Diablo 3 Monk Leveling Build - The First Steps

This Diablo 3 Monk Leveling Build is going to outline a detailed roadmap for choosing the best monk skills for fast Diablo 3 power leveling in the early levels of the game. Throughout this monk guide, I will be basing my skill choices on the assumption that your goals are to level as quickly as possible and that you are playing by yourself in single player mode.

This build revolves around increasing the monk's ability to engage large groups of enemies at once by equipping him with a variety of powerful area of effect attacks and skills that greatly increase his survivability.

Keep in mind that the monk has 3 types of abilities: Spirit Generators, Spirit Spenders and Mantras. We will be using a combination of these 3 types of skills to transform your monk into a lethal and survivable AOE killing machine.

By the time you reach level 10, you should be using the skills below:

The first active monk skill you are going to use is called Crippling Wave, which is a Spirit Generator.

Crippling Wave is a frontal AOE attack that does 110% damage to enemies you are facing. Additionally, on every 3rd attack you will hit every enemy around you with a bonus ability that reduces their attack speed by 35% and slows their by movement by 50%. This will last for 5 seconds. In these beginning levels, Crippling Wave will be your main spirit-generating attack, so use it often!

The second active monk skill to grab is called Breath of Heaven, which is a Spirit Spender.

Breath of Heaven is a very useful monk healing ability. This skill costs 50 spirit and heals you (and friends in the vicinity) for between 9490-14235 Life. As the spirit cost of this spell tends to be a bit high, we will be using a runestone that causes it to inflict damage as well for added utility.

The third active monk skill you will be adding to your arsenal is Crippling Wave, another Spirit Spender.

Cyclone Strike is very useful ability that not only taunts all enemies within 24 yards but also blasts them with 275% holy damage. This is an extremely valuable skill for rounding up your enemies and substantially damaging them before unleashing further destruction with Crippling Wave.

Your first passive monk skill is called Resolve. Accessible at level 10, Resolve is a great survival ability that causes enemies you damage to subsequently do 30% less damage to you for 2.5 seconds. Since presumably you will be constantly damaging almost all of your enemies, this essentially functions as a 30% damage reduction throughout every fight. Not too shabby.

With any luck, you are now well on your way to becoming a force to be reckoned with. Choosing the proper skills and abilities to use at each level of Diablo 3 is vital to ensuring the most efficient and enjoyable gaming experience.

However, always keep in mind that while a certain Monk leveling build might give you the edge in leveling speed, there may be other skills you would rather use simply because you find them to be more fun. That is ok! Ultimately you should choose whichever build you enjoy using the most.

Odds are, if you are having a lot of fun, you will play more consistently and ultimately power your character to 60 before you even realize you are there!