PoE 2 Monk - Overview, Skills, and Guide

Path of Exile 2 is releasing the Monk, one of 6 new classes releasing alongside the original 6 classes. With new and orginial classes, the game will open up a lot more in terms of build diversity and character fantasy.

The Monk class is looking to add some separation between the class fantasy of the previous 6 classes.

In this guide, I’ll be covering everything we know about the Monk class and how it works. Let’s jump right in.

The Monk class is a new class with the INT/DEX attribute. This makes them start at the same location as the Shadow class, with proximity towards the Intelligence and Dexterity portions of the passive tree. (Top Right)

The Monk’s signature weapon is the Quarterstave (or Quarterstaff), with Unarmed also being a Monk specialty.

The staff is a caster weapon, with modifiers like Spell Damage, while the Quarterstave rolls attack modifiers. This means the Monk will be a “melee fighter, who specializes in mobility over brute strength.”

If the Passive Tree resembles PoE 1, the Dex area of the tree generally has more Cold Damage nodes, and Lightning Damage near the Int areas.

Defensive layers such as Energy Shield, Evasion, and Spell Suppression will also likely be easy to path toward as well.

Freeze/CC Mechanic Changes

In the video showcasing Monk gameplay, GGG also announced some changes to CC and Freeze mechanics. In Path of Exile 1, CC effects were binary, they either happened or didn’t.

Because of this, many bosses became freeze or CC immune. Otherwise, players would trivialize content with CC.

In Path of Exile 2, CC mechanics now have an internal meter. As you apply Freeze or other CC to a boss, this internal meter will build up until the boss is then CC’d. If you freeze a boss, the threshold will increase, meaning you need to apply more freeze before freezing them again. This increase will slowly decay.

This means that you can now reliably CC bosses in a more balanced way in PoE 2. Builds can now have some form of CC that is applicable even in the later stages of the game like Freeze, Stun, etc.

We’ve gotten a quick look at some Monk gameplay from GGG, showcasing different skills. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve seen thus far. Some skills in the image above weren’t shown in the showcase, and things are subject to change before Early Access.

• Falling Thunder

  • Strikes the ground with Lightning. Consumes Power Charges to increase AoE and damage.

• Culling Palm (Killing Palm?)

  • Culls enemies will low Health, granting Power Charges.

• Frozen Locus

• Tempest Flurry

• Staggering Palm

• Tempest Bell

• Wind Blast

  • Knocks enemies back with a blast of wind.

• Ice Strike

  • Strikes an enemy multiple times, freezing them.

• Glacial Cascade

  • Sends forth a cascade of ice, sending out spikes at the final location. The spike will deal increased damage to frozen enemies.

• Siphoning Strike

• Wave of Frost

  • Roll backward while sending out a wave of ice in front of you.

• Charged Staff

• Whirling Assault

  • Spins around, damaging enemies while moving.

• Shattering Palm

  • Puts an ice bomb on the target. When the target dies or enough damage is dealt, the bomb will explode.

• Flicker Strike

  • Consumes Power Charges to flicker between enemies, dealing damage.

In Path of Exile 2, there is a bigger emphasis on utilizing a variety of skills depending on the situation. If you need to retreat, using skills like Wind Blast or Wave of Frost will help you evade danger while dealing damage.

Other times, you may want to deal as much damage as possible. In these situations, you can use Ice Strike to freeze your target and then use Glacial Cascade to deal a larger chunk of damage.

Using Culling Palm on mobs will grant you Power Charges, buffing up your Falling Thunder or allowing you to use Flicker Strike.

With the new Skill Gem system, you’ll want to use a variety of skills in tandem to make the most out of your character. You may be able to strengthen you character enough to use only one skill to clear packs, but combining skills will help you deal more damage.

We don’t have information on the Ascendancy Classes for the Monk, but we do know there will be 3 different ones. The Monk is a INT/DEX class, so the Ascendancies will likely be thematic towards these attributes.

Since the Monk is also a mobile class, there’s a good chance one specialization further empowers this aspect. One might lean more into elemental damage, while another might increase survivability.

There’s a lot of possibilities for Ascendancy classes, and we’ll be sure to update this section when we get more information.

This wraps up everything we know about the Monk class in Path of Exile 2.

The Monk has access to a lot of mobility, making it very similar to Shadow, the other INT/DEX class. While the Shadow specializes in Traps, Monks will be a melee fighter that has access to elemental damage attacks.

This style of gameplay is similar to many builds in PoE 1, but in PoE 2, the Monk will be its own dedicated class.