Windwalker Monk DPS Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within (11.2.5)

Welcome to our Gear and BiS Page for Windwalker Monk for The War Within Season 3. Check this page to learn everything you need to know about gearing a Windwalker Monk, including the BiS Gear from all sources, Raiding, and Mythic+, information on the best Trinkets, Tier Sets, and much more.

For discussion and information on Stats specifically, check out our Stats page below.

2.

BiS Gear for Windwalker Monk

Overall BiS List Raid Gear BiS List Mythic+ Gear BiS List

3.

BiS List for Windwalker Monk

This list contains the highest DPS setup from most sources for Windwalker Monk.

In most non-Tier slots, a maximum iLvl Craft is technically optimal since you can customize the secondary stats to your liking. A few higher iLvl Slots from Mythic Raid are the exception.

Slot	Item	Source/Note
Head	Half-Mask of Fallen Storms	Forgeweaver Araz
Neck	Sin Stained Pendant	Halls of Atonement
Shoulders	Glyphs of Fallen Storms	The Soul Hunters
Cloak	Reshii Wraps with Mastery	11.2 Campaign
Chest	Gi of Fallen Storms	Fractillus
Wrist	Rune-Branded Armbands	Leatherworking
Gloves	Grasp of Fallen Storms	Soulbinder Naazindhri
Belt	Rune-Branded Waistband	Leatherworking
Legs	Legwraps of Fallen Storms	Loom’ithar
Boots	Interloper's Reinforced Sandals	The Soul Hunters
Ring	Signet of the False Accuser	Halls of Atonement
Ring	Whispers of K'aresh	Eco-Dome Al'dani
2H Weapon	Harvester's Interdiction	Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Trinket	Araz's Ritual Forge	Forgeweaver Araz
Trinket	Astral Antenna	Loom’ithar

3.

Raid Gear BiS List for Windwalker Monk

This list contains the highest DPS setup, only using gear from the Season 3 Raids.

This list is mostly useful for informing your organized guild of what loot is optimal for you for loot distribution purposes.

Slot	Item	Source
Head	Half-Mask of Fallen Storms	Forgeweaver Araz
Neck	Salhadaar's Folly	Nexus King Salhadaar
Shoulders	Glyphs of Fallen Storms	The Soul Hunters
Cloak	Reshii Wraps with Mastery	11.2 Campaign
Chest	Gi of Fallen Storms	Fractillus
Wrist	Rune-Branded Armbands	Leatherworking
Gloves	Grasp of Fallen Storms	Soulbinder Naazindhri
Belt	Rune-Branded Waistband	Leatherworking
Legs	Legwraps of Fallen Storms	Loom’ithar
Boots	Interloper's Reinforced Sandals	The Soul Hunters
Ring	Band of the Shattered Soul	Dimensius The All Devouring
Ring	Logic Gate: Omega	Forgeweaver Araz
2H Weapon	Marvel of Technomancy	Forgeweaver Araz
Trinket	Araz's Ritual Forge	Forgeweaver Araz
Trinket	Astral Antenna	Loom’ithar

3.

Mythic+ Gear BiS List for Windwalker Monk

This list contains the highest DPS setup, with farmable gear from Mythic+ Dungeons. This is a great place to start on a relatively new character, as you can infinitely grind out these items from Mythic+.

Slot	Item	Source
Head	Half-Mask of Fallen Storms	Matrix Catalyst
Neck	Sin Stained Pendant	Halls of Atonement
Shoulders	Glyphs of Fallen Storms	Matrix Catalyst
Cloak	Reshii Wraps with Mastery	11.2 Campaign
Chest	Gi of Fallen Storms	Matrix Catalyst
Wrist	Rune-Branded Armbands	Leatherworking
Gloves	Grasp of Fallen Storms	Matrix Catalyst
Belt	Rune-Branded Waistband	Leatherworking
Legs	Spittle-Stained Trousers	Eco-Dome Al'dani
Boots	Stalwart Guardian's Boots	Priory of the Sacred Flame
Ring	Signet of the False Accuser	Halls of Atonement
Ring	Whispers of K'aresh	Eco-Dome Al'dani
2H Weapon	Harvester's Interdiction	Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
Trinket	Lily of the Eternal Weave	Eco-Dome Al'dani
Trinket	Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker	Operation: Floodgate

Patch 11.2.5 of The War Within Season 3 offers a way to acquire specific items from Manaforge Omega through Puzzling Cartel Chips. Up to nine of these can be obtained and exchanged, three at a time, for any weapon, trinket, or "very rare" item in Manaforge Omega, along with any trinket from the current Mythic+ dungeon pool. However, in order to purchase any raid item, you must have defeated its respective boss at least once on Normal difficulty or higher. In addition, the item level of your purchases will be restricted to the "Hero" track (717) unless you have beaten the boss that normally drops the item on Mythic difficulty, or have completed every dungeon at +12 in time. See our Puzzling Cartel Chip guide for more information on how this catchup currency works and how to obtain it.

We have compiled a list of high-value items that you should prioritize with your Cartel Chips in The War Within Season 3 as Windwalker Monk. This list is not exhaustive but is in a rough order of priority. As always, you are best served by simming yourself for optimal results as the best pick will depend on the gear you already have available, along with what items you can purchase at Myth track from completing pinnacle endgame content.

2-Handed Weapon - Why?
• The biggest single increase in damage for all content will come from the item level of your weapon. At this point in the patch, you should have been able to get a 2-handed weapon at a 723 or crafted one at 720. However, if you have been unlucky or unable, then using your first Chip on upgrading your 2-Handed weapon is almost certainly going to be the best choice.
Interloper's Reinforced Sandals (The Soul Hunters)- Why?
• Due to this item's bonus interaction with your Reshii Wraps being based on the "original" item level of the piece, a Myth-track version is a more noteworthy improvement than usual over the Hero-track alternative. The damage boost provided by these can be quite significant, even if you're just upgrading from Hero to Mythic-track, and especially if you're upgrading from a non- Interloper's Reinforced Sandals to these.
Unyielding Netherprism (Fractillus) - Why?
• Trinkets are typically the best choice to spend these Chips on after any weapon and unique items like Interloper's Reinforced Sandals, in this case. Of the strongest trinkets, Unyielding Netherprism from Fractillus deserves a little bit more attention than the rest due to its flexibility. Unyielding Netherprism shines in any content and with any Hero Talents. This is different than Araz's Ritual Forge that really shines best with a 2-minute setup, or Lily of the Eternal Weave that needs a 90-second setup. Unyielding Netherprism's ability to also function as a second on-use trinket, keeps it as a great all-around, and flexible choice.
Other Trinkets - Why?
• After your weapon is upgraded, Trinkets generally provide the largest value to upgrade. If you do not have one of the stronger trinkets listed below, then you can likely grab it without much concern. However, after the weapon is handled, you will want to make sure that you're confirming your choices through your sims, as upgrading a weaker trinket, or one that you may still replace with a better or higher item level trinket, may not be the right choice.
Sim What's Left - Why?
• Once your weapon and trinkets are upgraded, you get to the point where you really need to be simming the gear that you have in order to know what is best.

Patch 11.2 has brought with a new upgradeable artifact cloak known as the Reshii Wraps. This item will be obtained early on in the 11.2 story campaign and is essentially the only cloak you will wear for the entirety of the season; in fact, you are entirely unable to enter the Manaforge Omega raid or participate in its encounters without it! Needless to say, this factor, along with its maximum item level of 730, means it is a best-in-slot item for you to acquire as soon as possible.

Of course, just having a higher item level would not make the Reshii Wraps a very special item. Fortunately, this cloak also features a unique fiber socket that allows you to select its secondary stat. For Windwalker, you will likely stick to the Pure Energizing Fiber, which grants Mastery. Beyond this, the cloak contains a unique passive effect that changes based upon your specialization. As a DPS specialization, Windwalkers will regularly gain an Ethereal Reaping damage proc. Due to being entirely passive, you do not need to worry about trying to optimize this power in any way; instead, simply enjoy the extra defense.

Finally, there exist a couple of items that further empower your Reshii Wraps' passive effect and are found in the Manaforge Omega raid. This includes a pair of boots ( Interloper's Reinforced Sandals) and a ring ( Band of the Shattered Soul). Of the two, you should only focus on obtaining the boots, as the ring's defensive bonus is underwhelming.

For more information on how to acquire or upgrade the Reshii Wraps, make sure to check out our dedicated guide!

Patch 11.1.7 featured a new belt that you can obtain from a short questline involving Delves, the Durable Information Storage Container (or DISC). This item's level and unique suite of proc effects, in addition to being obtained pre-socketed, resulted in it being a best-in-slot item for the remainder of Season 2 but should start to fall behind belts that are a higher item level in Season 3. In Patch 11.2.5, the belt is significantly nerfed, so you will almost certainly want to replace it.

For more information on how to acquire or upgrade this belt, make sure to check out our dedicated Overcharged Delves guide!

In addition, over time the Durable Information Securing Container can be upgraded all the way to item level 701, and you will gain the ability to switch between 9 different item effects (in the form of miniature titan discs). For Windwalker Monks in particular, you will want to make use of the following effects:

• Critical Chain, Spark Burst, or Electric Current for Raiding and Mythic+. What is best for your character will depend on the rest of your gear, so you need to sim these options for your self to know what is best.

Throughout this page, we regularly refer to the importance of simming yourself on Raidbots, as it is an indispensable aspect of optimizing your character.

While we do offer generic sim charts for Trinkets, this should not be a replacement for simming yourself, at least not if you want to minmax sub-1%!

If you are new to simming and Raidbots, check out our detailed guide below.

You should ideally sim the optimal stats to craft for your particular character, but Haste/Mastery is generally a very safe choice.

1. If you're only interested in single target damage then craft two items made with Elemental Focusing Lens.
2. If you're interested in more than just single target damage then craft two items with Duskthread Lining or Dawnthread Lining. They're practically equal, so which one is largely irrelevant and what's "best" will change based on your other gear, but never so much that it matters.
3. If you, for some reason, cannot get a 2H weapon at maximum item level, then you can craft one with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and another piece with Writhing Armor Banding. This does require 3 Crests instead of 2, so it should be an absolute worst-case-scenario option.
4. Your lowest item level slot.

You will be able to upgrade your items via Crests. Once you have upgraded a slot to a certain item level, upgrading other items of that slot to that item level is free.

When you upgrade with Crests, you should think of it as upgrading slots and not items.

Additionally, since Crests are a limited resource, you will want to obtain the highest item-level possible before upgrading a given slot, as this means you will spend fewer Crests on that slot in total. If you are at all capable of doing a +9 Dungeon, for example, it would be a VERY bad idea to upgrade an item from a +8 Dungeon, as those are wasted Crests you may not get back for a very long time.

We see a ton of players, even at a high level, mess up their upgrade priorities and upgrade prematurely. Getting this right will put you far ahead of most players.

Below is the slot priority you should upgrade your items in. If you ever want to deviate from this, you should have a very good reason.

2-Handed Weapon - Why?
• The biggest single increase in damage for all content will come from the item level of your weapon. At this point in the patch, you should have been able to get a 2-handed weapon at a 723 or crafted one at 720. Upgrading these things ASAP will be the biggest value for the 30 Gilded crests it will cost.
Trinkets - Why?
• After your weapon is upgraded, Trinkets generally provide the largest value to upgrade. If you have one of the stronger trinkets listed below, then you can likely upgrade them without much concern. However, after the weapon is handled, you will want to make sure that you're confirming your choices through your sims, as upgrading a weaker trinket, or one that you may still replace with a better or higher item level trinket, may not be the right choice.
Sim What's Left- Why?
• Once your weapon and trinkets are upgraded, you get to the point where you really need to be simming the gear that you have in order to know what is best. Upgrading embellishments can be worth it, but they're often in "low value" slots like gloves, belt, bracers, and boots, that don't gain as much by an item level increase. Upgrading a "high value" slot like chest, legs, helm, or shoulders, that gain more Agility, can be worth over your embellishment slots. Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to sim your character.

Note that exceptions are possible, such as special items that have more Item Level scaling than their slot would imply.

Season 3 of The War Within features a new set of Monk-themed gear to collect, known as the Crash of Fallen Storms set. Pieces of this armor can be earned from bosses in the Manaforge Omega raid, alongside any of the nine slots in the weekly Great Vault, and can also gradually be made at the Matrix Catalyst as a catchup system. This armor, when enough pieces of it are worn, unlocks special bonuses for Windwalkers. However, uniquely, this season features separate set bonuses based on whether you are using the Shado-Pan or Conduit of the Celestials Hero Talents. These are the following:

• Monk Conduit of the Celestials 11.2 Class Set 2pc — Heart of the Jade Serpent additionally triggers for 4 sec at 100% effectiveness after you cast Slicing Winds.
• Monk Conduit of the Celestials 11.2 Class Set 4pc — Heart of the Jade Serpent increases your haste by 10% while active and for 4 sec afterwards.

• Monk Shado-Pan 11.2 Class Set 2pc — Flurry Strikes deal 20% more damage and activating Storm, Earth, and Fire instantly grants 10 stacks of Flurry Charge that trigger on your next attack at 70% effectiveness.
• Monk Shado-Pan 11.2 Class Set 4pc — Flurry Charge generation is increased by 50% and Flurry Strikes triggers every 120 Energy spent during Storm, Earth, and Fire.

As there are five total slots, but only four are needed to gain both equipment bonuses, we recommend that you consider ignoring the leg piece in favor of the remaining four. However, getting your set bonuses takes priority over getting the "correct" pieces, and in this season especially, all five remain very close in overall performance.

If you would like to learn more about these set bonuses and how they interact with your overall playstyle, we have dedicated a section of our rotation page to further discussing them.