S-TIER | BUILD MOINE TRINITY MARTIAL ARTIST (@ronarray) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

The Martial Artist is one of the strongest ascendancies to start Season 0.5 of Path of Exile 2. This guide by ronarray walks through the Monk leveling process step by step, from the very first levels all the way to the endgame build transition. The build’s power stems from the synergy between the bells summoned by the Martial Artist ascendancy and critical damage: this combination amplifies your finishers such as Falling Thunder , making the campaign progression as fast as it is comfortable.

What makes this guide special is its two-phase approach. In the early game, you play a Twister Monk by picking up a spear from a Huntress — a leveling trick that makes the first acts much smoother. Around level 22–23, you switch to the Hollow Palm Technique and go unarmed: you strike enemies at melee range with Storm Wave while generating power charges in bulk to fuel your key skills.

In the late progression, the build evolves into a quarterstaff-based Trinity configuration, built around notable Whirling Assault and Charged Staff, capable of handling both mapping and bossing with ease. Versatile, budget-friendly, and lethal from league start — this is an excellent choice to kick off your season.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build features 6 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Early Endgame Lvl 1-23 23+ Unarmed Act 3-6 Waystones / Whirling Transition Uber Endgame

Early Endgame

10 skills • 47 gemmes

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Assaut tourbillonnantWhirling Assault

Mantra de destructionMantra of Destruction

TrinitéTrinity

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Main de ChayulaHand of Chayula

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Déchirure

Lvl 1-23

8 skills • 14 gemmes

TrombeTwister

Taillade tourbillonnanteWhirling Slash

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

ParadeParry

Crocs de givreFangs of Frost

Tir de barrageBarrage

Flèches à pointe de glaceIce-Tipped Arrows

23+ Unarmed

7 skills • 19 gemmes

Vague orageuseStorm Wave

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

DéchirureSet 2

DévorationSet 2Devour

Acte 3-6

9 skills • 27 gemmes

Vague orageuseStorm Wave

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

DéchirureSet 2

DévorationSet 2Devour

Main de ChayulaHand of Chayula

Waystones / Whirling Transition

10 skills • 33 gemmes

Assaut tourbillonnantWhirling Assault

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Paume meurtrièreKilling Palm

DéchirureSet 2

DévorationSet 2Devour

Uber Endgame

9 skills • 42 gemmes

Main de ChayulaHand of Chayula

Bâton chargéCharged Staff

Assaut tourbillonnantWhirling Assault

Mantra de destructionMantra of Destruction

TrinitéTrinity

Héraut de la glaceHerald of Ice

Héraut de la cendreHerald of Ash

Grondement de tonnerreFalling Thunder

Cloche tempétueuseTempest Bell

Recommended Equipment

Since this build is designed for league start and leveling, it relies on no expensive unique items. The priority is solid bases and good stats:

• Early game weapon: a good-quality basic spear (Iron Head Spear type), to pick up as soon as possible from vendors at the Red Vault
• Unarmed phase: after level 22–23, unequip your spear and your buckler — Hollow Palm Technique then converts your attributes into damage
• Talisman: a low-level talisman (around level 9) locked onto the second weapon set, essential for the Rend tech
• Endgame: a quarterstaff with high elemental damage (ideally three elements) for the transition to notable Whirling Assault
• Priority stats: capped elemental resistances, dexterity (for Ice-Tipped Arrows), life and attack damage

Gameplay Tips

• Core combo: always use Whirling Slash three times before casting Twister to saturate the area with twisters
• Cold conversion: keep Ice-Tipped Arrows active at all times — it grants four charges and converts your damage to cold
• Power charges: on bosses, generate your charges with Killing Palm on the bells, then spend them with Falling Thunder
• Boss tech: chain power charges → Rend → Falling Thunder to take advantage of the 50% lightning damage bonus
• Efficient clear: keep Herald of Ash at a low level — it is enough to clear packs with zero investment
• Prepare for Endgame: as soon as possible, buy a good elemental quarterstaff to switch to the Whirling Assault setup notable Whirling Assault

Starting as a Huntress: The Leveling Trick

The very first tip in this guide is counterintuitive: start by creating a Huntress rather than a Monk. The goal is to pick up a spear and the Twister gem, then grab Whirling Slash. Once you reach the encampment, place the spear, both gems, and your scrolls of wisdom into the shared stash.

Then pick everything up on your Monk. You can immediately chain Whirling Slash and Twister right from the start, and round it out with Frost Bomb as your third skill. This approach makes the Monk’s early game — usually quite rough — far smoother and more powerful.

Transitioning to the Hollow Palm Technique

Around level 22, you reach Hollow Palm Technique in the passive tree. This is the moment to completely transform your build: unequip your spear and buckler to fight unarmed. Throughout the preceding leveling, make sure to set aside your level 7 gems.

Your main skill becomes Storm Wave (supported by Rage and Lightning Attunement, then Branching Fissures a bit later). Falling Thunder is used when you have power charges, while Siphoning Strike serves to generate those charges by consuming the shock ailment on enemies — particularly useful against bosses before your ascendancy.

The Martial Artist Ascendancy and the Bells

As early as level 23, your first Martial Artist ascendancy summons bells around you. Using Killing Palm on those bells continuously provides you with power charges. At this point, drop Siphoning Strike in favor of Killing Palm on the bells: this becomes your new charge generator, primarily designed for Bossing.

Later in the campaign, you add Charge Infusion and a prolonged duration to better exploit your charges, while keeping Falling Thunder and Killing Palm as your charge generator and spender.

The Talisman and Rend Tech

Buy a low-level talisman (around level 9), insert it into an iron form and lock it onto your second weapon set, then add Rend to your panel. When you hit an enemy with Rend while holding a power charge, you gain 50% extra lightning damage — a significant bonus.

The ideal boss rotation is to generate charges with Killing Palm (or Siphoning Strike if you have not ascended yet), to apply Rend to activate the buff, then spend your charges with Falling Thunder. The buff persists even when you switch back to Storm Wave.

Switching to Whirling Assault (Endgame)

Toward the end of the campaign and into endgame, the build transitions to a notable Whirling Assault quarterstaff setup. Simply buy a good high elemental damage quarterstaff (ideally covering three elements) and follow the Trinity configuration planned for this transition.

On the high-level passive tree, the goal is to pick up all the nodes surrounding Hollow Palm Technique, then invest into Unbound Forces, Dizzying Sweep, and Alternating Current — the latter fixes your mana and grants you free shock magnitude. You then direct your points toward offensive staff nodes and Dizzying Hit as you push further into endgame.

Skill Tree