The monk is a leather class that covers all three roles: tank, healer and melee damage. Every spec shares the same resources — Chi and Energy — but they play so differently that moving between them feels like changing class.
Specializations
| Spec | Role | Artifact | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewmaster | Tank | Fu Zan, the Wanderer's Companion | Agility → Versatility → Critical Strike → Haste → Mastery |
| Mistweaver | Healer | Sheilun, Staff of the Mists | Intellect → Critical Strike → Versatility → Mastery → Haste |
| Windwalker | Melee damage | Fists of the Heavens | Agility → Critical Strike → Versatility → Mastery → Haste |
The stat priority is a guideline for 7.3.5. The exact order depends on your talents and legendaries, so check the final result with a sim.
Brewmaster
- A tank built on delayed damage: the Stagger mechanic spreads an incoming hit across several seconds, and you "drink it off" with your brews.
- Key buttons: Keg Smash on cooldown, Ironskin Brew up almost all the time, Purifying Brew right after a heavy hit.
- Watch the Stagger bar: you should purify at the yellow and red stages, not on cooldown.
- Breath of Fire and Keg Smash are your main threat package on a pack.
Mistweaver
- A healer with cheap background healing layered on top of powerful single-target bursts.
- Key buttons: Renewing Mist should be rolling constantly, Enveloping Mist on the tank when damage is coming, Thunder Focus Tea empowers your next spell.
- Watch your mana: nothing burns it faster than extra bursts into a target that is already healthy.
- Revival is your main raid cooldown, and it also removes harmful effects from the whole group.
Windwalker
- Fast melee with high mobility and a strict button order under cooldowns.
- Key buttons: Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury on cooldown, Blackout Kick as a filler, Spinning Crane Kick on three or more targets.
- Watch your Chi: capping the resource and letting Fists of Fury sit idle are the two biggest damage losses for beginners.
- Storm, Earth, and Fire is your main burst: use it when the targets are standing close together and won't scatter.
Legendary items
- Stormstout's Last Gasp — Brewmaster shoulders: Keg Smash gains an extra charge and hits 25% harder.
- Firestone Walkers — Brewmaster boots: every enemy struck by Breath of Fire takes 2 seconds off the cooldown of Fortifying Brew.
- Petrichor Lagniappe — Mistweaver bracers: every Renewing Mist takes 2 seconds off the cooldown of Revival.
- Drinking Horn Cover — Windwalker bracers: Storm, Earth, and Fire is extended by 0.4 seconds for every Chi you spend.
- The Emperor's Capacitor — Windwalker chest: spending Chi builds stacks that empower your next Crackling Jade Lightning.
Until the spec legendaries drop, feel free to wear the all-purpose Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus and Sephuz's Secret — they suit all three specs.
Class Order Hall
The monk order hall is the Temple of Five Dawns on the Wandering Isle; you get there through the class call at level 98. Inside you will find the artifact forge, the mission table, Artifact Power turn-in and a teleport back to the Broken Isles.
Tips for beginners
- The monk's Paralysis works both as a stun and as crowd control — put it and Spear Hand Strike on separate keybinds; in Mythic+ that matters more than a few extra percent of damage.
- As a Brewmaster, don't save your brews "for later": the charges recharge constantly, and an unspent charge is simply mitigation you threw away.
- Level one artifact all the way: on 7.3.5 Artifact Knowledge is so high that a second spec catches up in a single evening.