Diablo 3 Monk Build

Diablo 3 Monk Build Levels 1-10

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 1 – Fists of Thunder is the first Skill the Monk has access to. It’s melee ranged and generates spirit fairly quickly due to the rapid attack speed. Otherwise, it also has knocks enemies back every 3rd strike.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 2 – The Monk unlocks their 2nd Active Skill slot as well as the Skill Dashing Strike. Dashing Strike costs Spirit but works as a gap closer. It also immobilizes your target for a short duration.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 3 – The Monk’s second Spirit generator Skill, Deadly Reach unlocks at level 3. I prefer this Skill to Fists of Thunder as it can hit more enemies through it’s slightly longer range. The 3rd strike of this Skill reaches up to 25 yards.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 4 – The 3rd Active Skill slot unlocks at this level as well as Blinding Flash which blinds enemies within 20 yards for 3 seconds. The cooldown for this Skill is 15 seconds and is useful to reduce the amount of damage the Monk receives being melee.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 5 – Lashing Tail Kick is the first damage dealing Spirit dump for the Monk. It deals nearly double the damage of Spirit generators and knocks enemies back. With only 3 Active Skill slots to have Skills in until level 9, replace either Dashing Strike or Blinding Flash for Lashing Tail Kick to optimize the Spirit you gain and spend.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 6 – The first Skill Rune the Monk has access to is Bounding Light which makes Fists of Thunder release a chain lightning instead of knocking enemies back. Between Fists of Thunder and Deadly Reach, it is a personal preference as they both deal Area of Effect damage at this point.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 7 – The second Skill Rune is for Dashing Strike named Way of the Falling Star. It adds an additional effect to the Skill which increases the Monk’s movement speed by 25% for 3 seconds after striking an enemy.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 8 – The 3rd Skill Rune the Monk has access to is Piercing Trident which affects the Deadly Reach Skill. It causes the 2nd and 3rd attack within the combination to have an increased range.

The Monk also has access to a powerful Defensive Skill which heals the Monk and all allies within 12 yards named Breath of Heaven. At low levels this may not be optimal to have activated but will certainly be perfect for difficult fights.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 9 – The fourth Active Skill slot opens up for the Monk at level 9. Also notable is the first Mantra available to the Monk called Mantra of Evasion. This increases survivability significantly and also affects any allies within 40 yards.

Playing a Monk, you will want to always have a Mantra on. That being said, only one Mantra can be activated at any one time per Monk within the group.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 10 – This is a big increase in survivability for the Monk as they unlock their first Passive Skill slot and 2 Passive Skills. The first is Resolve which reduces the damage of all enemies which have been dealt damage by the Monk for a short duration.

The second Passive Skill you gain is The Guardian’s Path which increases the Monk’s chance to dodge by 15% while dual-wielding. If a 2-handed weapon is equipped, spirit regeneration is increased by 25%. If the Skills you activate are area of effect based and deal damage to many enemies at once, I recommend that you use Resolve as your Passive Skill which will reduce the amount of damage you receive by a huge chunk in comparison to if you had The Guardian’s Path activated.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 11 – The Monk receives their 3rd Spirit generating Skill called Exploding Palm. The Exploding Palm Skill causes the 3rd strike to bleed and if an enemy dies while bleeding, explode for 30% of their maximum health. In the early levels where enemies don’t have very large health pools, this Skill isn’t as useful as it sounds.

Self Reflection, a Skill Rune for Blinding Flash is also available from level 11. This increases the duration to 4 seconds instead. This is only applicable if you feel your Monk is receiving too much damage.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 12 – Tempest Rush is another Spirit dump for the Monk which is extremely useful. This allows you to run toward enemies to deal damage as well as an escape mechanism if you get surrounded by enemies.

The Monk will also receive Fleet Footed, a Passive Skill which increases movement speed by 10%. This sounds like a very useful Skill until you think about the cost required to activate it. At this level, with only 1 Passive Skill slot, the Monk will lose a lot of survivability doing so.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 13 – Transcendence unlocks at level 13 where every Spirit point spent heals you for a small amount of health.

Lightning Flash for the Fists of Thunder Skill unlocks at level 13 which further increases your dodge chance for a short duration each time you deal damage with Fists of Thunder. I do not recommend this over Bounding Light Skill Rune as there is already an abundance of defensive utility in the Monk’s repertoire and adding to it will not help you level quicker.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 14 -The 5th Active Skill slot unlocks at this level. In addition, the Monk gains Crippling Wave, the 4th Spirit generating Skill which hits all enemies surrounding the Monk. Enemies hit by this Skill also have their movement and attack speed reduced by 30%. This Skill works well with the Resolve Passive Skill as all enemies within range of the Monk will be affected.

The Vulture Claw Kick Skill Rune for the Lashing Tail Strike. This Skill Rune further increases the damage as fire. Perfect as Lashing Tail Strike is hardest hitting Spirit dump.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 15 – This level is a huge DPS increase for the Monk class as they unlock the Mantra of Retribution which reflects up to 40% of the damage they receive, back to enemies. However, please take note that you are only able to have one Mantra up per Monk which means using this Skill will directly reduce the amount of survivability the Monk has available as he will have to remove the Mantra of Evasion Skill. Of course, there are other Skills that may make up for the loss of dodge chance via the use of the Guardian’s Path Passive Skill.

Chant of Resonance, a Passive Skill gives the Monk Spirit points every second as long as a Mantra is active. There isn’t much in terms of DPS contributed through Passive Skills so it really is a personal decision on whether your Monk is receiving too much damage or the minimal damage increase having the extra Spirit will provide.

Flying Side Kick, a Skill Rune which affects Dashing Strike will be available which adds a chance to stun the target you dash to for a short duration.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 16 – Circle of Scorn unlocks at level 16 for the Monk and is the perfect Skill Rune as it makes Breath of Heaven both an offensive and defensive Skill.

The Skill Serenity is the ultimate get out of jail free card as it absorbs all damage and breaks all control impairing effects for 3 seconds. The Skill Runes for this Skill provide amazing abilities as well such as massive heals or even deal damage based on the amount absorbed by the Monk.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 17 – Seize the Initiative, a Passive Skill for the Monk unlocks at level 17 which increases the Monk’s armor based on the amount of Dexterity you have. Of course, the higher level you are the better this scales as it is based on a percentage of Dexterity you currently have.

Keen Eye for the Deadly Reach Skill causes the 3rd strike of Deadly Reach to increase your armor by 50% for 4 seconds. The decision to replace Piercing Trident for Keen Eye is a personal choice which should be based on how many Defensive Skills you already have activated. However, Breath of Heaven equipped with Circle of Scorn should be enough to keep the Monk alive.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 18 – The Flesh is Weak is available for Exploding Palm at this point as a Skill Rune. This causes the 3rd attack of the Skill to deal additional damage as a bleed effect. The damage isn’t very significant so I don’t recommend it as a Spirit generator as yet if compared to Crippling Wave and Deadly Reach.

The Passive Skill Exalted Soul increases the amount of Spirit the Monk can have available to them. This doesn’t increase the Monk’s defensive or offensive ability so activating this may not be to your best interests.

Hard Target, a Skill Rune for Mantra of Evasion also increases armor by 30%. At the moment there isn’t much of an option between using Mantra of Retribution to dish out additional damage or having Mantra of Evasion. That being said, the option to swapping between the two will once again be based on whether you need more survivability.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 19 – This is a huge jump on damage dealing for the Monk at this level as they unlock their final Active Skill slot as well as the Seven-Sided Strike. The only down-side to this is that the Skill has a 30 second cooldown. It basically strikes 7 times, spreading up to 777% damage over all strikes.

The Monk also unlocks the Sixth Sense Passive Skill which increases the Monk’s dodge based on a percentage of the Monk’s critical hit chance. At the lower levels, the Monk’s Critical Chance will be fairly low and this will not be an optimal choice. Of course, since it is percentage based, it will scale fairly well later on especially with 3 Passive Skills available.

Diablo 3 Monk Build Level 20 – The 2nd Passive Skill slot unlocks at level 20 as well as the Pacifism Passive Skill. Pacifism reduces the amount of damage the Monk receives while stunned, feared and charmed by 75% which is absolutely a must if you intend to PvP. While leveling though, this doesn’t truly help you level any quicker.

The Static Charge Skill Rune is available at level 20 which is great for dealing damage to multiple enemies at once. That being said you should be able to rotate between Fists of Thunder and Deadly Strike as your primary Spirit generating Skills.