Windwalker Monk DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.2

1. Best in Slot Set List for Windwalker Monks from The Eternal Palace and Operation: Mechagon

Keep in mind that item level will often be more relevant than secondary stats and that your stats priority depends on your current gear. If we give a general stat priority and gear list, it is always susceptible to change if an item is Warforged or the rest of your gear has an emphasis on a specific stat. For that reason, we recommend using Simulations for your own character.

Slot	Item	Source
Helm	Helm of Hideous Transformation	Lady Ashvane
Shoulders	Shoulderpads of Frothing Rage	Radiance of Azshara
Cloak	Cloak of Ill Tidings	Za'qul, Harbinger of Ny'alotha
Chest	Tunic of the Sycophant	Queen's Court
Wrists	Cultured Pearl Armbands	Lady Ashvane
Gloves	Anglerfish Feelers	Blackwater Behemoth
Belt	Ship Swallower's Belt	Blackwater Behemoth
Legs	Formcrafter's Pants	Orgozoa
Feet	Ardent Worshipper's Boots	Queen's Court
Ring #1	Logic Loop of Recursion	Operation: Mechagon
Ring #2	Shorting Bit Band	Operation: Mechagon
Trinket #1	Azshara's Font of Power	Queen Azshara
Trinket #2	Bloodthirsty Urchin Dribbling Inkpod	Lady Ashvane Orgozoa
Weapons	Claw of the Myrmidon	Abyssal Commander Sivara

2. Pre-Raid Gear for Windwalker Monks

2.1. Benthic Gear for Windwalker Monks

Patch 8.2 introduced an easy to obtain, 385 base item level gear type called Benthic gear. You can obtain it through various ways in Nazjatar. Furthermore, this gear can be upgraded to item level 425, making it a very appealing gearing option.

Some Benthic gear has additional effects, making it particularly powerful. Because of that, you may want to focus on upgrading specific Benthic items. Do note that these effects only apply while in Nazjatar or The Eternal Palace.

Most of these gains are either utility (movement speed, for instance) or numerical gains, which can be judged through simming your character. Some, however, are not represented through sims.

Azerite Benthic gear is not different from other Azerite gear. Therefore, if you have access to other high item level Azerite pieces, you may want to keep your Prismatic Manapearls to upgrade other pieces. However, keep in mind that both the Benthic Shoulders Fathomstalker Shoulderpads and the Benthic Helm Fathomstalker Headcover grant access to Open Palm Strikes in combination with a good trait, making them solid gearing options.

The Benthic belts are both particularly interesting. Vim's Scalecrusher Clasp is on par with belts around 20 item levels higher than it is. Fathomstalker Waistband increases damage to Aberrations by 2%, making it by far the best belt available when this is the case. In particular, both the Za'qul, Harbinger of Ny'alotha and Orgozoa encounters from The Eternal Palace feature exclusively Aberrations.

The Benthic boots are next in line for priority. Akana's Reefstrider Footwraps are not as strong as for some other specializations, but they are still worth around 15 item levels more. Fathomstalker Boots have an effect linked to killing Aberrations which is not accounted for in simulations, however it is rare to make significant use of it in most content, as you cannot expect any relevant uptime.

The Benthic bracers offer many options, but two stick out as numerically relevant. Ori's Tidal Wristwraps deal significant damage and should be used over gear significantly higher than it (including raid gear). Neri's Wavebreaker Bindings are slightly weaker, but deal damage as an AoE effect, making them slightly better for multiple target encounters.

For gloves, Poen's Deepsea Grips once again are stronger than raid gear of item level 445, making them a strong gearing option.

Overall, it is advised to prioritize Belts, then Boots, then Bracers, then Gloves, and to pick up the alternative Belt Fathomstalker Waistband for specific encounters. However, this might change based on what gear is available to you, as a large upgrade to a slot can outweigh the difference between two of these items.

2.2. Gear from Operation: Mechagon for Windwalker Monks

Operation: Mechagon provides item level 415 generic gear which mostly does not compete with Benthic gear or raid gear from The Eternal Palace. These do not fit into a Best in Slot list, as most pieces can easily be replaced. However, some specific pieces provide unique effects making them highly competitive, even compared to significantly higher item level pieces.

Operation: Mechagon provides sets of rings which, when combined, provide significant effects. These are very powerful effects and should be used over available raid gear. For specific cases, you should simulate your own character. We advise the use of Logic Loop of Recursion in combination with Shorting Bit Band as they provide the easiest clause to fulfil and have the most significant numerical effect for Windwalker Monks.

Operation: Mechagon also provides access to Punch Cards to be socketed into the Pocket-Sized Computation Device. With the right Punch Cards, this is one of the strongest trinkets available from any source to current Windwalker Monks. We advise using it in combination with Cyclotronic Blast as your red Punch Card, any yellow Punch Card without Haste (best one might differ based on your own character) and any utility blue Punch Card. Cyclotronic Blast has a very powerful effect and is what makes this trinket particularly attractive.

2.3. Best in Slot Set List for Windwalker Monks from Dungeons

The following are the best in slot pieces for Windwalker obtainable from dungeons. Keep in mind with the advent of war and Titanforging, any piece of gear can be used. Item level is what matters most and is the easiest deciding factor. To make sure you use the right items, refer to our Simulations page.

Slot	Item	Source
Helm	Hood of the Slithering Loa	Temple of Sethraliss
Shoulders	Mantle of Fastidious Machinations	Atal'Dazar
Cloak	Drape of the Loyal Vassal	Atal'Dazar
Chest	Cephalohide Jacket	Siege of Boralus
Wrists	Sea Dog's Cuffs	Freehold
Gloves	Grips of Electrified Defense	Temple of Sethraliss
Belt	Cincture of the Azerite Arsenal	Tol Dagor
Legs	Blight Toadskin Leggings	Waycrest Manor
Boots	Mercenary Miner's Boots	The MOTHERLODE!!
Ring #1	Overseer's Lost Seal	Tol Dagor
Ring #2	Jade Ophidian Band	Temple of Sethraliss
Weapon	Swarm's Edge	Temple of Sethraliss

2.4. Best-in-Slot Trinkets from Mythic+ Dungeons

• Lustrous Golden Plumage from Kings Rest;
• Dead-Eye Spyglass from Siege of Boralus;
• Galecaller's Boon from Shrine of the Storm;
• Harlan's Loaded Dice from Freehold.

3. Changelog