Welcome to the Best BG3 Monk Build Guide. This Monk is highly versatile and martial-focused with its special Ki-Power . This Monk Build uses the Way of the Shadow subclass.
Table of Contents for the BG3 Monk Build:
- Introduction to the Monk Class
- Monk Build Leveling Progression
- Monk Equipment
- Monk Build Extras
The Shadow Monk is by far the strongest of all three subclasses you can pick due to its stealth mechanics and high damage per turn.
Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds. For more Monk subclass builds visit the Best Open Hand Monk BG3 Build Guide or the Best Way of the Four Elements Monk BG3 Build. To get an overview of all classes please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.
Before we get started, here is a quick look at the Monk Strengths and Weaknesses in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Monk Strengths
Monk Weaknesses
BG3 Monk Class Guide
The Monk’s main feature in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Ki-Power, which is used to perform strong class-based attacks. A Monk’s combat style is very melee-focused, at a later level you can stun a lot of enemies per round and evade attacks. You can play the Monk as a stealthy character and ambush enemies or attack from the front. The Monk has very high Movement Speed, with the right gear you can travel 2-3x further than most other classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. Therefore there won’t be much need for ranged attacks. However, you can still do decent ranged damage with this build, especially in late-game.
The Monk class is best played unarmoured, which sounds difficult, but don’t worry too much about it. You can get a good Armour Class (AC) because of buffs and equipment you will find in the wild.
A few examples that give more AC are +3 from Dexterity, +3 from Unarmoured Defence, +2 from Shield of Faith (from ally) and +2 from some special gloves you can get early game. That alone puts you at 20 Armour Class already, which is more than most of your group members can achieve this early in Baldur’s Gate 3
In Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3 you can also get access to the most powerful staff called Markoheshkir Quarterstaff which will even allow you to cast spells for your Monk Build.
BG3 Monk Subclasses Comparison
The Monk has four subclasses available in Baldur’s Gate 3. They are Way of the Four Elements, Way of the Open Hand, Way of Shadow, and Drunken Master (Coming in Patch 8). Here is a comparison of the different subclasses for the BG3 Monk.
| Aspect | Way of the Four Elements | Way of the Open Hand | Way of Shadow | Drunken Master |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Magical Attacks | Unarmed Melee Combat | Stealth | Building around drink |
| Strength | Access to fairly basic spells | Stronger unarmed attacks | Stealth bonuses | Intoxicate enemies to debuff them |
| Weakness | Weaker melee attacks | Less mobility and no ranged attacks | Requires careful use of stealth |
Way of the Four Elements
You focus your ki to bend the elements to your will, using them as an extension of your own body.
Way of the Four Elements Monks gain access to special spells that are cast with Ki Points instead of Spell Slots. Their mastery over magic is not as strong as pure spellcaster classes like the Wizard and Sorcerer, but they are able to use magic to augment their Monk abilities and deal decent damage. Some of the Monk spells are renamed versions of normal spells, while others are completely unique to the Monk.
The main downside of this subclass is that it doesn’t get any direct buffs to its melee capability – the subclass is entirely centred around the spells.
Way of the Open Hand
You specialise in unarmed combat, using your hands and your control of ki to heal or inflict grievous hurt.
Way of the Open Hand Monks are completely focused on their mastery of Unarmed combat. They get access to special unarmed flurry attacks that can push, stagger or knock over enemies. At higher levels they can infuse Necrotic, Psychic or Radiant damage into their unarmed attacks and cause an enemy’s Ki to detonate on contact.
Open Hand Monks are a bit tricky to play, especially early game, because they have no ranged attacks and don’t get the magical or stealth buffs that are available to Four Elements and Shadow Monks.
Way of Shadow
You value the arts of stealth and subterfuge, bending the shadows to your will to strike without warning.
Way of Shadow Monks are basically the BG3 version of ninjas, able to blend into the shadows becoming effectively invisible, and receiving bonuses to their Stealth skills. At high levels, they can use thier Ki to teleport out of the shadows, dealing Psychic damage to their foe on impact.
The downside of the Shadow Monk is that it requires more planning and foresight than the other subclasses to get the most out of it – you’ll need to use the environment to your advantage to stay hidden and get the jump on enemies. If you like a risk/reward playstyle, you might not see this as a bad thing.
Drunken Master
Putting the brew in homebrew, as the Drunken Master, you have the ability to consume alcohol straight from your inventory, as well as drink from bottles you see around the Sword Coast, in order to recover Ki. By sharing the bottle with your enemies using Intoxicating Strike, you’ll generate a buff towards your Armour Class and your Chance to hit Drunk targets. Drunk enemies are also susceptible to the Drunken Masters’ other abilities, like Sobering Realisation – which sobers up drunk targets, dealing physical and Psychic damage.
The Drunken Master Monk will be released in BG3 Patch 8.
Why We’re Using the Way of Shadow for our BG3 Monk Build
Before we start with the details, we want to explain why we selected the Way of Shadow subclass for our Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. The best subclass for the Monk class is the Way of Shadow, with high movement, teleportation, high stun rate and invisibility to land critical hits in combat. Of course, the other two subclasses are also great, but we found Way of Shadow to be the most effective of the three.
Cloak of Shadows lets you become invisible, this is great for both out and in combat. Shadow Step is my favourite action for the Way of Shadow Monk, it allows you to position yourself perfectly before combat. You can teleport within a range of 18m directly behind the enemy and they won’t notice you. This also allows you to reach places that other classes don’t have the slightest chance of reaching.
Shadow Arts: Darkness is a great action that you get early in Baldur’s Gate 3 at level 3. This can be used to block off enemy ranged attacks and blind them, this was useful plenty of times, especially in the first act of the game.
Shadow Arts: Silence is both useful during combat and outside of it. In combat you can silence enemy spell casters. I found myself using this more outside of combat though. For example, inside the Goblin Camp there is a fractured wall that you can break to get inside. When you place the Silence bubble around the wall and then break it with a hammer it won’t make any noise and enemies won’t be alerted. I used this trick often for this kind of purpose.
Cantrip: Minor Illusion can be great to distract enemies if you want to loot something in a chest that enemies protect.
Lastly, at level 11 you also get access to Shadow Strike: Unarmed. You can teleport over a range of 9m and deal high damage to the enemy with this action.
BG3 Monk Build Character Creation (Level 1)
In this section, we will guide you through the best options in Character Creation for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Build. While you can deviate somewhat from this if you want, following these steps will result in the most powerful starting point for your Monk.
Race & Subraces
Baldur’s Gate 3 Races offer you plenty of choices but in the end it doesn’t matter that much what you pick because the different races are very well balanced. However, there are still some races that will perform slightly better than others. Our favourite race for the BG3 Monk Build is the Wood Elf. Wood Elves gain extra movement speed and they also gain Darkvision.
Top 5 races for our BG3 Monk Build:
- Wood Elf (or Wood Half-Elf) – Woold Elves are a perfect fit for the Monk, they gain 1.5m extra movement speed which is important for our build. Additionally, they also have Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You also get Darkvision, which lets you see in the dark up to 12m.
- Asmodeus Tiefling – Tieflings get Hellish Resistance, which reduces the fire damage they take by half. You also get Darkvision, which lets you see in the dark up to 12m. You also get Produce Flame Cantrip which can be helpful.
- Dragonborn – If you want to take only half damage from a certain attack type, then picking a Dragonborn is your best option. Acid, Lightning, Fire, Poison and Frost resistance can be obtained depending on the Subrace you choose.
- Human – You get to select an additional Skill to be proficient in. Carrying capacity is increased by a quarter. Humans also have some extra weapon proficiencies.
- Gold Dwarf – Gold Dwarves are a good pick if you want extra Hitpoints. Your hitpoints increase by 1 extra every time you level up. You also get Darkvision (see 12m in dark) and Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison and you only take half the damage against Poison. However, your movement speed is only 7.5 instead of 9m.
No matter what race you select, you will always get to spend an extra +2 and +1 ability score. This is the main reason why selecting a race isn’t impactful on gameplay. Yes you do get small tweaks here and there, but the extra ability scores are the most important thing and every race gets to select these.
Class Selection
Here you want to select the Monk class for our build. We get to select our subclass once we reach level 3 on our Monk.
Background
The following Backgrounds are the best choice for your Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Outlander (Athletics, Survival)
- Urchin (Sleight of Hand, Stealth)
These backgrounds give us the most proficiency with Dexterity-based skills. You will want to have high Dexterity on the Monk to deal as much damage as possible. As a Monk you want to make sure to focus on anything that gives you high Dexterity and Wisdom.
Ability Points
The Monk’s most important Abilities are Dexterity, for Unarmed or Weapon Attack Rolls and Armour Class, Wisdom for Ki Abilities, and Constitution for Hitpoints.
The Monk has no armour proficiencies, so it’s especially important to have high Dexterity in order to defend yourself.
For the best results on our BG3 Monk Build, aim for an ability distribution that looks something like this:
- 10 Strength
- 17 Dexterity
- 14 Constitution
- 8 Intelligence
- 16 Wisdom
- 8 Charisma
While having odd ability scores doesn’t provide any benefit (every second point increases your Ability Modifier which is what buffs your dice rolls), we’re going with 17 DEX because it’ll be increased to 18 at level 4 once we get our first feat.
Skill Proficiencies
The Monk is able to choose two additional Skills to become Proficient at, besides those granted from their background in BG3. You can choose from the following options:
- History (INT)
- Insight (WIS)
- Religion (INT)
- Acrobatics (DEX)
- Stealth (DEX)
- Athletics (STR)
We’ll be pushing up our Dexterity and Wisdom Abilities the most for this build, so we recommend making sure you’ve used the combination of your Background and Skill picks to cover Insight, Acrobatics and Stealth. It’s not the end of the world if you deviate from this, but building your Skills around your strengths just allows you to get the most value out of them for your Monk Build in BG3.
Monk Actions and Class Features
During Character Creation, you get to see what Actions and Class features the Monk class gets at level 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3. You won’t have to select these Actions and Class Features, you have access to all of these right at the start of the game.
Actions
Your main Action is called Flurry of Blows. This costs 1 Ki-Point and a Bonus Action each time you use the action. If you deplete all your Ki you won’t be able use this action anymore. You can recharge your Ki after every short and long rest.
Flurry of Blows: With this ability you get to punch the enemy twice in quick succession.
Class Features
Below you will see the term “Monk Weapons” pop up frequently. The Monk has access to the following weapons: Simple Weapons (Clubs, Daggers, Handaxes, Javelins, Light Hammers, Maces, Sickles, Quarterstaves, Spears, Greatclubs, Slings, Light Crossbow, Shortbows).
The Monk is best played unarmoured and with simple weapons. “Clothes” don’t count as armour, so you can still wear anything that isn’t classed as Light, Medium or Heavy Armour. You can also still equip simple weapons and then do unarmoured attacks with for example Flurry of Blows for example. You also already get access to an extra attack with the Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike. Monks get access to an extra attack a lot earlier than other classes.
- Ki-Points: Ki is the magic that flows through all living beings. You can use it to exceed your body’s physical capabilities.
- Unarmoured Defence: Your reflexes are as effective as any armour. While not wearing armour, you add your Wisdom Modifier to your Armour Class.
- Martial Arts: Dextrous Attacks: Attacks with Monk Weapons and unarmed attacks scale with your Dexterity instead of your Strength if your Dexterity is higher.
- Martial Arts: Deft Strikes: Attacks with Monk Weapons and unarmed attacks deal 1-4 Bludgeoning damage, unless their normal damage is higher.
- Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike: After making an attack with a Monk Weapon or while unarmed, you can make another unarmed attack as a bonus action.
BG3 Monk Build Leveling Guide – Levels 2-4
In Baldur’s Gate 3, your character progresses from level 1 to level 12. In the first few levels you get to choose your subclass and get a feel for the build, but not all of your class & subclass features will be unlocked until high level, along with some racial features which may also remain locked until level 5, depending on your chosen race.
The main mechanic that you need to keep an eye on is your Ki Points as Monk. At lower levels, you won’t have many points available to spend until you do a short or long rest to recharge the Ki-Points. It might feel restrictive at the beginning of the game but at each extra level you gain more Ki-Points that you then can use in combat.
Level 2
Note: You also don’t have to pick anything here, you will get all the new features added to your character at level 2 automatically.
At level two the BG3 Monk Build will get a health increase from 10 to 17. You also get an additional Ki Point to fuel your Monk techniques and you get Unarmoured Movement which increases your movement speed by 3m while you are not wearing armour or a shield. You also get new Actions.
Patient Defence gives attack rolls against you a Disadvantage and you have an Advantage on Dexterity saving throws. Step of the Wind Dash that doubles your movement speed and jump doesn’t require a bonus action. And lastly, Step of the Wind Disengage lets you retreat to safety by Disengaging.
- Health increase from 10 to 17
- Additional Ki Point.
- Unarmoured Movement: 3m movement increase while not wearing armour or shield.
- Patient Defence: Attack Rolls against you have Disadvantage, and you have Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws.
- Step of the Wind: Dash: Double your movement speed. Jump no longer requires a bonus action.
- Step of the Wind: Disengage: Retreat to safety by Disengaging. Jump no longer requires a bonus action.
Level 3 – Pick your Monk Subclass
At level 3 your health increases from 17 to 24. You also get to pick your Subclass at level 3. Monks have access to Way of the Four Elements (Caster), Way of the Open Hand (Unarmed Combat) and Way of Shadow (Stealth and Subterfuge). For this BG3 Monk Build we are going to utilize the Way of Shadow subclass.
The Way of Shadow subclass lets you playfully toy with your enemies. Slipping into darkness, obscuring line of sight and creating bubbles to avoid magic damage. To put it simply, you are a kind of a Ninja now.
New Level 3 Monk Actions:
- Shadow Arts: Hide: Hide from enemies by succeeding Stealth checks. Stick to the dark and avoid enemy sightlines. Attacking or casting a spell will reveal your location.
- Shadow Arts: Pass Without Trace: Call forth a veil of shadows and silence that gives you and all nearby companions a +10 bonus to Stealth Checks.
- Shadow Arts: Darkness: Create a dark shroud that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of it.
- Shadow Arts: Darkvision: Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m.
- Shadow Arts: Silence: Create a sound-proof sphere. All within are Silenced and immune to Thunder damage.
New Cantrips:
- Minor Illusion: Create an illusion that compels nearby creatures to investigate. You can remain hidden while casting this spell. This spell can be cast while you are Silenced.
Level 4
At level four your Monk Build’s health increases from 24 to 31. You get an extra Ki Point. You also get Slow Fall, which reduces your fall damage by half.
You can also pick another Feat, it is recommended to select Athlete here. This allows you to add another point to Dexterity and when you are prone you require a lot less movement to stand back up. Your jump distance also increases by 50%, which is great for our build.
- Health increase 24 to 31
- Additional Ki Point
- Slow Fall: Reduces your fall damage by half
- New Feat: Athlete
BG3 Monk Build Mid-Game Leveling (5-8)
Level 5
At level five you you get another health increase from 31 to 38 for your Best Shadow Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. Additionally, you get another Ki Point and an Extra Attack, that allows you to make an additional free attack.
You also get Stunning Strike for unarmed and melee weapons that can stun enemies. Lastly, you get Cloak of Shadows, allowing you to become Invisible if you’re already concealed in shadow.
Important: The new Stunning Strike you get will be very useful from now on forth. You can stun tough enemies, they will have to skip a turn.
- Health 31 to 38
- Additional Ki Point
- Extra Attack: Can make an additional free attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack.
- Stunning Strike (Melee): Possibly Stuns the target. No damage.
- Stunning Strike (Unarmed): Possibly Stuns the Target and deals damage.
- Cloak of Shadows: Wrap yourself in shadows to become Invisible if you are obscured.
Level 6
At level 6 your health increases from 38 to 45. You get another Ki Point and improved unarmoured movement (4.5 instead of 3). You also gain Ki-Empowered Strikes, your unarmed attacks count as magical to overcome enemy resistance and immunity to non-magical damage.
- Health increased from 38 to 45.
- Extra Ki Point.
- Improved Unarmoured Movement: Your movement speed increases by 4.5m while you are not wearing armour or using a shield.
- Ki-Empowered Strikes: Your unarmed attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming enemies’ Resistance and Immunity to non-magical damage.
- Shadow Step: Teleport from shadow to shadow. Afterwards, you have an advantage on your next melee Attack Roll.
Level 7
At level 7 your health increases from 45 to 52. You will also get another additional Ki Point. At level 7 for your Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3 you also get a new class feature called Stillness of Mind. You also get the Evasion class feature that lets you dodge certain spells.
- Health increase from 45 to 52
- Extra Ki Point
- Evasion: Your agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain spells. When a spell or effect would deal half damage on a successful Dexterity Saving Throw, it deals no damage if you succeed, and only half damage if you fail.
- Stillness of Mind: If you are Charmed or Frightened, you automatically cast Stillness of Mind to remove the condition.
Level 8
At level 8 your health increases from 52 to 59. You will also get another additional Ki Point. Additionally, you also get to pick a new Feat. It is recommended to pick Tough, to increase your overall health.
- Health increase from 52 to 59
- Extra Ki Point
- New Feat: Tough (Increase Health)
That means your Health will now jump from 59 to 75 for your BG3 Monk Build. Our Monk is now a lot tougher and harder to defeat.
BG3 Monk Build – Late Game Leveling (9-12)
Level 9
At level 9 your health increases from 75 to 84 with the Tough Feat (otherwise 59 to 66). You will also get another additional Ki Point. At level 9 you get another increase in jumping distance. The class feature Advanced Unarmoured Movement allows you to jump 6m further than normal.
- Health increase from 75 to 84
- Extra Ki Point
- Advanced Unarmoured Movement: Difficult Terrain doesn’t slow you down and you can Jump an additional 6m while you are not wearing armour or using a shield.
Level 10
At level 10 your health increases from 84 to 93 with the Tough Feat (otherwise 66 to 73). You will also get another additional Ki Point. At level 10 your BG3 Monk Build will gain the Improved Unarmoured Movement class feature. This increases your movement speed by 4.5m.
- Health increase from 84 to 93
- Extra Ki Point
- Improved Unarmoured Movement: Your movement speed increases by 6m while you are not wearing armour or using a shield.
- Purity of Body: You are Immune to Poison damage and can’t be Poisoned or affected by disease thanks to the purifying Ki flowing through your meridians.
Level 11
At level 11 your health increases from 93 to 102 with the Tough Feat (otherwise 73 to 80). You will also get another additional Ki Point. We also gain the powerful action Shadowstrike with level 11.
- Health increase from 93 to 102
- Extra Ki Point
- Shadow Strike: Teleport to a foe from a hidden position, striking them with the creeping, psychic ferocity of the shadows themselves.
- Shadow Strike: Unarmed: Teleport to a foe from a hidden position, striking them with the creeping, psychic ferocity of the shadows themselves.
Level 12 – Maxed out BG3 Monk Build
Now you have reached the maximum possible level with your BG3 Monk Build. At level 12 your health increases from 102 to 111 with the Tough Feat (otherwise 80 to 87). You will also get another additional Ki Point. At level 12 you can unlock one last Feat: pick Ability Improvement and put both points into Dexterity, increasing it to 20.
- Health increase from 102 to 111
- Extra Ki Point
- Ability score improvement Feat +2 Dexterity
Best Equipment for the BG3 Monk Build
Let us take a look at some of the best gear for the Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. The setup will easily work without any of the gear from below. However, you will of course be more powerful if you manage to get your hands on some of the gear that is presented below.
Early Game Monk Equipment
There is plenty of gear to pick up throughout the early game. Most of the items listed below can be obtained in Act 1 or early Act 2.
| Slot | Icon | Item | Effects | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head |  |
Haste Helm |
|
Can be found inside a Wooden chest, next to a cart, near the Blighted Village Waypoint. |
| Cloak |  |
Cloak of Protection |
|
Purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn |
| Chest |  |
The Graceful Cloth |
|
Buy from Lady Esther on the Rosymorn Monastery Trail |
| Gloves |  |
Bracers of Defence |
|
In the hidden Necromancer’s Lair in a gilded chest, beneath the Blighted Village |
| Boots |  |
Swiresy Shoes |
|
Purchase from Grat the Trader inside the Goblin Camp |
| Necklace |  |
Amulet of Misty Step |
|
Purchased from Omeluum in the Myconid Colony |
| Ring 1 |  |
Ring of Protection |
|
Steal the Sacred Idol in Druid Grove (quest) |
| Ring 2 |  |
Smuggler’s Ring |
|
On a Skeleton, hidden in a bush on the lower path following the river, near the broken bridge section of Risen Road |
| Main Weapon |  |
Gold Wyrmling Staff |
|
Buy from Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum |
| Second Weapon |  |
Darkfire Shortbow |
|
From Dammon at Last Light Inn, Act II |
Headgear – Haste Helm
Here you can use the Haste Helm. This gives you the “Smooth Start”: At the start of combat, the wearer gains Momentum for 3 turns (extra 1.5m movement speed). The item can be found inside a Wooden chest, next to a cart, near the Blighted Village Waypoint.
Cloak of Protection
Once you reach Act 2 and reach the Last Light Inn (safe place from the Shadow Forest) you can get your hands on the Cloak of Protection. The cloak gives you 1+ Armour Class and 1+ Saving Throw, simple but very strong. You can buy it from Quartermaster Talli for 500 gold.
You can also read our in-depth guide on How to get the Cloak of Protection in BG3 which explains everything in detail.
Robe 1 The Graceful Cloth
The Graceful Cloth gives you access to Cat’s Grace, increasing your Dexterity score by 2 and giving you a +1 bonus on Dexterity Saving Throws. This will make your attacks stronger and increase your Armour Class by 1.
You can buy or steal it from Lady Esther on the Rosymorn Monastery Trail, near the end of Act I.
Robe 2 Icebite
The Icebite Robe can be found inside a Sarcophagus close to the Grand Mausoleum waypoint in Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate. You do get Cold damage Resistance. But more importantly, you get the Armour of Agathys spell that gives you extra health and damage.
Armour of Agathys (lv3 spell): Gain 15 temporary hit points and deal 15 Cold damage to any creature that hits you with a melee attack.
This robe is great, especially the extra hit points make a huge difference in tough fights. It also costs nothing since you can just loot it from the Sarcophagus.
Gloves – Bracers of Defence
It is recommended to get the Bracers of Defence for the Monk Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. You can obtain this in the hidden Necromancer’s Lair in this gilded chest in the Blighted Village. You can enter the lair through a wooden hatch inside a building. Once inside, you have to find the lever and activate it to get to the second hidden part of the lair.
Gloves Alternative – The Sparkle Hands
The Sparkle Hands are also great gloves as a secondary option in early game. If you don’t need the extra Armour Class from Bracers of Defence that is. The Sparkle Hands drop in the Sunlit Wetlands (where the Hag Hut is). They can be found inside a Wooden Chest. In endgame the gloves become even better if you combine them with the Vest of Soul Rejuvenation Robe. The robe lets you do reaction attacks when someone misses you (which happens a lot) and the gloves will trigger again then.
Conductive Strikes: On a hit with an unarmed attack, the wearer gains 2 Lightning Charges. Lightning Charges: Lightning courses through you. You have +1 to Attack Rolls and deal an additional 1 Lightning damage. If you gain 5 charges, they are consumed the next time you deal damage, and you deal an additional 1-8 Lightning damage. You lose 1 charge per turn.
Effective Transmitter: While imbued with Lightning Charges, attacks against metal constructs and foes wearing metal armour gain Advantage.
Boots – Swiresy Shoes
Inside the Goblin Camp from the Grat the Trader you can get good boots, they are called “Swiresy Shoes“. They will increase your jump distance and give you +1 in Acrobatics too. The boots don’t cost that much.
Necklace – Amulet of Misty Step
For your Necklace, we recommend the Amulet of Misty Step. This grants you the Misty Step Spell, which lets you teleport to any visible location in range. This is great for quickly taking the high ground for Advantage, or for escaping a tricky situation where you’re getting melee enemies in your face. The Amulet of Misty Step can be purchased from Omeluum in the Myconid Colony, after completing his quest to investigate the parasite.
We also have an in-depth guide on How to get the Amulet of Misty Step in BG3.
Ring of Protection
When you are in the Druids Grove you eventually will find the Tiefling Hideout. Kids that steal stuff for a living. If you have the Urchin background you might feel right at home. Mol asks you to steal the Druid Idol and give it to her. If you do that she will award you with the Ring of Protection. This is another way to boost your Armour Class by +1 and make you tankier without having any actual armour active.
There are a few ways to get into the Tiefling Hideout. Make your way to the location and talk to the kids, one of them will steal something from you and trigger a quest. You can either convince them to let you in or crawl through if you have a small character with you.
Smuggler’s Ring
This ring will boost your Stealth and Sleight of Hand skills by +2, making your character much better at sneaking around and stealing things. However, it also removes 1 point of Charisma. If you don’t want to reduce your Charisma score, you can replace this with another ring.
It is found On a Skeleton, hidden in a bush on the lower path following the river, near the broken bridge section of Risen Road
Weapon – Gold Wyrmling Quarterstaff
Inside the Goblin Camp “Shattered Sanctum” you can find a trader called Roah Moonglow. You can buy the “Gold Wyrmling Staff” from her. It deals good damage and adds a bit of fire damage too. It costs quite a bit though, 806 gold.
Darkfire Shortbow
Also in the Lights Inn at the blacksmith called “Dammon” you can get a good bow called “Darkfire Shortbow“. Deals good overall damage and Radiant damage. It also grants Resistance to Fire and Cold damage, making your build more tanky. The extra Resistance stays active even if you use your main Monk weapon. Additionally, it also provides the “Haste” spell, which makes you faster and harder to hit and you gain an extra action.
Endgame Equipment for the Monk
Below you can find the setup we used towards the end of the game. We also listed all endgame items below, what they do and where you can get them. In our setup below the most important item is the Markoheshkir Quarterstaff and the Vest of Soul Rejuvenation cloth.
| Slot | Icon | Item | Effects | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head |  |
Scabby Pugilist Circlet |
|
Can be purchased from Mattis near the Requsitioned Barn in Rivington, if he survived to Act III.
If Mattis didn’t survive, you can keep using the Haste Helm instead. |
| Cloak | |
Cloak of Protection |
|
Purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn |
| Chest |  |
Vest of Soul Rejuvenation |
|
Sold by either Rolan or Lorroakan’s Projection in Sorcerous Sundries. If Lorroakan is dead, pickpocket from Rolan in Ramazith’s Tower |
| Gloves |  |
Gloves of Soul Catching |
|
Reward for completing the quest Save Hope in the House of Hope |
| Boots |  |
Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo |
|
Dropped by Prelate Lir’i’c in the Astral Plane, in the transition sequence between Act II and Act III. |
| Necklace |  |
Amulet of Greater Health |
|
Steal from the left-most pedestal in the Archive in House of Hope |
| Ring 1 | |
Ring of Protection |
|
Steal the Sacred Idol in Druid Grove (quest) |
| Ring 2 | |
Smuggler’s Ring |
|
On a Skeleton, hidden in a bush on the lower path following the river, near the broken bridge section of Risen Road |
| Main Weapon | Unarmed |
|
N/A | |
| Second Weapon | Any with Proficiency |
|
N/A |
Now let’s also take a look at where you can find these items.
Scabby Pugilist Circlet
The Scabby Pugilist Circlet is a good piece of headgear for the Monk build. It gives you +2 damage to your melee attacks (both armed and unarmed) when you’re surrounded by 2 or more nearby foes. This won’t be active all the time, but in some situations you’ll get some extra damage.
The trouble with this item is that it is only purchasable from Mattis in Act III. He is one of the Tiefling children from the Druid Grove way back in Act I, and if the player neglected this questline or chose the “wrong” path, it’s possible that they won’t make it to Act III at all, perishing in either Act I or Act II. If that’s the case, you can keep using the Haste Helm from the early-game list instead.
Vest of Soul Rejuvenation
The Vest of Soul Rejuvenation robe can also be purchased at the trader Rolan inside Sorcerous Sundries, in Baldur’s Gate in Act 3. The robe has Defier’s Rejuvenation: Whenever the wearer succeeds on a Saving Throw against a spell, they regain 1-4 hit points. Greater Kushigo Counter: The wearer can use a reaction to make an unarmed strike against any attacker that misses. Armour Class +2.
This robe is perfect for our Monk Build, it auto heals and we can make auto-unarmed attacks, plus it also gives extra Armour Class. The Robe costs a lot though, 4160 gold.
Gloves of Soul Catching
The Gloves of Soul Catching is a legendary item. You can obtain this in the House of Hope (Devil Raphael’s realm). You need to defeat him, which is extremely tough to do. You reach the House of Hope via Devil’s Fee in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate. You have to speak to Helsik to start the process because you have to complete a ritual upstairs for the portal to open.
Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo
The Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo add extra damage equal to your Wisdom Mofidier to all your Unarmed Attacks. For this build, this will be 3 extra damage on each Unarmed Attack. While you’re using a Quarterstaff or other melee weapon, there’s little point in wearing these boots. However, you should hold onto them – once you collect the Gloves of Soul Catching your Unarmed Attacks become very powerful, and then it’s worth wearing these boots to boost your attacks even more.
The Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo are looted from Prelate Lir’i’c, one of the attackers in the Astral Plane at the beginning of Act III.
Amulet of Greater Health
The Amulet of Greater Health will boost your Constitution score to an insane 23. You can obtain this in the House of Hope (Devil Raphael’s realm). We also have an in-depth guide on How to obtain the Amulet of Greater Health in BG3.
Tips & Tricks for the BG3 Monk Build
Let us take a look at a few things that you want to know about the BG3 Monk Build. These Tips and Tricks will make it easier to enjoy a playthrough as Monk.
- Monks generally gain 1 Ki Point every level. That means you will get to spend more Ki points before you have to rest at higher levels.
- Monks are best played without armor. They have Unarmored Defense with Wisdom and Dexterity affecting the Armour Class.
- You can get a very high Armour Class with the right gear and Unarmored Defense, even higher than some classes with Armour.
- You can still wear clothes, just nothing that has the tag Light/Medium/Heavy Armor. Clothes and Robes are okay.
- Monk might feel weak at the start, but after level 5 and 6 the class gets a lot more powerful.
- High Movement: The Monk has a class specific dash called “Step of the Wind: Dash and the normal Dash action. If you are using the Darkfire Shortbow you also get the “Haste” Spell which allows you to become faster, harder to hit and gain an action. That means you can activate both the Monk Step of the Wind: Dash and the normal Dash. And the Haste Spell also gives you more movement, this combination allows you to have 2-3x more movement speed than any of your other group members.
- Monk can get insanely good midgame and endgame gear that boost its power by a lot.
Monk Build Illithid Powers (optional)
Illithid Powers are unlocked later in BG3 when you learn more about Mind Flayers and Tadpoles. By eating Jars of Mind Flayer Parasites you gain one point. This is another optional skill tree that you can get access to if you want. Here are some of the best Illithid Powers for the BG3 Monk Build with the Way of Shadow subclass:
- Mind Blast: Deals 4d8 Psionic Damage in a cone and has a chance to Stun all affected targets. Note that you need to become a partial-illithid to unlock this power.
- Cull the Weak: When you reduce a creature’s hit points below a certain threshold, this power instantly kills it and deals 1-4 psychic damage to nearby enemies. This is particularly effective when engaging groups of weaker foes, enabling you to thin their numbers rapidly.
- Fly: This can be used to reach hard to get to places or change positions in combat.
- Black Hole: This power creates an area-based effect that pulls in and slows targets. It’s particularly useful for crowd control, allowing you to cluster enemies together for area-of-effect attacks or to isolate them from vulnerable allies.
- Psionic Backlash: This is a top tier reaction from the Illithid Powers skill tree in BG3. This allows you to deal psychic damage when a nearby enemy casts a spell. This is especially useful if the target is casting a Concentration Spell. The damage from Psionic Backlash can immediately break their Concentration, ending the spell’s effects.
BG3 Monk Build Summary
Sometimes, all the information above for our Best BG3 Monk Build can be quite overwhelming due to the amount of text to read. Let’s summarize everything to give you a better overview of the BG3 Monk Build.
Monk Mechanics
- Ki Points
- Unarmoured Defense
- Martial Arts Unarmed Strike
- High Stun Rate
- High Movement Speed
Subclass
- Way of Shadow
Background
- Urchin (Sleight of Hand, Stealth)
- Outlander (Athletics, Survival)
Race
- Wood Elf
- Asmodeus Tiefling
- Dragonborn
- Human
- Gold Dwarf
Skills
- Dexterity
- Wisdom
Starter Abilities
- 10 Strength
- 17 Dexterity
- 14 Constitution
- 8 Intelligence
- 16 Wisdom
- 8 Charisma
Lastly, it is important to note that the Monk is a melee fighter but can also be effective at range in late game. The Monk also has opportunities to find good equipment in all three acts of Baldur’s Gate 3.
We hope you enjoyed this article. The Monk is a great class in Baldur’s Gate 3 and if built correctly one of the most powerful specs.
Other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds:
