I'm a new player and have a soon to be level 4 tabaxi monk. My dex is 17 and my wis is 15. I'm debating whether I should take the mobile feat as I originally planned or go for the ability score increase. With mobile I can start using my ki points for extra attacks and then move away to safety. With the ability increase for dex and wis my AC would be 17 (currently 15) and then I would end up going toe to toe more often and hoping my AC stops enough hits that I withstand the melee. I've not been too effective thus far since I need to save ki to disengage and get out of the fray in order to survive so I'm basically getting one wimpy attack per turn. Anyone have any thoughts on which will be more effective?
+1 Dex and Wis ASI. All day long. We're talking +1 to almost everything important to you, and +2 AC. Usually you're better off maxing your primary stat before looking sideways at feats, and this goes double for odd-value stats, triple for odd primary AND secondary stats.
mobility feat is underwhelming with a monk once you start getting into the higher levels. you wont notice it and it doesnt make a difference since your class increases your speed and your race increases your speed.
I played 2 Monks and my first one ended up being optimized to soak up attacks. You're right, the damage that a monk does is kind of underwhelming but if you increase your Dex and Wis to 16 and 18, you'll end up with a 17 AC. Take your one attack action every round and use your Ki points to Dodge so your opponents have disadvantage to hit you after you've taken a couple of hits and you're incredibly difficult to hit. But, you do damage and if you use your bonus action the first couple of rounds for one extra attack instead of the flurry of blows you'll land a couple of hits so your opponents won't be able to ignore you. They'll still need to attack you, but they'll basically be wasting their attacks because they won't hit you more than once or twice in an entire battle and while they're doing that they won't be attacking your other party members and your other party members will be the ones doing the killing.
Monks are great in a group. They aren't the "I killed the monster" character, but they do a fair amount of damage and they make the rest of the party more effective if you play them properly.
The advice looks pretty unanimous. I will point out that I'm not looking for the speed increase from the mobile feat so much as the free disengage when I attack. With mobile feat I would go in, attack plus unarmed attack plus the occasional ki point for another unarmed attack and then move away to safety. With the stat increase I'm going in, taking one attack (for now, I guess level 5 isn't that far off) then I'm spending ki for dodge or disengage and the rest of the time hoping my armor class is enough to keep me up. Seems to me going with the mobile feat increases my damage where increasing my stats would translate more into defence. Lots to think about here.
As someone who ran a Halfing Monk for 12 levels, I took Mobility (at 4th).
I did love it even if it wasn't necessarily the most optimal feat. As a hafling I could run through the same square as a medium+ enemy and not take AoOs as long as I threw an attack, by 5th level I was throwing 3-4 attacks a round. I was a caster hunter, I'd use my Way of the Shadow to cast Silence on myself and hunt the mage. I honestly almost never used Ki for Dodge or Disengage, and just took hits on the chin when they happened. I did occasionally use Ki to Dash to close.
I agree with the others, take the +1 Dex/Wis. If you still miss the free Disengage and bonus movement grab it at 8th.
At 8 take Mobility or +2 Dexterity. Mobility is pretty worth it at those levels as you got bunch of ki points and movement, and you can flurry (or simply Extra attack) and stun more than 1 target across the room from each other without provoking. Or just keeping your bacon out of the maw of some freakishly tough monster a class with better self-healing abilities or HP ought to front line as you run in and out of combat.
As an Open Hand monk, if you use your ki to do flurry of blows, if you hit you can cause the target to have no reactions until the end of your next turn. So if you were clever with your tactical movement distances, you could move in, hit and move away without granting an opportunity attack. Especially as a Tabaxi.
The cool thing about this tactic is that everyone else who comes after you can also move and stick and move away, if they have sufficient movement. And the target won't be able to do anything else as a reaction either, including spells as reactions, etc. until the end of your next turn.
Ok, that is an interesting point. So to be clear so I'm understanding the rules. An attack of opportunity is considered a reaction. So if I run up, spend the ki point and land at least one of my flurry of blows I can choose to not let the creature take reactions which means no attack of opportunity. Then again if I want to be crafty I could even split those unarmed attacks on two creatures and remove their reactions on both. Is this correct?
This begs a couple of questions, first what is the point of spending a ki point to take disengage as a bonus action? Does disengage mean no creature gets an attack of opportunity in the event you have more than one next to you? I could see the advantage of the two options if that's the case, with one or maybe two creatures just remove their reactions but if there are multiple, take disengage and then move away. Mobile is sounding more and more pointless now, I think I'm glad I didn't take it now. So that means I have room later on to possibly take a different feat, any suggestions as to a good monk feat? As I read them many sound a little underwhelming for a monk since they often require certain weapons or armor and such. Perhaps I just do ability increases all the way and upgrade my constitution at some point? Definitely planning to get Dex and Wis to 20 so I'll have one extra increase or feat available assuming I get to play this character to level 20.
The ki point for disengage allows all monk subclasses to utilize it, whereas only the Open Palm can flurry of blows to remove reactions. So it IS a bit redundant for an open palm monk, but it’s still good to have in a pinch
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
My Tabaxi Monk is coming up on level 8. I was thinking of taking Mobile, since I'm a Way of the Four Elements. I'm going to take Healer instead which should be fun in the Jungles of Chult.
I got lucky and my DM gave us an extra feat when we created characters. Perk about mobile ((besides have a 50 base movement)) even if you miss your attack they still can't take an opportunity attack on you.
At level 4, I had my Kensei Monk take Mobile. At level 6, it really gives her a boost to her hit-and-fade ability. In addition to the 55 ft. movement speed, she can drop Deft Strikes as well as a Flurry of Blows before pulling back out of range (assuming you let your opponent approach you first). Admittedly, this relies a little on luck, as your attack bonus isn't as high as it could otherwise be if you'd taken 18 on DEX at level 4 and just pushed Mobile back to 8. That said, Mobile really boosts your survivability, particularly if you're able to snag at least a couple levels in Rogue and can Dash as a bonus action. Or, if you don't mind giving up the bonus action and a ki point, Step of the Wind.
In the end, I think Mobile is the Monk's best feat. Combine it with Athlete and your Improved Unarmored Movement at level 9, and there's almost nowhere you can't go. A Monk's speed is one of their greatest assets, and anything you can do to aid them ducking in and out of combat makes it that much easier for you.
This guy has it on the head. Also consider grappling an opponent if you're great at Athletics. With your increased movement you can drag an opponent pretty far even at half your now insane speed (Including up a vertical surface, and let go. Creatures take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10ft they fall, but you don't because you're a monk! Subtract 5X your level). Having battlefield control is probably the most important thing on combat. An archer can't pepper you with arrows from a distance because A) you have deflect missiles B) you can get to them insanely fast.
I took Wood Elf Kensai Monk with Mobile, at level 6 his speed is 60 (same as a horse) can dash as bonus action for a Ki point and dash as action as well and cover 180 feet in a round, no archer can keep away from you. His two Kensai weapons I took Rapier and Longbow (rapier so I can take defensive duelist at 8 and add prof to AC as reaction). If you want to be the archer play in reverse, no one ever gets close to you. If you want to play melee use at least 1 unarmed strike in your attack action to get +2 AC (Agile Parry) so he has an 18 AC and can play with the big kids up front.
I'm a new player and have a soon to be level 4 tabaxi monk. My dex is 17 and my wis is 15. I'm debating whether I should take the mobile feat as I originally planned or go for the ability score increase. With mobile I can start using my ki points for extra attacks and then move away to safety. With the ability increase for dex and wis my AC would be 17 (currently 15) and then I would end up going toe to toe more often and hoping my AC stops enough hits that I withstand the melee. I've not been too effective thus far since I need to save ki to disengage and get out of the fray in order to survive so I'm basically getting one wimpy attack per turn. Anyone have any thoughts on which will be more effective?
I don't always use the office printer.
But when I do it's to print my character sheet.
+1 Dex and Wis ASI. All day long. We're talking +1 to almost everything important to you, and +2 AC. Usually you're better off maxing your primary stat before looking sideways at feats, and this goes double for odd-value stats, triple for odd primary AND secondary stats.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
mobility feat is underwhelming with a monk once you start getting into the higher levels. you wont notice it and it doesnt make a difference since your class increases your speed and your race increases your speed.
I played 2 Monks and my first one ended up being optimized to soak up attacks. You're right, the damage that a monk does is kind of underwhelming but if you increase your Dex and Wis to 16 and 18, you'll end up with a 17 AC. Take your one attack action every round and use your Ki points to Dodge so your opponents have disadvantage to hit you after you've taken a couple of hits and you're incredibly difficult to hit. But, you do damage and if you use your bonus action the first couple of rounds for one extra attack instead of the flurry of blows you'll land a couple of hits so your opponents won't be able to ignore you. They'll still need to attack you, but they'll basically be wasting their attacks because they won't hit you more than once or twice in an entire battle and while they're doing that they won't be attacking your other party members and your other party members will be the ones doing the killing.
Monks are great in a group. They aren't the "I killed the monster" character, but they do a fair amount of damage and they make the rest of the party more effective if you play them properly.
Professional computer geek
The advice looks pretty unanimous. I will point out that I'm not looking for the speed increase from the mobile feat so much as the free disengage when I attack. With mobile feat I would go in, attack plus unarmed attack plus the occasional ki point for another unarmed attack and then move away to safety. With the stat increase I'm going in, taking one attack (for now, I guess level 5 isn't that far off) then I'm spending ki for dodge or disengage and the rest of the time hoping my armor class is enough to keep me up. Seems to me going with the mobile feat increases my damage where increasing my stats would translate more into defence. Lots to think about here.
I don't always use the office printer.
But when I do it's to print my character sheet.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
As someone who ran a Halfing Monk for 12 levels, I took Mobility (at 4th).
I did love it even if it wasn't necessarily the most optimal feat. As a hafling I could run through the same square as a medium+ enemy and not take AoOs as long as I threw an attack, by 5th level I was throwing 3-4 attacks a round. I was a caster hunter, I'd use my Way of the Shadow to cast Silence on myself and hunt the mage. I honestly almost never used Ki for Dodge or Disengage, and just took hits on the chin when they happened. I did occasionally use Ki to Dash to close.
I agree with the others, take the +1 Dex/Wis. If you still miss the free Disengage and bonus movement grab it at 8th.
For level 4, take the +1 to Dexterity and Wisdom.
At 8 take Mobility or +2 Dexterity. Mobility is pretty worth it at those levels as you got bunch of ki points and movement, and you can flurry (or simply Extra attack) and stun more than 1 target across the room from each other without provoking. Or just keeping your bacon out of the maw of some freakishly tough monster a class with better self-healing abilities or HP ought to front line as you run in and out of combat.
My group played last night and I got to level 4. I did take the ability score increase. Thanks for the advice all.
I don't always use the office printer.
But when I do it's to print my character sheet.
As an Open Hand monk, if you use your ki to do flurry of blows, if you hit you can cause the target to have no reactions until the end of your next turn. So if you were clever with your tactical movement distances, you could move in, hit and move away without granting an opportunity attack. Especially as a Tabaxi.
The cool thing about this tactic is that everyone else who comes after you can also move and stick and move away, if they have sufficient movement. And the target won't be able to do anything else as a reaction either, including spells as reactions, etc. until the end of your next turn.
Ok, that is an interesting point. So to be clear so I'm understanding the rules. An attack of opportunity is considered a reaction. So if I run up, spend the ki point and land at least one of my flurry of blows I can choose to not let the creature take reactions which means no attack of opportunity. Then again if I want to be crafty I could even split those unarmed attacks on two creatures and remove their reactions on both. Is this correct?
This begs a couple of questions, first what is the point of spending a ki point to take disengage as a bonus action? Does disengage mean no creature gets an attack of opportunity in the event you have more than one next to you? I could see the advantage of the two options if that's the case, with one or maybe two creatures just remove their reactions but if there are multiple, take disengage and then move away. Mobile is sounding more and more pointless now, I think I'm glad I didn't take it now. So that means I have room later on to possibly take a different feat, any suggestions as to a good monk feat? As I read them many sound a little underwhelming for a monk since they often require certain weapons or armor and such. Perhaps I just do ability increases all the way and upgrade my constitution at some point? Definitely planning to get Dex and Wis to 20 so I'll have one extra increase or feat available assuming I get to play this character to level 20.
I don't always use the office printer.
But when I do it's to print my character sheet.
The ki point for disengage allows all monk subclasses to utilize it, whereas only the Open Palm can flurry of blows to remove reactions. So it IS a bit redundant for an open palm monk, but it’s still good to have in a pinch
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Also, don't forget that not taking reactions means that you can prevent a caster from counterspelling any of your casters.
My Tabaxi Monk is coming up on level 8. I was thinking of taking Mobile, since I'm a Way of the Four Elements. I'm going to take Healer instead which should be fun in the Jungles of Chult.
Formatting Tooltips, because I always forget
I got lucky and my DM gave us an extra feat when we created characters. Perk about mobile ((besides have a 50 base movement)) even if you miss your attack they still can't take an opportunity attack on you.
At level 4, I had my Kensei Monk take Mobile. At level 6, it really gives her a boost to her hit-and-fade ability. In addition to the 55 ft. movement speed, she can drop Deft Strikes as well as a Flurry of Blows before pulling back out of range (assuming you let your opponent approach you first). Admittedly, this relies a little on luck, as your attack bonus isn't as high as it could otherwise be if you'd taken 18 on DEX at level 4 and just pushed Mobile back to 8. That said, Mobile really boosts your survivability, particularly if you're able to snag at least a couple levels in Rogue and can Dash as a bonus action. Or, if you don't mind giving up the bonus action and a ki point, Step of the Wind.
In the end, I think Mobile is the Monk's best feat. Combine it with Athlete and your Improved Unarmored Movement at level 9, and there's almost nowhere you can't go. A Monk's speed is one of their greatest assets, and anything you can do to aid them ducking in and out of combat makes it that much easier for you.
i think they want it for no Attack of opportunity
i love how this thread got necro'd twice
what is necro'd
KNightSeiber <---
This guy has it on the head. Also consider grappling an opponent if you're great at Athletics. With your increased movement you can drag an opponent pretty far even at half your now insane speed (Including up a vertical surface, and let go. Creatures take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10ft they fall, but you don't because you're a monk! Subtract 5X your level). Having battlefield control is probably the most important thing on combat. An archer can't pepper you with arrows from a distance because A) you have deflect missiles B) you can get to them insanely fast.
I took Wood Elf Kensai Monk with Mobile, at level 6 his speed is 60 (same as a horse) can dash as bonus action for a Ki point and dash as action as well and cover 180 feet in a round, no archer can keep away from you. His two Kensai weapons I took Rapier and Longbow (rapier so I can take defensive duelist at 8 and add prof to AC as reaction). If you want to be the archer play in reverse, no one ever gets close to you. If you want to play melee use at least 1 unarmed strike in your attack action to get +2 AC (Agile Parry) so he has an 18 AC and can play with the big kids up front.