The Monk has had a difficult time of things in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. Compared to other martial classes, it is both more complex and less immediately rewarding. It has to juggle more ability scores, battle limited durability, and fight harder to keep up with other classes in terms of damage.

However, the best D&D 5e Monk builds are genuine forces of terror. They can stalk the battlefield, rushing vulnerable enemies and leaving them helpless to fight back, all while impossible to pin down.

This requires players to build their Monk properly. With this in mind, subclass is a huge decision. Most D&D 5e Monk subclasses are playable, even those with poor reputations like Way of the Four Elements. However, there are some that clearly stand out as the best D&D 5e Monk subclasses.

Way of the Open Hand Improves the Monk’s Best Features

Many classes have a D&D 5e subclass that is effectively the ‘default’ choice. Rather than putting a new spin on the class, these empower reliable base features and strengthen the class’s core identity.

In some cases, like the Champion Fighter, these subclasses can underwhelm. However, the D&D 5e Way of the Open Hand Monk subclass goes for the other end of the spectrum.

Its base feature, Open Hand Technique, is a direct linear upgrade to Flurry of Blows. D&D 5e Monk players know how fun and powerful that ability is already. They want to use it as many turns as possible.

Monks get plenty of use out of Open Hand technique. Every turn, they can knock an enemy prone (letting melee allies attack with advantage), throw them back 15 feet (clearing breathing room or knocking them into hazards), or rob them of reactions with no saving throw (empowering a hit-and-run playstyle and shutting down Shield and Counterspell).

Any D&D 5e Monk player can see the potential of these abilities, particularly as they cost 0 Ki and trigger up to twice per Flurry of Blows. An enemy you punch prone, fifteen feet away, through a Wall of Fire isn’t going to get much done.

This is the main reason Way of the Open Hand is one of the best D&D 5e Monk subclasses, but it’s enough. The other abilities aren’t worthless, either. Wholeness of Body is a once-per-day heal that can lessen the need for Hit Dice, save allies’ healing magic, or even prevent death with an emergency 60-hit-point injection.

Tranquility will end more or less as soon as a D&D 5e Way of the Open Hand Monk build gets into combat. Nonetheless, it’s useful against sneak attacks and prevents crowd control or low initiative rolls from ruining your day.

Quivering Palm is somewhat impractical as a D&D 5e Monk subclass feature. It takes an attack, an action, 3 Ki points, and a failed Constitution saving throw for instant death. However, 10d10 Necrotic damage is a reasonable consolation prize. There’s also plenty of storytelling potential and sheer fun factor at play, which is fine in a class with such reliable base abilities.

The Way of the Open Hand does depend mainly on one feature to make it the best D&D 5e Monk subclass, but its entire kit helps it punch far above its weight.

Way of the Astral Self Gets a New Toolkit

The Way of the Astral Self is more experimental than many Monk subclasses in D&D 5e. Rather than directly affecting enemies, most of its subclasses are self-buffs for Ki points that give the Monk plenty of new tools to play around with.

It also apparently plays out like a Stand from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, where you get a spirit body to hit people for you.

Starting with Arms of the Astral Self, the Way of the Astral Self D&D 5e Monk subclass is meant to open fights with a bonus action buff, spending Ki points for new features. The arms attack using Wisdom instead of Dexterity, can use Wisdom for Strength checks (including grappling), and hit for Force damage up to five more feet away.

Effectively, Arms of the Astral Self makes Monks rely on one ability score, lets them grapple, and gives them Reach. These are all things a base D&D 5e Monk build struggles with, solved for one Ki point. Activating it even damages nearby enemies, to make up for losing a bonus action attack that turn.

Visage of the Astral Self costs an extra Ki point to give Darkvision (that can see through magical darkness), advantage on Intimidation and Insight checks, and unusual ways to communicate. While situational, this does provide rare social utility for a D&D 5e Monk subclass and opens up potential abuses of the Darkness spell.

Body of the Astral Self is a straight-up defensive and offensive buff with both other features active. It doesn’t cost any Ki points itself to activate and shares the same bonus action as your other buffs. With bonus damage and reaction-based damage reduction, it provides some combat teeth.

Awakened Astral Self is expensive at 5 Ki points. However, it gives a reasonable Armor Class bonus and a third attack with Extra Attack (that’s more or less five attacks per turn for ten minutes). If you can stretch it across two combats, it makes Way of the Astral Self one of the best D&D 5e Monk subclasses for straight-up combat.

This does come with the cost of managing your Ki carefully, however. If you run out, you’re likely just a Monk with below-average Dexterity. The Way of the Astral Self D&D 5e Monk build can’t afford to go ham with its abilities as much as its fellows -but is still a contender.

Way of Long Death is Nearly Unbreakable

Most Monk subclasses in D&D 5e focus on offensive features, helping the class in its role as a skirmishing striker. The Way of Long Death goes in the opposite direction, instead overcompensating for the Monk’s relative fragility.

Touch of Death provides a staggering amount of temporary hit points as a reward for D&D 5e Monks playing as normal. If the character consistently picks off vulnerable or injured foes, they can shrug off several more hits during the adventuring day.

Hour of Reaping is an odd ability out, not just for the Way of Long Death subclass, but for D&D 5e Monk builds as a whole. It’s an area-wide Frightened effect that costs no Ki points but costs an action. It’s worth using against large groups of enemies, particularly low-Wisdom ones, but comes at the opportunity cost of damage (and potentially triggering Touch of Death).

Mastery of Death is another absurd durability feature. For just one Ki point, not even using their reaction, a D&D 5e Monk build can flat-out refuse to drop to 0 hit points. It can trigger many times a short rest and leave the character on their feet to continue fighting.

Touch of the Long Death is very costly for this D&D 5e Monk subclass’s only offensive feature and carries a high chance of the foe passing their save. However, if you have lots of Ki near the end of the day, you can pump it into a foe for Nova damage. At least with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, you can follow up with a Ki-Empowered Strike to potentially cherry-tap your enemy.

Players who want to drop foes quickly and show off flashy tricks may well get bored of the Way of Long Death. However, it’s the best Monk subclass in D&D 5e for players who want to emphasise self-sufficiency and a near-inability to die.

Way of Mercy Excels in Life and Death

The Way of Mercy follows the trend of many of the best D&D 5e subclasses coming from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and its potential power creep.

From the off, it’s the single best D&D 5e Monk subclass for dealing damage. Hands of Harm more or less doubles the damage of one attack per turn. It adds the Poisoned condition at higher levels, doubling down on the Monk’s dual expertise in damaging and disabling enemies – this time without a saving throw.

Flurry of Healing and Harm makes Hands of Harm free in a Flurry of Blows. You get to deal bonus damage to enemies while dealing bonus damage to enemies. While it won’t compete with D&D 5e‘s best builds for damage, it’s still harder than almost any Monk can hit with a fun rider effect.

Damage is only part of the reason that Way of Mercy is one of the best D&D 5e Monk subclasses. As well as shredding foes, it’s the Monk’s only option for reliably providing support to allies.

Hands of Healing provides respectable hit points as part of a bonus action. This is even free in a Flurry of Blows from the very start (albeit at the opportunity cost of an attack). If you’re near a down ally, you can bring them back. If you’re not, you’re a mobile D&D 5e Monk build who can definitely reach them.

Physician’s Touch lets you cure status effects while also restoring hit points. Flurry of Healing and Harm lets you heal two allies per turn if you Flurry of Blows. Hand of Ultimate Mercy lets a D&D 5e Monk build resurrect the dead once per day with no component cost. Clerics wept.

The Way of Mercy is among the best Monk subclasses in D&D 5e for its sheer damage potential alone. However, its unique and cheap healing abilities, opening an entirely new dimension for the class, cement its position.

These have been four of the best D&D 5e Monk subclasses. Any can work, but these make a great starting point for the strongest Monk builds. If you’ve enjoyed this article, please share it around and check out other Artificial Twenty content. Thank you!

If the Way of Mercy Monk’s unique potential interests you, then you should check out ‘How Every DnD 5e Class Does A Support Build‘.

Alternatively, ‘The Best DnD 5e Cleric Subclasses‘ has what you need for a slightly less complex Wisdom-heavy build.