Mönch build/ monk build

[Arahuaco]

Ich bin auf der Suche von einem guten Mönch build.
I'm searching a good monk build.

Thanks for your help

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Oh, come on!

It doesn't work like that. Especially not, if not telling which difficulty mode you have in mind.

The higher the difficulty, the more helpful the various bonus options become (food, drugs, potions, scrolls, enchanted equipment, Survival skill resting bonuses, inn resting bonuses, abilities, ...). There are many, MANY ways how to play this game, and you better find your own playstyle.

With regard to "builds", you don't simply create a character based on base attributes and be done. There is no overpowered build for the harder difficulty modes. On the easier modes, any quick monk can wreak havoc, even if alone, and it doesn't need any build guide for that. Also, a lot is added by personal strategies and tactics. You start at level 1, and you need a plan where to go, where to get equipment, whether companions run the show for you as long as some of your characters need help.

[Gilmoy]

I tend to think that the proper way to play PoE1 is to micro-manage your full party of 6.
The emergent stable configurations that win tactical combats involve harmonious teamwork.
I emphasize mobility, patiently using realtime instead of per-rests to deal damage.
Monk has a very key role that enables vast portions of this method.

Hence a good "build" includes stats, skills, and talents, through at least L12.
Plan ahead, or retrain once to fix earlier errors.

Stats are almost a non-issue. My style of play de-emphasizes individual stats.
I can take any 6 random who-dats, with any stats, and win the same way.
Tactical movement, shooting, and equipping good gear are the same regardless of stats.

Monk can make an early decision: 2 bare fists, or 1h Club of the Motaru?
Pick one, and go all-in on that idea. This affects your choice of early skills and talents.
You don't have enough skills and talents to be good at both simultaneously.

~~~~

I start a new game, and buid a brand-new Monk.
Ironically, she's (almost) identical to the way I built Zahua (the free Monk in WM1).

+ Path of the Damned
This affects certain talent choices. In particular, S05 Soul Mirror is worthless.
When all monsters have +15 Accuracy, they will never* Miss you.

+ Female, Human (+1 Might, +1 Resolve), Meadow Folk (doesn't matter)
+ Monk (+1 Stealth, +1 Athletics, +1 Survival)
This frees up your choice of Background.
Everybody in the party wants Stealth 1 to not be the party's Stealth-breaker.
Everybody needs Athletics 1 to unlock Second Wind.

My main character must* be my party Mechanics expert. (Somebody must.)
She will focus 78 of 90 total skill points (at L16) to reach Mechanics 12.
We have SUM {i = 1 to 12} (i) = 12*13 / 2 = 78, hence you're 1 point short of reaching L13.
That means you have 12 skill points, at any time, to buy a few levels of other skills.
It's convenient that she doesn't need to spend 2 SP on Stealth 1, Athletics 1.
She could pay 10 SP for Athletics +4 = 5, and have 2 SP anywhere else.

+ S01 Swift Strikes
This is part of a deeper plan for nearly quadratic DPS growth.
I shall stack L06 Lightning Strikes, L08 Heart of the Storm,
and Shocking Lash on her weapons, for large bonus Shock damage.
Yes, they all stack, and they work with ranged, melee, and bare fists.

More deeply, Monk's main usage is as sniper, shooter (with Persistence for DoT)
for most of combats, and melee only at the end, when we have numerical superiority.
Hence she shall usually have 0 or few Wounds, and won't be in melee range.

S01 Torment's Reach is decent, but it emphasizes melee, which already doesn't fit.

+ Points Left: 15
Might (Recommended)
Constitution, Dexterity (Highly Recommended)

11 10 10 10 10 11 = MIG, CON, DEX, PER, INT, RES (the 11s are from Human +1, +1)
Every possible build is fine, for the way I play.
More deeply, your main character is your Dialogue stats character.
This encourages you to add some points in PER/INT/RES to unlock dialogue options.

3 3 3 2 2 2 = 14 13 13 12 12 13: uniform
2 points each, +1 bonus point for the 3 recommended stats. Boring, but it will work.

4 4 4 1 1 1 = 15 14 14 11 11 12: athlete
1 point mental, 3 points physical. Slightly better combat DPS, worse in dialogues.

2 0 5 3 2 3 = 13 10 15 13 12 14: emphasizing Dexterity for +Action Speed%
0 0 1 0 0 0 = 13 10 16 13 12 14: Deadfire Archipelago
I ignore the Highly Recommended newbie guidance because I know how to play.

+ I don't need CON because my Monk is a pure shooter until there's zero risk in melee.
+ I goof off with very high DEX for higher shot rate with a war bow.
I think Zahua is the other way around, high Might average Dex. Both work fine.
+ I emphasize mental stats for dialogue fun.

Monk doesn't particularly emphasize AoE radius or effect durations.
It does get some benefit from them, esp. for Swift Strikes duration.

+ The Rooting Pain gambit can pump INT for AoE radius, and stack Interrupting Blows.
I choose not to build that, but AI Monks often do, and you'll suffer when you melee them.

+ Background: Drifter (Stealth +1 = 2, Mechanics +1 = 1)
I blundered here, forgetting that Monk already gets Stealth 1 for free.
Stealth 2 is a waste of 2 skill points or equivalent.
Heck, Stealth 9 is a waste, you still can't sneak up to any adult monster.

I "need" one of the choices that gives +1 Mechanics. The other options are:

+ Laborer: Athletics +1 = 2, Mechanics +1 = 1
Meh. Athletics 3 or 4 unlocks a couple of dialogue rewards (usually to avoid debuffs).
But you can just lump it and ride out those debuffs until your next rest.
Athletics 2 is halfway to being good, so it's a waste unless you invest even more into it.

+ Merchant: Lore +1 = 1, Mechanics +1 = 1
This actually makes sense. Lore 2 unlocks L1 scroll usage, for Fan of Flames tricks.
That can be useful for a melee(-ish) fighter who's often in the front.
You could even gambit 1+2+3 = 6 SP to get Lore 3+1 = 4 for L2 scrolls, instead of Survival.

I should have picked Merchant instead of Drifter. But it's OK, Stealth 2 isn't terrible.
I don't really need L1 scroll tricks.

~~~~

Looking further ahead (to L12 ), I plan these skills and talents:

L01: S01 Swift Strikes -- already took it
~~~~
L02: T02 Weapon Focus: Ruffian (Club of the Motaru) or Peasant (Unarmed)
Pick one, don't chase both.
Alas, you shall suck a bit with a War Bow (usually Persistence), but that's OK.

L03: S03 Long Stride -- +2 Move Speed enables you to snipe and outrun pursuit
Thereafter, Monk becomes party sniper, who initiates every combat from Stealth.

L04: T04 Vulnerable Attack -- to roughly double your MIN DPS vs. high DR
Or T04 Penetrating Shot, if you spend most of each fight as pure shooter.

L04: enchant ranged weapon with Shocking Lash, to stack Shock damage

L05: S01 Torment's Reach or S03 Force of Anguish
Because S05 Soul Mirror is useless on PotD difficulty.
Your Deflection is meh, monsters' Accuracy already beats it.
Then the PotD +15 Accuracy bonus closes their Miss window, and they never Miss.

L06: T(monk) Lightning Strikes -- stacking Shock damage
L07: pick any of the S07 skills

S07 Rooting Pain is a melee gambit, if you invite getting hit a lot.
S07 The Long Pain I've never tested. It might be good enough to build around.
S07 Duality of Mortal Presence is kind of boring, but any +defense helps a bit.

L08: T02 Heart of the Storm -- stacking Shock damage
L09: S09 Enervating Blows -- hey, infinite free debuffs! Stacks with your Rogue!

~~~~

Around L10, you can start goofing off with elective skills and talents.
By then, you're presumably no longer a newbie, and you can make your own choices.
Some ideas:

T04 Arms Bearer -- if you really want ranged, Club, and fists
T02 Two Weapon Style -- for bare fists (because it explicitly says so)
T04 Interrupting Blows -- with Torment's Reach AoE, and Rooting Pain tricks
T04 Vulnerable/Penetrating -- whichever one you didn't already take
Txx Apprentice's Sneak Attack -- 15% damage most of the time

You can always invest in defensive talents, if you fear Charmed, Paralyzed, etc.

~~~~

This Monk is the party Mechanics expert, and also the lead sniper.
She snipes, runs, and plays as mobile pure-shooter until melee is safe.
In emergencies, she can fight 1v1 and stop any 1 enemy goon.
With +2 Move Speed, she can also drag any 1 enemy on a long chase, and win 1v1.

Stats are almost the least important part of this grand plan.
PoE1 is not solved in the character-creation screen. It's deeper than that

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

This Monk is the party Mechanics expert, and also the lead sniper.

Survival skill is so much more attractive to any offensive character because of the resting bonuses that increase with every rank. Just watch at the "Rank III" bonus for e.g. Accuracy versus specific foes such as type "Beasts" like dragons. Or the "Rank III" bonus for e.g. consumable duration.
--> https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Survival

[Gilmoy]

Everybody else in the party does buy high Survival.
But I need 1 Mechanics guy in the party. I hate traps and locked doors

Who could even reach Rank III?
Rank III Consumables requires Survival 16:
https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Survival

You can reasonably get +2 Survival at creation, +2 from gear, +2 from Brighthollow.
Then you must buy 8-12 levels of Survival using skill points.
That's as costly an emphasis as buying L12 in anything else.

Most of my party are on pace to do that, anyways.
But we already win without resting much
Only 15 rests ever, to clear all of WM1, Crägholdt, and about 1/3 of Defiance Bay.
And most of those rests were inns and Brighthollow, instead of camping Survival bonuses.

I think we agree that one should focus skill points into 1 skill.
Don't spread them around and take wimpy L5-L6 in all 5 skills.
You either want 0, L1 to unlock a capability, or L10-12 for maximum benefit.

If you aggressively use tactical resting to farm combat buffs, that's also a valid style.
Somebody suggest a party build and typical battle strategy that exploits that idea.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

Who could even reach Rank III?
Rank III Consumables requires Survival 16:

The following topic gives the example of a wizard reaching Lore 11 at level 12. Plus +4 from bonuses, so Lore 15, and that is before the expanded game's level cap:
--> https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/70192-skills/#comment-1563726

If you compare the skill requirements with your party mechanic, who wants to handle traps of e.g. difficulty 13-14 it isn't much different.

Except a monk doesn't get any class bonus for Mechanics, and cultural background at most grants +1 Mechanics.

On the contrary, a monk can start with +3 Survival: Monk +1, Colonist +2, then later Rymrgand +1, equipment +2, plus the temporary resting & duration based bonuses. That is skill 17 at level 12.

[Arahuaco]

Thank you very much for your help.