Best Monk build in Path of Exile 2

The Monk is a melee-caster hybrid in Path of Exile 2 but knowing how to build the class is essential to mastering its active playstyle.

Are you struggling to pick between the up close and personal style of the Warrior and the elemental devastation of the Sorceress in Path of Exile 2? The Monk is the best of both worlds with a mix of agile melee attacks and AOE-focused ice and lightning skills.

If you were a fan of the fast-paced playstyle of Diablo 4’s Quill Volley Spiritborn, you’ll feel right at home with Path of Exile 2’s Monk, minus the quadrillions of damage of course.

Below we’ll go over the best Monk build in Path of Exile 2’s early access. This includes which Ascendancy to choose, the best skills and supports to slot, and what gear modifiers to chase.

Grinding Gear Games

This Monk build leverages Power Charges to supe up your lightning attacks.

Best Monk build

At this stage in Path of Exile 2’s early access, the best available Monk build is the Tempest Flurry Invoker. The build invests heavily in the class’ elemental skills while stacking up Power Charges to maximize their potential.

In order to gain Power Charges efficiently, this build relies on the Meta skill combination of slotting Profane Ritual into Cast on Freeze. By imbuing your lightning skills with ice, you’ll steadily convert corpses you create into Power Charges which will boost the effectiveness of your Falling Thunder, Charged Staff, and of course, Tempest Flurry.

The aim is to chew through mobs with devastating AOE attacks while keeping yourself safe with a high Energy Shield and Evasion Rating. A number of passives will give you bonuses for increasing these defenses as much as possible.

Best Ascendancy

As the name suggests, you’ll want to pick the Invoker Ascendancy for this particular Monk build in Path of Exile 2. In order to do so, you’ll need to complete the Trial of the Sekhemas or the Trial of Chaos.

Contrary to what you might think, rather than speccing into the elemental abilities from the tree, this build will gain more benefit from the bonuses to defense, Meta skills, and Critical Hits.

Once you’ve selected the Invoker Ascendancy for this Monk build, focus on the following abilities to bring it online:

Lead me Through Grace… – Gain 1 Spirit for every 6 Energy Shield on equipped Body Armour. Gain 1 Spirit for every 15 Evasion Rating on equipped Body Armour.Cannot gain Spirit from Equipment.

…and Protect me from Harm – Evasion Rating also grants Physical Damage reduction. 40% less Evasion Rating.

Sunder my Enemies… – Critical Hits ignore non-negative Enemy Monster Elemental Resistances.

The Soul Springs Eternal – Meta Skills gain 35% more Energy.

Grinding Gear Games

This Monk build can do some insane AOE damage thanks to its high Critical Hit damage.

Best Skills for Monk in Path of Exile 2

In Path of Exile 2, the skills make the build. As you’re leveling your Monk, keep an eye out for the skills below and target them so you can use them in the endgame.

Unlocking skills in Path of Exile 2 involves collecting Uncut Skill Gems and engraving them with a skill of your choice. You can enhance these skills by locating Uncut Support Gems and engraving those with Support skills.

The table above is the set of skills and Supports you’ll want to have when you hit the endgame but it will take some time and effort to get there. Some of these skills are level-gated and require better Uncut Skill Gems to unlock so you’ll naturally use different skills as you level. You can swap those skills for the ones above as they become available.

For instance, as we leveled our Monk, we used Killing Palm as a means of generating Power Charges. Contagion was also useful for infecting large mobs of enemies and made bosses like The Executioner and Rathbreaker much easier.

This allows for some experimentation and deviation along the way before you swap these skills out. Just remember where you’re planning to end up.

Best Monk Passive skills

If you’ve seen Path of Exile 2’s Passive tree, you know it’s way too big to name every skill you should be looking for. Luckily, its nodes are split into more basic Passives, and what the game calls Notable Passives.

Notable Passives are larger nodes that offer bigger buffs and have earned themselves a unique name. The following Notable Passives are what you should path towards as you level up the Tempest Flurry Invoker Monk:

• Flow Like Water – 8% increased attack and cast speed. +5 to Dexterity and Intelligence.
• Crashing Wave – 36% increased damage if you’ve dealt a Critical Hit in the last eight seconds.
• Essence of the Storm – Gain 5% of damage as extra lightning damage and a 30% increased chance to Shock.
• Essence of the Mountain – Gain 5% of damage as extra cold damage and 20% increased Freeze buildup.
• The Power Within – 20% increased Critical Damage Bonus if you’ve gained a Power Charge recently. +1 to maximum Power Charges.
• True Strike – +10 to Dexterity. 20% increased Critical Hit chance.
• For the jugular – +10 to Intelligence. 30% increased Critical Damage Bonus.
• Deadly Force – 30% increased damage if you’ve dealt a Critical Hit in the last eight seconds. 12% increased Critical Hit chance.
• One with the Storm – Quarterstaff skills that consume a Power Charge count as consuming one additional Power Charge.
• One with the River – 30% increase to Daze, Freeze, and Stun buildup with Quarterstaves. 30% increased defenses while wielding a Quarterstaff.
• Falcon Technique – 1% increased Attack Speed per 15 Dexterity.
• Overflowing Power – +2 maximum Power Charges.

There are a lot more Notable Passives to grab while you’re building out your Monk in Path of Exile 2 but they’ll usually be on your way to the skills above. When you’ve finished investing all your Passive points, your tree should look something like this:

Grinding Gear Games / POE2DB

Even as you level, focus your points and playstyle around your progression through this path so you won’t need to respec later in the game.

Best Monk armor, weapons, and charms

When you begin your journey in Path of Exile 2, you’ll be pretty focused on grabbing whatever weapons and armor jive with your class’ offense and defense the most. As you progress, however, you’ll want to focus on targeting specific gear that has Augments that kick your build’s key pieces into overdrive.

We recommend seeking out the following gear and attempting to stack it with the benefits outlined below:

Any addition to Chaos Resistance that you can add to your gear via augments is also worthwhile for any class in the endgame.

Now you have the best possible Monk build for Path of Exile 2. If you’ve already started your Monk character and would like to switch into this build, check out our guide on how to respec.

For a full breakdown of all classes in Path of Exile 2 early access, check out our builds for the Witch, Ranger, Sorceress, Mercenary, and Warrior classes