I'm not very familiar with AL. Aren't you restricted to choosing only one source after the PHB? So e.g. you can't use Xanathar's and Tasha's?
I'd say the most powerful monk I can build within those constraints is a Tasha's Mercy monk for enough short rest healing to make a Celestial Warlock straight-up jealous. Punching someone so hard they come back to life is the strongest kung fu in the game so far.
I think they did away with the book restrictions in AL. Could be wrong.
I would go Mercy Monk too. VHuman for Mobile and then raise Dex at 4, Wis at 8 and alternate again until they're both at 20.
I'm a stat whore when I build a monk, so my go-to is *usually* a half-elf to fix the monk's MADness. Dex 17 Con 16 Wis 16 is reasonably solid, and elven accuracy is a hard feat to argue with. I don't think AL allows Custom Lineage at all, but you can pursue a very good statline with a mountain dwarf, as usual - Dex 17 Wis 17 Con 14 Str 10 (final stat optional) lets you get on the Dex/Wis train early, and if you can bear Con 15 instead, you're a prime candidate for Crusher at level 16 when you can finally spare the attention.
For a Vhuman, you could start with Crusher to be 16/16/16 + Crusher, that's legit. One of the few feats I like finding time for on a monk is Skill Expert [Athletics], as well, for credible grappling.
Those are definitely good approaches Quindraco. I'm a fiend for Mobile myself. Any melee skirmisher monk doesn't feel right without it for me. Also don't get me started on skill expert. Probably my favorite feat at this point.
In the end the right subclass depends on what you want to optimize the monk for, combat? stealth? Utility? Versatility? Though most of the time people talk about optimizing it's usually for combat, so that's what I am going to assume.
I think the way of Mercy monk is up there, hand of harm offers a decent damage boost at early levels, although while it probably won't benefit you as much as another hit you always have the chance of missing on your flurry of blows. Hand of healing also offer a lot of utility/healing capability to the monk which is a big bonus, without falling much behind the more offense focused subclasses.
The way of Astral Self is great as well. It does have the con of making you use one of your precious ki-points, which is a bit of a detriment at early levels, but being able to use your wisdom modifier for attack and damage rolls is a great boon when stunning strike comes to play, you'll have a very good DC on your stun compared to the other monks.
The way of the Kensei is another good contender. At 3rd level you can count your kensei weapons as martial weapons, allowing you to use your dex modifier on a longsword and bringing your damage die for each hit from a d4 to a d10. You can also take a longbow, or a light or hand crossbow and use either of those as your ranged option, which is going to make your ranged attacks more powerful than the ranged attacks of other monks.
Another benefit to the Kensei is the Agile parry feature, if you make an unarmed attack (on your attack action, not as a bonus action) and you are holding a melee kensei weapon, you add +2 AC to the start of your next turn, if you pair this with patient defense you'll be very difficult to hit at early levels.
I am not entirely sure if Adventurers League allow you to use optional features? If they do, the advantage of the kensei monk is deminished at early levels, as any monk can use a longsword as a dedicated weapon.
As far as races are concerned wood elves and kenkus are perfect for monks statwise.
When it comes to feats I think mobile is a good contender. It synergizes perfectly with a monk. However, I am not sure if it is as good as people think. How often do you have to enter a hostile creature's range and leave it to get past it to another creature? Admittedly I haven't played DnD for that long, but I can't think of many situations so far where the mobile feat would have made much of a difference, monk or otherwise. And even then, if a target is so important to reach you have to walk through the melee range of another target, is the creature you are walking past in that case worth using a melee attack on?
Personally I think as far as optimizing is concerned you'd spend your ability points on wisdom and dexterity first, then start looking at feats. Dexterity first, to increase your hit chance, damage and AC, then wisdom for your AC and to raise the DC of your stunning strike.
Concerning multiclassing I don't know if I would multiclass much on a monk. You'll end up delaying many of your better/cooler late game features. You'll also have to stick with a lower martial arts die for longer. If you do want to multiclass however, I recommend waiting to level 7. At level 6 you get another monastic tradition feature and your unarmed attacks become magical, and at level 7 you get evasion which I think is well worth waiting for.
Of all the three monastic traditions I've suggested I think the one that is best suited for multiclassing would be a way of the kensei monk. Since you're relying on your kensei weapon for the damage die, delaying your martial arts die isn't such a detriment. Either way if you want to multiclass I think you want to pick a class that's very front loaded, that gives you what you want quickly.
A good choice here may be 2-3 levels of rogue for expertise, sneak attack and cunning action, with combat in mind the best archetype to pair with would be the Swashbuckler. (Though keep in mind you need a finesse weapon (not a longsword) for sneak attack to work)
I think 2-3 levels in fighter would be a good choice as well, giving a fighting style, action surge and some battle maneuvers if you choose battle master for the archetype.
As far as fighting styles are concerned the best choice for a kensei monk would be dueling. Yes, you could pick great weapon fighting and use it on your longsword, but I ran the math and dueling will give you more consistent damage.
My personal favorite for a 3 level dip would be a gloomstalker ranger. You get 10 feet extra movement your first round in combat, an extra attack and an extra d8 to that extra attack. You also get hunters mark, which will apply not just to your weapon attack, but also your bonus unarmed attacks in subsequent turns. Granted, there's no guarantee hunters mark will last to your next turn as it is a concentration spell. Another great spell for you is zephyr strike, which stops you from provoking opportunity attacks (especially with this spell the mobility feat becomes redundant).
kobold kensei with the sharpshooter feat using longbow and every turn spending a ki point to do the extra martial art die dmg so that way you can bonus action longbow shoot again (all at advantage due to kobold and min 16 dmg per shot if dex is 5 and you roll a 1). Get a Knave's eyepatch and you're golden.
kobold kensei with the sharpshooter feat using longbow and every turn spending a ki point to do the extra martial art die dmg so that way you can bonus action longbow shoot again (all at advantage due to kobold and min 16 dmg per shot if dex is 5 and you roll a 1). Get a Knave's eyepatch and you're golden.
Aside from Swift Quiver you can't take extra attacks with a longbow by using your bonus action afaik. Also because kobolds are small they would get disadvantage when using a longbow because longbows count as heavy. From what I can tell you can't choose your magic items in AL but either way you'll have to deal with sunlight sensitivity to you find a Knave's eyepatch.
With a shortbow you could deal 1d6+3(dex)+1d4(kensei shot) at 3rd level, so 3.5+3+2.5=8 dmg on average per round (and assuming you hit). At 6th level you'd deal 2d6+8(dexterity)+2d4 which is 2(3.5)+8+2(2.5)=20 dmg on average. You could also go for the sharpshooter feat at 4, and your average damage per round (at level 6) would go up to: 2d6+6(dexterity)+20(sharpshooter)+2d4 which would be: 2(3.5)+6+20+5=38 damage average per round, though this is with a -25% penalty to hit chance for both of your ranged attacks.
A level 6 kensei monk with a longsword on the other hand would deal: 2d10+8(dexterity)+2d6(flurry of blows)+8(dexterity) which is 2(5.5)+16+2(3.5)=34 damage per round on average. That is without a 25% penalty to hit, though unlike the archer you have to land all those attacks to deal that damage.
While it's a cost/benefit thing and you can probably calculate it, you have to decide if you want to put all your eggs in one basket or not. The archer will lose a lot of damage if one of their attacks miss, but deal great damage if both hit. The melee kensei on the other hand, will have many smaller baskets and can only compete if several hit.
Which kensei would be best? personally I'd go melee, having more attacks means more chances to deal damage if your enemy has a high AC. If the enemy has a low AC however, you might be better off with a kensei with sharpshooter.
While it's technically not optimal there's nothing stopping the monk with sharpshooter using a longsword in melee, only difference would be the ability increase you dropped for sharpshooter, so in that regard you'll have more utility with a bow.
Aside from Swift Quiver you can't take extra attacks with a longbow by using your bonus action afaik. Also because kobolds are small they would get disadvantage when using a longbow because longbows count as heavy. From what I can tell you can't choose your magic items in AL but either way you'll have to deal with sunlight sensitivity to you find a Knave's eyepatch.
The optional monk feature, Ki-Fueled Attack (in concert with the Kensei's Deft Strike) means a Bow wielding Kensei can shoot an arrow as a bonus action.
Ki-Fueled Attack
3rd-level monk feature
If you spend 1 ki point or more as part of your action on your turn, you can make one attack with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon as a bonus action before the end of the turn.
I think Archer Kensei is definitely the way to go for that subclass. They can switch effortlessly to a melee game with no investment beyond boosting their stats (like every other monk) and have an excellent ranged game to compensate for the most glaring hole in the base monk kit.
Actually now that I think about it more, Archer Kensei would be my suggestion. VHuman picking up sharpshooter, fighting initiate (archery), and maxing out dexterity before touching wisdom. It isn't the best stunning strike build, but I think that ability is overrated.
Mercy Monk is still my vote if you want a more classic melee oriented approach.
kobold kensei with the sharpshooter feat using longbow and every turn spending a ki point to do the extra martial art die dmg so that way you can bonus action longbow shoot again (all at advantage due to kobold and min 16 dmg per shot if dex is 5 and you roll a 1). Get a Knave's eyepatch and you're golden.
Aside from Swift Quiver you can't take extra attacks with a longbow by using your bonus action afaik. Also because kobolds are small they would get disadvantage when using a longbow because longbows count as heavy. From what I can tell you can't choose your magic items in AL but either way you'll have to deal with sunlight sensitivity to you find a Knave's eyepatch.
With a shortbow you could deal 1d6+3(dex)+1d4(kensei shot) at 3rd level, so 3.5+3+2.5=8 dmg on average per round (and assuming you hit). At 6th level you'd deal 2d6+8(dexterity)+2d4 which is 2(3.5)+8+2(2.5)=20 dmg on average. You could also go for the sharpshooter feat at 4, and your average damage per round (at level 6) would go up to: 2d6+6(dexterity)+20(sharpshooter)+2d4 which would be: 2(3.5)+6+20+5=38 damage average per round, though this is with a -25% penalty to hit chance for both of your ranged attacks.
A level 6 kensei monk with a longsword on the other hand would deal: 2d10+8(dexterity)+2d6(flurry of blows)+8(dexterity) which is 2(5.5)+16+2(3.5)=34 damage per round on average. That is without a 25% penalty to hit, though unlike the archer you have to land all those attacks to deal that damage.
While it's a cost/benefit thing and you can probably calculate it, you have to decide if you want to put all your eggs in one basket or not. The archer will lose a lot of damage if one of their attacks miss, but deal great damage if both hit. The melee kensei on the other hand, will have many smaller baskets and can only compete if several hit.
Which kensei would be best? personally I'd go melee, having more attacks means more chances to deal damage if your enemy has a high AC. If the enemy has a low AC however, you might be better off with a kensei with sharpshooter.
While it's technically not optimal there's nothing stopping the monk with sharpshooter using a longsword in melee, only difference would be the ability increase you dropped for sharpshooter, so in that regard you'll have more utility with a bow.
All very fair points, and thank you I forgot about the longbow won work for kobold. I had mentioned the 3rd bonus action shot from the optional tashas abilities to make an atk with a monk weapon if you use a ki point during your action. I was thinking to use the deft strike ability of the kensei (utilizing the shortbow as your kensei weapon to trigger the ki-fueld atk from tashas to deal the extra dmg and get the ba atk off too.
Can you do that? Since the AL allows you to use PHB+1 book, can you use the optional rules from different books?
But yeah, if you can use that feature, and you take the -5 to hit you can deal a whopping 49.5 dmg on average if all the attacks hit.
If I understand the math correctly the -5 to hit would lead to a -25% to the damage average though (in comparison to the melee variant) so your average would be 37,125 if you took the -5 to all attacks on any given turn.
Can you do that? Since the AL allows you to use PHB+1 book, can you use the optional rules from different books?
AFAIK they did away with the the limiting +1 and gave full access to all.
I don't know. I did google it prior to posting, and found an allegedly current PDF that said PHB+1 was still in effect, but some TCOE rules - namely racial stat swapping and racial proficiency swapping - were now in place everywhere. I also believe it said Artificers were in place everywhere, but I'm not sure. I do remember it restricting Repeating Shot to only producing ammunition that could be purchased in some shop somewhere, with a similar restriction on creation bards that they could only make things theoretically purchasable.
Faced with these challenges, the Adventurers League chose the simplest path and are removing the PHB+1 rule entirely. Instead, they are designating certain sourcebooks as being allowed in any campaign, and other works will be limited to which campaigns they can be used in. The universal resources are:
At the end of the day I don't think any of the monk subclasses change the game too much for any monk, and I doubt any of them are going to be noticeably stronger with the optional features enabled.
There are some monk subclasses that will be better in combat than the others, like the kensei, astral arms and the way of mercy monk, but their abilities are limited by the ki cost of their subclass abilities, aside from kensei's. Therefore the things that put them ahead in combat won't make much of a difference before later levels, but at that point the difference might be negligible.
That said, when I think optimizing I think damage, but there are monk subclasses that will give you abilities in other areas. The way of mercy monk may again be on the top here, allowing you to heal or deal bonus damage, and becoming quite an effective healer if you're willing to spend the ki-points. Another monk which is hardly optimal for combat is the way of shadow monk, I don't have much experience with it but I've played it in a couple of oneshots and I am currently playing one at low levels in a campaign, and it's tons of fun, and with a dedicated longsword my damage won't be too far behind a kensei's.
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Just curious what the optimancers here can pull off.
I'm not very familiar with AL. Aren't you restricted to choosing only one source after the PHB? So e.g. you can't use Xanathar's and Tasha's?
I'd say the most powerful monk I can build within those constraints is a Tasha's Mercy monk for enough short rest healing to make a Celestial Warlock straight-up jealous. Punching someone so hard they come back to life is the strongest kung fu in the game so far.
I think they did away with the book restrictions in AL. Could be wrong.
I would go Mercy Monk too. VHuman for Mobile and then raise Dex at 4, Wis at 8 and alternate again until they're both at 20.
I'm a stat whore when I build a monk, so my go-to is *usually* a half-elf to fix the monk's MADness. Dex 17 Con 16 Wis 16 is reasonably solid, and elven accuracy is a hard feat to argue with. I don't think AL allows Custom Lineage at all, but you can pursue a very good statline with a mountain dwarf, as usual - Dex 17 Wis 17 Con 14 Str 10 (final stat optional) lets you get on the Dex/Wis train early, and if you can bear Con 15 instead, you're a prime candidate for Crusher at level 16 when you can finally spare the attention.
For a Vhuman, you could start with Crusher to be 16/16/16 + Crusher, that's legit. One of the few feats I like finding time for on a monk is Skill Expert [Athletics], as well, for credible grappling.
Those are definitely good approaches Quindraco. I'm a fiend for Mobile myself. Any melee skirmisher monk doesn't feel right without it for me. Also don't get me started on skill expert. Probably my favorite feat at this point.
In the end the right subclass depends on what you want to optimize the monk for, combat? stealth? Utility? Versatility? Though most of the time people talk about optimizing it's usually for combat, so that's what I am going to assume.
I think the way of Mercy monk is up there, hand of harm offers a decent damage boost at early levels, although while it probably won't benefit you as much as another hit you always have the chance of missing on your flurry of blows. Hand of healing also offer a lot of utility/healing capability to the monk which is a big bonus, without falling much behind the more offense focused subclasses.
The way of Astral Self is great as well. It does have the con of making you use one of your precious ki-points, which is a bit of a detriment at early levels, but being able to use your wisdom modifier for attack and damage rolls is a great boon when stunning strike comes to play, you'll have a very good DC on your stun compared to the other monks.
The way of the Kensei is another good contender. At 3rd level you can count your kensei weapons as martial weapons, allowing you to use your dex modifier on a longsword and bringing your damage die for each hit from a d4 to a d10. You can also take a longbow, or a light or hand crossbow and use either of those as your ranged option, which is going to make your ranged attacks more powerful than the ranged attacks of other monks.
Another benefit to the Kensei is the Agile parry feature, if you make an unarmed attack (on your attack action, not as a bonus action) and you are holding a melee kensei weapon, you add +2 AC to the start of your next turn, if you pair this with patient defense you'll be very difficult to hit at early levels.
I am not entirely sure if Adventurers League allow you to use optional features? If they do, the advantage of the kensei monk is deminished at early levels, as any monk can use a longsword as a dedicated weapon.
As far as races are concerned wood elves and kenkus are perfect for monks statwise.
When it comes to feats I think mobile is a good contender. It synergizes perfectly with a monk. However, I am not sure if it is as good as people think. How often do you have to enter a hostile creature's range and leave it to get past it to another creature? Admittedly I haven't played DnD for that long, but I can't think of many situations so far where the mobile feat would have made much of a difference, monk or otherwise. And even then, if a target is so important to reach you have to walk through the melee range of another target, is the creature you are walking past in that case worth using a melee attack on?
Personally I think as far as optimizing is concerned you'd spend your ability points on wisdom and dexterity first, then start looking at feats. Dexterity first, to increase your hit chance, damage and AC, then wisdom for your AC and to raise the DC of your stunning strike.
Concerning multiclassing I don't know if I would multiclass much on a monk. You'll end up delaying many of your better/cooler late game features. You'll also have to stick with a lower martial arts die for longer. If you do want to multiclass however, I recommend waiting to level 7. At level 6 you get another monastic tradition feature and your unarmed attacks become magical, and at level 7 you get evasion which I think is well worth waiting for.
Of all the three monastic traditions I've suggested I think the one that is best suited for multiclassing would be a way of the kensei monk. Since you're relying on your kensei weapon for the damage die, delaying your martial arts die isn't such a detriment. Either way if you want to multiclass I think you want to pick a class that's very front loaded, that gives you what you want quickly.
A good choice here may be 2-3 levels of rogue for expertise, sneak attack and cunning action, with combat in mind the best archetype to pair with would be the Swashbuckler. (Though keep in mind you need a finesse weapon (not a longsword) for sneak attack to work)
I think 2-3 levels in fighter would be a good choice as well, giving a fighting style, action surge and some battle maneuvers if you choose battle master for the archetype.
As far as fighting styles are concerned the best choice for a kensei monk would be dueling. Yes, you could pick great weapon fighting and use it on your longsword, but I ran the math and dueling will give you more consistent damage.
My personal favorite for a 3 level dip would be a gloomstalker ranger. You get 10 feet extra movement your first round in combat, an extra attack and an extra d8 to that extra attack. You also get hunters mark, which will apply not just to your weapon attack, but also your bonus unarmed attacks in subsequent turns. Granted, there's no guarantee hunters mark will last to your next turn as it is a concentration spell. Another great spell for you is zephyr strike, which stops you from provoking opportunity attacks (especially with this spell the mobility feat becomes redundant).
kobold kensei with the sharpshooter feat using longbow and every turn spending a ki point to do the extra martial art die dmg so that way you can bonus action longbow shoot again (all at advantage due to kobold and min 16 dmg per shot if dex is 5 and you roll a 1). Get a Knave's eyepatch and you're golden.
Aside from Swift Quiver you can't take extra attacks with a longbow by using your bonus action afaik. Also because kobolds are small they would get disadvantage when using a longbow because longbows count as heavy. From what I can tell you can't choose your magic items in AL but either way you'll have to deal with sunlight sensitivity to you find a Knave's eyepatch.
With a shortbow you could deal 1d6+3(dex)+1d4(kensei shot) at 3rd level, so 3.5+3+2.5=8 dmg on average per round (and assuming you hit). At 6th level you'd deal 2d6+8(dexterity)+2d4 which is 2(3.5)+8+2(2.5)=20 dmg on average. You could also go for the sharpshooter feat at 4, and your average damage per round (at level 6) would go up to: 2d6+6(dexterity)+20(sharpshooter)+2d4 which would be: 2(3.5)+6+20+5=38 damage average per round, though this is with a -25% penalty to hit chance for both of your ranged attacks.
A level 6 kensei monk with a longsword on the other hand would deal: 2d10+8(dexterity)+2d6(flurry of blows)+8(dexterity) which is 2(5.5)+16+2(3.5)=34 damage per round on average. That is without a 25% penalty to hit, though unlike the archer you have to land all those attacks to deal that damage.
While it's a cost/benefit thing and you can probably calculate it, you have to decide if you want to put all your eggs in one basket or not. The archer will lose a lot of damage if one of their attacks miss, but deal great damage if both hit. The melee kensei on the other hand, will have many smaller baskets and can only compete if several hit.
Which kensei would be best? personally I'd go melee, having more attacks means more chances to deal damage if your enemy has a high AC. If the enemy has a low AC however, you might be better off with a kensei with sharpshooter.
While it's technically not optimal there's nothing stopping the monk with sharpshooter using a longsword in melee, only difference would be the ability increase you dropped for sharpshooter, so in that regard you'll have more utility with a bow.
The optional monk feature, Ki-Fueled Attack (in concert with the Kensei's Deft Strike) means a Bow wielding Kensei can shoot an arrow as a bonus action.
I think Archer Kensei is definitely the way to go for that subclass. They can switch effortlessly to a melee game with no investment beyond boosting their stats (like every other monk) and have an excellent ranged game to compensate for the most glaring hole in the base monk kit.
Actually now that I think about it more, Archer Kensei would be my suggestion. VHuman picking up sharpshooter, fighting initiate (archery), and maxing out dexterity before touching wisdom. It isn't the best stunning strike build, but I think that ability is overrated.
Mercy Monk is still my vote if you want a more classic melee oriented approach.
All very fair points, and thank you I forgot about the longbow won work for kobold. I had mentioned the 3rd bonus action shot from the optional tashas abilities to make an atk with a monk weapon if you use a ki point during your action. I was thinking to use the deft strike ability of the kensei (utilizing the shortbow as your kensei weapon to trigger the ki-fueld atk from tashas to deal the extra dmg and get the ba atk off too.
Can you do that? Since the AL allows you to use PHB+1 book, can you use the optional rules from different books?
But yeah, if you can use that feature, and you take the -5 to hit you can deal a whopping 49.5 dmg on average if all the attacks hit.
If I understand the math correctly the -5 to hit would lead to a -25% to the damage average though (in comparison to the melee variant) so your average would be 37,125 if you took the -5 to all attacks on any given turn.
AFAIK they did away with the the limiting +1 and gave full access to all.
I don't know. I did google it prior to posting, and found an allegedly current PDF that said PHB+1 was still in effect, but some TCOE rules - namely racial stat swapping and racial proficiency swapping - were now in place everywhere. I also believe it said Artificers were in place everywhere, but I'm not sure. I do remember it restricting Repeating Shot to only producing ammunition that could be purchased in some shop somewhere, with a similar restriction on creation bards that they could only make things theoretically purchasable.
Wizards of the Coast changes the guidance on D&D character creation for the Adventurers League -- and potentially your game too (blizzardwatch.com)
At the end of the day I don't think any of the monk subclasses change the game too much for any monk, and I doubt any of them are going to be noticeably stronger with the optional features enabled.
There are some monk subclasses that will be better in combat than the others, like the kensei, astral arms and the way of mercy monk, but their abilities are limited by the ki cost of their subclass abilities, aside from kensei's. Therefore the things that put them ahead in combat won't make much of a difference before later levels, but at that point the difference might be negligible.
That said, when I think optimizing I think damage, but there are monk subclasses that will give you abilities in other areas. The way of mercy monk may again be on the top here, allowing you to heal or deal bonus damage, and becoming quite an effective healer if you're willing to spend the ki-points. Another monk which is hardly optimal for combat is the way of shadow monk, I don't have much experience with it but I've played it in a couple of oneshots and I am currently playing one at low levels in a campaign, and it's tons of fun, and with a dedicated longsword my damage won't be too far behind a kensei's.