This guide is no longer updated. A new guide will be coming soon.
“Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.”
--The Art of War, Sun Tzu
There are many ways to add variations to your character for specific uses outside of its own class. Prior to Update 19's enhancement system and before Update 14's Epic Destinies, a player would train in one or two additional player classes. That's the traditional definition of multiclassing.
With Update 19, however, there's greater diversity for Monks (and other classes) to add weapon proficiency or class abilities, sometimes without adding a new class.
Most players who add a “splash” of two Monk levels do so for the Evasion feat, sacrificing being Centered for this feat and using conventional weapons, armor and tactics. A few players stay centered to help with other abilities of the few Monk levels as they grow in greater strength in another class.
There is also an inverted idea of using a substantial number of Monk levels (up to 12, commonly) in combination with one or two additional classes (Paladin, Fighter and/or Rogue, for instance). This advanced training can blend several innate abilities for a unique fighter.
Let's look first at the easiest option that allows you to remain a "pure" Monk (all training as a Monk, no other classes added).
If you are an Elf, Half-Elf or Morninglord (an Iconic Class of Elf), you may use your racial tree to select the Arcane Archer enhancement ability, adding that class tree to your character once you spend 10 AP in your racial tree.
This is an excellent way for Monks who want a potent ranged option without sacrificing their Monk training.
To use bows as ki weapons, you must add the Zen Archery feat to your character. This feat also uses your WIS ability to determine the bow's attack bonus if it is higher than your DEX.
There are trade-offs. It takes more AP to level up this Arcane Archer build than a native Ranger. You'll also not receive any Ranger granted feats that may increase bow damage or attack speed.
Going Elf and training Aerenal Grace will give Monks both longbow weapon proficiency and DEX-to-Damage for longbows. The Zen Archer uses this race.
As the Monk is a primarily a melee fighter, it's highly recommended to add classes that can augment your attack prowess. The Fighter class is typically suited to raise attack and damage for this reason.
Update 19's enhancement trees also make it very easy to add shortsword proficiency to any Monk by adding 1 Action Point to the first core enhancement, Ninja Training, in the Ninja Spy class tree.
If you'd like to consider adding another class, here is a general summary of compatibility with other classes and possible benefits.
The purpose of this Monk guide is to assist players relatively new to the Monk class to train a Monk to level 20 and beyond as a non-multiclassed character.
Aside from build information on the naturally multiclassing Kensei Fighter, the guide intentionally limits any further discussions or build suggestions on multiclassing since this requires an advanced knowledge of other classes not discussed in this guide. Check the DDO Forums for build guides and suggestions that cannot be provided here.
Classes with good synergy with Monks are marked as "Suited."
Classes that could benefit from monastic training are "Possible."
Classes that can never combine with a Monk are "Impossible."
Classes that require serious player skill to combine with monastic training are marked as "Unsuitable" or "Challenging."
With the introduction of the Iconic classes, the line between race and class is more blurred. For the purposes of inclusion, Iconic classes are listed here in italics.