Monk Class Overview in Diablo Immortal

Choose the Monk if you want to gain mastery over dexterous, hand-to-hand melee combat, and channel the built up powers of your melee pummeling into crushing blows of sacred energy. The Monk is the master of engagement, dashing through the battlefield and exerting utmost control through pulls, pushes, and mantras. Your crippling blows overpower the adversaries like the sweeping tides, as you finish them off with flurries of spiritual power. The Monk embodies the duality of an evasive assassin and sacred protector in Diablo Immortal, balancing between martial prowess and group-wide utility.

• Matching the expectations set by previous Diablo games, Monks are one of the most mobile classes you can pick in Immortal, with the ability to re-position at will with the various tools built into the class. Not only is Mystic Strike a movement powerhouse, but Monks also have dashing built into their various attacks like Flying Kick, or get additional access to it via legendary items such as Reaching Rebuke.
• While there is no strict role definition in Diablo Immortal, soft roles are almost inescapable in aRPGs. With respect to that, Monks are one of the most versatile supports you can add to a party, with numerous skills that supplement the party and sacrificing little of their own damage output — a dream-like combo.
• Other classes are able to control combat to an extent, but Monks are able to completely lock a battlefield down — be it in PvE or PvP environments. They have a supremely powerful displacement tool in the form of Cyclone Strike, a crowd control powerhouse from Imprisoned Fist, and unparalleled party buffs like Inner Sanctuary and Shield of Zen.

• This might appeal to certain players and be considered a positive to them, but it is important to note that Monk builds suffer heavily from poor execution of their rotations, and will not perform at their best with trigger-happy players.
• While they can masterfully dispatch large groups of weaker enemies, Monks struggle against single targets — owing to their reliance on Mystic Allies and their capricious pet AI to focus down meatier priority targets.
• Though undeniably effective against hordes of enemies, the Monks' arsenal is somewhat streamlined in terms of skill selection — narrowing down to a few particularly effective, near-universal choices in a pool of situational abilities.

Below, you will find a list of all Monk builds we currently have on the site:

• Monk Leveling Guide
• Monk Seven-Sided Strike Bounties Build
• Monk Inner Sanctuary Dungeon Build
• Monk Mystic Allies Challenge Rift Build
• Monk Cyclone Storm Killer Build for Raids
• Monk Imprisoned Fist PvP Build

You can also see an overview briefly explaining all of these builds on the guide below.

Early on, you should focus on trying out the skills that get added to your arsenal, and equipping better gear as it drops (the in-game cue comes from the flashing bag, indicating an upgrade piece). Your gear can be improved at the Blacksmith at a material cost — and while it starts out small, it quickly scales to a hefty amount. Make sure you pick up all items you come across (the auto-pickup option in Settings helps), and salvage them in town.

Upgrading your equipment is a central part of power acquisition in Diablo Immortal; never hesitate to upgrade a piece, regardless of its stats, since its upgrades will carry over to its eventual replacement for free. Upgrading all Primary gear pieces to level 6 before moving forward to level 7 on any of them is advised, since you gain an additional attribute at that level.

During leveling, you will occasionally hit experience walls (accompanied by the message "You must reach level X before continuing.") as you do the Main Story. To quickly get over the Experience hurdle, your most efficient route is to complete Battle Pass activities — namely, repeatedly grinding out Dungeons, with Bestiary turn-ins and Tasks mixed in. To mitigate the amount of time spent grinding, as well as to (likely) enjoy the game more, you can purposefully seek out Hidden Lairs and complete Tasks as they open up during the storyline completion. While this will slow down your questing, it will pay off later down the line as it diminishes some of the grind walls.

Pay extra heed to the Battle Pass tracker, as it unlocks consumable bonuses along the way, as well as a Legendary Item early on in the leveling process. Legendary items are potential gamechangers for every character, so you ensure you pick the one that will benefit you the most.

Legendary items are exceedingly rare gear pieces that provide unique bonuses — enhancing or altering an ability's powers altogether. When you come across one, especially for a slot where you still have Rare or lower tier items equipped, replace it immediately. Legendaries innately roll superior stats to lower tier items. Feel free to experiment with your newfound Legendary and the skill it enhances; once you no longer need it, extract its power at the Essence Transfer NPC in Westmarch. This allows you to overwrite subsequent Legendary items (likely with better stats) in the same slot with the extracted power, retaining the legendary bonus. Extract as many Legendary powers as you can, so you can easily adapt from one build to another whenever you need. Of course, feel free to salvage duplicate Legendary items that you have already extracted.

Similarly to all Diablo games, gems will make a huge difference to your character in Diablo Immortal — so make a point to hunt down Normal Gems in Hidden Lairs, and Legendary Gems in Elder Rifts (they get a chance to drop if you use a Crest consumable). Additionally, you should follow the quest line to unlock the Helliquary activity as soon as it becomes available at level 41. This is done in order to receive the Scoria currency while doing Bounties.

When you turn in Bestiary pages, you will receive a class-specific consumable. For Monks, this item is the Incense Candle, which increases Magic Find for you and your allies by 5% for 20 minutes. There's no reason to be stingy with its use, especially when you engage in party activities and/or content with potentially valuable rewards, such as dungeons with highly-sought set pieces.

Skills are your primary means to defeating enemies, and their interaction with skill-enhancing or skill-altering Legendary Items are what forms the synergies that define the success of your character. The power of Skills is enhanced by Charms, and the power of Legendary Items can be increased when they are Awakened. The game limits you to the use of five Skills — a Primary Attack and four Active Abilities that have some form of limitation to their use (charges, cooldowns). Primary Attacks are not limited in their use, and charge up an Ultimate bar as they are used. When it is fully charged, you are able to use the Ultimate version of that Primary Attack. Below, you will find a breakdown of all Monk skills (divided by categories), as well as some advice for their general use.

Fists of Thunder — Available at lvl 1. Teleport to a nearby enemy and unleash a rapid succession of punches that each deal damage. You can teleport again after every third hit. Its Ultimate is Lightning Flux — Enhance Fists of Thunder for 12 seconds, teleporting to an enemy on each hit and generating a thunderstorm each time you defeat an enemy. Thunderstorms deal damage and knock enemies away. You also gain a shield which absorbs damage equal to 20% of your maximum Life for 3 seconds. Charms increase Fists of Thunder damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Fists of Thunder is the Primary Attack dedicated to dishing out single-target damage, as it comboes down a chosen enemy and, more importantly, has built-in dashing mechanics that allow you to stick to that particular target. When facing down singular, highly mobile targets (the vast majority of PvE situations, and especially in PvP), this should be your Primary Attack of choice.

Deadly Reach — Available at lvl 34. Project lines of piercing force that deal damage to the target and to enemies behind the targets. Its Ultimate is Release Force — Enhance Deadly Reach for 12 seconds, causing it to also knock enemies away. You also gain a shield which absorbs damage equal to 20% of your maximum Life for 3 seconds. Charms increase Deadly Reach damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Deadly Reach is a lot more situational in its use, requiring vast amounts of trash enemies to swarm you in order for its effectiveness to shine through. Deadly Reach has a piercing effect that is ideally paired a displacement tool to funnel enemies with; thankfully, Monks have crowd control in spades.

Exploding Palm — Available at lvl 24. 6 second base cooldown. Attack enemies in a direction, damaging and inflicting Bleeding on them for 5 seconds. Enemies that die while Bleeding will explode, damaging nearby enemies. Enemies can only be hit 5 times within 1 second by these explosions, and starting with explosion 2 and beyond, take only 30% of normal damage. Maximum 2 charges. Charms increase Exploding Palm damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Exploding Palm is one of the hardest hitting abilities in the Monk's arsenal, synergizing with the strong crowd control and monster pulling options available for the class for powerful, screen-clearing detonations of trash enemies. In order to trigger its detonation effect more quickly and reliably, Exploding Palm greatly benefits from the inclusion of a hard-hitting, instant nuke ability, such as Wave Of Light or Seven-Sided Strike.

Legendary Items:

• Reaching Rebuke (Off-hand) — Exploding Palm now launches you at a location and strikes the area with a giant palm as you land, damaging all enemies, but its cooldown is increased. Awakened effect: Exploding Palm damage increased by 10%.
• Scolding Storm (Off-hand) — Exploding Palm is now icy and inflicts Chill. Awakened effect: Exploding Palm cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Crippling Insight (Head) — Exploding Palm maximum charges increased by 1. Awakened effect: Exploding Palm cooldown decreased by 10%.

Mystic Allies — Available at lvl 44. 30 second base cooldown. Summon two spirit allies to fight by your side for 10 seconds. They deal X damage with each attack and have Life equal to yours. Charms increase Mystic Allies damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Mystic Allies excel at pummeling down a priority target, making them ideal for content featuring protracted single-target fights — particularly Challenge Rifts and Raids, where time spent fighting the Boss can no longer be ignored as a factor. Note that you have to contend with pet AI when you plan the fight with your summons, and try to eliminate as many distractions (elite minions, boss adds, etc.) before popping the Allies' cooldown — this will help them beeline towards the correct enemy.

Legendary Items:

• Rod of Echoes (Main-hand) — Mystic Allies cooldown decreased by 15%. Awakened effect: Mystic Allies summons Life increased by 10%.
• The Open Mind (Head) — Mystic Allies damage increased by 10%. Awakened effect: Mystic Allies summons Life increased by 10%.
• Companion's Melody (Legs) — Mystic Allies duration increased by 25%. Awakened effect: Mystic Allies cooldown decreased by 10%.

Seven-Sided Strike — Available at lvl 8. 12 second base cooldown. Dash rapidly between nearby enemies, striking 7 times, dealing damage each time. Additional hits on the same target deal 50% as much damage. Charms increase Seven-Sided Strike damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Seven-Sided Strike is equally formidable as a multi-target skill as it is on single targets, providing a rare combination of heavy damage and versatility that makes it all but a mandatory inclusion in damage-oriented Monk builds. On top of its all-around strength, it has the added benefit of making you untargetable — and thus immune to damage — during its animation, enabling a third use case: as a "panic" button against an incoming heavy attack. Seven-Sided Strike is best used in conjunction with Exploding Palm, in order to ensure the demise of the Bleeding target and trigger the detonation.

Legendary Items:

• Dragon's Indignation (Main-hand) — Seven-Sided Strike now continually Burns enemies. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Ice Upon the Blossom (Main-hand) — Seven-Sided Strike turns to ice damage with a Chilling effect. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Spirit's Reach (Main-hand) — Seven-Sided Strike now places a runic circle inside which all enemies will be struck by your Spirit Allies. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike damage increased by 10%.
• Discipline's Weight (Shoulders) — Seven-Sided Strike damage increased by 10%. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• The First Wind (Shoulders) — Each hit of Seven-Sided Strike also temporarily decreased all damage you take by 3.5%, stacking up to 7 times. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Breath of Incense (Chest) — Seven-Sided Strike can now trigger the Exploding Palm explosion when it kills Bleeding enemies. Awakened effect: Seven-Sided Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.

Wave Of Light — Available at lvl 41. 9 second base cooldown. Crush enemies in an area with a focused Wave Of Light for X damage. Maximum 2 charges. Charms increase Wave Of Light damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Wave Of Light offers a very straightforward benefit — a massive, hard-hitting nuke in a targeted area, with two charges stored by default. Depending on the situation, it might be beneficial to stack both charges on top of each other (when you need to clear a pull with elites, for example), or spread them around for maximum coverage (when facing hordes of weaker monsters).

Legendary Items:

• Heaven's Bonds (Shoulders) — Wave Of Light now drops a golden bell from the sky, immobilizing all enemies in the area. Awakened effect: Wave Of Light cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Radiant Sun (Shoulders) — Wave Of Light now summons an echo bell, inflicting continuous damage on all nearby enemies. Awakened effect: Wave Of Light damage increased by 10%.
• Harmony's Song (Chest) — Wave Of Light range increased by 20%. Awakened effect: Wave Of Light damage increased by 10%.
• Chastising Radiance (Chest) — Wave Of Light damage increased by 10%. Awakened effect: Wave Of Light cooldown decreased by 10%.
4.2.5.

Wave Strike

Wave Strike — Available at lvl 3. 9 second base cooldown. Unleash a wave of energy, carrying enemies hit within it and exploding for damage to all nearby enemies at its maximum range. Charging longer increases range and damage. When fully charged, the waves will also knock enemies away. Charms increase Wave Strike damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Wave Strike is situationally useful in PvP; it is a rare ranged attack in the Monk arsenal, and can be used as a poke or safe means of retaliation without getting into the fray. Its additional crowd control — the innate knockback when fully charged — can also contribute to its safety uses, but the charging is very clearly telegraphed and predictable. The very same knockback properties make the skill lackluster in PvE, where displacement away from the player/s is effectively a DPS loss.

Legendary Items:

• Resounding Soul (Chest) — Wave Strike damage increased by 10%. Awakened effect: Wave Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Unshakable Weight (Main-hand) — Wave Strike range increased by 20%. Awakened effect: Wave Strike damage increased by 10%.
• Power of Undulation (Off-hand) — Wave Strike now continually channels energy waves forward. Awakened effect: Wave Strike energy consumed 10% slower.
• Roar of the Sea (Off-hand) — Wave Strike now quickly gathers energy and generates Wave Explosion. Awakened effect: Wave Strike damage increased by 10%.
4.3.

Control Skills

4.3.1.

Cyclone Strike

Cyclone Strike — Available at lvl 1. 12 second base cooldown. Generate a vortex of wind which pulls in enemies and deals damage. Charging longer increases range and damage. Charms increase Cyclone Strike damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Cyclone Strike is one of the best additions to a Monk's skill lineup; a versatile, long-range crowd control tool that pulls enemies within range of the Monk's melee devastation. It pairs wonderfully with density-reliant damage cooldowns like Seven-Sided Strike and Exploding Palm, easily multiplying their effectiveness by piling a screenful of enemies on top of the Monk.

Legendary Items:

• Eye of the Storm (Off-hand) — Cyclone Strike radius increased by 20%. Awakened effect: Cyclone Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Storm Spirit (Chest) — Cyclone Strike now generates a powerful tornado that continually damages all nearby enemies. Awakened effect: Cyclone Strike damage increased by 10%.
• Tempest's Heart (Chest) — Cyclone Strike now causes you to become a vortex that pulls in enemies and then detonate, damaging and knocking away all nearby enemies. Awakened effect: Cyclone Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Path of the Storm (Legs) — Cyclone Strike also temporarily decreases all damage you take by 20%. Awakened effect: Cyclone Strike cooldown decreased by 10%.
4.3.2.

Imprisoned Fist

Imprisoned Fist — Available at lvl 41. 12 second base cooldown. Attack enemies in a direction for X damage and Immobilize them for 5 seconds. Charms increase Imprisoned Fist damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Imprisoned Fist is one of the most reliable crowd control skills in the Monk arsenal, covering a decent area and providing a superb, 5-second immobilization effect. This makes it a preferred inclusion whenever precise control over the enemy is necessary, such as staggering incoming waves of high difficulty foes in Challenge Rifts, or disrupting team formations in PvP.

Legendary Items:

• Rising Tide (Shoulders) — Imprisoned Fist now causes you to leap through the air with electricity, damaging and immobilizing nearby enemies where you land. Awakened effect: Imprisoned Fist damage increased by 10%.
• Freedom's Gale (Shoulders) — Imprisoned Fist now knocks surrounding enemies into the air and stuns them, but no longer immobilizes. Awakened effect: Imprisoned Fist cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Isolation's Path (Legs) — Imprisoned Fist maximum charges increased by 1. Awakened effect: Imprisoned Fist cooldown decreased by 10%.
4.4.

Dash Skills

4.4.1.

Flying Dragon

Flying Dragon — Available at lvl 47. 12 second base cooldown. Soar into the sky, pulling along all nearby enemies and dealing damage to all nearby enemies at your destination. Charms increase Flying Dragon damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Flying Dragon is best implemented into a build as an augmentation of the mobility and/or grouping strengths of your chosen ability lineup. The skill performs best when it supplements Mystic Strike for movement and Cyclone Strike for enemy pulling. It performs exceptionally well when used in content that has fixed layouts and hordes of low health, low effort enemies that need to be cleaved down by AoE — such as dungeons.

4.4.2.

Flying Kick

Flying Kick — Available at lvl 1. 12 second base cooldown. Kick forward, dealing damage to enemies in your path and knocking them away. Flying Kick can rebound off walls, dealing additional damage to nearby enemies. Maximum 3 charges. Players may only be affected once every 3 seconds by this skill. Charms increase Flying Kick damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Flying Kick is yet another mobility skill at the Monk's disposal. It mostly serves as an excellent opener in battle, closing the distance to your enemy and providing a disruptive effect with its knockback. Its 'opener', gap closer incentive in your rotation is further enhanced by effects such as Spokes of the Wheel and Mantle of the Crane.

Legendary Items:

• Spokes of the Wheel (Off-hand) — Flying Kick also temporarily increases all damage you deal by 10%. Awakened effect: Flying Kick damage increased by 10%.
• Mantle of the Crane (Head) — Flying Kick range increased by 20%. Awakened effect: Flying Kick damage increased by 10%.
• Grace's Bounty (Legs) — Flying Kick becomes Spinning Kick, damaging all nearby enemies. Awakened effect: Flying Kick damage increased by 10%.
• Momentum's Flow (Legs) — Flying Kick now unleashes a series of kicks at the enemies in a direction, with the final kick knocking enemies away. Awakened effect: Flying Kick damage increased by 10%.
• Tiger's Flight (Legs) — Flying Kick now generates a flaming tornado that damages enemies in its path. Awakened effect: Flying Kick damage increased by 10%.
4.4.3.

Mystic Strike

Mystic Strike — Available at lvl 15. 12 second base cooldown. Dash forward 4.5 yards and leave a spirit behind that will return, pulling all enemies in its path to you and dealing damage. Maximum 3 charges. Charms increase Mystic Strike damage from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Mystic Strike is one of the strongest mobility tools in the game, and certainly the best at the Monk's disposal. Its excellent range, reasonable cooldown and triple charges available by default allow you to maneuver around a fight at will to the best possible position. It can serve as an opener in combat, closing the gap to your enemy and pulling them together; it can be used as an emergency dodge from incoming attacks, blinking you well away from danger; and it can be popped to avoid or skip combat altogether, leaving your foes hopelessly behind. Needless to say, it should be included in all builds where mobility is a consideration (so pretty much any build, really).

4.5.

Buff Skills

4.5.1.

Inner Sanctuary

Inner Sanctuary — Available at lvl 38. 30 second base cooldown. Place a runic circle of protection for 9 seconds that reduces all damage taken by you and your allies within the circle by 50%. Charms increase Inner Sanctuary duration from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Inner Sanctuary is one of the most adaptable, utility-laden skills in the Monk repertoire — but has a humongous cooldown to counter-balance its positives. This ability is best used defensively and when doing progression content (i.e. Challenge Rifts) — where increasingly harder-hitting enemies turn survival into a decisive factor for your success just as much, if not more, as your actual damage dealt. It can be excellently adapted to farming content however, by flipping its default defensive properties to an AoE damage enhancement with Empathy's Blessing.

Legendary Items:

• Judgment's Watch (Head) — Inner Sanctuary now continually damages all enemies within it, but no longer protects you and your allies. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary damage increased by 10%.
• Tranquility's Gaze (Head) — Inner Sanctuary now Stuns and damages enemies that enter and exit the circle, but no longer protects you and your allies. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Solace of the Peaks (Head) — Inner Sanctuary becomes a chilling circle, continually damaging and Chilling enemies within it, but no longer protecting you and your allies. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Empathy's Blessing (Head) — Inner Sanctuary is now Blessed Sanctuary, increasing all damage done by you and your allies while within the circle. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Disciplined Respite (Chest) — Inner Sanctuary cooldown decreased by 15%. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary cooldown further decreased by 10%.
• Respite's Sigh (Off-hand) — Inner Sanctuary duration increased by 30%. Awakened effect: Inner Sanctuary cooldown decreased by 10%.
4.5.2.

Shield of Zen

Shield of Zen — Available at lvl 18. 12 second base cooldown. Protect yourself or an ally with a shield that absorbs damage for 5 seconds. This shield also prevents all effects which cause loss of control of a character. Protecting an ally will cause you to charge to their location and grant you both this shield. Charms increase Shield of Zen shield from 2 to 10%, growing in 2% increments.

Advice: Shield of Zen is yet another "Swiss knife" in the Monk's arsenal — supplying yourself or a chosen ally with readily available Crowd Control immunity, a scaling shielding effect to soak damage with, and further sweetens the deal with additional movement capabilities when used on an allied target. While it is mostly useful for PvP situations to prevent disruption from the enemy team, it can also be adapted to PvE content with the use of legendaries like Fires of Peace and Enlightenment's Blessing.

Legendary Items:

• Fires of Peace (Main-hand) — Shield of Zen doesn't shield you anymore, but periodically deals damage to nearby enemies. Awakened effect: Shield of Zen cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Intervening Law (Main-hand) — Shield of Zen now causes you to charge to a target location, granting you and all nearby allies a shield that absorbs damage. Awakened effect: Shield of Zen cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Purity's Thought (Head) — Shield of Zen now also dispels a harmful effect from the target. Awakened effect: Shield of Zen cooldown decreased by 10%.
• Enlightenment's Blessing (Chest) — During Shield of Zen your Movement Speed is increased by 25% and you can move unhindered through enemies. Awakened effect: Shield of Zen cooldown decreased by 10%.
5.

Stat Priorities

5.1.

Primary Attributes

Improving your attributes in Diablo Immortal generally revolves around increasing the total amount of Combat Rating, or CR. Every primary attribute point (Strength, Fortitude, Vitality, Willpower, and Intelligence) grants you 1 point of CR.

The priority attribute for Monks is Strength, which gives +0.3 Damage per point; given otherwise identical options, use the one with higher Strength to increase your DPS. Second in the priority order is Fortitude, which adds to your Armor Penetration — indirectly increasing damage dealt by also improving your crit chance. This attribute suffers from diminishing returns due to crit caps, but is still quite valuable. Third in the priority order is Vitality, which simply increases your Life total; the longer you can stave off death, the better.

Stat priority order and stat benefits for Monks are as follows:

• 1. Strength — Grants +0.3 Damage to Monks, and +1 to your total CR.
• 2. Fortitude — Grants +0.1 Armor Penetration, which affects your crit chance. It also grants +0.1 Armor; Armor increases your Block chance, and blocking attacks mitigates 20% of the damage dealt. More mitigation is never amiss, and even more so when dealing with riskier content like the Helliquary. It also adds +1 to your total CR.
• 3. Vitality — Grants +3 Life; the more you can add to your total health pool, the better. This is especially true for melee classes like the Monk, as they are frequently in the thick of the fight and endure hits head on. This attribute also adds +1 to your total CR.
• 4. Willpower — Grants +0.1 Potency and 0.1 Resistance. Potency increases the duration of harmful effects that you inflict on your foes. Resistance lowers the duration of harmful effects inflicted by your enemies on you. This attribute also adds +1 to your total CR.
• 5. Intelligence — Grants +1 CR. This attribute does nothing else for Monks, and should be avoided as much as possible.
5.2.

Secondary (Special) Attributes

You should not put an emphasis on Special Attributes when considering between gear pieces. This is due to the overpowering importance of Primary Attributes and your CR total. That being said, the better Special Attributes are the two Crit Stats (Critical Hit Chance and Critical Hit Damage), Cooldown Reduction, Beneficiary Effect Duration, and Movement Speed. You can also consider Increased Damage to Players for PvP gear.

5.3.

Bonus Attributes

Pieces of Primary Gear that you upgrade at the Blacksmith attain up to three additional Bonus Attributes for Reforging at Ranks 6, 11, and 16. These Bonus Attributes belong to "families" (outlined and ranked below); a Family Bonus can be unlocked if all three Bonus Attributes are from the same family. Multiple Primary Gear pieces can have the same Family Bonus to improve your proc chance. The process of Reforging is done with the Reforge Stone consumable. Note that only Primary Gear pieces can be reforged; Secondary Gear pieces cannot. For Monks, priority Bonus Attributes are:

• 1. Tremor Stone is the most valuable bonus for general content, as its Family Bonus adds a crowd control proc and extra damage to your Primary Attacks.
• 2. Vengeance Stone brings a single target-oriented Family Bonus that becomes increasingly important as you push the difficulty of the content you are doing, i.e. Challenge Rifts. Pair it with high Attack Speed choices like Fists of Thunder to have a chance at finishing off Boss fights within the timer.
• 3. Wildfire Stone is mostly valuable due to its innate attributes, as it brings valuable Critical Hit Chance to the table. The Hydra summon from the Family Bonus is mostly an extra minion to soak up damage.
• 4. Barrier Stone has a Family Bonus that brings some much needed mitigation to Monks, a class that face-tanks all of its damage. The absorption shield is paired with some excellent innate attributes like Damage Taken Decreased and Block Chance, which further reduce incoming hurt.
• 5. Jolt Stone offers situationally valuable bonuses; it has Beneficial Effect Duration Increased as an innate attribute, which is decent for groups, and a Cheat Death proc which is never amiss when soloing content. Its Family Bonus brings soft CC to attackers, which is decent mostly for PvP.
• 6. Ravager Stone offers summoner-oriented innate attributes that are all but useless to Monks (unless you hyper-specialize in the Mystic Allies summons). Its Family Bonus requires enemies to be slain to proc, significantly diminishing its usefulness when doing progression content like Challenge Rift bosses and Helliquary.
6.

Awakened Priorities

The Awakening mechanic further increases the power of a Legendary Item and is done by socketing a Rank 10 Legendary Gem inside the item and using the Dawning Echo consumable at the Master Jeweler. Awaken with 1-Star Gems early on, sacrificing higher ones as necessary later. Prioritize Awakening legendary items that provide straight bonuses (increased damage) to your most frequently used skills, and ones that enhance the strengths of those build-defining skills (such as cooldown- or energy cost- reduction). For Monks, priority Awakenings are:

• 4. Shoulders: The First Wind, Discipline's Weight, Radiant Sun
• 5. Legs: Path of the Storm, Companion's Melody, Isolation's Path
• 6. Off-hand: Scolding Storm, Eye of the Storm, Reaching Rebuke
• 2. Chest: Breath of Incense, Storm Spirit, Enlightenment's Blessing
• 1. Main-hand: Rod of Echoes, Dragon's Indignation, Fires of Peace
• 3. Head: The Open Mind, Crippling Insight, Empathy's Blessing
7.

Normal and Legendary Gems

As per tradition for Diablo games, socketed gear allows you to insert beneficial gems according to your needs. In Diablo Immortal, gems are divided between Normal Gems (socketable in Secondary Gear) and Legendary Gems (socketable in Primary Gear).

7.1.

Normal Gems

Normal Gems can only be socketed in Secondary Gear. Normal gems are divided into Red, Blue and Yellow sockets, and their priority is listed below. Priority-wise, gems are decent power increases to your character, but should never come at the cost of Primary Attributes and your CR score. Go for Red and Blue gems over Yellow if possible, as they provide a stronger bonus overall.

• Red Sockets: Prioritize Tourmaline as it provides a straight Damage increase. Ruby is also decent for the Life increase, but only if you lack Tourmalines.
• Blue Sockets: Prioritize Sapphire, which increases your Armor Penetration, and your Critical Hit Chance stat as a result. Note that Crit Chance provided from Sapphires has diminishing returns, capping out at 33%; when benefits from ArPen get too insignificant, swap to Aquamarine. Aquamarine provides Armor, which is a decent source of damage mitigation.
• Yellow Sockets: Prioritize Citrine for the Potency gains, increasing the duration of harmful effects you inflict on enemies; however small its benefits, they trump the Resistance effects provided from Topaz.
7.2.

Legendary Gems

Legendary Gems can only be socketed in Primary Gear. They provide unique and very powerful bonuses on top of a robust stack of stat increases. Legendary Gems are found in Elder Rifts enhanced by the Crest consumables, as well as through crafting at the Jeweler in Westmarch.

Early on in Monk character progression, you should use common, 1- and 2-Star Legendary Gems like:

• Fervent Fang — Can be obtained from the Battle Pass, saving you some Crests. Provides a stacking damage increase against a target with successive attacks; great for single target damage.
• Everlasting Torment — For the mere cost of a critical hit, this gem inflicts a considerable DoT and an Attack Speed increase to boot. Even at a low quality, this gem starts off with incredible stats and fits nicely from the get-go.
• Chained Death — This is a great early game gem, especially during farming where you usually pull hordes of enemies to maximize your AoE skills. It amplifies your damage the more enemies you fight, encouraging chaining fights together.
• Lightning Core — Despite its low proc chance, this damage-dealing gem can wipe out entire packs when activated, or focus down a larger foe, making it a decent addition to you legendary gem lineup.
• Power & Command— Since you will frequently interweave Primary Attacks in between popping Ability cooldowns, you will always have some part of the alternating bonuses of this gem going.
• Berserker's Eye — This gem increases damage dealt at the cost of an increase in damage taken. For most of the farming PvE content, this is a reasonable trade-off that you can feasibly mitigate with the Monk's strong sources of shielding.

When perfecting your character for endgame content, the 5-Star Best-in-Slot Legendary Gems for Monks include:

• Blood-Soaked Jade — With its Damage and Movement Speed increases, it is largely considered to be the best legendary gem in the game for pretty much all forms of content.
• Seeping Bile — The value of this gem scales with the number of attacks you inflict, fitting nicely with the screen-wide pulling capabilities of Monks. With a considerable damage proc and a spreading effect, it is one of the best additions to your legendary gem lineup.
• Frozen Hearth — With percentage-based mitigation against ranged damage, this is one of the strongest defensive legendary gems you can support your character with.
• Howler's Call — Triggered off Primary Attacks, this legendary gem supplements the lacking ranged attack arsenal of Monks with a hard-hitting ranged proc.
• Blessing of the Worthy — Monks thrive at melee ranges and sustain a lot of attacks, making the retaliation proc of this gem quite valuable. Note its scaling off maximum Life, which turns the Monk's considerable health pool into a makeshift nuke.
• Chip of Stone Flesh — This is a PvP powerhouse of a gem, inflicting hard CC and increasing damage dealt on affected targets. It also provides decent value for progression content.
8.

Paragon Points

Paragon Points are character-specific progression system that allows you to advance in power after you reach maximum level. Each level gives you a Paragon point to spend into currently available nodes on the five Paragon Trees. While Paragon Trees are specialized for certain tasks, you should always keep in mind the tenets of character building — increasing damage and mitigation as much as you can. With that in mind, focus down the Vanquisher tree first, pick up the experience bonus from the Treasure Hunter tree, pick up whatever is useful from the Gladiator tree, and finish off with the group powerhouse of the Soldier tree. Always keep in mind that the (circular) Persistent Attributes are always active once leveled, but the (square) Specialization Skills are only applied when their respective Paragon Tree is active.

• Vanquisher Tree: The offense focus of this tree makes it the best starting point for all characters. It is recommended that you start with the middle row, maxing out Damage and picking up Zeal. Go down the bottom row, maxing out Damage and picking up Wrath. Finally, go along the top row, maxing out Potency, putting the point in Exorcism, and finishing off with Deeper Pockets and Heart of Wrath. This puts you at Paragon level 49.
• Treasure Hunter Tree: This tree unlocks at Paragon 50 and focuses on rewarding you more for your grinding efforts, making it an attractive mid-progression pickup. Go through the middle row, maxing Armor to attain Swift Learner. Then go on straight by maxing out the Damage node. This puts you at Paragon 70.
• Go back to the Vanquisher Tree. Max out the Life nodes in the mid row that follow Zeal, and put one point in Judgment to finish off that row. Then, go to the bottom row and put 3 points into Armor Penetration, which puts you exactly at Paragon 99.
• Right around this point, you have a decision to make. If you focus on PvE content, you should divert your attention back to the Survivor Tree — the other tree unlocked by default. Start out by maxing Life, picking up a point in Unyielding and progressing downwards. Max out Armor, then through the middle row — taking Escape Artist, additional Life, and Precognition along the way. Finish off with the coveted Damage increase. If you focus on PvP content, you should focus on the Gladiator Tree instead; this tree unlocks at Paragon 100, and offers brawling-oriented bonuses. Start off with maxing Armor Penetration, picking Uncontrollable right after it and continuing upwards. Max out Life, attain Quick Witted, and go into maxing Resistance and the second Life node. Get the Cheat Death right above the Life node. Finish with the consistently desirable Damage.
• At this point, you are hovering around the Paragon 180-185 point. One thing to consider is going back to the Vanquisher Tree to finish off the bottom right Armor Penetration node. You can also divert to the Treasure Hunter Tree to grab Gold Find and its subsequent Armor Penetration node. Alternatively, if you group up a lot, you can tab over to the Soldier Tree. This tree unlocks at Paragon 150 and is focused on grouping bonuses and provides tremendous utility for most modes of play. Take Hold Formation and head down to Resistance, then even further down into Damage. Attain the full bottom row — Battle Morale into Armor Penetration into Sacrifice. Then, finish off the middle row with Combat Veteran and Potency. Finally, go through the top row of Life and First Aid.

It is important to reiterate that your utmost priority is picking up all the damage nodes you can, deviating into one tree or another only to further that goal. Secondary valuable pickups are found in Armor Penetration and Life nodes. Once you are done with leveling all the Damage nodes, you are free to fill out Paragon trees as you see fit, as well as to activate specific Trees for the needs of the content you are doing.

9.

Closing Words

In summation, the Monk is the most versatile and agile combatant in Diablo Immortal, capable to adapt to every situation — at the cost of a rigid, yet multi-faceted ability lineup. Monks are unparalleled at controlling fights; they are able to approach from any angle and distance, and then pull, push and immobilize enemies according to their needs. And finally, of course, lock down target after target in an unyielding, pulverizing pummel storm. Enjoy the Monk, and make your foes feel the wrath of Ytar!

10.

Changelog

• 30 May 2022: Guide created.
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