Path of Exile 2: Best Endgame Monk Build Guide

Path of Exile 2: Best Endgame Monk Build Guide


So you’ve chosen to play a Monk in Path of Exile 2, and you’re rapidly hurtling toward the endgame. You want to make sure your Monk build is as good as it can possibly be – after all, you’ve heard endgame content is pretty tough, and you’ll need to be kitted out with the best skills, gear, and passives you can find. But you’re worried that the character you’ve had since level one isn’t going to cut it. You can afford to respec, but you’re not sure which path to take this time around.

Thankfully, Monk is a pretty versatile class. You can pick Cold or Lightning damage, bare hands or quarterstaves, Invoker or Acolyte of Chayula – all are entirely viable in the endgame. But there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your Monk is as powerful as possible for the final chapters of Path of Exile 2. Here’s how to build an unstoppable Monk in the endgame.

Best Equipment For An Endgame Monk Build In PoE 2

Best Weapons For An Endgame Monk

Custom Image by: Garrett Ettinger

While it is possible to use a bare-fisted Monk build in Path of Exile 2, I wouldn’t recommend it in the endgame. Instead, you’ll want to focus on quarterstaves as much as possible. Pick one that increases all the Monk’s greatest strengths: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, elemental or physical damage, critical hit chance, and maybe evasion or energy shield if you can find it.

Characters with weapons from Path of Exile 2.

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For a specific weapon recommendation, try the Collapsing Horizon Wyrm Quarterstaff if you can obtain it by farming bosses or afford one on the Exchange. This is a powerful weapon that requires level 65, and grants you a 100% bonus to elemental damage, a small boost to critical hit chance, and an automatic increase in all your spell’s levels. This goes hand-in-hand with an elemental damage Invoker build, which we’ll get into later.

Best Armor For An Endgame Monk

By now, you probably know that Monks can’t equip heavy armor, and are better off with armor pieces with words like “robes” or “garb.” That holds true in the endgame. Same as ever, you’ll want to look for gear that gives you better Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, elemental or physical damage, critical hit chance, et cetera. Atsak’s Sight Veiled Mask is one to watch for, as in addition to boosting your Intelligence, Dexterity, and crit chance, it’ll also poison your enemies every time you hit a crit.

Best Skill Gems For An Endgame Monk Build In PoE 2

Gathering Storm

A Monk sitting in a canyon, levitating rocks with his mind in Path of Exile 2.

This is one of the highest-level skills you’ll be able to unlock as a Monk in Path of Exile 2, requiring a level 13 Uncut Skill Gem, 66 Dex, 66 Int, and a level 52 Monk. But it’s well worth the wait; Gathering Storm causes your Monk to execute a backflip, giving them some distance from enemies while also imbuing their staff with power. They’ll then slam down on the ground, rushing back into the fray and dealing Lightning damage to any enemies in range.

You can only use Gathering Storm while wielding a quarterstaff.

What’s interesting about this skill is that it’s timing-based, and you’ll have to release it at the right time to get its full benefits. If you pop it with perfect timing, Gathering Storm will also cause lightning shockwaves around the area, and the ground will remain shocked, damaging any enemies who walk into it for a limited time. That makes this a vital crowd control skill.

Tempest Bell

This particular Monk skill can be obtained rather early on – you’ll just need a level 3 Gem, a level 6 monk, and 10 Dex and Int. But if you power it up sufficiently, it can last throughout the game, becoming a handy boss-melting device by the end. Tempest Bell summons a giant bell on the battlefield, and when you hit it with attacks, it sends out shockwaves. If you place it directly next to an enemy, and keep pace with your skills, you can deal a ton of damage in a very short time with Tempest Bell.

Shattering Palm

If you’re going for a Cold build, Shattering Palm is your version of Gathering Storm. It requires a level 11 Skill Gem, a level 41 Monk, and 52 Dex and Int. It works by causing your Monk to leap forward and attack an enemy, from whom a Cold-damage AoE will emulate. If you deal enough damage to enemies caught in the blast before it disappears, then they’ll explode into shards of ice, dealing massive damage to everyone around them.

Best Passive Skills For An Endgame Monk Build In PoE 2

Critical Exploit

Path of Exile 2 class skill tree

Each time you level up in Path of Exile 2, you’ll receive a skill point that you can use to advance to a different node along the skill tree. As a Monk, you’ll start in the upper-right part of the tree, where you’ll find Int/Dex related passives. One of the skills you should watch out for as you traverse the tree is Critical Exploit, which gives you an extra 25% crit chance, plain and simple.

Moment Of Truth

To further boost your crits, take Moment of Truth to give yourself an additional 25% crit chance if you haven’t hit one recently. You’ll also get a flat 20% crit chance increase, regardless of how many other crits you’ve gotten.

You can use PoE 2‘s built-in skill tree search feature to find these passives easily.

Deadly Force

Deadly Force is another excellent choice for boosting your critical hits. It’ll give you 12% increased chance to hit one, and 30% extra damage for a few seconds after you do.

Flow State

As a Monk, you’ll be relying on mana quite a bit to cast your elemental spells. To help with that, take Flow State, which gives you a boost to your mana regen, along with skill speed for faster chaining of attacks.

Overload

At some point, you’re inevitably going to come across enemies with Lightning resistance. If your entire build is focused around Lightning damage, this could be a disaster – unless you have Overload. Overload lets your damage ignore 15% of the enemy’s Lightning resistance, so you won’t be stymied. Consider also taking Surging Currents, which has the same effect, plus an additional 10 points to Dex. Storm Swell and Storm Surge are great versions of this passive for Ice builds.

Best Spirit Gem For An Endgame Monk Build In PoE 2

Herald Of Ice/Herald Of Thunder

Path of Exile 2 with Spirit gems, Spirit skills, and Ascendancy portraits.
Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

If you’re looking for a way to spend your Uncut Spirit Gems in PoE 2, every Monk should start with Herald of Ice or Herald of Thunder. Your Ice attacks will sometimes cause enemies to freeze, and Lightning will sometimes cause them to become shocked. With the relevant Herald skill, killing an enemy suffering either of these status effects will cause damaging shockwaves to radiate out from them. This is an important step in building a self-perpetuating wave of damage.

Elemental Invocation

This level 8 Spirit Gem, requiring a level 26 Monk and 34 Int and Dex, will increase your energy whenever you inflict freeze, ignite, or shock. This is an excellent way to keep your energy high, while also boosting your status effects.

Ascendancies For An Endgame Monk Build In PoE 2

Acolyte Of Chayula

A Monk sitting among lit candles in Path of Exile 2.

Like every other class in Path of Exile 2, Monks have two Ascendancies (subclasses): Acolyte of Chayula and Invoker. Each one has a few unique skills. Acolyte of Chayula is focused on making a dark Monk, who uses Mana Leech to convert some of their outgoing damage into incoming mana. Unfortunately, Mana Leech isn’t a particularly useful mechanic in the endgame, when you’ll probably have enough mana-restoring options to keep you going without it. This subclass may also remove your Spirit and energy shield restoration, depending on the skills you take. Therefore, it’s not recommended for an endgame Monk.

Invoker

Invoker, on the other hand, is an entirely elemental subclass. It focuses on boosting your Lightning damage and Cold damage, giving you the chance to cause chilled or shocked ground whenever you inflict those status effects with I Am The Blizzard and I Am The Thunder. The skill And Scatter Them To The Winds also lets you create powerful shockwaves whenever you land a crit. Basically, Invoker powers up all the things that are already great about playing a Monk, and so it makes the perfect endgame Ascendancy.

Warrior characters from Path of Exile 2

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With all this in mind, you should have no problem creating a quarterstaff-swinging, elemental shockwave-emanating Monk in the endgame. Pick an elemental damage type, stick with it, and choose Invoker, and you should be just fine. Of course, there’s plenty of room for experimentation here, so feel free to experiment and find what works best for your very own Path of Exile 2 Monk.

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