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PoE 2 Build

0.5 Martial Artist Whirling Assault / Ice Strike Endgame Variants

Monk

Martial Artist

Starter

End Game

0.5 RotA

Creator

By Scorpius

Updated on Jun 6, 2026

Jun 6, 2026

Build Overview

Multi-variant Martial Artist Monk guide covering multiple Leveling & Endgame Builds.

This guide will be updated continuously throughout league launch (05/29) as testing evolves.

⭐ Click Favorite above to save this guide for all updates & changes. ⭐
If you have any questions, join me live on Twitch and ask away!

Click here to see all the Mod Conversions from Way of the Stonefist Node on our Gloves

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Hollow Palm Technique Explanation:

Hollow Palm Technique scales in 3 ways:

Skill Level: The higher your skill level is the better HPT scales. Therefore the higher you are the better
Evasion on Gear: The more EV we have the more Attack Speed we get with HPT.
Energy Shield on Gear: The more ES we have the more Crit we get with HPT.

HPT is simply a node on our tree, its not a Build on it's own. Whether you go for it or not, depends on whether you have the right gear to support it. Finding a really good Quarterstaff will often times out-dps Hollow Palm Technique.

Good Quarterstaff Mods:

Flat Damage (Phys,Light,Cold,Fire)
Increased Damage (Phys, Ele)
+Level of Skills (Melee, Attack)
Crit Hit
Crit Dmg Bonus
Attack Speed

🔽CAMPAIGN REWARDS CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS GUIDE🔽

Build Variants

(Endgame) Whirling Assault + BELLS

(Endgame) Ice Strike + BELLS

(Leveling) Whirling 41+

(Leveling) Ice Strike 41+

Stormwave 22+

Glacial 1-22

Grenades 1-22

Twister 1-22

LA/LR 1-22

Build Overview:

A typical Monk start is pretty slow, which is why we will utilize Crossbow abilities to make our early leveling as smooth as possible before transitioning to Hollow Palm Technique at level 22.

(Optional)
You can choose to make your early leveling easier by creating a ''mule'' Mercenary character and killing Miller. This will give you a Crossbow to use and Explosive Grenade with Renly gem.

Then we create our Monk and with Renly's gem we cut Frost Bomb and with the Clearfell camp gem we get Contagion.
Doing this will waste approximately 2 minutes more but it will give you many benefits:
1) More items / Gold / Guaranteed Crossbow
2) A free Explosive Grenade so you can take Contagion for quicker AOE.

Hollow Palm Switch:

When you're ready to switch to Hollow Palm Technique, go to the Hollow Palm Build variant above for the full build.
If you want you can rush into Hollow Palm at level 13, however it's not advised because it scales its Physical Damage based on the Skill level aswell as Evasion & Energy Shield on gear.
So finding a Body Armour with High Energy Shield and/or Evasion, should be a priority once you get into ACT 2, aswell as shifting all your other pieces to EV and/or ES.
Early on, a great weapon will always out-dps Hollow Palm IF you don't have good gear with ES and/or EV, so I would recommend transitioning around level 22. This will allow you to get good gear, get some good nodes on the tree aswell as needed Skills to make Hollow Palm Technique feel smoother and better.

Important Info:

A good Crossbow is REALLY important early on as it will significantly boost your damage. (Check the Gear section for full details)
In ACT 1, we want to look for Armor based Gear as it's way better than EV and/or ES.
In ACT 2 and beyond however, we want to start looking for EV & ES so we can build a strong base for Hollow Palm Technique
We're starting with Explosive Grenade + Fragmentation Rounds + Frost Bomb which is more than fine, for both AOE & Boss damage.
At level 6 we can utilize the overpowered tech combo of Wing Blast + Rend for extra damage. Explanation of this tech can be found in the Skill section below.
At level 14, in Act 2 we will go for Gas Grenade as our final skill. Every other Uncut Skill Gem beyond this will be Monk Exclusive for the transition later on.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them Live on Twitch.

Equipment

(Endgame) Whirling Assault + BELLS

(Endgame) Ice Strike + BELLS

(Leveling) Whirling 41+

(Leveling) Ice Strike 41+

Stormwave 22+

Glacial 1-22

Grenades 1-22

Twister 1-22

LA/LR 1-22

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

Target specific items that you need from the vendor with a Regex: "!(uiv)" "cross|mov|[egdl] da.* to a"

Act 1:

Dmg/+Skills on Crossbow
Flat damage on Gloves
Damage on Rings
Movement speed on Boots
Res & Life on Gear

Armor based gear is highly advised for ACT 1 as it's simply better than Evasion & Energy Shield bases.

Act 2:

In Act 2, we need to start shifting our Armor Based Gear to either ES and/or EV as we are building up the scalability for our transition to Hollow Palm Technique.
DO NOT get baited too early into the change. Hollow Palm scales with Evasion and Energy Shield aswell as Skill level and it will be hard to beat a good weapon early on.

Super Important Milestone.
At level 16 you will unlock the next tier of Items, so make sure that you save all your gold for a shopping spree in the Ardura Caravan. The same applies for level 20.

EV and/or ES Bases on Gear
Flat damage on Gloves/Rings
+Skills on Amulet
Movement speed on Boots
Res & Life on Gear
Dmg and +skills on Crossbow (very important before the transition)

Hollow Palm Switch:

When you're ready to switch to Hollow Palm Technique at level 22, go to the Hollow Palm Build variant above for the full build.

Skill Gems

(Endgame) Whirling Assault + BELLS

(Endgame) Ice Strike + BELLS

(Leveling) Whirling 41+

(Leveling) Ice Strike 41+

Stormwave 22+

Glacial 1-22

Grenades 1-22

Twister 1-22

LA/LR 1-22

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 5

Dex 20

Int 0

Crossbow Shot

Fragmentation Rounds

Explosive Grenade

Frost Bomb

Flash Grenade

Contagion

Pounce

Wing Blast

Rend

Gas Grenade

Gem Priority

SKILL GEM PRIORITY:

First Uncut Skill Gem is from RENLY in the Clearfell Encampment , for Explosive Grenade.
Second Uncut Skill Gem is from a little camp in Clearfell, for Frost Bomb.
If you created a Mule Mercenary, then you would have Fragmentation Rounds, a free crossbow and an additional Uncut Skill Gem from Renly, for Contagion.
If you DIDNT create a Mule Mercenary, then forget about Contagion. Make sure you cut Fragmentation Rounds.
With an Uncut Skill Gem III, at level 6 we can go for Flash Grenade.
Next you can choose to go for Pounce for mobility or grab Wing Blast for the dmg tech.
We don't really need a Spirit Skill but if you go for Freythorn then cut Herald of Thunder for later.
At level 14 we get Gas Grenade.

SUPPORT GEM PRIORITY:

First support gem should be Multishot I for Explosive Grenade.
Second support gem should be Elemental Armament I for Explosive Grenade.
Third support gem should be Rapid Attacks I for Crossbow Shot.
Fourth support gem should be Multishot I on Flash Grenade
Fifth support gem should be Multishot I on Gas Grenade

At this point you have everything you need to get to level 22, without investing more Support Gems into this build. However, if you have enough, you can add a few more Support Gems that will empower the current build BUT will be useless for our transition.
For example:
- Elemental Armament I on Flash Grenade
- Potent Exposure on Frost Bomb
- Elemental Armament I on Gas Grenade

GUARANTEED SUPPORT GEM LOCATIONS:

ACT ONE (in order found):

ACT TWO (in order found):

SKILL INFORMATION:

Crossbow Shot: We want to use these single target shots on bosses early on as gap fillers between our Explosive Grenade cooldowns.
Fragmentation Rounds: We switch to these shots for wide AOE damage OR boss damage up close. This is also used as a gap filler between our Explosive Grenade cooldowns.
Explosive Grenade: This is our main damage dealing ability. With Multishot I you will have 3 Grenades each time you use it. It has a few seconds delay before they explode so timing is key.
Flash Grenade: This deals some damage, blinds the targets and helps with stuns. We use it on big packs or on bosses as gap fillers between our Explosive Grenade.
Frost Bomb: This provides us with exposure to the bosses which increases our damage.
(OPTIONAL) Pounce: We use this for mobility.
(OPTIONAL) Wing Blast: When enemies are PRIMED FOR STUN, we use this ability to stun them and gain POWER CHARGES.
(OPTIONAL) Rend: When we get the POWER CHARGES from Wing Blast, we then use this ability to get a 50% increased damage buff.
Gas Grenade: This ability is used just before our Explosive Grenade goes off as it increases our damage significantly.

WYVERN TECH EXPLAINED:
When dealing damage with any ability, in our case Explosive Grenade and/or Crossbow Shot, you will PRIME targets for stun. When that happens, you use Wing Blast to stun them. If you do it correctly you will get Power Charges. Rend consumes those power charges to give you 50% of damage gained as Lightning Damage. However since our main attack is Explosive Grenade, what you want to do is hit Rend and when the animation starts, quickly cancel it with an Explosive Grenade.

SKILL ROTATION:

AOE:
- Explosive Grenade & Fragmentation Rounds is all we need early on. If you have Contagion , use it before your grenades explode to spread the curse. Add Flash Grenade in-between your Explosives and keep moving.
- When you unlock Gas Grenade, you want to place Gas Grenade into Explosive Grenade.
BOSS:
- Place Frost Bomb on the Boss, stack Explosive Grenade on them into Flash Grenade and close your gaps with Crossbow Shot or Fragmentation Rounds.
- When you unlock Gas Grenade, you want to make sure that you always use it before your Explosive Grenade.
- (Optional) If you got the Wing Blast + Rend tech, then use it when the bosses are primed for stun before continuing your normal rotation.

Ideally at level 22, you want to transition to Hollow Palm Technique. Check the Hollow Palm Build variant above for the full build.

Passive Tree

(Endgame) Whirling Assault + BELLS

(Endgame) Ice Strike + BELLS

(Leveling) Whirling 41+

(Leveling) Ice Strike 41+

Stormwave 22+

Glacial 1-22

Grenades 1-22

Twister 1-22

LA/LR 1-22

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Upon reaching level 6 instead of going for Flow Like Water, you wanna get a STRENGTH node on the side so you can be able to equip a Talisman weapon.
This will allow us to add additional choices such as Pounce for mobility or Wing Blast + Rend for the extra damage. If you don't these abilities OR you get STR from your gear early on, skip this step.
Once you naturally step onto the first Attribute Node of the line, REFUND the side STR node.

At level 22 your tree needs to look like this and simply just get Hollow Palm Technique. You will then need to refund Dizzying Sweep and use those points for Wild Storm.

If you reached this point, then move on to the Hollow Palm Build Variant above.

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 Charges gained

+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

Changelog

6th of June:

Added Shark Fin Reward choice at the bottom of the Section

3rd of June:

Updated the Whirling Assault with:

New support gems for Charged Staff, Hollow Focus, Hollow Resonance, Falling Thunder.
Got Ailith's Chimes for Power Charge Generation.
Updated Passive Tree
Changed to Runic Meridians
Updated some Gear pieces like Belt, Flasks and Charm

2nd of June:

Made significant changes to the Ice Strike Endgame Variant. Will return again for a min-maxy version

Changed Blind tech on tree and support gems.
Added Power Charge generation with Resonance and Combat Frenzy
Added Hand of Chayula with Elemental Weakness & Freezing Mark

1st of June:

Fully updated Whirling Assault Endgame Variant.

Updated the Build overview
Updated to Live Gear and Prios
Added Killing Palm and Reaper's Invocation for Charge Generation
Updated a few Support Gems on main skills
Added jewel options
Added explanation for Ascendancy Choices
Added Atlas Choices
Updated Passive Tree
Added a full rotation

31st of May:

Added Hollow Focus & Hollow Resonance on all relevant builds.

30th of May:

Fully updating all build variants with the launch of 0.5 tests.
Added Quarterstaff alternative for both Ice Strike & Whirling leveling builds
Added new Passive Cluster explanation for both 41+ leveling builds
Added a Power Charge Generation for Whirling Assault Endgame Build
Removed Charge Profusion I from Whirling Assault

28th of May:

Moba added a new section at the bottom of the guide for Campaign Rewards, filled that in.
Updated the Helmet for Whirling Assault build because of Subterfuge Mask nerf.
Updated all gear pieces for Ice Strike Endgame build.

27th of May:

Updated Endgame Ice Strike Build Variant.

26th of May:

Updated guide to official Martial Artist Ascendancy
Changed ALL placeholders for Ascendancy to their actual nodes, like Way of the Stonefist
Removed Subterfuge Mask from Endgame WA Variant due to big nerf.
Added Flicker Strike as an alternative to Falling Thunder in the Endgame WA Variant.

25th of May:

Finalized ENDGAME Whirling Assault build.
Added Ancestral Call II on Tempest Bell for the Ice Strike 41+ Build Variant.
Added Ancestral Call II on Tempest Bell for the Whirling Assault 41+ Build Variant.
Working on ENDGAME Ice Strike Build.
Corrected a mistake on LA/LR Wyvern Tech explanation.
Added Escape Shot as alternative to Pounce on LA/LR Build.

23rd of May:

Added new Youtube Video of Martial Artist Reveal Breakdown!
Added Endgame Variant that will be edited soon.
Added a tighter explanation of Guide Overview
Added Martial Artist Ascendancy Explanations
Added Campaign Reward Priorities

22nd of May:

Added a few notes on all builds regarding PATCH NOTE CHANGES.
Changed Chain I to Elemental Armament I on Lightning Arrow
Changed Elemental Armament I to Multishot I on Lightning Rod
Changed Lightning Attunement to Elemental Armament I on Herald of Thunder
Added extra Support option on Barrage.

21st of May:

Completed Whirling Assault 41+ Build Variant.

20th of May:

Added Siphoning Strike tech to the Storm Wave as main Boss dealer.
Completed Ice Strike 41+ Build Variant.
Started constructing Whirling Assault Build Variant.

19th of May:

Added Support Gem Location images for ACT 1 & 2 in order.
Added Support Gem Location details on each Build Variant.
Added the Wyvern Tech on the LA/LR Build Variant.
Added Storm Wave, Whirling Assault & Ice Strike variants.
Completed Storm Wave 22+ Build Variant.

18th of May:

Completed LA/LR Build Variant for the transition of Hollow Palm Technique at lvl 22.
Added images for the Support Gem Locations, on the Twister Build. (Will add it to all builds when done)
Started constructing the Hollow Palm Build Variant.