The Monk's turn is built from a simple question: does this round call for more attacks, a safer position, or a control attempt? Focus Points turn that question into Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, Step of the Wind, and later Stunning Strike. The class rewards players who watch the battlefield instead of spending the same bonus action every turn.
Dexterity drives attacks and damage, while Dexterity and Wisdom both support Unarmored Defense. Wisdom also sets the saving throw DC for Focus Point features. A Monk can work with many weapons, but its identity stays centered on mobile unarmed combat and the ability to change positions without abandoning pressure.
Monk basics
| Decision | Source-supported guidance |
|---|---|
| Ability scores | Prioritize Dexterity for attacks and damage, then Wisdom for Armor Class and Focus Point save DCs. Constitution still matters for a d8 Hit Die. |
| Armor and Shield | Martial Arts and Unarmored Defense work while you are not wearing armor or wielding a Shield. |
| Monk weapons | Use Simple Melee weapons or Light Martial Melee weapons. Martial Arts lets you use Dexterity with those weapons and Unarmed Strikes. |
| Level 1 turn | Make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action after an eligible attack. The Martial Arts die begins at d6. |
| Level 2 mobility | Unarmored Movement adds 10 feet while unarmored and without a Shield, then increases with Monk level. |
| Level 3 choice | Select one of four Player's Handbook subclasses or the Arcana Unleashed Mystic Arts option. |
At level 1, Martial Arts and Unarmored Defense establish the class's baseline: use Dexterity for eligible attacks and damage, then keep Dexterity and Wisdom high enough for both offense and Armor Class. At level 2, Unarmored Movement makes the Monk's position a resource rather than an afterthought. Use the extra speed to reach the target the group is already pressuring, leave a dangerous space, or get to an ally who needs protection. Extra speed pays off when it solves a concrete positioning problem for the group.
Build the ability scores around your subclass
| Ability | What it supports | Practical priority |
|---|---|---|
| Dexterity | Eligible weapon and Unarmed Strike attacks, damage, and Unarmored Defense | Start here for every Monk. It supports your ordinary turn before you spend a Focus Point. |
| Wisdom | Unarmored Defense and Focus Point save DCs | Keep it close enough to Dexterity that control features and Armor Class remain dependable. It is also the spellcasting ability for Mystic Arts. |
| Constitution | Hit Points and Constitution saving throws | A Monk still has a d8 Hit Point Die and often works near the enemy. Improve it when a fragile front-line turn is the recurring problem. |
| Other abilities | Character skills and some subclass-adjacent choices | Treat them as character and campaign decisions, not mandatory Monk statistics. |
Focus Points decide the turn
At level 2, Monk's Focus gives you Focus Points equal to your Monk level. You regain all expended points after a Short or Long Rest. Uncanny Metabolism can restore all expended points when you roll Initiative, then gives you Hit Points based on Monk level and a Martial Arts die; it returns after a Long Rest.
Flurry of Blows spends 1 Focus Point for two Unarmed Strikes as a Bonus Action. Patient Defense uses a Bonus Action for Disengage, or spends 1 point to Disengage and Dodge. Step of the Wind uses a Bonus Action for Dash, or spends 1 point to Dash and Disengage while doubling jump distance for the turn. These are different answers to different board states, not a fixed rotation.
At level 10, Heightened Focus makes each spend more substantial: Flurry can make three Unarmed Strikes, Patient Defense grants Temporary Hit Points, and Step of the Wind can carry a willing nearby creature. That is a good time to revisit how often the party needs damage, escape, or a rescue.
Hot Take: Save Focus Points for the moment they change positioning, survivability, or an enemy's next turn. A Monk gets more from a well-timed defensive or control choice than from treating every point as another attack.
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Start BuildingFeatures that change your tactics
| Monk level | Feature | Table use |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense, Monk's Focus, and Unarmored Movement | Establish the Dexterity-and-Wisdom foundation, bonus-action unarmed strike, Focus Point pool, and movement advantage. |
| 3 | Deflect Attacks | Use your Reaction against an attack that deals Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage. If you reduce it to 0, spend a Focus Point to redirect the force at a nearby creature. |
| 4 | Ability Score Improvement and Slow Fall | Improve a core ability or select a qualifying feat; use your Reaction to reduce fall damage by five times your Monk level. |
| 5 | Extra Attack and Stunning Strike | Stunning Strike is once per turn after a Monk-weapon or Unarmed Strike hit. A failed Constitution save Stuns the target; a success still halves its Speed and gives Advantage to the next attack against it before your next turn. |
| 6 | Empowered Strikes | Choose Force damage or the Unarmed Strike's normal damage type when your Unarmed Strike deals damage. |
| 7 | Evasion | A successful Dexterity save against an effect that normally deals half damage deals no damage, and a failure deals half damage. |
| 8 and 12 | Ability Score Improvements | Reassess Dexterity, Wisdom, Constitution, and a feat that answers a recurring table problem. |
| 9 | Acrobatic Movement | Move along vertical surfaces and across liquids during your turn while unarmored and without a Shield. |
| 10 | Self-Restoration | Remove Charmed, Frightened, or Poisoned from yourself at the end of each turn. |
| 13-15 | Deflect Energy, Disciplined Survivor, Perfect Focus | Deflect Energy expands Deflect Attacks to any damage type; Disciplined Survivor gives all saving throw proficiencies and a Focus Point reroll; Perfect Focus can restore points at Initiative. |
| 16-17 | Ability Score Improvement and subclass feature | Finish the ability or feat plan, then use the subclass's final feature to reinforce its established role. |
| 18-20 | Superior Defense, Epic Boon, Body and Mind | The capstone stretch adds a Focus Point defensive mode, an Epic Boon or qualified feat, and increases Dexterity and Wisdom by 4 to a maximum of 25. |
Stunning Strike is especially useful when Stunned would deny an important enemy turn or when the successful-save result still helps the party focus its attacks. The feature has a real resource cost and is limited to once per turn, so identify the priority target before you spend the point.
Choose a Monk subclass
The Player's Handbook presents Warrior of Mercy, Warrior of Shadow, Warrior of the Elements, and Warrior of the Open Hand. Arcana Unleashed adds Warrior of the Mystic Arts. Every option below has a distinct job; choose the one whose turn pattern fits the campaign.
Compare the subclass turn patterns
| Subclass | Early decision | Choose it when | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior of Mercy | Spend Focus Points to turn a hit or Flurry strike into harm or healing | The party benefits from a mobile character who can switch between pressure and support | Healing uses the same Focus Point economy as your core techniques. |
| Warrior of Shadow | Use darkness and teleportation to control approach lanes | The campaign offers stealth, dim light, and useful teleport destinations | Its strongest positioning tools lose value in open, bright encounters. |
| Warrior of the Elements | Maintain Elemental Attunement for reach, elemental damage, and forced movement | Reach and area control solve the problems your table sees most often | Setup and burst options compete with other Focus Point spends. |
| Warrior of the Mystic Arts | Exchange some strikes for Sorcerer cantrips or spells | You want spell-and-strike turns and are comfortable preparing spells | It adds spell slots and preparation to the Monk's existing Focus Point choices. |
| Warrior of the Open Hand | Apply control choices to Flurry of Blows hits | You want to push, knock down, or deny reactions without changing the core Monk loop | Its value depends on targets and allies having room to exploit forced movement and Prone. |
Warrior of Mercy
Mercy gives you two level 3 choices built around the Martial Arts die and Wisdom. Hand of Harm spends a Focus Point after an Unarmed Strike hits to add Necrotic damage once per turn. Hand of Healing spends a point as a Magic action to heal a creature you touch, or replaces one Flurry of Blows strike without an additional point for the healing.
At level 6, Physician's Touch adds Poisoned to Hand of Harm and lets Hand of Healing end several conditions. Level 11 lets Flurry replace both strikes with Hand of Healing and makes Hand of Harm on a Flurry hit free. Choose Mercy when the party benefits from a Monk who can change an offensive turn into immediate support, knowing that its healing still competes with other Focus Point decisions.
Warrior of Shadow
Shadow starts with Darkness, improved Darkvision, and Minor Illusion. Darkness costs 1 Focus Point and can be moved while it lasts, while Shadowy Figments uses Wisdom for Minor Illusion. At level 6, Shadow Step moves you between dim-light or darkness spaces as a Bonus Action and gives Advantage on the next melee attack before the turn ends.
This subclass makes terrain and lighting part of your plan. Improved Shadow Step removes its lighting requirement for a Focus Point at level 11, and Cloak of Shadows creates a powerful but expensive level 17 darkness-state option. Choose it when the campaign regularly gives you darkness, stealth routes, and places to teleport into rather than only open, brightly lit fights.
Warrior of the Elements
Elemental Attunement costs 1 Focus Point at the start of your turn and lasts for 10 minutes. It extends your Unarmed Strike reach, lets those strikes deal an elemental damage type, and can pull or push a target that fails its Strength save. Manipulate Elements adds the Elementalism cantrip using Wisdom.
Elemental Burst spends 2 Focus Points for an area attack at level 6, and later features add fly and swim speeds, resistance, movement damage, and an additional Unarmed Strike damage rider. Pick Elements when reach, forced movement, and elemental damage help solve the encounters your group actually faces. Its main tradeoff is that its setup and area option draw on the same Focus Point pool as your core techniques.
Warrior of the Mystic Arts
Warrior of the Mystic Arts from Arcana Unleashed adds two Sorcerer cantrips, prepared Sorcerer spells, and spell slots. Wisdom is the spellcasting ability. At level 6, Mystic Fighting Style can replace an Unarmed Strike in your Attack action with an action-cast Sorcerer cantrip, while Mystic Focus converts between spell slots and Focus Points within its stated limits.
Focused Strike at level 11 gives a target affected by your Stunning Strike Disadvantage on saving throws against your spells until your next turn. At level 17, Improved Mystic Fighting Style can replace two Flurry of Blows strikes with an eligible level 1 or 2 Sorcerer spell. Choose this option for a Monk who wants spell and strike decisions on the same turn; the tradeoff is tracking spell preparation and a second resource pool.
Warrior of the Open Hand
Open Hand Technique applies an effect when you hit with a Flurry of Blows attack. You can stop Opportunity Attacks, force a Strength save to push the target up to 15 feet, or force a Dexterity save to knock it Prone. The first decision is usually tactical: protect a retreat, move an enemy, or create a position your melee allies can exploit.
Wholeness of Body offers repeatable self-healing based on the Martial Arts die and Wisdom. Fleet Step at level 11 lets you use Step of the Wind immediately after another Bonus Action, and Quivering Palm becomes a powerful level 17 Focus Point option. Choose Open Hand when you want the subclass to sharpen the Monk's existing movement and unarmed-control game instead of adding a separate spell or support package.
Class Feats
Dexterity and Wisdom both support core Monk features, so an Ability Score Improvement can be as important as a new feat. A Dexterity-based general feat such as Speedy can improve movement and make Opportunity Attacks against you harder, while Resilient can add a saving throw proficiency you do not already have. The right choice depends on the ability score you can improve and the saves that have challenged the character at your table.
For a feat-by-feat comparison, use the D&D 2024 Monk feat guide. Then return to the D&D 2024 class guide hub to compare the Monk's mobile martial role with other classes.
