So Monk is the one class we didn’t get a prior UA for, which means all the changes are totally new. I’m still wrapping my head around it. Martial Arts die increase: good. Martial Arts die not affecting weapons: bad. Step of the Wind buff: good. Stunning Strike nerf: bad but reasonable?
I feel like they knew Monks needed help, but it doesn’t really seem like they made as much effort to fix that as I think they really needed to. Anything I might be missing that saves the Class here?
The Stunning Strike Nerf is a good thing. Damages appear to be reasonable:
These assume you’re using Discipline for Flurry of Blows, which isn’t always possible. They also assume a 100% hit rate, but what’s fantastic on all these also is that it’s multiple attack rolls. It is possible, but unlikely, you’ll miss all the attacks. You have a really good chance of getting at least one nat 20 in your rolls. I usually prefer multiple attack rolls.
Also, for the first 5 levels - you can snag a D8 Simple Weapon (most simples are D6 or lower, none are above a D8) to improve damage, and you can opt for the mastery attack and effect that goes with it - and you can change masteries at a long rest.
And note, these aren’t counting using various feats to get bonus damage, buffs, etc. I would argue that I think overall there are not enough Discipline points before around level 8-10 and there are too many after level 16 or so. But that’s just me (since it’s a short rest resource, and given the change to stunning strike, it seems less likely that you’d ever need 20 points)
And this keeps in mind you can still layer an Eldritch Claw Tatoo, for example, on top of these damages. This likely wants the same change as other current abilities (one bonus damage a round, versus one bonus damage a hit), but used as written right now - it would add a d6 to each hit and increase reach to 15’. But I mean, we’ll be seeing those items in games for years to come - and it seems unlikely all current magic items will be absorbed into the DMG.