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PoE 2 Build

[0.5] Giga Bonk Martial Artist - Flicker / Falling Thunder Monk - League Starter to Endgame

End Game

0.5 RotA

By FGKorbyn21

Updated on Jun 23, 2026

Jun 23, 2026

Build Overview

Here's my guide for my Martial Artist Bell Master League Starter and Endgame Build for Patch 0.5! This is a Work in Progress so expect rapid changes early on! I've included Leveling Variants and Budget Variants, just scroll through the Variants!

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🚨Work in Progress, be sure to come by the Twitch Stream for the Newest Skill Tree and Gems as I'm changing it to test new things!🚨

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🚨I've included a League Starter Leveling Guide, Early Mapping Guide, and Endgame Guide to cover your run on Monk from Start to Finish. Click the appropriate Tab for Gear and the Passive Tree🚨

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New Power Charge Tech Here

In the Endgame, we'll use Shattering Palm + Living Lightning II + Culmination II + Ailith's Chimes to generate Power Charges on Hit for FREE! We'll hit a target with Shattering Palm, this will trigger Living Lightning II minions which will expend built Combo when hitting targets thanks to the Martial Master node. This combo is then consumed by Ailith's Chimes for Power Charges. Simply enter map, press Shattering Palm a couple times and you have Charges!

We'll use these Power Charges with Falling Thunder + Nova Projectiles II for 360° Clear! This will be our main Bossing and Mapping Skill. Bonk with Falling Thunder, then recharge your Charges with 1 press of Shattering Palm on enemies, then bonk again!

The new Way of the Stonefist Ascendancy Node will allow our Gloves to be transformed into new and stronger versions of themselves! This will provide things like Explode Corpses for Damage, Onslaught on Hit, + to Crit Chance, and More!

We'll also use Martial Adept + Martial Master to build up Combo from ALL our hits and twice as fast. For every 1 Combo we consume, we reduce our Energy Shield Recharge Rate by 0.2 seconds, so 10 combo consumed = -2 seconds before ES Recharge starts. We spam Combo skill so CONSTANT ES recharge!

Our Defenses were Buffed in 0.5 with Deflection and Evasion getting some MASSIVE improvements. We'll be around 6K Energy Shield, 77% Evasion, and 95% Deflect on top of Chaos Immunity with Chaos Inoculation and Instant ES recovery with Shavronne's Satchel + Ultimate Life Flask with Instant Recovery. We'll also have a Companion with Spirit Vessel from the Forgotten Warden Body Armor. This Companion will eat 10% of Damage taken and 15% of Deflected Hit Damage for a massive Damage Reduction!

Filter's I use (Shoutout Mr9Lives) - Here

Strengths and Weaknesses

Nuke Bosses
Insane Clear Speed
Flexible Skill Choices
Flashy

Tougher League Start
Riskier Playstyle (Skill Diff, just lock in)
Kinda Squishy until CI

Build Variants

Final Variant - Giga Invest Bonk

Late Endgame Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

Mid Endgame - Chaos Inoculation Swap

Please Read, Monk is not a braindead 1 Button Build for the most part. Lack of reading will make this a painful experience.....

New Power Charge Tech Here

This will be the Giga Investment version of the build that we'll build towards. Lots of very expensive items here but not needed, just would be nice to have.

This variant will use Combo from Martial Adept + Martial Master to provide us Infinite Power Charges and a ridiculous amount of Damage with Culmination II and Ailith's Chimes. We'll be able to build Combo with ALL Attack hits, meaning a 24/7 uptime on ES Recharge, Power Charges, and 40% MORE Damage (Culmination II).

We'll use the Rite of Passage and Mageblood for a massive Mapping Power Spike once we can afford them. We'll also use Rakiata's Flow to save us some Elemental Penetration nodes and gear affixes. Raven-Touched Shard will allow us an additional Anoint, I went with Subterfuge Mask but pick whichever you like.

Around this time we should be able to swap off of Breath of Aldur since we'll have more than enough damage to Freeze enemies. This allows us to use something like Soul Core of Xopec, Saqawal's Rune of the Sky, or Farrul's Rune of the Hunt.

This variant will use Shattering Palm + Living Lightning II + Culmination II + Ailith's Chimes to generate Power Charges on Hit for FREE! We'll hit a target with Shattering Palm, this will trigger Living Lightning II minions which will expend built Combo when hitting targets thanks to the Martial Master node. This combo is then consumed by Ailith's Chimes for Power Charges. Simply enter map, press Shattering Palm a couple times and you have Charges!

Equipment

Final Variant - Giga Invest Bonk

Late Endgame Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

Mid Endgame - Chaos Inoculation Swap

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

Quarterstaff:

DO NOT BUY THE Dreaming Quarterstaff !!!!!! This is a 0% Critical Hit Chance Base and will destroy your DPS!!!!

Prioritize these Affixes:

- Adds # to # Damage to Attacks (Cold > Lightning > Fire)

- % Increased Elemental Damage with Attacks

- + to Level of Melee / Attacks

- +% to Crit Chance

- % to Critical Damage Bonus / % Increased Attack Speed

Prioritize Highest Elemental DPS, Critical Hit Chance (Sinister Quarterstaff), + Level of All Melee / Attack Skills, and Critical Damage Bonus. Socket with Farrul's Rune of the Hunt and Xopec's Soul Core of Power. No need for Breath of Aldur since we'll have more than enough Cold Damage at this point.

Body Armor:

We'll be swapping to the Forgotten Warden as this provides as much EV/ES as a really good Rare Body Armor all while costing less than 1 Divine. The Companion from the Skill on the Body will take 10-15% of Deflected hits damage so a nice 15% Damage Reduction alongside the support gems in the companion for more Defense Tech.

Our Deflection Rating will also increase when we lose ES so we should be insanely tanky with this Body Armor. I've socketed 1 Idol of Eramir for Charge Consumption Efficiency, 1 Rune of Foundations for EV/ES, and 1 Rabbit Idol for Rarity if you have 3rd Socket.

Use a Perfect Jeweler's Orb on Spirit Vessel for the 5th socket unless its corrupted (No 5th Socket then).

Gloves:

This is one of the most important pieces of our build now thanks to Way of the Stonefist.

Added Damage -> Gain Extra Damage as ____ - Increased Crit Bonus -> + to Base Crit Chance (Massive Increase) - +2 Level of Melee -> +1 Level of Melee & 10% to All Skill Quality

Prioritize these Affixes:

- + / % Increased Defense -> % More EV/ES or + EV/ES per Level

- % Magnitude of Poison / Bleed -> % Chance to Explode Corpses

- % Increased Critical Damage Bonus -> +% to Crit Chance

- % Increased Attack Speed -> % Chance for Onslaught on Hit

- + Level of Melee -> + Level of Melee and % Increased Skill Quality

For Giga Investment , go for Single/Double Chance to Explode Corpses (From Magnitude of Bleed/Poison Mod). This is INSANE clear speed and QoL. Still get + 2 Melee and Crit Bonus, otherwise flexible options. Gain Extra Damage here is fine, but we already deal enough so clear is better now.

Helmet:

If using Raven-Touched Shard, go Pure ES Helmet. If not using it, go EV / ES Hybrid Helmet!

Prioritize these Affixes:

- + / % Increased Energy Shield

- % Increased Critical Hit Chance

- +% Res / Attributes / Rarity

Get the highest ES or EV / ES Helmet as possible. Raven-Touched Shard is not required but was a nice Defensive Boost.

Boots:

Prioritize these Affixes:

- Skills have 10-15% chance to not remove Charges but still count as Consuming them

- 30-35% Increased Movement Speed

- + / % Increased Evasion and Energy Shield

- % Gain Deflection Rating

- +% Res / Attributes / Rarity

Its beneficial to get the Uhtred's Sidereus Chronomancy Mod for Chance to Not Remove Charges as this'll make uptime for all of our Charge Consuming Skills more consistent. Not required, but makes a big QoL difference.

Belt:

This slot is up to you, but I recommend the Shavronne's Satchel up until you can afford Mageblood or Headhunter. With an Instant Recovery Flask, you can heal your ES with Shavronne's Satchel which is great.

I went with Mageblood since I got one from Ritual. I went with Diamond, Quicksilver, Silver, and Jade to provide 30% MS, +2000 EV, 75% Increased Crit, and 30% Skill Speed.

Amulet:

You can use whatever type of Amulet you prefer, still undecided on Final Giga invest Amulet for now. Between Absent Amulet, Distorted Amulet, or just a regular Amulet.

Prioritize these Affixes:

- % Increased Evasion Rating / Energy Shield / Global Defenses

- + Level of All Melee Skills

- % Increased Crit Chance / Bonus

- +% Res / Attributes / Rarity

Anoint Thaumaturgic Generator if you're rich for extra passive Frenzy, Endurance, and Power Charges to fuel Charge Regulation. Otherwise take a budget anoint like Critical Exploit, Serrated Edges, Vulgar Methods, etc.....

Rings:

Prioritize these Affixes:

- Adds Damage to Attacks (Any but Phys > Cold > Lightning > Fire)

- +% Res / Attributes / Rarity

Get whatever damage you can, then cover those Resistances / Attributes / Rarity.

You'll need 1 line of Leech Phys Damage as Mana on either Weapon, Gloves, or Rings to make Oisín's Oath work!!!!

Jewels:

I use the Heart of the Well which can give Gain Extra Damage as Chaos for HUGE Damage. Expect to spend BIG for a two line Gain Extra Damage but it makes and insane boost. Increased Mana Cost Efficiency is also a GREAT line to reduce Mana Cost of Skills!

I like to use a Time-Lost Sapphire with Critical Hit Chance and place it next to Stupefy to allow all the Nodes around that area to grant us extra bonuses. Not required by would take this at some point since there's so many Notables we take around this Jewel Socket. The new Voices Jewel will probably be used, need to acquire and test.

The Uber Jewel I will use is a Megalomaniac with an Offensive and Defensive Notable.

I like Defensive Nodes such as Subterfuge Mask, Pocket Sand, The Wild Cat, Afterimage, Inner Faith, Patient Barrier, Chakra of Breathing, and Storm Driven.

I like Offensive Nodes such as Harness the Elements, Stormbreaker, Overwhelming Strike, Sundering, Deadly Flourish, Reaching Strike, and Rapid Strike.

These are just a few but I wanted to give examples as you don't have to have the same Notables as me. There are better options out there!

Skill Gems

Final Variant - Giga Invest Bonk

Late Endgame Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

Mid Endgame - Chaos Inoculation Swap

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 35

Dex 95

Int 60

Falling Thunder

Level 20

Shattering Palm

Level 20

Charged Staff

Level 20

Flicker Strike

Level 20

Mantra of Destruction

Level 20

Herald of Ice

Level 20

Wind Dancer

Level 20

Charge Regulation

Level 20

Spirit Vessel

Gem Priority

+39

Mapping -

New Power Charge Tech Here

We'll use Shattering Palm + Living Lightning II + Culmination II + Ailith's Chimes to generate Power Charges on Hit for FREE! We'll hit a target with Shattering Palm, this will trigger Living Lightning II minions which will expend built Combo when hitting targets thanks to the Martial Master node. This combo is then consumed by Ailith's Chimes for Power Charges. Simply enter map, press Shattering Palm a couple times and you have Charges!

Once you have Charges, use Falling Thunder or Flicker Strike then refill charges with Shattering Palm. Feel free to use Mantra of Destruction to boost your Damage whenever needed as well. Remember, once we consume 20 total combo, our ES recharge will start INSTANTLY so spam these combo skills.

Herald of Ice will go off when we kill Frozen targets, this mainly activates from Flicker Strike and / or Falling Thunder.

The Spirit Vessel Companion will eat 15% of Deflected hit damage alongside 10% of Damage thanks to Romira's Requital. I'll use Amanamu's Tithe so when he dies we can get an Abyss Mod and Catha's Brilliance so he'll blind enemies in his presence.

Bossing -

Bossing has a lot of options, I'll be using Falling Thunder with the new Breachlord's Amalgam Lineage for 2x Damage. Simply walk into the Arena, get Power Charges from the Living Lightning II Tech, buff yourself with Charged Staff, get some more Charges, press Mantra of Destruction and then BONK with Falling Thunder. If whatever you hit lived, hit another Shattering Palm and go again.

Feel free to swap Breachlord's Amalgam in when only Pinnacle Bossing / As Needed as the Cooldown is jank to manage when mapping!

Passive Tree

Final Variant - Giga Invest Bonk

Late Endgame Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

Mid Endgame - Chaos Inoculation Swap

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Passive Tree Breakdown -

We focus on Nodes to Stack Maximum Power Charges like Overflowing Power and The Power Within. You'll need to get our Critical Hit Chance as high as possible with Nodes like Moment of Truth, True Strike, Struck Through, etc...

Stack ES, EV, and Deflection using Enhanced Reflexes, High Alert, and Mindful Awareness so we have a sufficient Hit Pool when mapping. Build Blind usingDistracted Target to increase our DPS and help cap our Critical Hit Chance out. This will also increase our Evasion Rating and Accuracy against Blinded Targets.

Chaos Inoculation will make us Immune to Chaos Damage and allow us to go with Shavronne's Satchel with an Instant Recovery Flask for ES Sustain early on.

Conservative Casting will help mitigate the Mana Leech nerf, Abasement and Shimmering Mirage will prevent you from being Stunned or affected by Ailments all the time.

Ascendancy Points -

Take Way of the Stonefist for GIGA OP Gloves, Martial Adept for Instant ES Recharge and x2 Combo, Martial Master to allow ALL attacks to build combo for 24/7 uptime on Culmination II / Ailith's Chimes / Chakra of Impact, and Runic Meridians for 5 extra Rune sockets.

Atlas Tree

Final Variant - Giga Invest Bonk

Late Endgame Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

Mid Endgame - Chaos Inoculation Swap

Quest Rewards

Check which quests you’ve completed on your character

Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack

+10% to Cold Resistance

Hunting Grounds — The Crowbell

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Freythorn — The King in the Mists

+30 to Spirit

Ogham Farmlands — Una's Hut

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite

+20 to maximum Life

Keth — Kabala, Constrictor Queen

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Valley of the Titans — Medallion

30% increased Charm Effect Duration

+1 Charm Slot

Deshar — Final Letter

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan

+10% to Lightning Resistance

Jungle Ruins — Mighty Silverfist

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught

25% increased Stun Threshold

Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant

+10% to Fire Resistance

The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch

+30 to Spirit

The Molten Vault — The Molten Vault

Reforging Bench

Aggorat — Blood Sacrifice

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Journey's End — Captain Hartlin

Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Skill Gem(Lv 13)

Delirium Drop

Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest

5% increased Maximum Mana

Halls of the Dead — Yama The White

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test

+5% to Lightning Resistance

Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice

30% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks

Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test

+5% to Cold Resistance

Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test

+5% to Fire Resistance

Halls of the Dead — Tribal Medicine

30% increased Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield

Wolvenhold — Oswin, the Dread Warden

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

The Khari Crossing — Akthi and Anundr

Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine

5% increased Maximum Life

Qimah — Tabana's Pillar

15% increased Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield

Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear

+40 to Spirit

Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

How it Plays

See YT Videos!

How it Works

See YT Videos!

Changelog

6/23/26 - Updated ALL Endgame variants providing more clarity on what mods to prioritize. Updated to match Final Update changes with a video to come within a day or two.

6/20/26 - Updated descriptions, added Shark Fin Reward. Update video coming soon!

6/7/26 - Added link to new video, added new Body Armor Forgotten Warden (Cheap and OP). Updated descriptions further and corrected some typos.

6/7/26 - Added new Power Charge Tech which replaces Whirling Assault with Shattering Palm. Check the Tech out! Updated all Endgame variants to match. Added new info for Giga Invest variant revolving around Mageblood. Lots of other minor changes.

6/2/26 - Added new video going over New Power Charge Tech and the new Breachlord's Amalgam Lineage Gem. Updated Variants

6/2/26 - Did major updates to all variants to match the changes we've made due too the testing in 0.5. PoB file removed until I give it a full update, new YT video coming in a day or two to go over newest changes.