I really wish there was some way a Monk could force disadvantage on the CON save for stunning strike. As of now CON is the probably the worst stat to target as you head into the higher tiers. As there is no effect on a successful save it really burns resources.
This is why its likely best to max Dex and Wis ASAP if you want to play the Monk as a Monk. However, you could go Sentinel or the Feat that gives you a Maneuver so you can Riposte. They both give you a chance to hit/stun outside of your turn which is a legit strategy as well.
Mobile is good and I think its worth it eventually but TBH you get enough speed and ways to avoid AoO that you will likely get better mileage out of the ASI.
I really wish there was some way a Monk could force disadvantage on the CON save for stunning strike. As of now CON is the probably the worst stat to target as you head into the higher tiers. As there is no effect on a successful save it really burns resources.
This is why its likely best to max Dex and Wis ASAP if you want to play the Monk as a Monk. However, you could go Sentinel or the Feat that gives you a Maneuver so you can Riposte. They both give you a chance to hit/stun outside of your turn which is a legit strategy as well.
Mobile is good and I think its worth it eventually but TBH you get enough speed and ways to avoid AoO that you will likely get better mileage out of the ASI.
How is Lucky in your opinion?
Its good for when you really need to stun something to land the hit. I really really wish it let you re-reoll saves on enemies/allies. Then I would say its an almost must pick for Monk.
As is it's a good Feat and will work in most builds sans those that don't rely on attack rolls (Cleric) but would still benefit them as they get to re-roll some saves.
Overall I would likely still max out Dex and Wis first but I know others may enjoy the Luck rolls and thats valid.
Lucky is a little over-estimated, I think, because of its reputation. The main detail about Lucky is that it's a solid choice for literally any character build. There's no class or race combination that wouldn't benefit from Lucky. Some other feats will completely change how the game is played for an individual or drastically alter combat, or they might only come up once every other session... but because Lucky can be used so frequently and easily, it feels unbalanced, since if one character has Lucky they're probably going to be using it every session.
Monks are heavily dependent on boosting their Dexterity and Wisdom scores to round out their AC, as being a mostly melee-locked class running on 1d8 hit points per level is difficult. I would not recommend taking feats until you have them both maxed in order to increase your AC, damage output, and Ki save DC, respectively. In terms of feats, you do have a couple options, but Monk is the class that I find to be the least dependent on feats to function properly. Some of them include:
Durable / Tough - these are good options on any character and it greatly increases your survivability as a Monk. Note that I would lump Resilient with these Feats for most other Classes, but you gain proficiency in Constitution saves when you get Diamond Soul.
Mobile / Crusher - I have included these to discuss why they aren't good options. These are normally good options for most Monks, as Mobile allows you to avoid AOOs and Crusher allows you to push things, but your Open Hand Technique allows you to do both. Save these slots for boosting Dex / Wisdom scores.
Observant / Perceptive - I wouldn't take this unless you feel comfortable you will survive and have maxed out your AC (Dex+Wis), but you have a good enough Wisdom where these can be useful.
Lucky - with having high saves being a Monk, you'll rarely need to use this, but when you do, it's good insurance for those saves / rolls you need to make. In my opinion, not as good as Durable or Tough.
Monks are heavily dependent on boosting their Dexterity and Wisdom scores to round out their AC, as being a mostly melee-locked class running on 1d8 hit points per level is difficult. I would not recommend taking feats until you have them both maxed in order to increase your AC, damage output, and Ki save DC, respectively. In terms of feats, you do have a couple options, but Monk is the class that I find to be the least dependent on feats to function properly. Some of them include:
Durable / Tough - these are good options on any character and it greatly increases your survivability as a Monk. Note that I would lump Resilient with these Feats for most other Classes, but you gain proficiency in Constitution saves when you get Diamond Soul.
Mobile / Crusher - I have included these to discuss why they aren't good options. These are normally good options for most Monks, as Mobile allows you to avoid AOOs and Crusher allows you to push things, but your Open Hand Technique allows you to do both. Save these slots for boosting Dex / Wisdom scores.
Observant / Perceptive - I wouldn't take this unless you feel comfortable you will survive and have maxed out your AC (Dex+Wis), but you have a good enough Wisdom where these can be useful.
Lucky - with having high saves being a Monk, you'll rarely need to use this, but when you do, it's good insurance for those saves / rolls you need to make. In my opinion, not as good as Durable or Tough.
Agree with the assessment on these.
Overall they are all great but I do think maxing Dex and Wis is likely better.
Every time you miss you will be regretting not getting that +1 to hit and every time you get hit you will miss that +1 to AC. These will occur at a much higher rate than you will get the benefit from the feats.
Like others have said above, it really depends on what you want your character to be like, and your current ability scores. If you have an odd number in your Dexterity or Wisdom, I would take a feat that can increase one of them. If you only have even numbers in those scores, it could be difficult to choose whether or not it is worth for your character to take a feat or ASI first. Here are all of the feats that could help your character, depending on how you want to play them:
Athlete. This is a fairly good option, especially if you have an odd number in your Dexterity score. As monks like to focus on moving around a lot, this could help if you think it fits your character.
Crossbow Expert. This is really only useful for Kensei who use crossbows (especially hand-crossbows), so unless you're that specific type of monk, this is not a good option. For Kensei monks who use hand-crossbows, this is a really good feat, especially when combined with Sharpshooter.
Dual Wielder. Not useful most of the time for monks, but if you want a small bump to AC and want to dual wield daggers, shortswords, or rapiers (as a Kensei), this is a really good option to take.
Lucky. It's a really good feat for anyone to take.
Mage Slayer. This is a good feat if you want to play a mage slayer, but not a good choice if you don't want to play a mage slayer.
Martial Adept. This feat is good if you want to occasionally be able to control the battlefield a bit more, but it is limited in usage.
Mobile. If you want to move around the field even more than you already could, this will help. It is extremely useful if you want to play that specific type of monk.
Observant. This is good if you want to increase your Wisdom score a bit, and play a very observant monk.
Polearm Master. This is useful for monks that use a spear or quarterstaff.
Resilient. This is useful if you want to increase your Wisdom score more and gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.
Sentinel. If you want to be a tanking monk this is a good feat, especially if you have Polearm Master.
Sharpshooter. This is a good feat for any monk who focuses on ranged weapons, normally Kensei.
Elven Accuracy (XGtE). If you're an elf or half-elf, this will be extremely useful as a monk.
Squat Nimbleness (XGtE). If you're a dwarf or small race, this could be very useful if it fits your character.
Crusher (UA). This feat is great if you focus on quarterstaffs, bludgeoning unarmed strikes, and warhammers as a Kensei.
Fighting Initiate (UA). This feat would be good if you take Dueling or Unarmed Fighting, but depends on your character.
Gunner (UA). Useful for Kensei who focus on firearms, but not for any other monk.
Piercer (UA). This is a good feat if you focus on piercing weapon attacks (using spears, daggers, lizardfolk bites, rapiers, ranged weapons, shortswords, and other weapons).
Poisoner (UA). Really only useful to Way of Mercy Monks. Otherwise, don't take it unless it fits your character.
Slasher (UA). This feat is useful to those who focus on slashing weapons (scimitars, aarakocra talons, etc).
Tracker (UA). This feat is really good for monks, increasing your Wisdom, and giving you Hunter's Mark. It is character dependent, but Hunter's Mark will significantly increase your damage.
Those are all the feats that I could find that would be specifically useful to a monk. I hope this helps.
Like others have said above, it really depends on what you want your character to be like, and your current ability scores. If you have an odd number in your Dexterity or Wisdom, I would take a feat that can increase one of them. If you only have even numbers in those scores, it could be difficult to choose whether or not it is worth for your character to take a feat or ASI first. Here are all of the feats that could help your character, depending on how you want to play them:
Athlete. This is a fairly good option, especially if you have an odd number in your Dexterity score. As monks like to focus on moving around a lot, this could help if you think it fits your character.
Crossbow Expert. This is really only useful for Kensei who use crossbows (especially hand-crossbows), so unless you're that specific type of monk, this is not a good option. For Kensei monks who use hand-crossbows, this is a really good feat, especially when combined with Sharpshooter.
Dual Wielder. Not useful most of the time for monks, but if you want a small bump to AC and want to dual wield daggers, shortbows, or rapiers (as a Kensei), this is a really good option to take.
Lucky. It's a really good feat for anyone to take.
Mage Slayer. This is a good feat if you want to play a mage slayer, but not a good choice if you don't want to play a mage slayer.
Martial Adept. This feat is good if you want to occasionally be able to control the battlefield a bit more, but it is limited in usage.
Mobile. If you want to move around the field even more than you already could, this will help. It is extremely useful if you want to play that specific type of monk.
Observant. This is good if you want to increase your Wisdom score a bit, and play a very observant monk.
Polearm Master. This is useful for monks that use a spear or quarterstaff.
Resilient. This is useful if you want to increase your Wisdom score more and gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.
Sentinel. If you want to be a tanking monk this is a good feat, especially if you have Polearm Master.
Sharpshooter. This is a good feat for any monk who focuses on ranged weapons, normally Kensei.
Elven Accuracy (XGtE). If you're an elf or half-elf, this will be extremely useful as a monk.
Squat Nimbleness (XGtE). If you're a dwarf or small race, this could be very useful if it fits your character.
Crusher (UA). This feat is great if you focus on quarterstaffs, bludgeoning unarmed strikes, and warhammers as a Kensei.
Fighting Initiate (UA). This feat would be good if you take Dueling or Unarmed Fighting, but depends on your character.
Gunner (UA). Useful for Kensei who focus on firearms, but not for any other monk.
Piercer (UA). This is a good feat if you focus on piercing weapon attacks (using spears, daggers, lizardfolk bites, rapiers, ranged weapons, shortswords, and other weapons).
Poisoner (UA). Really only useful to Way of Mercy Monks. Otherwise, don't take it unless it fits your character.
Slasher (UA). This feat is useful to those who focus on slashing weapons (scimitars, aarakocra talons, etc).
Tracker (UA). This feat is really good for monks, increasing your Wisdom, and giving you Hunter's Mark. It is character dependent, but Hunter's Mark will significantly increase your damage.
Those are all the feats that I could find that would be specifically useful to a monk. I hope this helps.
I think that you meant dual wielding shortswords, not shortbows. Pretty good breakdown, though.
I am Way of the Open Hand human monk lvl 3 and my stats are:
Str 14, dex 15, con 14, int 14, wis 14, cha 9.
What do you think? Maybe should have gone less on str and int... It's my first campaign and I was building my character without much knowledge.
Also, what feats are best for me? Mobile, lucky, alert, cruel....
Edit: I am kinda okay with the stats, the high int is useful in the campaign for my roleplay besides combat, detective type of person.
Out of curiosity, did you roll for these stats? Because, if this was point buy, I wouldn't put more than 12 into Strength. But this is also beside the point. You asked for two nubs so I'll add my 2 nubs.
Boost your Dexterity first with the Athlete feat. Then bring your Wisdom up to 16 at 8th-level. Past that, it depends on what you want to do and how long the campaign goes on for.
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How is Lucky in your opinion?
Its good for when you really need to stun something to land the hit. I really really wish it let you re-reoll saves on enemies/allies. Then I would say its an almost must pick for Monk.
As is it's a good Feat and will work in most builds sans those that don't rely on attack rolls (Cleric) but would still benefit them as they get to re-roll some saves.
Overall I would likely still max out Dex and Wis first but I know others may enjoy the Luck rolls and thats valid.
Lucky is so good many DMs ban it.
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Lucky is a little over-estimated, I think, because of its reputation. The main detail about Lucky is that it's a solid choice for literally any character build. There's no class or race combination that wouldn't benefit from Lucky. Some other feats will completely change how the game is played for an individual or drastically alter combat, or they might only come up once every other session... but because Lucky can be used so frequently and easily, it feels unbalanced, since if one character has Lucky they're probably going to be using it every session.
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Monks are heavily dependent on boosting their Dexterity and Wisdom scores to round out their AC, as being a mostly melee-locked class running on 1d8 hit points per level is difficult. I would not recommend taking feats until you have them both maxed in order to increase your AC, damage output, and Ki save DC, respectively. In terms of feats, you do have a couple options, but Monk is the class that I find to be the least dependent on feats to function properly. Some of them include:
Agree with the assessment on these.
Overall they are all great but I do think maxing Dex and Wis is likely better.
Every time you miss you will be regretting not getting that +1 to hit and every time you get hit you will miss that +1 to AC. These will occur at a much higher rate than you will get the benefit from the feats.
It’s really all player dependent.
What do you think is “better?”
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Like others have said above, it really depends on what you want your character to be like, and your current ability scores. If you have an odd number in your Dexterity or Wisdom, I would take a feat that can increase one of them. If you only have even numbers in those scores, it could be difficult to choose whether or not it is worth for your character to take a feat or ASI first. Here are all of the feats that could help your character, depending on how you want to play them:
Those are all the feats that I could find that would be specifically useful to a monk. I hope this helps.
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I think that you meant dual wielding shortswords, not shortbows. Pretty good breakdown, though.
Ah, thanks. Corrected now.
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Out of curiosity, did you roll for these stats? Because, if this was point buy, I wouldn't put more than 12 into Strength. But this is also beside the point. You asked for two nubs so I'll add my 2 nubs.
Boost your Dexterity first with the Athlete feat. Then bring your Wisdom up to 16 at 8th-level. Past that, it depends on what you want to do and how long the campaign goes on for.