We’ve said it before; one of the most satisfying ways to play the Monk is to embody his martial arts prowess. In simpler terms, getting up in the face of your opponent and punching the crap out of them is just plain satisfying. DemonCoyote#1661 is ready to return to the basics with this easy-to-gear, easy-to-play generator build in this week’s Play Your Way.

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About the Build:

Wave of Light is a popular skill for Monks (one we featured in our last Monk-themed Play Your Way), and there are plenty of reasons why. As a skill that can be used at reasonable range, it keeps you out of danger while hitting like a truck, facilitating greater challenges by reducing deadly risks. Sometimes, though, the clang of that bell grows tiring and you find the gods whispering a new path to you. Can you hear them?

“Go hit stuff. Really fast. In the face.”

Then make them explode, because that's really par for the course here.

With several supporting Legendaries, generator builds aren’t new. However, the revision of Raiment of a Thousand Storms takes the concept to a new level, juicing these primary skills up and delivering deadly results. DemonCoyote#1661 capitalizes on this idea with a combination of set pieces, some relatively easy to acquire pieces of gear, and a build that will get everybody kung fu fighting. 

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The Skills:

The majority of skills in this build are designed to supplement Deadly Reach as a primary damage dealer.

Active Skills:

• Deadly Reach (Scattered Blows)
  • Generator and primary damage dealer
  • Flexible for both single target and area of effect damaging needs
• Exploding Palm (Shocking Grasp)
  • Secondary damage dealer
  • Massive area of effect, especially paired with Gungdo Gear
  • Required for triggering the second half of Bastions of Will
• Mystic Ally (Fire Ally)
  • Provides a whopping 40% damage boost in combination with The Crudest Boots and Inna’s Mantra
• Dashing Strike (Quicksilver)
  • Go-to mobility skill
  • Coincidentally also fits the flavor of the build
• Epiphany (Desert Shroud)
  • A great panic button, as it makes you both immune to crowd control effects and reduces incoming damage
• Mantra of Salvation (Agility)
  • Provides impressive amounts of Toughness, especially coupled with Inna’s Mantra

Passive Skills:

• Harmony
  • Additional Toughness
  • Note: Harmony is very gear dependent. If you find yourself without much of a single elemental resistance, it may not be worth the Passive slot. Sixth Sense is a good Toughness alternative.
• Unity
  • Between your follower and two Mystic Allies, a 15% boost to damage
  • Even better in group play!
• Seize the Initiative
  • Packs an up-front punch into this build, starting all your initiations off on a powerful foot
• Alacrity
  • Most of the damage comes from your generator, Deadly Reach, making this passive an easy choice

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The Items:

Without committing to a single set, DemonCoyote’s build is a little easier to gear for overall. There are plenty of items that will synergize well with this build’s style and mechanics and it scales well as you work towards its final form.

That Hellfire Amulet rolled with Seize the Initiative, allowing DemonCoyote to open up his passive options.

Required Items:

• Raiment of a Thousand Storms (2-piece)
  • Integral to this generator-focused build
  • Boosts damage and attack speed of Deadly Reach
  • Recommended slots: Shoulders, Gloves
• Bastions of Will (2-piece)
  • Excellent overall boost to damage
  • Between Exploding Palm and Deadly Reach, each buff will nearly always be available
• Inna’s Mantra (2-piece)
  • Paired with Crudest Boots, provides a massive boost to damage
  • Recommended slots: Chest, Belt
• Depth Diggers
  • Since this build focuses on dealing damage through Deadly Reach, this is a natural choice
• The Crudest Boots
  • Provides a second Mystic Ally, quadrupling the effect of its rune when paired with Inna’s Mantra
• Flying Dragon
  • Bonus Attack Speed proc truly embodies the “fast as lightning” vibe

Complementary Items:

• Gungdo Gear
  • Spreads your Exploding Palm to multiple targets, quickly clearing out regular enemies
• Spirit Guards
  • Note: This is a Season 3 exclusive
  • Provides a substantial amount of Toughness when using Deadly Reach (which is to say almost always)
• Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker
  • Don’t have a Flying Dragon? Lightning-oriented procs like this one will compliment this build nicely
  • Did we mention Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker?
• Shard of Hate
  • Another good alternative to Flying Dragon if you find yourself without the Daibo

Recommended Legendary Gems:

• Bane of the Trapped
  • As this is a melee build, every enemy you attack will succumb to the Rank 25 effect
• Mirinae, Teardrop of the Starweaver
  • Fast and constant attacks mean fast and constant procs, upping the single-target aspect of this build
• Gogok of Swiftness
  • More attack speed? More attack speed.

Recommended Stats:

• As a Lightning-oriented build, +% Bonus damage to Lightning will benefit most of your skills.
  • DemonCoyote notes that just about any element could work for this build with a few skill changes; if you have a lot of gear laying around for Fire, Cold, or even Holy, it may be worth an experiment!
• In terms of Damage stats, Critical Hit Chance and Critical Hit Damage should prioritize over Attack Speed; extra Attack Speed is nice, but you’ll have plenty of sources of it that it’s less important

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Recommended Difficulty and Game Mode:

The Speed-of-Lightning Ninja is a fairly flexible build, and workable in just about any environment from Campaign to Adventure Mode, including Bounties, Nephalem Rifts, and some Greater Rifts. DemonCoyote runs this build in Torment VI and up to Greater Rift 33, where it can get a little bit frightening without a Unity.

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Why We Like This Build:

This build gets back to some of the original features we started with on Play Your Way; those that meet in the middle of showcasing a theme while bringing engaging gameplay that works. There’s something hypnotizing about watching a Monk fire off repeat after repeat punch. It’s satisfying, and while some levels of attack speed bring the performance outside the world of realism, you still have to imagine how a real martial artist would have to fight with expert timing to accomplish such a feat. 

Chopping them up and chopping them down.

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Tell Us What You Think!

Are you mastering the martial arts with your Monk? What do you think of generator builds? Do you use Deadly Reach or a different generator? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to send in your build so we can take a look at how you play your way!

Next week, it’s time to pump you up with the untamed power of the Barbarian. See you then!