You’ll choose from a bunch of classes when you begin this game, with one of them being the Monk. If you decide to choose Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3, here is the best Monk class build you can create.
As a Monk, you can move quickly and use your Ki to hit enemies hard, even without access to advanced weaponry. Such proficiencies leave you with less reason to fear direct combat. Here’s how to build this fun class.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Monk class build
Once you have chosen a Monk, there is the matter of developing that character so they have access to the Feats and abilities that best suit your style of play. This requires careful selection throughout the campaign, and you also need to pick the right subclass if you really want to dive deep into the details of a class. Remember that the best build will always suit the way you wish to play the game, even if it otherwise isn’t ideal.
Best Monk Ability Scores and Skills
When choosing the correct Ability Scores for a Monk, you’ll want to focus everything on Dexterity and Wisdom. Behind that, you’ll want a high Constitution so you can stay on your feet longer. Don’t worry too much about your Strength, Charisma, or Intelligence.
You want a high Wisdom for a higher Ki DC and Armor Class (when not wearing armor), and a high Dexterity for attack and damage rolls. Here’s how you should allocate your Ability Scores:
| Ability | Score |
|---|---|
| Strength | 10 |
| Dexterity | 17 (+2) |
| Constitution | 14 |
| Intelligence | 8 |
| Wisdom | 16 (+1) |
| Charisma | 8 |
When it comes to the Skills you should choose to have Proficiency in, I’d recommend Insight, Stealth, and Acrobatics. Out of the six options given, you’ll be using these three most often during skill checks. You’ll benefit most from these since they’re DEX and WIS based Skills.
Best Monk Background
Backgrounds can improve certain Skills, and since you’ll want to choose DEX and WIS based Skills, here are the best Monk Backgrounds:
- Criminal: Proficiency in Deception and Stealth.
- Outlander: Proficiency in Athletics and Survival.
- Urchin: Proficiency in Sleight of Hand and Stealth.
Related: Best Baldur’s Gate 3 multiclass builds, ranked (BG3)
Best Monk subclass
At level three, you get to choose a subclass that leads to a more specialized Monk. Of the available options, Way of the Open Hand is the option to pick. Though you have to get up close to your enemy to shine, you can really wallop them once you manage to close any gaps.
The second best option is the Way of Shadow. It further improves your Stealth capabilities, offering the extremely useful Hide action that makes it easy to strike from the darkness. Way of the Four Elements is fine, offering Harmony of Fire and Water so you can use more spells between long rests, but it’s the least specialized of the three subclasses available.
Best Monk Feats
At levels four, eight, and 12, you select Feats to improve your Monk. There are a variety of options. Although you can choose Ability Improvement and add DEX or WIS points to your character, that’s not necessarily the best use of that limited resource.
Mobile is a superior option because it adds three meters to your movement range. Difficult terrain also isn’t a problem, and you don’t open yourself up to Opportunity Attacks. These benefits are vital for the hands-on approach your Monk should be taking to combat.
When you choose your second Feat, the choice can be agonizing. Mage Slayer is one nice option since you’ll face a lot of foes that rely on magical attacks. However, Tough is arguably more useful still because it adds two hit points for every level. The further you are in the campaign, the more significant that benefit becomes.
Don’t worry if you mess up on your Monk class build. You can pay 100 gold and respec your character by visiting Withers in your camp.
