Brewmaster Monk Tank Gear and Best in Slot — Season 4

Although the bulk of your ideal pieces of gear will come from selecting items within the Great Vault every week, raiding Mythic Awakened raids, completing very high keys in Mythic+, or even acquiring items crafted by Professions using the Crafting Orders system and Spark of Awakening, not all of this content will be feasible when first reaching Level 70 in Dragonflight. Instead, your initial items will largely come from exploring both the Emerald Dream and participating in Dreamsurges.

Fortunately, gearing as a Brewmaster is generally simple for most item slots: use the highest item-level gear you can get while trying to avoid unnecessary Haste. However, even an item that is 5 item levels higher with Haste will often still be an upgrade, so do not go entirely out of your way to avoid the stat. Rings are sometimes a different matter, as they do not contain Agility or Armor. However, unless you are trying to maximize your damage output, you can still safely equip a ring with a higher item level, no matter what its stats are. To learn about the rest of your stat priority, see our dedicated page for it.

When you are figuring out if an item is an upgrade, it is highly recommended to get in the practice of simulating it. You can only do this to compare gear offensively as a tank specialization, however; fortunately, if you are looking to improve your defenses, you can focus entirely on item level.

If you are unfamiliar with what simulations are or how to use them, our Simulation page can help you learn more. Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, you can safely prioritize item level.

Beyond the disclaimer above, please note that the following recommendations do not include items obtained from PvP. If you are interested in recommended crafted gear, please see the section dedicated to it below.

Continuing from previous seasons, Season 4 retains the presence of Flightstones and what are now known as Awakened Crests, both obtainable from practically all forms of content in the game. They can be used to upgrade gear up to Item Level 528, which is Mythic Raid Item Level. They can also upgrade Crafted Gear up to 525 as well.

For more information on the Gear Upgrades system, check out our dedicated page for it below.

With this system, remember that the cost to upgrade scales differs per slot but now also increases quickly as item levels go up.

Given the near-universal nature of gear upgrades in Dragonflight Season 4, it can be difficult to figure out what items you should invest your limited amounts of Awakened Crests in each week. As the decision will ultimately be based on what items you have been able to obtain, listed below are some guidelines and "wishlist" items to upgrade as soon as possible:

1. Weapons, particularly Djaruun, Pillar of the Elder Flame, Thorncaller Claw/ Gholak, the Final Conflagration/ Forgestorm, or Rashon, the Immortal Blaze — these items from Awakened raids and Mythic+ feature powerful procs that will substantially bolster your damage.
2. Crafted gear, specifically Slimy Expulsion Boots and Life-Bound Belt with a Toxified Armor Patch — due to obtaining one Spark of Awakening every two weeks, it is very beneficial to upgrade your chosen embellishment items for a surge of power in an area you can completely decide. You may also opt for a crafted weapon if you will not be regularly clearing the Awakened versions of Aberrus or Amirdrassil to obtain its weapons instead, as you will still need a weapon to pair with a Forgestorm that you could acquire as an alternative from Mythic+.
3. Trinkets — specifically, the top options listed in the full trinket breakdown below based on what you can obtain.

Dragonflight features the option to utilize profession gear to a greater extent than ever before, including the ability to create powerful items at an item level of up to 525! However, acquiring items of suitable strength is limited by a unique reagent known as a Spark of Awakening, of which you will only earn one every two weeks. Over time, you can utilize entire sets of crafted gear if you are willing to create them (with or without the help of the Crafting Orders system), but be warned that you cannot convert crafted gear into tier pieces at the Revival Catalyst.

In addition to having customizable secondary stats, there are a variety of powerful optional effects that are either innately present on crafted gear or can be manually added with extra reagents. These bonuses are known as embellishments, and you may have up to two effects present on equipped crafted gear at a time.

Due to the flexibility of crafted gear, such as the ability to specify your secondary stats along with your potential embellishment, you have many options available for gear to be created depending on items you have been able to obtain from other content sources in Dragonflight. In general, however, some items are more likely to be useful for all Brewmaster Monks, which are listed below for convenience.

• Slimy Expulsion Boots and Toxified Armor Patch — Made with the help of Leatherworking, these boots will slightly reduce your Haste in exchange for frequently dealing bonus Nature damage to your target. Both of these effects can be increased by wearing another crafted item with the Toxified Armor Patch embellishment. During Dragonflight Season 4, this is to be your first priority to craft and upgrade.
• Armor and accessories, such as Life-Bound Belt and Torc of Passed Time — Created through Leatherworking and Jewelcrafting, pieces such as these are great for getting more of your desired secondaries in equipment slots that are difficult to find better alternatives for without getting lucky in the Great Vault.
• Needlessly Complex Wristguards — These bracers can only be created by those with Engineering, but do not contribute toward the 2-item cap on embellishments. Instead, they uniquely feature only one secondary stat, along with a special tinker socket that can be used for additional Engineering "gems" known as tinkers, such as enabling a battle resurrection with Tinker: Arclight Vital Correctors. Note that you do not need to be an Engineer to equip and make use of them.
• Weapons, such as Primal Molten Longsword — Generally made by Blacksmithing, weapons offer a convenient power boost all around, though crafting them will be unnecessary if you are regularly clearing Awakened Raids for a chance at the best-in-slot weapons they contain.

There is one final effect to mention that uniquely does not count as an embellishment when added to any crafted item that otherwise has no embellishment: Alchemical Flavor Pocket. This item can be obtained from the weekly Community Feast quest reward of Supply-Laden Soup Pot or bought on the auction house. Consider creating and equipping an item with this bonus for additional quality of life!

Dragonflight Season 4 features a re-issuing of tier sets and bonuses, with their respective appearance and bonuses being voted on by the community earlier. For Monk, this is the return of the Wrappings of the Waking Fist appearances from Vault of the Incarnates, with the Brewmaster bonuses of Amirdrassil. Pieces of this set can be earned from bosses featured in the current "Awakened" raid, which rotates every week, alongside any of the nine slots in the weekly Dragonflight Great Vault, and can also gradually be made at the Revival Catalyst as a catchup system. This armor, when enough pieces of it are worn, unlocks two special bonuses for Brewmasters:

• Monk Brewmaster 10.2 Class Set 2pc — Breath of Fire deals 40% bonus damage as Shadowflame and causes you to heal for 50% of your fire damage dealt.
• Monk Brewmaster 10.2 Class Set 4pc — Your attacks against targets afflicted by Breath of Fire have a chance to deal 15% extra damage as Shadowflame, and each Celestial Brew also grants a Stagger absorb for 100% of the Shadowflame damage you have dealt, causing damage delayed by Stagger to instead be prevented.

As there are five total slots, but only four needed to gain both equipment bonuses, we recommend that you consider ignoring the Helm piece in favor of the remaining four. However, getting your set bonuses takes priority over getting the "correct" pieces.

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 pageto further discussing them.

Brewmaster Monks are unique in that they can opt for either a two-handed weapon or to dual-wield one-handed weapons. This results in a massive amount of potential choices to consider. Although you will often opt for whichever choice has the higher item level or more Weapon DPS, there is some nuance to bear in mind.

As you are acquiring weapons, you may have to, at times, decide between dual-wielding a weapon in each hand or equipping a single two-handed option. This decision may be a little more complicated than it first would seem, as there is a hidden buff — called Windwalker Monk Two-Hand Adjustment despite also affecting Brewmasters — which increases the damage of your abilities by 2% when dual-wielding. However, many of your abilities do not actually take a weapon in the off-hand into account for calculating their damage dealt!

What this all ends up meaning is that when dual-wielding, your autoattack damage is greater, but when using a two-handed weapon, your ability damage is higher instead. However, if both of your dual-wielded weapons are enchanted, then they more than make up this difference in ability damage. Of course, this assumes all three weapons involved are the same item level and have identical secondary stats.

To summarize: when deciding between dual-wield and 2h, you can safely choose either option if it results in a higher total item level or amount of secondary stats. If you would like to know the best offensive option for your current selection of weapons, then it is still recommended to simulate your character for the best item available.

Once you have obtained a piece of gear containing a prismatic socket or needing to be enchanted, you will need to know how to modify it. Details about these tweaks can be found on our dedicated gems, enchants, and consumables page.

Dragonflight Season 4 features a way to earn specific items with the new Antique Bronze Bullion currency. Although this Bullion is limited in how quickly it can be obtained, you can use it to purchase any raid items throughout Dragonflight, including formerly "very rare" drops such as Fyrakk's Tainted Rageheart. In addition, these items can be upgraded all the way to the maximum item level of 528 (or 535 for a few exceptions), without worrying about being limited by a specific upgrade track. As such, there is an element of strategy in deciding what to purchase, as you could end up still seeing a purchased item drop from your next raid boss kill. Do not get too frustrated, though; there will be more than enough Bullion to spare as Season 4 continues.

Here are the best items to prioritize spending your Bullions on in Dragonflight Season 4 as a Brewmaster Monk:

1. Djaruun, Pillar of the Elder Flame — Although there are only three specializations that may also be after this weapon, its "very rare" status while also being your most important equipment slot means you should safely prioritize your absolute best choice right away.
2. Manic Grieftorch — This on-use trinket represents your best trinket for all target counts, and will even perform better if players around you die. Due to being a late-boss drop that is difficult to obtain at higher item levels, get it early and instead focus on steadily upgrading it.
3. Seal of Diurna's Chosen — This ring offers a hefty amount of your preferred stats as a Brewmaster Monk, and you can reliably activate its bonus Fire damage. However, this "very rare" drop is also sought after by almost every specialization; obtaining yours this way means you do not have to worry about the competition if one drops.
4. Spiteful Storm or Bandolier of Twisted Blades — At this point, you may decide to either obtain trinkets specialized for single-target and AoE, or opt for a more generic choice that will perform well enough in both scenarios. In this case, Bandolier of Twisted Blades is your "generic" choice; skip obtaining Storm-Eater's Boon below if taking this approach.
5. Storm-Eater's Boon — If you have decided to obtain trinkets specialized in single-target and AoE damage, pick up this trinket as your best possible AoE option, but be careful when using it!
6. Fyrakk's Tainted Rageheart — Should you instead want an option that is weaker offensively but offers supreme defense, this "very rare" trinket is a solid choice if you have not already obtained a defensive one from Mythic+.
7. Voice of the Silent Star — In order to use this cloak's powerful effect, you will be giving up roughly 150,000 HP at its maximum item level. If this concerns you, do not worry about obtaining this cloak.
8. Ouroboreal Necklet — While it may offer great secondary stats, the proc effect of this necklet is ultimately useless and its overall performance is only equal to that of a crafted item. Still, it can be a useful "final" purchase if you have nothing else to seek out.