Sunwuko Wave of Light Monk Inna Wave of Light Variation

Last updated on Jul 21, 2021 at 02:00 by Deadset 45 comments

This variation is no longer relevant due to the rework of the Inna set in Patch 2.7.1. Please refer to the main page for a viable iteration of this build.

1.

Inna Wave of Light

The Inna Wave of Light Monk is a variation of the base SWK Wave of Light build, which gained popularity around Season 16 due to the passive RoRG, and has remained a viable and strong option for a WoL build since.

Active Skills
Left Mouse Button Wave of Light Icon Wave of Light Explosive Light Explosive Light Right Mouse Button Dashing Strike Icon Dashing Strike Blinding Speed Blinding Speed 1 Epiphany Icon Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud 2 Cyclone Strike Icon Cyclone Strike Soothing Breeze Soothing Breeze 3 Mystic Ally Icon Mystic Ally Air Ally Air Ally 4 Mantra of Salvation Icon Mantra of Salvation Agility Agility
Passive Skills
2.

Rotation

The Inna Wave of Light has a fairly simple playstyle; use Dashing Strike Dashing Strike to seek out and draw the attention of massive groups of enemies, then begin the Wave of Light Wave of Light assault. You will cast Epiphany Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud on cooldown, and add to it either the interaction of Cyclone Strike Cyclone Strike and Lefebvre's Soliloquy Lefebvre's Soliloquy, or simply pop Serenity Serenity Ascension Ascension for your overall survivability. Resources will be managed through a combination of the passive Epiphany Epiphany and Air Ally Air Ally restoration, as well as the instant refill of the Mystic Ally Mystic Ally active (you get all the runes from the Inna set) when your reserve is about to deplete.

3.

Skills

  • Wave of Light Wave of Light is your damage skill of choice, taken with the Fire rune Explosive Light Explosive Light mostly due to its massive AoE potential.
  • Cyclone Strike Cyclone Strike Soothing Breeze Soothing Breeze can be used in the slot usually reserved for Sweeping Wind Sweeping Wind in Sunwuko builds. Try not to pull too many enemies with the skill — a bit counter-intuitive, but you are simply using it for the damage reduction proc of Lefebvre's Soliloquy Lefebvre's Soliloquy, and WoL builds require distance from the enemy to perform optimally. Serenity Serenity Ascension Ascension can also be used in this slot, and is somewhat preferred for high-end progression due to the total immunity it offers, even if it requires timing and precision to maximize its effectiveness (its cooldown does not start until the effect finishes).
  • Epiphany Epiphany Desert Shroud Desert Shroud is an omnipresent self-buff in all versions of the build due to the massive damage mitigation and utility it offers. In Inna variants, it is also a source of extra damage due to the equipped Rabid Strike Rabid Strike.
  • Dashing Strike Dashing Strike is an amazing mobility tool with an added defensive aspect for GR progression through the rune Blinding Speed Blinding Speed.
  • Mystic Ally Mystic Ally is a vital part of the build; you will be amplifying your allies' damage with the Inna set bonus and double their number with The Crudest Boots The Crudest Boots. Selection of a particular rune is not needed — you will receive all five at the same time from the Inna 6-piece bonus. Besides their passive presence, each Mystic Ally Mystic Ally offers a valuable active component. The most valuable effect for WoL builds is the Spirit restoration of Air Ally Air Ally and the full HP restoration of Earth Ally Earth Ally, and you should pop the Allies' active effect whenever your Life or Spirit get low.
  • In Inna builds, you get the base effect of all Mantras; nevertheless, take Mantra of Salvation Mantra of Salvation Agility Agility for the added survivability.
  • Your passive selection is fairly typical for WoL builds: Harmony Harmony for the overall toughness by spreading Secondary resists on gear, Beacon of Ytar Beacon of Ytar for the Cooldown Reduction, Seize the Initiative Seize the Initiative for the burst of damage at the start of a fight, and Near Death Experience Near Death Experience — for the cheat death.
4.

Gear

As the name of the variation implies, this Wave of Light build uses the Inna set over Sunwuko or a Legacy of Dreams setup, resulting in a tankier and more beginner-friendly WoL setup. You will be taking five of the seven Inna set pieces, completing the 6-piece bonus via a Ring of Royal Grandeur Ring of Royal Grandeur in the Cube. The remaining armor slots will be taken with Wave of Light- and Inna-synergistic legendary items.

Rolls-wise, this is a Cooldown Reduction-heavy setup, which also requires a fair investment in Area and Skill damage affixes. When it comes to the Inna pieces, you will be aiming for a combination of double Crit stats, CDR and (eventually, at high Paragons) Area Damage to replace the base Dexterity on Inna's Hold Inna's Hold. Inna's Sandals Inna's Sandals are a source of Wave of Light skill damage %, besides the usual tanky stats. core Inna slots like Inna's Vast Expanse Inna's Vast Expanse, Inna's Favor Inna's Favor and Inna's Temperance Inna's Temperance can be dedicated entirely to toughness, adding to the signature survivability of the setup.

As far as specific breakpoints go, will retain a high focus on Cooldown Reduction (at least 50%+, and ideally passing the 60% barrier on a fully-optimized character, with CDR pretty much everywhere but the amulet), a modest amount of Resource Cost Reduction (17%+, achievable with two RCR rolls — the innate roll on the Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac and one more on your shoulder) and spread Area Damage wherever possible (90%+, shoulders, gloves and Paragon at least).

In your jewelry, you will be running a split between the Endless Walk set and an Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac. The Endless Walk set — The Compass Rose The Compass Rose and The Traveler's Pledge The Traveler's Pledge amulet — add a unique mechanic that slowly increases your damage by up to a 100% if you remain stationary, and drains it away and increases your damage reduction while moving. This dynamic mimics the Inna WoL Monk playstyle, as you alternate between Dashing Strike Dashing Strike bursts of movement in search of the next big fight with extended periods of stationary Wave of Light Wave of Light spam. Your other ring is the CDR powerhouse Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac, which lowers your vital cooldowns (most notably Epiphany Epiphany) every time you use a resource-spending attack.

Since this is a non-SWK setup, you are able to drop Vengeful Wind Vengeful Wind from the standard Wave of Light build and enjoy the extra damage from Rabid Strike Rabid Strike; your high Epiphany Epiphany uptime will essentially double up your damage output on an extra target. Your other weapon slot will be taken by the WoL-dedicated Kyoshiro's Blade Kyoshiro's Blade, which adds another damage multiplier on the skill and increases it even further in smaller fights (an indispensable bonus against Rift Guardians).

You have no particular requirements for the shoulder piece; any well rolled legendary will do. In the ideal case, you will have either Lefebvre's Soliloquy Lefebvre's Soliloquy (in a Cyclone Strike Cyclone Strike setup) or Pauldrons of the Skeleton King Pauldrons of the Skeleton King (in a Serenity Serenity setup) for some extra utility in the slot.

Slot Pieces Stat Priority
Head
  1. Dexterity
  2. Socket
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Wave of Light Damage %
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
  6. Pickup Radius (Secondary Stat)
Shoulders
  1. Dexterity
  2. Cooldown Reduction
  3. Area Damage
  4. Resource Cost Reduction
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
  6. Health Globe Healing Bonus (Secondary Stat)
Torso
  1. Dexterity
  2. 3 Sockets
  3. Vitality
  4. Reduced damage from Elites
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat))
  6. Melee or Missile Damage Reduction (Secondary Stat)
Wrists
  1. Dexterity
  2. Critical Hit Chance
  3. Fire Damage %
  4. Life per Hit or Vitality
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
Hands
  1. Dexterity
  2. Dexterity (replaced by Area Damage at High Paragons)
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Critical Hit Damage
  5. Cooldown Reduction
  6. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
  7. Pickup Radius (Secondary Stat)
Waist
  1. Dexterity
  2. Vitality
  3. All Resistance (Guaranteed)
  4. Life %
  5. Pickup Radius (Secondary Stat)
  6. Life per Kill (Secondary Stat)
Legs
  1. Dexterity
  2. 2 Sockets
  3. Vitality
  4. Armor
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
  6. Life per Kill (Secondary Stat)
Feet
  1. Dexterity
  2. Wave of Light Damage %
  3. Vitality
  4. All Resistance (Guaranteed)
  5. Pickup Radius (Secondary Stat)
  6. Health Globe Healing Bonus (Secondary Stat)
Amulet
  1. Socket (guaranteed)
  2. Critical Hit Damage
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Fire Damage %
  5. Physical or Lightning Resistance (Secondary Stat)
  6. Melee or Missile Damage Reduction (Secondary Stat)
Ring #1
  1. Socket
  2. Critical Hit Damage
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Average Damage
Ring #2
  1. Socket
  2. Critical Hit Damage
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Average Damage
Weapon #1
  1. High Weapon Damage
  2. Dexterity
  3. Socket (preferably from Ramaladni's Gift Ramaladni's Gift)
  4. Damage %
  5. Area Damage or Life per Hit
  6. Life per Kill (Secondary Stat if LpH not present)
Weapon #2
  1. High Weapon Damage
  2. Dexterity
  3. Socket (preferably from Ramaladni's Gift Ramaladni's Gift)
  4. Damage %
  5. Area Damage or Life per Hit
  6. Life per Kill (Secondary Stat if LpH not present)

To help you with farming the gear you need for your builds, we have two very useful guides that you can access by clicking the links below: a Salvage Guide to help you quickly check whether or not you can safely salvage a piece of gear and a Legendary Farming Guide to help you efficiently farm legendaries and set items.

5.

Paragon Points

In the Core section, max out Movement Speed to the 25% cap (normally this is done by dumping the first 50 Core Paragon points into Movement Speed, but if your boots have an imperfect roll with Movement Speed as a stat that you cannot replace, adjust the necessary point investment accordingly by simply subtracting your roll from the 25% max.) After that dump as much as you comfortably can into Dexterity, but feel free to invest into Vitality if you feel yourself lacking in toughness, or Maximum Spirit if you want to play around with a bigger resource pool.

In the Offense section, max out Cooldown Reduction, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, and Attack Speed, in that order. In Defense, prioritize All Resistance, then Life %, then Armor, and finish off with Life Regeneration. In Utility, build up Resource Cost Reduction and Area Damage first, then finish off with Life on Hit and Globe Radius.

Slot Paragon Points
Core
  1. Movement Speed up to 25% cap
  2. Dexterity
  3. Maximum Spirit (up to personal preference)
  4. Vitality
Offense
  1. Cooldown Reduction
  2. Critical Hit Damage
  3. Critical Hit Chance
  4. Attack Speed
Defense
  1. All Resistance
  2. Armor
  3. Life %
  4. Life Regeneration
Utility
  1. Resource Cost Reduction
  2. Area Damage
  3. Life on Hit
  4. GlobeRadius
6.

Gems

Bane of the Trapped Bane of the Trapped is a potent source of additional damage, as it is its own multiplier in your total damage calculation. This gem will be easily procced by the slowing property of Pinto's Pride Pinto's Pride bracers.

Zei's Stone of Vengeance Zei's Stone of Vengeance is another independent multiplier, whose range-dependent amplification can be easily maxed out by the long reach of Tzo Krin's Gaze Tzo Krin's Gaze Wave of Light Wave of Lights. The level 25 property will add some minor control and safety to the build, as well as another proc for Bane of the Trapped Bane of the Trapped. An alternative for this slot, if you choose a more defensive and close range playstyle (at the cost of some of your damage potential) is to slot Esoteric Alteration Esoteric Alteration here.

Introduced in Season 4, Bane of the Stricken Bane of the Stricken occupies the third and final jewelry socket in GRs. Building up your damage multiplicatively in prolonged fights and with a level 25 bonus specifically targeting Rift Guardians, this gem is designed to assist AoE heavy builds in their struggle against single target, high HP enemies. The Wave of Light Monk does better than most builds in single target situations but still benefits decently from the gem — a testament to its quality.

When it comes to gear gems, you will start out progression by slotting the highest available level of Emeralds in the chest and pants sockets. Ideally, these will all be Flawless Royal Emerald Flawless Royal Emeralds as soon as possible. As you grow in Paragon (bulking up Dexterity in the Core section) and aim for higher tier and more dangerous GRs, you will transition those gems into the defensive Flawless Royal Diamond Flawless Royal Diamond. There is no specific breakpoint where you do that; the rule of thumb is to make the change as soon as you feel the lack of toughness impede your progress. Since this is a fairly cooldown-dependent build, slot a Flawless Royal Diamond Flawless Royal Diamond in your helm. In your weapons, use a Flawless Royal Emerald Flawless Royal Emerald for the Crit Damage boost.

Slot Gems
Jewelry
Helm
Torso and Pants
Weapon

For more information about gems, please refer to our guide on gems.

7.

Kanai's Cube

For Greater Rift progression, the weapon slot will be taken by the Incense Torch of the Grand Temple Incense Torch of the Grand Temple, as its resource cost reduction bonuses soften the restrictive price of Wave of Light Wave of Light.

The Crudest Boots The Crudest Boots are a crucial piece for the setup, doubling your Mystic Ally Mystic Ally summons and thus doubling the effectiveness of the Inna 6-piece set bonus, as well as several passive and active effects of the skill itself (the Air Ally Air Ally Spirit regeneration, the Fire Ally Fire Ally damage bonuses, etc.)

In the jewelry slot you will use the Ring of Royal Grandeur Ring of Royal Grandeur, a cache legendary ring from Act I bounties. Running the full 6-piece Inna set bonus and Tzo Krin's Gaze Tzo Krin's Gaze while dodging the undesirable guaranteed stats on the Grandeur by cubing its power is a tremendous boost to the build.

The Kanai's Cube can be used for much more than simply extracting Legendary powers from items. Please refer to our Kanai's Cube guide for more information.

8.

Follower

The recommended follower for this build during solo GR progression is the Scoundrel due to his powerful crit buff, allowing you brief windows of extra damage that are well suited to the strengths of this build.

For more information regarding followers, we advise you to read our Follower Guide, which contains detailed advice for choosing the skills and the gear of your follower.

9.

Legendary Potion

Your recommended potion is Bottomless Potion of the Tower Bottomless Potion of the Tower, whose Armor-increasing properties complement the naturally high All Resistances stat of Monks (due to Harmony Harmony) for optimal survivability.

10.

Changelog

  • 21 Jul. 2021: Variation retired due to the revamp of the Inna set.
  • 01 Apr. 2021: Added follower recommendation.
  • 16 Nov. 2020: Added S22 Cube recommendation.
  • 01 Jul. 2020: No changes required for Season 21.
  • 12 Mar. 2020: No changes necessary for Season 20.
  • 21 Nov. 2019: Significantly expanded the overall information in the guide. Updated for Season 19.
  • 23 Aug. 2019: Reviewed for Season 8.
  • 16 May 2019: Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
  • 05 Feb. 2019: Added this variation.
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