Hey guys welcome to my Pillars of Eternity 2 min/max item and build guide! Today im going to be showcasing a build which takes advantage of all the stat buffs you can get from stacking
Wounds on a Helwalker Monk coupled with Berseker Barbarians self buffs and AoE damage. Monks can hold up to 10 Wounds. Helwalkers have a passive that increases your Might by +1 each Wound you have. In addition Duality of Mortal Presence increases your Intellect by 1 per Wound and Tuotilo's Palm enchant gives you 1 Deflection and 1 Reflex per Wound. Tuotilo's Palm counts both as a shield and an offhand, so you can pick up both One hand and shield style and Two handed style. This enables you to be very tanky while having damage on par with a dedicated dps.
The downside of this build is that 10 stacks of the Helwalker passive means you take 50% increased damage, and since you are stacking Wounds for the passive buffs you wont be using them on
abilities.

• Might - 10
  
• Constitution - 15
  
• Dexterity - 18
  
• Perception - 21
  
• Intellect - 10
  
• Resolve - 4

Minor Threat: 10% of Hits converted to Crits

• Level 1: Frenzy/Swift Strikes
  
• Level 2: Lesser Wounds
  
• Level 3: Barbaric Yell
  
• Level 4: Barbaric Blow/Two weapon style
  
• Level 5: Weapon and Shield
  
• Level 6: Accurate Carnage
  
• Level 7: One Stands Alone/Swift Flurry
  
• Level 8: Stunning Blow
  
• Level 9: Bloodlust
  
• Level 10: Blood Frenzy/Duality of Mortal Presence
  
• Level 11: Barbaric Roar
  
• Level 12: Rooting Pain
  
• Level 13: Crushing Blow/Stunning Surge
  
• Level 14: Interrupting Blows
  
• Level 15: Enervating Blows
  
• Level 16: Brute Force/Turning Wheel
  
• Level 17: Flagellant's Path
  
• Level 18: Improved Critical
  
• Level 19: Blood Storm/Heartbeat Drumming
  
• Level 20: The Dichotomous Soul

Active:

Max Athleticism for Second Wind

Civic:

Max History if you are going The Giftbearer's Cloth

• Club
  
• Small Shield

• Really good damage, almost the same as a straight up damage dealer when you have items and 10 wounds
  
• Very tanky once you get Tuotilo's Palm
  
• Lots of Self buffs
  
• AoE and Single Target Stun
  
• Good Crit/Wound/Engagement synergy
  
• Lots of engagement slots (+6 with Gear/Passives, +9 if going Barbaric Shout)
  
• S-Tier Self Buffs (10 Might/Int/Deflection/Reflex/20% burn dmg at 10 Wounds, 5 Might/5 Con/2 Pen/2 AR from Frenzy, 5 Dex from Swift Flurry.
  
• Frenzy self damage helps build up wounds
  
• Benefits from both two weapon style and weapon and shield style (Tuotilo's Palm counts as both weapon and shield
  
• Armor goes up the lower health/more Wounds you get (25 AR at Max buffs).

• Weak earlygame super strong lategame
  
• Takes 50% extra damage at 10 Wounds
  
• Doesnt really use Wounds other then for the passive bonuses they give
  
• Damage goes up when taking Wounds but goes down when fewer engagers
  
• Duality of Mortal Presence doesn't stack with other Int/Con inspirations

This build has many different synergies with Gear and abilities (Crit, Engagement, Wounds, Loses Health). This means you should try to get gear that synergizes well with these. Since you take 50% more damage at 10 Wounds its really important to stack as much AR as possible to reduce this effect. At level 20 with full gear, enchants, abilities, passives and proccs you can reach upto 20 base AR with another +5 AR for 10 hits with Iron Skin Proc from Nemnok's Cloak. This helps counteract the fact you take 50% more damage at 10 Wounds from Hellwalker Passive. To get Maximum underpen (-75% dmg) your armor need to be atleast 3 higher then the Enemies Penetration.
Going with Nemnok's Cloak might be overkill. I am not quite sure how much Pen enemies get on POTD but 1.1 Patch notes says that Armor and Penetration now scale up on PotD. Might be better to go with The Giftbearer's Cloth. If anyone can figure out how enemies PEN scale on levels/difficulty I would much appreciate it.

Kapana Taga deals best of crush/slash so just like swords arent as vulnerable against single damage type resistances. Tuotilo's Palm Counts as an off hand Weapon and a shield at the same time, which enables you to pick both Two handed style, and one hand and shield. It gives stacking Deflection and Reflex the more wounds you have which synergizes with Duality of Mortal Presence and Monk Hellwalker Passive. There are multiple good one handers you can switch to when there are fewer engagers, preferably something with crit synergy like Duskfall
or Aldris Blade of Captain Crow. Reckless Brigandine gives both more attack speed as number of engagers rises, and more Damage and AR the lower health you get.

Main Hand: Kapana Taga[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] - Razor Bladed Bludgeon: Deals best of Crush or Slash Damage +10% Damage as RawStaggering Force: 20% chance to Daze on Hit. Champion's Relic: 3% Melee Damage for each Engaged target, +2 enemies Engaged. Unblockable + 4 Melee Accuracy for each Engaged target.


Off hand: Tuotilo's Palm[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] - Counts as off-hand weapon (11-13 dmg) Inward spikes: 10% chance recieving hit in melee to gain 1 Wound. Balanced Shield: 1 Deflection&Reflex per Wound. Precision Striker: +5 Accuracy with Unarmed attacks

• Helm - Blackened Plate Helm[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]: Pallid Countenance: +1 enemies Engaged, +1 Intellect, +1 Perception
  
• Helm 2 - Heaven's Cacophony[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] - Divine Knowledge: +2 Intellect, +1 Religion. Shout of Hosts: Grants Shout of Hosts. Heaven's Wrath: Grants Avenging Storm
  
• Neck - Precognition[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] Heads, I Win: -75% Crit Damage taken Tails, You Lose: +25% Crit Damage given
  
• Neck 2 - Claim and Refusal [pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]+10% Damage taken from melee attacks, +15% Damage with melee attacks
  
• Chest - Reckless Brigandine[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]: +5% attack speed in melee per engager, +1 Engage. Weapon Damagage and Armor rating Increases when wearer loses health (Max 20% dmg, Max 2 AR) Armor
  
• Ring 1 - Entonia Signet Ring[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] Inviolate: +3 Defenses per engagement (stacks 5 times), +2 Diplomacy
  
• Ring 2 - Chameleon's Touch[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com], Versatile: Gives +1 to an Attribute and a Skill determined by the User's class.
  
• Boots - Bounding Boots[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]; Grants Leap (2 per rest).
  
• Boots 2 - Boots of the Stone[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] +1 Dexterity, +1 Resolve, Resistance to Might afflictions.
  
• Belt - The Maker's Own Power[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]: Reforge the flesh; The wearer transforms into a stationary pillar of steel, reducing incoming damage and restoring health
  
• Belt 2 - The Undying Burden[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com]: Dig Deep: +1 Athletics. Grants Second Wind. Grit: Incoming weapon damage reduced as health is lost (max of-10% to damage) Of Constitution: +2 Constitution
  
• Gloves - Gatecrashers[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] Slugger: +2 Might, 50% chance to knock targets down on Critical Hit Reeling Blow: Cone attack that pushes and stuns target (2 per rest)
  
• Cloak 1 - Nemnok's Cloak Life of Suffering: +10% Damage taken. Blessed in Spirit: On Hurt (75% HP) Grants Spirit Shield. Built for Pain: On Bloodied (50%) Grants Ironskin. Cursed to Endure: On Near Death Grants Barring Deaths Door
  
• Cloak 2 - The Giftbearer's Cloth[pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com] Hidden Depths: +1 Quick Item Slots, +1 Weapon Sets Steward of Memories: +5 All Defences except Deflection ( Increases with History skill)
  
• Pet - Nalvi (Dog): Reduce recover Penalty for armor (varies by type) - Party Wide

• Mouth Char: Mouth Char -5% damage taken, +15% melee damage dealt for 180 sec
  
• Potion of Perfect Aim: % Missses to Grazes / Grazes to Hits / Hits to Crits conversion

• Carnage - The barbarian's attacks become so forceful as to impact others around the target enemy. For every successful melee attack, the barbarian makes reduced-damage attacks at all other enemies within a short distance of the target.
  
• Wounds - Allows the Monk to gain "Wounds" when receiving damage.
  
• Frenzy - 25% Action Speed, -10 Deflection for 15.0s, Strong, Fit, for 15.0s. Sends the barbarian into a frenzied state, granting Strong and Fit Inspirations as well as an Action Speed bonus. While frenzied, the barbarian receives a Deflection penalty.
  
• Swift Flurry - +15% Action Speed for 10.0 sec, Quick for 10.0 secThe monk's hands become a frenzied blur of attacks, increasing their Action Speed for a brief period and granting them the Quick Inspiration. (Swift Flurry) - While active, weapon Critical Hits have a chance to trigger another attack instantly
  
• Barbaric Roar - Let out a frightfull yell, causing enemies in the area of effect to be Shaken. (Barbaric Roar) - Enemies in a line are now affected and the force can knock foes down
  
• Stunning Surge - A head-targeting strike designed to disrupt an enemies' ability to react, Stunning them. Stunning Surge) - If this attack Critically Hits, its cost is refunded
  
• Crushing Blow - The barbarian deals a massive blow, increasing the likeliness and damage of Critical Hits and applying Carnage in a larger area. (Crushing Blow) - If the barbarian kills the target, their recovery is instantly refreshed
  
• Rooting Pain - Generates a shockwave around the monk each time he or she gains a Wound, inflicting a small amount of damage and Interrupting all enemies in the area.
  
• Turning Wheel - The monk dedicates all their presence of mind to the spiritual world, granting a bonus to Intellect for each Wound the monk has.(Turning Wheel) - The monk is able to channel their pain into pure energy adding a proportional fire bonus to Melee Damage.
  
• The Dichotomous Soul - The monk meditates briefly on their pain, summoning two physical manifestations of suffering, one made of flame, the other of ice.
  
• Heartbeat Drumming - 25% Chance on Melee Weapon Critical Hits to attack again instantly. Each time the monk deals a Critical Hit in melee, there is a small chance to trigger an additional attack, instantly.
  

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