Pillars of Eternity: Monk Character Class Guide (Tips, Tricks & Strategies)

Monks, known in the real world to be peacekeepers who practice defensive tactics if attacked, but what are they in the world of Pillars of Eternity and what is the best way to build them. Monks, like in other RPGs, in this game are a class character known specifically in their prowess for hand-to-hand combat. Though this class was based on the teachings of the Enduring Founder, the faction has highly varying views and interests, causing them to be known for being unpredictable.

Monks as a class, start with a plus one to their stealth, athletics, and survival skills. Their recommended attributes to dump points into are might, constitution, and dexterity. Monks will be entirely meleeing as they gain the Transcendent Suffering ability which makes them deal a large amount of damage with just their fists that scales with their level. Monks also have a special effect on their character called Wounds. Wounds are gained by the amount of damage the monk takes. These wounds can be used to power the monk’s abilities.

Race Choice for Monks in Pillars of Eternity

Monks need most of their boosts in dexterity and might. With this in mind, looking at the races available, players would likely have the best choice of race between the Humans, Aumaua, Elf, and Godlike. Each of these races also has a subrace that can help boost the monk’s abilities.Humans start with a plus one in their resolve and might stats. No matter which one of the three subraces a player chooses, this race receives the same ability. The ability is called Fighting Spirit, which allows the monk once per turn to temporarily gain bonuses to their accuracy and damage when below 50% endurance. These abilities and stats put Humans as one of the top races for monks.Aumaua starts with a plus two to their might stat. Their two subraces give different abilities, unlike humans. The Coastal Aumaua gets the ability Towering Physique which gives them a bonus against being knocked prone or stunned. This is an incredibly useful ability for the monk. The other subrace, the Island Aumaua, doesn’t give an ability that would be helpful for monks.Elves start with a plus one to their dexterity and perception stats. Much like the Aumaua, only one of their subraces are of any use with their abilities to the monk class. The Pale Elf gets the ability Elemental Endurance which gives them a resistance to burning and freezing damage.Godlike start with a plus one to their dexterity and intellect stats. Unlike the rest of the races, the Godlike has four different subraces. All of these subraces could be useful to the monk. Death Godlike gets the ability Death’s Usher, which increases the damage of their attacks when the enemy has less than 25% endurance left. Fire Godlike have the ability Battle-Forged, which gives them damage reduction and causes melee enemies to take fire damage when the Godlike gets below 50% of their endurance. Moon Godlike have the ability Silver Tide, which causes them to generate an AOE endurance heal each time their endurance goes down by 25%. Nature Godlike gets the ability Wellspring of Life, which grants them a bonus to their might, constitution, and dexterity when their endurance goes below 50%. All of these are great options for a monk.

Culture and Background Choices for Monks in Pillars of Eternity

Although this feature is mostly considered for role play it is also useful for buffing up a class. The culture and background of each character in the game also affect their stats and abilities. Each culture is linked to a country of origin, and each background is linked to a specific origin. With this in mind, let’s go over the best countries and backgrounds for monks.The Deadfire Archipelago, a stretch of islands mostly inhabited by Aumaua and pirates, is a great country of origin for monks. This is due to it being the only country that gives the player a plus one in dexterity. Once chosen the best backgrounds are between slave, hunter, mercenary, and raider. Choosing the background slave will give them a plus one to their athletics and survival skills. The hunter will give them a plus one to stealth and survival. The mercenary a plus one to athletics and lore. The raider will give players a plus one to stealth and athletics.Rauatai, the coastal Aumaua nation, is another great option for monks. This country of origin gives players a plus one to their constitution stat. The best backgrounds attached to Rauatai are drifter, slave, dissident, hunter, and mercenary. The drifter gains a plus one to stealth and mechanics. The dissident gains a plus one to their stealth and lore skills. This country is particularly better for a stealthy monk.The Living Lands are the last great option for monks. This country of origin gives players an extra point into their might stat to start. The best background options for this country are the colonist, explorer, laborer, and hunter. The colonist starts with two extra points in survival. The explorer starts with an extra point in lore and survival. The laborer gets an extra point in athletics and mechanics.

Attributes, Talents, and Abilities for Monks in Pillars of Eternity

Monks are built as a main melee fighter. Due to this, a monk will need to pool most of their points into what will deal the most damage and keep them in the fight the longest. In this case, the recommended attributes to place the beginning 15 points into are might, constitution, and dexterity. While these should take priority, don’t forget to place a bit into resolve and perception as well. Resolve affects the character’s will and deflection defense as well as their ability to concentrate. While perception affects the character’s accuracy, ability to dodge, and their ability to interrupt an attack.When crafting the monk, players will only get to choose one of two abilities when starting their game. The two options are Torment’s Reach, and Swift Strikes. Torment’s Reach is the superior option as it is a cone melee attack that deals crushing damage and reduces the enemy’s might. Swift Strikes, while useful, only causes the player to boost their attacking speed by 25%. However, as they continue to level up here are the rest of the talents and the best abilities.

Talents:

• Lesser Wounds – Lowers the monk’s wound threshold, gaining them wounds faster.
• Lightning Strikes – Builds off of the Swift Strikes ability and adds shock damage to those attacks.
• Mortification of the Soul – The monk can deal enough damage to give themselves a wound.

Abilities:

• Force of Anguish – A level three attacking ability that, when successful, will push the targeted enemy back seven meters and knock them prone.
• Turning Wheel – A passive level three ability that adds a 5% burning damage to the monks attacks for every wound they receive.
• Transcendent Suffering II – A passive level four ability that adds four points to their melee damage and adds four points to their accuracy.
• Soul Mirror – A level five passive ability that increases their rate to reflect ranged attacks by 50%.
• Stunning Blow – A level five attack ability that will interrupt an enemy’s attacks when it fails and stun when it succeeds.
• Transcendent Suffering III – A level seven passive ability that adds another six points of damage and eight points to their accuracy.
• Crucible of Suffering – A level seven passive ability that adds 10 point to the monk’s fortitude, reflex, and will.
• Rooting Pain – A passive level seven ability that sends out a shockwave dealing 10-15 points of crushing damage every time the monk receives a wound.
• Transcendent Suffering IV – A level 10 passive ability that adds eight more points to the monk’s unarmed damage and 12 points to their accuracy.
• Flagellant’s Path – A level 11 attack ability that targets an enemy at a distance that the monk will charge across the field at, hitting every enemy in that path along the way. This deals 20-30 crushing damage to everyone hit and takes away 10 points of their defenses.
• Iron Wheel – (White March pt. I exclusive) A level 11 passive ability that gains the monk one point of defense per wound.
• The Dichotomous Soul –  (White March pt. 1 exclusive) A level 13 ability where the monk summons two duplicates of themselves, one that is made of fire, the other of ice. These two summons last for 15 seconds.

Pillars of Eternity is available for Mac OS, Linux, PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

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