Monks are a class that I find many people seem to fall in love with, of sorts. You find many of the top monk players are generally monk-exclusive and have multiple monks for each. While you find this with other classes also, I don’t think you see it to the extent that you do with monk players.
Why Monk?
Monks are the class that I feel have the biggest difference from any of the classes that were present in Diablo 2. Having played Diablo 2 extensively over many years, I think the change that the monk class offered was the main reason that I have become so attracted to it. I do play the other classes, and enjoy them, but monk will always be my main, regardless of how optimal or “top-tier” they are.
Monks provide a spec or setup for almost any role, through the usage of certain skills / items you can provide any role that your group needs.
Tank – zDPS Build
Off-tank – Explosive Palm, with tank gear mix
Melee DPS – Dashing Strike, Full Explosive Palm, Wave of Light
Ranged DPS – Wave of Light(w/ Tzu’s)
How are Monks in HC?
The class itself has many skills to optimize your survival, but as with any class, you still need to play smart and cautious to avoid death. But as I have always said, in order to play hardcore successfully, you need to be in the mindset that characters are temporary, and you will die at some point. This may be something that a lot of players may not completely agree with, but it’s something that I stand by.
Monks are ideal at providing support while also maintaining another role also. Your mantras provide good boosts for your team, but also give you an extra boost on top of that, which make it more than simply a team-buff tool.
Feel free to add Arcstar#1212 or join my community, HCS Monks(NA)
I'd also like to note that any gear that is suggested on my post is merely for simplicity, and is not the only way to build your monk. None of the monk builds require a 100% equal set of gear. Experiment, that's the best way to discover what works for you.
The DS build relies on high damage output and mobility through the massive buffs that it receives through the 6-set Raiment boosts. This is a very risky build, so you will want to practice it in lower levels before you attempt to climb the ranks.
There are several things that are very important to ensuring you get the maximum output of your dashing strike damage.
Always use a spirit-generator before using dash, this is what procs the buff to increase the damage of your dashing strike. Pay attention to the duration of this, so you don’t end up losing it.
Maintain both buffs of Focus & Restraint, which give 50% damage boosts each. These boosts are multiplicative, not additive, which results in a massive boost in damage. It can be easy to forget to proc the buff from using a spirit generator but make sure that you do remember because it will have a large impact on your damage.
Do not just spam dash mindlessly. This part is difficult to describe, but any dash player will tell you that the damage from the dash has a very strange impact area. You will have to learn it yourself, but it feels like its not always a straight direct line to your landing area. The other risk of spamming dash is that if you are using it without spirit, you will expend charges which should always be saved for emergencies. My only monk death ever was from this mistake. Make sure to use your abilities and spirit generators between your damage phases. I recommend doing a short series of repeated dashes to consume your spirit, which can vary from 3-5 dashes, then restart your spirit generation.
Ensure you have all your abilities active during dash damage phases. Inner Sanctuary – Forbidden Palace can be tricky to place, especially against mobs that are going to move frequently. But if you can get them inside it during your damage phase, it will be a significant boost. The same goes for your mantra on-use, mystic ally – fire, blinding flash, and any other on-use damage boosts that you have chosen to use.
Save Epiphany for battles against elites if you find yourself in a bad spot, such as stuck in a swarm of frozen bombs. It will get you out of the CC and Immune to it, which could save your life. If you are in combat with whites, you can use it for the spirit generation, but definitely save it against the heavier stuff.
Group white packs. Especially in the higher GR’s, learning to make the most of your time is a crucial task. Don’t spend a huge amount of time trying to kill one unborn, even though the higher HP whites give a large amount of progress, it is much more efficient to move a bit further on the path and start on a fresh group. Most whites will pursue you to your next location and you can finish them. Obviously don’t get crazy with this, but your dash does AoE damage and making the most of it is very important to getting through big packs quickly.
Don’t dash over walls, especially if you don’t have vision. You will find yourself wanting to blink across the map to look for pylons, find ideal monster packs, etc, but try to stop yourself from blinking blindly. This may not condemn you in the lower GR’s, but if you go blinking over a wall in a high GR, there is a good chance you could be blinking into an insta-proc if you land on top of a particularly nasty elite pack. Choose life!
This setup is mainly suited to group play, there is never much of a reason to attempt this build in solo, therefore I will not be covering the usage of it for solo purposes. This is NOT an explosive palm build, and you should not be running it unless you are using it for the 20% damage boost it provides to afflicted targets.
Your main job with this setup is to group up packs, and to attempt to control elite packs, while also providing buffs to your team in the form of mantras, debuffing the enemies, etc.
If you are using the build I provided, or one similar to it, you are an unstoppable force of a tank, so don’t be afraid to group up a massive pack of monsters as your team is finishing an elite. When the elite gets to around 30% or so, I generally blink away into the next area to prepare the next pack for them. Your AoE classes such as barbs will love you for doing this.
Practice the usage of your cyclone strike. With the implosion rune, it is an extremely long-range pull, and will drag things from places you may not expect. It also has an odd direction of pulling, which is something you also will have to practice in order to perform it efficiently in group play. It’s pretty much a death sentence if you pull a group of fire chains elites on top of someone in the higher GR’s, even some others can cause a proc if you pull them on a weaker class such as DH or wizard. Once you have the group in place, save cyclone for if other mobs come along, or a few get free and begin to pursue your dps. Just use your crippling wave to continually cc the targets, they will be receiving a massive dps boost from toxin//concussion//mantra, etc.
Don’t forget to do the on-use of your mantra, this is something I still do not feel fully efficient with doing, it is easy to get distracted and not use it, but they provide a significant throughput increase. This is mostly required for the battle against RG’s, where the damage from your conviction mantra is particularly useful, or in an emergency to give a shield through your healing mantra.
Don’t bother using cyclone strike on the rift guardian, simply auto-attack between maintaining the uptime on your buffs.
Scout for pylons and coordinate them with your team. As you do basically no damage, you are usually the best choice for popping pylons, such as the damage boost when the RG spawns. You can also blink back to the team. We don’t really benefit much from the pylons, besides the CDR.
Learn to watch your team. Your dps are the most important members of your team, learn to see where they are and identify any threats to them quickly. For example, a monster approaching your dh, you can cyclone to you. Or in the more extreme case, a rift boss blinking on top of them, your best option at that point is to use your defensive buffs, then blink to the RG and pray for a stun//c c proc.
I'd like to make it clear up front that nothing in this section, or in this guide really, is set in stone. The explosive palm build has so much flexibility that you can experiment with new things and judge the result without risking putting yourself in any type of severe danger. There is no one item that is required.
There are also several different variations, I'll attempt to outline the Full DPS and Full Rat builds, though many seem to find it best to mix-and-match between the two.
EP
1. Crippling Wave - Tsunami
2. Cyclone Strike - Implosion
3. Explosive Palm - Impending Doom
4. Epiphany - Desert Shroud
5. Mystic Ally - Air
6. Mantra - Conviction or Salvation
Can swap inner sanctuary for mantra or Epiphany possibly
(Full DPS)
Gear
Weapon 1- fist of az - high ep %, high base dmg, cdr
No problem :D, I really enjoy playing the monk class. It's unfortunate that the only time you really see it is with the rat builds, and the occassional EP monk. But we will do our best to remedy this!
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Hardcore Seasonal Monk Compendium
Monks are a class that I find many people seem to fall in love with, of sorts. You find many of the top monk players are generally monk-exclusive and have multiple monks for each. While you find this with other classes also, I don’t think you see it to the extent that you do with monk players.
Why Monk?
Monks are the class that I feel have the biggest difference from any of the classes that were present in Diablo 2. Having played Diablo 2 extensively over many years, I think the change that the monk class offered was the main reason that I have become so attracted to it. I do play the other classes, and enjoy them, but monk will always be my main, regardless of how optimal or “top-tier” they are.
Monks provide a spec or setup for almost any role, through the usage of certain skills / items you can provide any role that your group needs.
Tank – zDPS Build
Off-tank – Explosive Palm, with tank gear mix
Melee DPS – Dashing Strike, Full Explosive Palm, Wave of Light
Ranged DPS – Wave of Light(w/ Tzu’s)
How are Monks in HC?
The class itself has many skills to optimize your survival, but as with any class, you still need to play smart and cautious to avoid death. But as I have always said, in order to play hardcore successfully, you need to be in the mindset that characters are temporary, and you will die at some point. This may be something that a lot of players may not completely agree with, but it’s something that I stand by.
Monks are ideal at providing support while also maintaining another role also. Your mantras provide good boosts for your team, but also give you an extra boost on top of that, which make it more than simply a team-buff tool.
Table of Contents:
Feel free to add Arcstar#1212 or join my community, HCS Monks(NA)
I'd also like to note that any gear that is suggested on my post is merely for simplicity, and is not the only way to build your monk. None of the monk builds require a 100% equal set of gear. Experiment, that's the best way to discover what works for you.
[*]Crippling Wave – Concussion/Tsunami (2H)
[/numlist]
[numlist]
[*]Fists of Thunder – Quickening(Dual 1H or FD)
[*]Epiphany – Desert Shroud
[*]Mantra – Agility
[*]Inner Sanctuary – Forbidden Palace
[*]Breath – Infused(Dual 1H or FD)
[/numlist]
[*]Blinding – Infused with the Light
[/numlist]
[numlist]
[*]Dashing Strike – Blinding Speed
[/numlist]
[p]Passive : Harmony, NDE, Sixth Sense, Beacon of Y’Tar[/p] [p]With Hellfire – Guardian’s Path, Seize the Initiative, personal preference[/p]
[p]Gear:[/p] [p]GR Setup[/p] [p]Mask of the Searing Sky – Dex, Vit, Crit, Socket, Secondary Resist[/p] [p]Mantle of the Upside-down Sinners – DS %, Dex, AR, Vit or CDR[/p] [p]Chest – DS %, Dex, Vit or Elite%, 3 Sockets, Secondary Resist[/p] [p]Fists of Thunder – Dex, CHD, CHC, Vit or CDR, Secondary Resist[/p] [p]Scales of the Dancing Serpent – Dex, Vit, Armor, Secondary Resist[/p] [p]Eight-demon Boots – Dex, Vit, MS, Armor or Life, Secondary Resist[/p] [p]Hellfire – CHD, CHC, Socket, Dex or Cold %, Secondary Res + Any passive works, most benefit from Guardian’s Path for 2H, Seize the Initiative also beneficial[/p] [p]Spirit Guards – Dex, Vit, Cold %, CHC, Secondary Res[/p] [p]String of Ears – Dex, Vit, AR, Life%, CC Reduction[/p] [p]Focus & Restraint – CHD, CHC, Socket, Dex or Cold% or CDR[/p] [p]Weapon – Socket, %DMG, Dex, Vit, LoH[/p] [p]Gems – Bane of the Trapped, Bane of the Powerful//Gogok of Swiftness, Esoteric//Wildebeest[/p]
[p]T6 Speed Rifting[/p] [p]Swap In-Geom + Sun Keeper(or other high dmg 1H, Ingeom somewhat required)[/p]
[p]Depending on spirit, swap to RCR gear.[/p] [p]Also may be helpful[/p] [p]Mystic Ally – Air[/p] [p]Mantra of Healing – Circular Breathing[/p] [p]Sweeping Wind – Inner Storm[/p] [p]Epiphany – Insight[/p]
List tags are malformed.
zDPS Full Tank//Support
Skills:Crippling Wave - Concussion
Cyclone Strike- Implosion
Epiphany - Desert Shroud
Inner Sanctuary - Forbidden Palace
Mantra - Any, based on group
Dashing Strike - Blinding Speed
Passives - Resolve, Harmony, NDE, Beacon of Y'tar
Gear:
Sledge Fist – High Stun %, Vit, CDR, LoH, Socket
Stormshield – Vit, Life%, Block%, High Melee%, Dex, Secondary Resist//AR
Aughild’s Helm – Vit, AR, Dex, Socket, CC Reduction
Aughild’s Shoulder – Vit, Life%, CDR, Dex, Secondary Resist// AR
Inna’s Chest – Vit, Elite% Reduction, 3 Sockets, Reduced DMG from Ranged//Melee, Secondary Resist//AR
Inna’s Belt – Vit, AR, Life%, Dex
Inna’s Gloves – Vit, LoH, CDR, Dex, Secondary Resist
Captain Legs – 2 Socket, Vit, Armor, Dex, Secondary Resist
Captain Boots – Vit, Armor, MS%, Dex, Secondary Resist//AR
Spirit Guards – Vit, LoH, LPS, Dex, Secondary Resist//AR
Ring of Royal Grandeur – Socket, Vit, CDR, Secondary Resist,
Oculus Ring – Socket, Vit, High Elite%, CDR, Dex, Secondary Resist//AR
Countess Julia’s – Vit, CDR, Socket
Extra HP from Health Globes, Life after Kills are also decent affixes to look for in secondary’s
Gems – Esoteric Altercation, Mutilation Guard, Efficacious Toxin, Gogok of Swiftness
DS GR Climb Tutorial / Guide
The DS build relies on high damage output and mobility through the massive buffs that it receives through the 6-set Raiment boosts. This is a very risky build, so you will want to practice it in lower levels before you attempt to climb the ranks.
There are several things that are very important to ensuring you get the maximum output of your dashing strike damage.
zDPS Tank GR Guide:
This setup is mainly suited to group play, there is never much of a reason to attempt this build in solo, therefore I will not be covering the usage of it for solo purposes. This is NOT an explosive palm build, and you should not be running it unless you are using it for the 20% damage boost it provides to afflicted targets.
Your main job with this setup is to group up packs, and to attempt to control elite packs, while also providing buffs to your team in the form of mantras, debuffing the enemies, etc.
If you are using the build I provided, or one similar to it, you are an unstoppable force of a tank, so don’t be afraid to group up a massive pack of monsters as your team is finishing an elite. When the elite gets to around 30% or so, I generally blink away into the next area to prepare the next pack for them. Your AoE classes such as barbs will love you for doing this.
Practice the usage of your cyclone strike. With the implosion rune, it is an extremely long-range pull, and will drag things from places you may not expect. It also has an odd direction of pulling, which is something you also will have to practice in order to perform it efficiently in group play. It’s pretty much a death sentence if you pull a group of fire chains elites on top of someone in the higher GR’s, even some others can cause a proc if you pull them on a weaker class such as DH or wizard. Once you have the group in place, save cyclone for if other mobs come along, or a few get free and begin to pursue your dps. Just use your crippling wave to continually cc the targets, they will be receiving a massive dps boost from toxin//concussion//mantra, etc.
Don’t forget to do the on-use of your mantra, this is something I still do not feel fully efficient with doing, it is easy to get distracted and not use it, but they provide a significant throughput increase. This is mostly required for the battle against RG’s, where the damage from your conviction mantra is particularly useful, or in an emergency to give a shield through your healing mantra.
Don’t bother using cyclone strike on the rift guardian, simply auto-attack between maintaining the uptime on your buffs.
Scout for pylons and coordinate them with your team. As you do basically no damage, you are usually the best choice for popping pylons, such as the damage boost when the RG spawns. You can also blink back to the team. We don’t really benefit much from the pylons, besides the CDR.
Learn to watch your team. Your dps are the most important members of your team, learn to see where they are and identify any threats to them quickly. For example, a monster approaching your dh, you can cyclone to you. Or in the more extreme case, a rift boss blinking on top of them, your best option at that point is to use your defensive buffs, then blink to the RG and pray for a stun//c c proc.
Saving spot for future...
I'd like to make it clear up front that nothing in this section, or in this guide really, is set in stone. The explosive palm build has so much flexibility that you can experiment with new things and judge the result without risking putting yourself in any type of severe danger. There is no one item that is required.
There are also several different variations, I'll attempt to outline the Full DPS and Full Rat builds, though many seem to find it best to mix-and-match between the two.
EP
1. Crippling Wave - Tsunami
2. Cyclone Strike - Implosion
3. Explosive Palm - Impending Doom
4. Epiphany - Desert Shroud
5. Mystic Ally - Air
6. Mantra - Conviction or Salvation
Can swap inner sanctuary for mantra or Epiphany possibly
(Full DPS)
Gear
Weapon 1- fist of az - high ep %, high base dmg, cdr
Weapon 2- azure wrath or utar - cold %, dex, cdr
Helmet - Sunwoko's Crown - dex, crit chance, ep%, socket
Shoulders - Sunwoko's - dex, vit, cdr, life//AR
Chest - Born's - dex, vit, elite dmg reduction, 3 sockets, secondary resist
Gloves - Inna's - Dex, CHD, CHC, CDR//Vit, 2nd res
Legs - Inna's - Dex, Vit, Armor, sockets, 2nd res
Boots - Crudest Boots - Dex, Vit, EP%, MS//Armor, 2nd res
Bracers - Gungdo's Gear - Cold%, Crit%, Dex, Vit, 2nd res
Belt - Inna's - dex, vit, Ar, life
Amulet - Sunwoko's - CHD, CHC, Socket, Cold%, Dex
Ring 1 - Ring of the Royal Grandeur - CHD, CHC, CDR, Socket, Dex
Ring 2 - Stone of Jordan - CHD, Cold%, High elite%, Socket
Gems are mostly personal preference, but you want at least one defensive gem(esoteric, wildebeest, etc)
Good options - Esoteric, Wildebeest, Stagger Gem(forgot name), Gogok, Bane of the Trapped(mainly to proc others),
Future post spot...
Last one!
No problem :D, I really enjoy playing the monk class. It's unfortunate that the only time you really see it is with the rat builds, and the occassional EP monk. But we will do our best to remedy this!