Overview
This build pairs the new Martial Artist ascendancy with Whirling Assault to deliver a spin-to-win monk that league-starts on Hollow Palm and scales into a dedicated boss-killer in maps. The plan leans on the Martial Artist tree’s strongest two-point clusters — Hollow Form, Way of the Stonefist, Hollow Focus, and Runic Meridians — to multiply Whirling Assault’s already-massive AoE while opening up a real Tempest Bell rotation against single targets.
Leveling uses Glacial Cascade plus Frozen Locus until the gem swap at level 41, then transitions into Whirling Assault with Heft, Heavy Swing, Magnified Effect, and Rapid Attacks. Hollow Palm carries the build through the entire campaign, so there is no weapon hunt and no two-handed quarterstaff dependency until much later when Face Breaker (paired with Way of the Stonefist) or a crit quarterstaff becomes the long-term upgrade path.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Whirling Assault’s AoE is enormous, so general clear feels effortless
- Hollow Palm removes the weapon problem during the campaign and league start
- Hollow Form clones make boss damage scale exponentially with Tempest Bell
- Way of the Stonefist turns glove rolls into a defensive AND offensive multiplier — ES, evasion, and base crit on a two-point investment
- Runic Meridians grants five free rune slots, which doubles as a defensive panic button while leveling
Cons
- Whirling Assault needs several support gems and ideally a Greater Jeweler’s Orb to feel online, so the swap at level 41 can feel like a temporary nerf
- Damage payoff against pinnacle bosses requires the Tempest Bell + Hollow Form + power-charge rotation to be set up correctly
- The build’s late-game shape depends on which unique gloves end up being good with Way of the Stonefist — this is still being tested in 0.5
Key Skills
- Glacial Cascade + Frozen Locus — primary leveling combo until level 41, paired with Ice Bite and Cold Attunement
- Whirling Assault — main map and clear skill once unlocked; supported by Heft, Heavy Swing, Magnified Effect, and Rapid Attacks
- Tempest Bell — bossing setup with Stun, Heft, Heavy Swing, and Durability; the limit was raised to three this patch
- Rend — basic-attack damage buff that consumes a power charge for 50% extra damage as lightning, paired with Hand of Chayula on a Talisman-equipped second weapon set
- Herald of Ash — spirit reservation for added map damage once the bossing rotation is locked in
Gear & Anointments
While leveling, lean on flat added damage on rings and gloves, Rank 2 melee skills on gloves, and the standard life-plus-resists pile on every other slot. Hollow Palm makes a real weapon irrelevant during the campaign — both weapon sets become utility slots, one for Pounce (movement) and one for the Talisman + shock-magnitude setup that powers Rend’s lightning buff.
Late-game gear shifts toward evasion + energy shield hybrid pieces, a pure ES helmet to leverage Subterfuge Mask, and a crit-base quarterstaff if Hollow Palm is dropped. Specific unique recommendations should be confirmed against the source video once the league is live, since the creator is actively testing Face Breaker plus Way of the Stonefist as the long-term scaling endpoint.
Endgame Notes
The endgame plan keeps Hollow Palm until the Way of the Stonefist interaction with Face Breaker is fully tested. Defensive layers are Wind Dancer plus Ghost Dance with evasion + energy shield stacking, scaled through Subterfuge Mask and the hybrid evasion/ES nodes around the monk side of the tree. The pure bossing variant slots Hollow Form, places three Tempest Bells, and uses Killing Palm into Hollow Focus bells to keep power charges and the Rend buff active for the 50% extra lightning damage.
Credits & Source
Build credited to NickTew. See the source video for the full skill tree walkthrough, gear targets, and gameplay footage: BEST Martial Artist Leveling & Early Endgame Build Guide - Path of Exile 2.