Monkey Grip: Worth it?

[Imbrifer]

Hey folks,

I'm considering getting the 'Monkey Grip' feat on my paladin (Sol Orm'Leren, if you've met her). My question is: is the -2 to attack worth it?

Would I be swinging at air all the time, or would I still be able to dish it out decently, relative to just using a two handed weapon?

Just trying to learn a bit. Thanks!

[Peridan]

Eh. Hard to say. The question is really: do you absolutley need that shield bonus? If so, then go for it, you'll find a way to hit if your base attack is high enough. If not, I'd advise you to stay away from it. To give you an example:

My scythe warrior does an average of 24 dmg per hit without the shield.

With it, he does about 16-18

with power attack, around 30

[nickbeat]

I'm a big fan of versatility, so it is nice to have that tower shield for when things get rough. If you are putting feats into greatsword, then it might make sense to get monkygrip so you can keep that weapon focus/specialization/improved crit/ etc.

If you have no feats invested in it, then you might as well just choose another one hander.

[sharringtonm]

One thing you should consider if your going to follow Nickbeats example.. is its not a -2 to attack.. its a -4. You get -2 for the monkey grip and another -2 for tower shield.

Now as for is it worth it? Yes. Its awesome for intimidation and RP when you walk up duel wielding greatswords or great axes or even scythes. People don't usually talk to much smack to a person like that.

[sparkeh]

Take it just 'cos its cool

[Silas North]

Think of it being similar to Weapon Expertise (without a 13+ INT requirement).

As nick said, its great for versatility. Grab that greatsword, greataxe, or scythe with both hands and power attack when you need damage. Whip that shield out when you are surrounded or dealing with a particularly deadly foe. You only suffer the MG penalty when you are holding that two-handed weapon in one hand.

I personally believe it is only worth it if you are playing with a full, or near full, BAB character. Battle-oriented clerics are not a bad choice either, especially if you going for the Stormlord class.

One thing I wonder about. Did they actually make giant weapons (that you can supposedly wield if you have the MG feat) in NWN2? And if so, what kind of damage are we talking about?

[nickbeat]

Yeah, imagine the tower shield and Weapon Expertise together? You end up with -8 AB in exchange for +10 AC. This gives a lot of flexibility.

[Mighty_Draco]

Actually... monkey grip's one of the worst feats there is speaking from the optimizational perspective. -2 to attack for about 1-2 extra damage on average is painful. If you happen to be heavily focused on a two handed weapon, it could be justified by the fact that it can open up a shield arm while you still hold your weapon. As a general rule though, you're better off power attacking a smaller weapon then trying to hold a weapon that's too big in one hand.

[GRCrush]

An additional consideration Is taking in to account what one is weilding in their offhand. For example Kemenbi has monkey grip for the sole puprose of using the mechatarge lite shield which adds +3 ac and +2 wisdom while only applying a -1 additinal ab penalty yet giving me extra spells slots because of the wisdom increase. In the end I agree with nick I love flex builds that allow me to swap from full power output to a stand like a fortress tank. So I often have power attack on one end and combat expertise and moneky grip on the other with several weapon shiled or duel wield combos set in my hot bar.

[GRCrush]

An If you wonder why doesnt Kem just use a smaller weapon then in his primary hand. Its because Kem was rasied as a harpoon fishermans son and later became a Stormlord. The spear is the weapon he grew up with and trained with his whole life. So basically it is also done to maintain a persona

[Maevan2]

One of my characters has taken combat expertise and as that worked well even the improved version and was quite happy with those feats.
After the natural AC changes in the last patch the -6 AB from improved expertise are too much to hit anything. But the more enemies you fight at the same time the more important AC gets. It might take longer to kill them. But the chance to win a fight i usually better, even if you are facing a single but tought enemy. Just to give you an idea: going to the necroplis on his was own on level 6 was no problem.

So i would say that monkey grip isn't a bad feat either. And wielding a spear and a small shield really looks cool!

[Lollercide]

Should I come across a shield in an acceptable means in RP I'd take Monkey Grip to Greatsword + Shield. Though, I often think of how awesome it'd be to use two greatswords..

[MKartMaster]

Should I come across a shield in an acceptable means in RP I'd take Monkey Grip to Greatsword + Shield. Though, I often think of how awesome it'd be to use two greatswords..

With penalties of -8/-10 w/out TWF and -6/-6 w/ TWF, I question the viability of that build. The coolness, however, is indisputable. Cloud can kiss your ass.

[SallowHeart]

I have never taken the monkey grip feat because it didn't really fit into any of my characters RP. I would say that to take that feat, there has to be an RP reason for it, such as what Kemnebi has.

[Peridan]

That, or the character is really strong =P