I'm playing a 7th Level Aarakocra Way of the Open Hand Monk (try saying that fast). I'm still a novice at all of this and don't feel like I have a handle on the basics.
I've got a couple of questions:
1. Attack and Bonus Action
I get two Attacks per action. From looking at my character sheet I can do the following:
On my first attack:
Unarmed strike Spend a Ki point Flurry of blows (make another two unarmed strikes)
On my bonus action
Unarmed strike Spend a Ki point Flurry of blows (make another two unarmed strikes)
Which means a total of six unarmed strikes - is this right?
(Obviously that's just one scenario and there's other things I could do - disengage, try and knock my opponent prone, use a weapon on my second attack and then use stunning strike etc etc).
2. What's the best way to fight?
As my Aarakocra has a flying speed of 65ft, is the best way to fight to get close, hit and then dash? Or get close, fight and keep on hitting, hoping my opponent doesn't beat my AC when it's his turn?
Again, these are all dependent on particular scenarios. But if I'm trying to just wear the other guy down, what's the best thing to do?
1. You get one Attack action, which allows you to make a single attack (two at level 5 with Extra Attack). You then get a choice of what to do with your bonus action - make one more attack with Martial Arts, make two more attacks with Flurry of Blows, or use Patient Defense / Step of the Wind. You only ever get one bonus action per turn, and all four of these options use your bonus action up. You'll never make more than four attacks in a turn, using Flurry of Blows at level 5.
2. The Open Hand monk is built for getting into melee and punching people using Flurry of Blows, then sliding away. You'll either be knocking them prone, removing their reactions or pushing them away. In the latter two cases, you're not in threat of being attack of opportunity, and in the case of prone, the enemy has disadvantage to attack you, giving you mobility around the battlefield. You're a lot like a rogue.
You're built for skirmishing and battlefield control, not pure damage, so don't worry about competing with the fighter or others in terms of pure damage. Keep an eye on the enemy and pick the most opportune ability to throw chaos into the mix. Spot an enemy caster? Disengage to run up to the wizard and use Stunning Blow, then run back out of the way of enemy forces. Heavy golem in the way? Knock that puppy prone and let your melee allies wail on it for advantage on all their attack rolls.
Many monk players heavily recommend Mobility as the number one feat, though I personally like just boosting your WIS and DEX. I also like giving my monks Stealth, Perception and Thief Tools and let them serve as the group scout, since their stats line up well for that already.
Keep an eye on your speed versus flight speed. Flying sounds amazing, but you can't exactly fly inside of a typical dungeon, and your slower walking speed does hurt, even if its just by 5'.
Hi helpful people,
I'm playing a 7th Level Aarakocra Way of the Open Hand Monk (try saying that fast). I'm still a novice at all of this and don't feel like I have a handle on the basics.
I've got a couple of questions:
1. Attack and Bonus Action
I get two Attacks per action. From looking at my character sheet I can do the following:
On my first attack:
Unarmed strike
Spend a Ki point
Flurry of blows (make another two unarmed strikes)
On my bonus action
Unarmed strike
Spend a Ki point
Flurry of blows (make another two unarmed strikes)
Which means a total of six unarmed strikes - is this right?
(Obviously that's just one scenario and there's other things I could do - disengage, try and knock my opponent prone, use a weapon on my second attack and then use stunning strike etc etc).
2. What's the best way to fight?
As my Aarakocra has a flying speed of 65ft, is the best way to fight to get close, hit and then dash? Or get close, fight and keep on hitting, hoping my opponent doesn't beat my AC when it's his turn?
Again, these are all dependent on particular scenarios. But if I'm trying to just wear the other guy down, what's the best thing to do?
1. You get one Attack action, which allows you to make a single attack (two at level 5 with Extra Attack). You then get a choice of what to do with your bonus action - make one more attack with Martial Arts, make two more attacks with Flurry of Blows, or use Patient Defense / Step of the Wind. You only ever get one bonus action per turn, and all four of these options use your bonus action up. You'll never make more than four attacks in a turn, using Flurry of Blows at level 5.
2. The Open Hand monk is built for getting into melee and punching people using Flurry of Blows, then sliding away. You'll either be knocking them prone, removing their reactions or pushing them away. In the latter two cases, you're not in threat of being attack of opportunity, and in the case of prone, the enemy has disadvantage to attack you, giving you mobility around the battlefield. You're a lot like a rogue.
You're built for skirmishing and battlefield control, not pure damage, so don't worry about competing with the fighter or others in terms of pure damage. Keep an eye on the enemy and pick the most opportune ability to throw chaos into the mix. Spot an enemy caster? Disengage to run up to the wizard and use Stunning Blow, then run back out of the way of enemy forces. Heavy golem in the way? Knock that puppy prone and let your melee allies wail on it for advantage on all their attack rolls.
Many monk players heavily recommend Mobility as the number one feat, though I personally like just boosting your WIS and DEX. I also like giving my monks Stealth, Perception and Thief Tools and let them serve as the group scout, since their stats line up well for that already.
Keep an eye on your speed versus flight speed. Flying sounds amazing, but you can't exactly fly inside of a typical dungeon, and your slower walking speed does hurt, even if its just by 5'.
Thanks Mephista, that's really helpful! :)