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Sunwuko Lashing Tail Kick Monk Guide

Last Updated: January 10th 2024

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Introduction

Sunwuko LTK Solo Push
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Welcome to the Sunwuko Lashing Tail Kick (LTK) Monk Guide. Little known fact: the set used by the build is actually called Monkey King's Garb, but since every single piece is called "Sunwuko's this" and "Sunwuko's that" everyone in the community just calls it Sunwuko.

Lashing Tail Kick is a very simple Spirit spender: Spirit goes in, AoE damage comes out. It is often competing with Wave of Light as they are very similar and share many multipliers (Monkey King's Garb (6) Bonus, Rabid Strike, Bindings of the Lesser Gods and The Crudest Boots).

Wave of Light usually wins because it has more dedicated Weapons (Incense Torch of the Grand Temple and Kyoshiro's Blade vs. Scarbringer), however Sunwuko builds have to dedicate a Weapon slot for Vengeful Wind, meaning that WoL build has to give up one of their weapons, which puts it at equal footing with Lashing Tail Kick.

While nearly all skills and items are the same as in the Sunwuko WoL build, it still plays differently due to the limitations imposed by Scarbringer. The build is unfortunately not the best fit for speedfarming, due to the small AoE of Lashing Tail Kick and the Rabid Strike bug. Yet, the build is overall very good for Nephalem Rifts (same as any Monk build with In-Geom), and fairly competitive on the Sunwuko Leaderboard.

Very Mobile ✔
Roundhouse Kicks ✔
Great at Keyfarming ✔
High Single Target Damage ✔

❌ Very Squishy
❌ Dependent on Pet AI
❌ Limited AoE Capabilities
❌ No Flexibility in Skill Choices

Core Setup

Core Item Build

Items

  • Sunwuko (2) Bonus gives 50% damage reduction when Sweeping Wind is active.
  • Sunwuko (6) Bonus gives 1,500% increased damage for each Sweeping Wind stack for a total of 4,500%. Vengeful Wind increases the maximum number of stacks to 13 and this bonus to 19,500%.
  • Captain Crimson's Trimmings (2) Bonus gives 20% Cooldown Reduction and Resource Cost Reduction.
  • Captain Crimson's Trimmings (3) Bonus increases our damage by our Cooldown Reduction percentage and decreases our damage taken by our Resource Cost Reduction percentage.
  • Scarbringer gives 600% increased Lashing Tail Kick damage against the first 7 enemies hit.
  • Rivera Dancers give 50% multiplicative Attack Speed to Lashing Tail Kick and increase its damage by 300%.
  • Ring of Royal Grandeur completes our Sunwuko and Captain Crimson's Trimmings set bonuses.

Season 30 Soul Shards

Soul Shards are powerful socketable items that initially dropped during Season 25 but they are returning for Season 30! There are 4 available for Weapons based on the Lesser Evils, with another 3 for Helmets based on the Prime Evils. They drop at Rank 0 and be upgraded three times with the brand new Hellforge Embers to unlock additional powers, or be used in the Kanai's Cube as Augments. Here's how they progress:

  • Rank 0: Soul Shards begin with a unique static Legendary Power. Creates a Rank 50 Augment.
  • Rank 1: Gives all powers from the normal gems. Creates a Rank 75 Augment.
  • Rank 2: Grants one additional powerful stat. Creates a Rank 100 Augment.
  • Rank 3: Unlocks 1 of 3 bonus Legendary Powers unique to that Soul Shard. Creates a Rank 125 Augment.

Warning: Leoric's Crown and Broken Crown do not work with Soul Shards!

Read our Soul Shards Guide written by Chewingnom for full details on how they work. What you should prioritize on them for Solo Pushing is the following:

  1. The Correct Soul Shard & Rank 3 Power
    The best shards for Solo Pushing are:
    • Helmets: We want to use Sliver of Terror for the massive damage buff from our abilities on cooldown. For the Rank 3 power take the Ring of Fire to unleash a devastating AoE blast for big leaderboard pushes!
    • Weapons: We want to use Dregs of Lies for the massive bonus damage to Pets. For the Rank 3 power, go for the stacking Pet Damage effect for another major power boost!
  2. The Rank 2 Stat
    The stats that come from the second upgrade are not equal. Here's what we're looking for on them:
    • Helmets: We want either Main Stat for damage or Melee/Ranged Damage Reduction to survive. Avoid Armor and All Resistance as their stat ranges are far too low compared to the others options.
    • Weapons: We want Physical Damage to boost our character's power the furthest. Avoid Attack Speed and Critical Hit Chance as their stat ranges are too low compared to the others.
  3. The Stat Ranges on the Rank 1 and 2 Powers
    This is just icing on the cake because the ranges will not make or break your build. Still, look for the Soul Shards with the best stat ranges, especially on the offensive stats.

For the other game modes, other Soul Shards can be used. Check the Variants below to see what's used there.

What about extra Soul Shards? Either salvage them for gems, or upgrade and use them in Kanai's Cube for Augments.

Global Stat Priorities

Our offensive priorities are: Physical Damage > Critical Hit Chance > Cooldown Reduction > Critical Hit Damage > Area Damage, along with as much Lashing Tail Kick damage as possible. We need the Cooldown to keep Epiphany up at all times and to gain damage from our Captain Crimson's Trimmings (3) Bonus. In the push build Cooldown Reduction and Resource Cost Reduction become interchangeable stats thanks to Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac, the former gives you more damage, the latter - defense. You need at least 55% CDR to reset Epiphany comfortably but beyond that you can choose between more CDR or RCR.

Assembling the Build

Item Stat Priorities

Gems

Skills

Passives

Paragon Points

Altar of Rites

Follower

Gameplay

Hardcore

Variants

Nephalem Rifts
GR Solo Push
T16

Concept
In T16 build we have enough damage without Rabid Strike and pet items so instead we use In-Geom for mobility and Gyana Na Kashu for damage boost and extra AoE coverage via fireballs.

Gameplay
The section above describes everything in detail. This build can be very fast but only if you utilize Epiphany teleports and high Attack Speed to their fullest. Practice looking for enemies to jump to at the edge of your screen to maximize your effective movement speed.

Setups
If you're feeling brave, drop Goldwrap and The Crudest Boots for Captain Crimson's Trimmings. This will give you more damage and Cooldown Reduction but you will be very squishy, with "kill them before they can kill you" being your only real defense. Serenity Ascension instead of Mantra of Healing will be your other way of not dying.

If you're playing in groups, equip Nemesis Bracers and change Stone of Jordan into Avarice Band. On the Rift Guardian fight swap The Crudest Boots and Gyana Na Kashu for Cain's Destiny. You can also change In-geom to Rabid Strike at the same time to make the fight shorter.

Solo Push

Concept
Pushing build uses Rabid Strike and a bunch of pet multipliers: Bindings of the Lesser Gods, The Crudest Boots and Enforcer. Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac holds the entire build together by letting us maintain 100% Epiphany uptime and providing Spirit via Air Ally spam.

Gameplay
Follow the DPS rotation described in the Gameplay section above. Unlike many other push builds, you don't want to fight too many enemies at once because it'll likely get you killed and Scarbringer only buffs damage against 7 targets. Focus on making small to medium sized pulls and only move when almost everything is dead.

Many of the Rift Guardians will do unspeakable things to you that are illegal in at least 18 different countries if you try to facetank them, so you need to stay at range. Position yourself 10-15 yards away from the RG and use Force Stand Still to attack while keeping your mouse away from the boss. This way you will still hit it, triggering Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac and Bane of the Stricken but you won't Epiphany teleport into melee range. This also allows your Mystic Ally and the Follower to tank the boss for you.

Setups
This build has major survivability issues with no good way to fix them. You can replace Bane of the Trapped with Esoteric Alteration but that only helps vs elites. Your other option is dropping Dashing Strike for Serenity Ascension, but in that case you will have to rely only on Epiphany teleports for mobility. Another good way to gain toughness is dropping some Area Damage rolls in favor of Resource Cost Reduction.

At high Paragon (4,000+) you can drop Unity for Convention of Elements and give Hand of the Prophet to your Enchantress.

Video Guide

Mechanics

Rabid Strike

Gyana Na Kashu

Bindings of the Lesser Gods

Summary

  • Put together the core items and acquire the full Sunwuko set.
  • Stack 55%+ Cooldown Reduction and pay attention to your Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac procs.
  • Use Epiphany teleport to fly through the rifts.

Credits

Written by Northwar.
Reviewed by wudijo & Raxxanterax.

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