Hollow Focus Storm Wave Martial Artist

Monk · Martial Artist · Compétence principale: Shattering Palm · Patch 0.5.4

par maxroll (imported) · mis à jour 2026-07-11

Hollow Focus spawns ghostly Bells that Shattering Palm smashes into Herald of Ice chain explosions, while overlapping Storm Wave fissures delete bosses. Layered Evasion, Energy Shield, and 95%-cap Deflection with Ghost Dance recovery make it fast and remarkably tanky.

Configuration des gemmes — End Game

Hollow Focus

Magnified Effect II

Soul Thief

Life Thief III Cold Exposure

Ingenuity II Fragments Of The Past Cold Exposure

Glaciation

Magnified Effect II

Ice Bite II

Primal Armament II

Wind Dancer

Maim

Life Thief III

Magnified Effect II

Ghost Dance

Ingenuity II Her Declaration

Precision II

Cool Headed

Tempest Bell

Primal Armament II

Close Combat II

Ancestral Call II

Heavy Swing

Magnified Effect II

Shattering Palm

Ice Bite II

Rage III

Magnified Effect II

Ancestral Call II

Oisin's Oath

Hand Of Chayula

Elemental Weakness

Freezing Mark

Mark Of Siphoning II

Culmination II

Ailith Lineage

Charged Staff

Culling Strike II

Innervate

Blind

Blazing Critical

Ice Bite II

Storm Wave

Martial Tempo II

Kaom's Madness

Primal Armament II

Garukhan's Resolve Vorana's Siege

Herald Of Ice

Splinter III

Armour Explosion

Uruk's Smelting

Magnified Effect II

Primal Armament II

Progression de montée (2 étapes)

Twister Leveling

Whirling Slash

Rage

Martial Tempo

Twister

Retreat

Frost Nexus

Acceleration

Salvo

Frost Bomb

Barrage

Arcane Tempo

Ice Tipped Arrows

Arcane Tempo

War Banner

Persistence

Freezing Mark

Mark Of Siphoning

Charged Mark Player Default Spear Throw Player Default Spear Throw Purity Of Lightning

Early Mapping

Herald Of Ice

Splinter III

Armour Explosion

Demolisher II

Magnified Effect II Fragments Of The Past Cold Exposure

Glaciation

Primal Armament II

Ice Bite II

Combat Frenzy

Profusion II

Tempest Bell

Heft

Close Combat II

Ancestral Call II

Heavy Swing

Magnified Effect II

Shattering Palm

Primal Armament II

Magnified Effect II

Rage III

Ancestral Call II

Hand Of Chayula Culmination

Elemental Weakness

Freezing Mark

Heightened Curse

Charged Staff

Innervate

Blazing Critical

Blind

Culling Strike II

Storm Wave

Magnified Effect II Upheaval II

Primal Armament II

Glaciation

Martial Tempo II

Wind Dancer

Maim

Équipement (15 emplacements)

Thawing Charm

Charm2 · unique

Tenebrous Crown

Helm · unique

Golden Charm

Charm3 · unique

Gold Amulet

Amulet · rare

Amethyst Ring

Ring · rare

Silver Charm

Charm1 · magic

Ultimate Life Flask

Flask1 · magic

Sapphire Ring

Ring2 · rare

Ultimate Mana Flask

Flask2 · magic

Lumbering Talisman

Weapon2 · rare

Runeforged Fists of Stone

Gloves · rare

Skullcrusher Quarterstaff

Weapon · rare

Runeforged Dragonscale Boots

Boots · rare

Swiftstalker Coat

BodyArmour · rare

Utility Belt

Belt · unique

Arbre de passifs (148 alloués)

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom · click a node for details

Clés de voûte et notables (42)

Flow Like Water — 8% increased Attack and Cast Speed; +5 to Dexterity and Intelligence
Flow State — 5% increased Skill Speed; 15% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
Moment of Truth — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus if you've dealt a Non-Critical Hit Recently; 15% increased Critical Hit Chance
Shimmering — 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge; 20% increased Evasion Rating if you haven't been Hit Recently; 3% increased Movement Speed while you have Energy Shield
Essence of the Mountain — Gain 5% of Damage as Extra Cold Damage; 20% increased Freeze Buildup
Blinding Strike — 24% increased Attack Damage; 10% chance to Blind Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Agile Succession — 6% increased Attack Speed; 30% increased Evasion Rating if you have Hit an Enemy Recently
Harness the Elements — 20% increased Damage for each type of Elemental Ailment on Enemy
Subterfuge Mask — +1 to Evasion Rating per 1 Item Energy Shield on Equipped Helmet
Killer Instinct — 40% increased Attack Damage while on Full Life; 60% increased Attack Damage while on Low Life
Dizzying Sweep — 15% increased Attack Area Damage; 10% increased Area of Effect for Attacks; 5% chance to Daze on Hit
Resolute Reach — 18% increased Area of Effect for Attacks; 20% reduced Critical Hit Chance
Frantic Reach — 20% reduced Accuracy Rating; 18% increased Area of Effect for Attacks
Spectral Ward — +1 to Maximum Energy Shield per 12 Item Evasion on Equipped Body Armour
Heavy Frost — 20% increased Freeze Buildup; Hits ignore non-negative Elemental Resistances of Frozen Enemies
Thin Ice — 20% increased Freeze Buildup; 50% increased Damage with Hits against Frozen Enemies
Exposed to the Cosmos — Damage Penetrates 18% Cold Resistance; 20% increased chance to inflict Ailments against Enemies with Exposure
Chakra of Rhythm — 6% increased Attack Speed; 20% Chance to build an additional Combo on Hit
Chakra of Impact — 20% increased Attack Damage; Skills deal 8% increased Damage per Combo consumed, up to 40%
Stupefy — 10% chance to Daze on Hit; 30% increased Damage against Dazed Enemies
Heartbreaking — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus; +10 to Strength
Struck Through — Attacks have +1% to Critical Hit Chance
Heartstopping — +10 to Intelligence; 20% increased Critical Hit Chance
Enhanced Reflexes — 20% increased Evasion Rating; Gain Deflection Rating equal to 5% of Evasion Rating; 8% increased Dexterity
Beastial Skin — 100% increased Evasion Rating from Equipped Body Armour
Agile Sprinter — 100% increased Evasion Rating while Sprinting
Marathon Runner — 12% increased Movement Speed while Sprinting
Throatseeker — 60% increased Critical Damage Bonus; 20% reduced Critical Hit Chance
Careful Assassin — 20% reduced Critical Damage Bonus; 50% increased Critical Hit Chance
Mending Deflection — 15% of Damage taken from Deflected Hits Recouped as Life; 20% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge when not on Full Life
Dizzying Hits — 10% chance to Daze on Hit; 25% increased Critical Hit Chance against Dazed Enemies
First Principle of the Hollow — 20% increased Evasion Rating; 20% increased maximum Energy Shield; +5% to Cold Resistance
First Teachings of the Keeper — +5% to Fire Resistance; +5% to Chaos Resistance; Gain Deflection Rating equal to 8% of Evasion Rating
The Hollowkeeper — 50% reduced effect of Curses on you; 35% reduced Effect of Non-Damaging Ailments on you
True Strike — +10 to Dexterity; 20% increased Critical Hit Chance
For the Jugular — 25% increased Critical Damage Bonus; +10 to Intelligence
Mindful Awareness — 24% increased Evasion Rating; 24% increased maximum Energy Shield
Step Like Mist — 4% increased Movement Speed; 15% increased Mana Regeneration Rate; +5 to Dexterity and Intelligence
Way of the Mountain — 100% Surpassing chance per enemy Power to gain Mountain's Teachings on Immobilising an enemy, up to a maximum of 30 Lose a Mountain's Teaching when you are Hit, or when you use or Sustain an Attack that benefits from Mountain's Teachings
Way of the Stonefist — Gloves you equip have their Base Type transformed to Fists of Stone while equipped, and their Explicit Modifiers are transformed into more powerful related Modifiers; Ignore Attribute Requirements to equip Gloves
Runic Meridians — Can tattoo Runes onto your body, gaining additional Rune-only sockets: • 1 Helmet socket • 2 Body Armour sockets • 1 Gloves socket • 1 Boots socket
Hollow Focus Technique — Grants Skill: <underline>{Hollow Focus}

Guide complet

Hollow Focus Storm Wave Martial Artist — Full Guide (0.5.4)

Source: https://maxroll.gg/poe2/build-guides/hollow-focus-storm-wave-martial-artist-build-guide Version: Path of Exile 2 — Return of the Ancients 0.5.4 Author: Goratha | Last updated: 2026-06-27 Class: Monk → Martial Artist | Main skills: Storm Wave + Shattering Palm (clear)

Build Overview

Hollow Focus Storm Wave Martial Artist revolves around the Hollow Focus ascendancy node, which continuously spawns ghostly Bells across the battlefield. You shatter those Bells with Shattering Palm (your main clear) to trigger Herald of Ice armour-break chain explosions, while single targets get deleted by stacking overlapping Storm Wave fissures on the boss for enormous DPS.

Clearing identity: Shattering Palm shatters auto-spawned Bells → Herald of Ice explosions → Armour Break III chains.
Single-target identity: Hand of Chayula applies Freezing Mark + Elemental Weakness, then position a Tempest Bell → overlap multiple Storm Wave fissures.
Defensive identity: double-layered Evasion + Energy Shield, stacked Deflection (95% cap), with Ghost Dance recovery.

The overall rhythm: dash into packs at high speed for ice explosions, then instantly pivot to boss-control positioning with Tempest Bell.

Skill Breakdown

Leveling

During the campaign, Twister is your main clear. Twister gains damage from standing on ground elemental effects, so it pairs best with Ice-Tipped Arrows (laying chilled ground) and Whirling Slash (combo generation).

Skill	Weapon Set	Role
Whirling Slash	Weapon Set 1	Combo generation, icy whirlwind
Twister	Weapon Set 2	Main clear, boosted by ground effects
Barrage	Weapon Set 2	Twister amplifier
Ice-Tipped Arrows	—	Lays chilled ground, triggers Freeze
Frost Bomb	—	Early single-target filler
Fangs of Frost	—	Parry counter + chilled ground

Hold off on Storm Wave until level 21 — the Twister route is the smoothest until then.

Mapping

Skill	Supports / Notes
Shattering Palm	Magnified Area II + Ancestral Call II + Rage III
Herald of Ice	+ Armour Break III (the main chain-explosion source)
Tempest Bell	Ancestral Call II; drop it into big packs
Hollow Focus	Ascendancy passive that spawns Bells continuously — no button required
War Banner	DPS buff, plant it at the start of engagements

Bossing (single target)

Skill	Role
Hand of Chayula	Applies Freezing Mark + Elemental Weakness in one move
Charged Staff	Needs 3 Power Charges; stacking buff
Storm Wave	Main damage; DPS skyrockets when fissures overlap
Tempest Bell	Positional damage amplifier
Shattering Palm	Weave in right after Hand of Chayula

Key detail: Storm Wave's multiple fissures only spike damage when they overlap. The overlap distance varies with boss hitbox size — it takes practice.

Auras / Buffs / Reservation

Skill / Item	Role
Oisín's Oath	Sustains Shattering Palm's mana cost (requires physical leech on gear)
Craiceann's Rune of Warding	Curse immunity via The Hollowkeeper passive
Ghost Dance	Evasion-triggered recovery, the core defensive mechanic
Combat Frenzy	Reliable early Power Charge source, paired with Resonance
Freezing Mark	Boss freeze debuff; starts scaling hard at level 7
Rune of Culmination	Via Chakra of Rhythm, makes Shattering Palm generate 2 combo stages per attack

Skill Rotations

Mapping (normal packs):

1–2 Whirling Slashes to build combo
Keep Ice-Tipped Arrows laying chilled ground / freezes
Shattering Palm (chains Herald of Ice + Armour Break)
Drop Tempest Bell into large packs
Weave in a Storm Wave when needed

Boss setup:

Hand of Chayula (applies Freezing Mark + Elemental Weakness simultaneously)

Boss main loop:

Shattering Palm (right after Hand of Chayula)
Tempest Bell (placed beside the boss)
Storm Wave (the fissure-overlap damage window)
Keep refreshing Elemental Weakness and maintaining Freeze

Never leave the whirlwind created by Whirling Slash — stepping out resets the loop.

Ascendancy (Martial Artist)

Take the nodes in this order:

Way of the Mountain Early stun resistance + freeze-conditional damage — an excellent bridge.
Way of the Stonefist Converts glove affixes into empowered versions; synergizes strongly with Grip of Winter / Painter's Servant, and later unlocks armour-break explosions.
Martial Adept, or go straight to Hollow Focus Technique Take Martial Adept early to smooth out combos; swap to Hollow Focus Technique once you have Chakra of Rhythm + Rune of Culmination.
Runic Meridians The final ascendancy — attribute/resistance runes massively improve gearing flexibility.

Hollow Focus Technique is the build's namesake: once unlocked, Bells spawn continuously from Hollow Focus with no button presses required.

Passive Tree

Early priorities

Concussive Attack (your first batch of % damage nodes)
Dance with Death (empowers Whirling Slash)
Essence of the Mountain (freeze buildup)
Hail (cold damage)

Midgame key notables

Chakra of Rhythm (with Rune of Culmination: Shattering Palm hits for two combo stages)
Rune of Culmination (the core Shattering Palm scaler)
Dizzying Sweep / Frantic Reach / Resolute Reach (AoE nodes)
Heavy Frost / Thin Ice (freeze scaling)

Defense

Enhanced Reflexes / Spectral Ward / Subterfuge Mask / Beastial Skin (Evasion stacking)
Multiple Deflection nodes (95% total cap)

Late / Endgame

First Principle of the Hollow + First Teachings of the Keeper → unlocks The Hollowkeeper
Crit chance / crit damage nodes
Heart of the Well (overall damage amplification)

Stat Priorities

Offense

Priority	Affix
★★★★★	Weapon physical damage
★★★★★	Crit chance + crit damage (into the late game)
★★★★	Attack speed (Weapon Set 1; Twister doesn't use it)
★★★★	Elemental infusion (early Twister scaling)
★★★★	Melee skill gem levels (+3 on amulet/gloves first)
★★★	% AoE (scales Shattering Palm via Magnified Area II)

Defense

Priority	Affix
★★★★★	Evasion Rating (main defense, feeds Ghost Dance recovery)
★★★★★	% Deflection (95% total cap; get it on at least 2 pieces)
★★★★	Energy Shield (second layer alongside Evasion)
★★★★	Freeze immunity / reduced freeze duration (keeps your attack buffs online)
★★★★	Physical damage leeched as life/mana (Shattering Palm mana upkeep)
★★★★	Elemental resistances (capped at 75%)

Gearing Strategy

Campaign / Early Mapping

Slot	Recommendation
Helmet	Vestige of Darkness (blind aura + Bodach minion); alternative: Grip of Winter
Body Armour	High % Evasion + Energy Shield
Gloves	Way of the Stonefist synergy gloves: melee gem levels, physical damage
Boots	Evasion first; Wake of Destruction (shocked ground) as an alternative
Weapon Set 1 (Whirling Slash)	Winged Spear (Act 2) or the Skysliver unique; prioritize attack speed; leave offhand empty (max attack speed)
Weapon Set 2 (Twister)	Elemental infusion; early Buckler (parry) → later Spirit Scepter
Amulet	Any starter amulet with Evasion
Rings	Physical leech as life + mana sustain

Endgame

Slot	Affix priority	Rune
Helmet	Vestige of Darkness or rare Evasion/ES	Saqawal's Rune of Erosion
Body Armour	Highest Evasion + Energy Shield	Craiceann's Rune of Warding + Warding Rune of Heart
Gloves	High phys damage, melee gem levels, +skills	Rune of Culmination
Boots	Evasion + Deflection affixes	Farrul's Rune of the Chase
Weapon Set 1 (combat)	Rare staff: phys damage, attack speed, crit damage, crit chance, melee gems	—
Weapon Set 2 (travel)	Druid talisman (wolf-form mobility)	—
Amulet	+3 melee skills + % Evasion + Body Armour Spirit	—
Rings	Phys leech as life/mana, crit, resistances	—

Late game, consider the Duality staff (upgradeable to the damage version via the forge mechanic).

Mana Sustain

The problem: melee gem levels drive mana costs through the roof, and Shattering Palm is a mana hog.

Solutions:

Oisín's Oath (linked to Shattering Palm, converts the leech mechanic)
Physical damage leeched as mana affix (at least one piece of gear)
A spare Greater Mind Rune or Greater Body Rune in a weapon socket
Don't over-level your melee gems early — reassess once you're in maps

Playstyle Tips

Leveling route: run Twister all the way to maps, then switch to the main build. The caster route (Frozen Locus / Glacial Cascade / Ice Strike) works but is slower. Storm Wave becomes available at 21.
Weapon set assignment: Whirling Slash must live on Weapon Set 1; everything else goes on Set 2 — a hard requirement for the build to function.
Freeze first: prioritize freezing to enable Ice Bite II + Freezing Mark scaling. Without Freeze, your single-target drops off a cliff.
Boss positioning: overlapping Storm Wave fissures is a skill — test the optimal distance against each boss hitbox.
Early squishiness: Monk has the roughest early game. Stack armour/evasion first, then transition into evasion/ES.
Survival scaling: high Evasion feeds Ghost Dance recovery, and Deflection stacking is mandatory for the endgame.
Attribute flexibility: the final ascendancy, Runic Meridians, hugely eases midgame gearing via attribute/resistance runes.

Summary

"The Hollow Focus Storm Wave Martial Artist has a fast-paced play style, quickly dashing into packs with Shattering Palm and creating satisfying ice explosions through Herald of Ice. It destroys bosses with overlapping Storm Wave fissures... This build becomes extremely tanky through high Evasion, Deflection, and good recovery through Ghost Dance."

Pros: fast clear, high single-target, stable survivability (three defensive lines: Evasion / Deflection / ES + Ghost Dance), silky-smooth Twister leveling.
Cons: boss positioning takes practice, mana management needs gear support, Monk has the weakest campaign start.
Namesake node: Hollow Focus Technique (automatic Bell generation)
Core mechanical loop: Bells ↔ Herald of Ice explosions ↔ overlapping Storm Wave fissures