Jon Suan
With the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, there comes the class that’s been sorely missing from the Early Access version. No, it’s not the Artificer but I wish it was, instead we have the Monk! A fairly straightforward martial class with some pretty interesting abilities. In the tabletop version though, they were kind of underwhelming in terms of subclasses. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, they’ve been tweaked and buffed!
In this guide, we’ll show you the new Monk Class in the release of the game as well as the changes they’ve made. So, for the Monk fans out there from DnD 5e tabletop you might like the new changes!
New Monk Class Overview
The Monk class is a martial class by default, but depending on your choice of subclass they can do some magic. Not actual spells mind you but magic effects using their fists which sounds much more badass. Of course, they can use weapons as well but who wouldn’t want to punch things to death? From small goblins to Dragons punching them to death will always be satisfying.
Monk Basics
Monks would focus their ability scores to Dexterity and Wisdom. The former because you’ll be using Dexterity for your Armor Class while Wisdom is used for class features and abilities. You’ll also get Unarmored Defense which adds your Wisdom Modifier to your AC as long as you’re not wearing Armor. That means no leather armor or even gloves, boots and helmets that are classified as armor.
Monks can equip simple weapons as well as shortswords but you can just use your fists the entire game. They don’t get proficiencies with any armor but that’s good since you have unarmored defense anyway. They rely on their speed, dexterity and their features to fight battles, oh and their fists of course.
Monk Features
Speaking of fists, in the game the Monk gets Flurry of Blows at Level 1 instead of the normal Level 2. That also means you get Ki-points at Level 1 as well. This is the resource of the Monk that they use the different features and abilities the class provides.
They’ll also get the other normal features later on in Level 2 like using a bonus Action to dash or disengage. Since there’s no dodge action in Baldur’s Gate 3, Patient Defense instead gives attacks disadvantage on you for one turn as well as giving your advantage for Dexterity Saving Throws.
Same as most classes at Third Level you get to pick your Subclass as well as the Deflect Missiles feature. That feature lowers the incoming damage of ranged attacks. If the damage of a missile attack goes to 0 with this feature, you can use a Ki Point to deflect it back to the attacker!
Later on, they’ll get an Extra attack which just adds more if you love Flurry of Blows. You’ll also get Stunning Strike to stun enemies, and much later on you’ll get Ki Empowered Strikes. That just means your fists are rated E for everyone since they’re counted as magical to bypass resistances and immunities to non-magical attacks.
At Level 7, you get Evasion which makes you take no damage for AOE effects if you succeed the saving throw and half the damage if you fail. Normally, you’ll get half if you succeed and full when you fail. Stillness of Mind is another feature that lets you.
Finally at Level 10, you get immunity to Poison and Disease.
Monk Subclasses
When you reach Level 3, you’ll get to choose a subclass for your Monk, there’s 3 in the game. Each one of them adds neat features and abilities to the already big list you get as a Monk. It makes you stand out a bit more than regular monks out there.
The Way of the Elements can get different kinds of abilities akin to wizard elemental spells like thunder that damages and pushes enemies or fiery punches. There’s not much that changed with this subclass besides at Level 9 the abilities get stronger, so they’ll stay relevant at higher levels.
The Way of the Open Palm focuses more on making your unarmed attacks better. This subclass changes how you flurry of blows work, and you can choose to add certain effects to it. From pushing away enemies to staggering them or knocking them over. They also have Manifestation, a mechanic completely new to the game which are basically adds necrotic, psychic or radiant damage to your punches! Later on, they can make their unarmed attacks explode into an AOE!
The Way of the Shadow is the last subclass, and it deals more on stealth. From giving your abilities like giving you Darkvision or creating darkness in an area that blinds enemies. At level 5, they get Cloak of Shadows which they normally get way later in the tabletop version, it lets you turn invisible. At level 6 you get Shadow Step which lets you teleport a short distance and on later levels even lets you attack with it!
That’s all the information about the new Monk class in Baldur’s Gate 3. Now go out there and make a monk character! Make sure to also check our article on what happens if you defeat Commander Zhalk from the tutorial parts of the game if you haven’t already!
ALSO READ: Baldur’s Gate 3: Difficulty Levels Explained – Which One to Choose & How to Change it?
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