D&D 5E How Do Monks Survive At Low Levels?

[Leugren]

From 1-4 it's a good feat.

But with step on the wind (disengage), open hand / shadow step / fist of the unbroken air, and stunning strike (can't use reaction), you have plenty of ways to avoid OA's at higher levels.

Maybe your DM will let you retrain.

The big difference is that all of these options cost ki, which is a limited resource, while Mobility is usable every round of every combat.

 

[mellored]

The big difference is that all of these options cost ki, which is a limited resource, while Mobility is usable every round of every combat.

Yes. Except shadow step.

But by level 8, you can pretty much use 1 ki each turn of combat. And you should very much be stunning either way.
That doesn't make it useless, since you don't need to hit, and extra speed is nice, but it defiantly loses value as you go up.

 

[Leugren]

Yes. Except shadow step.

But by level 8, you can pretty much use 1 ki each turn of combat. And you should very much be stunning either way.
That doesn't make it useless, since you don't need to hit, and extra speed is nice, but it defiantly loses value as you go up.

Fair enough, mellored!

 

[MwaO]

This costs ki, which is a limited resource, especially at low levels, so it lacks reliability.

At 3rd level, if you're not doing FoB on the 1st round of every combat, somethings probably wrong. You ought to have 9 ki points per day or more than the number of potential combats.

 

[Leugren]

At 3rd level, if you're not doing FoB on the 1st round of every combat, somethings probably wrong. You ought to have 9 ki points per day or more than the number of potential combats.

This would be great if every combat lasted only 1 round. Unfortunately, that hasn't been my experience. Wait, are you saying that the ability to deny an opponent's reaction lasts the entire combat? If so, I don't recall seeing that and I'm currently away from my books.

 

[MwaO]

This would be great if every combat lasted only 1 round. Unfortunately, that hasn't been my experience. Wait, are you saying that the ability to deny an opponent's reaction lasts the entire combat? If so, I don't recall seeing that and I'm currently away from my books.

No, it lasts until end of next turn. You don't care how long combats last, you care that they end as fast as possible. The riskiest moments of combat are almost always the 1st round of them - that's the time to not hold back - you drop an opponent or push him next to someone else, combat ends faster because of that.

 

[Leugren]

No, it lasts until end of next turn. You don't care how long combats last, you care that they end as fast as possible. The riskiest moments of combat are almost always the 1st round of them - that's the time to not hold back - you drop an opponent or push him next to someone else, combat ends faster because of that.

Yeah, but the Mobile lets me do that every round of every combat, which is great, though it suffers from diminishing returns as you gain levels, as mellored pointed out. Frankly, I'd like to hear some field reports from people who have actually played a monk with or without this feat. I am generally wary of white-room theorycrafting; even and especially my own, which is why I started this thread.

 

[MwaO]

Yeah, but the Mobile lets me do that every round of every combat, which is great, though it suffers from diminishing returns as you gain levels, as mellored pointed out. Frankly, I'd like to hear some field reports from people who have actually played a monk with or without this feat. I am generally wary of white-room theorycrafting; even and especially my own, which is why I started this thread.

In general, Monks have following features/bugs at low levels:
They do good, consistent damage without needing a feat compared to other non-shield users.
They have a slightly better than average AC given no Disadvantage or Shield.
They likely have slightly worse hp and less ways of mitigating damage outside of that AC.
There are players who like to play Monks because they're Monks. Not because they know how to play them.

And that creates a lot of issues with anecdotal play. A successful Monk in one adventure hits twice, drops a foe in the first round with 13 points of damage when the Barbarian only did 10 and then dodges a blow by exactly 1. An unsuccessful Monk hits once and then gets hit by 1. The 1st one makes the 15 AC PC look bad, the 2nd one makes the 16 AC Monk look bad...

 

[Valmarius]

Not because they know how to play them.

Is there a correct way to play a Monk? This is news to me.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Yes. Except shadow step.

But by level 8, you can pretty much use 1 ki each turn of combat. And you should very much be stunning either way.
That doesn't make it useless, since you don't need to hit, and extra speed is nice, but it defiantly loses value as you go up.

We play in very different games then. Blowing one ki and your bonus action on every round of every combat? Not efficient, not sustainable. It will work on easy stuff but anything at all will work on easy stuff.

I'd rather save ki for Pass Without Trace, Darkness, and occasional Stunning Strike, which are actual game changers.