Brewmaster Monk Tank Easy Mode — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

Below is a "default" talent tree containing many of the most standard and common talent choices for you to select in beginner-level content while having the flexibility to adjust a few points as necessary for different scenarios. If you desire an even more simplified experience, then it is recommended to switch the choice node of Blackout Combo at the bottom of the specialization tree to Press the Advantage. Remember that you can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the "Export Talents" button!

If you are interested in knowing when to use some of the more situational talent choices or learn more about Brewmaster Hero Talents, take a look at our full talent analyses below.

Brewmasters have access to two unique sets of Hero Talents, with the Shado-Pan tree focusing on delivering bursts of Flurry Strikes and the Master of Harmony tree revolving around building and spending vitality as an Aspect of Harmony. Fortunately, these talents are almost entirely passive, allowing you to easily switch between them without any major impact on your general gameplay.

With that being said, we recommend making use of the Shado-Pan talents as a beginner due to how they both passively grant damage reduction and enhance your most important damaging abilities. You can certainly still try the Master of Harmony talents instead if you would like to, and you may even find them helpful for reinforcing how to play defensively.

Brewmaster Monk is a somewhat unique specialization in that there are few, if any changes to be made in your talent selection when fighting in single-target or AoE. The most noteworthy talents to mention are Chi Burst, which gains a damage advantage over Chi Wave at 2 or more targets, and the inclusion of Heart of the Ox rather than Zen State when you can afford to be a little more damage-oriented. Otherwise, your talent switching will be based around matters of both personal preference and whatever utilities you require for the content you are taking on.

If you are interested in knowing when to use some of the more situational talent choices or learn more about Brewmaster Hero Talents, take a look at our full talent analyses below.

Brewmasters have access to two unique sets of Hero Talents, with the Shado-Pan tree focusing on delivering bursts of Flurry Strikes and the Master of Harmony tree revolving around building and spending vitality as an Aspect of Harmony. Fortunately, these talents are almost entirely passive, allowing you to easily switch between them without any major impact on your general gameplay.

With that being said, we recommend making use of the Shado-Pan talents as a beginner due to how they both passively grant damage reduction and enhance your most important damaging abilities. You can certainly still try the Master of Harmony talents instead if you would like to, and you may even find them helpful for reinforcing how to play defensively.

When performing the Brewmaster rotation, it may be helpful to think in terms of Blackout Kick's cooldown. It will always be 4 seconds, and your global cooldown will always be exactly one second. This means you will often be using your abilities in sequences of Blackout Kick>ability1>ability2>ability3>Blackout Kick. By breaking things down to only four abilities at a time, you may have an easier time following the flow of being a Brewmaster.

1. Throw Keg Smash when available. This will also occasionally cast Chi Wave for you.
2. Use Blackout Kick when available.
3. Cast Breath of Fire when you can; its cooldown will be fully reset every time you use Keg Smash!
4. Activate Invoke Niuzao, the Black Ox when fighting for a long time.
5. Cast Chi Burst when available, if talented.
6. Throw Exploding Keg when available. Afterward, you can reactivate the ability to trigger Empty the Cellar for bonus damage.
7. When talented, activate Rushing Jade Wind. You will not be able to keep it up all the time, and that is okay; it is mostly to fill your rotation.
8. Use Tiger Palm when there is no other ability available. If fighting multiple targets, use Spinning Crane Kick instead.
9. Cast Expel Harm if you are dropping in health. You can also instantly cast Vivify for healing once every time you use Keg Smash, thanks to Vivacious Vivification. Do not try to cast Vivify if it is not buffed by the talent.
10. Activate Fortifying Brew when in an emergency situation.

You should make sure not to spend so much Energy on Spinning Crane Kick or Tiger Palm that you cannot cast Keg Smash when it is available. Following these steps will make sure you do as much damage as you can and have enough Brews to maintain a solid defense.

If you would like a more convenient option when first gaining the feel for the Brewmaster Monk rotation, there is also a Combat Assistant available from the spellbook. This assistant can perform a simplified version of the damage rotation and only requires you to use a single keybind. However, making use of this assistant comes at the cost of an increased cooldown between abilities on every press. Fortunately, this penalty is not too great a cost to your overall damage, and can likely still be a net improvement if you are inexperienced with a "fully manual" playstyle. In fact, you may want to consider taking on more advanced talents such as Rushing Jade Wind right away as the assistant can handle the extra rotational complexity for you! Likewise, if you may be interested in the simplicity of Press the Advantage, you'll likely perform better with the assistant handling Blackout Combo for you.

Note, however, that even with this assistant's help, you must still use your defensive abilities manually, as well as your key offensive cooldown of Invoke Niuzao, the Black Ox.

When playing a Brewmaster Monk, it is very important to always have the Shuffle buff present. This results in your damage taken being spread out over a longer period of time due to how it improves your Stagger passive. You gain time on Shuffle by casting Keg Smash, Blackout Kick, and Spinning Crane Kick. If you are using the default UI, you can easily monitor the time left on your Shuffle by looking at the icon outlined in purple:

Next, you make use of Purifying Brew to get rid of damage you have Staggered. The level of Stagger on the default UI is shown above and outlined in red. The more the bar is filled, the more damage you are taking. Remember, though, it is equally important to maintain uptime on Shuffle so that your damage taken stays smooth as you purify what you can.

In addition to Shuffle and Purifying Brew, you also can use the Celestial Infusion ability to absorb a large amount of damage taken for a decent length of time.

In addition to the basic mitigation tools above, Brewmasters have access to one main defensive cooldown through talents. It is the following:

• Fortifying Brew — Your "biggest" cooldown; this temporarily increases your health and reduces all damage taken. You can further customize it to enhance its strength or lower its baseline cooldown, and your rotation will also grant cooldown reduction to it and your other "Brew" abilities!

For a better understanding of what your abilities do to contribute to your performance, along with many more not covered here, it is highly recommended to glance at the Spell List/Glossary page linked just below.