Brewmaster Monk Frequently Asked Questions — Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.1

1. Is It Better to Play Defensively or Offensively?

This is by far the most contentious question in tanking, and the answer is very subjective. If you are new to Brewmaster, you should almost certainly focus on defensive play while learning. When you become more comfortable you should be able to gauge for yourself how much you can give up to do a little more DPS.

The changes you can make, from least significant (and therefore probably the first changes you should try out) are:

1. Use one or more DPS trinkets instead of tank-oriented trinkets. This is often a large DPS gain for little noticeable sacrifice.
2. Use Blackout Combo as your Tier 7 talent. For information on what changes in playstyle this leads to, see here.
3. Use Spitfire over Light Brewing or Black Ox Brew. This should only be done in content where you are totally unchallenged as the loss of brews is massive.

We also heavily recommend playing as defensively as possible when beginning to progress on a boss in organized raiding. If you ever die due to playing fast and loose, each other member of your raid loses chances to learn the encounter. Only begin to play offensively when your raid and yourself are more confident. The impact of your DPS before you are actually trying to complete the fight is minimal!

2. I Have a New Item — Should I Sim My Character? How Do I Do That?

Simming yourself is the best way to determine whether changing gear, enchants, Azerite traits, trinkets, and anything else would be an upgrade to your DPS. Tanking is another matter — metrics for survivability are tough due to the many different bosses and situations you will encounter, and the information you get from sims on defensive values will be mostly useless unless you have a lot of experience and are careful.

We have a guide on how to sim yourself in raidbots produced by Azortharion.

IMPORTANT: There is currently a major bug in the Brewmaster module for sims, causing wrong results if Rushing Jade Wind is used. You should sim with Special Delivery for now instead, as the results will not be too different.

3. I Have a Question Not Listed Here — Where Can I Ask It?

The writer of this guide makes sure to monitor the Icy Veins Monk forums and especially the comment section of this guide closely, so you are free to post there to get responses. Comments and suggestions for the guide are very welcome as well!

Another great place to get Brewmaster info is the Monk Discord, Peak of Serenity. The Brewmaster sections are friendly, and many knowledgeable Brewmasters monitor and participate. Please make sure to read the introduction section so you will understand better to use the resources offered.

4. Changelog