A Guide to the Best Feats for Monk in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) 5E

Monks are an excellent all around character, with the ability to both provide frontline support and damage, as well as crowd control and a unique batch of utility that only the monk provides. They excel at taking care of a multitude of smaller enemies, stunning dangerous targets and making their way swiftly across the battlefield due to their fast movement. Depending on the kind of character you want to play and the subclass you choose, certain choices might be of more value to you than others, as each character and play style is always going to be different. Nevertheless, this list should give you insight into why each choice is of value to you and help you determine which you want to use.

Crusher:

This feat allows you to increase your Constitution, meaning an increase in hit points, which is never a bad thing. Crusher also allows you to push your enemies around, aiding your role as an excellent crowd controller. You can move enemies around, or even move enemies off cliffs or into dangerous environmental hazards depending on the battle. You can allow allies to run away by pushing enemies away and saving you allies from having to spend their extra actions Disengaging. Combining this feat with the Sentinel Feat allows you to push creatures away while also reducing their movement speed to 0 when you make an Attack of Opportunity. In conjunction with each other, you can make an incredibly dangerous monk. You also open your enemies up to advantage which might help your party Rogue or Paladin land a big hit.

Sentinel:

As a frontliner with high movement speed, it is easy for the monk to place themselves strategically on the battlefield, combine this with the Sentinel feat and you can make sure enemies don’t get past your frontline by stopping them in their tracks when you hit them with an Attack of Opportunity. Even without having taken Crusher, Sentinel is a fantastic feat by itself if enemies run away frequently, or if you have a higher number of casters in your party than normal.

Mobile:

Mobile increases your movement speed even more, making it a great choice for the monk. But in addition, it allows you to automatically Disengage a target that you have attacked (not hit) in melee, which saves your Bonus Action and Ki Points in certain situations. This feat will let you cross the battlefield with ease and allow you to set you and your allies up for success by choosing advantageous flanking positions.

Fey Touched:

This feat allows you a boost to your Wisdom, which is important to numerous monk abilities. In addition, it also gives you access to Misty Step, and another first level spell. This can help add some utility and magical flair to your character, while Misty Step might get you out of a bind that being fast and Disengaging can’t, like teleporting past an enemy that blocks a hallway or over a gap in the terrain. Low level spells of choice might be Hunter’s Mark or Hex in order to boost your damage over a longer combat. Whereas spells like Bless or Gift of Alacrity are nice buffs.

Lucky:

This is probably the most banned feat per table for a reason, but it is also extremely good. Taking this feat gives you 3 luck points that allow you to roll an extra d20 when you make an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, or to make an enemy reroll. It’s like having the ability to give yourself advantage or an enemy disadvantage, because of this it is extremely handy. You have to decide to use Luck before you know the outcome of the die, but after you roll it, so if you have a shitty roll or an enemy has a good one, it is very easy to assume the outcome and use Lucky.

Alert:

Alert gives a monk +5 to their initiative and prevents them from being surprised. This nearly guarantees that the monk will go first or very early in a given combat, which might allow them to stun dangerous casters or eliminate smaller minions and set themselves up in an opportune place with their faster movement.

Elven Accuracy (Elves and Half-Elves only):

This feat is ideal for Monks as you gain a boost to either Dexterity or Wisdom, both being your preferred stat increases. In addition, when you attack with your Dexterity and have advantage you can reroll one of the dice, essentially giving extra advantage. This is excellent for when your enemy is prone or stunned and you can rack up the hits with a flurry of blows to try and land a critical. In that regard, this can pair well with the Crusher feat, to give even more advantage hits.

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• Backstory Ideas for Monks
• Best Magic Items for Monks

If you're looking for the best feat choices for any other class, simply follow the links below!

• Artificer
• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Wizard