If you're trying to min/max, the absolute best monk build is gonna be 9 open hand monk and 3 thief. There are some arguments for 8 monk and 4 thief so you get an extra feat, but I really like ki resonance blast (which you get at open hand 9)

What kind of Monk? No matter the monk, Tavern Brawler feat is pretty amazing as it adds your Str to attack and damage rolls... Again.

If it's an Open Hand Monk, then you've a few options. I'm fond of Monk 8/Thief Rogue 4 to get all 3 feats and an extra bonus action for more punches. Others will argue for Monk 7/Thief 3/Fighter 2 for Action Surge, but I like my feats.

If you go OH Monk, Str elixirs are essential, like one guy already said, but don't overlook your Wis. Your passive, unarmoured defense, scales with Wis, as well as your passive punch buffs, the radiant/necrotic/psychic one. You also get boots that give your Wis modifier to each punch at the end of Act 2. So, as soon as you get lvl 6 monk and open the passive punch, respec, dump Str because you're using elixirs, and take ASI to round out Wis and Dex. TB rounds out Con. Careful not to use ANY armour for the passive. If enemies are suddenly focusing you, you probably equipped a piece, cause your AC goes way down. There are many good Clothings, so it wont be a problem.

Max strength and get the tavern brawler feat. You'll be hitting like a truck. Get anything that allows your unarmed strikes to deal additional damage. Other than that, punch them in the face.

8/4 OH TB Monk

https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/s/qHxUPRAO8z

Np. Slightly expanding on it because some variations on stick monk seem to be popping up- I'd go pure 20 monk stick monk. There is no ability in the game that is worth giving up getting abundant step right at 12, with the 3 second cooldown and the huge ki gen henshin gets you can literally fly through quests.

The entire build is just whirlwind attack and spring attack at 6, abundant step at 12, and press those 3 buttons basically exclusively. You can press other buttons or take healing if you feel the need, but not necessary.

Stick monk dlord gives you a little more active rotation with roar and wwa, and the +2 crit is extra valuable with Bloom and S2P

Swf vkf isn't bad either with /3 fist for more aoe. Front load a lot of mp in heroic

Not sure if this satisfies the "monk" request, but for 1-20, caster dragon disciple is very strong, and will outzerg any melee. I'm not sure about epics and higher though, I just did class lives, and supposedly there are scaling issues from epics onward.

It’s stick monk. Add in 6 rogue to double dip the staff stuff and go dex based. You have a good heal with your t5 dark monk ability at the top of the tree. A few other aoe attacks to help clear. And you run fast and you got a leap.

Stick monk

Im on a Handwrap Aasimar build it I was running Reaper under-leveled with no problems. Ying has a really amazing build out. But it does require some button pushing.

It really depends on what sort of build you want. Traditional monk I would start with 17 dex, 16 wis, and 15 con, bumping con and dex by 1 at level 4.

If you want to use tavern brawler and plan to use heavy armor and shield, obviously you want strength. This is not a usual monk build, but in BG3 it can become extremely powerful. If you want to use stunning strike or otherwise want a good DC, you will also want wisdom. If you just want damage, I would go 17 str, 16 con, so that tavern brawler gets you to 18 strength.

Monks are insanely strong even without tavern brawler, so tavern brawler risks trivialising the game. If you aren’t respeccing start with Fighter and go str 17, dex 14, con 12, int 8, wis 14, cha 10. Use medium armour and a shield then monk up to 7 then rogue to 10 for thief, fighter 11 for action surge, thief last for the feat. Alternatively when you get a certain piece of armour you could spec out of fighter.

I haven’t tried the build yet but

Common monks benefit from dex and wis for unarmoured AC and speed

The onepunch man strength build with tavern brawler isn’t available until you get your feat so taking a strength build right from the beginning makes you struggle at the beginning compared to respec’ing it later once you’re levelled enough I think

17 str/12 dex/14 con/8 int/14 wis/10 cha

You can drop some dex once you get good heavy armor if you want.

Question: For a strength build can you not just focus on dex and con and use elixirs for strength and later on >!Gauntless of Hill Giant Strength !< or is that just being silly?

Classic monk

dump strength, int, Charisma and go Dex>wis>Con.

One trick tavern brawler monk

dump int and charisma and go strength > Con > Wis/dex.

Melee DPR (we measure in rounds not seconds) is just not something a tier 3 monk will ever be great at.

If we are locked in as a melee DPR then -Mercy subclass, bugbear race, ruined background, touch of harm dark gift.

Monks aren't the best in tier 3.

Not a super optimized build, but I like Half Drow Monk 8/Swashbuckler 3 with Crusher. Take rogue to 5, then monk 14.

The best Monk build is a gunk.

You go for shadow monk custom lineage for gunner and use the optional features Focused Aim and Ki-Fueled Attack to give yourself a bonus action attack and short periods where you are able to do more nova damage than a crossbow battle master. You also take sharpshooter at 4.

You take around 6 levels and always have pass without trace active, if you feel like you need 1 or 2 more levels for Ki you can take those later but other dips are more relevant.

Otherwise you take the standard martial dips and the build would look something like this:

Custom Lineage, Gunner for 18 dex
Sharpshooter at monk 4
Shadow Monk 6 -->Gloomstalker 3 --> Battlemaster 3

If no one has picked peace cleric pick that one, if you lack access to a magical weapon go for forge, instead of monk 6.

This is the best martial build out there, monks do good damage when they are ranged.

There is a pretty high chance that this build will absolutely crush everything else at your table, if martials at your table are required to have sharpshooter/great weapon master and crossbow expert/polearm master to contribute this build will do pretty good. If you can just play a martial without worrying much about optimization i would recommend a straight peace monk instead with maybe dips in other classes.

I know that monks are horrible damage dealers, but I'm still want to try to contribute as a DPS to my group.

Here's the thing, DPS is not your role. Monks are skirmishers that excel at hit and run tactics. That being said: Tabaxi Way of Mercy/Open Hand monk with the Slasher feat, eventually taking mobile as well. Maybe start with a level in rogue if you're feeling spicy. Now, you can do multiple status effects per hit and then run away.

Mountain Dwarf Mercy Monk 8/Beast Barbarian 3 or Totem Warrior Bear Barbarian 3

Monk + Barb has great synergy but is a really MAD class, so mountain dwarfs getting +2 to STR and +2 CON really helps your starting stats. Since your beast Barb claws count as simple weapons and they do t have the heavy or special property, they qualify as monk weapons, meaning you can do 3 attacks with your action as soon as you have extra attack, plus your normal monk bonus action attacks. On a normal turn, that is 3 attacks with your claws and one bonus action attack with your unarmed martial arts die, and with flurry of blows you get a 5th attack. You also get to apply your rage damage bonus to all 4 or 5 attack, so going 3 levels in beast barbarian improves your monk damage output significantly, and your rage gives you resistance to all physical damage. For more survivability, go with the totem warrior bear barbarian that gives you resistance to all damage except psychic while raging. You have less attacks, but you get to apply your rage damage bonus to all of them. With dedicated weapon, your dwarf can use a battleaxe as a monk weapon, so your first 2 attacks are 1d10 plus STR mod. Then you get your 1-2 bonus action attacks. Mercy monk is great damage regardless, since you can add hands of harm to your bonus action attack for 1 ki point and add martial arts die plus wisdom mod to an unarmed attack without even having to make an attack roll. Level 6 mercy monk gets to apply the poisoned effect with no save to an enemy you hit with hands of harm, a poisoned enemy has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of your next turn. You can also use your flurry of blows to heal yourself with hands of healing. Mercy monk is a great class overall, but combine it with the rage damage bonus for all the attacks you get and the resistances, it can be amazing. It really kicks on at level 8 so if you’re level 11 to start, you’ll be fine

That's cool and all, but if you're committed to playing a monk, you know you're not being optimal. People don't play monk to be a Gunk, they play it for the kung-fu anime bullshit. This is the kung-fu anime bullshit build. It's even got a catgirl/boy.

So why do it?

Because it's fun? And, in this case, hitting with an attack reduces the enemy's speed by 10 feet, and with Mobile, they can't make opportunity attacks against you, even if you miss. Open Hand gets an array of fun debuffs from Flurry of Blows, and Mercy can poison someone hit with Hand of Harm. On top of that, Stunning Strike exists.

Monks always have had bad DPS. Even the Gunk is mostly outclassed by a fighter doing the same thing. It's just not what they're made for. Lean into being an annoying little shit instead and harass the enemy with debuffs.

Official 5e doesn’t really have any lifesteal Barbs or Fighters.
If you’ve got a homebrew subclass you want opinions on you need to link it for us.

Far as just fun melee DPR builds go, a Beast Barb/Soulknife Rogue multiclass is a classic fun combat build.
B6/R5 slinging 4 attacks a round, or go B6/R3/F2 ready to nab a third fighter level with your next level up to add in echoknight for some really high attack options.

By favorite as far as concept goes is grung monk. They have a static jumping distance and it combos very well with step of the wind. Stack on stuff like boot of striding and springing and jump spell for truly impressive hops to the point you might as well have a fly speed.

They also have grung poison. Adding a low chance to poison any targets hit with piercing or unarmed damage. It adds nicely to what your already doing as a monk. And with your jumps you can basically teleport anywhere on a battlefield and start poison slapping them.

Theres also the drop kick combo as i like to call it. Theres rules for falling onto another creature. DC 15 vs splitting all the fall damage. After its split you can take slow fall to negate your half. With this you have suddenly weaponized your speed and jump height into potentially free bludgeoning damage and a chance to knock prone. Do it at the start if a turn for free advantage.

I call it the face hugger build. Amazing in concept woth glaring weaknesses. Sadly i haven't been able to play it yet. But on the up side its not exclusive to any subclass. So you can play whatever you like with it.

Personally i like shadow. At lv 6 they get a slightly limited but infinite use misty step. Though i like it better with a bug bear to make a punch based assassin. For the face hugger i think the open hand or long death work better for what they tend to do.

Do not play a 2014 Monk if 2024 is on the table. Other than the ability to spam Stunning Strike, they have improved in quality and fun factor in basically every way.

For 2024, pick the flavor you like best. All will be effective.

2024 Monk is nuts, go full monk, any subclass will do honestly.

I played a Monk who was a broken-hearted Minotaur trying to tame her wounded heart. You don’t have to be a barbarian to occasionally rage. (Went open-hand, but who fucking cares!)

For 2014, I like Open Hand Monk X/Battle Master 3 with Superior Technique. (And if playing as Variant Human/Custom Lineage, then also Martial Adept as a starting feat.) Not a strong build by any means, but I like how all those maneuvers on a Monk help me feel like the ultimate martial artist.

For 2024, any monoclassed* Monk is incredibly fun because of the vast improvements they've received.

*Taking a Fighter, Rogue, or Ranger dip for weapon masteries is nice.

Anyone know how to do tavern brawl monk without using elixirs and such? Or is it best just to do dex monk at that point.

And what kind of items and buffs should I be on the lookout for?

Tavern Brawler Open Hand Monk.

Have fun being a DBZ character.

I was going to recommend bard due to song of rest that gives another short rest. If you can still get back to the underdark pick Phalar Aluve and use shriek as Thunder damage is added to every punch. In battle hold person/monster will make her crit all hits so that is also a plus.

Strongest monk is probably

9/3 OH / thief

Base ability scores:

str 8 | dex 16(+1) | con 15 | int 8 | wis 17 (+2) | cha 8

Buy elixirs from aunti ethel at the grove using no-supply long rests to reset her shop inventory until you have a decent stockpile (15-20?). From level 4 you use these elixirs once per day every day, some days where you have big fights you use the cloud giants instead.

Later acts you may want to fish for cloud giant elixirs instead if your purse can handle the cost.

Level 4 you grab tavern brawler and slap the point in con. You start using elixirs.

Level 8 monk you slap two to ASI into wisdom for 19 total. You either use jaheira's necklace to bump that up to 20 in act 3 or grab the hags hair so you can use the con neck.

Mirror puts you at 22 wisdom. With +3 from dex and +6 from wisdom your AC is currently 19.

BIS gear list (probably)
Helm: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Horns_of_the_Berserker
Cape: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/The_Deathstalker_Mantle or https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Displacement or https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Protection bit of preference I'd say
Chest: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Vest_of_Soul_Rejuvenation
Hands: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Gloves_of_Soul_Catching
Boots: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Boots_of_Uninhibited_Kushigo
Neck: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Khalid%27s_Gift or https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Amulet_of_Greater_Health you have a good con already so I'd take the first and give the hair to someone else
Rings: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Callous_Glow_Ring and https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Shadow-Cloaked_Ring or something defensive like https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Ring_of_Protection https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Ring_of_Free_Action https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Ring_of_Regeneration , crit ring for bossing big nova types of rounds
Weapons: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Rhapsody MH https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Bloodthirst OH, unless rhapsody was changed?
Ranged weapons: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/The_Dead_Shot or https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Darkfire_Shortbow for resists, haste can be cast by others

With the AC from chest +2 dagger +1 and maybe cloak +1 and ring +1 we're looking at 22-24 AC, and a very strong con score to back it up, as well as probably healing for 10 every turn from the hands.

For leveling there's arguments for respeccing at several points in your journey. It's a bit up to you. I think the main times to respec would be level 4 and level 9. Level 4 because the melee damage prior to tavern brawler is a bit meh so maybe just play a barbarian or fighter until then, and level 9 because the first two levels of rogue are more or less dead weight and you'd rather just have levels of monk for 7-8.

Way of the open Palm9/Thief3 is the way to go:

Helm: Mask of Soul Perception for +2 to hit and initiate/Horns of the Berserker for +2 necrotic damage.

Chest: Vest of soul rejuvenation for +2 AC and attack on enemy melee miss

Arms: Soul Catching for 1d10 force damage and advantage on attacks

Cloak of protection: +1 AC

Boots: Boots of uninhibited Kushigo for wisdom modifier to damage.

Amulet: Amulet of Constitution for +23 to con

Rings: Ring of protection for +1 AC/Crushers Ring for +10 ft movement

Bow: Dark fire Shortbow for haste and resistance to fire and cold.

Now if you want the strongest monk build I recommend using elixir of cloud giant strength to get strength to 27.

Respec and dump every stat besides Wisdom and Dex. Pump your Wisdom first then Dex. Take Tavern Brawler at 4, and ACI at 8. For your ACI put all in Wisdom. Should be at 19. Now you probably didn't do this but if you had used the Hags hair for +1 to WIS you'd be at 20. Now use the mirror to get to 22 Wisdom.

Your Ability scores will look like this at 12( with elixir and items): STR: 27 DEX:16 CON: 23 INT: 8 WIS: 22 CHR: 8

Your AC will be 23 which is more then enough and your unarmed attacks will doing absurd amounts of damage with a very low chance to miss. With haste and Wholeness of body, you'll be punching for 10 times a turn for 3 turns at an average of 35 damage a punch. Also for 4 of those punches you can punch 4 different enemies with resonate ki and pop them at the end for a free action/1 ki and do 3d6 force damage per enemy resonated in the radius.

In my opinion the strongest melee in the game.

Bonus: If you put this build on Astarian and ascend him youll be doing an extra 1D10 necrotic damage per Punch.

Honestly, I personally don't like the elixir abuse too much. If you want more eco approach, you can go:

2 fighter, 6 Monk, 4 thief for high ac Monk.

This will give you heavy armor.

Use all the str potions and mirror to bring your str to natural 24. Keep wisdom to 16 is fine. 10 Dex, 14 con.

Once you get the legendary armor, you can switch over to the 9 Monk, 3 thief as mentioned. Or if you prefer to keep the surge, that's fine too.

Compared to other builds, you'll miss around 3 points of damage from wisdom per attack but that's around it. You won't have to abuse elixir potions. You would be able to bloodlust elixir if really necessary too.

Abusing potions totally fine but something quirks me about drinking str potions like a junkie and claiming to be a strong monk when you are just using drugs. On a RP perspective.

Not to be that guy but, 2 rogue is kinda useless, should’ve just went monk 8 for the asi and extra ki points and then respecced into 3 rogue at lvl 9.

cant have everything. if you want to resonation blast, it's still 9/3. if you want to punch stuff then switch to fighter 2, monk 6, thief 4.

Vengeance Pally (avoid openly murdering green characters and your oath is basically safe) is my top tier (I'm the guy who loves the Light of Creation+lvl 6 Pally aura, no stuns) or a OHTB Monk. They're busted and fun as hell.

I’ve been playing as an open-handed monk for the last three playthroughs and it’s SO MUCH FUN. If you play as Durge, you get a piece of gear that lets you turn invisible for two turns after a kill, so you can zip around the combat area without anyone seeing you. If you multiclass with rogue thief, and get a specific piece of gear in Act 3, then you can get FOUR bonus actions per turn. I’m a tornado of unstoppable death and it’s so much fun.

It also makes some fights super easy. I killed Orin before she could take a single action - just stun locked her and then destroyed her with furry of blows. 10/10 recommend playing as a monk at least once.

My type of character was either a tank paladin style that can lead the charge or a slimy ranger that shoots first and asks questions later.

The good thing is that in any rpg, at least one of these archetypes is op if not both.

Enjoy Playing: Eldritch Knight, no specific build. As a Fighter, I get proficiency in all armor and weapons, so when I find some new magical doodad, I get to try it out without respeccing 99% of the time. I also generally equip myself with armor and weapons that let me cast spells, just for flavor. I know using my Blasting Circlet and Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle isn't likely the best use of my Action and Action Surge, but it's fun. Same thing with using Psychic Spark and Ne'er Misser for more Magic Missiles.

Sweaty try-hard: Still Eldritch Knight, but with a specific build.

• Diadem of Arcane Synergy
• The Baneful
• Caustic Band
• Ring of Mental Inhibition
• Ichorous Gloves
• Titanstring Bow
• Boots of Stormy Clamor
• Arrow of Many Targets
• Crawler Mucus
• Ability Drain
• Cull the Weak

Before combat: apply Crawler Mucus to Titanstring Bow. Start combat: offhand attack with the Baneful to apply Ability Drain, Bane, Reverberation, and (potentially) Noxious Fumes. This also grants me Arcane Synergy. This target now has Disadvantage and -1d4 to its next saving throw against my next spell; which is Hold Person (or Monster). Action Surge, then shoot the target with Arrows of Many Targets. Since they are Held, these point-blank shots are guaranteed critical hits, which guarantees critical hits for all enemies hit by the ricochet. Furthermore, these enemies need to save against the Crawler Mucus to avoid Poison and Paralysis, and since Caustic Band deals acid damage to all of them, they also need to save against Noxious Fumes or each enemy becomes an AoE that hits other enemies near them. Any enemy that hits the Cull the Weak threshold in this chain then explodes and deals psychic damage to even more enemies around them.

I always play a multi class character. I like being versatile