Yesterday, Dungeons & Dragons' official channel posted an in-depth look at the classes in Baldur's Gate 3, bringing good news to Elemental Fist fans: Larian Studios' lead systems designer Nick Pechenin, Lead Systems Designer at Larian Studios, sat down with Todd Kendrick, Dungeon Master for D&D's video content, to discuss the classes and subclasses included in Baldur's Gate 3.

Pechenin touched on the Four Elemental Path Monk subclass, stating that he adjusted the Ki economy a bit at higher levels so that he would not run out of juice as a monk. Unfortunately, Pechenin did not give specific details on what changes were made, but given the state of the Four Elements Path Monk, any buffs are very significant.

For those without pen and paper knowledge, the Way of the Four Elements Monk, which I will start calling "Monk of the Elements" so I don't have to make you read it every time, has been something of a community punching bag since the 5th edition of the Players Handbook, released in 2014.

The concept is to be able to merge elemental strikes and martial arts as if they were out of Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is accomplished by giving the monk access to "Disciplines." Disciplines" allow the monk to cast flavorful spells using key points, a class resource. For example, the "Clench of the North Wind" discipline allows one to spend Ki points to cast Hold Person, binding the target to the spot.

In practice, this is the worst for two reasons. First, few of these options are better than just spending your turn to hit. Take, for example, the "North Wind Gnashing". It consumes your action and 3 points of energy to inflict the "paralyzed" condition on someone. If your opponent succeeds in saving throws, nothing happens and you have wasted your turn.

Alternatively, you can spend 2 points of Ki to attack several times and then use "Stunning Strike" to inflict "stunned" status. It is certainly less powerful, but there is no need to maintain "concentration" (which runs out anytime you take damage), and if the enemy resists, you can put even more Ki into other attacks and try again. Also, if the enemy resists, you can put more "chi" into other attacks." The "Hold Person" only works on humanoids, while the "Stunning Strike" works on those not immune to stun conditions.

The second reason is that these pseudo-spells consume too much Ki. With "Path of Shadows," powerful utility spells like "Passing Without a Trace" and "Silence" can be cast for only two points, while "Path of Open Hands" can be used to push down, depress, or remove an enemy's reaction ability for a turn.

This means that the Elements Monk consumes more Ki than his cousins for less powerful abilities. Fortunately, the version that will appear in Baldur's Gate 3 is bound to be much more powerful than its tabletop brethren. Punch wizards rejoice.

A few other interesting details were discussed in the interview: the druid's wild shape has been tweaked to scale well into the late game. This is a similar story to Beastmaster Ranger, whose pet grows in strength and even appearance.

Another surprising twist comes from the Oathbreaker Paladin, a subclass that is unlocked only by violating the Paladin's "Oath" doctrine. As a Paladin of Vengeance, you can't let the wicked go unpunished. You are an Oathbreaker. As a devoted paladin, you kick puppies. You are an Oathbreaker. As an Ancient Paladin, you shall burn trees." Put him in Oathbreaker Prison, and he shall not go, nor shall he collect 200 gold coins.

We already knew all this, but Pechenin made it clear that breaking the oath would not allow us to respec the character as we normally would, and noted that the team had asked themselves: "Of course, we can't do that. So you have to atone for your sins before you can respec." [It seems that tweaks were made here and there to transform Baldur's Gate 3 from a roundabout copy of the 5th edition ruleset into Larian's own homebrew campaign. I for one am glad to see Elements Monk finally get its rightful treatment, especially after watching it gather dust in the forgotten pages of my Player's Handbook for nearly a decade.