Baldur’s Gate 3 – Monk Build Guide

Experience the ultimate fusion of martial prowess and elemental magic with the Way of the Four Elements Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3. This specialized build transforms your character into a versatile combatant capable of adapting to any battlefield scenario through strategic elemental manipulation.

The ideal Monk build harnesses the raw power of nature’s elements while maintaining exceptional mobility and striking capability. Our comprehensive guide focuses on maximizing the potential of this unique subclass through careful ability selection and tactical execution.

Establishing a solid foundation is crucial for any successful Monk build. The Way of the Four Elements subclass emphasizes a balanced approach between physical combat and magical augmentation.

Race Selection Strategy: Wood Elves provide exceptional mobility with their base movement speed and Mask of the Wild ability, while Githyanki offer valuable psionic abilities and armor proficiencies. Both races complement the Monk’s core strengths effectively.

• Race: Wood Elf or Githyanki – Each offers distinct advantages for different playstyles
• Background: Any, though Urchin excels with its Dexterity-focused skill selections
• Abilities: 12 STR; 17 DEX; 14 CON; 8 INT; 14 WIS; 10 CHA
• Weapons and Armor: Quarterstaves and spears; no shields; cloth-type gear only to maintain Unarmored Defense benefits

Critical Resource Management: Most Monk special actions consume Ki Points, which regenerate through Harmony of Fire and Water or resting. Each level increases your maximum Ki Points, enabling more frequent ability usage.

At level 2, your Monk begins to develop the core combat capabilities that define the class. This stage establishes your mobility and defensive foundations.

Class Features:

• Unarmored Movement – Gain +3 meters movement range when not wearing armor or using shields

Actions:

• Patient Defense – Impose disadvantage on enemy attack rolls while gaining advantage on Dexterity saving throws
• Step of the Wind: Dash – Double your movement speed and eliminate bonus action requirements for jumping
• Step of the Wind: Disengage – Safely retreat from combat while maintaining mobility options

Monks have a lot of movement range and utility effects, allowing them to close the gap quickly.

Level 3 marks your transition into the Way of the Four Elements subclass, unlocking powerful elemental abilities that complement your martial arts training.

Class Features:

• Deflect Missiles – Use reactions to reduce ranged damage; deflect projectiles back at attackers when taking no damage

Action:

• Harmony of Fire and Water – Regenerate half your Ki Points while outside of combat encounters

Disciple of the Elements Spell Selection: Choose three elemental spells at this stage, with replacement options available in later levels. Our recommended level 3 choices:

• Fangs of the Fire Snake – A premier ability firing ranged projectiles that imbue subsequent melee attacks with fire damage
• Fist of the Four Thunders – Thunderwave variant that pushes enemies away, potentially causing environmental eliminations
• Blade of Rime – Ice shard projectile that creates hazardous surfaces and area denial effects

You should pick the Way of the Four Elements subclass upon reaching level 3.

Defensive capabilities receive significant upgrades at level 4, enhancing your survivability in challenging encounters.

Class Features:

• Slow Fall – Activate reactions to negate fall damage, providing vertical mobility options

Feat:

• Ability Improvement – Allocate +2 points to Dexterity for optimal performance; defeating Auntie Ethel provides additional Dexterity bonuses

Level 5 represents a major power increase with enhanced attack capabilities and crowd control options.

Class Features:

• Extra Attack – Perform additional free attacks following melee weapon or unarmed strikes

Actions:

• Stunning Strike: Melee/Unarmed – Combine damage dealing with stun effects for devastating combat sequences

Advanced Combo Potential: Chain Fangs of the Fire Snake into Stunning Strike followed by Flurry of Blows for maximum impact

Your unarmed attacks gain magical properties at level 6, while movement capabilities receive further improvements.

Class Features:

• Improved Unarmed Movement – Increase speed by 4.5 meters when unarmored and shield-free
• Ki-Empowered Strikes – Unarmed attacks count as magical, bypassing enemy resistances to non-magical damage

Additional Spell Selection:

• Embrace of the Inferno – Scorching Ray variant firing three burning projectiles at multiple targets

Powerful blows, magic-boosted strikes, and flurries of punches make the Monk a deadly combatant on the battlefield.

Defensive capabilities reach new heights at level 7 with improved evasion and mental resilience.

Class Features:

• Evasion – Completely avoid damage from spells when succeeding on Dexterity saving throws
• Stillness of Mind – Automatically remove frightened or charmed status effects without action cost

Level 8 provides additional feat selection opportunities, enhancing your combat versatility and tactical options.

Extra Feat Choices:

• Martial Adept – Gain Superiority Dice for Battle Master maneuvers; Trip Attack and Riposte provide excellent control and counter-attack capabilities
• Polearm Master – Note current bug affecting reaction usage when moving toward enemies; best utilized defensively

Your elemental abilities receive significant upgrades at level 9, increasing both damage output and utility effects.

Class Feature: Advanced Unarmored Movement – Ignore difficult terrain penalties and gain significant jump distance increases

Subclass Feature: Improved Elemental Casting – Enhances Four Elements spells with:

• Additional damage dice for most elemental actions
• Enhanced crowd control capacity for Clench of the North Wind
• Additional projectile for Embrace of the Inferno

Spell Selection Options:

• Gong of the Summit – Shatter variant dealing area-of-effect thunder damage
• Sphere of Elemental Balance – Chromatic Orb variant with thunder damage and surface creation effects

Movement capabilities receive further enhancements at level 10, while gaining complete immunity to poison effects.

Class Features:

• Improved Unarmored Movement – Additional six meters movement range when unarmored

The final levels complete your Monk’s development with powerful area-of-effect capabilities and final feat selections.

Level 11 Spell:

• Flames of the Phoenix – Fireball variant dealing 8-48 fire damage across a massive area

  Level 12 Feat: Select remaining feat from level 8 options to round out your combat capabilities

  This comprehensive build transforms your Monk into a master of elemental combat, capable of adapting to any encounter through strategic ability usage and positioning.

  Elemental Combo Execution: Master the art of chaining elemental spells with martial attacks. Begin engagements with Fangs of the Fire Snake for ranged initiation, follow with Stunning Strike for crowd control, and finish with Flurry of Blows for maximum damage output.

  Ki Point Management: Strategic resource allocation is crucial. Prioritize Harmony of Fire and Water usage during exploration phases and conserve Ki Points for challenging combat encounters.

  Positioning Mastery: Utilize your exceptional mobility to control engagement distances. Position yourself to maximize environmental damage opportunities with Fist of the Four Thunders and utilize difficult terrain to your advantage.

  Common Optimization Mistakes: Avoid overspending Ki Points on minor encounters and remember that defensive abilities like Patient Defense can conserve more resources than they cost in difficult fights.

  Action Checklist

  • Select Wood Elf or Githyanki race and allocate ability scores with Dexterity priority
  • At level 3, choose Fangs of the Fire Snake, Fist of the Four Thunders, and Blade of Rime
  • Implement Dexterity improvement at level 4 and pursue Auntie Ethel for additional bonus
  • Master the Fangs of Fire Snake → Stunning Strike → Flurry of Blows combo
  • Practice Ki point management and strategic ability usage in non-critical encounters

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Baldur’s Gate 3 – Monk Build Guide Master elemental combat with this comprehensive Way of the Four Elements Monk build guide for Baldur's Gate 3