@@CyberPunkBadGuy Not sure anyone can make that assessment yet without having played the final version. Might be that they turn out to be one of the best classes, but for now I wouldn't just assume that it is the case. Fighter and Barbarian also got loads of great changes in this book and all the other classes also got mostly buffed and not nerfed so I don't think there is any evidence currently that monk suddenly jumps to the top of the list. Let's wait and see shall we...
@@mojin7470 Everything is already published. I have been playing with the one dnd for a long time now, even last weak. All the changes they made in the UA they kept or even improved for monk. this is he final build, the other classess buff DO NOT COMPARE. This is the final version mate, the RAW base monk class is extremly strongn NO SUBCLASS NEEDED. Fighter and barbarian got nothing good in compared to monk. Fighter got, some more second wind (3/) move when you second wind (level 5) weapon mastery ( Ricoulous cause you wont be swapping 5 weapons at a time) and a better indominatable (which was bad before now descent) Barbarian got a better rage which is good And a Relentless endurance level 11 which is great, thats it. Meanwhile monk get about 10 new things that beat barbarian and fighter in DAMAGE , MOVEMENT , DURABILITY AND UTILITY AND SCALING. and its evidence from low level going up. Monk ARE the best martial, And I wont even mention the joke that is rogue,
@@CyberPunkBadGuy Im not really sure if you're trolling or being serious, cuz it could be both but if you're serious then please calm down you dont need to shout and scream like a maniac. And if you are actually trolling, then idk... good for you I guess... Now a few things in case that you are actually being serious: 1. Its not called OneDnD, OneDnD was a filler name that they used in the very beginning of the playtest and that they have dropped a long time ago. Its still just called DnD 5e. Its the same edition just modernised. 2. Where would the final versions be published? Can you give me a source? The only people who should have access to the final versions (afaik) are influencers who got the preview from Wizards to make videos about it. Everything else is still in preorder phase, so how would it already be published? Unless of course someone stole the data and illegally uploaded it to the internet, which I have no knowledge of. 3. I only know the stuff thats been done in the Playtest and from the Data we have from there, and to my knowledge during playtesting Monks did not deal more damage than Fighters and Barbarians nor are they tankier than Fighters or Barbarians. The strength of the Monk lies elsewhere, not in its damage or tankyness. Based on the playtest I would rate the Monk as about equal to the Fighter and the Barbarian, just in different gameplay aspects, so all 3 of them seem like decent classes. 4. You said in your original comment, that Monks are now one of the strongest classes in the game. To me that means something like Top 3 of all classes in the game. Now theres a problem with that. I do not think that Monks beat Fullcasters. For all we know all the Martial classes got stronger, but so did all the Caster classes. So even if the Monk actually was stronger than the Barb or the Fighter as you say, that does not make them better than all the Caster classes which all got stronger as well. 5. I agree that Rogue for sure is probably the weakest combat class in the game now, but Rogue was never about being powerful in combat because the Rogue had loads of other use-cases and gaps to fill within an adventuring party. So I personally don't like comparing Rogues to other classes by combat power since this is not their main purpose. I hope you are able to react to this comment like a civilized person and answer calmly and not completely lose your shit.
Quick side note, since it wasn't specifically mentioned in the beginning of the video, is that Flurry of Blows also got the Attack Action requirement removed, so it has the same improvement as Martial Arts.
oh nice gives more flexibility, helps with multi class with a caster a ton also seemingly small change but it will be large in practice for caster multi monks
Also, it feels like combining this with the way grapple and shove work in 2024E (does it really not have a name???) could be pretty devastating. You could knock down up to four enemies and then the rest of your melee guys would obliterate them with advantage, or you'd have four chances to drag an enemy into a fire pit.
5:59 They capped it at 25 to prevent you from getting a +8 in dex or wis with the epic boon asi while not making the +1 from an epic boon feat useless in case you want to keep going past level 20 with more epic boons
@@2MeterLP The way they’ve been explaining epic boons, they seem to be a way to keep going past level 20. So while being able to go up to 25 doesn’t matter if you stop at level 20, it does if you want to round it up later
It's stupid that they even clarify the maximum instead of just saying your maximum increases by 4 too. (And just do that for any feature that lets you go above the normal max of 20)
Using Flurry of Blows to knock an enemy prone and grapple them with a single bonus action is kinda awesome, if the new Open Hand is comparable to the pld one, you could potentially prone and grapple two creatures at the same time if I interpret this correctly
I'm perhaps one of the most outspoken Monk defender of everyone I know, and this might sound weird but I am actually glad they did not change its hit dice to D10. I think a lot of people run on a misconception that the Monk needs to be directly compared to the Fighter or the Barbarian, but I do not think this is true; their job is not to simply stand in place and absorb hits, it is to strategically navigate the battlefield and find where they can deal the most damage with the least retaliation. Monks are a complex, high-skill class whose power is not strictly in their damage output, but in their flexibility and sheer action output. They have the unparalleled ability to switch up and pinch hit for any objective on the map that they need to; they can rush down key targets, leap to hard-to-reach places, and they can even tank in a pinch! I personally like the changes they've made, and I would have been saddened if they chose to just turn Monk into a Fighter variant rather than lean into its unique strengths.
But if you want to play that d10 tank, you can play a fighter and take the unarmed fighting style!!!! So if you want to play the buff guy punching everyone, with the high AC and high AC, you absolutely can!
I'm a monk main and I've always been of the opinion that they are a melee single-target-control class. Calling them the weakest class because they put out the least DPS is dumb, this isn't a single player game. If I'm able to B E A N N O Y I N G to the high value targets and waste their turns to try to deal with me, I am a much more effective party member than if I were to try to go full melee DPS. Control casters are best at crowds, but an A N N O Y I N G monk will burn through legendary resistances faster than any other class while still having (depending on archetype,) at least one way to get out of dodge.
Don't need a d10 to tank anyways. Patient defense, high stats already make u an absolute unit. Plus had archetypes like long way of death which meant u never died lol
The 2014 Monk was way too squishy to be a melee class, because all its good defensive features came in way too late, so I was of the opinion that the Monk needed a higher hit die to equalize. But with the new rules in the 2024 Book, I agree that the d10 hit-die hurts the theme and flavor of the monk with the way they chose to go. I always thought that to improve the Monk from 2014, they needed to focus on one thing that the Monk was meant to be the best at... Either they make him super high DPS but low tankyness, or they make him high tankyness but low damage, or they make him super high-control and mobility but low damage and tankyness and really hone into one of those aspects. And I think the way they chose to go in the end is really cool, making the monk's speciality its mobility and tactical aspect, but also boosting its damage and tankyness in slight but meaningful ways without making them the Monks defining features. I think this Iteration of the Monk can definitely be accepted as a solid Mid-Tier class on par with classes like the Fighter or the Barbarian in the value that they bring to a party, but focussing on a very different overall skillset.
@@shaness112233I don’t think of the pros of monks you listed are exclusive to monks except for the burning legendary resistances part, which is mostly active during higher levels. At middling levels and lower levels, Barbarians are literally THE class for wasting enemy’s turns. Monks just get outshine by every other class. And even with a Monk’s movement, ESPECIALLY in a teamwork setting are they more useless, because if you run away, the enemies can just refocus their attacks on another creature. Monks don’t have Compel Duel either so… The stunning strike uses CON, which is bound to be higher in single target enemies…
You state that the problem of not having enough focus points in the early game is still unaddressed, but that's not true. Being able to recharge all of your points when you roll initiative is one thing but also not having to use your points to disengage or Dash is another. So you're not only using less points in general, but you are also having a ability to recharge the points. I finished a campaign using playtest rules that had a monk in it and I can confirm that he rarely if ever ran out of focus points, and I run a mixture of story based sessions and dungeons. In the dungeons, with about four fights in it, he could easily get through three of those fights having full focus points on each one. Then he just need another short rest on the fourth one.
The problem is that old monk was allowed to do cool "monk" stuff a stupid low amount of times, where rogues had similar things for free. The change we have right now definitly adress the issue of having to use your Ki for defense or atack making it so you can do "cool" monk stuff more often, but still gives you a ridiculously limited amount of Ki to play in lower levels, still not adressing that problem, and at higher levels most classes dont have that problem as they can compensate with a lot more stuff. Personally i dont se why Monks can just add their Wis modifier to the pool of Ki at level 2. That way thei wll have around 4/5 ki points wich bumps up the stuff they can do, not gimp them to much or force them to save ki points ONLY for the clearly upcomig big battle, and allows them to have more fun with their stuff. Monk definitly got a lot of bumps up but could still be better and more fun without going overboard
@@urbanassassin26 Can confirm this. Been playing the playtest myself at lower levels. It feels so much more alive despite the number of ki points not changing
@@PiscesAustrinus You can do cool "monk" stuff without using focus points. Monk bonus action at level 2 has 3 different options (5 if you count all unarmed strike options) for doing cool "monk" stuff and they do not require spending a focus point. I am satisfied saving my focus point for critical moments (similar to how I'd save action surge on a fighter) because I can already do so much without even spending a point. Also within 3 levels, the low focus point problem disappears completely.
Fair point! It just feels like a bit of tight squeeze in the early game imho if you are an elements monk to use 1 ki to enter your elemental attunement and then only be able to flurry once and deflect attacks once before running dry
With Deflect Attack, I got this strange image of a monk ally making an attack on them with a low damage weapon, like a dagger or sling, and the monk converting that into something more powerful on their enemy.
I think Deflect Attacks/energy is limited to attacks so something like Mind Sliver isn't something that can be deflected since it is a saving throw, not an attack.
@@Marabcd315you possibly can't beacause disintegrate is at minimum is 50 dmg(base 40 + all 1 on 10d6 is 10) and monk ability let's him negate only d10 + dexetery mod. + monk lvl, so the maximum here is 35...
Not having to spend key on dashing and disengaging is going to GREATLY extend your focus points compared to 2014. Having to spend ki points on a requirement to survive at a d8 hit die is the biggest reason they were blown through so quickly at low level.
also it is missing here. you make very good summaries of this stuff it would be a shame if i had to look it up elsewhere now you mentioned it I want it from you
I think the focus points at low levels seems pretty fair. Sure you can only do 2 things per encounter at level 2, but full spellcasters only have 3 level 1 spell slots at this level and almost none of them will have the action economy that monks have at this point in the game. On top of that, the monks will get those 2 focus points back at the start of the 2nd encounter of the day, which no other caster except wizards can match with their spell slots.
@@caiusdrakegaming8087 I have read a few comments similar, my idea is to homebrew the 'per long rest' of the feature to short instead. To me it seems kinda strange that they recover all focus from resting but not the feature related to focus regen. Although strange I do still see several arguments about why lorewise it might be. Perhaps it's strenuous to the body/mind? In that case id argue allowing it multiple times/short(or long) rest, but with every subsequent use there is a accumulating chance for a level of exhaustion.
@@caiusdrakegaming8087 yes but at the same time in many tables short rests are pretty rare. Maybe at your tables it’s a small/insignificant buff but in most groups I’ve been a part of, that feature would be very impactful
I don't think the focus point issue is still unaddressed, they reduced the need of focus points by making base features usable independent of those points
Yeah! Monk can now move like monk should and you son`t nesessary need docus to basic things… In the last i was forsed to take one level of burglar to get disengage… no it is not a must… but still viable option.
I am playing as a four element monk in a new Campagne. We had our first fight last session and all this saving Throws for moving opponents around was way easier than expexted. Still felt dynamic and didnt took to much time. Would recommend, very fun subclass😇
One thing that I think often gets missed in discussions about the monk is their maneuverability. Monks were always better used as skirmishers than frontline fighters and with the new changes to step of the wind they are now one of if not THE best mage killers in the game. First turn you can just dash right past that pesky wall of skeletons and start laying in to the necromancer. I don't care how high your con save is that concentration isn't standing up to 5 attacks per round.
It's even better than that, you can drag the necromancer right back to the Barbarian with your new grappling abilities. Nothing can get away from your party. It's amazing.
I mean, you *should* care about how high their save is because when you get to +9 (which my wizard will achieve at level 12), it becomes impossible for you to fail your concentration saving throw if each attack does 21 or less damage, since the DC is just 10. However even in such scenarios Stunning Strike's much higher DC gives a good chance to break concentration in addition to all of the other obvious benefits.
@@gloryrod86 I'd also say with all the buffs the Fighter has received that the Monk and the Fighter both seem of similar power now. Fighter probably higher damage and higher tankyness but Monk way more mobility and control in general, so I think it balances out.
Boney got some good buffs. I especially like his warrior of the spider subclass (aka the "SPIDER-MONK"). It was funny when Jeremy Crawford talked about changes to the monk by using the same sports car analogy that Bonewizard did.
I think Cloak of Shadows is pretty good, because you don't have to cast the Darkness spell that can hinder your allies because instead you're just "shrouding yourself in darkness," you can move through Bright Light while invisible as long as you don't end your turn there, and you don't break the invisibility for attacking. Sure on that turn you give up the attack action, but for the remaining 9 turns, you get all your attacks with advantage unless they can see you while you're invisible. And the remaining 9 turns being able to do 5 attacks without spending any focus points is... pretty strong.
Here's an idea for flurry of blows to streamline: If you get 4 attacks, you make up to four rolls. On your first successful roll, the remaining attacks are considered hits (if the roll was critical, only the first attack is considered critical, the remaining hits are normal). In this way, if you miss a lot, you will make several rolls, but if you're hitting on the first attack, you save the trouble of rolling additional its. I think this streamlines pretty nicely. Yes, your 'auto-hits' from the subsequent attacks will not have the opportunity to crit, but you also get through rolls and damage rolls much faster, which over the course of the game could be hundreds of rolls. It really matters.
the reason the capstone caps at 25 is that a lot of the epic level feats will give a +1 to a stat, so if you get your dex to 20, then at level 19 you take the recommended feat that (among other effects) bumps your strength or dex up by 1, then the capstone would be less affective to you because you functionally only get +3, if it capped at 24 it'd be a big disincentive to bring your dex to 20
4:18 Stunning strike is not the same - in 2014 it lasted until the END of your next turn. It's been changed to only last until the start of your next turn.
@@MagusAgrippa8 exactly. Where the barb is the uncontrolable sheer brute force, the monk is the wise and disciplined warrior who elevated combat to the state of art
So a level 17 Shadow Monk can just walk out of prison or even a force cage, while invisible for 10 rounds and furry of blows are effectivly free while in this state with advantage. It is also a good question, if the partial incoporability offers immunity/resistance to attacks, where the attacker is disadvanteged and needs to find the monk. The Warlock invocation Devil's Sight can see through the darkness and accessible via feats. Dealing with invisbility requires different spells and abilities to overcome than darkness. With 2 different ways to become unseeable the DM has to hand out True Sight and Blindsight like candy to opponents.
I'm playing a UA monk right now, and it's been a blast! All it took was a couple Uncommon items and I have the same DPR as our Echo Knight. And even before I got those I was still doing just fine as an off-tank.
Thanks, mane! I've been waiting for this. My first intro to D&D was 5e, and Four Elements sounded so cool to a noob. It was rough. Homebrew helped. Made it to lv 11. Still runnin' that character. I'll probably pick and choose.
But how does it matter, I just looks nicer. You still only benefit from the 24, so capping it at that and just write "up to a max of 24" would do the same, since the +3 you'd get does exactly the same.
Well you wouldn't get the full +4 promised by the feature, and any other bonuses to ability score, like epic boons post 20, would care about the additional point. There's no harm in letting it go to 25 if that's how the math works out
At this point Laser Llama should be making their own book. Those classes are amazing. I'll be curious to see your take on the sorcerer. While wild magic got a bit of a buff, you brought up a point about the elements monk that I mentioned about wild sorcery: bogging down the game. You're to roll on the wild magic table, then you roll again for an additional sub-table for the number you just rolled. The joke of it taking 10 minutes before it's your turn again absolutely fits the narrative here if you have a wild magic sorcerer and elements monk forcing saves on every attack.
@@AguionStryke I don't think it's +10ft because then all elemental monks would have a 15ft range, but they don't. Your range becomes 10 instead of 5 and the Bugbear adds 5.
@@TitanBait that's the thing, it says 10 ft greater rather than 10ft or 5 greater, which is how astral self currently reads. also this is just improved fang of the fire snake from four elements and that one also reads increase by 10 rather than to 10
@@AguionStryke May I ask where you are reading that? I can't find anything that has the text of the elemental monk and the wording of the current Astral Self says "When you make an unarmed strike with the arms on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal."
@@TitanBait which is the exact same wording as here, but here it says 10 feet greater, hence 15 ft range also I'm reading on 5e tools, fire snake is one of the four elements monk spell things that I forget the name and will not go open the site again to check
A new perspective why 5e Monks are good in combat A Tier 1 (lv 1 to 4) barbarian in rage with a greatsword will deal an average 12 damage (2d6+3+2). A monk can make 2 atacks since lv 1 without spendind resources. The average damage of this 2 attacks combined is 13 (1d8+3+1d4+3). Using resources (ki) to make 3 attacks in one turn make the monk damage near a barbarian with Great Weapon Master Feat. The average subclass (open hand) will buff a bit the monk attack in control ways. The best subclass, Mercy Monk, let the tier 1 monk use healing word with half of a bonus action. So, people often like Tier 1 Monks in 5e, because, at this levels, they are a good DPS. Tier 2 (lv 5 to 10) is widely considered where the game (5e) have the best balance. When I imagine the first LOTR movie, I imagine tier 2 characters protecting the Hobbits. Starting at this Tier people often dislike the monks and start to say that they are a weak class, even weaker at tier 3 (lv 11 to 16) or 4 (lv 17 to 20). There are two reasons for that: 1 -The first reason is that they do not realize that, starting at level 5, the best feature of the monk is no longer martial arts or flurry of blows, is the stunning strike. Starting at lv 5, as a Monk in 5e, you are no longer a DPS, you are a Control Specialist. Most of the times in Tier 2, a Monk should save Ki points for performing more stunning strikes and should not spend them to increase your damage with flurry of blows. What makes a Lv 11 monk a lot stronger than a Lv 5 monk? Is that a Lv 11 Monk can use stunning strike 3 times every round of the combat. That multiple use of stunning strike is so powerfull that got nerfed both by Baldur's Gate 3 game and by Jeremy in the next DnD edition. My extra hint would be: go use the lv 4 and lv 8 upgrades to get Wisdom 20. 2 - The second reason is an unfortunate disconection between the average adventuring day setted in the Dungeon Master's Guide and the way Masters prepare the game session in average. In the DMG we have: 3 to 4 medium to hard encounters in the morning, with a short rest between then + 3 to 4 medium to hard encounters in the afternoon with a short rest between then. So you would have 2 short rests between combats before you have a long rest. So the monk ki points should get replenished 3 times more often than a feature that only replanish in long rests (examples that only replanishes in long rest: the sorcerer spell slots and the sorcery points). Most of the DMs use one or none short rests between long rests or full recoveries. That reality unbalance the classes, making classes that have its major resources replanished in short rest weaker than they were designed to be. My extra hint is: Homebrew that the short rest does not exist and adapt what is linked to it. For things that should be replanished 3 times more such as ki points, I just double. Lv 2 Monk have 4 ki points. And the HP of every PC is calculated like they have half more levels (rounded up).
@@cjirwin867I remember there being at least 1 or 2 that would actually interact with forced movement from the spells of 5E I don't know if it will stay that way in OneDND
I love the shoutout for laserllama. His reworks seriously bang. If you ever wanna play a martial class but also want to have fun I cannot recommend them enough.
What was missed re Body and Mind (and likely Barbarian's Primal Champion) is a detail of the Epic Boon feats among which all characters choose at level 17 (RAW in a class). Each EB feat raises one Ability Score by one point, in addition to any other effects it grants. So far, so normal. The new, and unusual, bit comes in the fact that this increase can raise the given Ability Score to a maximum of 30. There are a few assumptions hidden behind this, but the biggest (and most relevant here) is that a character's Primary Ability Score(s) will have been raised to 20 by the time they gain access to their (assumption: first) EB feat at lvl. 17, raising the given Ability Score to a total at that point of 21. Thus, the Monk (and Barbarian) capstone feature Ability Score maximum limit raise of 25, rather than 24. Admittedly, the >effective< difference is likely nil, since there's no mechanical difference, and the assumption that EB feats will be awarded in lieu of advancing levels beyond 20 total (and indeed the assumption that level progression ceases at lvl 20 >at all
I agree when i play tested the monk in the UA 2024 material the Shove & Grapple Saving Throw slowed the game to a halt. Personally if it was me i would make it as follows: When you hit with an attack or use the martial arts feature to make a Shove / Grapple Check you roll an Athletics Check (Dex Based) vs the targets passive Strength Saving Throw (10+Save Bonus). By doing this in Roll 20 you could easily add the extra effect in your attack roll macro and all the DM has to do is check the passive save check of the target. Quicker in online play and if you play physically you could have a different color die for the Athletics check. But again the multiple rolls a round do stagger the game a ton. You look at other martial classes (Not Fighter) and you get 2 attack rolls (a few rerolls if your ranger) some at advantage some not, but here the monk gets 5 attacks a round and other than Action Surge Fighters who are suppose to be the masters of combat don't get that many attacks reliably nor the utility that monks get.
Ah yes, a worse version of LaserLlama's alternate monk will make us all forget the OGL, Pinkertons, AI, firing 20% of their staff and that DLC cuck chart.
Finally, monks can punch better than a fighter at lv 1. It’s a shame about stunning strike but it was probably intended that it could only be used once and they just didn’t write it well in 2014, and unlike smite I can see why they want to restrict stun locking. Also the monk subclasses are good but the bar was like 4 inches off the ground, shame about the instant death touch but getting better stuff earlier is better than a capstone I’ll never see. I hope they get through all the subclasses though because they all need a rework and consistency, even if it’s mediocre, would be nice.
YESSSSS OH MY GODDDD. I have always loved monks, and I was actually making a boxing homebrew for the monk. After hearing the changes though? I don’t really think I’ll have to, since a lot of the problems are being addressed here, and they really make you feel strong with your hand to hand combat
Hear me out, start with 2 levels of ranger, 3 if you want a subclass, then run pure monk. Hear me out: - Take your masteries on either daggers or scims and another weapon of choice, I advise hand axes. - At level 2 grab dual weapon fighting as your fighting style. - (optional) Gab a third level as ranger, taking either gloom stalker or hunter. If you do this you do push back your first asi to level 6/7 and true multi attack to 7/8. BUT, it's made up for by giving you a throwable attack and nick attack for you action, as well as 1-2 BA attacks. Something that becomes pretty noteworthy when each attack deals 2d6+dex damage. - If you go with a gloom stalker it pushes off your monk levels by 1 level but you get a 2d6 burst once per turn for a limited number of rounds. - If you go hunter you can get a 1d8 bonus once, or the ability to make an extra attack once per round against a new creature as a action, mostly good if you kill something and want to start wracking something else immediately after you shift your mark onto it. Not great but really channels your inner star Platinum energy.
Upside to the elemental attacks pushing on a failed save: Let's say they fail all saves, you can do a rush-style attack; they move you follow. Could help isolate from a group or just be bada$$. Or ping pong then back and forth.
1d6 > 1d8 > 1d10 > 1d12 still has all the same problems of martials lagging behind casters. Another system I've played goes 1d6 > 2d6 > 3d6 > 4d6 and you can multi attack from level 1, and monk also gets to attack an additional time on top of that compared to other classes. You can also etch runes into your handwraps or weapons to get additional effects like punching so hard and fast you have a chance of deafening your target on a crit, add extra damage types to all of your attacks, or punching a flying creature back to earth and grounding them for a period of time. A really fun monk feature is that you can learn different stances that grant you unique attacks instead of your default strike. It's like having the ability to change weapons but you shift your body instead going from tiger claw, to crane wing, to dragon tail, to gorilla slam, to stumbling swing. There's up to 21 different stances you can choose to learn.
I mean now Monks don’t really need more points because they’re not using as many. Patient Defense and Step of the Wind are free now if you want. And with the ability to immediately regain all of them, Monks should basically never run out of Focus points. And if you do it’s because it’s been a busy day. And you function better without points now.
This Monk is way more attractive for Multiclassing just for how insane their bonus action gets. For *just Monk 2* , any character gains the following options for bonus actions - unarmed strike for 1d6+Dex, shove 5 feet using Dex, prone enemy using Dex, grapple using Dex, two of any of the previous using 1 focus, Disengage, Dash, Disengage + Dodge for 1 focus, Dash + Disengage and double jump distance for 1 focus, with total focus of 2 + 2/short + an independent 2/long. That's 6 native uses for the bonus action that don't consume focus plus an additional 3 (1 of which is actually 16 different options due to the new unarmed strike rules) that can be used roughly 6 times per long rest assuming 1 short rest in the day. Only two levels makes it a viable dip for Caster classes while still allowing the PC to get to 9th level spells eventually, plus it also still gives both Unarmored Movement albeit only +10 ft and Unarmored Defense [unexciting, but sometimes you get caught outside your armor once you get proficiency from Cleric or Druid later and it's viable at low levels until you get good enough armor to skip it]. Level 5 for Stunning Strike, extra attack, and roughly 15 focus points per long rest gets things even spicier. One thing I think is under-emphasized in this video and the reveal is how the changes to unarmed strike, bonus action unarmed strike not needing to be triggered by a previous attack action, and the baseline effect on successful save for Stunning Strike despite the new once per turn limit gives the Monk absolutely unhinged options for a Martial. You can just bonus action fish for Stunning Strike to at worst give them -15 ft speed for one focus, then move away [taking an opportunity attack, sure, but whatever], then [as an example, Monk 5/Druid 3+] cast Spike Growth and put them in Bush Jail. Even without spells, kinda nasty you can [level 5+] bonus action fish for grapple, if it works force move them somewhere safer then attack action shove them prone then attack with advantage without expending resources. You can also attack into stunning blow then, on a failed save, grapple them, then move them at half speed, then prone them *entirely uncontested* , they make no actions on their turn, on your next turn sure they are no longer stunned but you're attacking 3 times minimum at advantage and can drag them another 20 ft. No Custom Lineage or weird feat setups, no awkward multiclassing, no massaging the rules, no DM fiat, just a ton of versatility and power RAW/RAI at level 5 while doing Rapier damage on Unarmed Strikes.
bro, i think you are the man. just because you put your naked self on the thumbnail for this video. amazing confidence. keep it up, i almost always watch your content
I like the idea of giving additional key points with a magic item like the pearl of power. This would allow you to homebrew a scenario where you can hand your monk extra key in the beginning, then because it's a magic item It can be Removed at higher levels when it's no longer needed.
A cursed idea. Give monks ki points equal to the square of their level. i.e. 4, 9, 16, ...400 at level 20 The catch is they have to play way of the four elements 5e.
DND Shorts "I'd like my monk bois THICK" :D Seriously though, the 1d4 to 1d6 at level one change was NEEDED and so welcome. It was silly being a monk but needing to use weapons until level 5 Getting your Ki (rebranded focus) points back at every new start of battle was also needed to increase their power across the day. Deflect attacks is a very nice survivability increase, and I think makes up for the monk bois not being as THICK hp-wise as other melee. I know there's some other great changes too, but those three really make me think Monks are viable now.
I can't wait to have a homebrew/possibly official Warrior of thousand stances subclass. The core could be as simple as giving your unarmed strikes different mastery properties based on which stance you're in.
Tiny thing about the quivering palm change: instead of an action to end the vibrations, now it's just expending an attack instead. Meaning that you can do quivering palm twice a turn if you really want to. Two on one turn and 3 on the next. Yeah, I'm willing to bet that that is what they gave it in exchange for no instant kill anymore.
12:26 I wouldn't say it's bad. Even though most creatures can't see you in darkness, you can also go invisible in dim light. You can just be in dim light and be invisible, that is pretty good since creatures can normally see you in that lighting. Depending on the campaign the darkness part can be great too, like a campaign that has a lot of dark places with creatures that have darkvision The incorporeal part can be fine, mostly against larger creatures that occupy more space. Flurry of blows for free for one minute too, that's crazy. You spend 3 focus points, and if you use flurry of blows every turn, then you're saving 7 points, and can instead use those points for other features, like stunning strike.
I completely agree. it's really good. Dim light is so common. Plus, you can also go through walls, including wall spells and even ceiling cages and other things. It really goes well with your ability to go up walls.
I do wish they introduced some way to do a strength and con based hand to hand character, but this is actually the first good class change that I’ve seen so far!
6:12 the maximum 25 instead of 24 makes sense because of Epic Boons. You use this capstone to get to 25, then at level 20 you get your first Epic Boon Feat, which could include a +1 to one of those stats, with no maximum, bringing you to 26.
I can't speak for anyone else, but given that at high levels, most enemies were probably making the save for Quivering Palm anyway, I'll happily give up the rare instant drop to zero HP to get force damage instead of necrotic. Yes, necrotic isn't resisted *that* often, but it's still far more often than force, unless they've changed a lot of monster resistances.
The 25 is logical, since at 19, when you get an epic boon you get a +1 to a stat, wich can be used to get a stat to 21. This way you don't lose the stat gain from the epic boon. Further epic boons can then increase the (now 25) stat up to a maximum of 30
The element monks push attack is just push weapon mastery except push mastery doesn't require a saving throw. The Greatclub is a monk weapon (simple) so if you pick up the weapon mastery feat, they could potentially stack.
I would say that the up to 25 on wis and agi, is due to the epic feat at level 19 that allows you to get a +1 to agi or wis up to 30. So assuming you take a 21 agi at level 19, once you hit level 20, you can have 25 agi.
The shove/grapple on the extra martial arts attack is fun, but you could just do that anyways by using one of the attacks in your attack action to grapple or shove. Still nice though.
I really like the new monk. It still needs more points, but everything from buffing the base martial arts moves to the stunning strike sidegrade feels much better.
Not a fan of changing the Path of to Warrior of. It being warrior implies a need to fight. I know and have been a passive monk many times. Which would be weird to be known as a Warrior of the open hand and commonly choose to not fight.
the thumbnail for this made me die laughing. I used Resurrection just so I could comment how awesome that thumbnail is. Now im running from an Inevitable who wants me dead. again.. (insert cry for HALP here)
You can definitely do more damage than just your flurry of blows at 17th level. It you walk past a large group of creatures multiple it’ll do a lot more damage and stack very well with multiple close targets or just using your action to dash
Grab *Moonsoon* today to get your *FREE* dice or plushie, and dive into a beautiful world of swashbuckling adventure!! kck.st/4cPEerJ
Second…
I would love a laser lama breakdown with monks and their other stuff
Is monsoon different from DND
@@alphaaladdin It's a campaign setting using D&D 5e rules!
It's like the one bone wizard
YES FINALLY, MONKS ARE GOOD AT HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT
And the new rules for Unarmed attacks also helps with homebrew characters that use similar features
They always were... at least at 6th level. As master and player I'm sure monks does all game.
Took them long enough
They actualy were in 3.5
Isn’t it cool? They’re on par with the College of Dance Bard.
So what I’m hearing is:
- Monks are more viable
- No Saitama
- Monk subclasses are also more viable
More than Viable, they are best martial and one of best classess now.
@@CyberPunkBadGuy Not sure anyone can make that assessment yet without having played the final version. Might be that they turn out to be one of the best classes, but for now I wouldn't just assume that it is the case. Fighter and Barbarian also got loads of great changes in this book and all the other classes also got mostly buffed and not nerfed so I don't think there is any evidence currently that monk suddenly jumps to the top of the list. Let's wait and see shall we...
@@mojin7470 Everything is already published. I have been playing with the one dnd for a long time now, even last weak.
All the changes they made in the UA they kept or even improved for monk.
this is he final build, the other classess buff DO NOT COMPARE.
This is the final version mate, the RAW base monk class is extremly strongn NO SUBCLASS NEEDED.
Fighter and barbarian got nothing good in compared to monk.
Fighter got, some more second wind (3/)
move when you second wind (level 5)
weapon mastery ( Ricoulous cause you wont be swapping 5 weapons at a time)
and a better indominatable (which was bad before now descent)
Barbarian got a better rage which is good
And a Relentless endurance level 11 which is great, thats it.
Meanwhile monk get about 10 new things that beat barbarian and fighter in DAMAGE , MOVEMENT , DURABILITY AND UTILITY AND SCALING.
and its evidence from low level going up.
Monk ARE the best martial, And I wont even mention the joke that is rogue,
@@CyberPunkBadGuy Im not really sure if you're trolling or being serious, cuz it could be both but if you're serious then please calm down you dont need to shout and scream like a maniac. And if you are actually trolling, then idk... good for you I guess...
Now a few things in case that you are actually being serious:
1. Its not called OneDnD, OneDnD was a filler name that they used in the very beginning of the playtest and that they have dropped a long time ago. Its still just called DnD 5e. Its the same edition just modernised.
2. Where would the final versions be published? Can you give me a source?
The only people who should have access to the final versions (afaik) are influencers who got the preview from Wizards to make videos about it. Everything else is still in preorder phase, so how would it already be published? Unless of course someone stole the data and illegally uploaded it to the internet, which I have no knowledge of.
3. I only know the stuff thats been done in the Playtest and from the Data we have from there, and to my knowledge during playtesting Monks did not deal more damage than Fighters and Barbarians nor are they tankier than Fighters or Barbarians. The strength of the Monk lies elsewhere, not in its damage or tankyness. Based on the playtest I would rate the Monk as about equal to the Fighter and the Barbarian, just in different gameplay aspects, so all 3 of them seem like decent classes.
4. You said in your original comment, that Monks are now one of the strongest classes in the game. To me that means something like Top 3 of all classes in the game. Now theres a problem with that. I do not think that Monks beat Fullcasters. For all we know all the Martial classes got stronger, but so did all the Caster classes. So even if the Monk actually was stronger than the Barb or the Fighter as you say, that does not make them better than all the Caster classes which all got stronger as well.
5. I agree that Rogue for sure is probably the weakest combat class in the game now, but Rogue was never about being powerful in combat because the Rogue had loads of other use-cases and gaps to fill within an adventuring party. So I personally don't like comparing Rogues to other classes by combat power since this is not their main purpose.
I hope you are able to react to this comment like a civilized person and answer calmly and not completely lose your shit.
@@CyberPunkBadGuy Yeah sound they move it to op
Quick side note, since it wasn't specifically mentioned in the beginning of the video, is that Flurry of Blows also got the Attack Action requirement removed, so it has the same improvement as Martial Arts.
Nice
oh nice gives more flexibility, helps with multi class with a caster a ton also seemingly small change but it will be large in practice for caster multi monks
Does that mean I can now cast a spell to damage the enemy and then punch them a few times in the face?
Yes @@James-kv3ll
Also, it feels like combining this with the way grapple and shove work in 2024E (does it really not have a name???) could be pretty devastating. You could knock down up to four enemies and then the rest of your melee guys would obliterate them with advantage, or you'd have four chances to drag an enemy into a fire pit.
5:59 They capped it at 25 to prevent you from getting a +8 in dex or wis with the epic boon asi while not making the +1 from an epic boon feat useless in case you want to keep going past level 20 with more epic boons
It doesnt make a difference though. 24 and 25 both give you a +7 modifier. So it is effectively the same.
@@2MeterLP The way they’ve been explaining epic boons, they seem to be a way to keep going past level 20. So while being able to go up to 25 doesn’t matter if you stop at level 20, it does if you want to round it up later
weaklings, God forbid Monk getting any cool, am I right
It's stupid that they even clarify the maximum instead of just saying your maximum increases by 4 too. (And just do that for any feature that lets you go above the normal max of 20)
The epic boon you pick at level 19 ignores stat cap up to 30. I'm pretty sure it makes so you can have a 26 in one of them.
The Laserllama Alternate Monk shout out is baller, love that homebrew
Other of his works are awesome
@@TheOneAndOnlyDioda Absolutely! I'm a big fan of his Alternate Fighter as well.
I’m current playing as the boulder one, it’s very fun
We've been using the Laserllama savant class. Great for low-magic & investigative games!
i'm using all Laserllama content in my campain and i make it even stronger for martials, so yeah it is blast
Using Flurry of Blows to knock an enemy prone and grapple them with a single bonus action is kinda awesome, if the new Open Hand is comparable to the pld one, you could potentially prone and grapple two creatures at the same time if I interpret this correctly
**reads "Prone, then Grapple"**
I'm suddenly picturing the monk finishing off her opponents with the Sharpshooter or the Boston Crab.
"Figure 4 leglock! Monk Giuseppe successfully grappled the 2nd prone owlbear with a figure 4 leglock!!!!!" - mean gene Ogryn
You technically already could, grappling is a one hand action rules as written.
Stun, Grapple, Prone is just Rey Mysterios 619
@@hariodinioStunning Strike, Knock Prone, Strike, Grapple.
I'm perhaps one of the most outspoken Monk defender of everyone I know, and this might sound weird but I am actually glad they did not change its hit dice to D10. I think a lot of people run on a misconception that the Monk needs to be directly compared to the Fighter or the Barbarian, but I do not think this is true; their job is not to simply stand in place and absorb hits, it is to strategically navigate the battlefield and find where they can deal the most damage with the least retaliation. Monks are a complex, high-skill class whose power is not strictly in their damage output, but in their flexibility and sheer action output. They have the unparalleled ability to switch up and pinch hit for any objective on the map that they need to; they can rush down key targets, leap to hard-to-reach places, and they can even tank in a pinch! I personally like the changes they've made, and I would have been saddened if they chose to just turn Monk into a Fighter variant rather than lean into its unique strengths.
But if you want to play that d10 tank, you can play a fighter and take the unarmed fighting style!!!!
So if you want to play the buff guy punching everyone, with the high AC and high AC, you absolutely can!
I'm a monk main and I've always been of the opinion that they are a melee single-target-control class. Calling them the weakest class because they put out the least DPS is dumb, this isn't a single player game. If I'm able to B E A N N O Y I N G to the high value targets and waste their turns to try to deal with me, I am a much more effective party member than if I were to try to go full melee DPS. Control casters are best at crowds, but an A N N O Y I N G monk will burn through legendary resistances faster than any other class while still having (depending on archetype,) at least one way to get out of dodge.
Don't need a d10 to tank anyways. Patient defense, high stats already make u an absolute unit. Plus had archetypes like long way of death which meant u never died lol
The 2014 Monk was way too squishy to be a melee class, because all its good defensive features came in way too late, so I was of the opinion that the Monk needed a higher hit die to equalize.
But with the new rules in the 2024 Book, I agree that the d10 hit-die hurts the theme and flavor of the monk with the way they chose to go.
I always thought that to improve the Monk from 2014, they needed to focus on one thing that the Monk was meant to be the best at... Either they make him super high DPS but low tankyness, or they make him high tankyness but low damage, or they make him super high-control and mobility but low damage and tankyness and really hone into one of those aspects. And I think the way they chose to go in the end is really cool, making the monk's speciality its mobility and tactical aspect, but also boosting its damage and tankyness in slight but meaningful ways without making them the Monks defining features.
I think this Iteration of the Monk can definitely be accepted as a solid Mid-Tier class on par with classes like the Fighter or the Barbarian in the value that they bring to a party, but focussing on a very different overall skillset.
@@shaness112233I don’t think of the pros of monks you listed are exclusive to monks except for the burning legendary resistances part, which is mostly active during higher levels. At middling levels and lower levels, Barbarians are literally THE class for wasting enemy’s turns. Monks just get outshine by every other class.
And even with a Monk’s movement, ESPECIALLY in a teamwork setting are they more useless, because if you run away, the enemies can just refocus their attacks on another creature. Monks don’t have Compel Duel either so…
The stunning strike uses CON, which is bound to be higher in single target enemies…
You state that the problem of not having enough focus points in the early game is still unaddressed, but that's not true. Being able to recharge all of your points when you roll initiative is one thing but also not having to use your points to disengage or Dash is another. So you're not only using less points in general, but you are also having a ability to recharge the points.
I finished a campaign using playtest rules that had a monk in it and I can confirm that he rarely if ever ran out of focus points, and I run a mixture of story based sessions and dungeons. In the dungeons, with about four fights in it, he could easily get through three of those fights having full focus points on each one. Then he just need another short rest on the fourth one.
The problem is that old monk was allowed to do cool "monk" stuff a stupid low amount of times, where rogues had similar things for free. The change we have right now definitly adress the issue of having to use your Ki for defense or atack making it so you can do "cool" monk stuff more often, but still gives you a ridiculously limited amount of Ki to play in lower levels, still not adressing that problem, and at higher levels most classes dont have that problem as they can compensate with a lot more stuff. Personally i dont se why Monks can just add their Wis modifier to the pool of Ki at level 2. That way thei wll have around 4/5 ki points wich bumps up the stuff they can do, not gimp them to much or force them to save ki points ONLY for the clearly upcomig big battle, and allows them to have more fun with their stuff. Monk definitly got a lot of bumps up but could still be better and more fun without going overboard
@@PiscesAustrinus I hear your point, but from actual play testing, I did not find it to be a problem.
@@urbanassassin26 Can confirm this. Been playing the playtest myself at lower levels. It feels so much more alive despite the number of ki points not changing
@@PiscesAustrinus You can do cool "monk" stuff without using focus points. Monk bonus action at level 2 has 3 different options (5 if you count all unarmed strike options) for doing cool "monk" stuff and they do not require spending a focus point. I am satisfied saving my focus point for critical moments (similar to how I'd save action surge on a fighter) because I can already do so much without even spending a point. Also within 3 levels, the low focus point problem disappears completely.
Fair point! It just feels like a bit of tight squeeze in the early game imho if you are an elements monk to use 1 ki to enter your elemental attunement and then only be able to flurry once and deflect attacks once before running dry
With Deflect Attack, I got this strange image of a monk ally making an attack on them with a low damage weapon, like a dagger or sling, and the monk converting that into something more powerful on their enemy.
I think Deflect Attacks/energy is limited to attacks so something like Mind Sliver isn't something that can be deflected since it is a saving throw, not an attack.
My bad, yeah, attack rolls only (I forgot it was a save cantrip for a second 🥴🥴)
@@DnDShorts Same goes for Fireball. Basically that entire segment of yours was a fumble, lol
this is true but if one of my players asked if they could deflect a disintegrate I'd probably let them
@@sohaibtheex017he’s just so ready to find something bad about WoTC
Scandal is done, move on
@@Marabcd315you possibly can't beacause disintegrate is at minimum is 50 dmg(base 40 + all 1 on 10d6 is 10) and monk ability let's him negate only d10 + dexetery mod. + monk lvl, so the maximum here is 35...
Not having to spend key on dashing and disengaging is going to GREATLY extend your focus points compared to 2014. Having to spend ki points on a requirement to survive at a d8 hit die is the biggest reason they were blown through so quickly at low level.
I would love to see you make a video about Laserllama Alternate Monk! Honestly they need a shout-out in my opinion as the works they make is amazing!
Second this, as well as a lot of their other brews!
also it is missing here. you make very good summaries of this stuff it would be a shame if i had to look it up elsewhere now you mentioned it I want it from you
Yeah I would to see someone do a run through of it too
Agree, or even some other LL classes.
Could someone give me a link or tell me what laserllama monk is called as I am interested in giving it a read please. Thanks
I think the focus points at low levels seems pretty fair. Sure you can only do 2 things per encounter at level 2, but full spellcasters only have 3 level 1 spell slots at this level and almost none of them will have the action economy that monks have at this point in the game. On top of that, the monks will get those 2 focus points back at the start of the 2nd encounter of the day, which no other caster except wizards can match with their spell slots.
Yeah but you only get that full recovery once per long rest. And the focus points can come back on short rests anyways. It's kind of a moot point.
@@caiusdrakegaming8087 I have read a few comments similar, my idea is to homebrew the 'per long rest' of the feature to short instead. To me it seems kinda strange that they recover all focus from resting but not the feature related to focus regen. Although strange I do still see several arguments about why lorewise it might be. Perhaps it's strenuous to the body/mind? In that case id argue allowing it multiple times/short(or long) rest, but with every subsequent use there is a accumulating chance for a level of exhaustion.
@@caiusdrakegaming8087 yes but at the same time in many tables short rests are pretty rare. Maybe at your tables it’s a small/insignificant buff but in most groups I’ve been a part of, that feature would be very impactful
Despite the ton of jokes we would have had, glad they didn't go with "Discipline Points (DP)"
➡️⬇️↘️✊ SHORYUKEN
Dragon Punch?
Dr. Pepper?
Display Picture?
Data Processing?
Double Pene **hand is forcibly wrenched away from keyboard**
run up (move 18ft) DP
Dragon pall?
Diddy Points 🤑
I don't think the focus point issue is still unaddressed, they reduced the need of focus points by making base features usable independent of those points
Yeah! Monk can now move like monk should and you son`t nesessary need docus to basic things…
In the last i was forsed to take one level of burglar to get disengage… no it is not a must… but still viable option.
I am playing as a four element monk in a new Campagne. We had our first fight last session and all this saving Throws for moving opponents around was way easier than expexted. Still felt dynamic and didnt took to much time.
Would recommend, very fun subclass😇
One thing that I think often gets missed in discussions about the monk is their maneuverability. Monks were always better used as skirmishers than frontline fighters and with the new changes to step of the wind they are now one of if not THE best mage killers in the game. First turn you can just dash right past that pesky wall of skeletons and start laying in to the necromancer. I don't care how high your con save is that concentration isn't standing up to 5 attacks per round.
It's even better than that, you can drag the necromancer right back to the Barbarian with your new grappling abilities. Nothing can get away from your party. It's amazing.
I mean, you *should* care about how high their save is because when you get to +9 (which my wizard will achieve at level 12), it becomes impossible for you to fail your concentration saving throw if each attack does 21 or less damage, since the DC is just 10. However even in such scenarios Stunning Strike's much higher DC gives a good chance to break concentration in addition to all of the other obvious benefits.
Monks needed a serious upgrade. This is a positive step forward.
I actually think it's really really good. The new monk might actually be stronger than the fighter. I think they are roughly equal.
@@gloryrod86 I'd also say with all the buffs the Fighter has received that the Monk and the Fighter both seem of similar power now. Fighter probably higher damage and higher tankyness but Monk way more mobility and control in general, so I think it balances out.
The only monk redesign I know of is Bone Wizard’s monk. I’ll have to check out Lazerllama’s.
Boney got some good buffs. I especially like his warrior of the spider subclass (aka the "SPIDER-MONK"). It was funny when Jeremy Crawford talked about changes to the monk by using the same sports car analogy that Bonewizard did.
I think Cloak of Shadows is pretty good, because you don't have to cast the Darkness spell that can hinder your allies because instead you're just "shrouding yourself in darkness," you can move through Bright Light while invisible as long as you don't end your turn there, and you don't break the invisibility for attacking. Sure on that turn you give up the attack action, but for the remaining 9 turns, you get all your attacks with advantage unless they can see you while you're invisible. And the remaining 9 turns being able to do 5 attacks without spending any focus points is... pretty strong.
Here's an idea for flurry of blows to streamline:
If you get 4 attacks, you make up to four rolls. On your first successful roll, the remaining attacks are considered hits (if the roll was critical, only the first attack is considered critical, the remaining hits are normal). In this way, if you miss a lot, you will make several rolls, but if you're hitting on the first attack, you save the trouble of rolling additional its.
I think this streamlines pretty nicely. Yes, your 'auto-hits' from the subsequent attacks will not have the opportunity to crit, but you also get through rolls and damage rolls much faster, which over the course of the game could be hundreds of rolls. It really matters.
the reason the capstone caps at 25 is that a lot of the epic level feats will give a +1 to a stat, so if you get your dex to 20, then at level 19 you take the recommended feat that (among other effects) bumps your strength or dex up by 1, then the capstone would be less affective to you because you functionally only get +3, if it capped at 24 it'd be a big disincentive to bring your dex to 20
OMG YESS!!! PLEASE make a video on the LaserLlama Monk! I've used that a few times already, and it made me fall in love with the class all over again!
4:18 Stunning strike is not the same - in 2014 it lasted until the END of your next turn. It's been changed to only last until the start of your next turn.
the 25 is because you also get epic boon which could take you to 21 before getting the +4
Wait, did they give the Monks a Barbarian style capstone?? That's awesome.
I feel like it was the only logical thing
@@lordgino2006 Agreed. Monks and Barbarians have always kinda been two sides of the same coin.
Who‘s gonna tell Ranger? 😂
@@MagusAgrippa8 exactly. Where the barb is the uncontrolable sheer brute force, the monk is the wise and disciplined warrior who elevated combat to the state of art
This calls for a Naked AC Party! 🥳
...oh, I'm sorry, I meant "skyclad."
So a level 17 Shadow Monk can just walk out of prison or even a force cage, while invisible for 10 rounds and furry of blows are effectivly free while in this state with advantage. It is also a good question, if the partial incoporability offers immunity/resistance to attacks, where the attacker is disadvanteged and needs to find the monk. The Warlock invocation Devil's Sight can see through the darkness and accessible via feats. Dealing with invisbility requires different spells and abilities to overcome than darkness. With 2 different ways to become unseeable the DM has to hand out True Sight and Blindsight like candy to opponents.
5:16 not my Tabaxi monk running away with a goblin up a nearby building to reenact prototype
Thinks he's rock lee
@@Gallacant no, your idea is better, gith monk, grapple, step of the wind enhanced, then jump
And here I was thinking rescuing the hostage with an Anime Jump.
Not my Tabaxi Monk still being Natsu with Ascendant Dragon. 😂
I'm playing a UA monk right now, and it's been a blast! All it took was a couple Uncommon items and I have the same DPR as our Echo Knight. And even before I got those I was still doing just fine as an off-tank.
Thanks, mane! I've been waiting for this. My first intro to D&D was 5e, and Four Elements sounded so cool to a noob. It was rough. Homebrew helped. Made it to lv 11. Still runnin' that character. I'll probably pick and choose.
Thanks!
Thank YOU!! 🔥🔥❤️❤️
The 25 ability Cap is because of the epic boon one level before
But how does it matter, I just looks nicer. You still only benefit from the 24, so capping it at that and just write "up to a max of 24" would do the same, since the +3 you'd get does exactly the same.
Well you wouldn't get the full +4 promised by the feature, and any other bonuses to ability score, like epic boons post 20, would care about the additional point. There's no harm in letting it go to 25 if that's how the math works out
@@mreko108 I forgot that you could take epic boons multiple times after 20. So yeah, it actually does matter and I stand corrected
A shout out to Laserllama's alt class was a welcome surprise.
At this point Laser Llama should be making their own book. Those classes are amazing.
I'll be curious to see your take on the sorcerer. While wild magic got a bit of a buff, you brought up a point about the elements monk that I mentioned about wild sorcery: bogging down the game. You're to roll on the wild magic table, then you roll again for an additional sub-table for the number you just rolled. The joke of it taking 10 minutes before it's your turn again absolutely fits the narrative here if you have a wild magic sorcerer and elements monk forcing saves on every attack.
Thanks fore reviewing these its nice to see the all advancements fore the class all at once even if I already know what they are.
This is the only channel where I never skip the sponsored ad because they are always so goofy and hilarious 😂😂
Already planning a campaign with my DM for me to be an elemental monk bugbear punching people from 15ft away
it says 10ft increase, so I think it's 15 reach
so you'd actually be hitting from 20
@@AguionStryke I don't think it's +10ft because then all elemental monks would have a 15ft range, but they don't. Your range becomes 10 instead of 5 and the Bugbear adds 5.
@@TitanBait that's the thing, it says 10 ft greater rather than 10ft or 5 greater, which is how astral self currently reads.
also this is just improved fang of the fire snake from four elements and that one also reads increase by 10 rather than to 10
@@AguionStryke May I ask where you are reading that? I can't find anything that has the text of the elemental monk and the wording of the current Astral Self says "When you make an unarmed strike with the arms on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal."
@@TitanBait which is the exact same wording as here, but here it says 10 feet greater, hence 15 ft range
also I'm reading on 5e tools, fire snake is one of the four elements monk spell things that I forget the name and will not go open the site again to check
A new perspective why 5e Monks are good in combat
A Tier 1 (lv 1 to 4) barbarian in rage with a greatsword will deal an average 12 damage (2d6+3+2).
A monk can make 2 atacks since lv 1 without spendind resources. The average damage of this 2 attacks combined is 13 (1d8+3+1d4+3). Using resources (ki) to make 3 attacks in one turn make the monk damage near a barbarian with Great Weapon Master Feat. The average subclass (open hand) will buff a bit the monk attack in control ways. The best subclass, Mercy Monk, let the tier 1 monk use healing word with half of a bonus action. So, people often like Tier 1 Monks in 5e, because, at this levels, they are a good DPS.
Tier 2 (lv 5 to 10) is widely considered where the game (5e) have the best balance. When I imagine the first LOTR movie, I imagine tier 2 characters protecting the Hobbits. Starting at this Tier people often dislike the monks and start to say that they are a weak class, even weaker at tier 3 (lv 11 to 16) or 4 (lv 17 to 20). There are two reasons for that:
1 -The first reason is that they do not realize that, starting at level 5, the best feature of the monk is no longer martial arts or flurry of blows, is the stunning strike. Starting at lv 5, as a Monk in 5e, you are no longer a DPS, you are a Control Specialist. Most of the times in Tier 2, a Monk should save Ki points for performing more stunning strikes and should not spend them to increase your damage with flurry of blows. What makes a Lv 11 monk a lot stronger than a Lv 5 monk? Is that a Lv 11 Monk can use stunning strike 3 times every round of the combat. That multiple use of stunning strike is so powerfull that got nerfed both by Baldur's Gate 3 game and by Jeremy in the next DnD edition.
My extra hint would be: go use the lv 4 and lv 8 upgrades to get Wisdom 20.
2 - The second reason is an unfortunate disconection between the average adventuring day setted in the Dungeon Master's Guide and the way Masters prepare the game session in average. In the DMG we have: 3 to 4 medium to hard encounters in the morning, with a short rest between then + 3 to 4 medium to hard encounters in the afternoon with a short rest between then. So you would have 2 short rests between combats before you have a long rest. So the monk ki points should get replenished 3 times more often than a feature that only replanish in long rests (examples that only replanishes in long rest: the sorcerer spell slots and the sorcery points). Most of the DMs use one or none short rests between long rests or full recoveries. That reality unbalance the classes, making classes that have its major resources replanished in short rest weaker than they were designed to be.
My extra hint is: Homebrew that the short rest does not exist and adapt what is linked to it. For things that should be replanished 3 times more such as ki points, I just double. Lv 2 Monk have 4 ki points. And the HP of every PC is calculated like they have half more levels (rounded up).
I would personally love to see a Laserllama Monk breakdown.
Push or Pull a target 10 feet with every attack.
5 attacks per turn.
Combo with Spike Growth
"I call this move 'The Cheese Grater!'"
While funny af, forced movement usually doesnt proc dmg effects on spells like spike growth.
@@cjirwin867I remember there being at least 1 or 2 that would actually interact with forced movement from the spells of 5E I don't know if it will stay that way in OneDND
@@RositaDepre yea, you right. I was talking about it with a buddy later that night and yea, it's a case of some do some don't
Id love a video about that homebrew monk fix you mentioned, as Ive never heard of it before now!
I love the shoutout for laserllama. His reworks seriously bang. If you ever wanna play a martial class but also want to have fun I cannot recommend them enough.
What was missed re Body and Mind (and likely Barbarian's Primal Champion) is a detail of the Epic Boon feats among which all characters choose at level 17 (RAW in a class). Each EB feat raises one Ability Score by one point, in addition to any other effects it grants. So far, so normal. The new, and unusual, bit comes in the fact that this increase can raise the given Ability Score to a maximum of 30. There are a few assumptions hidden behind this, but the biggest (and most relevant here) is that a character's Primary Ability Score(s) will have been raised to 20 by the time they gain access to their (assumption: first) EB feat at lvl. 17, raising the given Ability Score to a total at that point of 21. Thus, the Monk (and Barbarian) capstone feature Ability Score maximum limit raise of 25, rather than 24. Admittedly, the >effective< difference is likely nil, since there's no mechanical difference, and the assumption that EB feats will be awarded in lieu of advancing levels beyond 20 total (and indeed the assumption that level progression ceases at lvl 20 >at all
Finally somebody says something about the absolute mastery that is Lazerlama's rewored classes.
I agree when i play tested the monk in the UA 2024 material the Shove & Grapple Saving Throw slowed the game to a halt. Personally if it was me i would make it as follows:
When you hit with an attack or use the martial arts feature to make a Shove / Grapple Check you roll an Athletics Check (Dex Based) vs the targets passive Strength Saving Throw (10+Save Bonus).
By doing this in Roll 20 you could easily add the extra effect in your attack roll macro and all the DM has to do is check the passive save check of the target. Quicker in online play and if you play physically you could have a different color die for the Athletics check. But again the multiple rolls a round do stagger the game a ton. You look at other martial classes (Not Fighter) and you get 2 attack rolls (a few rerolls if your ranger) some at advantage some not, but here the monk gets 5 attacks a round and other than Action Surge Fighters who are suppose to be the masters of combat don't get that many attacks reliably nor the utility that monks get.
Greatest thumbnail ever!
Ah yes, a worse version of LaserLlama's alternate monk will make us all forget the OGL, Pinkertons, AI, firing 20% of their staff and that DLC cuck chart.
Finally, monks can punch better than a fighter at lv 1. It’s a shame about stunning strike but it was probably intended that it could only be used once and they just didn’t write it well in 2014, and unlike smite I can see why they want to restrict stun locking. Also the monk subclasses are good but the bar was like 4 inches off the ground, shame about the instant death touch but getting better stuff earlier is better than a capstone I’ll never see. I hope they get through all the subclasses though because they all need a rework and consistency, even if it’s mediocre, would be nice.
YESSSSS OH MY GODDDD. I have always loved monks, and I was actually making a boxing homebrew for the monk. After hearing the changes though? I don’t really think I’ll have to, since a lot of the problems are being addressed here, and they really make you feel strong with your hand to hand combat
For a second I thought that MandJTV made another Then VS Now video but I am still excited for this
Hear me out, start with 2 levels of ranger, 3 if you want a subclass, then run pure monk. Hear me out:
- Take your masteries on either daggers or scims and another weapon of choice, I advise hand axes.
- At level 2 grab dual weapon fighting as your fighting style.
- (optional) Gab a third level as ranger, taking either gloom stalker or hunter.
If you do this you do push back your first asi to level 6/7 and true multi attack to 7/8. BUT, it's made up for by giving you a throwable attack and nick attack for you action, as well as 1-2 BA attacks.
Something that becomes pretty noteworthy when each attack deals 2d6+dex damage.
- If you go with a gloom stalker it pushes off your monk levels by 1 level but you get a 2d6 burst once per turn for a limited number of rounds.
- If you go hunter you can get a 1d8 bonus once, or the ability to make an extra attack once per round against a new creature as a action, mostly good if you kill something and want to start wracking something else immediately after you shift your mark onto it.
Not great but really channels your inner star Platinum energy.
Moonsoon... 11 new races.... I immediately spot what looks to be a Pangolin...
Was interested before, but you definitely have my interest now.
Upside to the elemental attacks pushing on a failed save:
Let's say they fail all saves, you can do a rush-style attack; they move you follow. Could help isolate from a group or just be bada$$.
Or ping pong then back and forth.
The stat increase caps at 25 to account for your Epic Boon at 19th Level.
I love ALL DnD Shorts videos!
1d6 > 1d8 > 1d10 > 1d12 still has all the same problems of martials lagging behind casters.
Another system I've played goes 1d6 > 2d6 > 3d6 > 4d6 and you can multi attack from level 1, and monk also gets to attack an additional time on top of that compared to other classes.
You can also etch runes into your handwraps or weapons to get additional effects like punching so hard and fast you have a chance of deafening your target on a crit, add extra damage types to all of your attacks, or punching a flying creature back to earth and grounding them for a period of time.
A really fun monk feature is that you can learn different stances that grant you unique attacks instead of your default strike. It's like having the ability to change weapons but you shift your body instead going from tiger claw, to crane wing, to dragon tail, to gorilla slam, to stumbling swing. There's up to 21 different stances you can choose to learn.
Laserllama does ABSOLUTELY AWESOME STUFF hes redesining of the martials is 10x better than the 2024 ones
Im definitely going to use the base Monk features with my Sun Soul Monk and Ascendant Dragon Monk.
I mean now Monks don’t really need more points because they’re not using as many. Patient Defense and Step of the Wind are free now if you want. And with the ability to immediately regain all of them, Monks should basically never run out of Focus points. And if you do it’s because it’s been a busy day. And you function better without points now.
This Monk is way more attractive for Multiclassing just for how insane their bonus action gets. For *just Monk 2* , any character gains the following options for bonus actions -
unarmed strike for 1d6+Dex,
shove 5 feet using Dex,
prone enemy using Dex,
grapple using Dex,
two of any of the previous using 1 focus,
Disengage,
Dash,
Disengage + Dodge for 1 focus,
Dash + Disengage and double jump distance for 1 focus,
with total focus of 2 + 2/short + an independent 2/long. That's 6 native uses for the bonus action that don't consume focus plus an additional 3 (1 of which is actually 16 different options due to the new unarmed strike rules) that can be used roughly 6 times per long rest assuming 1 short rest in the day. Only two levels makes it a viable dip for Caster classes while still allowing the PC to get to 9th level spells eventually, plus it also still gives both Unarmored Movement albeit only +10 ft and Unarmored Defense [unexciting, but sometimes you get caught outside your armor once you get proficiency from Cleric or Druid later and it's viable at low levels until you get good enough armor to skip it]. Level 5 for Stunning Strike, extra attack, and roughly 15 focus points per long rest gets things even spicier.
One thing I think is under-emphasized in this video and the reveal is how the changes to unarmed strike, bonus action unarmed strike not needing to be triggered by a previous attack action, and the baseline effect on successful save for Stunning Strike despite the new once per turn limit gives the Monk absolutely unhinged options for a Martial. You can just bonus action fish for Stunning Strike to at worst give them -15 ft speed for one focus, then move away [taking an opportunity attack, sure, but whatever], then [as an example, Monk 5/Druid 3+] cast Spike Growth and put them in Bush Jail. Even without spells, kinda nasty you can [level 5+] bonus action fish for grapple, if it works force move them somewhere safer then attack action shove them prone then attack with advantage without expending resources. You can also attack into stunning blow then, on a failed save, grapple them, then move them at half speed, then prone them *entirely uncontested* , they make no actions on their turn, on your next turn sure they are no longer stunned but you're attacking 3 times minimum at advantage and can drag them another 20 ft. No Custom Lineage or weird feat setups, no awkward multiclassing, no massaging the rules, no DM fiat, just a ton of versatility and power RAW/RAI at level 5 while doing Rapier damage on Unarmed Strikes.
bro, i think you are the man. just because you put your naked self on the thumbnail for this video. amazing confidence. keep it up, i almost always watch your content
I would love to see that homebrew monk class review you mentioned!
I like the idea of giving additional key points with a magic item like the pearl of power. This would allow you to homebrew a scenario where you can hand your monk extra key in the beginning, then because it's a magic item It can be Removed at higher levels when it's no longer needed.
A cursed idea.
Give monks ki points equal to the square of their level. i.e. 4, 9, 16, ...400 at level 20
The catch is they have to play way of the four elements 5e.
DND Shorts "I'd like my monk bois THICK" :D
Seriously though, the 1d4 to 1d6 at level one change was NEEDED and so welcome. It was silly being a monk but needing to use weapons until level 5
Getting your Ki (rebranded focus) points back at every new start of battle was also needed to increase their power across the day.
Deflect attacks is a very nice survivability increase, and I think makes up for the monk bois not being as THICK hp-wise as other melee.
I know there's some other great changes too, but those three really make me think Monks are viable now.
The lingo whiplash I felt from you using 'mid' to using 'Don't get it twisted' was more powerful than the monk's martial arts die upgrade.
That Thumbnail really did the job, very catchy ehehehee
Aside from the changes to shoving and grappling, this is pretty good for a change.
I can't wait to have a homebrew/possibly official Warrior of thousand stances subclass. The core could be as simple as giving your unarmed strikes different mastery properties based on which stance you're in.
Monks are going to be real good at dealing with sentinel feat now
One step closer to making a JJK Kashimo build!
Tiny thing about the quivering palm change: instead of an action to end the vibrations, now it's just expending an attack instead. Meaning that you can do quivering palm twice a turn if you really want to. Two on one turn and 3 on the next. Yeah, I'm willing to bet that that is what they gave it in exchange for no instant kill anymore.
12:26 I wouldn't say it's bad. Even though most creatures can't see you in darkness, you can also go invisible in dim light. You can just be in dim light and be invisible, that is pretty good since creatures can normally see you in that lighting. Depending on the campaign the darkness part can be great too, like a campaign that has a lot of dark places with creatures that have darkvision
The incorporeal part can be fine, mostly against larger creatures that occupy more space.
Flurry of blows for free for one minute too, that's crazy. You spend 3 focus points, and if you use flurry of blows every turn, then you're saving 7 points, and can instead use those points for other features, like stunning strike.
I completely agree. it's really good. Dim light is so common. Plus, you can also go through walls, including wall spells and even ceiling cages and other things. It really goes well with your ability to go up walls.
@@gloryrod86 oh yeah, it does go really well with that, you can go through ceilings that's really cool
I do wish they introduced some way to do a strength and con based hand to hand character, but this is actually the first good class change that I’ve seen so far!
I prefer focus over discpline, glad for the term revision
Please make a video on the monk you talked about at the end of the video. I'd love to hear about that.
Scissors Seven, Vivy... Your editor has impeccable taste
For ki points I've always used monk level + wisdom modifier and I'll keep using like this for focus.
6:12 the maximum 25 instead of 24 makes sense because of Epic Boons. You use this capstone to get to 25, then at level 20 you get your first Epic Boon Feat, which could include a +1 to one of those stats, with no maximum, bringing you to 26.
Thumbnail had me rolling!! LMAO
I almost exclusively run with alternate classes by laserllama now, especially for martials it makes the game so much more fun
I can't speak for anyone else, but given that at high levels, most enemies were probably making the save for Quivering Palm anyway, I'll happily give up the rare instant drop to zero HP to get force damage instead of necrotic. Yes, necrotic isn't resisted *that* often, but it's still far more often than force, unless they've changed a lot of monster resistances.
It also only takes an attack to fire off now instead of an action. Meaning you can quivering palm twice a turn if you wanted to.
I want to play this version of monk, they seem cool now! Thanks for the video
The 25 is logical, since at 19, when you get an epic boon you get a +1 to a stat, wich can be used to get a stat to 21. This way you don't lose the stat gain from the epic boon. Further epic boons can then increase the (now 25) stat up to a maximum of 30
The element monks push attack is just push weapon mastery except push mastery doesn't require a saving throw. The Greatclub is a monk weapon (simple) so if you pick up the weapon mastery feat, they could potentially stack.
I Love ALL DnD Shorts videos!
What I do when there’s a lot of enemy saving throws is do one roll for all enemies that share a stat block, it makes combat easier for me personally
So happy for these changes to my favorite class!
Hilarious thumbnail. Great video as always
I would say that the up to 25 on wis and agi, is due to the epic feat at level 19 that allows you to get a +1 to agi or wis up to 30. So assuming you take a 21 agi at level 19, once you hit level 20, you can have 25 agi.
The shove/grapple on the extra martial arts attack is fun, but you could just do that anyways by using one of the attacks in your attack action to grapple or shove. Still nice though.
I really like the new monk. It still needs more points, but everything from buffing the base martial arts moves to the stunning strike sidegrade feels much better.
Not a fan of changing the Path of to Warrior of. It being warrior implies a need to fight. I know and have been a passive monk many times. Which would be weird to be known as a Warrior of the open hand and commonly choose to not fight.
the thumbnail for this made me die laughing. I used Resurrection just so I could comment how awesome that thumbnail is. Now im running from an Inevitable who wants me dead. again.. (insert cry for HALP here)
Best thumbnail EVER
You can definitely do more damage than just your flurry of blows at 17th level. It you walk past a large group of creatures multiple it’ll do a lot more damage and stack very well with multiple close targets or just using your action to dash
Hahaha amazing review as usual and fun Moonsoon ad. Hilarious!
I like all of these changes, but im bummed that empty body appears to have been replaced with a far worse ability.
Please make a video about monk homebrews. Its my favorite class and I would like to know more.