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PoE 2 Build

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

Monk

Martial Artist

End Game

Starter

0.5 RotA

Creator

By FGKorbyn21

Updated on Jun 8, 2026

Jun 8, 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 to hit targets and build Combo 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!

Pick your favorite mapping skill to pair with this build! I suggest either Flicker Strike, Falling Thunder + Nova Projectiles I, or Whirling Assault + Tribal Fury. All are effective, just down to preference. I'll be using a hybrid of Flicker Strike + Falling Thunder.

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 7K Energy Shield, 80% 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.

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)
Squishy until CI

Build Variants

Giga Invest Bonk / Flicker

Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

CI + 4th Ascendancy

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

See my in-depth Campaign Guide for a zone by zone walkthrough!

This variant will use Quarterstaff Strike / Wind Blast , Falling Thunder, and Killing Palm / Wing Blast to get the build up and running.

You'll use Killing Palm to Cull enemies for Power Charges and Wing Blast to Heavy Stun enemies for Power Charges. These Charges will fuel Falling Thunder for MASSIVE burst DPS. Rend can also be used for Gain 50% of Damage as Lightning before using Falling Thunder. This can be dropped if you don't want another button.

Use Pounce for Movement Speed in Wolf Form and to jump gaps that you typically can't. Purely used for Movement, can drop if you don't want another button.

Take Herald of Thunder as your first Spirit Buff to help your clear speed. We'll eventually spec into Hollow Palm Technique which will provide us with INSANE Attack Speed and Critical Hit Chance until it falls off around Act 4 / Interludes.

Equipment

Giga Invest Bonk / Flicker

Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

CI + 4th Ascendancy

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

+10

Cold Resistance is really good in Act 1 to help in the Count Geonor Boss Fight. Try to get some on your gear pieces before fighting him!

Quarterstaff:

You'll start off with a Wrapped Quarterstaff but you'll want to upgrade to a Long Quarterstaff ASAP and use your Orb of Transmutation and Augmentation on it. This weapon will carry till your Level 11 Base Gothic Quarterstaff.

Go for any Added or Increased Damage that you can, Attack Speed and Life on Hit are also great for QoL here.

Talisman:

Take any Talisman that you can here as its important to use Wolf Form on Weapon Set 2 for Movement Speed. Wolf Form Passively gives 30% Movement Speed when not Sprinting which is great for Dodge Movement through zones.

Go for any Added or Increased Damage that you can, Attack Speed and Life on Hit are also great for QoL here. + Level of Melee Skills is nice but watch that Mana Consumption!

Body Armor:

I prefer Armor over Evasion or Energy Shield early on as this mitigates a lot of the damage we'll take since we're in everything's face. Eventually we'll swap but this feels the best in early Acts.

Take any Armor with Maximum Life and + / % Armor first, then start worrying about Resistances and Attributes. Cold Resistance early on is great for making the Count Geonor fight easier. Stun Threshold is also an underrated pick since avoiding stuns early on when smacking stuff is great.

Gloves:

Take any Gloves with Added Damage to Attacks, this will be one of our biggest DPS sources so any early on will make your Melee League Start experience a bit easier.

I'd prefer an Armor Base but take any Added Damage early on, Maximum Life and Attack Speed is also really nice. + Level of Melee Skills is nice but watch that Mana Consumption!

Helmet:

I'd prefer an Armor Base here, try to get Maximum Life alongside some Resistances and Attributes. Stun Threshold is also an underrated pick since avoiding stuns early on when smacking stuff is great.

Boots:

Take any Boots with Movement Speed as this will allow you to move through zones quicker and just make your QoL better.

Amulet:

Take any Amulet that you get IF you get one this early. You'll get a guranteed one from the League Mechanic in the Tomb of the Consort.

I like getting Attributes here as managing our Strength, Dex, and Int early on can be a little tough. Any other stats are nice but I do like Maximum Life, Resistances, and possibly + Level of Melee Skills since we'll be going Hollow Palm Technique and this massively scales our DPS. Just gotta watch that Mana Consumption!

Rings:

Take any Rings with Added Damage to Attacks, this will be one of our biggest DPS sources so any early on will make your Melee League Start experience a bit easier.

Any extra Maximum Life, Resistances, Attributes, etc... are going to be helpful early on.

Belt:

Take any Belt early on IF you get one. I do prefer the Rawhide Belt to increase our Life Recovery from Flask but any is nice. Look for Maximum Life, Resistances, and Stun Threshold.

Flasks:

Overall Flask don't get a ton of attention, but early on they're very important and can make your Melee League Start SOOOO much easier.

If you have Extra Orbs of Transmutation or Augmentation, try to slam your Life Flask for something like Increased Amount Recovered, % of Recovery Applied Instantly, or Increased Recovery Rate. This will make those early fights feel a little less stressful.

Skill Gems

Giga Invest Bonk / Flicker

Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

CI + 4th Ascendancy

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 20

Dex 0

Int 15

Wind Blast

Level 5

Wing Blast

Level 5

Falling Thunder

Level 5

Killing Palm

Level 5

Pounce

Level 3

Rend

Level 5

Frost Bomb

Level 2

Entangle

Level 1

Herald of Thunder

Level 4

Gem Priority

Use Quarterstaff Strike until you unlock Wind Blast for Rage / Stun Buildup!

Skill Gem Order -

Rend is granted by being in Wyvern form by default, no need for a skill gem.

Your 1st LvL 1 Uncut Skill Gem from Renly after killing The Miller will be Entangle and then pick up your 2nd LvL 1 Uncut Skill Gem from the Abandoned Stash in Clearfell for Killing Palm.

You'll use either Entangle on packs of monsters to help manage clear speed early on. You'll drop this once we get Wing Blast.

You'll then a LvL 2 Uncut Skill Gem from completing the League Mechanic in The Red Vale. Use this on Frost Bomb as this applies Elemental Exposure which lowers the targets Resistances for More Damage from Falling Thunder.

You'll also get a LvL 3 Uncut Skill Gem from killing The Rust King in The Red Vale. Use this on Wing Blast for the next variant. If you're Level 6 and can equip this, proceed to the next variant.

You'll get a LvL 3 Uncut Skill Gem from the League Mechanic in The Grim Tangle, use this on Pouncefor the next variant. If you're Level 6 and can equip this, proceed to the next variant.

How to Play -

Mapping:

You should try to use Entangle on a pack of monsters which will help clear these packs alongside your Falling Thunder.

When an enemy is low HP a Blue Orb is going to appear on them, this means if you hit them with Killing Palm they'll instantly die and grant you Power Charges. Normal / Magic Enemies will give 1, Rare's will give 2, Unique's will give 3 Charges.

Use Wolf Form from our Talisman to move around quickly, dodge roll while in Wolf Form to safely move through zones much faster than you would normally on foot.

Bossing:

Build up Stun on the Boss using Quarterstaff Strike / Wind Blast which will also grant us stacks of Rage. Once the Boss is Primed for Stun (Around 75% Stun Bar) use Wing Blast which has a 15% Surpassing Chance to grant to grant a Power Charge on Heavy Stun per Monster Power. Bosses have 20 Power so we're guaranteed 3 Power Charges on Heavy Stun with this skill.

Try your best to carry Power Charges into Boss fights like Beira of the Rotten Pack. You can Cull Enemies before entering the arena with Killing Palm. DO NOT FORGET Bosses have a massive Damage Reduction for the first 5 seconds of the Boss Fight! GGG put this in place to keep us from instantly nuking bosses so try to not dump any carried Power Charges within the first 5 seconds of fighting. Use this down time to build up Rage, apply Shock, or apply Elemental Exposure.

Use Frost Bomb to apply Elemental Exposure to lower the targets Resistances to increase our Damage with Falling Thunder. Try to drop this whenever its off cooldown. Whenever you're without Power Charges, use Wind Blast to build up Rage / Stun and beat the Boss down. Eventually we'll have another skill to combo to give us Power Charges in Boss Fights.

Passive Tree

Giga Invest Bonk / Flicker

Falling Thunder + Ailiths (Budget)

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Act 4 - Whirling Assault Swap

Interludes

Early Endgame - Ailiths Chimes

CI + 4th Ascendancy

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Path towards Flow Like Water BUT you can take the +5 Attribute Node for Strength early on if you need it for the Nettle Talisman or Fur Plate. Take Flow Like Water and Essence of the Storm, then take any needed Attributes as we travel towards Concussive Attack.

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

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

+5% to all Elemental Resistances

Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear

+40 to Spirit

Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti

Grants Two Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Changelog

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.