If you want to be as powerful as possible I would concentrate on ASIs. Monks Dex and Wis both increase your AC (and as a melee attacker you want that as high as possible) you also need Dex for your attacks, wisdom also improves your save DC for stunning strike and whatever sub-class features rely on it.
My level 18 monk has not taken a feat yet, I used the first 4 ASIs to max Dex and wisdom.
If you do want a feat it really depends on how you want ot play your monk and on your party
Mobile is good if you plan on being a skirmisher, run in, make your attack and run out again you can use your bonus action to attack (possibly flurry of blows) and get out of range. most effective if there is at least one "tank" in the party who will also be in melee then you can attack guysi nmelee with the tank, retreay without provoking an opportunity attack and if they want otattack you rather than the tank will either draw an op attack or be at disadvantage (if they use a ranged attack)
Sentinal if the rest of the party are all squishy and you end up being the tank sentinal can stop them going after the squishies. Monks don't make the best tanks at least until you can afford to use a ki on patient defence fruently.
Tough is a way to improve survivability though you don't take the damage if enemy is stunned or dead due to decent offence (high dex and wis)
Fey Touched is useful if you have odd wisdom misty step is a great way to get out of a lot of nasty situations (you have got surrounded or restrained etc my choice for a second spell would be hex or hunter's mark at level 5 you can attack 4 times a turn and each time you hit the extra d6 damage quickly adds up. The only issue is being in melee you are likely to lose concentration on it.
Elven accuracy if you go for using most of your ki on stun and then attacking the stunned target then elven accuracy isworth considering if you have an odd dex or wis. It is extremely powerful if you are usig flanking rules and there is another melee character in your party as advantage becomes so easy to get.
Magic initiate cleric (or druid) a weakness of monks is their lack of ranged attacks (unless you have Kensai) against things like flying enemies. Getting sacred flame, or toll the dead allows you ro be of some use on such occasions. In most campaigns it wont come up often but when it does you wont feel useless. Cleric and Druid use wisdom for your attacks (which should be high where you are likely to have dumps int and cha). I think the cleric cantrips are better than the druid but that is your choice. For a second cantrip you can go for a utility cantrip missing from the party (Thaumaturgy, guidance or mending), if there is a single healer (or no healer) in the party taking a healing spell would be a good option, if the chealer goes down you can then get them up again.
Crusher is another way to avoid op attacks / and potentially enables acrit to do extra damage. I would only consider this if you have odd con.
Mobile is popular. Some suggest Lucky. Those are generally considered the best feat options.
Monk is a very DEX and WIS heavy class, and want those as high as possible. Most monks don't want feats.
This says a lot. My Monk needs every ASI I can to be the "best he can be" lol. Once Dex and Wis are both maxxed, feel free to select a feat, but MOST times, the ASI will give a lot better mileage for investment.
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My preferred pics for a Monk are Mobile, Crusher, and Fey Touched. Crusher and Fey Touched have the added benefit of being half-feats, so you get half an ASI too. Personally though, it depends on Race because if you’re going with something like a wood elf then Elven Accuracy or Wood Elf Magic start to look good. I’m personally a big fan of throwing 2 levels of Ranger onto a Monk. Then you might want to consider the Slasher feat because a Monk with a Whip for their dedicated weapon is pretty potent.
If you're going path of the kensei and going for a one handed weapon, then duelist is a good choice for a feat. You could also go great weapon master and 2-hand the sword, but according to my own calculations I think duelist was about 1 point of dmg better on average.
I like this idea with a drunken master, you basically get some perks of mobile feat (but disengage no OA from all enemies not just the one you attack) through drunken technique & FOB. So you can move in, attack, move out. If you have hunters mark up, you can help increase your chance of maintaining concentration by getting out of melee range.
Monk is a very DEX and WIS heavy class, and want those as high as possible. Most monks don't want feats.
Unless you rolled really well & did not do point buy. Or you really like what a feat does for your character concept. Or you take a 1/2 feat to round out a stat & get a cool ability.
Keen Mind + Observant + Tongue of the Sun and Moon (13th level class ability) is a great role play combination. It essentially lets you sit in any public place and become a living tape recorder. The perfect set up for espionage/blackmail/intelligence gathering.
Going to mirror the general sentiment that Monks care way too much about their Dexterity and Wisdom to be able to afford much in the way of feats. For that reason, half-feats are great to look at for any non-variant human or custom lineage monk that has managed to start with a 17 in one of their primary stats. Other feats are best left to be picked up at level one thanks to starting as one of those two species options. What your choice of subclass ends up being is also a huge factor in what makes sense. Here are my favorites along with the subclasses I think they match best:
Mobile: I wouldn't want to touch your standard skirmisher monk without this feat. IMO it's basically a feat tax for a class naturally kitted to be a skirmisher but that really doesn't want to spend Ki on disengaging.
Subclass: Open Hand, Mercy, Long Death, Astral Self and Shadow make the best use of this. Drunken Masters are skirmishers but get their own disengage. If you are choosing a subclass that expands your ranged options mobile is not important.
Skill Expert: Helps cement out of combat utility and has the flexibility to boost wisdom or dexterity depending on what your build cares about the most.
Subclass: Any.
Fighting Initiate (Archery Fighting Style) + Sharpshooter: For the Kyudo inspired Archer Monk. This without a doubt needs the support of being a vhuman or custom lineage.
Subclass: Kensei. The only monk with the kit to become an archer.
Telekinetic: Most monks don't need another use of their bonus action, but this is a nice option for wisdom-centric monks that find themselves at range a fair amount and thus unable to use their melee oriented bonus actions.
Subclass: Four Elements, Long Death. Long Death isn't at super long range, but Hour of Reaping is a great action that unfortunately does not allow the use of martial arts or ki-fueled strike and wants a high wisdom. Sun Soul and Kensei both have ranged options, but they also have ranged bonus actions so Telekinetic is fighting for space.
Fighting Initiate (Blindfighting): So that you can do your best devil's sight + darkness warlock impression.
Subclass: Shadow. Combine with Darkness and you're good to go. Great tool for a ninja style character. A shadow monk using this technique a fair amount will have much less of a need for mobility thanks to the added protection.
Take Astral Monk and the Grappler Feat while maxing out your Wisdom. You will be able to hold them in your ridiculously strong Astral Arms (up to 2) and halving your movement drag them around the field with you while punching them in the head.
Take Astral Monk and the Grappler Feat while maxing out your Wisdom. You will be able to hold them in your ridiculously strong Astral Arms (up to 2) and halving your movement drag them around the field with you while punching them in the head.
The Arms specify that you can only make unarmed strikes with them. You'd have to use your normal arms if you want to grapple somebody.
In addition to what people have already said, I like adding a feat to build on using the reaction offensively. Mage slayer is the one I went with for my vhuman monk that I played most recently. I generally tried to use my already high mobility to get in a casters face and then ruin them. It was pretty effective and fun!
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Hi!!!!! I am about to start playing monk, and I was wondering what feats are good for a monk? Thanks :)
Mobile is popular. Some suggest Lucky. Those are generally considered the best feat options.
Monk is a very DEX and WIS heavy class, and want those as high as possible. Most monks don't want feats.
If you want to be as powerful as possible I would concentrate on ASIs. Monks Dex and Wis both increase your AC (and as a melee attacker you want that as high as possible) you also need Dex for your attacks, wisdom also improves your save DC for stunning strike and whatever sub-class features rely on it.
My level 18 monk has not taken a feat yet, I used the first 4 ASIs to max Dex and wisdom.
If you do want a feat it really depends on how you want ot play your monk and on your party
This says a lot. My Monk needs every ASI I can to be the "best he can be" lol. Once Dex and Wis are both maxxed, feel free to select a feat, but MOST times, the ASI will give a lot better mileage for investment.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Kinda sad.
My personal opinion, ASIs are (usually) stronger, feats are more fun. I don't play DnD to win battles, I play to have fun.
My preferred pics for a Monk are Mobile, Crusher, and Fey Touched. Crusher and Fey Touched have the added benefit of being half-feats, so you get half an ASI too. Personally though, it depends on Race because if you’re going with something like a wood elf then Elven Accuracy or Wood Elf Magic start to look good. I’m personally a big fan of throwing 2 levels of Ranger onto a Monk. Then you might want to consider the Slasher feat because a Monk with a Whip for their dedicated weapon is pretty potent.
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I would go with fey touched for hunter's mark
If you're going path of the kensei and going for a one handed weapon, then duelist is a good choice for a feat. You could also go great weapon master and 2-hand the sword, but according to my own calculations I think duelist was about 1 point of dmg better on average.
I love going for Crusher. I mean no save and my DM hates me everytime I use it. Mobile is awesome yes, but it's too mainstream
I like this idea with a drunken master, you basically get some perks of mobile feat (but disengage no OA from all enemies not just the one you attack) through drunken technique & FOB. So you can move in, attack, move out. If you have hunters mark up, you can help increase your chance of maintaining concentration by getting out of melee range.
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Unless you rolled really well & did not do point buy. Or you really like what a feat does for your character concept. Or you take a 1/2 feat to round out a stat & get a cool ability.
HUZZAH!!!!!
Keen Mind + Observant + Tongue of the Sun and Moon (13th level class ability) is a great role play combination. It essentially lets you sit in any public place and become a living tape recorder. The perfect set up for espionage/blackmail/intelligence gathering.
Cry HAVOC! and let slip the mustelids of war...
Going to mirror the general sentiment that Monks care way too much about their Dexterity and Wisdom to be able to afford much in the way of feats. For that reason, half-feats are great to look at for any non-variant human or custom lineage monk that has managed to start with a 17 in one of their primary stats. Other feats are best left to be picked up at level one thanks to starting as one of those two species options. What your choice of subclass ends up being is also a huge factor in what makes sense. Here are my favorites along with the subclasses I think they match best:
Mobile: I wouldn't want to touch your standard skirmisher monk without this feat. IMO it's basically a feat tax for a class naturally kitted to be a skirmisher but that really doesn't want to spend Ki on disengaging.
Subclass: Open Hand, Mercy, Long Death, Astral Self and Shadow make the best use of this. Drunken Masters are skirmishers but get their own disengage. If you are choosing a subclass that expands your ranged options mobile is not important.
Skill Expert: Helps cement out of combat utility and has the flexibility to boost wisdom or dexterity depending on what your build cares about the most.
Subclass: Any.
Fighting Initiate (Archery Fighting Style) + Sharpshooter: For the Kyudo inspired Archer Monk. This without a doubt needs the support of being a vhuman or custom lineage.
Subclass: Kensei. The only monk with the kit to become an archer.
Telekinetic: Most monks don't need another use of their bonus action, but this is a nice option for wisdom-centric monks that find themselves at range a fair amount and thus unable to use their melee oriented bonus actions.
Subclass: Four Elements, Long Death. Long Death isn't at super long range, but Hour of Reaping is a great action that unfortunately does not allow the use of martial arts or ki-fueled strike and wants a high wisdom. Sun Soul and Kensei both have ranged options, but they also have ranged bonus actions so Telekinetic is fighting for space.
Fighting Initiate (Blindfighting): So that you can do your best devil's sight + darkness warlock impression.
Subclass: Shadow. Combine with Darkness and you're good to go. Great tool for a ninja style character. A shadow monk using this technique a fair amount will have much less of a need for mobility thanks to the added protection.
Take Astral Monk and the Grappler Feat while maxing out your Wisdom. You will be able to hold them in your ridiculously strong Astral Arms (up to 2) and halving your movement drag them around the field with you while punching them in the head.
The Arms specify that you can only make unarmed strikes with them. You'd have to use your normal arms if you want to grapple somebody.
When I read this, I saw the Three Stooges. Mo holding Larry and Curly in head locks while Mo's astral arms smack his brothers on the head.
that would be feasible by RaW.
In addition to what people have already said, I like adding a feat to build on using the reaction offensively. Mage slayer is the one I went with for my vhuman monk that I played most recently. I generally tried to use my already high mobility to get in a casters face and then ruin them. It was pretty effective and fun!