In terms of action economy with Dodge / Patient Defense, there seems to be a few proposed solutions here. I'm just restating other's suggestions in my own words.
Option A: Remove the requirement "When you use the Attack action..." from Bonus Action Unarmed Strike and Flurry of Blows. Then theoretically a low level Monk can make an Unarmed Strike (3+1d6) as a Bonus Action, leaving the main Action available for Dodge/Disengage at no cost of Points. This drastically improves survivability and keeps with the theme of choosing Offense vs Defense each turn. As a simple change, I imagine it could be implemented. The downside is Dodge + Flurry of Blows is strictly better than Attack + Patient Defense until level 5.
Option B: The Bonus Action Unarmed Strike is brought into the Attack Action by making Unarmed Strikes Light Weapons (note this decreases damage output by DEX). Flurry of Blows is changed to make 1 Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action. Then Patient Defense has less opportunity cost but still costs Points. The downside is Monk survivability is still dependent on Points.
Option C: Both Flurry of Blows and Bonus Action Unarmed Strike are brought into the Attack action. Then Patient Defense does not have opportunity costs. I doubt this will happen, because a Level 2 Monk can spend both Points on a single turn doing both Flurry of Blows and Patient Defense.
No, it's balanced. The point is you choose between additional attacks or going on the defense. Making either a part of the attack action would overtune the class's action economy.
Sort of. The problem right now is that using Patient Defense cuts the Monk's offense in half. But it gives benefits similar to casting the Blur spell which (assuming a 4 round combat) only cuts your damage by 1/4. What they should do is move the basic 1 BA unarmed strike from Martial Arts into the your Attack action and turn Flurry of Blows into 1 extra attack as a bonus action.
That's an option, but the question there is timing in the character progression sense; a permanent 3 attacks per round using only the Attack Action is currently a level 11 feature. Move that up too far on Monks and you're undercutting Fighters who already get a lot of flack for being "basic"; push it further back than the opening of tier 3 and it ultimately isn't going to have much effect on the typical play experience with the class. Honestly, the best answer is probably just to tune up Monk damage a bit more, one way or another. Defense in general is not a hugely useful application of either an Action or a Bonus Action in 5e, in much the same way that a dedicated healer isn't going to do much good in the middle of typical combat. Success in combat is very heavily skewed towards raw DPR output. Patient Defense isn't a basic mitigation feature, it's an "in case of emergency, break glass" option for if the character is either unable to run away for some reason or in the sights of a bunch of ranged attackers.
Fighters can actually get that at level 5 with nick property and two-weapon fighting. Which this would closely resemble.
No, it's balanced. The point is you choose between additional attacks or going on the defense. Making either a part of the attack action would overtune the class's action economy.
Sort of. The problem right now is that using Patient Defense cuts the Monk's offense in half. But it gives benefits similar to casting the Blur spell which (assuming a 4 round combat) only cuts your damage by 1/4. What they should do is move the basic 1 BA unarmed strike from Martial Arts into the your Attack action and turn Flurry of Blows into 1 extra attack as a bonus action.
That's an option, but the question there is timing in the character progression sense; a permanent 3 attacks per round using only the Attack Action is currently a level 11 feature. Move that up too far on Monks and you're undercutting Fighters who already get a lot of flack for being "basic"; push it further back than the opening of tier 3 and it ultimately isn't going to have much effect on the typical play experience with the class. Honestly, the best answer is probably just to tune up Monk damage a bit more, one way or another. Defense in general is not a hugely useful application of either an Action or a Bonus Action in 5e, in much the same way that a dedicated healer isn't going to do much good in the middle of typical combat. Success in combat is very heavily skewed towards raw DPR output. Patient Defense isn't a basic mitigation feature, it's an "in case of emergency, break glass" option for if the character is either unable to run away for some reason or in the sights of a bunch of ranged attackers.
Fighters can actually get that at level 5 with nick property and two-weapon fighting. Which this would closely resemble.
True. Given that one of the big rage points of the UA is that there's no Weapon Mastery equivalents for Unarmed, it's an option I guess. Still not sure they want to make it that easy to get a bunch of attacks in and Dodge on the same turn.
No, it's balanced. The point is you choose between additional attacks or going on the defense. Making either a part of the attack action would overtune the class's action economy.
Sort of. The problem right now is that using Patient Defense cuts the Monk's offense in half. But it gives benefits similar to casting the Blur spell which (assuming a 4 round combat) only cuts your damage by 1/4. What they should do is move the basic 1 BA unarmed strike from Martial Arts into the your Attack action and turn Flurry of Blows into 1 extra attack as a bonus action.
That's an option, but the question there is timing in the character progression sense; a permanent 3 attacks per round using only the Attack Action is currently a level 11 feature. Move that up too far on Monks and you're undercutting Fighters who already get a lot of flack for being "basic"; push it further back than the opening of tier 3 and it ultimately isn't going to have much effect on the typical play experience with the class. Honestly, the best answer is probably just to tune up Monk damage a bit more, one way or another. Defense in general is not a hugely useful application of either an Action or a Bonus Action in 5e, in much the same way that a dedicated healer isn't going to do much good in the middle of typical combat. Success in combat is very heavily skewed towards raw DPR output. Patient Defense isn't a basic mitigation feature, it's an "in case of emergency, break glass" option for if the character is either unable to run away for some reason or in the sights of a bunch of ranged attackers.
Fighters can actually get that at level 5 with nick property and two-weapon fighting. Which this would closely resemble.
True. Given that one of the big rage points of the UA is that there's no Weapon Mastery equivalents for Unarmed, it's an option I guess. Still not sure they want to make it that easy to get a bunch of attacks in and Dodge on the same turn.
Well dodge would still cost a ki, and would still not allow the user to be able to flurry or step of the wind that turn. It would just be a less painful loss of action economy and make the ki point a bit more interesting to use. 1 ki for an extra attack when you want damage, 1 ki for when you want more survival, or 1 ki when you want to hit and run. Right now it is a Ki + a loss of an attack to do either of the other 2 options while the choice is still the same for Flurry. Which is why Flurry is so much more popular. And with the subclasses the way they are, it would likely remain popular for certain subclasses.
Currently other classes have similar decision points like Barbarian and Reckless attack, easier to hit enemy but easier to be hit, but can mitigate that second with half damage from rage. The fighter is a bit more basic obviously. The new Paladin either using a bonus action for smite or bonus action to heal with lay on hands, but still getting his full number of attacks. The rogue is able to do full sneak attack and still dash or disengage as needed.
In terms of action economy with Dodge / Patient Defense, there seems to be a few proposed solutions here. I'm just restating other's suggestions in my own words.
Option A: Remove the requirement "When you use the Attack action..." from Bonus Action Unarmed Strike and Flurry of Blows. Then theoretically a low level Monk can make an Unarmed Strike (3+1d6) as a Bonus Action, leaving the main Action available for Dodge/Disengage at no cost of Points. This drastically improves survivability and keeps with the theme of choosing Offense vs Defense each turn. As a simple change, I imagine it could be implemented. The downside is Dodge + Flurry of Blows is strictly better than Attack + Patient Defense until level 5.
Option B: The Bonus Action Unarmed Strike is brought into the Attack Action by making Unarmed Strikes Light Weapons (note this decreases damage output by DEX). Flurry of Blows is changed to make 1 Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action. Then Patient Defense has less opportunity cost but still costs Points. The downside is Monk survivability is still dependent on Points.
Option C: Both Flurry of Blows and Bonus Action Unarmed Strike are brought into the Attack action. Then Patient Defense does not have opportunity costs. I doubt this will happen, because a Level 2 Monk can spend both Points on a single turn doing both Flurry of Blows and Patient Defense.
Fighters can actually get that at level 5 with nick property and two-weapon fighting. Which this would closely resemble.
True. Given that one of the big rage points of the UA is that there's no Weapon Mastery equivalents for Unarmed, it's an option I guess. Still not sure they want to make it that easy to get a bunch of attacks in and Dodge on the same turn.
Well dodge would still cost a ki, and would still not allow the user to be able to flurry or step of the wind that turn. It would just be a less painful loss of action economy and make the ki point a bit more interesting to use. 1 ki for an extra attack when you want damage, 1 ki for when you want more survival, or 1 ki when you want to hit and run. Right now it is a Ki + a loss of an attack to do either of the other 2 options while the choice is still the same for Flurry. Which is why Flurry is so much more popular. And with the subclasses the way they are, it would likely remain popular for certain subclasses.
Currently other classes have similar decision points like Barbarian and Reckless attack, easier to hit enemy but easier to be hit, but can mitigate that second with half damage from rage. The fighter is a bit more basic obviously. The new Paladin either using a bonus action for smite or bonus action to heal with lay on hands, but still getting his full number of attacks. The rogue is able to do full sneak attack and still dash or disengage as needed.