Windwalker Monk DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes
  • 4. Patch 7.2 Changes
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics
  • 2. Talent Choice
  • 3. Stat Choice
  • 4. Basic Rotation
    • 4.1. Single Target
    • 4.2. Multiple Target
      • 4.2.1. Against 2-3 Enemies
    • 4.3. Against 4+ Enemies
  • 5. Cooldowns
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource
  • 3. Basic Abilities
    • 3.1. Movement
    • 3.2. Survival
  • 4. Important Procs
  • 5. Cooldowns
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression
  • 2. Relic Choice
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority
    • 3.1. Single Target
    • 3.2. AoE
  • 4. ChangeLog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation
    • 2.1. Against 2-3 Enemies
    • 2.2. Against 4+ Enemies
  • 3. Cooldowns
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Windwalker Monk
    • 4.1. Energy and Chi
      • 4.1.1. Energy
      • 4.1.2. Chi
    • 4.2. Mastery: Combo Strikes
    • 4.3. Artifact Ability
    • 4.4. Afterlife Procs
    • 4.5. Detailed Cooldown Usage
      • 4.5.1. Touch of Karma
      • 4.5.2. Tier 1 Talents
      • 4.5.3. Tier 3 Talents
      • 4.5.4. Tier 7 Talents
    • 4.6. Roll and Transcendence
      • 4.6.1. Roll
      • 4.6.2. Transcendence
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
    • 1.1. Single Target
    • 1.2. Multiple Target
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems
  • 2. Enchants
  • 3. Consumables
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Monks
      • 1.1.1. Detox Mouseover Macro
      • 1.1.2. Tiger's Lust Mouseover Macro
      • 1.1.3. Ring of Peace Mouseover Macro
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Windwalker Monks
      • 1.2.1. No Fists of Fury Cancelling Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Monks
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.6. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.7. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
      • 2.1.8. Omen Threat Meter
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Windwalker Monks
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Best in Slot List
  • 2. Tier 21 Set Bonuses
  • 3. Legendary Items
  • 4. Loot Competition
  • 5. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list your Windwalker Monk core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing a Windwalker Monk.

The other pages of our Windwalker Monk guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Reviewer

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Babylonius, a prominent Windwalker Monk theorycrafter who maintains the Windwalker sections of Peak of Serenity. You can follow him on Twitter: @BabyloniusMonk.

1. Single Target Rotation

The Windwalker Monk rotation is based on a priority system.

1. Use Rising Sun Kick.
2. Use Fists of Fury.
3. Use Strike of the Windlord
4. Use Whirling Dragon Punch (if you have taken this talent).
5. Use Tiger Palm
   • If you have less than 4 Chi AND you are about to reach maximum Energy.
6. Use Chi Wave (if you have taken this talent).
7. Use Blackout Kick.
   • Keep in mind that Tiger Palm has a chance to cause the next Blackout Kick not to cost any Chi.
   • It is important to use Blackout Kick before you use Tiger Palm again, to ensure that the proc is not overwritten; that said, any abilities with a cooldown should be used before Blackout Kick.
8. Use Tiger Palm.

2. Multiple Target Rotation

Against multiple enemies, the rotation is also based on a priority system, and it depends slightly based on how many enemies you are facing.

Keep in mind that Tiger Palm and Blackout Kick (as well as Rising Sun Kick and Rushing Jade Wind) apply a 15-second debuff on their target, called Mark of the Crane. Each instance of this debuff increases the damage of your Spinning Crane Kick (against any target) by 40%. Therefore, your Tiger Palms and Blackout Kicks should be distributed among your enemies in such a way as to keep the Mark of the Crane debuff up on as many targets as possible.

Moreover, you should make use of Storm, Earth, and Fire by using it once at the start of the fight, and then using its next charge when Fists of Fury becomes available again. From then on, simply reuse it with Fists of Fury, making sure that you never let both of Earth, Storm, and Fire's charges remain available. Use Fists of Fury prior to entering Serenity, so that it has at maximum 15 seconds left on its cooldown when you enter it; just the same, you want Strike of the Windlord on a 12-second cooldown remaining, maximum, as you enter Serenity. Use Strike of the Windlord during Serenity and try to use Fists of Fury again as Serenity is about to end, during the last second, to snapshot the cooldown reduction.

2.1. Against 2-3 Enemies

1. Use Whirling Dragon Punch (if you have taken this talent).
2. Use Fists of Fury.
3. Use Strike of the Windlord.
4. Use Rising Sun Kick.
   • Only use this if you have taken Whirling Dragon Punch, and only use it when needed to enable the use of Whirling Dragon Punch.
5. Use Rushing Jade Wind (if you have taken this talent).
6. Use Chi Burst (if you have taken this talent).
7. Use Spinning Crane Kick.
8. Use Blackout Kick.
9. Use Tiger Palm.

2.2. Against 4+ Enemies

1. Use Whirling Dragon Punch (if you have taken this talent).
2. Use Fists of Fury.
3. Use Strike of the Windlord.
4. Use Rising Sun Kick.
   • Only use this if you have taken Whirling Dragon Punch, and only use it when needed to enable the use of Whirling Dragon Punch.
5. Use Rushing Jade Wind (if you have taken this talent), only against 7 or fewer targets.
6. Use Spinning Crane Kick.
7. Use Chi Burst (if you have taken this talent).
8. Use Blackout Kick.
9. Use Tiger Palm.

3. Cooldowns

As a Windwalker Monk, you have 2 DPS cooldowns by default, Touch of Death and Storm, Earth, and Fire.

• Touch of Death should be used as often as possible throughout the fight, essentially on cooldown. Keep in mind that it deals its damage 8 seconds after your cast it, so do not place it on targets that will die before that time.
• Storm, Earth, and Fire should be used as often as possible, while attempting to stack it with other periods of increased damage done. Make sure you always have at least one of its charges on cooldown.

You also gain a few strong abilities from talents, which we discuss in a subsequent section.

4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Windwalker Monk

The above information tells you everything you need to know in order to have highly competitive DPS as a Windwalker Monk. However, in order for you to truly master the spec, there are more things that you need to understand in detail.

4.1. Energy and Chi

4.1.1. Energy

Energy is a resource that Monks share with Rogues and Feral Druids. There are several things you need to know about Energy:

• Energy is generated passively. The regeneration speed is affected by your haste.
• You have a maximum capacity of 100 Energy.
• Energy never decays. A natural consequence of this is that your normal state is to have a full Energy bar (such as before starting combat).
• Being at maximum capacity causes any additional Energy you would generate to be wasted.

4.1.2. Chi

Chi is a Monk-only resource. There are several things you need to know about Chi:

• Chi is generated by using Tiger Palm.
• Chi is spent on many crucial abilities that are part of your rotation.
• You have a maximum capacity of 5 Chi (6, if you have the Ascension talent).
• Chi decays quickly when outside of combat, but it does not decay while in combat. A natural consequence of this is that, when starting a fight, you will have no Chi.
• Generating Chi while you are at maximum capacity will cause the new Chi to be wasted.

4.2. Mastery: Combo Strikes

Your Mastery ( Mastery: Combo Strikes) causes your abilities to deal increased damage (the amount depends on your amount of Mastery) when they are not used two or more times in a row. For example, using Blackout Kick and Tiger Palm gives both of them the damage bonus, but if you use Tiger Palm twice in a row, the second Tiger Palm will no longer benefit from the increase.

4.3. Artifact Ability

Strike of the Windlord, your Artifact ability, deals damage to enemies in front of you. It costs 2 Chi and has a 40-second cooldown. It is simply used as part of your rotations, as explained at the start of this guide.

4.4. Afterlife Procs

Afterlife is a passive ability that causes you to summon a Healing Sphere next to you each time you kill an enemy. The Healing Sphere lasts for 30 seconds, and heals you for a moderate amount when you walk over it.

Furthermore, Afterlife also grants you a 50% chance to summon a Chi sphere each time you kill an enemy using Blackout Kick. The Chi sphere lasts for 2 minutes, and grants you 1 Chi when you walk over it.

4.5. Detailed Cooldown Usage

4.5.1. Touch of Karma

Touch of Karma causes all damage you take for 10 seconds (up to a maximum of 50% of your maximum health) to be redirected to the enemy target as a 6-second Nature damage DoT.

4.5.2. Tier 1 Talents

Chi Wave should be used against a single target in the way in which it is included in the single-target priority at the start of this guide.

Chi Burst should be used against multiple targets, again in the way indicated in the multiple target rotation at the start of the guide.

4.5.3. Tier 3 Talents

Energizing Elixir should be used as often as possible throughout the encounter, while making sure that neither the Energy nor the Chi it provides goes to waste. This means that you should ideally deplete both of your resources before you use the ability. In case you need burst damage for a specific moment of the encounter, you can delay Energizing Elixir slightly in order to have it available. This page provides a lot more detail about the advanced usage of Energizing Elixir.

4.5.4. Tier 7 Talents

Whirling Dragon Punch should be used as part of your single target rotations. It is placed in the correct position in the priority at the start of this guide. Keep in mind that both Fists of Fury and Rising Sun Kick must be on cooldown for this ability to be usable.

Serenity should be used as close to on cooldown as possible, while fitting one Strike of the Windlord, two Rising Sun Kicks, and one Fists of Fury during its 8-second duration. This applies to both single target and AoE situations.

4.6. Roll and Transcendence

4.6.1. Roll

Roll is an ability that allows you to quickly move 15 yards in front of you. It is a useful mobility ability, which you should use extensively for quickly traversing short distances. Here are a few facts about Roll:

• Roll has no resource cost and no cooldown. It is based on a charge system.
  • It has a maximum of 2 charges, and each charge has a 20-second recharge time.
  • The Celerity talent increases the number of charges to 3, and reduces recharge time to 15 seconds.
• Roll is off the global cooldown, but while you are rolling, you are unable to use any other ability.
• Roll will always send you in the direction that your character is currently moving (including backwards). If your character is stationary, Roll will send you in the direction your character is facing.
• You cannot roll through objects or obstacles. If you encounter an obstacle, your Roll is ended prematurely.
• Your movement speed while rolling is greater than while running, so rolling off a cliff will push you further than if you were just running and jumping.

4.6.2. Transcendence

Transcendence allows you to place a copy of yourself behind for up to 15 minutes. If you then use Transcendence: Transfer, you will be instantly moved back to the location of your copy. This can be useful in a wide range of situations, typically those where you know you will have to return to a certain location after moving away from it.

5. ChangeLog

+ show all entries - show only 10 entries

• 27 Nov. 2017: Added a small clarification for the usage of Blackout Kick.
• 28 Aug. 2017: Made a small tweak to single target rotation.
• 12 Jun. 2017: Updated Spinning Crane Kick description to account for Patch 7.2.5 changes.
• 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 10 Jan. 2017: Updated the recommended Serenity usage.
• 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
• 27 Jul. 2016: Added mention of using Rising Sun Kick in multiple target rotations to enable the use of Whirling Dragon Punch, and made a few other minor improvements.
• 22 Jul. 2016: Fixed an issue in the AoE rotations that did not include Whirling Dragon Punch.
• 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.