Windwalker Monk PvP Rotation and Playstyle (Shadowlands / 9.0.2)
PvP requires you to perform various actions in the course of a duel, match, or battleground: interrupting/silencing enemies, damaging them, bursting them down, defending yourself, keeping yourself alive, etc.. It is a game mode that fully utilises your kit, especially spells that are rarely used in PvE. On this page, we go through all the spells you need to use in PvP as a Windwalker Monk, how you should use them, and we explain what your playstyle should be.
This page is part of our Windwalker Monk PvP Guide.
Playstyle for Windwalker Monks
The main role for a Windwalker Monk is simple: use your mobility to
relentlessly attack a target and use your strong single-target cooldowns to
burst your enemies down. You have some crowd control for the enemy healer, in
the forms of Paralysis and
Leg Sweep. It is because of this
that you will use the large amount of damage output you have to make the enemy
team use their defensive cooldowns. By managing your damaging buffs, a Windwalker
can unleash a devastating amount of damage in a short amount of time.
Before Gates Open
Know exactly where to put your Transcendence portal. Although it
does not seem like it, using your
Transcendence effectively is
crucial in Windwalker survivability. The best place to put it is behind a pillar
and communicate to your healer where it is. This way, when you do use
Transcendence: Transfer, they will not be confused about where you are.
The Opener
The opener refers to your team's opening crowd control chain and damage done
as soon as you get out of the gates. The main goal in the opener is to force
your enemies to use their cooldowns. If the enemy healer uses their trinket in
the opener, they are in trouble. Windwalkers have Paralysis (an
incapacitate effect with diminishing return) and
Leg Sweep (a stun with
diminishing returns). Always use
Paralysis on the enemy healer and,
if the enemy team is grouped up, try to Leg Sweep the healer.
Managing your Hit Combo and
Mastery: Combo Strikes is crucial
to the Windwalker Monk rotation. This will increase your sustained and burst
damage.
This is the rotation you should use on your target at the beginning of the game.
- Use
Chi Wave to generate a stack of
Hit Combo.
- Use
Tiger Palm to generate Chi.
- Use
Expel Harm to generate Chi and heal yourself.
- Use
Rising Sun Kick.
- Use
Blackout Kick.
- If you are talented into
Dance of Chi-Ji and get a free
Spinning Crane Kick, use it.
- Use
Blackout Kick when you get a
Blackout Kick proc.
- Use
Paralysis on the enemy healer.
- Use your burst rotation.
- After your burst, perform your sustained damage rotation until your burst cooldowns are available.
Burst Damage
When you have the enemy healer in crowd control and you are trying to kill an enemy, you use your burst damage.
- Before you use your burst rotation, generate 2-3 Chi.
- You want to make sure you have 6 stacks of
Hit Combo. Do this by rotating abilities and not repeating the same ability twice.
- Use
Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger.
- Use
Storm, Earth, and Fire.
- Use
Leg Sweep.
- Use
Rising Sun Kick.
- Use
Fists of Fury.
- Use
Whirling Dragon Punch.
- Use
Expel Harm to generate Chi.
- Use
Rising Sun Kick.
- Use
Blackout Kick when you get a
Blackout Kick proc.
- Use
Touch of Death if the enemy drops below 15% health.
Sustained damage
Sustained damage is damage you do when your burst cooldowns are not available.
- Use
Chi Wave to maintain stacks of
Hit Combo.
- Use
Spinning Crane Kick when you get a
Dance of Chi-Ji proc.
- Use
Blackout Kick when you get a
Blackout Kick proc.
- Use
Tiger Palm to generate Chi.
- Use
Expel Harm to generate Chi and heal yourself.
- Use
Rising Sun Kick.
- Use
Fists of Fury.
- Use
Whirling Dragon Punch.
- Use
Blackout Kick as a filler ability between cooldowns.
- Use
Touch of Death if the enemy drops below 15% health.
Defensive Techniques
Touch of Karma is our main defensive cooldown. Use this when the
enemy team is focusing you down and your healer cannot heal you through it or
is stuck in crowd control. It absorbs 50% of your Health pool and heals
you.
Fortifying Brew is a very strong defensive cooldown. This not only
decreases the amount of damage you take, but it increases your Health. This
affects how much Health you get back when using a
Healthstone.
Finally, use Monk mobility as a defensive technique.
Flying Serpent Kick can be useful if you have taken the
Ride the Wind PvP talent. This helps with getting around pillars to get away from enemies.
Transcendence and
Transcendence: Transfer all you to port away from incoming damage and reposition yourself with your healer.
Tiger's Lust removes snares from you. This helps when being kited or stuck in the middle of the map.
Macros
It is advised to use Macros to use abilities on enemies or allies without having to target them. For this reason, we have a page dedicated to them.
Changelog
- 29 Nov. 2020: Removed outdated Traits and Essences.
- 14 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
This guide has been written by Mysticall, a seasoned PvP player who has repeatedly achieved Arena Master and 2500 rating. You can watch his stream on Twitch, and you can also check out his YouTube channel.
- Shadowlands Season 2 Vicious Mounts Preview
- Rogue Class Changes in Patch 9.0.5 Build 37623
- TCG Pet Bananas Becomes Charity Pet
- No New Customization Options Planned for Shadowlands
- Burning Crusade Classic Will Be Based Off the Final Patch, No Class Tuning and "Some Changes"
- The Wandering Ancient Mount Is Coming in Patch 9.0.5!
- Shadowlands Pathfinder Only Requires Completing the Covenant Campaign
- BlizzConline World of Warcraft Q&A Recap