I've been quite hesitant to post my thoughts about my build until I have personally tested it in inferno (past act 2 specifically) to see how it would work.
Mainly due to the large amounts of similar posts from people who suggest builds for inferno that contain one of the two following flaws :
(1) Not being fully tested in harder acts of inferno
(2) Being highly gear dependent builds that require certain stats to work
After enough playing to get a good feel for it with all the possible champion packs and such, I can gladly say that this build will enable you to survive and kill things SLOWLY but SURELY in inferno, in order to gear up enough to the point of trying out more varied/fun builds.
This is mainly a build focusing on extreme survival for farming inferno purposes until you can get your stats past a comfortable point to try out less defensive builds.
(1) Out of all your spirit spenders, Sweeping wind is the most well rounded, with the best overall Damage output over longer fights than any other spirit spenders (Due to AOE damage, almost permanent uptime if you keep the 3 stacks up without needing to spend extra spirit for more damage, and no cooldown)
(2) it has the highest spirit cost of any possible spirit spender (75 spirit) , which enables it to synergize well with the transcendence passive (which we are using in this build), therefore you can use it as an emergency heal (4650 Life) if both serenity and breath of heaven are on cooldown.
(3) Bladestorm rune is without doubt the most useful rune for sweeping wind, increasing the damage dramatically
Skill Choice : Breath of Heaven Rune Choice : Circle of Life
(1) A very powerful healing spell, at a relatively low spirit cost and moderate cooldown, a definite must have
(2) Circle of Life rune increases the healing to 8063 - 9675 life , which is even better
(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 1550 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 9613 - 11225 life
(1) A shield that makes you invulnerable for 3 seconds, as well as immunity to all control impairing effects, again a skill that is a must for survival.
(2) Peaceful Repose rune allows it to also function as a secondary heal for 6202 - 7752 life
(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 620 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 6822 - 8372 life
(1) chances for enemies to miss translate directly into extra dodge for your character, more survivability.
(2) Searing Light rune makes this even more valuable by making the chance for elite enemies to miss attacks on you increase to 60%
Skill Choice : Mantra of Evasion Rune Choice : Backlash
(1) Since monk is overall an avoidance tank, not a vitality tank like the barb, therefore mantra of evasion is a more powerful choice by amplifying his avoidance even further
(2) Backlash rune selection was mainly due to this build being very highly defensive, and the only source of damage coming from crippling wave and sweeping wind, therefore it would be useful to add a little extra damage through a defensive ability like the mantra,
Also since you will be dodging attacks for a good majority of the time, this would mean the 35% weapon damage AOE is a semi-passive ability, that stacks with sweeping wind (making the total passive aoe damage around you reach a total of 95% weapon damage most of the time)
(3) spamming the mantra whenever it's on cooldown adds an extra dodge chance (more survivability) which in turn also makes sure the backlash rune proc uptime is maximum (more AOE damage), while having the relatively medium cost of 50 spirit ensures it's also useful as a semi-heal through Transcendence passive (3100 Life)
Passive Skill Choices explanation :
Passive Skill : Resolve
(1) reducing incoming damage through your own attacks by 25% is a huge damage reduction amount.
(2) synergizes well with concussion rune for crippling wave (they stack multiplicative)
Passive Skill : Seize the initiative
(1) converting your main attribute for damage into a survival stat is a win-win strategy, stacking high dexterity to do more damage will automatically ensure you have more damage reduction without investing in any other stat
(2) High dexterity investment will also increase your dodge chance, which will increase your survival as well as your AOE damage from Backlash rune for Mantra of Evasion.
(3) High attack speeds from high dexterity stacking will translate to more spirit generation, which will translate into more cooldown usage, and therefore more heals overall through Transcendence passive
Passive Skill : Transcendence
(1) utilizing any spirit spending ability into providing additional heals is definitely the most useful passive ability for a monk.
(2) Impressive synergy with almost all of the skills chosen in this build.
Notes and further thoughts regarding the build :
(1) Focus on stacking Dexterity and Vitality as your two main stats, as well as weapon damage (Duh!)
(2) Focus on stacking + all resists as your secondary stat
(3) For more early survival, use a good high damage 1h weapon with a shield, don't use a Daibo or dual wield early on in inferno, the extra armor from a shield is worth the trade-off in damage until you have better overall gear
(4) Tackle mobs slowly but steadily, use your cooldowns to effectively heal whenever you need, even by using an ability like the mantra or sweeping wind if your main healing spells are on cooldown
(5) try to maximize your dodge against bosses by using blinding flash + mantra consecutively as you stand to hit them, followed by serenity to give you a further 3 seconds where you can stand and damage without getting hit.
Any further critique and discussion is more than welcome, however bear in mind that this is not a late game build, but rather an inferno starting/farming survival build that enables you to effectively seek out better gear
3
Mainly due to the large amounts of similar posts from people who suggest builds for inferno that contain one of the two following flaws :
(1) Not being fully tested in harder acts of inferno
(2) Being highly gear dependent builds that require certain stats to work
After enough playing to get a good feel for it with all the possible champion packs and such, I can gladly say that this build will enable you to survive and kill things SLOWLY but SURELY in inferno, in order to gear up enough to the point of trying out more varied/fun builds.
This is mainly a build focusing on extreme survival for farming inferno purposes until you can get your stats past a comfortable point to try out less defensive builds.
Link to the build here
Skill choices and Rune decisions explanation :
Skill Choice : Crippling Wave
Rune Choice : Concussion
(1) Out of all your spirit generators, Crippling wave is probably the most well rounded one, with good AOE damage spread (compared to deadly reach)
(2) despite lower weapon damage percentage than WoHF , it still does more overall damage, mainly due to the AOE aspect
(3) Slowing down enemies is more valuable for hit and run during fights than the benefits granted by other generators
(4) Concussion rune adds 20% damage mitigation from enemy hits
(5) 20% slower attack speed on enemies also means less damage taken per second
Skill Choice : Sweeping Wind
Rune Choice : Bladestorm
(1) Out of all your spirit spenders, Sweeping wind is the most well rounded, with the best overall Damage output over longer fights than any other spirit spenders (Due to AOE damage, almost permanent uptime if you keep the 3 stacks up without needing to spend extra spirit for more damage, and no cooldown)
(2) it has the highest spirit cost of any possible spirit spender (75 spirit) , which enables it to synergize well with the transcendence passive (which we are using in this build), therefore you can use it as an emergency heal (4650 Life) if both serenity and breath of heaven are on cooldown.
(3) Bladestorm rune is without doubt the most useful rune for sweeping wind, increasing the damage dramatically
Skill Choice : Breath of Heaven
Rune Choice : Circle of Life
(1) A very powerful healing spell, at a relatively low spirit cost and moderate cooldown, a definite must have
(2) Circle of Life rune increases the healing to 8063 - 9675 life , which is even better
(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 1550 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 9613 - 11225 life
Skill Choice : Serenity
Rune Choice : Peaceful Repose
(1) A shield that makes you invulnerable for 3 seconds, as well as immunity to all control impairing effects, again a skill that is a must for survival.
(2) Peaceful Repose rune allows it to also function as a secondary heal for 6202 - 7752 life
(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 620 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 6822 - 8372 life
Skill Choice : Blinding Flash
Rune Choice : Searing Light
(1) chances for enemies to miss translate directly into extra dodge for your character, more survivability.
(2) Searing Light rune makes this even more valuable by making the chance for elite enemies to miss attacks on you increase to 60%
Skill Choice : Mantra of Evasion
Rune Choice : Backlash
(1) Since monk is overall an avoidance tank, not a vitality tank like the barb, therefore mantra of evasion is a more powerful choice by amplifying his avoidance even further
(2) Backlash rune selection was mainly due to this build being very highly defensive, and the only source of damage coming from crippling wave and sweeping wind, therefore it would be useful to add a little extra damage through a defensive ability like the mantra,
Also since you will be dodging attacks for a good majority of the time, this would mean the 35% weapon damage AOE is a semi-passive ability, that stacks with sweeping wind (making the total passive aoe damage around you reach a total of 95% weapon damage most of the time)
(3) spamming the mantra whenever it's on cooldown adds an extra dodge chance (more survivability) which in turn also makes sure the backlash rune proc uptime is maximum (more AOE damage), while having the relatively medium cost of 50 spirit ensures it's also useful as a semi-heal through Transcendence passive (3100 Life)
Passive Skill Choices explanation :
Passive Skill : Resolve
(1) reducing incoming damage through your own attacks by 25% is a huge damage reduction amount.
(2) synergizes well with concussion rune for crippling wave (they stack multiplicative)
Passive Skill : Seize the initiative
(1) converting your main attribute for damage into a survival stat is a win-win strategy, stacking high dexterity to do more damage will automatically ensure you have more damage reduction without investing in any other stat
(2) High dexterity investment will also increase your dodge chance, which will increase your survival as well as your AOE damage from Backlash rune for Mantra of Evasion.
(3) High attack speeds from high dexterity stacking will translate to more spirit generation, which will translate into more cooldown usage, and therefore more heals overall through Transcendence passive
Passive Skill : Transcendence
(1) utilizing any spirit spending ability into providing additional heals is definitely the most useful passive ability for a monk.
(2) Impressive synergy with almost all of the skills chosen in this build.
Notes and further thoughts regarding the build :
(1) Focus on stacking Dexterity and Vitality as your two main stats, as well as weapon damage (Duh!)
(2) Focus on stacking + all resists as your secondary stat
(3) For more early survival, use a good high damage 1h weapon with a shield, don't use a Daibo or dual wield early on in inferno, the extra armor from a shield is worth the trade-off in damage until you have better overall gear
(4) Tackle mobs slowly but steadily, use your cooldowns to effectively heal whenever you need, even by using an ability like the mantra or sweeping wind if your main healing spells are on cooldown
(5) try to maximize your dodge against bosses by using blinding flash + mantra consecutively as you stand to hit them, followed by serenity to give you a further 3 seconds where you can stand and damage without getting hit.
Any further critique and discussion is more than welcome, however bear in mind that this is not a late game build, but rather an inferno starting/farming survival build that enables you to effectively seek out better gear