AndreaColombo Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 (edited) DISCLAIMER: This build is based on some equipment that is currently bugged, and it is not certain whether a fix will make it to patch 3.02. I will mark those in yellow and provide temporary alternatives until a fix for the bugs is released. I originally conceived the build around Zahua; however, I will provide (albeit loose) guidelines for those who may want to play it as their main. Concept & Premises With the release of patch 3.0, a number of items have become available that bestow afflictions on foes you hit/crit, or foes that hit/crit you. The purpose of this build is to pack as many of those effects as possible, while making use of abilities that also bestow afflictions on your enemies. Race, Class, Background Race: Human Though, to be honest, that's not really a requirement. You can pick really any race except Godlike, for you'll need the Head slot for equipment. Class: Monk I toyed with the idea of a Fighter version as well, but a Monk's abilities just suit the whole concept a lot better and I eventually decide to settle for just the Monk version. Background: Any Whatever floats your boat; it's not going to make much of a difference, although I suggest picking a background with a +2 bonus to Survival because it's always handy. Attribute scores These are the starting attribute scores in two alternative arrays: Main array MIG: 16/19 (16 base, +3 Garodh's Chorus OR Engwithan Adra Ban Amulet [optional]) CON: 18 (16 base, +2 Binding Rope) DEX: 13 (10 base, +3 Ring of Thorns) PER: 13/15 (10 base, +3 Caed Nua resting bonus, +2 Elryn's Jacket [optional]) INT: 20 (16 base, +4 Gwyn's Band of Union) RES: 10 (10 base) Alternative array MIG: 16/19 (16 base, +3 Garodh's Chorus OR Engwithan Adra Ban Amulet [optional]) CON: 18 (16 base, +2 Binding Rope) DEX: 19 (16 base, +3 Ring of Thorns) PER: 13/15 (10 base, +3 Caed Nua resting bonus, +2 Elryn's Jacket [optional]) INT: 20 (16 base, +4 Gwyn's Band of Union) RES: 4 (4 base) Notes: I did not include any of bonus attribute points you can gather through out the game, but if you play this build as your main, you are of course encouraged to get them. You can get +1 MIG from Gift from the Machine, +1 PER from Song of the Heavens, and +1 to any attribute from Effigy's Resentment. Additionally, you can have +1 PER/INT/RES from Mental Prowess. I suggest going for the non-min/maxed array as the dumped RES gives you a significant penalty to Concentration, even though that can be easily ameliorated if you have a Priest in your party. Talents & Abilities As is customary for my builds, I do not mandate a specific order for talents and abilities, and rather leave you freedom to pick them at whatever pace suits your preferences and play style. I'm leaving out story talents purposefully but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take them if you're playing this build as your main. Talents: Weapon Focus: Paesant Two Weapon Fighting Lightning Strikes Lesser Wounds Savage Attack Vulnerable Attack Apprentice's Sneak Attack Runner's Wounding Shot Notes: Lesser Wounds was picked to let you spam your Monk abilities more often, but it isn't really necessary. Feel free to replace it with anything that suits your needs or preferences. Abilities:Torment's ReachSwift StrikesStunning BlowsRooting PainEnervating BlowsSkyward Kick OR Force of AnguishResonant Touch OR The Dichotomous SoulFlagellant's Path Notes: Some of you may be wondering why the unpopular Skyward Kick is even there. The reason is twofold: One the one hand, it bestows the Prone affliction which is pretty good and fits the build's purpose; on the other, I'm not a huge fan of push attacks like Force of Anguish, for when my enemies are prone I want them close to me so I can maim them. That said, Force of Anguish is a perfectly valid alternative should you dislike Skyward Kick (which is admittedly sub par for its level.) The Dichotomous Soul is likely stronger than Resonant Touch and might be the coolest Monk ability, but since it's part of pretty much every Monk build out there (with the notable exception of Boeroer's Fulmineo Prondroni) I figured I'd at least provide an alternative. If you're going for it, consider Scion of Flame or Secrets of Rime instead of Lesser Wounds as those provide a flat +20% damage to the relevant twin. Skills In terms of skills, I suggest putting at least 7 ranks in Survival for the 2nd-tier DR resting bonus—if not even 13 for the 3rd-tier one. The rest is entirely up to you, although given a Monk's tendency to take a beating to fuel their abilities, Athletics may be a good idea. Equipment Head: Lavender Wreath OR Garodh's Chorus (defensive version) OR Executioner's Hood Neck: Swaddling Sheet OR Engwithan Adra Ban Amulet OR Lost Periapt of the Winding Path Body: Elryn's Jacket OR Monk's Outfit OR Tidebringer's Out fit Hands: Glittering Gauntlets OR Gauntlets of Accuracy OR Gauntlets of Swift Action Ring: Gwyn's Band of Union Ring: Ring of Thorns Boots: Sandals of the Forgotten Friar OR Shod-in-Faith OR Greenstained Boots OR Fenwalkers OR Boots of Speed Belt: Binding Rope Notes: Lavender Wreath and Binding Rope are currently affected by a bug whereby their effect is suppressed by any other retaliatory effect from any other piece of equipment, including each other's. In other words, you can only have one of them active at a time. Until this is fixed, I'd favor Binding Rope over Lavender Wreath for I prefer to inflict Stuck rather than Sickened (and because Lavender Wreath looks positively hideous on Zahua, especially if you're wearing Elryn's Jacket.) You may use Executioner's Hood or Garodh's Chorus as an alternative; the latter will have to be the defensive version or its Retaliation will suppress Binding Rope's property. Elryn's Jacket is affected by a bug whereby its Eyestrike will hit you and your party members instead of your foes. This should be fixed in patch 3.02, making this the best armor for this build. However, if you can't stand how it looks with Lavender Wreath (which would be totally understandable), go for a Monk's Outfit until you can grab the Tidebringer's Outfit. Make sure you durganize and enchant whichever you choose as your endgame solution. Glittering Gauntlets suffer from a bug that prevents them from working with unarmed attacks, and another that prevents them from working with most Monk abilities. It is uncertain at this point whether 3.02 will fix these issues, but I wouldn't hold my breath; until a fix lands, the ever-popular Gauntlets of Accuracy or Gauntlets of Swift Action will serve you well. If you go for the min/maxed attribute array, you may want to consider Celebrant's Gloves for the boost to Concentration. If you go for the min/maxed attribute array, I strongly advise you equip Lost Periapt of the Winding Path in your neck slot to gain +2 RES and +20 Concentration (on top of the Concentration you already get from the RES bonus.) In an ideal world where none of the equipment I've chosen for this build is faulty, you would bestow Sickened, Stuck, Blinded, and Dazed on foes who hit you (plus Crush damage from Rooting Pain); Dazed, Prone, Weakened, Stunned, and Hobbled to foes you hit. Brute-forcing them afterward should be easy peasy lemon squeezy Edited March 20, 2016 by AndreaColombo 4 "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDubya Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 An added bonus with using this for Zahua is that it'd only use one piece of Durgan steel for the armor, thus freeing up more for the rest of the team. I've found that the AI does not use Force of Anguish or Flagellant's Path on its own (which I prefer so that I can target them properly), does the AI use Skyward kick on its own? Gives a nice, more monkish, alternative to the heavy armored Juggernaut for the many people who dislike heavy armor on a monk but want to use Zahua. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxQuest Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 (edited) When I saw the title have thought it's about max-per monk with stunning weapons -- The amount of afflictions this build can inflict is indeed great. But.. it would require taking away the Binding Rope from the main tank... Btw, another option for the head piece would be Executioner's Hood (unless you already gave it to a Loyalty Paladin) Edited March 19, 2016 by MaxQuest 1 PoE1 useful stuff: attack speed calculator, unofficial patch mod, attack speed mechanics, dot mechanics, modals exclusivity rules PoE2 useful stuff: community patch, attack speed mechanics, enemy AR and defenses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L4wlight Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Maybe consider listing Celebrant's Gloves as option for the min/maxed array. 1 SHARKNADO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaColombo Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 Very good ideas! I'm editing the OP to include them Thanks! "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blades of Vanatar Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Great stuff... as usual! 1 No matter which fork in the road you take I am certain adventure awaits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaColombo Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) I've found that the AI does not use Force of Anguish or Flagellant's Path on its own (which I prefer so that I can target them properly), does the AI use Skyward kick on its own? Nope; tested yesterday and it doesn't. Looks like this build requires some good micro to make the most of it. Fighter Version? Pretty please? A Fighter version would be rather underwhelming compared to this. What I could do is share the Edér build I used in my last play through, which I've greatly enjoyed—it's nothing as focused or flamboyant as this, but it's got good DPS and style in spades. With a couple modifications (and a bug fix), it could become rather interesting. I might post it to the Companion Builds thread Edited March 20, 2016 by AndreaColombo "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atua Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Where's the Lost Periapt of the Winding Path from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaColombo Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 Where's the Lost Periapt of the Winding Path from? Going by memory, it's one of the stronghold adventures. "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerekKruger Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 How do you find the proc rate for Enervating Blows? I had a similar idea for a Monk but assumed I'd need a high perception to ensure a high crit rate and hence a high Enervating Blows rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaColombo Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 I had a similar idea for a Monk but assumed I'd need a high perception to ensure a high crit rate and hence a high Enervating Blows rate. That is indeed the case. I didn't invest too much in PER because Monks already share the highest base Accuracy with Fighters, Rogues, and Rangers; they get a very good Accuracy bonus from Transcendent Suffering; and Accuracy is generally easy to boost (especially so if you have a Priest in your party, which I always do.) However, investing more in PER is certainly a good idea if you want to crank Enervating Blows to 11 and/or don't have a Priest around. "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerekKruger Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Obviously it's rather early for testing, but I'd be very interested in knowing whether the bugs on the items needed for this build have been fixed in 3.04. I was thinking of running this build for Zahua. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaColombo Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 I'm on GoG so no 3.04 for me until next week. Patch notes generically indicate that several issues with Glittering Gauntlets were fixed, but no answer was given when I asked for specifics. If they work with Monks' fists, the build should be viable. However, stacking issues with retaliation, binding and irritating were not addressed; you will have to choose between the belt and the wreath. Not sure about the armor. QA could not reproduce the bug so hopefully it's fixed. "Time is not your enemy. Forever is." — Fall-From-Grace, Planescape: Torment "It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers." — Kvothe, The Wise Man's Fears My Deadfire mods: Brilliant Mod | Faster Deadfire | Deadfire Unnerfed | Helwalker Rekke | Permanent Per-Rest Bonuses | PoE Items for Deadfire | No Recyled Icons | Soul Charged Nautilus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li.co Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 The Build Compendium thread says: "NOTE: This build relies on equipment that is currently (as of patch 3.03) bugged. Unless Obsidian fix those items, this build will remain not viable." But here there are alternatives. Does this mean the build is fine with the alternatives? Both this build and the compendium thread was managed by Andrea so I'm not sure whats up. I also only ever played on the last patch and I still don't know if Riposte stuff works since every now and then I see an old build here using it and I'm like ???? Appreciate the help and sorry for the Necro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaospread Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 As I remember, Elryn's Jacket is fixed in current patch. I'm not sure that Lavender Wreath and Binding Rope are bugged, but the behaviour is what it is supposed to be. If Elryn's Jacket is actual fixed, the build is viable imho, without it, it lose some points. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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