Windwalker Monk DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.1.5)
On this page, we explain how to easily play Windwalker Monk in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.5), using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.
Foreword
This page is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous subtleties and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.
The Basics of Windwalker Monks
Windwalker Monks are a melee DPS specialization that is viable in all situations, providing strong priority and AoE damage, as well as having smooth and relatively easy to execute rotations.
Throughout the fight, you will need to manage Energy and Chi, your two resources in order to get as many uses of your abilities as possible. You will have to make sure not to cap and waste either of these resources while also keeping enough in store to allow immediate use of your abilities, as delaying some can cost you considerable DPS.
If you are completely new to Windwalker and need more information on the abilities available to you, you can check out our Spell Summary page.
Beginner's Guide to Windwalker Monk in The War Within
Beginner Single-Target Talents for Windwalker Monk
This build is optimal for pure single-target situations.
- If you are using two 1H weapons then you should drop
Slicing Winds for
Dual Threat.
- If a fight has adds that spawn, you can drop
Fury of Xuen and
Transfer the Power for
Last Emperor's Capacitor and
Power of the Thunder King for more add damage.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Beginner AoE and Mythic+ Talents for Windwalker Monk
This is our recommended build for AoE scenarios. This works well for AoE Fights in Raids, as well as most Mythic+.
NOTES: Shado-pan has a few options that can be changed around depending on your needs and preferences.
Dual Threat replaces
Xuen's Battlegear if using two 1H weapons.
Brawler's Intensity,
Drinking Horn Cover, and
Spiritual Focus are both very close to each other, you can use what you are most comfortable with.
Martial Mixture can be used in place of
Energy Burst if you'd like to focus a little bit more on priority target damage.
Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Beginner Windwalker Monk DPS Rotation
The single-target Windwalker Monk rotation is based on a priority system.
Strike of the Windlord without active
Heart of the Jade Serpent
Celestial Conduit without active
Heart of the Jade Serpent
Rising Sun Kick with
Xuen's Battlegear buff
Tiger Palm if <5 Chi AND about to cap energy
Spinning Crane Kick with two stacks of
Dance of Chi-Ji buff
Whirling Dragon Punch
Crackling Jade Lightning at 20
Last Emperor's Capacitor stacks
Slicing Winds
Fists of Fury
Rising Sun Kick
Blackout Kick try not to overcap
Teachings of the Monastery stacks
Spinning Crane Kick with
Dance of Chi-Ji buff
Chi Burst
Crackling Jade Lightning try not to overcap
Last Emperor's Capacitor stacks
Blackout Kick
AoE Rotation for Windwalker Monk
Against multiple enemies, the rotation is also based on a priority system.
Tiger Palm if <5 Chi AND about to cap energy
Spinning Crane Kick with 2 stacks of
Dance of Chi-Ji buff
Rising Sun Kick then
Whirling Dragon Punch
Strike of the Windlord
Slicing Winds
Crackling Jade Lightning try not to overcap
Last Emperor's Capacitor stacks with
Power of the Thunder King talented
Fists of Fury
Spinning Crane Kick
Rising Sun Kick with
Xuen's Battlegear buff
Jadefire Stomp
Spinning Crane Kick
Chi Burst
Blackout Kick
Defensive Spells for Windwalker Monk
Touch of Karma is the only baseline defensive ability. This is often
used as an offensive ability due to the damage being redirected back to your target.
However, until you know you can comfortably use this offensively, it is always
recommended that you only use it defensively. Very frequently, using it defensively
is very similar to using it offensively.
Diffuse Magic reduces all Magic-classed damage on yourself
while this is active. This also tries to dispel all Magic-classed
debuffs on you and place them on the source.
Fortifying Brew while active, reduce the damage you take from
all sources while also increasing your maximum health.
Best Talents for Windwalker Monk in The War Within
This is the Easy Mode page, which presents things in a simplified manner with simplified builds. For our detailed, fully-fledged Talent and Rotation guides, click below!
Stat Priority for Windwalker Monk in The War Within
The general stat priority for a Windwalker Monk is seen below. This is very much a rough guideline and is designed for players who do not wish to sim their character. If you are simming your character, please disregard this stat priority completely and follow your sim!
- Agility
- Mastery = Haste
- Versatility = Critical Strike
While the stat priority for classes is normally the same for both the Easy Mode page and our full guide, subtle differences can still occur. If you want to see the full explanation of the stat priority, as well as the absolute top choices for the priority, head to our full stats page below.
Changelog
- 21 Apr. 2025: Updated and reviewed for Patch 11.1.5, added includes for talents.
- 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1, Updated stat priority.
- 15 Dec. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.7.
- 22 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for The War Within Season 1.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Reviewed and updated for The War Within Launch, minor word changes.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed and updated for The War Within Prepatch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4, no changes necessary.
- 28 Mar. 2024: Fixed talent tree link
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6, no changes necessary.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.2, updated talent string
- 04 Sep. 2023: Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5, no changes necessary.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necessary.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Monk Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide is written and maintained by Babylonius; Guild Master and Raider in Occasional Excellence on US-Turalyon; Eight year veteran of Windwalker; Founder and owner of the dedicated Monk website, Peak of Serenity; and Admin/Owner of the Monk discord, PeakofSerenity. You can find him on Twitch, Twitter, and occasionally YouTube.
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