Pugilist/Monk Job Guide

Action Summary | Traits Summary | Quests | Rotation | Stat Priority | Consumables | Gear

"Though now under Garlean rule, the city-state of Ala Mhigo once boasted the greatest military might of all Eorzea. Among its standing armies were the monks—ascetic warriors as dreaded by foes on the field of battle as the city-state's great pikemen. The monks comprised an order known as the Fist of Rhalgr, and it was to this god—the Destroyer—that they devoted their lives of worship. By mastering seats of power within the body known as chakra, they are capable of performing extraordinary physical feats."

Overview
Monk is a job made available on patch 2.0 (A Realm Reborn) in Final Fantasy XIV. They are a disciple of war that wear leather armor and primarily use fist weapons. Both Monks and Pugilists are primarily used for melee DPS and specialize in hand-to-hand combat. With their quick physical based combos, they continue to build strength to unlock their inner chakra.


Pugilist
Pugilist (PUG) is the class used to obtain the Monk (MNK) job. They focus more on DPS with claws and knuckles and excel at martial arts. The Monk's Guild is located in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald. At level 30, Pugilist can specialize in the Monk job.


Monk
Monk (MNK) is a job unlocked by leveling a Pugilist (PUG) to level 30. Monk is a fast paced and potentially high-damage DPS job that has a lot of positioning involved. Monks have a unique stance system that can be fun to play and is similar to other melee combo actions. They bring some utility to a raid along with their punishing DPS.



How To Unlock
Player must complete the following quest: Sylph-management located in The Solar
Player must complete the following quest: Return of the Holyfist
Class Required: Pugilist (Level 30)


Action Anchor
Actions

	Icon	Level	Action	Type	Cost	Casting	Cooldown	Description
1		1	Bootshine	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 150.
2		4	True Strike	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 220. 240 when executed from a target's rear.
3		6	Snap Punch	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 210. 230 when executed from a target's flank.
4		15	Fists of Earth	Ability		Instant	3s	Reduces damage taken by 10%. Cannot be used with Fists of Fire or Fists of Wind, and shares a recast timer with both.
5		18	Twin Snakes	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. 170 when executed from a target's flank.
6		26	Arm of the Destroyer	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 80 to all nearby targets. Opo-opo Form Potency: 110
7		30	Demolish	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 70. 90 when executed from a target's rear. Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Damage over time
8		30	Rockbreaker	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 120 to all nearby enemies. Can only be executed when in coeurl form. Additional Effect: Changes form to opo-opo Duration: 15s. Additional Effect: Grants Greased Lightning for 16s.
9		34	Fists of Wind	Ability		Instant	3s	Increases movement speed. Cannot be used with Fists of Earth or Fists of Fire, and shares a recast timer with both.
10		35	Shoulder Tackle	Ability		Instant	30s	Rushes target and delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Maximum Charges: 2
11		40	Fists of Fire	Ability		Instant	3s	Increases damage dealt by 10%. Cannot be used with Fists of Earth or Fists of Wind, and shares a recast timer with both.
12		42	Mantra	Ability		Instant	90s	Increases HP recovery via healing actions by 10% for self and nearby party members for 15s
13		45	Four-point Fury	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 120 to all nearby enemies. Can only be executed when in raptor form.
14		50	Perfect Balance	Ability		Instant	90s	Allows execution of weaponskills which require a certain form, without being in that form for 10s.
15		50	Dragon Kick	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 180. 200 when executed from a target's flank.
16		52	Form Shift	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Shifts your current form to the next in the sequence. If no form is being used when executed, you will move into the opo-opo form.
17		54	Meditation	Ability		Instant	1.2s	Opens a chakra. Up to five chakra can be opened at once. Opens all five chakra when used outside of combat.
18		54	The Forbidden Chakra	Ability		Instant	1s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 370. Can only be executed while in combat and under the effect of the Fifth Chakra. The five chakra close upon execution.
19		56	Elixir Field	Ability		Instant	30s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 200 to all nearby enemies.
20		60	Tornado Kick	Ability		Instant	10s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 430. Can only be executed with maximum stacks of Greased Lightning.
21		64	Riddle of Earth	Ability		Instant	60s	Grants Earth's Reply if damage is taken while active for 30s.
22		68	Riddle of Fire	Ability		Instant	90s	Increases damage dealt by 25% for 20s.
23		70	Brotherhood	Ability		Instant	90s	Grants Brotherhood and Meditative Brotherhood to all nearby party members. Brotherhood Effect: Increases physical damage dealt by 5%.
24		74	Enlightenment	Ability		Instant	1s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 220 to all enemies in a straight line before you.
25		78	Anatman	Ability		Instant	60s	Halt the expiration of Greased Lightning and your present form. Additional Effect: Increases stacks of Greased Lightning and extends duration to maximum while in combat for 30s.
26		80	Six-sided Star	Weaponskill		Instant	5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Extends Greased Lightning duration to maximum

Role Actions

	Icon	Level	Action	Type	Cost	Casting	Cooldown	Description
1		8	Second Wind	Ability		Instant	120s	Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 500
2		10	Leg Sweep	Ability		Instant	40s	Stuns target for 3s
3		12	Bloodbath	Ability		Instant	90s	Converts a portion of physical damage dealt into HP for 20s.
4		22	Feint	Ability		Instant	90s	Lowers target's strength and dexterity by 10% for 10s.
5		32	Arm's Length	Ability		Instant	120s	Creates a barrier nullifying most knockback and draw-in effects for 6s. Additional Effect: Slow +20% when barrier is struck
6		50	True North	Ability		Instant	45s	Nullifies all action direction requirements for 10s.

Traits Anchor
Traits

	Icon	Level	Action	Description
1		20	Enhanced Greased Lightning	Allows the stacking of a second Greased Lightning.
2		40	Enhanced Greased Lightning II	Allows the stacking of a third Greased Lightning.
3		62	Deep Meditation	Grants a 50% chance that a chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill.
4		66	Enhanced Tackle	Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Shoulder Tackle. Maximum Charges: 2
5		72	Enhanced Fists of Fire	Improves Fists of Fire's damage increase to 10%.
6		74	Deep Meditation II	Grants a 70% chance that a chakra will open upon dealing critical damage with a weaponskill.
7		76	Riddle of Wind	Allows the stacking of a fourth Greased Lightning while under the effect of Fists of Wind.

Quests Anchor
Job Quests

	Quest Name	Level	Quest Giver	Location	Coordinates	Unlocks
1	Brother from Another Mother	30	Gagaruna	Ul'dah - Steps of Nald	x9,y10	Rockbreaker
2	Insulted Intelligence	35	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13	Shoulder Tackle
3	A Slave to the Aether	40	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13	Fists of Fire
4	The Pursuit of Power	45	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13	Four-point Fury
5	Good Vibrations	45	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13
6	Five Easy Pieces	50	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13	Dragon Kick
7	The Legend Continues	50	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13
8	Let's Talk about Sects	52	Widargelt	Mor Dhona	x22,y8	Form Shift
9	Against the Shadow	54	Widargelt	Mor Dhona	x22,y8	Meditation
10	Fight the Battle to Win	56	Widargelt	Mor Dhona	x22,y8	Elixir Field
11	Appetite for Destruction	60	Widargelt	Mor Dhona	x22,y8	Tornado Kick
12	A Fistful of Resolve	60	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13
13	Return of the Monk	63	Widargelt	Mor Dhona	x22,y8	Tornado Kick
14	Cross-fist Training	65	Widargelt	The Peaks	x23,y6
15	Choices and Paths	68	Widargelt	The Peaks	x23,y6
16	The Power to Protect	70	Widargelt	The Peaks	x23,y6	Brotherhood
17	A Monk's Legacy	80	Erik	Ul'dah - Steps of Thal	x10,y13

Stats Anchor
Attributes/Statistics
Character statistics mean different things depending on what class you are. Below is the general stat priority to follow for Monks. Keep in mind that when leveling getting a higher iLevel is usually better in most cases.

Skill Speed > Critical Hit > Direct Hit > Determination

• Critical Hit: Affects the amount of physical and magical damage, as well as HP restored
• Skill Speed: Affects bot casting and recast timers as well as auto-attacks
• Determination: Affects the amount of damage dealt as well as HP restored
• Skill Speed: Affects both the casting and recast timers, as well as the damage over time potency for weaponskills and auto-attacks.

The recommended skill speed should be at either the 914 tier or 1015 tier.

Where does Monk stand compared to other DPS classes?
First off, it doesn't really matter unless you are playing top-tier, savage raids and are looking to get the most out of your job. It is always recommended to play the job you are most comfortable with and can play well.

Using aggregate data from fflogs.com all 10 DPS jobs - Monks rank 6 out of 10 in DPS for damage output with a score of 90.51. Monks have the 10th most parses in Eden raids, meaning it is probably the least likely DPS job to raid with at the moment. More info.


Rotations Anchor
Rotations


Unlike other jobs, the actions available for Monk are determined by their current form/stance. Example: Performing certain actions in coeurl form applies Greased Lightning, which increases potency and attack speed.

Within each stance there is a short priority/combo system that will highlight what action you use to proceed to the next stance.

Performing actions in a specific order increases potency and applies combo bonuses which will help greatly for damage output. Below you will see the very basic approach to get combo bonuses and then a more advanced list which includes casting your oGCDs.

Single Target

Simple:

Opo-opo Form:

Bootshine (From the rear) => Dragon Kick (From the flank) => Arm of the Destroyer (AoE).

The above combo changes you to Raptor Form (below):

True Strike (From the rear) => Twin Snakes (From the flank) => Four-point Fury (AoE).

The above combo changes you to Coeurl Form (below):

Demolish (From the rear) => Snap Punch (From the flank) => Rockbreaker (AoE).


Advanced:
A more complete rotation or priority list is the following. Unbolded actions are oGCDs that should be hit sometime before moving to the next part of the rotation:

1. Meditation > Fists of Fire
2. Form Shift > Form Shift > Form Shift > Shoulder Tackle
3. Demolish > Perfect Balance
4. Snap Punch > Snap Punch
5. Twin Snakes > Fists of Wind > Riddle of Fire
6. Demolish > Brotherhood > The Forbidden Chakra
7. Dragon Kick > Elixir Field
8. Dragon Kick > Shoulder Tackle
9. True Strike > Snap Punch
10. Bootshine > Twin Snakes
11. Snap Punch > Dragon Kick
12. True Strike > Demolish

Multiple Targets
Monks have an easy AoE rotation and don't have to worry about your position. Each final combo of each form/stance is an AoE, so you can follow your normal rotation and get good AoE damage.

Simple:
This is good for 4+ targets
Arm of the Destroyer => Four-point Fury => Rockbreaker

Advanced (3 targets):
Arm of the Destroyer => Four-point Fury => Demolish => Rockbreaker


Tips
Use your combos! Be mindful of your positioning as being behind or to the side of a target help increase potency for most of your attacks. The most important one being to use Bootshine while behind the target. You can use True North to help find the exact rear location of the target.

As a melee DPS with a Leg Sweep you may be expected to Stun/Interrupt during boss fights, so be mindful.

Use Riddle of Fire and Brotherhood together every 90s to get max damage.

Always stay on the boss as much as you can for maximum DPS output.

Use your raid utility (Mantra) abilities.


Lightning Gauge
Performing certain weaponskills will grant stacks of Greased Lightning. The time remaining of this effect is displayed in the Lightning Gauge.

This effect can be stacked up to three times after learning the trait Enhanced Greased Lightning (acquired at level 40), four times after learning the trait Riddle of Wind (acquired at level 76). However, a fourth stack can only be gained while under the effect of Fists of Wind.

Building and maintaining your stacks of Greased Lightning is the most important duty of playing a Monk. Just going through your stance cycle, it should be easy to keep it up.




Upon learning the action Anatman (acquired at level 78), you can temporarily halt the Greased Lightning timer and maintain your present form. While the timer is halted, you will accumulate stacks of Greased Lightning and its remaining duration will be increased to maximum.



Upon learning the action Meditation (acquired at level 54), the Chakra Gauge will be displayed.

Using actions such as Meditation and Brotherhood (acquired at level 70) open your chakra. After opening your fifth chakra, you can execute the Forbidden Chakra (acquired at level 54) and Enlightenment (acquired at level 74).




Consumables Anchor
Consumables

• Potion - Grade 3 Tincture of Strength
• Meals - Stuffed Highland Cabbage, Sausage and Sauerkraut

Gear Anchor
Gear

• 1.94 GCD (1015 SkS) - https://etro.gg/gearset/0cfe7f6c-0240-4ee6-86be-a5db9fa6763f

Submit Anchor
Submit, Share and Earn Gil!
Have a guide, tips, boss strategy? Have some cool FFXIV fanart you want to showcase? Submit your resource and we'll get it posted. Depending on the complexity, length or validity of the resource, you will also earn Gil. Gil can be used to cash out for real money or later purchase items from the store! Learn more.