So what's the verdict on the Monk?

[Jeivar]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

[PhoenixPhyre]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

It works great. It's not a primary DPS monster, but it has some of the best mobility and single-target control in the game while still doing enough damage to matter. The Four Elements subclass is considered a bit weak, but that's due to competition between subclass features and stunning strike (a base feature) for ki.

It's a great skirmisher--get in, stun/beat up the squishies, get out.

[nickl_2000]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

A monk is the best mage hunter in the game. They have incredible saving throws, evasion, and can completely shut down a magic user. They play a different role than others, but they don't suffer like they did in previous editions.

[Grod_The_Giant]

They're a lot of fun, and quite effective. I played a Shadow Monk from 1-7 in a Curse of Strahd game and never felt like anything was weak or lacking.

[Specter]

Anyone who tells you Monks suck (and there are plenty of those) will do it on the grounds of them not dealing uber damage, as if that's any indication. Don't worry about it.

[sophontteks]

The monk has stunning fist, which is a very strong CC that he can use as part of each hit in his attack action. On top of this the monk is very fast, resistant to ranged attacks, and easily able to withdraw from melee. The monk is a skirmisher/CC. And at that he is very good.

He is not a tank nor is he DPS though. Players who just send him into melee to hack away will be very dissappointed.

[Petrocorus]

It's probably the less tanky and the less damage dealing of melee class. But it's certainly not useless. High mobility and special features make him very useful.

It is however probably more complex to play and require more tactical acumen to be effective compared to the Big Barbarian Hitting Stuffs™.

[Slurm Browley]

I've taken an open hand monk from 1-9 in Storm King's Thunder. I have a lot of fun with it because, even if I'm not doing a lot of damage, I like the satisfaction of actually hitting something. The biggest hurdle I had in learning to carve my own niche was learning to use my movement more effectively.

As others have said, the 5e monk plays best if you're using him as a skirmisher, either moving across the field to shut down the squishier ranged attackers and casters OR using its features to set up advantage for your heavy hitters. For the latter, stunning strike is the obvious choice, but in a pinch, the open hand flurry of blows features are also very useful. Prone isn't as useful of a condition as Stunned, but it's better than nothing, and if you have a DM who throws in interesting terrain or has the enemies grouped tightly enough, you can start knocking enemies into each other for some hijinks.

I haven't played shadow monk, but I've heard it's also a ton of fun. Like they say, "Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman. Then, always be Batman."

Another note on stunning fist- it gets a lot of credit as the best class feature, and deservedly so. However, if you're in a campaign with a lot of high CON enemies (like, say, Storm King's Thunder), it will get less use, so keep an eye on your other class features and see what you can do with them.

[MagneticKitty]

In one of the campaigns I'm in I'm a wood elf monk... And doesn't feel weak.. feels boring. XD I'm just disinterested in the human like races, and monks don't have much flavor to me. I did what was optimal and I regret building the character like I did. Theyre nit interesting to roleplay, and it's probably my fault.. but If I could do it again I'd probably go strength monk tortle. That sounds like fun. *Sigh*

[Jeivar]

but If I could do it again I'd probably go strength monk tortle. That sounds like fun. *Sigh*

Do you mean radical? Or possibly tubular?

[Bloodcloud]

The monk is pretty great, but it suffers in the first few levels of the game. It takes a few level before he gets all the tool to work effectively. By level 5 they are fine though, so it's not that big of a deal.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Also, despite what everyone's saying, their damage isn't THAT bad. You're basically a TWF-er with an abundant short-rest resource to deal bonus damage.

In one of the campaigns I'm in I'm a wood elf monk... And doesn't feel weak.. feels boring. XD I'm just disinterested in the human like races, and monks don't have much flavor to me. I did what was optimal and I regret building the character like I did. Theyre nit interesting to roleplay, and it's probably my fault.. but If I could do it again I'd probably go strength monk tortle. That sounds like fun. *Sigh*

Try a Lizardfolk? Solid stat boosts, an unarmed damage increase at low levels, bonus skills, even more mobility with the swim speed...

The monk is pretty great, but it suffers in the first few levels of the game. It takes a few level before he gets all the tool to work effectively. By level 5 they are fine though, so it's not that big of a deal.

That's somewhat true. Picking up Mobility as a vHuman or something is very helpful.

[PhoenixPhyre]

That's somewhat true. Picking up Mobility as a vHuman or something is very helpful.

I had a player with a level 20 monk with Mobile in a game. The answer to her "can I get there" questions was a blanket "yes." 195' full motion (action dash, step of the wind dash, regular movement). Tons of fun.

[Willie the Duck]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

The Four Elements Monk from the Player's Handbook is usually considered to be one of the archetypes that either underperforms, or at least requires and experienced player. Beyond that, the class is great, perhaps the best incarnation of the concept in any edition and one of the more well-made classes in 5e.

The only critique I would have is that it, like the rogue, is something people often want to choose if they are looking for a simple class to play. And, like the rogue, it actually takes a bit of skill to play one (particularly in knowing when you are in trouble and need to get out of dodge and the like).

Other than that, yeah, what others have said. The monk is a 'skirmisher' -- good saves, good mobility, a short-rest recharging mechanic which can give you nova damage or allow you to dodge while still attacking. They still have some MAD issues like in previous editions, but at least those MADs support general good practices ('oh darn, as a monk I'm incentivized to maximize my Dex, Con, and Wis, if only there were parts of the game beyond my class features which relied upon those stats. If only I had chosen to play a wizard and had a prime stat with massively-multiple purposes!' ).

[CTurbo]

I played a Wood Elf Long Death Monk and it was one of the funnest characters I've played, and I don't even know why people complain about lack of damage because my guy always did a respectable amount on average. We did roll for stats though so I started with a 20 Dex and it wasn't long before I had 20 Wis too. I also took Alert and Mobile and had a Cloak of Protection for 21 AC. I was basically impossible to kill.

You'll never be DPR king, but you'll never be bad at it either. Level 1 I was doing 1d8+5 + 1d4+5 which is right about where a Polearm Master would be and on par with a TWF Fighter, and much better than your typical GWF. Fast forward to level 5 I was doing 2d8+12 + 1d6+5 with the option of doing another 1d6+5 almost every round. Fast forward again to level 11 and I could do 3d8+19 with the option of another 1d8+5 every round. A reliable 4d8+24 per round is nothing to sneeze at if you spend all Ki flurrying.

So yeah Monks are never BAD at DPR, but they do lack feat support for upping DPR. I think they are misunderstood here. A brief multiclass with Hunter Ranger can really help out with the DPR since you can get favored enemy, Hunters Mark, and either Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker.

[sophontteks]

People complain about the lack of damage because they think, incorrectly, that the monk is a dps class. Their monk gets beat by real dps classes and then they get really upset because monks are even worse at tanking. They conclude that the monk is really bad because it can't tank nor DPS.

Its one-dimensional thinking that isn't accounting for the entire monk package. When he is running right into the face of a spellcaster he doesn't need to be the highest dps. And he doesn't need to tank when he can outrun anything. Monks can shut down the biggest threats really effectively.

[PhoenixPhyre]

So yeah Monks are never BAD at DPR, but they do lack feat support for upping DPR. I think they are misunderstood here. A brief multiclass with Hunter Ranger can really help out with the DPR since you can get favored enemy, Hunters Mark, and either Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker.

That's an important point. People who make DPR-related claims are usually comparing against the usual suspects--Sorcadins chain-smiting, GWM/PAM barbarians, etc. In my experience, those "pure damage" feats aren't the first ones chosen and most people aren't that DPR focused. So the monk is right in the fuzzy band of other classes when played with normal people. Only compared against the DPR-builds does it fall noticeably short.

[Deox]

Playing a monk (shadow) in a game currently. As others have mentioned, do not go into it thinking you'll be the best tank / damage dealer. Rather, look at the entire suite of tools at your disposal, mobility included. The sheer amount of versatility and ability to act as a harrier cannot be overstated. There is always something to do.

[JoeJ]

In previous editions, monks had some real trouble. In this edition, I think really the biggest problem is that the class name ties it to a very tiny fraction of martial artists in legend, fiction, and history, which means that some DMs won't allow it simply because nothing resembling a fantasy Shaolin Monastery really fits in fantasy Europe. If they'd called the class, I don't know, maybe Pugilist, and the description talked about gymnasiums and training halls rather than temples, I think it would be a lot better accepted. Especially if they'd given a few historical non-Asian examples of unarmed fighting traditions.

[Nifft]

Monks are great.

Open Hand Monks are strong from a single-target control perspective.

Shadow Monks are amazingly mobile from level 6 onward. One of my favorite subclasses in the whole game.

Four Element Monks are still Monks so they're probably kinda okay even though their subclass is subpar.

[CTurbo]

Long Death Monks are EXTREEEEEEEEEEMELY tanky especially after level 11

[MrStabby]

The monk is powerful.

Like really powerful.

In the games I have DMed it is monks that have demonstrated the encounter breaking abilities, at least before level 11.

Their damage plateaus somewhat, but at a respectable level - the ability to make a bonus action attack without investing in a feat is nice for a class that is a little mad. Likewise the ability to be mobile without investing in the mobile feat or at later levels the ability to be great at saves without investing in the resilient feat.

The damage output is also deceptively high. If you look at a round by round comparison it looks a bit uninspiring. Over an entire fight it looks a lot better: higher initiative means you can take more turns than many party members, higher speed means you don't waste a turn taking a dash action and being unable to attack. Even if you do need to take a dash action you can do so as a bonus action.

It is the extra utility the class brings that really makes it powerful. Stunning strike is the obvious contender - available for most of a monk's career it can take bad guys out of the fight and lead them open to being hit at advantage. A save or suck effect that doesn't use an action or even a bonus action but is just tagged onto you doing damage as normal is sweet. On any other class this would be good - on a monk that can pick out and reach the most powerful guy with the worst Con saves it is over the top.

Of the other abilities I am most familiar with the shadow monk and these are also insanely powerful. Pass without trace can bypass whole encounters or at least turn them into a one-sided ambush and a brutal slaughter. Silence is situational but also capable of wreaking encounters and darkness is the same. Minor illusion adds more tricks to the character both in and out of combat. At level 6 the shadowmonk gets shadowstep - and is able to bypass wall of force, step over chasms or peer through a knot-hole in a wooden door then unbar it from the far side.

It works great. It's not a primary DPS monster, but it has some of the best mobility and single-target control in the game while still doing enough damage to matter. The Four Elements subclass is considered a bit weak, but that's due to competition between subclass features and stunning strike (a base feature) for ki.

It's a great skirmisher--get in, stun/beat up the squishies, get out.

For me the 4 elements subclass suffers as much due to the action economy. If we look at other part-casting martials (ranger, paladin, eldritch knight) they work because they are casting spells outside of combat for use in combat or are using bonus action/reaction spells. Using a spell to do damage is ok, but doing damage is something you can do anyway without Ki use or having to use your subclass to do it. Whilst a spell like hunter's mark or wrathful smite adds something to your attack action, burning someone with 4 elements just replaces the attack with something that casters got a long time ago. I think the Ki per spell level expenditure might not be that bad, IF there were a monk class designed around spells that didn't play so badly with the action economy.

[Samayu]

I played a wood elf open hand monk. Don't let them convince you to take Mobile. You don't need it. :-)

I really enjoyed wall running:

Running up to the roof of a three-story building and taking out the archers. Then jumping across to the building on the other side of the street and taking out the other archers.

Running up a wall and to the far side of the room to get past the hobgoblins so I could take out the mage.

Running 40 feet up a wall to hit the archers that were spider climbing. I used ki to knock them prone - they fell.

[Astofel]

Monks are my second favourite class in 5e, right after bards. I once played a tabaxi monk with the mobile feat (more for the defense against AoOs than for the move speed), and there was nowhere on the battle mat that was out of my reach. I could run up walls, across water, to the enemy's back lines, and back again. I annoyed the heck out my DM by running across the water, punching an aboleth just beneath the surface, and then back to the shore, out of its reach. Also by managing to Stunning Strike his wizard boss so he couldn't get any of his cool spells off.

[Foxhound438]

Do you mean radical? Or possibly tubular?

You're grounded. Go think about what you've done.

[Citan]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

It works great. It's not a primary DPS monster, but it has some of the best mobility and single-target control in the game while still doing enough damage to matter. The Four Elements subclass is considered a bit weak, but that's due to competition between subclass features and stunning strike (a base feature) for ki.

It's a great skirmisher--get in, stun/beat up the squishies, get out.

Basically this. To expand a bit on this...
- Open Hand is the "most MAD" in that he really wants good attack and good DC at the same time, but is the most "true" Monk in how it is played.
- Sun Soul is the best when you want to be a Monk with a cost-efficient ranged attack and close-range AOE, and as MAD as Open Hand for that reason unless you want to specialize in AOE. ^^
- 4E is the most versatile although possibly Ki-hungry at low-levels and can be as MAD or SAD as you want (AC-problem excepted) since it mainly depends on your disciplines choice.
- Long Death is by far the most sturdy and can be biaised toward DEX if you don't care about the Fear as action ability (although this one makes him also the best tank of all Monks until lvl 17 so I myself would rather bump WIS first).
- Shadow is the most mobile until level 11 and can be DEX-biaised without much regrets (only Stunning Strike depends on WIS).
- No clear opinion about others (Drunken and Kensei). :)

Ah, also, forget about people that are stuck with "Monks are bad at dealing damage" or "Monk are bad at tanking".

First is plain outright wrong: Monk is the only one getting built-in 2 attacks at level 1, no investment needed, and getting 4 full weapon attacks long before a dual-wielding/Polearm Fighter gets to that point: even if that burst does consume Ki, as you get more levels you can spare more Ki on "plain" Flurry of Blows.
In the end, only with specially tailored martials using Sharpshooter / GWM (or PAM for Paladin) feats is Monk harshly outclassed. And that's mainly because those feats are that powerful yet available to most martials except Monk. Without those feats he's fine, obviously dealing less damage than a Fighter or Rogue but in the same league as Ranger and Paladin.

Second is true only at low levels: as you progress in levels you...
- get a few more Ki you can spare for Dodge as bonus action.
- gets better plain AC thanks to higher WIS and DEX.
- gets better defense because every successful Stunning Strike means one creature that won't be able to even try and attack you (which is, I think no argue there, the best defense ever).
- gets proficiency in *all* saves AND ability to reroll a save for a mere Ki.
- ends with an ability that is basically Rogue&Barbarian perks combined (invisible and resistance to all damage), 1mn long, no concentration, for only 4 ki.

If you don't care about capstone, you may even grab a level in another class to gain nice boons that may allow you to improve a lack in early levels (like Cleric for Bless/Shield of Faith) or reduce your MADness one way or another (Nature Cleric for a tanky Long Death Monk for example, or Warlock for free Mage Armor and better darkvision for a Shadow Monk). :)

[sophontteks]

Drunken monk is good purely because of the first ability. He mixes flurry, disengage, and +10 movement all for one ki. Thats really good. His final ability is also really good. But everything in the middle sucks. I think its a great monk for newer players, but some homebrew in the middle abilities would go far.

[Citan]

Drunken monk is good purely because of the first ability. He mixes flurry, disengage, and +10 movement all for one ki. Thats really good. His final ability is also really good. But everything in the middle sucks. I think its a great monk for newer players, but some homebrew in the middle abilities would go far.

Or for a multiclass (speaking 3-4 levels here just for first ability). :)
I'd see it very well mixed with a Barbarian for example (to further extend the speed bonus of a Barbarian, useful for grapples for example) or a Battlemaster (since you can use manoeuvers on any kind of weapon attack).
Even a melee Ranger could profit from it (Longstrider + Mobile feat + Monk's flat speed + Drunken bonus should amount to >100% bonus speed for your turn, and Hunter's Mark synergizes well with Flurry of Blows when you want to pummel a very resilient enemy).

[Armored Walrus]

OP, you've gotten a lot of answers already, so you probably have enough info. I'll just add this. You'll hate the monk if you make these two (IME) common mistakes.

1. Don't use the extra mobility to charge into the fight and end up being the only one in melee range of all the mobs. Use that mobility tactically and be patient.
2. Don't forget you have Ki. Use it. Too many times I see monks head into a short rest with half or more of their Ki unspent.

[LudicSavant]

I know this class has had a spotty reputation in previous editions. How do people generally feel about the latest one, practicality-wise? I'm thinking of putting together a Wood Elf Monk.

Not as bad as it was in 3.5e, but not especially good either. Rather frontloaded.