Baldur's Gate 3 player 'breaks' Monk class with attack that does 320 damage on every turn

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This impressive class can do tremendous damage with just their fists

Baldur's Gate 3 monk
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3's Monk is a melee class that relies on speed and stealth over brute strength, but as one fan recently discovered, with the right mix of skills and gear, you can turn the Monk into a phenomenally heavy hitter. 

"I think I broke Unarmed Strike on Monk," says user OrkoTheMage over on the Baldur's Gate 3 subreddit. According to the player, this particular build, can deal up to 320 damage by capitalising on the Monk's ability to deal multiple blows when fighting with their fists.

I Think I Broke Unarmed Strike on Monk. 168-320 DMG per turn from r/BaldursGate3

If you'd like your Monk to pack this much of a punch, the player has laid out exactly how the build works. You'll need eight levels in the Monk class (with the Way of the Open Hand subclass), three levels in the Rogue's Thief subclass, the Tavern Brawler Feat, and Strength 22. This gives you two unarmed attacks and three Flurry of Blows - a technique that lets you perform two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

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This all adds up to 8 strikes per turn which, at 21-40 damage each, results in an eye-watering 168-320 damage. According to OrkoTheMage, two pieces of gear are needed to ramp up that unarmed damage. These are the Gloves of Soul Catching and the Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo, both of which can be found in Act 3.

Since the release of Baldur's Gate 3 earlier this month, the Monk has found many fans. "Monk / Rogue is by far the best multiclass when it comes to damage so far. I'm playing it and it not even fun, for the enemy," one fan writes in the comments. "I agree," replies another. "And it's also fantastic at transversal if you're playing shadow monk!"

Last month, lead writer Adam Smith revealed that the Monk is also one of his favourite classes in Baldur's Gate 3. "A Monk's great because they're so quick," Smith said. "Once you get to level six or seven, it feels like you're taking five turns for anyone else's one turn because you're running around darting all over the place."

For more on this nimble yet powerful class, check out our Baldur's Gate 3 Monk guide.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.