Build Guide
Hi, Michael here. The U6 monk is currently one of the strongest builds for monk solo (if not the strongest) in patch 2.4.1. With the guide I hope i can provide some tips and tricks i have learned from playing the spec.
The build play-style and some in-depth mechanics are discussed at length in the video. You can also find my U6 clear videos on the same youtube channel if you want to see the build in action. If you have specific questions or want to watch live, feel free to come hang out on my stream:
There are 4 things to keep in mind while playing the build:
- The Uliana's 2 piece bonus does not apply EPs that benefit from area damage. In all cases you must avoid applying EPs with the set bonus. You can do this by manually applying an EP (pressing the button), and spreading it using SSS. Also, the 2 piece bonus will not overwrite existing EPs, so once every mob in the area has EP on it (through SSS) you can freely use your generator to get spirit and assimilation stacks.
- Mythic rhythm passive generates a buff on your character after the 3rd spirit generator attack (this does not show on the buff bar). However, if you apply new EPs through your 2 set bonus, the MR buff is consumed. Your goal is to punch monster(s) with EPs on them already 3 times, thus generating a MR buff, then carry that buff to a new set of monsters and apply an EP manually. You can check out the guide video for a specific example of this in action if the text is confusing.
- The most damage you can do is by creating a large amount of density and using SSS while you have the following buffs: Cold COE, assimilation, 100 stacks of Endless Walk, and the occulus ring circle. Setting this up can be a bit tricky, and i show a specific example in the video.
- Survivability comes from two places. First the gear. You need the correct secondary resist rolls on every piece of gear, high mainstat from paragons/augments, and recovery through life per second and life per kill. Second, the active abilities that buff defense: Cyclone shoulders, dodge dash, binding of the lost belt, and desert shroud. Missing one of these 4 at any point in the rift will often lead you death.
If you want more information about the actual mechanics of exploding palm, mythic rhythm and more you can check out Davloks extensive testing post at: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/16527322731?page=22#436
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Posted Jun 3, 2016Nice guide. Thank you. How would you build this for non-meta group play? Switch unity for soj? If a healer monk is in the group you wont need cyclone strike or a mantra. I appreciate any suggestions.
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Posted Jun 16, 2016@Aithei: You misunderstand the mechanic. It works like this:
A base mechanic in D3 is you cannot chain proc - that is a proc cannot then cause a proc. U2 applied EP is a proc, and area damage is a proc. That means a U2 procced EP cannot proc area damage, which results in a significant loss of damage potential. At lower GR your damage is so high compared to the mobs' health that optimization is not as necessary. At higher GRs every bit counts.
Additionally, although U2 EP will benefit from MR, only one mob hit by the spirit generator will have an MR buffed EP. In other words, if you jump into a pack of 5 fresh mobs, cyclone them in and then hit all with the 3rd hit of a generator, all 5 will have EP that does not benefit from area damage and only ONE of those mobs will have an MR buffed EP. You have no way of knowing which.
Scenario 1: You cast EP on a fresh mob. That EP now benefits from area damage, but is not buffed by MR as you have not used your spirit generator.
Scenario 2: You run up to a pack of fresh mobs and use your spirit generator 3x to apply EP to everything around you. That EP will not benefit from area damage and only one mob will have an EP that benefits from MR.
Neither scenario is ideal as for the best possible damage you want both area damage and MR. So you take advantage of the fact that U2 will not overwrite a previously applied EP, which also means your MR buff will not be used. You apply EP, then use your spirit generator to get your MR buff without applying EP to anything else (you can also SSS after applying the initial EP so the EP is spread just in case there are any small mobs that may be tough to see). You then go to another pack, manually apply EP, SSS and now you have an MR-buffed and area-damage-capable EP on a pack of mobs. This maximizes your damage potential.
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Posted Jul 1, 2016@Arcialeth:
He meant to put Compass Rose as ring 1, Unity Ring 2 and CoE as adequate ring 2. Compass Rose is mandatory equip and you choose to either equip CoE and cube Unity, or equip Unity and cube CoE. He mentioned he prefers cubing CoE as unity provides % damage to elites.