Best Monk Builds in Path of Exile 2 Early Access: Invoker and Acolyte of Chayula

PoE 2

Path of Exile 2 offers players a plethora of exciting classes and builds, and the Monk is no exception. Whether you're looking to wield the elemental forces of nature or embrace the dark arts of chaos, the Monk class offers both versatility and raw power. In PoE 2 Early Access, two prominent ascendancy options for the Monk stand out: Invoker and Acolyte of Chayula. In this article, we'll dive deep into both of these builds, exploring the best weapons, gear, skills, and passive skill tree setups to help you become a true powerhouse on the battlefield.

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Read other PoE 2 Build guides:
Witch Builds
Warrior Builds
Sorceress Builds
Mercenary Builds
Ranger Builds

1. Invoker Monk Build: Elemental Destruction and AoE Mastery

If you're the type of player who loves harnessing the forces of fire and lightning to devastate your enemies, the Invoker Monk build is for you. The Invoker ascendancy allows you to scale your elemental damage, providing you with powerful AoE attacks that can wipe out groups of enemies with ease.

Weapon & Gear for Invoker Monk

Weapon: When it comes to weapons, staffs or dual-wielding one-handed weapons (like maces or swords) are excellent choices. You want to look for weapons that boost elemental damage, critical strike chance, and attack speed.

A staff with +% lightning damage or increased elemental damage will be particularly effective.
For dual-wielding, look for one-handed swords or maces with bonuses to fire or lightning damage.

Helmet: A helmet that enhances elemental resistances, energy shield, and +% fire or lightning damage is ideal. You want to ensure that you can take hits while dishing out massive elemental damage.

Chest: Go for chest armor that boosts energy shield, elemental resistances, and life. This armor should ideally increase your elemental damage, especially if it has affixes like +% fire or lightning damage.

Gloves: Elemental damage, attack speed, and critical strike chance are the ideal affixes for your gloves. These will help increase your overall DPS, particularly for your elemental attacks.

Boots: Movement speed, fire or lightning resistance, and life should be your main priorities here. Speed is crucial for dodging incoming damage, and elemental resistances ensure you're not caught out by high-damage enemies.

Primary Skill & Gem Setup for Invoker Monk

Main Skill: Lightning Strike or Fire Strike are both solid choices for this build. Lightning Strike delivers great burst damage, while Fire Strike excels at AoE clearing.

Gems:

Lightning Strike + Elemental Focus + Added Lightning Damage + Spell Echo + Fire Penetration + Combustion
Fire Strike + Fire Penetration + Elemental Focus + Increased AoE + Controlled Destruction

Secondary Skill: For mobility, use Flame Dash or Dash. If you’re looking for extra defense, Vaal Grace is an excellent choice to avoid damage in tricky situations.

Passive Skill Tree for Invoker Monk

For the Invoker Monk, you should focus on increasing your elemental damage, critical strike chance, and attack speed. Don’t neglect life and energy shield to ensure you can survive prolonged fights.

Key nodes to focus on: Elemental Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, Life Leech, Energy Shield, and AoE Damage.

Ascendancy Class: Invoker

Invoker's Fury: Boosts elemental damage and adds AoE effects to your attacks, increasing your coverage and damage output.
Elemental Vigor: Grants increased resistances, life regeneration, and makes you tankier while using elemental powers.
Wrath of the Storm: Increases the range and damage of your elemental attacks, making you even more powerful in battle.

2. Acolyte of Chayula Monk Build: Embrace Chaos and Life Leech

For those who enjoy the darker side of Path of Exile 2, the Acolyte of Chayula ascendancy offers an exciting playstyle that revolves around chaos damage, life leech, and energy shield. This build is perfect for players who want to take advantage of chaos spells and sustain themselves in battle by siphoning life from their enemies.

Weapon & Gear for Acolyte of Chayula Monk

Weapon: A staff or one-handed weapon and shield combination works best here. You’ll want to prioritize chaos damage, life leech, and spell damage.

Staffs that boost chaos damage or spell damage are particularly effective.
One-handed weapons with increased chaos damage or life leech are great if you’re opting for a shield for extra defense.

Helmet: Choose a helmet that increases chaos resistance, life, and energy shield to keep your Monk healthy while boosting your chaos damage output.

Chest: Your chest armor should focus on chaos resistance, life, and energy shield. This is essential to keep you alive, especially when stacking chaos damage.

Gloves: For chaos damage and life leech or energy shield, gloves with the right affixes are crucial for sustainability.

Boots: Look for movement speed, chaos resistance, and life to help you move quickly while resisting chaos-based damage.

Primary Skill & Gem Setup for Acolyte of Chayula Monk

Main Skill: Essence Drain or Contagion are excellent choices for applying chaos damage over time.

Gems:

Essence Drain + Void Manipulation + Controlled Destruction + Empower + Increased Duration + Lifetap
Contagion + Added Chaos Damage + Controlled Destruction + Spell Echo
Secondary Skill: Phase Run for mobility or Vaal Grace for defense when things get dicey.

Passive Skill Tree for Acolyte of Chayula Monk

For the Acolyte of Chayula Monk, you’ll want to prioritize chaos damage, life leech, spell damage, and energy shield. Look for chaos resistance and life regeneration to keep your Monk tanky.

Key nodes to focus on: Chaos Damage, Life Leech, Energy Shield, Life, Spell Damage, and Chaos Resistance.

Ascendancy Class: Acolyte of Chayula

Chayula's Curse: Increases chaos damage and provides life leech, helping you recover health as you deal damage.
Acolyte's Despair: Amplifies chaos damage and debuffs enemies, making your chaos abilities even more effective.
Chayula's Touch: Grants energy shield, life regeneration, and adds chaos damage to your attacks, making you both tanky and offensive.

Whether you prefer the Invoker Monk, wielding the raw power of fire and lightning, or the Acolyte of Chayula Monk, embracing the dark power of chaos and life leech, both builds offer unique playstyles with immense potential in Path of Exile 2 early access. By choosing the right ascendancy, gearing up with the right weapons, armor, and gems, and allocating your passive skill tree for maximum efficiency, you can dominate any battlefield.

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