Best Way of Shadow Monk - Psychic Build - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

The Way of Shadow Monk Build - Psychic Assassin for Baldur's Gate 3. Use the shadows to become the ultimate killer, utilizing the elusive Shadow Blade. The deadly psychic damage will be maximized so that you can deliver an instant killing blow before the target comes to its senses.

Way of Shadow Monk - Psychic Build

The idea of this build is to utilize the level 11 Shadow Monk action - Shadow Strike. By itself, the action is very expensive - 3 Ki points. However, with some optimizations and specific items, the damage can one-shot many enemies in the game.

I am talking, of course, about Shadow Blade Ring and Resonance Stone (double psychic damage at the cost of lower spell resistance). This will make you a true psychic assassin. Of course, Shadow Monk comes with other neat features like Cloak of Shadows​ and Shadow Step,​ allowing you to be mobile both during and before combat.

This is a perfect subclass for those who are looking for a stealthy playstyle, disable enemies, create Darkness​ fields, or even leave combat altogether once you clear out a few targets.

Hope you like the idea of the build, and enjoy reading it!

Class Contribution

The build can be made in a few different ways. You could go pure monk, take a dip in Fighter, Rogue, or even Sorcerer. For simplicity's sake, I will be going with pure Monk.

12 Shadow Monk

So this is the core of the build that you will use the most:

• Access to Shadow Strike allows dealing 3d8 psychic damage, which can be doubled with Resonance Stone.
• Cloak of Shadows​ and Shadow Step​ for ultimate stealth mobility and invisibility on demand.
• Stunning Strike (Melee)​ to stun enemies so that they would skip their turns.
• Shadow Arts: Hide, and enter stealth using a bonus action, which then can be used for a Shadow Strike​ attack.
• Access to 3 feats, to cover most of the weak points with the build.

There are more choices, but I will leave those in the build variation section at the end of the post.

Build Variations

For this build, there are a lot of options, both from a progression perspective and the level splits

Setup	Description
Ninja Build: 9 Shadow Monk 3 Thief	A build that meshes fists with weapon attacks, and emphasizes a stealth playstyle to enter and leave combat via Cloak of Shadows. The idea is to use bonus actions for damage and the main action point to disappear when eliminating an enemy.
1 Rogue 11 Shadow Monk	Rogue gives one important benefit - expertise in Stealth. If you want to do some ridiculous stuff with Greater Invisibility, this multiclass dip is almost mandatory.

Build Overview

Here is a concise table with all the main picks during your leveling progression. For more detailed reasoning, I go further in the article. Also, do not forget to check the recommended gear as it is crucial.

‹Unarmed Monk Setup›×

‹Monk Weapon/Shadow Blade Setup›×

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My recommendation is to run this Monk setup until level 11. Then you can decide to switch to Monk weapons or Shadow Blade or continue going unarmed. Tavern Brawler is a very powerful feat that you can utilize when it is mostly needed - early game.

Level	Class	Selection
1	Monk 1	STR - 8, DEX - 17, CON - 15, INT - 8, WIS - 16, CHA - 8
		Skills: Stealth, Acrobatics
2	Monk 2	-
3	Monk 3	Subclass: Way of Shadow
4	Monk 4	Feat: Tavern Brawler +1 Constitution
5	Monk 5	-
6	Monk 6	-
7	Monk 7	-
8	Monk 8	Feat: ​
9	Monk 9	-
10	Monk 10	-
11	Monk 11	-
12	Monk 12	Feat: Moderately Armoured​ or Sentinel: Vengeance​

You can start with this setup from the early levels. There are cool weapons like Lightning Jabber, Cacophony but you can also transition to it at level 11, as this is when it shines with Shadow Strike and all the vulnerabilities that you can enjoy from the late game weapons.

This setup also works with Shadow Blade that you can obtain with Shadow Blade Ring later in Act 2.

Level	Class	Selection
1	Monk 1	STR - 8, DEX - 17, CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 16, CHA - 10
		Skills: Stealth, Acrobatics
2	Monk 2	-
3	Monk 3	Subclass: Way of Shadow
4	Monk 4	Feat: Ability Improvement +2 Dexterity
5	Monk 5	-
6	Monk 6	-
7	Monk 7	-
8	Monk 8	Feat: Savage Attacker​
9	Monk 9	-
10	Monk 10	-
11	Monk 11	-
12	Warlock 1	Cantrips: Booming Blade, Friends
		Subclass: Hexblade
		Spells: Shield, any

Synergy with other builds

This section will give a few ideas on how to utilize other builds to maximize the combat potential of the group. There are usually various synergies that make the group play more enjoyable. However, this should not be the main factor. With full game knowledge, any party composition will work freely.

Darkness Setup

Shadow Monk has access to Shadow Arts: Darkness, which enables to create a Darkness field. Still, you are not able to see inside of it, so you will need items like Eversight Ring or Shar's Spear of Evening

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Beast Master Ranger (level 11)	Dire Raven Companion	From level 11, when using Fly, the raven will create Darkness fields for free.
Shadow Magic Sorcerer	Eyes of the Dark: Darkness	The Sorcerer has an easy way of creating Darkness fields, and see inside of it thanks to Eyes of the Dark
Sorlock	Devil's Sight Darkness	Sorlock can create and also see inside the Darkness thanks to the Devil's Sight

Psychic Damage

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Sorcadin Show Blade Bardadin Bladesinger Hexblade	Resonance Stone Shadow Blade	All of these builds have access to Shadow Blade spell, making this an extremely good synergy with Shadow's Monk Shadow Strike.
Open Hand Monk	Manifestation of Mind	Open Hand Monk also can deal psychic damage, it's not as big as having full Shadow Blade, but still works well for a slight damage boost.

Starting the Game - Level 1

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the Shadow Monk build. Some of these choices are impactful as you cannot respec them.

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc. Specifically for the Shadow Monk build, they will give important armor proficiencies or advantages on stealth checks to better utilize the assassin playstyle.

Race	Features	Description
Drow	Drow Weapon Training​ Superior Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Dancing Lights	All three choices offer you access to a free Darkness spell. This is a really nice bonus that you can utilize to save your resources, especially if the party is leaning on this mechanic.
Asmodeus Tiefling	Darkvision​ Hellish Resistance​
Drow Half-Elf	Fey Ancestry​ Darkvision​ Civil Militia​
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	These picks are relevant mainly for the Booming Blade​ cantrip. This is especially relevant if you will start using Monk weapons later on, as the cantrip will give a significant damage boost.
High Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry
Deep Gnome	Gnome Cunning​ Superior Darkvision​ Stone Camouflage​	The main attractiveness of Gnomes is that they have Gnome Cunning, which will allow you to negate some of the Resonance Stone effects, thus improving your survivability.
Dwarf Duergar	Dwarven Combat Training​ Superior Darkvision​ Dwarven Resilience​ Duergar Resilience​	One of the best race picks overall. The Invisibility​ action allows you to enter combat with the best possible position and always activate the Surprised round.
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	Comes with a solid movement speed boost that any melee build can utilize well in combat to reach enemies on the initial turn.
Wood Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.

Class

Overview
Monk
Some reach enlightenment by languid meditation - others do so in the heat of battle. Monks manipulate ki to empower their own strikes and debilitate their foes.
Features
Flurry of Blows​	Very powerful attack, allowing you to do two hits with bonus action and Ki points.
Ki	A unique resource for Monk actions.
Unarmoured Defence​	Allows getting armor class from Wisdom modifier.
Martial Arts: Dextrous Attacks​	Similar to how finesse weapons work, Monk attacks scale based on high ability between Strength and Dexterity.
Martial Arts: Deft Strikes​	Set the base attack of unarmed attacks to 1d4, later this becomes 1d6 and 1d8.
Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike​	Gives an option to attack with your fists using bonus action.

Background

Backgrounds are mostly for role-playing, and you can pick whatever you prefer. If you want to optimize, then it would be good to pick backgrounds that are based on your Wisdom ability points.

Abilities

Skills and Expertise

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those that will give you the best benefits. My recommendation would be to go for these, most relevant to the theme of the build:

• Stealth
• Acrobatics
• Insight

Leveling Progression 2-12

Here is the detailed progression for the Shadow Monk to get you started. You can use it as a guideline because early games can be daunting and overwhelming. Later on, once you get a feel for the class you can start picking your options

Levels 2-6

By this time, you should have landed on the Ravaged beach already and started exploring the initial area. You might need 1 additional encounter if you did not obtain enough XP in the Nautiloid.

For most of the builds, early levels are pretty simple, as there are minimal spell options and features that you can use. However, there are notable spikes at levels 5-6:

• Extra Attack
• Level 3 spells
• Major class and subclass features

With these, you will feel how the game combat opens up, and with correct preparations, you can start eliminating foes with minimal preparations.

Level 2

Feature	Description
Unarmoured Movement​	Makes it easier to reach and move between enemies.

That is not all, by using Ki points you can get an improved version of some base actions:

Action	Description
Patient Defence​	It's not something that I would use, as the bonus action has better uses.
Step of the Wind: Dash​	It can be used to reach longer distances or jump on enemies on higher grounds.
Step of the Wind: Disengage​	A disengage option that you can activate with Bonus action and a Ki Point.

Taking your monk to the next Level - Elixir of Hill Giant Strength

If you are interested in minmaxing, you are lucky, as there is an easy way to get a big boost to your strength via Elixir of Hill Giant Strength. Why is this important? If you use Flurry of Blows, your unarmed attacks can use Strength as the main stat. This is not all, at level 4, you can pick Tavern Brawler feat which gives an additional boost to attacks based on strength modifier.

After you reach the first settlement - Druid's Grove. There, you can stock up on elixirs for Acts 1 and 2 - Elixir of Hill Giant Strength. This is somewhat gimmicky; however, if you are interested, here is a guide on how to farm Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.

Drinking the elixir after each long rest will result in full combat potential of the build, making many encounters a breeze. Later in Act 3, you can even buy an improved version Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength with a fixed 27 strength stat.

Level 3

As a Monk at level 3, you can choose the subclass. It affects how you play the build and what combat options are available.

Overview
Way of Shadow
Features
Shadow Arts: Hide​	Allows hiding with just bonus action instead of action.
Shadow Arts: Pass Without Trace​	Can be useful if you need to pass stealth checks with companions. For example, sneaking through areas where enemies may see you.
Shadow Arts: Darkness​	Very powerful action that can complement both Shadow Monk and Warlock with Devil's Sight. You can use this to hide from ranged enemy attacks, and safely attack anyone who dares to enter. I recommend Eversight Ring if you plan on doing melee combat inside to avoid getting blinded.
Shadow Arts: Darkvision​	Not as good as it sounds. Sadly, it does not work with the Darkness​ spell.
Shadow Arts: Silence​	Another powerful action, that you can use to break enemy Concentration or immobilize mages.
Minor Illusion​	You can use this while being invisible. Group enemies together and let your caster kill them, or cast Darkness to change the playing field.

All of these actions can play an important role in the combat, based on the situation.

Playing with Darkness

So Darkness is one of those very powerful spells that can break the enemy AI, and make many encounters a breeze. There are a few sources that you can get it from:

• Darkness or Eyes of the Dark: Darkness, Shadow Arts: Darkness spells
• Arrow of Darkness
• Shar's Spear of Evening with it's special Shar's Darkness and Edge of Darkness actions.
• Dire Raven Companion at level 11 from Beast Master Ranger, with its flying mechanic.

The created field is special because it will cancel out most of the arrow projectiles, protecting anyone inside it. Of course, it can be buggy, and enemies can still throw stuff, or use ranged attack if they are elevated. There are a few sources of being able to see in the "Magical" Darkness:

• Devil's Sight
• Eyes of the Dark from Eyes of the Dark: Darkness
• Eversight Ring, Steel Watcher Helmet allow to see through magical darkness

With all of the requirements and conditions in mind, you can now use Darkness to your advantage. My recommendation is to position the Darkness field in two ways:

Cover enemies with the field - this is an excellent strategy when enemies are clumped together, and you are the one starting the combat. Cast Darkness on them, so that they would get Blinded and use the character that can see in it, and move together with them. Now you have an easy way to avoid enemies; they also cannot freely move, or you will hit them with Opportunity Attack.

The second option is to use it as a cover field. This is perfect for those situations where you want to take it slowly, there are no enemies that can see in the dark, and you might be overwhelmed by them otherwise. You can then stay in the Darkness field and once your turn starts, move out, hit enemies with spells or weapons, and go back. The NPCs will have to make a choice - should they go inside and gain Disadvantage or stay outside and skip their turn

Another cool thing is that you can use Darkness strategically, with characters that cannot see inside of it. For example, enemies that are inside the field have Blinded condition. Position your melee characters outside, so that enemies would have to attack with Disadvantage. They might also try to run away, which would allow you to use Opportunity Attack for an additional hit against them.

So the mechanic is very powerful, and I just grazed the surface of it here.

Using Minor Illusion

On the other hand, you can also use something like Minor Illusion​ to pull enemies together, changing their vision cones, and attacking with the same spell but hitting all of them. This is a very powerful cantrip that can be overlooked.

First, it does not break Invisibility or stealth (unless you get seen). Second, enemies, when not in combat, will chase it, meaning they will change their vision direction. Third, on most occasions, they will come closer to investigate the illusion.

This creates various opportunities like landing a powerful Area of Effect spell from a caster or scrolls, or hitting with wide attacks.

Level 4

Level 4 brings the first feat, it will be a huge improvement. Here you can select from a few choices, based on your playstyle and what kind of playthrough you are doing.

Feat	Description
Tavern Brawler​	If playing as an unarmed monk, this is one of the most powerful feats you can pick. This will require you to use Elixir of Hill Giant Strength to improve your strength and get full benefits.
Ability Improvement - +2 Dexterity	Another option is improving your dexterity, which is beneficial both for monk weapon attacks and unarmed attacks.

Level 5

This is a huge milestone for the Shadow Monk build as it unlocks a few powerful features.

Feature	Description
Extra Attack​	With the double attack, the build becomes significantly more powerful.

The Monk class also gains special action, giving a little bit of crowd control capabilities.

Actions	Description
Cloak of Shadows​	One of the best actions overall in the game. You will be able to enter combat with invisibility, easily creating Surprise rounds. Moreover, if the situation is dire, you can always use it to disappear and leave combat.
Stunning Strike (Melee)​	This can be activated when using melee weapons. Stun status makes the foes skip their turn.
Stunning Strike (Unarmed)​	It can be activated when using Unarmed attacks.  Stun status makes the foes skip their turn.

Cloaks of Shadows - ultimate ambush setup

With Cloak of Shadows unlocked, the Shadow Monk can become the ultimate ambusher and stealth character. You can use it in two ways:

1. Become invisible with Cloak of Shadows condition enabling you to get an easy Advantage. Use this to ambush an enemy before combat and activate Surprised round
2. Escape combat. Yeah, you can outright leave combat and break enemy AI. Activate the Cloak of Shadows, move slightly away, and see how enemies start searching for you. If they don't find you, then the encounter ends.

The second part is what opens the Shadow Monk for really powerful combat setups. For example, you can go in, remove an enemy, and leave combat. You will need to do this alone, because if party members get dragged into the fight, this no longer works.

You can then kill a few weaker foes before coming in with the whole party to gang up on the boss.

Level 6

This is another major level for Shadow Monk; you will gain another unique feature.

Feature	Description
Ki-Empowered Strikes​	You can now overcome physical resistances, as your fists count as magical attacks.
Improved Unarmoured Movement	Significantly increases movement speed by 4.5 meters.

The highlight of the level:

Actions	Description
Shadow Step​	This allows you to move freely between shadows. As it costs a bonus action, it can be used indefinitely without a spell slot or other limitations. This is a perfect way to reach enemy backlines or set yourself up before the combat starts. It also grants you an Advantage that will be useful for increasing hit chance.

Levels 7-10

Generally, this covers the Act 2 part of the game. This unlocks items that give a slight boost to a few builds, and you uncover a really interesting part of the story.

Level 7

The level unlocks a few class features

Feature	Description
Evasion​	Gives a huge survivability boost against spells.
Stillness of Mind	Allows for avoiding Charmed and Frightened conditions, making many combat encounters easier.

Level 8

The second feat of the build is unlocked, and an additional Ki Point has been added.

Feat

‹Unarmed setup›×

‹Monk Weapon›×

‹Shadow Blade›×

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Feat	Description
Alert​	Going first will allow you to jump on enemies and even stun them using Stunning Strike (Unarmed)​.
Ability Improvement - +2 Dexterity	You can add 2 points to a preferred stat. Remember if you are wearing The Graceful Cloth, it will work only up until 20 dexterity.

Feat	Description
Great Weapon Master: All In	This would be my go-to pick, if using Monk weapons - Cacophony and later if you plan on getting Shar's Spear of Evening or Selûne's Spear of Night.

Feat	Description
Savage Attacker	Pick this feat if you are using or plan to use Shadow Blade

Level 9

There are a few features that a monk obtains.

Feature	Description
Advanced Unarmoured Movement​	Can freely walk through Difficult Terrain, making it easier to reach foes. Perfect for situations where there is Ice, Grease, or other effects on the ground.

There is an unmentioned upgrade, the monk Martial Arts: Deft Strikes​ at level 9 gains 1d8 rolls, instead of 1d6. When using flurries, this is an additional 2~ points of damage per flurry.

Level 10

Here are other features that level 10 gives:

Feature	Description
Purity of Body​	A decent immunity, but overall nothing of high importance.
Improved Unarmored Movement	Your movement speed gets additionally improved by 6 meters.

Obtaining Resonance Stone

At this level, you will most likely reach Mind Flayer Colony, the goal here is to obtain Resonance Stone. This will prove vital later on, once you get Shadow Strike, as it will directly double the damage.

For now, I recommend putting this item into the stash, so that you would avoid the negative aspects of Steeped In Bliss for the upcoming fights.

Levels 11-12

This is where you will spend most of the time in Act 3. There will be an immense amount of content, and you can finish your builds and unlock extremely powerful gear.

Level 11

The capstone feature of the Shadow Monk is unlocked.

Action	Description
Shadow Strike​	This action only works when hidden or invisible; the damage bonus will be doubled using Resonance Stone.
Shadow Strike: Unarmed​

Using Shadow Strike

So the core idea of this build is to use the iconic Shadow Strike​ from Shadow Monk. With all of the setup that I talk about in this build, this is what it culminates to. However, there are a few caveats that I would like to cover:

1. It should be used only on enemies that are affected by Steeped In Bliss from Resonance Stone. If not, then don't use Shadow Strike​ as the double damage will not activate. So if you are attacking from a higher ground, check the enemy statuses. If there is no Steeped In Bliss, you will not get double damage.
2. You need to be in stealth or invisible. So I recommend either entering combat from stealth or using Shadow Arts: Hide​ to enter stealth and use the striking ability.

Level 12 - Multiclass into Warlock 1

The last level is there to optimize the build and to unlock additional armor proficiency (this will enable to wear armors like Bhaalist Armour) and a specific cantrip. First, you will need to multiclass into Warlock. Here is how it is done:

Class

Overview
Warlock
Features
Warlock Spell Slots	These spell slots can be used to cast spells and refill each Short Rest.

Cantrips

Cantrip	Description
Booming Blade​	The new cantrip can be used with a normal attack without any cost. When enemies move while under its effect, they receive thunder damage. In later levels, it gives a direct damage boost. So no reason not to use it every turn.
Friends​	Although risky to use, it can help immensely with dialogue checks, which are important. Do not cancel the cantrip near the target NPC, as they will attack you. Move away before doing that.

Subclass

Overview
The Hexblade
Features
Bind Hexed Weapon​	This action allows you to bind any melee weapon and makes you proficient in it. This also results in using Charisma modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. It also has a 20% chance to apply Hexblade's Curse​ without activating it.
Hexblade's Curse​	Using the bonus action, you can improve your damage and increase your crit chance.
Hex Warrior​	This passive is responsible for the multiple bonuses you get, specifically armor and shield proficiencies.

Spells

Spell	Description
Shield​	Extremely valuable spell, that helps avoid attacks. You can now replace Shield from the Eldritch Knight with another option via level up the next time.
Any	Using other spells would be a waste of spell slots, as their effects are minimal. Just take anything.

So Warlock ends up being used for:

• Armor proficiencies
• Shield
• Booming Blade

Generally, people take it for Bind Hexed Weapon, but here this is done for different reasons. 

Equipment Recommendations

Act 1

This covers the earliest part of the game, which generally spans Nautiloid, Wilderness, Underdark and the semi Act 1, or to be precise Act 1.5 - Rosymorn Monastery Trial.

Act 2

The main goal for this act is to obtain the Resonance Stone, which is available pretty late. So don't be in a hurry and enjoy all the stuff that you can encounter here.

Act 3 - Final Build setup

This is where you will unlock the strongest weapons and armors for most of the builds. It is split into two major parts, starting with Rivington and later reaching the huge area - Lower City itself.

Build Mechanics

In this section, I would like to dive deep into how to play the Shadow Monk. This will help you utilize it to the fullest and correctly use various actions and spells throughout the game.

Important Mechanics and Combos

Let's go through key mechanics and tips on how to effectively use the build.

Act 2 - Githzerai Mind Barrier

To have good resistances for some time against Intelligence checks, you can do a special mechanic late in Act 2 (illithid colony). This requires you to finish a puzzle and find a specific mind. First, go and complete the puzzle:

Once the doors are unlocked, go inside and pick up the Waking Mind:

Now, go back to the interface and place the mind. After that, you will be able to get the Githzerai Mind Barrier effect.

This is a great buff that will improve your saving throws, giving an Advantage on Intelligence. This will be extremely valuable in the upcoming fight. Sadly, it will disappear if you die, so try to avoid that.

Invisibility options

So this build does shine when using Invisibility. First, it allows starting with a Surprise round, giving you 1 turn Advantage which you can use to either kill or weaken enemies. Second, there are multiple ways of getting it:

• Potion of Invisibility - I think the most obvious one. If you can pickpocket or have plenty of gold, this option can be cheesy but effective.
• Invisibility​ - can be cast by various casters or activated via items.
• Cloak of Shadows​ - the iconic Shadow Monk feature, that allows one to become invisible at will.
• The Deathstalker Mantle - one of the key items that you obtain during the Dark Origin playthrough. You enter invisibility after each kill.
• Greater Invisibility​ - this is the most lucrative option. However, to use it you will want both proficiency and expertise in stealth, high dexterity, and stealth Advantage. With this effect, you can outright clean enemies without them even understanding what is happening. This requires a high-level caster like Bard, Sorcerer, or Wizard.

Combat Tactics and Rotation

Maximizing the Build - Abilities, Illithid, Consumables

This section I would like to dedicate to various optimizations that you can do to further empower your build. Various things like Illithid Powers, consumables can make the build from powerful to totally overpowered, trivializing the hardest game encounters

Maximizing Ability Scores

Ability Scores play an important role both in terms of how your attacks and spells land. Moreover, these can help to also reach extremely high skill rolls needed for a few checks.

1. Act 1 - Auntie Ethel's Hair - you will want to get +1 Dexterity if you pick this choice.
2. Feat - Ability Improvement - +2 Dexterity
3. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Dexterity.

This will allow you to reach 22 natural Dexterity. This is the maximum value. Without Auntie Ethel's Hair, you will reach 20.

Illithid Powers

This special mechanic in Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to consume tadpoles and unlock special Illithid Powers.

At first, you can only use the base powers. As you move to Act 3, you will be able to unlock the outer ring powers.

Illithid Power	Type	Description
Favourable Beginnings	Base	Beneficial power to take as it does not have any costs and provides only benefits on the first hits.
Luck of the Far Realms​	Base	Guarantees a critical hit, use it on important targets that you want to make sure are killed.
Psionic Overload​	Base	As this is Psychic damage, you will double it to 2d4 thanks to Resonance Stone.
Psionic Backlash	Base	A decent use for reaction to deal some bonus psychic damage.
Ability Drain​	Base	As you will be using Dexterity, this can help you to reduce enemy Armor Class and give an increased hit chance on the next attack.
Cull the Weak​	Base	Can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	As you are not a charisma-based character, these proficiencies help with dialogue checks.
Psionic Dominance​	Elite	Can be used to save yourself from a deadly spell. This is especially relevant as you will have a Disadvantage on mental saving throws.
Freecast​	Elite	Remove the cost of spell slots or charges.

Potions, Elixirs and Consumables

Let's take a look at what consumables you can use to further empower the build.

Potions

These are general consumables, and most of them are activated for a few turns. Potions are separate from Elixirs and can be active together.

Consumable	Description
Potion of Speed	You can chug this potion before combat, or during combat using a bonus action. It gives another action point that gives an additional attack or one more spell cast. Sadly, its duration is only 3 turns.
Oil of Accuracy	Can be used to enhance your hit chance on a weapon. The +2 bonus is pretty significant, especially when using Great Weapon Master: All In. Best used before combat to save bonus action.
Diluted Oil of Sharpness	Gives a bonus attack roll and damage. It is a good coating if you can apply it before combat to improve hit chances and get a slight damage boost.
Potion of Animal Speaking	Although not something powerful, it is worth stocking up and saving a spell slot.
Potion of Invisibility	Can be used to get a perfect position before the encounter starts. It can also help trigger Surprise rounds.

Elixirs

Unfortunately, only one Elixir can be active at a time. However, the good thing is that they last until a long rest, making them very useful and economical.

Be sure to activate them before combat, as otherwise, you will need to use a Bonus Action.

Consumable	Description
Elixir of Bloodlust	As you will be able to easily kill at least the weakest foe, this ensures additional attacks per turn. This is one of the most powerful options that you can use for a Shadow Monk build.
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even surprise mechanics.
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength	Sets strength value to 21 until the Long Rest. I recommend this elixir in the early game, while you are punching with fists and using Tavern Brawler​ feat. Here is a farming guide for Elixir of Hill Giant Strength

Conclusion and Credits

Thank you for reading the Way of the Shadow Monk build for Baldur's Gate 3. This is a truly unique build utilizing one of the late-game items to deal huge numbers of Psychic damage. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Cheers!