Sources: Icy Veins (Dhaubbs — Mistweaver, Babylonius — Windwalker, Sinzhu — Brewmaster, Mysticall — PvP) | Updated Mar 2026
For Delves: Windwalker is the better solo choice — moment-to-moment gameplay is similar but Windwalker deals more damage. If doing group Delves as Mistweaver, the NPC Veleera Sanguinar can be unreliable about targeting the right enemies.
Conduit of the Celestials (recommended M+ and general)
- Celestial Conduit: 90-second channel that heals group and deals AoE damage to nearby enemies — powerful group cooldown
- Procs like Courage of the White Tiger cause rotational abilities to do additional healing and damage
- Strength of the Black Ox procs allow shielding group from damage
- Best for Mythic+ where on-demand group healing and damage are both valued
Master of Harmony (recommended Raid)
- Revolves around storing vital energy in Celestial Harmony, released after Thunder Focus Tea
- Celestial Infusion gets a second charge — excellent for single-target burst healing
- Provides more controlled burst healing profile ideal for predictable raid damage events
Soothing Mist:
- Channel that heals one target; many spells can be cast during the channel
- Flash Heal, Enveloping Mist, Vivify are instant during Soothing Mist channel
Thunder Focus Tea:
- Empowers your next spell with a major bonus effect; use frequently
- With Master of Harmony, releases stored Celestial Harmony energy
Teachings of the Monastery:
- Tiger Palm stacks buff; Blackout Kick spends stacks
- Affects how many Tiger Palms you weave between Rising Sun Kicks in the DPS rotation
Core Priority:
1. Renewing Mist — on cooldown on any injured target; primary HoT
2. Rising Sun Kick — on cooldown; damage + healing + Spirit Font stack
3. Vivify — primary spot heal; also contributes to Spirit Font
4. Enveloping Mist — when tank or target needs sustained healing; costly but strong
5. Thunder Focus Tea — use on Vivify for party healing or Renewing Mist to spread
6. Celestial Conduit — when party needs group healing or burst AoE
Filler:
- Tiger Palm — generate Chi between Rising Sun Kicks
- Blackout Kick — spend Chi stacks
Cooldowns:
- Life Cocoon — absorb shield on target + increases periodic healing they receive; use on spike damage targets
- Revival — full party heal + dispel; major raid/group cooldown
- Celestial Conduit (Conduit) — 90s channel of AoE healing and damage; use proactively
- Thunder Focus Tea — on cooldown; do not waste charges
Same priority but:
- Celestial Infusion (2 charges) is primary single-target burst cooldown
- Time Enveloping Mist with Thunder Focus Tea to release Celestial Harmony stored energy
- Halo + major cooldowns for predictable raid damage events
Rising Sun Kick → Tiger Palm × 6 → Blackout Kick → repeat. This fills all available GCDs between heals without wasting RSK resets (see Mistweaver DPS Guide on Icy Veins).
Intellect > Haste > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery
- Haste reduces RSK and other cooldowns; critical for maintaining the rotation pace
Two Playstyles:
Crackleweaver (ranged/safe):
- Play at max distance; use Crackling Jade Lightning to heal teammates
- Zen Focus Tea: makes next cast uninterruptible (critical vs teams with multiple interrupts)
- Focus: Crackling Jade Lightning at long range; maintain HoTs; use Paralysis and Ring of Peace for CC
- Best vs: heavy melee cleave, interrupt-heavy compositions
Hybrid/Fistweaver (aggressive/melee):
- Stay in melee; use Rushing Wind Kick for damage that converts to healing via Atonement-like mechanic
- Eminence: allows Transcendence: Transfer while stunned (huge vs mobile melee comps)
- Very aggressive; overwhelming damage forces enemy cooldowns quickly
- Best vs: setup-reliant teams; comps without tons of mobility tools
PvP Stat Priority: Intellect > Versatility > Haste > Mastery > Critical Strike
Key rule: Some downtime is acceptable. Use it to plan ahead. Delay FoF by 1-2 GCDs to get RSK out first (as long as the gap is small).
Shado-Pan (recommended beginners/AoE)
- No additional buttons or mechanics — purest Windwalker experience
- Flurry Strikes: extra damage strikes when you cast FoF, RSK, or Spinning Crane Kick during Zenith
- Shado Over the Battlefield: converts Flurry Strikes into AoE damage
- Higher AoE ceiling; more consistent damage profile
- Recommended for players new to Windwalker
Conduit of the Celestials (recommended Raid/burst)
- Leverages August Celestials for additional power
- Heart of the Jade Serpent windows: activated by Zenith, Celestial Conduit, Strike of the Windlord, or Whirling Dragon Punch
- These buff windows dramatically increase rotation speed (faster FoF channeling, reduced CDs)
- More complex; requires active management of Heart of the Jade Serpent timing
- Invoke Xuen activates Celestial Conduit button — learn this interaction
Core Priority:
1. Storm, Earth, and Fire (SEF) — activate before major cooldowns; clones copy your damage
2. Zenith (replaces Storm, Earth, and Fire at higher level) — use on cooldown
3. Rising Sun Kick — highest Chi spender priority; use on cooldown
4. Fists of Fury — second priority Chi spender; holds ~1-2 GCDs for RSK alignment
5. Blackout Kick — spend Blackout Kick procs (Dance of Chi-Ji)
6. Tiger Palm — primary Chi generator; use to maintain Chi without overcapping
7. Whirling Dragon Punch — if talented and both FoF/RSK on cooldown; use gap-filler
8. Strike of the Windlord — on cooldown when talented
Key Rules:
- Mastery: Combo Strikes — every unique ability in a row adds a damage stacking bonus; NEVER cast the same ability twice in a row if avoidable
- Touch of Death — use when available on target; off-GCD
- Dance of Chi-Ji procs (Blackout Kick) — consume before overcapping (2-stack max)
Cooldowns:
- Zenith (2 charges) — primary DPS cooldown; spread charges when possible
- Celestial Conduit (Conduit only) — 90s channel; major burst cooldown
- Invoke Xuen (Conduit only) — summons Xuen; activates before Celestial Conduit
- Touch of Death — executes target below a threshold; use on cooldown
- Touch of Karma — absorbs damage dealt to you for 10s; redirects to target; use on incoming damage as an offensive/defensive cooldown
Agility > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery > Haste
- Critical Strike is highly valued
- Haste is relatively weak for Windwalker due to natural downtime in rotation
- Versatility provides both damage and survivability — strong all-around
Midnight Apex Talent: Bring Me Another
- Reduces cooldown and Energy cost of Keg Smash progressively
- Provides bonus casts of Keg Smash to fill rotation gaps
- Final rank guarantees Empty Barrels procs — always fully invest in this talent
- This talent replaces Rushing Jade Wind's old role as rotation filler
Master of Harmony (Raid recommended)
- Second charge of Celestial Infusion for controlled single-target mitigation bursts
- Purifying Brew purifies more Stagger per cast
- Overwhelming Force provides extra cleave damage on suitable encounters
Elune's Chosen (M+ recommended)
- Lunar Beam on an extremely short cooldown — up at the start of most pulls (aggro generator)
- Scales well with more targets: Moonfire spreads rapidly; self-healing ramps with Ursoc's Fury and Elune's Favored
- Better for larger pull AoE situations
Stagger:
- Percentage of all physical (and partial magic) damage converts to a 10s DoT instead of hitting you directly
- Purifying Brew removes current Stagger DoT; generates Empty Barrels buff
- Celestial Brew is the absorb shield cooldown — spend on heavy incoming hits
- Always Purifying Brew when Stagger DoT reaches high/critical levels (red), not just on cooldown
Black Ox Brew:
- Restores all Brews; use to refill Purifying and Celestial Brew in crisis situations
- Advanced build integrates Black Ox Brew for faster rotation (sacrifices defensive talent choices)
Core Priority:
1. Keg Smash — on cooldown; primary threat and damage; Bring Me Another provides bonus casts
2. Blackout Strike — on cooldown
3. Breath of Fire — maintain DoT; use after Keg Smash for full uptime
4. Tiger Palm — Energy filler; generates 1 Chi
5. Blackout Kick — spend Chi
Defensive Management (alongside rotation):
- Purifying Brew — at high/critical Stagger; do not over-purify low Stagger
- Celestial Brew — absorb shield on cooldown or during spiked incoming damage
- Fortifying Brew — major defensive; use for burst damage phases
- Zen Meditation — interrupt/magic damage reduction; interrupt channels
Cooldowns:
- Celestial Brew — absorb shield; ~1 min CD; primary mitigation cooldown
- Fortifying Brew — major survivability; 3-minute CD; use for enrages or heavy phases
- Black Ox Brew — restores all charges; emergency or rotation management
- Celestial Conduit (Elune's) — see M+ use above
Agility > Versatility > Critical Strike > Mastery > Haste
- Versatility provides both damage reduction and output
- Critical Strike feeds Shuffle (parry uptime) and damage
- Mastery: Elusive Brawler increases dodge chance and Stagger percentage
| Spec | Icy Veins | Method.gg | Wowhead | Raidbots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistweaver | Mistweaver Monk | MW Monk | MW Monk | Raidbots |
| Windwalker | Windwalker Monk | WW Monk | WW Monk | Raidbots |
| Brewmaster | Brewmaster Monk | BM Monk | BM Monk | Raidbots |
Primary authors: Dhaubbs (Mistweaver), Babylonius (Windwalker), Sinzhu (Brewmaster), Mysticall (PvP) — Icy Veins; Method.gg class team. Updated March 2026.