S-TIER | BUILD MOINE MARTIALBREAKER FACEBREAKER (@Woolie) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

The Martial Breaker is a melee unarmed Monk build that transforms the class into a true stun and fire damage machine. The entire build revolves around the unique gloves Facebreaker, but in a unique twist: thanks to the Martial Artist ascendancy node Way of the Stonefist, your Facebreaker shift their scaling from strength to intelligence. In practice, you gain 1% additional fire damage per 5 intelligence and 1% area of effect per 10 intelligence, with all base damage converted to fire.

The cornerstone of the combo is the Hollow Palm Technique passive tree keystone: while unarmed, your attacks count as maces once Facebreaker are equipped, allowing you to use mace skills while retaining the massive unarmed damage bonus. The gameplay then centers on Wind Blast: every heavy stun freely triggers an Impact Shockwave (an Impact Shockwave granted by the upgraded Facebreaker), creating chain explosions that shatter enemy armour. Since Wind Blast stuns continuously, you effectively get a permanent double Impact Shockwave.

On top of that, Hollow Form summons clones of yourself that hammer the ground with Rolling Slam and Forge Hammer. Combined with an Infernal Cry and the unique amulet Red Flare Conduit (20% chance to gain a power charge on hit in a combat zone), the fissures generated feed your charges and multiply your damage. This is a league starter build by Woolie, still actively evolving: this first update showcases it at level 52, at the end of Act 4, but it already performs well beyond expectations with very comfortable clear speed.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 4 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Act 1 Act 2 Act 3+ Endgame

Act 1

8 skills • 16 gemmes

Frappe au bâton de combatQuarterstaff Strike

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Rafale de ventWind Blast

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Paume stupéfianteStaggering Palm

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Act 2

5 skills • 13 gemmes

Rafale de ventWind Blast

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Paume stupéfianteStaggering Palm

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Déluge céraunienTempest Flurry

Acte 3+

9 skills • 23 gemmes

Rafale de ventWind Blast

Hollow Form

Marteau de forgeForge Hammer

Paume stupéfianteStaggering Palm

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

Déchirure

Fragments Of The Past

Présence accablanteOverwhelming Presence

Moment de détresseTime of Need

Endgame

10 skills • 40 gemmes

Rafale de ventWind Blast

Hollow Form

Marteau de forgeForge Hammer

Paume stupéfianteStaggering Palm

Cri infernalInfernal Cry

Fragments Of The Past

Déchirure

Présence accablanteOverwhelming Presence

Remnants of Kalguur

Moment de détresseTime of Need

Recommended Equipment

• Gloves — Facebreaker: the absolute cornerstone of the build. Aim for a high item level (or level them up at the reinforcing bench, up to around level 38) to raise the level of the built-in Impact Shockwave they grant.
• Amulet — Red Flare Conduit: 20% chance on hit to gain a power charge in a combat area; pick it up as soon as possible to fuel the fissure combo.
• Unarmed: no weapon equipped — Hollow Palm Technique requires fighting unarmed, with your Facebreaker making your attacks count as maces.
• Stats to prioritise: as much intelligence as possible (to scale the upgraded Facebreaker), evasion for survivability, and just enough strength for gem requirements.
• Rest of the gear: rare pieces with life, resistances and intelligence; the build does not need any other chase uniques to function at league start.

Gameplay Tips

• Ascendancy order: take Way of the Stonefist (or Way of the Mountain) FIRST, never Hollow Form. Until you have Rolling Slam + Forge Hammer and their fissures, Hollow Form doesn’t feel good to play.
• Second ascendancy point: Hollow Palm Technique, once your fissure combo is in place.
• Rotation: keep Wind Blast channelled continuously to chain heavy stuns (each stun triggers a free Impact Shockwave), then pop Infernal Cry / Forge Hammer to generate the fissures that feed your charges via Red Flare Conduit.
• Facebreaker at the right level: if your gloves have a low item level, use the reinforcing bench to raise the level of the built-in Impact Shockwave (up to ~38).
• Be patient with the price: Facebreaker gloves sell fast at league start, but their price will drop quickly as uniques flood the market — no need to overpay.
• If you have good rare gloves, Way of the Mountain remains a solid alternative while you wait to find usable Facebreaker gloves.

Facebreaker and Way of the Stonefist: The Core of the Build

Under normal circumstances, Facebreaker gloves provide a large chunk of flat physical damage, stun buildup, and most importantly 1% more damage per 5 strength — hence the typical strength stacking. But the moment you equip these gloves AND allocate the Way of the Stonefist node, you unlock a transformed version of Facebreaker.

This version swaps strength scaling for intelligence scaling: you gain 1% more fire damage per 5 intelligence (effectively reading almost like 1% more in a build with few other damage sources), plus 1% area of effect per 10 intelligence instead of the flat armour. On top of that, the base damage becomes fire damage, and the gloves grant a built-in skill: a free Impact Shockwave that doesn’t even link to support gems (likely an item-specific behaviour).

Hollow Palm Technique: Fighting Unarmed

The Hollow Palm Technique keystone is the other foundational pillar of the build. While unarmed, your attacks benefit from a massive damage bonus, and that bonus applies to both skills and Facebreaker. An important subtlety: without gloves, your unarmed attacks count as a quarterstaff, but with Facebreaker equipped, they count as a mace. In both cases, they remain unarmed attacks, so the damage bonus continues to apply in full.

In practice, this gives you the best of both worlds: the raw power of unarmed combat, plus access to mace skills for your stun and strike arsenal.

Wind Blast and Impact Shockwave: The Stun Machine

Wind Blast is the build’s pivot skill. Its role isn’t just to deal damage — its primary purpose is to heavy stun enemies constantly. The Impact Shockwave granted by Facebreaker triggers on every heavy stun — for free, with no gem investment. You get a repeating area explosion that also shatters enemy armour, creating great synergy with the rest of your damage output.

Even at a low level (skill level 3 of the built-in gem), Impact Shockwave already deals 158% area damage. As you raise its level through the gloves’ item level or the reinforcing bench, that damage portion scales up quickly — which is why upgrading your Facebreaker matters so much.

Hollow Form, Forge Hammer and Red Flare Conduit

Hollow Form is the build’s support mechanic: while channelling, you create images of yourself that automatically attack with the linked skill — here Rolling Slam. Be aware, however, that these clones are proxies (like a totem or Mirage Archer). They don’t count as you, so they generate neither rage nor charges for your character.

That’s where the Forge Hammer + Infernal Cry combo comes in: by popping the warcry, you trigger lava fissures. Each of those fissure hits then benefits from Red Flare Conduit (20% chance on hit to gain a power charge in the combat area). The result: a constant stream of power charges and a considerable damage spike, as shown in the gameplay sequences in the video.

Intelligence or Strength: Which Scaling to Choose?

This is the big question left open by this first update. Intelligence scaling (via Way of the Stonefist) is extremely comfortable during leveling and early endgame: it simplifies stat stacking and adds valuable area of effect for clearing. Conversely, for minmaxing in very high endgame, it may once again become more efficient to go back to pure strength stacking.

For now, the author hasn’t made a final call and is still experimenting. The pragmatic advice: start on intelligence with upgraded Facebreaker — it’s the smoothest and most straightforward path — then reassess your scaling once you’re well established in endgame.

Skill Tree