Tomaan's Stunning Starter (40 - Monk)

[tomaan]

New to HG and not sure what to build?  Go with a monk! Easy to gear, no learning curve and nigh invulnerable, monks make great starting builds that will get you through all pre-Hells areas and to your first BUR subrace at level 60.  You can take this build all the way to demi, but you will be struggling with some ability checks/saves in the deeper layers.  If you reach demi and decide to carry on to level 80, reincarnate to the build later in this thread.

Your primary attack/mechanic is Stunning Fist, which has been customized on Higher Ground:

Stunning Fist
- A character with monk as control class who uses the Stunning Fist ability will force the target to make a Will save or be knocked down for 1d3 + 1 rounds. The DC of the Will save is equal to 10 + (monk level including LLs / 2) + Wisdom modifier + (Improved Stunning Fist feats * 3), capped at DC 70. It will appear you only have one use of Stunning Fist, but the ability will recharge after it is used.

Stunning Fist is a ranged touch attack, which means it by-passes a lot of AC.  Once stunned, the enemy is a sitting duck for damage tanks, rangers and assassins - you can also beat on it with the comfort of knowing it won't strike back!  As a side benefit, you also get Quivering Palm (only 1 use per rest, but still helpful):

Quivering Palm
- Quivering Palm is now a fast action and can effect creatures of any Hit Dice (excepting Undead, Constructs and a small number of others). It is only used if it lands to effect. If the target saves their critical immunity will be stripped. DC is 10 + (Monk Lvl / 2) + Wis modifier + 3 per Improves Stunning Fist feat (Max of 70).

Advantages:
High AC
Good AB (for Legendary Areas)
Near-max Stunning Fist/Quivering Palm DCs (67 - you will be able to stun/kill most non-crit immune mobs up until the Hells)

2 survival traits

80% unbreachable/mordable concealment

Monk immunity to mind effects and fear

Monk immunity to disease

Disadvantages:
negligible damage output without specialized gloves

low hp

small size means you can't reach some flying enemies.

Race: Gnome

Alignment: Lawful Evil (required to use a specific set of gloves...feel free to switch if you don't need them)

Sub: Svirfneblin

"Svirfneblin"
- FC: Cleric
- base SR0 +1/lvl, CON -2, CHA -2, DEX +2, WIS +2, free feat: Darkvision, saves +2, listen +2, hide +2, speaks Undercommon, speaks Svirfneblin

Svirfneblin is the only open subrace that gives +2 to both Dex and Wisdom, your two most important abilities.  As an unarmed, dex-based monk, your damage output will be minimal at best. As such, the reduced unarmed damage from a small subrace isn't really an issue - the extra points wouldn't make a difference. You do, however, get +1 to ab and ac and, as a gnome on HG, get extra skill points in legendary levels.

STAT	Base	Race	Subby	Level	Feats	Class	Lvl 60	+12	+14
STR	16	14	14	14	14	14	14	26	28
DEX	14	14	16	36	44	44	44	56	58
CON	12	14	12	12	12	12	12	24	26
INT	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	20	22
WIS	16	16	18	18	20	20	20	32	34
CHA	8	6	6	6	6	6	6	18	20

14 STR is a general minimum for front-line tanks (due to ability checks), but, if the low CON/hp scare you, pull 4 points out of STR and put 2 into CON and 2 into DEX (then swap Great Dex 7 for Armor Skin).  You'll end up with more HP and +2 AC.

	BAB	Epic	Leg	Par	Dex	Feats	Size	Magic	@60	+12 gear	+14 gear
AB	15	10	15	0	17	8	1	20	86	92	93

	Base	Dex	Armor	Wis(+Monk)	Dodge	Nat	Defl	Tumb	Size	Feats	CA	@60	+12 gear	+14 gear	w/gird
AC	10	17	14	13	20	16	16	12	1	0	2	121	133	135	137

- you can get randomized gear up to +17 natural/deflection modifier

Skills:
Concentration: 25  - required for some high level checks
Discipline: Max - required for some high level checks
Listen: Max - high listen reduces enemy concealment, making them easier to hit
Parry: Max - high parry reduces critical hits by as much as 50%
Tumble: 60 - Tumble AC bonus is capped at +12....not much reason to increase above 60
Craft Armor: remaining - you have a few skill points to burn.  Craft Armor increases AC by +1 for each 40 points.

Saves @60 (+14 gear):
Fort: 57
Reflex: 72
Will: 60


Leveled Feats
1: Skill Focus: Listen - Listen reduces enemy concealment, making them easier to hit
3: Weapon Finesse - allows you to use your Dex modifier for AB
6: Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike - unarmed strike is your primary attack
9: Greater Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike - improves your AB
12: Improved Critical: Unarmed Strike - increases critical range on your unarmed strike
15: Extra Stunning Attacks - you have a few pre-Epic feats to spare.  This gives you 3 more stunning attacks per rest
18: Alertness (or Toughness...your choice) - you have a few pre-Epic feats to spare.  Alertness will improve you Listen skill...Toughness gives you extra HP
21: Great Wisdom 1 - wisdom improves your stunning fist and quivering palm DC as well as the enchantment on your gloves
24: Great Wisdom 2 - wisdom improves your stunning fist and quivering palm DC as well as the enchantment on your gloves
27: Great Dexterity 1 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
30: Great Dexterity 2 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
33: Great Dexterity 3 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
36: Great Dexterity 4 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
39: Great Dexterity 5 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
42: Legendary Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike - unarmed strike is your primary attack
45: Improved Stunning Fist 3 - increases your stunning fist/quivering palm DC by +3
48: Improved Stunning Fist 4 - increases your stunning fist/quivering palm DC by +3
51: Improved Stunning Fist 5 - increases your stunning fist/quivering palm DC by +3
54: Great Dexterity 6 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
57: Great Dexterity 7 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
60: Great Dexterity 8 - dexterity improves your AC and AB

Monk Feats
25: Epic Weapon Focus: Unarmed Strike - unarmed strike is your primary attack
30: Epic Prowess - increases your AB
35: Improved Stunning Fist 1 - increases your stunning fist/quivering palm DC by +3
40: Improved Stunning Fist 2 - increases your stunning fist/quivering palm DC by +3

Survival Trait

Levitation - levitation is required in several legendary level areas, this trait will allow you to move in them without using a ring

Water Breathing - water breathing is required in several legendary level areas, this trait will allow you to move in them without using a ring

Equipment

The biggest advantage of monks for new players is that, outside of gloves, they don't require any specialized gear.  You can cover your needs with standard drops that most veterans ignore, such as:

Robes of Triel Ysmathir

Boots of the Bastion

Helm of the Heralds

Nature's Writhing Waistband

Lich-King's Plylactery

Blackstaff's Blessing

these are just suggestions, you will have a lot of options on mixing/matching gear

There are also a number of torches you can use to augment your gear set.  The better ones require a legendary tag (or level 60), but some examples include:
Myconids: Urge to Destroy and Impulse to Procreate
Ssithrak: Sstadi S'benat
BUR (lvl 60): Torch of the Unwary and Torch of Absorption
Random: The Skull of Iyachtu Xvim


Gloves are, obviously, your main priority.  Fortunately, there are random drops for nearly every level.  If you're having trouble finding a pair, go with in-shop items and ask in-game where to find Blood Sport (it's a placed in an area near town).  After that, you'll want to complete legendary runs to get tagged to use the 6d12 elemental damage gloves, which help you exploit specific boss weaknesses.  If they don't drop, ask around...you should have enough gold/gear to barter for them.

You really don't need to worry about breach/mord gear, but if you do use it, read the description as it may reduce your concealment by 10%.

Tips

• Accept the reality that you're little more than an "undispellable Black Blade of Disaster" against most bosses and focus on rezzing/picking up your teammates when you face them.
  
• You'll be really, really, really, really hard to hit (really!) but very susceptible to kickback damage.  Collect as many elemental immunity rings as you can find early on.
• Use your mouse to navigate.  With monk speed, you move so quickly that you can accidentally spawn a room using just the arrow keys.
• Target enemy casters early and often.  You'll have to beat their concealment, but, once you do, should be able to Quivering Palm them every time.
• If you get caught flatfooted, you're in trouble - try to avoid switching targets or moving around in combat.
  

[simpetar]

1. Blooded and LSA tumble are wasted, tumble is monk class skill.
2. Low fort save is going to be the bane of such build, you may want to swap blooded and LSA tumble for it.
3. What does LSW and DWA stand for? If it is just typo (LWS as legendary weapon specialization), you don't get access to those on open subby pure monk.
4. It seems this is a dex build, but is lacking weapon finesse.
5. in AB breakdown you list +8 from feats, but greater weapon focus (unarmed) is missing. Also, no improved critical is missing, it is hard to assume that new players will have instant access to ic on gear (and it is not a good idea to rely on it either)

Please, move this build to general class discussion, it does not follow the guidelines or standards to be posted in open subrace forums (in other words, friendly to newcomers).

[tomaan]

So you decided that you LOVE stunning things and want to play this all the way to level 80....or maybe you just want the challenge of taking an open subrace build to endgame (NOT recommended!)?  No problem, Tomaan's Stunning Starter has you covered.

To go this route, you'll have to get to Demi-God status and then reincarnate your character.  Stunning Fist DC will improve to 69 (with +16 gear) and max out at 70 when you reach double-demi.  You can try to reincarnate again at that point and play around with your abilities and Improved Stunning Fist feats if you want to go for higher AB/AC.

Achieving Demi-God status requires you to complete all 9 levels of the Hells and defeat Asmodeus and grants you some really nice benefits each time you do.  You will survive the first run, but, to be blunt, the lower levels will be painful with saves and ability checks.  Once you've reached Demix1, reincarnate per below (changes only, rest of the build is the same).

Having said all that, you don't have to go demi...you stay in legendary levels and maybe the upper Hells layers until level 80 farming gear and subraces, but once you hit level 60 you can start using BUR subraces and those open up a LOT of build options.

STAT	Base	Race	Subby	Level	Feats	Class	Demi x1	Demi x2	Lvl 80 (+16)
STR	14	12	12	12	14	14	16	18	36
DEX	15	15	17	37	44	44	46	48	66
CON	14	16	14	14	14	14	16	18	36
INT	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	12	30
WIS	16	16	18	18	20	20	22	24	42
CHA	8	6	6	6	6	6	8	10	28

	BAB	Epic	Leg	Par	Dex	Feats	Size	Magic	Demi x1	Demi x2	Lvl 80 (+16)
AB	15	10	15	5	17	10	1	20	94	95	101

- this is low for endgame areas....if it's not stunned, you will have trouble hitting it

	Base	Dex	Armor	Wis(+Monk)	Dodge	Nat	Defl	Tumb	Size	Feats	CA	Demi x1	Demi x2	Lvl 80 (+16)	w/gird
AC	10	17	15	13	20	20	17	12	1	0	2	129	131	147	149

- you can get randomized gear up to +18 natural/deflection modifier

- Asmo gear is +20 for deflection (or natural)

Saves @80 (+16 gear):
Fort: 74
Reflex: 78
Will: 72


Leveled Feats
54: Great Fortitude - Fortitude save is a bit low for a double demi run, this will help you make checks with hell's penalties
57: Great Dexterity 6 - dexterity improves your AC and AB
60: Great Dexterity 7 - dexterity improves your AC and AB

63: Paragon Weapon Focus - dexterity improves your AC and AB

66: Legendary Fortitude - - Fortitude save is a bit low; this will cover you for end game areas

69: Epic Will - this will boost your Will save for end game areas

72: Paragon Anchoring - strength is low for high level runs - you will fail a lot of checks. Taking 2 Great Strength feats and Paragon Anchoring will help you pass checks up to 40 at level 80(double demi)

75: Great Strength 1 - strength is low for high level runs - you will fail a lot of checks.  Taking 2 Great Strength feats and Paragon Anchoring will help you pass checks up to 40 at level 80(double demi)

78: Great Strength 2 - strength is low for high level runs - you will fail a lot of checks. Taking 2 Great Strength feats and Paragon Anchoring will help you pass checks up to 40 at level 80(double demi)

Equipment

If you make it this far, you should have a wide variety of BUR-gear to choose from -- too many options to list here!  You should also have some Asmo Gear with juicy +16 stat bonuses (starting at/around lvl 65).  I recommend the To Reign in Hell, as it's the only item that can give you +16 to both Dex and Wisdom.

You'll also have access to higher level gloves dropped in Dis and Stygia (use market channel to barter if you don't get any)