The Best Weapons For Monks In Baldur’s Gate 3

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 31, 2025 3 Views 19 Min Read
The Best Weapons For Monks In Baldur's Gate 3
Views: 0

Summary

  • Monks excel in Baldur’s Gate 3 with weapon choices and great abilities enhancing unarmed strikes.
  • Early-game spears like Vision of the Absolute or the top-tier Shar’s Spear offer unique and sweet bonuses.
  • Weapons like Gold Wyrmling Staff and Cacophony boost damage output with extra effects.

Despite what most of us expected from our D&D knowledge, monks are actually a mighty class in Baldur’s Gate 3. Aside from a few changes to the class, this power also comes from the weapons available in the game and gloves you can wear, which will boost the efficiency of your unarmed strikes — something you’ll be using a lot even if you are holding a weapon.

Three monks in Baldur's Gate 3.

Related


Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Races For A Monk

If you plan to play as a Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3, these are the best races to pick.

By default, you can wield any simple weapon and shortswords, which gives you a nice set of weapons to choose from. Which of these are excellent choices for a monk, however? Let’s find out.

Updated on January 30, 2025 by Britt Poteet: With various patches and updates to Baldur’s Gate 3 in the past year, we wanted to make sure this article was as up-to-date as possible. With an additional item, this list will give you the best equipment for your monk playthrough.

15

Vision Of The Absolute

Blind Your Targets

  • Where To Find: Act 1, looting one part from Edowin, and another from the Owlbear.

Spears are viable monk weapons, having the same damage die compared to quarterstaves (d6 with one hand, d8 with two) but with piercing damage instead.

That said, Vision Of The Absolute
is a curious pick because it may blind enemies once you hit them, increasing the chances of hitting them again and decreasing their chances of hitting you. Your friends will have an easier time striking the target, too. It also has the unique feature of causing 2d6 extra damage to creatures with multiple sets of eyes, like spiders or Beholders.

14

Shar’s Spear Of Evening Or Selûne’s Spear Of Night

You Can’t Have Both

  • Where To Find: Act 2, by saving or killing the Nightsong.

Shar’s spear can evolve into one of these two options depending on how you deal with the Nightsong. Both versions have a +3 bonus on their attack and damage rolls. If you kill her, you’ll get Shar’s spear, which gives you an advantage in saving throws if you are obscured and lets you cause an extra d6 of damage when the opponent is obscured.

You can also cast Darkness, and you can’t be blinded, meaning you would have an advantage against all enemies in the Darkness area, and you’d cause extra damage because they’d be obscured. If you spare her, you’ll get Selûne’s spear, which gives you an advantage on Wisdom saving throws and Perception rolls, Darkvision, and lets you cast Moonbeam and Moonmote, giving you some options with radiant damage. Overall, Shar’s spear is the better one, but the consequences of getting it are also greater, so tread carefully.

13

Gold Wyrmling Staff And Cacophony

Secondary Damage Types Are Always Good

  • Where To Find Gold Wyrmling Staff: Act 1, by purchasing from Roah Moonglow at the Goblin camp.
  • Where To Find Cacophony: Act 2, from Lady Esther near the crèche.

Sadly, most quarterstaves in the game are great options for spellcasters, but you won’t cast spells — unless you are a Way of the Four Elements monk. Still, both of these +1 staves are worth mentioning because you can get them early, and they will increase your melee damage.

Baldur's Gate 3 split image of a monk fighting and running away.

Related


Baldur’s Gate 3: 12 Best Feats For Monk

Because your fists still aren’t doing enough damage.

Gold Wyrmling Staff
will cause an extra d4 fire damage per strike, and it’ll let you cast Fire Bolt at will. As for Cacophony, you get an extra d4 thunder damage, and you can cast Thunderous Smite once per short rest. We recommend Cacophony, as fewer creatures resist thunder damage, but the other one comes early, so you can just swap once Cacophony is available.

12

Bigboy’s Chew Toy

For Big Monks

  • Where To Find: Act 2, sold by Lann Tarv at Moonrise Towers.

This simple +1 quarterstaff isn’t as powerful as others, but depending on which route you’re going for, you can get this one early, making it a fun option to play around. Essentially, this staff lets you enlarge yourself.

When enlarged, you’ll cause extra damage on your attacks, making you a bigger threat – literally – on the battlefield. There’s also the fun factor of just becoming a big monster during a fight.

11

Corellon’s Grace

Punch Harder

  • Where To Find: Act 1, from Auntie Ethel.

Another good example of a staff that isn’t the best, but it appears quite early, being a fun option while you get better gear. First, it gives you a +2 to Saving Throws if you are not wearing armor, something you shouldn’t do as a monk anyway, so it’s all good here.

Then, it gives you a +1 to your attack and damage rolls with unarmed strikes – essentially, the kick you’ll give as a bonus action or the Flurry of Blows. While the staff doesn’t hit any harder than a regular one, the bonus to unarmed strikes comes in handy.

10

Sword Of Life Stealing

Kill And Heal

  • Where To Find: Act 2, by purchasing it from Dammon at the Last Light Inn.

Shortswords are a fun option for monks, too, even if the average shortsword doesn’t cause as much damage as the average Quarterstaff
. Still, this blade is a +2 shortsword, increasing the chances of hitting and causing a bit more damage.

Icons for Tavern Brawler, Lucky, and War Caster feats from Baldur's Gate 3

Related


Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Feats For Honour Mode

These are the best feats to choose in Baldur’s Gate 3’s Honour Mode.

Along with that, the blade will cause an extra ten necrotic damage everytime you deal a critical hit, and you’ll also recover ten hit points, which is useful since monks don’t tend to have a lot of health. A perfect combo with the Dead Shot, which we’ll talk about soon, along with other items that increase the chance of a critical hit.

9

Handmaiden’s Mace

For Better Strength

  • Where To Find: Act 3, from Viconia DeVir.

By the time you reach Act 3, you probably won’t be wielding any weapons and will be hitting people with unarmed strikes while wearing one of the many gloves and gauntlets we’ll cover soon. However, you may want to consider this mace.

Equipping this item will set your strength to 18. While strength isn’t useful to monks at first if you get the feat Tavern Brawler, your unarmed strikes will receive your strength bonus to damage, which will stack with the default dexterity bonus monks have on their unarmed strikes already.

The Club Of Hill Giant Strength
does the same thing and appears in Act 1, but this mace is a+2 and has extra poison damage, meaning it’s a good replacement in the long run. You can also rely on Elixirs of Hill Giant Strength
to set your strength to 21 and leaving yourself unarmed all the time.

8

Gauntlet Of The Tyrant

Additional Force for Unarmed Damage

  • Where To Find: Act 3, Worn by Enver Gortash.

Monks are always searching for ways to make their unarmed attacks deal more damage. The Gauntlets worn by Gortash in Act 3 pack a powerful punch, giving the wearer additional Force damage for unarmed strikes.

Additionally, these gloves provide the Command spell and +1 Spell Save DC, giving your Monk an upper hand on the battlefield. It’s a strong late-game option, though there are stronger options down the list.

7

Darkfire Shortbow

A Resistance Of Ice And Fire

  • Where To Find: Act 2, you can buy it from Dammon at the Last Light Inn.

We won’t focus much on ranged damage, as that’s not the monk’s objective in a party, but since ammo is not relevant for ranged weapons, it’s always good to have one equipped just in case. Darkfire Shortbow
is a fantastic choice, even if you won’t use it.

First, this +2 shortbow gives you resistance to both fire and cold damage, significantly increasing your survivability, as monks’ health bars tend to be low. Then, it’ll let you cast the spell Haste once per rest, giving you two more attacks per turn, or you can give it to someone else. You could potentially do six strikes per turn with this spell on.

6

The Dead Shot

More Criticals Coming Your Way

  • Where To Find: Act 3, by purchasing it from Fytz in Baldur’s Gate.

We have a few more bows to discuss here, and one of the options is The Dead Shot
. This +2 longbow will decrease your chance of landing a critical hit by one, and that applies to all attacks, meaning that this bow is effective even if you don’t use it.

Split image of Isobel, the female white haired priestess, and Voss, a male githyanki warrior

Related


Baldur’s Gate 3: 14 NPCs Worth Murdering For Their Loot

These NPCs should be added to your assassination list so you can earn some sweet rewards.

Still, this bow also has the perk of being easy to hit enemies with because your proficiency bonus on the attack rolls is doubled when wielding it. Just keep in mind that monks are not proficient with longbows, so you’ll have to circumvent that through feats or your race — Wood Elf is a good pick here.

5

Hunting Shortbow

For Free Advantage

  • Where To Find: Act 1, you can buy it from Dammon at the Emerald Grove.

The Hunting Shortbow
is a mere +1 shortbow that appears quite early in the game, being an excellent pick before better options come up. When wielding it, you can cast Hunter’s Mark, and, more importantly, you have an advantage against monstrosities with any attack, not just the ones that use the bow.

That includes mimics, spiders, worgs, doppelgangers, and so on. Having a guaranteed advantage against some of the strongest creatures in the game is an easy way to turn the fight in your favor.

4

Flawed Helldusk Gloves And Helldusk Gloves

Infernal Punches

Now let’s talk about your most notorious weapon: your fists. Truth be told, your character will likely be more effective by wielding no weapons, especially at higher levels, and you can compensate with appropriate handwear. Still, the Helldusk Gloves
will improve both your weapon and unarmed strikes, so it’s the best of both worlds.

Flawed Helldusk Gloves

  • Where To Find: Act 2, by giving Dammon Infernal Iron.

Let’s begin with the flawed version. It’ll give your weapon attacks an extra d4 fire damage and your unarmed strikes an extra d4 necrotic damage, so every strike will hurt a bit more. Your unarmed strikes may also give the Bleeding condition to your enemies. Finally, you’ll get a +1 on Strength saving throws, which is not the most useful thing here, but it’s still good.

Helldusk Gloves

  • Where To Find: Act 3, by looting Harleep.

The non-flawed version has everything stated above, plus a few extras. It’ll give you a +1 to your spell attacks and spell DCs and let you cast Rays of Fire once per long rest – It’s essentially Scorching Ray.

Despite all the extras, we recommend the flawed version because the regular Helldusk Gloves take too long to appear, and you’ll already have better options by this time.

3

Bonespike Gloves

Ignore Resistances

  • Where To Find: Act 3, by looting Strangler Luke.

Another good option for both unarmed and weapon strikes is the Bonespike Gloves
. Their effect is simple; you will ignore bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing resistance from enemies, which covers all your melee possibilities and even ranged, in case you’re going to use a bow.

31-Baldur's Gate 3 Best Multiclass Options For Monks

Related


Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Multiclass Options For Monks

Monks aren’t easily multiclassed in Baldur’s Gate 3, but some combinations truly shine.

Getting this one is a bit more annoying. You can get it from Strangler Luke when doing Bhaal’s trial, but ending it before killing Luke will make him leave the fight, taking these gloves away from you.

2

Gloves With Extra Damage And Spells

It Comes In Many Damage Types

Similar to the staves we mentioned earlier, there are a few gloves that follow the same premise: They give you an extra d4 damage and a spell. They’re all great options; it’s only a matter of which damage type you want or which spell you want. We recommend Radiant, Force, or Thunder damage respectively, as few enemies resist those.

Name

Extra d4 Damage Type

Extra Spell Per Long Rest

Where To Find

Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle

Fire

Scorching Ray

Act 2. You can buy or loot it from Lady Esther near the Gith Crèche.

Seraphic Pugilist Gloves

Radiant

Guiding Bolt

Act 3. Found in a locked chest in the Open Hand Temple.

Servitor of the Black Hand Gloves

Force

Fear

Act 3. Found in a chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Crossing.

Snow-Dusted Monastery Gloves

Cold

Ice Knife

Act 3. Sold by Entharl Danthelon in Danthelon’s Dancing Axe.

Thunderpalm Strikers

Thunder

Thunderwave

Act 3. Solb by Bumpnagel in the Ironhand Gnomes hideout.

1

Gloves Of Soul Catching

May The Force Damage Type Be With You

  • Where To Find: Act 3, by saving Hope.

The Gloves of Soul Catching are obtained by saving Hope. These gloves also give your unarmed strikes a secondary damage type, but instead of the usual d4, it’s a d10 of Force damage, which is a lot more damage and a fantastic damage type.

Then, once per turn, if you hit someone, you’ll be healed by ten hit points, and you get a +2 to your Constitution, making your monk a lot more durable. You can choose not to be healed on a turn to give yourself an advantage on your attack rolls, and saving throws until your next turn, making you deadlier than before. All in all, it’s a good trade, considering how many attacks you can deal.

Source link