So I am up to Nightmare on my monk and curious as to what a good build is for the monk so that I can survive.
I assume its best to go more vit then dex of course but do you guys use duel wielding or do you you use a shield?
Also what skills do you use mostly. Also what defensive skills do you have that can get you out of harms way if you think you might die. I have never played a monk on softcore so this is kind of new to me but the game itself is very simple till probably Hell I would just think if I knew a few monk tips it would make things even easier than they already are.
I have learned, after gearing up my monk for Inferno on softcore, that there isn't a huge difference between dualweilding and 1hand+shield. I have found that usually, there is a DPS decrease with dualweilding. Who knew?! I saw a formula somewhere that tried to explain that, but I just couldn't grasp why it would be less DPS.
So with that, I will walk you through my gear and set-up.
Normal:
Acts 1-2
- You can use whatever you find through these acts. Almost everything you encounter through the end of Act 2 is an easy pushover. You can experiment with new skills you unlock and different gear loadouts as well!
- Stats and gear don't matter that much through this point of the game.
Acts 3-4
- I have found the later parts of Act 3 and all of Act 4 to be a little challenging as a melee character. At this point of the game you want to focus on +vitality and dexterity items. Watch out for mobs that stun, blow up or pull you in.
- By now you should get a hang of your playstyle. You can play offensively very safely if you are on softcore, but since this is Hardcore you should start thinking about defensive abilities
Nightmare
- Resistances don't start playing a huge role in your playstyle yet.
- Vitality should start to be on all of your gear
- Consider going sword/board
Hell
- Resistances are very important
- Sword/board is almost required at this point of the game
- Huge pools of health and +armor are starting to look really good
- Pull packs of mobs individually. Watch where you run or kite mobs... don't run into areas you haven't discovered as you can find yourself swarmed by 20+ demons.
- Later acts will be easier with +life on hit. Strive for 300-400 to help even out the incoming damage.
Inferno
- LOTS of resistances (150-300 is good for Act1, 500ish for Act2, 650+ for Acts 3/4)
- LOTS of armor (4500-5000 is good for Act1, 6000-6500 for Act2, 7500+ for Acts 3/4)
- LOTS of health (30,000 is good for Act1, 45k-50k is good for Act2, 65k+ is good for Acts 3/4)
- DO NOT attempt the Butcher until you are certain you can defeat him within 2.5 minutes. I can't remember, but I think his soft enrage timer is between 2-2.5 minutes. Been a minute since I've attempted him. Don't be afraid to pull in some help, but remember that for each person in the game, his damage and health go WAY UP!
- Look for weapons and armor with life per hit. You will probably want 600+ (try 1000 as a number to strive for safety!)
My gear setup is as described above per difficulty/act.
Skill breakdown: Crippling Wave - Concussion Rune
- I have used quite a few spirit generators and find that this one is AMAZING. When you don't 1-shot everything, the mobs will encircle and you can hit everything.
- Concussion rune is normally used as an attempt to normalize incoming damage. If you feel that you don't need to lower the incoming damage, you can swap out this rune for Mangle to hit harder.
- Concussion Rune and Resolve do stack, but only multiplicatively. It means that the incoming damage is further reduced by using both, but not to that exact percentage. The reduced damage is definitely noticeable, and I vote that it is a great choice for hardcore. Lashing Tail Kick - Vulture Claw Kick
- I use this only when I am surrounded and I need to get out of the way of an imminent explosion. I hate getting blown up!
- I will only use this in later difficulties (Acts 3/4 Hell and Inferno) Breath of Heaven - Blazing Wrath
- I like using Blazing Wrath rune, as it increases my damage and I kill stuff faster. Using the rune to increase heals doesn't scale as well as I would like it to... Blazing Wrath fills that gap Blinding Flash - Searing Light
- I utilize this to increase the chance of not being hit by elites. And it definitely works in Inferno! It also helps when I am being surrounded by mobs or want to stop some mobs where they are. Sweeping Wind - Firestorm
- This increases the radius of Sweeping Wind. Using this will help me widdle away at mobs health even though I can't reach them with crippling wave.
- Using the increased radius of Sweeping Wind in conjunction with the passive Resolve, I can more effectively reduce incoming damage Mantra of Evasion - Hard Target
- I always find myself short on armor but with plenty of resists. You can swap this out for the resist aura if you have plenty of armor but are short on resists.
- You can also spam this if you have excess spirit while being swarmed or attacked by a powerful demon. The added +dodge definitely helps! Resolve
- Makes a noticeable difference to incoming damage. Coupled with Sweeping Wind, I can normalize more incoming damage so I have more time to react. Seize the Initiative
- your total dexterity is added to your armor.
- If you ever find yourself with too much armor, you can swap this out. Good luck finding too much armor! One with Everything
- This takes your highest resistance and brings the rest of your resistances up to that level. AMAZING PASSIVE!
**Note** Pacifism
- Using this in Acts 3/4 of any or all difficulties will greatly increase your chance of survival. I can't tell you how many times I've died from being stuck in a corner, frozen and then pummeled to death. This helps you cheese the cheese.
I assume its best to go more vit then dex of course but do you guys use duel wielding or do you you use a shield?
Also what skills do you use mostly. Also what defensive skills do you have that can get you out of harms way if you think you might die. I have never played a monk on softcore so this is kind of new to me but the game itself is very simple till probably Hell I would just think if I knew a few monk tips it would make things even easier than they already are.
Thanks!
So with that, I will walk you through my gear and set-up.
Normal:
Acts 1-2
- You can use whatever you find through these acts. Almost everything you encounter through the end of Act 2 is an easy pushover. You can experiment with new skills you unlock and different gear loadouts as well!
- Stats and gear don't matter that much through this point of the game.
Acts 3-4
- I have found the later parts of Act 3 and all of Act 4 to be a little challenging as a melee character. At this point of the game you want to focus on +vitality and dexterity items. Watch out for mobs that stun, blow up or pull you in.
- By now you should get a hang of your playstyle. You can play offensively very safely if you are on softcore, but since this is Hardcore you should start thinking about defensive abilities
Nightmare
- Resistances don't start playing a huge role in your playstyle yet.
- Vitality should start to be on all of your gear
- Consider going sword/board
Hell
- Resistances are very important
- Sword/board is almost required at this point of the game
- Huge pools of health and +armor are starting to look really good
- Pull packs of mobs individually. Watch where you run or kite mobs... don't run into areas you haven't discovered as you can find yourself swarmed by 20+ demons.
- Later acts will be easier with +life on hit. Strive for 300-400 to help even out the incoming damage.
Inferno
- LOTS of resistances (150-300 is good for Act1, 500ish for Act2, 650+ for Acts 3/4)
- LOTS of armor (4500-5000 is good for Act1, 6000-6500 for Act2, 7500+ for Acts 3/4)
- LOTS of health (30,000 is good for Act1, 45k-50k is good for Act2, 65k+ is good for Acts 3/4)
- DO NOT attempt the Butcher until you are certain you can defeat him within 2.5 minutes. I can't remember, but I think his soft enrage timer is between 2-2.5 minutes. Been a minute since I've attempted him. Don't be afraid to pull in some help, but remember that for each person in the game, his damage and health go WAY UP!
- Look for weapons and armor with life per hit. You will probably want 600+ (try 1000 as a number to strive for safety!)
My gear setup is as described above per difficulty/act.
Here is the skills and passives I use that work for my playstyle:
http://us.battle.net...XYih!ZXU!ZabYba
Skill breakdown:
Crippling Wave - Concussion Rune
- I have used quite a few spirit generators and find that this one is AMAZING. When you don't 1-shot everything, the mobs will encircle and you can hit everything.
- Concussion rune is normally used as an attempt to normalize incoming damage. If you feel that you don't need to lower the incoming damage, you can swap out this rune for Mangle to hit harder.
- Concussion Rune and Resolve do stack, but only multiplicatively. It means that the incoming damage is further reduced by using both, but not to that exact percentage. The reduced damage is definitely noticeable, and I vote that it is a great choice for hardcore.
Lashing Tail Kick - Vulture Claw Kick
- I use this only when I am surrounded and I need to get out of the way of an imminent explosion. I hate getting blown up!
- I will only use this in later difficulties (Acts 3/4 Hell and Inferno)
Breath of Heaven - Blazing Wrath
- I like using Blazing Wrath rune, as it increases my damage and I kill stuff faster. Using the rune to increase heals doesn't scale as well as I would like it to... Blazing Wrath fills that gap
Blinding Flash - Searing Light
- I utilize this to increase the chance of not being hit by elites. And it definitely works in Inferno! It also helps when I am being surrounded by mobs or want to stop some mobs where they are.
Sweeping Wind - Firestorm
- This increases the radius of Sweeping Wind. Using this will help me widdle away at mobs health even though I can't reach them with crippling wave.
- Using the increased radius of Sweeping Wind in conjunction with the passive Resolve, I can more effectively reduce incoming damage
Mantra of Evasion - Hard Target
- I always find myself short on armor but with plenty of resists. You can swap this out for the resist aura if you have plenty of armor but are short on resists.
- You can also spam this if you have excess spirit while being swarmed or attacked by a powerful demon. The added +dodge definitely helps!
Resolve
- Makes a noticeable difference to incoming damage. Coupled with Sweeping Wind, I can normalize more incoming damage so I have more time to react.
Seize the Initiative
- your total dexterity is added to your armor.
- If you ever find yourself with too much armor, you can swap this out. Good luck finding too much armor!
One with Everything
- This takes your highest resistance and brings the rest of your resistances up to that level. AMAZING PASSIVE!
**Note**
Pacifism
- Using this in Acts 3/4 of any or all difficulties will greatly increase your chance of survival. I can't tell you how many times I've died from being stuck in a corner, frozen and then pummeled to death. This helps you cheese the cheese.
And this is my setup for the early game until I hit Acts 3/4 in Hell:
http://us.battle.net...Xdih!ZXY!aabbZa
Good luck, have fun and good hunting!
In-game Experience thus far:
Softcore
- Level 60 Monk, currently being 1shot by bugs in Act2 Inferno
- Level 60 Demonhunter, currently farming Act4 Inferno
Hardcore (0 deaths)
- Level 34 Monk, currently progressing slowly in Act 1 Nightmare
Die fr00b, die~