Brewmaster Monk Tank Guide — Shadowlands 9.0.5
Welcome to our Brewmaster Monk guide for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.0.5. Here, you will learn how to tank as a Brewmaster Monk in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons. We cover everything from the basics all the way to min-maxing techniques to optimize your survivability.
Brewmaster Monk Overview
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.
Through smoothing it out or dodging it entirely, this way of taking damage makes
Brewmaster an incredibly desirable specialization for both progression raiding
and dungeons. On top of this, a Brewmaster has considerable utility to offer and
is incredibly mobile.
Note: the following guide will detail parts of tanking that are unique to Brewmaster Monks rather than 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 and Weaknesses
Guaranteed smooth damage intake from
Stagger and
Shuffle for both Physical and Magic damage.
Incredible mobility through the use of
Roll,
Tiger's Lust/
Chi Torpedo, and
Transcendence.
Unique abilities to help reposition enemies with
Clash,
Summon Black Ox Statue, and
Ring of Peace.
Baseline crowd control abilities such as
Paralysis and
Leg Sweep.
The only source of the
Mystic Touch debuff, shared with the other two Monk specs.
Very forgiving to mistakes when playing.
Lowest base Health of every tank specialization; this can result in being more vulnerable to DoT effects.
Low self-sustain outside of
Expel Harm, but
Celestial Fortune works on almost every single heal received.
Somewhat low damage output.
Large number of keybinds to keep track of.
Shadowlands Changes for Monks
We are maintaining a list of changes for Monks, so you can see what changes with every patch of Shadowlands.
Overall, Brewmaster has only gotten stronger with Shadowlands' arrival,
gaining bonus damage on Invoke Niuzao, the Black Ox,
Touch of Death
adding a
Stagger removal component, a shorter cooldown on
Paralysis,
the ability to move while channeling
Zen Meditation, and even
the return of the
Clash ability to help reposition enemies.
Leveling and Getting Started as a Brewmaster Monk
While leveling as a tank specialization can seem a bit inefficient, it does come with its own set of benefits such as the ability to pull larger numbers of enemies while questing without having to be as concerned about survival, thanks to all your defensive skills. It can also give you valuable time to learn your rotation. Finally, it can be overwhelming to reach the level 60 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.
Basics of playing a Brewmaster Monk
Being a tank specialization, your main job is to both stay alive at all times
and to ensure that enemies are not attacking your other party or raid members.
Brewmasters 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 removing some of that delayed damage with
Purifying Brew. 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 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 a number of abilities with no cost that work with
other parts of the kit, such as
Blackout Kick allowing you 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 Summary, or if you would prefer a faster breakdown of the entire specialization, check out our Easy Mode for this guide.
Should you instead be a bit familiar with what a Brewmaster 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.
Gearing up as a Brewmaster Monk
While figuring out what to wear as an upgrade can be a challenging task, there are a number of tools out there 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, we have pages dedicated to that sort of information as well to help you along the way.
Brewmaster Monk in Shadowlands
The Shadowlands have introduced a variety of systems to spice up your
experience regardless of specialization. The most important system that every
player will interact with in some way is the arrival of four separate factions
known as Covenants. By pledging yourself to their cause, you will gain access
to an ability shared by all members of that Covenant like Door of Shadows
and a second ability that is unique to your class such as
Weapons of Order.
In addition, as part of a Covenant you will gain access to three unique Soulbinds,
which allow you to borrow the power of an NPC member of the Covenant while also
empowering your own abilities. This can be as simple as
Plaguey's Preemptive Strike
or as complex as a cheat death effect through
Podtender!
In addition to choosing a Covenant, you will also have access to a wide
variety of Legendary Powers to further alter how you play. Some of these effects
may be familiar like Stormstout's Last Keg while others such as
Invoker's Delight are entirely new. However, you will only have access
to one Legendary Power at a time, so it will be important to learn which Powers
are the most useful in a given situation.
End-Game as a Brewmaster Monk
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 Raiding, Mythic+, and PvP. For whichever area you would like to focus more on — if not all three — we have guides to assist you on your Brewmaster 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.
An especially new piece of content in the end-game for Shadowlands is the release of Torghast, Tower of the Damned. This area functions as a new experience where every attempt at climbing the tower has the potential to be different as you learn more about the structure. You will also acquire materials to empower items with Legendary potential and even core aspects of your abilities may end up modified by various Anima Powers throughout your ascent.
How to Improve as a Brewmaster Monk
After you have become familiar with playing as a Brewmaster, you may benefit from checking out our pages on common mistakes or questions asked by people playing this specialization. Not everything will be clear to everyone right away, and these pages can hopefully clear up any confusion more quickly and allow you to further improve.
Brewmaster Monk Viability in the Current Patch
Brewmaster remains quite strong in this stage of Shadowlands.
It is the best tank for dealing with isolated large hits, making it excellent
at certain bosses. In Dungeons, Leg Sweep is an exceptionally powerful
stun, and we can easily kite in a pinch to get out of deadly situations with the
help of
Roll,
Ring of Peace, and
Transcendence.
In Castle Nathria, Brewmasters still maintain their strength of being
one of the best tanks for most encounters due to their great sturdiness against
Physical hits. However, it does have the lowest Maximum Health out of every
tank specialization, which can prove dangerous on encounters with heavy-hitting
damage-over-time effects such as Lady Inerva Darkvein's Warped Desires.
Changelog
- 19 Apr. 2021 (Legendaries): Added a second raiding recommendation to the table.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (talents page): Added minor clarification and rewording of some talent choices.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (spells page): Added further clarification to Spinning Crane Kick's Mechanics.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (mythic+ page): Added sections explaining the choice present in the Level 40 and 45 talent rows.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (stats page): Further clarified Celestial Fortune's interaction with absorbs.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (rotation page): Rotation Priorities overhauled with options to tailor them to your chosen Covenant, talents, and Legendary Power; added further info to the Advanced sections of Invoke Niuzao and High Tolerance.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (addons page): Corrected Wago Link; added caveat about using Normalized Stagger in Shadowlands.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (enchants page): Added a generic offensive Weapon enchant choice.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (gear page): Added mention of upgrading the Covenant Armor Set for a quick item level boost on a new character.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (this page): Revised Viability in Current Patch; minor rewording.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (simulations page): Added a small caveat about WowAnalyzer usage.
- 19 Apr. 2021 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Added a Mikanikos Soulbind tree recommendation for more damage-oriented Kyrian players; updated Soulbind tree Conduits to rank 7.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (Legendaries): Page reviewed for Patch 9.0.5; added small passage reaffirming Shaohao's Might is not a worthwhile Legendary Power.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (Torghast): Reviewed for 9.0.5.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (spells page): Reviewed for 9.0.5.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Reviewed and updated for Patch 9.0.5; Fleshcraft and Marileth sections adjusted.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (easy mode page): Updated recommended Potency and Endurance Conduit; changed recommended Level 35 talent.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (gear page): Added a section about Valor and recommended items to upgrade with it.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (mythic+ page): Page reviewed for Patch 9.0.5; added small mention of the returning Valor currency.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (enchants page): Reviewed for 9.0.5.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 09 Mar. 2021 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 23 Feb. 2021 (gear page): Added a caveat about PvP to the best in slot table; modified certain trinket descriptions.
- 23 Feb. 2021 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Corrected inconsistency in Pelagos images, updated Celestial Effervescence and general Endurance Conduit priorities
- 23 Feb. 2021 (Legendaries): Updated Legendary Power recommendation for Torghast.
- 22 Jan. 2021 (Torghast): Updated Anima Power categories, modified gameplay tips, and added a section on Corrosive Dosage.
- 22 Jan. 2021 (Castle Nathria page): Updated tips for Inerva Darkvein, Council of Blood, and Sludgefist, along with minor talent recommendation changes.
- 22 Jan. 2021 (rotation page): Added an advanced section for maximizing Invoke Niuzao.
- 22 Jan. 2021 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Slightly modified Soulbind Trees, added new info to Walk with the Ox.
- 16 Dec. 2020 (Castle Nathria page): Updated tips for Sire Denathrius and talent recommendations for certain encounters.
- 16 Dec. 2020 (rotation page): Added two small sections about Charred Passions and Chi Wave.
- 16 Dec. 2020 (talents page): Updated Level 15 Talent recommendations.
- 14 Dec. 2020 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Improved advice for choosing Covenants.
- 09 Dec. 2020 (rotation page): Added an advanced section for maximizing Touch of Death's potential.
- 09 Dec. 2020 (Castle Nathria page): Updated Sun King's Salvation, Stone Legion Generals, and Sire Denathrius tips/talents with new information.
- 07 Dec. 2020 (Castle Nathria page): Updated all bosses with new information for Normal and Heroic.
- 07 Dec. 2020 (mythic+ page): Added mention of Season 1's unique Affix.
- 06 Dec. 2020 (FAQ page): Added question about dual-wield versus two-handed weapons.
- 06 Dec. 2020 (enchants page): Updated Weapon enchant recommendation to include dual-wielding.
- 06 Dec. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Castle Nathria gear and trinket recommendations; added discussion of dual-wield vs 2h.
- 01 Dec. 2020 (Castle Nathria page): Added placeholder Castle Nathria page.
- 25 Nov. 2020 (Torghast): Page added.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (mythic+ page): Removed discussion of Awakened Affix. Added Covenant and Legendary Power recommendations.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (stats page): Defensive Stats updated to emphasize balancing secondaries.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (this page): Added details of Torghast, Covenants, and Legendary Powers.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (easy mode page): Added sections for Covenant and Legendary Power choices.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (FAQ page): Removed Pre-Launch question about Covenants; Updated DPS improvement guidelines.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (talents page): Adjusted certain Talent recommendations and descriptions; added link to Talents for Torghast.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (how to improve page): Page updated for Shadowlands.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (gear page): Updated with Early Shadowlands gear recommendations.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (rotation page): Added Covenant abilities into priority and a section of advanced usage.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (addons page): Added a macro for Double Barrel and link to a WeakAura for tracking Black Ox Statue Health.
- 24 Nov. 2020 (enchants page): Updated with new Shadowlands consumables.
- 21 Nov. 2020 (spells page): Page updated with new Abilities and Passives gained between levels 50 and 60.
- 21 Nov. 2020 (Legendaries): Page created.
- 19 Nov. 2020 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Page added.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (stats page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (mythic+ page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (enchants page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (rotation page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (addons page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (gear page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (simulations page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (talents page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (FAQ page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (spells page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (easy mode page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (this page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (how to improve page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Jan. 2020 (The Eternal Palace page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 08 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Page created.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Page created.
- 11 Mar. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Removed mention of stacking damage bug on Jaina.
- 28 Feb. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Updated significantly for Mythic.
- 31 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Added some Mythic details.
- 24 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Extensive updates to Mekkatorque, minor updates to other bosses.
- 20 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Page created.
- 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.1 and no changes are necessary.
- 16 Oct. 2018 (Uldir page): Added Mythic strategies for every boss other than G'huun, minor improvements and tips elsewhere.
- 19 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Altered Mythic tips.
- 11 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated after week one, and added early Mythic tips.
- 04 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Extensive rework for Uldir launch.
- 03 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added more content.
- 13 Aug. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
- 23 Jul. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated some talents and Legendary recommendations.
More Monk Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Sinzhu, who currently raids in We Gucci on US-Kil'jaeden and has passionately played Brewmaster for the past seven years. He also contributes to the Peak of Serenity and is an active Veteran of the Monk Class Discord.
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