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PoE 2 Build

[0.5] WHIRLING Trinity Martial Artist Monk Build - League Starter to Endgame

Monk

Martial Artist

Starter

End Game

Speed Leveling

0.5 RotA

Ronarray

Verified

By Ronarray

Updated on Jun 29, 2026

Jun 29, 2026

Build Overview

This is IN DEPTH Guide for my Whirling Assault Martial Artist Monk Build for 0.5

Right now I'm playing this build myself - check progression or ask stuff on Twitch - twitch.tv/ronarray

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❗ GUIDE IS BEING UPDATED LIVE - SAVE IT TO NOT MISS ANYTHING

As always, I will keep updating the guide after league start, so make sure to check it often.

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Crafting Guides

▸ All Armour + Amulet - Step by step video

▸ Weapon + Rings - Step by step video

▸ 50% ES Jewels - Step by step video

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STEP BY STEP Leveling - youtu.be/i6vzzrQIJ6w

▸ T15 Update + Whirling Swap - youtu.be/SKTko6cEckQ

▸ Trinity & Hollow Form Explained - youtu.be/EbyMEBDURpE

▸ When to Go CI and How to Be TANKY - youtu.be/WLT5_uRXR60

▸ How to get FREE Trinity Aura - youtu.be/L38rrIb9TsM

What to FARM

Ritual Guide • Breach Guide • Abyss • Boss Rush • Expedition

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▸ Why Martial Artist Monk?

After the reveal, Martial Artist ascendency looks like it combines all the best things that "melee" and Monk subclass have to offer. Just the bonuses from Way of the Stonefist are looking good enough to consider Martial Artist a strongest Monk ascendency.

On top of that Martial Artist got improved defenses with 5 additional rune slots or ES Recharge from Martial Adept. Also Deflect is getting a BIG buff in 0.5 together with general evasion improvements (15% on gear in endgame bases) which buffs the build even further.

Martial Artist Monk can work with great a variety of skills but for the Main setup we will useWhirling Assault as a main skill together with Trinity to improve the damage significantly. Whirling Assault ALSO synergizes great with Bells boosting the damage further.

Since Power Charge Generation is MUCH easier now than before, we can use Charged Staff to offset the charges consistently.

And as a final touch, Herald of Ash can provide satisfying explosions across the whole screen!

To melt bosses we also can use a combination of Hollow Focus Technique + Tempest Bell and Hollow Form with Whirling Assault inside to wipe content.

And since we have a lot of free charges, it is also possible (but not necessary) to add Rend to the second weapon slot for HUGE 50% damage buff when we need it.

▸ Campaign Rewards

Venom: Stun Threshold,

Tattoos: Resistances

Pillars: Movement Speed or Global Defense

Shark Fin: 30% Evasion/ES/Armour (Kaoms)

▸Vender Regex (Copy and paste into trader search)

"10% i.+mov|\d cfl.+da|^\+.*ee skills$|ck spe"

▸Order of Following Versions

Lvl 1-23 → 23+ Unarmed → Act 3-6 → Campaign End → Early Endgame → Mid Endgame → Full Screen AOE

Strengths and Weaknesses

HUGE Clear with AOE + Explosions
Melts Bosses
Looks Fun and Fresh
Tanky with ES + Evasion Combo
Mostly 1 Button Mapping

Some Charges Management

Build Variants

Mid Endgame (CI)

Early Endgame

Full Screen AOE (LIVE)

Lvl 1-23

23+ Unarmed

Act 3-6

Campaign End / Early Maps

Uber Endgame

In 0.5 the early leveling for Monk is easier with Spear and Twister

To get the Spear + a skill gem early you can create a Huntress and drop Spear + Spear from her into your stash to use at your Monk Character.

To maximize dps - use Whirling Slash 3 times and Twister right after.

STEP BY STEP Guide for leveling + tech demonstration - video

Equipment

Mid Endgame (CI)

Early Endgame

Full Screen AOE (LIVE)

Lvl 1-23

23+ Unarmed

Act 3-6

Campaign End / Early Maps

Uber Endgame

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

At the Early Lvls just focus on upgrading your Spear and use any pieces of gear you can find, perfectly preparing higher Evasion / Energy Shield Hybrid gear for lvl 22+ Swap.

Iron Ring with rolled damage can help you with DPS so try to get them at lower lvls.

Skill Gems

Mid Endgame (CI)

Early Endgame

Full Screen AOE (LIVE)

Lvl 1-23

23+ Unarmed

Act 3-6

Campaign End / Early Maps

Uber Endgame

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 10

Dex 10

Int 10

Twister

Whirling Slash

Level 1

Frost Bomb

Herald of Ash

Parry

Fangs of Frost

Barrage

Ice-Tipped Arrows

Gem Priority

We are going to start with Spear for better early leveling experience.

To get Spear + gems at lvl 1 - just create a Huntress character and drop both gems + Spear to stash.

DO NOT Lvl up Herald of Ash higher than Lvl 4.

❗IMPORTANT:

Use following combo to deal proper damage.

x3 Whirling Slash -> Twister -> Repeat

Using Whirling Slash 3 times before twister will allow you to get more wind from a single Twister cast and will improve your dps significantly.

After you will get Ice-Tipped Arrows, Replace Prolonged Duration I support to Frost Nexus in the Twister setup.

Early Game Supports:

First support you get should be Rage I that you will use for Whirling Slash.

After that get Retreat I for Twister.

Full priority: Rage I > Retreat I > Rapid Attacks I > Prolonged Duration I > Magnified Area I

Clear:

You can use Whirling Slash to move around and use Twister occasionally to clear monsters.

Single target for Bosses and Rares:

You can use a combo of Parry + Fangs of Frost at bosses to improve your damage, however pretty often it is not even needed.

It will be replaced by Ice-Tipped Arrows + Frost Nexus at gem lvl 5.

Passive Tree

Mid Endgame (CI)

Early Endgame

Full Screen AOE (LIVE)

Lvl 1-23

23+ Unarmed

Act 3-6

Campaign End / Early Maps

Uber Endgame

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Ascendency Order That I will Use:

Hollow Focus Technique -> Way of the Stonefist -> Hollow Resonance Technique -> Runic Meridians

Why is that particular order?

Hollow Focus Technique can be pretty good early on so we can use Killing Palm on the bells to get Power Charges for Falling Thunder and Charged Staff for bosses. Taking it early can also help with clear and should be a high quality of life upgrade.

Way of the Stonefist bonuses can differ based on your gloves, but it still look promising enough to try it as early as we can get it. if during campaign you need more defence or res just take Runic Meridians instead.

The starting position for monk lacks big damage nodes, so we will need to take Concussive Attack and go to the Blinding Strike to compensate for it.

After taking it you can move on into the direction of Tenfold Attacks to reach Hollow Palm Technique right after that around lvl 23-25.

Look into Conservative Casting if you would have mana problems for any reason.

Quest Rewards

Check which quests you’ve completed on your character

Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack

+10% to Cold Resistance

Freythorn — The King in the Mists

+30 to Spirit

Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite

+20 to maximum Life

The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan

+10% to Lightning Resistance

Valley of the Titans — Medallion

30% increased Charm Charges gained

+1 Charm Slot

The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch

+30 to Spirit

Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant

+10% to Fire Resistance

The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught

25% increased Stun Threshold

Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice

30% increased Life Recovery from Flasks

Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest

5% increased Maximum Mana

Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test

+5% to Fire Resistance

Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test

+5% to Cold Resistance

Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test

+5% to Lightning Resistance

The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine

5% increased Maximum Life

Qimah — Tabana's Pillar

Not Specified7 choices

Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear

+40 to Spirit

How it Plays

In maps, just spam normal Whirling Assault and sprint between packs to maintain the speed. Nothing else needed. For bossing or VERY tough rares, use Hollow Form + Tempest Bell with tech explained above.