Monk Class Guide

*For general class information, see Monk.*
The Monk is a unique hand-to-hand class. Monks do not use conventional weapons, but rely on bare fists, with a bonus weapon damage of willpower/4, rounded down. Because their primary attribute is willpower, a Monk's melee damage will scale with level slightly better than that of a strength-based melee hero. Having willpower as the primary attribute also means that Monks can spend much less time praying at temples before they can receive the temple's blessing.

Monks can only wield two weapons, the Studded Knuckle Dusters, which is available relatively early in the game after leaving Valmorgen, and the more powerful Set of Brass Knuckles available late in the game. Both are unique in that they carry four socket slots, giving them a degree of Beard Rings versatility not available to other classes in practice. The Studded Knuckle Dusters can also be enchanted for even more damage, thus making it the Monk's first-choice weapon, and a top priority for Monk players to obtain.

Monks also possess unique self-buff spells to increase combat proficiency. While Monks wear no armor other than robes, their Stone Skin spell adds additional armor. While Monks have low H2H and damage, the Hands of Steel self-buff means actually *<H2H +25 & Dmg +2>* in battles. Furthermore, Iron Will is a substantial self-buff, giving regeneration reduces healing aid consumption in the early game, a magic resist bonus to protect the Monk from spell damage, and a 6% critical hit chance.

At the time of leaving Valmorgen sewers (generally around level 10), Monks are weaker than most other melee classes due to low combat stats and lack of armor. Over time, as willpower improves and essential items such as the Studded Knuckle Dusters, Mithrilweave Robe and high end class-unique items are obtained, the Monk becomes significantly more formidable.

## Getting started

The biggest hurdle for a starting monk is the complete lack of armor, since the Stone Skin spell is not available until level 4. Once an additional 50 gold has been obtained (from adventuring in the upper sewers or from guard duty), purchase the FireShield spell, which is since you don't need weapons or armor. You may also take advantage of your willpower and pray at Temples for blessings. In particular, Blessing, Vigilance, and StoneSkin are useful for boosting combat prowess in the beginning. Later on, Wind Storm will be useful for larger groups in the lower sewers and Ratman Kingdom. Note that the StoneSkin temple enchantment is separate from, and stacks with, the Monk's StoneSkin self-buff spell.

Accumulating enough gold to purchase the Ring of Protection is also a priority. Once, level 4 has been reached, you will have an effective armor of 8 (StoneSkin) +2 (Ring of Protection) +4 (FlameShield) = 14 which gives you decent damage mitigation. Then, you can venture to the second level of the sewers and continue the fight. Upon reaching level 7, Iron Will significantly boosts the Monk's combat ability.

## Mid game

After completing the Trial of Venn's Spire, purchase the Green Charm from Lormidia's Magic Bazaar to further boost armor. Then, travel to Traveller's Dell to purchase the Ironcloth Robe and the Studded Knuckle Dusters. To get to Traveller's Dell, you much first purchase the map to the Southern Pass of the Hellfire Mountains. Purchasing these two items at Traveller's Dell gives the Monk a significant boost in power, since these items can be enchanted at the Wizards Guild to increase effectiveness. From this point on, Monk plays similarly to other melee classes.

## Items

Below are the optimal items for each category, as well as other notable items important to this class. See also: items usable by Monk.

* **Weapon**
	+ Set of Brass Knuckles (*Damage: 0, PAR +10, H2H +10, DMG +1, Poisoned Weapon (3); Ruins of Thallis item*) embedded with 4x Shield Beard Rings or other Beard Rings. Other useful beard ring configurations include 4x Goblin Beard Ring, 4x Skull Beard Ring, and 4x Ratman Beard Rings.
	+ Early on: Studded Knuckle Dusters (*Damage: 0, PAR +10*)
* **Armor**:
	+ Robe of the Mind (*Armor: 2, WIL +8*)[Thallis item]
	+ Early on: Ironcloth Robe, Mithrilweave Robe, Wizards Robe
* **Cloak**:
	+ Cloak of the Mind (*WIL +8*)[Thallis item]
	+ Early on: Protective Cloak
* **Headgear**
	+ Circlet of Lycanthropy (*H2H +15, PAR +15, DOD +15, Werewolf form spell; Wizard Tower Schematic*) → True Werewolf Circlet (*Additional ARM +1, MGR +10; Imp workshop upgrade*)
	+ Dwarven Headband embed 3x Shield Beard Rings
	+ Early on: Bandanna of Frost, Battered Crown
* **Belt**
	+ Belt of Ravaging
	+ Belt of Brawling embedded with a "Might" accessory
	+ Early on: Belt of Rage
* **Footwear**
	+ Boots of Lunord (*Armor: 2, PAR +10, DOD +15, MGR +5, Damage +1, Speed +2*)
	+ War Chargers (*Armor: 3, HTH +10, STR +4*)
* **Glove**
	+ Gloves of Piyadasi (*Armor value: 2, STR +4, H2H +15, WIL +4, Critical Hit +1*)[Thallis item] embedded with 2x Ratman Beard Rings
	+ War Gauntlets (*Armor value: 2, STR +4, H2H +5, PAR +10*) embedded with 2x Ratman Beard Rings
* **Armband**
	+ Bracers of Divine Walloping (*DMG +8; Abandoned Library Schematic*) → Bracers of Celestial Might (*DMG +12, PAR +10, H2H +10, Crit.Hit +1 ; Imp workshop upgrade*)
	+ Mithril Bracers or Nevryl Bracers embedded with 2x Ratman Beard Rings can be more useful in defensive situations.
	+ Early on, the Bracers of Defilement is useful. With your low damage output, sometimes you can kill monsters, especially those that regenerate and/or paralyze, such as Daemonwoods and Greater Gorgons, by poisoning only, and you've not access to Poisons. Only the Set of Brass Knuckles later on will help your Hero with that.
* **Necklace**
	+ Ring Amulet embeded Ring of Protection or Dark Band
	+ MGR-boosting Necklaces, such as the Blue Charm, Rezzenthells Spellkiller, and Dwarven Locket, are useful in certain situations.
	+ Amulet of Destruction will be helpful against a crowds of not-so-MGR-foes, especially early on and when used with Bandanna of Thought Stimulation and Wizards Robe.
* **Ring**
	+ Ring of Protection, Dark Band, or Ring of Fortitude
* **Accessory**
	+ Carved Combo (*H2H +15, Strength +15; Thallis item*)[Thallis item]
	+ Black Stone (*PAR +15*) and Black Leaf (*DOD +15*) for certain situations

## Footnotes

1. ↑ Every 4 levels results in +1 weapon damage for a Monk, whereas every 8 levels of a strength-based hero grants a bonus of +1 invariable damage. The +1 invariable damage for 8 points in strength is somewhat better than 1 point in weapon damage, but is not nearly as good as 2 points in weapon damage