Grandmaster (Level 18+)

“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”

--The Art of War, Sun Tzu

Enlightenment is much closer than ever. By level 18, you have sufficient knowledge to know the most potent elemental attacks possible.

You have completed your training in the Grandmaster of Forms school.

On reaching level 18, you need only add your new Grandmaster of Forms ki attacks into your toolbar. As with other Stance upgrades, you needn't change your stance icons. The updated effects are shown as a buff icon.

Before Update 19, you had to spend Action Points to choose an upgrade to your elemental stances. This was expensive as each element required substantial AP to master. Because of this expense, most characters mastered only one or two Grandmaster elements.

Back then, a player could spend enough AP to become a Grandmaster of all four elements but at the expense of completing mastery of any of the old Prestige Enhancements line.

This "Avatar" build also required ability scores of 18 in STR, DEX, CON and WIS.

Now that every Monk is an "Avatar" at level 18, your mission is to use that freed AP in the new class enhancements tree to improve on your build by diversifying your skills--not just in one class tree, but perhaps from as many class trees as you can, Monk or non-Monk. You have only 80 Action Points. Good luck.

Monk Elemental Path Improvements

Here are your skills as a Grandmaster of Forms.

Grandmaster of Storms: The wind is untouchable, as are you.

  • Ultimate Wind Stance: The relentless storm focuses on movement and speed. Ultimate Wind Stance grants +4 Dexterity, a 15% Enhancement bonus to melee and thrown attack speed, and grants a 10% chance to doublestrike with melee weapons, at the cost of -2 Constitution.
  • Storm Strike IV: 2d20 additional lightning damage

Grandmaster of the Sun: The sun burns with an eternal fire, as do you.

  • Ultimate Sun Stance: The consuming flame focuses on an aggressive offense. Ultimate Sun Stance grants +4 Strength at a cost of -2 Wisdom. While in Ultimate Sun Stance you gain 'Hit Effect: Gain 1 ki.' and 'Critical Effect: Gain 5 ki.'
  • Fires of Purity IV: 2d20 additional fire damage

Grandmaster of Mountains: The mountain is eternal, as are you.

  • Ultimate Mountain Stance: The unyielding mountain focuses on endurance and defense. Ultimate Mountain Stance grants +4 Constitution, a 20% boost to AC, 15 physical resistance, a +70% Insight bonus to melee threat generation, and the critical multiplier of all weapons you use is increased by 1 on rolls of a natural 19 or 20, at the cost of -2 Dexterity and -10% movement speed. While in Ultimate Mountain Stance, you gain 'Get Hit Effect: Gain 1 ki.'
  • Strike of the Enduring IV: 16 additional damage, and 2d10 acid damage on critical hits

Grandmaster of Oceans: The sea is always in motion, as are you.

  • Ultimate Ocean Stance: The eternal ocean focuses on redirection and the supernatural. Ultimate Ocean Stance grants +4 Wisdom, a +4% dodge bonus to Armor Class, +5 to all Saving Throws, and your passive ki generation when centered is increased by 1, at a cost of -2 Strength.
  • Flowing Water Strike IV: 2d20 additional cold damage

Gained Feats

  • Empty Body (Level 19): You are able to focus your ki and walk the edge of the Plane of Shadow, mimicking the effects of a Shadow Walk spell. While this effect is active, you move much faster than normal and your outline appears faint and you are harder to hit. Attacking another creature or otherwise interacting with objects shunts you back to the Material Plane.
    • When you need to retreat, and when you know the way without fail, switch on this ability. You may also find it helpful in "Rainbow in the Dark," where a lack of light makes it hard to see (you can wield the Radiant Arc without uncentering yourself).
    • Perfect Self (Level 20): You have transcended your former race and are now considered a Lawful Outsider. You have gained Damage Reduction 10 / Epic. Warforged retain most living construct traits.
    • Perfect Slow Fall (Level 20): You have perfected the ability to recover from a fall unharmed. You never take damage from falling no matter how far you fall.

Notable Gear

Fabricator's Bracers and Fabricator's Gauntlets: The gloves are relatively easy to find, within the Cannith Manufactury wilderness. The Bracers require you to go up against a nasty Iron Golem in "Blown to Bits"--easy with attentiveness, patience, some smiters, and Abundant Step.

The Bracers give you better Balance, a brief Madstone-like effect without the detriments that also boosts your abilities a notch and lifts doublestrike by 5% but also increases your Threat. The Gauntlets give you 10% to Melee Alacrity, improving attack speed for non-Wind Stance users (it doesn't stack with Wind Stance attack speed, sorry), greater STR and +5 Resistance.

The set, once unlocked, adds +2 untyped bonus to attack and damage and 25% stacking fortification (important for Epic levels, later). Again, for Earth Stance tankers and Wind Stance doublestrikers, this makes for an interesting set.

Cannith Boots of Propulsion: Striding 30%, Feather Falling and extra Jump skills on one item means that you can adjust other gear for more damage or protection. The one-shot emergency leap works like Abundant Step, so save it for extreme emergencies when you have no ki (which is darned unlikely at your level).