Monk — Windwalker
Windwalker Monk is a fast priority-based melee DPS built around Energy, Chi, Combo Strikes mastery, Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick / Rushing Wind Kick, Whirling Dragon Punch, Strike of the Windlord, Zenith, and smart cooldown windows. Midnight Windwalker is not a fixed rotation: use the highest priority button available while avoiding resource caps, avoiding repeated abilities, and not clipping Fists of Fury.
World of Warcraft: Midnight · Season 1
Guide contents
How Windwalker Monk wins
Windwalker Monk is a fast priority-based melee DPS built around Energy, Chi, Combo Strikes mastery, Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick / Rushing Wind Kick, Whirling Dragon Punch, Strike of the Windlord, Zenith, and smart cooldown windows. Midnight Windwalker is not a fixed rotation: use the highest priority button available while avoiding resource caps, avoiding repeated abilities, and not clipping Fists of Fury.
- Role
- Melee DPS
- Stat lead
- Agility then Haste
- Single target
- Conduit of the Celestials
- Cleave / AoE
- Conduit of the Celestials
Strong when
- Excellent mobility with Roll, Flying Serpent Kick, Tiger's Lust, Transcendence, and Lighter Than Air
- Strong burst windows with Zenith, Tigereye Brew, Celestial Conduit or Shado-Pan Flurry Strikes
- Flexible utility through Ring of Peace, Leg Sweep, Paralysis, Detox, Mystic Touch, and Spear Hand Strike
- Great Mythic+ control and priority damage when resources and cooldowns are clean
Plan around
- Punishing if you break Mastery: Combo Strikes by repeating the same ability
- Energy, Chi, Blackout Kick! stacks, Dance of Chi-Ji, and Zenith Stomp charges are easy to waste
- Melee uptime and channel protection matter; clipping Fists of Fury is a real damage loss
Stat priority and consumables
Item level and effect strength still matter. Use this ordering to break close choices, then re-check it after major gear swaps.
- 1.Agility
- 2.Haste
- 3.Mastery
- 4.Critical Strike
- 5.Versatility
Agility is your primary stat. Haste is the leading Midnight secondary because it increases attack speed and Energy regeneration, shortens relevant cooldowns and channels, improves Fists of Fury through Momentum Boost, and helps proc Glory of the Dawn and Dance of Chi-Ji. Mastery and Critical Strike are close, while Versatility is usually well behind for pure DPS. Always sim exact gear and talent combinations.
Flasks, food, potions, weapon oils, and runes for this build.
Opener and priority
Use these as decision priorities, not a rigid cast sequence. Re-evaluate whenever targets, resources, procs, or mechanics change.
Core principles
- Do not repeat abilities: never hit the same ability twice in a row. Midnight added a buff that tracks your last button - track it with the in-game option or another tool.
- Avoid overcapping resources: Windwalker juggles both Energy and Chi. Some waste is unavoidable, but keep it to a minimum.
- Use abilities with cooldowns: short-cooldown buttons like Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury are your most important damage - never let them sit unused.
- Plan your Zenith usage: its cooldown can be 60, 70, 80, or 90 seconds depending on talents - usually 60 or 90 - and you adjust to a 60, 90, or 120-second cadence per fight.
Shado-PanDamage comes as an even spread across most abilities, and Midnight removed most of the old tracking overhead. AoE shifts at 3 targets, with the extra damage coming passively from Shado Over the Battlefield's Nature splash.
Single-target priority
- 1.Touch of Death
- 2.Whirling Dragon Punch
- 3.Tiger Palm - if below 4 Chi, below 2 stacks of Combo Breaker, and about to cap Energy
- 4.Fists of Fury
- 5.Rushing Wind Kick
- 6.Spinning Crane Kick - with under 4 seconds left on Dance of Chi-Ji and not at 2 stacks of Combo Breaker
- 7.Rising Sun Kick
- 8.Zenith Stomp
- 9.Tiger Palm - if you lack the Chi for the abilities above
- 10.Blackout Kick - with Combo Breaker or Zenith active
- 11.Spinning Crane Kick - with Dance of Chi-Ji
- 12.Blackout Kick
- 13.Tiger Palm
AoE priority
- 1.Touch of Death
- 2.Whirling Dragon Punch
- 3.Tiger Palm - if below 4 Chi, below 2 stacks of Combo Breaker, and about to cap Energy
- 4.Fists of Fury
- 5.Rushing Wind Kick
- 6.Spinning Crane Kick - with under 4 seconds left on Dance of Chi-Ji and not at 2 stacks of Combo Breaker
- 7.Rising Sun Kick
- 8.Zenith Stomp
- 9.Tiger Palm - if you lack the Chi for the abilities above
- 10.Blackout Kick - with Combo Breaker or Zenith active
- 11.Spinning Crane Kick - with Zenith active and more than 3 Chi
- 12.Spinning Crane Kick - with Dance of Chi-Ji
- 13.Blackout Kick
- 14.Spinning Crane Kick
- 15.Tiger Palm
Opener
- 1.Cast Tiger Palm.
- 2.Cast Zenith with potions, racials, and trinkets - stat buffs go before Zenith.
- 3.Cast Fists of Fury.
- 4.Cast Rising Sun Kick.
- 5.Cast Fists of Fury again if Rising Sun Kick reset its cooldown.
- 6.Cast Whirling Dragon Punch.
- 7.Proceed with the normal priority - the opener is the same for single target and AoE.
Conduit of the CelestialsManages Celestial Conduit and Heart of the Jade Serpent, whose accelerated cooldowns and faster Fists of Fury channels concentrate damage into the buff window. AoE keeps the same list - the gain comes from extra Fists of Fury casts.
Single-target priority
- 1.Fists of Fury - if Heart of the Jade Serpent lasts less than 1 second
- 2.Touch of Death
- 3.Celestial Conduit - if Heart of the Jade Serpent is not already active
- 4.Whirling Dragon Punch
- 5.Tiger Palm - if below 4 Chi, below 2 stacks of Combo Breaker, and about to cap Energy
- 6.Fists of Fury
- 7.Rushing Wind Kick
- 8.Spinning Crane Kick - with under 4 seconds left on Dance of Chi-Ji and not at 2 stacks of Combo Breaker
- 9.Rising Sun Kick
- 10.Zenith Stomp
- 11.Tiger Palm - if you lack the Chi for the abilities above
- 12.Blackout Kick - with Combo Breaker
- 13.Spinning Crane Kick - with a Dance of Chi-Ji proc
- 14.Blackout Kick
- 15.Tiger Palm
AoE priority
- 1.Fists of Fury - if Heart of the Jade Serpent lasts less than 1 second
- 2.Touch of Death
- 3.Celestial Conduit - if Heart of the Jade Serpent is not already active
- 4.Whirling Dragon Punch
- 5.Tiger Palm - if below 4 Chi, below 2 stacks of Combo Breaker, and about to cap Energy
- 6.Fists of Fury
- 7.Rushing Wind Kick
- 8.Spinning Crane Kick - with under 4 seconds left on Dance of Chi-Ji and not at 2 stacks of Combo Breaker
- 9.Rising Sun Kick
- 10.Zenith Stomp
- 11.Tiger Palm - if you lack the Chi for the abilities above
- 12.Blackout Kick - with Combo Breaker
- 13.Spinning Crane Kick - with a Dance of Chi-Ji proc
- 14.Blackout Kick
- 15.Spinning Crane Kick
- 16.Tiger Palm
Opener
- 1.Cast Tiger Palm.
- 2.Cast Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger.
- 3.Cast Zenith with potions, racials, and trinkets - stat buffs go before Zenith.
- 4.Cast Fists of Fury.
- 5.Cast Rising Sun Kick.
- 6.Cast Fists of Fury again if Rising Sun Kick reset its cooldown.
- 7.Cast Whirling Dragon Punch.
- 8.Proceed with the normal priority.
- 9.Do not cast Celestial Conduit so early that its Heart of the Jade Serpent overlaps the one from Strike of the Windlord or Whirling Dragon Punch - delaying it is fine, since the second Zenith charge goes out right after the first wears off.
Pre-combat checks
- Check your last cast: openers start with Tiger Palm, so cast Spinning Crane Kick well before the pull so your Chi has time to build back up.
- Place Transcendence - ideally outside the boss arena so you can teleport out and save a repair bill.
Major cooldowns
Zenith
- Zenith adds no direct damage without Apex Talents like Tigereye Brew - instead it cuts every Chi spender's cost by 1, adds a second to Blackout Kick's cooldown reduction, resets Rising Sun Kick, and grants 2 Chi on press.
- While Zenith is active Blackout Kick is free, making it your primary filler to pull Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury back faster - and Tiger Palm spam will quickly overcap your Chi.
- With Obsidian Spiral, Blackout Kick generates a Chi instead of spending one, becoming both your filler and your Chi builder. Weaving a Tiger Palm between Blackout Kicks adds a Teachings of the Monastery stack - occasionally overcapping Chi, which beats casting nothing.
- Zenith holds two stacks, so plan its use: high-damage phases, big target counts, Bloodlust, or trinket windows.
Celestial Conduit (Conduit of the Celestials)
- Only cast it when Heart of the Jade Serpent is not already active - overlapping buff windows wastes the cooldown acceleration.
- The Heart of the Jade Serpent window speeds up your cooldowns and Fists of Fury channel, so squeeze as much damage as possible into it.
Talents and hero trees
Use Conduit of the Celestials for the single-target profile below and Conduit of the Celestials when cleave or adds make its toolkit more valuable.
Recommended starting profiles
Single-target: Conduit of the Celestials
Conduit of the Celestials is a strong default because Heart of the Jade Serpent and Celestial Conduit create fast Fists of Fury / Rising Sun Kick windows. Shado-Pan remains very close and easier to execute for many players.
- Conduit of the Celestials hero tree
- Stat priority: Agility > Haste
- Interrupt: Spear Hand Strike
Multi-target: Conduit of the Celestials
Both Conduit and Shado-Pan have valid Mythic+ builds. Conduit has faster cooldown windows; Shado-Pan leans on Flurry Strikes and strong physical burst.
- Conduit of the Celestials hero tree
- Prioritize AoE and add-swap talents
- Interrupt: Spear Hand Strike
Verified import strings
Start with the profile matching your content. Boss and dungeon tabs in the gear section show the exact loadout used for each ranked result.
Shado-Pan Single Target
Single-target Shado-Pan build. Simpler than Conduit and built around Fists of Fury, Flurry Strikes, Rising Sun Kick / Rushing Wind Kick, and normal priority play.
C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzMD2mxgtZGbzAAAAAAAAAAAAsMMTYGGGwwwMzMDz2wMMLzEAwiZ2GDzMzMAA2AgZbWamZmFAMwMDAjlZQMgBShado-Pan Mythic+
Mythic+ Shado-Pan build. Strong physical burst and simple execution while still requiring clean Dance of Chi-Ji and Spinning Crane Kick usage.
C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzYMYMYbmZ2mxAAAAAAAAAAAALDzEmhhBMMMzMzwsNMDzyMBAsYmtxwYmZAAsBAz2s0MzMLADDMzAwYZGEDYAConduit Single Target
Single-target Conduit build. Heart of the Jade Serpent and Celestial Conduit create fast windows where you must enter with Chi and avoid wasting GCDs.
C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzYM2GGsNzMbzAAAAAAAAAAAAsMMTYGGGwwwMzMDz2wMMLzEAwiZ2GDzMzMAAWMzysNmgAAwAYGgxyMImZmFDConduit Mythic+
Mythic+ Conduit build. Uses Heart of the Jade Serpent windows to accelerate Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick, Rushing Wind Kick, and AoE priority.
C0QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzYMYMYbmZ2mxAAAAAAAAAAAALDzEmhhBMMMzMzwsNMDzyMBAsYmtxwYmZAAsYmlZbMBBAMMAmBYsMDiZmZxAComplete talent reference
Every class, specialization, and hero-tree talent from Blizzard game data. Active and choice talents stay open; passive nodes remain searchable and expand on demand.
Monk class tree
Shared class talents, including throughput, control, defensives, and movement.
Active and choice talents
Passive talents
Windwalker specialization tree
Every Windwalker talent currently exposed by Blizzard game data.
Active and choice talents
Passive talents
Conduit of the Celestials
Conduit of the Celestials hero talents, including every active, choice, and passive node exposed by Blizzard.
Active and choice talents
Passive talents
Shado-Pan
Shado-Pan hero talents, including every active, choice, and passive node exposed by Blizzard.
Active and choice talents
Passive talents
Master of Harmony
Master of Harmony hero talents, including every active, choice, and passive node exposed by Blizzard.
Active and choice talents
Passive talents
Boss and dungeon loadouts
Switch between raid and Mythic+ to inspect the top player for every available encounter: exact talents, source link, item level, enchant and socket counts, and the player's gear.
Pulling the top Warcraft Logs result, exact talents, and equipment for each boss.
Editorial acquisition targets
Use these slot targets when planning drops and crafted pieces. The encounter explorer above remains the source for the exact gear worn by each ranked player.
Raid acquisition targets
Mythic+ acquisition targets
Enchants
Choose enhancements after your equipment is settled. Secondary-stat enchant choices move with your current stat mix and the content you are preparing for.
Gems
Socket into the current stat priority, then re-check after major equipment swaps rather than treating a gem choice as permanent.
Embellishments
Crafted effects are capped at two equipped embellishments. Lock these in only after deciding which crafted slots survive your next raid or Mythic+ upgrades.
Utility, defensives, and movement
Your Monk toolkit is part of the rotation whenever it prevents lost uptime, lethal damage, or an enemy cast.
Transcendence lets you blink back to a placed spirit - huge for mechanics and skips.
Interrupt: Spear Hand Strike - grab a focus-interrupt macro on the Windwalker macros page.
Interface and macros
Use interface changes only when they expose a decision sooner: resources, procs, defensives, dispels, interrupts, and encounter assignments.
Focus interrupt
#showtooltip Spear Hand Strike
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][] Spear Hand StrikeWhat improves results
- Never press the same damaging ability twice in a row unless the alternative is worse; Mastery: Combo Strikes is core damage.
- Use no-channel macros or discipline so Tiger Palm, Blackout Kick, or Rising Sun Kick do not clip Fists of Fury.
- Rushing Wind Kick temporarily replaces Rising Sun Kick but counts as a different spell for Combo Strikes, so Rushing Wind Kick into Rising Sun Kick can be valid.
- Do not cap Energy, Chi, Dance of Chi-Ji, Blackout Kick! stacks, Flurry Strikes, or Zenith Stomp charges.
- Lighter Than Air can cancel knockbacks, preserve Fists of Fury movement, and extend Whirling Dragon Punch momentum.
- Use Ring of Peace and Paralysis for skips, stops, and grouping, not only emergencies.
Common mistakes
- Breaking Combo Strikes with repeated Tiger Palm, Blackout Kick, or Spinning Crane Kick
- Clipping Fists of Fury with another rotational key
- Spending Tiger Palm inside Zenith when Zenith Stomp could generate the Chi instead
- Using both Zenith charges back-to-back before Tigereye Brew stacks rebuild
- Overcapping Energy or Chi while waiting for a perfect button
Talents by enemy class
Pick an opponent to see the pressure your PvP build must answer. The baseline comes from this spec's current arena build when one is published.
Grip setups, anti-caster pressure, and sustained melee uptime.
Mobility, anti-slow, and physical or magic mitigation.
Keep an answer for grip-based isolation and do not spend movement before the Death Knight commits their control chain.
Comments
Comments load when you reach this section.
Loading comments...