On the Dark Side of the Moon: Solo-Monk-Guide [HoF]
Harpagornis
Member Posts: 1,658
Who is this guide for: For players who love to challenge the game to its limits.
And: To show that Dark Moon Monks are viable solo chars even in HoF-Mode.
1) Class Information
-------------------------
2) Abilities and Skills
-------------------------
3) Weapons, Armor and Items
-------------------------
4) Frequently Asked Questions
-------------------------
1) Class Information
==============
Advantages:
----------
The monk can make 1 unarmed attack per round; he gains 1/2 an additional attack every 3 levels.
As the monk increases in levels, the damage his fists inflicts does as well:
Level 1-2: 1-6 (1d6)
Level 3-5: 1-8 (1d8)
Level 6-8: 1-10 (1d10)
Level 9-11: 2-13 (1d12+1)
Level 12-14: 3-14 (1d12+2)
Level 15-24: 4-23 (1d20+3)
Level 25+: 5-24 (1d20+4)
A monk's natural AC gets better as he goes up in levels. His AC starts off at 9, and then decreases by 1 for every 2 levels.
Frozen Fist, once per day for every 4 levels. When this ability is activated, the dark moon monks fists are wreathed in a frosty shell. For 1 turn the dark moon monks unarmend attacks deal an additional 2 points of cold damage on each succesful hit.
Monks have the Deflect Missiles ability. This gives them a -1 to their AC vs
missiles for every 3 levels.
The monk gains a +2 to save vs spells.
A monk starts off moving at +2 move, then +1 move every 5 levels.
1st level: May cast Blindness once per day.
3rd level: May cast Blur once per day.
5th level: Immunity to all diseases, and cannot be Slowed or Hasted.
7th level: May cast Vampiric Touch once per day.
8th level: -1 to speed factor.
9th level: +1 to all saves. Immune to charm.
11th level: May cast Mirror Image once per day. Immune to poison.
12th level: Another -1 to speed factor. Fists are considered +2 weapons.
13th level: Quivering palm spell once per day. This spell gives them one
hand attack. If they hit an opponent, the opponent must save or die.
14th level: The monk gains 3% magic resistance per level (ie 42 at 14th level).
15th level: Fists are considered +3 weapons.
20th level: Immune to non-magical weapons.
25th level: Fists are considered +4 weapons.
Disadvantages:
------------
The monk cannot wear armor.
A monk can only use weapons available to the thief class (except 2 handed)
May only become proficient (one slot) in any weapon class,
Alignment restricted to lawful evil.
A bit more information that is useful to know
--------------------------------------
The monk uses the fighter's THAC0. Great!
The monk uses the cleric's hit dice (1d8). Furthermore, the monk does not gain any bonuses to his hit dice from having a constitution higher than 16 (+2 max).
The maximum hit points you can reach with the monk at level 30 are 132 (without items).
The maximum amount of hit points that can be healed from using Vampiric Touch is 36 HP.
The monk's fists have a range of 2, the same as halberds and spears.
Your damage potential in the endgame of HoW is 4x 16-35 crushing damage.
Your fully buffed armor class - depending on items - is around -15 AC.
2) Abilities and Skills
==============
Attribute Optimization
-------------------
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 16
|Intelligence: minimum
Wisdom: minimum
Charisma: minimum
Having a high intelligence was great in BG for fighting mindflayers but in IWD you will meet none of them.
Wisdom is unnecessary for a monk in IWD despite the official rules of Dungeons & Dragons.
Charisma is not needed in IWD cause their is no need for Diplomacy in the harsh north.
Weapon Proficiencies
------------------
Single Weapon Style: You may as well put your first point here, considering that all of your proficiencies will be in weapons that are single-handed.
ESSENTIAL
Slings: If you want to survive the first chapter or later on fight the hard hitting bosses slings will become your best friend. The bullets of fire will work when dealing with Trolls (and you run out of burning oil).
OPTIONAL:
Daggers: The Fire Dagger (Random Drop in Orc Cave) and the Salamandre Tongue (Seth in Lower Dorns Deep) will also help you finishing trolls.
Stealth-Skills
-----------
Detect Illusion: I really like this one. You can stealth up to a Mage and easily dispel any kinds of illusions like Mirror Image. Works great too when fighting Pomab in the final chapter.
Hide in Shadows: Put most points here. Hide in Shadows affects both your ability to hide in shadows and to stay hidden.
Move Silently: As mentioned above you can keep this relatively low.
Dark Moon Monk Special Abilities
----------------------------
Frozen Fist: Do not underestimate the power of this skill. Its only a +2 cold damage per hit but you can stack them! Not to forget: You can hit through Stoneskins – say hello Spell Failure. Remains useful throughout the game even though undead and ice creatures for good reason are not affected.
Blind: When playing a solo monk you will learn to love this abilily early on. Even in HoF-Mode many enemys will fail their saving throw (especially undead). Blinded creature receives -4 penalty on attack rolls and 4 penalty on armor class for twelve hours. As they are running around helplessly you can easily bring them down with slingshots or the kick-and-run method.
Blur: Nice defensive tool that gives you a -3 armor class bonus and a +1 bonus to all of your saving throws. Great prebuff in combination with Mirror Image. Only downside: The duration is relatively low (X + 1 round/level).
Vampiric Touch: Thats your „Lay on Hands“ skill. The good: It hurts your enemy. The bad: You cannot heal without them. A way around this problem is to tap neutral critters. When facing a tough opponent you can raise your maximum hit points temporarily right before the battle to absorb damage. The skill can also be targeted to a container/item on the ground, making it super useful if no enemies are around.
Mirror Image: Great tank skill that will give your monk a little powerspike once you reach level 11. Remains useful until the end and will save you from a lot of pain. Unike the mage spell its duration is much higher (X +2 rounds/level?).
Quivering Palm: When you get this skill at level 13 you will transform into a death ball. Thanks to its power i cleared Dragons Eye in no time. Remember Yxunomei? What normally is one of the hardest battles in the game will now be a cakewalk. Quivering Palm can instakill Yxunomei and will remain useful till the end even though some enemies like Frost Giants or Undead will be not affected. But: You can kill Trolls with it too. To make it clear: This skill is a gamechanger!
3) Weapons, Armor & Items
=================
The good thing: Monks will be quite efficient even without any equipment. In the following you will find items that are worth considering.
The Flaming Fists of Lin Mei: THAC0 +2 when attacking with fist, 25% chance of inflicting 1d2 points of fire damage when attacking with fists, Burning Hands once per day. Random Drop in Dragons Eye.
Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise: You will find them early on in Kresselacks Tomb. +1 THAC0 is only a small boost but for the vanilla game this is enough.
Sarutobis Stone Breaker [HoW]: This item is even better than the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise. +1 Str, +2 damage and an extra 2d6 damage when critting is not to be taken easy. Sold by Quinn Silverfinger in Lonelywood.
Black Wolf Talisman: I used this Amulet til the end. +1 armor class, +10 hit points, 10% cold resistance and +1 save vs breath are quite solid. Found in Kresselacks Tomb.
Ring of Free Action: This ring is an excellent item when facing powerful enemies that cast movement debilitating spells, until your magic resistance becomes very high. Furthermore: The ring also makes you completely immune to any kind of stunning effect. Orrick in Kuldahar.
Ring of Strength: This will boost your strength to 19 early on once you reach the Severed Hand. The damage boost (+5) is much better than the loss of -1 armor class due to the -1 dexterity malus (just wear the +1 dex Ion Stone if you want to compensate).
Girdle of Stromnos: Great item cause it boosts your strength to 19. Stacks with Ring of Strength for even more damage.
Girdle of Ogre Blood [HoW]: This is a key item because it makes your life much easier. Once per day you can summon five Ogres. They work great as decoys so you can punch your enemies without fearing their retaliation. Not to forget: The regeneration of 1 HP per 5 rounds. This also means much faster regeneration when resting – great.
Boots of the Fox (+1 AC, Random Drop in Dragons Eye) / Boots of Grounding (50% electrical resistance, Oswald in Kuldahar) / Boots of the North (50% cold resistance, Tiernon in Gloomfrost)
Mantle of the Coming Storm (30% fire & cold resistance, +1 AC, +1 save vs paralysis, Free Action, Whitcomb in Kuldahar after defeating Lysan)
Mithrans Cloak (+3 AC, +2 saving throws, Orrick in Kuldahar in return for the „Mythal Theory“ book)
Sune´s Laurel of Flavor (+1 AC, +1 charisma, Denaini in the Severed Hand)
Missile Weapons
--------------
Edley's Sling: Best sling you can get in the vanilla game thanks to +2 Damage & +3 THAC0. Denaini in the Severed Hand.
HoW: Quinn´s Fancy Sling (+3 damage, +5 THAC0) / Jamison´s Sling (+4 Damage, +4 THAC0). Found in Lonelywood.
4) Frequently Asked Questions
===================
Q: Is the solo monk a difficult class to play in HoF-Mode?
-----------------------------------------------
To make it short: Yes! And no! Your earlygame with be painful because you cannot win a close combat fight against most foes. Blind will help a lot and if you manage to micro your monk with perfection you may play the kick-and-run game. But in most cases – especially in the Orc Cave and on your way to Kuldahar – you will need to kite with your sling a lot. You will need a lot of patience to survive the first maps but once you managed to pass through this bottleneck things will get easier.
Level 11 is a small turningpoint. With Mirror Image your tank ability goes up significantly. Level 13 will give you a new powerspike. With Quivering Palm you can often instakill two or three mobs in one round. The first levels of Dragons Eye should be a cakewalk. Level 14 gives you a new peak thanks to 3% magic resistance per level. Watch the Mages running for their life. Once you reach level 20 your power will fly to the sky as you get immune to non-magic weapons. This means in IWD: Many monsters are just not able to harm you anymore. For instance: The huge horde of undeads at level 3 in Dragons Eye will not be able to harm the monk. You can sit there, drink a cup of tea and watch how they go down one after another.
You still have to be careful as there will be many opponents who can kill the monk in two or three hits. Just be careful. Getting overconfident and losing patience are your worst enemies.
Q: How can i survive the Orc Cave in the very beginning?
-----------------------------------------------
This one is all about kiting. Hardest part is definetly the Ogre-Boss-Fight. My strategy was: Blind one of the four Elite archers because they can hit hard. The following part of the battle is surviving the arrow shorts. After the three Orc-Archers ran out of ammo (they luckily only have 10 arrows to fire) the real kiting game begins. Not to forget: Avoid getting trapped by the monsters. Thanks to the high movement speed of monks this part is not too hard. Main problem is not to lose concentration as the battle can last up to thirty minutes depending on your hit/crit luck.
Q: How should I deal with Mages?
---------------------------
Thanks to your high magic resistance and good saving throws most magic users will have a hard time harming you. For those Stoneskin-Mages you can use Frozen Fist to make their spells fizzle. With Quivering Palm you have good chances instakilling them. Stealth + Detect Illusion will make Mirror Images disappear in no time. Ring of Free Action will save you from any movement imparing effects.
Q: How should I deal with the Blast Skeletons?
--------------------------------------
Keep your distance and slingshot them down with a single hit – job done.
Q: How should I deal with Umber Hulks?
--------------------------------------------------
They might be a problem for other classes but not for the monk. I fought a lot of them but never ever got confused by their gaze. Just kick them to death or use Quivering Palm.
Q: How should I deal with Salamanders?
--------------------------------
Salamanders can hurt you quite a bit thanks to their fire/cold aura. Use Fire/Cold-Protection or – even easier – instakill them with Quivering Palm. If you get flooded like in the Ice Temple: Kite them to death!
Q: How should I deal with Yxunomei?
-------------------------------
Normally this is one of the toughest battles in the whole series but surprisingly its one of the easiest when you play a monk. Use Quivering Palm to instakill Yxunomei and focus down the Yuan-Ti mages next cause they can hit you pretty hard at this level. Next are the Yuan-Ti Elite Warrior as their arrows can hit you (if you get unlucky). Once you engage them in melee they are harmless.
Q: How should I deal with Belhifet?
-----------------------------
In my run i forgot to get Edley's Sling so kiting him was not possible. But there is another way. Just beware that running blindlessly into melee range of Belhifet is troublesome cause he hits really hard (70 damage is no problem for him). The trick in this battle is: Attack him after he teleports! In this case he will not reply instantly as he is on his run for a spellcast. To avoid the dispel-traps i moved on the outer circle only. Thanks to his high movement speed the monk was able to outrun the monsters pretty easily. From there he was circling and waiting for Belhifet to teleport to a new location. When he was in time he ran up to the demon, hit him once and circled again. From time to time Belhifet will summon new shadow monsters – ignore them. If he is in the inner circle and running to you – ignore him. Because if you try to hit him in this case he will instantly counterattack. To survive his Fire Spells the Monk used: Mantle of the Coming Storm (30 %), Scroll of Protection from Fire (50 %) and Fire Resistance Potion (50 %) = 127 % Fire Resistance. Beating Belhifet down in this manner takes some time but its quite safe.
Q: How should I deal with Icasaracht?
-------------------------------
This one is a hell of a fight. Prepare for a lot of pain. The sequence of finishing the first part is: Kill the Sahuagin (especially the king and his priests). Spare the life of two or three Sahuagin till Icasracht is nearly dead because they will hinder the movement of the dragon. Kite the beast down with your 18-21 damage Slingshots (-50% thanks to DR). And foremost: Avoid the Whirlwinds at any cost because they will slowly but surely bring you down. To do this i circled through the room. When running to the East i nearly constantly could fire around 6 Slingshots at the Dragon. When turning to the West its all about running because - for whatever reason - the Whirlwinds will get faster and faster. Running to the Southwest part of the room makes them stacking there for a short while. Circle around them and run to the Northeast. This gives you time for new Slingshots and - thats the best - some of the Whirlwinds will pass through the Soul Gem and - maybe - damage it. Thats great. Thanks to this method you can bring down Icasaracht relatively safe. With good microing you should still be at full health after the dragon falls (some health potions maybe needed). Dont forget: Never ever try to melee the beast. He kills you in no time. Well at least my Monk stood no chance.
The trick after killing the dragon was: Ignore the Vodyanoi and keep on circling. As many Vodyanoi get stuck (bug?) you can slingshot the Gem on each of your rounds, bringing it slowly but surely down. Funnily enough the Whirlwinds will damage the Soul Gem too, making your task a bit easier. To survive the Fire Spells of the Soul Gem i just had to make sure using Fire Resistance Potion and Scroll. The whole fight is all about Kiting and Microing your Character. Took more than half an hour to finish this epic battle.
Q: How should I deal with the big fat Rhemoraz?
----------------------------------------
Quivering Palm wont work on them – thats a pity. But you have another trick: Use the Ogre from the Belt as Decoys, Blur & Mirror Image as buffs and fight them in tight spots one after another. If everything fails kite them with slingshots and/or retreat-rest-reengage.
Q: How should I deal with the Wailing Virgins?
--------------------------------------
You can kill them in a very straightforward manner. Thanks to your magic resistance / saving throws they nearly never are able to touch you. The fight against Mebdinga for instance is „pretty easy“ for a high level monk. Throw in some Ogre Decoys via "Girdle of Ogre Blood" if you want.
And: To show that Dark Moon Monks are viable solo chars even in HoF-Mode.
1) Class Information
-------------------------
2) Abilities and Skills
-------------------------
3) Weapons, Armor and Items
-------------------------
4) Frequently Asked Questions
-------------------------
1) Class Information
==============
Advantages:
----------
The monk can make 1 unarmed attack per round; he gains 1/2 an additional attack every 3 levels.
As the monk increases in levels, the damage his fists inflicts does as well:
Level 1-2: 1-6 (1d6)
Level 3-5: 1-8 (1d8)
Level 6-8: 1-10 (1d10)
Level 9-11: 2-13 (1d12+1)
Level 12-14: 3-14 (1d12+2)
Level 15-24: 4-23 (1d20+3)
Level 25+: 5-24 (1d20+4)
A monk's natural AC gets better as he goes up in levels. His AC starts off at 9, and then decreases by 1 for every 2 levels.
Frozen Fist, once per day for every 4 levels. When this ability is activated, the dark moon monks fists are wreathed in a frosty shell. For 1 turn the dark moon monks unarmend attacks deal an additional 2 points of cold damage on each succesful hit.
Monks have the Deflect Missiles ability. This gives them a -1 to their AC vs
missiles for every 3 levels.
The monk gains a +2 to save vs spells.
A monk starts off moving at +2 move, then +1 move every 5 levels.
1st level: May cast Blindness once per day.
3rd level: May cast Blur once per day.
5th level: Immunity to all diseases, and cannot be Slowed or Hasted.
7th level: May cast Vampiric Touch once per day.
8th level: -1 to speed factor.
9th level: +1 to all saves. Immune to charm.
11th level: May cast Mirror Image once per day. Immune to poison.
12th level: Another -1 to speed factor. Fists are considered +2 weapons.
13th level: Quivering palm spell once per day. This spell gives them one
hand attack. If they hit an opponent, the opponent must save or die.
14th level: The monk gains 3% magic resistance per level (ie 42 at 14th level).
15th level: Fists are considered +3 weapons.
20th level: Immune to non-magical weapons.
25th level: Fists are considered +4 weapons.
Disadvantages:
------------
The monk cannot wear armor.
A monk can only use weapons available to the thief class (except 2 handed)
May only become proficient (one slot) in any weapon class,
Alignment restricted to lawful evil.
A bit more information that is useful to know
--------------------------------------
The monk uses the fighter's THAC0. Great!
The monk uses the cleric's hit dice (1d8). Furthermore, the monk does not gain any bonuses to his hit dice from having a constitution higher than 16 (+2 max).
The maximum hit points you can reach with the monk at level 30 are 132 (without items).
The maximum amount of hit points that can be healed from using Vampiric Touch is 36 HP.
The monk's fists have a range of 2, the same as halberds and spears.
Your damage potential in the endgame of HoW is 4x 16-35 crushing damage.
Your fully buffed armor class - depending on items - is around -15 AC.
2) Abilities and Skills
==============
Attribute Optimization
-------------------
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 16
|Intelligence: minimum
Wisdom: minimum
Charisma: minimum
Having a high intelligence was great in BG for fighting mindflayers but in IWD you will meet none of them.
Wisdom is unnecessary for a monk in IWD despite the official rules of Dungeons & Dragons.
Charisma is not needed in IWD cause their is no need for Diplomacy in the harsh north.
Weapon Proficiencies
------------------
Single Weapon Style: You may as well put your first point here, considering that all of your proficiencies will be in weapons that are single-handed.
ESSENTIAL
Slings: If you want to survive the first chapter or later on fight the hard hitting bosses slings will become your best friend. The bullets of fire will work when dealing with Trolls (and you run out of burning oil).
OPTIONAL:
Daggers: The Fire Dagger (Random Drop in Orc Cave) and the Salamandre Tongue (Seth in Lower Dorns Deep) will also help you finishing trolls.
Stealth-Skills
-----------
Detect Illusion: I really like this one. You can stealth up to a Mage and easily dispel any kinds of illusions like Mirror Image. Works great too when fighting Pomab in the final chapter.
Hide in Shadows: Put most points here. Hide in Shadows affects both your ability to hide in shadows and to stay hidden.
Move Silently: As mentioned above you can keep this relatively low.
Dark Moon Monk Special Abilities
----------------------------
Frozen Fist: Do not underestimate the power of this skill. Its only a +2 cold damage per hit but you can stack them! Not to forget: You can hit through Stoneskins – say hello Spell Failure. Remains useful throughout the game even though undead and ice creatures for good reason are not affected.
Blind: When playing a solo monk you will learn to love this abilily early on. Even in HoF-Mode many enemys will fail their saving throw (especially undead). Blinded creature receives -4 penalty on attack rolls and 4 penalty on armor class for twelve hours. As they are running around helplessly you can easily bring them down with slingshots or the kick-and-run method.
Blur: Nice defensive tool that gives you a -3 armor class bonus and a +1 bonus to all of your saving throws. Great prebuff in combination with Mirror Image. Only downside: The duration is relatively low (X + 1 round/level).
Vampiric Touch: Thats your „Lay on Hands“ skill. The good: It hurts your enemy. The bad: You cannot heal without them. A way around this problem is to tap neutral critters. When facing a tough opponent you can raise your maximum hit points temporarily right before the battle to absorb damage. The skill can also be targeted to a container/item on the ground, making it super useful if no enemies are around.
Mirror Image: Great tank skill that will give your monk a little powerspike once you reach level 11. Remains useful until the end and will save you from a lot of pain. Unike the mage spell its duration is much higher (X +2 rounds/level?).
Quivering Palm: When you get this skill at level 13 you will transform into a death ball. Thanks to its power i cleared Dragons Eye in no time. Remember Yxunomei? What normally is one of the hardest battles in the game will now be a cakewalk. Quivering Palm can instakill Yxunomei and will remain useful till the end even though some enemies like Frost Giants or Undead will be not affected. But: You can kill Trolls with it too. To make it clear: This skill is a gamechanger!
3) Weapons, Armor & Items
=================
The good thing: Monks will be quite efficient even without any equipment. In the following you will find items that are worth considering.
The Flaming Fists of Lin Mei: THAC0 +2 when attacking with fist, 25% chance of inflicting 1d2 points of fire damage when attacking with fists, Burning Hands once per day. Random Drop in Dragons Eye.
Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise: You will find them early on in Kresselacks Tomb. +1 THAC0 is only a small boost but for the vanilla game this is enough.
Sarutobis Stone Breaker [HoW]: This item is even better than the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise. +1 Str, +2 damage and an extra 2d6 damage when critting is not to be taken easy. Sold by Quinn Silverfinger in Lonelywood.
Black Wolf Talisman: I used this Amulet til the end. +1 armor class, +10 hit points, 10% cold resistance and +1 save vs breath are quite solid. Found in Kresselacks Tomb.
Ring of Free Action: This ring is an excellent item when facing powerful enemies that cast movement debilitating spells, until your magic resistance becomes very high. Furthermore: The ring also makes you completely immune to any kind of stunning effect. Orrick in Kuldahar.
Ring of Strength: This will boost your strength to 19 early on once you reach the Severed Hand. The damage boost (+5) is much better than the loss of -1 armor class due to the -1 dexterity malus (just wear the +1 dex Ion Stone if you want to compensate).
Girdle of Stromnos: Great item cause it boosts your strength to 19. Stacks with Ring of Strength for even more damage.
Girdle of Ogre Blood [HoW]: This is a key item because it makes your life much easier. Once per day you can summon five Ogres. They work great as decoys so you can punch your enemies without fearing their retaliation. Not to forget: The regeneration of 1 HP per 5 rounds. This also means much faster regeneration when resting – great.
Boots of the Fox (+1 AC, Random Drop in Dragons Eye) / Boots of Grounding (50% electrical resistance, Oswald in Kuldahar) / Boots of the North (50% cold resistance, Tiernon in Gloomfrost)
Mantle of the Coming Storm (30% fire & cold resistance, +1 AC, +1 save vs paralysis, Free Action, Whitcomb in Kuldahar after defeating Lysan)
Mithrans Cloak (+3 AC, +2 saving throws, Orrick in Kuldahar in return for the „Mythal Theory“ book)
Sune´s Laurel of Flavor (+1 AC, +1 charisma, Denaini in the Severed Hand)
Missile Weapons
--------------
Edley's Sling: Best sling you can get in the vanilla game thanks to +2 Damage & +3 THAC0. Denaini in the Severed Hand.
HoW: Quinn´s Fancy Sling (+3 damage, +5 THAC0) / Jamison´s Sling (+4 Damage, +4 THAC0). Found in Lonelywood.
4) Frequently Asked Questions
===================
Q: Is the solo monk a difficult class to play in HoF-Mode?
-----------------------------------------------
To make it short: Yes! And no! Your earlygame with be painful because you cannot win a close combat fight against most foes. Blind will help a lot and if you manage to micro your monk with perfection you may play the kick-and-run game. But in most cases – especially in the Orc Cave and on your way to Kuldahar – you will need to kite with your sling a lot. You will need a lot of patience to survive the first maps but once you managed to pass through this bottleneck things will get easier.
Level 11 is a small turningpoint. With Mirror Image your tank ability goes up significantly. Level 13 will give you a new powerspike. With Quivering Palm you can often instakill two or three mobs in one round. The first levels of Dragons Eye should be a cakewalk. Level 14 gives you a new peak thanks to 3% magic resistance per level. Watch the Mages running for their life. Once you reach level 20 your power will fly to the sky as you get immune to non-magic weapons. This means in IWD: Many monsters are just not able to harm you anymore. For instance: The huge horde of undeads at level 3 in Dragons Eye will not be able to harm the monk. You can sit there, drink a cup of tea and watch how they go down one after another.
You still have to be careful as there will be many opponents who can kill the monk in two or three hits. Just be careful. Getting overconfident and losing patience are your worst enemies.
Q: How can i survive the Orc Cave in the very beginning?
-----------------------------------------------
This one is all about kiting. Hardest part is definetly the Ogre-Boss-Fight. My strategy was: Blind one of the four Elite archers because they can hit hard. The following part of the battle is surviving the arrow shorts. After the three Orc-Archers ran out of ammo (they luckily only have 10 arrows to fire) the real kiting game begins. Not to forget: Avoid getting trapped by the monsters. Thanks to the high movement speed of monks this part is not too hard. Main problem is not to lose concentration as the battle can last up to thirty minutes depending on your hit/crit luck.
Q: How should I deal with Mages?
---------------------------
Thanks to your high magic resistance and good saving throws most magic users will have a hard time harming you. For those Stoneskin-Mages you can use Frozen Fist to make their spells fizzle. With Quivering Palm you have good chances instakilling them. Stealth + Detect Illusion will make Mirror Images disappear in no time. Ring of Free Action will save you from any movement imparing effects.
Q: How should I deal with the Blast Skeletons?
--------------------------------------
Keep your distance and slingshot them down with a single hit – job done.
Q: How should I deal with Umber Hulks?
--------------------------------------------------
They might be a problem for other classes but not for the monk. I fought a lot of them but never ever got confused by their gaze. Just kick them to death or use Quivering Palm.
Q: How should I deal with Salamanders?
--------------------------------
Salamanders can hurt you quite a bit thanks to their fire/cold aura. Use Fire/Cold-Protection or – even easier – instakill them with Quivering Palm. If you get flooded like in the Ice Temple: Kite them to death!
Q: How should I deal with Yxunomei?
-------------------------------
Normally this is one of the toughest battles in the whole series but surprisingly its one of the easiest when you play a monk. Use Quivering Palm to instakill Yxunomei and focus down the Yuan-Ti mages next cause they can hit you pretty hard at this level. Next are the Yuan-Ti Elite Warrior as their arrows can hit you (if you get unlucky). Once you engage them in melee they are harmless.
Q: How should I deal with Belhifet?
-----------------------------
In my run i forgot to get Edley's Sling so kiting him was not possible. But there is another way. Just beware that running blindlessly into melee range of Belhifet is troublesome cause he hits really hard (70 damage is no problem for him). The trick in this battle is: Attack him after he teleports! In this case he will not reply instantly as he is on his run for a spellcast. To avoid the dispel-traps i moved on the outer circle only. Thanks to his high movement speed the monk was able to outrun the monsters pretty easily. From there he was circling and waiting for Belhifet to teleport to a new location. When he was in time he ran up to the demon, hit him once and circled again. From time to time Belhifet will summon new shadow monsters – ignore them. If he is in the inner circle and running to you – ignore him. Because if you try to hit him in this case he will instantly counterattack. To survive his Fire Spells the Monk used: Mantle of the Coming Storm (30 %), Scroll of Protection from Fire (50 %) and Fire Resistance Potion (50 %) = 127 % Fire Resistance. Beating Belhifet down in this manner takes some time but its quite safe.
Q: How should I deal with Icasaracht?
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This one is a hell of a fight. Prepare for a lot of pain. The sequence of finishing the first part is: Kill the Sahuagin (especially the king and his priests). Spare the life of two or three Sahuagin till Icasracht is nearly dead because they will hinder the movement of the dragon. Kite the beast down with your 18-21 damage Slingshots (-50% thanks to DR). And foremost: Avoid the Whirlwinds at any cost because they will slowly but surely bring you down. To do this i circled through the room. When running to the East i nearly constantly could fire around 6 Slingshots at the Dragon. When turning to the West its all about running because - for whatever reason - the Whirlwinds will get faster and faster. Running to the Southwest part of the room makes them stacking there for a short while. Circle around them and run to the Northeast. This gives you time for new Slingshots and - thats the best - some of the Whirlwinds will pass through the Soul Gem and - maybe - damage it. Thats great. Thanks to this method you can bring down Icasaracht relatively safe. With good microing you should still be at full health after the dragon falls (some health potions maybe needed). Dont forget: Never ever try to melee the beast. He kills you in no time. Well at least my Monk stood no chance.
The trick after killing the dragon was: Ignore the Vodyanoi and keep on circling. As many Vodyanoi get stuck (bug?) you can slingshot the Gem on each of your rounds, bringing it slowly but surely down. Funnily enough the Whirlwinds will damage the Soul Gem too, making your task a bit easier. To survive the Fire Spells of the Soul Gem i just had to make sure using Fire Resistance Potion and Scroll. The whole fight is all about Kiting and Microing your Character. Took more than half an hour to finish this epic battle.
Q: How should I deal with the big fat Rhemoraz?
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Quivering Palm wont work on them – thats a pity. But you have another trick: Use the Ogre from the Belt as Decoys, Blur & Mirror Image as buffs and fight them in tight spots one after another. If everything fails kite them with slingshots and/or retreat-rest-reengage.
Q: How should I deal with the Wailing Virgins?
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You can kill them in a very straightforward manner. Thanks to your magic resistance / saving throws they nearly never are able to touch you. The fight against Mebdinga for instance is „pretty easy“ for a high level monk. Throw in some Ogre Decoys via "Girdle of Ogre Blood" if you want.
Post edited by Harpagornis on
9
Comments
Your damage potential in the endgame of HoW is 4x 16-35 crushing damage. `
kinda weird about the range thing. So a monk could be put behind a tank in a party, and dps while he tank takes the hits?
HOw did you arrive at the 4x attacks? whats in the offhand?
The number of unarmed attacks per round are capped at 4 for the monk. No weapons needed.
or does the game stop you putting anything in the offhand?
Also, Vampiric Touch can be targeted (like anything in the game) to a container/item on the ground, makin it super useful if no enemies are around :)