Way of the Four Elements subclass for the Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3 relies heavily on elemental damage and spells, so here is our build.
Feel like playing as Aang from The Last Airbender and not relying on teammates for elemental buffs? Well, that Monk class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is perfect for you in that case. With a host of elemental abilities covering fire, water/ice, thunder, and wind, monks in BG3 can be considered the ideal melee class with a nice balance of damage and mobility. However, a lot of that relies on your Baldur’s Gate 3 Way of the Four Elements Monk build, which is what we are here to perfect.
While there are other viable monk builds in BG3, the one we are focusing on is the elemental monk in the form of the Way of the Four Elements subclass.Starting abilities and skills for Way of the Four Elements Monk
A lot of things in your build are changeable and not written in stone. After all, what’s the point if you aren’t roleplaying your character how you want? Below are my recommendations and picks for how I rolled my Monk character for 91 hours of BG3.
Class Monk –
Sub-Class Way of the Four Elements –
Race Wood-Elf Picking this race provides a bonus to speed, and Monk is all about that. Alternatively, you can also pick Drow for stealth.
Ability Points Distribution 14 STR, 17 DEX, 15 CON, 11 WIS. Leave the rest at default.
Skills Acrobatics, Athletics, Sleight of Hand, Perception, Stealth/Survival – Best Background
While your intended roleplaying plays a part in what background you choose, Urchin or Outlander are good picks for our Monk build during character creation. Both backgrounds come with skills that benefit from your Dexterity stat. If you are interested in some stealthy gameplay, pick Urchin. Otherwise, Outlander will also work fine as they both provide you Sleight of Hand, which is handy when lockpicking.
If you plan on having Astarion in your party, you can ignore the above suggestions and go with Entertainer to gain Acrobatics. That is another DEX skill that will improve your saving throws against being knocked down or slipping.Best Feats for Monk Way of the Four Elements build
Your character can select one feat for every four levels. Below is our recommendation for the best Monk feats and when to select them as you level up your monk in BG3.
Level Feat Description
4 Ability Improvement Invest both ability points into your main ability Dexterity to increase it to 19,
8 Martial Adept Pick Riposte and Disarming Attack. Riposte allows you to counter free of cost if an enemy misses their attack, while the Disarming Attack will cause them to drop their weapon, thus reducing incoming damage.
