Difference between revisions of "Monk skills"

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NOTE:Adapted from Flux's Blizzcon report,can be used as template to finish.
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This page lists all '''[[Monk]] skills'''. Follow the links to the individual skill pages for full discussion of every skill, including first hand reports and screenshots.
== Skill Tree A ==
 
  
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'''Useful skill links:'''
  
This tree had 4 of the 8 skills, with a level 5, 10, and two 15s. All the skills in the 1, 5, and 10 tiers had points invested in them already, so they could be used from the very start. There were only 2 level 15 Monk skills in the demo, the only two Monk skills without points already in them on the demo character, and both were in this tree. Both were fairly cool to use, too, though 100 Fists was the clear champ of the two.<br>
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* [[Skill]]s - General skill design and mechanics.
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** [[Skill rune]]s - The huge skill customization and improvement system.
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* [[Monk]] - a [[melee]]-oriented class of great dexterity and skill.
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** [[Spirit]] - The Monk's energy [[resource]].
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** [[Monk skills]] - A list of all the Monk's active skills.
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*** [[Spirit generator]]s - Skills that generate the Monk's resource, and used to be called "[[combo]]s".
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*** [[Mantra]]s - Skills that provide buffs to party members and/or debuffs to enemies.
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** [[Monk passives]] - A list of all the Monk's passive skills.
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* [[Monk skill archive]] - Monk skills removed or modified during development.
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* [[Monk traits]] - Passive skills in Diablo III were called [[traits]] for a while before reverting back.
  
'''Tier 2<br>'''
 
'''Force Without Thought'''<br>
 
Passive skill<br>
 
Rank: 1/5.<br>
 
Description: Counteract enemies without interrupting the normal flow of your attacks. When you dodge you automatically counter act the attacker for 10% of your normal weapon damage.<br>
 
  
Rank: 2/5.<br>
 
Description: Counteract enemies without interrupting the normal flow of your attacks. When you dodge you automatically counter act the attacker for 20% of your normal weapon damage.<br>
 
  
Rank: 3/5.<br>
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==Active Skills==
Description: Counteract enemies without interrupting the normal flow of your attacks. When you dodge you automatically counter act the attacker for 30% of your normal weapon damage.<br>
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Click to the individual skill pages for more details about these skills including numbers, screenshots, [[skill rune]] information, blue quotes, and much more.
  
Rank: 4/5.<br>
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===Primary===
Description: Counteract enemies without interrupting the normal flow of your attacks. When you dodge you automatically counteract the attacker for 40% of your normal weapon damage.<br>
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill class="Monk">Fists of Thunder</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Deadly Reach</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Crippling Wave</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Way of the Hundred Fists</skill>
  
Not much to say about this one, since it had a point in it and I never added any more to see if I could discern the improvement. The Monk hits so fast and was overpowered for the Blizzcon build that needing to dodge or getting your hits interrupted wasn’t a real major problem.<br>
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===Secondary===
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill class="Monk">Lashing Tail Kick</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Tempest Rush</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Wave of Light</skill>
  
'''Tier 3<br>'''
 
'''Seven Sided Strike'''<br>
 
Mana cost: 30<br>
 
Rank: 1/5.<br>
 
Description: Dash at your enemies, striking six times in succession for 50% of your weapon damage.
 
  
Rank: 2/5<br>
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===Defensive===
Description: Dash at your enemies, striking 7 times in succession for 50% of your weapon damage.
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill class="Monk">Blinding Flash</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Breath of Heaven</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Serenity</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Inner Sanctuary</skill>
  
A very fun skill. Much like a finishing move in a fighter. The Monk teleports to his target, Dragon Flight style, and commences to strike multiple times. As best I could tell, the Monk was invulnerable, or perhaps intangible, during this attack. He’s not visible except as flashing series of human shapes, all shining gold and two-dimensional. You can see a screenshot to the right, or see it featured in the Blizzcon B-roll gameplay footage. The evolution of the skill was described in detail during the Monk design panel as well.<br>
 
  
The hits always seemed to land, and did considerable damage in total. If this one was cast on an empty space, the monk would do three flashing hits before stopping. He’d also stop short of 6 if the target died along the way.  If there were multiple targets in the area, he seemed to select targets randomly, hitting each of them some number of times out of his total of 6.<br>
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===Techniques===
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill class="Monk">Dashing Strike</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Exploding Palm</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Sweeping Wind</skill>
  
This one was best used on single or double targets, ideally a boss that needed finishing off, especially a teleporter or another elusive one, since all the hits would go to it in rapid succession, and hit it no matter how it squirmed.<br>
 
  
Fun and effective. What more do you want?<br>
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===Focus===
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill class="Monk">Cyclone Strike</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Seven Sided Strike</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Mystic Ally</skill>
  
  
'''Tier 4<br>'''
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===Mantras===
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{{Skill description header}}
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<skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Evasion</skill>
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<skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Retribution</skill>
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<skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Healing</skill>
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<skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Conviction</skill>
  
'''Inner Sanctuary'''<br>
 
Mana cost: 24<br>
 
Rank: 1/5<br>
 
Description: Creates a protected region on the ground for 6 seconds that can not be bypassed by enemies.<br>
 
  
Rank: 2/5<br>
 
Description: Creates a protected region on the ground for 7 seconds that can not be bypassed by enemies.<br>
 
  
I tried this one just to be thorough, since there was no need for additional defense at any point during the Blizzcon demo. At least not for the (intentionally) overpowered Monk. When cast, this skill creates a large rune on the ground, with a Stop Time-like bubble shield in the middle of which stands the Monk. It appeared to be impermeable to melee attackers; the Fallen I used it against couldn’t penetrate, at lest. They could reach through it, though. A Fallen Overseer had enough range to whack me with his improvised pole arm, as I stood in the center, immediately after casting it.  Regular Fallen could not though, and just stood ringed around the exterior, waiting their turn.<br>
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==Passive Skills==
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Passive skills do not need activating. The player can choose up to three Passives and they each become available at different characters levels which is indicated in the 'level' column.
  
I didn’t try it against bosses or flying enemies, and there were very few projectile enemies in the Blizzcon build to test that aspect of it against.  And it was never necessary, since I was always better off attacking than standing back on defense, with the Monk.<br>
 
  
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{{Skill description header}}
'''Way of the Hundred Fists'''<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Fleet Footed</skill>
Combo skill. A fast series of attacks strikes enemies in front of you.<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Resolve</skill>
Rank: 1/5<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Exalted Soul</skill>
First hit: A short range dashing attack that deals 100% weapon damage.<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Transcendence</skill>
Second hit: Attack rapidly 6 times for 8% of weapon damage.<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Chant of Resonance</skill>
Third hit: Attack all enemies near the monk for 85% of weapon damage.<br>
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<skill class="Monk">Seize the Initiative</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">The Guardian's Path</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Sixth Sense</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Pacifism</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Beacon of Ytar</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Guiding Light</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">One With Everything</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Combination Strike</skill>
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<skill class="Monk">Near Death Experience</skill>
  
Rank: 2/5<br>
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==Skill Distribution==
First hit: A short range dashing attack that deals 108% weapon damage.<br>
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A player-made chart showing when the Monk gains access to skills, passives, and rune effects.  
Second hit: Attack rapidly 7 times for 8% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Third hit: Attack all enemies near the monk for 85% of weapon damage.<br>
 
  
Rank: 3/5<br>
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[[File:Char-prog-monk.png|center|frame|Monk skill progression. Stats as of May 5, 2012.]]
First hit: A short range dashing attack that deals 116% weapon damage.<br>
 
Second hit: Attack rapidly 8 times for 8% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Third hit: Attack all enemies near the monk for 90% of weapon damage.<br>
 
  
This one was a blast to use, and was about the most fun Monk skill. It’s just straight out of an action movie, or some game like Tekken 3. The Monk does a short dash to the first punch, throws a flurry of blows for the second stage, and then blasts an explosive, AoE attack.  It’s an excellent crowd killer, and when used on a monster marked with the Explosive Palm 3rd stage, it’s almost certain to clear the room.<br>
 
  
  
== Skill Tree B<br> ==
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==Development==
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===Removed Skills===
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The following skills were removed or renamed prior to the July 2011 Press Event:
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* [[Hands of Lightning]]  - Renamed to [[Fists of Thunder]].
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* [[Long Reach]]
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* [[Circle of Wrath]]
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* [[Holy Aura]]
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* [[Dominate Aura]]
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* [[Retribution Aura]]
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* [[Resist Aura]]
  
'''Tier One<br>'''
 
  
'''Crippling Wave'''<br>
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Changed/Removed during the [[beta test]] period:
Combo skill. Light attacks that apply a series of increasingly debilitating debuffs.<br>
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* [[Beacon of Ytar]] - Replaced with [[Combination Strike]].
Rank: 1<br>
 
First hit: Deals 50% of weapon damage. Enemy movement speed reduced 50% for 2 seconds.<br>
 
Second hit: Deals 50% weapon damage. Enemy damage reduced 25% and they take 25% more damage from attacks.<br>
 
Third hit: Deals 60% weapon damage. Debuffs refreshed on all targets.<br>
 
  
Rank: 2<br>
 
First hit: Deals 60% of weapon damage. Enemy movement speed reduced 60% for 2 seconds.<br>
 
Second hit: Deals 60% weapon damage. Enemy damage reduced 30% and take 30% more damage from attack.<br>
 
Third hit: Deals 75% weapon damage. Debuffs refreshed on all targets.<br>
 
  
An interesting sort of combo attack, since it’s about defensive bonuses. The damage is lower than any other Monk attacks, lower even than just plain attack (which I never used once during my Blizzcon play time).  Like Inner Sanctuary, this one was never needed at Blizzcon. There’s no big end boss anywhere, and the only dangers came from large mobs. This skill could be useful against those, but they were generally easier to just destroy with many fast hits than to weaken first.<br>
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[[Impenetrable Defense]], [[Radiant Visage]], and [[Force Without Thought]] were removed from the Monk's skill listing between Blizzcon 2009 and Blizzcon 2010.  
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* See the [[Monk skill archive]] for a full listing of skill changes over time.
  
This one seems like it would be very useful against big bosses, since it makes them susceptible to damage, while making them deal less to you. Throwing in stage 2 or 3 of this in the midst of other more useful combo attacks could be helpful, now and then, since the curse-like debuff can hit multiple enemies in close proximity.<br>
 
  
  
'''Tier 2<br>'''
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==Monk Builds==
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===Inferno Act 1 Monk Solo Build===
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<youtube>fmwA6NtIihg</youtube>
  
'''Exploding Palm'''<br>
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===Inferno Act 2 Monk Tank Build===
Combo Skill. A quick succession of attacks ending with the deadly Exploding Palm.<br>
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<youtube>HWjKdPNk98w</youtube>
Rank: 1/5<br>
 
First hit: 35% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Second hit: 50% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Third hit: Target bleeds for 60 damage over 7 seconds. Moving causes 200% more bleeding damage. If target dies it explodes dealing 60-100% of its maximum life in damage to all enemies nearby.<br>
 
  
Rank: 2/5<br>
 
First hit: 40% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Second hit: 60% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Third hit: Target bleeds for 70 damage over 7 seconds. Moving causes 200% more bleeding damage. If target dies it explodes dealing 60-100% of its maximum life in damage to all enemies nearby.<br>
 
  
Rank: 3/5<br>
 
First hit: 45% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Second hit: 70% of weapon damage.<br>
 
Third hit: Target bleeds for 80 damage over 7 seconds. Moving causes 200% more bleeding damage. If target dies it explodes dealing 60-100% of its maximum life in damage to all enemies nearby.<br>
 
  
This was probably the coolest spell most people saw at Blizzcon, just for the massive blood explosions it created. It was magnificently overpowered, working like an early D2C version of Corpse Explosion. Triggering the third stage of this one, then beating that monster down with 100 Fists, was almost certain to clear any room, killing every monster anywhere near melee range.<br>
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==References==
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* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/full-monk-skill-tree-discussion-and-status/ Full Monk Skill Tree Stats and Discussion]
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* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783417 Monk gameplay report]
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* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hands-on-from-blizzcon-mega-pvm-report-monk/ BlizzCon 2010 Monk Hands-on report]
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* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7960229#post7960229 Zediono's translation of JudgeHype's pre-beta report] -- IncGamers 1st Aug 2011
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* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8009022#post8009022 HardRock's Monk Passive Skills] -- IncGamers 6th Sep 2011
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* [http://www.thehealthygamer.com/category/diablo-3-monk-builds/ Monk builds with video guides and gameplay footage]
  
It will have to be nerfed in the final game, and probably moved down the skill tree as well, since this is just insane for such a low level skill.<br>
 
  
  
== Skill Tree C<br> ==
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{{Skill_navbox_Diablo_III|Monk}}
  
'''Tier One<br>'''
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[[Category:Monk]]
'''Impenetrable Defense'''<br>
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[[Category:Skills]]
Description: Momentarily turn your weapons into an impenetrable wall that rebounds enemy ranged attacks and grants 100% dodge against weapon attacks.<br>
 
Rank: 1/1<br>
 
Mana cost: 5<br>
 
 
 
This one was almost impossible to test or use in the Blizzcon build, since Fallen Shaman and some other rare mage types found in the underground dungeons were the only projectile enemies, and they only infrequently fired their spells. As best I could tell from testing it, the Monk stood still and did a staff twirling motion with his weapon (a staff, naturally) and batted back incoming projectiles. If there had been any incoming projectiles.<br>
 
 
 
 
 
'''Tier 2<br>'''
 
 
 
'''Radiant Visage'''<br>
 
Rank: 1/5<br>
 
Description: A flash of light sears the eyes of all enemies within 20 feet, blinding them for 2-4 seconds. If attacked they will fight back with a 40% reduced chance to hit.
 
Mana cost: 15<br>
 
 
 
Rank: 2/5<br>
 
Description: A flash of light sears the eyes of all enemies within 20 feet, blinding them for 3-5 seconds. If attacked they will fight back with a 42% reduced chance to hit.
 
Mana cost: 15<br>
 
 
 
Rank: 3/5<br>
 
Description: A flash of light sears the eyes of all enemies within 20 feet, blinding them for 4-6 seconds. If attacked they will fight back with a 44% reduced chance to hit.
 
Mana cost: 15<br>
 
 
 
A useful war cry-like attack, this one had a substantial radius, and blinded every non-boss in the area, stopping them in their tracks.  I used this against every charge of Fallen Imps (performed when a Fallen Overseer got a mob of 6-12 amped up all at once). No, it wasn’t really necessary, since a bunch of Imps were essentially walking health orbs/combo power-ups, but it was sometimes fun to pretend that strategy was required.<br>
 
 
 
 
 
== References ==
 
Flux's Report:http://www.diii.net/blog/full-monk-skill-tree-discussion-and-status/
 

Latest revision as of 17:06, 10 July 2015

This page lists all Monk skills. Follow the links to the individual skill pages for full discussion of every skill, including first hand reports and screenshots.

Useful skill links:

  • Skills - General skill design and mechanics.
    • Skill runes - The huge skill customization and improvement system.
  • Monk - a melee-oriented class of great dexterity and skill.
  • Monk skill archive - Monk skills removed or modified during development.
  • Monk traits - Passive skills in Diablo III were called traits for a while before reverting back.


Active Skills[edit | edit source]

Click to the individual skill pages for more details about these skills including numbers, screenshots, skill rune information, blue quotes, and much more.

Primary[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Fists of Thunder</skill> <skill class="Monk">Deadly Reach</skill> <skill class="Monk">Crippling Wave</skill> <skill class="Monk">Way of the Hundred Fists</skill>

Secondary[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Lashing Tail Kick</skill> <skill class="Monk">Tempest Rush</skill> <skill class="Monk">Wave of Light</skill>


Defensive[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Blinding Flash</skill> <skill class="Monk">Breath of Heaven</skill> <skill class="Monk">Serenity</skill> <skill class="Monk">Inner Sanctuary</skill>


Techniques[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Dashing Strike</skill> <skill class="Monk">Exploding Palm</skill> <skill class="Monk">Sweeping Wind</skill>


Focus[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Cyclone Strike</skill> <skill class="Monk">Seven Sided Strike</skill> <skill class="Monk">Mystic Ally</skill>


Mantras[edit | edit source]

Name Level Description

<skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Evasion</skill> <skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Retribution</skill> <skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Healing</skill> <skill subcat="Mantras" class="Monk">Mantra of Conviction</skill>


Passive Skills[edit | edit source]

Passive skills do not need activating. The player can choose up to three Passives and they each become available at different characters levels which is indicated in the 'level' column.


Name Level Description

<skill class="Monk">Fleet Footed</skill> <skill class="Monk">Resolve</skill> <skill class="Monk">Exalted Soul</skill> <skill class="Monk">Transcendence</skill> <skill class="Monk">Chant of Resonance</skill> <skill class="Monk">Seize the Initiative</skill> <skill class="Monk">The Guardian's Path</skill> <skill class="Monk">Sixth Sense</skill> <skill class="Monk">Pacifism</skill> <skill class="Monk">Beacon of Ytar</skill> <skill class="Monk">Guiding Light</skill> <skill class="Monk">One With Everything</skill> <skill class="Monk">Combination Strike</skill> <skill class="Monk">Near Death Experience</skill>

Skill Distribution[edit | edit source]

A player-made chart showing when the Monk gains access to skills, passives, and rune effects.

Monk skill progression. Stats as of May 5, 2012.


Development[edit | edit source]

Removed Skills[edit | edit source]

The following skills were removed or renamed prior to the July 2011 Press Event:


Changed/Removed during the beta test period:


Impenetrable Defense, Radiant Visage, and Force Without Thought were removed from the Monk's skill listing between Blizzcon 2009 and Blizzcon 2010.


Monk Builds[edit | edit source]

Inferno Act 1 Monk Solo Build[edit | edit source]

Inferno Act 2 Monk Tank Build[edit | edit source]


References[edit | edit source]