Characteristics | Monk Diablo III Guide

Last update: 01 February 2017

Forget about Barbarian's might, about the creatures summoned by a Witch Doctor, about Demon Hunter's traps & dodges and about Wizard's powerful distance spells. Monk is all about quick melee combat, high stamina while fighting the demon hordes and about being able to use plenty of defensive skills.

Monk in Diablo III is very different from a monk which you may already know from the Hellfire expansion to Diablo I. To use the words of a devoted fan of the "second game", he is a combination of an Assassin and a Paladin. On one hand he has quick and effective attacks which can be combined to create combos and on the other and he has a lot of skills which allow him to regenerate health and to actively support the rest of the team. Depending on the skill choice a monk can become a tank, trying to absorb the strength of all enemy attacks, or he can become an assassin, focusing on inflicting damage and then quickly running away.

You should consider playing as a monk mostly because of the incredible speed of his attacks and also because of the effectiveness of his skills. Choosing this character class means on the other hand that you can't use two-handed weapons (the only exception are the Daibo sticks) and all gear that allows to attack from the distance (the same thing applies skills which would allow something like that). If you don't see this is a problem, then you'll receive a character that can perform fast attacks with wrist weapons, creating an impenetrable area of death and destruction.

Monk's primary attribute is his Dexterity, because it allows him to inflict deadly blows. Performing attacks is possible thanks to force of spirit that can be generated by using one of four available skills. Monk is different than a Barbarian in this aspect, because once you've fully or partially loaded the spirit bar (150 points) you won't lose any energy and this will allow you to have a little room to breathe and to plan your next attacks.

Monk can use only melee weapons. The weapons designed specifically for him are the Daibo sticks, which are slow but often offer bonuses to spirit regeneration, and small and extremely fast wrist objects (mostly different versions of knuckle-dusters and claws). As for the armor, monk's unique type of gear are spirit stones which offer protection to his head, as well as increase the rate of energy regeneration and damage inflicted by some of the monk's skills.

To summarize, a Monk should be your top choice if you like a character that displays a lot of finesse in battles, likes to constantly fight in close combat, wants to support the rest of the team during the dangerous journeys and can quickly regenerate health without resorting to health orbs and healing potions.