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Brewmaster Monk Tank Beginner's Guide - Battle for Azeroth 8.3
By Llarold
Last updated
2020/03/31 at 7:02 AM
View Changelog
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
Table of Contents
Guide Navigation
Looking to start playing a Brewmaster Monk in World of Warcraft and just want simple advice? Look no further! In this guide, we will cover everything you need to start easily playing a Brewmaster Monk in , without all the fuss of detailed guides Whether you're new to the spec, a casual achievement hunter, or a returning player looking to refamiliarize yourself with Brewmaster in Battle for Azeroth, these easy guidelines, covering simple and effective talents, rotation, and gear setup, will get you into the action as easily as possible.
Please keep in mind that this page is meant to get beginner players started quickly, and does not contain much in the way of detailed explanations, mechanics, competitive options, gearing, simulation comparisons, or nuance. For more in-depth information, including all those optimizations and more, check out the complete Brewmaster Monk Guide pages linked in the navigation on the left-hand side of the page.
If you need help leveling to 120 in Battle for Azeroth, check out our
leveling tips
.
Overview
Beginners
Azerite
Essences
NEW Corruptio̵̦͚̽̿n-̴̤̤̗͓̘̖̖̖̜̊̎̈́͗̀͗̅͂̌͑̚͠
Talent Builds
Rotation, Priority, and Abilities
Advanced Concepts
Stats
Gear
Consumables
Simulations
Correcting Mistakes
Mythic+
NEW Ny'alotha Tips
Macros & Addons
WeakAuras
Common Terms
About the Author
This guide was written by Llarold! I’ve been tanking since Vanilla. During Mists of Pandaria, I saw an opportunity to begin writing guides, and I took it with the hopes of making myself a better tank and making the community into better tanks with me. I hope it’s working!
I am active in all of the tank class Discords but primarily contribute to theorycrafting discussions in
Peak of Serenity
and
Skyhold
(Monk and Warrior). I’m active on
Twitter
, where I mostly talk WoW (and basketball), and I’m half of the team responsible for the YouTube channel
WoW at Night
, which focuses primarily on tank guides and previews.
Talents
This Brewmaster Monk build is universally useful for all types of content, without focusing on any one thing in particular. For a deeper look at each talent and more specialized builds for specific activities, see the
Brewmaster Monk Talent Guide
.
The most important talent swaps are
Chi Burst
(for slightly more AoE DPS) and
Ring of Peace
(for movement control over mobs in dungeons and raids).
Tiger's Lust
is also a totally competitive option if you prefer more control over your movement skills.
Rotation
This is a simple Brewmaster Monk rotation using the talents outlined above. More information using various talents, active mitigation, and other advanced tips can be found on the
Brewmaster Monk Rotation Guide
.
Keg Smash
(“Use Keg Smash on cooldown!”)
Blackout Strike
Breath of Fire
Rushing Jade Wind
(Try to maintain RJW around 100% uptime.)
Tiger Palm
(Be sure to save enough Energy to cast Keg Smash when it becomes available.)
Stat Priority
Brewmaster Monks primarily favor Critical Strike and Versatility. Find out more about how stats work in the
Stats Guide
, or get an overview of gear to look for from dungeons and raids in the
Brewmaster Monk Gear Guide
.
Socket
Item Level
Critical Strike
Versatility
Mastery
Haste
Agility
Versatility and Critical Strike are close in value, and can even change places depending on how much of each stat you currently possess, so don't stress too much about prioritizing one over the other, just try to get as much of each as you can.
It's worth noting that item level and sockets are generally worth more than secondary stat itemization. A socket can be slightly more valuable than a 10 item level upgrade, but it depends on the piece. A 10 item level upgrade to bracers will provide much less stat budget than a 10 item level upgrade to a weapon or pants, for example. Item level is also somewhat more valuable than itemization for maximizing defenses. As a general rule (with plenty of exceptions!), your highest item level pieces and gear with sockets are worth wearing most of the time.
Enhancements
Only two gear slots can be enchanted by all players in Battle for Azeroth: weapons and rings. There are also glove enchants which can assist with professions, Enchanter-only bracer enchants which modify hearthstone use, and Tailor-only cloak enchants which reduce threat slightly.
Weapon:
Enchant Weapon - Force Multiplier
(Best overall) |
Enchant Weapon - Naga Hide
(Max defense)
Ring:
Enchant Ring - Accord of Critical Strike
Gems:
Deadly Lava Lazuli
Heart of Azeroth Essences
Added in Patch 8.2, the Heart of Azeroth Essence system adds powerful active and passive skills that can be chosen and swapped situationally like talents. Brewmasters are one of the most restricted specs in terms of their preferred Major Powers, but given that their best power is also the easiest to acquire, it's not too bad! Just level up your Heart of Azeroth and you're good!
Essence Major Powers:
The Crucible of Flame
- The best Brewmaster power in single target. It's also competitive in AoE. You can probably just set this one and use it for the rest of the expansion.
Conflict and Strife
- Consistent damage option that scales with damage taken. It's excellent in high-level Mythic+, but not as good as Crucible in most scenarios.
Essence Minor Powers:
Conflict and Strife
- Consistent source of Versatility. Excellent in all situations and good even at lower ranks.
Nullification Dynamo
- Best defensive power against spell damage. Best offensive power if consistently taking spell damage - but only at rank 3. Not worth using at ranks 1 & 2.
Aegis of the Deep
- Simple Versatility buff that scales with the number of nearby enemies. Good in Mythic+.
The Formless Void
- Grants Agility, Haste, and Corruption Resistance. This trait has extremely high uptime on Brewmaster Monk, and virtually zero downsides. What's not to love?
What Essences Should I Buy?
With MOTHER now selling Rank 3 essences via
Echoes of Ny'alotha
, you can quickly catch up alts' unattained or underleveled essences, and here what you should focus on buying first:
High Priority:
Conflict and Strife
- This provides an amazingly powerful Minor Power and takes at least several weeks to unlock Rank 3. Buying this should be a top priority.
Nullification Dynamo
- This is another immensely valuable Minor Power, and unlocking it takes a lot of time spent on Mechagon Island farming rep and unlock materials. That grind is annoying, skip ASAP.
The Formless Void
- Gathering a raid essence can take a lot of time, and this one is a really strong Minor Power, granting a steady source of Agility, Haste, and valuable Corruption Resistance. This is a good one to pick up from MOTHER.
Low Priority:
Aegis of the Deep
- Farming to Revered with your Nazjatar faction reputation and gathering 50 Manapearls is pretty easy. This trait's worth having, but it's not worth prioritizing as a MOTHER purchase.
The Crucible of Flame
- It's the best Major Power for Brewmaster Monks, and absolutely a must-have, but you unlock it simply by leveling your Heart of Azeroth. It's a high-priority option, but there's no point in wasting
Echoes of Ny'alotha
when you can just do some world quests or Island Expeditions for Azerite.
Azerite Armor
Azerite gear is a major source of player power in Battle for Azeroth, and the traits that Azerite armor provides are based on the item’s level, meaning that higher ilvl Azerite pieces will have stronger Azerite effects. For this reason, Azerite armor cannot Warforge or Titanforge.
Brewmaster Monks have four standout Azerite traits:
Training of Niuzao
,
Elusive Footwork
,
Boiling Brew
, and
Straight, No Chaser
. These are all outer ring traits, meaning they compete with each other.
Gemhide
is a powerful inner ring trait, a ring typically dedicated to utility traits or insignificant defensive options. You should take
Gemhide
whenever possible, but don't sacrifice item level or better outer ring traits to get it.
Training of Niuzao
is the best overall outer ring trait, useful in virtually all situations. You should try to get as many ranks in it as you can without sacrificing item level. You should also try to pick up one point in each of
Boiling Brew
and
Elusive Footwork
.
Elusive Footwork
provides useful single target damage and damage reduction, and
Boiling Brew
provides a significant boost to your self-healing, the most of any trait.
Straight, No Chaser
increases your Brew generation and provides a nice chunk of armor at all times. It's not quite as indispensable as the three other traits, but it's a great defensive bonus for a single point.
Gear with
Training of Niuzao
and
Elusive Footwork
available from BfA dungeons:
Slot
Name
Boss
Dungeon
Helm
Cowl of Fluid Machinations
Vol'zith the Whisperer
Shrine of the Storm
Shoulders
Pistoleer's Spaulders
Overseer Korgus
Tol Dagor
Chest
Raiment of the Blighted Tribe
Gorak Tul
Waycrest Manor
Corruption Bonuses
Corruption is a replacement to Titanforging, added in Patch 8.3. Corruption bonuses on gear offer beneficial at the expense of receiving negative effects as your Corruption value increases. Some effects are distinctly more "worth it" than others, and here are the best ones!
Passives:
Severe
and
Versatile
are both great all-around options.
Strikethrough
provides increased Critical Strike damage and healing, making it an excellent, more offensively-oriented option.
Procs:
Deadly Momentum
- A simple, valuable Crit proc.
Surging Vitality
- A simple, valuable Vers proc.
Infinite Stars
- The best single target corruption, but it loses damage in AoE due to the debuff stacks being spread around to multiple targets.
Twisted Appendage
- Decent added single-target damage, but a little unreliable.
Gushing Wound
- A simple, reliable single-target damage proc. By far the most efficient DPS per Corruption.
Echoing Void
- A strong single target and AoE damage proc. Not the best at either, but pretty close to the top in both situations.
Twilight Devastation
-
We saved the best for last.
The best AoE damage proc, but the proc rate is low and beams can miss some targets, so it's a little less reliable than some of the weaker options. It's excellent in Mythic+, excellent in AoE and add cleave fights, excellent in Horrific Visions, and excellent in world questing.
It's simply the best! Better than all the rest!
Our Brewmaster Monk guides are always updated with the latest information from in-game experience, simulations, and logs; make sure to check our changelog to this page, by clicking on
View Changelog
at the top of the page. If you are interested in more in-depth Brewmaster Monk guides for Visions of N'zoth, Battle for Azeroth's third and final content patch, make sure to browse the
Navigation Bar
below, and our list of
Related Guides
just beneath the
Table of Contents
.
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Azerite
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