it's possible... ?

[Too Old For This]

Good morning. I have a query, I come from poe 1 (a first and only 150 hour game) where I pass the game at 100% (with dlc included) with an unarmed monk character.
I imported my game, but I'm already going for lv3 and I see that the option of "unarmed monk" does not seem to be viable ...
The question is: Is it feasible and advisable to do an unarmed monk build in poe2? Or am I going to be forced to choose an armed style of combat?
I prefer to know now that I have not started.
THANKS A LOT

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Originally posted by Too Old For This:

G...I come from poe 1...
I imported my game, but .."unarmed monk" does not seem to be viable ...
The question is: Is it feasible and advisable to do an unarmed monk build in poe2? Or am I going to be forced to choose an armed style of combat?...

Rethink.. PoE 2 is different in some ways. Monk and Priest are not as OP anymore

PoE 2: Monk is good, but no reason to go barehanded. Still, doing it is viable..
note: Once you reach DichotomousSoul, your own damage is 30-50% in most fights, which considerably melts the difference between barehanded and weapons for Monk

Unarmed

If you really want a barehanded monster:
- Monk/Wizard (->DrainingTouch ftw)
- Monk/Priest (MinorAvatar+SpiritualAlly)..
-> if you enjoy fighting with 3 Summons those two are viable and fun, but ofc lategame.. which means weak earlygame

The less "fireworks" version would be Monk/Fighter.. high crit + free extra-attacks ,while strong from earlygame onwards. Just a bit bland and lacks Utility/CC. Only suggested, if you have a Party to support with Debuff/CC/Healing.

Weapons

Similar to Fighter would be Monk/Rogue.. even more fearsome within a crowd and good weapons (especially when flanked + enemies debuffed). Strong midgame + solid endgame.

Or multiclass with Cipher and enjoy a one man army (Bosskiller included). All you need is a healer (Chanter or Druid) in range because you pull Aggro like a magnet

Almost undying would be Chanter/Monk.. very strong lategame and the summons will tear apart any group of enemies.. ideal choice for SOLO

[Too Old For This]

Originally posted by wespe___o=/:*:

Originally posted by Too Old For This:

G...I come from poe 1...
I imported my game, but .."unarmed monk" does not seem to be viable ...
The question is: Is it feasible and advisable to do an unarmed monk build in poe2? Or am I going to be forced to choose an armed style of combat?...

Rethink.. PoE 2 is different in some ways. Monk and Priest are not as OP anymore

PoE 2: Monk is good, but no reason to go barehanded. Still, doing it is viable.. :krlvlup:
note: Once you reach DichotomousSoul, your own damage is 30-50% in most fights, which considerably melts the difference between barehanded and weapons for Monk

Unarmed

If you really want a barehanded monster:
- Monk/Wizard (->DrainingTouch ftw)
- Monk/Priest (MinorAvatar+SpiritualAlly)..
-> if you enjoy fighting with 3 Summons those two are viable and fun, but ofc lategame.. which means weak earlygame :D:

The less "fireworks" version would be Monk/Fighter.. high crit + free extra-attacks ,while strong from earlygame onwards. Just a bit bland and lacks Utility/CC. Only suggested, if you have a Party to support with Debuff/CC/Healing.

Weapons

Similar to Fighter would be Monk/Rogue.. even more fearsome within a crowd and good weapons (especially when flanked + enemies debuffed). Strong midgame + solid endgame.

Or multiclass with Cipher and enjoy a one man army (Bosskiller included). All you need is a healer (Chanter or Druid) in range because you pull Aggro like a magnet

Almost undying would be Chanter/Monk.. very strong lategame and the summons will tear apart any group of enemies.. ideal choice for SOLO :brawler:

It is very sad to see how they removed options from poe1 to 2 ... races that are not available (divine), classes that are unviable, even attacks ...
My monk is a single class, I will try to pass poe2 like this, full disarmed monk, even if it is weaker and even unfeasible, she was created like this ... I will try to find objects that put the build (if there).
Thanks for the information mate

[Diomedes]

No options were removed, if anything the monk is even crazier in this game than they ever were in the original.. As a pure class monk, their unarmed damage and highest level abilities are nuts.. You also are incredibly tanky due to a offhand weapon you get later in the game that scales with your fists as a weapon, but also acts as a shield on top of that..
Furthermore I don't even know what Wasp is talking about.. Fists will out damage everything if you go straight monk due to the scaling and speed..
And if you want to go fists, you should go straight monk because your fists scale on power level.
Monks are considered one of the most powerful pure classes in the game.... They are way more ridiculous in this game than they were in the first.

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Originally posted by Too Old For This:

...My monk is a single class, I will try to pass poe2 like this, full disarmed monk, even if it is weaker and even unfeasible, she was created like this ... I will try to find objects that put the build (if there).

Singleclass Monk is good, but unarmed is tricky. Some enemies are immune to your dmg-type.. you will need a pair of weapons
There are not that many items to boost Monk specifically

Unarmed Combat Monk requires Multiclass. You lose T8/9 skills, but "WhispersOfTheWind" and "ResonantTouch" are not as OP as some make it sound.
Especially without Weapons or Summoned Weapons it´s relatively weak compared to the cost..

Originally posted by Diomedes:

... Fists will out damage everything if you go straight monk due to the scaling and speed..

wrong.. better start learning the game.. weapons are way above

Originally posted by Diomedes:

...Monks are considered one of the most powerful pure classes in the game.... They are way more ridiculous in this game than they were in the first.

what? unarmed definitely not..
Ofc, now you refer to the quite strong armed Monk.. dishonest comment to say the least.
Even then: strong, but not even top 3 for Singleclass

-> Monk becomes strong with Multiclass

[Diomedes]

One of the first triple crowns from the game was a unarmed single class monk that is posted on youtube.. I have no idea why you're getting emotional over this... Unarmed combat has always been crazy good with monk, and this guy is most likely going to be playing as a full group on a lower difficulty..
Regardless of what you may think, unarmed combat is viable, even at the highest difficulties... Meaning to the OP he is more than fine going full unarmed (with the palm shield as offhand).
And unarmed most definitely does not require multiclass, in fact if you multiclass your fists will do less damage because they scale with power level not overall level..

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Originally posted by Diomedes:

One of the first triple crowns from the game was a unarmed single class monk that is posted on youtube.. I have no idea why you're getting emotional over this... Unarmed combat has always been crazy good with monk, and this guy is most likely going to be playing as a full group on a lower difficulty..
Regardless of what you may think, unarmed combat is viable, even at the highest difficulties... Meaning to the OP he is more than fine going full unarmed (with the palm shield as offhand).
And unarmed most definitely does not require multiclass, in fact if you multiclass your fists will do less damage because they scale with power level not overall level..

Keep presuming. You made bold statements and I fixed that.
-> It´s one thing to be enthusiastic about something, but when you spread misinformation you shouldn´t complain if you get corrected

It helps to know that the game at Release in 2018 was different from 2020/2021.
There was a ton of "Fixing/Balancing" and several builds lost a lot of dmg-output.
That´s why it´s much smarter to compare a Class in general.. not specific Min-Max options with huge drawbacks (Nalpazca Monk or Streetfighter Rogue).
-> Especially Youtubers tend to use very special builds to show off

I agree that playing Monk "unarmed" requires Singleclass to progress decently, unless you use summoned Weapons. But still, playing Monk SC unarmed you will at least use LongPainFist unless you lack a brain.. and that´s a Summoned Weapon, too. While those do considerable damage in contrast to bare-handed Monk (normal barehanded is even weaker), there are downsides.

No matter how you look at it, a Multiclass-Wizard with summoned weapons is totally on par with SC Monk, hence my advice above. Btw, Wizard/Rogue with Nannasin´s Cobra Strike will outdamage any Monk-build by a mile and against Bosses/Superbosses your SC Monk will be left in the dust

And for Tuotilo´sPalm.. that Shield is quite bad if you want to play "unarmed/barehanded"
-> technically you are right, that shield is +Deflection and solid dmg, BUT RP-wise a shield just doesn´t fit with monk, especially not barehanded one

What many players (also Youtubers) overlook is Overall damage. Your own damage becomes less important with Summons (eg: DichotomousSoul). That´s why Singleclass has a huge advantage at Lv.13+ ..otherwise it means waiting for Lv.19 when multiclassed. But again, that does not mean Monk himself is superb.. just Summons are

[Archon]

You'll only have a problem if you're going solo. Otherwise you can win with just about any random 5 guys with basic swords

[ec928]

I fumbled my way through my first playthrough mainly because I was still learning the game. Played it on POTD difficulty because people here said it was "really easy" (which I disagree with). So I certainly made mistakes.

But armed seemed better than unarmed. Although my pure Monk duel-wielding Xoti was a bit meh and kept dying all the time... Someone said use her as an "off-tank" but that's easier said than done when you're literally surrounded by a horde of enemies on all sides, all of whom have more health than you. Anyway, she was very average until she got L9 "Whispers of the Wind", then she was pretty good. I was more impressed by my Evoker Wizards L9 "Minoletta's Missile Salvo", but the late game Monk was still pretty strong.

Anyway, if I had to do it again, during the early levels, I'd use a good legendary one-handed weapon as primary and Tuotilo's Palm (offensive shield) as secondary, and have both "weapons and shield" and "two weapons style". Either way, good luck OP with your Monk.

[Too Old For This]

Originally posted by Diomedes:

One of the first triple crowns from the game was a unarmed single class monk that is posted on youtube.. I have no idea why you're getting emotional over this... Unarmed combat has always been crazy good with monk, and this guy is most likely going to be playing as a full group on a lower difficulty..
Regardless of what you may think, unarmed combat is viable, even at the highest difficulties... Meaning to the OP he is more than fine going full unarmed (with the palm shield as offhand).
And unarmed most definitely does not require multiclass, in fact if you multiclass your fists will do less damage because they scale with power level not overall level..

don't jump to conclusions little buddy ... I'm going for the triple crown. just like I did in poe1. I do not play in "low difficulties"

[Too Old For This]

besides the sand storm . ill try Unarmed monk anyways...
Thanks for the info guys

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Originally posted by Too Old For This:

besides the sand storm . ill try Unarmed monk anyways...
Thanks for the info guys

Hi.. just tested again (Lv19 -almost max):
SC Monk is on par with good Rogue, but not better
Key is DichotomousSoul, WhisperOfTheWind, and solid Wound-Generator (I´d suggest ShatteredPillar Monk). Btw, what I said above is all correct. No worries..
Just don´t try doing 5+ enemies in melee while surrounded.. (some Rogues can do, Monk not)

Before I forget, there is ONE big PRO-Monk argument: ULTRACHEAP
..seriously, you can ignore all Unique and Soulbound Weapons, even Armor, Belt, etc.. Monk performs with the most basic stuff.. maybe that´s the cool thing about classic barehanded SC Monk

If someone doesn´t play long full-clear Playthrough, or not interested to get all Quests and collect Sidekicks, party of 3 Monks +Chanter/Druid/Wizard might be nice for fast rushing through content with almost zero Gear.. lol
-> also helpful to fill up Crewslots in Boarding-Fights on ship.. party chars are always better than Crew with 200+ Sailor exp
That said, in 100-200hours Playthrough you have enough time to gear up and enjoy the story, also some Companions and Sidekicks are funny.. a few really good. After all, SC Monk performs best with a party (Debuff/CC/Heal)

Have fun.. and GL with the crown