![[POE 2 0.5] Hollow Form Whirling Assault Martial Artist Monk - Build Guide and Showcase!](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zsnnNW2Ylic/maxresdefault.jpg)
Overview
This is a Martial Artist Monk built around the patch 0.5 Hollow Form ascendancy skill, paired with Whirling Assault. The premise is simple: you walk into a pack, summon your Hollow Form clones, and a swarm of spinning copies tears the screen apart. Travic describes it as one of the most fun setups he has played since 0.1, riding off momentum from a variation popularised by fellow creator Jung Gran. The clear speed is the headline draw — you casually stroll through maps while the clones flatten everything in front of you.
The whole build hangs on one interaction. As a Martial Artist you take Way of the Stone Fist, which transforms any equipped gloves into Fist of Stone bases. A common, cheap pair then grants charges to allies in your presence on hit. Because the Hollow Form clones count as allies and the allies count as you, you generate and maintain permanent frenzy, power, and endurance charges for free. That is the engine that makes the build tick — buy the gloves first.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Explosive screen-wide clear; clones do the work while you walk.
- Extremely cheap entry — the key gloves are common, and the rest of the gear is just resistances and life.
- Almost a two-button playstyle: Rend for damage, Hollow Form to summon.
- Playable as early as the start of Act 4 once you have Hollow Form and Hollow Palm.
- Permanent charge uptime with no manual upkeep.
Cons
- Very mana intensive; mana-on-kill and mana-on-hit do not work, so you are leaning on a mana flask.
- Squishy until geared — the showcase character runs only ~1,500 life with low evasion and dies to map bosses.
- You are slowed while channeling, and the old movement-speed-while-channeling trick was nerfed.
- White mobs can still run up and knock you down; defences need investment.
Key Skills
Hollow Form is the core, supported with Whirling Assault, Armour Break, Heavy Swing for melee damage, and Magnified Area for a huge area of effect. Sockets on Hollow Form unlock with level — by level 90 you can fit the full link. Rend comes from shapeshifting into Wyvern form (just equip any low-stat talisman), granting 50% of damage gained as extra lightning that also benefits the clones, plus shock. Auras run off spirit: Charge Regulation, Wind Dancer, and Ghost Dance, with room to swap as gear improves.
Gear & Anointments
The non-negotiable item is the transformed Fist of Stone gloves on a Martial Artist — that is the charge engine. Everything else is forgiving: rings and amulet want flat damage, resistances, and life; body armour and helmet stack resistances, evasion, energy shield, and max life. The weapon is a crit quarterstaff with high physical DPS and good attack speed (the showcase uses a weak placeholder and admits it). Specific uniques to be confirmed against the source video.
Endgame Notes
The build is mapping through tier 12+ with ease and has cleared a citadel. Tree priorities are crit everywhere, then damage, with defensive wheels like First Principle of the Hollow for evasion, energy shield, and resistances. Way of the Mountain is the standout ascendancy choice for 15% more attack damage and a strong defensive layer; Runic Meridian is flagged as a high-value option once resistances are capped. Marshall Adept/Masters were tested and do not generate charges, so skip them.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Travic. See the source video for full gameplay + commentary: [POE 2 0.5] Hollow Form Whirling Assault Martial Artist Monk - Build Guide and Showcase!.