Baldur’s Gate 3 – Best Monk Build & Subclass

With their exceptional speed, agility, and martial arts capabilities, the Monk stands out as one of the most unique classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. However, maximizing the potential of the Monk class requires thoughtful choices regarding race, subclass, skills, abilities, and tactics. Based on available information, here is a closer look at assembling an optimal Monk build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Monk Build

Best Monk Race: Wood Elf

• When selecting a race for a Monk, the core stats to focus on are Dexterity and Wisdom. These abilities improve Armor Class, attack chance, damage output, and other key combat performance metrics. Of the races to choose from, the Wood Elf’s racial bonuses synergize excellently with the Monk’s needs.
• Specifically, Wood Elves receive a +2 increase to Dexterity, which will directly translate into higher AC and better odds to hit. Their +1 to Wisdom is also useful, boosting Monk saving throw DCs for effects like Stunning Strike. On top of ability scores, Wood Elves also gain movement speed. This complements the Monk’s reliance on mobility in combat.
• Overall, the Dexterity and Wisdom improvements paired with enhanced movement speed make Wood Elf a very strong choice for optimizing a Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Ideal Skills and Background

Beyond combat efficacy, skills also play an important role in traversing the world of Baldur’s Gate 3.

• Selecting Acrobatics and Stealth as class skills provides significant utility. Acrobatics aids in navigating areas full of traps and other obstacles. Stealth complements Shadow’s abilities for silent movement and sneak attacks.
• For background, the Urchin is a great thematic and mechanical choice.
• The Criminal background is a close second for its similar skill proficiencies. Both backgrounds reinforce stealthy attributes Monk prioritizes.

Best Monk Subclass: Way of Shadow

For Monks in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Way of Shadows subclass offers the most versatility and utility during and outside of combat. This subclass grants shadow-jumping abilities, making the Monk uniquely suited for stealth missions.

With several heist-style quests in Baldur’s Gate, 3 requiring subtle infiltration, a Shadow Monk can enter and exit buildings undetected, putting their powers to full use. The additional mobility and stealth options give Shadow the edge over other Monk subclasses for this gameplay style.

Tactics for Monks

In combat, Monks can strike quickly utilizing mobility to avoid getting pinned down. Skills like Step of the Wind, Patient Defense and Stunning Strike help control the battlefield. Shadow Step enables sneaking and surprise attacks.

Baldur's Gate 3's success can be boiled down to these simple things;

1. It's a full fledged RPG with incredible player freedom. Choice & consequence like this has never been seen before in cinematic RPG's. That bear scene really did sell the game for alot of people🐻 pic.twitter.com/m9ryB9GJkT

— MrHulthen (@mrhulthen) August 7, 2023

By properly utilizing all of the tools and tactics at their disposal, Monks can fulfill a highly unique hit-and-run role in Baldur’s Gate 3’s combat encounters. In summary, this optimized Wood Elf Way of the Shadow Monk build focuses on capitalizing on stealth, mobility, and damage potential. Please let us know if you have any questions about the best build and subclass for Monks in Baldur’s Gate 3. We would love to hear from you and help you.

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