Kali's U72 Monk Henshin Mystic THF WIS Melee DPS build

[Kalibano]

Magic of Myth Drannor changes
New Epic feat + Epic Destiny feat
I have not yet levelled every alt to 34, so this is what I am aiming to try-and-test.

• Eerie Aim (@ lvl 33)
  
  • +5% Dodge bypass, bringing the total to 16%
  • +5% Deflection bypass
  • +10 Attack
• Crush Weakness (@ lvl 34)
  • +15% Helpless damage, bringing the total to 103%

The image below was updated in the main post (also here for ease of access):

---

The sections/effect values that were affected have been updated accordingly.
The DDOBuilder (v2) file has been updated with these changes.

Enjoy!
.

 

[PraetorPlato]

Patience would be excellent on a build with this crit profile. (Crush weakness also doesn't do fort bypass)

 

[Kalibano]

Patience would be excellent on a build with this crit profile.

Hey there

I was seriously considering taking that, but it really felt like it would be a significant speed loss going down to 20% (near half). Not really sure here tbh. Can't math this one out: would you mind expounding on why you feel it would be stronger?

I'm currently planning to take Patience on all my SWF alts, since their speed without haste boost is 45%. On them, the 10% reduction would seem to feel less impactful.

 

[Kalibano]

Ops, copied and pasted the wrong info for crush weakness in that post, thanks for pointing it out. Fixed.
The bonus was in the correct section of the main post.

 

[PraetorPlato]

Hey there

I was seriously considering taking that, but it really felt like it would be a significant speed loss going down to 20% (near half). Not really sure here tbh. Can't math this one out: would you mind expounding on why you feel it would be stronger?

I'm currently planning to take Patience on all my SWF alts, since their speed without haste boost is 45%. On them, the 10% reduction would seem to feel less impactful.

Your attack speed starts at a certain value for your BaB, that's 100%. Then your attack speed boosts are a 30% boost on top of that—i.e. you now attack at 130% speed. Going to 120% instead means you're attacking at 92% of the speed you were before, but going from 16-20x3, 19-20x5 to 16-20x4, 19-20x6 is a 15% increase in average damage per swing, for an approximately 6% net increase in damage.

 

[Kalibano]

Your attack speed starts at a certain value for your BaB, that's 100%. Then your attack speed boosts are a 30% boost on top of that—i.e. you now attack at 130% speed. Going to 120% instead means you're attacking at 92% of the speed you were before, but going from 16-20x3, 19-20x5 to 16-20x4, 19-20x6 is a 15% increase in average damage per swing, for an approximately 6% net increase in damage.

Thanks for the explanation, I can see what you mean now.

Though I have 12 charges of haste boost, it doesn't last for every encounter, so I tend not to count them in calculations for 'regular' DPS. More like extra bursts of speed on some occasions, but always for boss fights (I tend to save 3-4 charges for them).

So, if we don't count haste boost, would you still consider it worth it?

I also scroll Tensers pretty frequently, to boost my BAB to 25. I'm not familiar with the specifics ref BAB and speed: I suppose my knowledge is similar to what's in the wiki:
It determines player attack speed:
For melee weapons, attack speed increases at BAB 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. ... classes with full BAB attack slightly faster

So you mentioned BAB 20 = 100% speed (if I understood it right). How about BAB 25 (since the wiki says its faster at full BAB)?

Also, if you don't mind, could you share where you get this info (if it's in the wiki somewhere I haven't seen). Thanks

Never mind the above, forgot about Flurry of Blows making BAB progress like a Fighter: been a long day lol

 

[PraetorPlato]

Thanks for the explanation, I can see what you mean now.

Though I have 12 charges of haste boost, it doesn't last for every encounter, so I tend not to count them in calculations for 'regular' DPS. More like extra bursts of speed on some occasions, but always for boss fights (I tend to save 3-4 charges for them).

So, if we don't count haste boost, would you still consider it worth it?

I also scroll Tensers pretty frequently, to boost my BAB to 25. I'm not familiar with the specifics ref BAB and speed: I suppose my knowledge is similar to what's in the wiki:
It determines player attack speed:
For melee weapons, attack speed increases at BAB 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. ... classes with full BAB attack slightly faster

So you mentioned BAB 20 = 100% speed (if I understood it right). How about BAB 25 (since the wiki says its faster at full BAB)?

Also, if you don't mind, could you share where you get this info (if it's in the wiki somewhere I haven't seen). Thanks

Never mind the above, forgot about Flurry of Blows: been a long day lol

That post doesn't count haste boost! It's also not that BaB 20=100% speed. It's that you have some attack animation that's 100% speed=0% attack speed bonus. (You can verify this by taking off all attack speed bonuses, and noticing that you still attack at some speed). Then there are typed bonuses to attack speed—combat style, haste boost, enhancement, etc. Quarterstaff gets 30% (15% combat style+15% enhancement) before haste boost. With patience, you're at only 20%. 30% attack speed *bonus* is equal to 1.3x normal attack speed, whereas 20% attack speed bonus is equal to 1.2x normal attack speed, so you're attacking at 1.2/1.3=0.92x the rate.

 

[Kalibano]

Your attack speed starts at a certain value for your BaB, that's 100%. Then your attack speed boosts are a 30% boost on top of that—i.e. you now attack at 130% speed. Going to 120% instead means you're attacking at 92% of the speed you were before, but going from 16-20x3, 19-20x5 to 16-20x4, 19-20x6 is a 15% increase in average damage per swing, for an approximately 6% net increase in damage.

Just to refer back to what I meant ref the loss:
+15% enhancement bonus to speed (item)
+15% from Henshin C6
= 30% (assuming this is on top of the 100% you said, since that's that 'base' speed, based on full BAB).

Losing 10% is almost like going back to 15%, which is what most non SWF styles have. It's what I meant for losing nearly half the bonus.

 

[Kalibano]

That post doesn't count haste boost! It's also not that BaB 20=100% speed. It's that you have some attack animation that's 100% speed=0% attack speed bonus. (You can verify this by taking off all attack speed bonuses, and noticing that you still attack at some speed). Then there are typed bonuses to attack speed—combat style, haste boost, enhancement, etc. Quarterstaff gets 30% (15% combat style+15% enhancement) before haste boost. With patience, you're at only 20%. 30% attack speed *bonus* is equal to 1.3x normal attack speed, whereas 20% attack speed bonus is equal to 1.2x normal attack speed, so you're attacking at 1.2/1.3=0.92x the rate.

Thanks. So yah, we seem to be talking about the same thing. I mentioned my bonus speed (30%, no haste boost) going down to 20% (which felt like nearly half). It's not half, but seemed significant, without properly doing the maths.

I think I'll give Patience a go and see if I feel a bit too slow: 30% bonus speed makes staff monk very nice.

Thanks for taking the time to make the suggestion and the explanations, sorry for the confusion

 

[PraetorPlato]

Thanks. So yah, we seem to be talking about the same thing. I mentioned my bonus speed (30%, no haste boost) going down to 20% (which felt looked nearly half). It's not half, but seems significant.

I think I'll give Patience a go and see if I feel a bit too slow: 30% speed makes staff monk very nice.

Thanks for taking the time to make the suggestion and the explanations, sorry for the confusion

No worries, it’s just important to emphasize that losing half your bonus isn’t at all like losing half your attack speed.

 

[Kalibano]

Magic of Myth Drannor changes
New Epic feat + Epic Destiny feat
I have not yet levelled every alt to 34, so this is what I am aiming to try-and-test.

---

• Patience (@ lvl 33)
  
  • +1 Critical Multiplier with all weapons
  • -10% attack speed, reducing the total attack speed bonus to 20% (from 30%)
  
  The breakdowns below were updated in the main post (also here for ease of access):
  Weapon Critical profile 16-20/ x4:
  
  → Critical threat range​
  Spoiler: Expand for more info

  Base​

  > 20: Quarterstaff​

  Feats​

  > +1 feat bonus: 'Improved Critical: Bludgeoning'​

  > +2 morale bonus: 'Swords to Ploughshares'​

  Heroic enhancements/spells​

  > +1 competence bonus: Henshin Mystic's 'Staff Specialization [T5]'​

  ​

  = 16-20​
  → Critical damage multiplier​
  Spoiler: Expand for more info

  Base​

  > x2: Quarterstaff​

  Feats​

  > +1 feat bonus: 'Patience'​

  Heroic enhancements/spells​

  > +1 competence bonus: Henshin Mystic's 'Staff Specialization [T5]'​

  ​

  = x4​
  → Average additional base damage = +75%:​
  Spoiler: Expand for more info

  Critical threat range 16-20 = 5​

  Critical damage multiplier x4 (-1 to remove base) = 3​

  > 5 x 3 = 15​

  ​

  > Each point = 5% more average base damage​

  > 15 x 5% = 75%​
  
  
  > Crit damage multiplier boosts = +3 (16-20/x7):​
  Spoiler: Expand for more info

  Heroic​

  > +1 while in Cauldron of Flame wielding a staff: Henshin Mystic's 'Serenity [C6]'​

  N.B. the bug where it only applied on 19-20 rolls was fixed in U64 (Nov 2023)​

  ​

  Feats​

  > +1 on 19-20 rolls: 'Overwhelming Critical'​

  Epic Destinies​

  > +1 on 19-20 rolls: GMoF's 'Imposing Force [T5]'​

  ​

  16-20/x7 = 5 x 6 = 30​

  30 x 5% = +150% more average base damage​

Attack speed = 20%:​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Feats​

> -10%: 'Patience'​

Enhancement bonus​

> +15%: Gear/ Augment/ Haste spell​

Heroic​

> +15%: Henshin Mystic's 'Serenity [C6]' (image below: right)​

> Attack speed boost = +20% (total 40%)​

[Vistani's 'Haste Action Boost [T2]']​

> 12 Charges:​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Base charges​

> 5​

Epic Destinies​

> +3: Legendary Dreadnought's 'Extra Action Boost [T2]'​

Augment​

> +3: 'Legendary Moment to Legendary Moment'​

Airship buffs​

> +1: 'Concert Hall'​

PraetorPlato kindly contributed with a suggestion to take this feat, and provided some numbers ref DPS:

Your attack speed starts at a certain value for your BaB, that's 100%. Then your attack speed boosts are a 30% boost on top of that—i.e. you now attack at 130% speed. Going to 120% instead means you're attacking at 92% of the speed you were before, but going from 16-20x3, 19-20x5 to 16-20x4, 19-20x6 is a 15% increase in average damage per swing, for an approximately 6% net increase in damage.

---

• Crush Weakness (@ lvl 34)
  • +15% Helpless damage, bringing the total to 103%

---

The image below was updated in the main post (also here for ease of access):

---

The sections/effect values that were affected have been updated accordingly.
The DDOBuilder (v2) file has been updated with these changes.

Enjoy!
.

 

[Uska]

might try it

 

[Kalibano]

Extra info and breakdowns added to this section of the main post (also added below for ease of access):

N. Survivability & Defenses (after all, soul stones do zero dps):

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> The image above ? includes:​

> +8 CON Tome​

> Temporary HPs: Dino weapon Brighthorn 'Affirmation'​

> Values @ lvl 33, out of reaper mode​

> Toughness feats: Heroic + Epic​

> % Hit Point bonus = +30%​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Competence bonus​

> 25%: Henshin Mystic 'Self Defence [T5]'​

Quality bonus​

> 5%: Falconry's 'Conditioning [T3]'​

​

> Damage Avoidance​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Dodge chance = 48% {capped @46%}​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Feats​

> +6%: Monk's 'Flurry of Blows'​

> +12%: Monk's 'Ultimate Ocean Stance'​

> +3%: 'Dodge'​

> +2%: 'Mobility'​

> +4%: 'Scion of the Astral Plane'​

Heroic​

> +1%: Tabaxi Trailblazer's 'Instinct I [C1]'​

> +2%: Ninja Spy's 'Acrobatic [T1]'​

Epic Destinies​

> +3%: GMoF's 'Everything is Nothing: Emptiness [T5]' {for 5m, cooldown 3m}​

Gear bonuses (inc Set bonuses)​

> +14%: enhancement bonus​

Filigrees (inc Set bonuses)​

> +1%: 'Long Shadow' (4-piece set bonus)​

> buffable:​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> +15%, ignores cap: Henshin Mystic's 'Cauldron of Flame [C5]'​

> +25%: GMoF's 'Split the Soul: Light [T5]'​

​

> Dodge Cap = 46%​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Base​

> 25%​

Feats​

> +8%: Monk's 'Ultimate Ocean Stance'​

> +4%: 'Scion of the Astral Plane'​

Heroic​

> +3%: Henshin Mystic's 'Embrace the Void [T3]'​

> +2%: Ninja Spy's 'Agility [T2]'​

Epic Destinies​

> +1%: GMoF's 'Everything is Nothing: Emptiness [T5]' {for 5m, cooldown 3m}​

Filigrees​

> +1%: 'Long Shadow' (4-piece set bonus)​

Airship buffs​

> +2%: 'Fencing Master'​

> buffable:​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Epic Destinies​

> +25%: GMoF's 'Split the Soul: Light [T5]' {for 30s, every 5m}​

​

> Extra chance to completely ignore damage = 5%​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Elusive Target (feat)​

> buffable to 10% {for 5m, cooldown 3m}​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> GMoF's 'Everything is Nothing: Emptiness [T5]'​

​

> Incorporeality = 25%​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Ninja Spy 'Shadow Veil [C3]' {for 1m, 15 ki, cooldown 6s}​

​

> Concealment = 50%​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Displacement scrolls {for 30s} {UMD 28}​

Some info on how incorporeality (e.g. Ghostly) and concealment (e.g. Blur and Displacement) are reduced in reaper mode.
My understanding is that this info is based on player testing, not officially from the Devs. Info below (inc link) from the DDO Wiki:

​

> Improved Evasion​

{on successful Reflex save: no dmg, instead of half dmg}​

{on failed Reflex save: only half dmg, instead of full dmg}​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Monk (auto-granted class feat @lvl 9)​

> No auto fail Reflex saves on rolling 1​

> Shadowdancer's 'The Darkest Luck [C3]'​

​

> Deflect Arrows (1 projectile every 6s)​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> GMoF's 'Deflection [T2]'​

​

> Damage Reduction​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Enhanced MRR Cap = 80​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Base cap (outfits)​

> 50​

Heroic​

> +5: Henshin Mystic's 'Self Defense [T5]'​

Epic Destinies​

> +10: GMoF's 'Disciple of Philosophy [C4]'​

> +15: GMoF's 'Beyond the Center [T5]'​

> Energy Absorption​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Heroic Enhancements​

> +25% {Negative}: Vistani's 'Mist Stalker I [T1]' {permanent}​

Airship buffs​

> +15% {Fire}: 'Sign of the Silver Flame' {permanent}​

> +15% {Acid & Cold}: 'Shrine to the Devourer' {permanent}​

> +15% {Electric & Sonic}: 'Stormreaver Memorial' {permanent}​

​

> Spell Resistance = 69+​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

Feats​

> +30: Monk's 'Diamond Soul' (auto-granted class feat)​

Epic Destinies​

> +4: GMoF's '[Cores 1-4]'​

> +10: GMoF's 'Calm Before Storms [T2]'​

Enhancement bonus​

> +25: 'Mass Spell Resistance' scrolls (Caster level 13) {UMD 44}​

​

> Monk's innate immunities/protections​

Spoiler: Expand for more info

> Natural diseases: 'Purity of Body' (feat auto-granted @ Monk lvl 5)​

> Poisons: 'Diamond Body' (feat auto-granted @ Monk lvl 11)​

> Spawn effect of most undead: 'Timeless Body' (feat auto-granted @ Monk lvl 17)​

> 10/Epic DR: 'Perfect Self' (feat auto-granted @ Monk lvl 20)​

> Slippery Surfaces & most forms of knockdown: GMoF's 'Serenity [T1]'​

I share some strategies for general defensiveness and survival in this thread. Come visit if you feel it could be useful to you!

 

[Rhunah]

hi, it's my first time playing a monk and i have a probably quite stupid question^^
I see 3 strikes in your hotbar, but none of the standard finishers. Do you not use them (3x Strike + Finisher)? I find the sheer number of strikes and finishers very unintuitive.
Do you switch back and forth between stances as needed or is the wind stance the best (at least for levelling)?

 

[Kalibano]

hi, it's my first time playing a monk and i have a probably quite stupid question^^
I see 3 strikes in your hotbar, but none of the standard finishers. Do you not use them (3x Strike + Finisher)? I find the sheer number of strikes and finishers very unintuitive.
Do you switch back and forth between stances as needed or is the wind stance the best (at least for levelling)?

Hey there

I don't personally use the finishers. I find them very unintuitive and annoying. The only one I insist on actively using is the healing finisher (3x positive), but even this one sometimes disappears with a simple scroll swap, opening a door, etc.

I personally like the Ocean stance for its massive boost to defensiveness via Dodge. I play quests in reaper mode from level 2 onwards (99% of the time solo in heroics), so, even during levelling, I personally value survivability over doublestrike. The attack speed bonus granted by the air stance does NOT stack with the one in speed items, topaz augments nor the haste spell. I use haste pots from pretty early on in the game.

These are my personal choices, though. Hope the above clarifies the reasoning behind them.

 

[Rhunah]

Thank you for your assessment. That's very helpful.
As I don't have the Str Tome, I've decided in favour of a handwrap variant and will probably level up with Falconry and then test your variant with the Tome in my next life. I'm curious to see how differently the two play.

 

[Kalibano]

Build update

In the recent Black Friday Sales, I got an excellent deal upgrading from Standard edition to the Vecna Ultimate Fan bundle ...

... so I now have a Universal tome (Morgrave) for all my characters. Well worth the wait for this price, and I got to enjoy the content/gear all long!

---

The following changes/additions were made to this build:

• +1 Vistani Knife Fighter (new total = 8 APs):
  • [T2] Action Boost: Haste (rank 3): attack speed boost increased to 30%

Heroic enhancements: 85 = 80 + 3 (Racial tomes) + 2 (Universal tome)

---

The sections/effect values/images that were affected have been updated accordingly in the original post.
The DDOBuilder (v2) file has also been updated with these changes.

Enjoy!
.

 

[saekee]

Kali, have any interesting observations on void strike? Does it proc on strikethrough or doublestrike?

I am epic leveling a SWF kukri monk with tier 5 henshin and void strike procs on a 19-20, so quite often.

 

[Kalibano]

Kali, have any interesting observations on void strike? Does it proc on strikethrough or doublestrike?

I am epic leveling a SWF kukri monk with tier 5 henshin and void strike procs on a 19-20, so quite often.

Hey Saekee,

I don't think Void Strike procs on strikethrough.

Just done some quick testing on the training dummies and the force dmg only seems to be proccing on the main target (bearing in mind there is additional force dmg from the 'Lighting the Candle' imbue toggle that only procs on crits). Here are some the screenshots I managed to capture:

One of the screenshots (3rd from top to bottom) was a crit but not a doublestrike, and the force dmg was around mid 200's, whereas in the ones with doublestrike they were mid 400's +, which suggests it gets affected by doublestrike. This build can sustain 100% doublestrike pretty much all the time via 'Quick Strike', so I must confess I had never noticed the values without it.

I have not personally noticed the vorpal insta-kill from Void Strike proccing on multiple targets via strikethrough, but bear in mind this build attacks fast, and I use Quivering Palm a lot, so it can be tricky to see/notice things in combat. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem that quivering palm proc the insta-kill via strikethrough either: just on the main target.

Well, these are some general observations on the occasions when I play this alt: hopefully this helps your investigation!

 

[Kalibano]

This build is slowly being updated to reflect the changes implemented with U72 on 26/02/25

Some general notes:

• drop Falconry, since WIS to-hit & dmg + WIS trance are now in Henshin Mystic
  • I have 2 action points that must be spent in a Universal tree (from tomes): maybe here? This would make a good start towards getting the assassinate bonuses from T2
• fully drop Vistani, since Haste Boost is now available via Ninja Spy
• go dark path for Katas of Ice and Dark Stars?
  • this also means taking GMoF C4 light path, so the attack does light dmg (vs the option of poison dmg via dark path)
• Still go Henshin T5 C6
  • Stay WIS-based to take full advantage of the tree (e.g. 'Cauldron of Flames' + 'Incinerating Waves' uses WIS in formula)
  • Fire version of 'Elemental Words', for the 10% extra fire dmg for strong synergy with:
    • fire imbue
    • ki spells (e.g. Ki bolt, Cauldron, Incinerating waves), which also apply the fire imbue dmg
    • enemy fire resistance dde-buffs via Henshin cores
• Go at least tier 2 Shintao for 'Quick Strike'. maybe T3 for 'Jade Strike'?
• Maybe go a bit deeper into Ninja Spy for extra SA Dice and maybe 'No Mercy'?
• Maybe some APs in the racial tree?

• most of the text descriptions have already been updated to reflect key aspects of the build that are highly likely to be taken (e.g. WIS hit & dmg, trance, etc.)
• No images have been updated yet
• DDOBuilder file is not ready yet