Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide

This guide focuses on the best Monk build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Way of the Open Hand subclass, and includes all components to build a powerful character.

This build page has been updated for thePatch 8 versionof Baldur’s Gate 3.

Everything About the Way of the Open Hand Monk

The Way of the Open Hand Monk is a unique playstyle in Baldur’s Gate 3, using unarmed attacks and clothing for damage. Unlike every other class, the Monk doesn’t equip a weapon and relies on unarmed attacks, amplified from gloves for damage. The Monk also uses bonus actions and is best played with multiclassing for additionalcombatoptions.

The Way of the Open Hand Monk subclass gives the Monk build more bonus action utility. You can strike with bonus action and extra attack, giving you more per combat attacking power. The strength of the Monk is incredible damage, and mobility without the need for armor or weapons.

The Monk combat and gameplay focus on high movement speed, single target damage, and stuns. You greatly use your bonus actions and have multiple ways to deal with enemies. Furthermore, expect this build to excel at crowd control with high mobility for a melee build.

Patch 8 Changes to Way of the Open Hand Monk for BG3

Patch 8 brought significant updates to the Monk class in Baldur’s Gate 3, notably introducing the Way of the Drunken Master subclass. This new subclass focuses on erratic movement and disrupting enemies, offering enhanced mobility and crowd control. Abilities like “Drunken Technique” allow for swift evasions, while “Tipsy Sway” helps you avoid being pinned down, making the Monk a more agile and unpredictable force in combat.

While there are no major changes to the playstyle or build for the Way of the Open Hand Monk in BG3, we’ve included an alternative build below. This new option incorporates some multiclassing with Fighter to unlock Action Surge, adding a bit more versatility to your Monk’s combat options.

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Monk Class Features & Mechanics

The following list presents class mechanics and features for Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build:

The Monk build and mechanics are very different from typical melee builds. Your armor, with Unarmored Defense, gives AC for having high Wisdom. That’s why ourability scorewill reach 16 duringcharacter creation. It’s important to use “clothing” for this reason. Additionally, Dexterity NOT Strength increases our damage with melee attacks. Furthermore, there is another reason the ability score will look different than other builds. This is due to the two passives listed above. Consequently, it’s critical to reach 16 Dexterity and 16 Wisdom. The damage scaling is Dexterity based so we will look to increase that withfeatslater in character progression.

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The Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand build allows you to excel in rangedcombat, control the battlefield, and adapt to various situations. It offers a versatile and exciting playstyle that can be highly rewarding, particularly for players who enjoy strategic combat and unique builds.

Monk Best Subclass – Way of the Open Hand

The BestSubclassfor the Monk isWay of the Open Hand, with additional uses for our bonus action, extra stuns, and crowd control. With this subclass and a martial melee focus, the Monk will be able to strike multiple times per turn and control enemies with Flurry of Blows. In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Monk class offers various subclasses, each with its own unique abilities and strengths. At level three, you can make your decision on which to pick. Here’s a brief description of the monk’s subclasses and their strengths:

This Monk Build will focus on unarmed combat; thus theWay of the Open Handsubclass makes a perfect selection.

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide

Character Creation

Recommended Background

Urchin is the best background for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide because it gives skill proficiency in Sleight of Hand and Stealth both are Dexertiy-based. Significantly, these two skills are high due to our ability score and help in dialogue and exploration.Backgroundprimarily plays a role in outside-of-combat dialogue and exploration checks. Below are our background recommendations:

Race Choice for Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Build

Wood Half-Elvesare the best choice for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide because they get Civil Militia weapon proficiency, 12-meter Darkvision, and the best movement speed of allraces. A secondary option would be theGithyankibecause of Misty Step, Astral Knowledge, and Enhanced leap. This race also has incredible mobility, vital to a Monk’s survivability.

Here is the best race choice for a Way of the Open Hand Monk build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

The Monk’s racial choice will not influence ability score, but everyone should get a +2 and +1 to spend regardless. Thankfully, this frees your race choice up to not completely hinder yourself based on ability score, but race features. Each of these races offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you.

Recommended Skills for Monk Build

AcrobaticsandInsightare the bestskillsfor the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide because they help resist being shoved, dialogue options, and exploration.

Here are the recommended skills for a Monk Way of the Open Hand:

Remember that proficiency in skills can be gained through your choice of background in Baldur’s Gate 3. Consider your character concept and the role you want to play in the party when selecting skills to specialize in.

Best Monk Ability Scores

The bestability scorefor the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide is 16 Dexterity, 16 Wisdom, and 15 Constitution. You can lower Strength and Intelligence to 8 because you won’t need it with this build, while Charisma is kept at 10. Strength can be increased to 23 or 27 with Elixirs that last until a long rest, thus you want it lower to free up a higher score.

Below is a chart for the best ability score for a Way of the Open Hand Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3:

For this build, we recommend 15 Constitution and will reach 16 with a feat at level 4 (Tavern Brawler). Typically you don’t want odd numbers, because only even numbers improve your rolls (saving and attack). However, very early on we will reach 16. Make sure to check out ourPermanent bonus guideon how you can boost your ability score through quests.

Strength Ability Score & Monk

Strength is also important due to the Tavern Brawler feat which we will select at level 4. However, we use the Elixir of Hill Giant Strength which increases our strength to 21 passively. This allows you to gain a higher ability score, without having to spend points on strength. Keep in mind, that you will need to constantly craft, buy, and consume Hill Giant (or Cloud Giant) strengthelixirswhich last until a long rest.

Consider the ability score loadout geared towards optimal damage on higher difficulty and we assume you will use Hill Giant elixirs on tough encounters.

Monk Illithid Powers

Illithid Powersare unlocked later in the game when you learn more about the Mind Flayers and tadpoles. You can gain jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, and consume them to gain one point. Consequently, this is essentially another skill tree advancement with some very strong powers. If you decide to advance this skill line, these are the choices we suggest.

Here are the best Illithid Powers for the Monk Build:

Monk Level Progression

Alternative Way of the Open Hand Monk Build

In our alternate Monk multiclass build, we suggest starting with the Way of the Open Hand and later adding Rogue to create a swift, high-damage fighter. However, this time we’re also incorporating two levels of Fighter at the end. While this setup costs you one feat, the trade-off is well worth it for gaining Action Surge, which is an incredibly valuable ability that grants you an extra action once per Short Rest. When paired with a Potion of Speed or Haste, this lets your Monk unleash a brutal second round of attacks, turning the tide of battle with a flurry of strikes.

At Level one follow our character creator to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability distribution, focusing on Dexterity and Wisdom. At Level 1, the Monk unlocksFlurry of Blows. Punch twice in quick succession. This will be your primary damage source and can use it as a bonus action. Moreover, you can use an action for a weapon attack and Flurry of Blows for an additional attack even at level one. Additional passives granted at Level 1 as a Monk:

You will get your subclass at level 3, so don’t expect it during character creation. The gameplay at the start is very simple, charge in and attack with unarmed attack, and Flurry with bonus action. Stick to Clothing, not armour so you can take advantage of your passive AC.

Way of the Open Hand Monk Gameplay & Priorities

During the early stages of BG3, look to just unarmed attacks for damage without the need to equip any weapons. Your main challenge will be mobility, though through leveling you will get increased mobility options. Additionally, your primary goal should be to equip theHaste Helmas soon as possible. Moreover, look to acquire the Elxir of Hill Giant Strength, Elixir of Bloodlust, or Potion of Invisibility. Bloodlust helps trigger an extra action on kill and Invisibility helps you stay alive if you’re in trouble.

Your overall priority with the Way of the Open Hand Monk build is the following:

Following these steps ensures a strong foundation, especially if you plan on playingsoloor onHonour Modedifficulty.

At Level 2, the Monk unlocks a lot of class features and actions including an additional Ki point. Here’s what to expect as a Level 2 Monk:

If we unpack these additional class features and actions, it gives us more incentive to use clothing not armor due to the movement speed increase. With Patient Defense, you can give a disadvantage. This forces the enemy to roll two d20s and take the lowest. It gives you a big offensive and defensive advantage against an enemy. You will also have much higher mobility with Step of the Wind Dash and Disengage. The Dash in particular is extremely useful because it can be used as a bonus action.

Combat at this point remains the same, except throwing in a Patient Defensive when you need protection or a big hit against an enemy.

At Level 3, we will select the Way of the Open Hand Monk subclass. This will unlock the following:

What this does is essentially morph our Flurry of Blows into three different forms. Stagger: to stagger an enemy; Push: to knockback; and Topple: to knock over in Prone. Each still costs a bonus action, rather than an action. This allows you to control the enemy, primarily I use Topple and Push. Furthermore, Prone is a great status effect that essentially takes a turn away from an enemy. You want to use this constantly or knock-off ledges with Push.

At Level 4, you get to pick aFeatalong with a Ki Point and Slow Fall. Let’s break down what to do and why.

Tavern BrawlerFeat: When you make an unarmed attack, use an improvised weapon, or throw something, your Strength Modifier is added twice to the damage and Attack Rolls. Also, lets you choose a +1 ability score in Strength or Constitution. With our +1 selection, we will reach 16 Constitution giving us an even number and more health. The picture shows 14, however, this was an earlier build template that had a lower constitution. This will help us do more damage with Strength. At this point, Elixirs of Hill Giant Strength becomes very important to add a ton of damage.

Now Strength becomes a very powerful ability score giving a 2x bonus to damage and attack rolls. You want to look for gear sets likeMighty Clothor potions like Elixir of Hill Giant Strength. The benefit of Hill Giant’s strength is it lasts until a long rest. Therefore, look to consume thispotionas a buff for hard fights after your long rest. This will radically increase your damage, and it only gets better next-level Extra Attack with the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Way of Open Hand Monk Build.

As a Level 5 Monk, our power dramatically increases via a new class feature along with some extra utility.

You can now use an action and a bonus action to stun a target. This gives the Monk tons of single-target crowd control, and if you miss attempt number one you can try again. You get two attacks with one action thanks to Extra Attack and can still use a bonus action for another attack. This opens up a lot of offensive possibilities. The easiest thing to do is target the hardest-hitting enemy and simply lock them down with constant stuns, knockback, and prone status effects.

At Level 6, expect even more to unlock for your class and subclass.

Here’s the breakdown of the Monk at level 6 in Baldur’s Gate 3:

To summarize the changes, you get additional benefits from not using armor for movement speed purposes. You get a bit more damage on unarmed attacks. The biggest change is Wholeness of Body, giving you a bonus action for 3 turns. It does cost an action to use, but heals, gives Ki Points, and more offensive potion for a few turns.

Gameplay: It’s smart to use Wholeness of Body when you aren’t able to reach an opponent or turn one when you want extra attacks for the duration of a longer fight. Also, verify to activate one of the Manifestations for passive damage increase. This will be off by default, and your toolbar under passives you’re able to activate it for more damage.

Ending Act 1 as a Way of the Open-Hand Monk

Upon reaching Level 6, you should be close to the completing Act 1 content. Be sure to stop at traders and buy up needed camp and alchemy supplies. Additionally, make sure tolook over what the best Act 1 items are. Furthermore, make sure you haven’t missed out on thepermanent bonusesyou can find in Act 1. Moreover, theGrymforgehas powerful armor and weapons (Adamantine) which can be used well into Act 3. Consider taking the time to collect the Mithral, Mould, and Craft items before moving on to Act 2. The game will alert you when this is about to happen, but once you move onto the Shadow-Cursed Lands you can’t go back.

Finally, look to acquire the Elixir of Hill Giant Strength and Potion of Speed. You can combine these two for huge damage increases and your Way of the Open Hand Monk will feel very powerful immediately.

As a Level 7 Monk, you unlock more Ki points and some defensive class features.

The gameplay remains the same at this level, just with more defensive capabilities.

At Level 8, you get another feat selection and I suggest taking the Ability Improvement.

Hitting 18 in Dexterity means big damage, a higher percentage to hit, and zero complex gameplay mechanics.

At Level 9 the Way of the Open Hand Monk unlocks one more Ki Point, 3 subclass features, and Advanced Unarmoured Movement.

Advanced Unarmoured Movement (class feature): Difficult Terrain doesn’t slow you down and you can Jump an additional 6m while you are not wearing armour or using a shield.

This is where the Monk starts to get interested in Ki Resonation. Think of the Punch as either an action or a bonus action as a “debuff.” You essentially mark the target with Resonation and then can activate Ki Resonation Blast (which doesn’t cost an action or a bonus action) to blow up the target with force damage. It also has a 5m area damage component to us, solving one of the build weaknesses up until this point.

Ideally, you’d want to spend a bonus action on this vs an action because the Resonation Punch damage is somewhat weaker than your normal action-based attacks. Consider using one of these attacks either with an extra attack or bonus action to mark the target then explode them without using an action or reaction!

We have three more levels to go with the Monk and we need to make an important decision. For the next three levels, the Monk only gets a movement passive and another one when you long rest, and at max level 12, a feat. Consequently, in the grand scheme of the build’s performance, this is minimal improvements. What I suggest at this point is to multi-class the last three levels to get another bonus action.

The Thief Rogue with 3 levels will give you the following:

When you hit max level with this build, you would then be able to attack twice with your action and use two bonus actions giving you four attacks in one turn. The two alternatives are Fighter for Action Surge, but that isn’t every turn just one more action per short rest. Or you may remain in the Monk level until 12. I highly suggest switching because the Monk craves another bonus action and the game’s combat revolves around actions and bonus action resources.

You can amplify two skills, which I recommend Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand if you use this Monk in replacement for a Rogue or Ranger.

Level 11 will seem a bit lackluster because our bonus action won’t be used for hiding or running away but it will get much more useful at level 12. The second level in Thief gives you:

The benefit of Cunning Action is having Dash be a bonus action rather than an Action. This allows you to use the bonus action and cover a massive distance with the Monk’s high movement speed.

Finally, you’ve reached max level 12 in Baldur’s Gate 3 as a Monk, congratulations! With three levels into Rogue, we want to take another level in the Thief Subclass giving us Fast Hand and an extra bonus action. Consequently, now each turn if you attack with your action, you should get two attacks, two bonus actions for four in total!

Best Companions for Monk Build

The bestcompanionfor the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide is Lae’zel because she’s a melee-focused damage dealer. When you combine the Monk and another front-line fighter in cooperation the pressure and crowd control on the group is great.

It’s important to note that party composition and synergy play a significant role in determining the effectiveness of your companions. Additionally, consider the strengths and weaknesses of each companion and how they align with your main character’s abilities and playstyle.

Best Gear for Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Build

In Games like Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll explore the world, loot chests and your enemies’ dead bodies, and complete quests, and all those activities can reward you with useful items,potions, armour, weapons, scrolls, and much more. There are three Acts in BG3, and Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Way of the Open Hand Guide includes suggested sets and alternatives for Act 1 and Act 3.

Beginner: Starting the Game

Here’s the best beginner gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide:

Below is the Best Act 1 Armour, Weapons, and Equipment for the Way of the Open Hand Monk in BG3:

Advanced: End-Game

The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide:

Below are the Best Act 3 Armour, Weapons, and Equipment for the Way of the Open Hand Monk in BG3:

Best Consumable Items and Potions

Consumablesare items that can be used once and then destroyed. Typically, they are used to restore health or other resources. Some common types of consumables include potions, scrolls, food, drinks, and arrows.

The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk Way of the Open Hand Build Guide:

Monk Gameplay Tips and Tricks

Here is a list of 10 gameplay, combat, tips, and tricks when playing the Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Remember, this build guide serves as a foundation, and you may always adapt it to suit your preferences and the needs of your campaign. Enjoy playing as a formidable Way of the Open Hand Monk!

Monk Changes in Patch 7 for BG3

While Patch 7 changed many aspects of BG3, the Monk build, combat, and gameplay remain relatively the same. On September 5th, 2024,Patch 7forBaldur’s Gate 3was released, bringing a massive update to the game. The developers added13 new cinematic scenes, including some new battle sequences with the Netherbrain. TheHonour Modeis also getting enhancements, with more legendary actions added to existing bosses, making the game more challenging.

The Monk build, gear and playstyle remains the same in Patch 7. The main focus was mods, and handing the content of to creators for future gameplay.