Best Feats for Monk 5e
by Prince Phantom
Monks are a very contentious class in 5e. Some see them stun a boss monster round after round and call them overpowered, others see their low AC and hit points get them shredded by anything with a decent hit rate and call them the worst class in the game. Personally, I fall to the latter camp. Whether or not you agree with me, no one can deny that the core restrictions of the Monk makes them very anti-synergistic with the vast majority of combat focused feats.
Monks are also the most MAD (multi-ability score dependent) class in the game, needing Dexterity, Constitution and Wisdom, meaning taking a feat instead of an ability score improvement is a big ask. These feats need to radically change or improve an aspect of our character. We need to be very picky with this class, so you’ll probably see a few less feats on this list than for other classes.
Best Feats for Monk 5e
Sharpshooter (ASAP): A ranged monk might seem counterintuitive to a new player. After all, we can’t use Stunning Strike at range. This new player has clearly not noticed how equivalent to a wet paper bag the Monk’s durability is. Monk’s only get one defensive feature and it costs them their main (and very limited) resource. Monks are not even good at dealing damage in melee anyway. Their average damage is lower than every other martial class. Stay at range and use Stunning Strike when an enemy gets too close. This gives you a free disengage and with your great mobility, you’ll be able to get far enough away to not take damage from them again until they are probably very dead thanks to your party members who can actually deal decent damage. Notably, Sharpshooter even synergizes with our Ki-Focused Aim feature, meaning we can be quite accurate despite the –5 penalty to hit.
Fighting Initiate (ASAP*): If you refuse to attack at range, and are certain that your campaign won't go past a mid-level, take this for Unarmed Fighting. This brings your unarmed attacks from a D4 to a D8. If your campaign goes long enough, your martial arts die will eventually eclipse this, but it will take quite a while. This also removes the need to hold a weapon for maximum damage, so if you have other things you want to do with your hands, now you can. What are those other things? I have no idea...
Crusher (ASAP): Alright, so I didn’t convince you to just stay at range. Fine, in that case take Crusher. Monks have infinite ways to deal bludgeoning damage, so we have no issue making use of this. The free, saveless 5ft push is at the least a free disengage, and at best a wonderful ability to synergize with area of effects created by your teammates or the environment. The critical ability is actually a bit better for us than most characters because we make so many attacks, thereby giving us a better chance of rolling a 20.
Gift of the Gem Dragon (Lv 4): We are in desperate need of defensive options, and very few feats exist that boost our damage. For this reason, we can definitely justify this feat pretty early. It synergizes with our skirmisher or ranged fighting styles by keeping enemies away and preventing them from attacking us any more than once. You’ll also notice a consistent theme of half-feats on this list. We really need to be improving our ability scores as the game progresses or we will be left behind by the math. Being able to increase our Wisdom as we take this feat means we increase our defenses, our Monk DC, and many subclass features.
Magic Initiate (Lv 4): You might be expecting me to start this with Find Familiar, and you'd be right, I am. Find Familiar is busted and I recommend it for everyone. However, there is some value in taking a look at the Druid list, specifically for Shillelagh. This spell that I refuse to spell out more than once allows us to focus solely on our Wisdom for our attacks, removing the need to put as much focus on our Dexterity. We still need our Dex for AC and a few other things, and the strategy is solely for melee Monks, but it is worth thinking about. A 1 level dip into Druid also happens to be one of the better multiclass options for Monks as well, so consider that alongside this feat and determine which fits better on your build.
Fey Touched/Shadow Touched (Lv 8): These feats are pretty equal for a Monk, as Misty Step isn't quite as useful for us compared to other classes thanks to our high mobility. There’s a ton of great choices for Fey, and pretty much just False Life and Silent Image for Shadow. However, Monks do sometimes take the role of a stealthy infiltrator in parties that need one, and they are arguably better at that role than a lot of Rogues. A bit of shadowy magic can go a long way in furthering that fantasy.
Lucky (Lv 8): This will mostly be used to help us with saving throws or a very important attack that we know will bring down an enemy. The fact that we can consider Lucky so early really shows how few feats synergize with the Monk.
Resilient (Lv 12*): I always thought that Monks not being proficient in Wisdom saves was weird. Let’s fix that. However, if your campaign is going to make it to level 14, you may want to look elsewhere. Diamond Soul is literally the only feature the Monks get that I love, and it is a real shame it comes on so late. Personally, I believe you could give this to Monks at 7th level and it would be perfectly fine. Let the record show that while I think Monks are mechanically horrible, I really love the fantasy and desperately wish they were able to actually fulfill that fantasy.
Tough (Lv 12): A big boost to our durability is very much appreciated, especially because enemies now have such good hit bonuses that we are probably getting hit by 90% of attacks. I will never understand why the designers thought that a D8 hit die was enough for a class with no armor and an intention to be in melee.
Telepathic (Lv 16): Alright, this one’s just for flavor. The stereotypical vision of a wise monk who knows what you are going to say before you even say it is very cool, and while Detect Thoughts isn’t quite that, it is pretty close. You’ve made it to high levels as a Monk, you deserve to have some fun.
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