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Among the many classes in Path of Exile 2, Monk is one of the most popular melee classes due to its high degree of freedom and high damage output. Therefore, it also boasts many powerful builds.

Among these Monk builds, one particularly powerful one utilizes both Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder, and leverages Concussive Runes support gems added in Patch 0.5 Return of the Ancients. This build elevates Monk's map clearing efficiency and damage output to new heights.

This build has been named Whirling Assault Invoker Build by its creator. I will now explain the workings of this build in detail from four aspects.

Core Mechanics

As mentioned at the beginning, in POE 2 Patch 0.5, the core of this build is the utilization of Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder.

The effect of Herald of Ice is that when the player kills a frozen enemy, it triggers a frost explosion, causing area-of-effect cold damage to surrounding enemies.

However, the cold damage from the explosion itself cannot inflict the freezing effect, meaning Herald of Ice cannot create the conditions for its own activation.

Similarly, Herald of Thunder unleashes chain lightning upon killing an electrified enemy, but its Lightning Damag also cannot inflict the electrification effect.

On the surface, these two Herald abilities do not seem to synergize. However, players can combine their mechanics using Infusion Support Gems:

Players need to connect Lightning Infusion Support to Herald of Ice to convert some of the cold damage into lightning damage, allowing the frost explosion to inflict the electrification effect;

Simultaneously, connecting Cold Infusion to Herald of Thunder converts some of the lightning damage into cold damage, allowing the chain lightning to inflict the freezing effect.

After this modification, a perfect chain reaction is formed between Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder:

Herald of Ice explodes, killing enemies and inflicting electrocution; electrocution kills enemies, triggering Herald of Thunder, which releases lightning and inflicts freeze; freeze kills enemies, triggering Herald of Ice again, achieving a screen-clearing effect with a single explosion.

Activation Device

It's important to note that to activate this chain, the player still needs to kill a frozen or electrocuted enemy using other methods as a "activation device". Specifically:

Concussive Runes

POE 2 Patch 0.5 modified Herald abilities, making them untriggerable by kills from other Herald abilities.

Fortunately, we have the new support gems introduced in POE 2 Patch 0.5 - Concussive Runes. Its effect is: when the supported ability inflicts Heavy Stun on an enemy, it consumes Runic Ward and releases a Runic Shockwave.

This Runic Shockwave will be treated as an attack by system, not a Herald skill effect, thus fully meeting Herald skill's trigger rules.

However, to ensure Concussive Runes trigger reliably, this build requires players to invest significant resources in stacking Stun Buildup until the panel value reaches 940%.

Whirling Assault

There's an important, easily overlooked issue here: cold damage cannot cause Heavy Stun. Therefore, this "activation device" needs something that can deal lightning damage to complete Heavy Stun task.

This is where Whirling Assault comes in. It's Quarterstaff's exclusive Strike skill, its effect being: performing a series of spinning attacks on surrounding enemies while moving, and inflicting Heavy Stun on target.

Thus, we've met Heavy Stun condition and can successfully activate Concussive Runes to release Runic Shockwave.

Runic Ward

Besides stun accumulation, managing Runic Ward is equally crucial. As a new defensive resource introduced in PoE 2 Patch 0.5, it is an essential consumable for triggering Concussive Runes.

To maintain continuous triggering of Runic Shockwave, this build requires a minimum Runic Ward cap of 300 points, continuously replenished through equipment such as Call of the Void.

Concussive Runes can only function stably as a "activation device" when both Heavy Stun triggering and Runic Ward resources are available.

Class Selection

Monk players using this build should choose Invoker as their Ascendancy Class.

This is because Invoker focuses on Elemental Damage and Elemental Ailments, and its Ascendancy skill tree contains several passive skills that highly synergize with this build:

First, I am the Thunder provides 10% Damage as Extra Lightning Damage and grants a 25% chance to create Shocked Ground when an enemy is electrocuted, directly enhancing Whirling Assault's lightning damage and electrocution capabilities.

Second, I am the Blizzard provides 10% Damage as Extra Cold Damage and creates Chilled Ground when an enemy is frozen, providing a stable source of freeze activation for Herald of Ice.

Gear Strategy

Finally, you'll need some gear or affixes to complete Whirling Assault Invoker Build. This build has no mandatory equipment. You only need to craft or exchange gear that meets the following conditions using POE 2 Currency:

First, because Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder consume a large amount of Spirit, players must solve the problem of Spirit resource sustainability.

Since players can activate Ascendancy Passive Skill Lead me through Grace to gain Spirit - which provides Spirit proportionally based on the chest armor's Energy Shield and Evasion Rating - players need to wear POE 2 Uniques chest armor, which offers high evasion and a high shield.

Regarding gear selection, Quarterstaff is undoubtedly the best choice, but pay attention to affixes: prioritize affixes with high base damage, attack speed, critical strike chance, and additional lightning or cold damage.

For the amulet and rings, stack critical strike damage, attack speed, and elemental damage percentage.

This concludes the detailed introduction to Whirling Assault Invoker Build in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5 Return of the Ancients. This is a build perfectly suited for clearing maps, and its capabilities will leave a lasting impression.

After PoE 2 Patch 0.5 update, unique gear became one of the most discussed topics among players. The development team spent a significant amount of time designing these items, hoping they would bring gameplay changes distinct from regular gear.

In terms of actual results, many unique items have indeed successfully changed the game environment, with some even becoming core choices for multiple builds.

However, some items, after their release, performed significantly worse than players expected. Their design concepts were interesting, and their mechanics were unique enough, but they lacked certain key attributes in the current patch, resulting in them appearing powerful but ultimately falling short of actual gameplay.

With Patch 0.5.5 approaching, the development team has also revealed that they will focus on character building and unique gear adjustments, and these items are likely to be the focus of future buffs.

The Raven's Flock

The Raven's Flock was extremely popular in the early stages of PoE 2 Patch 0.5 because its gameplay demonstration was incredibly appealing. Spiraling Conspiracy mechanic provided by the item allows numerous ravens to fly around the character, leading many players to believe it could become a new and popular playstyle.

However, problems quickly surfaced in-game. The ravens' damage scaling was severely limited, primarily because the skill was treated as a minion rather than a spell.

Minion-based gameplay requires significant resource investment to scale, and The Raven's Flock didn't offer sufficient skill level upgrades, making it noticeably weak against high-health enemies in the late game.

Therefore, many players felt the biggest problem with this item was its restricted growth path. If Patch 0.5.5 had increased its minion skill level or reclassified the skill to benefit from spell-related bonuses, the staff's full potential would have been realized.

Facebreaker

Facebreaker is a classic item in PoE series, continuing the core concept of fighting with bare fists without weapons in PoE 2.

After equipping it, players must abandon traditional weapons and gain additional damage boosts by defeating special bosses in the story.

To build a character around this equipment, a significant investment of PoE 2 Currency is needed to compensate for attribute gaps in other equipment.

However, this cool factor hasn't translated into sufficient combat effectiveness in the latest Patch 0.5.4. Abandoning weapons means players lose many key attributes, especially the base damage and skill levels provided by weapons.

In PoE 2, Melee Skill Levels are crucial for character damage growth, but Facebreaker doesn't provide corresponding skill level bonuses.

If Patch 0.5.5 wants to revive the popularity of this equipment, increasing base physical damage, adding Melee Skill Levels, or enhancing related unarmed skills would be good directions.

The Bringer of Rain

The Bringer of Rain is a piece of equipment very familiar to veteran players. In PoE 1, it was extremely popular because it changed how players built their gear.

In PoE 2, it retains its unique characteristics. After equipping it, players must forgo a chest armor slot for a powerful helmet effect and a Giant's Blood-like ability to wield two-handed weapons with one hand. This design would be incredibly appealing in any patch.

However, the problem is that the benefits it provides don't fully compensate for the loss of the chest armor.

Giant's Blood is located near Strength zone, making it relatively easy for many Strength-based melee characters to obtain. Therefore, the unique value players gain from using The Bringer of Rain isn't as significant as one might expect.

Compared to the attributes and defense gained from losing the chest armor, The Bringer of Rain's benefits seem somewhat insufficient. Adding some classic elements would certainly boost its popularity.

Voltaxic Rift's

Voltaxic Rift's was once a star item in PoE 1. Its most distinctive feature was converting lightning damage into chaos damage, while also allowing chaos damage to inflict Electrocution effect.

However, in PoE 2, this seemingly powerful item suffered from issues with its scaling. Currently, bow builds rely on critical hits, but Voltaxic Rift performs poorly. It doesn't offer sufficient critical hit potential and lacks skill level upgrades, making it difficult to compete with top-tier rare bows.

Many players don't feel this bow is poorly designed; on the contrary, everyone agrees its mechanics are very appealing. It's just that in the late game, it lacks the crucial attributes to support its damage cap.

If future patches add critical hit-related attributes and some skill levels, it could very well become a core item in specialized bow builds.

The Last Lament Desolate Crossbow

The Last Lament was once a very popular item in PoE 2 Patch 0.3. The builds developed around it were very popular, especially when paired with a Lich, which allowed players to avoid life consumption through a special mechanic, giving them near-infinite ammo.

However, with patch adjustments, this build gradually disappeared, and The Last Lament lost its former popularity. Now it's more often used as a support item for certain skills, and few people build complete builds around it.

The problem with these five pieces of equipment isn't a design flaw, but the lack of conditions in Patch 0.5.4 to unleash their full potential.

If Patch 0.5.5 does indeed buff unique equipment, these are undoubtedly the items players most want to see changed. They already possess sufficiently interesting mechanics; all they lack is an opportunity to truly shine.

PoE 2's crafting system is far more complex than those of similar games, so many players tend to farm some PoE 2 currency first and then trade for finished items. That is why becoming a crafter in PoE 2 can be highly profitable.

Below is a method for crafting helmets in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0. You can craft top-tier helmets for your own character or use them to trade for currency. There are many elements of luck involved, so do not get discouraged if things do not go your way.

Why Craft Helmets?

Before you start crafting, you need to understand why helmets are worth investing significant resources into. You can think of a helmet as a second chest armour piece, making it the second most important defensive item in your equipment setup.

In addition, some of the passive and item mechanics in Patch 0.5.0 interact directly with helmets. For example, Subterfuge Mask Notable still converts Energy Shield provided by your equipped helmet into defensive benefits in 0.5.0.

It is important to note that you do not necessarily need to chase critical hit chance to craft a good helmet. Three resistances can also form an excellent combination. However, achieving this combination without using a Fracturing Orb is difficult, and players generally would not want to use a Fracturing Orb on a single-socket helmet.

In Runes of Aldur League, never corrupt your helmet. The reason is that the game contains an item called Raven-Touched Shard, which allows you to allocate a passive point to your helmet from the passive tree, similar to how you can allocate one for an amulet.

This ability is extremely powerful. Once a helmet has been corrupted, this passive allocation can no longer be performed. As a result, the value of any corrupted helmet will drop significantly.

Crafting Preparation

First, you need to prepare several high-quality bases. In PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0, Energy Shield builds remain strong, so ES-based helmets are among the best bases to use.

You can look for ES helmets such as Vermeil Circlet, Twilight Tiara, Noble Circlet, or Jade Tiara with an Item Level of 80 or higher. These are all Intelligence-based helmets and are highly sought after. The higher the Item Level, the greater your chance of rolling T1 modifiers.

You can filter the trade market for magic helmets with Energy Shield and critical hit chance. These helmets are usually worth a significant amount and can cost dozens of Divine Orbs. However, successfully hitting the desired modifiers can also provide a lot of PoE 2 currency.

White Item Bases

For common helmet bases, you can first use Transmutation Orbs to turn them into magic helmets, then use Augmentation Orbs to add a second modifier. You can then evaluate the randomly generated modifiers to determine whether the base is worth crafting further.

A helmet with two T1 modifiers is extremely valuable, especially when one of them is a critical hit chance modifier. Even if the helmet rolls a maximum life modifier, you can attempt to remove it through subsequent crafting steps.

Detailed Crafting Process

Greater Essence of Opulence

The crafting process begins by using a Greater Essence of Opulence, which grants the helmet a T1 rarity modifier.

After a successful roll, you will have three T1 modifiers, including two T1 suffixes. If you subsequently hit two more high-quality modifiers, you may want to use the valuable Ancient Rib for Desecration.

Ancient Rib

At this stage, you can add two random modifiers. If both modifiers are desirable, using an Ancient Rib can be worthwhile because the potential return justifies the investment. If the results are poor, there is no need to waste additional resources. After all, an Ancient Rib is also worth around 4.5 Divine Orbs.

Ideally, the helmet should contain a T1 resistance modifier along with another high-quality prefix. However, this part of the crafting process is entirely dependent on luck. That is why you should prepare multiple bases.

Perfect Iron Rune

Saving resources during the crafting process is crucial. To make the helmet more appealing for trade, the ideal result is a 20% increase to Armour, Evasion, or Energy Shield. For this, you need a Perfect Iron Rune.

You can either trade for one or use a Masterwork Rune. This Rune can upgrade an already socketed Rune.

If you socket an 18% regular Greater Iron Rune and then use a Masterwork Rune to upgrade it, you can reach the perfect 20% bonus. Using a Masterwork Rune for this process is more economical than directly trading for Perfect Iron Rune.

Vaal Armourer's Infuser

When using a Vaal Armourer's Infuser, the first use carries no risk, while the second use has a 5% chance to corrupt the item. The risk then increases with each subsequent use.

Players generally believe that once the quality reaches around 25%, the next use has roughly a 1-in-4 chance of causing corruption. If the helmet becomes corrupted, its value can be cut in half or even reduced further. If you are concerned about the risk, you can keep the quality around 25%.

Unwanted Modifiers

When you encounter an undesirable combination of modifiers, you have several options:

Omen of Whittling (7.4 Divine Orbs)

It can remove the lowest-level modifier, but if the undesirable modifier on your item is not the lowest-level modifier, using an Omen of Whittling is not particularly worthwhile.

The expensive and high-risk option is to try to use Whittling to remove a specific modifier. However, the rarity modifier has an extremely low Item Level, so Whittling will almost always hit it first, making the process too costly.

Omen of Sinistral Crystallisation and Essence of the Abyss

Essence of the Abyss adds a guaranteed modifier called Mark of the Abyssal Lord. Once the helmet has this modifier, the next Desecration is guaranteed to overwrite it. Although there is still a 1-in-3 chance involved, this is currently the best option.

In short, helmet crafting in Path of Exile 2 involves a tremendous amount of luck. You need to prepare enough bases to increase your chances of success while keeping the resources used on each base as low as possible. When bad luck strikes, staying calm and adjusting your strategy flexibly are also essential.