The New 2024 Monk: DnD 5e Class Changes

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When it comes to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the Monk remains one of the most unique of all DnD 5e classes, walking the fine line between the spiritual nature of the Cleric and the martial prowess of the Fighter. Over the past decade, however, the DnD 5e Monk has remained virtually untouched, with the class seeing only a few minor tweaks and new subclasses since 2014.

Now, however, the Monk is back in action, with the updated 2024 Player’s Handbook adding a few new moves to these mystical martial artists. Many of these changes have previously appeared in the One D&D playtest, but have also been further refined, offering new combat options, enhanced defensive capabilities and revisions to four key subclasses.

So just what other new changes await the Monk? Below, we break apart all the details.

What’s changed in the new 2024 Monk for DnD 5e?

Below are all the changes to the 2024 Monk versus the 2014 Monk (notably, both still fall under the DnD 5e rules).

Monk Feature	Level	Changes to the 2024 Monk Class
Martial Arts	1	– All Simple Melee weapons are now considered Monk weapons, as well as Martial Melee weapons with the Light property. – Martial Arts die starts at 1d6 and goes up to 1d12.Can use Dexterity in place of Strength when you Grapple or Shove.
Monk’s Focus	2	– Patient Defense allows Disengage as a Bonus Action for free, or spend a Focus Point to Disengage and Dodge as a Bonus Action. – Step of the Wind allows Dash as a Bonus Action for free, or spend a Focus Point to Disengage and Dash as a Bonus Action and have your jump distance doubled.
Uncanny Metabolism	2	Once per Long Rest, regain all Focus Points when you roll Initiative.
Deflect Attacks	3	– Reduce the damage of melee or ranged attacks that deal Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage by 1d10+ Dexterity + Monk level. – If damage is reduced to 0, spend a Focus Point to redirect damage. – Melee attacks can be directed at a creature within 5 feet, while ranged against a creature within 60 feet. – Target makes a Dexterity saving throw or takes damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die plus your Dexterity modifier.
Monk Subclass	3	– Warrior of Mercy: First appearing in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, this subclass is largely unchanged. Flurry of Healing Hands can now be used a number of times per Long Rest equal to Wisdom modifier. – Warrior of Shadow: Shadow Arts now offers greater flexibility with how you manipulate and use shadows, although Pass Without Trace and Silence have been removed. New feature Cloak of Shadows replaces Opportunist and grants a much more persistent invisibility effect. – Warrior of the Elements: Way of the Four Elements has been entirely reworked. Much more flexible and efficient with its use of Focus Points, allowing you to create torrents of elemental damage. – Warrior of the Open Hand: A few subtle changes: Open Hand Technique blocks Opportunity Attacks rather than all Reactions, Wholeness of Body now a Bonus Action, and Quivering Palm no longer reduces a target to 0 Hit Points.
Stunning Strike	5	– Requires a Monk weapon or Unarmed Strike. – Stunned condition lasts until the start of your next turn rather than the end. – On a successful save, the target’s Speed is halved, and the next attack against them has Advantage. – Can be used once per turn.
Empowered Strike	5	Choose to deal Force damage instead of Bludgeoning for Unarmed Strikes.
Heightened Focus	10	– Improves Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind when you expend a Focus Point.Flurry of Blows becomes three attacks. – Patient Defense grants Temporary Hit Points equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die. – Step of the Wind allows you to move a willing creature with you.
Self-Restoration	10	– Remove the Charmed, Frightened, or Poisoned Condition at the end of your turn. – Going without food or drink doesn’t cause Exhaustion.
Deflect Energy	13	Deflect Attacks now applies to all damage types.
Perfect Focus	15	If you don’t use Uncanny Metabolism and have fewer than 4 Focus Points, go back up to 4 Focus Points when rolling Initiative.
Superior Defense	18	Spend 3 Focus Points at the start of your turn to gain resistance to all damage types except Force for 1 minute.
Epic Boon	19	Receive one of twelve Epic Boons or another feat.
Body and Mind	20	Increase your Wisdom and Dexterity scores by 4 each, up to a maximum of 25.

How will the 2024 Monk changes impact gameplay?

Level 1: Martial Arts

In the 2014 version of the Monk, Martial Arts was a core feature that allowed you to use Dexterity instead of Strength for both attack and damage rolls for unarmed strikes and Monk weapons. For these types of attacks you also rolled a Martial Arts die to determine damage. This die started at 1d4 at Level 1 and grew to 1d10 at Level 20. Additionally, you were able to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action after.

These rules are more or less the same for the 2024 Monk. The biggest change, however, is that a Monk’s Martial Arts die starts one dice size larger at 1d6 and now goes all the way to 1d12. What classifies as a Monk weapon has also been changed. Now both Martial Melee weapon with the Light property and Simple Melee weapons are considered Monk weapons. Additionally, you can now use Dexterity instead of Strength when attempting to Grapple or Shove a creature.

Level 2: Monk’s Focus

In the 2014 rules, Monks burned “Ki Points” to perform unique abilities in combat. The number of Ki Points you had grew as you advanced in levels and you could use them to perform three specific functions: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense and Step of the Wind.

This feature is more or less the same in 2024, with the exception that Ki Points are now referred to as “Focus Points.” Flurry of Blows is exactly the same other than this semantic change. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 Focus Point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Patient Defense, however, has changed. In the 2014 version, you spent a Ki point to Dodge as a bonus action. In the 2024 rules, if you spend a Focus Point you can now Disengage and Dodge as the same Bonus Action (notably, as part of this feature you can Disengage as a bonus action without spending a Focus Point).

Step of the Wind has also changed. In the 2014 rules you could spend 1 Ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance was doubled for the turn. In the 2024 rules you can burn a Focus Point to Disengage and Dash as the same bonus action and your jump distance is doubled (as part of this feature, you can also Dash as a bonus action with no Focus Point required).

Level 2: Uncanny Metabolism

This new 2024 Monk feature allows you to regain all expended Focus Points when you roll Initiative (you can only use this once per Long Rest). Additionally, when you use this feature, you also regain Hit Points equal to your Monk level plus a roll of your Martial Arts die .

Level 3: Deflect Attacks

In the 2014 Monk rules, this featured was known as “Deflect Missiles” and allowed you to burn a reaction to deflect or catch a range projectile weapon, reducing the damage by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Monk level (if you reduce it to 0 you could catch the missile and you could spend 1 Ki Point to throw it as a weapon).

In addition to the name change, Defect Attacks has also seen some revisions. First, in addition to ranged projectiles you can also use it to reduce Bludgeoning, Piercing or Slashing damage from an enemy melee attack. As with the 2014 rules, the damage is reduced by 1d10 plus your Dexterity modifier and Monk Level, and if you reduce that damage to 0, you can use a Focus Point to redirect the attack, forcing the target to make a saving throw against damage based on your Martial Arts die and your Dexterity modifier.

Level 5: Stunning Strike

Stunning Strike, a popular Monk feature, has also been revised in the 2024 version of the class. It now requires the use of a Monk weapon or Unarmed Strike. If successfully applied, the Stunned condition now ends at the start of your next turn rather than the end, and it can only be used once per turn. However, if the target succeeds on their saving throw against Stunning Strike, their Speed is halved until the start of your next turn, and the next attack made against them is done so with Advantage.

Level 5: Empowered Strike

In the 2014 rules, this was known as “Ki-Empowered Strike” and meant that your unarmed strikes counted as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. With the new 2024 version, you can also now change the damage type of your Unarmed Strikes to Force damage, which is a subtle but important distinction.

Level 10: Heightened Focus

This is a new 2024 Monk feature that enhances the three abilities under the Monk’s Focus feature. First, Flurry of Blows gains an additional attack (this means you now do a total of three unarmed strikes per Bonus Action). Next, Patient Defense now grants you Temporary Hit Points based on two rolls of your Martial Arts die. Finally, when you use Step of the Wind you can also move one willing creature that’s Large or smaller along with you until the end of your turn without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

Level 10: Self-Restoration

This is also a new 2024 Monk feature that lets you avoid any Exhaustion you would normally accumulate when going without food or water. Additionally, at the end of your turn you can remove the Charmed, Frightened or Poisoned condition from yourself.

Level 13: Deflect Energy

This new 2024 feature is an upgrade of Deflect Attacks that allows you to reduce the damage of attacks of any damage type.

Level 15: Perfect Focus

This new 2024 feature kicks in if you’re below 4 Focus Points and haven’t used the new Uncanny Metabolism feature. The next time you roll initiative you immediately are restored back to 4 Focus Points.

Level 18: Superior Defense

This is a new 2024 feature that lets you expend 3 Focus Points to gain Resistance to all damage types (except Force) for 1 minute or until you’re Incapacitated.

Level 19: Epic Boon

In the 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide, Epic Boons were handed out entirely by DMs. Now, however, they’re part of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Monks can choose from any of the 12 Epic Boons, but Wizards of the Coast recommends the “Boon of Irresistible Offense,” which allows you to increase your Strength or Dexterity ability score by 1 (up to a maximum of 30), and allows you to ignore a target’s resistance to any of your attacks that do Bludgeoning, Piercing or Slashing damage. Additionally, when you roll a 20 on an attack roll, you can deal additional damage equal to the ability score you increased with this feat (so if you have a 20 Dexterity, that means you’ll be dealing out a whopping 20 extra damage).

Level 20: Body and Mind

This new 2024 Monk feature allows you to increases your Dexterity and Wisdom scores by 4 each (up to a maximum of 25).

What are the changes to the 2024 Monk subclasses?

In the 2014 rules, Monk subclasses were referred to as “Ways.” In the 2024 rules, Monk subclasses (which players choose at Level 3) are now referred as “Warriors.” There are now four official subclasses: Warrior of Mercy, Warrior of Shadow, Warrior of the Elements and Warrior of the Open Hand.

Notably, the Open Hand, Shadow and Elements all appeared in the 2014 Player’s Handbook (although “Elements” was originally referred to as “the Four Elements”), while Mercy appeared in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. All four Monk subclasses have seen changes as indicated below.

• Warrior of Mercy: Hand of Healing is now considered a Magic action and Flurry of Healing and Harm can now be used a number of times per Long Rest equal to your Wisdom modifier.
• Warrior of Shadow: Shadow Arts now allows you to cast Darkness and Minor Illusion, and you can move the field of Darkness you create. In addition, you are now granted Darkvision (or an upgraded version if you already have it). The Improved Shadow Step now also allows you to spend a Focus Point to ignore the Dim Light or Darkness restriction of Shadow Step and make an Unarmed Strike immediately after you teleport as part of the same Bonus Action. Finally, Cloak of Shadow is a new level 17 feature that allows you to wreath yourself in shadows to turn Invisible. This lasts for 1 minute and you can attack or cast spells, with the feature lasting for 1 minute or until you’re incapacitated.
• Warrior of the Elements: Formerly the “Way of the Four Elements,” the subclass feature of Elemental Attunement now gives you 10-foot reach of your Unarmed Strikes and deals your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder damage. You can also push or pull a target 10 feet on a failed save. Additionally, you can now learn then Elementalism cantrip and as you level up, you are able to unleash elemental burst attacks.
• Warrior of the Open Hand: Open Hand Technique remains largely unchanged from the 2014 version of the subclass, with the exception of one of its options only blocking Opportunity Attacks rather than all Reactions. Wholeness of Body has been moved to a Bonus Action and now heals a number of Hit Points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die plus your Wisdom Modifier (rather than three times your Monk level). The new Fleet Step feature allows you to use Step of the Wind as part of any Bonus Action that wasn’t already used to perform Step of the Wind. Quivering Palm has also been nerfed (it now costs 4 Focus Points and does 10d12 Force damage on a failed save rather than reducing the target to 0 Hit Points and half as much on a successful save).

Final Thoughts on the New Monk

While there have been criticisms from fans over some of the other 2024 class changes (particularly the new Paladin and the new Ranger), it’s likely most players are going to dig what Wizards of the Coast has done to the Monk. The enhanced use of Martial Arts dice, the new combat abilities and new uses of Focus Points are all smart choices that genuinely seem likely the’ll make the class more dynamic and fun to play. That being said, it remains to be seen just how well the new Monk will be received by the larger DnD 5e community.

You can find the complete rules for the new class in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available for pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.

Below is also a video from the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel, with DnD lead designer Jeremy Crawford offering a closer look at the new 2024 Monk features.

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