Out of all of the classes in BG3, none are as anti-multiclass as the Monk. Reliant on no gear, armor, or weapons, the Monk can be painful for martial classes to pair with and—with no casting—hard for spellcasters too. That doesn’t mean Monk doesn’t have multiclass builds.
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A few classes have exceptional synergies with unarmed strikes and Monk in general, which make them very enticing. Let’s explore some synergies in the strongest multiclass options you can gather for your Monk.
The best Monk multiclass options in BG3
The Monk is a melee striker that prefers to use no weapons, or simple weapons and Shortsowrds, to deal massive damage. Strong multiclass options for them include spellcasters that grant them advantages in specific situations, ranged attackers, or ways to add to their bonus actions.
Monks are, however, very reliant on Dexterity and Wisdom, due to several features shutting down while they wear armor. While it isn’t impossible to wear armor and be a Monk, you lose out on additional movement speed. We’re going to focus on using unarmored builds for the sake of this guide, but feel free to try out Heavy Armor Fighter Monks if you feel the urge.
We’re also going to mostly see Way of the Open Hand in the following class builds. That’s because the Way of the Four Elements is far too reliant on Ki points to be multiclassing and the Way of Shadow is a fantastic build but suboptimal for pure damage and combat. You can replace any of these Way of the Open Hands with Way of Shadow for a knock on damage but a big buff on stealth.
Disciple of Spores: Monk 8/Druid 4
- Role in party: Frontline damage, occasional spellcasting
- Pros: Replace later game Monk levels with 16 temporary hitpoints, additional spellcasting, and additional damage by spending a resource.
- Cons: Lose unarmed damage and ki points, lose minor Monk utility.
- Feats: Tough, Ability Score Improvement
- Important magic items: Bonespike set, Armor of the Sporekeeper, Shapeshifter Hat
Monk, sadly, doesn’t have much synergy with Druid‘s Circle of the Moon options. That being said, there is another Circle with much stronger synergies that works even better for the Monk.
The build
Realistically, bring Monk to five before considering Druid. We brought Monk to eight, but starting Druid levels immediately after Monk levels will do fine. Race and background don’t matter much, though Gold Dragonborn can be an okay way to spend an action to deal Fire damage.
For ability scores, Dexterity and Wisdom are critical, so get them to a minimum of 16. Constitution is also quite important, but 14 should be fine for now.
Your subclasses will be Way of the Open Hand and Circle of Spores. Way of the Open Hand works great with Flurry of Blows, which is our primary damage option. Circle of Spores provides temporary HP and additional damage on each punch, making it very viable if you don’t take much damage.
Druids can relearn many of their spells, but not their cantrips. Produce Flame is an okay ranged option, and Guidance makes you very handy outside of combat. As for spells to keep around consistently, Longstrider, Healing Word, Hold Person, and Spike Growth are commonly powerful options throughout your campaign.
Feat-wise, your character is so reliant on stats that Ability Score Improvement will be your best friend. However, for characters wanting more interesting strategies—or characters benefiting from Auntie Ethel’s Hair or the Mirror—you can look into War Caster or Tough to raise your durability.
Your magical items should be a healthy mix of support for unarmed attacks and Wild Shape. The Shapeshifter Hat is critical since you will be falling out of Wild Shape quite often. Corellon’s Grace and the Bonespike Boots are great for Monks. The Vest of Soul Rejuvenation works fine as your robes.
Uses
This Monk starts every day by activating Symbiotic Entity. While you have this form’s temporary health, you get extra damage on your attacks and a very good reaction. However, preserving those hitpoints is not very sustainable; don’t be too sad if you lose them.
Meanwhile, the Monk does what Monks do best; single out a high-priority target and turn them into dust. As long as you stay safe, it’s quite easy for this form to bully casters and martial characters alike with Flurry of Blows (Topple), Stunning Strike, and the suite of spells that Druid provides. Cater your spells to upcoming fights and this Monk will feel incredibly impactful in larger combats.
Be wary of your resources, however. This build can quickly burn through Wild Shapes and Ki Points. Short rests will be common, so it works well with Warlocks and Bards.
Eyes of Nature: Monk 8/Ranger 4
- Role in party: Physical, single-target damage dealer.
- Pros: Deal significant additional damage with Ranger levels, gain significant ranged capabilities.
- Cons: Some of Ranger’s abilities don’t mix well with Monk. Overreliance on bonus actions.
- Feats: Sharpshooter, Ability Score Improvement.
- Important magic items: Gontre Mael, Circlet of Hunting.
One of the biggest problems with Monk is its lack of solid ranged options. Let’s fix that a bit, shall we? We’re going to use the Ranger‘s fantastic ranged abilities with the Monk’s high single-target damage to our advantage.
The build
Once you get Extra Attack from Monk, start investing in Ranger. Get all four levels in and then swap over to Monk to finish out your 12. Race hardly matters, since Half-Orcs don’t get too many benefits from critical hits here, but Tieflings tend to have extremely good versatility no matter which variant you choose. For background and skills, Folk Hero tends to be quite adept for you, though Outlander works fine.
Your ability scores are Dexterity 16, Wisdom 16, Constitution 14. You’re free to choose whatever else works, though Strength works best for improving your Athletics.
Your archetypes are Way of the Open Hand and Gloom Stalker. Way of the Open Hand is here for damage, Gloom Stalker for the initiative bump and slight advantage on your first turn.
For the choices that you make as a Ranger, we recommend Archery style, Bounty Hunter favored enemy, and Beast Tamer Natural Explorer. We’d also recommend learning Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, and Cure Wounds for your first level spells.
Feats are simple. As usual for the Monk, dedicating yourself to Ability Score increases for Dexterity and Wisdom will never be a bad choice. However, if you decide to instead go for pure damage and archery, you can take Sharpshooter. You’re not going to be great at archery, but you will be able to deal appreciable damage while you close the distance for Flurries.
Finally, your items. Gontr Mael gives you Haste and great attack rolls with your ranged weapon, a combination that works well on the Monk and the Gloom Stalker alike. Find good clothing armor, like the Vest of Soul Rejuvenation, to keep yourself safe while allowing you to keep the movement speed which lets you close the gap on enemies. Otherwise, take some weapon-based staples like Helldusk Gloves which work great on both Monks and Rangers.
Uses
This version of the Monk marks enemies with Hunter’s Mark before landing weapon strikes with a staff, such as Corellon’s Grace. Your Ranger levels let the Monk snipe targets from afar before closing the distance for a Flurry of Blows, potentially alleviating some pressure that the Monk normally takes from being in melee for a long amount of time.
Your goals are still in line with a Ranger or Monk: Choose a target and kill it quickly. Out of combat, use that high Wisdom to your advantage with Perception and Insight checks. Your Survival will be far above average, as well.
Flurry of Flurries: Monk 9/Rogue 3
- Role in party: Physical, single-target damage dealer.
- Pros: Ability to use three bonus actions per turn, potential for Sneak Attack if needed.
- Cons: Fists don’t sneak attack. Lower feat count, spends a lot of Ki per round.
- Feats: Tavern Brawler, Ability Score Improvement
- Important magic items: Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, Bonespike set
This build utilizes the Open Hand’s Wholeness of Body and the Thief Rogue‘s Fast Hands to gain up to three bonus actions per turn, which can lead to up to 10 punches per round.
The build
Level Monk to six, then Rogue to three. You want Extra Attack pretty quickly, and Wholeness of Body is a big upgrade to your Ki economy and damage potential. Half-Orcs are good at builds that attack a lot and work for critical hits, but we saw a lot of success using a Gnome to resist magical attacks.
Your ability scores will change a little bit over your playthrough. To start, you want high Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom, like usual. But you also want a bit of Strength. DEX 16, CON 13, WIS 16, and STR 14 is fine. Once you get to the House of Hope and get Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, you can drop Strength back down to eight.
For archetypes, you’ll want Way of the Open Hand and Thief. Wholeness of Body and Fast Hands is a combination that will grant you three bonus actions, which means six punches. That’s brutal.
For your Expertise abilities, we recommend Sleight of Hand and Athletics. If your Monk is your stealthy character, Stealth is another good option.
Feats are crucial to any monk, including this one. Tavern Brawler (Constitution) will give you a +1 to your Constitution while also adding your Strength modifier to any attacks and damage rolls for unarmed attacks. With Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, that’s going to be plus-six on top of your plus-six. That’s a massive bonus, and worth walking around unarmed for.
Other than the Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, you can make this build work with the Amulet of Greater Health, any item that benefits unarmed attacks like the Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo, and defensive items like Bonespike Boots.
Uses
This build plans on spending a lot of Ki per round, and only has 10 Ki points to spend. Spend a few Ki points before using Wholeness of Body for three rounds of three bonus actions a turn. Don’t worry about spending your action on Wholeness of Body in a fight; the extra bonus actions are well worth the cost.
If you’re worried about landing Sneak Attacks first, use a Shortbow or Light Crossbow for your first attack and then move in for a Monk Weapon attack. We recommend going unarmed once you have Tavern Brawler online since that damage is brutal.
Out of combat, you’re fully reliant on skills. Use Expertise on skills that your party doesn’t have and you’ll be alright.
