Diablo 3 is a very gear-driven game. Like it or not, you’re not going to get too far if you don’t know how to prioritize stats and equip the proper gear for your objective, which in this case is simply survival.

We’ve already discussed a reliable survival build in Section 7, so now let’s take a look at how to properly gear your monk for Inferno.

Inferno Gear Tips

Let’s take a look at what you should be searching for in terms of gear to really make this build work well.

Tip #1: Something to keep in mind when looking for gear is that typically the most expensive items are going to be those that have everything you could ever want all on the same piece of gear. You can often save an enormous amount of gold when shopping the AH by purchasing gear with the big picture in mind. Instead of trying to get all your favorite stats on each piece of gear, purchase pieces that are very high in a couple stats but lack others. They will usually be a lot cheaper.

For example, instead of looking for a ring with a decent amount of attack speed, life on hit, dexterity and vitality all on the same item, focus your objective. Look for a ring with a huge amount of just attack speed and life on hit and seek to stack the dex and vit on your other ring, at the exclusion of attack speed and LoH. This way, you end up with the same total amount of stats but you avoid paying the premium charged for having them all in the same place.

Tip #2: Something else to keep in mind is that you will be able to get very high resists if you choose pieces that have both +All Resistances as well as +(Stacked Resist). You’re essentially getting double resists for the item because of your One With Everything talent.

Ok, now let’s take a look at specific gear slots and discuss exactly what you should be looking to equip and why.

Weapon – When it comes to a weapon setup, I recommend using a 1-handed weapon along with a good shield. The shield is going to provide you with over 1000 extra armor, which is going to make a big differernce in your abilitiy to survive tough situations. Remember that amor reduces ALL incoming damage, no matter the source.

Some people prefer to use a 2-handed weapon for the Acts 1 and 2 and switch to a sword/shield or dual-wield with high LoH for the later acts. It’s really up to your play-style. If you want to take it a little slower with some extra damage mitigation, go with the sword and shield from the beginning.

Whichever way you go, remember that with a weapon, DPS is king. Stats are great to have, but when you’re a little strapped for gold and need to get a solid weapon, focus on overal dps, +dmg and dmg %.

A good example of a killer starter 2H weapon is this:

Grim Dread Lance of Blight

1235.6 DPS
+268-550 Poison Damage
+43% Damage
92,000 gold

This is an awesome weapon that will serve you very well throughout Act 1 and probably through most of Act 2, assuming you have some other pieces of gear providing you the necessary dex, vit, and resists. And for 92,000 gold, it won’t break the bank.

If you can find a weapon with a socket for a decent price, throw a high-quality amethyst into it for some LoH. Even better would be a weapon with LoH as an affix. Unfortunately, both of these features usually result in very expensive weapons…but if you see a deal, grab it!