So I’ve got this 214 or so Ilvl Brew monk. And tanking mythic is terrible. His health pool is tiny. I get close to dying a lot. I use all my CD’s on low lvl keys to stay alive. In a separate occasion yesterday i ran a mythic as WW dps and the brew monk died twice in a low lvl mythic.
Alternatively my bear alt has such an easy time managing CDs and my health doesn’t take these big dips. Same with my vengeance DH. I don’t ever feel like I’m at risk of dying unless i pull bad…
Anyways. I’ve watch videos and went on icy veins on brewmasters for some help.
should i be mainly kiting mobs? Or can i actually tank them?
What’s a few tips you have for a new brew monk that feels squishy?
What makes Brew so good in mythics, in your opinion?
Let’s assume i have all the right conduits and talents and OK gear (obviously only 215 or so)
So, after the big trash damage nerf that removed the need for tanks to hard kite packs, brewmasters especially on fort weeks will be using mobility to do soft kiting.
Which is to say, using your lust or torpedo to move in and out if range, circle around the pack, ball them up and keep them tight, but never quite hitting you all at once.
Now, when dealing with a high mobility class who wears leather and whose only defensive stat is dodge, you absolutely need to make sure mobs are not getting behind you, because they will hit you hard. Try to keep an eye on this.
As well, we do not deal with magic very well. Magic is staggered only at 1/3 physical, so any big casts are going to hit you hard and you will directly take the damage. Explosive weeks are tricky if the group is not on the ball and is either letting bombs or casts get off.
Beyond that, I’d need more specific info you’re looking for.
Also, be slightly wary of guides and theorycrafting if you are pugging. The advanced advice is often shaped around utterly ideal conditions which pugging rarely provides.
Oh yeah, I also wrote some various tips and tricks in another thread, I’ll try to find it when I’m not on my phone.
Bears are better overall right now in m+ especially in low gear so it’s not really a good comparison tbh.
Brew has 2 people in the top 10 for m+ rating so it is perfectly viable.
How to not die as a brew? It’s all about managing your cooldowns effectively to get stacks for a bigger cb.
For instance, a pull would start with your basic rotation and keeping a purify on cd. Purify only at red after that. Using your cov ability on pull will help with mitigation until you get to 6+ stacks then you cb. After cb is off you pop another cd ( dampen harm, trinket, fort, aoe stun, rop) and build stacks again. Then you cb. Rinse and repeat.
If your dps is bad you will have to kite eventually which is very easy as monk. Just roll back twice and start to boogie. Rop if needed. Once a CD is back up you can reengage
The only think I will say to this is you should be purifying for however much damage you will take in 8 seconds.
If you’re trying to maintain a certain number based on guides but keep getting trucked, use your cb earlier. If you’re overcapping your bubble, it’s wasted effort.
CB lasts 8 seconds, so try to aim for as much damage as you will take in 8 seconds.
Brew is one of the strongest tanks in all PVE content in good hands.
It sounds like a you issue or a healer issue.
With the keg smash lego you are also one of the highest dps tanks, I regularly do 5-7k overall in keys now at 232 often beating some DPS. I usually self heal for almost as much as a healer as well. I’m just a KSM dood I don’t push much higher than that.
Brew requires more external healing RN than a bear but it’s also predictable. Outside of incarn bears aren’t that great. It’s a huge flaw. But with incarn+ursol yes they can facetank what all the other tanks only dream of every few minutes.
Brews also have to kite strong trash when CD are down, but they have the best tools to do so (even more than DH IMO) good RoP/teleport/roll/TL usage takes you from good to great.
If you want to spam iron fur/thrash all day and snooze thru keys enjoy your bear… the only fun part is when you can find boomy convoke opportunity…
My sat score was higher than “drool” therefore I like pretty much any tank but bear.
Our aoe is amazing, ST is kinda meh.
If trash is not too much of an issue you could consider switching to charred passions for Tyrannical weeks to do better ST, but chen’s is still the best all-round leggo for M+.
For me when it comes to Brew tanking you have to think outside the other tanking box. Which means you cant be static like other tanks. We have to be very mobile and use Purify. That’s what gives us the dodge. Use RoP anytime you pulling trash. Always use your Fortified brew on CD… Always spam Tiger palm and Keg smash. Yeah 1sec off CD from TP and 3secs off CD for using KS. But its so useful. CB also just constant use it as an uptime. We are a kiting type of tanks that use our speed and rolls for this type of tanking. BoF is also your friend with -5% dmg to you. So I mean are not the best in tanking but we are up there. You just have to think differently when it comes to brew tank. Its also one of the hardest tanks to do imo. But I enjoy it and its alot of fun doing Cobra Kai stuff… Lol Patients is a virtue learning brew tanks.
Full disclosure, I dont play a bear (except in classic, which is apples and oranges) but I find brew to be a capable tank.
However, because brew will take more healing overall, you need a healer who understands how to heal monks. A trash healer will make you feel incredibly weak and paper thin no matter the key you’re in.
(Also, I haven’t really pushed high keys this season because I’ve been working all summer long and barely get 1-2 days off every 2 weeks. I’m hoping I can actually get some progress in once sept rolls around and my schedule stops being absolute madness)
I’m not ragging on you or monks at all just trying to understand, but doesn’t that off the bat not make a tank ideal. If you have a tank that can take damage better and not need heals, that sets your healer up for success to heal the group
The main benefit of monks is stagger, and monk damage not spiking. Because our damage intake is converted to a dot, we simply get more pure benefit from hots, as opposed to overhealing.
That’s why I say the healer needs to understand how to read and heal stagger. Because our health bar might be full, but our stagger bar is red, which means we’re taking huge dot damage and now is not the time to switch to another party member or dps.
Again, comparing brews and bears is a little bit apples and oranges. Bears are solid on the front end of a big hit. Brews are flexible on the back end of a big hit.
What determined top? Ease of healing, group utility? If you mean how many brews are doing insane keys I’d counter with maybe they would be having an easier time as another tank and just like the play style. Which is fine mind you, but it’s important to lay that out there
