D&D 5e Monk Guide (2014)

Introduction

The Monk is D&D 5e's most mobile melee class and the only martial with access to stunning effects rivaling a spellcaster's save-or-suck spells. You are unarmored, which means you are building AC from two stats simultaneously (DEX and WIS). You are fueled by Ki, a per-short-rest resource that drives your most powerful abilities. And you gain movement speed bonuses every few levels until you are the fastest person in any encounter.

The Monk's defining feature is Stunning Strike. A stunned creature is incapacitated, fails all DEX and STR saves, and grants advantage on all attacks against it. Against a boss monster, landing one Stunning Strike can convert what would have been a grinding fight into a decisive victory for the party. That is the Monk's core value proposition: the capacity to completely neutralize the most dangerous enemy in an encounter with one Ki expenditure, on top of raw damage that is already competitive.

The challenges are real: the Monk is Multiple Ability Dependent (DEX, WIS, and CON all matter), Ki is a finite resource that requires short rest recovery to sustain, and the early levels feel weaker relative to other classes before Stunning Strike arrives at level 5. Once you reach Tier 2, the Monk's combination of mobility, control, and burst damage makes it one of the most rewarding classes to play.

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Disclaimer

• ● Red: Bad. Actively weak or superseded.
• ● Orange: Situational. Correct in specific builds or campaigns.
• ● Green: Good. Reliable and consistently strong.
• ● Blue: Fantastic. Best-in-class, almost always the right choice.

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Class Features

Martial Arts (1st Level) ●

Three benefits while unarmored and unarmed or using a Monk weapon: use DEX instead of STR for unarmed attacks, use Martial Arts die (d4 at levels 1-4, d6 at 5-10, d8 at 11-16, d10 at 17-20) instead of normal die if lower, and make one bonus action unarmed strike after attacking with an unarmed strike or Monk weapon. The bonus action unarmed strike is free: no Ki required. At level 1, your action economy advantage over other martials is already meaningful.

Unarmored Defense ●

AC = 10 + DEX modifier + WIS modifier. With DEX 18 and WIS 16 at level 1 via racial bonuses, AC 17. WIS investment serves double duty: increases spell save DC (for any Monk subclass with saving-throw features) and improves AC. This is the primary reason to keep WIS high even on non-spellcasting Monks.

Ki (2nd Level) ●

Ki points = Monk level. Recover all Ki on short rest. Ki save DC = 8 + proficiency + WIS modifier. Three core Ki expenditures:

• ● Flurry of Blows (1 Ki) - Two additional unarmed strikes as a bonus action after the Attack action.
• ● Patient Defense (1 Ki) - Take Dodge action as a bonus action. All attacks against you have disadvantage. Excellent defensive option.
• ● Step of the Wind (1 Ki) - Take Disengage or Dash as bonus action. Jump distance doubled. Essential for mobility builds.

Unarmored Movement (2nd Level) ●

+10 feet speed at level 2 (+15 at level 6, +20 at level 10, +25 at level 14, +30 at level 18). Standard walking speed of 30 feet becomes 40 at level 2, 60 at level 18. The Monk is faster than any character with any spell or ability at level 18 without special magic items.

Deflect Missiles (3rd Level) ●

Reaction: reduce incoming ranged weapon attack damage by 1d10 + DEX + Monk level. If reduced to 0, spend 1 Ki to throw it back (ranged attack, 1d10 + DEX + PB). Standard damage reduction is often significant (reducing a 15-HP arrow hit to negligible). The catch-and-return is flavorful and occasionally devastating.

Slow Fall (4th Level) ●

Reaction: reduce falling damage by 5 × Monk level. At level 4, negate up to 20 fall damage. At level 10, negate 50. Extremely useful in vertical campaigns (cliff fights, shafts, aerial encounters). The reaction cost means it competes with Deflect Missiles.

Extra Attack (5th Level) ●

Two attacks with the Attack action. At level 5, your standard action economy is: Attack (2 hits) + Flurry of Blows bonus action (2 hits) = 4 total strikes per round for 1 Ki. This is the Monk's first major power spike.

Stunning Strike (5th Level) ●

After hitting with a melee weapon attack, spend 1 Ki: target must succeed on a CON save (Ki save DC) or be stunned until end of your next turn. Stunned: incapacitated (no actions or reactions), automatically fails STR and DEX saves, attacks against it have advantage. Against a stunned target, your Flurry of Blows hits automatically (advantage), allies have advantage, and any STR or DEX save effects automatically succeed.

The stun turns a boss fight into a potential one-sided beating. The CON save is the most common strong save for high-CR creatures, so plan for it to fail 40-50% of the time, and budget Ki accordingly. Multiple Stunning Strike attempts in one round (one per Flurry of Blows hit) increase the odds of landing it.

Ki-Empowered Strikes (6th Level) ●

Unarmed strikes count as magical for overcoming resistance. Essential at Tier 2+ where many creatures are resistant to nonmagical bludgeoning damage.

Evasion (7th Level) ●

When subject to a DEX save for half damage: succeed to take no damage, fail to take half. This makes the Monk immune to fireball damage on a successful save (the most common AoE damage spell in the game). Against dragon breath weapons, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and other DEX-save damage: the Monk takes 0 on success and half on failure, always.

Stillness of Mind (7th Level) ●

Action to end one charmed or frightened effect on yourself. The action cost is real: spending your turn to remove a condition rather than attacking is a poor trade in most combats. Better than nothing but not a strong feature.

Purity of Body (10th Level) ●

Immunity to disease and poison (damage and conditions). Situationally significant in campaigns with many poisoning enemies.

Tongue of the Sun and Moon (13th Level) ●

Understand all spoken languages and be understood in all spoken languages. Campaign-level utility that is irrelevant in many scenarios.

Diamond Soul (14th Level) ●

Proficiency in all saving throws. The Monk already has STR and DEX proficiency (from class). Diamond Soul adds CON, WIS, INT, and CHA. Six saving throw proficiencies means the Monk resists essentially everything: magic, psychic, charm, domination. Combined with Evasion (near-immunity to DEX-save damage), the level-14 Monk is one of the hardest characters in D&D to debilitate.

Timeless Body (15th Level) ●

No longer age; don't need food or water. Cosmetic in most campaigns.

Empty Body (18th Level) ●

Spend 4 Ki to become invisible for 1 minute; resistance to all damage except force. Spend 8 Ki to cast Astral Projection without material components. Invisibility with all-damage resistance is a powerful defensive/offensive combination at level 18. Astral Projection is very campaign-specific.

Perfect Self (20th Level) ●

Regain 4 Ki when rolling initiative with 0 Ki. Ensures you always enter combat with at least one Stunning Strike and one Flurry of Blows available.

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Ability Scores

Recommended Array:

● DEX: Your primary combat stat: attack rolls, damage, initiative, and half of Unarmored Defense. Max to 20 first (ASIs at levels 4 and 8).

● WIS: Ki save DC and the other half of Unarmored Defense. WIS 16 makes your AC 10+4+3 = 17 with DEX 18. WIS also feeds Perception and Insight.

● CON: HP per level and CON saves. 14 minimum. Monks have a d8 hit die, the same as Cleric and Bard, making CON more important than it might seem.

● STR, INT, CHA: No Monk class feature uses these. Dump to 8-10.

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Races

● Wood Elf: +2 DEX, +1 WIS, 35-foot speed, Mask of the Wild, Darkvision. The WIS + DEX combination directly feeds both sides of Unarmored Defense and the primary attack stat. Combined with the Monk's Unarmored Movement, a Wood Elf Monk at level 6 moves 50 feet per turn. The best Monk race.

● Variant Human: +1 to two stats, extra skill, feat at level 1. Lucky or Mobile at level 1 dramatically improves early Monk play (before Stunning Strike arrives at level 5). The most valuable level-1 start if you want early-game power.

● Stout Halfling: +2 DEX, +1 CON, Lucky (reroll 1s), Brave (advantage vs. frightened), Halfling Nimbleness (move through any creature's space). Lucky as a racial passive is permanently useful. The CON bonus addresses the Monk's HP concern.

● Tabaxi (Volo's): +2 DEX, +1 CHA (wasted), Darkvision, Feline Agility (double speed until end of turn, 1/until no movement turn), and Cat's Claws (climb speed, unarmed strike d4). Feline Agility is a burst movement tool. Combined with Unarmored Movement, a Tabaxi Monk can cross enormous distances in one turn. Exceptional for mobility builds.

● Half-Elf: +2 CHA (wasted), +1 to two stats (DEX and WIS possible), extra skills. The CHA bonus is completely wasted on a Monk. Only relevant if the +1 DEX and +1 WIS bonuses are available.

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Skills

Monks choose 2 skills from: Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, Stealth.

● Acrobatics: DEX-based. The Monk's version of Athletics for DEX builds: escape grapples, avoid restraint, move through enemy spaces (with Halfling Nimbleness). Synergizes with the movement-focused class identity.

● Stealth: DEX-based. The Monk moves fastest and can strike from range before engaging. Stealth enables ambushes. Combined with the Monk's mobility, opening from stealth frequently means your Stunning Strike arrives before enemies act.

● Insight: WIS-based. High WIS + Insight proficiency makes the Monk an excellent judge of character. In social encounters, the Monk's Insight often rivals the Bard's despite different primary stats.

● Athletics: STR-based for Monks (no finesse granting DEX for Athletics). Useful if STR is non-dump; nearly worthless if STR is 8-10. Take Acrobatics instead if you dump STR.

● History and Religion: INT-based. Wasted on a Monk who dumps INT. Skip.

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Backgrounds

For a full ranking of all 13 PHB backgrounds and how each compares outside this class, see the D&D 5e 2014 Backgrounds Guide.

● Hermit: Medicine and Religion. Medicine (WIS-based) is useful; Religion (INT-based) is wasted. The Discovery feature is campaign-dependent. Thematically excellent for a contemplative martial artist.

● Urchin: Sleight of Hand and Stealth, Thieves' Tools proficiency, City Secrets feature. Stealth is excellent for the Monk. Urban survival flavor.

● Outlander: Athletics and Survival. Athletics is weaker for DEX Monks (STR-based) but Survival (WIS-based) is useful. Wanderer feature provides outdoor utility.

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Feats

● War Caster: Required for Monks using 4 Elements (concentration spells) or Way of Mercy spells. For standard Monks without spellcasting, this is irrelevant.

● Mobile: +10 speed (Monk already has the best speed, but more is more), Dash doesn't provoke opportunity attacks, creatures you attack can't make OAs against you that turn. The Monk who engages, delivers 4 strikes, and walks away without triggering OAs is the peak of the class's hit-and-run identity.

● Tough: +2 HP per level. The d8 hit die combined with the Monk's frontline positioning means HP is always relevant. 20 extra HP at level 10 extends the Monk's viability significantly.

● Alert: +5 initiative, can't be surprised. The Monk wants to go first: Stunning Strike on the boss before it acts changes the entire first round of combat. Alert plus high DEX makes you reliably go first.

● Sentinel: Stops enemy movement on OA, reaction attack when enemy attacks ally. Monks threaten a 5-foot reach, limiting Sentinel's zone of control. Better on reach-weapon Fighters.

● Great Weapon Master: Two-handed weapons only, and Monks are not proficient with heavy weapons. Unusable.

For the full level-by-level feat priority list, see our Best Feats for Monk guide.

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Subclasses

Ten Monastic Traditions, from the Player's Handbook through Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. The short version is below; the full feature-by-feature breakdown of all ten, with ki costs, build advice and the comparisons between them, lives in the Monk Subclasses guide.

Weapons

● Unarmed Strike: The Monk's primary weapon. Scales with Martial Arts die and benefits from all Monk features. At level 11, d8 unarmed strikes with DEX attacks. Never needs money, can't be disarmed, always available.

● Shortsword (d6 finesse): Best martial Monk weapon. DEX-based, d6 damage, light (works with TWF), and available from level 1.

● Quarterstaff (d6/d8 versatile): Simple Monk weapon. Two-handed for d8 damage when not shield-carrying, one-handed for d6 otherwise.

● Dagger: d4 damage, finesse and thrown. Poor damage but versatile. The thrown option is occasionally useful for a Monk who needs a ranged attack (otherwise use Stunning Strike to close distance).

● Greatsword / Greataxe: Heavy, two-handed. Monks have no heavy weapon proficiency and cannot use Monk features with heavy weapons. Off limits.

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Armor

● Unarmored Defense: The only correct choice for a standard Monk. With DEX 18 and WIS 16: AC 17. With DEX 20 and WIS 18: AC 18. Higher than any medium armor option for a class without heavy armor proficiency.

● Any Armor: Destroys Unarmored Defense and Martial Arts. Never wear armor on a Monk.

● Bracers of Defense (Magic Item): +2 AC while not wearing armor or a shield. Excellent if available: AC 20 with DEX 20 and WIS 18. Not a choice you can plan for, but accept immediately if offered.

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Multiclassing

Multiclassing requirement: DEX 13 and WIS 13.

● Rogue 1-3: Expertise in Stealth or Athletics, Cunning Action (Dash/Disengage/Hide bonus action). Expertise in Stealth gives the best possible Stealth modifier for ambush-oriented Shadow Monks. Cunning Action supplements the Monk's bonus action options in specific circumstances.

● Fighter 1-2: CON save proficiency (concentration), Action Surge, Fighting Style. For Monks who want occasional burst rounds, Action Surge + Flurry of Blows = 6 hits in one turn. CON save proficiency helps Kensei Monks using Sharpen the Blade in concentration scenarios.

● Cleric 1: One Domain feature, armor proficiency (but you can't use it without losing Monk features), WIS-based spellcasting. Very limited value, since losing Unarmored Defense makes the armor irrelevant.

● Barbarian: Rage prevents spellcasting; Unarmored Defense does not stack between classes (use only one). The two most notable melee features are fundamentally incompatible.

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Example Build: The Astral Juggernaut (Way of the Astral Self)

Race: Wood Elf (+2 DEX, +1 WIS, speed 35)

Starting Stats: DEX 16 (14+2), WIS 15 (14+1), CON 14, STR 10, INT 8, CHA 8

Tactics: At level 3, spend 1 Ki to summon Arms at the start of combat. You now make all attacks at 10-foot reach with WIS modifier (+2 initially) for force damage. On your turn: Attack action (2 hits at reach 10) + Flurry of Blows bonus action (2 more hits). After hitting with any of these, spend 1 Ki for Stunning Strike on the highest-priority target. Once stunned, your Flurry's second hit is auto-advantaged, your allies' attacks next round are all advantaged, and the boss fails STR/DEX saves for any save-or-effect spells the Wizard casts. Body of the Astral Self at level 11 absorbs ~6 damage per melee hit as a reaction. Combined with Evasion (no damage on successful DEX saves), the Astral Monk is one of the most naturally durable frontline fighters in the game.

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Subclass Index

Every Monastic Tradition is covered in full in the D&D 5e Monk Subclasses guide: features level by level, ki costs, ability scores, races, feats and multiclass options for all ten.

Final Notes

The Monk is the most demanding class in D&D 5e to build and play at a high level, because Ki management, Stunning Strike timing, and mobility positioning all require conscious turn-by-turn decisions rather than a fragile chassis. The reward is a character who moves faster than anyone else, can completely shut down an encounter's most dangerous participant, and becomes increasingly unkillable across the tier progression.

Astral Self resolves the MAD problem better than any other subclass. Open Hand is the most polished standard option. Drunken Master is the most mobile and reactive. Long Death is the most durable. Shadow is the most thematic in dungeon and darkness settings.

Whatever Tradition you choose: max DEX first, take War Caster or Alert, and save Stunning Strike for the enemy your party most needs to stop. The Monk who disciplines their Ki spending will outlast, outmove, and outmaneuver every other character at the table at levels 11 and above.

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