The new Final Fantasy XIV expansion Endwalker is rebuilding the Monk job from the ground up. While Monk is one of Final Fantasy XIV's original jobs, its playstyle will fundamentally change on the day of the expansion’s release. Both long-time Monk players and those curious about melee DPS roles should take note of the adjustments.
Players immediately jumping into Monk at Endwalker’s launch may think it was depowered. However, this is not exclusive to this job. Square Enix has recognized that Final Fantasy XIV’s statistics have become too bloated for the PlayStation 4 to easily handle and has squashed numbers across the entire game. While the Monk’s total attributes are significantly lower, they are still extremely powerful relative to the scaling.
Some standard practices and expectations are going away at Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker’s release. These are to ease the lower-level skill curve and make way for higher-end challenges. What will result is a smoother time from A Realm Reborn through Shadowbringers' dungeons and raids.
Core Mechanic Changes to Monks in Final Fantasy XIV
Players who dropped Monk during Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood or earlier who want to pick the job back up should note that weapons no longer have typed resistances, weapon skills do not require tactical points to use, and Greased Lightning is a permanent passive trait instead of a temporary buff.
Positional Removal
The two Raptor Form weapon skills, True Strike and Twin Snakes, no longer have positional bonuses for attacking at the flank or rear of an enemy. The missing potency was not added to the base damage, so the attacks are overall weaker. hOWEVER, this does at least mean players can now either hold their position or move early for Coeurl Form weapon skills, Snap Punch and Demolish.
New Traits
Both Fist Stances and Shoulder Tackle have been removed, along with their traits that gave enhancements. This does mean that a Monk's buffed damage is now 10% lower than it was in Shadowbringers. However, there are several new post-level 80-traits that boost older skills:
- Arm of the Destroyer Mastery (level 82): Transforms Arm of the Destroyer into Shadow of the Destroyer, increasing potency and making all hits critical damage.
- Enhanced Brotherhood (level 88): Adds a 100% chance of opening a Chakra when an ally uses a weapon skill or casts a spell.
- Tornado Kick Mastery (level 90): Upgrades Tornado Kick to Phantom Rush, a higher damage attack.
Monk Ability Adjustments in Final Fantasy XIV
While most expansions focus on adding new, high-level attacks, Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker is going back and completely changing the Monk’s base class of Pugilist. This will give new players and veterans a fresh experience. This is especially true while level synced, as several attacks were never available in A Realm Reborn content.
Pugilist Chakra
Introduced in Heavensward as a high-level Monk art, in Endwalker this system has been reworked for level 15 Pugilists. This makes it fundamental for any low-level player. From levels 15-61, Monk characters must still build Chakra by using Meditation - typically before battle or between phase transitions. Level 62 is still the first moment when critical hits on weapon skills may grant free Chakra.
Two weapon skills that were previously removed will return: Steel Peak for single target, and Howling Fist for area of effect. Steel Peak will change into Forbidden Chakra at level 54, while Howling Fist becomes Enlightenment at 74. The former is slightly stronger, while the latter is slightly weaker in Endwalker.
Utility Skills
To make up for the loss of Shoulder Tackle, Monks now gain Thunderclap at level 35. This allows players to rush to either enemies or allies up to 20 yalms away, but will deal no damage to either. This can be done twice at first, and Monks will gain a third charge at level 84.
Additionally, Riddle of Fire has had its damage bonus reduced from 25% to 15%, but recast has been reduced from 90 seconds to just 60 seconds. To compensate, a new version of Riddle of Wind has been added, which will increase auto-attack frequency by 50% for 15 seconds; players will unlock this at level 72. It is hard to say if this will impact secondary equipment stats at all, as Skill Speed does not typically increase auto-attack rate.
How to Use a Monk's Masterful Blitz in Final Fantasy XIV
The biggest addition for the Monk in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker now comes at level 60, the final cap of the free trial in Heavensward. Monks of that level will gain a new perk to Perfect Balance, the Masterful Blitz. Each weapon skill used in this mode will grant a Beast Chakra matching the associated Animal Form. For reference, the forms are:
- Opo Opo Form: Bootshine, Dragon Kick
- Raptor Form: True Strike, Twin Snakes
- Coeurl Form: Snap Punch, Demolish
Once three Beast Chakras are gathered, Monks can unleash a brutal attack based on the combination in any order. Several Beast Chakra combinations will also grant a Nadi, another resource that can determine the next Masterful Blitz. The combinations and their effects are:
- Elixir Field: Three identical Beast Chakra, area of effect damage, grants Lunar Nadi
- Flint Strike: Three different Beast Chakra, area of effect damage, grants Solar Nadi
- Rising Phoenix: Level 86 and above, three different Beast Chakra, high area of effect damage, grants Solar Nadi
- Celestial Revolution: Any other combination of Beast Chakra, high single target damage, grants either Lunar or Solar Nadi
- Tornado Kick: Any three Beast Chakra, Lunar and Solar Nadi, high area of effect damage
- Phantom Rush: Level 90, any three Beast Chakra, Lunar and Solar Nadi, very high area of effect damage
Monk players will need to build up to Tornado Kick/Phantom Rush efficiently due to how Bootshine works. Bootshine always scores a critical hit while in Opo Opo Form and increases potency after a Monk has used Dragon Kick to gain the Leaden Fist buff. Players should alternate between the older combination of Form Shift > Dragon Kick > Perfect Balance > Bootshine > Dragon Kick > Bootshine > Masterful Blitz and the more direct damage combination of Form Shift > Dragon Kick > Perfect Balance > Bootshine > True Strike > Snap Punch > Masterful Blitz. This allows Masterful Blitz to unleash the stronger Phoenix Rising and gain Solar, in addition to Lunar, Nadi.
These are the foundations of the updated Monk in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker, but they should always be adjusted for real combat situations. Details of Endwalker’s dungeons and raids are still under wraps but, based on boss mechanics, Monk players may need to think on the fly to maximize damage while avoiding injuries.
Final Fantasy 14 A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers are available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Endwalker goes into Early Access November 19 and fully releases November 23.