Mobalytics
News
menu
MobalyticsUse your favourite features in-game with our Desktop App
PoE 2 Build

(Not Main Planner) Monk Campaign Acts 1-3 - Will update after 0.5 Launch

presentationMonk
presentationInvoker
Starter
0.4 TLotD
By FGKorbyn21
Updated on May 30, 2026
May 30, 2026

Build Overview

Here's my guide for the Campaign for Monk in Patch 0.4 / 0.5! The campaign is slightly changing in 0.5 so be aware!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🚨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!🚨

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See my Endgame Monk Planner for Martial Artist Here!

Monk can be one of the toughest Campaign and League Start Classes to play, so I've decided to show you how I easily cruise through the campaign on Monk!

This setup revolves around Falling Thunder and Power Charge. We'll generate Power Charges with things like Siphoning Strike, Devour, Killing Palm, Wing Blast, and Lingering Illusion depending on what part of the campaign your at. These Power Charges allow Falling Thunder to deal More Damage per Charge consumed. This means BIG damage when we have Max Charges.

We'll clear packs of monsters with Storm Wave, Wind Blast, Wing Blast, and Falling Thunder depending on what part of the campaign your at. Herald of Thunder will also be passively clearing for us regardless of what skill you're using.

We'll utilize Movement Tech with Pounce and Wolf Form which will allow us to jump gaps and move much faster than normally. Wolf Form passively provides 30% Increased Movement Speed when not sprinting so this is great for dodge rolling around for speed.

We'll utilize the Wyvern Shapeshift form for things like Rend which when consuming a Power Charge to grant us 50% of Damage as Lightning for a massive burst DPS increase. We'll also use Wing Blast which when Heavy Stunning a Boss, will guarantee 3 Power Charges for Falling Thunder. This allows us to have Power Charges in Boss Fights at Level 6 and beyond!

We don't have to worry about a Weapon either during the campaign thanks to Hollow Palm Technique! This means the currency you would've spent on a Quarterstaff gets to be used on other pieces of gear. We'll swap off of Hollow Palm Technique around end of Act 4 - Interludes depending on our RNG.

Act 1 Video

Act 2 Video

Act 3 & 4 Video Soon....

Strengths and Weaknesses

  • MASSIVE Burst DPS
  • Great Clear Speed and Movement
  • "Vision Coded"
  • Maintains Monk Identity
  • Many Buttons and Combos
  • Requires brain usage (ikr)

Build Variants

Zone Progression -

Clearfell:

Enter the zone and immediately start looking for the Mysterious Campsite and open the Abandoned Stash for the LvL 1 Uncut Skill Gem. Ignore Mud Burrow unless you REALLY need the extra Tier 1 Uncut Support Gem. Once you've acquired the Uncut Skill Gem, locate Beira of the Rotten Pack for the 10% Cold Resistance Permanent Buff. The League Mechanic Drop is a Orb of Transmutation which is good early to use on your Weapon. Recommended Level 1-2 when leaving.

Grelwood:

Enter the zone and immediately start looking for a Witch Hut so you can fight Areagne, the Forgotten Witch for the Tier 1 Uncut Support Gem and the Medium Life Flask / Medium Mana Flask. If she's too tough for you, skip and come back after The Red Vale. Once you kill her, start hunting down all of the Checkpoints / Waypoints for Red Vale, Grim Tangle, and the Giant Tree. You'll need these to progress our Campaign Quest. Ignore Brambleghast unless you need the Lvl 2 Uncut Skill Gem. Take some EXP here from Magic Packs or large groups of Normal enemies, don't actively seek it though as The Red Vale is great for EXP. The League Mechanic Drop is a Orb of Transmutation which is good early to use on your Weapon or Ring / Amulet. Recommended Level 2-3 when leaving.

The Red Vale:

Enter the zone and start clicking the Refined Arms as these will drop the next Tier of Weapons (Long Quarterstaff, Nettle Talisman, Tense Crossbow, etc...). Feel free to reset the zone if you get unlucky and don't drop your next tier, the DPS upgrade here is massive so spend your Transmute and Augmentation Orb on your Weapon. Take EXP here as there is a LOT of pack size, aim to be Level 4-5 when leaving to ensure we stay on the EXP curve (EXP Guide). Locate the 3 Obelisks of Rust to fight The Rust King for the Runed Skull Cap. The League Mechanic Drop is a Uncut LvL 2 Skill Gem which we use for Frost Bomb. Recommended Level 4-5 when leaving.

The Grim Tangle:

Enter the zone and start moving to the exit ASAP. Kill only what's necessary as the next zone is great for EXP. If you're feeling semi-confident you can fight Ervig, the Rotten Druid for the extra Tier 1 Support Gem IF you come across him but don't spend time hunting for him. The League Mechanic Drop is a Uncut LvL 3 Skill Gem which we use for Wing Blast. Recommended Level 5 when leaving.

Equipment

item
1
item
6
item
10
item
3
item
8
item
6
item
1
item
4
item
9
item
5
item
item
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 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. + Level of Melee Skills is nice but watch that Mana Consumption!

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. You will be using Talisman Skills once you hit LvL 5 so Affixes will be important LvL 5 and beyond.

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.

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.

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

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 10

Dex 5

Int 5

1

Quarterstaff Strike

Level 1

supportrageplayer
supportrapidattacksplayer
2

Falling Thunder

Level 1

supportelementalarmamentplayer
supportperpetualchargeplayer
3

Killing Palm

Level 1

4

Contagion

Level 1

5

Frost Bomb

Level 1

Gem Priority
+4

Skill Gem Order -

Your 1st LvL 1 Uncut Skill Gem from Renly after killing The Miller will be Contagion 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 or Contagion 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 5 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 5 and can equip this, proceed to the next variant.

Support Gem Order -

Your 1st Tier 1 Support Gem can be acquired from Areagne, the Forgotten Witch in Grelwood and should be used for Rage I on Quarterstaff Strike. This is our main DPS skill when we don't have Power Charges for Falling Thunder, Rage I will Multiplicativity increase our DPS by up to 30%.

Your 2nd Tier 1 Support Gem can either be random dropped or you can optionally fight Ervig, The Rotten Druid in The Grim Tangle for a guaranteed drop. You should spend this on Rapid Attacks I for Quarterstaff Strike to help generate Rage faster and up our DPS when Falling Thunder has no Power Charges.

How to Play -

Monk early on is tough for a lot of people, its in the face of everything and everything hurts early on. You'll need to be cognizant of your HP and your Flask Charges, you'll be popping your Flask often. We'll be emphasizing "The Vision" and using many combos to maximize our League Start so if you don't like buttons, I would look for something braindead.

Mapping:

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

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.

You should be using these Power Charges with Falling Thunder on Large Packs of Enemies, Rare's, or Bosses. When you don't have Power Charges, use Quarterstaff Strike to build up Rage and finish off enemies.

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:

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 Quarterstaff Strike to build up Rage and beat the Boss down. Eventually we'll have another skill to combo to give us Power Charges in Boss Fights.

Passive Tree

main:
123
123
set 1:
20
20
set 2:
20
20

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.

Quest Rewards

Check which quests you’ve completed on your character
Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack
Not Specified1 choice
Hunting Grounds — The Crowbell
Not Specified1 choice
Freythorn — The King in the Mists
Not Specified1 choice
Ogham Farmlands — Una's Hut
Not Specified1 choice
Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite
Not Specified1 choice
Keth — Kabala, Constrictor Queen
Not Specified1 choice
Valley of the Titans — Medallion
Not Specified2 choices
Deshar — Final Letter
Not Specified1 choice
The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan
Not Specified1 choice
Jungle Ruins — Mighty Silverfist
Not Specified1 choice
The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught
Not Specified3 choices
Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant
Not Specified1 choice
The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch
Not Specified1 choice
The Molten Vault — The Molten Vault
Not Specified1 choice
Aggorat — Blood Sacrifice
Not Specified1 choice
Journey's End — Captain Hartlin
Not Specified1 choice
Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest
Not Specified1 choice
Halls of the Dead — Yama The White
Not Specified1 choice
Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test
Not Specified2 choices
Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice
Not Specified2 choices
Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test
Not Specified2 choices
Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test
Not Specified2 choices
Wolvenhold — Oswin, the Dread Warden
Not Specified1 choice
The Khari Crossing — Akthi and Anundr
Not Specified1 choice
The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine
Not Specified1 choice
Qimah — Tabana's Pillar
Not Specified7 choices
Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear
Not Specified1 choice
Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti
Not Specified1 choice

Video Guide

Build Planner Export

Export this build variant directly to your game.

Table of Contents

1. Build Overview2. Strengths and Weaknesses3. Build Variants4. Equipment5. Skill Gems6. Passive Tree7. Quest Rewards

Featured Builds

[0.5] PhazePlays MINION CULL WARPER: The Fastest Minion Mapper in PoE2 — 400% Culling Threshold
Updated on Jun 18, 2026
[0.5] SPARK STORMWEAVER Leaguestarter
Updated on Jun 18, 2026
0.5 ICE STRIKE SHATTERING EXPLOSIONS
Updated on Jun 18, 2026
[0.5] 100% Crit/Recoup Chronomancer
Updated on Jun 18, 2026
[0.5] Slow Cap Support Chronomancer
Updated on Jun 18, 2026

Become a Creator

Want to earn rewards by sharing your builds with your community?