The Monk should just get its own version of Cunning Action, tbh. Make Step of the Wind into a free combination Move/Disengage, which might actually be worth a proper Ki point. Turn Patient Defense into something interesting, like maybe a reaction attack against a miss while Dodging for a ki point.
I am generally against that. I think the Monk has everything they need right now and giving them more will make them OP at high levels.
Really, let's stop having the Monk pay for stuff a second level Rogue gets for free.
A Rogue does not get extra attack, stunning strike, ability bonus added to offhand attacks (not to mention being able to use a higher damage weapon and get a bonus action attack), ability to substitute martial arts dice for weapon damage, slow fall or most importantly diamond soul.
As a base class, Monk is substantially better than a base Rogue at combat at most levels. An Arcane Trickster gets some stuff that evens it up against a lot of Monk subclasses, but then a Long Death Monk gets some quite nice features too and would put Monks back on top.
Also while Monks are a weak class in teir 2, giving them the ability to do what "Rogues do for free" in tier 2 would make them way overpowered at high levels when they have an abundance of ki and would not have to spend any on doing that.
I think the best way for a Monk to get cunning action is a 2-level dip in Rogue, but if you want to buff the Monk in tier 2 the best way to do it is give them more ki early. Instead of 1 ki a level, make it 4 at level 2, 6 at level 4, 8 at level 6, 9 at level 8 and then go on with the amount they currently get after that. That will largely eliminate the "running out of ki" problem.
Another thing that would help the Monk is make Glaives and Longswords Monk weapons as these are iconic martial arts weapons (or the DND weapon class for those weapons). Also make whip a Monk weapon. When I play a Monk I usually try to get Whip proficiency somehow.
No one likes getting hit, period, especially given how easy it typically is to tag someone in 5E given bounded accuracy.
That is why dash is such a better option than disengage. If you dash you take 1 AOO but usually no attacks at all on the enemies turn (and most enemies have multi attack). This is particularly true when you are fighting something that has Legendary action attacks. Take the AOO but take away their other attacks!
Edit: If you want to make the Monk less MAD, you could probably replace the Wisdom part of their AC with just a flat bonus based on level. I was thinking Proficiency, but that's a bit lower than I'd like. Maybe a 3+/4+/5+, dolled out every 6-7 levels.
Unless you refocus the DC for the ki abilities that will not make them less MAD. A Monk who does not stay on the Wisdom ladder loses a lot of power because their Ki DC are not great, this is particularly true because their signature ability is on a constitution save. A 9th level Monk with a 17 DC, 17 AC and +3 attack stat is much more capable than a 9th level Monk with a 15DC, 19 AC and +5 attack stat.
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