Tags: beginner

Monk Uliana's Stratagem Fresh 70 Starter Build (Patch 2.7.6 / Season 29)

Last updated on Sep 15, 2023 at 09:00 by Deadset 57 comments

This build is a starter build for fresh Level 70 Monks who have access to the Uliana's Stratagem set.

This guide is part of our Monk Seasonal Progress Guide, which also includes a leveling build and other early builds for fresh 70 characters.

1.

Fresh 70 Build

Active Skills
Left Mouse Button Way of the Hundred Fists Icon Way of the Hundred Fists Blazing Fists Blazing Fists Right Mouse Button Exploding Palm Icon Exploding Palm Impending Doom Impending Doom 1 Epiphany Icon Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud 2 Dashing Strike Icon Dashing Strike Way of the Falling Star Way of the Falling Star 3 Seven-Sided Strike Icon Seven-Sided Strike Sustained Attack Sustained Attack 4 Mantra of Conviction Icon Mantra of Conviction Annihilation Annihilation
Passive Skills
2.

How to Play the Build: Skills and Rotation

Uliana builds are heavily focused on their Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided StrikeExploding Palm Exploding Palm interaction, with the former detonating the latter in massive AoE bursts via the 6-piece bonus. Prior to that, and especially prior to obtaining the 4-piece bonus, Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strike will mostly be used to finish off monsters that had Exploding Palm Exploding Palm applied via generator attacks (a mechanic attained from the earliest, 2-piece set bonus). Your basic goal will be to spread Exploding Palm Exploding Palm with your generator, and then finish a debuffed enemy off with a combination of regular attacks and Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strikes. You will be speeding yourself up with Dashing Strike Dashing Strike and Mantra of Conviction Mantra of Conviction Annihilation Annihilation, and protecting yourself with Epiphany Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud.

Uliana builds drop spenders and resource regeneration tactics in favor of a hit-and-run, controlled burst gameplay with Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strike. The recommended modification of the beginner build is:

  • Slots 1 and 2 — Set Mechanics: Due to the way Uliana's set is built, two skills are non-negotiable inclusions to the playstyle. Your main damage dealer will be Exploding Palm Exploding Palm, applied in various ways: from generators via the 2-piece set bonus, from Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strike (if you choose to cube a Madstone Madstone), and from a key priority legendary for the playstyle, Gungdo Gear Gungdo Gear. Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strike is also necessary for the playstyle, not only as supplementary damage (4-piece bonus), but also to detonate Exploding Palm Exploding Palms on living enemies, circumventing the usual on-death requirement of the skill.
  • Slot 3 — Generator: You will be including a resource generating attack not only to sustain Spirit for the hefty Seven-Sided Strike Seven-Sided Strike price, but also to spread Exploding Palm Exploding Palm through the 2-piece set bonus. Way of the Hundred Fists Way of the Hundred Fists is the usual recommendation for Uliana Monks, as it can augment the damage of EP detonations with the endgame rune Assimilation Assimilation, or speed you up during early game farming with the rune Blazing Fists Blazing Fists.
  • Slot 4 — Mobility: You will keep the signature movement tool of Monks, Dashing Strike Dashing Strike, to take the "locked position" fighting style of Uliana from one brawl to the next. The recommended rune for early farming is Way of the Falling Star Way of the Falling Star, as it offers the most flexible mobility in the random rift layouts.
  • Slots 5 and 6 — Utility: With damage taken care of, the remaining slots should be filled up by personal protection and utility. Another Monk mainstay is the protective Epiphany Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud, which synergizes well with a build that dives into the fray to deliver its damage; the added mobility and Spirit regen are just extras on top. Monks usually finish builds off with a Mantra, and you can tailor your choice according to your needs: the farming-oriented movement increase of Mantra of Conviction Mantra of Conviction Annihilation Annihilation, the strong defensive Mantra of Salvation Mantra of Salvation Agility Agility, or the party-wide attack speed buff of Mantra of Retribution Mantra of Retribution Transgression Transgression.
  • Passives: Uliana builds expose themselves to danger by the nature of the playstyle, so taking solid defensive passives like the Near Death Experience Near Death Experience second life and the bulwark Harmony Harmony is recommended. The build hinges on cooldowns, so Beacon of Ytar Beacon of Ytar is another logical inclusion. Finally, Mythic Rhythm Mythic Rhythm is a massively strong, but very timing and situation-sensitive buff that uniquely synergizes with the Uliana playstyle and is universally included in it. For more indepth information on the use of Mythic Rhythm Mythic Rhythm, consult the main Uliana build guide.
3.

Gear and Builds Using This Set

The build above is specifically created not to require any additional sets or legendary items. In order to transition to a late game-oriented spec using the same set, we have a rough list of high priority items to obtain, as well as a link to the build they pertain to.

4.

Changelog

  • 15 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Season 29.
  • 22 Feb. 2023: Reviewed for Season 28.
  • 10 Dec. 2021: Reviewed for Season 25.
  • 23 Jul. 2021: Reviewed for Season 24.
  • 02 Apr. 2021: Reviewed for Season 23.
  • 13 Mar. 2020: Reviewed for Season 20.
  • 22 Nov. 2019: Page added.
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