You have your Monk to Fresh level 70 already? Let’s go complete the season journey requirements and get our free set for this season! We will set up our Monk with the most efficient builds to finish quickly the requirements and get the free set asap!
The Monk free set for season 19 is Raiment of a Thousand Storms.
A little note on Raiment… It’s not that great for general purpose builds in S19 – it’s obviously due for some kind of “overhaul”. In this guide, we will work towards the usual ‘mobile anti elite Raiment’. While you “CAN” make a meme-y speed bounty build with it… IDK if that’s even worth mentioning…
Fresh 70 Monk: Free set available! | No free set!
Getting the Free Set | Free Set 70 | Gaining Power | Bridging to the End-game
Monk Leveling Guide | D3 Directory Guide
Fresh 70 Monk: Getting the Free Set!
Click below to reveal the instructions you need for each step:
Good luck with GR20 – here’s my clear from S6 – I didn’t have Mythic Rhythm in this build but still slimly cleared!
Fresh 70 Monk: 6pc Free Set Build
S19 Raiment of 1000 Storms 6 piece Set Build | |||
Skill | Rune | ||
Crippling Wave | Mangle | ||
Cyclone Strike | Wall of Wind / Implosion | ||
Dashing Strike | Way of the Falling Star / Blinding Speed | ||
Mantra of Salvation (Open) | Agility | ||
Inner Sanctuary | Temple of Protection | ||
Epiphany (Open) | Desert Shroud | ||
Passives | |||
Alacrity | Seize the Initiative | ||
Sixth Sense, G. Path (Double wielding) | Determination (Harmony) |
Options:
- Dashing Strike Rune, you got one each for defense (Blinding Speed), offense (Radiance) and speed (Falling Star).
- Mantra – change it up to suit your needs.
So, now what!?
IMPORTANT NOTE: RAIMENT IS “SO-SO” AT SPEEDFARMING NEPHS.
Passively gather the needed pieces for your speedfarming build!
Raiment excels at “killing elites and moving on”, only stopping for large trash packs.
Torment VI: Is your new MINIMUM farming level. Try goin’ higher. Raiment is mainly stopped by defense, since we’re about to power up very quickly offense-wise.
A quick review before proceeding…
Keep these important things in mind as you progress!
Gaining Power!
Now we have to gain as much power as quickly as possible.
Legendary Gems
This is the easiest way to gain power simply because getting them has little to no RNG. Get the required legendary gems to level 25 as soon as you have them.
Click on the tabs to see Raiment’s “Big 3” gems, and “others”.
Simplicity’s Strength: is an ABSURDLY powerful upgrade and I mean it. It gives insane damage and self-healing! No other gem even compares to the POWER you get from this.
Bane of the Powerful: A low cost, mega value gem that helps us withstand elite affixes! Crazy value for a low investment of 25 points. This should drop on your first GR.
Bane of the Trapped: is a no-brainer. We don’t even need a slow in our build since we’re… you know… RIGHT NEXT TO THEM.
In need of a Defensive Gem?
Esoteric Alteration: Is hands down the best defensive gem for this build and it never hurts to own a high level Esoteric especially for facetanking builds.
Any other gems worth it?
Bane of the Stricken: You’ll need it EVENTUALLY, once RG’s take a long time to kill. It’s a low priority at this point in the game.
Gogok of Swiftness: A niche offense/defense (and resource gaining, as attack speed helps us with Spirit) hybrid gem that actually does quite a lot for us. It may be useful in some scenarios.
Boon of the Hoarder: You need this for speedfarming.
(See: Speedfarming General, Monk Speedfarming, Monk Fastest Speedfarming)
Aside from these 6 gems listed in these tabs, any other gem is niche, or downright unusable.
These gems would increase your bipping power a lot! Level them up asap so you can climb higher torments and get better gear! Just do some efficient GRing. Level 34 GR should be enough to get a gem to 25.
Playing the Build & Adjustments
We’re going to discuss now on How to Play the Build. Compiled here are some tips and observations to get your Raiment to the endgame.
As you slowly climb the difficulty ladder, you may have to tweak your build by changing up some skills, rune and passives. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find the build that works for you.
Here we discuss Playstyle Notes and Build Adjustments.
Dash. Cyclone. Cripple. Dash.
That’s pretty much the rotation. Dashing Strike to keep damage up! Use Mantra – actives to boost defense. Raiment has a pretty simple in-game playstyle – it’s more of a STATS SIMULATOR.
The main thing to learn about Raiment?
Let go of “I must kill that Elite” pride.
It’s all about the feeling. While you will eventually be able to face-tank and out-heal almost everything… there’s a time when you just say “no”.
Certain elites will cremate you – and that’s okay. Sometimes you just get that elite that pricks at your pride… “Damn, you want some ‘eh?” and 5 deaths later, you’re still pissed off that the mighty Raiment was felled by an Arcane Jailer. Well…
Learning when to move on is a core improvement for any build, and much more so for Raiment. Be thankful that you can eviscerate almost any elite – but use wisdom and know when it’s time to give up and move on.
More offense or Spirit needed?
Offense is usually categorized in Damage or, indirectly, Resource Gain.
The Raiment 6 build has pretty much all the damage we can equip. Its only a matter of rune changes to “further improve” our skills.
- Mantra of Retribution – Transgression: ASPD.
- Mantra of Conviction – various runes: Generic vulnerability aura.
- Dashing Strike – Radiance: ASPD.
- Mystic Ally – Fire Ally: Only for “fresh 70” variants, obsolete when Shenlong comes.
Unity and Determination are the only 2 “generic” DPS passives I’d consider past the obviously godlike ones such as Seize the Initiative.
More defense needed?
Defense comes in the form of self-healing and damage reduction / mitigation.
Again, we tried to cram as many of these as possible into our build! Why? Go zone into a TX rift and see how you fare without ’em!
Mantra of Salvation-Agility is the absolute king of defensive changes. +RES and Dodge is hard to beat. It’s the first option you should check out when suffering badly.
Dashing Strike-Blinding Speed is OP since we can dash “at will”, keeping the buff up.
Guardian’s Path: More dodge! DON’T USE IT WHEN YOU HAVE A 2H WEAPON!
Sixth Sense is a crappy replacement for Harmony in the time being. We use it because we must right now, and not because it makes us happy.
Mystic Ally-Enduring Ally acts in the same way. It’s a low-level crappy solution to a desperate problem we have RIGHT NOW. It’s ok, we will get there.
More mobility needed?
Dashing Strike – Way of the Falling Star is the only mobility you ‘need’ with Raiment.
Fleet Footed makes a case for bounty runs… but it’s a little meh.
Any other changes for speed at this point is too greedy, and I can’t recommend it.
(See: Speedfarming General | Monk Speedfarming | Best Monk Speedfarming)
Items to look for
Speedfarming time! Below is a list of items we can equip with Raiment to fully maximize its potentials.
Shenlong is the ultimate goal here. But since it might be hard to complete this 2 set, we can opt for Crystal Fist and In-geom for the time being.
LEGENDARY ITEMS LIST
Using Blood Shards:
Since you already have the 6 piece, your goal is to find supporting legendaries.
DEPTH DIGGERS. Keep takin’ Kadala’s pants off until she gives you Depth Diggers. Seriously, though, Depth Diggers, quite literally, doubles our damage. Double. “2x”.
Spirit Guards give us a MUCH needed defensive boost. Whew! Nemesis also comes from this pile so it’s a great thing to invest on.
Lefebvre’s Soliloquy for our much needed defenses. Sadly, these items are quite hard to fit in without good ‘ol RoRG… So you should be going for that next…
Belt has good ‘ol Goldwrap, and String of Ears to help you out with defense. Witching Hour is the tryhard belt of choice but I loathe this item. It’s only for the absolute highest end of progression.
SHARDS BECOME USELESS FOR RAIMENT FAST. Do bounties for:
- Ring of Royal Grandeur: Act I bounties, to fit other pieces if needed.
- Avarice: Act III bounties, for speedfarming.
There’s not even many “fillers” for Raiment! So little is of actual use to our build. Just dump shards to find rings you need, try your luck on weapons, or just fish for ancients!
Using Death’s Breath – Rare to legendary:
LISTEN UP, Daibo goes first. Yes, you heard me right; DAIBO GOES FIRST. Why? Flying Dragon is infinitely more important than Shenlong at this stage in the game. It improves our healing via LpH, and gives us the spirit regen to accommodate Shenlong.
ALSO, What happens if you get 1 Shenlong? Now what? You’re wasting double the shards to get an unruly effect you might not be able to manage!!!
Flying Dragon can be used alone, without Shenlong for a loooong time before it feels sucky. Now imagine the reverse scenario… stuck with 1 Shenlong? Lel.
I know a lot of people will hate that advice, but I’m not here to facilitate childish dreams of “attacking fast with 2 weapons” cliche fantasy. Upgrade your damn Daibo first.
Then spam upgrade Fists until you get the pair of Shenlong.
The Classics: Good for any type of newer character, and even the most battle-hardened of builds.
Ring of Royal Grandeur: “Break” your 6-piece to make space for a good filler item!
Accessory Sets: Focus–Restraint or Traveler’s Pledge. Completing any of these 2-sets is a vast power jump. +100%++ is substantial for only 2 slots.
Convention of Elements: Good ‘ol CoE. Wear it, Kanai it, as a filler or till the end of time. Learning to maximize CoE in any build you choose is a turning point for higher GR’s.
Unity: Straight 50% damage reduction in the cube. Too bad you need two of ’em.
Goldwrap + Avarice + Boon of The Hoarder: I don’t care how many times I have to remind you about this combo. Be on the lookout. Avarice drops from ACT III bounties.
Bridging to the End-game
So you skipped a whole chunk of the powering up phase with the free set. Now what? Like I always say, “Speedfarming first before pushing GR’s”. So, convert what you have NOW to be as speedfarmy as possible, first.
AGAIN: Raiment is POOR AT SPEEDFARMING ‘generally’ so try and scrounge up a speedfarming build ASAP.
Other Monk Guides:
- Monk Leveling
- Harmony (Passive)
- The Monkey King’s Garb | Sunwuko Set Dungeon
- Inna’s Mantra | Inna’s Set Dungeon
- Raiment of a Thousand Storms | 1000 Storms Set Dungeon
- Uliana’s Strategem | Uliana’s Set Dungeon
Check out our D3 Guide Directory for other resources.
Fresh 70 Monk: Free set available! | No free set!
Getting the Free Set | Free Set 70 | Gaining Power! | Bridging to the End-game
For your Inna’s 4 set clear GR20 build I think there is an error.
You have the build with Crippling Wave: Mangle but then you say to try to stack Assimilation as much as you can. Which is it?
Thanks for pointing this out! It used to be Way of Hundred-Assimilation. Both are viable actually but Crippling is more stable. Fixing it!
I’m a total noob in monks but this guide has helped me greatly. Just to let you know guys, this work is appreciated, thank you very much!
Kanai Cube bonuses breakdown?
Blood Shard section gives a good idea. Depth Diggers is best, and everything else is tiny in comparison. Magefist… I’ts difficult to have a useful body slot. Spirit Guards/Nemesis. Ring? RoRG > Rue Chambers… CoE. Weapon is Flying Dragon best > Crystal Fist? In-geom? Raiments strength is so narrow (Basic attacks) that options improving on it aren’t that vast.
I’m on GR40 now and cubed Crystal Fist is very good actually, cuz we’re dashing every 6 sec anyway and Raiment (you said it) are low-def set. Some hits couldn’t be covered with LoH even with Flying Dragon proc, so -50% dmg received is great. Just a thought.
No doubts about Diggers and RoRG, bis.
When I’m supposed to switch to Shenlongs? Non-ancient 2h legendary mace gives like 676k dps when Shenlongs 580k, but “in the field” I’d say the fists shows more stable results even with weaker emeralds in both.
Shenlongs gives an otherworldly DPS increase… youll unerstand once you try it. My only advice is switching once you have the “full build” including the Lefebres rorg diggers.
Is there a good R6 grooup grift build? Was running with a Wiz & WD and they do a lot more damage than I seem able to do.
you missed out the skills table for after GR20. fresh 70 6pcs build
Haha, damn. Posting this now.
In the recent guide for season 9, you list one of the requirements for getting the 6 pc as having to kill Ghom on T1. The achievement requires T2.
Hi Dave! what particular guide did you see it in? as per our Monk fresh 70, it says set difficulty to T2: beat Ghom. 🙂
Really awesome content on this website. Was wondering why fill a skill slot with a mantra, while wearing 4 pieces of inna’s? the set bonus already gives every mantra, epiphany desert shroud seems like a solid skill to use instead
The rune effects sometimes trump epiphany desert shroud in the early game (i value consistency) however you are right that it IS a valid evolution for the “open slot”
Active effects. When you activate your Mantra with Inna’s, ALL mantra actives go off.
Thanks a lot for the guide, I killed T4 Belial without many problems(and without doing the GR20 or good sockets). If anyone needs, the paragons and the skills were the same as the guide suggests, except for one swap, which is Cyclone Strike(with the Soothing Breeze run) for Sweeping Wind.
Here you have the setup I used for it: http://imgur.com/a/op0bY
Great guide as usual, but missing reroll priorities for items.
This guide has been a huge help for me as a new player. Got my free set and the increase in power is real.
Glad it helped!!!!
Thanks for the guide, just started supporting you guys on Patreon since I’ve been using your guides for the last few seasons.
Do you have paragon point recommendations? I only saw the small bit in the section on beating GR20.
Thanks!
Oh wow! Thanks so much! Paragon Priorities are as follows for a basic fresh 70 monk using Uliana:
MS > DEX > Spirit optional > VIT
CDR > CHC > CHD > AS
ALLRES > Life > Armor > Regen
AD > LPF > RCR > GF
You say lvl 31 monk for Cindercoat shard-gambling for D3Planner says it’s lvl 34, which one of you is right? 🙂
its 34 now :)will edit this
So how do you get all mantras active from the raiment of thunder 2 piece bonus? What am i missing here.
All Mantras active is part of the Inna 4pc set bonus – what line in the guide gave the confusion wherein it comes from Raiment 2?
hello, this is my first season and this helped greatly. It took me the three day weekend, but I made like paragon 50 and have the full set. I see the paragon recommendation in the comments. thanks again.