Best Races and Ability Scores for Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3

Even if you’re familiar with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, which Baldur’s Gate 3 is based off of, it looks like Larian Studios took several liberties with the Monk class, making it much more flexible than you’d expect from early levels. Sure, you can still dedicate yourself to kung-fu punching your way through hordes of goblins and the like, but with how weapon proficiencies work, you can also kit your Monk out with all manner of things that stab and smash. Here’s your guide to the best races and ability scores for your Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Monks come with a whopping five class features. Ki, which pushes their body past its limit, Unarmoured Defense, which adds their Wisdom modifier to their Armour Class, Dextrous Attacks, which makes Monk Weapons scale with Dexterity instead of Strength if it’s higher, Deft Strikes, which causes Monk Weapons to deal Bludgeoning Damage, and Bonus Unarmed Strike, allowing them to make an bonus unarmed attack.

The important thing to note here is that Monk weapons include any that the Monk is proficient with other than two-handed or heavy weapons, meaning racial weapon proficiencies become all the more valuable.

Best Races for Monks in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

As Baldur’s Gate 3 does away with race ability bonuses, you can freely make a Monk of any race. That said, several races stand out: Elves, Drow, Humans, Githyanki, Dwarves, and Half-Elves.

Why so many? Each of these races has proficiency in a set of weapons, adding to the Monk’s ability to use Simple Weapons and shortswords. Elves grant the use of longswords and so do Githyanki. Drow adds rapiers. Humans and Half-Elves add spears. Finally, Dwarves grant access to axes and hammers. Note that these classes also give proficiency to weapons such as the greatsword and halberd, but these weapons are two-handed only, which cannot become a Monk Weapon. The choice is yours; however, Dwarves add the most options, yet they lose movement speed during combat due to being short and stocky. As an alternative, Wood Elves or Wood Half Elves make for a great choice with their increased movement speed.

All Monk Subclasses in BG3

Monks have three subclasses to choose from at level 3 that take the class in intriguing directions:

• Way of the Open Hand: This subclass focuses on harnessing Ki and pushing opponents around. With Flurry of Blows, you can knock opponents prone with ease.
• Way of the Shadow: As the name suggests, this Monk subclass focuses on stealthy ninja vibes. They can move without being seen before striking and cast illusion spells.
• Way of the Four Elements: This subclass has several abilities that pull from many different types of magic, with Monk-specific spells that have powerful effects.

Best Ability Scores for Monks in BG3

Ability scores give a modifier bonus to your dice rolls, and you have a total of 27 to allocate into six skills. Furthermore, you have the option to grant a +2 and a +1 bonus to two different abilities. For Monks, the following spread is recommended for a balanced, melee-focused build:

Wood Elf/Half Wood Elf

Strength: 8
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 10

With this build, lowering Strength to 8 allows you to pump up your Dexterity and Wisdom—the two most important attributes for a Monk. As this build is melee focused, raising Dexterity to 17 instead of Wisdom helps with the Monk’s different Deft features; even then, 16 Wisdom isn’t bad at all. Upon reaching level 4, using the Ability Score Improvement feat to increase Dexterity to 18 and Constitution to 14 will raise the modifier gained from each attribute, ensuring that you can deal loads of damage while also staying alive.

A more Wisdom-focused build that leans into the Way of Four Elements or Way of Shadows subclass would look something like this:

Gold Dwarf

Strength: 8
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 10

With this spread, you have quite a lot more health through both a Constitution and the Gold Dwarf’s race feature that increases your hit points by 1 each level. With a high Wisdom stat, you’ll also be well guarded against debilitating effects that require Wisdom saving throws (of which there are a lot, such as being frightened) and have your Monk-based actions become more potent. Once again, choosing Ability Score Improvement at level 4 is paramount to increase Constitution and Wisdom one level.

As for backgrounds, go for whichever makes the most sense for the character you wish to play rather than the skills you’ll receive. There isn’t one background in particular that fits the Monk more than the others—perhaps Outlander or Sage. Regardless, backgrounds help you gain Inspiration Points based on the way you play, so choose what kind of character you want to your Monk to be rather than the optimal background to get more skills. That said, having a high Athletics on a Monk goes a long way to making sure you stay on your feet during combat. 

With all this information under your belt, you’re ready to go explore Faerun half naked, punching everything in your path. It’s important to note that Larian Studios has confirmed you can respec your character; thus, don’t fear experimenting with different ability spreads—play the way you want to play, not the ‘best’ way, to ensure you get the most out of Baldur’s Gate 3.

We also have guides to the other races in the game and plenty other tips as well, so take a look through our archives for more information on the game.