The Ultimate One D&D Monk Guide – Mastering Monks

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – C- Tier – Rough having to rely on no armor and not even get martial weapon proficiency, but still not bad.

Martial Arts – B+ Tier – Martial Arts is going to be your main way to deal additional damage and this will get better and better with time!

Unarmored Defense – B- Tier – While this won’t give you the best AC in the world, it will give you an acceptable AC for a good amount of time.

Level 2

Monk’s Focus – A+ Tier – The key (get it) feature for Monks and easily their best, especially since it was buffed in 2024. This gives you three different abilities that give you a base ability, and then focus points to make those abilities even better!

Unarmored Movement – B Tier – Extra movement is nice, but definitely at its best on Monks.

Uncanny Metabolism – B+ Tier – Abilities like this generally come at much later levels, but getting this now is really strong and makes it harder to run out of focus!

Level 3

Deflect Attacks – B Tier – This ability is super cool and will be pretty strong in earlier levels, but as more attacks are heading your way, this does get weaker and weaker with time.

Level 4

Slow Fall – C- Tier – Not a bad feature, it just isn’t going to come up that often.

Level 5

Extra Attack – A+ Tier – Extra Attack is generally the most important ability on any martial class.

Stunning Strike – B- Tier – While still a decent ability, this has definitely been pretty substantially nerfed from the initial version.

Level 6

Empowered Strikes – C Tier – Some enemies have bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing resistance, and this is helpful in those scenarios, but only in those scenarios.

Level 7

Evasion – B Tier – Being able to dodge nasty spells and effects is great, but only so many things force a Dexterity saving throw.

Level 9

Acrobatic Movement – C- Tier – This ability is super cool and definitely thematic, but it’s likely not going to come up that often unless the map is laid out in a pretty specific way.

Level 10

Heightened Focus – A Tier – Improving your Monks Focus is great, and these are rather substantial improvements!

Self Restoration – C- Tier – Not needing food or water is probably flavor text, but cleansing yourself of the charmed, frightened, or poisoned condition can be helpful in the fights where that’s relevant.

Level 13

Deflect Energy – C- Tier – If this let you deflect spell or ability effects, this would be an extremely potent ability. However, most non-bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing attacks are spells or abilities making this not particularly helpful.

Level 14

Disciplined Survivor – A+ Tier – Proficiency in all saving throws and the ability to reroll them is really powerful. Now this is a later game ability!

Level 15

Perfect Focus – A Tier – This makes it way harder to run out of Focus, and considering it’s your lifeblood of your class, this is quite strong.

Level 18

Superior Defense – C+ Tier – This isn’t a bad effect, but this is functionally the Barbarian Rage ability but much more costly.

Level 20

Body and Mind – S- Tier – Functionally four ability score improvements is obviously no joke, especially when this increases your AC by 4 in the process!

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for Monks. Necrotic and Radiant resistance is always good, Darkvision is great to have, you get a bit of healing which Monks don’t typically get, you get Light for free, and a cool ability to transform into 3 different forms, all of which are reasonable to use. This is just a great species all around

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Decent in general as you get things Monk doesn’t normally afford you, but generally outshined by Aasimar.

Dwarf – C+ Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is definitely nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often.

Elf – B- Tier – Darkvision is always great, an extra skill proficiency, as well as advantage on saving throws against being Charmed (even if that isn’t common as that can cause you to lose Rage), but the real treat is being able to pick your lineage which all comes with things you’d be happy to have as a Monk. I would say the Wood Elf lineage is probably the most appealing for Monk, but all would be solid.

Gnome – C- Tier – Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent, especially for Monk as these spells/effects can cause you to lose out on damage which is kind of your whole deal, but that’s the only exciting thing Gnome really gives you so you get no benefits until you’re making a saving throw.

Goliath – A+ Tier – Large Form and Powerful Build aren’t exciting for really any class, but getting a higher base speed and one of the many excellent Giant Ancestry abilities is awesome, especially Hill Giant for Topple which all martial classes love.

Halfling – C- Tier – Brave is awesome for Monks as Frightened is particularly debilitating since they tend to lack good Ranged options and Luck is a fun feature, but it’s really just Brave that’s the big appeal.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. This is a smidgen weaker for Monks than other classes as you aren’t as reliant on a particular Origin feat, but it’s still nice.

Orc – C Tier – While it’s unfortunately much better for other martial characters, Orcs are still decent for Monk. The bonus action Dash is unnecessary for Monks, but not going unconscious once per day helps as you might take quite the beating in combat. Finally, long range Darkvision is generically good, even if Monks themselves can’t get the most out of it as they don’t normally have good ranged options.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – D+ Tier – Buffing Wisdom is decent, proficiency in Insight is good, and Magic Initiate (Cleric) to get Guidance, an attack cantrip, and whatever spell you want once a day (probably Healing Word) is solid as well. However, not being able to boost Dexterity or Constitution is pretty painful.

Artisan – D Tier – Solid proficiencies and boosting Dexterity is great, only getting one relevant ability score and an awful feat make this a really awkward option.

Charlatan – B+ Tier – Getting to boost both Dexterity and Constitution is solid and you get an alright feat, but the proficiencies are exceedingly mediocre.

Criminal – A+ Tier – Same deal as the Charlatan, except a much better feat and much better proficiencies. The standard for the average Monk.

Entertainer – C- Tier – An excellent feat and boosting Dexterity is important, but that’s all this really gives you.

Farmer – B- Tier – Decent ability scores, solid feat, and whatever proficiencies. Not your best option, but not bad either.

Guard – C Tier – Boosting Wisdom is ok, you get a great feat, and proficiency in Perception which is awesome, but not being able to boost Dexterity or Constitution definitely hurts.

Guide – A+ Tier – Perfect ability scores with Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom (so you could go for the triple +1 which is rare for most classes), a solid feat, and good proficiencies. I would put this a tiny bit behind Criminal, but either one of these is an excellent option.

Hermit – C+ Tier – Decent ability scores and an alright feat plus proficiencies. Nothing special all around.

Merchant – D Tier – Only boosting Constitution is not great and the rest of the package does not make up for it.

Noble – F Tier – Monk cares about three ability scores and this background misses all of them.

Sage – B- Tier – While not boosting Dexterity is rough and your proficiencies aren’t great, you do get Magic Initiate (Wizard) which is always reasonably appealing.

Sailor – A- Tier – Boosting both Dexterity and Wisdom is definitely solid, you get solid proficiencies, and Tavern Brawler is reasonable on Monks (for the push part). Not your very best option, but definitely good.

Scribe – B Tier – Solid ability scores, ok feat, and good skill proficiencies. Solid background over all.

Soldier – C Tier – Good ability scores, but the rest of the package is extremely unexciting.

Wayfarer – B Tier – Pretty much the same deal as Scribe, solid ability scores, ok feat, and good skill proficiencies.

Acrobatics – B Tier – Not a particularly common skill check, but it is a decent one to have proficiency in for the few times you’ll need it.

Athletics – D- Tier – An unfortunately uncommon skill check and Monks aren’t particularly strong either making this a pretty bad choice.

History – C Tier – A good proficiency, but Monks aren’t known for their Intelligence. If you have nobody else, then you can take this.

Insight – A+ Tier – This is an excellent proficiency that you’ll be using often.

Religion – D- Tier – This is a generally uncommon skill check unless your adventure/campaign has a lot to do with religious organizations.

Stealth – A Tier – A great proficiency that you’ll probably get a lot of mileage out of.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Monk build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A Tier – While an excellent feat, it’s not a huge deal if Monk in particular go first as they are just damage dealers versus battlefield controllers.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C+ Tier – It’s an alright feat, but a bit better on Monks in particular as you are quite mobile and should have alright Wisdom, but you may not have inherent proficiency in Medicine which will make this less appealing. If you chose Hermit as your background or Medicine as your skill proficiency as a Human, then you can get the most out of this.

Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – B- Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can be an attack cantrip to give you a decent ranged option). Getting long distance healing in the form of Healing Word is nice, but you only get to do it once per day as a Monk.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – B- Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance and Healing Word are great to have, and if you are feeling spicy, you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry instead. While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – C+ Tier – These cantrips can give you a decent ranged option for Monk compared to the other initiate feats which is nice and you can pick up a pretty strong combat spell like Shield or Silvery Barbs which can be useful, even if it’s once per day.

Musician – A Tier – A generically excellent feat for any class.

Savage Attacker – D Tier – This is at its best for martial characters, but a pretty weak feat in general.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for nearly any class (save Bard or Rogue who doesn’t really need it).

Tavern Brawler – C+ Tier – While you can’t use most of the abilities here to great effect, being able to push someone 5ft with an unarmed strike is pretty good and functions as a slightly worse Crusher which is still pretty good.

Tough – A- Tier – Extra health is always great, especially on a class that’s going to be used predominately as a damage sponge.

General Feats

Charger – B Tier – Unlike other martials, Monks are pretty adept at dipping back and forth in combat making it that you can get more out of this than usual.

Crossbow Expert – B- Tier – While this isn’t a play style I would normally do for Monk, you can go Hand Crossbows on them to get a much better ranged option than you’d normally be used to.

Crusher – B Tier – Having an additional means of pushing enemies around and a small bonus when you get a critical hit is very reasonable.

Defensive Duelist – B Tier – If you’re using a finesse weapon, this is a pretty great feat as this gives you a nice boost to your AC. That said, there is contention here between this and Deflect Attacks which makes this worse than it would be on the average martial character, but it’s still pretty good.

Fey-Touched – C- Tier – Don’t get me wrong, I love having access to Misty Step (and Silvery Barbs presumably), but this feat isn’t amazing on non-casters as you’re limited to casting these once per day. Not a bad feat, but not one I’m usually looking to take on a pure martial character.

Grappler – S Tier – A feat functionally tailor made for Monk. This lets you attack and grapple as part of the same action, you get advantage on attacks against targets you grappled, and you have your full movement speed to drag the grappled target around. I would put this feat on every Monk I play, but if you play enough Monks, I can see that this gets a smidgen old after awhile.

Inspiring Leader – A+ Tier – If you’re looking to boost your Wisdom at some point, this is the feat you’re going to want assuming you don’t already have at least one party member with it. This is way too much temporary health to ignore personally.

Mage Slayer – B+ Tier – An excellent feat to get a charge of Legendary Resistance and a way to mess up spellcasters, but it’s probably at its worst on Monks who eventually get Self-Restoration at level 10 and Disciplined Survivor at level 14.

Sentinel – C- Tier – Generally this is a feat for those looking to play more of a “tank” role, but this can be good on pretty much on martial character.

Speedy – B Tier – Monks are already fast, but for Monks with the Grappler feat, having that extra movement speed can be really nice. Even without Grappler, Monks being a bit faster is definitely good.

The Grappler – S- Tier – In 5e (and likely in this edition as well), the Paladin is considered a pivotal part of a party because of what they specifically brought to the table (the Aura of Protection in particular). With the Grappler feat, I believe the Monk may fill a similar niche. There are a lot of powerful emanations in One D&D and having a Monk make those better by dragging enemies through multiple emanations, or more creatively, picking up your friend with an emanation and running them through all of the enemies. That said, this is going to be a bit more niche than something as universally powerful as the Paladin’s Aura of Protection so this does need to be built around a bit, but if you do, then this is likely to be a staple in your squad. For this play style, go for Grappler at level 4 then you can either take two more Dexterity feats at levels 8 and 12 or maxing out Dexterity at level 8.

The Classic Damage Dealer – B+ Tier – Punch people in the face, slash at them, flit around the battlefield. This is a perfectly fine strategy though definitely underwhelming compared to focusing on grappling. The general issue I have with the damage strategy is that Monks don’t necessarily deal the most damage out of all the martials nor are they even remotely the tankiest leaving Monk in this awkward middle ground where they are still quite good at what they do, just not the best at anything in particular. That said, if you like the versatility of doing good damage while flying across the battlefield, you can’t do better than this. If you’re going this with strategy, I would look to take a Dexterity feat (perhaps Mage Slayer) or Inspiring Leader (assuming nobody has this already) at level 4, then you have to decide between taking Dexterity feats until you hit 20 Dexterity or you max Dexterity as fast as possible.

The Ranged Monk – B+ Tier – Pretty much the same deal as outlined above, but you want to take Crossbow Expert to adeptly use a Hand Crossbow or two to fight at ranged. This isn’t what I would typically do, but it’s definitely an avenue if you want a bit more versatility. Do the same feat progression as above, but take Crossbow Expert first.

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Monk, just the ones I would consider. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Barbarian – C- Tier – Barbarian and Monk makes an interesting combination where you get access to Rage, Weapon Masteries, and a potentially better Unarmored Defense for just one level, plus Danger Sense and Reckless Attack if you invest another level. These are reasonable incentives, but getting the 13 Strength to do it is very far from ideal.

Fighter – A- Tier – If you’re going to multiclass, it’s probably into Fighter. While the armor proficiencies are wasted on Monks, getting a Fighting Style, Second Wind, and Weapon Masteries is a lot to gain for just one level and Action Surge if you invest a second. This is a solid multiclass, but of course, every level not invested into monk slows down your Martial Arts die progression so you have to be mindful of that tradeoff.

Rogue – C Tier – You already have the Dexterity to pop into Rogue if you want and gaining Expertise, 1d6 extra damage a turn (presumably) from Sneak Attack, and Weapon Masteries which is a nice deal. What’s also nice is that a second level is unnecessary as Cunning Action gives you very little for Monk specifically.

Astral Self Monk Build Guide: Learn to utilize the power of your Astral Self with increased perception, increased damage, that all culminates in a powerful astral form to fight your enemies!

Drunken Master Monk Build Guide: While many would conflate Drunken Masters with drunken fools (and fairly so), Drunken Masters offer an interesting play pattern with awesome roleplaying opportunities.

Elements Monk Build Guide: With an elemental form that grows stronger and stronger, the new and improved Elements Monk gets to dole out some nasty abilities in combat with a little bit of versatility on top of it.

Kensei Monk Build Guide: While Monks mostly focus on unarmed combat, the Kensei have a deeper focus on weapons that give them some nice abilities that utilize your weapons well in combat.

Mercy Monk Build Guide: Monks may be an offensive class, but that doesn’t mean you can’t heal too! Mercy Monks, while exceptionally good at doling out damage, get to heal their allies and even revive them when they get strong enough.

Open Hand Monk Build Guide: The true masters of unarmed combat, Open Hand Monks are the most powerful when they’re using their Flurry of Blows to CC their enemies.

Shadow Monk Build Guide: Like Vampires, Shadow Monks may not be that deadly in the light, but get them in dim light or darkness, and you may not find a deadlier version of Monk.

Sun Soul Monk Build Guide: With a reverence for the Sun, Sun Soul monks utilize flames and radiance to damage their radiance from up close and a distance.

Monk Rankings

What’s striking to me is the quality between the top 4 and the bottom 4 subclasses here is quite large, more so than the other classes. Unsurprisingly, the top 4 subclasses are all those features in the 2024 rulebook so it just goes to show how bad the previous iteration of Monk was, even if they aren’t that far separated on the tier list.

1. Shadow – B- Tier
2. Mercy – B- Tier
3. Open Hand – C Tier
4. Elements – C Tier
5. Astral Self – C- Tier
6. Drunken Master – C- Tier
7. Kensei – C- Tier
8. Sun Soul – C- Tier

Astral Self

Arms of Astral Self (Level 3) – D+ Tier – A smidgen of damage and a smidgen of reach is not particularly exciting.

Visage of the Astral Self (Level 6) – D+ Tier – This ability is also pretty bad barring you don’t have a team member that loves casting Darkness. If you do, then this can be pretty potent.

Body of the Astral Self (Level 11) – C- Tier – Deflecting elemental damage is neat (and differs slightly from the main class ability so it isn’t useless), and getting an additional die of damage per turn is also solid. This is a fine ability, it’s just painful to spend 2 focus points on it.

Awakened Astral Self (Level 17) – A- Tier – +2 AC and an additional attack is definitely great, even if you have to spend some focus points to get it.

Drunken Master

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – D- Tier – Not technically worthless, but definitely flirting with it,

Drunken Technique (Level 3) – B- Tier – A free Disengage and extra speed for functionally free is really good.

Tipsy Sway (Level 6) – D+ Tier – Standing from prone quickly isn’t that helpful, but redirecting missed attacks is somewhat interesting. That said, I would not really want to spend focus on this most of the time as you won’t know how hard the enemy was going to hit you making this really unreliable.

Drunkard’s Luck (Level 11) – D Tier – Spending 2 focus points to cancel disadvantage on a roll is a pretty bad deal. Maybe if you were able to give yourself advantage or cancel disadvantage I can see this being somewhat reasonable, but this is crappy as is.

Intoxicated Frenzy (Level 17) – C+ Tier – Potentially getting three additional attacks is really good, but you do need to be in a really specific set of circumstances for this to work. This is still nice though!

Elements

Elemental Attunement (Level 3) – A- Tier – 10 feet of reach, the ability to imbue your unarmed strikes with elemental damage, and the ability to move enemies around is a lot of abilities packed into one. This is, unsurprisingly, very good.

Manipulate Elements (Level 3) – D- Tier – Elementalism is cute, but this is just a flavor ability rather than something that’s supposed to really help the class.

Elemental Burst (Level 6) – C- Tier – 2 Focus points for a not so great Fireball (that can change elements) isn’t great, but this does somewhat scale and getting AOE damage in a class that doesn’t ever get that has its value.

Stride of the Elements (Level 11) – B Tier – I do love me some Flying speed, and since you can attack from a range, this ability is pretty strong.

Elemental Epitome (Level 17) – D- Tier – Not technically worthless, but definitely flirting with it,

Kensei

Path of the Kensei (Level 3) – B Tier – Getting a better range of Monk weapons to utilize (which means better damage) is always nice, and the option to give up some damage for a higher AC is interesting as well. The ranged damage boost sucks and the proficiency is purely flavor, but the first two abilities (especially the weapon proficiencies) are solid.

One with the Blade (Level 6) – D+ Tier – Non-magical weapon resistance doesn’t exist anymore, so the first part of this ability is irrelevant (if your DM homebrewed it so you can deal force damage or something, then this rating would be higher) and spending a focus point to get a little more damage is functionally akin to the base Flurry of Blows so this ability isn’t that bad. This is unexciting and doesn’t scale that well as you’d never use this past level 9 (if you were even using it prior), but it’s there.

Sharpen the Blade (Level 11) – F Tier – This doesn’t work on magic weapons. Why does this not work on magic weapons? Even if it did, would you trade six unarmed strikes for this? I wouldn’t. Maybe this would have some utility against high AC targets, but you should be using a magic weapon at this point.

Unerring Accuracy (Level 17) – A Tier – With how many attacks you get, you are almost certainly going to miss with at least one, and in that scenario, this is functionally an additional attack.

Mercy

Hand of Harm (Level 3) – C+ Tier – A bit of extra damage is always fine in my book, but nothing too special.

Hand of Healing (Level 3) – B Tier – Healing outside of support casting classes is already somewhat rare, but healing other people/ That’s super rare! While this isn’t the best healing around, being able to use it to bring downed allies back is nice, and you can even use it in the midst of your Flurry of Blows for no additional charge if it makes sense to do so!

Implement of Mercy (Level 3) – B- Tier – Free proficiencies are always nice!

Physician’s Touch (Level 6) – B+ Tier – This is a really sizable upgrade to both your Hand of Harm/Healing as your Harm now inflicts the poisoned condition (with no save given) and Healing now heals status conditions. Upgrades like this generally cost more to get, but these are just strict improvements.

Flurry of Healing and Harm (Level 11) – A- Tier – While nerfed from its previous version, being able to replace unarmed strikes in your Flurry of Blows with Hands of Healing and/or use a Hand of Harm for free is still really good.

Hand of Ultimate Mercy (Level 17) – C Tier – This is somewhat niche as you likely have a party member that knows Revivify, but just in case that fails, this is a decent backup.

Open Hand

Open Hand Technique (Level 3) – B Tier – You want to Flurry of Blows most of the time anyway, so getting potentially free CC effects on top of it is quite good!

Wholeness of Body (Level 6) – C+ Tier – While worse than the Fighter’s Second Wind feature, this isn’t that much worse and you do get a reasonable amount of uses for it. Not incredible, but not bad in a pinch.

Fleet Step (Level 11) – B+ Tier – Functionally doubling your movement speed in every fight can be really strong, even better when you have a lot of casters who can produce nasty AOEs around the battlefield.

Quivering Palm (Level 17) – B+ Tier – While this will cost you a lot of focus, this will deal a lot of damage over the course of a fight, plain and simple. I do like the flavor of the old ability more, but this ability is definitely better.

Shadow

Shadow Arts (Level 3) – B Tier – While casting Darkness can be a hindrance for your team, you being able to see in it is extremely powerful, especially for just 1 focus point. If your team is able to capitalize on this in any way though (Devil’s Sight, Blindsense, etc.) then this gets even stronger.

Shadow Step (Level 6) – B+ Tier – You are limited in when you can use this, but when you can, it is very powerful as it’s a really good teleport and free advantage on an attack!

Improved Shadow Step (Level 11) – B+ Tier – While teleportation isn’t super vital on a class as mobile as this, only needing a single focus point in order to teleport whenever you want is very nice.

Cloak of Shadows (Level 17) – A Tier – This is functionally a Greater Invisibility that you can only use in dim light or darkness which is a bit unfortunate (synergizes well with Shadow Arts though), but also lets you get your Flurry of Blows for free. Not too expensive, pretty easy to set up, and this is quite powerful.

Sun Soul

Radiant Sun Bolt (Level 3) – D Tier – If taken as RAW (which this rating will do), this is a pretty abysmal ability that’s just a ranged unarmed strike. Even if you homebrew it that it matches up with your martial arts die, that’s only for anything using the Attack action specifically, not a replacement for unarmed strikes. Not completely useless of course as Monks don’t have the best ranged options, but this is rough.

Searing Arc Strike (Level 6) – D Tier – The ki to damage ratio here is just not good. Though, because it’s a spell, this isn’t terrible, but it’s close to it.

Searing Sunburst (Level 11) – D- Tier – This is just embarrassing. The damage here is abysmal, but again, no ability that does anything deserves an F tier rating.

Sun Shield (Level 17) – D- Tier – No comment. This ability is abysmal for a capstone, I can’t even understand why they made it this way. Again, not completely useless