HOME WoW Classes Windwalker Monk Guide

WoW Windwalker Monk is a very mobility-focused melee DPS class with some rather interesting mechanics. This expands upon the game in PvE content and PvP areas. For your convenience, in this guide, you will find the recommended strategies, rotation, builds, BiS gear, and effective working methods for this class. And in our Best Class For You Guide, you can find other options for a class to play.

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Windwalker Monk Guide 4.9

Windwalker Monk Overview

Windwalker Monk Guide

WoW The War Within Windwalker Monk deals burst damage from its Energy, which accumulates to be used as Chi. They then channel this Chi to create some of the deadliest blows that their opponents shall ever encounter. Windwalker Monk is not one of the most represented classes and their gameplay is unique compared to other melee DPS. But that can make it a lot more fun to play.

Windwalker Monk Strengths and Weaknesses

StrengthsWeaknesses
✅ High Mobility⛔️ Glass cannon
✅ Small windows of downtime⛔️ Energy Management
✅ Burst Damage⛔️ Positioning Needs
✅ High AoE damage

Windwalker Monk Season 3 Changes

In The War Within Season 3, Windwalker Monk received some minor updates. For instance, Windwalker Monk has a large aura increase. Additionally, you can now use non-channel and non-cast abilities during Spinning Crane Kick channeled spell.

Windwalker Monk Season 2 Changes

Windwalker Monk hasn’t been performing at its best, but Patch 11.1 aims to change that. In this WoW TWW Season 2 update, Windwalker receives minor talent tweaks, adjustments to its specialization abilities, and small changes to Hero Talents. Additionally, with the release of the new raid Liberation of Undermine in Season 2 of TWW, the Monk will gain access to a new tier set Ageless Serpent’s Foresight that should further improve its overall performance.

Windwalker Specialization Ability Changes

Windwalker didn’t get a ton of specialization ability changes in Patch 11.1, but let’s take a closer look at what did change:

Windwalker Monk Talent Changes

Windwalker Monk also got some talent changes in Patch 11.1, one talent was removed and replaced with a new one. Below is a list of the new talents.

  • Courageous Impulse — now increases the damage of Blackout Kick by 350% (was 200%).
  • Darting Hurricaneremoved.
  • Shadowboxing Treads — now increases the damage of Blackout Kick by 10% (was 20%).
  • New Talent: Slicing Winds — Envelop yourself in razor-sharp winds, then lunge forward dealing Nature damage to enemies in your path. Damage reduced beyond 5 enemies. Hold to increase lunge distance. Replaces Flying Serpent Kick.

Windwalker Monk Hero Talents Changes

Windwalker Monk in Patch 11.1 received almost no changes to Hero Talents. Here’s the only real adjustment:

Conduit of the Celestials:

  • Heart of the Jade Serpent — no longer reduces the cooldown of Rising Sun Kick, now reduces the cooldown of Flying Serpent Kick.

Windwalker Monk Changes in The War Within

The Windwalker Monk was one of the classes that have been changed the most in The War Within. The class and specialization talent trees have received a lot of changes and many Windwalker Monk WoW talents have been taken out, shifted, or replaced.

An important shift is the changes in the scaling of stats like Haste, Critical Strike, and Mastery. With these new improvements to stat scaling, we hope that the spec remains meta without the constant adjustments.

Another new thing that was added is Warbands. This feature allows you to manage your resources, transfer them between alts, and so on. But to use it, you need to unlock your Warband Bank, which is quite a complicated affair, that takes time to complete. Our team can easily unlock your Warband Bank for you to ensure that your resources are sorted out at any moment.

Windwalker Monk Hero Talents

WoW Windwalker Monk talent trees that were added in TWW offer a variety of new Hero Talents. Let’s see two main trees and their talents:

  • Celestial Conduit in the Conduit of the Celestials Tree channels the power of the August Celestials, dealing significant Nature damage to enemies and healing allies in combat within range, with increased potency per target struck.
  • Flurry Strikes in the Shado-Pan Tree generate Flurry Charges based on your damage dealt, which are unleashed to deal substantial Physical damage for every 400 energy spent.
Conduit of the CelestialsShado-Pan
Celestial ConduitFlurry Strikes
Temple TrainingPride of Pandaria
Xuen’s GuidanceHigh Impact
Courage of the White TigerVeteran’s Eye
Restore BalanceMartial Precision
Yu’lon’s KnowledgeProtect and Serve
Heart of the Jade SerpentLead from the Front
Strength of the Black OxOne Versus Many
Flight of the Red CraneWhirling Steel
Niuzao’s ProtectionPredictive Training
Jade SanctuaryAgainst All Odds
Chi-Ji’s SwiftnessEfficient Training
Inner CompassVigilant Watch
August DynastyWisdom of the Wall
Unity Within

Changes to The Existing Abilities And Talents

The Windwalker Monk WoW has several major abilities that have been modified. Notably, the damage of Blackout Kick, Tiger Palm, Rising Sun Kick, and Fists of Fury is reduced by 8%, while the damage of Spinning Crane Kick and Rushing Jade Wind is increased by 13% and 20%. Among other impressive cost changes is that Chi Burst has a 20 damage % reduction, its activation effect is now stacked to 2 turns, Chi Wave has a significantly increased damage of 80% and in addition, Touch of the Tiger now increases Tiger Palm damage by 40% (up from 25%).

Other changes focus on increasing the functionality and robustness of the spec. Yu’lon’s Grace now draws less health, but Communion With Wind increases the Strike of the Windlord damage by 100% (up from 80%), and Memory of the Monastery increases the chance of the Tiger Palm, Blackout Kick being effective. They have also been seen to reduce or improve effectiveness, such as Meridian Strikes, which now effectively reduces Touch of Death‘s cooldown.

Basics of Windwalker Monk Gameplay

As a Windwalker Monk, your main focus is on managing your resources and cooldowns efficiently. The key is to use Tiger Palm to turn your Energy into Chi. Chi is what powers your big abilities like Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury. The goal is to use these abilities as soon as possible without wasting Energy or Chi. You should also use Blackout Kick to prevent your Chi from maxing out, but make sure it doesn’t delay your use of Rising Sun Kick or Fists of Fury.

Mastery: Combo Strikes mechanic adds another layer of strategy. You need to carefully plan your attacks so that you don’t use the same ability twice in a row, like Blackout Kick or Tiger Palm. Instead, mix them with other abilities to deal the most damage.

Windwalker Monk Rotation

Single-Target Rotation:

  1.  Tiger Palm if <5 Chi + close energy cap.
  2.  Strike of the Windlord.
  3. Whirling Dragon Punch.
  4. Rising Sun Kick.
  5. Fists of Fury.
  6. Blackout Kick try not to overcap Teachings of the Monastery stacks.
  7. Spinning Crane Kick with Dance of Chi-Ji buff.
  8. Chi Burst.
  9. Crackling Jade Lightning without overlapping Last Emperor’s Capacitor stacks.
  10. Blackout Kick.

AOE-Rotation:

  1. Tiger Palm if <5 Chi + close energy cap.
  2. Spinning Crane Kick with Dance of Chi-Ji buff.
  3. Rising Sun Kick then Whirling Dragon Punch.
  4.  Strike of the Windlord.
  5. Crackling Jade Lightning without overlapping Last Emperor’s Capacitor stacks with Power of the Thunder King.
  6. Fists of Fury.
  7. Rising Sun Kick with Xuen’s Battlegear buff and <4 targets.
  8. Jadefire Stomp.
  9. Spinning Crane Kick.
  10. Chi Burst.
  11. Blackout Kick.

Specialization Skills

The following active skills are the most important for your Windwalker Monk’s performance:

  • Tiger Palm: This is a basic attack that will generate Chi. In that regard, you should spam Tiger Palm to execute higher-damage abilities as much as possible. It also synergizes well with other skills, making it a core part of your rotation.
  • Rising Sun Kick: A very powerful single-target ability that deals significant damage while applying a debuff to the target, making them take increased damage from you.
  • Fists of Fury: A high-damage, multi-target channeling ability that hits all in front of you, could be said to be crucial when in an AoE field.
  • Spinning Crane Kick: This is your number one AoE damage ability, pinpointed for nuking multiple targets together, and its damage increases from the number of targets.
  • Storm, Earth, and Fire: A good damage cooldown for when all else fails, turning into three Elemental Spirits who proceed to deal damage on their own, thus increasing your overall DPS. Vital to unleash maximal damage in burst phases. Available after all three of your other basic abilities are on cooldown.
  • Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger: Call a tiger spirit to fight by your side for 45 sec. It deals Nature damage to all enemies within 10 yards and increases your damage dealt by 10% for the entire duration.

Windwalker Monk Build

The build is essential when it comes to WoW activities like Raids and Mythic+. Here we have gathered the best and most profitable WoW Windwalker Monk talents, which you can use in any kind of content.

You can copy any of the best WoW Windwalker Monk builds below and paste them into the game.

Shado-pan Raiding C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzsMzghZMLzAmBAAAAAAAAAAAssMMiZGYGGWGzYbGzwsNmZwyMBAw2MzwMmZ2mBAwGA0sNLNzMzCMA
Shado-pan Mythic+ C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzYmBDzMjZGYMAAAAAAAAAAAwyywImZYMDYZMjlZMDz2YmBLzEAALzMDzYmZbGAAbAQz2s0MzMLwA
Conduit of the Celestials Raiding C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzsMzghZMLzMwAAAAAAAAAAAAssMMiZGYGGWGzYbGzwsNmZwyMBAwyMzwMmZ2mBAwyyssMbzMTQAwA
Conduit of the Celestials Mythic+C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzYmBDzMWmZgxAAAAAAAAAAAALLDjYmhxMglxMWmxMMbjZGsMTAAsMzMMjZmtZAAssMLLz2MzEEAMA

Windwalker Monk Stats

The stat priority for Windwalker Monks depends on the encounter type and your character’s gear. So WoW Windwalker Monk stat priority is the following:

  1. Agility;
  2. Haste;
  3. Versatility;
  4. Critical Strike;
  5. Mastery.

Windwalker Monk Leveling

The WoW Windwalker Monk leveling is pretty easy, as they are strong and flexible enough to withstand any troubles. However, sometimes you need some strategy and knowledge to improve this process. That is why we have prepared our useful leveling guide with the best ways to level up Windwalker Monk:

  • Use Heirlooms and XP Boosts: Equip with heirloom gear that gives experience bonuses and ensures that you always upgrade your gear as you level up.
  • Questing and Dungeons: Focus on questing primarily. Combine this with dungeon runs when hunting them or when you need a change of pace. Dungeons also offer great XP and gear, and as a monk, your mobility and AoE damage will make dungeon leveling more efficient.
  • Effective Power Use: Windwalker Monk excels at transportation and AoE damage, so use powers like Fists of Fury and Spinning Crane Kick to quickly finish off groups of enemies Move from quest to quest with time and no resignation, and be sure to use your Roll and Flying Serpent Kick for quick travel between objectives Let them do it.

Reaching new heights in the latest expansion can be quite time-consuming, especially with the new challenges. Our experienced players can help you go through the Power Leveling process swiftly in The War Within and get you battle-ready for whatever content is thrown your way.

Windwalker Monk Leveling Tips for The War Within

From the very start of the leveling, you’ll receive your basic abilities little by little, which will later form your rotation. WoW Windwalker Monk rotation follows a priority-based system, which means you must use the highest capacity available at any given time. These changes are optimized for AoE draws, where Windwalkers excel, and save access to some talents. If you don’t have certain talents, just cut those abilities off the basics.

When engaged in combat, prioritize abilities such as Fists of Fury and Rising Sun Kick as soon as they lose cooldown. Use Spinning Crane Kick in situations with multiple enemies to increase your AoE damage. Weave in Tiger Palm and Blackout Kick to generate and destroy Chi effectively, making sure your resources are never capped.

You can also use Leveling Rotation:

  1. Invoke Xuen;
  2. Touch of Death;
  3. Tiger Palm if <5 Chi + close energy cap;
  4. Blackout Kick try not to overlap Teachings of the Monastery;
  5. Spinning Crane Kick with Dance of Chi-Ji proc;
  6. Fists of Fury;
  7. Whirling Dragon Punch;
  8.  Strike of the Windlord;
  9.  Spinning Crane Kick;
  10.  Blackout Kick;
  11.  Rising Sun Kick;
  12.  Chi Burst.

How to Gear Up Windwalker Monk

Windwalker Monk is a strong DPS, he wears a Leather and carries Two-handed or Two One-handed weapons. During the gearing phase, prioritize two things: item level and WoW Windwalker Monk stats. Here’s the explanation:

  • If the items are with similar stats, but different ilvl, choose the level;
  • When you have items with a significant difference in stats, then the stats will be your priority, but mind that the ilvl shouldn’t be too low.

Your primary WoW Windwalker stat is Agility, so make sure to look at this one when picking an item to equip. All in all, Manaforge Omega Heroic Raid is the key to obtaining the best equipment. Our team is ready to help you with completing it and, hence, getting the rewards that will lead your character to a completely different level.

Best Gear for Windwalker Monk

The best gear is half of what makes your character successful. Here we have gathered overall WoW Windwalker Monk BiS gear, so you can use this table to guide through the gear options:

SlotItemSource
HeadWindwalker Monk Guide Half-Mask of Fallen StormsManaforge Omega
NeckWindwalker Monk Guide Sin Stained PendantHalls of Atonement
ShouldersWindwalker Monk Guide Glyphs of Fallen StormsManaforge Omega
CloakWindwalker Monk Guide Reshii WrapsPatch 11.2 Questline
ChestWindwalker Monk Guide Gi of Fallen StormsManaforge Omega
WristWindwalker Monk Guide Rune-Branded ArmbandsLeatherworking
GlovesWindwalker Monk Guide Grasp of Fallen StormsManaforge Omega
BeltWindwalker Monk Guide Rune-Branded WaistbandLeatherworking
LegsWindwalker Monk Guide Legwraps of Fallen StormsManaforge Omega
BootsWindwalker Monk Guide Interloper’s Reinforced SandalsManaforge Omega
RingWindwalker Monk Guide Signet of the False AccuserHalls of Atonement
RingWindwalker Monk Guide Whispers of K’areshEco-Dome Al’dani
2H WeaponWindwalker Monk Guide Harvester’s InterdictionAra-Kara, City of Echoes
TrinketWindwalker Monk Guide Araz’s Ritual ForgeManaforge Omega
TrinketWindwalker Monk Guide Astral AntennaManaforge Omega

Best Windwalker Monk Trinkets

Trinkets will go a long way in enhancing the capabilities of your character, but sometimes finding that just right may be a grind. Our team is here to help you farm the best Dungeon Trinkets so that you can maximize your performance without any hassle.

S Tier
A Tier

Tier Set Bonuses for Windwalker Monk

Crash of Fallen Storms is the new Windwalker Monk Tier Set in WoW The War Within Season 3. The bonuses that it provides depend on your Hero talents tree.

Windwalker Monk Conduit of the Celestials Tier Set Bonuses:

2-pieceHeart of the Jade Serpent additionally triggers for 4 sec at 100% effectiveness after you cast Slicing Winds.
4-pieceHeart of the Jade Serpent increases your haste by 10% while active and for 4 sec afterwards.

Windwalker Monk Shado-pan Tier Set Bonuses:

2-pieceFlurry Strikes deal 20% more damage and activating [Storm, Earth, and Fire] instantly grants 10 stacks of Flurry Strikes that trigger on your next attack at 70% effectiveness.
4-pieceFlurry charge generation is increased by 50% and Flurry Strikes triggers every 120 energy spent during Storm, Earth, and Fire.

Windwalker Monk Season 2 Tier Set Bonuses

In WoW TWW Season 2 Windwalker Monk received a new tier set Ageless Serpent’s Foresight that can be obtained from the new Liberation of Undermine raid, as well as from the Great Vault or by crafting it through the Catalyst.

2-pieceYour spells and abilities have a chance to activate a Winning Streak! increasing the damage of your Rising Sun Kick and Spinning Crane Kick by 3% stacking up to 10 times. Rising Sun Kick and Spinning Crane Kick have a 15% chance to remove Winning Streak!
4-pieceFists of Fury applies 1 stack of Winning Streak! when cast and when finished channeling completely. The damage of your next Fists of Fury is increased by 5% per stack when Winning Streak! is removed. Your Winning Streak! is always removed once it reaches max stacks.

Windwalker Monk Season 1 Tier Set Bonuses

Gatecrasher’s Fortitude is the Windwalker Monk Tier Set for Season 1 in the War Within.

2-pieceTiger Palm increases the damage of your next melee ability by 5.0%.
4-pieceYour other melee abilities increase the damage of your next Tiger Palm by 25%, stacking up to 6 times. 15% of Tiger Palm‘s damage is dealt to nearby enemies, reduced beyond 5 targets.

If you want to get the Tier Set and all of the Set items, but think it takes too long, our Heroic Battle Pass might be a solution. Completing raids every week significantly increases your chance to loot the required items, and our team will assist with this task.

Best Crafted Gear for Windwalker Monk

We recommend waiting until closer to Season 1 to craft items to decide what to craft not to waste Windwalker Monk Guide Spark of Omens on nerfed Embellishments. We will keep this section updated and provide you with the best options for crafting gear for your WoW Windwalker Monk.

Best Consumables for Windwalker Monk

You use consumables to get short-time effects, that boost your performance, heal you in combat, empower your weapon, and so on. Be sure to select consumables that fit your stat priorities and equipment.

TypeBest
FlaskWindwalker Monk Guide Flask of Alchemical Chaos Windwalker Monk Guide
Combat PotionWindwalker Monk Guide Tempered Potion Windwalker Monk Guide
Health PotionWindwalker Monk Guide Invigorating Healing Potion Windwalker Monk Guide
Weapon BuffWindwalker Monk Guide Algari Mana Oil Windwalker Monk Guide
Augment RuneWindwalker Monk Guide Crystallized Augment Rune
FoodWindwalker Monk Guide The Sushi Special
DiamondWindwalker Monk Guide Culminating Blasphemite Windwalker Monk Guide
Other GemsWindwalker Monk Guide Quick Onyx Windwalker Monk Guide

Best Windwalker Monk Enchants

SlotBest Enchant
WeaponWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Weapon – Stonebound Artistry Windwalker Monk Guide
CloakWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Cloak – Chant of Winged Grace Windwalker Monk Guide
ChestWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Chest – Crystalline Radiance Windwalker Monk Guide
BracersWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Bracer – Chant of Armored Avoidance Windwalker Monk Guide
LegsWindwalker Monk Guide Stormbound Armor Kit Windwalker Monk Guide
BootsWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Boots – Defender’s March Windwalker Monk Guide
RingWindwalker Monk Guide Enchant Ring – Radiant Haste Windwalker Monk Guide
RingsEnchant Ring – Radiant Haste

Windwalker Monk End-Game

Once you are done leveling your Windwalker Monk in The War Within, you have several options for pursuing end-game and other activities. Two of the main paths for Windwalker Monks include Mythic+ Dungeons and PvP.

If you like the feeling of exciting and fast-paced hard content with increasing difficulty, then Mythic+ dungeons are the way to go. The high mobility and AoE burst of Windwalker Monk is really strong and fitted for cleaning packs of mobs in the group content.

The toolkit of the Windwalker Monk offers great utility, and on the other hand, if competitively playing against other players, there is PvP, another good avenue. The Windwalker Monk really shines when it comes to PvP because of his burst damage, crowd control, and general mobility, which essentially goes far with this kind of element. Whether it’s the PvE challenges of Mythic+ or the competitive nature of PvP, Windwalker Monk stands well-equipped.

Best Races for Windwalker Monk

The most popular race to play on a Monk is Pandaren, but there are a couple of other good options for factions as well. Below you can find the best Windwalker Monk race in WoW The War Within from the point of view of their racial abilities.

Alliance

The best Windwalker Monk race for Alliance is a Human because of Will to Survive which helps you get out of control.

Horde

The best Windwalker Monk race for Horde is a Blood Elf because of Arcane Acuity which slightly increases your damage.

Best Profession for Windwalker Monk

The best profession for a Windwalker Monk is Skinning and Leatherworking because you can make armor for yourself. But you can always choose the bundle of professions that you like more: Mining and Blacksmithing or Herbalism and Alchemy are also a good choice.

If you want to craft the best items, you need to level up your profession with profession knowledge. For example, gaining renown with key factions, like the Council of Dornogal, earns you specific rewards and advantages over other players. We can help you gain this renown in no time in the game through our team, letting you unlock those great benefits that other players will not have to stand out within your profession.

Improving as Windwalker Monk

Monks with Windwalker specialization constantly face the challenge of balancing their two main resources of Energy and Chi. Energy, which regenerates at the speed of 10 points per second, is a source of power for abilities such as Tiger Palm, Expel Harm, and Rushing Jade Wind.

Remember that if you meet the Energy cap, then the damage will drop significantly. The main purpose of Energy is to acquire Chi mostly through Tiger Palm. The maximum amount of Chi you can have is 5 (or 6 with Ascension). It is a necessity for abilities like Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury. To avoid wasting Chi, a strategy is to use it wisely. You should aim at having enough Chi to spend on strong abilities when they are not on cooldown.

Global Cooldown time sometimes gets natural downtime in the rotation. Filling every Global Cooldown may not be the best choice. You shouldn’t overuse Tiger Palm and Blackout Kick just to fill the gaps. You may become short on resources when you need stronger abilities like Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury. The secret to being a master of Windwalker is to think a few seconds in advance. Allow yourself to take time and prepare the right resources at the right time instead of forcing your GCDs to be filled every second.

Windwalker Monk Macros

If you want even more improvement to your game, try to use macros. This tool can significantly boost your efficiency, as you will be able to perform actions faster and more precisely. You can bind multiple commands to a single key, and thus save time and focus more on the fight instead of juggling multiple abilities.

Macrof for Windwalker Monk
  • Detox Mouseover Macro.

#showtooltip Detox
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead] Detox;Detox

  • Tiger’s Lust Mouseover Macro.

#showtooltip Tiger’s Lust
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead] Tiger’s Lust;Tiger’s Lust

  • No Cancelling Macro.

#showtooltip Tiger Palm
/stopmacro [channeling:Fists of Fury] /stopmacro [channeling:Crackling Jade Lightning] /stopmacro [channeling:Spinning Crane Kick] /cast Tiger Palm

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Windwalker Monk Guide 4.9

In conclusion, Windwalker Monk is a powerful DPS in WoW The War Within. And it will be a great choice for players who don’t want to lose mobility and massive damage-per-second results. In our WoW Windwalker Monk Guide, we covered all the essential aspects: rotation, talents, builds, gearing and leveling, and more. With this in mind, master your skills and achieve new results.

Changelog

03 Sep. 2024 Guide added.
20 Nov. 2024 Guide updated for Patch 11.0.7.
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