Brewmaster Monk Tank Guide — Dragonflight 10.1

Brewmaster Monks are tanks that focus on surviving all but the most deadly amounts of damage, turning the bulk of it into a unique damage-over-time effect known as Stagger that can be removed with their other abilities. By smoothing it out or dodging it entirely, this way of taking damage makes Brewmaster is an incredibly desirable specialization for both progression raiding and dungeons. On top of this, a Brewmaster offers considerable utility and is incredibly mobile.

Note: the following guide will detail parts of tanking that are unique to Brewmaster Monks rather than a general tanking strategy. If you are new to the role of tanking in general, it is recommended to look into our tanking guide first.

Strengths

• Guaranteed smooth damage intake from Stagger and Shuffle for both Physical and Magic damage.
• Access to incredible mobility through the use of Roll, Tiger's Lust, and Transcendence.
• Unique abilities to help reposition enemies such as Clash, Hasty Provocation, and Ring of Peace.
• Potent crowd control abilities such as Paralysis and Leg Sweep.
• The ability to remove Poisons and Diseases with Detox.
• Can provide unique auras to themselves and allies with Windwalking, Generous Pour, and Close to Heart.
• The only source of the Mystic Touch debuff, shared with the other two Monk specs.

Weaknesses

• Lowest base Health of every tank specialization; this can result in being more vulnerable to DoT effects.
• Large number of keybinds to keep track of.
• Low self-sustain outside of Expel Harm.
• Playstyle can sometimes be unintuitive, and mistakes can be punishing.
• May need to use Addons or WeakAuras to properly track Stagger, as the default UI is often insufficient.

In Dragonflight, Brewmaster Monk regains a lot of classic tools that have been taken away over time while also gaining a few new tricks, all contained within Dragonflight's extensive rework of the talent system. Among these returning effects are seven former legendary powers, a handful of Legion artifact traits, Azerite powers, and even some Anima Powers from Torghast. Not only that, but Brewmasters have also gained access to the powerful Rising Sun Kick ability previously limited to only Mistweavers and Windwalkers. There are more options than ever for tackling content as this incredible versatile tank specialization.

Overall, Patch 10.1 remains a relatively quiet one for Brewmaster Monks. Although they have gained access to what was once exclusively a Mistweaver Monk talent in the form of Song of Chi-Ji, it is located as a choice alongside the much more useful Ring of Peace. Beyond that, no significant tuning was made to Brewmasters as a whole, nor were any talents massively adjusted outside of the removal of the Incendiary Breath PvP talent.

For a full breakdown of all Class Changes in Patch 10.1, check out our dedicated page below.

While it may not be as exciting to receive relatively few adjustments in a major content patch, Brewmasters are a tank that did not realistically need any large changes, as they remain quite strong against all forms of content for those willing to take the time to understand some of their more confusing interactions. Indeed, the biggest shortcoming of Brewmaster Monks as a whole remains the heavy learning curve of the specialization's many, many keybinds. While you truly have a tool for every occasion in Mythic+ or Aberrus, not everyone may desire having to juggle so many possibilities at once.

Although the Brewmaster Monk specialization received no major changes directed specifically to it, Patch 10.1 is still a major content patch in the Dragonflight expansion, containing plenty of new features to discuss in updated sections of this guide. Listed below are a few of the highlights to look out for:

• New gear recommendations — Embers of Neltharion introduces a brand new suite of gear to chase after in the continuing quest to raise your item level, along with some especially unique items including two new set bonuses and weapons that do more than just "hit hard". Not only that, but there are large shifts in how to upgrade items that you have obtained, discussed on our gearing page.
• A new raid to progress — Aberrus is a new raid waiting for you to explore its depths and uncover the mysteries surrounding Neltharion's strange experiments. Look to our raid tips and learn how to best overcome its challenges as a Brewmaster Monk.
• How one talent point can make all the difference — as you acquire your new tier set bonuses from Aberrus, you will have the option to change one single point in your talent tree that will make a noticeable impact on your rotation. These adjustments can be found on our customizable rotation page, where you can freely switch between this new talent and the "old ways".

While many things can be known in advance of a content patch, such as the basic concept of a new raid encounter, gear to go for, and that there will be some changes to an ability rotation, there is a lot that is likely to remain undiscovered until some time after the final patch is in players' hands. Below, there are a couple of sections of this guide in particular to look out for potentially larger changes over time during Embers of Neltharion:

• Tips for Brewmaster Monks in Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (soon) will receive further updates over time as new strategies are developed and differences between initial testing and the final fights are noted.
• The rotation may receive further tweaks as smaller optimizations are found once the Monk Brewmaster 10.1 Class Set 4pc is acquired and a slight talent shift occurs.

While leveling as a tank specialization can seem a bit inefficient, it comes with its benefits, such as the ability to pull more significant numbers of enemies while questing without being as concerned about survival, thanks to all your defensive skills. It can also give you valuable time to learn your rotation. After all, it can be overwhelming to reach the Level 70 cap and face the potential confusion of getting used to extra elements in your interface. Because of this, it is recommended to browse our list below of some basic Brewmaster addons and macros to make both your learning and leveling experiences easier.

Being a tank specialization, your main job is to stay alive at all times and to ensure that enemies are not attacking your other group members. Brewmaster Monks accomplish the first task by immediately delaying all damage taken with the help of their Stagger passive, improving its power with the help of Shuffle, and negating some of that delayed damage with Purifying Brew or other effects. In addition, plenty of potential damage is dodged entirely with the help of their Mastery, Mastery: Elusive Brawler.

As for keeping the attention of enemies, a Brewmaster Monk converts their Energy into abilities such as Keg Smash, Tiger Palm, and Spinning Crane Kick that both deal damage and help improve the power of Stagger. Woven into this relationship of dealing damage to reduce damage taken are several abilities with no cost that work with other parts of the kit, such as Blackout Kick allowing them to dodge more attacks, Breath of Fire setting enemies hit by Keg Smash on fire, or instantly killing most enemies with Touch of Death!

If the above sounds interesting and you would like to learn about even more abilities available to a Brewmaster, then please read the Spell List and Glossary, or if you would prefer a faster breakdown of the entire specialization, check out our Beginner Mode for this guide.

Should you instead be familiar with what a Brewmaster Monk can do already, you would benefit more from heading to our breakdown of Talents and the rotation to get a more in-depth look at what to expect.

While figuring out what to wear as an upgrade can be a challenging task, several tools are available to assist you with the decisions you face. If, for example, you are interested in a long-term goal of best-in-slot items, please see our gearing page for an idea of what to look for.

Beyond that, there is also the matter of knowing what stats to go for on your way to that best item or what improvements like enchantments, gems, or other consumables to use. Fortunately, there are additional pages dedicated to that information to help you along the way.

Once you have made it to the highest possible character level, you can begin your real journey in the three major end-game activities of Dragonflight: Raiding, Mythic+, and PvP. For whichever area you would like to focus more on — if not all three — we have guides to assist you with your Brewmaster Monk and make it easier to perform at your very best. However, when it comes to serious PvP, it is far more likely that you will be playing either Windwalker or Mistweaver, so they are shown instead.

After you have become familiar with playing as a Brewmaster Monk, you may benefit from checking out our pages on common mistakes or questions asked by people playing this specialization. Not everything will be apparent to everyone, right away, and these pages can hopefully clear up any confusion more quickly and allow you to improve further.