Let’s begin the Ultimate BG3 Monk Build Guide! The general setup is based on the versatility of computer games, which can run on PCs and ninth-generation consoles (Play Station 5 and Xbox Series X/S). Given that the current spotlight is the Way of the Shadow subclass, this Monk build BG3 proves to be the strongest out of the three potential ones due to unique stealth mechanics and raw damage output per turn.
Please refer to our general guide on the best BG3 builds for additional builds.
BG3 Monk Class Guide
Monk’s standout ability in Baldur’s Gate 3 is consequently the Ki-Power, which provides powerful class-based strikes. Monks are the most effective in hand-to-hand fighting, which allows, for instance, stunning several foes within a round and dodging the attacks. Then, you can sneak up behind them like a true assassin, attack from behind, or charge at them like a bull. Monks also have a very high Movement Speed stat, enabling them to move 2-3 times as far as most other classes in Monk build BG3, which decreases the dependency on ranged attacks. Nonetheless, this build can and will be capable of putting out good – albeit not precisely fantastic – ranged damage in the late game.
Monks are recommended to be played with no armour at all. Still, by gaining bonuses and acquiring appropriate equipment during the game, the character’s Armour Class (AC) is not impossible to raise either. Examples include:
- +3 from Dexterity
- +3 from Unarmored Defence
- +2 from Shield of Faith (from an ally)
- +2 due to the special gloves that are usually acquired at the start of the match
These bonuses tend to raise your AC to 20 quickly and comfortably, which is usually above the party members’ AC in the early stage of the game.
During the third act of the game, there is the possibility of getting the Markoheshkir Quarterstaff, the strongest character of the game, to spell-cast for the Monk build.
Monk Build BG3 Subclass – Way of Shadow
We took the Way of Shadow subclass due to the mobility and teleportation abilities, high chance of stunning, and invisibility, which are perfect for dealing devastating hits in a fight. As much as the other subclasses are powerful, we noted that Way of Shadow was the most efficient among all the subclasses.
With Cloak of Shadows, you will get the ability of invisibility, which comes in handy both in and outside combat. Shadow Step, another feature of this Subclass, enables you to teleport up to 18 meters while ensuring you are behind the enemies without being noticed. It also allows you to go to places you normally would not be able to access in real life.
Shadow Arts: Mobility is another option (starts at level 3) that disables the enemies’ ranged attacks and blinds them. It is shown to be very useful throughout the game, especially in Act 1.
Shadow Arts: Stamina is all around, with the ability to silence spell casters during fights and gain further advantages out of the fights. For instance, in Goblin Camp, Silence lets you break the wall without getting the goblins alerted.
A Minor Illusion cantrip can be valuable for distracting enemies so you can steal guarded chests.
At level 11, Shadow Strike: Unarmed allows you to get in close and instantly transport within 9m and deal quite well with foes.
Pros
Tough Melee-type character with a high Armour Class.
Stealth & Invisibility
Martial Arts Unarmed Strike
High Stun Rate
High Jumping Distance
High Movement Speed (ranged between 2-3 fold)
Missile Deflection
Athletics & Acrobatics
Knowledge and skill levels in the use of Trap Disarm, Lockpicking, and PickpocketingFOUND
Cons
Weak with Ranged Attacks
Limited to Simple Weapons
BG3 Monk Build Character Creation Starting at level 1
This section will show you our recommendations concerning the Character Creation process for the selected Monk build BG3. Although you can swap out some of the stats, these suggestions will offer you the best base attributes when starting as a Monk.
Background
The following backgrounds are ideal for Monk build BG3
Urchin (Sleight of Hand, Stealth)
This background also increases your ability to remain hidden and your skill at distinguishing between locks and traps and disarming them. It is perfect for a Monk who must sneak through the enemy territory.
Outlander (Athletics, Survival)
This background hardens you and your endurance, which will help you survive in dangerous terrains. It grants you the proficiencies in Athletics and Survival for fighting and navigating.
These backgrounds increase your ability with Skills that use the Dexterity attribute. High Dexterity is vital for your Monk character to be able to output damage to your enemies at the fullest. Mainly increase Dexterity and Wisdom skills.
Race Choice
The choice of reconciling is less important than early access, but definite races are still better for this build. The first is the Wood Elf, which gets additional movement speed and Darkvision.
Top 5 Best Monk Build BG3 Races
Wood Elf (or Wood Half-Elf)
Additional 1.5m movement speed: Before roll saving throws against being charmed, they automatically succeed and are immune to magical sleep. Besides, the characters that follow us have Darkvision (we can see up to 12m in the dark). All these traits of Wood Elves stand in aid of a Monk who would need to facilitate his movement on the flanks out of reach of magical obstructions.
Asmodeus Tiefling
Hellish Resistance – which reduces damage from fire to half – and Darkvision, by which one can see up to 120ft. Also, the character has the Produce Flame Cantrip. This race grants more elemental Resistance and a handy cantrip for either creating light or as a means to deal damage.
Dragonborn
Defence against a selected type of damage (Acid, Lightning, Fire, Poison, Frost) based on Subrace. This racial trait enables the player to choose how to defend himself/herself depending on the dangers that the player may come across in his/her travel.
Human
Mastery of an additional ability and an increase in the carrying capacity by 25 percent. The main advantage of humans is the variability of skills that can be supplemented with the additional skills of the performer, which will be relevant in your case.
Gold Dwarf
Two bonus Hitpoints are gained with an increase of 1 for each level: Darkvision, the ability to see up to 12m in the dark, Save versus Poison at an advantage and taking half damage from Poison. The disadvantage is that they are slower (7. 5m per turn against 9m of a regular unit). This race is advantageous for a harder and endurable Monk.
Adding to the point, every race receives +2 and +1 bonus points for abilities, so players should decide on the most suitable one.
Skills
A monk can select two more skills that get his proficiency from the background and the granted skills. Options include:
History (INT): This is useful for finding myths and background information.
Insight (WIS): Particularly useful when a person needs to understand motives and actions relevant to making choices in the social setting.
Religion (INT): Elucidates information regarding gods/esses, rites, and other belief systems/ legends.
Acrobatics (DEX): Crucial when trying to avoid grapples and balance.
Stealth (DEX): Criminally important for minimizing detection and establishing a lawful ambush.
Athletics (STR): Crucial for climbing, leaping, and swimming, among other related activities.
Choose a Character Class focused on Dexterity and Wisdom Abilities, so Background and Skills should include Insight, Acrobatics, and Stealth. Thus, matching your skills with your strengths enhances the use of your skills in your Monk build BG3.
Abilities
The essential aptitudes for Monks are skill since it is used for Unarmed or Weapon-attacking throws and Armor Class, wisdom used while performing Ki powers, and constitution used in calculating Hitpoints.
Monks don’t gain armour training, meaning Dexterity is valuable mainly for defence.
Recommended Ability Distribution:
- Strength: 10
- Skill: 17
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: 8
- Wisdom: 16
- Charisma: 8
Your results depend on race, but you should have 14 Constitution at the bare minimum; keep Dexterity and Wisdom as high as possible. Similarly, try not to reduce Strength below 10 to ensure that Athletics rolls will still be efficient and that the character will not be easily shoved around in fights.
Actions and Class Features
At level 1, Monks have access to specific actions and class features:
Actions
Flurry of Blows: Consumes 1 Ki-Point and a Bonus Action and lets you hit the target with your fists twice in a turn. Ki can refuel after short and long rests. This action is also very critical to Monk’s operation, mostly in the way he fights because he can attack very often.
Class Features
Monk Weapons: Light (Clubs, Daggers, Handaxes, Javelins, Light Hammers, Maces, Sickles, Quarterstaves, Spears, Greatclubs, Slings, Light Crossbows, Shortbows, Whips). These weapons enable one to be flexible in fighting since they make one act according to the event.
Unarmoured Defence: Statically increases your Wisdom Modifier to your Armour Class if you are not in armour. This characteristic causes the Monk’s defence to grow with Wisdom while facing more danger, promoting the balance between offence and defence.
Martial Arts
Dextrous Attacks: Melee is used for attacks with monk weapons and unarmed attacks if Melee is higher or if Dexterity is higher. It makes it possible to be accurate in your attacks and inflict maximum harm to the opponent’s strategies.
Deft Strikes: Deals 1-4; Monk Weapons and unarmed attacks deal Bludgeoning damage unless normal damage is higher. This feature ensures that your attacks are always likely to be favourable.
Bonus Unarmed Strike: Permits a second attack with an unarmed strike or Monk Weapon after performing any action, including an Attack action. It raises your attack output by a massive margin.
Monk Build BG3 Leveling Process
Monks level themselves up from level 1 to level 12 in Baldur’s Gate 3. Early levels are for testing and for using the characters of the game. Monk from level 6 gets substantially powerful by the combination of correct attacks and the optimum equipment.
Be strict in managing your Ki Points, for you will have a few Ki Points at lower levels, especially if you are a beginner in the game. These can recharge when the actor takes short or long breaks. It may feel pretty limited for the first few levels, but as soon as you level up, you will gain Ki points to spend in combat.
Level 2
Note: Here, there are no choices to make. Every new feature at level 2 being added to the character will be wholly included in the character.
Coming into level two, your BG3 Monk Build will experience a hike in HealthHealth from 10 to 17. You will also earn an extra Ki Point for your Monk abilities, along with the Unarmoured Movement feature that raises your movement speed by 3 meters if you are not armoured or shielded. Additionally, you will receive new Actions:
Patient Defence: Creatures that threaten you have a Disadvantage on attack rolls against you, and you have an Advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
Step of the Wind: Dash: Increases your speed by 2, and when using Jump, you do not have to take action on it.
Step of the Wind: Disengage: Lets you take cover by Disengaging; jumping no longer consumes a bonus action.
Summary of Level 2 Features
Health Increase from 10 to 17
Additional Ki Point
Unarmoured Movement: 3-meter movement increases, specifically when there is no armour or shield.
Patient Defence: When a creature starts to attack you, it provokes an Advantage on the roll. Also, a creature has a disadvantage when saving throws that require skill.
Step of the Wind: Dash: Manipulate distance by doubling movement speed on your turn; Jump won’t need a bonus action
Step of the Wind: Jump: You may use the bonus action to make a Jump instead; Disengage to move to safety.
Level 3
At level 3, HealthHealth rises from 17 to 24. You also get to select your Subclass. The three original options of the PATH OF THE UNARMED WARRIOR are available to the monks: Caster, Way of the Open Hand (or Unarmed Combat), and Way of Shadow (or Stealth and Subterfuge). Now, we will choose the Way of Shadow subclass for the BG3 Monk Build that we will be using.
The Way of Shadow subclass lets you play with your opponents by blinding them, hiding in the shadows, and applying a debuff that blocks magic damage. Thus, one becomes a sort of a Ninja.
New Level 3 Monk Actions:
Shadow Arts: To be clear, the following circumstances allow a character to ‘Hide’ from enemies: When the player scores a success on their Stealth checks. Stay in the shade, and do not show yourself or your tanks to the enemies. It is worth mentioning that any kind of attack or casting a spell will expose the position of the character.
Shadow Arts: Pass Without Trace: Create a wall of darkness and secrecy that you and all your companions within 60ft that succeed in a stealth check by 10.
Shadow Arts: Utility: Darkness – A local conceptual area effect that significantly restricts light and vision within the area. Whatever is formed by creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of that area.
Shadow Arts: Darkvision: bestow on a creature the ability to see in the dark up to a distance of 12 meters.
Shadow Arts: Silence: Make a place where nothing outside can enter. All inside are non-communicative and resistant to Thunder.
New Cantrips:
Minor Illusion: Build an appearance that forces nearby creatures to come closer and check out what is happening. It does not require you to be visible when casting this spell. Coincidentally, this spell can be cast while the player character is silent.
Level 4
The increased HealthHealth at level four of your choice of Monk build BG3 increases the health pool from 24 to 31. You acquire an additional Ki Point. Furthermore, you get a new feat known as Slow Fall, through which you can minimize your fall damage by half.
You also have the option to choose another Feat, although the recommended option is the Athlete Feat. This feat enables you to place another point to Dexterity, making the character more flexible as per the game standards. Secondly, when you are prostrate, you take a much shorter amount of effort to get back to the standing position. Moreover, the particular jump distance is increased by 50%. In our case, it will complement the build well.
Summary
Health Increase: Material 2: C = Constructed from 24 to 31
Additional Ki Point
Slow Fall: It makes falling damage to reduce to half
New Feat: Athlete
Level 5
At level five, the best Monk build bg3 shadow in Baldur’s Gate 3 will gain another health point increase, going up from 31 to 38. Also, you get another Ki Point and an Extra Attack, meaning you can make another free attack.
Furthermore, you gain a Stunning Strike for unarmed and melee weapons, which adds the possibility of stunning the opponents. Finally, you get Cloak of Shadows, which enables you to turn yourself into an invisible figure by pulling you into the shadows.
But it is necessary to remember that Stunning Strike becomes useful from that point as it can stun the strong opponents, so they waste their turn.
Summary
Health Increase: from 31 to 38
Additional Ki Point
Extra Attack: grants an additional free attack if an unarmed or a weapon attack is made.
Stunning Strike (Melee): Could stun the target. No damage.
Stunning Strike (Unarmed): This may help stun and damage the target.
Cloak of Shadows: If you hide, moving about in the shadows to be unseen is the next step you are to take.
Level 6
At level 6 of a character, the HealthHealth raised from 38 to 45. You get another Ki Point and better unarmored speed (4. 5 instead of 3). Also, ki-empowered strikes are one of them; your unarmed attacks are considered magic to overcome the enemies’ Resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage.
Summary
Health increased: Concerning the previous rank, from 38 to 45.
Extra Ki Point
Improved Unarmored Movement: The magnitude of bonuses you receive to your movement speed is 4. 5 meters when you do not have armour or bother using a shield.
Ki-Empowered Strikes: Your unarmed attacks are treated as magical to deal with Resistance and immunity to the nonmagical damage of your enemies.
Shadow Step: Vanish from one shadow to another. Afterwards, you gain a bonus to your next Melee Attack Roll.
Level 7
At level 7, you gain 7 Health points, boosting your total from 45 to 52, and you gain an extra Ki Point. Besides this, for your Monk build BG3, you are bestowed a new class feature: Stillness of Mind. Also, you get the Evasion class feature, which enables you to avoid the area of effect of certain spells.
Summary
Health increase: Based on the results, the age range, varying from 45 to 52,
Extra Ki Point
Evasion: Your Dexterity prevents you from being hit or affected by specific spells. The character takes no damage on a successful save against a spell or effect that would deal half damage on such a save.
Stillness of Mind: If you have Charmed or are Frightened, then it causes you to use Stillness of Mind to remove the condition.
Level 8
Regarding the stats, at level 8, your HealthHealth is boosted from 52 to 59, and you acquire another extra Ki Point. Furthermore, you will also get a chance to choose a new Feat. The Tough option is good since it will generally raise your health level.
Summary
Health increase: Persons of both sexes between 52 and 59 years of age
Extra Ki Point
New Feat: They are characterized by toughness, which in turn enhances their HealthHealth.
With Tough, your HealthHealth goes up from 59 to 75 for your Monk build BG3. Steadily, Our Monk is now much tankier and less Easy to take down.
Level 9
From level 9, with the Tough Feat (otherwise from 59 to 66), HealthHealth is raised from 75 to 84. You also get one more additional Ki Point. Also, at this level, you get a boost in jump distance. Another class feature is Advanced Unarmored Movement, which adds 6 meters to a person’s normal jump length.
Summary
Health increase: Lucas’s and McMahon’s article defines social media optimization as being between 75 and 84.
Extra Ki Point
Advanced Unarmored Movement: The challenge becomes not a limitation, and while you are not burdened while wearing armour or a shield, the jump becomes an impressive 6 meters.
Level 10
To level 10, using the Tough Feat bonus gained, the hit points rise from 84 to 93, otherwise 66 to 73. You also get another additional Ki Point, along with adding two points of Slam ki to your power rank. Also, at this level, your BG3 Monk Build gets the Improved Unarmored Movement as a class feature, granting you 6 meters to your speed.
Summary
Health increase: Scholars and researchers investigated CAVs from 84/93 to 87/92: The studies ranged from 84 to 93 and…
Extra Ki Point
Improved Unarmored Movement: It reduces the encumbrance of the character that does not wear armour or shield by 6 meters.
Purity of Body: None of your attacks can cause Poison damage, and you are immune to Poison or disease due to the purifying Ki running through your meridians.
Level 11
Thus, Tough Feat at level 11 increases HealthHealth from 93 to 102, while without it is 73 to 80. You acquire another extra Ki Point. Moreover, you get the Shadow Strike maneuver starting from level 11.
Summary
Health increase: A period of 9 has been allocated for the last activity from 93 to 102
Extra Ki Point
Shadow Strike: Teleport onto an opponent from an inconspicuous location, attacking with darkness’s wretched, insinuating quality.
Shadow Strike (Unarmed): Esper teleports to a hostile target from the shadows and unleashes the cold, psychic horror of the darkness.
Level 12
Now, you are at the highest level that is achievable. Tough Feat from 100 to 107 (or otherwise from 70 to 77) increases the amount of HealthHealth at level 12 from 102 to 111. You also get one more Ki Point extra. At level 12, you can take Ability Score Improvement and increase 1 Dexterity and 1 Wisdom, our two main stats.
Summary
Health increase: Whereas it increases from 102 to 111.
Extra Ki Point
Ability Score Improvement: Unarmed strikes: Melee attack (+3 to hit, +1 to damage, +1 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom).
Best Monk Build BG3 Equipment in Baldur’s Gate 3
Explore some of the bg3 best Monk build gear for the Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. The setup will function effectively even without any of the gear listed below. However, obtaining some of the gear mentioned below will undoubtedly enhance your power.
Many of the items listed below are accessible early in the game.
Gear List
Gloves: Bracers of Defence (early game)
Gloves 2: The Sparkle Hands (early game)
Boots: Swiresy Shoes (early game)
Headgear: Haste Helm (early game)
Ring: Ring of Protection (early game)
Ring 2: Anything of your choice
Necklace: Amulet of Misty Step (early game)
Weapon: Gold Wyrmling Quarterstaff (early game)
Cloak: Cloak of Protection (start of Act 2)
Robe: The Mighty Cloth (start of Act 2)
Robe 2: Icebite Robe (Act 2)
Shortbow: Darkfire Shortbow (start of Act 2)
Additional Endgame Gear
Ring of Regeneration (late game Act 3)
Ring of Blink (Late game Act 3)
Vest of Soul Rejuvenation (late game Act 3)
Markoheshkir Quarterstaff (late game Act 3) Legendary Item
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength (Late game Act 3)
Amulet of Greater Health (Late game Act 3)
Gloves of Soul Catching (Late game Act 3) Legendary Item
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3 offers a versatile and powerful character option. Your Monk can become a formidable force in the game world by carefully selecting abilities, subclasss, and equipment. From early-game gear that enhances your defence and mobility to late-game legendary items that amplify your strength, there are plenty of options to tailor your Monk to your play style. Whether you prefer stealthy maneuvers, swift strikes, or sturdy defences, the bg3 best Monk build offers something for every adventurer. So, dive into the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 and unleash the full potential of your Monk character!