[RPG] Can a monk’s single staff be considered dual wielded, as per the Dual Wielder feat

dnd-5efeatsmonktwo-weapon-fighting

If a monk uses a staff and has the Dual Wielder feat, can they use a 1d6 attack for one hand then 1d6 attack bonus for the other, plus gaining +1 to AC for holding a melee weapon in each hand?

Seems a bit much to otherwise require 2 staves.

Best Answer

The Monk has to wield two staves to get the benefits you list

The Dual Wielder feat specifies (PHB, p. 165; emphasis mine):

You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.

So while the monk is using one staff, they don't gain this benefit, nor can one use Two-Weapon Fighting with a single weapon wielded in two hands (emphasis mine).

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.

With two staves, however, you can certainly benefit as you describe as Dual Wielder removes the requirement for light weapons:

You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren't light.

Is this too strong?

Using two staves in this way is no stronger (by itself) than any other dual-wielding combination with monk weapons, so there should be no issue.