Invoker Monk Leveling Guide
This Invoker Monk Leveling Guide for the Monk class teaches you how to build your character with step-by-step explanations.
Whilst melee struggles in the early Acts, this build becomes a monster as soon as you gain access to Charged Staff in Act 3. Rapid hits from Ice Strike and Charged Staff on your Tempest Bell make the campaign bosses a complete joke.
So as a squishy Quarterstaff wielding monk, get acquainted with you Dodge Roll button and follow along as you play.
Note: You do not need resistances on any specific item, just get the required total resistances amongst all gear combined.
Path of Exile 2 is currently in early access, this means rapid development including frequent changes to builds as there are balance fixes and we learn more. Pin this page to be notified of any updates.
You beat the campaign and want know how to further upgrade this build? Visit the Endgame Guide!
Skills
Ice Strike combined with Tempest Bell is your main source of boss damage during the campaign.
Frozen Locus freezes and obliterates large packs of enemies until replaced by Shattering Palm later in the campaign. Glacial Cascade makes the early bosses manageable with safe damage from a distance.
Your first Rank 7 Gem unlocks a powerful clear skill, Storm Wave. Use this to clear the difficult Act 2 zones from a distance.
Use the <Prev and Next> arrows to navigate.
Skill Rotation
Pre Ice Strike
- Use Frost Bomb to have full uptime of the debuff.
- Quarterstaff Strike 4 times to build enough combo points to summon your Tempest Bell.
- Frozen Locus to build distance from the boss.
- Glacial Cascade so that the tip of the attack hits the boss.
Bosses
- Always try to carry Power Charges or a stacked Charged Staff into a Boss encounter.
- Freezing Tempest Bell also counts for Combat Frenzy to gain Power Charges against bosses..
- Generate 4 combo points with Ice Strike.
- Place your Tempest Bell directly underneath the boss.
- Generate 4 more combo points with Ice Strike
- Place your 2nd Tempest Bell.
- Ice Strike until both the Tempest Bell have no hits left.
- By now the boss will almost always be dead, if not simply restart the rotation.
Zone Clear
- Defeat enemies from a distance with Storm Wave. This also has a large chance to Freeze due to Cold Infusion which can trigger Herald of Ice explosions as well as generate charges through Combat Frenzy.
- For large packs of enemies or to reposition, use Shattering Palm
Engraving Priority
Skills
Supports
You get +20% Resistance, 100 Spirit, a Lesser Jeweller's Orb, and many other permanent bonuses from completing campaign bosses. Use our Permanent Buffs Guide to ensure you have all of these before you start exploring the Atlas!
Passives
Combat Frenzy enables endless Power Charges when combined with the Resonance. Make sure to allocate Resonance as soon as you receive a Level 8 Spirit Gem.
Ascendancy
Learn how to complete the Trial of the Sekhemas and Trial of Chaos to earn your first 2 Ascensions with our Ascension Guide!
- Choose I am the Blizzard…. This adds a decent amount of Cold Damage which helps to Freeze Bosses, proc Ice Bite and shatter enemies with Herald of Ice.
- …and I Shall Rage grants a cooldown skill that massively increases your burst damage. Use this against rares and bosses.
- I am the Thunder… grants a small amount of additional damage.
Gearing
- The sad thing about Monk leveling is that you are only as strong as the Weapon you find, make sure to check vendors and all Quarterstaff drops to make sure you stay on top of your DPS.
- Prioritize +#% to Fire, Cold and Lightning Resistance as well as +# to Maximum Life on your gear.
- Always look for the best Quarterstaff base with as much DPS as possible. Preferably Physical Damage but a high Elemental DPS weapon works almost as well.
- %Physical Damage
- # to # Physical Damage added
- Attack Speed
- # to # Cold Damage added
- # to # Lightning Damage added
- # to # Fire Damage added
- Once reaching cruel difficulty, if you find a very high Physical Damage Quarterstaff, use Artificer's Orbs to add 2 additional Rune Sockets. Place 2 Iron Runes in the sockets for a large increase to the weapons Physical Damage.
- Look for added damage on Rings and Gloves as Monks low defence is very difficult to counteract, so your best option is to defeat the enemies faster.
- If you are still struggling check out our Survival Guide for additional useful information!
- #% Physical Damage
- # to # added Physical Damage
- # to # added Lightning Damage
- # to # added Cold Damage
- # to # added Fire Damage
- #% Attack Speed
- Monsters in Path of Exile 2 are extremely fast and have a very large agro range, prioritize this stat to hit them before they hit you. If you fail to do so you are likely to get stunned and it can result in very frustrating gameplay.
- +# to Maximum Life
- +# to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance
- +# Physical, Fire, Cold and Lightning Damage added to Attacks
- +% Attack Spped (Gloves only)
- +# to Maximum Life
- +# to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance
- +#% Movement Speed
- +# to Maximum Life
- +# to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance
- +% Evasion Rating
- +# Evasion Rating
- +# to Maximum Life
- +# to Fire, Cold, Lightning and Chaos Resistance
- +# Level of Melee Skill Levels
- +# Energy Shield
FAQ
Oh boy.. the last few zones of Act 2 are by far the hardest part of this leveling journey for Invoker Monk. If you've followed the previous tips on gearing, you'll be more than capable of clearing this zone. Slowly. Pull packs of enemies and move backward across each of the walkways whilst clearing from a distance. A Stone Charm can do wonders here if you are fortunate enough to find one!
If you get jumped on at any point, move backward. Always try to keep a distance in this zone and take it 1 pack at a time as dying here is incredibly unforgiving.
If after implementing these things you are still struggling, your only option is to over level and come back after gaining a bit of power.
This is a hybrid attribute build. You need to alternate Intelligence and Dexterity to grab all the skills shown in the planner. Remember you can switch between them by Refunding Passives in town.
On normal difficulty there are not that many defensive options for Monk. Your best bet is checking vendors consistently for life and resistance gear.
- Relic: 15% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
- Venom Drought: Stun Threshold
- Cruel Relic: 15% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
- Cruel Venom Drought: +10% Chaos Resistance
Video
Video coming soon.
Summary
- Ice Strike is a fast hitting Melee skill that triggers shockwaves from Charged Staff to deal massive lightning damage to surrounding enemies.
- Once unlocking a Level 8 Spirit Gem you unlock Combat Frenzy. This makes Power Charge generation extremely easy.
- Place Tempest Bell whenever available on bosses for a massive damage boost.