If by "broken", you mean "in desperate need of a ground-up functional reform, even more so than Rangers and Artificers" then we can agree.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I wouldn’t say more than Rangers but I do realize there’s a balance issue haha. This is only the first of my guide series so the joke is probably not apparent yet. But, I plan on making a “broken” video for every class haha.
@Nr4747
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Ranger actually were already a much stronger base class than Monks before Tasha's and got *a ton* of upgrades since then - Monks . . . not so much.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Base class is debatable but the gloomstalker can be absolutely ridiculous haha. But I have to disagree besides that. I honestly think that monks are better in many situations. I think the issue is that many people don’t properly leverage the ki mechanic and the ability to get all of that back on a short rest. Are they a bit underpowered? Yes. Are they so underpowered that they’re the worst class in the game or completely unplayable in 5e? Definitely not.
@Nr4747
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos It probably would depend on the number of short rests per adventuring day between the "old" Ranger and the "old" Monk. If short rests are plentiful (3+ per day) than Monks were arguably ahead, if not, Rangers were certainly better because they had great spell selection since Xanathar's. Monks certainly weren't unplayable by any means - and could be tons of fun - but I would argue they were tied with Artificers as the weakest base class before Tasha's (Artificers had already come out in Ebberon and didn't change since then). Still, Monks were - and still are - fine and quite fun to play, imho.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I can agree there. My sessions do tend to be a bit lighter in terms of back to back combat encounters. I don’t run a whole lot of traditional dungeons so it makes sense that my experience would be different haha. Either way, your point here is mine as well. All of the available classes are “broken” in that they’re fun to play and can shine given the right opportunities. It’s what I’m trying to get across with my guide series in the first place :)
@Sw-nn6le
2 жыл бұрын
Man, your delivery of the information is fantastic. You're speaking with awe in your voice instead of just shouting at us and that accompanied with the music is so inspiring. Now I want to play one even more.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much!! Hearing that means a ton to me and I’m so happy you’re enjoying it! 😊
@Oddthebard
3 жыл бұрын
I am going use 3 Ki points and now the DM is stunned. So no dice rolling.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Yea you’ve pretty much got the gist of it there!
@lucack6348
3 жыл бұрын
try to fail 3 15dc Con saves on a monster with +9 Con, maybe one will fail.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@lucack6348 yes and then they lose an entire turn in a game where action economy is everything in combat.
@lucack6348
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Thanks for not being toxic about my opinion. I love the idea of monk, am playing in a champing where I am monk and I have been for almost 2 years. And I understand people who think Stunning Strike is OP. And it can in 1v1 battle, against a creature with low Con, but if you fight against many monsters, with height Con, the close to useless. And such are most fighters. I mean "Stunning Strike" is the only great thing in the whole monks class and it is not enough for a whole class. I mean personally.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@lucack6348 I see your point but if you’re fighting that many creatures with +9 Con and only a 15DC save, you’re going to have other problems and everyone is going to struggle-not just the monk. That said, I totally respect your opinion. I just happen to disagree haha.
@unscathedhero8884
2 жыл бұрын
I would like to say, in terms of production and presentation, this is a well made video and I definitely loved every minute of it. This being said, I fail to see how the Monk is overpowered in this video. You basically go through the Monk class and subclasses and adeptly describe their distinct flavors... but that's it. Monks are definetly cool, but overpowered? I must respectfully disagree with such heresy. If anything they are possibly the weakest class in the game, mechanically. Definetly the worst martial class in the game. While the Way of the Mercy and Astral Self monks are somewhat better than other monastic traditions, they are still rather weak. Despite Wizard's best efforts, the Monk remains weak for the following reasons: -They continue to deal the least damage of all martial classes (no sneak attack, no great weapon master, weak base weapon die and forced to use their bonus action and limited ressources to deliver subpar damage). Sure Stunning Strike is decent but it targets the most resilient Monster Saving throw (Constitution), always targets 1 creature, and always lasts 1 round even at high levels. At the same level the monk gets this signature ability, other classes are casting spells like suggestion, Hold Person, Web, Fear and Hypnotic Pattern. And it just gets worse at higher levels, because Stunning Strike then competes with the likes of Otto's Irresistable Dance, Wall of Force and Forcecage. Wall of Force and Forcecage particularly drive this argument home since they can completely eliminate a threat and don't require the target to fail a single saving throw and they lost way longer than a round. -They have the worst AC amongst all martial classes except the Rogue (which has better consistent mobility and ranged attack capabilities). They also have low HP compared to most martial classes that fight in melee (same as the rogue, but at least the Rogue is great from range). Yet, Monks must fight in melee... -They make awful tanks, not only because of the aformentioned weak AC and HP, but because they have average saving throws until level...14! By that time, the fighter has so many feats he's probably proficient in 3 saving throws and can reroll some failed ones. Then you look at the paladin and it's just sad. They basically get a similar bonus to all their saving throws, but 8 levels earlier! To add insult to injury, they can extend this bonus to the whole party... -And then there's the most problematic issue, the KI mechanic. With the exception of monks in TCE, too many of the classe's features cost KI, which means they burn them way to fast. Sure they regain them on a short rest but 1 KI point per level isn't huge, especially when they need to flurry of blows every round (1 KI) and potentially use stunning strike on most of their attacks each round (1-4 extra KI points). Add in the potential need to use patient defense and step of the wind sometimes and those points are gone faster than a bunch of twinkies at a weight watchers meeting. Still, good video!
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for all the thought and detail put into this comment! Your points are very much sound and resonate with a lot of the other feedback I’ve received so far. And, in large part, I don’t disagree. As I’ve mentioned in other comments this video is more of a guide to the monk class that focuses on its good parts rather than the bad. I’m a firm believer that all classes can be played effectively in 5E (even the monk). Especially when combat isn’t necessarily the main focus of the game anymore. One can certainly argue that good RP is the goal of most campaigns now-although that varies of course. And, while I do understand your point about the ki mechanics in 5E, I do find that most games allow enough time in between multiple combats for a short rest-allowing for a monk to regain ALL their ki points. I, personally, don’t often run more than a few combats back to back and I find that consistent across the majority of sessions I watch and play in as well. Again, I don’t think what you’re saying is invalid. And I don’t actually think that monks are overpowered all the way around. But, like every class is (and like every class should be) they do have some aspects that can feel broken. Everyone has an opportunity to shine! Does that devalue words like “broken” or “overpowered” in the first place? Yes, definitely. But I thought it necessary to use that verbiage in this video series to drive that point home. I’ve done the same in my Wizard guide as well as the one for Ranger that I’m working on currently!
@unscathedhero8884
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Fair enough. Don't get me wrong, the class is a lot of fun. I was just taken aback slightly by your video's title. Great production all around. I've subscribed. Good luck with your channel!
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@unscathedhero8884 thanks so much for subscribing and I’m hoping my ideals become more clear to people watching these videos as I make more of them. Either way, yours isn’t the first comment with concerns regarding the title and I’ve definitely been a bit more conscious of my naming conventions since this video was published! As always, I really appreciate the feedback!
@unscathedhero8884
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos My pleasure. Looking forward to your next videos!
@nighthowk117
2 жыл бұрын
@@unscathedhero8884 I think a good feat for a monk would be something like at level 11 if creatures analyzed by monk have disadvantage when attacking said monk
@korstkonest5218
8 ай бұрын
Subclasses: Way of the astral self: 05:56 Way of the cobalt soul: 06:17 Way of the drunken master: 06:31 Way of the four elements: 06:46 Way of the kensei: 07:01 Way of the long death 07:14 Way of mercy: 07:42 Way of the open hand: 07:53 Way of shadow: 08:12 Way of the sun soul: 08:31 Way of the ascendent dragon: 08:45
@ConstructedChaos
8 ай бұрын
Thanks, friend!!
@thatsimbalanced2322
Жыл бұрын
I don't understand one thing u say about Stunning Strike. How can you use stunning strike after UNARMED STRIKE from Flurry of Blows when Stunning Strike says you have to hit another creature with a MELEE WEAPON ATTACK?
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
It can be a bit confusing but unarmed strikes are considered melee weapon attacks. However, they aren't considered melee attacks with weapons as is required by sneak attack, smite, etc. It's silly but it is the way it works.
@thatsimbalanced2322
Жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Alright, thanks for clarification
@АлександрСудаков-с2и
3 жыл бұрын
I see a problem with using the word "broken" for "can do something useful once or twice per game", that's not broken (at least not in a good way you are impliyng), that's working as intended at best. It's a bit silly to call this "broken", while there are shepherd druids, bearbarian druids, sorlocadins, and twilight clerics. Cmon, that's not even close. At least you could propose a way to build your monk to be broken, not just read out the roolbook entry on monks
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
This video is a class guide. I say as much in the description and title. I understand monks are less powerful than most other classes. I say as much in other comments here. I think the point that you’re missing is that this attitude that revolves around building only the most powerful and efficient characters is only one way to play the game. Every class brings something to the table and every character has the opportunity to be broken. I have literally cited examples wherein I’ve DM’d for players running a monk build that have decimated combat encounters that were supposed to be deadly CR. But, thank you for your input. Your opinion is just as valid as mine.
@lukaarsovski2279
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos lol and the monk is basically dead weight to the party.......as far as the games i play in are conserned
@lukaarsovski2279
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos lol and the monk is basically dead weight to the party.......as far as the games i play in are conserned
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@lukaarsovski2279 my experience has been very different-as I mention in the video. I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad time with the monk class!
@regaleagle6533
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos I have a great time with the monk class but they are the weakest class and the worst subclass options. Stun isn’t enough when everything else eats your limited ki pool so rapidly. Spellcasters just have better save or suck options and other options. They scale super well up to level 5 then it is just underwhelming. They are much better with Fizbans and Tashas but didn’t get nearly the overhaul rangers did and needed it more. Also ki fueled attack doesn’t work like that it’s a free attack when your action uses ki not a ki cost attack regardless of your action which is essentially useless.
@jakeholmes9296
2 жыл бұрын
Just subscribed. Surprised you don’t have more subscribers. These videos are so nicely written, filmed and edited! Great work
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much!! We’re starting to get some traction as a channel so growth is on the way!! Happy to have you along for the ride! 😊
@daviddwodo3748
2 жыл бұрын
Monk needs fist weapons like wraps and gloves for unarmed combat. So they can be magically infused and convert to other damage types. Also, a hadoken-type cantrip wouldn't hurt; something that doesn't burn ki. Maybe make a class that makes hadokens scale and multiplies with ki usage. (Obviously less scale than other spells so it is not broken --- burning 8 ki with a scaled cantrip would be ridiculous) Or maybe gain Ki from Crits; that would be dope. Imagine flurry of blows crits and ki flowing back from flawless execution.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I love all of these ideas, honestly! I haven't ever been suggested the last two before.
@drewmannMcGee
2 жыл бұрын
Can't you just like.... Do that then?
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
The hadoken-like ability you're looking for is on the sun soul monk.
@gethriel
2 жыл бұрын
@@drewmannMcGee yes, you can: house rule it. But that doesn't work for 5E, it only works for your table. If you only ever play in your game and don't do KZitem evaluation/build/etc videos that's great! Go for it! Otherwise it's kinda pointless in generic DnD 5E as it doesn't work that way.
@cgrandall625
3 жыл бұрын
While I totally agree with the capstone being lackluster I think the real capstone is Empty Body. Monk invisibility is super broken. Your invisibility isn't a spell so it cannot be dispelled, and it isn't broken by combat so you are just invisible for 1 minute. Which means all your attacks are at advantage, while all attacks against you are at disadvantage and you have resistance to all damage but force. I think the intention of the capstone was to immediately turn invisible and run away if you found yourself in a situation where you really didn't want to be.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
For sure!! Didn’t mean to undersell the value of the 18th level ability. I hadn’t actually thought about the possibility of using your Perfect Self to just instantly pop Invisibility either! Pretty smart move there!
@Zr0din
3 жыл бұрын
LOL, I assumed it was Invisibility (as per the spell) so I never noticed all those extra things. And what level did that show up at? Oh, never mind...
@Kitusser
2 жыл бұрын
Compare that to 9th level spells and not really that broken.
@shinobidaniel_12
2 жыл бұрын
@@Kitusser yeah i think way of mercy used to have invincibility, and open hand has insta-kill pressure points
@ultamatenexusmerc5573
2 жыл бұрын
@@shinobidaniel_12 Yeah true, but at that point the con save on things is insane. I feel like that ability is more there to make the dm's generally smug nature at that point when they hear the words "con save" disappear and force a legendary resistance to pop, and even then do a great amount of damage.
@stardropsounds9642
Жыл бұрын
can someone help me fing the image used at 5:24? ITS SO BEAUTIFUL AND I NEED TO MAKE MY NEXT MONK IN ITS IMAGE
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
It's in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything under "Religious Orders"!
@argentumvulpus6060
3 жыл бұрын
Always nice to see monk getting some love anx appreciation
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
You bet! Every class deserves that treatment! ♥️
@TheNanoNinja
3 жыл бұрын
A 3.5 Monk I played, with feats in Grapple, Disarm and Trip. Martial Arts meant a Monk is always considered armed. Disarming an opponent would then allow an Opportunity Attack (OA). Getting up from prone, OA. If an opponent was grappled, disarmed and prone. There was little chance of getting out alive. Great against spell casters too.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
That’s a good point too! While a lot has changed in 5E, you still can’t disarm a monk! Well…. Unless you cut off their arms…
@MrNickDemos
3 жыл бұрын
I like that the 5e monk doesn't need Str. But I miss my 3.5 monk's d8 damage early on.
@SolusEclipse
3 жыл бұрын
I play a kensei monk dragonborn and let me say the vibe of the subclass is really great but my dm had to buff the subclass a little with homebrew
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I haven’t had the opportunity to play Kensei yet but I have heard it’s one of the weakest mechanically! That’s awesome of your DM to let you power it up a bit, though! I’d be interested to know what changes y’all made!
@SolusEclipse
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos for one. He upgraded the martial arts die so that at level 8 currently its a D8. And eventually around level 17 i think it becomes a D12. We also use a lot of stuff from tashas so things like focused aim and deft strike are immediately available for the current level. He also changed that the unarmed strike bonus action can be made with a weapon. And at level 11 that also applies to flurry of blows. A level 7 boon to give the character active parry as a reaction by adding martial arts die to my armor class when targeted by an attack. Ever since level 5 hes slowly felt more and more like a Witcher.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@SolusEclipse sounds really fun!! Thanks for sharing that with me!
@creepingwillow1579
2 жыл бұрын
Take the mobile feat it's a very good way to be a support skirmisher
@joeleek9976
2 жыл бұрын
Which is unfortunate. I have been waiting for a good kensai reboot since the original oriental adventures. Most attempts are abominations. Making it a monk subclass was something I have been screaming since 3rd. By the time it happened, the monk had had it's proverbial nuts cut off.
@neroblood1
2 жыл бұрын
I love the monk class. I made a kenku monk, wanting to go way of the four elements. The dm threw a super strong enemy at us, a group of five, and I was the only one still alive at the end cos it couldn't hit me. The dm then threw me out of the game because it turns out he wanted a tpk for "story reasons" straight away.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Wow! No offense but that DM sounds like a bit of a jerk if he’d throw you out for that 😂
@neroblood1
2 жыл бұрын
I mean yeah, he turned out to be. Mind you, it was my second time playing, but I rolled stat's in front of them and the dm approved my character in the first place. But oh well, dodged a bullet
@PianoMeetsMetal
Жыл бұрын
geez, he could have just made the story become where the Kenku Monk was the only one who escaped, and joined the new party.
@autographedcat
Жыл бұрын
Oh wow. Did you a favour I reckon. I wouldn’t want to play with someone like that.
@Watertrotter-ge5yp
3 жыл бұрын
The level 20 ability is actually a great ability if you are rolling initiative at the beginning of every combat encounter, which is suggested in the DMG as a way to keep combat from being too predictable. The ability only say “when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining,” it doesn’t say that it has to be at the beginning of the combat encounter.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
That is a good point but I wonder how often you would roll for initiative if not at the beginning of an encounter? Still, for a lvl 20 ability, I feel like it could grant you more thank just 4 ki points-especially since you’d get them ALL back on a short rest anyway.
@Rosivok
2 жыл бұрын
The only way this would be even partially good as an ability, let alone a capstone would be if you regained 4 Ki every round.
@torunsmok5890
2 жыл бұрын
@@Rosivok it would be tolerable if it worked when you had ki, but bc it's only when you're totally out, it's awful
@imhulki463
2 жыл бұрын
@@Rosivok I feel like it should've been a thing the base monk had from the start.
@bobmarefka998
Жыл бұрын
It feels like monks are starved for Ki points in the early game. I think monk should receive additional Ki based on their wisdom modifier. Early level monks would have more Ki points to use, thereby increasing utility. Their capstone ability is just a let down. Any suggestions on what that revise ability should be?
@Atmoseeker
3 жыл бұрын
I haven't played a monk before...but now i want to 😂 Thanks for breaking this down!
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Haha I've only gotten to play one a couple of times but I really enjoyed it! I always try to do something unconventional like a Voodoo-inspired Monk I'll be making a video on for next week! :D
@captainkiwi77
2 жыл бұрын
From someone who’s favorite class is monk... just make sure you have a back up... just in case
@couver73
2 жыл бұрын
I think the one thing that's keeping the Monk from being able to keep up with other martial classes in the game is the issue with unarmed strikes itself: very little customization options. So if anything else, it's not that monks are necessarily weak, it's just the fact that they are only weak by association with the least realized aspect of 5e's combat. Hell, in Pathfinder you can use Sneak Attack on unarmed strikes in certain cases. I think Wizards got so worried of making unarmed strikes overpowered that they made it useless.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. My favorite advice for this has been to take fighting initiate for the unarmed fighting style or a couple levels in fighter for that and action surge. It goes a looooong way haha
@couver73
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos I don't really think that's enough imo. Wizards seem so scared to treat unarmed strikes as weapons that they don't realize it's the one thing that'll probably make it as viable as anything else. Take Pathfinder 1st Edition. Unarmed strikes are considered light one handed weapons AND natural weapons. Just doing that alone changes a lot. Maybe even make them finesse for monks, that kind of stuff. Why not let monks use Sneak Attack on unarmed strikes? Now they can be Batman! Why not smite with your fists? You can play out your DBZ fantasies if spec'd into properly! It would literally put them on par with other weapons rather than overshadow it. It's so baffling.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@couver73 I mean, sure haha. I’m just giving you a solution within RAW. It would make a lot of sense for monks to just get a feature that classified their unarmed strikes as a different weapon type that qualified it for a lot of the other stuff. Not a bad idea for homebrew!
@martinbowyer7906
Жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Your videos are great quality, and I love the way you describe character details. I strongly disagree with you stand on monks though. RAW they're weak compared to other martials. Most of their features pull from the same resource pool that they don't have enough of at low levels, some that other classes get for free (ie Dash). When the suggested fix is to MC to get X feat from other class, that kind say its not strong by its self. I'm not saying Monk are awful but when they can't be the best at anything you try to build for. Treantmonk has a video explaining in detail what I'm talking about.
@cheesedemon88
2 жыл бұрын
I played a Way of Mercy monk up to level 10, compared to the other classes I felt underpowered, especially in the damage category. And since 5e doesn’t let you “downgrade” actions, like dropping a move action to do two bonus actions, I never felt I got to do everything I actually wanted. The stunning strike is cool, but any monster worth stunning, usually have enough con save to not be affected. THAT SAID, the Healing hand ability is one of the few healing abilities in game that doesn’t have the limitation that it doesn’t work on undead or constructs, so the fact that we had a dampir in the party actually made my character somewhat vital.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
The way of mercy monk I played definitely didn’t feel underpowered compared to the rest of my party! Of course, it was a level 20 one-shot haha
@The_Yukki
2 жыл бұрын
Dhampir arent undead though? Even in UA they were undead+humanoid and the same ua said that if something works on one of your types it works on you, so normal healing spells would work on UAdhampir
@cheesedemon88
2 жыл бұрын
@@The_Yukki I don’t know where he found that dampir, he at least claimed it counted as undead in regards to healing, point still stands though, Hand of Mercy can heal things that most spells can’t
@Solar_sigma_
Жыл бұрын
Amazing, great job!
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
@bradbradfordson9158
3 жыл бұрын
Bro, I dont know... Fun? Yes. Thematic? For sure. But broken? In the context of other classes the monk is honestly a little under powered. It's damage is weirdly held back compared to other classes, especially since the fighter got the unarmed style in tashas. Stunning strike is great, but my expirience playing a few monks is that the save can really screw either the attacker or defender depending on the dice. Spending your last ki and theyake the save.... doesn't feel good.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
For sure, your point has been made several times on this video already. But, when dealing in action economy, I think that stunning strike is one of the most potent battlefield control abilities in 5E. As far as ki points as an expendable resource, I think it depends on the type of campaign you’re in. In most campaigns I’ve run and played in, there have only been a few combat encounters at most between long rests-much less short rests!
@bradbradfordson9158
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Hey, you know what tho? I saw this video and hadn't seen your channel before and didn't realize you did multiple "x is broken" videos. And to be fair to monk, it only seems underpowered imo because it's a teamwork heavy class. The barbarian, paladin or fighter can enter the arena to fight alone but the monk functions best with a friend or 2 to act as sort of a support melee character. Probably my favorite class up to level 12 or so
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@bradbradfordson9158 exactly!! I think you can see what I’m doing here haha! Trying to figure out what I’ll cover next but I’ll probably start working on a Ranger is Broken video next week!
@apollosungod6673
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos I would say the only two classes in the game that are explicitly NOT broken are Monk and Ranger barring perhaps the glory that is Gloomstalker lmfao
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@apollosungod6673 You can see my other comments regarding the monk but I actually think that Ranger is much better than you give it credit for here too. Swarmkeeper, Beast Master, and Hunter are all very strong choices mechanically and I think the other options can stand on their own just fine too!
@gregkirby9059
2 жыл бұрын
at level 3 whats the best MONK masonic sub class to pick?
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
While this will always depend on the campaign you’re in and what features would be most useful to you and your party, I’d say that way of mercy might be the best pick at that level purely based off of extra damage and the ability to provide some healing if needed. I actually have a whole video on Way of Mercy Monks if you haven’t seen it already!
@nexes6718
2 жыл бұрын
astril monk+ Ecco knight is amazing had a amazing time tonight playing a rabbit man 😆😆😋
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Ohh that does sound like an interesting combo!
@deantitus9734
6 ай бұрын
Just so you know, I wholeheartedly agree with the 20th level capstone ability shortchanging the monk class!! I think that they should get at least 10 ki points back so that, at least, they'll have a fighting chance to finish off the final boss!! Thoughts?
@ConstructedChaos
6 ай бұрын
I mean, at level 20, I don't think it'd be a stretch for them to get all their ki points back for every combat haha
@jlinus7251
Жыл бұрын
Currently playing a way of the shadow monk. I actually find her a lot of fun because I'm also playing shadar kai. With the mobility feat she becomes formidable in fighting. I teleport using blessing of the raven queen which gives me resistance to all damage for a whole turn, then use stunning strike, and gain advantage on all of my attacks. Really wail on the enemy.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Nice!! Shadow monks can definitely be among the most powerful if you can take advantage of darkness. But, even that aside, this character sounds extremely formidable!
@DiceDragondnd
3 жыл бұрын
Great choice of music and b-roll. Your voice is soothing and kinda interesting! One suggestion tough... that awesome music on some parts is too loud and kind of distracting. Gerald Undone has good video on making your voice POP over music. Cool video bro, you got yourself a sub! :)
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for the suggestions!! My newer videos should have some improvements to audio but I’ll check out that other video you suggested as well! I’m sure I’ll always have more to learn!
@jdarokhajiit9153
2 жыл бұрын
I am wanting to play a tabaxi assassin that considers themselves as the god of life and death (nothing dies unless they allow it). I know that monk is going to be a main branch of focus but I am unsure whether I want to go path of life or path of shadows. I know I want them to be able to heal but I also want some kind of teleportation. The shadow walk will suffice for teleportation but that is mainly why I would go that way. What path would you recommend, and if path of life how would one suggest I gain teleportation
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly, when reading your presentation of this idea, I thought mercy monk would fit this pretty perfectly! You could always take a feat like fey touched for misty step or something similar. There are even late-game monk abilities that allow you to become invisible and you could even flavor that as a type of teleportation?
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed with chaos here. i'd go mercy monk if that's your concept and just use a feat/multiclassing to gain teleportation should you want it. monks though are one of the classes that needs teleportation the least due to their increased movement and ability to disengage easily. you may want to consider multiclassing into a class that allows you to cast revivify to support your concept.
@JamesBlack-i2b
Жыл бұрын
It would be cool if you use a halfling monks using the way of the shadow..That would be sweet just to see how they turn out? It was a thought take care..
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
I like that! Maybe I'll try one out in a future build video if I can finish these last few class guides before the next iteration of DND comes out haha.
@bronchiel
2 жыл бұрын
In my opinion, Way of the Kensei monk is probably the most useful, yet unfortunately subpar compared to other martials. The monk desperately needs a way to regain Ki points, and the only enemies worthy of spending Ki points to try to stun are the ones that are most likely to succeed on them. I usually change these to try and make the gameplay more fluid - spending up to 2 hit die as a bonus action to "take a moment" and regain Ki points, as well as having the Stunning Strike now impose disadvantage on the next attempt if the current one fails to stun. I also want to touch on the class features. They are really not that well put together. The slight movement speed increase at those high levels is absurd, barely any defensive options, and a horrible level 20 feature. WotC really thought they had something going on with this class, but they really screwed up.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think way of the open hand, way of mercy, and way of shadow do pretty well also but I agree that a fix for the base monk lies somewhere in regaining ki or just having more of it. That said, stunning strike only needs to work once! Perhaps even a build with the new metallic Dragonborn’s enervating breath could be fun to play with… And I’ve started taking a couple levels in fighter for action surge and unarmed fighting style instead of the capstone on a lot of builds. It works out pretty well!
@mesquitaboys7863
2 жыл бұрын
I cannot stress enough how much I want this damn channel to succeed
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Hahaha thank you so much!! I think you and I feel the same way! 😂😊
@CPUplayer1
2 жыл бұрын
I've looked hard and have found very few results. May I ask what are your opinions are on a Shadow Monk/ Assassin Rogue build? Most have said go heavy Rogue and dip in Monk. It seems to be a 12/8 split either way, but when I came up with this character I was planning heavy Monk. so I guess I'm asking what would you suggest for a Tabaxi raised as a Monk, discovered his ancestors were Rogues, and is CG... for now... lmao
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Realistically, the two classes (and subclasses) tend to play pretty well together. I'd agree with a lot of the advice you've received thus far and say that more levels in rogue would most likely result in a more powerful character. I think going 12/8 makes a lot of sense (because the shadow monk's invisibility feature is just going to eat your action for advantage on a single attack). That feature can be worth it if you're planning things out a lot but it's just not worth sinking extra levels into it in my opinion. The only real downsides here are that your monk's martial arts die would be stuck at a d6, and you'll have some pretty limited ki--even at the crux of your build. But, I'd also consider dipping a third class here... Taking fighter for action surge as well as blind fighting, second wind, and a couple levels of a better hit die! It's likely going to cause you to miss out on an ASI/feat but that bit extra is really going to help you nova on turn 1 with action surge. That'll more than make up for any lack of martial arts die and ki points. That said, this is all just a surface level glance. Feel free to offer any counterpoints as to why you'd rather not do any of this haha.
@CPUplayer1
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos that was really well put and I appreciate you taking the time to give your input. I will certainly look into the benefits of dipping into fighter as well!
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@CPUplayer1 happy to help in any way that I can!
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed with Chaos that dipping fighter 2 will help improve the build. I agree and disagree partially with the opinions you've been given and i'll share my inputs below which will focus on optimization: 1. rogues and monks generally don't mix together well as both have abilities that work better if main classed. furthermore, their attack style may be similar (skirmishers) but also drastically different. rogues want to be one-hit strikers. monks are multi-attackers. Their difference is more relevant. 2. from what you've read, they are partially correct that more of rogue is better but what i'd like to add is what is implied here is less of monk is better. meaning 0 monk levels is the most optimal. this means if you're going to have monk in a build, they better be the main class or not be included at all. there's no middle ground if you're concerned about performance as monks make bad dip classes/multiclasses. 3. As mentioned in #1, rogues are generally better as main classes but there's a couple of exceptions. one of those is indeed the assassin which works best on a multiattacker which the monk is. so if you're going to dip rogue, assassin is indeed one of the ways to go. so yes going monk + assassin is fine as long as you have monk as the main class with only 3 levels of assassin. notice i didnt mention shadow. i'll get to that later. so i'd advise against the 12/8 split and consider fighter levels as a tertiary class as Chaos mentioned and perhaps adding a couple more monk levels for diamond soul. like a 14/3/3 split. though keep in mind its always better to theorycraft a build with the expected ending levels of your campaign in mind as theorycrafting for 20 is pointless if your campaign is ending at level 10-15. 4. assassin works off of surprise. this is harder to achieve on a melee character, especially in latter tiers when enemies have blindsight/tremorsense. so assassin doesn't generally work well with most monks as they tend to initiate combat from melee. there's also a "perception radius" for creatures as indicated in the phb. an ambusher like an assassin wants to avoid this perception radius as much as possible. so ranged is the way to go. there are only 2 ranged options for a monk: sun soul or kensei while using ranged weapons. so i'd recommend either if you plan to go assassin. 5. if shadow monk is the core of the build, then I'd consider not using assassin and using another rogue dip or removing rogue entirely. for multiattacking, the best core in the game is fighter 2 + gloomstalker 3. you'd be better served adding those 2 instead to your shadow monk base if you're maining the shadow monk. 6. if you are interested in ideas for a ranged monk, i've recently posted a comment here of a sun soul monk build that you can check out.
@RakaiThwei
2 жыл бұрын
As someone who is getting into his first session as of tomorrow, I am wondering is it possible to create a ninja type character with the Kensei subclass?
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
yes. but are you concerned with power and performance? just a word of warning ahead of time that the monk is the weakest class in the game. this concept is better done with other classes or at least multiclassing a monk. i do understand you're new though so multiclassing might be complicated for you now. i could theorycraft a "ninja" kensei for you if you want. the shadow monk is also another subclass you could do this with if you're interested in other monk subclasses.
@RakaiThwei
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheRobversion1 I've looked at Way of the Shadow and honestly? I... don't like that interpretation of the ninja as I want to play something that doesn't really rely on casting even with Ki. I'm wanting to try and have a ninja that's more grounded, something that's closer to the Iga and Koga ninjas of Feudal Japan, even if Ki is still involved. I'd think that a Kensei ninja is possible if feats like Skulker, Stealthy, Poisoner, Actor and Performer are put into such a build.
@RakaiThwei
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheRobversion1 It was recommended to me by my DM that I stick with one class and sub-class to better understand the mechanics of the game. I hear that monks are generally one of the weaker classes but I figure I might as well be the judge of that from my own personal experiences with it. I've looked into the Way of the Shadow monk and I personally don't like that one's interpretation for ninjas. It doesn't feel ninja to me, and seems to rely more on shadows and teleportation than something definitively ninja. I want to have something that's more grounded and closer to the historical ninjas of the Iga and Koga clans of Japan, rather than something that's built off a stereotypical pop-culture depiction of a ninja. So with that in mind, wouldn't it be possible to build a Ninja Kensei by giving the build the stealthy, skulker, poisoner, actor and performer feats?
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
@@RakaiThwei yes for someone new, it's better to start with a pure class to understand mechanics. one tip i'll give though is that don't let the traditional lore/flavor/text/theme of the class influence you in picking that class. anything in the game can be re-flavored. as you already suggested, picking certain options like feats can define the character more. you can make a ninja monk, ninja fighter, ninja ranger (in fact i'd say that a subclass here is the best at realizing the mechanics in my opinion), ninja rogue, ninja warlock, etc. the key is to look at all the classes/abilities and find which abilities allow you to execute your concept. so noted, you don't want something magical supported ninja but something that's more skil based/non-magical. are you only concerned about the stealth aspect of the ninja and poison? how about actual combat? why did you pick the actor feat? that doesn't feel "ninja-y" to me. heads up as well on poisoner. this is a bad feat because poison is the worst dmg type and condition in the game. many enemies are immune to poison dmg (which poisoner doesn't help with funnily) and the poisoned condition. there's no way to optimize anything poison related. i think best to describe here what you want the ninja to do in combat, during exploration (aside from stealthing around) and during social encounters.
@RakaiThwei
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheRobversion1 Well right now, the idea is to more or less recreate something that's not the stereotypical pop-culture ninja but rather something more closer to the historical Iga and Koga clans of Japan but with something of an edge to it of course. So I was thinking maybe Kensei would work as it allows some use of the Ki based abilities and allows for use of weapons which ninjas, especially real life ninjas have to know how to use as it's part of their eighteen paths in being shinobi. Stealth is definitely something which needs to be played up, especially skulking as well because I don't feel like Kensei has this where as Way of the Shadow does, but to a much greatly exaggerated level (I do like the ability to move through Shadows, and I can flavor that to having the ninja moving at speeds in darkness to make it seem like they're teleporting-- see Raizo vs Ozunu from Ninja Assassin to see what I mean). But I don't particularly like the use of Ki to cast darkness, dark vision, silence, etc.... To me that just... doesn't make sense. So, stealth is factor and I figure I can cover that with Stealthy from Unearthed Arcana and Skulker from Players Handbook... So there we go for covering stealth. No problem. As for the actor feat, there's a reason for that. Historical ninjas DID NOT wear black and run around in the shadows, they hid in plain sight. They were either disguised as merchants, farmers, entertainers, courtesans, guards, and in the case of Kunoichi (female ninjas), they went in as either Geisha or Oiran to get close to their targets or to acquire information. So actor and performer feats would be used for infiltration if the situation comes to it.
@thegeneralmitch
9 ай бұрын
Vecna: "You cannot win, you lack the power to defeat me...." Paladin: "I don't, but she does." **lvl 20 sun soul monk looming ominously over Vecnas shoulder**
@ConstructedChaos
9 ай бұрын
Vecna would be stunned....
@Zr0din
3 жыл бұрын
Oh, and nice production and costumes and stuff. Very Cool!
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks Warren!! I like to have fun with these haha
@probablythedm1669
2 жыл бұрын
Worth noting that Stillness of Mind doesn't actually work some of the time, because several effects that make you charmed of frightened also force you to use your action (meaning no using your action, since it's already been used) or just incapacitate you (meaning you can't take actions). This can be a bit of a bummer... especially since some paladins get AoE immunity at the same level. Were I to redesign it I'd probably make monks immune to charmed and frightened instead, and maybe rename it to Iron Will, or something like tha, and let them use Ki to end a charm or frightened effect on an ally instead. Slap some sense into your ally; let them make a new save and add your martial arts die to the roll. Seems more fun to me, as it expands the role of the monk within the party.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Definitely worth noting and I absolutely agree that I’d rework it that way if I were helming the SS DND.
@jasondahfolf4325
2 жыл бұрын
A small note: Way of the Drunken Master refers to a form of material arts where you ***appear*** to be heavily intoxicated, which is why the subclass gets performance as a free skill. The whole deal is that you trick opponents to underestimate your skills and strike unpredictably with surprising force and odd angles at times. In DnD, it can be flavored in a way that the monk’s fluid movements allow them to weave around combat and lash out in an unpredictable manner or go with a drunkard, though that is a flavor for this subclass that I don’t particularly enjoy Note that what I said is a heavily summarized explanation from someone who isn’t a martial artist and doesn’t actively study martial arts, though I find it fascinating enough to remember small tidbits here and there
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Fair enough! Sorry-the extent of my martial arts knowledge begins and ends from shows like Naruto 😂 Still, that’s very interesting! I’m sure you could play the flavor either way but I really like that it doesn’t pigeonhole you into just doing that one thing.
@PerthScienceClinic
2 жыл бұрын
My Drunken Master monk took a level in Bard so he could accurately portray being not only drunk, but a drunken bard to add a whole level of subterfuge.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@PerthScienceClinic oh now that is FANTASTIC haha!
@kristbjorglara
Жыл бұрын
Currently playing as a Drunken Master at 6th level. I feel as though I’m not playing to it’s full potential and I have a very strict DM (but I feel as thought he himself doesn’t really know how the monk work…..). I’m either completely useless in a fight or I excel in roleplay with drunken shenanigans. Ah I’ve almost died “thrice”. So usually I’m hesitant on how my monk really works on the number of attacks I have: I find it mildly confusing. And because Im a tiefling monk I get free of charge thaumaturgy, hellish rebuke and darkness. So I have spellcasting ability and spell save 14 and +6 on spell attack bonus. I’ve so shitty rolls when it comes to my attacks (when I roll d20) if I wanna use ki-point and do flurry of blows and I feel as though when it comes to my reactions they always always fail…(cause if I become hit I should be able to use hellish rebuke or if I’m grabbed) I’m just always hit and I get no chances to use reactions (cause you were talking about that the monk is like running the game) well I feel veeeeeery useless….. just a comic relief. I don’t want my monk to die cause I made a really cool backstory. I just want to land a hit (I’ve played 12 sessions and not one of them I’ve done anything that I could say I’m proud of…. I feel like I don’t get to play my monk because of either situation or my DM doesn’t really wanna put in the effort of my monk.
@jasondahfolf4325
Жыл бұрын
@@kristbjorglara What’s your stat spread? Because I your build sounds like it’s very MAD
@robertsilvermyst7325
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like Wizards of the Coast is afraid of giving the monk some really good subclasses. Most of the subclasses feel underwhelming, especially with late game abilities. About the only three that seem useable are Open hand, Shadow and Kensei for ranged attacks. Way of the dragon at late game grants the monk 10 ft blindsight at 17th level. A fighter can get that at 1st, and a paladin or ranger at 2nd. That being said, Monk is certainly fun to play. I currently play a Harengon lv 6 Open Hand Monk with one level of Twilight Cleric to make my already speedy bnuuy even speedier on initiative. It makes him able to see in the dark, along with giving him two spell castings (Usually spent Bless, Armor of Faith or an emergency Healing Word) and a few cantrips. And with the Crusher Feat on him, I've been able to devastate enemies by robbing them of their reactions, knocking them prone, knocking them back with Crusher with no save and granting advantage on all attacks against them if my bunny crits, and I can use Bunny Hop in place of Step of the Wind to disengage and save my ki points for flurry of blows.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think you’re right on the money here. And that harengon build sounds incredibly fun!! It works so well with monk!
@connorcavin6976
Жыл бұрын
I just wanted to write this for anybody that gets discouraged from playing a monk. If i upset people because i sound stupid, Im sorry. It was not my purpose. My purpose was to help people look at it from a different perspective. Imagine a horde of troglodytes coming to attack your party and your in a cave, and you decide to wait until they get as close as possible to you, and before they do, you tell your party to close their eyes/dont look at you, and then all the suddenl all the troglodytes within 30 ft of you make a wis saving throw or are frightened of you. Now its just free real estate for you and your party. This is what lvl 6 monk of long death can do. And they can do this any amount of times they want. From my time of playing a monk i wouldnt say monk IS broken. From my experience, monk CAN be broken, or have its overpowering moments. The class is one of those classes where if your going to play it, and want really good value out of it, you cant just be laid back with your thinking. No. This class shines when you put your actual critical thinking cap on. One thing a lot of players i notice like to talk about is the lack of tankiness this class has as a martial class. See, with how the monk is built, i reaaaally really dont think thats what their intended for. I mean, look at all the benefits of mobility you can have with a monk. If that doesnt scream "hit and run" to me, then i dont know what does. especially when you can have a feat like mobile. "Lemme just hit you, then this guy,and then move back like 20+feet away. Ope, cant AOP me. Your not going to get high damage output like the other martial classes, yes, thats true. But you can constantly just whip around the battlefield constantly harrassing things left and right, making it good for a campaign that likes to have multiple mob like enemies. "But if your targeted its game over" Lets be real here, i highly doubt your going to be the target the enemy will be worried about at first. The enemey is going to see your spellcaster, or your big brolic barbarian, and they are gonna want to do something to them. And even if you WERE going to be a target. Your going to be the one targets thats going to be a pain to just do something about. Especially when its later levels after you basically become a saving throw god. Instead of trying to be a constant "up close and always expecting to take hits" come at it with im "trying to take as least amount of hits as possible, and then keep dishing out these small lbursts of damage around the table" Besides. with all due respect, im pretty sure the key idea of being a martial artist is not to be hit in the first place. And if you do, you want to make sure you dont take as much of a hard hit as possible. So in conclusion. Are you going to be a big, huge, hard hitting juggernaut, no. Are you going to be able to throw a rock at someones face then next thing you know, a fireball spell goes off, no.your gonna have to go somewhere else for that Buuuuuuuut. Eventuallyyyyyyy. Will you need to eat or drink? No are you going to be a fast af boy that can zoom around the battlefield, poking enemies, where its enough to be annoying like a mosquito, yes. Are you going to be a Massive thorn in your DMS side if they try to make you charmed, frightened, age you, language barrier you, poison or disease you, or force your monk in a situation where they have to jump from reaaaally high altitude, but you are perfectly fine after you fall as you sprint across the lake that you just landed by? Heh. Trust me. you bet your sweet bippy you are
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Well said, friend! This series of "broken" videos was started with the intention to show people that any class can be broken and that the relative power of each shouldn't dissuade you from doing what you want!
@0_Body
2 жыл бұрын
Broken like it doesn't work right consistently, sounds right?
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Nope! Broken as in it’s perfectly viable as a character option in 5E and definitely not as terrible as everyone makes it sound!
@grizzlednerd4521
2 жыл бұрын
Just on Unarmored Defense and RPing, all character's AC benefit from their Dexterity (depending on what armor they decide to wear). The real difference is the monk's Wisdom makes them harder to hit. That's important to consider when RPing your monk. It's basically heighted 'combat awareness'...They're just as 'nimble' as the rogue.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Good point! More or less, this was the point I was trying to make!
@piranhaplantX
2 жыл бұрын
While I won't argue that Monk is anywhere near perfect. I think a big problem we run into is that Monks are one of the many classes built around longer days with more short rests and back to back encounters. Which is what most class abilities are balanced around. But many people play with significantly less encounters in a day. Which slants the balance towards classes and builds that can "nova" their way through single encounters. In other words, (most) fullcasters and specific nova builds are favored. Leaving Warlock and the rest in the cold. So I fear a lot of this "imbalance" mentioned by the community is mostly self-inflicted. Similar to DM's stressing about the nat 20 skill check homebrew derailing sessions.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think you’re probably on to something here. I’m certainly guilty of only running a few combats per long rest at the most. My games are very RP/Skill Challenge heavy.
@michaelj.mccall6530
Жыл бұрын
Currently playing a Sun Soul Monk. Background was raised by a cult to a red dragon. Escaped the cult and is obsessed with becoming stronger so he can wipe out the cult.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Oooo Very cool! Thematically, sun soul is definitely a favorite of mine!
@michaelj.mccall6530
Жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos definitely not the most powerful. (My dm loves power builds) but he is an almost innocent stranger to the world and he is so fun to RP.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
@@michaelj.mccall6530 I completely agree and I think having fun is the most important part of play! Our table has a big emphasis on story and RP. Some of my players prefer making power builds but they know that I'll help to level the playing field with other players by introducing new mechanics, items, scenarios, etc.
@pointerdogmarketing2197
2 жыл бұрын
I just made a character for a new game--the DM has a homebrew feat for variant humans that must be taken at 1st level that allows variant humans who take the feat to be natural born lycanthropes. I just built a level 2 Weretiger Monk. This is my first time playing a monk and the first time playing a weretiger, so this will be an interesting campaign. I took investigation proficiency from being variant human, history and arcana proficiencies from my background, and acrobatics and athletics from my monk class. My backstory is I was a academic who has written several books on the history of the continent and serves as a librarian at a university. He's taking a sabbatical to join an adventuring party after some monks visited the library, as those monks inspired my character to train his body as well as his mind.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Oh that sounds like a really cool combination of flavor! I wouldn’t have thought to put those together!
@jonhornbek3351
2 жыл бұрын
Personally Monks combo too well with support casters. Like casting enlarge and haste on a monk, and then flight just to add icing on the cake
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I do find that they typically benefit the most from boons like this with support party members! Ask your artificer friend for winged boots and go to town! 😜
@torunsmok5890
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos they definitely don't benefit the most lol. When your attacks are by nature weaker in damage than others, making them more reliable to hit isn't gonna be better than making those others more reliable
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@torunsmok5890 it’s an important distinction between the monk benefitting the most and the party benefitting the most. What I’m saying here is that the monk gets the “most improved” award, basically. I thought you’d actually agree with that take haha.
@apollosungod6673
2 жыл бұрын
Why would you cast enlarge and haste on a monk when you could just target the Paladin or Barbarian or Fighter? Tf?
@binolombardi
3 жыл бұрын
I think the monk has issues with scaling, at least in combat. Levels 1-5 they’re pretty decent at contributing to DPR by being a skirmisher. Their damage at these levels is actually respectable. The damage doesn’t scale well enough after level 5. There’s a transition that happens after this where the monk usually becomes more valuable as a support character. There is a problem with as the change is counter to everything a player has learned how to play from levels 1-5. Much like the hex spell can sometimes hold back a warlocks strength as they get stronger.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I couldn’t agree more but I might also add that a monk gaining wisdom and relying less on combat in later levels is pretty on-brand in terms of flavor! Still it would be nice to see something better than timeless body at 15th level. I think that alone would solve a lot of issues.
@pointerdogmarketing2197
2 жыл бұрын
I'm looking forward to Bards, my favorite class
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
It’s one of mine as well! Still, trying not to be too biased as I post polls and work my way through haha
@undeadmonkey683
Жыл бұрын
Fastest way to fix monk? Remove ki cost to flurry of blows. That’s pretty much it, they’ll get a minimal damage boost, more points to use for their subclass abilities, and they can use their action to use the other monk abilities if they need to. Oh, and give the four elements monk incremental access to mold earth, gust, shape water, and control flames.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Many would argue that you could remove ki points entirely and I’m compelled to agree with them.
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Chaos. Coming back to this vid to share my 1st optimized monk build. Had a friend who challenged me to create an optimized monk for his next campaign as he wants to see what i could do with it as he hears me crap on the monk alot. in fact, alot would be an understatement. He said it had to be a "monk", meaning monk should have the most class levels and shouldn't be using weapons or spells as its core tactic. So no gunks. He also said i can't use what are considered the best monk subclasses in shadow, kensei and mercy nor rely on any magic items. He also said that if it's a striker, it should typically pass the baselines i set for my striker builds (like a burst striker should at least burst for 80+ dmg at level 10 to be considered viable). So i started looking at the popularly trashed monks and i settled on sun soul. Most people considered this or the 4E monk as the worst monk. I was attracted to the idea of making an evil ryu/akuma character who could launch a lot of hadoken. level 10 theorycraft as always: "SHINKU...HADOKEN" fighter 2, sun soul 5, gloomstalker 3 bugbear asi: +1 dex, +1 con (skill expert-dex is viable too) fighting style: superior technique (ambush), druidic warrior (guidance, control flames) dedicated weapon: shortbow key spells: goodberry, guidance role: burst striker/infiltrator tactics: pre-combat: use any leftover spell slots to cast goodberry then long rest. keep to the shadows/darkness while adventuring to maintain umbral sight, turning off flames from a distance via control flames. spam guidance for initiative. use ambush as necessary. 1st turn: if there's an area of darkness/dark shadow within 30 ft of your target, move within 30 ft action: radiant sun bolt x2 + shorbow x1 with advantage (use focused aim as needed) action surge: radiant sun bolt x2 + shortbow x1 with advantage (use favored foe) bonus action: radiant sun bolt x2 with advantage if there's no area of darkness/dark shadow within 30 ft of your target or low on ki, move to an area of darkness/dark shadow within 80 of your target bonus action: hunter's mark action: shortbow x3 with advantage (use focused aim as needed) action surge: shortbow x3 with advantage reaction: absorb elements/deflect missiles as needed 2nd turn onwards: action: radiant sun bolt/shortbow x2 with advantage bonus action: ki-fueled attack/martial arts if applicable Turn 1 dmg report assuming radiant sun bolt is used: 6d6 (RSB) + 2d6 (SB) + 32 (dex) + 16d6 (bugbear) + 1d4 (FF) + 2d8 (DA)= 127.5 so wow. not only do we make my baseline, but a monk breaks the century mark by a comfortable margin at level 10. This almost one-shots an aboleth as mainly a monk on turn 1. I don't think it's quite often we see a monk do over 100 dmg in a turn while not using weapons even at high levels. my friend was happy with this. he also likes street fighter. so yeah, in the spirit of your "broken" video series, i agree that even classes or subclasses which are considered the worst by the community, there's potential to make them powerful and viable with the right build. Feel free to share your thoughts/ask questions. :)
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I'm not usually a fan of sun soul but I really like what you've done here! Thanks for sharing, Rob!
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos not a fan either of sun souls or of monks but i wanted to help out a friend and challenge myself. haha. but yeah thought i'd share here in case people looking for effective monk builds are able to see it.
@pranakhan
2 жыл бұрын
I've played a Monk in every edition since 1st ed. Oriental Adventures, including the Monk Kit in The Complete Guide to Clerics in 2nd ed. After missing the 3rd ed. train, I haven't brought myself to suffering through another Monk build. I found it better to choose classes which haven't received much attention in awhile, like the Bard. That said, as a DM the only monks that I have see be "competitive" in my optimizer groups are ones who are able to roll high starting stats. Point buy does not seem to do this MAD class any favors. As a martial artist IRL I have always loved the archetype, but it still seems to miss the mark. In previous editions the Monk received the greatest access to proficiencies (or skills), as all proficiencies were universally accessible to them. I would have loved to have seen that aspect of the monks explored more mechanically; perhaps they should've been given the extra feat given to fighters to represent this specialized access to training.
@timkramar9729
2 жыл бұрын
If I was into min maxing (I'm not) I would do 15 in DEX, CON, and WIS, with 8 in the others. If I was interested in DPR, I would have played a fighter.
@volantcord2210
8 ай бұрын
I feel like they didn’t really know where to go with the monk class, but multiclassing a monk can be ridiculous, like the shadow monk/ rogue assassin multiclass is pretty sweet. You only really need that 3 level dip into rogue, and the rest is straight shadow monk from there. The ability to turn invisible and it not burn a ki point is nice, immunity to poison and diseases that aren’t curses, deflect missile, stunning fist, ki points coming back after a short rest, gaining another ki point every level, shadow step, slow fall, negate fall damage, flurry of blows, it’s a lot to play with in my opinion. Mixing the wood elf’s extra mobility with the mobile feat, and adding shadow step is ridiculous. I managed to stunning fist an assassin that was attempting to flee by using all 60ft of my movement, and then shadow stepping another 60ft. It’s a character you play if you want to play someone that can be an all arounder.
@ConstructedChaos
8 ай бұрын
Monks do certainly lack a little bit of identity with 5e but largely ended up as a sortof skirmishing battlefield controller. Honestly, I'm really excited by the improvements they've proposed for the next edition!
@danielderamus9573
2 жыл бұрын
I’m just gonna say Kensei with a blowgun! Up to 1d10 + 1d4 + DEX without poison! Sure it’s not optimal (monks sadly aren’t ever) but it’s one hell of a surprise
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
That blows!! 😜😂 Kidding of course! Seems like a cool idea!
@pr9039
2 жыл бұрын
GREAT video! Terrible title though lol The fact is that yes, the monk is broken, but not in a good way. They have resource management problems and are cursed by having to manage THREE stats and choosing which to max, basically nuking their feat selections.
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
not just resource problems but their most popular ability doesn't work 2/3 of the time. none of their other abilities are quite impactful numbers wise. the whole unarmed fighting style just does bad dmg. they don't lend themselves to multiclassing (where the resource problems become more of an issue). and they can't wear armor. they are mediocre or bad at everything. they can't do anything better than any other class.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the feedback! I've gone into more detail on my position in other comments but I would definitely love to see Monk get a boost with One D&D being tested now. Moreover, this video series is about the potential for each class to be broken. It's my effort to alleviate some of the exaggerated hate that certain classes get.
@jdreamerg
Жыл бұрын
So i love monks, they are my absolute favorite class. However from my 1st time playing to my 50th, i came to realize Monks juet cant keep up with the other classes im much of anything, The only things they had going for them was the Movement Speed and Stunning Strike. While stunning strike still stands, things like Elk Totem Barbarians catch up and sometimes excel in movement speed. After DMing for a little bit as well the people who end up playing monks always seem to have less fin because they simply get out shined by either a Barbarian, Druid, or Fighter. So eventually i started giving Monks small features and buffs of my own and so far people seem to enjoy monks more. Monks still dont get broken like other classes with this but its made them more enjoyable. How i run monks is thanks to my addition to their martial arts feature, at level 1 a monk can throw 3 unarmed strikes in one turn. If they use an unarmed strike as an action that can throw 2 instead of just 1. So at level 5, they can pull this off. Action - 2 unarmed Strikes Extra Attack - 2 Unarmed Strikes Bonus Action - 1 Unarmed Strike Or Bonus Action - Flurry of Blows - 2 Unarmed Strikes. Making a Possible Minimum of 5 unarmed strikes, maximum of 6 This can get to be a lot if they get haste cast on them a lot, but it still just keeps them up with things like the Barbarian, since monks can't tank very well, i figured they should at least deal a little more damage. My justification for this is Martial Artists are typically faster when atracking than say an average street brawler or bandit.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
I think that sounds like a decent enough solution to your issue but I think it might be easier to just give monks a better martial arts die (to increase damage) and more ki points (so they can do their cool stuff more often). Either way, I get what you're looking to do here and it seems like a cool idea!
@lucasfragoso133
2 жыл бұрын
Way of the Soul knife is amazing!
@geoffchurchill5492
Жыл бұрын
the difficulty with unarmored defense, and this goes for barbarians too, is that the AC stays static as you level , meaning these two classes will be hogging the rings and cloaks of protection for the party
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
I certainly would love to see some improvement to unarmored defense abilities in the next iteration of DND.
@Dumpstermuffin1
10 ай бұрын
its a fun class but its definitely not a class for beginners
@tylercoon1791
10 ай бұрын
The difference being that not only does barbarian unarmored defense allow shields, it also works off con, meaning a barbarian can put points/good stat rolls into con without jeopardizing their other stats while monk can’t. This, combined with their hit die being a d12, while monk is stuck with a d8 for some reason, leads to it not being as big a concern for barbarians.
@NovelVanguard
2 жыл бұрын
Okay so before I start watching the video I’m just going to say that I’m new to dnd and I. Trying to build a great monk that’s better dealing good damage and has some type of ability to dodge attacks ( like a boxer to be more accurate) is there any type of advice or help you guys could give me
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think way of the open hand would probably a be a good place to start for this! But it seems to me that many of the abilities you’re looking for will be baked into the monk’s base class. Still, it couldn’t hurt to also consider a multiclass into rogue or fighter as well to help you with disengaging enemies as a means of dodging and other possible fighting styles that might play nice with monk!
@NovelVanguard
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos thanks for the info. Isn’t dual classing hard though and if I did I’d probably go fighter and I’m trying to avoid way of the open hand
@NovelVanguard
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos also another question do brass knuckles or something if that nature excites in d&d
@Cosmic_K13
2 жыл бұрын
After playing a monk for 4 months, I have found the experience rather underwhelming, as the best parts of playing one are mostly not in combat. Movement speed is nice, but when you are the only one that can do it, and your team doesn't scout things first, it doesn't have much purpose. Stunning strike pisses me off, because people talk about it like is a broken ability. Dope, I can shut down potentially 4 enemies on my turn... if I hit them with a melee attack... and they fail a con save... based on my wis mod and not dex... assuming the enemy is either unlucky, or has low con, which is unlikely. So assuming best conditions, you burn all of your ki in 2 turns, and then are a mediocre fighter. It wouldn't be that bad if only you weren't barred from the highest damage martial options, like GWF and Sharpshooter.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Sorry to hear you had a rough time with your monk build! I’ve played as a monk and DM’d for monks plenty of times with more desirable results! What did that build end up looking like? What would you say held the build back outside of stunning strike not working every time you used it?
@Cosmic_K13
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos I'm currently running a Dhampir Mercy Monk, because I liked the concept of mobile blood bank. My first major disappointment was that Stunning strike comes at lvl 5, despite being the most well spoken thing about monks. I only noticed when we started at lvl 3, and stayed at 3 for a month or so. I think it shows up a little late. That coupled with you being unable to stun with ranged attacks has kinda cripple me in some combats. Next was deflect missiles, which, while thematically cool, doesn't scale well, and is so situational, it doesnt come up. I'm currently 7th lvl, and haven't had a chance to use it. When there were archers, they weren't attacking me, and every other combat was with either melee, or magic. Sure, it might be crazy if I could return a guiding bolt, but I think I should at least get something like the riposte maneuver from battlemaster. I would argue monks should all have either Battlemaster or Open hand stuff by default. The damage is lacking, as you can't use 2 handed weapons, and dont get fighting styles, and ranged weapons dont synergies with anything you can do. Unarmed damage is bad until 11th lvl, by then, fighters and some cantrips out dps you entirely. I'm not a fan of monks being kinda MAD, requiring both high dex, and wis, but you can't ignore con.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@Cosmic_K13 honestly, all your complaints here are very valid. I think the monk does tend to play best in levels 5-10 after stunning strike comes online, though. Your way of mercy stuff should go a decent way as well. Deflect missiles has the unfortunate designation of a reactionary ability so I find sometimes it doesn’t come up because you’re either so close to the enemy that they don’t want to shoot you or the DM has other targets in mind. In your case it sounds like the combats just aren’t built well for it-and that can happen with a lot of builds. That said, if you’re not liking your damage output, I’d consider taking fighting initiate for unarmed fighting style or maybe even a level in fighter-though I agree that this option should be part of the monk RAW. Would be great if that was there in place of deflect missiles, honestly!
@Staff7
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos you need to properly look at other classes before you say monk is fine.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@Staff7 you need to look at my other videos before you assume that I haven’t 😂😅
@SelwynClydeAlojipan
2 жыл бұрын
If you want to move around a lot while not being able to evade massive hits, absorb or cure hits, deal comparable damage as other characters, or do something useful without running out of ki points and other resources, yes, choose to play a monk. Yes, you can survive a fall from a great height, but how can you help your comrades win the combat?
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
You can use the same logic for spell casters and their spell slots 🤷🏻♂️
@jaycethewanderer9835
2 жыл бұрын
All I'll say is. In the D&DBeyond description included in the video for Stunning Strike, it clearly specifies that the Stunning Strike can be used when "you hit another creature with a melee WEAPON attack", which I don't think falls under the category of an unarmoured strike. I'm currently playing a Monk in a campaign and I follow this rule, and let's just say...my Monk has almost died 3 times XD so it is no longer a broken ability if you take this detail into consideration
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Unarmed strike does qualify for melee weapon attack according to the official Sage Advice Compendium. I think the exact quote from it states: “For example, an unarmed strike counts as a melee weapon attack, even though the attacker’s body isn’t considered a weapon.” So make sure your DM is aware of this so you can get your ability back! 😊
@thomasjoychild4962
2 жыл бұрын
There's some confusing technicalities there. An unarmed strike is a "melee weapon attack" but not an "attack with a melee weapon", but it's the former that Stunning Strike requires, so you can absolutely stun with unarmed strikes.
@Andrew_the_Worthy_Shield
Жыл бұрын
Jokes aside, Monk is actually decent outside of a few small tweaks that can make the Monk better. First, increase the die size by one at each level; as it stands, races with natural weapons can do a d6 in damage and the unarmed fighting style provides a d8 while mot holding weapons or a shield, so I don't think a d12 at high tire play or a d6 at level 1 is too strong. Second, Fighters and Barbarians can get up to an extra 6 AC from wearing magic armor and shields, so let Monks add their proficiency bonus to their AC. As a means of satisfying the desire for more Ki, I have seen the suggestion of adding a Monk's Wisdom modifier to their ki point pool, which seems fair to me as that may be at least 5 ki points at level 2 and 7 ki points at most. Another suggested change was to remove the ki cost of Step of the Wind, and a change I thought of would be to allow the Monk to recover 1 ki point if they miss a bonus action attack or if a target success on a saving throw against a Monk's feature.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Have you seen some of the changes in the UA for the next edition? I think they're certainly on the right track but not quite there yet.
@Andrew_the_Worthy_Shield
Жыл бұрын
@ConstructedChaos Outside of the damage die for unarmed attacks, the nerf to Stunning Strike, the one super short rest, and the nerf(?) to Empowered Strikes, Monk is largely unchanged. Compared to what the Wizard and Sorcerer got, the charges seem less than mediocre.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
@@Andrew_the_Worthy_Shield when I say they’re on the right track and not there yet, I mean I like the way they’re thinking. Giving the monk a free short rest instead of just pumping ki is a cool idea-but I think it should come online much much earlier. It would improve monk survivability in leu of a bigger hit die or better AC. Another example can be found in their improvement of deflect missile. The problem there is that it should be rolled up into the same feature and also be made to include melee attacks against them-further improving survivability. Those two changes alone would see the monk bolstered fairly well. I plan to mention as much in my feedback.
@Dumpstermuffin1
10 ай бұрын
way of mercy monk is my favorite. Always wanted to be the plague doctor
@ConstructedChaos
10 ай бұрын
And the added "let me put you out of your misery" flavor is just icing on the cake!
@ChasoGod
2 жыл бұрын
One thing I would give Monks as part of their Martial Arts ability is that they can choose to deal Bludgeoning, Slashing, or Piercing damage depending on the way they strike their target with their hands. A closed fist is Bludgeoning, delivering a karate chop is Slashing, and quick jabbing with your finger tips is Piercing. Yes you aren't actually cutting or piercing into the body of your target, well maybe unless you deal a Critical Kill Blow, but the impact of the motion and your Monk training allows you to deliver blows that imitate those other damage types.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
That would certainly be an interesting change! But, as I so often take a fighter multiclass dip on my monks now for the unarmed fighting style, I would love to see that added into the base class as well!
@marekvyrostko
3 жыл бұрын
Talks about monks, proceeds to show a mummy lord BBEG picture, lol
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
WOTC only has so much art that I can use as part of a video haha. Just gotta use a little imagination ♥️😉
@Dualbladedscorpion7737
2 жыл бұрын
Would i be.a ninja if i multicalss as both a monk and a rouge in dnd?
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think that’s definitely one way to do it!! Look into the way of shadow for monk while you’re at it!
@Dualbladedscorpion7737
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Can do
@Zr0din
3 жыл бұрын
I don't see how so many people see monks as dangerous to their game balance. Yes, you can Stun - and that's great! But at level 5, with 5 Ki points, you can blow through all those points SO FAST! Also, Constitution saves are, in general, some of the highest saves in the game. You can totally run out of Ki while trying to stun down a person. So, much so, the Party holds back while I try to stun. That is their idea of depletion of legendary resistances before they try their spells. Also, Shadow and 4 Elements monks have such BAD costs for their Ki, it's tragic. They should have been given spell slots.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
And at 30mins of a short rest you get it all back!! I don’t see monks as dangerous to the game’s balance. After all, as pointed out in other comments, I plan to make videos like this for every class! But let me also paint you this scenario: A level 5 party faces off against an Ettin with a pet owlbear. The ettin fails his con save twice in 3 attempts while the rest of the party solos the owlbear. Then, the ettin lands a single attack before being beat down by a monk with no ki points and the other party members. True story haha.
@Zr0din
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos sounds like you had some very bad saves or a divination wizard or star druid or something was manipulating some saving throws against you. An Ettin has to have a really high con- isn't it classed as a giant?
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Hahaha truly just some terrible rolls. Ettins have only +3 to con saves but they do have advantage against being stunned. Still, being able to steal action economy away from creatures is very very powerful in 5e. And everything is bound to fail eventually.
@Comicsluvr
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Terrible rolls happen but for every round I've heard where the Monk pulled out a clinch win, I've actually seen two where they burned a bunch of Ki and got nothing for the effort.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@Comicsluvr as you say, bad rolls happen haha.
@stevenstone307
2 жыл бұрын
Playing a monk… I could just punch this orc off this ledge, but with Slow Fall, it’s just so much more fun to jump off with them and body slam them, taking 0 damage haha. It gets even better when you can run up walls! Grapple + running up walls + Slow Fall = WWE
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I've actually not had the opportunity to play a grappler build but they always sound so fun!
@Cha-Khia
2 жыл бұрын
I've played a grappler wizard (rolled very high stats) it was pure silliness.
@Guldfisken90
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos For a grappler build i recommend the homebrew class Pugilist
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@Guldfisken90 thanks for the tip! Though, I’ll probably try to make something within the core rules so I can make a video about it later too haha.
@apollosungod6673
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah! Let's make the Monk even MORE MAD by making them a grappler which is built off STR! 😎👍
@AndriusKamarauskas
2 жыл бұрын
11:14 you can 4 times attempt to make a stunning strike if you hit target that amount of times which is not always the case...
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Totally! The point has been raised, discussed, and even “math’d” to death in other comment threads. I still stand by the fact that stunning strike is pretty likely to stick when you want it to.
@temetrex9324
3 жыл бұрын
Monk would be better if level 20 got your martial arts die a d12 and if the cap stone was if you start your turn with less than 5 no points you gain 2.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I definitely agree with you there! That level 20 capstone ability leaves a lot to be desired but this would get it there!
@okgut2033
3 жыл бұрын
I would change it to: - add your wistom and dexterity modifire for attack and dmg if you attack unarmed if your kensei this bonus also counts on each chosen weapon. - your non damaging actions and conditioneffects on enermies cost 1ki less (so it helps also astral monk). - you can paralyse ones per day a creature with your stunningstrike without a savecheck and ignoring immunities but it also cost 3 extra ki. - your ac improves by your proficiancy once per short rest for a minute as long you wear no armor and arent polymorphed. (If you want you can add ki to the cost, but immo the monk is allready overloades) - you can spend 6 ki (5 cause of the reduction) to gain haste for an hour. As long you have this effect you can react without limits, but only one per action forcing a reaction. But then this would only fix the monk on lvl 20 xD
@apollosungod6673
2 жыл бұрын
Nah, a d12 martial arts die is shit tier at level 20 when everyone else is rocking +2-3 weapons. 1d12 is available for fighters and barbarians and others at level 1...why do monks have to get the shit end of the stick in nearly every feature they get?
@ivorymantis1026
2 жыл бұрын
What about chaos alignment monk? I wanna be a Barb/monk that is just a really good brawler. No technique, just going up to mercilessly beat opponents down, always searching for a stronger opponent; always searching for the next joyous combat.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
That sounds like a lot of fun-especially since both monk and barbarian tend to be a bit front loaded classes. As far as monk subclass, way of the open hand or way of the drunken master might be good picks for that! Just keep in mind that Barb requires a Strength of 13 to multiclass and monk requires a 13 in dex and wisdom respectively! Once you’ve attained that, you could probably lean into your strength score for your attacks but your AC may suffer a bit too. Either way, don’t let that deter you! Once you’ve got it all figured out, it’ll be a good time to play with!
@robertsilvermyst7325
2 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a good candidate for Drunken Master.
@timkramar9729
2 жыл бұрын
Way of the Soulknife. Wasn't a bad homebrew, but guess it isn't official.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Well, soulknife is an official rogue subclass. Are you confusing the two or was there something I missed?
@timkramar9729
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos no, I realize it's a valid rogue subclass, but I would like to see the same class for monks. I've seen 5e content for Way of the Soulknife but it's not official content. Monks are cool. They don't do the most damage but they are cool?
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos there was a UA soulknife that was a monk subclass. then when they actually did a soul knife in official content, they turned it into a rogue subclass.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@timkramar9729 I see! And yes, monks are very cool! They're best utilized as battlefield controllers and supporters to some extent--it's not necessarily all about their damage output!
@BossTripp1
3 жыл бұрын
Most people only consider damage in the equation of useless or not useless. Your thoughts are fine. As a gm/dm, every time a player has played a monk they've loved it, except for one guy who was wanting to be the most damaging class he could be.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
This guy gets it!
@notsochosenone5669
3 жыл бұрын
So, what else are you consider in the equation? Monks are mediocre-to-bad at everything, except maybe mobility (and they can't use this mobility because no damage). Flavor is the only thing that they have. Is it wrong to wish for mechanically good (or at least not bad) class?
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@notsochosenone5669 not all encounters are combat-based. Stunning strike is an extremely powerful tool even in the late game and the ability to speak and understand all languages, remove reliance on sustenance, etc is pretty broken in its own right depending on the campaign.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@notsochosenone5669 but, no. It definitely isn’t wrong to want more out of the class in terms of DPS. I totally get that. I just don’t think that’s the intended use. Monk looks like more of a battlefield controller with fairly resilient stats and abilities for staying alive.
@notsochosenone5669
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Stunning strike is works like 30% of the time (and this is without 65% chance to hit in the first place). So this unreliable joke of battlefield control is just bad if DM don't fudge rolls or something. Why praying for random if you can play druid and be actually good at support and battlefield control? Stay alive with what? d8 hit die and joke of AC? When i choose monk i want to be Bruce Lee/Jackie Chan-like fast punching stunt machine, but i can do neither - samurai fighter can make like 10 strikes - monk can make only 4, and even something as basic as jump is impossible because Wotc forget to make jumps DEX-dependent for monks. Ironically enough, only Tortle STR monks can be good at jumps and at least semi-effective at the same time.
@gregkirby9059
2 жыл бұрын
does the monks increased movement speeds stack up?
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately, they don’t. Funny story, though! A friend of mine once DM’d a campaign where they thought they did! The monk was zipping all over the place with nearly untouchable amounts of movement haha.
@grizzlednerd4521
2 жыл бұрын
imo a 'broken' monk requires a 1 level dip into War domain cleric. ;-) Divine Favour, Shield of Faith, and martial weapon proficiencies (for dedicating a versatile, martial weapon) are gold. War Priest is also nice for when you've burned through your Ki (or you're playing a Kensai archer) and scales with your Wisdom.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Oooooo I like that! Sounds like a fun build!
@JohnnyBoy-wi4kn
2 жыл бұрын
Group was being attacked by a Rok, I tried to cast blindness on it to make the fight easier, apparently the things WIS is pretty high, our Monk manages to stab it, hold on to the dagger, put a dart in its head, and cast Darkness on the dart effectively blinding it in like two moves!
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I've literally had entire combats where the party monk stole my turns while the party beat me down. So nasty when it works haha.
@bguns4989
Жыл бұрын
Too many people saying that they aren't great tanks, or great DPS, or great...blah blah blah... All are forgetting that this is not a combat only game.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
That is a very easy thing to forget! High dexterity and wisdom can make the monk a pretty great asset in other areas just on its own merit. That said, I would love to see the monk get a better hit die at some point. I don't think it's 100% necessary but it would make sense.
@skidmoda
2 жыл бұрын
The 4 element monk sucks, the elemental bender NPC should be a base. As a DM I hate stunning strike, but it just means I need to be more thoughtful on my encounters. Flyby, swarms, etc. It isn’t cheap just think.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I can definitely agree with you on 4 elements. The abilities are just way too expensive when you compare it with other “spellcasters”. As for building encounters around stunning strike, I’ll do this occasionally but doing it every time isn’t going to be fair to your player. Stunning strike should have a chance to go off.
@kirbo_2125
2 жыл бұрын
I played a enlightened toad monk, you can imagine how that went
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Were you using grung as your race mechanically? I've heard a lot of people like that combo!
@bronzedragon18
Жыл бұрын
I've played a aasimar Way of the Open Hand monk for several years now and while I can't speak for others at no time did Jugs ever seem underpowered compared to the other PCs, who BTW were a banneret Fighter,Forge cleric, Moon Druid,Oath of Vengeance Paladin and a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer. Maybe I was just lucky but that's been my experience.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
This has been my experience as well with the Monk. People don't give enough credit to the class at common tiers of play and the disparity between relative power levels of each class is a lot smaller than people seem to think.
@JabezFuutonSpecialis
Жыл бұрын
I hope, even with all this OGL stuff going on, that you continue with these classes are broken series!!!
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
I was definitely planning to before and it's full steam ahead now that they've walked everything back!!
@JabezFuutonSpecialis
Жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos Sweetness 😍
@timkramar9729
2 жыл бұрын
Naginata would be a form of pollard but probably more like a Halbert or glaive.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
What are you referring to?
@timkramar9729
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos you mentioned that you could potentially make a battle are a dedicated monk weapon. There are Oriental versions of weapons that I always like to give monks,. It's not a long sword, it's a katana. It's not a sickle, it's a kama, it's not a dagger, it's a tanto. Guess it's just flavor, but I remember a blade on a stick, which is your basic battle axe.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@timkramar9729 Ohhhh nice!! I dig it! Not with a shovel, but with a spade! ;)
@chainclaw07
2 жыл бұрын
I would rebalanced stunning strike ti lower the dc but add 1 martial die to the damage of the attack. That way, it doesn't control the enemy as often but is a worthwhile way to add damage if you shouldn't succeed to stun the enemy.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
I think many would argue that even just adding the damage without lowering the DC would be worthwhile. However, I think if I were to give the monk a boost, I'd leave stunning strike as is and focus on some of the other abilities--namely the amount of ki the monk gets and the amount of damage they do with their unarmed strikes in general.
@kwaksea
3 жыл бұрын
Way of the Mercy can contribute to teammates well and Shadow Monk, if you can haggle DM for either Blind Sight or Devil Sight, it might work. The others.... I have right to remain silent. Just one more thing: Magical Armor and Shield definately happens and Monks cannot enjoy most of them. I still can see this video is well pit together.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the insight!! I think it would make sense to grant blindsight to a Shadow monk. I probably would as a DM!
@kwaksea
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos It is quite a slap in the face that Shadow Monks cannot see through their own Darkness spell.
@jamessberna1330
3 жыл бұрын
In our main campaign our dm had a thing that granted us a minor wish at level 3. I was a shadow monk and was the one that got to make the wish as I rolled very well on an insight check. I talked to the dm and got our group "the eyes of my ansestors" (I'm a tiefling). He gave us devils sight but limited (think it was halved until level 6 or so) and I think thats fair because one or two members having low level devils sight it fine, a party needs nurffed, especially when we have 3 out of 7 characters that can cast darkness and I have a dart enchanted with darkness spell so 4 darkness spells in total. All having advantage in darkness and whatnot gets pretty broken.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@jamessberna1330 That's a cool implementation of a party buff! I'd love to know more about the context that allowed that to happen within the story of the campaign! Thanks for sharing!
@jamessberna1330
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos basically we were all "chosen by gods" and magic crystals teleported us to an air-ship/city that was ran by a god of time. We had some down time to explore the area and the dm put one of those old gypsy in a box fortune teller things (he said he got the idea from critical roll I believe) in the way of our rogue but he kept rolling low on any kind of check to see what it was about. It seemed to show up around every turn and was annoying him. He got to roll history, insight, investigation, arcana, perception, survival, and a few other ones and even had advantage on a few but couldn't roll above a 5 and even with his modifiers couldn't get high enough. It was very funny to watch. He eventually got the rest of us and I gave it a go. First with an investigation and rolled a 19, insight and rolled a mod 20, arcana nat 20, and perception a mod 19. The skill check to figure out what it did and how to activate it was 15 or 16 I think. I found an inscription on it that said how to activate it, a warning that I needed to be exact, and what it did. I talked to the dm about it out of game and he agreed to give the group devils sight if I could come up with a good enough wording for it, but he said that it would be nerffed because he didn't want us to just go around in darkness and murder hobo everything. Seeing as we were only level 3 at the time and we had 3 darkness casters (I didn't have my dart yet). So in game I rolled a nat 20 on performance to activate it and asked it "I would like for those chosen by the gods, to stop the mad king, to have the eyes of my ansestors". Out of game he told me that if I rolled a 5 or lower it wouldn't activate, a 6-19 I would have to be exact on my wording, and a 20 it would grant us the sight nomatter how it was worded. He thought it would have been funny if I rolled a 6-19 and had thousands of demon eyes start falling into the room but lucky for me it was a nat 20. We are now level 7 about to be 8 and honestly used the darkness a handfull of times so we didn't abuse the power gifted to us by our dm. We are starting to face things that have devils sight now too so it wouldn't be that abusive now anyway. Shortly after he granted us with the devils sight we got to the first real town and there was an enchanter so I figured I would save some ki by asking for a dart I had to be enchanted with darkness. I keep it in a spell scroll tube (stole the idea from youtube tho I can't remember who to give credit).
@codybeck371
2 жыл бұрын
how can you put a disclaimer on the way of long death monk but not the 4 elements monk. 4 elements monk is the WORST subclass in 5e
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Call it experience bias I suppose 😂
@codybeck371
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos i also dont know how you can claim that monks are "broken" when they are now (since tashas revision of rangers) arguably the weakest class in 5e
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
@@codybeck371 I understand monks are less powerful than most other classes. I say as much in other comments here. I think the point that you’re missing is that this attitude that revolves around building only the most powerful and efficient characters is only one way to play the game. Every class brings something to the table and every character has the opportunity to be broken. I have literally cited examples wherein I’ve DM’d for players running a monk build that have decimated combat encounters that were supposed to be deadly CR. But, thank you for your input. Your opinion is just as valid as mine.
@codybeck371
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos calling something "broken" is insinuating that its powerful enough to break the platform its played in. I'm not saying monks shouldnt be played because i love playing monks. my issue is your click bait lie of a title. you are deliberately misleading people for views. monks are cool and awesome and fun but they are NOT broken they are weak compared to the rest of the classes. power building is a viable way to play, its not required either though. but to misrepresent this badly is a disjustice to new players who could he decieved by your claims.
@alexandernelson477
Жыл бұрын
As a martial artist, I love playing the monk because I can roll play and even act out some of my moves as I react to combat 🤣
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
That’s pretty cool! I bet you’d have a ton of realistic insight as to how it all plays out!
@Comicsluvr
3 жыл бұрын
I don't like the core Monk class so, as a result, I don't like most of the subclasses. I don't like the fact that virtually everything you do burns Ki. I don't care about the Short rest...I base my mental image of a Monk on any of a number of Kung Fu movies we all saw growing up. I can't remember a single one where a fighter stopped dodging because he was out of Ki points. No other martial class works with this sort of resource unless you want to count the Battlemaster Fighter and even then they're getting a lot more for one of their Maneuver dice than an additional 1D4 damage. IMHO the core Monk class needs work in order to make it less Ki-dependant.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
I think the argument can be made to either strengthen the existing mechanics or to overhaul it but I can see your qualms with the class. That said, I can’t think of any movies where a mage ran out of “spell slots” either or where a bard ran out of “inspiration” haha. Maybe hold out hope that monk gets a rework in whatever new edition WOTC just announced they’re working on for 2024.
@Staff7
2 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos well thats cause wizards have a shit ton of spell slots and cantrips
@loganodinson4661
2 жыл бұрын
Monk is awesome if you play the gritty rules for rest. Where 8 hours is a short rest and a week is a long rest.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Oh man that sounds so fun actually!
@akmi1931
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t really see the gripes about Monks seeing as no one really plays them by the core books anyway. But then again, neither does anyone for any of the other classes. The Class has minor issues that are fixed easily enough before the game starts. The secret is understanding that the Core Rules REALLY ARE JUST GUIDELINES.
@curve_stomped1508
Жыл бұрын
U sounded like big joel for a sec, my goddamn face
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Haha thanks I think!
@JaxWylds
3 жыл бұрын
Handsome man talkin' D&D. I'm easy like that. /subscribed
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Hahah well thank you so much!! Still weird looking back at the videos where I had hair but comments like this make my day!
@dorianleakey
14 күн бұрын
stunning strike is not broken, its fifth level, casters have fireball at this level, its good, but not broken and its from a character with probablly 17-18 AC, its not that hard to beat. to hav ehigher AC than that you would need to roll a couple 16s maybe an 18 and 14 and take the ability boost.
@joshshin6819
2 жыл бұрын
So..like can someone explain to me how the Monk is under whelming and needs updated to keep in par to other classes? I'd love to know. I'm confused since Monks in the games I play are disgusting in a fight with the amount of options they have. Also. Actual answers would be appreciated. Last time I asked this I read shit that made my 3 year old seem like the next Einstein when speaking a sentence.
@TheRobversion1
2 жыл бұрын
Perhaps the others responded with actual answers but you weren't ready to listen. anyway here's my top 5 list: 1. lack of ki with lots of abilities using ki (unlike other classes who have higher resource pools, varied resource pools or have good abilities that don't cost a resource). They might have alot of options but this limits their usage. 2. difficulty in multiclassing. More often that not, multiclassing is optimal in 5e. Monks have a hard time multiclassing not only due to needing to stay in class for ki/unarmed scaling but also the multiple ability score reqs (dex and wis) along with alot of their abilities not working well with other class abilities (unarmed strikes dont qualify for attacks needing a weapon and thus doesn't work with alot of dmg boosters like sneak attack, smites, etc). 3. none of their abilities are particularly powerful from a combat pov (stunning strike targets con, flurry of blows costs ki, step of the wind costs ki, etc). 4. unarmed fighting is one of the worst fighting styles as they don't pair well with feats that add dmg like gwm and ss nor can they benefit from magic weapons. 5. it's unclear what the monk wants to excel in and they turn out to be mediocre in alot of the different party roles. they are mediocre strikers, mediocre controllers, can't tank, etc. name a role/core tactic and there's undoubtedly another class that can do it better. the numbers simply aren't in their favor.
@Quietu
2 жыл бұрын
Counter point: they are not and all their subclasses are surpassed by most mid to top subclasses of the other classes. They only appear broken in one on one combat. And usually only if they get to go first.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Counter counter point: I disagree but you are welcome to your opinion haha.
@walterfrank5547
Жыл бұрын
Just did my stat rolls and race everything for level 1 monk hareagon 14 str, 20 dex, 18 con, 15 int, 18 wis and cha 17 haven't played in along time and he told me for now on I need to roll 50 times before the campaign lmao
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
Holy crap those are some god tier stats for level 1!
@walterfrank5547
Жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos starting our first adventure today hope it goes well.
@ConstructedChaos
Жыл бұрын
@@walterfrank5547 Hell yeah! I'm sure it will, friend! Good luck!
@darkusrays6655
2 жыл бұрын
the sad thing is even though i know monks are under powered i will still play them if i ever get back into dnd and when i do what ever dm i'm playing with is going to buff the shit out of me just so i can keep up with the others
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
That doesn’t sound so sad to me! It sounds like you know how to enjoy the game! 😊
@OliverFoulkesMRO2013
2 жыл бұрын
Personally, my favorite combo was tabaxi monk with the mobile feat. Could run around the combat floor punching at anything I could zoom by. Hits would be attempted stuns, and even if I missed, no attacks of opportunity. It got my character in a LOT of trouble, regularly as they would be deep in the middle of a dogpile when they remembered they weren't a Barb and had no resistance to damage. I took Sun Soul to give me the occasional ranged attack as well.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
Tabaxi makes the monk so much better and the mobile feat plays even further into its strengths! I've been avoiding building a Tabaxi monk on the channel until I find a build I really want to use it for. Otherwise, all of my monks would be Tabaxi hahaha.
@beckybequette8212
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for saying this. I'm a brand new player. In my 1st TTRPG and 1st online campaign I'm playing a ranger, because the behavior is easy for me so a good break in on how to play Just finished a level 1 Tabaxi monk/rogue sheet last night and I'm looking for a place to play her. I have plenty of experience to roll play a cat-like character, I'm a foster mom on kittens #27 & 28! 😆 I took kung-fu for two years while my kids were in it and it just sounded cool
@OliverFoulkesMRO2013
Жыл бұрын
@@beckybequette8212 I can always ask either one of my DMs if there's a possibility of adding a new player. Just an FYI - both tables have LGBTQ+ people and neuro divergent people, most are both .
@mattitalks6261
2 жыл бұрын
First i got to say i like playing monk. But stunning strike i mean it great when it hits . But that's the problem. Atleast half the time it's just blows a ki point what you really have. Con normally one of the minters batter save. And wisdom is your second highest normally and your unlikely to max it out soon or at all. I rather take feats a 16 Wis gives you a 18 ac what should be good enough. And ki points run out quick . You can easily run out of them in two turn at level 10. Try longer time between short and long rest. Lest say the level 5 monk keeps stunning 5 turns in a row that's 30 secs. That long enough for other things to have heard and all ready be on that way.i mean or. Add more people. To the monk if a guy keep stunning someone/s it's does not take a high int to ether target the monk or stay far from it.people seem to only remember when it hits. honestly i think it's balance. Cuz of. The ki points and that it's a con save.
@ConstructedChaos
2 жыл бұрын
As I’ve mentioned in other replies to comments that bring this up, most creatures that reliably save that often also have a high enough CR that there can only be one or two of them. So, blowing 3-4 ki points to stun a big enemy out of an entire turn in a game where action economy is everything is extremely powerful. And, hey, sometimes it only takes one bad roll from the enemy. Even if you burn your ki points over just a couple combats, you get them all back on a short rest. It’s pretty much the same as the warlock’s spell slots and I hardly ever see anyone complaining about those.
@fulham43
3 жыл бұрын
I am going to use... Oh that's right, I can't because I'm out of KI... Used my last point for simply breathing because monk's can't do ANYTHING without expending KI...
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
Haha! Sounds like you need half a short rest. AKA take a breather!
@BenunoKagaho
3 жыл бұрын
I've been wanting to try a Way of the Shadow Monk/Pact of the Blade Warlock build it does some nice stuff.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
That definitely sounds really flavorful and I’d imagine you’d use your pact weapon as your monk weapon as well but are there some other benefits between the two that I’m missing? I’m really just keen to know!
@BenunoKagaho
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos you can even choose unarmed strike as the pact, but, I had homebrew a weapon based on other RPGs monk weapons, like in Lunar 2, one of our characters after some story, goes back to being a martial artist, so she uses claws. The reason for the weapon, is that Monk is leveled until 6th or if you wish later 7th as your last level up. We get the Fiend Patron, so we get the Armor of Shadows invocation for a neat +4AC, dang, forgot the name of the invocation to make the weapon cause necrotic damage, which will heal us. Since we can cast False Live without cost, cast until you double your HP. Who came up with this build, thought on emulating Akuma from Street Fighter, choosing 14th level for the Warlock, you get the Hurl through Hell and back feature, that would be like Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu or Raging Demon.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@BenunoKagaho that sounds amazing!! I especially like the claws and you make a good point about unarmed strikes being your pact weapon! The only flaw I see is that false life doesn’t stack-at least not rules as written. Any time you get temporary hit points from a given source, you either replace the temp hit points you already have or keep what you’ve already got.
@BenunoKagaho
3 жыл бұрын
@@ConstructedChaos yeah, they don't stack, but it's enough, since we roll all our hit die for the False Live, according like we can roll until all of them hit 8. It's also nice that we can shadow warp out of a pinch and start sniping the enemy with Eldritch Blast+Agonizing Blast+Hex if you bought Lethargy Blast you screw a lot of their strategy.
@ConstructedChaos
3 жыл бұрын
@@BenunoKagaho warlocks in general are ridiculous sometimes hahaha
Пікірлер: 808