S-TIER | BUILD MOINE FACEBREAKERS HOLLOW PALM (@MisoxShiru) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This Monk Martial Artist build relies on an iconic combination: the Facebreakers gloves paired with the passive keystone keystone Hollow Palm Technique, allowing you to play fully unarmed with Fire Flicker Strike as the main skill. The core mechanic is simple yet effective — Facebreakers convert a portion of intelligence into bonus fire damage (1% per 5 intelligence) as well as area of effect (per 10 intelligence), pushing the character to stack this stat heavily in order to scale both damage output and ground coverage.

The Flicker Strike unarmed gameplay is extremely satisfying: fast attacks, permanent ignite triggered by Facebreakers’ fire conversion, and a fluid, hard-hitting combat feel that sets it apart from classic quarter staff builds. At level 89 with around 405 intelligence, the build reaches a damage output comparable to a mid-investment quarter staff build — but for a significantly higher investment. MisoxShiru is upfront about this: if you’re after pure performance, a well-built quarter staff will go further at the same budget. If you want to play Hollow Palm competitively in endgame, this is the most viable option available today in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.

This build is a labor of love: you play it because you want to punch enemies with your bare fists, because the unarmed combat fantasy is unique, and because Hollow Palm finally deserves its place in the meta. It is functional in endgame and mapping, with a real but achievable damage ceiling as your investment grows.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 9 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to view the corresponding skill gem setup.

Act 1 Pre-Hollow Palm Act 1 Post-Hollow Palm Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Interludes Early Endgame Flicker Transition Mid Early Endgame – Flicker Transition Mid-Endgame Facebreakers Transition

Acte 1 Pre-Hollow Palm

4 skills • 10 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Acte 1 Post-Hollow Palm

6 skills • 16 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Fragments Of The Past

Act 2

7 skills • 19 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Fragments Of The Past

Act 3

9 skills • 27 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Illusion persistanteLingering Illusion

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Fragments Of The Past

Act 4

9 skills • 28 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Illusion persistanteLingering Illusion

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Fragments Of The Past

Interludes

9 skills • 28 gemmes

Déferlement de glaceGlacial Cascade

Terre geléeFrozen Locus

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Illusion persistanteLingering Illusion

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Marque glacialeFreezing Mark

Fragments Of The Past

Early Endgame – Flicker Transition

11 skills • 47 gemmes

Tempête imminenteGathering Storm

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Illusion persistanteLingering Illusion

Frappe fulguranteFlicker Strike

Évocation de RavageurReaper's Invocation

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Hollow Resonance

Hollow Focus

Mid – Early Endgame – Flicker Transition

12 skills • 49 gemmes

Tempête imminenteGathering Storm

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Illusion persistanteLingering Illusion

Frappe fulguranteFlicker Strike

Évocation de RavageurReaper's Invocation

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Hollow Resonance

Hollow Focus

Régulation des chargesCharge Regulation

Mid-Endgame Facebreakers Transition

13 skills • 59 gemmes

Hollow Focus

Hollow Resonance

Spirit Vessel

Cri ancestralAncestral Cry

Régulation des chargesCharge Regulation

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Assaut tourbillonnantWhirling Assault

Frappe fulguranteFlicker Strike

Paume stupéfianteStaggering Palm

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Évocation de RavageurReaper's Invocation

Marteau de forgeForge Hammer

Recommended Equipment

• Facebreakers (gloves): the build’s centerpiece. Look for a pair with double socket, the affixes « additional fire damage per 5 intelligence » and « increased area of effect per 10 intelligence ». Note: corrupting Facebreakers to gain unarmed damage via strength does not work — Fists of Stone converts the bonus by resetting the threshold to 5 regardless of the corruption (likely a bug).
• Astramentis (amulet, current slot): a transitional amulet providing large amounts of global stats. The ideal target is a rare amulet with +3 to melee skills, intelligence, percentage intelligence, and spirit.
• Breach rings (goal): two rings with the Breach modifier and stat bonuses (especially intelligence) — to acquire in order to improve overall scaling.
• notable Ingenuity (belt, planned upgrade): a belt that amplifies ring bonuses, useful for maximizing stat stacking scaling.
• Rakiata (high-impact upgrade): an off-hand weapon or item providing massive conversion for fire and elemental damage — would be a significant DPS improvement given the build’s heavy proportion of fire and elemental damage.
• Mind of the Council (secondary option): scales lightning damage off maximum mana. Interesting on paper since stacking intelligence generates high mana (between 1,200 and 2,000, potentially up to 4,000). Practical calculations have not yielded convincing results so far — to be reassessed later in progression.

Gameplay Tips

• Boss rotation: place Forge Hammer on the ground, trigger Ancestral Cry to activate Glory, follow up with notable Whirling Assault to engage, drop the bells, then strike the boss with Fire Flicker Strike. This sequence maximizes damage by combining the Glory bonuses and the Forge Hammer area.
• Permanent ignite exploitation: Facebreakers allow for permanent ignite thanks to fire conversion. This automatically triggers the Glory from Ancestral Cry on each activation — prioritize this during bossing.
• Intelligence management to scale Evasion: as you progress, aim for the Hero of Tragedy node linked to Olroth in the passive tree. This node converts a portion of intelligence into Evasion, which should bring the total value to around 60% Evasion — a major defensive improvement.
• Main defense: life + Energy Shield + Evasion: do not switch to CI (Chaos Inoculation). The build maintains a hybrid defense combining life, Energy Shield and Evasion, complemented by deflection for mitigation.
• Ancestral Cry uptime management: difficult to maintain permanently. In mapping, it triggers naturally during packs. To improve future uptime, consider Zuri’s Infamy with Life Tap on notable Staggering Palm to generate Glory continuously.

Intelligence Stat Stacking with Facebreakers

The mechanical core of this build relies entirely on stacking intelligence. Facebreakers convert every 5 points of intelligence into 1% additional fire damage on unarmed attacks, and every 10 points of intelligence into increased area of effect. With 405 points of intelligence at level 89, the build reaches a damage output comparable to an average-investment quarter staff build — a linear and predictable scaling curve.

This stat stacking system makes gearing very focused: every piece of equipment must contribute to intelligence, whether through direct prefixes/suffixes, stat-rich Breach rings, or the amulet. The higher the intelligence, the more damage and area of effect scale. The build still has significant room to grow — optimal Breach rings with double stats, a rare +3 melee amulet, and an Ingenuity belt could push intelligence well beyond 500 points.

Note: corrupting Facebreakers to obtain unarmed damage via strength appears to be reset to the default value (tier 5) by the Fists of Stone passive. This behavior is likely a bug that has been reported to GGG. Until a potential fix is released, prefer uncorrupted Facebreakers with double sockets.

Single Target and the Gathering Storm / Tempest Bug

The original plan for single target relied on the synergy between Gathering Storm and a spell skill — a combination that promised excellent bossing potential. Unfortunately, this synergy is currently bugged in Patch 0.5, rendering the mechanic non-functional. GGG (Kelly) has confirmed they are investigating the issue, and a fix is expected in an upcoming update.

In the meantime, the replacement solution for single target relies on notable Whirling Assault combined with Forge Hammer and the bells. The rotation goes as follows: place Forge Hammer, trigger Ancestral Cry, cast Whirling Assault to engage, drop the bells, then deal damage via Fire Flicker Strike. This sequence is effective but more laborious than the originally intended solution.

Once the Gathering Storm/Tempest bug is fixed, Whirling Assault will likely be replaceable entirely, and the build’s single target should improve significantly. This is one of the major upcoming changes to watch for in GGG’s updates.

Building Defenses: Life, Energy Shield and Evasion

This build deliberately opts for hybrid defenses rather than CI (Chaos Inoculation). The combination of life, Energy Shield and Evasion provides balanced protection against the various damage types encountered in endgame. Deflection complements this setup as an additional mitigation layer.

The current defensive investment provides adequate survivability in T15 mapping, but the medium-term goal is to reach the Hero of Tragedy node via Olroth in the passive tree. This node converts a portion of intelligence into Evasion, which — given the build’s very high intelligence level — should bring the Evasion rate to around 60%. This improvement would make the build significantly more resilient against physical and projectile damage.

Upgrade Paths and Endgame

The build still has plenty of room to grow. The immediate priority is to replace Astramentis with a rare amulet offering +3 to melee skills, intelligence, percentage intelligence and Spirit — a combination that improves both active damage and the stats ceiling. Breach rings with intelligence bonuses are also a priority investment to push stat stacking further.

In terms of high-impact upgrades, Rakiata represents the most promising avenue: the build generates large amounts of fire and elemental damage, and Rakiata would directly multiply this contribution. notable Ingenuity as a belt would amplify ring bonuses and accelerate the overall intelligence scaling.

For Ancestral Cry uptime in mapping, an interesting avenue would be to use Zuri’s Infamy paired with Life Tap on notable Staggering Palm. This combination would theoretically allow permanent uptime of Ancestral Cry’s Glory, turning an occasional advantage into a constant bonus. Mind of the Council remains a secondary option to reconsider late in progression once mana reaches high values (4,000 or more).

Skill Tree