Class Guide · Updated for patch 0.30 (Early Access) · September 2026
How to build, level and play a Monk in Monsters and Memories — race and trait picks, Styles and the reworked toolkit, feign-death pulling, group and solo tactics, a leveling path and gear to chase.
01The Monk at a Glance
The Monk is the martial artist and master puller of Monsters and Memories — a leather-clad fighter who turns fists, feet and staves into weapons and decides what the group fights and when. Pull one mob out of a camp, feign death to shake the rest, kick hard, and heal yourself when it gets rough.
The official class page is direct about it: "The Monk is the premier puller," and "their power comes entirely from physical mastery: bare hands, kicks, fist weapons, and staves." You'll deal strong melee damage in any group, but the Monk who pulls well is the one every group wants.
Strengths
The best puller in the game — Feign Death lets you split camps and drop bad fights · strong hand-to-hand and kick damage with long-cooldown burst · dodges and parries make you a capable off-tank · a 40% self-heal and a 60% melee damage reduction cooldown · Sneak · physical debuffs that weaken melee and caster mobs · very self-reliant solo.
Weaknesses
Only three races · light armor, so a bad streak of hits is punishing · limited group aggro tools compared with real tanks · no buffs for other players · a stance mistake costs you a lot of damage · Feign Death can fail, and a mob you've hurt may still remember you.
02Is the Monk Right for You?
You’ll love it if…
You like reading a room and pulling exactly what your group can handle; you enjoy fast melee with kicks and bursts; you want a self-reliant class that can solo; you like being the one who saves a wipe by feigning and dragging mobs away; you like scouting.
You might not if…
You want to wear heavy armor and soak hits; you want to buff or heal others; you dislike the pressure of pulling for a group; you want lots of race choices; you'd rather not manage stances and cooldowns.
The Monk is a good first class if you like melee. The early kit is small — Round Kick, Celestial Strike, Mend and Taunt — and Feign Death arrives at level 4. Learning to pull well takes longer, and it's what separates a good Monk from a great one. Read the pulling section before your first group.
03Choosing Your Race
Only three races can be Monks — the smallest pool of any class. Here are each race's base values for the stats that matter most; your class adds its own bonus on top at creation, and you get 10 bonus points to spend.
| Race | AGI | STR | STA | DEX | Starts in | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | Balanced stats and a Night Harbor start right next to the Monk school. Tenacity resists mesmerize and incapacitate, so you stay in control of your pulls. |
| Ogre | 14 | 20 | 19 | 15 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | The highest STR and STA — a hard-hitting, sturdy Monk and the best off-tank. Ogre Smash is an extra stun. Big bodies struggle in doorways, Ogres eat more, and they're Kill-on-Sight in Evershade Weald. |
| Deep Elf | 18 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Underdocks, Ail’Vorith | The highest AGI for dodging and Ultravision for dark dungeons, but the lowest STR and STA. Evil-aligned, so surface guards are less friendly. |
Spending your 10 bonus points
Our Monk class page lists Agility and Strength as primary and Stamina and Dexterity as secondary. Agility helps you dodge in light armor; Strength drives your hand-to-hand damage; Dexterity scales Round Kick and Flying Kick, according to the deep dive; Stamina keeps you alive when a pull goes wrong.
- Recommended for most players:+5 AGI / +5 STR.
- Ogres already have huge STR and STA — push AGI (+7 AGI / +3 DEX).
- Deep Elves have AGI to spare — shore up STR and STA (+5 STR / +5 STA).
- Humans are even across the board; the default split is fine. Don't spend on INT, WIS or CHA — Monks don't use mana.
Race base stats are from our New Player Guide.
04Recommended Traits
You pick one trait from each of four categories at creation (see the New Player Guide for the full lists). For a Monk:
| Category | Best pick | Why | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Combat | Agile | +10 AGI passive for more dodging, and the active (+200 AGI for 15s) is a strong panic button when you're tanking or a pull goes wrong. | Strong (more hand-to-hand damage), Dexterous (Round Kick and Flying Kick), Tough (more health) |
| Minor Combat | Brawler | Monk-only: your Dual Wield skill starts at 20 and increases 25% faster, so you'll land your off-hand fist more often from day one. | Bludgeoner (starts you with a Trainee's Staff; Cyclone Staff needs a two-handed staff), Knife Thrower (a better ranged pull with Throw), Defender (Defense skill) |
| Major Non-Combat | Infravision / Ultravision | A puller has to see what's in the room before anyone else. Ogres take Infravision; Deep Elves take Ultravision. | Fast Metabolism (+25% Endurance, but you eat faster) — the best option for Humans |
| Minor Non-Combat | Leatherworker | Monks wear leather, so making and upgrading your own armor pays off early. | Medicine (bandages and First Aid between pulls), Survivalist, Forager (food on the road — useful for hungry Ogres). Bookworm isn't available to Monks. |
05Getting Started
Your starter quest
Every Monk begins with a class starter quest that teaches the basics and hands out your first gear. For the full step-by-step walkthrough, with every NPC, location and reward, see our Monk Starter Quest Guide. Individual quest pages: Monk Starter Quest (Night Harbor).
Where to buy abilities
- Night Harbor: Monk abilities are sold by vendors. Start at the School of the Fourfold Path and ask Chahaya Tam or a guard for the Monk trainer.
- Deep Elf Monks starting in Ail’Vorith have their own path: complete the Ail’Vorith starter quest, then the Monk House Xal’tharn quest. See our Ail’Vorith and Underdocks pages.
- Abilities are innate — they cost no mana, but you still buy each one and each new rank from the vendor.
06Your Toolkit
Monk abilities cost no mana — you buy them from a vendor and upgrade some of them as you level. Many share cooldowns, so part of the skill is choosing which one to use now. Levels are shown where they're known; a dash means the ability arrived in the rework and its level isn't documented yet.
| Line | Starts | Progression | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| StylesNew | — | Sun Style, Moon Style, Wind Style (one at a time) | Sun: more Offense, and Celestial Strike adds delayed magic damage. Moon: more dodge and block, and Celestial Fury adds block and physical damage reduction. Wind: more movement speed, and Celestial Fury adds a chance of an extra melee strike. Replaced the four Way of stances. |
| Round KickNew | 1 | Round Kick | Physical damage that scales with Dexterity and the AC of your feet armor. Now has a chance to reset the cooldowns of Celestial Strike and Hundred Fists. |
| Celestial Strike | 2 | Celestial Strike → ranks at 11, 21, 31 | 125% weapon damage plus physical damage; grants Celestial Fury, which your Style empowers. Now also procs Celestial Vitality if the target's Chakra is fractured. |
| Hundred FistsNew | — | Hundred Fists | Four times your weapon ratio in damage. Shares a cooldown with Celestial Strike, and stuns a target that is off balance. |
| Quivering PalmNew | — | Quivering Palm | Layers debuffs: one strike knocks the target off balance, two block its Chi (less physical damage dealt), three fracture its Chakra (more physical damage taken). |
| Jab | 3 | Jab | A quick Might strike to fill gaps between your bigger attacks. |
| Disarming StrikeNew | — | Disarming Strike | Temporarily removes the target's weapon and reduces its physical damage dealt. |
| Sweeping KickNew | 5 | Sweeping Kick | Stuns up to 10 enemies within 10 meters for 3 seconds, and now knocks them off balance. |
| Taunt | 1 | Taunt | Pulls a mob's attention to you. Your off-tank tool; shares a cooldown with other Martial abilities. |
| Feign Death | 4 | Feign Death | Play dead so mobs drop all aggro on you. Can fail, and mobs that were aggroed have a chance to remember you. |
| PullingNew | 1–7 | Throw 1; Pinning Throw 7; Double-Handed Strike | Throw needs a throwing weapon. Pinning Throw deals weapon damage and immobilizes for 6s (30 m range). Double-Handed Strike knocks back and slows. |
| MobilityNew | — | Flying Kick; Fleet of Foot | Flying Kick is a gap closer whose damage scales with DEX. Fleet of Foot is a short burst of movement speed. |
| Sneak | 6 | Sneak | Walk silently, undetectable from behind. Great for scouting before a pull. |
| Mend | 1 | Mend | Instantly heals you for 40% of your max health. 5-minute recast. |
| Stone Stance | 9 | Stone Stance | Reduces melee damage you take by 60% and makes you stun-immune for 10 seconds. |
| DisciplinesNew | — | Perfect Focus, Cyclone Staff, Iron Fists, Ethereal Body | Perfect Focus makes your melee attacks land as critical hits for a short time. Cyclone Staff (needs a two-handed staff) is channeled, raises block and hits back on every block. Iron Fists ignores damage shields. Ethereal Body raises AGI and dodge. |
| Body MasteryNew | — | Spirit Sustenance, Slow Breathing, Falling Petal; Ascendant Body at mastery | One at a time: eat and drink less, breathe longer underwater, or fall more gently. Ascendant Body gives all of them. |
07Abilities to Prioritize, Levels 1–28
You won't be able to afford every ability as soon as it unlocks. This is the order that matters most for a new Monk:
| Level | Key abilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Round Kick, Mend, Taunt, Throw | Round Kick is your main damage early. Mend is a free 40% heal every 5 minutes — use it, don't save it forever. |
| 2–3 | Celestial Strike, Jab | Celestial Strike on cooldown; Jab in between. |
| 4–5 | Feign Death, Sweeping Kick | Start practicing feign-pulls on easy camps now. Sweeping Kick stuns a whole group of adds. |
| 6–9 | Sneak, Pinning Throw (7), Stone Stance (9) | Pinning Throw is your new pull: it immobilizes, so you can pull from range and back off. Stone Stance is your "oh no" button. |
| 11 | Celestial Strike II | Upgrade your core strike first whenever a new rank appears. |
| 21 | Celestial Strike III | Hand-to-hand damage keeps rising with level on its own, so each rank of your strikes goes further. |
| Any | Styles, Hundred Fists, Quivering Palm, Flying Kick, Disarming Strike, disciplines | Buy the reworked abilities as your trainer offers them. Hundred Fists and Quivering Palm are the biggest damage gains. |
Hand-to-hand damage grows with level on its own: community testing after the rework puts base hand-to-hand at 5/30 at level 1, and the developers have confirmed 19/30 at level 60. Hand-to-hand weapons add their damage and delay on top — Bonebreakers turn a level 1 Monk's 5/30 into 7/33.
08Playing in a Group
In a group you have two jobs: bring the group exactly what it can handle, then deal steady damage — and pick up an add with Taunt if the tank can't.
Before the pull
- Scout first. Sneak ahead, count the mobs in the camp, and note which are casters, healers or runners.
- Agree on a camp spot where the group waits, and tell the tank you're pulling. The classic rule: nobody attacks until the mob reaches camp.
- Pick your Style: Sun for damage, Moon if you may need to off-tank, Wind when you're running long pulls.
During the fight
- Pull cleanPinning Throw or Throw the mob you want, then run back to camp. If more than one follows, feign death, let the extras walk home, stand up and bring back the one that stays.
- Hand it to the tankLet the tank take the mob before you start swinging. Your damage is big enough to steal threat early.
- Open with Quivering PalmStack it to knock the target off balance, block its Chi and fracture its Chakra. Then Hundred Fists (which stuns an off-balance target) and Celestial Strike.
- Kick on cooldownRound Kick every time it's up — it can reset Celestial Strike and Hundred Fists.
- Catch the addsIf an add goes for the healer, Taunt it and switch to Moon Style. Stone Stance or Mend if it hits hard; Sweeping Kick to stun a pack.
- Feign to save the groupIf the fight is lost, feign death early. Surviving means you can recover corpses and pull the next camp.
/g Incoming: 1 caster, 1 warrior.09Soloing
The official class page says Monks are "capable of soloing and self-healing," and it's one of the stronger melee solo classes.
- Split camps with Feign Death. Pull, feign when the group follows, and fight whichever one stays or wanders back alone.
- Mend is your healer. 40% of your health every 5 minutes — plan fights around it being ready.
- Stone Stance cuts melee damage by 60% for 10 seconds — pop it when a fight turns bad and finish the mob.
- Debuff the dangerous ones. Disarming Strike and Quivering Palm's second stage both reduce the damage a mob does to you.
- Sit and rest between pulls — at a campfire if you can, which also builds the Rested experience bonus.
- Carry throwing weapons so you can pull from range instead of walking into the camp.
10Leveling Path
A suggested route for a Monk. You can solo well, but groups want Monk pullers — and they level faster. Ogres should avoid Evershade Weald, where they're Kill-on-Sight.
| Levels | Where | Why it's good for Monks |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Night Harbor North & West Gate yards / Night Harbor Sewers | Do the starter quest. Rats, bats, snakes and beetles; the sewers add muggers and wererats. |
| 1–4 | Underdocks newbie yard | Starting grounds for the Deep races and Underdocks Ogres. |
| 3–11 | Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane | The best early group dungeon — and the perfect place to learn feign-pulling rooms of skeletons. |
| 4–6 | Shaded Dunes West Gate shoreline | Non-hostile crocodile hatchlings — safe solo XP near the waterfall from your starter quest. |
| 6–11 | Ail’Vorith Cultist Warrens (Deep Elves) | A cult camp in the caves — practice splitting with Feign Death. |
| 8–14 | Infested Crypt | Easy solo pulls near the door, then broodmistresses deeper in. |
| 8–10+ | Shaded Dunes Ashira & Smugglers camps | Named camps that are easy to split with a good puller. |
| 10–15 | Tel Ekir Ashira Outskirts | Ashira sentries and sandstalkers; Tel Ekir named drop several Monk pieces (see gear). |
| 12–16 | Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane deeper halls | Ghosts, zombies and ghouls; High Marshal Fionna (~16) waits at the bottom. |
| 18–27 | Fallen Pass, Keeper’s Bight | Dense camps where a skilled puller makes the difference between a steady group and a wipe. |
See Where to Level in the New Player Guide for more spots, and each zone page for maps and named mobs. Resting near a campfire builds a 15% Rested experience bonus.
11Gear to Look For
Wear leather and stack Agility and Strength first, then Stamina and Dexterity. Two Monk-specific rules: boots matter more than usual, because Round Kick's damage is based on the AC of your feet gear; and hand-to-hand weapons add their small damage and delay to your own base hand-to-hand, so their stats count as much as their damage. A two-handed staff is worth carrying too if you use Cyclone Staff.
Early gear (roughly levels 1–16)
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorcalf Hide Boots | Feet | AC 9, STR +3, DEX +3 | Mila Dastan, Night Harbor |
| Faceguard of the Gladiator | Face | AC 7, STR +4, STA +3, AGI +3, HP +10 | Jorvan Ironfist, Night Harbor |
| Heartplate Scout Cap | Head | AC 13, STR +5, STA +1, DEX +2 | Eamon Kassir, Night Harbor |
| Sea Raider's Ring | Ring | AC 1, STA +3, DEX +3, AGI +2 | An Infamous Swashbuckler, Night Harbor |
| Delicate Ashira Pack Ring | Ring | AC 7, STR +4, DEX +5, AGI +2, HP +15 | The Yowling quest (Mayana), Night Harbor |
| Chompers' Hide Tunic | Chest | AC 10, STR +3, STA +3, DEX +3 | Chompers' Hide Tunic Quest (Cheikho), Shaded Dunes |
| Shimmering Shadow Veil | Face | AC 6, STA +1, DEX +2, AGI +4 | A shimmering shadow, Shaded Dunes |
| Scratched Armguards | Wrist | AC 13, STR +3, STA +3, DEX +2 | Animist Wafi, Tel Ekir |
| Earthened Gloves | Hands | AC 10, STR +1, STA +2, DEX +2, AGI +2 | Herbalist Qirfa, Tel Ekir |
| Colorful Leather Vest | Chest | AC 18, STA +3, DEX +3, AGI +1, CHA +1, HP +10 | An ashira alchemist, Tel Ekir |
| Bonebreakers | Primary (H2H) | STR +4, STA +1, DEX +4, DMG 2/3 | Ember, Sungreet Strand |
Upgrades for later
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadir's Iron Fist | Primary (H2H) | STR +8, DEX +8, DMG 3/3 | Hadir the Shipbreaker, Vale of Zintar |
| Glacial Fists | Primary (H2H) | STR +6, STA +1, AGI +6, DMG 3/4 | Hrask, Glinting Hollow |
| Saltglass Knuckles | Primary (H2H) | STR +5, STA +8, DMG 3/4 | Malik the Glass Viper, Glass Flats |
| Ghostlimb Staff | Primary (staff) | STR +9, DEX +9, DMG 18/44 | Witherwood, Scarwood |
| Gale-Touched Wraps | Hands | AC 6, DEX +8, AGI +12 | Sister Gale, Glinting Hollow |
| Band of Cinder | Ring | AC 5, STR +7, DEX +8, AGI +4, HP +10 | Guillome The Accursed, Glass Flats |
| Vest of the Glass Viper | Chest | AC 33, STR +6, STA +6, DEX +4 | Malik the Glass Viper, Glass Flats |
| Trail Boots | Feet | AC 22, STR +6, STA +2, DEX +6 | Quartermaster Girault, Glass Flats |
| Filthstriders | Feet | AC 24, STR +6, STA +7, HP +15 | Blightcaller Zirat, Fallen Pass |
| Stalker's Leather Britches | Legs | AC 31, STR +8, STA +5, HP +5, Mana +5 | Master Tracker Lark, Glass Flats |
| Mawchant Rite Vest | Chest | AC 39, STA +5, DEX +5, AGI +3, CHA +3, HP +10 | Devourhymn Glomenda, Grimtide Sanctum |
Stats from our item database. Item levels aren't published, so "early" is based on where they drop, and some Night Harbor and Tel Ekir named are tougher than the zone around them. Browse the database for more leather and hand-to-hand weapons.
12Pulling and Feign Death
- Scout with Sneak. Know what's in the camp and how mobs are linked before you touch anything.
- Pull at range. Pinning Throw (30 m) immobilizes the target for 6 seconds, giving you a head start; Throw works with any throwing weapon. Double-Handed Strike knocks back and slows.
- The feign split: pull, run toward camp, and if too many follow, feign death. Wait for the mobs to lose interest and walk home, then stand up — whichever mob wanders or stays behind is your clean single pull.
- Damaged mobs remember. Since the rework, mobs you've hurt loiter much longer than untouched ones and have a small chance to re-aggro when you stand. Split before you deal damage whenever you can.
- Feign Death can fail. If you stand up and something is still on you, run back to camp and call it out rather than feigning again in place.
- Use it for the group, too. Feign at the start of a wipe so you survive to recover corpses, and so the healer can rest and resurrect.
- Wind Style and Fleet of Foot make long pulls and runs back to camp faster.
13Common Monk Mistakes
- Pulling too much. One mob too many is how most group wipes start.
- Hitting a mob before splitting it. Damaged mobs remember you after a feign.
- Standing up from a feign without looking. Wait until the mobs have walked away.
- Staying in the wrong Style. Sun for damage, Moon to take hits, Wind to travel — switch when the fight changes.
- Stealing threat from the tank in the first few seconds of a fight.
- Ignoring your boots. Round Kick scales with feet AC.
- Forgetting Mend. It's a 40% heal on a 5-minute timer — use it whenever it's ready and you're hurt.
14Monk FAQ
Is the Monk good for new players?
Yes, if you like melee. The early kit is small and forgiving, and Mend and Feign Death keep you alive. Pulling for a group is the part that takes practice.
What are the most important Monk stats?
Agility and Strength are the primary stats on our class page, with Stamina and Dexterity as secondary. Dexterity scales Round Kick and Flying Kick.
Which races can be Monks?
Human, Ogre and Deep Elf — the smallest race pool of any class. Ogres hit hardest and are toughest, Deep Elves dodge best, and Humans are the most balanced.
Did Feign Death change?
Yes. A long-standing bug meant mobs never re-aggroed after a feign. It's fixed, so re-aggro is possible, though the chance is heavily reduced. Mobs you've damaged loiter longer, but maximum loiter times went down overall.
Can a Monk tank?
As an off-tank, yes. The official class page describes an avoidance-based off-tank with a limited taunt toolkit. Moon Style, Stone Stance and Mend help, but a Monk shouldn't main-tank a hard group.
What happened to the Way of the Water and the other Ways?
The four Way of stances were remapped into three Styles — Sun, Moon and Wind — and Way of the Water's group heal was removed.