Monk Starter Perfected - Zero Struggles, Maximum Fun - POE 2 Builds

[@MichaelGalida-gp2qx]

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you. I was really struggling on my own to find a build that really worked. This build has been hands down the most fun I've had so far with a character. Thank you so much. You are extremely good at making everything easy to follow. You are a very good teacher and make everything clear. You're the only one who I've watched who actually went step by step. Everyone else was all over the place jumping around with information. Thank you again you deserve millions of viewers. Well done and God bless you. Ps my first main was the mercenary and I made it to the end of act 3 but my damage just fell off. Now with the monk I'm continuing my favorite character since diablo 3. Loves the monk and ggg has perfected him. God bless.

[@XyPbMa]

Thank you so much for such a detailed and visual guide. You're the best at creating guides in Poe 2.

[@P4wnyhof]

Thanks mate!

[@Dracodanny]

Thinking about trying it

[@JLove]

I went from rolling every other strike, dodging attacks and setting up positional attacks to absolutely levelling areas after your video. Thanks for sharing!

[@P4wnyhof]

Happy we could help :D!

[@hpisanggaming1798]

You're helping a lot of new players. Keep up the great work my friend. Love these videos. Please keep making them.

[@Chargo-phargo]

Boss guide yo.. im blown away at how you actually match what your talking about while showing us too.

[@P4wnyhof]

Thank you sir :D!

[@Luke-uz9sf]

I love how you make this so simple and easy to follow. Love you man

[@cailee9820]

Wow - my first try at a monk was a disaster. Followed your guide and it was a breeze, plus very fun! Thx so much - liked and subscribed!

[@P4wnyhof]

Happy to help :D!

[@HOOTIEHOOT]

my first time ever playing these types of games and i was doing everything wrong lmao, this guy made it alot better

[@dancole6312]

I really struggled with the monk, got him to level 3 and re-rolled a new character, it was painful. Saw your guide and decided to give it another go. ... hes now my main and is my first character to beat Act 2 final boss. (my mercenary and witch are stuck at that stage) level 16 onwards is a game changer. huge thanks for your detailed set up and guide

[@STLBlackout92]

This build has been solid as hell. Great video, sir. You earned yourself a sub. 👍

[@ahadhassan4962]

I’m struggling to match the DPS numbers you have by act 3. I’m struggling to break 800dps at level 46 following your tree path. Any suggestions?

[@tetrahedron_in_space]

Was REALLY struggling with Monk in Act 1 until I watched this video. Just completed Act 3 and was FLYING through the acts with this build. Perfect set up to go right into a Flicker Strike build once I get to that skill gem!

[@wiltonantoniodiscua3246]

Not the video i was looking for but THE ONE I NEEDED

[@P4wnyhof]

Howdy!

[@biaydzik4604]

Thanks to you i can play monk. I tried something myself i quit after 1 hour and created merc. Now i know where i was wrong. Great guide

[@KickMe1177]

you the goat for early/late game guides. Appreciate what you do dawg.

[@mivani84]

Finaly a build i can use. I defeated bosses were i was stuck. Thx m8

[@bravehart426]

I think I'm stupid because I don't think I have rage as an option with my quarterstaff. how else can I get the gem?

[@guyjorstad8417]

Awesome vid. Really well written and explained. Leveling my monk as we speak!

[@treefiddy5673]

Thanks for the good info. As a beginner to POE, this was very helpful to understand everything better!

[@demise6992]

Was playing lightning monk before but felt that something was missing so i tried this one out and i have to say, I enjoy this one much more. Thanks! :)

[@xThronex]

Ditto. Tried lightning, felt underwhelming coming from Merc. Switched to this and it's tearing up.

[@PirateAndArmadaCo]

@@xThronex well you did go from like the second most op class to a mid tier class....basically everything will feel like it's weak

[@PureCapsaicin]

I don’t understand the concept of “zero struggles”. This game is made with souls-like mechanics and similar difficulty, resulting in a reward system from mastering our mechanical abilities and game sense. I’m new to POE as a whole and I just don’t see the point in playing meta builds, meanwhile everyone in the community seems to only care about “the best of the best” “no struffle” “insta kill bosses” “insta clear maps”. I get that everyone has their own preferences, but I can’t understand how people can enjoy that no matter how hard I try. It makes it extremely difficult to find build guides as well being that I’m a new player. All I can find is meta, not enjoyment, meta. I’m looking to take my time with the game, experience a challenge, but also have a build that’s fun to play. This is one of the funnest games I’ve ever played, and it sucks that I have to deal with this. I tried playing without a build guide on a few characters, but I can’t help but feel that I’m ridiculously underpowered from what I want. I don’t want too strong, I don’t want too weak, I want the in between. Someone really needs to start making build guides like this, because from what I’ve seen, a large portion of the community feel the exact same way that I do currently. I’ve spent 50 hours in game now and I’ve made 8 different characters, completely unable to find the right build for me. Edit: Love your content btw man, it’s not just you here by any means, everyone seems to do this. I’ve used your videos for my ER, LOP, Once Human, and No rest for the wicked playthroughs. Keep it up brotha!

[@justinsavedra7633]

I know what your issue is. I didn't watch a single build video. I got good through trial and error. Messed around with what's good and what's not. You just have to figure it out for yourself. That's what makes the game fun. You get crushed. So farm an area. Craft some new gear. Use different spells then when you finally get somewhere you feel good about it.

[@taiun21]

Wish I saw this earlier, I just rerolled my monk to follow this guide. Thank you for such an in depth guide.

[@DRSEV11]

this made monk leveling feel so good! Like millions of times better than whatever tf i was doing

[@SeattleSandro]

Dude, I lived by your Diablo 4 guides and I'm here for your PoE 2 guides!

[@Humatra]

I'm convinced. Thanks for the video!

[@leomella46]

I played the game for fun and this is the first guide I ever followed. it works even with bad gear.

[@Vanhal11]

Nice build plus exceptionally well explained guide. Fun fact: i DID managed to kill Napuatzi so fast to prevent her poison-stabbing phase, which was a pure bliss since i hate that boss and have huge troubles with her on other characters. This seemed to bug the soldiers after the fight, they just stand in place and did nothing. There was also an awkward moment with Doryani when i took his entire life in two bells but he later moved around on 1 HP and talked and used abilities for something like at least 30 seconds before his 2nd phase kicked in. On a minus, this build could really use some HP leech.

[@HighGuyy420]

The Avatar vibes are real with the monk

[@P4wnyhof]

100%

[@Pr0t0typ33]

This looks like a really nice setup, thank you so much for explaining everything so clearly. As a new player this definitely helps. I hope you keep making guides for all the classes. Subbed!

[@manuelkeseler1260]

Thx for the Build and explanation. It helps me alot . Im akt 2 now with Monk . Good work , keep it up :)

[@thewu910]

I laugh at all those creators that said to use a bow until “__” while leveling. Glacial Cascade is so underrated, and carried me all the way to Ice Strike while leveling.

[@officialdabaws5228]

bow is quite a bit stronger, you only need to look at the creators who are saying to level with a bow and thats enough to verify its legitimacy lol

[@thewu910]

@ I had an easier time leveling and bossing in act 1 on GC monk than any other class I’ve leveled, including ranger. I said what I said…lol.

[@Not_A_Federal_Agent]

FACT CHECK: Bow is easier and stronger, you are just dumb. Confirmed ✅

[@thewu910]

@@Not_A_Federal_Agent well, you’re not very nice. Great community, this one. Sounds like some of you just went straight to bow because of what a creator told you to do… FYI, nothing about GC spam felt suboptimal. Had an easy and fast experience with Cascade until I got Ice Strike.

[@kyleoverstreet4701]

​@@thewu910 yeah don't worry about the haters. The bow is probably a bit better technically but if you have no trouble leveling your way then how wrong could it be? I was going this game was going to be less cookie cutter than others but it seems the community really wants the game to work like an assembly line. It's kinda boring imo to min max games like this.

[@kalem303]

Switched to this build after trying full glass canon and having so much fun. Thanks man!

[@Northguardツ]

You just got a new subscriber! Keep up the great videos!

[@P4wnyhof]

Thanks mate :D!

[@HOOTIEHOOT]

my first time ever playing these types of games and i was doing everything wrong lmao, you made it alot better thanks my dude

[@justinfriese4989]

If you would do the Build on the Webside a bit different so that you can change between the acts and which skills to use when then this would be the all round best package you can get around here. Otherwise great guide my man

[@Nemesid1]

Great video. So far most easy leveling was ranger, combo lighting rods + lighting orb melts bosses in seconds from gem level3. It is also very viable solution for mobing until enough dps to just shot groups by lighting arrow + one herald or both lightning and ice ones.

[@lailokens]

Thanks for the guide, I was about to drop the game because of how difficult it was getting and you definitely saved my gaming experience!!!

[@P4wnyhof]

Happy it worked out :D!

[@neatcrassneatcrass6995]

raaaah man THANK YOU so MUCH for this guide !!!!

[@adriankinoko1813]

How to get Persistence Supp Rune??? I cannot find it :(( I open whole supp skill list from my skill sets (I Check everything) and I cant find it! :(

[@sobzeru]

How do you put the HUD that way? I hate it in the middle and I don't like the one where they put all of it at the side.

[@LeonardoSantos-qn7wx]

You missed out the node right besides Spectral Ward. It gives flat amount of energy shield and evasion. Flat numbers are always important when most of the nodes are % based and can reach out 400, 500% increase.

[@PecyoWR]

Great guide :) was struggling in the early game with monk

[@calvinlok1460]

Oh no .I haven't finish act 3 with my warrior, and you made me wanna start afresh with Monk..

[@P4wnyhof]

THATS OK :D YOU CAN HAVE MANY CHARACTERS!

[@calvinlok1460]

I'm stuck at Act3 after the portal. Getting killed fast.. Haha...

[@OfficialVincent]

Really good video. One question, what vials are we taking for cold monk?

[@mattnickles6371]

I started a lightning bow monk that has been a blast so far.

[@bluex610]

Mix em both, 😅

[@kirosotree]

When you were talking about bell bossing in act 1, I thought you said they couldn't hit you "because of I'm Asian" i was cracking up! 😂

[@GoddaryuTUBE]

Is overabundance on the bell broken? I still can only have 1 at a time with it attached

[@NailGrozdanic]

I love your video ! For me so easy to to follow with a red thread all the way through. I so will test this out soonest. I have a level 50 monk on Act 1 cruel and even Ranger level 50 on Act 1 cruel (ranger is mainly Lightning but Monk I have tried to go cold+lighthning on my own with variable success though :( ) Oh, and i subed as well ;) will surely follow your videos :)

[@FluxxAvatar]

I might have missed it but were any support gems added to ice strike?

[@DjusDoneyou]

Banging build post Ice Strike!! What I want to know is…. why aren’t you running any passive jewels? And what ones would you run? Quarterstaff modifiers, attack speed, freeze build up, cold damage etc????

[@P4wnyhof]

I just did not put them in the planner :D My jewels are mostly crap!

[@ptutmwbkim]

U can put grant rage when melee hit

[@jamesobrien9456]

Was struggling with lighting invoker monk , switched up to your build but am struggling on level 1 maps now , only have 2 ascendancy’s so I don’t think I. Getting tanky benefits , used my ascendancy points to get unbound avatar , should I have gone other string ?

[@AlessandroCorbellini]

Having real fun and easy life with this one! What should I do with the body armor? Full evasion? Thanks

[@extemnemoy]

dude i cant find combat frenzy anywhere why ?

[@andrew4720]

You need a level 8 spirit gem (first one dropped for me around the act 2 boss) and you need to click to see all skill options; it’s not a monk skill (this doesn’t prevent you from using it on monk though).

[@scottcunni]

in act 1 I struggled and almost quit at level 7 then I switched to a bow with same perks you do with ranger and breezed thru up until level 14 then switched to ice strike.

[@MyNdFrEaK420]

I found a yellow wand and scepter early on and just used witch spells with minions until level 14. Love the flexibility in this game

[@wesleyeskens]

Its good that i like to have fun instead of farming like a mad man. Thanks for the guide gonna try this out.

[@DaDangla]

Awesome build but I can't get my charge staff to work and I have combat frenzy no restrictions any ideas

[@kelban0822]

How are your dps numbers on the abilities so high? same level and mine are like in the hundreds rather than thousands. so confused

[@russellgibson2500]

Thanks for this dude absolutely brilliant guide. Just wanting to know what sort of stats do I need to prioritise on gear?

[@JosePFdez]

In the trading website they specify the DPS / Phisical and Elemental DPS for each weapon (Last row of the weapon). Do you know if I can find those SAME values of a weapon itself somewhere in the game (xbox) ? Thank you for your help.

[@Huntanor]

No, on pc you can use an overlay, but in-game you just open your gems and compare the dps on your main skill. If your really desperate to see the local number you could post it for 100 div and use the trade browser but the skill dps is usually a reasonable method to see if it's actually better.

[@NabuandTheCats]

You can calculate the dps by using this: (((min dmg + max dmg) / 2 ) * attack per second) * 1.2

[@puuha1977]

Hey, on your build on Moba you're using the same support gems in a few places, which in the game it's not allowed. Am I doing something wrong?

[@themeliodas6227]

The herald thunder is guaranteed given when you kill the king of the mist? Because when I see the skills it doesn’t even show it

[@einshun007]

Why do you already have Unbound Avatar in the early level

[@P4wnyhof]

I got unbound with lvl 41

[@officialdabaws5228]

level with bow until 14, the swap. use lightning arrow and lightning rod for clear and just basic attack for bosses. i dont know but weapon attacks are the strongest single target abilities for act1 and its not even slightly close.

[@fair13]

damn where are you getting that Ice Strike damage? Mine only deals 906 with all the engravings and stuff

[@anthonylowe8819]

Somebody else said it already but going ranged with lightning arrow and lightning rods carried me straight to level 14 where I got ice strike and it was sailing from there.

[@P4wnyhof]

With monk stuff and herald of ice you get there easy as well

[@patoanonimo589]

I'm just starting POE 2 now and I want to build a monk invoker. What do you recommend: should I go hybrid and only switch to full lightning later, or stick with one or the other until endgame?

[@brandont5963]

How do you get 30 spirit in early game for herald of ice?

[@Jan_Steve_Rein]

I think you need to defeat King of the Mist

[@mr.larsenovski]

which support gems should we use on herald of ice ?

[@Shoreux]

Magnified works great, so does Cold Infusion

[@henzo6753]

god damn it why do i need to play another toon?! :D Giving monk a shot. Great video!

[@Icychili68]

Great video!! currently i am lvl 34 but my ice strike only have 1091 in act 3, how can i boost my damage like you around 1600ish?? many thanks

[@chrislangston230]

How do I get my charged staff to work in actually got a level 9 skill gem in act 2 but it's not doing anything is it because of my spirit?

[@P4wnyhof]

You need power charges sir :) And power charges are createrd by combat frenzy but you need another 30 spirit which you get in Act 3 bog witch!

[@chrislangston230]

@P4wnyhof thanks

[@jermainedwasin8507]

Hi, im pretty new with this game, how do I get 7 health/mana flasks? Im stuck on 5 flasks with a level 34 monk.

[@shenlun]

My only issue @p4wnyhof is that you don't see which attributes you pick along the way.

[@P4wnyhof]

Told you in the passive section :) take the stat you need (more int for headgear/support gems) more dex (for chest and support gems)

[@shenlun]

@P4wnyhof my comment was in regards to "showing you" as mobalytics doesn't show you what attributes you take whereas maxroll does. Thank you again for the upload

[@noanils123]

i was mercenary. was getting bored by spamming gas grenade. saw this video, made a monk, having fun again. thanks.

[@Tubestof]

nice visual explanation. have not finished the clip because i am leveling up my monk at the same time :D . wrestled a warrior but this monk is 10 x more fun. keep em coming :D . only boss i have not been able to do is the one in freythorn because he puts down SOOOOO much stuff on the ground :s. any hints on that would be appreciated :s. (have a witch and sorch and range so al range. complete melee noob).

[@cemgectan4826]

Thank you very much great guide! One question, by mid of Act 2 my monk which is full evasion started to get too much damage. Once I freeze it’s OK but if not mobs hurt a lot. Should I put some armor or how much evasion is required around level 30? My resistance are not that bad, I feel 0 armor is the issue

[@timhig8665]

hey bro,what support gem do you have on combo frenzy in this video?

[@neilempringham5163]

Best poe2 character/ build yet!, simply amazing , I'm only level 13 & destroying everything!!!

[@phatvath]

How do you get the herald of ice with no spirit ??

[@Harggos]

Thank you! I will Incorporate some of the passive tree nodes into my character. I personally prefer more freeze buildup and attack damage increase nodes

[@Maxipotomus]

Awesome videos I’ve followed your guides for the witch, sorc and now the monk.. what’s the 2nd gem in frozen locus? I can’t seem to find it

[@sennix8613]

there is a gem tab called ALL GEMS where are "universal" gems stored and can be used also on those skill that dont have them in normal tree

Must be doing something wrong. Followed your steps and am now end act one but my damage is nowhere near what you seem to have. Around 1/3 for ice strike, even less for all the others. Is that gear related?

[@caldepen372]

Enjoying the build so far. Way more powerful than others I have tried, but having mana issues. I have 5 or 6% mana leech on physical dmg but it doesn't seem to be working well. Not sure if when it converts it to cold we lose that leech? How are most people solving this issue?

[@Stonefreeee]

hands down the best leveling monk on the plante

[@bitmau5]

As a first time player and this being my first character, this is really close to the route that I took. I Really found your Gem usage helpful, as I have yet to play around enough to figure out what works best. The passives are almost identical as well. I've really been enjoying the game and learning all these things on my own, and it's just CRAZY to me that you have a video on almost the exact same build as me; and I have no clue what I'm doing. Thank you for this, it really is helping me hone my first ever build, that much more. Super helpful!

[@thilomarquard2054]

I Chose the Path of chayula way before watching this Build. Any suggestions I could run or Change since this build is working pretty well for me and is a lot of fun. Currently lvl 38.?

[@P4wnyhof]

Probably chaos resistance and Reality Rending? Have not dabbled with Chayula much :X

[@thilomarquard2054]

@@P4wnyhofso the other passiv Skills Stay pretty much the Same you would say ?

[@dodang_9147]

@@P4wnyhof it encourages you to run essence drain+contagion with "Shock wave" as ranged option until you hit whirlwind assault for phy dmg and than you spec everything into phy damage, mana leech and attackspeed with mostly same defence options as invoker monk. honestly, i'd say to ignore chaos monk build for story mode b/c invoker ice strike path is so much stronger that there is no reason to "play" chaos monk until like.... level 50 or 60. basically what happens in end game for chaos monk is that you can run essence invocation which is invocation that every time you lose energy shield(400 shield to be precise), you auto-cast essence drain in front of you and chaos monk ascension allows you to convert phy into mana leech which recovers energy shield. so loop is take dmg->cast spell, do tempes bell+whirlwind strike, regain energy shield rince and repeat. you also unlock chaos mantra skill to gain combo but it doesn't come online until like level 50 or 60. so i'd just ignore it.

[@beno8499]

I’m a Poe noob I bricked my first witch character thinking I could do it without a guide. I’m following this build now!!!!😂😂😂

[@nat20crafts]

Can you go over loot filters? Great vid man!

[@XbattlepopeX]

A good energy helmet will require 100+ int, so all our gear will need int on it?

[@NvidiaShield-ij6uz]

What if you don't run a freeze build then?

[@brianmiller8097]

This video is AMAZING...step by step instructions are sooo helpful...keep them comming....can you do 1 like this for poison ranger

[@ChibiBlasphem]

Spectral ward (1 ES for 12 Evasion) doesn't synergize with Beastial skin (+100% body armor evasion) as evasion is not directly added onto body armor.

[@P4wnyhof]

Which is sad - Still both nodes work fantastic!

[@ChibiBlasphem]

@ extremely sad, i took both expecting for that too, but again as you said both nodes in standalone are really great

[@clubdeejay]

the linked build guide has glaciation in the slot instead of frost nexus for the wave of frost skill

[@PekkkiR]

Ice strike monk is the best arpg expirience I had in years 🤘

[@umuterdonmez6995]

Now that is how you make a guide👏👏👏

[@josueignaciomm]

Awesome!! Are you using WASD or Mouse?? Thanks for the vid!

[@TheBrosSkate]

Everyone I have watched so far uses WASD

[@haraldschachinger2916]

Build feels awesome. I am at 52 now, is there a endgame version coming soon? :)

[@smØkeyzåzå95]

my god,5 mins in and i alredy regret leveling warrior :))

[@largepaw8761]

I really hope you take this build all the way to mapping and beyond, or else you will feel the wrath of ds lilly. Heads up.

[@P4wnyhof]

Today it continues live!

[@dennisdeluca8648]

Usely I agree with u but how could it be starter build but have to get 90 spirit for the 3 x 30 spirit Reservation skills? How can I get that mutch spirit? Which is the best way ?

[@P4wnyhof]

Sir there are 3 quests for more permanent spirit!

[@xboxplayer32]

There's a couple of bosses you will have to defeat to get the permanent stats.

[@brutalblasts]

Quick strikes , mobilty,or combos ?