Monk Job Guide for FFXIV — Dawntrail 7.1
Monk is a melee DPS job in Final Fantasy XIV that uses fast sequences of combo attacks with their fists and feet to unleash a flurry of attacks against their opponents. They can be only be played at Level 30 or higher, after receiving their job stone as a Pugilist.
What is Monk's Playstyle?
Monk is a fast-paced melee DPS that fights with their fists and their feet, following a flexible rotation between a potent 60-second burst window and an even greater 120-second burst window. Our core gameplay loop revolves around GCD manipulation as we build up towards a large burst every two minutes, with smaller burst opportunities interspersed between those windows.
Monk brings both offensive and defensive utility to the table having the raid buff Brotherhood to boost the damage of our allies, as well as both an AoE healing buff with Mantra, and an AoE heal with Earth's Reply. With an innately faster GCD thanks to Greased Lightning, the core of the job is focused on generating and expending Fury stacks, while using Perfect Balance to squeeze as much damage as possible into buff windows while cycling through the various different resources Monk has to manage.
Monk Strengths and Weaknesses
- Very flexible rotation and burst windows.
- Doesn't lose as much as other DPS jobs do upon death.
- Excellent mobility thanks to Thunderclap.
- Great defensive party utility with Mantra, Riddle of Earth, and Earth's Reply.
- Forced double weaves can cause rotational problems if you are unable to do so without clipping your GCD.
- Executing the correct rotation can require knowing your killtime ahead of time.
How do you Unlock Monk?
All fledgling Monks begin their lives as Pugilists at level 1. You can unlock Pugilist by picking up the quest "So You Want to Be a Pugilist" at the Pugilist Guild in Ul'Dah (x9.5, y10.2). Upon reaching completing the level 30 Pugilist class quest "Return of the Holyfist," assuming your MSQ progression is further than the level 20 "Sylph Management" quest, you will be able to pick up the "Brother from Another Mother" quest in Ul'Dah (x9.4, y10.2). Your reward for all of this will be the Monk job stone.
Monk Gauges
The Chakra Gauge is unlocked at level 15. This displays how many Chakra you have accumulated. There are two different skills that Chakra can be spent to use, Steel Peak and Howling Fist. These later upgrade to The Forbidden Chakra and Enlightenment. Chakra can be generated through both Deep Meditation and Brotherhood.
The Beast Chakra gauge is comprised of various different elements. The 5 balls along the top represent Beast Chakra and Nadi. Upon using Perfect Balance, the next three GCDs will grant a Beast Chakra that matches the GCDs form: Leaping Opo will grant an Opo-Opo Chakra, Rockbreaker will grant a Coeurl Chakra, etc. Upon building three Beast Chakra, depending on the types you have acquired, Masterful Blitz will become one of three different GCDs. Executing Blitzes will then fill the Nadi slots on the gauge, enabling Phantom Rush upon building both a Lunar and a Solar Nadi.
The 3 (9) balls along the bottom represent the 3 different Fury stacks - Opo-opo, Raptor, and Coeurl. Dragon Kick, Twin Snakes, and Demolish each generate Fury stacks, while Leaping Opo, Rising Raptor, and Pouncing Coeurl consume them to deal increased potency.
Monk Actions
Action Name |
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Effect |
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Bootshine Lv. 1 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 220. Opo-opo's Fury Potency: 420 Opo-opo Form Bonus: Guarantees a critical hit Damage dealt is increased when under an effect that raises critical hit rate. Additional Effect: Changes form to raptor Duration: 30s |
True Strike Lv. 4 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Raptor's Fury Potency: 500 Can only be executed when in raptor form. Additional Effect: Changes form to coeurl Duration: 30s |
Snap Punch Lv. 6 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 270. 330 when executed from a target's flank. Coeurl's Fury Potency: 420 Flank Coeurl's Fury Potency: 480 Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Changes form to opo-opo Duration: 30s |
Steel Peak Lv. 15 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 180. Can only be executed while in combat and under the effect of five Chakra. Five chakra close upon execution. |
Steeled Meditation Lv. 15 |
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Opens a chakra. Up to five chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five chakra when used outside of combat. Triggers the cooldown of weaponskills upon execution. Conversely, execution of weaponskills triggers the cooldown of this action. Can only be executed while less than five chakra are open. |
Twin Snakes Lv. 18 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 420. Can only be executed when in raptor form. Additional Effect: Grants a stack of Raptor's Fury Raptor's Fury Effect: Increases potency of Rising Raptor by 200 Additional Effect: Changes form to coeurl Duration: 30s |
Arm of the Destroyer Lv. 26 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 110 to all nearby targets. Opo-opo Form Potency: 120 Additional Effect: Changes form to raptor Duration: 30s |
Demolish Lv. 30 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 360. 420 when executed from a target's rear. Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Grants 2 stacks of Coeurl's Fury Coeurl's Fury Effect: Increases potency of Pouncing Coeurl by 150 Additional Effect: Changes form to opo-opo Duration: 30s |
Rockbreaker Lv. 30 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 150 to all nearby enemies. Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Changes form to opo-opo Duration: 30s |
Thunderclap Lv. 35 |
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Rush to a targeted enemy's or party member's location. Maximum Charges: 3 Cannot be executed while bound. |
Howling Fist Lv. 40 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while in combat and under the effect of five Chakra. Five chakra close upon execution. |
Inspirited Meditation Lv. 40 |
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Opens a chakra. Up to five chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five chakra when used outside of combat. Triggers the cooldown of weaponskills upon execution. Conversely, execution of weaponskills triggers the cooldown of this action. Can only be executed while less than five chakra are open. |
Mantra Lv. 42 |
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Increases HP recovery via healing actions by 10% for self and nearby party members. Duration: 15s |
Four-point Fury Lv. 45 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 140 to all nearby enemies. Can only be executed when in raptor form. Additional Effect: Changes form to coeurl Duration: 30s |
Dragon Kick Lv. 50 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. Opo-opo Form Bonus: Grants a stack of Opo-opo's Fury Opo-opo's Fury Effect: Increases potency of Leaping Opo by 200 Additional Effect: Changes form to raptor Duration: 30s |
Perfect Balance Lv. 50 |
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Grants 3 stacks of Perfect Balance, each stack allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form. Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Grants Opo-opo Chakra, Coeurl Chakra, or Raptor Chakra depending on the form changed to upon executing actions Changing to Opo-opo Form grants Coeurl Chakra. Changing to Raptor Form grants Opo-opo Chakra. Changing to Coeurl Form grants Raptor Chakra. Maximum Charges: 2 Can only be executed while in combat and when not under the effect of any Beast Chakra. |
Form Shift Lv. 52 |
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Grants Formless Fist to self, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form. Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. |
Forbidden Meditation Lv. 54 |
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Opens a chakra. Up to five chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five chakra when used outside of combat. Triggers the cooldown of weaponskills upon execution. Conversely, execution of weaponskills triggers the cooldown of this action. Can only be executed while less than five chakra are open. |
The Forbidden Chakra Lv. 54 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 400. Can only be executed while in combat and under the effect of five Chakra. Five chakra close upon execution. |
Celestial Revolution Lv. 60 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 600. Additional Effect: Opens the Lunar Nadi If the Lunar Nadi is already open, opens the Solar Nadi instead. Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of three Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Celestial Revolution when requirements for execution are met. |
Elixir Field Lv. 60 |
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Delivers an attack to all nearby enemies with a potency of 800 for the first enemy, and 70% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Opens the Lunar Nadi Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of three of the same Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Elixir Field when requirements for execution are met. |
Flint Strike Lv. 60 |
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Delivers an attack to all nearby enemies with a potency of 800 for the first enemy, and 70% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Opens the Solar Nadi Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of three distinct Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Flint Strike when requirements for execution are met. |
Masterful Blitz Lv. 60 |
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Strike the enemy with a technique fueled by the power of your Beast Chakra. The technique used is determined by the number of different types of Beast Chakra opened. 1 Beast Chakra Type: Elixir Burst 2 Beast Chakra Types: Celestial Revolution 3 Beast Chakra Types: Rising Phoenix 3 Beast Chakra and Both Nadi: Phantom Rush |
Tornado Kick Lv. 60 |
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Delivers an attack to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 1,200 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of Lunar Nadi and Solar Nadi, as well as three Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Tornado Kick when requirements for execution are met. |
Earth's Reply Lv. 64 |
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Restores own HP and the HP of all nearby party members. Cure Potency: 300 Earth's Resolve Potency: 500 Can only be executed while under the effect of Earth's Rumination. |
Riddle of Earth Lv. 64 |
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Reduces damage taken by 20%. Duration: 10s Additional Effect: Grants Earth's Resolve upon taking damage Earth's Resolve Effect: Gradually restores HP Cure Potency: 100 Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Earth's Rumination Duration: 30s |
Riddle of Fire Lv. 68 |
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Increases damage dealt by 15%. Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Grants Fire's Rumination Duration: 20s |
Brotherhood Lv. 70 |
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Grants Brotherhood to self and all nearby party members. Brotherhood Effect: Increases damage dealt by 5% Additional Effect: Allows the opening of up to ten chakra Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Grants Meditative Brotherhood to self and all nearby party members Meditative Brotherhood Effect: 20% chance you open a chakra when party members under this effect successfully land a weaponskill or cast a spell Chance is 100% when you successfully land a weaponskill or cast a spell while under the effect of Meditative Brotherhood. Duration: 20s |
Riddle of Wind Lv. 72 |
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Reduces auto-attack delay by 50%. Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Wind's Rumination Duration: 15s |
Enlightened Meditation Lv. 74 |
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Opens a chakra. Up to five chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five chakra when used outside of combat. Triggers the cooldown of weaponskills upon execution. Conversely, execution of weaponskills triggers the cooldown of this action. Can only be executed while less than five chakra are open. |
Enlightenment Lv. 74 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 200 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while in combat and under the effect of five Chakra. Five chakra close upon execution. |
Six-sided Star Lv. 80 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 780. Potency increases by 80 for each Chakra open. Closes all chakra upon execution. Additional Effect: Increases movement speed Duration: 5s Critical hits with this weaponskill will not open a chakra. This weaponskill does not share a recast timer with any other actions. Upon execution, the recast timer for this action will be applied to all other weaponskills and magic actions. |
Shadow of the Destroyer Lv. 82 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 120 to all nearby enemies. Opo-opo Form Bonus: Guarantees a critical hit Damage dealt is increased when under an effect that raises critical hit rate. Additional Effect: Changes form to raptor Duration: 30s |
Rising Phoenix Lv. 86 |
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Deals physical fire damage to all nearby enemies with a potency of 900 for the first enemy, and 70% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Opens the Solar Nadi Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of three distinct Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Rising Phoenix when requirements for execution are met. |
Phantom Rush Lv. 90 |
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Delivers an attack to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 1,500 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of Lunar Nadi and Solar Nadi, as well as three Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Phantom Rush when requirements for execution are met. |
Elixir Burst Lv. 92 |
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Delivers an attack to all nearby enemies with a potency of 900 for the first enemy, and 70% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Opens the Lunar Nadi Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of three of the same Beast Chakra. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Masterful Blitz changes to Elixir Burst when requirements for execution are met. |
Leaping Opo Lv. 92 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 260. Opo-opo's Fury Potency: 460 Opo-opo Form Bonus: Guarantees a critical hit Damage dealt is increased when under an effect that raises critical hit rate. Additional Effect: Changes form to raptor Duration: 30s |
Pouncing Coeurl Lv. 92 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 310. 370 when executed from a target's flank. Coeurl's Fury Potency: 460 Flank Coeurl's Fury Potency: 520 Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Changes form to opo-opo Duration: 30s |
Rising Raptor Lv. 92 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 340. Raptor's Fury Potency: 540 Can only be executed when in raptor form. Additional Effect: Changes form to coeurl Duration: 30s |
Wind's Reply Lv. 96 |
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Delivers an attack to all enemies in a straight line before you with a potency of 900 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Wind's Rumination. |
Fire's Reply Lv. 100 |
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Deals damage to all nearby enemies with a potency of 1,200 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Grants Formless Fist, allowing the execution of a weaponskill that requires a certain form, without being in that form Duration: 30s Any additional effects associated with the executed action will also be applied. Can only be executed while under the effect of Fire's Rumination. |
Role Actions
Action Name |
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Effect |
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Second Wind Lv. 8 |
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Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 800 |
Leg Sweep Lv. 10 |
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Stuns target. Duration: 3s |
Bloodbath Lv. 12 |
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Converts a portion of physical damage dealt into HP. Duration: 20s |
Feint Lv. 22 |
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Lowers target's physical damage dealt by 10% and magic damage dealt by 5%. Duration: 15s |
Arm's Length Lv. 32 |
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Nullifies most knockback and draw-in effects. Duration: 6s Additional Effect: When you are struck by a physical attack, the striker will be afflicted with Slow +20% Duration: 15s |
True North Lv. 50 |
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Nullifies all action direction requirements. Duration: 10s Maximum Charges: 2 |
Monk Traits
Action Name | Acquired | Effect |
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Greased Lightning | Lv. 1 |
Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 5%. |
Enhanced Greased Lightning | Lv. 20 |
Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 10%. |
Deep Meditation | Lv. 38 |
Grants an 80% chance that a chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill. |
Enhanced Greased Lightning II | Lv. 40 |
Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 15%. |
Steel Peak Mastery | Lv. 54 |
Upgrades Steel Peak to The Forbidden Chakra and Steeled Meditation to Forbidden Meditation. |
Enhanced Perfect Balance | Lv. 60 |
When under the effect of Perfect Balance, grants Beast Chakra in accordance with the form granted by the executed weaponskills. Weaponskills granting opo-opo form will also grant Coeurl Chakra. Weaponskills granting raptor form will also grant Opo-opo Chakra. Weaponskills granting coeurl form will also grant Raptor Chakra. |
Deep Meditation II | Lv. 74 |
Guarantees that a chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill. |
Howling Fist Mastery | Lv. 74 |
Upgrades Inspirited Meditation to Enlightened Meditation and Howling Fist to Enlightenment. |
Enhanced Greased Lightning III | Lv. 76 |
Reduces weaponskill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 20%. |
Arm of the Destroyer Mastery | Lv. 82 |
Upgrades Arm of the Destroyer to Shadow of the Destroyer. |
Enhanced Thunderclap | Lv. 84 |
Allows a third charge of Thunderclap. |
Melee Mastery | Lv. 84 |
Increases the potency of Bootshine to 220, True Strike to 300, Snap Punch to 270, Twin Snakes to 380, Demolish to 320, Dragon Kick to 280, and The Forbidden Chakra to 400. |
Flint Strike Mastery | Lv. 86 |
Upgrades Flint Strike to Rising Phoenix. |
Enhanced Brotherhood | Lv. 88 |
Guarantees that a chakra will open when you are under the effect of Meditative Brotherhood and execute a weaponskill or cast a spell. |
Tornado Kick Mastery | Lv. 90 |
Upgrades Tornado Kick to Phantom Rush. |
Beast Chakra Mastery | Lv. 92 |
Upgrades Bootshine to Leaping Opo, True Strike to Rising Raptor, Snap Punch to Pouncing Coeurl, and Elixir Field to Elixir Burst. |
Melee Mastery II | Lv. 94 |
Increases the potency of Twin Snakes to 420, Demolish to 360, Dragon Kick to 320, Six-sided Star to 780, and Phantom Rush to 1,500. |
Enhanced Second Wind | Lv. 94 |
Increases the healing potency of Second Wind to 800. |
Enhanced Riddle of Wind | Lv. 96 |
Grants Wind's Rumination upon executing Riddle of Wind. Duration: 15s |
Enhanced Feint | Lv. 98 |
Extends the duration of Feint to 15 seconds. |
Enhanced Riddle of Fire | Lv. 100 |
Grants Fire's Rumination upon executing Riddle of Fire. Duration: 20s |
Changelog
- 11 Aug. 2024 (Leveling page): Updated for Dawntrail.
- 31 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Reformatted guide content.
- 31 Jul. 2024 (gear page): Updated for patch 7.05 savage.
- 30 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for Dawntrail.
- 12 Jul. 2024 (gear page): Updated BiS for 7.0 launch.
- 12 Jul. 2024 (melding page): Updated for patch 7.0.
- 12 Jul. 2024 (this page): Updated for patch 7.0.
- 08 Jun. 2024 (job changes): Updated for media tour info.
- 02 Jun. 2024 (job changes): Updated for PLL 81/Job actions trailer info.
- 20 Apr. 2024 (keybindings page): Page added.
- 30 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Updated BIS for 6.5 Relic.
- 18 Jan. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for patch 6.55.
- 18 Jan. 2024 (Leveling page): Updated for patch 6.55.
- 18 Jan. 2024 (melding page): Updated for patch 6.55.
- 18 Jan. 2024 (this page): Updated for patch 6.55.
- 03 Aug. 2023 (Leveling page): Added Chakra section.
- 19 Jul. 2023 (gear page): Updated TOP and DSR for 6.45 Relic.
- 24 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated for 6.4.
- 24 May 2023 (Leveling page): Updated for 6.4.
- 24 May 2023 (gear page): Updated for 6.4 BiS.
- 24 May 2023 (melding page): Updated for 6.4.
- 24 May 2023 (this page): Updated for 6.4.
- 13 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Up-to-date for Patch 6.3
- 13 Jan. 2023 (Leveling page): Up-to-date for Patch 6.3
- 13 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Updated for all Ultimate Encounter BiSes.
- 13 Jan. 2023 (melding page): Up-to-date for Patch 6.3
- 13 Jan. 2023 (this page): Up-to-date for Patch 6.3
- 07 Jun. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonsong War (Ultimate) weapons.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 6.1
- 20 Apr. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.1
- 20 Apr. 2022 (melding page): Updated for Patch 6.1
- 20 Apr. 2022 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.1
- 04 Apr. 2022 (Leveling page): Guide added.
- 24 Mar. 2022 (rotation page): Youtube embeds for dummy rotation videos added, triple blitz added
- 08 Jan. 2022 (gear page): Added a Samurai Compatible 1.94 GCD option.
- 07 Jan. 2022 (rotation page): FPS information added.
- 07 Jan. 2022 (gear page): Added a 1.93 GCD option.
- 07 Jan. 2022 (this page): Guide added.
- 05 Jan. 2022 (rotation page): Optimal Drift Even Window description fixed.
- 05 Jan. 2022 (gear page): Gear updated for Patch 6.05.
- 31 Dec. 2021 (rotation page): Guide added.
- 31 Dec. 2021 (gear page): Guide added.
- 31 Dec. 2021 (melding page): Guide added.
- 19 Dec. 2021 (job changes): Page added.
Guides from Other Classes
"This Monk guide has been brought to you by Perfect Balance, a primordial being who has been playing Monk since the A Realm Reborn beta. A self-described "okay button pusher" recognised by many as being "bearable in small doses", PB is keen to make Monk more accessible to the general playerbase, with the main goal being to convey job nuance and intricacies in a digestible way. He streams raids live on Twitch and has a YouTube channel, where he uploads Monk PoVs and fight specific advice.
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