Windwalker Monk DPS Guide — Dragonflight 10.1
Welcome to our Windwalker Monk guide for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.1. Here, you will learn how to play as a Windwalker Monk in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.
Windwalker Monk Overview
The Windwalker specialization is a melee DPS spec that focuses on using Energy, converting it into Chi, and using that Chi to deal damage. Windwalker is an incredibly mobile spec with a very strong presence in M+ and PvP but historically lags beyond other specs in Raids.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Windwalker Monks are a jack of all trades.
Nearly unparalleled mobility potential.
Strong burst and sustained stacked AoE and Cleave.
Windwalker Monks are a jack of all trades, master of none.
Lack meaningful utility in many situations, like an immunity.
Generally poor sustained single-target damage, but should be much better as Dragonflight rolls on.
Windwalker Monk in Dragonflight
Dragonflight Changes for Monks
We are maintaining a list of changes for Monks, so you can see what changes with every patch of Dragonflight.
The playstyle should feel mostly familiar for people who were familiar with it before the Pre-Patch, simply a little bit faster due to more resources. This cuts down on the downtime of the spec while spreading it out more evenly around the rotation. The Pre-Patch provided a small bridge between the playstyles of Shadowlands and Dragonflight, which may feel more different than some are used to.
In Dragonflight, without Calculated Strikes,
the damage shifts more into other abilities in AOE, where
Spinning Crane Kick
becomes a lower priority than even
Blackout Kick until higher
target counts due to
Shadowboxing Treads. However, because of
Shadowboxing Treads, it should feel significantly easier for Windwalkers
to maintain
Mark of the Crane on multiple targets, having
it nearly become automatic with minimal upkeep required.
In single-target, the spec will also feel similar, simply with the
addition of Strike of the Windlord. There is more emphasis on
Rising Sun Kick in Dragonflight, as many talents and abilities
increase its damage or provide it a chance to reset, meaning it becomes
an ability that you will want to use as often as possible for
maximum damage. The other change for Windwalkers in Dragonflight is that
Serenity has made a comeback in single target, as it further
increases the power and frequency of
Rising Sun Kick.
Windwalker Monk Changes in Patch 10.1
Windwalkers have not received any major changes, just small tuning. For a full breakdown of all Class Changes in Patch 10.1, check out our dedicated page below.
Guide Updates for Patch 10.1
There are no major changes necessary for the transition from 10.0.7 to 10.1. All pages have received the necessary small tweaks.
Windwalker Monk Viability
Windwalker finished Shadowlands as one of the strongest specs in AOE situations and one of the weakest in single target situations. With the changes in the Pre-Patch, Windwalker should remain one of the strongest specs in AOE situations and become even slightly easier to maximize in that situation. For single target, Windwalker is also seeing a large boost in potential that should put it competitive with other specs in single target situations as well, an area that the spec has long struggled with.
Windwalkers are able to fill many needs in a group, whether it is high mobility, high survivability, high AOE damage, or high single-target damage. Windwalkers can balance some of these areas very easily in order to be viable in a variety of situations and content.
Windwalker's "niche" will remain high AOE damage and mobility, able to get to places faster than almost any other spec, and deal out high amounts of AOE damage in a short time frame. However, Windwalker's single target will also see a boost, and although the spec doesn't have an immunity, there are enough defensive abilities to handle most situations easily.
Lastly, Windwalkers have access to the same group buffs that Brewmasters
and Mistweavers have in Close to Heart,
Generous Pour,
and the less useful
Windwalking. While these won't make or break
an encounter all the time, they certainly help.
Leveling a Windwalker Monk
If you want to play a Windwalker Monk but currently do not have one at max level, you can check out our leveling guide for tips on your journey.
Once you reach the max level, it can be somewhat overwhelming to completely change the way you play by suddenly implementing a large number of addons in a short space of time, especially if they have a heavy visual impact on your UI. We recommend using some of the more basic addons recommended on our Addons page below while leveling so that you have more time to get used to them during the easier phases of playing your class.
Basics of Windwalker Monk Gameplay
Windwalker Monk is a spec about managing resources and abilities with cooldowns at the same time.
The primary concern for Windwalkers is to use Tiger Palm to convert Energy into Chi for
abilities like
Rising Sun Kick and
Fists of Fury
with as little of a delay as possible while not capping your Energy or Chi.
Windwalker will inherently have more resources than you can use on those two abilities,
so Windwalkers need to learn how to adequately incorporate enough Blackout Kick into
the rotation so as to not overflow with Chi, but not so much that you don't have the Chi
necessary to cast
Rising Sun Kick and
Fists of Fury as soon as they are available.
The Windwalker Monk Mastery, Mastery: Combo Strikes, forces the Windwalkers to prepare and
think several steps ahead, since they will want to avoid using
Blackout Kick or
Tiger Palm
back to back, rather trying to weave them artfully between other abilities in order to get the
maximum damage possible.
If you are a beginner to the spec, but would like to learn the basics of the class, recommend looking through the Spell Summary first, as well as the Easy Mode page linked below.
If you are already familiar with Windwalker, you can head to the Talents and Rotation pages to jump into the more complex, detailed information.
How to Gear Up as a Windwalker Monk
Gearing as a Windwalker is relatively simple; start by grabbing the highest item level pieces you can get. Once you have accomplished that, you will want to take a look at our dedicated Gear Guide for more information on how to optimize your character's gear for playing.
After your character's gear is taken care of, the next step is to maximize your damage through other means. One way to do this is through using consumables, gems, and enchants. For information about those additional aspects of maximizing your character, see our dedicated pages for what you need.
End-Game as a Windwalker Monk
Leveling and "end-game" content generally look very different. Regardless of what type of content you are interested in, we have pages dedicated to providing you with the information that you need to be successful.
Improving as a Windwalker Monk
Everyone struggles from time to time, but what's important is how you overcome those struggles. Here are some pages with information and frequently asked questions or mistakes that players make that you may find helpful in improving your own performance.
Changelog
- 06 May 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Guide created.
- 01 May 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
- 01 May 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
- 01 May 2023 (simulations page): Reviwed and Updated for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
- 01 May 2023 (gear page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, formatting changes, updated BiS gearsets, and more.
- 01 May 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.1, moved Primordial Stones section and added Shadowflame enchant.
- 01 May 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necesssary.
- 01 May 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed and Updated for Patch 10.1, removed Thundering.
- 01 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.1, moved Rising Sun Kick higher in the priority.
- 01 May 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed currently.
- 01 May 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes needed.
- 01 May 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necessary.
- 01 May 2023 (this page): Updated for 10.1, added necessary new H1 sections.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (addons page): Updated and Reviewed for Patch 10.1, no changes necessary.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7, added Primordial Stones section.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (talents page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7, added section for spec changes.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1, added gear from Vault of the Incarnates.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Page added.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1, added notes about the Vault of the Incarnates tier bonuses.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added initial dungeon gear.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added Thundering information, removed Shadowlands things.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, removed Shadowlands stuff.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, added ST and AOE Talents.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight launch, removed Shadowlands things.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (simulations page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 15 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Page added with initial thoughts and information.
- 01 Nov. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
- 28 Jun. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Added information on new Legendaries and Covenant recommendations.
- 17 May 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Page created.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Jan. 2020 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Jan. 2020 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Jan. 2020 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Jan. 2020 (The Eternal Palace page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 22 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated some encounter talents and tips.
- 16 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated guide to mention the presence of Aberrations.
- 10 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Guide added.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 17 May 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide updated with further tips.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed and no changes are necessary for the release of the Crucible of Storms raid.
- 15 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide added.
- 21 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Page added.
- 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Patch 8.1 and no changes are necessary.
- 04 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added content.
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.
- Glyph of the Observer Will Be Removed from the Game in Patch 10.1.5
- Dragonflight 10.1 Class Tuning: June 6th
- Dragonflight Patch 10.1 Hotfixes, June 1st
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- Mythic+ Tier List in Dragonflight Season 2 (Week 4)
- Dawn of the Infinite Megadungeon Drops Item Level 421 Loot on the 10.1.5 PTR
- New Headless Horseman Candy Bucket in Patch 10.1.5
- Kalimdor Cup Scheduled for August 15th