Windwalker Monk DPS Guide — Dragonflight 10.2.5

Last updated on Feb 15, 2024 at 10:08 by Babylonius 42 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Windwalker Monk guide for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.5. Here, you will learn how to play as a Windwalker Monk in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.

1.

Windwalker Monk Overview

The Windwalker specialization is a melee DPS spec that focuses on using Energy, converting it into Chi, and using that Chi to deal damage. Windwalker is an incredibly mobile spec with a very strong presence in M+ and PvP but historically lags beyond other specs in Raids.

2.

Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
  • +Jack of all trades.
  • +Nearly unparalleled mobility potential.
  • +Strong burst and sustained stacked AOE and Cleave.
  • +Little to no damage loss from target switching.
X Weaknesses
  • -Jack of all trades, master of none.
  • -Lacking an immunity.
  • -Historically, poor scaling throughout an expansion without buffs.
3.

Windwalker Monk and Guide Changes for Patch 10.2.5

There were no significant changes for Windwalker Monks in 10.2.5.

4.

Windwalker Monk Viability

Windwalker's main strength is their AOE and burst damage. Although ultimately most bosses are single-target creatures, many fights have adds or additional targets that can, or need to, be killed. This allows Windwalker Monks to excel as they are better at killing many targets quickly than nearly any other spec in the game. Following buffs in January, Windwalker's damage abilities are back to being in-line with other classes.

Mythic+ has long been where Windwalker's shine the brightest, and while it won’t be quite as gleaming as it was in Season 1; Season 3 should continue to see Windwalker be “good enough” for the vast majority of players. New in Dragonflight was the rise and dominance of Touch of Death in AOE packs due to the presence of Forbidden Technique and Fatal Flying Guillotine that turns it into a potential 10 mob-hitting explosion of damage to finish off mobs and leave your group mates wondering why they even popped their cooldowns in the first place. As time goes on, this has become more, and more, of Windwalker’s identity, but for Mythic+, it is a very strong identity to have.

Lastly, Windwalkers have access to the same group buffs that Brewmasters and Mistweavers have in Close to Heart Icon Close to Heart, Generous Pour Icon Generous Pour, and the less useful Windwalking Icon Windwalking. While these won't make or break an encounter all the time, they certainly help.

5.

Leveling a Windwalker Monk

If you want to play a Windwalker Monk but currently do not have one at max level, you can check out our leveling guide for tips on your journey.

Once you reach the max level, it can be somewhat overwhelming to completely change the way you play by suddenly implementing a large number of addons in a short space of time, especially if they have a heavy visual impact on your UI. We recommend using some of the more basic addons recommended on our Addons page below while leveling so that you have more time to get used to them during the easier phases of playing your class.

6.

Basics of Windwalker Monk Gameplay

Windwalker Monk is a spec about managing resources and abilities with cooldowns at the same time. The primary concern for Windwalkers is to use Tiger Palm Icon Tiger Palm to convert Energy into Chi for abilities like Rising Sun Kick Icon Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury Icon Fists of Fury with as little of a delay as possible while not capping your Energy or Chi.

Windwalker will inherently have more resources than you can use on those two abilities, so Windwalkers need to learn how to adequately incorporate enough Blackout Kick Icon Blackout Kick into the rotation so as to not overflow with Chi, but not so much that you don't have the Chi necessary to cast Rising Sun Kick Icon Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury Icon Fists of Fury as soon as they are available.

The Windwalker Monk Mastery, Mastery: Combo Strikes Icon Mastery: Combo Strikes, forces the Windwalkers to prepare and think several steps ahead, since they will want to avoid using Blackout Kick Icon Blackout Kick or Tiger Palm Icon Tiger Palm back to back, rather trying to weave them artfully between other abilities in order to get the maximum damage possible.

If you are a beginner to the spec, but would like to learn the basics of the class, recommend looking through the Spell Summary first, as well as the Easy Mode page linked below.

If you are already familiar with Windwalker, you can head to the Talents and Rotation pages to jump into the more complex, detailed information.

7.

How to Gear Up as a Windwalker Monk

Gearing as a Windwalker is relatively simple; start by grabbing the highest item level pieces you can get. Once you have accomplished that, you will want to take a look at our dedicated Gear Guide for more information on how to optimize your character's gear for playing.

After your character's gear is taken care of, the next step is to maximize your damage through other means. One way to do this is through using consumables, gems, and enchants. For information about those additional aspects of maximizing your character, see our dedicated pages for what you need.

8.

End-Game as a Windwalker Monk

Leveling and "end-game" content generally look very different. Regardless of what type of content you are interested in, we have pages dedicated to providing you with the information that you need to be successful.

9.

Improving as a Windwalker Monk

Everyone struggles from time to time, but what's important is how you overcome those struggles. Here are some pages with information and frequently asked questions or mistakes that players make that you may find helpful in improving your own performance.

10.

Changelog

  • 14 Feb. 2024 (gear page): Swapped Blue Silken Lining in for best embellishment recommendations.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (Amirdrassil page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 15 Jan. 2024 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 30 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated BiS Lists
  • 19 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Fixed link problem with Borrowed Time weapon.
  • 11 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Sporecloak nerf, embellishment recommendations have been redone.
  • 10 Nov. 2023 (Amirdrassil page): Updated and made things more formal sounding.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, no changes necessary.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, no changes necessary.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (simulations page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent recommendation.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated tier information, BiS lists, and embellishment recommendations.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (addons page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, no changes necessary.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (enchants page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated enchant recommendations.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (stats page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent recommendation.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (Amirdrassil page): Page added.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent recommendation.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (rotation page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated priorities and tier set information.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (talents page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent recommendations.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (spells page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent recommendation.
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent string
  • 06 Nov. 2023 (this page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, changed "viability".
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (simulations page): Updated for 10.1.7 with new format.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (gear page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (addons page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (enchants page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (stats page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (rotation page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (talents page): Updated for 10.1.7 and new format.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (spells page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7.
  • 01 Sep. 2023 (Legendaries): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (simulations page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (gear page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, added information on unique items in Dawn of the Infinites dungeon.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (addons page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (enchants page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (stats page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (rotation page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (talents page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (spells page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
  • 10 Jul. 2023 (this page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, added information about 10.1.5 Changes.
  • 06 May 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Guide created.
  • 01 May 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
  • 01 May 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
  • 01 May 2023 (simulations page): Reviwed and Updated for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
  • 01 May 2023 (gear page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, formatting changes, updated BiS gearsets, and more.
  • 01 May 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.1, moved Primordial Stones section and added Shadowflame enchant.
  • 01 May 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necesssary.
  • 01 May 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
  • 01 May 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, removed Thundering.
  • 01 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.1, moved Rising Sun Kick higher in the priority.
  • 01 May 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed currently.
  • 01 May 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
  • 01 May 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necessary.
  • 01 May 2023 (this page): Updated for 10.1, added necessary new H1 sections.
  • 30 Apr. 2023 (addons page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necessary.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7, added Primordial Stones section.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (talents page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7, added section for spec changes.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1, added gear from Vault of the Incarnates.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Page added.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1, added notes about the Vault of the Incarnates tier bonuses.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added initial dungeon gear.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added Thundering information, removed Shadowlands things.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, removed Shadowlands stuff.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added ST and AOE Talents.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, removed Shadowlands things.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (simulations page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 15 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Page added with initial thoughts and information.
  • 01 Nov. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
  • 28 Jun. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Added information on new Legendaries and Covenant recommendations.
  • 17 May 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Page created.
  • 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
  • 14 Jan. 2020 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
  • 14 Jan. 2020 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
  • 14 Jan. 2020 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
  • 14 Jan. 2020 (The Eternal Palace page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
  • 22 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated some encounter talents and tips.
  • 16 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated guide to mention the presence of Aberrations.
  • 10 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Guide added.
  • 24 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
  • 24 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
  • 24 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
  • 17 May 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide updated with further tips.
  • 15 Apr. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
  • 15 Apr. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
  • 15 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide added.
  • 21 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Page added.
  • 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.1 and no changes are necessary.
  • 04 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added content.
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