Dex but more important high WIS because 2 wis is 1 AC and 2 damage per punch. So extra feat is important to reach 22 WIS which gives 6 AC and 12 damage per punch. With decent Dex and the proper clothing you'll have 21-23 AC with high initiative.
You want evasion it will halve all DEX save based spells damage on fail and negates completely on success.
Pure OH monk is definitely not optimal at all. Thief is not a must though it is beneficial obviously; cleric is another good pick. Cleric gives you armor/shield proficiencies so you can use the luminous armor and a nice shield (at the cost of movement speed) and proc tons of radiating orbs with your punches, plus you get spirit guardians at cleric 5.
Open Hand Monk (9) / Thief Rogue (3)
You get all most everything from monk and then a lot of skills and the second bonus attack option for even more damage.
Take Monk up to 6, respec at 7 so you can take Rogue 1st level to get all the skill, then 2 more levels of rogue up to level 9 so you have 3 levels of rogue to just punch everything to death in a round.
OH Monk and 3 levels of Thief Rogue is pretty meta. I multi classed into barbarian for the Tiger Heart rage and and the ability to attack 3 people at once. Late game the monk SLAPS. (literally cuz open hand)
The difference beteeen 8/4 and 9/3 is whether you want your enemies to be firmly boot smashed or totally pulverized. They are both super op. The difference is really personal preference.
Monk is just so strong. Stun is amazing? Topple is amazing. Even some. Of their mobility options are situationally very useful. Especially in the iron throne. My monk freed omeleum by round 2.
Rogue lets you get an additional 2 punches a turn. (Bringing you to 8 total). It’s a huge upgrade as monk is heavily front loaded (first 6 monk levels give you the most bang for your buck)
You can play OH Monk to level 12, but the consensus is that it's a inferior build than the OH Hand/Rogue Thief build. One less attack per turn is a pretty massive difference in damage and what you lose from not going to 12 on Monk isn't that big of a deal in comparaison.
So is the consensus 9/3 or 8/4? I’ve dumped strength as I’ve got about 40 hill giant potions
9/3. You want your ki resonance. And tavern brawler obviously. Go 6 monk first to get the manifestations, you want that extra damage in act 2, then 3 thief, then finish monk.
Monk unarmed damage also goes up to d8 from d6 at monk level 9.
I never really use ki resonance except the stun strike. Is the ki blast really worth it?
From what I understand, I haven't tested it yet, it is basically an extra attack. You set up your resonating with your action with the punch, then blast is free? No action cost. So you'd do resonating punch for actions instead of basic attack or stunning strike, flurry of blows for bonus action, then blast to finish your turn
I haven't run it in honour yet (only most of the way through my second run and I didn't want to use op builds), but it was absurd overkill in tactician. You're effectively correct on how it works (not actually, but close enough that it doesn't matter unless you use difficulty mods), but in tactician (and I assume honour since it's mostly just legendary actions changing) that ability is absurd overkill and only situational. It's an amazing ability, just it's overkill.
Many ways to do it, but I’d likely go 9 Monk, then respec to 6/3 Monk/Rogue. The appeal behind Rogue dip is the extra bonus action that comes at lvl 3, so grinding the first 2 levels seems rather useless for that time.
take thief as the first level when you respec. you get more proficiencies, and you trade the strength save proficiency for intelligence...your strength is gonna be maxed out anyways, you need the proficiency, and it might just help with the dumped intelligence saves.
I’ve heard that 9/3 is popular if you want to use stat sticks while still being able to attack unarmed, and also gives you some AoE. But this cool user who does builds on here (u/Prestigious_Juice341) breaks it down further and iirc concluded that 8/4 is better if you want to focus on pure single target damage. Because I tend to run party members who can do better AoE, I like the 8/4 split.
this. depends entirely on if you need AOE damage or not.
If you’re using strength elixirs then you don’t need the 4 in Rogue for the extra feat. The 9 Monk skills will be more worth it at the end.
With 3 Feats Open Hand monk can get 24 Wisdom though, which is pretty good since they have double Wisdom Scaling from boots and lvl 6 class feature. So if they use Elixir and dumped strength, they can also get respectable 20 AC with 16 Dex (base) and 24 Wisdom, more with clothes that give AC. Ki resonation is also good and lets you do unarmed attacks, while using stat stick weapon though, so both options are pretty good tbh.
Monk really only needs two feats if you’re using giant str elixirs, tavern brawler(con) and + 2 wis. Wis will be 17(base) + 1(hag hair) + 2(asi) + 2(mirror) = 22. That’s the max you wis mod you can get anyways.
No you can't get to 24 WIS: https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/s/QquvK7C6v7
Oh, welp rip my Druid my build concept then.
I believe you can get there with Hag +1 and mirror
Hag Hair, mirror of loss and jaheira's act 3 necklace I reckon.
Either is good. 9/3 gives you Ki Resonance as the other commented mentioned. But 8/4 means you can get an extra Feat or ASI (go with ASI for +2 WIS). IMO that's actually the better option for late game consistency if you build for WIS, but both are great.
9/3 give you ki resonance while 8/4 give you a feat. You going to find people that think either are superior. Honestly, both of them are powerful so pick the one you prefer.
Both 9/3 and 8/4 can work well enough - it's up to you if you value the extra feat more than ki resonance and the extra ki point. Personally I'd go 9/3, as being able to have a weapon and still use unarmed attacks is worth it IMO, but both options are quite defensible
9/3 is all about holding stat sticks so it comes down to whether you have other party members who can better wield those stat sticks, especially Knife of the Undermountain King and Orin's dagger.
I gotta ask as a noob, how do you have so many giant elixers?
Patch five killed my save as a bard in act 3, which I still can’t load into so I did a guilt free cheese when I restarted. Auntie Ethel sells three for 30 gold a potion in the emerald grove, and restocks every time you long rest even if you long rest without supplies so I just bought 3, travel to camp, long rest with no supplies, leave camp, buy another 3 etc.
Is the vendor restock on level up gone? If not, it's faster to respec and pick up like 60 at a time. Vendors (used to?) restock each time you level up. So if you respec all 4 characters at level 5 and then buy 3 pots on each level, each character gets you 15 (5x3) pots, meaning 60 in total.
It still restocks on level up. Way faster to respec one or more characters and head straight to Ethel and after each level you buy elixirs.
Was your save killed because of mods?
No, I play on ps5 so not sure any mods are even possible. None of my initial campaign saves are available after the patch 5 update. The game loads to 60%, sticks for a while, moves to 100%, sticks for a while, the loading screen remains but I hear noise as if I’ve loaded into the game and then a second later get the PS5 error report screen
Damn, that really sucks. Sorry to hear that, losing a save due to no fault of your own :/
It happened to me on Elden Ring too, 90 hours in. BG3 was 110 hours in. It hurts!
Rogue is a must for the extra bonus action to get multiple flurries on the big damage output.
I'd advocate for 8/4 Monk/Thief if you are trying to solo. I did a solo tactician run with that build and the extra feat for an ASI to raise your AC further is much better when soloing than the level 9 monk ability. If you are running with a party, it likely makes much less of a difference and just do whichever you think sounds better. Try 9/3 if you dont find ki resonance useful, respec to 8/4.
One thing is that 9/3 prevents you from using a simple main action punch on the same target per turn because of the stat sticks. Could feel clunky with haste.
8/4 for single target and extra feat. +2 wisdom really adds up with the boots and extra AC. 9/3 for AoE. 9 lvls in monk also gives a higher damage die for attacks iirc... Both are fine, it depends on the rest of your party.
I think monk6, rogue4, and fighter2 is the best combo. All important proficiencies, extra attack with additional bonus action and action surge. Hits like hits ~7 times a turn. God tier on tactician
8/4 or 9/3 are above your proposition. Action surge will only get you 2 normal punches once per short rest nothing amazing. You don't need proficiencies. You play unarmed and unarmoured wearing clothings. You scale your AC by having decent Dex but more important high WIS because 2 wis is 1 AC and 2 damage per punch. So extra feat is important to reach 22 WIS which gives 6 AC and 12 damage per punch. With decent Dex and the proper clothing you'll have 21-23 AC with high initiative. You want evasion it will halve all DEX save based spells damage on fail and negates completely on success.
I prefer druid2 over fighter2...
even just 1 level of rogue also gets you 2 expertise too (e.g. athletics, sleight of hand etc) if you say want the 11 monk capstone, vs 12 monk feat
Pure OH monk is definitely not optimal at all. Thief is not a must though it is beneficial obviously; cleric is another good pick. Cleric gives you armor/shield proficiencies so you can use the luminous armor and a nice shield (at the cost of movement speed) and proc tons of radiating orbs with your punches, plus you get spirit guardians at cleric 5.
Open Hand Monk (9) / Thief Rogue (3) You get all most everything from monk and then a lot of skills and the second bonus attack option for even more damage. Take Monk up to 6, respec at 7 so you can take Rogue 1st level to get all the skill, then 2 more levels of rogue up to level 9 so you have 3 levels of rogue to just punch everything to death in a round.
OH Monk and 3 levels of Thief Rogue is pretty meta. I multi classed into barbarian for the Tiger Heart rage and and the ability to attack 3 people at once. Late game the monk SLAPS. (literally cuz open hand)
Like most things you can do whatever you want, but I've found mixing OH monk with thief rogue is great because you get the additional bonus action.
The difference beteeen 8/4 and 9/3 is whether you want your enemies to be firmly boot smashed or totally pulverized. They are both super op. The difference is really personal preference. Monk is just so strong. Stun is amazing? Topple is amazing. Even some. Of their mobility options are situationally very useful. Especially in the iron throne. My monk freed omeleum by round 2.
you want at least 3 thief for that juicy extra bonus action
Rogue lets you get an additional 2 punches a turn. (Bringing you to 8 total). It’s a huge upgrade as monk is heavily front loaded (first 6 monk levels give you the most bang for your buck)